You are surprised to see a house with a garden behind it, rather than in front, but nevertheless you approach the house cautiously, looking around for the possible tender. As you approach, you notice that there are two doors, rather than one, at the front entrance. Slowly, you grab the knocker and pound on the door.
Both doors open inward, perhaps magically, although it looks rather machanical, and you see something that surprises you. The door open into one room that is filled -- rather haphazardly -- with futons and squishy couches and chairs. The doors of the room also lead to other rooms, giving you the sense that the house is much bigger on the inside than it appears on the outside.
"Ah," says a rather calm voice. You turn your head and see, although you're not terribly shocked by, a medium sized dragon. She holds her body high and proud, and surveys you through her deep, black eyes.
"I am Golin," she begins, "and this is my home and garden. Before, when I lived in the orchard, I was guardians of the flowers. Now, I also gaurd the same flowers, although in a different way. One of the safest places in the Wood is Embrod."
"Why is that?" you ask.
She shakes her head. "Perhaps it is because there is little here; it is of small significance to ... certain people ... who are looking to change larger things. And, for that matter, most here are gaurdians. Anyone who wanted to take over Embrod would have to take down half of the village! And besides, mostly only wanderors come here, we've had almost no one move in for a long time."
"You used to live in an orchard you said?" you ask, curiously.
She scoffs, "The Orchard." She nods. "But since then the Wood has shifted, changed, and become more...well, it's become different. And I have taken on some new responsibilities..." She smiles. "Axium!" she cries, startling you quite a bit.
A rather small streak of silver zips into the room. While Golin is not very large, she most certain dwarfs this newcomer, who is about the size of a cat. He looks over at Golin, then at you, and then back to Golin, almost confused. He hops over and hides behind her tail.
"Ahh, this is my little precious," she says, but not so much in a maternal way as an owner speaking proudly of a prized pet. "Axium is a Lapizard, rather interesting creatures, who can be trained. They are a great sign of nobility to some, I hear." She smiles more micheviously, but then it fades. "Without me, he'd have no where to be, and he cannot remain in the Orchard with me without losing his training. So we're here now, with the flowers I used to gaurd. If you'd like to see them, you can go out back."
Visit the Garden
Return to the other Houses
