Chapter 2

"How long have we been walking?" I ask, exhausted by the day long walk.

"Man up, it has only been a couple of hours, fifteen I think. Nothing you can't handle." Zash replied.

"Maybe for your stubby dwarf legs." I mumble.

"What was that" Zash says looking over her shoulder.

"Nothing!" I reply quickly. Damn, strong legs and excellent hearing. What can she not do, other than reach the top shelf of a cupboard that is.

Zash and I have been traveling through these woods nonstop, hoping to find a place on our map called Creeftan, a nice little village full of an odd species, the Squidies. I remember stories about them when I was younger. They had gigantic noses that would sway as the walk, and were all bald. Most legends say they were cursed by a witch long ago, but that is and old story. It can't be real, but what do I know, I am traveling through the woods with a dwarf.

"So, why did you decide to join me, Zash?" I ask, desperate to make small talk (no pun intended).

"I want to go out and see the world. My father and mother want me to marry ad say goodbye to my precious flowing locks. They agreed that I could go out one more time before marrying a dwarf man by the name of Alan. I don't really want to marry Alan, but he is the son of our village's mayor, so my parents were fast to say yes to my betrothal." She explained quickly, as if she just wanted to finish her story as fast as possible. I can't exactly lame her. Being forced into a marriage like that can be hard to take in.

"Why don't you just never go back. You can adventure with whoever you want, and go anywhere. Why not just not return." I asked. To be honest, that is exactly what I am doing. I have no plans to ever go back to Stravia, and if the Arctic has nothing for me, I guess I will go somewhere new and exotic afterwards.

"It just isn't the dwarven way. Why would I just turn my back on my own kind? It has nothing to do with what I want; it is what my honor is telling me to do. If my parents don't get me married to Alan, then that will make my entire family look like shit. I am not willing to ruin my family's life over my own wishes." After Zash finished explaining she got quiet. I guess she didn't mean to tell me all of her story, but it is too late now.

We continued to walk down the path until dark approached. Zash started to set up a tent and I went to go get fire wood and prepare dinner. I decided to go with beans with ground beef in it. I remember reading about cowboys in a make believe world stopping and eating this meal every night. That world was Earth. I remember playing cowboy with my dad, pretending we were Earth creatures when I was only five. I was thinking when Zash interrupted me.

"I hate to bother you, but the beans are boiling over." She said casually and continued putting up the tent.

"Shit." I muttered and quickly took the beans off the heat. They didn't look burned, but about a fourth of the beans had spilled into the campfire, dimming the light. I can't believe I fucked up the beans. Way to look like a dumbass Eskimo in front of the dwarf. I don't know what it is about Zash, but she acts so cool and superior it makes me feel like a child in front of their school teacher. I am constantly seeking approval. I'm not exactly sure why though, I never gave fuck about the 'cool crowd' at school, but she just makes me feel like a snail, seeking shelter in my shell.

"To be honest, I am not fond of beans anyway." Zash said casually again. Bitch.

"Well that's what I made so get over it." I replied, finally realizing I shouldn't give a fuck. She's only a dwarf. I looked over at her. She seemed to be looking at me with approval but I turned away quickly, not wanting to stare at her and make her feel awkward. I guess me trying to be perfect made me an idiot. Well, I guess all those cliché things people say about 'being you' were right. Weird.

We sat and ate beans for a while, and talked about what we wanted to do when we reached town. We finally agreed that we should stay for two nights, so we have time to gather supplies and look around town. I am not really one for sightseeing, but I was a little excited. After another hour I decided to go to bed. Zash decided to stay up to figure out where we were on the map. After thirty to forty minutes, she went to bed too.

The sun hit my eyes through the tent's opening. Good morning to you too sun. Way to wake me up in the worst way possible. I am not sure if you can tell, but I am not the morning person. I love night. Why? The moon is calmer and is a nicer natural light than the sun. The sun is harsh and always finds a way to shine in my eyes. True the moon won't glow without the sun, but I still prefer the moon.

I inhaled deeply and smelled cooking. It smelled like salt and pepper. That can only mean one thing. Eggs. I love eggs in the morning, maybe this dwarf and I can be really great friends after all.

"Morning. I see you took the liberty to make breakfast." I looked over and saw Zash cooking giant eggs. Now, I am not sure you know what I mean by 'giant'. Take an ostrich egg, and multiply it by three.

"Whoa! Where the hell did that come from?!" I asked in shock.

"We dwarfs love out Ender Dragon eggs in the morning. A vendor sold them to me the other day, before I met you, so I took them with me. Don't worry they are like chicken eggs, so they aren't holding a baby dragon in there or anything." She said it like I looked worried, which I guess I did, I would say shocked but I was worried too.

I have to say though the eggs were delicious.

We proceeded to pack up and then went south, looking for Creeftan on our map. We walked for hours before we saw the gate. It was huge. There was a tower for the gate keeper, but instead of a villager there was a metal creature. It looked like a giant version of the Squidies, but it had red eyes and it made a loud sound as its metal legs hit the ground.

"What a strange creation." I commented, marveling at its excellent mobility for a robot. Robots were pretty rare, and to see one in a village out here in the middle of the woods was extremely rare. "Excuse me. May we have entry?" I asked looking up at the creature. It slowly lumbered over to a switch and pulled it, opening the gate.

"Thank you!" I shouted as we walked in. As soon as we entered the metal walls of the gate crashed back down behind us. If we had stopped walking we would be crushed.

"HGTime, I don't like the way they have made metal move. It is something I have never seen before." Zash looked at me with wide eyes. She was dead serious; however I couldn't help but laugh. "What is so funny? This is serious witchcraft going on!" She yelled.

"It's a robot. Metal gears grinding to make it move, like a clock. There is no witchcraft!" I said in-between laughs.

"That is where you are wrong." Said a female voice behind me.