Wind, Fire, and Stupid Beasts

A sudden wind blasted flames from unattended campfires, igniting the surrounding undergrowth. The flames continued increasing as the gale fanned the fire further and lit dried clumps of tall grass, low branches, and trees. Fueled by dry conditions and spread by relentless wind, a massive forest fire marched through the woods, consuming everything in its path.

Jorton, a hamlet hastily built in the middle of Trungen Forest, consisted of a few cottages, barns, and stables. Nimmo, the Lady of the Woods, and her family founded the small community as a means of protection. In a previous story involving Lady Nimmo, she was kidnapped – excuse me, I mean "invited" – by Lord Balister to create a stumper army for him. She refused and cleverly escaped from the mad lord.

Although she would not create an army for him, she did for herself. Using her magic ability to carve tree stumps into living beings, called stumpers, she enlisted several to guard her against any more "invitations." Adding to this rise in stumper population, a few dwarf friends built cottages near hers, insisting on staying as additional protection. A few months later, three men with their families moved in. The men served with Jor, Lady Nimmo's father, in the King's Guard. Although retired and much older, they could still wield a sword with the best of them. However, none of those skills prepared them for the unsuspected armageddon roaring their way.

Sitting around a door that had been repurposed as a table, Flimlet and three other dwarves played a high-stakes card game called Selwyn Hold 'em.

"You look confident, but I doubt you have enough to beat my pair of dragons," Flimlet said.

"Just talk. If you had a pocket pair, you would have already raised," a dwarf sitting across from Flimlet said.

"Fine! I'll raise you five coins!"

"Five? Huh?" He checked his two cards: a blue lord and a red lady. The five cards facing up in the middle of the table revealed a yellow lord and a green lady, giving him two pairs, but there was also one red dragon. "You don't have two dragons," he said.

"Then call."

Beads of sweat rolled from the dwarf holding the lord and lady. He only had seven coins remaining. "Fine! I see your five and raise you…"

A shout warned of fire. Two more came from stumper guards on the east side of the hamlet. Those inside cottages stepped outdoors, and those working in the gardens froze when they saw the flames racing towards them.

"To the river! To the river!" Lady Nimmo shouted.

The shocked citizens recovered and followed Lady Nimmo, making a mad dash for the river.

"Jump in! It's our only hope!" Lady Nimmo halted at the river's bank, ensuring everyone made it. She hastily counted and recounted. Only after verifying no one was left behind did she jump in herself.

The flames overtook the cottages, barns, and staples; even the door table with disregarded cards ignited. But when the inferno reached the river, it died down quickly, extinguished by the flowing water. Although the river contained the fire, the hamlet and surrounding trees still burned.

A line of men, dwarves, and stumpers slinked from the river to the nearest cottage, passing buckets of water from one to another. Others beat at the flames with their cloaks. Lady Nimmo barked orders, threw buckets of water, beat out flames, and showed herself as the great leader everyone knew she was. As she did all this, she noticed the wind behaving oddly. It was too strong for a cloudless sky. Only storms blew this hard. It also did not vary in speed, blowing consistently in an unnatural way. The wind came from the other side of a hill east of them.

"Dad!" Lady Nimmo had to yell to get her father's attention. The wind and commotion was deafening. "I'm going to check the other side of the hill," she pointed, "Take over."

Jor nodded, then shouted for Flimlet to join her. For good measure, he ordered a half-dozen stumpers to accompany them, including the captain of the stumper guard, Oakaford.

The going was treacherous as the wind blasted them, flinging small sticks, some still on fire, and ash into their faces. The smoke prevented them from seeing far. However, the stumpers fared better. They were impervious to pain and unaffected by smoke, so they led the way, blocking most of the debris from Flimlet and Lady Nimmo.

While Lady Nimmo pressed on, shielding her eyes, she noticed that there was no smoke a few feet from them, and the trees weren't moving. Pointing out her discovery, the detachment made their way south and walked from windy chaos into sunny, calm, and windless conditions.

"What is this magic that shoots wind like an arrow?" Oakaford asked.

"I have no idea," Lady Nimmo said. "But be careful. Who knows what we're up against?"

"Agh!" Shouted Flimlet. "I left my axe!"

"It's alright, don't worry about it," Lady Nimmo said.

"Worry! It's not that. It's just maddening to think how many times I've taken my axe to the privy with me just in case," Flimlet pounded his fist against a passing tree. "Maddening!"

"You take your axe to go pee?" Oakaford shook his body. "Dwarves are odd creatures."

"I'm odd?" Flimlet looked Oakaford up and down. "A walking, talking stump calls me odd. Sure, why not."

It was an eerie experience to see the wind bend and sway, blazing trees just a few feet away while they ran in a cheery and calm wood. They moved quickly around the hill and climbed up the southern slope. When they reached the top, they gasped. Standing shoulder to shoulder in a single line was a rare herd of Ellawyns: boulder-sized beasts covered with long hair, enormous furry heads, and giant mouths able to blow hurricane-force winds.

Although docile by nature, the Ellawyns use their power to literally blow their enemies away when startled or threatened. One glance told them what had happened. The herd must have been surprised by the campfires and reacted with tornado-like breath, causing the fire to spread.

"What should we do?" Flimlet asked.

"For one, lower your voice," Lady Nimma said.

But it was too late. Ellawyns have super hearing. They ceased blowing and turned towards the party. Their plate-sized eyes widened, and they sucked in a copious amount of air.

"This can't be good," Flimlet said.

And he was right. The brown-haired beasts unleashed a tornadic blast of wind, knocking them off their feet. Some slid on their backs and others on their stomachs as the mighty rush of air pushed them through the woods. Eventually, everyone grabbed hold of a tree and took refuge from the blast.

Lady Nimmo sat with her back against a tree, attempting to devise a plan. She hadn't seen an Ellawyn since she was a little girl when her father and she took a hike through a wooded area near Selwyn. The beasts were eating grass and took no notice of the two of them. They were used to seeing people. What did Dad say about them? She thought, something about their… what? What was it? She frantically searched back until it finally came to her. "Their legs!" She shouted aloud.

"Oakaford!" Lady Nimmo shouted.

"Yes, my Lady!"

"I need you to sneak up on their flank. We will keep their attention. When you get there, roll on the ground and trip them! Their legs are skinny and tall and are easily tripped." A limb struck Nimmo on the forehead, giving her a small gash. She covered it with her hand.

"My Lady!" Oakaford made to help her, but she waved him back.

"I'm fine. It's merely a flesh wound. Now go! Hurry!"

Lady Nimmo and the others distracted the winded beasts as best they could, considering the challenge of remaining upright. Two stumpers were rolled by the wind so far that no one could see them. Flimlet ventured too far from his tree and was picked up and thrown into a large tree trunk, almost knocking him out.

Oakaford made it to the Ellawyn's flank. He laid down and rolled. None of the beasts noticed him until one after another fell. The entire line lay in a pitiful pile of moans and grunts. They looked for the cause, but their tiny brains could not figure out how a log lying near them could be the reason. So they returned to Lady Nimmo and her party.

She had scarcely regained her balance when she saw the beast opening their enormous mouths. "Not good!" She tried skirting a tree to shield herself, but the wind hit her before she could, knocking her down and rolling her back. Her speed increased to a dangerous degree, tumbling her straight towards a large clump of trees. In her end-over-end state, she clearly thought, This is it! But a few yards before she hit the wall of trunks, the wind suddenly stopped – Oakaford had tripped the beast again.

Ellawyns are stupid, but even they finally figured out something odd was happening, causing them to keep falling. Unable to defend themselves against the unseen enemy, they turned and ran down the hill opposite the hamlet, disappearing among the trees.

The citizens of Jorton eventually gained control of the flames and began to salvage what they could of their belongings. Lady Nimmo organized a hasty census and discovered no one had perished. Nevertheless, many stumpers were charred, and a few men and dwarfs suffered severe burns. The healers attended to the men and dwarves, and Lady Nimmo carved out the charred wood from the stumpers, artistically creating a better-looking version.

Over time, Jorton returned to its pre-Ellawyn condition. Actually, it improved. Many farmers who were helped by Lady Nimmo brought their tools, stumpers, and families to rebuild. During the construction, an outdoor pub was established to feed and give drink to the numerous workers. A hostel was added to provide beds for the temporary residence. Later, when the work was finished, the hostel was converted into an inn with a dozen cozy rooms. And Lady Nimmo began to teach the children who were too young to help how to carve.

When the work was finished, Jorton transitioned from a hamlet into a full-fledged village, as many decided to remain. Lady Nimmo wouldn't say she was glad for the disaster, but she harbored secret thoughts—thoughts that Jorton wouldn't be as lovely, prosperous, or full as it is today without those stupid beasts.