He lined up his shot carefully, then released the arrow. It flew true, and struck the can from its perch on the fence. "And that's how it's done" he said with a smirk, handing the bow back to Coil.

"That's no fair, you get to practise with the Demai" Coil complained.

"Talent is talent, Coil. I can't help but be good at this, just as you can't help that you're a bad shot". He handed the bundle of arrows to his friend with a smirk.

"Fine, we'll play a new game then" Coil huffed. He nocked an arrow, and pointed the tip at the sky. "Closest to the arrow gets to ask Annabell to the new year feast."

"Roulette? I thought you were going to pick a game you could win" Murphy laughed.

"Don't tempt me too much ham boy, I might just loose this arrow levelled at you" Coil threatened. "Are we playing or not?"

"Alright, alright. But don't you go pouting at me from across the table when I take Annabell to the feast. I don't want you throwing me off my game."

He got ready to start sprinting, and Coil drew the string back. The rules of their game were simple. They would take turns firing the arrow into the sky, and the other would sprint into the field without looking up. Whoever was the closest to the plummeting arrows landing the most out of three shots, would be the victor. The twang of horse hair on wood startled him into a mad dash, and he kept his head down and his ears keen. It was hard to listen for the arrow through his foot falls and heavy beating heart, but soon enough, he heard a whistle and a thud. Turning around, he noticed the bright feathered fletching poking out of the beast mowed grass. He smiled, and bowed to his friend.

"I'd say that's only about twenty feet" he boasted upon his return to the starting line.

"You have no chance" Coil teased, handing Murphy the bow. "I'll bet you one day of helping grumpy old Vaygar do his counts, that I'll get within fifteen."

"That's not a good bet" Murphy scoffed. "I'm not the chief's son. Not my job to help the Counter."

"If you win, I'll tell my father it was me that let his precious brumby out to run a muck through the market."

Murphy considered the offer for a moment, then smiled. "Alright, it's a bet. One more day of cleaning that things stall and I might start to miss the smell."

"It's going to suck to do that after a day of counting" Coil laughed, taking his position at the starting line. "Then to watch me go to the feast with sweet Annabell" he sighed. "You’re in for a rough week ham boy."

"We'll see yet. You've never been able to run very fast with that silver spoon in your gob" Murphy quipped.

"You’re just sour that you will never know the taste of silver" Coil responded.

"I dream of the taste of gold instead, my friend. Now get ready, I've got to go ask Annabell to new years after this" Murphy said with a smile, right before releasing the arrow into the sky.

They walked back to the heart of Malnir after their game. Coil strode victorious, though Murphy insisted he must have been watching the arrow somehow. Dondan was working for the first half of the day, so they went to eat at the pub. It was always a game to the growing boys, to have their friend serve them lunch against his will. The life of a pub boy wasn't a glamorous one, and the boys made sure Dondan would never forget that. The pub was empty in the morning, other than the few loyal drinkers from the night before that clearly hadn't left yet. Murphy recognised one of the dazed men as the husband of one of the hunters, and gave the man a friendly wave on his way past. It was a normal day, but something had him feeling a deep appreciation for it all. Lately, he'd felt as if he was missing this part of his life, so he made sure not to take any moment for granted.

This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

"Do you really have to eat here every day I'm working?" Dondan asked, approaching their table with two mugs of mead.

"I like my drink when it comes to me all bitter" Coil jested.

"Most entertaining service in town I reckon" Murphy added.

"Well it's only wolf meat today, so don't go gettin' too excited" Dondan complained.

"Wolf meat?" Coil scoffed. "Who in their right mind would ever eat wolf meat?"

"It's not that bad. A bit tough, but it tastes like victory in my opinion" Murphy added casually.

Both of his friends looked at him strangely. "When have you ever eaten wolf meat?" Coil asked with a disbelieving expression.

That gave Murphy pause, and he had to search his mind. "I'm not sure" he said eventually, sounding equally as confused as his friends looked.

"I reckon you're making it up" Coil accused. "Either way, I'm not eating no wolf."

"I doubt he'd be quite as picky with you on the menu" Dondan laughed.

"Let's try it then" Murphy said smiling.

"Throw him in the damned cart and go" Serril shouted.

Murphy looked around the room in a hurry, the loud and familiar voice sending his adrenalin into a rush. The room was still barely occupied, and nobody was shouting. Again, his friends looked at him in confusion.

"Are you alright ham boy?" Coil asked with genuine concern.

"Do you need me to grow hands and slap you in your stupid face?" Uundah asked, sounding marginally more concerned.

He remained silent, and studied his friends closely. He was certain of the owner of that last voice, and he was also certain that no rodents sat at their table. "Don't be alarmed" he said slowly. "But I'm not sure you're real."

Dondan took a step closer, and looked carefully into Murphy’s eyes. "Do you want some water Muunfir?" He asked, equally as perturbed by the situation as Coil.

"Where did you hear that name?" Murphy asked suspiciously in return. He stood to his feet, and backed away from the table. His friends didn’t move, they just watched along with worry in their eyes.

"I can't do this by myself you lazy sack of Warlock" Uundah chastised.

He wasn't sure why that voice was so familiar, or why it summoned such a strong image of an ugly little beast to mind. Something about it gave him comfort though, and he felt a nagging draw towards wherever the voice was coming from.

"How do I get to you?" He asked the disembodied voice, prompting another wave of concern from his friends.

"Maybe we should go get the Demai" Coil suggested, standing to approach Murphy.

"What do you mean, how do you get to me? You're here you fucking idiot. Open your eyes" Uundah yelled.

The sound of an explosion behind him made him jump, encouraging Coil and Dondan to yelp and flinch. He whirled around to see no damage, nor any sign of an instigator. "Did you hear that?" He asked his friends.

"What?" Coil scoffed.

"Of course I did. I did that" Uundah boasted.

"I'm so confused" Murphy complained.

"Maybe this will clear things up" the disembodied voice chuckled.

Suddenly, he felt a sharp stinging sensation on his nose. He closed his eyes tightly, trying to hold back the involuntary gushing of water from his eyes. Opening them, he squinted at Uundah. "Did you just punch me in the face?" He scoffed.

"Welcome back, great Muunfir" Uundah replied, not bothering to look down at him. He was instead, in his rodent form, blasting fireballs as frequently as he could summon them. They were on the back of Oats' cart, with Sausage pulling it along at full speed. Oats was paying close attention to the path ahead, and Uundah was firing into the dark forest behind. He was about to ask what they were running from, but a passing fireball illuminated their pursuer in fine detail. There were several humanoid beasts, each around five foot tall. Their grotesque bodies were wrapped in a thick leathery skin, holding in a greedy blubber. Each of them had the same features, making them difficult to tell apart. Their nose took up three quarters of their face, and their beady eyes sat just too close together at either side. The most imposing feature, was the long and lip free line that ran from ear hole to ear hole. It housed what looked like several rows of thin and jagged teeth, along with a meaty bleeding tongue. To finalise the horrific image, they had wiry black hair, scarcely covering their rounded domes.

He placed his hand on Uundah’s shoulder, and opened his mind immediately. Before asking any more questions, he got to helping. He fired off a space bomb, making sure to hit far enough back to avoid the spells pull. To his displeasure, most of the beast's avoided the effect. Only two were pulled in, the others leaping high into the ferns as the rainbow fire flew past. "They seem nice" he said sarcastically, releasing another space bomb.

"They’re smart, so you might be screwed" Uundah said, retaking the staff form.

"What are they?"

"Dream Eaters, according to Serril anyway."

"I had a feeling that was the case. And the big man?"

"Not sure, he threw you in the cart then he and May drew most of them away. Seems they have a taste for you though."

They blasted off some more fireballs, aiming at the ground behind them. He had been aware of the blood under his chin since he woke up, knowing what had attacked him sent shivers down his spine. "Take my face will you" He muttered to himself, anger starting to boil.

Uundah felt his Warlock's mood shift, and experienced his own foreboding emotions. "Murphy, don't even think about…" he began, but was promptly cut off by the mad raving of his impulsive friend.

"Come and try it, you ugly bastards!" He clutched Uundah tightly, then launched himself from the back of the speeding cart, and into the blazing ferns.