Madrijolpur, a druid of the ponds and marshes, saw that the orcs were not following the deer or veering from the fire. They could sense the illusion. But they were close enough to him. They thought they stood on dry land.
With magic in his old leathery pads, and by the runic marks on his shell, he used his powers to raise, raise, raise the water table.
The dry land became wet from beneath, and the orcs began to sink. This was no illusion.
The druid enlarged the area of the pond exponentially as he marshed out the surrounding land, causing the orcs to sink, to fall backwards as they scrambled to find a dry path.
The only path he left them was the path out.
Not even the way back would hold their weight.
He looked around him, Isn’t this what he’d always wished for? A little larger pond, a little wider stream? The woods could sustain a larger area for pond life. Yes. But the downside was that the ponds and marshes contained thirty orcs now and getting them to move forward by sinking the trail behind them was not sustainable.
He could not do it on his own.
He tried to maintain stillness in the water. He didn’t want to be seen.
If he used all his power to sink them slowly in the muck, he would have little energy to stop them from breaking a shell if they saw him. Three orcs were already waist deep in the mud. The others crawled forward to the path. He could take three of them down at least. But 27 of them would soon reach the encampment where the others hid if he did not keep widening the pond. Too much, too much. Too much. Too wide. How beautiful it was to see so much water. So glorious! But he felt so dizzy now and he slowly sunk beneath the sustaining ripples.
Go to Chapter 12
“Protect the Autumn Woods!” is an illustrated story by Jerome Stueart in 33 short flash fiction chapters. The story features D&D-inspired magic-using forest animals who fight to protect their homes. This story was at first a response to a prompt list created by Jenn Reese and Deva Fagan for an October Art Challenge in 2021. You can now read all 33 parts of the story, “Protect the Autumn Woods” with the search term, #AutumnWoods. “Protect the Autumn Woods!” Art Show at the Dayton Society of Artists (48 High Street, Dayton, OH) from November 1 — December 15 2024.
“Protect the Autumn Woods!” is adjacent to a larger show of amazing Dayton Artists, “Small, but Mighty.” Come see all of the art, any weekend, Friday 12-5, Saturday 12-5 to experience the art yourself.
Bear Witness 