The Quests of Fable

Ch. 2: Unknown Mysteries Have Unexpected Answers

For the next two days, Fable continued to visit Cedar and share the town's stories with him. He seemed to particularly enjoy the tale of the crow and the bean-mouse, where the bean-mouse convinces a crow to help him steal a jar of jam that they both share, even though they're predator and prey.

Then, on the fourth day that Fable went to see her new friend, she brought him a gift and in return, received an answer to a question she didn't know she had.

She arrived a bit after lunch, and Cedar already had their tea out on his stump table. He'd also made a few fairy cakes that were sitting on a small tiered cupcake holder. When Fable arrived, he hopped up out of his seat to say hello.

"Oh, you're here!" Cedar said. "Today, since you've told me so many of your stories, I thought I'd share one of my own."

"That sounds interesting," said Fable. "Does it have a name?"

"It's got a few different ones, but I like to call it the hunter and the spirit."

"Nifty. How's it go?"

"It starts with a hunter and his wife. The hunter isn't a very nice person, but his wife is clever. One night when they had no food in their cellar, it started to make the hunter very angry, so his wife fetched his rifle and told him that she'd seen a buck in the woods. The hunter went out in the direction that she pointed him in, but he couldn't find any trace of the buck until he got angry and kicked a branch off of a tree. That was when he saw a set of deer tracks, leading off to the left.

"Now, this hunter was no idiot, so he crouched down and was as quiet as he could be while he followed the tracks. Finally, he came across a man with enormous deer antlers leaning against a tree and playing a mandolin. The tracks stopped in the clearing, so the hunter asked the man very rudely where the buck was. The man replied by saying it was right in front of his nose.

"The hunter did not like this one bit, and he picked up a rock and threw it at the tree near the man before storming off back into the woods. The man watched him for a moment, and then he stood up and ran after him.

"The hunter stomped through the woods grumbling and trampling the plants and gauging the trees with his hunting knife. The man with antlers followed him at a distance, watching the damage he did. Then, he ran up ahead of him through a shortcut in the trees. When he met the man from in front, he asked him why he was being so awful.

"The hunter replied that he had a right to be assertive because the forest was there for his benefit, and besides he hadn't even gotten the buck yet. To which the man replied that if he wanted the buck, the hunter would have to catch him first. Then he ran off into the woods, and when the hunter looked at the ground he saw not footprints, but the hoof-prints of a deer."

Fable thought of when she had first met Cedar and how his footprints were so odd. Yet again she found herself wondering how she noticed, but also what it meant. The story couldn't be about him, could it?

"At this point the hunter had figured out that it wasn't a man or a buck that he was chasing, but some sort of spirit, and instead of making him concerned that he had angered the spirit it made the hunter himself angry. He followed the spirit, and when he shot at it with his rifle, the bullet went straight past his antlers.

"The spirit was angrier than ever now, for the man had tried to kill him on top of harming the forest he held dear. So he placed his hand on the ground and asked the moss to help. The hunter looked down at his own feet and saw that they were overgrown with moss, as though he'd been standing there for years. As he watched, branches crackled and came down from above him to lift the rifle out of his hands.

"The spirit looked the hunter in the eye and told him that if he apologized and left right then, he could return to his wife and the spirit would not bother him unless he harmed the forest like that again. The hunter spat at him, and the spirit simply shook his head sadly.

"With a snap of his fingers, the hunter shifted and began to turn into a buck, the very creature he wanted to hunt. The spirit said to see how he liked being hunted for a change, and the moss let go of his feet and the former hunter bounded away."

"What about his wife?" asked Fable. "Didn't she wonder where her husband was?"

"She did at first until the spirit brought her back the rifle," Cedar explained. "Then she knew. But the man lived the rest of his life as a buck because he had harmed the forest and not listened when he was warned. The end."

"I think if he was being that awful and rude, he could stand to be a buck for a good long while," Fable agreed. "Oh, I almost forgot- I brought you something. It's not much and it's not very valuable, but I think you'll enjoy it."

Reaching into her pocket, Fable fished out a small golden bell, like the one found on top of a church. It was carved with small swirls and fit into her palm perfectly. She dropped in his hands.

"Oh, it's beautiful!" Cedar marveled. "It's so small, but it's so pretty! I'd say this is very valuable indeed, Fable. Here, come inside a moment while I decide where to put it."

Fable followed Cedar into his cottage and realized that it wasn't at all what she had expected, although she wasn't quite sure what she had expected. Whatever it was, that certainly wasn't what she found.

The house was very cozy and welcoming, with blankets and pillows on all of the squishy armchairs. Each wall was lined with shelves of varying sizes, and all the shelves were filled with trinkets and shinies of every size and shape. On one shelf alone, Fable could see three glass ornaments, a small carved wooden elephant, a silver ring with a bright blue gem, and a small yet ornate wooden chest with trees etched into it. If she had to guess, she'd say this was the type of house a crow or a ferret would love- comfy, cozy, and full of treasures.

Cedar carefully set the little gold bell onto a shelf right above a large wingback armchair that resembled an upholstered grey throne. As Fable watched, she noticed something sticking out of his wild curls.

"Uh- I think there might be something in your hair," she told him. "Do you need a mirror, or..?"

Cedar gave her a blank look for a moment, until he seemed to understand.

"In my- oh, I see. Well, Fable, firstly I've got a question for you."

Whatever was in his hair almost seemed to be lengthening, and there was a faint sound of crackling, like a tree moving. Fable tilted her head in confusion.

"Have you ever heard of the god of the forest?"