The sun burned brightly upon the golden-yellow fields of grain. Many men and women toiling amidst the searing heat, but no children were playing in the meadow near the forest, which had both dried out completely in a matter of weeks. The current weather was really quite strange considering the season.
It had never happened that the sun was still scorching like high summer in the always-raining autumn days, but now there wasn’t a cloud in the sky, only the sun glaring down as if seeking revenge for some unknown cause. Even the children had lost their liveliness and lay drowsing in the shadows of the tree trunks, as the shriveled leaves barely shielded them from the sun.
Despite the abnormal weather, harvesting needed to go on as scheduled, as even the already-dry grains would perish. The extreme temperature made it even harder work than usual, but they all knew it had to be done or they’d starve come winter, whether it froze or boiled. Even the local Druid knew nothing of the cause, nor of anything to aid them. Of course, no-one blamed him for that, except Patric, but what do you expect from an old drunk like him anyway? Even the children knew better than to listen to him.
It also seemed as if their part of the world had been abandoned by all wildlife. Only townsmen, the druid and some cattle remained. Even little Jem’s pigeons had taken off about a week ago. Jem had cried for days, and even now refused to believe they weren’t coming back. He’d always loved the two blue-gray and beady- eyed birds, ever since his older brother had brought them home from his first ever visit to Edenburg.
It takes around a week to reach Edenburg on foot, through the rocky foothills and around a third of the Peak, a huge and steep mountain reaching to the skies above with ease. Kalim and his son Jasil had left five days ago for news and supplies and would hopefully return within another week, as they would come back