Story 2: The Valley of Mists

It’s a bright, cool spring morning in the lowlands, and the sky is clear overhead. Yet a cloud of sorts still manages to hang over the village hall where the elders of Wicker’s Dale are gathered.

Like any good halfling building, it’s a cozy sort of place, with neat timber walls and a low, latticed ceiling. The main meeting-table makes for an impressive centrepiece – finely made from local hardwood, positioned by the stone fireplace so that all present can sit in comfort. Despite the homeliness of the setting, however, a hiss of disquieted whispers marks the current mood, the assembled elders still bickering over an already-made decision.

This is, after all, a respectable halfling village; a sleepy place, peaceful, whose folk prefer to keep their noses firmly out of trouble. But trouble has found them nonetheless, and so the elders have made the unwelcome choice of calling upon the aid of a tall-folk adventurer.

Well, “tall-folk” is a relative term; the adventurer they’ve found would not be considered “tall” in most other company. Her height, though, isn’t the proportion that most of the halflings have noticed – especially the men. The travel cloak she’s drawn around herself, perhaps to maintain a sense of mystique, only serves to outline the lush curve of her hips and her round ass as she stoops beneath the low ceiling of the village hall. And when she sits at the meeting table, she has little choice but to lean forward a little in order to look her hosts in the eye – giving the taller among them a straight-line view into the cleavage of her expansive breasts, the teardrop shapes of which are squeezed just a little too tightly into her form-fitting corseted top.

Her name is Luxara. Most people who know her call her Lux. She’s used to the stares, and to glares of disapproval for that matter; no matter how she dresses, little things – like the unnatural grey-white of her skin, the blood-red of her eyes, and the two small horns above her forehead – still tend to draw attention. Not to mention those who do look at her face, only to tell her that she’d be prettier if she smiled more. She’s found it better to be uncompromising and to let them think what they will, as long as they don’t think to cross her.

So, ignoring the aside-glances and open looks of hostility, she settles into her seat, drumming a finger on the tabletop as she waits for the assembled elders to settle themselves down and decide who’s going to speak for them.

Finally, a consensus – or a lack of energy for further bickering – appears to win the day. One of the elders, a stout man with a bushy, silvered moustache, clears his throat and turns towards Lux. To his credit, he looks at her eyes on the first try.

“Thank you, first of all,” he says, “for giving us your time. And I apologise that the hospitality of our village has been marred by this worrisome matter.”

Lux gives a nod. “What is this ‘worrisome matter’?” she asks.

“Well – it has to do with Hollowstone,” the elder says. “Do you know the place? It’s a little town, some way upriver. Folk of all shapes and sizes work the quarry there. We sell them fruit and grain, you see, and they repay us with good stone, and other needfuls. And every year, many of them join us for the spring festival, to celebrate the dawning of a new year together.”

He sighs. “The festival was two weeks ago. Nary a soul came down from Hollowstone. And none have visited since. Just last week, Olga the pedlar set out that way – she promised to bring word back to us. But she’s not returned.”

“Sounds like bandits on the road,” Lux says.

“Maybe…maybe so.” The elder shrugs his shoulders resignedly. “We’ve never had that kind of trouble in these parts. But in any case – if you’re willing, we’ll pay you to find out what’s what. See if our neighbours up that way need any help.”

More grumbling. Many of these others might balk at actually sending help. But the one who’s spoken comes across as earnest enough to Lux. She sits back slightly as she considers her choice.

“Fine,” she says, after a moment, “let’s talk about that payment…”