Will Ye page 1
Sourjack McFearsome felt a stabbing pain in his back as he tended his mushrooms.
It was a very gloomy early morning deep within the Forest of Malevolence, which was not unusual since the knarred and contorted branches of the Interlocken trees created an overhead barrier that could not be penetrated even by the light of the sun. Well, some of the elders claimed there was a sun -- whatever that was -- but hardly anyone believed them. Still, there were times when the gloom wasn't quite as thick as at other times, even when it didn't go completely dark at night. Surely, there must be some explanation for this, and if the elders wanted to call it "the sun wavering," nobody much cared.
Sourjack wasn't thinking about any of this as he sat down on a rotting tree stump to take a break from his toils. The crop this season was rather squalid, even for mushrooms. But what could he do? Nothing else edible would grow in the persistently dank and dreary forest, and his skills as a mighty warrior had not been needed ever since the army in the next village had been defeated. He had to chuckle when he thought of that, for the entire war lasted but a week and he had hardly broken a sweat. Nonetheless, it had been more exciting than getting down on his hands and knees to scratch the soil. His father and forefathers before him had all been warriors, battle-hardened men who took on a fierce expression to frighten the enemy -- hence the sir name.
He sighed and was about to get back to work, when he noticed a dashing glint of emerald green heading right for him. Since there weren't any colors in the Forest of Malevolence -- aside from various shades of gray and brown -- he was quite startled. What could it be? As it got closer and closer, he realized it was a hummingbird. And when it hovered out of reach over his head and dropped something from its feet and then darted away, he became paralyzed with anxiety.
Yes, Sourjack McFearsome could become quite frightened -- for everyone knew that the hummingbird was a bringer of bad omens. Once a hummingbird visited one of its victims, that person vanished without a trace -- and nobody knew why, not even the wisest man among the elders. There was some speculation that these vermin had to come from somewhere else, because no one had ever found a nesting place nor had they ever seen one eat. But someplace else was not to be thought of, lest one be taken away to there in the middle of the night and one's mushrooms turned to dust with neglect.
