Daedalus "D.D." Freight"

You know, I'm not very fond of the word "normal." I think that's mainly because I don't fully understand the term and it's uses. What makes a person normal? What makes a person abnormal? When those questions are asked you're bound to get a different answer from every person, I'd bet my entire workshop on it. Therefore, in my opinion, normal does not exist. It is merely a word that people wrap themselves in, thinking that it is an armor, an armor that will shield them from their problems. Whether or not we want to be, we are all abnormal. And it is nothing to be ashamed of.

I'm sorry, was I rambling? I've been told by many people that I tend to do that, heh. You see, there are so many things that I want to say that sometimes I tend to say them all at once, as soon as they enter my mind. You could call it a strength or you could call it a weakness. Call it what you will, I haven't made up my mind on what it is. There I go again! So, you've obviously come here for a story, yes? I myself enjoy a good tale now and again. The lives of people are so fascinating, that's one of the reasons I opened my little business, to meet people. Would you like something to eat before I begin? There's some chicken in the fridge...

At the age of three years, I was diagnosed with a mental disease known as Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. ADHD for short. This means that i have a slight problem with things such as concentration and sitting still, hence my tendency to ramble. One would think that such a disorder would make life increasingly difficult, but was the exact opposite for myself and my parents. A blessing in disguise, in fact. My inability to pay attention to one thing allowed me to be exempt from school. This resulted in me being home schooled by my father, who taught me only interesting things, like mechanics and physics and such. I was so beguiled by these subjects that I found that I could actually force myself to concentrate on them. So, atleast my parents knew that when I grew up I would be able to find work for myself and for a while life was lovely. Then there was the accident.

While on the way home from the market, my father's auto mobile was involved in a terrible crash. I was never allowed to sit in the front seat, next to my father. That seat was always my mother's and I thank the good Lord every day for the fact that she had chosen to stay at home. She would have been crushed had she been sitting in that seat, much like my legs. I had the horrible habit of putting my feet up on the seat, so that my upper torso was behind the driver's seat and my lower behind the passenger's. All I can say about the second party in the crash had been... not in his right state of mind. The accident itself is quite painful to remember so, to be brief, his auto mobile cut ours in half and crushed my legs with it. This resulted in the amputation of my right leg above the knee and my left leg above the ankle. Sounds particularly gruesome, does it not? It was, there was so much blood. I pity my father who had to see me like that and then explain it to my mother. Ah well...

I was in need of prosthetic legs if I ever wanted to walk again and, being of a middle class family, the cost of a good prosthetic promised to cripple my parents aswell. Thus, I had to settle for two wooden legs. I would be able to walk atleast, but with a crutch. And would never run or climb or jump. That sounded the most horrid thing to a 12 year old boy, but you must know that I was and still am a very determined person. I turned to all the lessons my father had told me about mechanics and applied a bit of physics to it. Then, I went searching through the scrap yards for a few month. Soon, I had all the materials I needed and soon after that I had a new pair of legs. Metal legs that are powered by steam and... Ah, thought I would tell you my secret now, didn't you? You sly fox. All you need to know is that From the day I put them on until today, I've been running and jumping like any other person. Although I do keep a cane with me at all times, just in case.

So here we are 12 years later. Quite the abnormal person, aren't I? Oh, I'm sure you're just as abnormal as I am. Anyway, that terrible incident lead to my current profession. Inventor, mechanic, tinker extroadinaire! My profession then lead to more money for my parents and when they were settled I had enough money to purchase this workshop for myself. Where I'm headed from here I cannot tell you. Maybe you can tell me?

The mixed emotions that that Briar felt were over-whelming. On one hand she was quite thrilled at the prospect of experiencing a world other than the forest. She had heard so many stories of the outside from a few members of the community, her father mainly. Being a wood carver, he would take his work twice a month to Greyview and would return with more gold than he earned in Baelin and a trinket for both Briar and Alder. The best part was that each trinket held a tale and each tale told them about the wonders of the various lands and their inhabitants.

On the other hand, Briar was a little wary. The forest life was all that she knew. The outside was very different and very intimidating. Would stories be enough to help her get by? They were far from the fairy stories that where told to little children, but would they be enough? They would have to be as she had nothing else. Well, she did have common sense, caution, advice from her parents... and her weapons if necessary. Hopefully it wouldn't be, as she had never killed or even thought of killing anyone before. Though, she wasn't opposed to serious injury and with her bow that could be easy. All in all, she would have to find a way, just as she had to find a way stop to whatever was coming. She had to, with the help of her companions of course.

Briar didn't dare touch the mark again. She couldn't bare the sights and sounds that it brought. Although, in the back of her mind, she knew that she had to prepare herself. Finding the others was one thing, what came after was a different story altogether. The road would difficult and taxing. She needed to be strong, so perhaps she would touch it, but later when she was indoors.

Although it had been almost a day since the vision, Briar could clearly picture her companions faces. Thus, she began trying to place where each of them could be found. The first face, the most eye-catching, was the one of the young woman with the pale skin and hair. She looked to be Briar's age, perhaps even younger. Not everything about her was pale, though. Her clothes consisted of deep purple and black and a blindfold covered her eyes. Was she blind? That would probably make things difficult, but that was nothing to be concerned about at this time. Briar had no idea what the woman's race was and ,therefore, had no idea where to find her. The next was that of the young man with white hair and tan skin. She knew very well that this man was a desert dweller, she had seen pictures of them. This meant that he probably came form Jinaan and that was a very long way away. But, atleast she knew one place that she was going. Then next was the other man, perhaps around the same age as the desert dweller. His striking feature was a pair of yellow eyes, golden almost and quite captivating. But, that was it. There was no indication of where he could be. Though, she had heard that people with special abilities had special eyes. The desert dweller had special eyes aswell, they were orange. These men had talents that are not known by just looking at them. Last was the older man, although he looked much younger than her father who was two years shy of fifty. He had a calm face. He was bald and tattoos covered his arms. It was well known that the monks of Mount Breeze tattooed their arms, so Briar had another bit of information. It was also quite a distance away, but not as far as Jinaan. Finally Briar had a plan. She would rest at Greyview for the night. In the morning she would acquire some maps, aswell as some records after which she would try and figure out where the other three might be. Once she had done that, she would make for Mount Breeze.

It was beginning to get late, but it didn't worry Briar that much. The open air was refreshing and the picture of endless sky, unmarred by tree tops, dotted with clouds, was difficult to get bored off. If only she could capture it somehow, she could take it back and show it to her mother. She would have loved that. The town of Greyview was in sight. She would have to find lodgings for her and her horse, Ivy. A halfway house or an inn perhaps? Yes, there was an inn, it was called The Hermit's Home. Briar had thought that it was a funny name, but her father had stayed there during his travels, so it couldn't be bad.

It was evening when she reached Greyview. Not many people were out and in a way that was a good thing. She was quite tired from the trip and very much needed to sit on a chair. Briar scanned the buildings for a sign and her eyes landed on one a little further away from her. She had good eyesight, but seeing that it was dark she had to squint a bit as she moved closer. It was then that something out of the ordinary happened. Briars vision zoomed in on the sign and it looked as if it was right in front of her. The Hermit's House was written in green with a green crab painted next to them. It shocked her quite a bit, causing her mind to spin. But, due to the fact that she had been travelling since midday, she shook her head and blamed it on her mind playing tricks on her. When she reached the building was more than shocked to find that what she had seen was true. The word's were indeed green, even the crab was there. Maybe it was more that tricks...

Briar dismounted and tied Ivy to a post outside. With her bow slung across her torso and her red hood over her head, she entered the inn. She was greeted by a wooden desk and to her right, wooden tables and chairs scattered around a medium sized room. It wasn't anything special, but there was a fire blazing which warmed the entire room. It was comforting. Briar dropped her hood, letting her blonde hair loose, and walked up to the desk. Behind it was a thin man with an equally thin grey moustache. " Evenin'," he said placing his hands on the desk," How can I help ya'?"
" Evening," said Briar smiling," I'd like a room for the night. Are there any?"
" Yer in luck, dearie," he said getting a key," Two left."
He seemed to scan her face and Briar noticed it, but decided to say nothing.
" Oh, good," she replied," And is there a stable for my horse?"
" Yep, Draydon'll take care o' that. Draydon! See to the young ladies horse. Hop to it, boy! That'll be three silver pieces fer food an' lodgin'."
Briar handed the money to the man as she watched as Draydon scurried out the door. When she turned back he asked," Don't I know you? Yer not from Baelin are ya'?"
Briar then realised" Yes, I am. But you know my father. He comes to stay here twice a month. He's a wood carver, Glyn Elderidge. "
" Right you are. Same eyes you've got. E's a good carver. Made this desk here, solid as oak. Heck, it is oak." He laughed a big laugh. It wasn't very funny, but Briar giggled. She was very happy to see her father's work. It made her feel as if she was closer to home.
" Well, " he said wiping his eye and handing her the key," Here's yer key. Get yerself settled and you can come back fer some supper. What ya doin' here anyway?"
Briar obviously couldn't tell him the real reason, but didn't feel like lying either." Oh, I'm just passing through. I'm going to be travelling for a while. I've always wanted to see the outside and the opportunity finally presented itself."
" Good, good, while yer young and reckless, ha! I won't keep ya, off ya go then, dearie."
Briar waved and turned to walk away from the desk towards the stairs. She was not prepared for the sight that met her eyes.
" You're joking," she said staring ahead of her.