A few days have passed in Csteria where Winthorp, Gabusmead, Nolan, and Nimbus had settled. Gabusmead noticed that Winthorp was quiet and he slept for a majority of the time until he needed a drink. Gabusmead on the other hand took the time to explore Csteria and noted what places to buy certain healing potions. On a typical day Gabusmead would be the first one up to care for Nolan, but it seemed Nimbus insisted on taking care of the infant. This gave Gabusmead some freedom in order to collect some of his thoughts in the current situation. A lot had happened to the dwarves in a short span of time. The elven infant, death, as well as stumbling onto this village. On top of all this, the discovery of Bilgard the Great and his hidden life that no one was aware of. Gabusmead began down the rotted rickety steps of the tavern where he usually found Feddwig sweeping or cleaning his glasses to open for the evening. Pungent odors from the night prior with little to no circulation, various smells of booze and left over drinks invaded Gabusmead’s nose. Reaching the bottom of the stairs, without realizing, Gabusmead stepped on a creature’s tail due to his preoccupied thoughts of the past few days. The creature didn’t seem to react one bit, for they were passed out from a night of drinking. It was the same creature the group met upon walking into the tavern.
“Aye, some might say, he’s as drunk as a skunk.” Feddwig said in a raspy voice which was followed up with his laughter.
Gabusmead looked at the creature with black fur with specific white tufts on his tail and chest. Gabusmead didn’t quite understand what the laughter was about, but simply shrugged it off.
“Going out today again are we?” Feddwig inquired of Gabusmead.
“Aye, yee have been lookin’ out for some good healin’ items for our travels. I’ve noticed yee have some herbs yee need.”
“FUZZ!!!” Feddwig shouted which startled Gabusmead.
“What are you yelling for? I’m right here…” Fuzz said annoyed as he came up from under the bar. Fuzz stretched out his arms and scratched the tufts of his fur with his claws.
“Oh, I didn’t even know you were under there Fuzz. Hey, can you escort our wee little friends here. He is going out to the market. We don’t need him getting conned or scooped up.”
Fuzz yawned exposing his huge mouth of teeth and he leapt over the bar. Gabusmead had forgotten how muscular and daunting Fuzz was standing merely a few inches away from him.
“C’mon shorty, let's move on.” Fuzz led the way to the exit and Gabusmead began to follow.
Suddenly, a black shadow swooped overhead which was accompanied by some innocent laughter. Fuzz, stunned by these sudden movements, froze in his tracks before he could open the tavern doors. As the black blur settled to the floor, before them stood Nimbus with Nolan giggling charismatically.
“Ca-...can I come with you guys?” the bat fidgeted nervously as he spoke.
“Laddy, you’ll need to leave Nolan here. He cannot be seen by others…it’s too-”
“I will watch the little pointy eared menace.” Feddwig said, interrupting Gabusmead.
The flapping of wings created a mini dust cloud as Nimbus flew over to Feddwig. Gabusmead coughed as the mini dirt cloud filled his lungs. Nolan was still giggling with glee at the short flight and when Nimbus landed, he gently placed Nolan in Feddwig’s care. With a few slow rocks, Nolan soon laughed himself to sleep which made Feddwig chuckle quietly.
“You guys go, just be careful. I will feed him if he awakens from his sleep.” With this, the three left the dingy tavern and ventured into the village.
Out into the crowded village, it was filled with various creatures of different species, sizes, and shapes. Some of the creatures were even shorter than Gabusmead to his surprise. Vendors yelling out what they’re latest deals and their wares. Plenty of those who looked as though they were preparing to journey out of Csteria to forage for themselves or their families. Gabusmead would never admit it, but he felt out of place and as though he wasn’t safe from anything or anyone. He was not familiar with beastfolk like Winthorp was and he felt a bit foolish for thinking negatively of them. It was more fear that riddled Gabusmead rather than any sort of prejudice; he felt out of his element.
“You alright short man?” Fuzz said, noticing that Gabusmead was in a trance.
“Aye. Just thinkin’ about what to get.”
Nimbus seemed just as uncomfortable as Gabusmead was. Ears twitching, fidgeting with his tiny fingers, and his eyes darting every which way. In this village, he seemed like he was an easy target and Gabusmead was unsure why. Slinking back a bit, Gabusmead figured this would be the perfect opportunity to ask Nimbus what his ordeal was.
“Aye laddy, what is with yee shakin’ like a leaf?” Gabusmead inquired.
Nimbus adjusting his glasses and nervously looking at Gabusmead, was unsure to talk about his past so openly. Despite building up the trust with the dwarves, Nimbus still felt similarly to what Gabusmead was feeling. The feelings of fear seemed to have them a bit uneasy and weren't reassuring in the slightest.
“I…uh…I am not sure how to say this, but I am not exactly well liked in the village.” Gabusmead looked puzzled by Nimbus’s comment. How was he hated amongst his own kind? Without realizing it, Fuzz seemed to have stopped in the middle of the crowd and Gabusmead crashed into the tiger’s backside. Fuzz whipped around and his serious hazel eyes pierced Gabusmead.
“Follow me.”
Nimbus had a sullen look on his face and they continued to follow Fuzz who decided to head outside of the village. This worried Gabusmead a bit, but they continued to walk along a dirt path in silence. Gabusmead was puzzled as to why they needed to leave the village and what they both had in store for him. Impatience struck and Gabusmead frustratingly stopped in his tracks, noticing that the village was a mere speck at this point.
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“Aye! What is this!? Why we need to be so far away!?”
Nimbus looked up at Gabusmead, he let out a sigh and looked at Fuzz, as if waiting on his approval. Fuzz nodded and stopped his tracks to let Nimbus tell his story. Nimbus continued to twiddle his tiny fingers and his face looked as though he was resolving something in his mind. Nimbus sighed and began to tell Gabusmead his story.
“My parents wanted peace from other local villages and even went to kingdoms to seek some help and protection for our species. This sadly led to lies and misunderstandings…”
Tension filled the air, Fuzz’s tail pounded against dirt and Nimbus’ ears flopped to the sides of his furry face. Gabusmead looked at both of them with confusion and baited breath. The only sound that could be heard was the wisps of grass being rustled by the light breeze.
“My…my parents who had heart in their efforts were murdered and the elves sent their men to burn down our villages…pillage and worse…kill those who they would cook or use for expensive clothes. They took over Csteria and turned us into slaves. We had to work day in and day out to have some sort of punishment for asking for equality amongst the elves. They beat us down to remember we were scum and disgusting abominations. The other kingdoms simply turned a blind eye to this…”
Nimbus’s words were shaky and he felt his eyes were slowly filling with a watery liquid. This is something that was very personal to Nimbus and a matter he never brought up around others easily. Gabusmead and Fuzz allowed him a moment to collect his emotions. Adjusting his glasses and clearing his throat, he continued on with describing his past.
“So here in Csteria, I am not treated equally even among my own kind. Just because my parents, who wanted more for us such as resources and even just bits of bread, ended up causing an ongoing war unintentionally. Luckily, that’s when Bilgard caught wind of the happenings because he would come up every now and again for certain materials and items for his clan in exchange for his bountiful harvests. When he found out what was going on…he-”
“He sent in his men to beat down and scare away those elves. Man, those elves' egos were so tarnished they have been pouting about it since.” Fuzz interjected.
Nimbus nodded and seemed to nervously continue to twiddle his fingers and occasionally adjusting his glasses. Gabusmead refused to let him stew on this issue alone and walked toward Nimbus for a tight embrace. Nimbus, shocked by such a gesture, was unsure how to respond. Fuzz simply chuckled at the display and Gabusmead continued to remain in the hold. Nimbus slowly began to smile at the dwarves' kindness and understanding.
“Aye lad, ya know, I be frightened of ya when we first met. I didn’t know whether or not to trust yee but, yee have proven me stupid of me own fears.” Gabusmead said while chuckling.
“I hate to ruin this heartwarming moment, but you needed some stuff for potions and such yeah? We should get a move on then.” Fuzz said as he began to move forward, heading back toward the village.
Gabusmead and Nimbus soon followed, side by side one another, accepting of their newly formed friendship. Gabusmead felt inclined to share some details about his past with Nimbus so he could ensure Nimbus could further trust him and have some understanding for his feelings.
“Yee know, me father abandoned me and left me with Bilgard. I have always been interested in healin’ and messin’ around wit’ erbs instead of fightin’. Me father was a mountain dwarf and all they do is fightin’. So yee left me wit’ Bilgard since they had known one another through dwarven pacts an such. Me father left me and never looked back. Bilgard thought yee was…peculiar…but he accepted me for who I was. I tend to find meself wonderin’...if me dad truly just sees me as a burden or if he wonders about me from time to time. Ah well.”
Nimbus, bewildered by how forward Gabusmead was with him, pondered what to say.
“Looks like in a way, Bilgard gave us both the courage to believe in ourselves again.” Nimbus said, smiling and gazing up at the crystal clear skies.
Gabusmead silently agreed with this, as they both began up the dirt road toward the village. They were silent as they began to head back, but this silence was something that was not riddled with hostility and awkwardness like it was before. The atmosphere was now calm and filled with mutual understanding feelings. Tracks of crunching dirt and Fuzz’s inconsistent tail movements were the only things that could be heard for a bit. Fuzz’s ears twitched and he suddenly stopped before entering the village. Unknowingly, both Gabusmead and Nimbus crashed into the Fuzz and both tumbled backward.
“Something ain’t right…I smell some low life scum…” Fuzz said growling every word in his booming low tone.
“Yee sure yee not smelling that putrid creature that lazes about at the tavern.” Gabusmead said jokingly.
Nimbus’s ears also twitched and was shocked he didn’t pick up on it before. He began to shake uncontrollably, worried about what was approaching them. Gabusmead remained cautious with the other two and grew worried with what was about to commence.
Two color creatures that were reminiscent of fall came over to the three. Their white tipped tails perked and upright, their clothing filled with holes and very baggy. Beady brown eyes and pointed yellow teeth with their mischievous grins.
“Hey Fuzzy pants, you seen Dev around? He hasn’t returned from his tracking yet…you wouldn’t know anything about that would ya?” One of the creatures spoke almost a little too casually.
“Why would I know where one of your fox imbeciles are? Have you left to search for him yet?”
The foxes looked at one another as if they didn’t believe anything Fuzz had to say. Unconvinced, they continue their questioning and look suspiciously at Nimbus.
“Could we borrow your batty friend for a bit? I mean, it’s all for the good cause in finding our friend.” One of the foxes approached Fuzz closely, looking up at him with a hint of overconfidence. Without knowing, one of the foxes approached Gabusmead from behind, sniffing the dwarf. Gabusmead, unsure how to act yet, allowed the creature to continue to give him what appeared to be a scent search.
“Nimbus has nothing to do with one of your buddies missing and if I were you…” Fuzz then gripped the foxes neck, gagging for breath, the foxes eyes seemed to almost pop out of its sockets. The other fox companion acted immediately and rushed over and bared his teeth toward Fuzz’s long tail. Without hesitation, Fuzz used his muscular tail to grip the other fox by its neck where it faced the same dilemma with his friend.
“I would run along now and don’t ever try to get smart with us again..” Fuzz said emotionlessly which sent a shiver down Gabusmead’s spin. This was a side of Fuzz he did not wish to see and hoped he would not get on his bad side.
Violently thrown to the ground, the foxes both whimpered and skidded into the village as fast as they could. A dust cloud of dirt was left in the presence of Fuzz and he simply grunted with annoyance.
“Damn foxfolk, they are always itching to piss people off.”
“Aye, what was that all about!? One moment we bond, thee next, yee fightin’ for yer lifes!?” Gabusmead said, flustered about what occurred.
“Pay no mind dwarf, this is just what it’s like in Csteria. You punch first and ask questions later. The creatures challenge the one that’s the biggest to prove their dominance…such is the way of a typical animal. People always think I know somethin’ just because I know everyone here. Those two are always causing trouble amongst our village, they intimidate others just because they run in a pack…pack of idiots if you ask me.”
Nimbus looked over Gabusmead, lifting his hair and rustling through it. Nimbus then found his way into Gabusmead’s satchel which was not a welcomed gesture. Gabusmead lightly shoved Nimbus due to these sudden actions.
“Aye, what is yee problem!? I assure yee, I ain’t smelling good anywhere right now lad!?”
Nimbus' ears had suddenly dropped and he could tell he should’ve informed Gabusmead before touching him as he did.
“Sorry Gabusmead, I was just making sure they didn’t bite you and making sure they didn’t steal anything. Bad habit of mine, I will be sure to ask next time. They acted so quickly, you just never know and the adrenaline from that situation sometimes doesn’t allow people to process if they have a wound or not. So I wa-”
“Thank ya lad, but just call me Gabus. Yee don’t need to go on, your jargon is beyond me anyhow.”
Suddenly, there was some screeching in the village. The shrills of several creatures were too ear piercing for Nimbus who had to cover his ears. Fuzz scoffed and took off into the village to see what was happening.
“Aye!? Wait fer’ us!” yelled out Gabusmead who darted toward where Fuzz was running.
Nimbus was slow to follow but he made his way through the crowd with the other two. Creatures were scrambling over one another and running into their homes. Some stepped on one another’s tails which caused much more commotion with those falling over and squealing. Some were holding onto their children afraid and turning every which way to find some sort of shelter. Fear stricken expressions, tears and even mumbles of “What are we going to do? We can’t re-live this nightmare”, seemed to be a common theme among the crowd. Being shoved around by a hoard of creatures was overwhelming, but there was a clearing in the center of town. Once they barreled through, what stood before the three took some time to comprehend. A white horse covered in blood from their hooves to the once brown leather saddle. On top of the horse lay a bloodied female body which left the three unsure of what to do. Gabusmead stepped to the side of the horse to examine if there were any sort of injuries and noticed that the bloodied female had a very notable feature that caused a panic amongst the village. Without any sort of hesitation, Gabusmead informed the two why the village was in chaos just only a few moments ago.
“Aye…she be an elf.”