Submitted: 18 December 1998

Echoes

by Baresh, who was eavesdropping on Herpo Drakonides

It was such a time the other day as two of my regulars sat at a cozy table near the bar, sipping at their drinks. Let me tell you about what happened then, because, I tell you, though he may claim to belong to another guild, he talks like a bard...

Aelissa exclaimed, "Oh, Herpo, Herpo, Herpo..." and shook her head at him.

Herpo asked, "Is there an echo in here?"

Aelissa laughed!

Herpo said, "I could swear I heard one. Shall I tell you a story?"

Both of them took a sip of their wine. I held my breath for her answer.

Aelissa said, "That would be lovely, darling." She nodded slightly to him, it seemed all the encouragement he needed.

Herpo cleared his throat.

Herpo said, "It's about an elven girl."

Aelissa raises an eyebrow.

Herpo said, "A slight slip of a lass. She loved the forest. And the trees, for she could see both."

Aelissa chuckled, "I like it already"

Herpo said, "If you follow my meaning."

Aelissa nodded to Herpo

Herpo said, "One day as she traipsed through the sylvan glades and danced her secret elven dances, she came upon a S'kra."

Herpo said, "A warrior. But also a thinker."

Aelissa took a sip of her wine, savoring the taste upon her lips.

Herpo said, "One who could, for lack of a better phrase, see the trees, but chop them down when needed."

Aelissa said, "Yes...go on..." and smiled quietly at him.

Herpo asked, "It happened that the S'kra warrior--have I mentioned that he was handsome?"

Aelissa chuckled.

"No?" Herpo asked. "Well, he was. Most handsome."

Aelissa said with a nod, "ah, of course he was"

Herpo said, "Charming. Engaging in conversation. Slim and sleek. He instantly fell in love with the elven maid. Though one wonders why, with those ridiculous ears."

Herpo said with a shrug, "But one must not argue about taste."

Aelissa smirked and with a dry remark, "No, indeed."

Herpo said, "At any rate, he fell instantly in love. The rays from her eyes penetrated his soul. He begged her to be his true love."

Aelissa nodded to Herpo.

Herpo said, "He rushed off and killed innumerable enemies until he found the perfect gift for her."

He paused dramatically right then. I swear you could've heard a pin drop in the Tavern. I realized I must not have been the only one listening. After far too long of a pause, he finally continued.

Herpo said, "A diamond band," and sighed.

Aelissa dreamily said, "Oh ..."

Herpo said, "A thing of beauty like the girl. And he said, 'Please....whatever your name is...be the pinecone on my conifer.'"

Aelissa giggled.

Herpo said, "The apple of my tree."

Herpo said, "The pear on my limbs of life."

Aelissa beamed!

Herpo exclaimed, "The hanging breadfruit which grows only in the jungles of my soul!"

At that she laughed aloud. I almost did, too!

Herpo said, "And she said one word. And only one word."

Herpo said, "'Echo.'"

Aelissa looked puzzled.

"'Pardon?' he asked the elven beauty," Herpo continued the tale.

Herpo said, "'Echo. It's my name.'"

Herpo said, "'Ah!' he exclaimed."

Herpo said, "'Echo, will you be mine?'"

Herpo asked Aelissa, "And do you know what that ass of an Elven girl did?"

Herpo said, "She turned him down. On the spot."

Aelissa asked, "what??"

Aelissa frowned. So did I. I was hanging over the bar by now, and this was not a turn in the story I had anticipated at ALL.

Herpo said, "'Oh no,' she said, 'You are only teasing me. I don't believe that you're serious at all.'"

Aelissa looked downright miserable at this point.

Herpo said, "'Teasing? That's just to cover my pain!' cried the S'kra warrior."

Herpo said, "But, alas, she would not believe him. And so he went away."

Herpo said with a sigh, "He died soon after."

Aelissa frowned at Herpo and said, "That is not a very happy ending..."

Herpo shuddered as he related, "Hit by a dung wagon walking home from a tavern. Horrible accident."

Herpo asked, "You know how much those carry?"

Herpo said, "Oh, that's not the end." He shook his head at her, "Not at all."

Aelissa asked, "No? Was she sorry?"

Herpo said, "Word eventually filtered back to this girl. This girl who preferred hunting and trees to the semi-warm flesh of a virtuous, reptilian warrior."

Herpo said, "This girl who broke a man's heart because he wasn't comfortable enough to voice his feelings without making everything a bit of a joke." He sighed sadly.

Aelissa asked, "Was she so regretful that she flung herself upon her blade?"

Herpo looked up at his companion and exclaimed, "NO!" She looked petulant almost immediately.

Herpo said, "You have the most gruesome imagination."

Herpo said, "No, she wept for the warrior. She wept for what might have been."

Aelissa sighed.

Herpo exclaim, "And she cried his name. 'Herp...' er... 'Hropa!'"

Aelissa peered quizzically at him at this point.

Herpo exclaimed, "'Hropa!'"

Herpo said, "And she lamented so much that eventually Hodierna took pity on her."

Aelissa dreamily said, "He came back to life?"

Herpo said, "She made the girl fade...."

Aelissa almost whispered her disappointment, "oh..."

Herpo said, "...fade until there was nothing left of her except her voice."

Herpo said, "And that, my dear, is why we have echoes. The girl's voice fills the land and speaks with whoever will listen."

Aelissa said, "Oh...that's lovely." She beamed at him warmly.

Herpo said, "There's a lesson there, of course."

Aelissa nodded to Herpo.

Herpo asked, "Can you guess what it is?" Herpo leaned forward and waited for her answer. Me, I was getting ready for a setup the likes of which I'd never seen before, because I knew this storyteller by reputation. I grabbed a clean rag, ready to stuff it into my mouth at the first sign of a terrible pun.

Aelissa said, "Um...I'm not quite sure..." and pondered it for a moment, gazing off into the distance. Then her eyes met his. It was the sign he was waiting for. Who are we kidding, we were ALL waiting for it!

Herpo said, "I'll tell you."

Aelissa nodded to him, "Please do..." I swear I caught several patrons at tables nodding almost unconsciously with her.

Herpo said, "Don't cross paths with a dung cart." He nodded sagely, his face expressionless, his tone flat.

Herpo said, "Not ever. Those things are larger and faster than they seem."

He took a sip of the ale and yawned.

Aelissa smiled vaguely and noded slowly. "Yeeess...I suppose they um...they are..."