Chapter 17: Strange Meetings

My hair began to get blown all over and my arms pricked in goosebumps as the still air of the cave turned into a cold torrent of wind when I stepped through the portal of a new world. Right above me in the sky was a massive moon that was slightly covered by a thick, whitish ring that went around this planet. “Where the hell am I?”

“Welcome, welcome,” The little blue man who stood in front of me said and began to walk toward the horse stable attached to a large, white Tudor-style house. Except what was inside the stable wasn’t a horse at all, but the giant golden-blue bird alongside its babies. All of which were sitting patiently. “Come, come, I need to feed yer pet.”

I looked back through the portal and saw the rest of the group staying outside. Those cowardly bastards waited over there to see if I got killed first, didn’t they? I gave them all a hard glare and waved them over.

As the rest of my group stepped over to this side, I looked to see the dwarf chop through a large chunk of meat with the help of a two-foot-long knife only a few feet away from the birds.

It hadn’t registered with me until then what he had just said. He thought these beasts were our pets. “Uh, watch out for that bird,” I warned. “It’s not friendly.”

“Sure it is, come closer and you’ll see, lass,” He took one end of the chunk of meat and threw it one-handed at the large bird, which promptly caught it in its mouth, chewed it, and then spat it back onto the ground for the babies to eat.

“Aw, aren't the wee babbies so cute?”

I began to take uncertain steps toward the birds. It seemed he was right, none of them attacked me. Instead, the mama bird just watched me with a careful eye. “What suddenly made her not want to kill us?”

“She never wanted to kill ye, lass, she’s an animal. It only kills to survive, it attacked ye all to have food and protect her babbies.”

“Huh, interesting,” I said. I had stopped several feet away from the dwarf but decided to begin to take more toward her slowly. The bird didn’t make any move to attack me. “Okay, I have to ask. Are you Scottish?”

He gave me a confused look, “What is a Scottish?”

As I approached the dwarf, he grabbed my hands surprisingly quickly with the hand he hadn’t touched the meat with. His large hand fully enveloped mine. “Ah, I see, ye aren’t from this world or Gandria. Yer an interestin’ case, lass.”

I tried to pull my hand away but wasn’t able to get away from the dwarf’s hard grasp until he let go. “How’d you know that just from touching my hand?”

He chuckled slightly and took hold of the other half of the chunk of meat. “It’s a natural gift I’ve harnessed over the years, lass,” He threw the chunk of meat toward the big bird and she caught it much like the last piece, but this time she swallowed it whole instead of giving it to her babies. “Ye get a lot of time to focus on yerself when yer stuck on this planet.”

“What is this planet called anyway?” Finn asked. I noticed he still held a dagger in hand and stared at the bird intently.

“Well, I don’t know the true name of this place, if it even has one. Though, I’ve begun callin’ it Belone.”

“And how does a cobald dwarf end up on this planet anyhow?” Gronan asked. “I thought you were all wiped out.”

“Aye, I heard 'bout that from the previous master. Though, I wasn't there for that. Goddess, Belia, decided my fate to be on this planet many years before that event.”

“Why would she require you on this planet?” His voice seemed interested, but much like the siblings, Gronan didn’t look at the dwarf but toward the birds as he gripped his battle ax in preparation for anything.

He shrugged, “I don’t know that, lass. Now, stop givin’ them such mean looks, all of ye. They don’t like it.”

“Well,” Finn said, keeping his dagger at the ready. “I’m sorry I don’t trust the big bird that just tried to kill all of us.”

“It’s not just a bird, but a prinlotiopolitche!” The dwarf exploded.

We all gave him blank stares.

“Ah, yes, o’course none of ye would know the scholarly name. Oh, como se dice-”

I cut him off. “Was that Spanish?”

“Huh? Oh yeah, it's a gendrid! They're quite sweet if ye know what yer doin', let me show ye,” he took hold of a rag on the table, wiped his bloody hand off with it, and set it down. Then, to all of our dismay, he took several steps toward the ‘gendrid’ with his hands out. I was sure I was about to see this dwarf get bitten in half. But it didn’t try to bite him, instead, it let out a small chirp. The dwarf went down onto one knee, looking down at the ground. It let out a slightly louder chirp. “See?” The dwarf then got back onto his feet and went to the gendrid which put its beak onto the man's hands. “Isn't she a cutie?”

As he pulled away, the world slowed to a halt:

Gendrid:

A large, shape-shifting bird that lives in the mountains of District One. These magical creatures are a rare sight to behold, if you find one, cherish the moment and marvel at these wondrous creatures. Though, perhaps at a distance.

“So sweet,” Finn said, putting his dagger away and crossing his arms. “Who the hell are you, anyways?”

“Ah, yes,” The dwarf said, rubbing the gendrid's head roughly. “M'name's Hegridge. Ye can call me Hedge though, thas what the previous master called me, the dickwad.”

“Who was your previous master?” I asked.

“The wizard ye killed on the beach o'course!”

“And you were a slave to him?” Hazel asked as she clipped her bow to her side.

“Well, I don't know if slave is the right word, but I did do his bidding, whatever it was he wanted.”

“Sounds like a slave to me,” Finn said.

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The dwarf shrugged. “I just did it 'cause I don't mind really, I help out any travelers who want to come onto this planet.”

“Do travelers often come onto this planet without wanting to?” I asked. I heard something in the distance and looked over to see whatever it was. There seemed to be something flying far, far away from here. It had four wings like a butterfly, a large tail that flapped like a flag in the wind, and a big mouth. In a way, it reminded me of a dragon.

“No,” Hedge answered. “Only ones who accept the robe's invitation can come inside o’ here.”

“How did the gendrid accept that invitation?” Gronan asked.

The dwarf was now getting into the gendrid's neck and it closed its eyes in pure bliss. “Like I said earlier, it did not hate ye all, it was just doin' what it needed to survive. When it saw the robe, it didn't care if it went inside or not.”

“So anything that accepts to come in here can?”

“Yup!”

“Like Pokemon?” I asked. “Never mind, so we can come in here whenever?”

“O' course, lass! I love visitors, unless ye are a dickhead o' course, but ye all seem lovely.”

“Well, I guess we'll be here from time to time then, don't y'all think?” I asked the group.

Finn shrugged.

“Of course,” Hazel said, her eyes in wonder as she slowly twirled, looking up at the sky. “This place is beautiful, and it will give us a place to sleep for free.”

Gronan put a hand out toward Hedge. “As long as this place is hosted by such a great host, I will always be glad to visit.”

Hedge turned from the bird with a grin and took his hand. The two of them shook roughly.

“Ah!” Hedge exclaimed as he went toward his front door. “I just remembered I have tea brewing on the pot, would ye all like to come inside?”

“Why not?” Hazel asked. Before she could follow Hedge inside, however, Finn caught her by the hand.

“Wait, are you sure it's safe?” He looked past her toward Hedge.

Hedge waved a hand dismissively. “I mean no harm, I promise ye that!”

Finn continued to stare at him.

“It’s fine, Finn,” Hazel pleaded.

I looked back around at the massive bird. It was still sitting there protectively with its babies. It looked at me with its vibrant, blue eyes and while it didn’t hold the hatred it had earlier, it definitely didn’t give me the kind looks it gave Hedge.

Even so, Hedge had managed to get it to not want to kill us. “I trust him,” I said.

Finn huffed, “What if he’s a murderer or something?”

“Give up the fight, Finn,” Gronan said as began to walk toward Hedge.

“Great,” Hedge said, a wide smile on his face. He truly looked happy to see us. “I’ll get ye all some cups,” He went inside.

I followed him in and was greeted with a house that would’ve been stunning not just for this realm but my own hometown too. The front door led us into the living room, which had a white-black striped carpet that covered the floor with a gray couch and two gray sofa chairs. To the wall in front of us, there was a set of stairs ingrained into one wall that led upstairs, to the right was a white door and a stone fireplace next to it, and to our left was an open kitchen with granite countertops, a brick oven, a fire stove, and a nicely carved, wooden kitchen dining table.

“Wow,” I whispered in awe as I followed Hedge into the kitchen.

The rest followed me inside and had similar reactions.

“You made this?” I asked.

“Yup,” Hedge said as he pulled cups out of a bottom cabinet and set them on the counter that was as big as him.

“How?”

He shrugged, “Just used all the resources in this realm. Took a long time o’course, but it got done eventually.”

“How long have you been here?” Gronan asked.

“Time is a funny thing,” He said as he took the tea kettle off the stove. “When ye look at it when it matters to ye, it moves so fast and ye can never have enough of it. But here, time seems to be as forgiving as the land itself.” He began to pour the tea through a strainer.

“So you don’t know how long you’ve been here?” Finn asked.

“I know it's been a long time, but I could never give ye a number,” He grabbed one of the mugs and took a sip. He nodded in approval. “Now, go ahead and drink while it’s at the perfect temperature.”

We each took one of the mugs and took a sip. He was right. I didn’t remember being much of a tea guy, but this stuff was delicious.

“Perfect,” Hazel said with a nod. “What did you use?”

“I found the herbs in this realm, I call it Hedge tea.”

She smiled, “A perfect name for a perfect tea.”

“Thank ya,” He said gratefully.

“How did you find this place? Was it the robe?” Gronan asked.

“Ah,” Hedge said. “No, the robe was created by the wizard. I found this place...” He trailed off, deep in thought. “I couldn’t tell ye, lass. That was a long time ago, my memory hasn’t kept up with me with the time.”

“But you found it?” I asked. “Like, you just wandered into this place?”

He shrugged. “I guess so, I don’t know how else I would’ve done it unless there is a robe I made like the one ye got, though I’d doubt that. However I got here, though, is no matter to me. This is my home.”

“And it is quite lovely,” Hazel complimented.

“Thank ye, I’m proud of every bit of it.”

“As you should be.”

“How is Gandria anyway?” He asked.

“Well, I can only speak for District One but the Anestrian Empire is still going strong as always.”

Hedge tisked. “Every time I hear how that wee lil island became an Empire, it will always amaze me.”

Her eyebrows raised. “You were around before the War Ages?”

“O’course, I’m a cobald dwarf! I was already here before they even started.”

“I’ve never researched cobald dwarves,” She said excitedly. “Tell me, how long does your species live for?”

“Ah, well,” He thought for a moment. “I don’t know, to tell ye the truth.”

Gronan spoke up, “I was told as a kid that cobald dwarves could live up to four thousand years.”

I felt my mind pause. “Four thousand years?”

“Wow,” Hazel said. “Truly fascinating.”

“If ye say so, lassie,” Hedge said.

“I must ask,” Gronan said. “Are there any more of you?”

He sighed. “I wish, but I think I am the last of my kind. We were a looked down upon race of people and after the War Ages, with how brutal I was told they were, the only way there would be another one such as me would be for them to find the same sanctuary I did.”

Gronan nodded, “I’m sorry that happened to your people.”

“Thank ye, but enough time has passed for me not to feel too sorry about it. These things happen and time moves onward.”

“That it does,” He said.

We each finished our tea and Hedge took our cups. He dunked the cups into a sink filled with water and then pulled them out, revealing them to now be sparkling clean. I knew it must’ve been the cleansing wash.

“See,” Hazel nudged Finn. “Are you not glad you came in?”

“Thank you for the tea,” Finn grumbled.

“Ah, no problem,” He put the cups back into the cabinet. “I wish ye all well on taking down the mayor.”

“It’s still weird how you know so much from a touch,” I said.

“Many years of practice, lass, and ye can do it too.”

“Maybe I’ll have to learn from you someday. Alright guys, everyone ready to get back to truckin’ along?”

“You have the weirdest sayings,” Gronan said.

“What does truckin’ even mean?” Finn asked as we walked out of the house.

“I’m not going to even try to explain what a truck is to y’all.”

When we walked out of the portal, the wind disappeared in an instant and the room became an echoey silence. As the last person stepped through the portal, my robe flew itself around me. Just as it did, text appeared in my vision:

Quest completed:

The Hunt

That was a strange detour.

But what wasn’t? This whole expedition into this world was a strange detour.

And I had the inclination that it would continue to keep getting stranger and stranger.