1.05

Mamzo got a quick look at the illuminated, cloaked figure. They stood roughly five feet in height, and strawberry hair dangled out from beneath the hood.

“You have s-”. Before he could finish, a mangy black rat leapt at his face, though the attack had little effect, due to his rock-hard skin.

“Get off.” Mamzo roared in frustration. The rat was stronger than he realised, and he stumbled backward and tripped as he tried to pull it off.

“Did you hear that?” Bodwyn asked.

“Hear what?” asked Sharampf.

“I think Mamzo’s in trouble. C’mon, let’s go.” Bodwyn charged the door and screamed in pain as his attack bounced back.

Fenrick approached the door, but quickly sidestepped as he sensed an incoming threat from behind. Sharampf’s mechanical arm slammed the heavy timber into a million pieces.

“Please, a warning next time.”

“I’m sorry. I was just trying to help.” Sharampf looked mortified. Fenrick’s wide eyes scared her a little.

“Hey, its fine. Just…a warning next time. That’d be great. Fenrick readied his sword and shield and looked at Bodwyn. “You okay?” Bodwyn nodded, and the four of them entered the building.

Dim light barely showed what made up the endless piles of junk that crowded the room.

“I reckon they’ve been stealing for a long time,” said Sharampf.

“They stole from me,” Bodwyn growled.

“We’ll sort it out,” said Fenrick.

A scuffle could be heard up ahead and the group rushed in. Fenrick hurried to help Mamzo with the rat.

“Where’s my bag?” Bodwyn raced in and pointed his crossbow to the hooded figure.

“Whoa, whoa. I’m sorry.” The figure pulled the hood down and revealed the face of a young elven girl. She brushed aside her thick, curly hair and revealed the tell-tale signs of an elf. Long, pointed ears and full, glowing, green eyes.

“Ah shit, I’m so sorry. I didn’t know you were a kid.” Bodwyn dropped his weapon and averted his eyes.

“Scibbs, get off.” She held her arm out and the rat ran down Mamzo’s body and scampered up the girl’s cloak.

“We don’t mean you any harm.” Sharampf held up her hands and the rest followed. “We’re looking for something.” Sharampf watched as the fear in the young girl’s eyes waned.

“Where’s my bag? Please? The one you stole last night.” Bodwyn still looked at the floor.

“Its here, somewhere. Scibbs, help.” She and the rat rushed into a mountain of junk and frantically dug into the pile.

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“Sorry for scaring you,” said Fenrick.

Sharampf joined the search, unsure of what to do.

“What’s so important about the bag?” Mamzo asked. He walked over to Bodwyn and watched as the others dug around.

“It’s a useful item. And there’s a few important things in there of mine.” Mamzo was unnerved by the frantic energy that emanated from Bodwyn.

“Here, got it.” The kid grabbed the bag and stumbled over to Bodwyn. He greedily snatched the bag and immediately went shoulder deep as he fished around.

“The map. There was a map. Where is it?” Nerves wracked Bodwyn’s voice.

“Oh, that. I don’t have it.” The kid nervously looked at the ground.

“How? Why did you steal it in the first place?” Bodwyn started to shake.

“You’re one to talk, Bodwyn. Calm down. My name is Fenrick, this is Sharampf, Mamzo, and Bodwyn. What’s your name?” Fenrick stepped between Bodwyn and the child. The rat hissed at Bodwyn.

“My name’s Eleanor, Ellie for short. And this is Scibbs.” Ellie scratched the chin of the rat.

“Where are your parents, Ellie?” Fenrick asked.

“They’ve been dead a while.” Ellie’s voice shook as she spoke.

“I’m sorry to hear that, Ellie. Are you from around here?”

“Where are you from?”

“My parents and I moved around a lot. I’m not really from anywhere.”

“How long have you been living here?” Fenrick fanned his hand over the room.

“Almost a year.”

“Not a nice place for a kid, is it?”

“Its not too bad. But it gets really cold.”

“That’s no good. We’ll try and do something to help you with that. But first, we need your help. Bodwyn’s map, do you know where it is?” Fenrick’s warm tone eased Ellie a little.

“I gave it to Hank. Told him it was a rare map. He gave me food for it.”

“Do you steal for Hank?”

“Sometimes.”

“And what about all this other stuff?”

“Mostly trash that people are throw out. Fills the place up. Hank says if I steal him some good stuff, he’ll help look after me.”

“Doesn’t sound like the kind of person you should be hanging out with, does it? Ellie slowly shook her head.

“So, we take the fight to Hank,” said Bodwyn.

“Do you know where we might find Hank and his gang?” Fenrick asked.

“Yeah. They’re in the forest just outside of town. I can take you there if you want.”

“I think that might be a little dangerous for you. Can you tell us how to get there?”

“I’ll be okay, they know me.”

“Not if we were with you. Can you draw us some kind of map or something?”

“It can be a little tricky. The fey pop up in there from time to time and make things different to how they should be.”

“Its okay, I’m pretty good at reading into that trickery. Aside from a bunch of thugs, is there anything you can warn us about?” Fenrick asked.

“There’s a strange metal man. I’ve never seen it do anything, but I know Hank has been trying to get it working. Could be dangerous.” Ellie’s map was incredibly detailed for something so quickly put together.

“You’ve got a real talent there Ellie. Have you ever thought of pursuing art?” Sharampf was looking over Fenrick’s shoulder.

“Nah. Its not as good as what I’ve seen in the museums.”

“Keep it up, I reckon you will be.” Sharampf gave an awkward, but warm smile.

“You think so?” A light sparked in her eyes.

“Yup,” Sharampf replied.

“I think I will.” Ellie sidled up to her map. “I’ve shown you a back way to get in. Hopefully you can get in unnoticed.”

“Thank you, Ellie. Hole up here, keep safe. We’ll come find you when everything is safe.”

“Um. Are you going to kill him?” Ellie’s question startled Fenrick. “He wasn’t always this bad, he used to bring me food and check in on me. Stealing for him is only a new thing.”

“Not if we can help it.” Fenrick offered a soft smile and turned to walk out of the house. The others followed, except Bodwyn lingered.

“I’m sorry there kiddo. The way I spoke to you and pointed my weapon at you. Not cool. I just really need that map.” Bodwyn smiled at her and ruffled her hair.

“I heard this really angry sounding voice when I held the map. It said it wanted to make me an offer.” Her voice was a whisper now. “Have you heard that voice?”

“Yes, I have. And let me tell you now, the deal isn’t worth it. Stay safe.” Bodwyn reached into his bag and pulled out a small dagger. “Learn how to use that, along with Scibbs, you’ll be pretty good at keeping yourself safe.” Ellie took the dagger with a beaming smile.