Kuzma’s tale of the Petrified Forest
Sitting down and getting comfortable, you realize that she is settling in for a long story now that she has your undivided attention. The others of the homestead crowd into the great hall to listen, and the children huddle on the floor near her as she holds a candle in her hand to let its glow light her face eerily.
“Ack! Hhrrraaack! Could you fetch me some red root tea, as my voice may not last the night. Thank you, and now I will tell you all the legend of the Stone Forest.”
Finally she begins slowly, “Long, long ago there once was a wizard named Bosemern. He had loved a young baron’s daughter who was called Leslee, and she, being a young pretty thing, spurned the affections of all men who pursued her. Bosemern was a persistent young wizard though, as most wizards are, and sought to woo her with the aid of his growing talent. But it wasn’t talent that Leslee was interested in, no, she was a woman who liked men of action, those who performed great deeds of good and honored her with the gifts from such exploits. Naturally the young wizard choose to mimic the heroic deeds that were done by other men, only using his magic and guile to outwit opponents to get rewards. Still though Leslee paid Bosemern no heed, as these deeds had all been done before.
Word spread of Leslee’s beauty and of her many failed suitors, and before long knights, scholars, entertainers and nobles from all of the surrounding baronies came to vie for her affections. They each came bearing gifts of silk, gold, statues, and telling fanciful tales of legendary deeds of strength, will or judgment they had performed, one more grandiose than the next. One by one they were all turned down by Leslee’s father, a prominent Baron at that time, until there were none left save six. Now these men were no pushovers, and Bosemern had rightly earned his place among them.
First was the bachelor baron from the east. He wore long flowing gowns more beautiful and intricate than the Leslee had ever seen. Her eyes were transfixed upon his robes so much that she never heard a word he spoke. When he tried to coax words from her lips she merely sputtered in confusion. It was clear to Leslee’s father that a man who wished to be as pretty as his daughter would never do, as the competition for elegant clothing and who would be prettier in it would eventually be the downfall of them both, and a marriage between them would be doomed.
Second was a man with the opposite posture on hygiene; he was an unkempt man from the north who wore furs and pelts and used expensive oils to cover up his own scent. He had learned since a child to cover his scent using the scents of other animals to hide his own when hunting prey and he had thought the same strategy would work for stalking the lovely Leslee. However his tactic backfired when he entered the court! He had used so many fragrances and had doused his self so much in them that as soon as he walked in everyone began sneezing and their eyes stung with the thickness of the smell of sweet flowers. Before long the court could no longer stand the fumes and begged that the man leave, claiming that they felt suddenly ill, not a far venture from the truth.
Next was thin man carrying a lute and had bells strung around each of his ankles so that he jingled and jangled when he walked. The man struck up a song as an introduction to who he was and his many great accomplishments that he had done, boasting about slaying a dragon with only a violin, and of how he had saved the baron of his faraway town from falling into a well-laid trap by his political adversaries. According to the man’s song he had used steel, wit and magic to best nearly everyone, on his only quest to find the love of his dreams. Song after song the man played, each trying to tug at the heartstrings of the young Leslee. The candles burned low, and yet the man sang on, his fingers wearing raw from strumming his lute, and the jingle of bells from his dancing and tapping in the court changed into a cacophony of rattles. When the man had finally finished, the court had all fallen into a deep sleep! He had lost his audience along the way, and when the Baron awoke he realized he was being scolded for not listening to the man’s tall tales to the end! The man then tried to demand payment, claiming that the Baron had used his daughter to trick him to entertain for free! The Baron kicked him out and he was never heard from again.
Following that was a nobleman, a man whose family had been wealthy for centuries and who had considerable clout when it came to land and money. The Baron’s eyes opened wide at the sight of the bejeweled young noble. The noble talked with the Baron and offered many tracts of land as well as chests of gold and jewels. The Baron’s eyes grew even wider. The noble then offered the services of his family to acquire the best horses and food for both the Baron and his daughter. Wider still grew the Baron’s eyes, and Leslee cowered at the thought of marrying this spoiled child who had used money to buy everything he had ever wanted. The nobleman then spoke of how their united lands would be the greatest any of the other barons had seen, and everyone would be jealous of not only their land but also own their most beautiful woman! Both the Baron and Leslee recoiled at the thought. It would mean the Baron’s land would be swallowed up by this greedy noble, and Leslee was a mere toy in this nobleman’s game to acquire more wealth! Not this time, thought the Baron, and dismissed him with a polite thank you. His daughter thanked her father profusely for saving her from such a fate.
Bosemern then entered the court. With a sudden flash a table full of flasks, vials, glass tubes and strange powders appeared in front of him. Waving the guards to stand back, the Baron was curious to see what the wizard had invented for their amusement this day. Whisking powders together with boiling liquids, Bosemern talked about how magic could eventually be the sole source to nearly all of mankind’s needs. At first he produced a few sugary candies that he shared with all as they watched him twirl a reluctant volunteer to be suspended then spun through the air like an autumn leaf! Bosemern created illusion after illusion, and trick after trick to impress them all time and again. He conjured up songbirds to sing for them and drenched Leslee in an illusion of an exquisite golden dress! He summoned invisible servants to carry the Baron around wherever he wished, and created sweet oils and necklaces of pearls for Leslee! He showered the court in butterflies and rose petals and pulled charming kittens from his sleeves! As his final display, Bosemern created a perfect stone replica of Leslee, only the statue was three times as tall! Dazzled and amazed they all were at how much Bosemern had learned and Leslee started to picture a fine life with him. Just as she was dreamily imagining living a life immersed in magical illusion, the spells started to give way. They collapsed one by one, stealing away the feelings of grandeur and promise they had felt. Leslee felt her heart go hollow afterward and dismissed Bosemern with a wave of her hand, refusing to even look into his eyes.
Lastly was a man with long hair and a flower above his one ear. His hawk-like eyes scanned the court as he walked in unassuming. His clothing was that of a nobleman about to embark on a fox hunt, and Leslee sunk back into her seat groaning in disappointment once again. The man whistled an engaging melody and the bluest of blue jays fluttered down to rest on his shoulder. He whispered quietly to the bird while the rest of the court looked on a little impatiently. The man smiled and the bird flew high up into the court before resting on the chair next to a much startled Leslee. The blue jay hopped up to her shoulder and carried the whisper that the man had meant only for her to hear. In his voice it said to her that they should leave this stuffy court, and that she was unhappy with her life so far because she had never had the chance to enjoy the outdoors. Come, it said, join me for a day in the groves of the forest, in the windy fields and feeling your feet in fresh pools of water. Only then will you know your true calling. Sure enough Leslee sprang from her seat and darted for the door.
The next day the worried Baron brought the other five suitors to his court and told them the first to bring his missing daughter back would be her new husband. Without delay they each set out to find her. Bosemern took his time to investigate what had happened, and immediately headed to the heart of the forest, to the south east, and passed through this very spot where we live! Now Bosemern put all the pieces together and started to realize that this man who had supposedly abducted Leslee was a druid of some old order.
You see, this man they were searching for was a man of the wood, an ancient animal spiritualist who had claimed the young Leslee for what he thought she truly was – a Nymph! Could it be that she was? It seemed only he knew, and he was trying to bring her back to her natural home!
Bosemern delved deep into the forest, searching with all of his talents. Scouting to and fro, he had exhausted himself in unrelenting search for Leslee and lay down in the forest to finally rest. It was then that she discovered him! She gazed down at him, with lovely flowers strewn through her long hair, as he slept in the warm afternoon light. With a light touch she woke him from his days’ long deep sleep, and he immediately reached out and embraced her with tears of joy. Finally he had her, he had found her, and he had worked so hard for her, and had earned her this day. Holding her back from him for a moment, he then saw that she was strange somehow – she had become someone new, a different being. Bosemern cursed the unknown druid who had dragged her there, cursed him for ever touching her and transforming her in a Nymph, to be some type of servant of his for the rest of her days.
Then she began to explain that it was her choice, that this is who she was all along, and that the druid had done nothing wrong. Furious, Bosemern spun around to face her, and tell her that he had known all her all of her life, and that this was not her, and would not be her fate. She repeatedly tried to quash his anger, and was only met with resentment and curses. Finally she resorted to using her unearthly beauty to try to seduce Bosemern, but instead it only angered him, and made him curse the forest and everything in it. Knowing a little about Nymphs, Bosemern knew that Leslee would have a tree as a part of her being, and he vowed that he would find that tree and free her of the bark-bound anchor! Leslee pleaded with Bosemern, that she did not wish to go back to her dull life, and to take care of her father.
But the years and years of love in Bosemern would not be changed so quickly, and he stubbornly refused. Bosemern then began using his vast resources of magic to find the tree that Leslee would be linked with. In her own defense Leslee used her beauty to blind Bosemern, hoping that it would stop him from destroying what she loved so much! Crippled, Bosemern instead unleashed his full fury of magic, but without his sight he couldn’t tell where his spells were going. In all of his fury he had hoped to encase Leslee in a prison of stone before bringing her back to her father the Baron. Instead, his spells of stone stuck the forest itself, dooming the trees to stone tombs! Spell after spell he launched as Leslee ran from him, weeping as she went.
Days went by as Bosemern struck out, furiously casting every stone enchantment he knew. The life of the forest became silent around him, and after his wrath was spent he heard a quiet voice nearby. It was the man who had ‘taken’ Leslee away, and he spoke gently about helping the sightless Bosemern. He said his name was Skystream, a druid as Bosemern had guessed, and had sought to return Leslee to her natural home after living in the cities of men for too long. Having neither the will nor magic left to throw at the man, Bosemern conceded to let the man try to restore his sight. Just as Skystream had laid his hand across Bosemern’s eyes, Leslee cried out for him to stop. Bosemern felt Skystream turn and go rigid and silent. Feeling the man’s hand on his eyes, Bosemern felt the hard surface of stone instead of Skystream’s hand. Horrified, Bosemern recoiled and fell backwards to the ground, fumbling to find footing.
Leslee came to Bosemern and helped him to his feet as he asked what had happened. Her skin, which had been softer than buttermilk, was now scaly and cold. She asked if he understood now, as he felt a number of snakes weave around his neck and shoulders from her direction. She had become a Medusa! She had saved him by not letting Skystream heal his sight, and as his final curse he would be forever blind, with her beauty as the last image he would ever see burned into his memory. Now, she said, that he had cursed her back to live without beauty and without beauty to surround her. But Leslee promised to be with him forever if he would accept her as she was. Bosemern, still in love with her, agreed.
Together they stay in the forest; Bosemern without his sight was unable to learn the magic necessary to undo his spells but was safe from his love, and Leslee was afraid to let anyone see her again. And together they still live there in the Stone Forest, neither leaving the other’s side.”
Kuzma shifts again, and sets down the low burning candle on the table next to her. “Now,” she says, “what would you do young adventurers? Why is it that you are so interested?” The inquisitiveness in her voice barely masks the tone of judgment she insinuates with your answer. “Well, we want to get to bed sometime tonight, yes?”
