A Personal Account of a Gristwood Traveler

Released from the personal library of Mayor Aldred Handscombe of the Town of Fayhaven. A deposition recorded by the Mayor’s Secretary, Philippa Rosewater, of Warden Lydon Balor questioned by Alyn Desmond, Esq.. Dated to the 18th of October, 1023.

AD: I thank you for agreeing to meet and record this deposition - with much gratitude toward Miss Rosewater, as well. The Mayor believes that your testimony contains valuable information regarding the state of greater Enon and the- the wood.

LB: The Gristwood.

AD: Yes. You understand my hesitation to name it.

LB: I don’t.

AD: My father died there when I was small, you see.

LB: I’m sorry for your loss.

AD: I thank you. Your cooperation is very important to those of us wishing to understand our world. This information will be for posterity. Miss Rosewater will be recording the entirety of this conversation for the Mayor’s office.

LB: Evening, Miss.

PR: Good evening.

AD: I wish to begin as near to the beginning as we can, as few of Fayhaven’s residents have made their way into the wider world beyond the wood.

LB: The Gristwood.

AD: Yes. Where were you born?

LB: In Traft.

AD: And where is Traft?

LB: On the border of the Gristwood. Something like 1,000 folk. They say it was a Human settlement at one time. Lord is a Dwarf named Dorunn.

AD: What was your family’s business, before you became Warden?

LB: Whatever could be found.

AD: Anything in particular?

LB: Da stole horses.

AD: I see. And how was your childhood? What was Traft like?

LB: Good number of Humans in Traft, not like other towns. We looked out for each other, but there wasn’t much work. Not good ground for planting, not good people for learning. Da got found out selling a stolen colt, and they tried him. The Lawman made the most coin in Traft. I suppose you would know that.

AD: Can’t say that I would. What was the punishment for thievery?

LB: Hanging, usually. In Traft they did the hanging slow, and without a rope most times.

AD: Explain that.

LB: Most trade coin in Traft came from Fayhaven Town, but you can’t find a man in his right mind that would go through the Gristwood for coin. Lawman offered for folks set for the gallows to commute their sentences by taking trips. It was almost as sure a thing as hanging, but lots took the chance. Why the face? You didn’t know your mailmen were convicts?

AD: No. We knew.

LB: They say that Da made it as far as Fayhaven, but didn’t make it back. Folks told Ma that he’d seen his way out and stayed there. The other men said…

AD: Go on.

LB: Don’t know if it’s right to say.

AD: Miss Rosewater doesn’t mind.

LB: She looked pale.

PR: I don’t mind.

LB: They said Orcs split Da in two like a melon. Cracked his bones open for marrow. Maybe it was a kindness, saying that. Ma took it easier than thinking he was alive somewhere else.

AD: And your mother?

LB: Died not too long after.

AD: What trade did you take up?

LB: Family business.

AD: I see. How many horses did you steal?

LB: Not sure.

AD: The Mayor appreciates honesty. For posterity.

LB: I really couldn’t say. It wasn’t the horse thieving that got me. I was better than my Da.

AD: Tell us about that, then.

LB: I killed a man.

AD: How?

LB: I think his skull was broken.

AD: Was he known to you?

LB: No. Never met him.

AD: What inspired the murder?

LB: He said some things that I took objection to. I hit him a few times.

AD: Did you mean to kill him?

LB: Can’t say.

AD: Remember, the Mayor wishes for these publications to be as accurate as possible.

LB: Am I on trial?

AD: You have already served your sentence, as I understand it.

LB: I wanted him to die. I didn’t want to be the one to do it, though.

AD: I see. And the Lawman, he took you into custody then?

LB: He did. Said I could be hanged or find out what happened to Da.

AD: You chose the latter.

LB: The Warden took less than ten folk into the Gristwood, usually. Needed to be small caravans, and horses were too big to make it through. Fall and spring were the best times. 

AD: The safest, you would say?

LB: Not safe. We still lost men on every trip, but there was more sunlight. Less tree cover. We came for the Ambergrist. We brought ore, grain, wine, books. Sometimes news, but we weren’t the most connected folk. Between trips, we stayed in the jail, but the Warden kept us fed.

AD: How many trips have you taken?

LB: Twenty-two, I think.

AD: That’s what the marks on your arm are for.

LB: Helps to keep track.

AD: You may not have been told this, but through our research, we understand that you have traversed the Gristwood more than any recorded person in its history.

LB: Figured it was something like that.

AD: Are there any men in Traft that have gone as many times as you?

LB: No. Dagget almost, but we lost track of him last spring.

AD: What’s your secret?

LB: Lucky, I guess.

AD: I suppose you must know more about the wood than anyone. What is it like?

LB: Deeper you go, worse it gets. Darker. We usually never lost a man in the first day. A few would disappear nigh every trip, though.

AD: What sort of things did you see there?

LB: Don’t know that Rosewater should be here for that.

PR: Please, go on.

LB: Orcs and goblins are most common. We lose men to Orcs in the early legs of the trip. Later, there are other things. At night it’s worst. Saw a headless bear once. It tore up the corpse of a deer, but never ate. We sometimes find lost people. Never can tell for how long they’ve been there.

AD: You take them with you?

LB: Can’t.

AD: You are ordered not to?

LB: We can’t help them. Would slow us down, get more men killed. They never want to leave.

AD: They want to stay there?

LB: All of them. Saw a naked man wandering once, in the dark. No eyes, awls in his ears. Said it helped him hear the music better.

AD: Did you try to help him?

LB: Dagget did. Suppose there’s two of them listening to the music now.

AD: What things are there, besides the Orcs and Goblins? Other kinds of creatures?

LB: Different things. Some things change. Are one thing one moment, another the next. Some seem like regular folk, but you can’t accept anything out there. Can’t take food or drink. Can’t help the folk, can’t let them help you.

AD: What kept you at it, once your sentence was served?

LB: Good at it. Like I was good at thieving horses. I saw Wardens come and go, and the sloppy ones were a danger to themselves and the men. I don’t get sloppy. Some trips, I only lose one man. Some trips, I haven’t lost any.

AD: Was there a particular aptitude the Lawman saw when he chose you?

LB: Can’t say.

AD: In a sense, the Mayor wishes to know the secrets of passing through the wood unscathed. If you have any tricks of the trade, please tell us.

LB: No tricks.

AD: Nothing to share with the folk who wish to traverse the wood?

LB: I would tell them not to.

AD: I see. Thank you for your cooperation, Warden. I suspect we have the eagle’s view of your testimony now, but we may ask you back again for the particulars.

LB: I’ll be back in spring, if I’m still warm.

AD: Thank you, Miss Rosewater. We will end the deposition here.