Submitted: 11 January 1998


What Danner knows about Family Silver-Griffon

from an undisclosed source

(Crossing, Zoluren: 388 Nissa 352)

A slightly built female steps into the bar room. Her features shadowed by the cowl of her long black cloak. She pauses uncertainly for a moment, until she sees Danner leaning indolently on the tavern bar chatting to a group of friends. With quick decisive steps she approaches.

"You're Danner?" She says in a cultured human voice. At his affirmative she pulls back her cowl slightly revealing porcelain pale skin and haunting brown eyes that seem to have seen extremities of sorrow and despair hitherto unimagined. Yet beautiful for all that.

"The word is you know everything about The Crossing. Can we talk alone?" She said looking pointedly at Danners circle of fiends. At Danners nod the group recede into the background muttering disconsolately.

"Have you seen Fellishan Silver-Griffon recently? No? Oh. I heard he comes here frequently, and I so wanted to see him again."

"Its funny how things come full circle. It was at The Crossing the Fellenor Silver-Griffin, Fellishan's father, met Ishana his half-elven wife. Fellenor had always been a sullen man but Ishana seemed to change that for a while. Fellenor worked here in The Crossing you know - as a town guard. He fell for beautiful timid Ishana on sight. He made sure of her every comfort at The Crossing even getting her a job at the Florists, as gardening was her particular skill."

"She worked there for a good long while but when the Mayor of Sicle Grove applied to the Town Hall for a contingent of guards for his village. Fellenor begged her to marry him and accompany him there. She accepted on learning that the Mayor also had need of a skilled gardener for his manor house lands."

"Sadly Ishana died bearing her child prematurely, shortly after an invasion of goblin warlords and their underlings. Fellenor distinguished himself in defending the village that day but he came home to find his beloved wife dead and the child that caused it disgustingly healthy. I don't think he ever came to terms with Ishana's death and he never grew close to the child that had killed her. With the Mayors grudging permission Fellenor took over the care of the gardens Ishana had tended particularly the tenacious blue mountain flowers that she loved so much.

"Fellishan grew into a restless mischievous young man and often felt the hand of his oversullen and frequently irritated father. He never took an interest in gardening, but then his father did not talk of his wife much. FellishanĘs skill and energy turned to music instead, he was often tapping some improvised tattoo or whistling an impromptu tune."

At the lady's thoughtful pause of remembrance Danner skilfully slid to her a glass of fine amber wine. That wine had appeared on the counter as a consequence of a long standing arrangement with the barkeeper Baresh. The lady though slightly startled accepts it gracefully and acknowledged Danners request to continue the story with an elegant nod of her head.

"Well the Mayors daughter took a liking to this dashing young man. Noticing his musical bent she invited him to share in her music lessons. Fellishan thrived with the music and the attention of the foolish young lady. So much so that the teaching bard praised Fellishan highly, and recommend that he looked to the Bard Guild at the Crossing."

"The young lady, Philąmona became very close even, ahą intimate, with Fellishan."

"It was a complete surprise when late one night the Mayor's men barged into Fellenor's home and demanded to see Fellishan immediately. Fellishan had been sent to his room in disgrace not an hour earlier by his father. It seems that he had crushed some seedlings reaching for the topmost wines in the kitchen wine-rack."

"Fellishan heard the heated exchange downstairs. Words clashed like swords between Fellenor and Igen, the new captain of the guard, along with the occasional stressed tones of the other guardsmen. All were old comrades of Fellenor."

"Amidst the confrontation Fellishan clearly head the accusation, 'Your son has git a bastard on Philmona. The Mayor means to see him hanged, and I mean to see the Mayors will done! You men, search the house!'"

"Fellishan wasted no time. He fled through the bedroom window taking naught but the cloths on his back, an old grain sack and a tattered map of The Crossing that he had been perusing enviously. He hid in the woodlands surrounding the village and was astounded by the ferocity and tenacity of the searchers."

"Weeks later when things settled down somewhat, Fellishan crept back to his home and found his father, as usual, in the conservatory. But he was unprepared for his fatherĘs reaction to the sight of him. A startling mix of anger, relief and fear flew across Fellenor's normally sullen features."

"What are you doing here boy? Go run! There is nothing but death for you here!" Fellenor said, his painfully intense grip on his son's shoulder was completely at odds with his words.

"Why? What have I done? I did not tumble Philmona I swear it!" Fellishan pleaded in desperation and Fellenor's eyes seemed to narrow in confirmed suspicion.

"She herself accused you lad," Fellenor responded in calmer saddened tones "Go now. I don't want to know where. It will never be safe for you here. Go. Run! Run!"

"Fellishan did run, not even snatching the good home meal he had been so looking forward to. From there I don't know where he went. I was hoping to find him here. Someone answering his description played a tin whistle for tips all the way down the Northern trade route."

"I've so much to tell him. Everything changed when Mibgluc charred the village. But he is still in danger, and so am I. I can not stay here searching for him much longer. If you see him, will you tell him for me? Tell him, tell him I'm sorry."