Ever since the encounter with the giant, the three travelers did not come
across any obstacles. The sun was by now nothing more than a red glow on
the horizon and it was clear to them the day had nearly come to an end.
They agreed they would have to find a safe place to rest and to stop at the
first town they found on their path. However, since they left Merlin's
tower the closest thing to civilization they saw was the giant's home.
"If we don't find a city or inn soon I just know I'm going to lay down in
the dirt and sleep." Mercy predicted as she sat down on a rock and yawned.
"If we don't keep going we'll never find something." Chip insisted, but
waited patiently.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming." She assured him and rubbed her feet.
Without warning, two creatures jumped out from behind some vegetation and
advanced on the three. They had a completely brown skin color, yellow
sparkling eyes and were a few heads shorted than Chip and Mercy, about the
size of Philip. They didn't look very threatening but the smell they
spreaded however was a danger to every nose. Combined with their high
pitched squeals they looked like a bunch of rascals.
"What the heck are those?" Mercy asked as she got up to defend herself in
case they were violent.
"Don't know, let's just stay polite in case they can help us." Chip advised
while keeping a watchful eye at them, not really trusting the creatures
yet.
The two stopped in front of Mercy, looked up at her, scanned her body a few
times before breaking out in laughter. They pointed at her and said things
in an incomprehensible language and laughed even more.
"What's so funny!?" Mercy demanded as she put her hand on her side.
One of the abominations grabbed a set of stones and stuffed them under his
shirt, put his hands at his side as well and did a great impression of an
angry Mercy. Apparently his friend liked it, as he was laughing even more.
"At least I fancy myself mature enough not to react to this." She huffed as
she folded her arm and closed her eyes.
Momentarily pleased with themselves the urchins left Mercy alone, and moved
on to terrorize her brother. One of them stood right in front of Philip,
who was clearly afraid of the other brat. His fear only fed the
satisfaction of the urchin when he pushed Philip, who tripped over the
other who had kneeled down behind him.
"Leave me alone you meany!" Philip whined as he began crying, as the
landing on his tailbone caused him some unbearable pain.
Mercy who heard Philip looked at the scene and grew incredibly angry. At
the same time, Chip was growing worried for good reason and hoped that the
little creatures would not be left with any permanent damage. As the two
mischief makers laughed more, Mercy approached them while their backs were
turned. In a swift maneuver she grabbed the one who was still crouching by
his collar and put her hand around the other bully's throat.
"Why don't you have the courage to pick on someone capable of defending
herself?" She asked and delivered a swift kick to the butt of the one she
held by the collar and released him, sending him flying.
He landed on his jaw and let out a grunt. The other gulped as he knew a
similar fate would await him. Mercy took the one she was holding by his
arm, twirled around a couple of times before releasing him. He crashed into
a tree with his head and slumped to the ground. The pests picked themselves
up and ran, screaming with their nasal voices.
"And if you two think I lost control, I'm terribly sorry!" Mercy shouted
after them, dusted off her hands and helped Philip back up.
"If that is the way you treat children I don't consider you a good
guardian." Chip scolded her.
"They hurt Philip! I would let no one get away with that." Mercy defended
herself before she turned to her little brother "You alright?"
"Y-yeah, let's just go." He stammered.
Night had now completely fallen over Fairy Tale Forest and the three travelers had grown tired. Chip and Philip had difficulties keeping Mercy awake. They reached a point were the way split to the left and the right. There was a sign pointing in every possible route. "Where now?" Mercy asked as she stopped. "Well, read the signs. There should be some info about the closest town on them." Chip suggested. "The one pointing in our directions says: Merlin's Tower." Philip informed them who had moved closer. "Sounds quite logical." Chip said "What do the others tell you?" "One of them reads 'Lion Shield'. The number next to it is rather unclear so I can't tell how far it is. To the left there's a place called 'Hive Field'. It's only two kilometers away." He declared as he returned to the two elders. "Well, I think we'd better see if there's a place to rest there." Chip declared and noticed Mercy was leaning on his shoulder, eyes shut "I'm sure your sister would appreciate that."
Night had now completely fallen over Fairy Tale Forest and the three travelers had grown tired. Chip and Philip had difficulties keeping Mercy awake. They reached a point were the way split to the left and the right. There was a sign pointing in every possible route. "Where now?" Mercy asked as she stopped. "Well, read the signs. There should be some info about the closest town on them." Chip suggested. "The one pointing in our directions says: Merlin's Tower." Philip informed them who had moved closer. "Sounds quite logical." Chip said "What do the others tell you?" "One of them reads 'Lion Shield'. The number next to it is rather unclear so I can't tell how far it is. To the left there's a place called 'Hive Field'. It's only two kilometers away." He declared as he returned to the two elders. "Well, I think we'd better see if there's a place to rest there." Chip declared and noticed Mercy was leaning on his shoulder, eyes shut "I'm sure your sister would appreciate that."
