The Orc and the Quill

It was a cold and lonely night in the city of Albion. The cobblestone streets were filled with people from all walks of life. The bazaar was a bright array of shades of amber and violet, and the air was filled with sweet exotic scents from lands far away. Godwin sat alone on his balcony. He saw the entire city for miles. The moon slowly rose from its slumber to embrace the city in its comforting light.

A part of him wanted to go down and enjoy the festivities.  But Godwin rather enjoyed the company of a quill and parchment. 

He thought about the quill and how he had found it on the side of a road outside the city.

But here he was hours later, with no inspiration. He dipped his quill in ink and wrote.

"Lord  Odin sat upon his lofty throne alone."  He put the quill down and brainstormed the following few words he should write. He heard a sound while gazing at the Moonlite mountains in the distance. Scribble, scribble, scribble. The quill was writing.

"Ahhh!" 

The quill did not notice and just kept writing. Godwin quickly grabbed the box the quill was in and slowly reached for it like he was about to squash a bug. It stopped writing as he reached for it and gently eased itself into his hand. He locked it quickly in the box and, for a brief moment, thought. I should throw this over the edge.

However, something stopped him, and he just placed it on the small table before him. He didn't know how he should feel. A part of him was terrified, heart racing and extreme anxiety, but also a hint of curiosity.  Magical items were common; however, he only saw magical items that acted on command, never one that acted uninstructed. He looked around to see if anyone was playing tricks on him. None of his neighbors were out, and the crowd below was focused on the festivities. Godwin shot a glare at the box. Godwin looked at the parchment to see what it had written.

"Why was King Odin alone?" That is what was written. Godwin's curiosity got the better of him. He reached for the box slowly as if it were to jump out and stab him. Damn, pull yourself together. You're an orc. It's just a quill. What's the worst that could happen. He thought.

Click. Godwin opened the box and took the quill in his hand. Plop, Plop, he dipped it back into the ink pot and wrote.

"Who are you or what are you?" 

The quill wiggled in his hand; he eased its grip on it so it could write its response.

"My name is Ava. What I am is your quill bound to serve you."

"Serve me?" "Is this a Jinni in a quill?" He thought 

"Are you a jinni?"

"Not exactly who I am or who I was does not matter. I'm here to serve thee."

"So what do you do exactly?"

"Write what you desire, and you shall have it; however,  be careful what you write, for you can not take it back."

"I don't know what I want."

"Let me make this easy for you. Do you want love?"

"No."

"Do you want untold vast riches? Could you get a new parchment ready? I feel I'm nearing the end of this page."

Godwin hadn't realized how much space was already taken up. He pulled out a new piece.

"To answer your last question…No."

"Okay… how about power? How does that sound like love? I can tell by your grip you're an Orc. Orcs love power, don't they?"

"Sorry to disappoint, I'm a strange Orc. No, I don't want power."

"I don't understand what you want?"

Godwin thought for a moment.  What do I…want? He just noticed that this was the most in-depth conversation he's had with anyone. He felt pretty relieved to be able to speak to someone. He knew at that moment what he wanted was company. He wrote.

"I like company."

"Wonderful we're making progress love thank you. What kind of company are we talking about? The romantic kind?"

"No… Your company is fine."

The quill stopped writing momentarily and wiggled its way into Godwin's hand. Bounced and swayed around the parchment as though it were confused. It then turned sharply, facing Godwin, slowly moving inches closer to him. He felt like it was giving him a strange and irritated glare. Odd, it had no eyes or face, but he could feel its frustration. It turned its back sharply at him, lodged itself between his fingers, and nudged his hand to the parchment. It wrote

“ I…Wish….For…”

"Tell me more about yourself."

The quill gave in.

"You're strange for an Orc and definitely the most interesting one that has held me. For once I don't feel like I'm being used. What do you want to know?"

"What is your name? Where are you from, and how did you end up in this quill."

"My name is Ava. I come from the Briar lands. How I ended up here is a long and complicated story."

"Summarize it for me. I have time."

"You're the first Orc or anyone who's ever shown a keen interest in me instead of my abilities. You're very strange, and I like it."

"That's because I understand what it feels like to go unnoticed and for others to see how they can benefit from you."

"Well, to keep a long story short, I was once an elf, a wood elf, to be more precise. As I said, I was raised in the Briar lands. Definitely not the place you'd want to raise a family. Full of werewolves, vampires, and necromancers.  I was the daughter of a witch…"

"That's unfortunate."

"yes, especially when I figured out what my mother had planned for me. I never knew who my father was. My mother told me he was just a traveler who used her for her body and left her. I asked if I had any sisters, and she said I did, but they had passed on."

Godwin flipped the parchment so she could continue telling her tale.

"My mother would raise me until I was at the ripe age of 20. I was young and beautiful and had long Auburn hair. Many young men wanted my attention…I…" 

Ava stopped writing.

"Is something wrong? If it pains you to continue, then you can stop."

"No, it's been some time since I spoke about this."

"How long?"

"300 hundred years.."

Godwin's problems seemed less serious now. He couldn't empathize with Ava, but he did sympathize with her.

"She told me to come in one day and look at a beautiful quill she had made. And asked me to test the ink in it for her on a parchment.

I then wrote my name, and shortly afterward, she uttered an incantation. The sensation I felt was my soul being torn from my body, like cotton caught on thorns.

Godwin grimaced at the description.

"As my soul left my body, I was transferred to this quill, and I could see my mother's soul entering my body and leaving her skin. I found out later that the skin she was in was that of her previous daughter. And now, Here I am serving my Purpose."

"How did you escape her?"

"I don't know. I just prayed and got whisked away in some random part of the world."

"The three wishes you can grant?" Godwin wrote

"Are a failsafe just in case she was to lose me. People would be so focused on their needs and their desires. And I would not have control of myself or my actions. I can't speak unless commanded to or asked a question.."

Godwin thought momentarily, and an idea suddenly zapped into his mind. He grabbed another parchment and wrote.

"I wish for the skills and abilities required of me to help you break free."

"Why are you doing this?"

"Because all my life I've been stuck in this damned city, I want to experience life and tell stories. And help others where I can. So, How do we break this curse?"

"You have to bring me to the Briarlands, where my soul was taken deep in the lonesome forest." 

Godwin dipped the quill in the inkpot. Tap, tap, he hadn't realized how low he was on ink. And that his conversation with Ava had filled six pages. He gently placed Ava back in her ornate box. And sat silently on his balcony, contemplating what had just happened.  He'd had an actual meaningful conversation with someone.

However long this was going to take, Godwin was happy. For once in his life, he was doing something different and exciting. To ensure he didn't come back home, he would sell all his belongings to his landlord with no intention of returning to Albion.

5 years later

"Ay, we're here. This is as far as my carriage goes, shaman." The carriage stopped outside a long winding path between two mountains. "Thank you for the trip." Godwin tossed a small pouch of coin to the driver. "Best you turn back now, driver, before the beasties come out. A full moon's coming." The driver didn't hesitate and instantly sent his horses into a gallop in the opposite direction.

Once he reached the end of the path, he was greeted by two colossal statues the size of mountains. The one to his left was that of Lokar wielding a staff, and to the right, Thoran wielding a mighty hammer with one hand. The beautiful Briar lands, a vast sea of copper and golden leaves that looked like an enormous Water painting, took him aback. In the distance, he could see the mountains and how they curved into a valley. He could see the city of Hallow's end. And smaller villages sprinkled between.

He remembered her instructions and needed to find a place to make camp and talk to Ava. He pulled out a map and looked for the landmark of the weeping widow statue. He began his journey east. 

Night had fallen, and using the earth, Godwin made a tent large enough to make a fire and thick enough to protect him from intruders.  The shamans of the western Highlands had taught him how to harness the elements and nature to aid him. A skill few orcs carried but one he was happy to master to help Ava.

He pulled out his journal and ink pot and began writing.

"We're here, Ava."

"Good. Remember what I told you and what you must do."

Godwin felt a stabbing pain in his heart. He and Ava had grown close together over the last 5 years. They both had grown fond of each other.

"Yes, I just wish there was another way."

"Godwin, I do, too."

"Will I see you again in the next life, Ava?"

"Maybe.."

"I don't want to lose you."

"Neither do I, Godwin, but this life isn't the end, only the beginning."

Godwin and Ava both knew how this would end. He wanted her but couldn't have her. Having her meant to keep her his prisoner. And he wanted her to be free and to rest in peace.  Even if that meant he'd end up alone. 

The day dawned crisp and cold. He knew he was getting near the weeping widow's statue, for he could hear low cries and sobs that got louder the closer they got to the witch's house.  Ava shook violently in his satchel. Her mother is trying to bring her back.

He could see smoke in the distance and assumed it had to be the witch's hut. Her home was not as ominous as he'd thought it wasn't cozy, but it had a small garden of exotic herbs.  And was carved into a large tree. As Godwin made his way, the door opened. And he saw Ava's body or rather her mother in her skin.

"Come on in, my dear. I have a proposition for you."

"I will make no deals with you, WITCH!"

"Even if it means you and my Ava can live happily ever after?"

Ava was shaking in Godiwns satchel. He could hear the box crack as Ava went piercing out, aiming for her mother's throat.

"No no no dear this isn't how you greet your mother."

She lifted her finger, but Ava lost control and floated obediently beside her mother.

Godwin had no choice but to obey. He came inside the witch's home, which was spacious. It had a cauldron in the center by the hearth, a table carved from the tree they were in, and a closet in which he could hear muffled cries.

"Now take a seat Orc."

"You've obviously grown an attachment to my daughter."

"How do you know."

"I made this quill. Do you think I don't know what it writes?"

Fear gripped Godwin, all his conversations with Ava, and their plans. Her mother knew it all.

"Now that I have your attention." 

She smiled. Ava was beautiful, and Godwin couldn't help but notice her deep green eyes, lustrous Auburn hair, and an amber locket around her neck. Her Elf ears were long and Curving towards the top. It's not her, he told himself.

"You can have her, and she can have her skin back, for I found someone else."

She walked towards the closet and opened it, and another young woman came falling out. Her mouth was wrapped, her hair a mess, and her eyes red from crying.

"Now all you have to do is sign your name on this parchment, and the girl's soul will transfer from her body into the quill mine to her, and oh come now, you get the rest."

Godwin considered it. He could be with Ava, and they could live out the rest of their lives together. What would she think of me if I sacrificed someone else for her?

Godwin looked at the Girl with fear in her eyes. He tightened his fist, readying a strike.

"I see you've made your choice. Cut him up Ava be quick.."

Ava began slicing away at him. The pain was excruciating. He was not able to cast any spells or incantations. Slice slice slice, the cuts became more profound, and Godwin had difficulty moving. He knew what he had to do but didn't want to do it. With a heavy hand that felt like the weight of the world, he reached out and snatched the quill. Crushing it.

"NOOOOOOO You Fool!"

Godwin was in shock. He didn't know what was going on, and he felt an uncontrollable rage begin to boil inside him.

"AHHHHHHHHHHH."

He lunged toward the witch, and she threw everything she had at him: flying blades, fire, Ice, and storm. Nothing was working, but he kept getting closer. Godwin wrapped his wrapped one hand around the witch's throat, and before she could speak, he snapped her neck. He could see her soul leaving Ava's body as it went limp. The Girl who was to be the next sacrifice fled the house during the carnage.

Godwin stared into Ava's dead eyes. I killed her twice. He fell to his knees and began to sob, holding Ava's lifeless body. I'm sorry, Ava, I've failed you.

The silence was long and deafening until Godwin heard whispers near the quill. Ava's soul or remnants of it were in the feather. He noticed the amber locket around her corpse. Yes, yes, this could work, he thought. He cleansed the object to make sure nothing was inside of it. Using the life magic he was taught, he transferred some of his soul into the locket. He then grabbed the remnants of the quill. "Let us be one. Let us be whole." The toll this took on him was heavy. He wasn't sure how much of his life he had given away. But, it was enough so he and Ava could have a few more years together. He wrapped the amber locket around his neck and waited for a few moments. Shortly, an apparition of Ava appeared.

"Godwin, what happened? How am I still here? Did you kill my mother?"

"Yes, but I wanted to ensure your spirit had a safe trip to the other side."

"What did you do?"

"I gave some of my life to bind you to this locket. I can break it, freeing you, but I won't get back what I had given."

"Why would you do this?"

"So. I could see for the first time and say goodbye."

"Godwin, after all we've been through, I finally have the choice to leave or stay."

"The apparition paced back and forth. I know what I want."

Godwin looked up at Ava.

"Will I be free after your life in this locket fades?"

"Yes, once my time ends, the magic holding you will fade, and you'll be free."

"Take my hand, Godwin."

Godwin reached out for Ava's hand. Her spirit gave him the strength to rise. They embraced one another. She looked up at him.

"I'd love to spend the rest of your life with you."

When they kissed, it felt strange, for she wasn't fully physical but just enough for him to feel the initial sensation. For a long time, Godwin held Ava in his arms, and he had no intention of letting her go. For once, he had much more in life to experience, and now he could do it with the elf he loved.