It took over three weeks to get to High Rannoc. The ride wasn’t great, there were a lot of rough patches along the way and it was very very cold. Traveling in winter isn't the easiest but inside the carriage with Melinda and her daughter Carrie wasn’t so bad. They are traveling to the neighboring town to take over the bakery Melinda's grandmother left her. We have a lot in common what with both of us going to a new place to start a new life. She barely knows how to bake but she’s still embarking on this adventure and I just finished classes at Starlight Academy and this will be my first foray into being an apothecary.
It’s around 6 p.m when the carriage arrives in High Rannoc, Melinda and Carrie continue on to Bucklebury and leave me at Town Hall. I say goodbye to my travel companions and enter the small building.
Inside there is only one room, a secretary (I assume) at a desk and another gentleman further back also at a desk. I approach the first person, a middle-aged halfling female with bright orange hair and piercing gray eyes. She greets me and asks my reason to be there. I respond by pulling out the letter that was sent to me by the Apothecary Council. She takes me to the man in the back. He is the mayor of High Rannoc, his name is Pelton and he is going to take me to the cottage I will be living in. He’s a gentleman of the old sort, walking tall beside me with a stiff posture, gesturing broadly with his cane as he speaks about the village’s history.
The cottage is outside of the village, and it takes us about an hour once we leave the safety of High Rannoc to reach what will be my new home. I feel that there’s something the Mayor isn’t telling me bercause everytime I ask about my mentor he changes the subject. Maybe they are very mean, or lazy and will have me doing everything for them…
But when the path finally twists open to reveal the actual property, I forget everything I was thinking about. The plot of land is vast—much larger than I anticipated—but it quickly becomes clear that nature has been trying its best to reclaim it. The entire place looks incredibly worn down, practically begging for a fresh coat of paint and some desperate structural maintenance. A wooden perimeter fence runs along the borders, though it sags heavily and lay completely broken down in a couple of places, inviting the valley right into the yard.
A small, weather-beaten barn and an attached chicken coop sit off to the side, both sporting loose planks and rusted hinges. Further back, a dilapidated glass greenhouse stands like a skeletal ruin, several of its panels cracked or entirely missing, letting wild mountain vines creep inside. Right by the front door of the cottage someone had at least attempted some smaller cultivation. A cluster of weathered clay pots sits on the porch, tightly packed with sprouting onions, leafy tomato plants, and a few trailing strawberry runners showing tiny hints of red.
I’m starting to feel very nervous about this whole thing, especially because there doesn’t seem to be anyone living in the cottage, I don’t think anyone has lived here in a while.
Mr. Pelton clears his throat, offering a polite, slightly apologetic smile.”I feel I haven’t been completely honest, you have been asking for a mentor, but we don’t have anyone. Martina, our previous witch is nowhere to be found, she dismantled things here and left the animals in Burke’s care. He’ll come over and talk to you about them, as for the cottage…” he hands me a heavy iron key. "She's got good bones, Miss Merivale. Just needs a touch of care".
Looking at the chipped paint of the cottage and the wild, unkempt land, I adjust my heavy backpack, push my glasses up my nose, and smile back. It is a massive project, and my hands are going to be covered in splinters, dirt, and paint by the end of the week. But looking out over the mountains, listening to Shelby's low moo, I know I wouldn't want to be anywhere else.
(All images were created with AI)
No comments:
Post a Comment