You climb up through a beautiful autumn day to get to Kuleilyi. The leaves are mostly on the trees, still, brilliant golds, oranges, and reds, with an occasional purple or brown. As they let go of their branches, one by one, they drift down slowly, turning in the wind, sometimes seeming to flutter. They remind you of the butterflies when you walked this path last spring.
When you get to the tiny town, you find that Rai-Kunabei is not there. The teenage boy who you're talking to explains that she has climbed up into the mountains to check out something one of the goat-kids found. "No, not a baby goat, one of the young goat-herders. Listen carefully--the word is slightly different, though that's what most lowlanders hear. Would you like to go look? Someone could be found to take you to her..." the houng man trails off, suddenly sounding uncertain, "You do know how to spin ball, whistles, don't you?"
You shake your head. Even if you did know, you don't want to go higher than this nice, safe little town where every tall promontory has bells on the roofs.
He leads you to the Mayor, an old woman who is sitting under a tree, mending clothes. She tells you a story about Dragon and Rock Tender, which you follow by telling the story Skycat and Woodpecker Make a Bet. The two of you gather a small audience, but only young children. The rest are either practicing their whistle-twirling or already up the mountain. The mayor is about to start another story, the tale of Phoenix and the Autumn Leaves, when there is a sound of many people talking. Rai-Kunabei walks up, surrounded by several dozen young people--young adults and older children. With her is a heavily muscled older man, who is grinning broadly.
"So, what did you find?" The mayor asked quietly, her hands still busy with her needle and thread, but people settled down, most of them sitting on logs or benches or the ground.
Rai-Kunabei said solemnly. "Wraiths did indeed strike the mountainside, up where the old apple tree used to stand."
"And there's a rich new vein of ore exposed up there!" The man opened his huge hands to show hunks of rock. "Definitely iron, and maybe other metals too! We'll have to build a mine entrance and some bell towers, but we can stop trying to dig the Riboyorl mine deeper, now. We will have a new nine, the Karliyorl."
People pushed forward a mid-size child of indeterminate gender, and the big man pressed a hunk of metal into the child's hand. "Thank you, Karli, for finding the new mine!"
Then there was an impromptu party, people bringing out food and musical instruments, and dancing, and the blushing child assuring people, "I'm glad I didn't encounter the wraith that did it! I'd rather be a smith than a Rai!"
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Date: 2011-09-24 06:13 pm (UTC)When you get to the tiny town, you find that Rai-Kunabei is not there. The teenage boy who you're talking to explains that she has climbed up into the mountains to check out something one of the goat-kids found. "No, not a baby goat, one of the young goat-herders. Listen carefully--the word is slightly different, though that's what most lowlanders hear. Would you like to go look? Someone could be found to take you to her..." the houng man trails off, suddenly sounding uncertain, "You do know how to spin ball, whistles, don't you?"
You shake your head. Even if you did know, you don't want to go higher than this nice, safe little town where every tall promontory has bells on the roofs.
He leads you to the Mayor, an old woman who is sitting under a tree, mending clothes. She tells you a story about Dragon and Rock Tender, which you follow by telling the story
Skycat and Woodpecker Make a Bet. The two of you gather a small audience, but only young children. The rest are either practicing their whistle-twirling or already up the mountain. The mayor is about to start another story, the tale of Phoenix and the Autumn Leaves, when there is a sound of many people talking. Rai-Kunabei walks up, surrounded by several dozen young people--young adults and older children. With her is a heavily muscled older man, who is grinning broadly.
"So, what did you find?" The mayor asked quietly, her hands still busy with her needle and thread, but people settled down, most of them sitting on logs or benches or the ground.
Rai-Kunabei said solemnly. "Wraiths did indeed strike the mountainside, up where the old apple tree used to stand."
"And there's a rich new vein of ore exposed up there!" The man opened his huge hands to show hunks of rock. "Definitely iron, and maybe other metals too! We'll have to build a mine entrance and some bell towers, but we can stop trying to dig the Riboyorl mine deeper, now. We will have a new nine, the Karliyorl."
People pushed forward a mid-size child of indeterminate gender, and the big man pressed a hunk of metal into the child's hand. "Thank you, Karli, for finding the new mine!"
Then there was an impromptu party, people bringing out food and musical instruments, and dancing, and the blushing child assuring people, "I'm glad I didn't encounter the wraith that did it! I'd rather be a smith than a Rai!"