Story: Spring at Llyne of Mossly Woods - Village Witch #1

[nsfwords]

So I'm going to try a very NEW creative writing endeavor. I recently purchased the solo TTRPG game Village Witch as part of the Solo But Not Alone game bundle that supports Jasper's Game Day. I immediately was hooked by the theme and the simple game mechanics and have decided that the writings I create by playing the game would be incredibly fun to share! If you visit the Village Witch page the author Kestrel Rae gives a great introduction to her game & how it is played.

To get started I invited a group of close friends to help me create the Witch I'll be writing about and starting now I intend to play a session at least twice a month & post the resulting story so that anyone who's interested can follow along with her adventure!

The 1st session was inspired by the world & character building prompts within the game and fills the "Handshake" square on my January Fresh Starts Bingo card. 721 words.

Spring at Llyne of Mossly Woods

Edwina Mallyson Stevedore strolled down the cool forest path, overshadowed by the canopy of the vast Mossly Woods, clutching her mechanical crank broom in one hand and an overstuffed leather carry-all-case in the other. The woods grew so thick & dense that she'd had to land her broom at a clearing about a mile off from Llyne of Mossly Woods proper and make the rest of the walk into town on foot.

Edwina had flown off from the Arcane Order's Eastborne campus just a week after her graduation ceremony and headed straight to the first town on her list of locations seeking for a new Witch-in-Residence. There hadn’t even been time to make a stop at home to see her parents and siblings back in Port Haemouth, the timeline to secure her new position and home was only a single year. Should she fail to find a town that suited her or accepted her permanently she'd be recalled to the Order and reassigned to a coven or possibly even the Arcane Forces Battalion within the Queendom's Army. 

The path towards Llyne of Mossly Woods curved around massive old growth oaks, towering white pines, and stands of quaking aspen. The pines stood evergreen, but only the pink tipped green of unfurling buds adorned the oak and aspen. Along the winding trail bloomed toad lily, tiny spring beauty, and funny little Sailor's Pantaloons. Edwina knew her mother would have loved a fresh pick of any of the woods abundant wild flowers, but she dared not touch them, for her Mineral Affinity would wilt them quickly and the salt taint would ruin any herbalist's blends her mother could concoct.

Upon a final bend of the trail the young witch stopped and stared, gape mouthed, at the sudden appearance of Llyne of Mossly Woods above her head. The path met with a winding wooden staircase around an ancient oak and lead upwards thirty feet to the first landing of the town above. No one had told her the city was literally in the trees! Small platforms circled and protruded from the surrounding tree trunks like great shelf mushrooms, connected by rope bridges, and covered in dangling swings and individual rope ladders. Upon the shelves were buildings of various construction; some appearing to have been woven of twisted vines, others made of more common planked wood, and several more were massive boles within the trees themselves, bulging forwards, with small windows carved through the bark.

She gulped and set foot on the first stair riser to begin her journey up above. At home in Port Haemouth she'd rarely been higher than a short 6 ft. ladder and had certainly never considered someone living above the ground. Steeling herself she made the climb, clutching her broom and carry-all-case.

At the top of the first platform she was greeted with her first sight of the people of Llyne of Mossly Woods. A small gathering of men and women were chatting to one another towards the far right of the terrace, dressed in simple workman's clothes, although effort seemed to have been made with hair pomades and cosmetics all around. Abruptly one of the women spotted Edwina, nudged the gentleman next to her, and they all turned sharply to stare at Edwina.

"Merry meet," She cautioned towards the group. 

"Merry meet," came a twittered chorus from the crowd. Then a gentleman of medium height and moderate girth strode forward, extended his hand towards Edwina, and when she dropped her carry-all-case to grasp his palm he gave a mighty heaving handshake and a small non-committal smile.

"Witch Prospect Edwina Stevedore, I presume? I'm councilman Ky Telvere of Llyne of Mossly Woods. Well met and welcome to our town." He released her arm and stepped back, waving the other's forward. "The rest of the council are here to greet you as well, and we've planned a small meal in the central meeting hall to welcome you to our home."

"Thank you, that sounds lovely. I look forward to meeting everyone and settling in." The introductions began, names running across Edwina's mind without catching, as she was lead deeper into the trees, clutching anxiously at the rope supports of the bridges, and deliberately not looking down. This was going to be a new adventure in so many more ways than she'd anticipated!

Comments

[asphiandreamer]

I love the idea of pairing a simple game with other prompts and creative exercises! I love the words you choose when writing. Your environmental descriptions are great and I instantly felt like I could see the Mossly Woods. Also, phrases like merry meet, witch prospect, and even Edwina's full name. It all lends to a nice ambient feel that all ties together. I'm excited to watch Edwina's journey. :)