The Dragon's Heart

Chapter Two

"It is usually sensible to answer the person who is jabbing a knife into your back." 

Jack suddenly became aware of lights shining all around him. The illuminated faces of five men, all armed with weapons, appeared before him.  

"Jack."  

"Why are you here?" 

"I came to... well, I came to find Ma." 

In the darkness, he could hear the men laughing at him. Truth be told, it didn't make Jack any less scared. What the hell was going on? Who were these men? And why was it suddenly so dark?  

"Aw, little flyer come to find his mummy?" The voice was sadistic but it seemed a little less hostile than before. Jack let out a deep breath as the blade was withdrawn. 

"I don't think he's a flyer, Nord. I mean, what in Enfalas is he wearing?" One of the other men had moved closer to inspect him. He had braided hair and carried a shovel. Jack noticed that he was very short. Now that he didn't have the tip of a knife poking him, he realised that they were all very short. The apparent leader of the pack, Nord, was the tallest. He spoke to Jack now. 

"Yes, what are you wearing, boy?"  

Jack looked at what he was wearing - monkey shorts and a t-shirt that said "Yoda Says Relax". No wonder they thought he looked strange. He examined the clothes of the men. They all wore dungarees and straw hats. All had untamed beards and plaited hair. All were shoeless. Two of them were apparent twins. 

"Sorry, I didn't have time to get changed this morning." Jack thought it best not to attack the men with remarks on their own unusual choice of clothing.  

"He doesn't talk like a flyer either." 

"Is he the elf traveller? What's his name - Morin? The one they say comes and goes every Pavo festival?" 

"Doesn't look like him. Besides, elves prefer to travel underground. It's rare to see an elf up Top during the blackday, let alone during the whiteday, Guy." 

"Should we take him to Bowturn? The Mayor should probably be informed about him." 

"He doesn't seem that dangerous." 

All the men started talking at once. Jack took the opportunity to take stock of his surroundings. It looked as if he was in the same place as he was before; the stump was still there, the trees towered above everything, and the clearing seemed an exact copy of the one he had been standing in just a few minutes before. So how come it was suddenly the middle of the night? Was the bright light all a dream? Who were these men? And why on earth were they carrying swords and speaking of nomadic elves? 

Jack could see no way to answer any of his questions and he was too frightened to ask, anyhow. In the end, the band decided on taking him to Mayor Bowturn. However, as he made to follow one of the men, the other's pulled him back.  

"What are you doing?" the leader hissed at him. "Do you want to be burnt like King Petyr, himself?" 

Jack looked at Nord. "Why? What's about to happen?"  

"Confound this idiot of a sky pirate! Have you not heard a tunnel gnome's power?"  

Gnomes! They were gnomes! Jack could not believe what was happening. He had somehow stumbled into a magical world, where gnomes existed. But how? Jack thought back to the clearing where he had gone to find Ma. He remembered the Hum that had filled him up, the sudden white light. Could it be that his mother had come the same way all those years ago? 

Jack kept these thoughts to himself. 

The crew watched as the gnome planted his shovel into a flat piece of the ground. In one great blow, he struck the floor, instantly cracking open a fissure which swallowed up the tool. The crack rapidly grew into a small man-sized hole. Thinking he knew what was about to happen, Jack moved closer with the rest of the men.