"I'm going out! I'll be back before the night is over!" I called to my parents.
"Wait!" my father called after me. "Put this on, and you'll be keeping it this time." He handed me his favorite green cloak, which, normally, he only allowed me to wear during times of peril, or while sparring with Sqzaj. This particular cloak was a hand-me-down and an heirloom of my tribe's family. It was to be handed down to me, as it was decided long ago, when Ramsey gave up his dreams of caravanning in search of the knowledge of alchemy. Ramsey was every bit as much an alchemic prodigy as I was a fighting prodigy, even if, at the moment, he was able to catch me off guard. I made a promise to myself not to let my weakness and inexperience faulter me again.
"But, fa-" I began, in protest.
"No, no," he interjected, "Don't worry about it, son. I think that it's high-time that I handed it down to someone, and it won't fit Ramsey. I suppose it might, physically speaking, but the feel of it will never be the same on him as it would be on you. Just wear it proudly," and, he added with a smile, "and try not to lose it."
I met up with my friends at the stairwell ascending from my burrow. Not missing any faces, I took lead, and we headed off, only knowing the thrill of the night-life, and only fate knowing the direction that our gallavanting would lead us to.
On the outskirts of town, we happened upon a toy store. It was one of Nathan and Sqzaj's favorites, and, though I prefered the weapons stores, even I was drawn in by the illustrious lighting. It was obvious that the sign was illuminated by magicite, but, save for Skott, and occasionally, Sqzaj, none of us really were interested in it enough to look farther than to how to use it.
Even Nathan could provide you with the textbook answer as to how to use magicite. "By calling out the name of the magicite, those with special armor or weaponry can collect the magicks, and could call upon their might through thought." Nathan, Sqzaj, Jorti, Kay, and I had all recieved our families' cloaks. Skott didn't appear to have one, and he would change the subject quickly if we ever inquired about his lack of a cloak. He didn't really want to tell us about the situation, and, as friends, we all grew to accept his wishes.
We were guided through the halls of the store by the friendly Yuke artisan. He was a tailor, but, first and foremost, he was a craftsman. He loved to build toys for children, and he always seemed to have just what you were looking for. He was a blood-relative of Sqzaj's, Sqzaj's uncle. So, the name of "Uncle Troiley" stuck. Everyone, even Uncle Troiley's siblings reffered to him as Uncle Troiley.
"Hello there, young ones! Sqzaj! You look a good deal taller than when last I saw you!" The old man said, with an invisible smile.
We smiled as we greeted the man.
"Hello, Uncle Troiley!" we shouted in unison.
"What brings you all out so late tonight?" the old man inquired, a hint of mysticism in his voice, "the goblins like to come out at dark times like these!"
Whether the kindly man meant that in jest, or as a warning, I could not tell, but I was certain that he had meant to say that. He seemed to be a very knowing man. When he spoke, all were captivated by his voice, and not a bit of breath was wasted; he always seemed to know something that he shouldn't.
"We will." I said, almost seeming as though I had taken charge for the group. I stepped back into line, and we began our window-shopping. Whether it was a toy sword for me, a set of special, colored building blocks for Nathan, or folklore book for Sqzaj, anything for recreational purposes could be purchased in the store. Not that we were actually going to buy anything in this visit. It wasn't that the place was too hard to afford to pay in, it was that we didn't have money at the time; searching through the shelves was enough for us. Uncle Troiley didn't seem to mind. As I've said, he was a kindly man. Even if he were looking for a profit from us, he knew that we would bring our parents in to buy the knick-knacks that we enjoyed. He merely smiled at us as we gazed over the toys and joys, and, though we could not see the size of the smile, we could still feel its warmth.
Finally, we bid the man farewell, and set off, deciding to take the scenic route to our respective homes. Turning the bend that began the residential area, on the outskirts of town could be heard faint whines. Probably faint from the distance, I had decided.
"Something troublesome is happening," Sqzaj said, solemnly.
"And I bet there's something we can do," Nathan added.
"And I bet there's something that we're going to do," I corrected.
Being a little late to get home would only be a small penalty if it meant that I could exact justice.
To everyone's surprise, there was, on the outskirts of town, and, just as Uncle Troiley had said, a goblin. I had never seen one before, aside from in my father's textbooks. The sheer monstrosity of the being was unable to be depicted through mere illustration. It's hideousness could only be seen first-hand. Its skin was a pale pinkish color, and it appeared to be wearing an ancient Lilty-type armor. The being's wrinkles unfolded over one another, and it appeared to be plump. Needless to say, it was a scary sight. To make matters worse, it was holding a small child. The whimpers weren't because he was in the distance, but because the child was weakened! From miasma poisoning!
The monster had dragged the child outside the area of the town's crystal's influence. The young lad seemed to have lost consciousness now, and I would think that that would be for the best. The poison is said to have horrible effects on the mind if you were still consciously breathing, not damaging at first, but painful beyond belief.
We were in range, and the child's time was thinning. I looked to Sqzaj, and then to Nathan. We nodded in unison. We had a plan, but it was a grim one. We had all left behind our weapons, as we didn't believe that we would need them for a night wandering the town, and a trip to the toy-store. I leapt into the air, and Nathan caught me. He heaved me in the direction of the monster as hard as he could.
Sqzaj had cast a blizzard spell, not too far in front of my current mid-air position. The spell caused an icesickle to form where I would be in midair. Although it took a good deal of agility, I flipped around to meet the sickle in midair, and hurled it at the goblin with all of my might. Luckily, the blow landed between the back of the beast's neck, and the armor, killing the monster. Though, the fight wasn't over yet. There was still the matter of the child outside of the influence of the chalice, some dozen yards ahead of me.
I put all of my effort into a mad sprint, nearly missing the child when I reached for him. I thought that the area outside of the influence would be painful to be in, but it didn't appear as such. I drew in a sigh of relief as I headed back, and it was as though some thing had grabbed my lungs, and refused to let go. My vision grew twisted and black, and there were distorted voices in the back of my head. Still, I marched on, collapsing not far from the influence of the town's crystal.
Huh, I thought, I die before I get to the caravan? That's a little disappointing..."
Just then, I felt two feathery hands scoop me up and carry me to my house. I didn't let go of the boy that I had rescued. He was my trophy for this round. I wondered why the feathered man was being so kind to me, when I recognized a piece of armor on the bird-man's arm. It was Selkic.
Oh, I thought, So, I don't die yet. Good thing that my friends are around. Otherwise, that goblin might have had something more to eat than he had bargained for. I wonder what handsome things taste like...
And, from there, I passed out.
There was a void. The fact that the void was so empty is what made what could have been a simple dream, a nightmare. In each direction that I looked, all I could see was emptiness. I had expected to see familiar faces, somewhere, but there was nothing. There was no one there that I could talk to. There was no one there that I could feel. There was no one there who I could listen to. It was so empty, so derived of feeling... I felt alone. For the first time since meeting with my friends, I felt alone. It was a cold feeling. To make matters worse, I was physically cold. It was as if something with cold hands was forcing me deeper into this void. Some giant was forcing me into a void deeper than anything else that I had seen or known. It seemed as though the giant had seperated me from everything else so that it would have the opportunity to thrust me into the darkness. I could feel my thoughts slipping from me. It was as though the giant force was ripping away at my mind, and everywhere it ripped, it left a scar.
Then, a beacon of light shone through the void. The light had a holy and calling feel to it.
"Alexx," it called out, "Get up! You can't stay like that! Alexx!"
The voice took a harsh tone with me. I wasn't so sure that I wanted to go with this light anymore. I started to allow the giant with the cold hands to force me deeper into the void, when I felt a sudden stinging sensation on my right cheek.
SMACK.
Yep, the warmth of the slap was enough to offset the cold of the void.
