Martin the Last Necron

Chapter 3 ( Stranger )

Martin's head started to hurt as he sat up slowly onto his elbows and began opening his eyes. As his eyes began to focus, he scanned his surroundings, trying to think what had happened. The last thing he remembered was leaning towards the creek to get a drink of water. As he looked around the small room he realized that he was inside some sort of cave. The place can't be more than thirty to thirty five feet in diameter, with the ceiling being about four feet high. There is a small table and chair to one side of the room about the size of a small child. On the other side is a fire pit with a small kettle hanging over it with something strange brewing inside.  A few items litter the cave from animal skins to pottery to small wooden objects and books. Actually, quite a few books and rolled up papers. There is only one exit and it looked to head down a tunnel that winds around the corner. 

Martin spotted dragging marks from the tunnel leading right up to where he was lying down. Whoever it was that knocked him out had drug him into this small cave. Martin reached down and checked for his knife at his side, finding it still there he sighed in relief. Just as Martin started to get up on his knees, he heard whistling coming from the tunnel. He moved his hand over his knife getting a firm grip on the handle as he waited for whoever to come into view. A small old man the size of a four year old child entered the small room.

"STOP right there!" Martin shouts.

Startled the old man drops his arm full of kindling.  "SHIT!, What the hell boy?, You scared the wrinkles right off my face."

"Who are you?" Martin asks a bit frightened himself.

 "My name is Adal Whitbreaker, what's yours boy?"

"My name is Martin, why have you kidnapped me?" 

"Kidnapped?" 

Looking amused, Adal bursts out laughing. Putting his hands on his short round belly, as if to hold his stomach from escaping his pants.

"No one kidnapped you boy, I found you unconscious next to a river." 

Martin remembered blacking out, but he does not remember getting hit by anything.

"So why did I pass out then?" 

"Oh, you walked through a patch of wood nettles. They can kill you, but for some reason all it did was make you pass out. You need to be more careful around this area, lots of dangerous things. Anyways, I thought it was best to bring you here to my place out of  harms way."

Martin felt a little stupid for jumping to conclusions on what had happened.

"Well, thank you Adal for your help, where am I anyways?" 

"Don't mention it, you are on the outskirts of a small town named Nettles." 

Well that explains where they came up with the name Nettles he thought to himself.

"Are you hungry boy? I got some soup cooking in the kettle and it should be ready soon."

Martin's stomach started rumbling.

"I am getting a bit hungry, yes, what kind of soup?" Martin said, while rubbing his stomach.

"Well the best soup in all the lands of course." Adal says with a grin.

Adal grabbed a small pottery bowl dished up some soup and handed it to Martin.

"Here try some, I bet you will agree." 

Martin spooned a small bit out of the bowl and tasted it. To his surprise it was the greatest tasting soup he had ever tried. 

"Mmmmm, this is good, what's in it?" Martin says with a mouthful of soup.