“For the heavens take cover when the skies are scaled, and the clouds are ablaze. For even they know that Dragons are never good news,” Preached the tavern’s newest drunk. Many knew what he wanted, a gold coin for a good tale. Poor, old fool. He used to be intelligent at one time. He could’ve been something, if not for that blasted, meat bag of a man that he calls “father.” One sip of mead and he was-

            “Agathra’n!” Blinking, I investigated the general direction of the voice. Judging by the clean shave and the white strip of hair in his beard he was trying to hide his age, though, I would love to look like him when I get to his age. He was wearing wrapped silk around his body, not bad looking but looks are always deceiving. The mysterious gentlemen tossed me a bag that spread ten gold coin in front of me. I looked at it. The gold had stains of red. I choked down the last of my drink. Nothing was ever good in the swamp lands. The men and the women were all after your pocket. Sadly, they could never catch mine. My magic never was slower than the fingers on the edges of their palms. I never cursed them for trying; that would be unfair, like out drinking one of them to prove their mead was no match for my water.

 “Your gold is no good to me. Go three days north to someone who can help you,” I voiced, making my opinion known. The gentlemen snarled as he grabbed his gold from my table. I used to have no problem taking that kind of man’s gold in exchange for telling him exactly what he didn’t want to hear. I seized ever since J’arrmeklian promised, however, that he would summon trolls to attack me if I brought him false coin again. How were I to know he would be serious? I wished that he warned me they were zombies in the first place. I don’t specialize in the undead.

            “You want a story lassie?” The drunk man spoke ungainly, “I could tell you one for some- “

            “Gold coins? No thank you. I’m on my way out the door. Better to not waste the night time,” I started leaving gold for my “drink.” If that is what they called alcohol. I walked out the door to see two thugs. I rolled my eyes. I didn’t have the time. You can only properly harvest nightcaps, at night. I sighed there was going to be no way out of it. That is until my friend walked up to me.

            J’arrmeklian, the good, was not the wizard to be tempered with. There was a swiftness that made him scary. No sooner that you decide to punch him you are a bunny. Flopping over the oversized feet because he never got the bunny right, on purpose. Three bunny hops you would change back-the bigger the feet he gave the more time he gave himself to walk away in laughter. He was a short man to say the least. They didn’t consider him full blooded nord by any means. His eyes drooped from insomnia and the once magnificent color of his amber eyes were now a dark, haunting, piss color. His white, un-kept, mat of hair was hidden under his hood. His beard, one of the three things you could see from under his hood, was a light grey, black streaks from sleeping by the fire pit on the cold treacherous nights of winter, still laid to waste on the snow-white color that it was.

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            “You look like a cinder that can’t be burned,” I noted taking to his gesture of his arm as a sign I needed to walk with him. We calmly walked from the thugs who were too scared to attack me because he was an ally.

            “I sense a danger in the air. You must follow me. Or, keep to your home in the hills of the hobbits,” his old, husky voiced managed to scratch out. He took to being a head of me. He needed to get to his staff soon or else the old man would shrink more by falling flat on his face. I sighed. If only he were to walk slower this wouldn’t happen. Guess what they say is true; little man, big problems.

            “Why am I taking to the hills? There can’t be something that devastating that I couldn’t have sensed while in the tavern.

            “Getting drunk and using your magic again? Remember what happened last time? You told me that my son would take something precious- “

            “And give the greatest gift to a child of your kin. I remember. I still believe the fortune to be true. I haven’t been wrong yet. The bartender’s wife died in her sleep from poisoned mead, the baker was pregnant with twins, now named Tarnian and Falrker and- “

            “Yes, I know you were about to tell me that I had left that recipe in the cupboard. I know you are accurate, I’m not that- “

            “Senile?” I asked him to read his words. He grabbed his staff in a gruff manner turning to face me. His face pervaded by frustration. He took the end of his cane and beat the top of my head with it.

            “And you, oh wise one should have seen that coming!” He roared. I laughed at his frustration. I was amazed by him and his ever so transparent personality. He huffed, snorted while closing his eye, and then looked back to me in seriousness.

            “For tonight trust me,” He stated quite seriously. I was taken aback by his seriousness wondering where the man that was in front of me had gone. I knew I had to listen to him if he was being this serious to me. I tried to see what he was talking about but, I couldn’t see anything that would happen. I nodded. We parted ways. I headed to my home in the hills of the hobbits. It was all I could do. The only thing I could foretell about tonight- it was going to be a long night and there is to be no sleep for the wicked.

                                                                        ---  ---  ---

            The following morning there was mustering voices in the hills of dark magic. I shivered at the thought. Dark magic was forbidden by all wizards in the time of peace. The hobbits had heard of rumors of the dragon hunter guild recruiting a wizard. What would the dragon hunters need a wizard for? Why have I not heard of such a job? I was lost in thought when I came to ask one of them by mistake.

            “I have no idea what they would want with a wizard. They have those weapons made of dragons to hunt dragons. Makes no sense to me either.”

            I ignored what she had said. I had no care for the dragon hunters. Dragons were helpful to keeping the nord population under control. Even I on day would probably be burn to a crisp ash pile by the flames of one. As this thought passed through my mind my vision went blurry, my body became dizzy and I could almost feel as if I was falling down a never-ending hole. With the help of the hobbit community, I made it to my home with just enough time to fall to my floor, a vision came to play and suddenly, I-