"HEADS UP!!" someone shouted, just as our heroes walked through a
portcullis into a bustling town. Out of nowhere, a wad of brow grime flew
at the party and splattered all over Melody's face. She tried to shriek
with outrage, but the sound was suffocated in the mass on her head.
Collin sprang immediately into action. He grabbed onto the thing while apologizing profusely as he pulled it off of her face. "Many apologies, miss! The yicks have been so rambunctious lately!"
Melody clenched and unclenched her fists repeatedly. Her face reddened and her whole body quivered with self-restraint. "What in Lathander's name was that?!"
"A yick," Collin held up the creature that looked like a living ball of mud. It stared up at her with little, beady, black eyes. "Isn't she cute?"
"CUTE?! IT'S DISGUSTING!!" She might have felt differently if it hadn't made her look like such a fool in front of a whole town full of strangers. She was used to people staring at her, but not because she was covered in muck.
"Not to worry, Miss Lyreheart. One of the brellows will have you cleaned up in no time."
"What is a brellow?" asked Bindaer with a tilt of his head.
As if on cue, an orange blur of movement zoomed toward Melody. Once again, the sound of her cries of protect were absorbed in the sponge-like body wrapping itself around her head.
Bindaer, Whelmyn, and Kerredis couldn't help but laugh as they watched her desperate struggle to remove the thing from her face. She wrestled with it for a full minute before managing to fling it to the ground. She glared at her companions and they immediately ceased their laughter.
Glancing around, they saw yicks and brellows by the dozen running loose all over the streets—the yicks making a mess, and a brellow close behind each one to clean it up. It was like some bizarre sort of chase. "Why are there so many?" Kerredis asked.
Collin smiled. "We raise them here. That brellow's name is Bob, and this yick is Sandy.
"It seems rather frivolous," Whelmyn commented, "to produce such creatures through agriculture. What logical purpose do they serve?"
"Construction," Collin replied, "Watch."
He set Sandy down on the ground and backs away. Suddenly, Bob lunged and pounced on Sandy. The two struggled for a short while before Bob had scrubbed up all of Sandy's muck, and after they'd combined, they hardened into a stone. Collin picked it up and handed it to another man who was walking toward a half-built house.
"Fascinating!" exclaimed Whelmyn as he realized that all of the buildings were made of these same stone, as were the paved streets that they were standing on. "Never before have I witnessed such an extraordinary phenomenon! I should like to conduct a study of . . ."
"But we haven't got the time," Melody cut him off. "About this quest, you mentioned, Collin . . . What do we have to do?"
"Ah yes," he said, "I damn near forgot. I cannot tell you how to get back, but . . ."
"What do you mean by that?" demanded Bindaer, "I thought you were our guide!"
"Oh no, Mr. Dundatt, my job is only to start you off on the right foot."
"What can you tell us then, my hairless friend?"
"Only how to find someone who can give you more information. You must travel to the Valley of Obsession and find the man who owns a bar of gold. Tell him you are strangers to this land, and that the good wizard sent you. He will tell you what to do next. But first, I must insist that you accept this town's gracious hospitality and rest the night at the inn."
"Alright, but how do we get to this so-called "Valley of Obsession?" Bindaer asked.
"Simple," Collin pointed at the paved street leading out of town. "Just follow the brellow-yick road."
((A/N: There are 3 deliberate puns in this chapter))
Collin sprang immediately into action. He grabbed onto the thing while apologizing profusely as he pulled it off of her face. "Many apologies, miss! The yicks have been so rambunctious lately!"
Melody clenched and unclenched her fists repeatedly. Her face reddened and her whole body quivered with self-restraint. "What in Lathander's name was that?!"
"A yick," Collin held up the creature that looked like a living ball of mud. It stared up at her with little, beady, black eyes. "Isn't she cute?"
"CUTE?! IT'S DISGUSTING!!" She might have felt differently if it hadn't made her look like such a fool in front of a whole town full of strangers. She was used to people staring at her, but not because she was covered in muck.
"Not to worry, Miss Lyreheart. One of the brellows will have you cleaned up in no time."
"What is a brellow?" asked Bindaer with a tilt of his head.
As if on cue, an orange blur of movement zoomed toward Melody. Once again, the sound of her cries of protect were absorbed in the sponge-like body wrapping itself around her head.
Bindaer, Whelmyn, and Kerredis couldn't help but laugh as they watched her desperate struggle to remove the thing from her face. She wrestled with it for a full minute before managing to fling it to the ground. She glared at her companions and they immediately ceased their laughter.
Glancing around, they saw yicks and brellows by the dozen running loose all over the streets—the yicks making a mess, and a brellow close behind each one to clean it up. It was like some bizarre sort of chase. "Why are there so many?" Kerredis asked.
Collin smiled. "We raise them here. That brellow's name is Bob, and this yick is Sandy.
"It seems rather frivolous," Whelmyn commented, "to produce such creatures through agriculture. What logical purpose do they serve?"
"Construction," Collin replied, "Watch."
He set Sandy down on the ground and backs away. Suddenly, Bob lunged and pounced on Sandy. The two struggled for a short while before Bob had scrubbed up all of Sandy's muck, and after they'd combined, they hardened into a stone. Collin picked it up and handed it to another man who was walking toward a half-built house.
"Fascinating!" exclaimed Whelmyn as he realized that all of the buildings were made of these same stone, as were the paved streets that they were standing on. "Never before have I witnessed such an extraordinary phenomenon! I should like to conduct a study of . . ."
"But we haven't got the time," Melody cut him off. "About this quest, you mentioned, Collin . . . What do we have to do?"
"Ah yes," he said, "I damn near forgot. I cannot tell you how to get back, but . . ."
"What do you mean by that?" demanded Bindaer, "I thought you were our guide!"
"Oh no, Mr. Dundatt, my job is only to start you off on the right foot."
"What can you tell us then, my hairless friend?"
"Only how to find someone who can give you more information. You must travel to the Valley of Obsession and find the man who owns a bar of gold. Tell him you are strangers to this land, and that the good wizard sent you. He will tell you what to do next. But first, I must insist that you accept this town's gracious hospitality and rest the night at the inn."
"Alright, but how do we get to this so-called "Valley of Obsession?" Bindaer asked.
"Simple," Collin pointed at the paved street leading out of town. "Just follow the brellow-yick road."
((A/N: There are 3 deliberate puns in this chapter))