Bedoulia Fairborne, Old Biddy to those of the Autumn Woods, was the current archivist and historian of the area, the daughter of Mother Dahlia, who was the daughter of Dearest, and on back for several generations of owls who kept the history preserved and written and cataloged for study and understanding of current events. Biddy had no offspring to carry on the good work, but she had a great staff (and isn’t that just as good!?)
Three flying squirrels kept everything carefully organized. Without Oakwall, Summerpond, and Firefly, Biddy would have had a very difficult time keeping the whole endeavor going. She had lost most of her eyesight, and had trouble ripping things with her beak and talons–very little strength for that.
She was lucky that her dear squirrels tenderized her food for her. (What she didn’t know is that the squirrels had completely taken over her dietary regimen and substituted artfully created veggie-mice made of chickpeas, walnuts, blackbeans, and spices all molded into the shapes of dead mice–easier for her to digest, for her to chew, and so much safer for the squirrels. “Job security and safety had to come first,” Oakwall whispered.)
Dame Brigitt had come to the Owl to join Emil in asking Biddy for information on the orcs, but the squirrels said Emil had never come. He was supposed to have been here by now. Ramsaur said Emil was going to free a wolf that had been held captive by the orcs. Could Emil have been attacked or taken by the orcs?
Biddy told her that the orcs weren’t the real threat to the Autumn Woods.
“They’re just passing through. You don’t think we are their main purpose do you? You must have seen their trails of destruction across the valley, Brigitt. What is a tiny community of furry creatures to them?” Biddy clucked at her.
The squirrels followed her lead and clucked and shook their heads at Brigitt.
“We are nothing,” Biddy went on. “Oh, they might eat us for a snack. But I’ve been watching their patterns. I know they’re at war. And I know the humans of the great cities to the west and the east lost that war. Already. Done. Only the human cities of the South remain. Now the orcs are going from village to village wiping out the humans. This is a much bigger problem than the woods.”
She lifted a wing to point to bookshelves full of red-bound books. “I’ve been watching this war. The whole bloody thing. (And what she meant was that they, the four of them had been watching). I’ve been recording the nations of humans and orcs for some time. And the bigger picture is that all of us will eventually be destroyed by this great orc army. These orcs in the autumn woods–this is a small raiding band. To clear the valley.” She blinked once and closed her eyes. “You cannot push the orcs out of the woods. You must keep them here. You must fight them yourselves. We have the largest group of magic users in the valley. All come here to retire, to find a more peaceful life. Yes yes yes. All well and good. But now, if we don’t fight them, and they destroy all the people large enough to fight them, then we will have no allies to defeat the larger army.”
Dame Brigitt threw her hands into the air. “Why didn’t you tell anyone? If you knew this was happening?”
The Owl ruffled her feathers making herself twice her natural size.
The squirrels clucked and clucked.
Biddy may not have her eyesight or her talon strength but making her angry was not a good idea. “The opportunity for us to do something just. presented. itself: the orcs entering the woods, you returning from a quest, Xini revealing she still had the cursed crown, and now a Champion has been chosen by the spirit of the Woods.”
How did she know about Thimble?
“All of these signs point to us doing something and not passing this problem onto others. It would be easier to give the orcs a way out of the woods. But it would be more beneficial to keep them here indefinitely. In whatever way that had to be. And then you must find a way to defeat the larger army that will come.”
Larger army? The Autumn Woodland community fighting this band of orcs–by themselves? “Not by themselves. You must contact the nearest human village to the East, and you must make allies. If you don’t, you doom them, and eventually all of us, to having nothing left at all. Go now. Take my good squirrel staff with you.”
She looked at them each with deep care and myopia.
“Old Biddy will be fine. I know where you keep the mice,” she winked.
Go to Chapter 20
“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 