Well what a day of it he had had! Archibold was sitting down at last sheltering from the rain, snug and dry under an ancient pine tree. He leaned back against the trunk and felt the comfort of it's support as he gazed across the water and listened to the rain dripping all around him. He carefully unwrapped a piece of cheese (rather crumbly now from his long journey) and some of the biscuits that Hortensia had carefully wrapped in a handkerchief and stored in one of his waistcoat pockets. He had already eaten all of the humbugs and several slices of seedy cake to take away the taste of the six crab apples that he had eaten for his lunch.
'I'll have to be going back soon', he thought 'the rain looks like it might be settling in and I have to find somewhere to safely spend the night'. Much as he adored a good adventure, Archibold felt under pressure on this journey, he hadn't been so far north for many years (gnome years that is - which are far longer than human ones) and even so far away from any metropolis - humans had made many changes that made his journey more perilous and time consuming. Most of all he wanted to find a solution to the great challenge that faced them all, he trusted the call and the path, but his feet were leading him far away from his forest home. 'Must be getting older' he thought, 'not Archie The Bold anymore but Archie Who Wants to be Dry At Home'. The truth was, he did miss his home and most of all Hortensia and baby Harriet, 'what I wouldn't do for a warm bowl of Hortensia's sorrel soup' he thought.
Just then he felt a soft touch on his shoulder. Now, for someone or something to be able to creep up on a gnome without them noticing - is indeed most unusual and more than a little bit scary. 'My Dear Archibold, so many years and your beard is still so soft and fair, how are you, how are you? We caught scent of you early but you moved on so fast that it has taken us a while to find you.' Archibold stumbled to his feet, cheese and biscuit crumbs all over his front, he turned around to face a crowd of the wildest looking gnomes most of us have ever seen. Some were tall and broad, some short, some old and wizened - some ethereal and young, but all, all of them had golden red hair and clear blue eyes.
'Oh my, Oh my' Archibold swept off his green travelling hat and bowed low, for as he greeted them he recognised the beautiful and wild gnomes of the Great Trees of the North.
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