The prince rested with his hands on his knees, panting to catch his breath. The sun was starting to set, the long shadows hiding in the jungle making the prince suspicious of his surroundings. His heart pounded in his chest as he continued forward, his limbs trembling with that awful mix of hunger and exhaustion.
Soon, the prince came to a split in the path. He kept a careful distance, because between the split was the most peculiar thing: A hollow log, from which sprouted a pair of flailing legs.
‘Elp! ‘Elp! Called the log in a muffled voice.
Well, whatever. The young prince had enough strange encounters for today, thank you very much. On a whim, he took the path to the left. The path had a slight turn to it, but it didn't matter. Not yet anyway.
Soon enough, the prince came to another split in the path. Between the split was the most peculiar thing: A hollow log, from which sprouted a pair of flailing legs. Wait a second… Something about this seemed very familiar.
‘Elp! ‘Elp! Called the log in a muffled voice.
Okay, well… this time he would take a right, and surely, surely he would get fast away from this strange leg tree creature thing. So, he took a right.
Once again, the path turned slightly. Once again-..
‘Elp! ‘Elp! Called the log in a muffled voice.
The prince sighed and hung his head. Maybe after seeing it one too many times, the prince had warmed up to the strange creature, because he felt guilty about leaving it behind once again. Grabbing the legs by the ankles, he gave them a sharp tug.
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Pop!
Out tumbled a creature of a short, wide statue. Its big bald head was lumpy like a potato, and it had a round nose the size of a lemon. It wore tattered clothes, and smiled at the prince with dimpled rosy cheeks. The creature was less than half the prince's height, but still it puffed out its chest and crossed its arms as if it owned the jungle.
“Nice ta meet ya, lad! I'm Gnobby, the Gnome! Wot be yer name?”
The young prince blinked exactly once as he processed the situation. Smoke rose from his ears as he spoke: “My… My name?”
“Y’know, the thing people call you by? Well, if you don't have one, I'll have to give you one as a reward for saving me. Let's see… Should be something fitting… What about… Stinky?”
“R-.. Rudeus.” Suddenly, the prince's manners returned to him, and he bowed to the creature, taking a step back with his right foot, clenching his left hand in a fist in front of his belly button, and clenching his right hand in a fist behind his back. “Rudeus Aurelios, first prince of the Aurelios Kingdom. Pleasure to make your acquaintance, Lord Gnobby.”
Gnobby let out a sharp whistle. “Aurelios, eh? Ye sure are a long way from home, stinky.”
Rudeus suddenly felt himself at ease around Gnobby. A quick introduction certainly goes a long way.
“Yeah, I got swept up by some pirates, caught up in a storm, and now I'm here. I should be fine though, they’ll know who I am the moment I step into town, and then it'll only be a couple weeks till I'm back home.”
“A couple weeks? It's gonna take a lot longer than that, stinky.”
“A couple months, then?” Rudeus said, meekly.
“Let me put it this way: If you shot an arrow straight through the globe, we would be the point, and Aurelios would be the plume.”
Rudeus went pale as he realized the gravity of his situation. Gnobby patted him on the leg: “Ah, cheer up lad, I'm sure things’ll work out. Hey, how about I give you a hand? You did help me outta that stump and all. Even after two others passed me by!”
Rudeus brightened up a little at the offer, and bowed his head. “Thank you very much for your offer, Lord Gnobby. I humbly accept.”
“Ah, not a worries, lad! Let's see… I know some folks who might be willing ta-..” Gluuurgle. Gnobby was interrupted by the grumble of Rudeus’ stomach.
“Heheh. Sorry.”
“Guess we should start by grubbin’. Here, eat up!” Gnobby offered him a grub. Rudeus knew from that moment forward that he had a very long journey ahead of him.