1.03

Bodwyn stood in complete darkness. He couldn’t even see his hands when he waved them in front of his face.

A shivering cold slowly crept around, enveloping his body. As he started to shiver, a coldness clawed from within his very soul. Bodwyn’s lungs started to ache and seize, each breath was more laboured than the last.

Suddenly, a blinding, bright light burst up from the ground a few feet away from him. A bountiful pile of gold and platinum coins, and a healthy dose of precious gems greeted the leporid’s curious eyes. Without hesitation, Bodwyn dove into the pile of treasure.

A glowing warmth thawed Bodwyn through as he lay in the pile of treasure. Bodwyn hid within the pile for what felt like forever, he had no intention of leaving.

A light flickered and an image of Bodwyn’s father appeared. Except for the copious amount of ostentatious jewellery, Bodwyn was a spitting image of his father, down to the white fur patch on the chin.

Bodwyn stared at his father’s disapproving eyes. Bodwyn stood from the pile of riches and approached his father, who now shook his head.

“Dad? I…I…what do you want from me?” Bodwyn’s shaky start ramped up to a passionate yell. Tears burned as father turned away from his son. “I’ve never been good enough for you.” Bodwyn turned away from his father. The coins and gems floated over to him and wrapped around his body in a fuzzy embrace.

“Don’t forget about our deal.” An ancient voice rumbled through Bodwyn. “I can take away what I gave you.”

“I know, I know. I’m working on it. I think these two I’ve just met will help” Bodwyn’s voice was weak, robbed of its normal confident charm.

“Your time is running out.”

“Don’t worry, I won’t back out.” A hint of fear crept into Bodwyn’s voice.

“Good.” Bodwyn felt the presence of the voice disappear.

The various riches floated away from him and formed a hideous face. It smiled at him then erupted forth and swallowed him.

Bodwyn awoke in a sweat, his breath short and rapid. The blankets were wrapped tightly around him, constricting him.

Bodwyn wrestled with the blankets and fell into a messy heap on the floor with a heavy thud.

The onyx pendant burned. He found his hand crossbow sitting on a busted-up table. He grabbed his weapon, and patted down his body. His heart skipped a beat when he realised his bag was missing.

Bodwyn burst out of his room and looked along the hallway. He realised he had no idea which room Sharampf was in.

Bodwyn ran to the closest door and pounded on it with a heavy fist. He waited a few moments and pounded on it again.

The door opened to reveal a minotaur. He looked to be a little over seven feet in height, one of his horns was broken and Bodwyn could see his bulging muscles through his tiny shirt.

“Can I help you?” The minotaur growled. He snorted as he slowly leaned down closer to Bodwyn’s retreating face.

“No. So sorry to disturb you. I’m looking for a friend, but she didn’t say what room she was in.” Bodwyn let out a nervous chuckle.

“Not here.” The minotaur slammed the door and the hinges strained under the force.

Bodwyn tried the next door. After a few minutes, there was no reply and Bodwyn decided he should move onto the next one.

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“Bodwyn, what are you doing?” Bodwyn spun around and saw Sharampf was standing at her door. She looked tired but was perfectly dressed.

“My bag, have you got it?” Bodwyn ran over to her door and danced around in hopes to see the bag.

“Yeah, I put it on the bed.” Sharampf stepped aside and Bodwyn raced into the room.

“It’s not here.” Bodwyn’s voice was clearly strained with panic. Sharampf walked to his side and looked at the bed.

Fenrick had woken up early, seemingly refreshed on minimal sleep. His daily, morning routine consisted of push-ups, sit-ups and running on the spot for twenty minutes.

“Come on girl, time to get up.” He stretched as he peered out the window. The lazy pinks and oranges of dawn had just started to paint the sky.

Fenrick entered the almost empty mess hall. He caught the eyes of the rock goblin that had performed the previous night.

Goblins and gnomes were similar, both originally came from the Fey Realm. Without much effort, a gnome could match peak physical, human prowess. They were naturally hardy to both physical and magical harm and lived for centuries, tying with the sea-dwelling dwarves of Gamerrah.

On the other hand, goblins had some kind of affinity to an element. Rock, ice, metal, fire, and air. They all had innate magical abilities, tied to their element. Their lifespan wasn’t as long as a gnome’s, they still outlived humans.

However, there was one issue with their Fey ancestry. The longer they lived away from their natural Realm, they slowly lost these traits. Bloodlines that stayed away from the Fey Realm for long amounts of time weer sometimes looked down upon by others.

“Is this seat taken?” Fenrick asked.

“No. Sit down. Name’s Mamzo, what’s yours?” The goblin held out his hand as Fenrick sat down.

“Fenrick. That was great music you were playing last night. Tad here loved it.” Fenrick pointed to the tortoise. She stretched her head up at Mamzo, and he patted her.

“Glad someone loved it, not many tips last night. One of my worst payments in this little town, might have to move on soon.” Mamzo growled. Fenrick fished for his coin pouch and handed Mamzo four gold pieces.

“Wow, thanks. Are you sure?” The goblin slowly reached for the gift.

“Not at all.” The same waiter from the previous night approached their table. He gave them each a courteous nod.

“What will you be having this morning, sir?”

“What do you recommend?” Fenrick asked Mamzo.

“The roast potato and carrots are amazing. Definitely recommend that.” Mamzo put a piece of coal in his mouth, and it flared as he breathed in.

“Two serves of the potato and carrots please. One for me and one for her.”

“Certainly. Any drinks?” the waiter asked.

“Some kind of coffee?”

“Certainly. And for her?”

“Just some water please.”

“Not a problem. Two serves of potato and carrots, a coffee, and a bowl of water. Coming right up.” The waiter gave a nod and flitted away into the kitchen.

“You’re gonna want something to wash down that coffee. Thick as oil.” Mamzo chuckled.

“How long have you been here?” Tad gave a billowing yawn and Fenrick gave her a scratch on her head.

“Close to two months now I’d say. What’s a knight of your Order doing way out here? I thought the Orders stayed within a day’s travel of Dawn’s Ledge, if they don’t stay in the city.”

“Yeah, they do. I…have a special exception.” Fenrick’s friendly tone deflated.

“Fair enough. Not my place to push.” Mamzo’s coal glowed bright red again. The waiter returned with the food and whisked away again for the drinks.

“What brings you to such a tiny town?” Fenrick asked. He quickly shovelled some potatoes in his mouth. The flavour of the meat fat and herbs was elating.

“Haven’t travelled around Gamerrah for a while and so thought it was about time again.” Fenrick heard a thud from the floor above.

“Have you had any dealings with Hank and his crew since you’ve been here?”

“I saw that fight last night, was impressive. Personally, no. Aside from an empty threat here and there, they normally walk away when I show em my dagger.” The goblin flashed a masterwork dagger that had a wave-like blade.

“That’s a fine-looking piece of weaponry.” Fenrick turned as he heard footsteps thudding down the stairs. It was Bodwyn and Sharampf. Sharampf spotted him first, pointed him out to Bodwyn and the pair ran over to him.

“Fenrick, someone stole my bag last night.” Bodwyn was riddled with panic.

“What makes it worse, they knew I had it,” said Sharampf.

“Right. Did you check for any clues in the room?” Fenrick asked.

“Uh, nope. Not thinking straight. Can you come up and have a look with us?” Bodwyn asked.

“Yeah, of course.” Fenrick got up.

“I can help. Got nothing better to do,” said Mamzo.

“Really? Thankyou.” Bodwyn shook his hand and they all quickly made introductions.

The five of them hurried back up the stairs and Sharampf led them to her room. Mamzo and Fenrick immediately started to scout the room. Sharampf joined in but Bodwyn stood there, frozen by panic.

“Where was it in the room?” Fenrick asked.

“I fell asleep holding onto it,” said Sharampf.

“Oh.” Fenrick fell back into silence as he continued to scour the room.

“I think I’ve found something,” called Mamzo. The group gathered around him as he pulled himself up and held a small worm-like thing.

“That looks like a bit of a rat’s tail,” said Sharampf.

“Yep,” said Mamzo. “Where to from here?”