The Chemists
"Northern Alistair, yr3011: "The elf chemists have come from the other world and made a game of the earth":
The bell rang in the village square and woke the children earlier than they'd hoped. Usually Gale could make it until the fourth or fifth ring before having to get up. That morning was different, and the banging in the distance seemed louder. Mother Fara entered the sleeping quarters, greeted them with winky eyes and a toothy smile. She urged Gale up from his bed. "Rise and shine. Good morning. Hello", she said, as kids flooded out through the doors and went out to work in the fields. He found her physically beautiful, but he hated getting up early to break his wrists shoveling coal or digging holes for rootwork. He reminded himself that he was a captive, and she was his master by force. He felt his mind succumbing to impressions of mental slavery. Out on the fields Gale spotted his friends, joined alongside them shoveling holes into the dirt. Tara threw the shovel over her shoulder and leaned down to dig her hands in and force a bigger hole in the ground. "Are you having fun?", Gale asked her. "Oh yeah. Plenty. Doesn't this look fun?", she said wrist deep in soil. Tara's blond mop blew in the Alistair wind, and in the distance he could see the cobblestone peaks cutting through the tree line; a bastion of safety, maybe even a chance to escape. "It does. How many holes have you dug this morning?". "Fifteen already. How fun, right?", she said. Tara sat back in the dirt. She laid on her back and looked up at the sky. He sat beside her, observing the mud caked on her hands and in her nails. She worked harder than the others. He hadn't learned why. The back of her hair gathered small twigs and dirt but she didn't seem to mind. For a moment they enjoyed relief, looking to the clouds as a means of leaving their bleak circumstances behind. "So. When we get to Goldshire--", he said, but she cut him off. "Quiet". Gale heard clanking. The footsteps of armored guards. Their helmets were sloped with titanium visors and red plumes on the crown. One of them approached with his lance drawn. Guards had no mind, no soul. They were disembodied and forever lost; reanimated by their dead dreams. Pawns of Mother Fara, just like all her captured children. The disobedient became Guards. Whenever the kids spotted them, they'd return to their task with twice as much vigor. In the distance Fara walked back and forth, both arms behind her back and stark black Venetian dress dragging subtly on the ground. Tara got back in the dirt elbow deep, pushing apart soil as best she could. He went in behind her with his shovel and helped her spread it apart. Then, she reached into the pail beside her, grabbed a handful of Nous seeds and tossed them into the earth. With precise care they shut the hole, watered the seeds only slightly and moved onto the next one. By noon their fingers bled and the backs of their necks blistered bright red. Gale couldn't take it anymore. They had planted so many Nous seeds that Mother Fara would see herself live millions of years into the future. More than enough work had been done, and still the Guards prowled by and enforced their law. He rebelled and began drinking from their portion of the water meant for the seeds. Tilting his head back, he drank from the watering gourd like a dog and aroused the attention of two ghoulish soldiers. Their shining tin armor glowed under the hot sun and their heels clinked with each step. "Hey. They're coming. Cut it out", Tara said. "No. I'm thirsty". "Quit playing around. I'm serious. They're coming". "Who cares? This isn't worth it Tara. She's not worth serving", he said. He felt a sharp, quick pain at his shoulder. A tiny needle poke. When he turned around, the Guard's lance nearly took his nose off. The ghoul raised its point toward the air, and breathing a hoarse moan Mother Fara spoke to us through her dead knight. "What are you doing, Gale?" the witch said through the Guard's lips. Tara stood up, continued working. He remained sat, drank more water. "You should not drink that water, Gale", Mother said. "Why not?". "It is for the seeds. That water is for the garden, not for you. Don't play dumb, child". "I'm thirsty, your Lady". Gale stuck his nose up in the air. He drank harder, deeper. Before they knew it all the water in the gourd had been used. They wouldn't be able to plant any more Nous seeds. The knight's armor began to vibrate slowly. Then by some strange psychic action, Mother Fara caused him to fall dead. He set down the gourd, looked over at Tara and saw fear in her eyes. The witch had apparated over to them, and she stood there in her black veils in front of them like a forest spirit manifest.
