Lights in the Darkness

Preparations

Prowler thought his head was being struck by a hammer, he thought to himself. “No wait that’s just the hangover. He closed his eyes and rolled over in the bed. Wait how did I end up in this bed? All I remember is that I was really drunk the Haravan and Macka last night.  I’ll deal with it later he thought. 

            Suddenly Prowler was covered in ice cold water. “Wake up you, drunken idiot.” It was Macka’s voice he heard, the water clogging his eyes. Prowler rubbed his eyes a few times and Macka came into focus. She was holding a now empty bucket that he assumed had held the ice water he now wore.

            “Where am I?” Prowler said yawning.

            “My house you idiot, you were so drunk last night and I wasn’t gonna leave you lying on the barroom floor for some drunk to rob you, you should be glad!” Macka walked away in a huff

            Prowler grumbled under his breath something to the effect of crazy elf.  He grabbed his swords that had been sitting on a dresser nearby.  He strapped the weapons on his back comfortably and was about to set out from Macka’s house when he noticed that she had left, stuck to her front door right where prowler would be forced to see it was a note.

            Prowly wowly I forgot I was supposed to tell you to get up and send you off to the Guild, Haravan is waiting for you because the three of us have a task to work on together. Sorry I didn’t wait but I have to grab a few things before we leave.   P.S. You were supposed to be there about half an hour ago so good luck getting there in time.

            Prowler frowned as he read the last part of the note. He flung the door open and started running Prowler thought to himself as he ran. If I’m late Haravan is not above killing me. Or worse.  Prowler pushed past the shoppers going through the market square in front of the Guild.

            Prowler passed through a team of stone workers all looking puzzled at the remains of the marble gate to the Guild and passed into the courtyard.  The courtyard was open, it was filled with fields of grass and dirt used for training and practicing, only two buildings stood in the area, one was large multi-leveled and smelled atrocious, it was the stables. The other was a squat building bellowing smog and ash from multiple openings that appeared to have been blasted in the roof.

            A sudden hard smack hit him in the back of the head, “You’re late” Haravan grumbled grumpily. “I’ve almost got use ready to go but They wanted to see you.” Haravan jerked his head towards the smoking building. “Crazy people those two are.” Haravan scoffed under his breath as he grabbed the last of the gear and started securing it to the horses.  

Prowler sighed but walked to the door, as he touched it, the door gave out falling off its hinges. “You two need to fix up this place or its going to fall over one of these days.”

            A voice echoed from the ceiling “We get to building later!”  As this voice hadn’t even finished talking a second blustered in “After we finish new invention!”

            “We make Haravan into first rocket dwarf!” the first voice rang out

            “I don’t think Haravan is up for flight but I think he’ll appreciate that you thought of him.” Prowler said sarcastically; the shop was filled with benches covered in various tool and parts, unfinished inventions were everywhere. One side of the workshop was completely dedicated to a huge forge.  At the center of all of the chaos of the workshop stood a huge cloth covering something all that could be seen was a large piece of metal that glinted in the light pouring through one of the various holes in the roof.  Prowler walked over to pull the cloth away. Suddenly out from under the cloth popped a small man like creature with dark green skin and long ears. He wore a blacksmiths apron that ran beneath his own feet one of his right ear looked as if it had been singed basically off leaving only a small stump with sudden juts of skin making his ear seem more like a green gnarled tree. “NO! You no see it not finished! Nobody see till done!”  He yelled. 

            “We’ll Boom you finally showed yourself, where your brother?”  Boom grabbed a wrench sitting on the floor and threw it into the rafters.  The wrench flew out the largest hole in the roof. He grabbed a second wrench but launched it again at the ceiling. It made a loud clunk as it hit a wooden beam of a rafter.  “Bang! Get down here!” the goblin yelled. 

            Suddenly Prowler was on the ground with a second goblin sitting on him having fallen from the ceiling.  “Nice landing Bang.”  Prowlers said as the goblin jumped off him using his head as a stepping stone.  “Alright now that you’re both here what is it you wanted?” Prowler said as he was standing up. 

            Boom ran under a table and started throwing objects out of a box, everything from swords to pot to even a random scrap of cloth. Till he finally seemed to have found what it was he was looking for. “Here, master tell us to help you on your quest so we give you map we have for long time.” Boom’s voice was growing less spastic as he talked he walked out of the box and moved more gently as if the paper he was holding was made of pure gold. Boom extended the map to Prowler but as he reached for it Boom looked nervous, like it was about to explode at any moment, although for these goblins that wasn’t something that was uncommon.

            “Thank you Boom.” Prowler took the paper roll gently, it was crumbled along the edges but wasn’t very old.

            Bang and Boom looked at him and their ears or what left of them was slumped down in what Prowler guessed was an expression of sadness for goblins. “Prowler we also have a gift for you, we fix it back to old way it be” Bang reached into one of Boom’s apron pockets and pulled out a small pendant and chain attached to it.  The pendant was in the shape of a falling star and was made of a blue stained steel in the center of the comet was a sword made of diamonds. Prowler’s face turned ashen when he saw it. Bang extended the pendant to him but as he did prowler backed away.

“I don’t want it!” Prowler tripped over a stool behind him “I didn’t want that fixed: how’d you even get it!” Prowler acted as if the amulet was a live snake waiting to strike. 

            “Haravan bring to us; say it broke long time before Guild even around! We fix it for you.” Bang said seeming surprised that prowler didn’t want the amulet.  Prowler stood up very suddenly, with a quick motion pushed the map into a map roll he kept around belt. 

“I thank you two for the map but keep that” Prowler paused as he moved towards the broken frame where the door had been. 

            Once Prowler was outside he noticed that Haravan had just finished packing up the horses.  Three horses loaded with supplies yet still able to be ridden. Haravan walked over and sat down against the white marble walls, searching for a second Haravan pulled out a flask the he kept attached to his chainmail belt.  As he told a swig of the liquor Prowler walked over to the horses as he looked over the supplies Prowler noticed everything from heavy winter cloaks to light waterproof gear, several bags dedicated to Haravan’s ale.  Prowler looked over at Haravan and said curiously “Do you even know where were going?” Haravan finished off his flask and thought for a second “we’ll you have the map don’t you!”

Prowler remembered suddenly the map that Bang and Boom had given him. He pulled the map out and opened it up. “Well Haravan guess what” Prowler had a small grin that crossed his face. “Where were going we can’t use the horses.