Post by jack on Jan 13, 2015 13:10:45 GMT
Though the Moon Dance forest was centered on the town of Oriental, resting dead in its cross-hairs the dense woods was filled with more than just one lone town hiding amongst nature, dotted through out the tree filled landscape, between the packed bushed, lay small settlements, those in which if a person had no local map would simply walk right by without a second glance at the wonderful place they had just bypassed. It had been quite a number of years since Jack had visited these densely nesseled towns, almost as if they where locked away from prying eyes, secrecy seemed keen in these strange, almost foreign worlds, separated from the rest of the lands, almost as if locked in time. Months at a time would pass before any news of the outside world would ever reach them, even day light seemed hard to find in some locations but those that resided here where at peace with what they had. Kind, simple folk they cared little of what became outside their natural barriers, though they welcomed all that came by, it wasn't every day that a person would wander across, though the few that did knew well of the towns and their people. Quaint, giving an almost sleepy cottage feeling it was a nice rest from the go-go life of the city streets, packed with adventures as they sought after wealth and fierce battles, here only but a few dozen kept to these dirt roads... it was calming, no sounds of beating steel, cries and cheers of those that watched entertainers dance like buffoons in the streets, just the lovely sweet notes of song birds as they sat high amongst the trees watching those that worked quietly in the fields.
Uneven crunching filled the air around the road with every heavy step from Jack's leather boots, the golden buckles that ran its way up the lacing jiggled every so softly, its lustrous metallic shine lighting up the dim path like a beacon in the dead of a storm. Jack often thought of the world outside the walls that ensnared so many, the free breeze on his face, the cool touch as it licked at his cheek, there was no place like out beyond the cities, even with his overwhelming active sense of cleanliness, he still sought the comfort of open skies to that of grimy streets, though as times went on he saw more and walls rise while the forests seemed to dwindle with every passing year, tis the way of the times he supposed. Social change was a constant battle between old and new, though some where persistent, new ideas, concepts, won the majority of the wars leaving the history for the books, nothing more the tales on worn scraps of paper. It was out here, away from it all that he could sense that not all the world had shifted yet, even after all the miles he had trekked there where still many before his life came to an end, with so much of an open world around him there was no way for all of it to become like the new ages... right? Regardless, since ideas where going to be far beyond his years, he hoped such a time would never come, not during his lifespan at least, he wished to die an old man with he world that raised him still the same, at least, more or less.
Slowing his advance to a halt Jack slowly pushed back the brim of his hat, his head rising till his eyes locked onto a small wooden sign that was lifted above the road, held up by two wood posts, each one looking as though it had far outlived its glory days.
'Welcome to Mooncrest' The fading words craved into the sign read to him, it had been a long journey for Jack, traveling quite a distance to come all the way out to these back water parts of the world but his traveling had come to an end, at least for today.
"Nice to see things haven't changed much here." Jack sighed happily, his eyes drifting off and away from the sign over to where a path of forest had been chopped down, even now he could see a few burly men working a rather large stump from the soil. Even from the distance Jack was the sweat lines that dropped down their bare chest could be made out, shinning, glistening from the rays of the sun, he cared not to stare long less prying eyes befall him but it was a nice sight to see those that still clung to the earth for their livelihood.
As much as Jack wished to stop and give them a hand with their little project he knew it would be rude of him not to address himself to his old friends before he took his gloves off and got to work, nothing here was free ride, gold carried little weight in these parts, if he was going to stay he would need to get down and dirty with a little hard work. Jack shivered slightly at the thought of being covered in such muck and earth but if he was going to have a decent stay there was going to need to shed some sweat, luckily though unlike those that called this place their home Jack had something they did not, magical fortitude, days like these he was very blessed to have such talents and knew that the people enjoyed his stay because of that, though his tales of the old world and his own kept them wanting him back more often than he should have.
"Come on Samuel, lets not keep them waiting more than they should for us, its rude to keep other waiting you know." Chuckling lightly Jack glanced down at the wooden cane he gripped in his hand, the white glove bending around the base of it handle.
"Oh come on now ol' chap, don't be shy, you know, just as well as I do, they love to see us! Lets not dilly daddle any further, I'm sure they are about to serve up a quaint hot lunch, and I don't know about you but I am a tad bit peckish." Jack piped up with a grin across his face, pulling at the cane as if he was holding someones hand Jack passed under the sign making his way into the village.
It had been over three years since Jack's eyes had last fallen on the small village but it looked as though very little had changed during the period, another house, new field but everything else was locked in the tiny world, change never really did find its way here. Word of mouth was how any news found its way out here, merchants, couriers of any sort never ventured out deep enough into the woods to deliver information, Jack doubted that taxes collections came out to these parts, though without any real ruling classes any longer there wasn't much of such a thing going on. Rural so far away from any of the larger cities even the architecture of the buildings was different, not just the fact they were crafted from mostly wood and not stone but the simplistic nature that went into each of the structures. Hand craved symbols etched into each of the main pillars which head up the walls and roofs, each of the widows where in some degree stained glass, each one having an image of an object, even some characters from old folk tales, though the town was kept separate from the rest of the world it had clung onto the ways of the old, something that was dying quickly across the lands.
The dirt road quickly changed to a strange type of stone, the once crunching steps of Jack's feet grew softer on the hard material, he hadn't notice it before as his eyes had been wandering about the newest features of the town but the paved road was clearly something new since last visit. The question here was, where had all the stone come from? Mooncrest wasn't known for its quarry, really it wasn't known for anything, to Jack it was a small town, relying on its lumber mills, a few crops and whatever fish they could manage to haul from the depths of the rivers nearby.
"What do you think Samuel? Not something which I thought they would ever come across... maybe some good fortune came there way." Jack question out loud to Samuel, an odd site to those that had no knowledge of the man.
Shurgging off the question in his mind a familiar voice called out to from nearby, Jack smiled broke through his lips, with his eyes shifting to one of the clone like building he saw a young girl waving at him from the front porch. Long golden hair like that of the beam of light which stream across the morning skies, her rosy cheeks as her green eyes lit up with wonder at the sight of him.
"Hello Jenny!" Jack chippered up as her waved back at the young girl, without missing a beat Jack rushed forward with his magical forces appearing much closer to the girl. Having seen this so many times before Jenny cared little about his sudden transition as she leapt off from wooden porch at Jack her short arms extending out towards him. Chucking slightly Jack knelt down hover his finely pressed pants above the dirt covered road as Jenny raced towards him like a speeding bullet, clasping his arms around her back Jack rose to his feet with Jenny in his arms.
"It's been so long! I've missed you!" Jenny pipped up her mouth much to closer to his ear than need be with her volume level but he said nothing about it.
"And I as well!" Jack laughed with a final tight hug, placing Jenny back on the ground before him and paused for a second looking her over, he couldn't believe how big she had gotten since he last saw her.
"My word! Last I saw you, you where barley past my knee. Look at you now! Soon enough you're going to be as tall and as beautiful as your lovely mother." Jack smiled as he placed his hand on the girls head giving her hair a quick brush.
"Oh my now, don't falter me when I'm standing right here." A high pitch voice called from the door as Jack glanced off to the side to see an older woman, already a few strands of grey hair could be seen sprouting out from her red locks but her face still head a glow of youth to it.
"Margaret, my dear, its been some time, as always its an pleasure to see you once again." Jack stated, with a pull of his hat from his head he stepped back with his left foot and gave margaret a bow, his long crimson hair falling down into his face.
"Oh Jack, you never change do you. You're going to make this old woman blush. Make me feel as though I'm off at one of those parties they throw in the cites, lords and ladies alike." Margaret placed her hand on her cheek as she lend against the doorway with a soft sigh.
"I try my best." Jack grinned pulled himself up right once again, ploping his hat back on his head he reached out too Jenny's out stretched hand, leading them both to the homestead.
"So Jack! Do you have any more stories! What about that one with the giant horned spider and-and the guy with flaming sword, and the princess and the-" The girls mouth was running faster than Jack ever could but it was her mother that was quick to cut her off before she had a change to really get going.
"Jennifer, let Jack rest, I'm sure he's had a long trip, a cup of hot tea would set him straight." Margaret placed her hands on her hips as she looked down at Jenny from above, her face expressed some disapproval at her forgetfulness of manners but after all she was still a child.
"That does divine margaret." Jack noded his head slowly, looking down at Jenny he gave her hand a small squeeze with a quick wink.
"Don't worry, I always come prepared, now why don't you go out and play, tis a lovely day, it would be a shame to waste the light." Jack gave Jenny as small nudge on the shoulder as her face lightened up.
"Kids will be kids, after all, she what now? Six, seven?" Jack question, taking his hat off he followed behind margaret into the small house, it wasn't much bigger than the others in the town, two bedrooms, a kitchen and the main room, compared to the cities homes this was a hovel. Jack preferred the small houses to those of the city, these where much cozier and always held a hint of pine and the dish they was eaten the night before.
"She's eight now."Margaret laughed, heading into the kitchen Jack stood in the main area looking around at the hand crafting furniture, each one must have taken days to make, let alone finding the wood and furnishing it. Hung up on the wall was a lone sword that hadn't seen a day of fighting in more years than Jack had been alive, though well kept the ware and tear of time was visible to his eyes.
Whistling softly at margaret response he leaned over to the doorway to the kitchen.
"Wow... eight already... doesn't seem like it...." Jack was slightly stunned at how quickly the girl aged but after all it had been three years.
"Wished I could have come by earlier, but you know how life is."
"Ah, there's no need to apologize. We all understand how it is. You're a busy man." Margaret comforted his feels, though he still felt a trifle sad at the thought.
"Alright! Don't drink to much though, or you'll fall asleep like last time!" Jenny giggled, her grasp on Jack's hand lifted as she raced out the door.
"That girl, you would think as they got older they would slow down some but she just keeps going and going." Margaret gave a soft chuckle off as she escorted Jack inside the house.
Uneven crunching filled the air around the road with every heavy step from Jack's leather boots, the golden buckles that ran its way up the lacing jiggled every so softly, its lustrous metallic shine lighting up the dim path like a beacon in the dead of a storm. Jack often thought of the world outside the walls that ensnared so many, the free breeze on his face, the cool touch as it licked at his cheek, there was no place like out beyond the cities, even with his overwhelming active sense of cleanliness, he still sought the comfort of open skies to that of grimy streets, though as times went on he saw more and walls rise while the forests seemed to dwindle with every passing year, tis the way of the times he supposed. Social change was a constant battle between old and new, though some where persistent, new ideas, concepts, won the majority of the wars leaving the history for the books, nothing more the tales on worn scraps of paper. It was out here, away from it all that he could sense that not all the world had shifted yet, even after all the miles he had trekked there where still many before his life came to an end, with so much of an open world around him there was no way for all of it to become like the new ages... right? Regardless, since ideas where going to be far beyond his years, he hoped such a time would never come, not during his lifespan at least, he wished to die an old man with he world that raised him still the same, at least, more or less.
Slowing his advance to a halt Jack slowly pushed back the brim of his hat, his head rising till his eyes locked onto a small wooden sign that was lifted above the road, held up by two wood posts, each one looking as though it had far outlived its glory days.
'Welcome to Mooncrest' The fading words craved into the sign read to him, it had been a long journey for Jack, traveling quite a distance to come all the way out to these back water parts of the world but his traveling had come to an end, at least for today.
"Nice to see things haven't changed much here." Jack sighed happily, his eyes drifting off and away from the sign over to where a path of forest had been chopped down, even now he could see a few burly men working a rather large stump from the soil. Even from the distance Jack was the sweat lines that dropped down their bare chest could be made out, shinning, glistening from the rays of the sun, he cared not to stare long less prying eyes befall him but it was a nice sight to see those that still clung to the earth for their livelihood.
As much as Jack wished to stop and give them a hand with their little project he knew it would be rude of him not to address himself to his old friends before he took his gloves off and got to work, nothing here was free ride, gold carried little weight in these parts, if he was going to stay he would need to get down and dirty with a little hard work. Jack shivered slightly at the thought of being covered in such muck and earth but if he was going to have a decent stay there was going to need to shed some sweat, luckily though unlike those that called this place their home Jack had something they did not, magical fortitude, days like these he was very blessed to have such talents and knew that the people enjoyed his stay because of that, though his tales of the old world and his own kept them wanting him back more often than he should have.
"Come on Samuel, lets not keep them waiting more than they should for us, its rude to keep other waiting you know." Chuckling lightly Jack glanced down at the wooden cane he gripped in his hand, the white glove bending around the base of it handle.
"Oh come on now ol' chap, don't be shy, you know, just as well as I do, they love to see us! Lets not dilly daddle any further, I'm sure they are about to serve up a quaint hot lunch, and I don't know about you but I am a tad bit peckish." Jack piped up with a grin across his face, pulling at the cane as if he was holding someones hand Jack passed under the sign making his way into the village.
It had been over three years since Jack's eyes had last fallen on the small village but it looked as though very little had changed during the period, another house, new field but everything else was locked in the tiny world, change never really did find its way here. Word of mouth was how any news found its way out here, merchants, couriers of any sort never ventured out deep enough into the woods to deliver information, Jack doubted that taxes collections came out to these parts, though without any real ruling classes any longer there wasn't much of such a thing going on. Rural so far away from any of the larger cities even the architecture of the buildings was different, not just the fact they were crafted from mostly wood and not stone but the simplistic nature that went into each of the structures. Hand craved symbols etched into each of the main pillars which head up the walls and roofs, each of the widows where in some degree stained glass, each one having an image of an object, even some characters from old folk tales, though the town was kept separate from the rest of the world it had clung onto the ways of the old, something that was dying quickly across the lands.
The dirt road quickly changed to a strange type of stone, the once crunching steps of Jack's feet grew softer on the hard material, he hadn't notice it before as his eyes had been wandering about the newest features of the town but the paved road was clearly something new since last visit. The question here was, where had all the stone come from? Mooncrest wasn't known for its quarry, really it wasn't known for anything, to Jack it was a small town, relying on its lumber mills, a few crops and whatever fish they could manage to haul from the depths of the rivers nearby.
"What do you think Samuel? Not something which I thought they would ever come across... maybe some good fortune came there way." Jack question out loud to Samuel, an odd site to those that had no knowledge of the man.
Shurgging off the question in his mind a familiar voice called out to from nearby, Jack smiled broke through his lips, with his eyes shifting to one of the clone like building he saw a young girl waving at him from the front porch. Long golden hair like that of the beam of light which stream across the morning skies, her rosy cheeks as her green eyes lit up with wonder at the sight of him.
"Hello Jenny!" Jack chippered up as her waved back at the young girl, without missing a beat Jack rushed forward with his magical forces appearing much closer to the girl. Having seen this so many times before Jenny cared little about his sudden transition as she leapt off from wooden porch at Jack her short arms extending out towards him. Chucking slightly Jack knelt down hover his finely pressed pants above the dirt covered road as Jenny raced towards him like a speeding bullet, clasping his arms around her back Jack rose to his feet with Jenny in his arms.
"It's been so long! I've missed you!" Jenny pipped up her mouth much to closer to his ear than need be with her volume level but he said nothing about it.
"And I as well!" Jack laughed with a final tight hug, placing Jenny back on the ground before him and paused for a second looking her over, he couldn't believe how big she had gotten since he last saw her.
"My word! Last I saw you, you where barley past my knee. Look at you now! Soon enough you're going to be as tall and as beautiful as your lovely mother." Jack smiled as he placed his hand on the girls head giving her hair a quick brush.
"Oh my now, don't falter me when I'm standing right here." A high pitch voice called from the door as Jack glanced off to the side to see an older woman, already a few strands of grey hair could be seen sprouting out from her red locks but her face still head a glow of youth to it.
"Margaret, my dear, its been some time, as always its an pleasure to see you once again." Jack stated, with a pull of his hat from his head he stepped back with his left foot and gave margaret a bow, his long crimson hair falling down into his face.
"Oh Jack, you never change do you. You're going to make this old woman blush. Make me feel as though I'm off at one of those parties they throw in the cites, lords and ladies alike." Margaret placed her hand on her cheek as she lend against the doorway with a soft sigh.
"I try my best." Jack grinned pulled himself up right once again, ploping his hat back on his head he reached out too Jenny's out stretched hand, leading them both to the homestead.
"So Jack! Do you have any more stories! What about that one with the giant horned spider and-and the guy with flaming sword, and the princess and the-" The girls mouth was running faster than Jack ever could but it was her mother that was quick to cut her off before she had a change to really get going.
"Jennifer, let Jack rest, I'm sure he's had a long trip, a cup of hot tea would set him straight." Margaret placed her hands on her hips as she looked down at Jenny from above, her face expressed some disapproval at her forgetfulness of manners but after all she was still a child.
"That does divine margaret." Jack noded his head slowly, looking down at Jenny he gave her hand a small squeeze with a quick wink.
"Don't worry, I always come prepared, now why don't you go out and play, tis a lovely day, it would be a shame to waste the light." Jack gave Jenny as small nudge on the shoulder as her face lightened up.
"Kids will be kids, after all, she what now? Six, seven?" Jack question, taking his hat off he followed behind margaret into the small house, it wasn't much bigger than the others in the town, two bedrooms, a kitchen and the main room, compared to the cities homes this was a hovel. Jack preferred the small houses to those of the city, these where much cozier and always held a hint of pine and the dish they was eaten the night before.
"She's eight now."Margaret laughed, heading into the kitchen Jack stood in the main area looking around at the hand crafting furniture, each one must have taken days to make, let alone finding the wood and furnishing it. Hung up on the wall was a lone sword that hadn't seen a day of fighting in more years than Jack had been alive, though well kept the ware and tear of time was visible to his eyes.
Whistling softly at margaret response he leaned over to the doorway to the kitchen.
"Wow... eight already... doesn't seem like it...." Jack was slightly stunned at how quickly the girl aged but after all it had been three years.
"Wished I could have come by earlier, but you know how life is."
"Ah, there's no need to apologize. We all understand how it is. You're a busy man." Margaret comforted his feels, though he still felt a trifle sad at the thought.
"Alright! Don't drink to much though, or you'll fall asleep like last time!" Jenny giggled, her grasp on Jack's hand lifted as she raced out the door.
"That girl, you would think as they got older they would slow down some but she just keeps going and going." Margaret gave a soft chuckle off as she escorted Jack inside the house.
