Forget Me Not
30. April 2020
We spent a full week recuperating in Alderheart and flaunting our new title around the city. We were enjoying a warm afternoon on the terrace of Eliza’s shop when we received a summons to a Birdfolk Council session.
Unusually the council chambers were full. Birdfolk and Humblefolk and Tenders alike clamoured for attention. The session hadn’t even begun and already the air was thick with opinions.
“We need to get those Tenders out of there! It’s too dangerous!”
“Call in the Perch Guard: they’ll sort out these monsters!”
Fortunately the entrance of Speaker Bita had a calming effect. She approached the lectern and held up a hand for silence. It was a testament to her natural presence and command that, within a few moments, the hubbub had reduced enough for her to be heard.
“Welcome, Defenders of Alderheart,” she began, addressing us directly. “We have a great need for your help again.”
Speaker Bita described the same scenes that Tevor and Havel had recounted to us earlier in the week. Huge swarms of ember bats and other fiery creatures had been sighted in the Scorched Grove. The Tenders were unable to control the spread of the fires.
After this introduction, Speaker Bita motioned for Tevor to take the stand. The timid Luma stepped unwillingly forward. His hands fidgeted. He would have wrung his hat if he had one.
“I was the last Tender to leave the Scorched Grove alive.” He spoke in a quiet voice and all ears strained to hear his account. “My instructor and I were working near the edge of the Grove when we saw something moving through the ash toward us. It burrowed underneath him. Then suddenly it sucked him under the ash and he was gone.”
Worried murmurings filled the chamber.
“Could it be… a fire mole?” Crispin asked with wide eyes.
“Again, in our hour of need, we call on the Defenders of Alderheart,” Speaker Bita intoned. “We need to know more about this threat and we cannot risk the lives of any more Tenders. Will you help us?”
“Is this is a problem that can be solved with violence?” I asked and puffed out my chest. “Because if so, then we’re in.”
Tevor agreed to guide us the place where he had last seen this subterranean creature, though it looked as if he was going to have a panic attack when Speaker Bita made the request.
We didn’t have time to follow the road all the way back via the Winnowing Reach and Meadowfen. To save time, I led the group on a direct route: straight as the Corvum flies. It was hard work trekking through the deep woods but Tevor knew the forest well and we made good time.
On the morning of the second day we saw fire ahead.
“Is that the Grove?” I asked.
“Not yet,” said Tevor. “It looks like fire in the Wood!”
We rushed forward and as we got nearer we saw a curious sight. The flames were hovering in the air itself, disconnected from the vegetation below, and they had a shape to them: a Corvum hunched over in grief.
Crispin raised his eyebrows in alarm. “That bird is on fire! I have just the spell to douse—”
“It’s not a bird,” said Tevor hurriedly. “It’s a fire spectre: a spirit which died in the flames. It’s trying to re-enact an event from its life. Usually we leave them alone to dissipate naturally…”
We all looked at the spectre. It was kneeling above the ground and scooping its flaming hands against the earth. With each grasp it further charred the ground before it. We could see nearby undergrowth starting to smoke.
“But in this case I think we should hurry up the process,” Tevor finished. He turned to Crispin. “So don’t douse it with water.”
I studied the spectre. “I think it’s trying to pick flowers.”
It was time to use the ring my father had given me. I concentrated on the feel of flowers in my hand, the scent of the blooms and the colours of the petals. The ring glowed briefly as it expended its power and a handful of forget-me-nots sprouted out of thin air.
“Give me a hand, Olive,” I said. Olive rolled her eyes.
The flowers bobbed gently through the air, carried by the magic of an unseen hand. Olive let them hover just in front of the spectre and, as we hoped, it reached up to hold the flowers.
For a moment the spectre looked hopeful. It reached out for the flowers that it so desperately wanted. But then the vicious heat from the flames caught and the flowers withered into ash. The spectre covered its eyes, shook its head, and resumed scrabbling in the dirt.
“Hmmm, that was close,” I said. “Maybe we just need more flowers?”
Meanwhile, Crispin and Tevor had discovered an abandoned wooden shack just off the clearing. One wall had collapsed and exposed the inside to the elements. Dust and soot from the Scorched Grove had blown in and covered the remaining furniture.
Outside there were scorch marks on the ground that led from behind the shack toward the clearing. Tevor tentatively checked the tracks. They appeared to begin by a small stone marker which must surely be—
“Oh wow,” said Crispin from inside the shack. “Just look at this. Tevor! You have to see this.”
Tevor rushed inside. Crispin was on his knees with his eyes close to the floor. He was using a broken bottle shard as a magnifying glass.
“The cut of these boards! The varnish! The craftsmanship! Can you believe such work, Tevor?” asked Crispin. He grinned widely as he peered at the floorboards. “This is quality work. With a bit of repair and cleaning this would make a delightful summer house.”
“Right,” said Tevor. “However, on a more urgent matter, I think we need to fetch the others. I know what we have to do.”
Tevor took the flowers from me gratefully when I arrived at the shack. I had been putting together the largest bunch of forget-me-nots I had gathered since I was a chick when Crispin found me and Olive. He said that he had found something very important and Tevor had too.
“Now, if I just place these on the grave,” said Tevor.
“Check out this floor, Plume,” said Crispin and dragged me inside.
I thoroughly agreed that the craftsmanship was excellent. I suggested that it might even be high-level Tender work that had helped form the planks so perfectly. We took turns with the magnifying glass to examine a particularly interesting knot.
“Wow,” said Tevor from behind us. “I’ve never seen a spectre dissipate before. That was truly a once in a lifetime experience.”