An elderly person living alone in a hovel had but one wish. To live, if but for a little while, somewhere warm in their old age. They awoke one morning to find themselves in an enchanted wizard's tower, that was also part retirement home, that moved through the lands. And the kind wizard helping them, and other elderly, find solace and companionship in their twilight years. -- Lessons
For the longest time, the only care for the elderly was their younger family members. If the aged person was entirely lucky, they might be able to rely on the kindness of a temple or, if the realm was particularly good, the kindness of strangers.
Didra did not have any of those. He had a hovel in the Tumbledowns, where everyone was out for their own selves. The instant he died, there would be at least three people trying to pry the teeth from his mouth or saw the hair off his head. They'd steal the pitiful belongings from his hut, and throw his body into the midden so they could steal his deathbed.
That was why Didra sewed himself into his own shroud when he bedded down for the night. If he should die before he woke, he would at least have some fragment of dignity in his disposal. If the gods would answer him, they would gift him a safe and comfortable place to live out his last days. All he wanted was the intangible things out of his reach. Little things. Mercy. Dignity. And the aforementioned comfort and safety. Just one would do. Please.
Now I lay me down to sleep...
In a life like Didra's, every morning was a pleasant surprise. This one happened to be more surprising than usual. When he escaped his shroud, he saw it all. It was somewhere else. This was not his hovel. This was not his bed. This was not the Tumbledowns.
The bed was far more comfortable. The room far more nice. It had better furniture. More furniture. A decent hearth that didn't threaten to burn his hovel and then his neighbourhood down if he used too much wood. Assuming that he could ever get too much wood.
There were new clothes waiting for him on the chair. Two things that he had never had before. Feeling like a thief, he slipped the robe on and ventured out the door. It was that or walking out naked, and Didra had never been so inclined.
Outside the chamber was another elderly person in a similar robe. "Oh you're new," they said. "Kaer must have taken you up in the night."
"Care?" echoed Didra.
"You'll meet hir soon enough," assured the stranger. "This way. It's breakfast time."
There was a hall. More elderly folks in similar robes. Wide, wide windows showing gently-moving scenery. Didra goggled at the landscape and realised... the whole establishment was moving. Slowly and smoothly. From this height, the world was as pretty as a picture. You couldn't see the misery from up here.
Didra settled for a bowl of familiar gruel - slightly richer than his usual one meal a day - and soon found out what Kaer was.
Ze was a woodcut Hellkin. Hairy, hoofed legs, and a wickedly barbed tail. Ember-red skin and cruel-looking horns that had been capped and set with spikes at one point. There were even thin trails of smoke permanently issuing from hir eyes and clawlike fingertips. The only true difference was the soft voice and friendly nature. Checking on each of the elderly charges. Healing any hurts or easing any woes. Ze could even summon requested foods or treats for each one there.
"Welcome, Didra," said Kaer. A little bit of magic in hir smoking hands flowed into Didra and he felt immediately better. "Sorry for the weird awakening, I do try to gain consent, but... since you were sleeping in your shroud, I thought it prudent."
"Stolen by a devil to get into heaven," Didra marvelled. "Why? My kind have always cast out your kind."
"Yours and all others. Hellkin are even Unwelcome among Unwelcome People," Kaer smiled. It was a warm smile in spite of the pointy teeth. "Just because the world is cruel... doesn't mean we have to be. As for why. Well. I was cursed with immortality and blessed with curiosity enough to learn many, many things. Picked up Wizardry in my first century. So I go about seeking people without hope and gift them a sanctuary."
"Just the old ones?" said Didra. He knew there were plenty of any age who had no hope.
"Oh, all of them. This is just the ward for the elderly. Take a look around if you like. I'm sure some of the little ones will come exploring, anon."
Some of the little ones? How many years had it been since Didra last encountered a young one interested in him or anything he had to say? Too long, he decided.
After breakfast, he was going to go exploring.
[Photo by Paul Pastourmatzis on Unsplash]
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