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Landsbyen -Into the North- An Epic Poem 61

In the cottage Dyndoeth spoke with Joulupukki.  
     “I simply do not see any way that you can accomplish the goals you have set in the amount of time that has been given.  As noble as your desire is, to return your father and your mother to the Village would take far longer than
forty days.  I would suggest you wait until after the coronation.  No one could desire to have Erlenkönig and Aisling returned to the Village more than I, but what choice do we have.  Even with good weather it would take months for a good team of deer pulling a light sleigh to reach the area where your father now rests.”
     “You are not helping Dyndoeth.  I understand what you are saying but Gwaldon can not guarantee how long his marker will last and it will be beyond his ability to set it long before the forty turns of the earth are up.  Walk with me.”
They both rose from the table and headed out of the back door.  Lumi and Gwaldon met them by the stable.  The four of them stepped into the door where Rådyrvokter was feeding and watering the deer.
     “Can I help you,” Joulupukki asked Rådyrvokter.
     “This is no work for a King,” the Stable Elf replied.
     “Would you like some help or not,” Joulupukki's question had a bit of an edge to it.
     “Certainly, my...”
     “Don't say it.” Joulupukki stopped the Stable Elf before he could continue.
     “As I was saying, Joulupukki, my... stable friends enjoy a bit of grain with their hay, if you would grab a bucket and fill it from the bin and pour it in, I'll get water from outside and fill the other one.”
Joulupukki looked a bit embarrassed as he opened the bin and started to scoop out the grain.
     “Not that one, five grains of that will have the deer floating all around the ceiling for the next few days.”
Floating around the ceiling, he had wondered what it was like to watch the deer as their feet lifted from the ground.  Joulupukki moved to the other bin and filled his bucket pouring it into the trough.  He scooped another bucket and added it to the first.  The deer gathered around the trough and started eating it.  Sprinteren took a bite and stood there for a few minutes seemingly waiting for something.  The Stable Elf made his way back through the door and poured the two buckets of clean water into the second trough.  
     “Sprinteren,” he said.  “You won't be lifting off of the ground with this food.  Eat up before it's all gone.  Poor thing, I've brought you some fresh water.”  He ruffled the deer's hair as he walked over to join the group.  “Ever since the first time he ate that food he has wanted to walk along the rafters.  I've never seen anything like it.”
     “Walk along the rafters?”  The half elf questioned.  Can they actually change directions while they float in the air?”
     “I have only seen Sprinteren do it, but, yes, it's as if he is swimming through the air, such a strange sight.”
     “Is it harmful to the deer?” Joulupukki continued.  The Stable elf turned to him and gave him a look that was difficult to read, somewhere between offended and incredulity.  “I'm sorry I asked, Rådyrvokter.  I know you would never do anything to hurt the deer.  I have a nugget of an idea, and if it works it may solve the problem I have.  Gather around everyone.”  He requested of all the elves present.  Most were already seated on clumps of hay or on a couple of bales that had been placed along the wall.  “Dyndoeth has been kind enough to be my pragmatic conscious in my quest to retrieve my parents and return them to the Village.  He has on several occasions made me aware that a team of deer pulling a sleigh could never make the trip in the time I have allotted.  Gwaldon, on the other hand has made it clear that I have only a limited window for his beacon to be able guide me to my father's current resting place.  I have just thought of a way that maybe I will be able to accomplish this.  Please keep an open mind to my suggestion and give me feed back so we can decide the feasibility of what I am about to propose.  It is a long shot and may not even be possible.”
     “Go on,” Lumi prodded him.

Copyright © James Inman | Year Posted 2021

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