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Nescent's story

"I'd like to listen," you say. The wizard smiles a comforting smile at you.

"Would you like a cup of tea?" he asks. That sounds good right now, so you agree. While he is in the kitchen, you begin to observe more of the room. There is a grandfather clock in the corner, with a wooden owl carved into the top. On the floor, there is a black cat with tired yellow eyes. It looks at you, then rolls over and goes to sleep. You are juat admiring the walls when the scent of sage and peppermint hits you and the wizard returns with two steaming cups of tea. He sets them on the side table and sits in his chair.

"So what about why I'm here and stuff?" you ask.

"Ah yes," he says. "I suppose I should start from the beginning. You see, these woods are far more than what they seem! They look all plain, I know, but they are bustling with life! Mostly the sort of creatures you read about in books; wizards, like myself, elves, gnomes, and the like. Oh we have the shops, the schools, the various social and political groups ... pardon", he interrupts himself as you feel your eyes start to glaze over. "I ramble terribly, I know. Anyway, it all started when my sisters, Crescent and Decent, were back in wizardry school. Decent was such a good student, as was Crescent, but Crescent never liked being second best to anyone. Her sister wasn't her worry, but the various valedictorians and equally good Wizard students at the East Fresia School of Wizardry were. She would do anything to", he coughs with embarassment, "get rid of them, so to speak. In any event, one day she was caught, and expelled for it. Now of course she was very angry, so she started to lash out at the community. She did some very serious things", he adds as he sips his tea, his eyes fixed on distant memory, "and in time was ... executed ..." he ends quietly, gazing into his cup.

"I'm so sorry", you say sympathetically.

"It's quite all right", the old man replies, though his eyes look rather misty. "Now, as you may well have imagined, there were several people very upset by this, myself included. But some of the others decided to band together, and they formed a group called the Stationists. The Stationists were based on principles that any commitment to excellence should not be tampered with by any means! They believe that she, and all the other executed individuals, should have been left to their 'stations in life', thus the name. This group rose up against another group, the Regulists, who believed in traditional regulations and rules. To shorten the story considerably, matters soon degenerated into a struggle for power. As the Regulists held authority, of course, Stationist after Stationist was being arrested and ... well, I don't want to dwell on that. I had a few close friends that were part of the Stationists, though, and I allowed them to quarter here for a time. Let's see, there was an elf named Kella, three dwarves by the names of Piddle, Waddle, and Noodle, and of course a Leprechaun, he called himself Ginny. And it was these five that decided that the Stationists were to seperate from the Regulists and start their own society! In order to get the land, of course, they needed the aid of an elder, and, well", he chuckles, "I am that. Of course, history or no, I had to require a price in return! Can't give magic for free, you know, or you'll have every man and beast in the nation at your door. Well, not so much a price, as a gift ... a gift to all of the woods of East Fresia! My friends guard this land, you see. Or", he smirks, "you do not see. These woods appear so plain because all our kind within it are now invisible. You saw my cabin because you were changed by my power, and your little police friend ... I'm afraid he saw it because of his confused state of mind." He shakes his head. "That's the problem with spells of the mind. Tarribly ineffective against mad folk. In an event, it remains this way because of a spell that I must perform every thousand years. It is almost one thousand years to the night that the spell was last performed, and I am missing an ingredient that is located in the darkest and most dangerous caves of North Marigold," he explains.

"Now, I am not nearly so young and spry as I used to be," he continues, "so I sent my friends on the journey to retrieve it, so that the Folk of East Fresia remain invisible. Let's see now, Ginny was their leader, Piddle second in command, Noodle in charge of carrying the heavier baggage, Kella was to keep track of routes and rations and what not, and Waddle was to look out for any danger. Now to enter these caves, they needed a special crystal from North Fresia. So, I sent them to retrieve it. Kella warned me of the policeman in the area, so I created a diversion. Well, you distracted the policeman nicely, and come to think of it, my band should be returning any moment now."

He settles further into his chair and takes a long sip of tea, leaving you to ponder what he's told you.

Written by BranchistBunny (edited by wanderer)

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