Twig

It was unlike anything I had ever seen before. The dome, the crowds, the platform; this truly was one of the most beautiful ports I had ever seen. Now that I was lying in bed, I couldn't help but dwell on the sights, the sounds and the smells of the place. The tilderhorn sausages with their warm and inviting scent, the booming laughter coming from the taverns and all the interesting trinkets we saw as we passed the many stalls.

Even now, although it was late at night, hundreds more were flocking to the gates to enjoy themselves. The port seemed to captivate those who caught a glimpse inside and there were so many things to do and see that it seemed impossible to ever get out of it and back to an ordinary life. Mind you, everyone on the Skyraider had stayed in the port long after sundown and it had taken every ounce of willpower to get back to the ship at all.

I smiled. Cowlquape had enjoyed himself at the port today. He had bought at least a dozen new barkscrolls and I had even coaxed him into buying himself some new shoes.

His boots had looked as if they would have fallen apart at any moment for weeks now and although Cowlquape had argued that they were comfortable, I had managed to get the upper hand on the argument. I had shown him every part of the port, determined to convince Cowlquape that there was no reason as to why he could not go to the ports we arrived at and by the end of our day, he was practically beaming.

I was exhausted by the end of it, but satisfied with my progress with Cowlquape, especially after Cowlquape asked if he could come with me when we reached the next port.

I had said yes, of course, but I was nervous. Throughout our day at the port my feelings had started to get the better of me. I had bought him an expensive robe and the barkscroll he had looked at longingly as we passed a stall already, not to mention almost stopping at a flower stall and buying him a rose.

I knew how ridiculous the idea had been but I couldn't help myself. Cowlquape had not seemed to notice any of this; he had been too caught up in the beauty of the port to see that I was acting strangely and only thanked me at the end of the day for buying him all those trinkets. The feelings were getting stronger and stronger with every passing moment and I didn't know what to do. If Cowlquape ever found out that I thought of him like this... I shuddered. I didn't want to think about what would happen then.

But just because these feelings were strengthening, it didn't mean I could refuse Cowlquape or avoid him. I wouldn't have been able to even if I had wanted to. Besides, if I avoided Cowlquape or refused to talk to him, he might get the wrong idea or worse, he could catch on. Suppose he already knew? I lay in bed thinking about this possibility but then rolled over onto my side. No, Cowlquape couldn't have known. He wouldn't have come with me to the port if he had. For a fleeting moment I wondered if maybe Cowlquape had feelings for me too but I quickly dismissed the thought. No, Cowlquape was kind and caring and seemed to hold me in high regard but I'm sure that he isn't interested in the likes of me.

I rolled over onto my other side and thought more of the port. The port, at this moment was the only thing that seemed to distract me from thoughts of Cowlquape. I relaxed and waited for images of the crowds and streets of the port enter my mind but instead, the only memory that I remembered was the memory of a certain even that had happened earlier on in our port adventure.

*flashback*

I pushed past the crowds as Cowlquape and I steadily made our way to one of the wooden bridges. I glared at a young'un who had stepped on my foot and pushed rudely past a group of hammer head goblins discussing who was to buy the rest of them drinks. The crowds, that I had found so beautiful from the gate, now looked like a large mass of heads and limbs and various other body parts cooped up together in a small space.

The heat that radiated from everyone was unbearable and I realized that the smells of tilderhorn sausages and other foods masked the scent of sweat and mud. Still, the sheer size and beauty of the place was enough to surpass these faults I knew that the crowds must be affecting Cowlquape too, but when I turned to search for his tousled head in the crowd, I saw him giving a coin to the young'un that I had glared at and then turning to apologize to the hammer heads.

Despite my irritancy, I smiled. Cowlquape was always so polite; he couldn't be rude even if his life depended on it. My irritancy returned however when I realized that we would never see anything at the port if Cowlquape kept stopping to apologize to everyone single person I managed to bump into. 'Come on Cowlquape," I said over the chatter of the crowds, "we'll never see anything. Hurry, there's so much to do!" I grabbed hold of his arm and I continued to push past all those who got in my way. That was when I bumped into him.

He had a large bulky body with a large, lumpy nose that dominated his pockmarked face. He had ugly scars all over himself- most likely from a tavern fight- and small, bloodshot eyes. In his hand, he held a wooden, club like weapon covered in what looked suspiciously like blood. A cloddertrog. He glared at me and bent down to look me in the eye and as he opened his mouth to talk to me, I cringed as I smelled the rotting stench of tripweed beer.

"What do you think you're doing?" the cloddertrog asked in a hoarse growl, raising the wooden club as the scent of tripweed beer clouded my senses. The crowd seemed to push past the three of us, seeming not to notice a thing. No one looked eager to help and a few were actually smirking at me as they pushed past. Of course, it didn't help that I had pushed past a great deal of them as I hurried to the wooden bridge.

The young'un that had stepped on my foot earlier made a point of bumping me hard with a wooden cart he had been dragging behind him and the hammer heads snickered as they passed me. I gritted my teeth with anger. I was not about to allow myself to be laughed at by just anyone in the Deepwoods. I released Cowlquape's arm so he could step back and then opened my mouth to speak to the cloddertrog, back straightened. "Good afternoon good sir," I said, bowing quickly before straightening up again, " my friend and I were just passing and so if you would be so kind as to let us through, we shall be on our way and leave you be."

I reached out my hand, seeking to grasp Cowlquape's arm but it froze when the cloddertrog raised a finger and jabbed into my chest, hard. " You're a Sanctaphrax scholar ain't ya? Escaped from the patrols did ya? Do you think you're so funny with them fancy words? The patrols stop by the ports sometimes and I have half a mind to turn you in. Won't they be delighted?" the cloddertrog asked one after the other, giving me no time to answer a single question.

Up close, I could see the malicious look in his eyes and his glee at turning someone into the patrols and- more likely than not- earn some gold pieces in the process. I grit my teeth and balled up my hands into fists. The cloddertrog was starting to get on my nerves and every taunt was testing my temper. I had to control myself or I would let something slip. It wouldn't do to let Ulbus Pentephraxis known that his son was in the Deepwoods.

"No,no," I said, still in a polite enough tone, " my friend and I are both Undertown born and bred. No relations whatsoever to the poky scholars of Sanctaphrax." The cloddertrog raised his eyebrows but eased the pressure of his finger on my chest before asking, "are you sure you aren't Sanctaphrax scholars.

Your friend over there doesn't look at all like the kind of person who would survive a day in Undertown. He's too skinny and not a single muscle to his name. Looks like the type who would be trampled by the crowds of Undertown than the type who would live in it. Out of the corner of my eye I could see Cowlquape's cheeks reddening with embarrassment at being called out on his physique and I glowered.

The cloddertrog could mock me all he liked but picking on Cowlquape was going too far. "Now,now" I said, making one last attempt to remain civil, "I assure you my friend has more to him than meets the eyes. Now, about letting us through?"

The cloddertrog snorted but had lost all interest in me, Instead turning to look at Cowlquape, who seemed to tremble before his almighty bulk.

"On the other hand, he does have a certain look about him and nice eyes. I'm sure he wouldn't be that hard to break" the cloddertrog muttered to himself and with shock, I realized he was eying Cowlquape up.

Cowlquape had obviously noticed too as all the color in his face had been replaced with a pasty white. I froze. The anger was raging inside of me like a monster, just waiting to come out but I was in a state of shock.

I had never been in this position before, having never heard anyone talk like this so openly. The cloddertrog was not even trying to be quiet about his observations and after the initial muttering, he had started to pick apart Cowlquape and voice his opinion on everything he saw in a loud voice. By now, others were starting to stare at Cowlquape with new interest while the two of us stood frozen to the spot.

"I'll have to ask at the bawdy. I reckon we could have a quite a bit of enjoyment with this one," the cloddertrog decided out loud and then turned his attention to me amidst some chuckling and claps on the shoulder by those who had passed as he made the decision . "Why don't we have a bit of a trade," the cloddertrog began grinning, obviously comfortable with the attention he was getting, " six whole pouches of gold pieces and safe passage past me in exchange for your friend."

Once more I was outraged but once again, I could do nothing to move even a single muscle of my body. All of a sudden, every part of my body was under my control and I pulled back my arm, fully intending to strike the cloddertrog in the jaw. But I never got the chance because at that moment, a food cart collided into the cloddertrog and knocked him to the ground. I turned around to see who in the crowd passing by had decided to help us and my eyes widened in surprise. It was Cowlquape.

Cowlquape was standing right where the cart had been and he was the only one close enough to have been able to push the cart directly into the cloddertrog. "You didn't look like you were coming anytime soon and I really wanted to look at the barkscrolls that you had promised we would see" he said as means of explanation as I gaped at him.

Cowlquape looked just as surprised as I was but a groan from the cloddertrog bought us out of our separate shocks. He was coming to. "Come Cowlquape, let's not make anymore trouble" I said, taking charge of the situation and pulling him along behind me.

The cloddertrog roared and swiped out of our legs but I managed to pull Cowlquape into the crowds just in time to avoid his flailing arms.

I pushed through the crowd, one hand still grasping Cowlquape's wrist and I made sure that I stayed well away from any of the burly type. But it wasn't enough. While the crowd seemed to press against us as we ran, they parted for the cloddertrog and within moments he was almost upon us.

I tried my best to find open spaces in the crowd that would make it easier to escape but still the cloddertrog seemed only one step away from us. We reached one of the wooden bridges and forced our ways through it before making it to the central platform, the cloddertrog quickly following. The cloddertrog was in a rage by now, yelling and cursing at us as we continued to run and his club swung back and forth, occasionally making contact with a stall or a post.

That was when I saw it. Up ahead, two food carts were being pushed directly in front of each other. There was just enough of a gap for the two of us to slip through if we hurried but when the cloddertrog tried to follow, he would cause both the carts to crash and hopefully create a long enough diversion for us to lose him in the crowds.

"Run faster" I muttered to Cowlquape as we ran through the crowd, "I have a plan."

I glanced ahead and saw the gap between the carts was getting smaller and smaller and I ran faster, now almost dragging poor Cowlquape. We drew level with the cart and when I saw the gap was still big enough to get through, I let out a relieved breath. Now all we had to do was get ahead and...

We slipped in between the carts just in time and as I guessed, the cloddertrog was too close to stop himself when he saw the carts and as we raced ahead, I head the clatter of wood against the cobblestones of the path and the thump of wood on flesh. I didn't turn back nor did I stop until we were far away from the cloddertrog and the wooden carts.

We stopped and greedily took in large gasps of air before I turned towards Cowlquape and smiled. "I... I, uh..." I started, not knowing what to say, " well done, I didn't know you had it in you" I finished. Cowlquape smiled back at me before replying with, "neither did I. Now can we please look at the barkscrolls now?" I smiled and nodded, before pointing to my left.

"I think I saw some over there. Let's go and check."