Today’s prompt: “As you prepare to leave, you reflect on the journey you’ve had. What impact do you hope your time in Hearthlight has had?”
Today’s music: Leaves by Taiko. 🎧 Listen on Soundcloud.
Leaving Your Mark
My entire life was a lie.
I know that sounds dramatic, but hey, I am now the kind of person who beards wizards and talks to dragons. Before arriving at Hearthlight, I was doing it all wrong, and I’m not talking about magic. I’m talking about living only for myself, and Hearthlight had made me realise there was a better way.
The wizard and dragon didn’t hurt, though. As far as motivators went, they were S-tier.
It was time to pay some of it forward.
I started early on my morning walk. I needed to collect a few things and had a busy day ahead. Once I had what I needed, I set to work. I took a coffee back to my room at the pub, and ignored Bernard’s implied question—the man did a mean raised eyebrow.
It took hours, but I finished before dinnertime. I had a gift for everyone, and paused to survey my handiwork.
For Trudy, I’d made a hand-painted flavour board. It was a rustic wooden menu with tiny illustrations of her top flavours, and I’d added two things to her already perfect selection of treats. First was a little doodle of Maxwell licking spilled gelato on the bottom, right below a bonus detail: a new flavour named after her. “Trudy’s Trouble” was dark chocolate, raspberry, and a little mischievous joy. I was sure she’d know how to make it.
Dorothy? Well, hers was surprisingly easy. I’d found an old photo frame in a store, and cleaned it up. Then I’d embossed a small note on a piece of genuine Hearthlight wood I’d picked up during my travels. It said, “Some roots grow stronger after a storm.” I left the frame empty. It was an invitation for her to fill it with a new memory, perhaps with Mike, Sam, and Maxwell.
Speaking of Mike, I’d made him a new signboard. Mike’s Meats needed a bright splash of red, and his old sign was a little faded by the sun. It felt unlike the man himself, so I thought he needed a reminder of what people saw in him. His new sign was a fire engine red, with vivid white lettering, a reminder he was a friend and beacon to all in the hamlet.
Sam’s gift took me a little longer, because I’m no artist. I made him a hand-drawn comic, titled “Maxwell the Mighty.” It was only six panels and showed Maxwell saving the hamlet from a dragon using only a leash and a stick. In the last panel I simply wrote, “You write the next adventure.”
Of course, that meant I needed a gift for Maxwell. His was a leather tag for his collar, and I’d found a place to emboss it. One side I’d had stamped with MAXWELL THE MIGHTY, the other side reading CERTIFIED TREAT INSPECTOR. I suspected Maxwell couldn’t read, but you could never tell with Hearthlight animals.
And what of Hollis? I found him a new journal, with a hand-sewn spine and leather cover. On the inside I’d written a single headline: THE LIGHT THAT REMAINS: NOTES FROM THE QUIET REBUILD. Beneath that, I’d left a note: “For the next chapter — in case you forget how much you’ve already helped.”
I suspected forgetting Hollis’s cat-slash-dragon might be a fatal mistake, so I got the cat a small collar charm. One side showed a miniature dragon curled up, sleeping as cats often do with a tail over their nose. The back had a message I was more confident the cat could read. “You’re more loved than feared.”
My stomach rumbled, reminding me it had missed lunch. I gave a wry smile, because our usual dinnertime would be postponed. I had to deliver these mementos before I could rest. Hearthlight’s people deserved to know how special they were. Tomorrow, I’d leave.
But tonight, I’d remind them they mattered.
Roll result? A well-meant mess of wood shavings, paint splotches, and glue-sticky fingers, all in the name of heartfelt goodbyes.
XP gained: 1 custom flavour of community, 1 mighty tail-wag of approval, +1 to crafting checks (emotional and otherwise), and a quiet +1 to “remembered fondly” rolls.
The finale awaits!
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