Morgan Fritz stepped up to the edge of the
pond, Hobble in his left hand and a large sack for it in his right. He looked down into the pond at the hole,
curious as to what was down there and why Tribbon had gone there. Morgan had known Tribbon for years, but
never thought much of the man. Tribbon
was an eccentric individual in Morgan's eyes, but Tribbon's presence here still
puzzled him. He let the Hobble go and
dropped his sack to the ground.
One of the other villagers came up beside
him, "What's the matter?" asked the man.
"Nothing, just continue hunting the
creatures."
"But Morgan, you've dropped your sack and
you're Hobble is getting away," the other man pointed out.
"I'm well aware of that and I have it all
under control, Murdoc. Just go back to
the hunt, it's what's important."
Murdoc Frew had always been a mysterious
character; no one knew very much about him. He had simply appeared one day from seemingly nowhere, and spoke nothing
of a past. All he had said was that he
was looking for a change in surroundings and a new lifestyle, so he thought
he'd try being a gold miner for a while. The people of This Place were uncertain at first, thrown off by the
man's taste in black clothing and strange attitude, but they soon grew to
accept him.
Morgan continued to stare into the hold as
he guessed what might be in there. It
occurred to him that maybe it was from this place that the Hobbles came from
and that Tribbon was trying to get in on the mother load. His curiosity was joined by a jealous rage,
and his eyes began to see things with a slight red tinge to them.
Murdoc Frew continued to watch Morgan from a
distance, unsure of what the man was doing. He watched as Morgan stepped forward into the pond and then disappeared
from sight. His eyes widened and his
mouth dropped. "Jeffin," he called,
"Morgan just disappeared into that pool."
Jeffan Fritz, Morgan's younger brother,
rushed to Murdoc's side. "What did you
say?" he asked, unsure if he had heard correctly.
"Morgan just disappeared into that pool over
at the base of the waterfall," said Murdoc in a less concise version of the
event.
Jeffan felt the start of panic rolling over
him. He was one who always followed his
brother's lead, looked up to him, and didn't know what he would do without
him. Morgan was everything to Jeffan
and he had no direction without Morgan to point him in it. Jeffan stood and looked to the other three
men who chased Hobbles around the field to their right. "Hebin," he yelled across the field. One of the men stopped hunting for a moment
and looked towards the voice. "Set up
camp here, don't wait for Morgan or I, and most certainly don't come looking
for us. I'll explain later, but for
now, just do what I say and don't make a mess of things."
Jeffan turned and began towards the pond. Murdoc grasped his arm, "You aren't
following him, are you?" he asked.
"Of course," said Jeffan as he shook his arm
free.
Murdoc watched as Jeffan Fritz followed after Morgan into the pool. He stared a little longer afterward, hoping that someone might appear again, but there was no such luck. He stood up and joined the other hunters who were hesitantly setting up camp. The orders were strange, but they were orders all the same. He sat himself down next to the newly made fire and watched as the wood caught fire. As a glint of the fire reflected in Murdoc's seemingly black eyes, he sat reminiscing over what it was like to be invisible.
