Lia of Pirn Hollow
Based on a personal Dungeons and Dragons character played by the author. Dungeons and Dragons is published by Wizards of the Coast.
Part 1
Lia takes a deep breath in; she loves the smells of the forest, the floral scents, and pine drifting through her meditative state. Eyes closed and a brimming smile she can’t contain. Her green hued skin shimmering in the pools of light peeking through the forest’s canopy. A daisy chained crown lays atop her head with a single daisy being rolled between her fingers. Her ears pointed and proud moving to the various sounds of the forest. Her longbow slung across her back itches behind her mud matted dark hair and she scratches it with her flower in hand. This is her favourite time of day, when she could get away from her ranger band and be with herself and nature, she is truly happiest here.
A sudden crunch from the north shoots Lia out of her calm state, eyes flashing open, the green irises piercing through the trees trying to see what was near. She slowly arose as to not startle the earth around her. Moving gently and gracefully, she grabs her longbow and notches an arrow in it ready to shoot whatever meant her harm. Slowly moving forward keeping her eyes steady in the direction where she heard the noise. She suddenly trips over a rope that has been tied between two trees, sending her tumbling into the hard trunk of a tree in a tangled mess of flowers and mud, her long bow and face covered in something that definitely came out of the wrong end of an animal. Wolf, perhaps? Laughs start to echo around her in her dazed state, blurry figures start to approach.
A figure bends down to Lia’s eye level “Daydreaming on the job again?” The form of Artie, a jerk with a cocky smile and arms crossed in enjoyment takes up Lia’s view. Three other forms start to become clearer to Lia; Theo, Princina and Marror loop around Lia’s dishevelled form.
“Was the rope and tripping thing truly necessary?” Lia manages to squeak out. This isn’t the first-time members of her band have decided to play tricks on her.
“You’ve always got your head in the clouds or your nose in some flower so seemed like the easiest way,” Princina shrugs and throws a ragged cloth to Lia.
“You smell like shit and Doran needs to speak with you,” Theo pipes in. Lia slowly untangles herself and begins to wipe away the scat that has accumulated on the side of her face from her fall.
“It’s been a slice kid. Love to stay and continue to watch this disaster but we got some actual hunting to do. Until next time.” Artie winks and walks away. The others follow suit laughing their way back to their post. Sighing deeply, Lia gets up and brushes herself off as best as she could. She looks around for her longbow and to her horror it is split in half. She remembers the crack and she hoped it was from her body and not her bow. The string was snapped off and the end of the bow had broken off. Gathering the pieces and putting it into her bag, taking out her dirk sheath, tying it around her waist just in case she has any more attacks from unwanted guests. Placing the two swords in their places Lia walks with purpose to the nearby creek, cupping her hands with water and washing away the rest of the mud and feces off her face and armor. If Doran was looking for her, she would have to hurry; they did not like to wait.
Darting across fallen trees and various other fauna, Lia, a little out of breath, makes her way into the large barracks. Looking more like an oversized log cabin, the barracks were well maintained, besides the constant stench of nature and animal blood. It wasn’t unusual to find animal heads mounted along hallways or in lodging rooms. But it always makes Lia uneasy and a little sad…to see all those dead animals. The years of being a ranger have made her insensitive to the morality around hunting and protecting her village. Still didn’t change the fact that she would rather talk with the animals than kill them.
Lia finally reaching the door at the end flanked by two large matching tapestries. It has a rich green background bordered by arrows and a large outline of a wolf with two arrows crossed underneath it. It is the symbol of the Pirn Rangers, and why Lia was adorned with green accents in her clothing. Even her armor has hints of green woven in. She likes the colour, but the people left a lot to be desired. Looking like she might upchuck lunch, Lia knocks quickly before losing her nerve.
A low voice answers, “Come in.” Awkwardly Lia opens the door and shuffles herself in, trying to make herself small in front of her superior. Women in power always made her nervous.
“You wanted to see me Doran,” Lia let out quickly.
Doran looks up at her, “Oh it’s just you, sit down, sit down,” motioning to a raw hide chair in front of the desk. The room was dark aside from a few candles lit and a warm fire crackling in the fireplace beside them. Almost tripping on the legs of the chair, Lia, as gracefully as she could muster, sits down and looks at her dirt caked nails, avoiding eye contact with Doran.
“Your folks are asking for you.” Doran doesn’t even look up from her paperwork. Lia’s eyes shoot up in shock.
“My parents are...my parents...w-what?” Doran looks up amused.
“They need you for something and asked to give a leave of absence from the troop.”
Lia, still in shock, tries to process everything. “Well, you said ‘no’ right? That we were too busy and under attack and… and! You can’t just let me - I mean I can’t just go and leave. You guys need me!”
Doran looks at her unimpressed and says: “Listen, things are under control here and it has been almost a year since your last leave. So, your family will be expecting you at their door tomorrow morning. Is that clear?” Lia nods quietly, looking like she had seen a ghost and without another word gets up and leaves.
Right as she shuts the door, she violently turns to her side and vomits in the corner, narrowly missing the tapestry. Taking a moment to consider things, she gets herself back up and runs down the hall and out the door unexpectedly. Lia being Lia, those who see her run out don’t bat an eye. She heads straight to the forest, dodging the known patrols during that time. Passing evergreens and thatches and leaves in a blur of green and brown, of desperation and fear, she runs deep into the forest. That is until she reaches a thick- trunked willow tree near the base of the creek. She knows the hidden hole to get through. It can be a struggle sometimes, as she is pushing 6 feet tall, but she manages to make it through. It is a well lived space, with a simple hay mattress coming apart in the corner, plain long and short bows in different nooks, with arrows and flower crowns adorning the other empty spaces. Little notches and holes from the trunk filter through and give a little light but Lia decides to light a candle anyways. Grabbing a pile of flowers and an unfinished flower garland, she sits in complete concentration, weaving twine and grass along the stems and petals of various woodland flowers. This is her home. Oftentimes she will sneak away from the barracks and come here to sleep and relax. Finally finishing the garland, Lia smiles, proud of her craft. Laying it down gently behind her mattress she looks up and sees there is no longer sunlight peeking through the trunk. Lia removes her armor and things, slides back out and begins to climb the tree. Without breaking a sweat, she reaches the top and perches herself up. The tree is grown to be one of the highest in the forest and gives a good view of the woods and the village. Seeing the bright lights makes Lia focus on the expectant village, where she would be off to in the morning. Clenching and unclenching her fist, until she is calm again, she refocuses on the trees and animals below her, swearing she sees a wolf. Watching the moon crest over her view and the stars take their place, Lia feels oddly confident and ready to face whatever her parents have in store for her.
END OF PART 1
Elizabeth Almeida©2020
