The D&D Chronicles: The Adventure Begins
Chapter 17: Really Small Solutions
Later, Trollmarket…
Following school (and after a quick stop at their house to write up on Alfur's paperwork to help see the House Elf), Patrick, his sisters and his friends returned back to Trollmarket.
"So you're the one who's been living in our house?" Taylor asked.
"For quite a long while, yes," Alfur smiled, who popped out from behind Hilda's ear, "and I've been seeing and hearing a lot on what's been happening. All the birthdays, get togethers, small arguments and such."
"Doesn't that seem a little creepy for you to do that?" Callum asked (as he and the Kirby siblings' friends had yet to sign the paperwork, but can still hear the House Elf).
"Aw, don't worry about that," Alfur replied, "I know that it's weird that I've been living with you without you all knowing, but I can assure you that I know when you deserve a bit of privacy, especially personal details."
"Another thing that's bugging us," Chris then said, "is that if you've been living with our friends, why didn't you reveal yourself when we learned of Patrick being a Paladin back then."
"Well, to be fair, I was away for a very important grammar conference." Alfur explained, "It wasn't until I came back and heard from the other elves that a human was chosen to be a Paladin, and upon learning of the name, I put 2 and 2 together."
"That makes a bit of sense." Hilda shrugged.
"And what about you, Frida?" Patrick looked to Frida, David and Ezran as he asked, "How did things go with you and the Brownie? Thimbletack… was it?"
"It went pretty well, thanks," Frida nodded, as Thimbletack rod on her shoulder, "like Callum said, it was kinda weird to have someone we didn't know also living in our house, but upon getting to know Thimbletack more, he's a pretty nice guy."
"Man, first Brownies, then House Elves, what would we expect next in other people's homes? Borrowers?" Chuckie asked.
"Oh, that's ridiculous," Alfur stated, before adding, "we have Nisse."
Before anyone could ask, Blinky's voice got their attention.
"Ah, Master Patrick, you've returned, at last!"
"Hey, Blinky." Patrick waved.
Blinky then looked and was quite stunned with intrigue as he then said, "And I see you have met some new friends as well. An Elf and a Brownie, no less."
"Wait, you can see them?" Taylor asked, "Especially Alfur?"
"Thimbletack is allowing us to see him." David said, remembering what Thimbletack said the first time he, Frida and Ezran met him.
"While for Alfur, from what I learned, is that since Sprite/House Elves are part of the mystical kind, other races don't need paperwork in order to see them." Hilda happily added, from what she learned from Alfur, "That info can be found in the Xadador Lore book."
"By Gorgas," Blinky said in surprise, "you read the book?"
"Yep," Hilda nodded, "it was a little tricky trying to learn the languages a little, but Alfur helped me out on them a bit."
She then looked at Patrick as she said, "You really should have a good read of it, Patrick, it's quite interesting."
Patrick rolled his eyes a little, then said, "I'll be sure to get the chance to do so…" he then looked to Blinky and asked, "So, got what you needed to help get the amulet back?"
Blinky nodded in reply.
"Come, young masters," he said as he walked and gestured to them to go to a nearby workshop, "there's some people we like you to meet."
The group looked at each other and shrugged, then followed Blinky to the workshop, once inside, they were met by AAARRRGGHH!, Papyrus and Sans.
The kids then noticed some new faces that they haven't met yet.
Two short men, who were seemingly working on something that was roughly the same height and width of Blinky, stood up in the middle of the room, covered by a dark brown tarp. Patrick eyed it suspiciously.
But his eyes returned back to the two short men, at an average 4 feet height, with stout, broad bodies, both of them had long hair, one whitish grey and the other black. They both also had beards, however, the white haired had a short-long one, while the black haired had a beard that was very short a little, and had a scar on his left eyebrow.
"Grobar, Gomgar!" Blinky said, getting the two men's attention, "We have guests."
The kids took a good look at the two men, and they were stunned at what they were looking at, as Chris spoke, "Wait… are they… dwarves?"
"Indeed, we are young one." the whitish grey haired dwarf replied with a small grin.
"Young masters, I would like you to meet the dwarves who live here in Trollmarket. This is Grobar Broovbek," Blinky started the introductions, first to the grey-haired dwarf, known as Grobar, then gestured to the black-haired dwarf, who had a bit of an unamused look on his face, as the troll introduced him, "and this is his nephew, Gomgar Broovbek."
"A pleasure to meet you," Grobar greeted politely, then looked to Patrick as he said, "and you must be the human Paladin that's been the buzz around here."
"That's right," Patrick nodded, "I'm Patrick. Patrick Lee Kirby."
"Nice to meet you, Mr. Lee Kirby."
"It's okay to just call me 'Patrick' or 'Mr. Kirby'." Patrick replied.
"Fare enough, and we are quite happy to help on this difficult situation you've got at the moment," Grobar smiled, before turning to his nephew, Gomgar, as he asked, "right, Gomgar?"
The group looked to Gomgar, only for the nephew to simply shrug with a grumble.
Blinky sighed at this, "Gomgar, I can't stand that you still have to have this little grudge on what happened to your father."
Gomgar just sighed a groan, as he ignored what Blinky said.
The group looked at Gomgar, a little concerned about what was his beef with Blinky, until Grobar spoke up, "Forgive my nephew, he can be known to be one to speak very little at times."
"Yeah, but what is this about between him and Blinky?" Chuckie asked.
"Well, you see, my nephew lost his father, my brother, a long time ago, and he had never forgiven Blinky for what had become of him." Grobar explained.
Patrick listened to what Grobar said, then had a thought, looking a little uneasy, he asked, "What was his father's name?"
Grobar looked to Patrick, and replied with one word, "Ulfgar."
"Wait, as in 'Ulfgar the Unfortunate'?" Callum asked, realizing what they meant, though as he said that, it looked like Blinky was shaking his hands as he would his head (while shaking his head too as well), with a worried and panicked face.
Just then, an axe whizzed by Callum and slammed into a stone wall, much to his startelement and panic, while the others were a little stunned at this, as well as worried, as Gomgar then pulled the axe out of the wall, then approached Callum, as he spoke in an annoyed, yet stern tone, "Never. Say. that. Name. again."
Callum nodded his head superfast at this, as Gomgar backed away with an angry sulk.
Wanting to break the awkward moment, Grobar spoke up, "Right then, I believe that we should get started on helping retrieve the Amulet of Xadador, correct?"
"Y-yeah, that's right." Patrick nodded.
Grobar soon approached the object covered by the tarp, pulled it off and let it flop on the ground, revealing a golden closet, its doors cleaving a trollish face in half. The top of it tapered to a point like a metal-tiled roof, the heavy lidded eyes with a lightning bolt down their irises as if they'd crack open sideways, like a snake. What looked like organ pipes protruded from the back like a headdress, rattling and producing steam when Grobar pulled down a lever. Cogs turned from within, creating a grinding noise, and the whole body shook with energy before coming to a still.
"We present to you, the Furgolator!" Grobar proudly presented the machine to the group, "Designed this fine contraption to aid on any small problems."
"Still not sure…" AAARRRGGHH spoke up upon seeing the contraption.
Patrick looked to the machine, then back to the giant troll, then to Blinky and Grobar, and then back to the machine, as he began to feel nervous as he asked, "Waitaminute… please don't tell me I have to get inside that thing."
"Well, actually, yes, we were about to ask you to do just that." Blinky replied.
"Hold up, we still need the last bit to make help get it running." Grobar said, before calling out, "Alphys! Where are you, we're nearly ready!"
"Hold up, I'm coming!" a new voice, a female, called out with a small yelp, as a yellow, reptilian monster of similar height to the humans appeared, carrying a little box with her. The reptilian creature had a posture which was somewhat hunched over. She had yellow scales, claws, and protruding teeth (which seem to vary between two and four depending which way she faces). Her feet had three toes while there were three fingers and a thumb on each of her hands. Her "hair" was designed into points facing the back of her head and wore round glasses and a white lab coat. Her glasses did not cover her eyelashes.
"Don't worry, I'm here. I'm here." the reptilian creature said as she caught her breath, until she stopped and looked at the humans, the young ones gave her a little wave hello.
"Oh. my gosh!" she cried, beginning to feel quite nervous around them and stuttered, "I-I didn't expect you to show up s-so soon! I haven't showered, I'm barely d-dressed, it's all messy and…"
"Alphys, it's okay," Grobar said, calming her down, "remember, deep breaths."
The reptilian, Alphys, did what she was told, and took a few deep breaths, then looked with a nervous smile as she introduced herself, "H-h-hiya! I'm Dr. Alphys. I'm the royal scientist."
"Royal scientist?" Chris asked.
"That's right," Blinky nodded, "Alphys is one of our good friends, and a close one to Grobar as well for helping out making many different inventions, such as the contraption before you."
Alphys then took a good look at Patrick, "Oh… wow… you're him." she said, "Y-you're the human Paladin… uh… Patrick, is that right?"
Patrick nodded at that, only to let out a nervous grin as Alphys let out a small squeal of excitement, "OMG! I can't believe I'm here! With the Paladin."
The kids looked at each other then to Alphys, looking a little awkward at this as she added, "I've been hearing much about you, and I got to say that I'm so happy to help you with this situation you're having at the moment."
"Pleasure's all mine…?" Patrick replied.
Grobar then coughed to get Alphys's attention, as he asked, "Did you bring the Nanonite?"
Alphys realized what he meant, and said, "O-oh, yes! Yes, I have it right here."
Opening the small box, it was revealed that it contained a very light purple gem, Grobar took it out of the box, and then, for odd reasons, rubbed it on his hands, then handed it to Blinky, who then held it with some tongs, and placed it into the machine.
Blinky then pulled a lever at the side of the exterior, and the doors swung open along with a hissing from the pipes. Inside, it looked like a cross between a sauna and an iron maiden. Many holes spilled out golden light, like hundreds of spotlights on a golden stage. A cloud of steam rolled out, dissipating onto the ground.
"Now then, in you go, Young Paladin." Grobar said, gesturing to the inside of the machine, as Patrick looked a little uneasy at this, and stepped inside the contraption, gulping as the doors closed and clicked shut, his only window to the outside being a grate that appeared from between the golden eyes.
"Remember how I told you all Paladins must start small?" Blinky spoke to Patrick.
"Perhaps…" Patrick replied from inside, as he spoke, his voice was muffled like he was behind a window.
Alfur and Thimbletack, meanwhile looked uneasy at this as well, as they looked at the machine, as the former spoke up, "I'm starting to side with the big troll on this. Seems like a bit of a bad idea…"
Patrick's friends looked uneasy when hearing that, just as Patrick did, as he looked through the window.
"Uh… Blinky? Quick question, how is going into this thing supposed to help get the Minxies out of the hole?" he asked, nervously.
"Oh, you'll see, Master Patrick."
"But he's going to be fine, right?" Taylor asked.
"Oh I assure you, it is most likely safe-"
"Most likely?!" Callum squealed, anxiously looking at Patrick's sweaty face.
"And if the Minxies won't come out, the Paladin must go in." Blinky proudly said, pressing a button on the Furgolator, as the machine started up.
"Whoa, wait… what do you mean, go in?" Patrick frantically asked inside.
As the group outside stood back, they watched as a sandy smoke clouded over Patrick, the machine shaking violently and pumping out a fog of steam. Parts clattered and clicked, pistons pumping and fuel burning.
"Are you okay in there, Patrick?" Luz asked.
"I don't know," Patrick's voice replied, as smoke covered inside, "there is so much smoke in here. I'm not sure if I can see my hand in front of my face."
Soon, after a good amount of shaking and pumping, the machine grinded to a halt as the pipes whistled that it had completed… whatever it was doing.
Inside, Patrick was relieved as the doors opened and stepped back outside, using his hands to wave away the smoke.
"I don't think anything happened," Patrick said, "I hope there could be a 'Plan B'."
Patrick looked around, but it seemed like his friends had disappeared.
"Uh, guys?"
A cough from above caught Patrick's attention, as the boy looked up… and was shocked by the group of several giants looking down at him.
"On the contrary," Blinky proudly said, as he picked up Patrick with one of his hands, "the Furgolator worked perfectly."
Patrick looked at himself, and realized at what Blinky meant.
"Oh crumbs…"
Later, back at Bagdwella's…
Returning back to Bagdwella's shop, Blinky proudly carried Patrick to the entrance of the Minxies' hole, a shield made from a badge to use to defend the young Paladin.
Patrick then let out an annoyed sigh, as he then looked to the others and spoke to Blinky.
"Real subtle, Blinky, 'We gotta start small', 'deal with this little problem'," Patrick said with a hint of sarcasm, before shouting up to the six-eyed troll, "THIS IS HUGE PROBLEM, BLINKY!"
"Oh, do not worry, Master Patrick. A group of minxies are nothing compared to one who has struck against Ghoular! I have no doubt you will make it back to us in one piece." Blinky said proudly.
"But why didn't you tell me that you were going to SHRINK ME?!" Patrick growled with gritted teeth.
"Eh, you would have declined if we did tell you or not." Sans shrugged.
"But I can't be shrunk! I have exams to take, plays to act in, sinks to reach!" Patrick cried.
He then looked to Alfur and Thimbletack and stated, "Heck, those two are small, why can't they deal with those Minxies and get the amulet back?!"
"To be fair, I'm more of a writer than a fighter." Alfur confessed.
"Fighting isn't my speciality at times either." Thimbletack added, much to Patrick's annoyance.
"Do not fret, my boy," Grobar said, hoping to cheer him up, "we used the Furgolator many times to shrink minerals, and we have also got the chance to use it on flesh and blood a few times as well. So we promise that you'll be back to normal after this is done."
Patrick let out a small groaning sigh, "Fine… let's do it."
He then pointed to Alfur and Thimbletack as he instantly added, "But you two are coming for support, whether you like it or not."
Alfur and Thimbletack gulped at this, and nodded slowly as they soon climbed off the two kids they were on and went up to Patrick. Though, as they approached him, Patrick looked quite a bit amazed as looked at the height of both the House Elf and Brownie, then measured himself a little too.
"Huh, so this is your exact size?" Patrick asked.
"We're quite proud of it." Alfur replied.
"Good luck, Master Patrick," Blinky said, proudly, "press on and fetch your destiny."
Raph and Hazel crouched down, and looked to Patrick with a smug grin, as the former handed Patrick a pencil, "Think you might need a weapon to cheer you up?"
Patrick yanked it from his hand with a surprising strength, and gave him a little prick with the sharpened end. He yelped, and jumped back, much to Hazel's amusement.
"Yes, I think I might need a weapon!" He hissed out with vigour, taking up a pose like a knight with a lance. As Hazel laughed a bit more on her brother's mishap, her hand on a rock nearby Patrick, the small Paladin pricked her hand too, upon this, Patrick smiled a little as he said with a mumble, "And thanks, that really cheered me up."
Taking a deep breath, Patrick turned his back on them, and crept through the small tunnel, Alfur and Thimbletack following alongside him.
The walls and ceiling were jagged and scratched, like they had been dug by an animal over many years, worn into the bluish-grey stone. As they walked, their footsteps echoed, and they daintily dodged the various objects hanging in their path. A purple sock gave off such a bad whiff that they had to hold their breath as they walked past it.
"Oh, Master Patrick? There is one last thing to know when dealing with a Minxie," Patrick rolled his eyes, carrying on forwards as he heard Blinky's voice sound like he just remembered something, and as he spoke, his voice got quieter and quieter. "And this is of dire importance : Do not touch its tail!"
His ominous words ricochet all around him and his tiny companions, leaving only the empty silence afterwards. So tense, he felt as if one of the minxies could jump out at any second.
"Oh, yes, well that was obvious already!" He shouted back at him, sarcastically.
"Really?" He asked him in shock, pressing a single eye to the hole, "You remembered it from the book?"
"NO!" He threw his hands out to the sides, and shouted at him.
"I kinda know that." Hilda's voice then spoke up, "Alfur helped show me."
"Not. Helping. Hilda." Patrick grumbled aloud to his sister.
Alfur looked a little appalled at that and said, "Oh, Patrick, it's very important to remember these things."
"Don't you start, Alfur." Patrick looked to him with annoyance, before walking off as the two small allies followed him as he added with a grumble, "Let's just find those two Minxies… this better be all worth it to get my amulet back…"
After a bit of walking down the tunnel, the three then heard some gibberish chatting nearby around the corner.
Reaching it, the tiny trio looked and were a bit surprised by what they saw.
The tiny heroes were staring at a widened cavernous area, seeming decorated with the few bits and bobs that were taken from Bagdwella's, where the culprits happily giggled, chumming up with a red-hatted minxie skeleton.
"Whoa… aren't you two big fellas…" Patrick quietly spoke, as he, Alfur and Thimbletack stayed out of their sights for a while, half-hidden behind an outcrop of rock.
The trio looked at what was happening, which looked like some sort of tea party, as the slender minxie happily broke some of Chuckie's Cookie Crunchie into thirds, as he offered his portly partner one and treated himself to his as well, the two munching away happily.
After having their pieces, they offered the skeleton the third one, though since it was a dead minxie, it didn't join in on the small feast, much to the minxies' disappointment.
The slender minxie broke the third piece into two, and offered one half to it's buddy, and then muched away on his own, until a small little crumb was left. The portly minxie was about to eat it, but then thought to offer the skeleton the piece, playfully tossed the crumb into the skeleton's mouth, as it skittled down the insides of the bones before landing on the floor by the slender minxie's feet. Picking it up, the slender minxie looked at the crumb and thought of eating it, but decided to give it back to it's friend.
Patrick wanted to look annoyed that those tykes took the amulet, but seeing them trying to have a little get together with nothing but a skeleton, it made him feel a bit sad.
"Call me crazy, but I feel a little sorry for them…" Patrick said to his tiny companions.
"I hear you," Alfur sadly nodded, as he looked around the area where the minxies were living in, as it seemed to be a little messy and unorganized, "most minxies would often come in packs with a nice home, but from the looks of it, it seems that this home of theirs doesn't quite fit the part."
"That might explain why they were taking all of those items in the shop," Thimbletack added, "they may even have wanted to have company too."
"Perhaps…" Patrick said, looking at the sighing looks on the minxies' faces, before noticing something that the cups they were drinking from were on something that was currently being used as a coffee table…
"The amulet!" Patrick pointed out, remembering why they came in there, "We need to figure out how to get it back…"
Whilst the portly minxie tried to raise a pint to it's boney friend, the tip of the mug knocked off its skull, letting it clatter to the ground. As if in slow motion, it rolled to a still at Patrick's feet. Hollow eye holes looked up at the trio longingly, until Patrick, Alfur and Thimbletack looked back up to the tiny minxies.
They locked eyes, both sides shocked, until the portly one looked super nervous as it stepped back, while the slender one's lips pulled back over the needle teeth, letting out a yowling snarl.
"Easy, little guy, easy," Patrick said, trying to calm it down, putting down the pencil, while Alfur and Thimbletack stepped back as well, "it's okay, I like Cookie Crunchies too."
It didn't work.
And the slender minxie pounced on Patrick, who tried to defend himself with the shield. Following the struggle, Patrick shoved the minxie off and began to try and escape its attacks, as it pounced and tackled him.
He then grabbed the pencil to attack as it pounced again, only to munch rapidly down on it until the pencil became very small.
"Oh crumbs…" Patrick gulped, then tossed the pencil at the slender minxie as the tussle continued.
Back outside the hole, the others were looking a little concerned as they heard the commotion going on inside.
"Patrick, are you okay in there?" Taylor asked.
It was, however, replied by a yelp by the young Paladin, followed by a crash of sorts.
"That… does not sound good." Blinky stated.
"Don't worry, it's all under control," Alfur's voice cried out, before worriedly added, "probably…"
Back with the commotion inside, Patrick and the minxie were currently in a struggling tussle, as one minute, Patrick is on top, the next, the minxie, as the boy tried many times to get to the amulet, while behind to stones, Alfur, Thimbletack and the portly minxie watched with a bit of concern for their respective allies.
Soon, during the tussle, Patrick was able to grab something on the minxie, until the pest found a way out as it whizzed out of it… followed by a popping sound.
Hearing this, and wondering what he grabbed hold of, Patrick looked to his hand… and stared in horror at the tail that came off that he was now holding.
"Oh crud… I touched it's tail…" Patrick muttered aloud, as the tiny fellows who were witnessing what was happening gasped in shock, while the slender minxie, having escaped Patrick's hold, looked in shock, then to it's behind, seeing it's tail was pulled off.
And then let out a gibberish raging rant.
Patrick looked back at the minxie… and stared in shock as from the minxie's behind where the tail was… popped out of it a weird, skeleton-like scorpion tail!
"Oh my gosh, I touched it's tail! I touched it's tail! I touched it's tail!" Patrick panicked at what had happened, quickly dropping its tail.
"Run, child, run! Touching a minxie's tail is no fun!" Thimbletack cried in rhyme.
Not wanting to ask about the rhyming thing, Patrick did what Thimbletack said, and ran like heck as the slender minxie attacked with the odd, new tail, dodging every swing and strike as he did so.
After another dodge, he heard the humming of the amulet, like it was calling Patrick to use it, and he jumped forward towards it. However, he was stopped as something grabbed him by the ankle of his foot, and saw the slender minxie pulling him back to it, as it then chatted it's teeth like a muncher as it was trying to eat him!
"Hnngh..come...closer!" He hissed out, shakily pulling his chest along the ground, while reaching out with his hand to grab the amulet, aware the minxie pulling him closer to it.
His heartbeat beat loudly in his ears, sweat dripping on his face as he inched closer and closer to the silver disk, eyes straying to the headless skeleton.
Beneath his fingertips, the metal was cool, and flowing with a familiar magical energy.
"For the Glory of Merlin, may Vorpal light our darkest day!" he cried, just in time, as the amulet then shrank, clinged onto Patrick, and brought back out his armor and sword.
Seeing Patrick in armor really stunned the two minxies, while Alfur and Thimbletack smiled at this.
"Well done, Patrick!" Alfur cheered, "You got the amulet!"
Before Patrick could reply and 'thanks', the area they were in suddenly shook.
"Uh, what is that?" Patrick asked, looking a little worried (and a tiny bit annoyed).
Soon, a bit of the stone wall crumbled apart, revealing a new hole, earning much nervous worry from the tiny folk.
Just then, a scuttling sound, with a strange sniffing, was heard within, and as he looked carefully, Alfur looked in shock, as did Thimbletack and the minxies.
"Uh, Patrick," he said, nervously, "I think now's a good time to move."
"Why?" Patrick asked, until another scuttling sound caught his attention, and saw something emerge from the shadows.
Stepping out of the shadows, was an odd looking creature, only for what Patrick would describe it, looked like a naked mole rat, though it looked more feline, as it had cat ears and a feline like face, though had the bucktooth of a naked mole rat.
"Hello." Patrick said in surprise, as he carefully approached the creature, "I've never seen something like you before."
"Patrick, what are you doing?!" Alfur cried, "That's a Naked Mole Cat, get away from it!"
"It doesn't look very dangerous. Weird, but not dangerous." Patrick pointed out, "I mean, look at those paws… and those whiskers…"
"No! Don't touch the-"
But it was too late, as Patrick stroked on the whiskers, the Naked Mole Cat fidgeted and shook its head, before letting out a terrifying snarl, which made Patrick look a little scared now.
"Uh oh…" he muttered, as the creature started to try and grab him with it's paws.
As the Mole Cat then spotted the other tiny fellows, it sniffed and growled as it went after them as well, especially, mainly, the minxies (the slender one managed to grab it's tail that got pulled off, and frantically stuck it back on).
The portly minxie ran as quick as it could, only to trip over, causing the slender one to stop and help lift it's partner back on its feet. As they did, they saw the Mole Cat approach them.
Patrick, meanwhile, saw what was happening, and had the Cinderella movie in his mind, remembering the two mice that had to try and escape the wicked cat, Lucifer. Not wanting to meet the deadly fate the mice almost had, Patrick instantly grabbed hold of the minxies by the back collars of their shirts, and pulled them away from the creature as it nearly slashed them with it's claws.
Hiding them behind a stone as the Naked Mole Cat continued it's rampage around the area, Patrick looked to the two minxies and said, "I am so sorry about all this happening to you two. We didn't know that this was your home and, if I would guess, wanted a bit of company. And we made a pretty bad first impression, especially for bringing this… Naked Mole… Cat… thing… into here."
The two minxies eyed him, the slender one looking a little stern while the portly one looked a little sorry for the Paladin.
"Look, if we help get rid of this thing, I promise that we could figure something out with you two. Maybe find a new home?" Patrick offered.
The two minxies looked at each other for a moment, Patrick sighed as he added, "If you agree, we'll give you a limitless supply of 'Cookie Crunchies'."
The Minxies cheered at that, seeing that they were now on a roll, Patrick looked back up to seeing the creature still attacking, as Alfur and Thimbletack were still trying to evade it's clutches.
"Alfur! Thimbletack!" Patrick cried, getting their attention a little, "We have to figure a way to stop this Naked Mole Cat! Any thoughts?"
"I don't know!" Alfur cried, "All I know is that Mole Cats are something you don't want to deal with, especially at this height and size!"
"Are there any weaknesses, at least?"
"Well one of them, of course, is to not stroke them from the front, or even touch the whiskers, they're very sensitive!" Alfur stated, a little annoyed, dodging another swipe, "You would have known if you read the book!"
"I didn't know! Okay?!"
"It's always important to take a look, at every page of every book." Thimbletack pointed out, rhyming again, as he popped out from his hiding spot for the moment, "Don't miss every detail, use your very eye, then with the knowledge, you'll make it out skyhigh!"
Getting a little annoyed, Patrick cried out, "Look, I'm sorry I didn't read the book, but now is not the time to get the chance on lecturing me when we're about to be eaten alive by some hybrid-like creature! And I don't want to be lectured with someone who speaks in silly rhymes!"
This made both Alfur and Thimbletack gasp at this, only for the latter to get hit by the Mole Cat's tail, sending him flying into a stone wall, and landed on the stone ground.
As he got up, he looked to Patrick (who was concerned about the Brownie's safety following that hit) as he said, his voice beginning to be annoyed, "Silly? Silly?!"
"Oh, I wish you didn't do that!?" Alfur cried to Patrick.
"I'm sorry if I like to speak in rhymes, it makes me quite happy in situations!" Thimbletack said, angrily, as he then suddenly began to twitch, "And I very much didn't want to be in this mess either!"
Patrick then noticed that Thimbletack started to change shape, getting a little larger, and his skin began to change to green, the hair began to disappear, and his voice began to turn into an angry croak, causing the boy to realize what he had done, as Thimbletack said, "Now we're about to die to a Mole Cat, thanks to a kid who didn't learn it from the book that he was suppose to learn from, and you call yourself a PALADIN?!"
Patrick now looked in front of him, for what stood a Brownie, now in its place was a Boggart, with it's green skin, pointy ears and teeth, along with a tail to boot, he looked a little portly, and boy, was he mad.
"You stupid boy! Can't you read anything about these creatures?!" Thimbletack cried, "You even had to let those little tykes get your stupid amulet! Some Paladin you are!"
"Thimbletack, I'm sorry!" Patrick cried, "Can you please stay calm?"
"No! I will not stay calm!" Thimbletack roared, as the Mole Cat was drawn to him, "And I can't believe we have to deal with this dumb beast! You don't know anything about dealing with it, then I'll show you! I've got to do everything!"
"Oh boy…" Patrick said, a little uneasy as Alfur and the Minxies were, drawing his sword as he knew he had to try and get that Brownie-now-turned-into-a-Boggart out of this predicament.
"This is how you deal with a Mole Cat!" Thimbletack yelled, as he let out a cry and charged at the beast.
Back outside the hole, the group could hear a heap load of yelps and crashing coming from within the hole, some of the yelps from Patrick, as well as some what could be from Alfur and/or Thimbletack.
"What do you think's going on in there?" Hazel asked.
"I don't know, but I can't wait any longer!" Taylor said, as she looked to the dwarves, Alphy and Blinky and said, "Can you try and shrink me so I can try and help my brother?"
"We could." Grobar replied, "But we can't."
"My brother's in there, and he might get killed!" she cried, "Startup that Flugo-whatsit and shrink me already!"
"That's the t-thing," Alphys said, "we can restart the machine, b-but it can take about a bit of time to get fully recharged for use."
"How long?"
"17 hours."
"17 hours?!" Taylor cried, "We can't wait until tomorrow for the machine to be ready again, we have to go help now!"
"Uh, guys?" Chris spoke up, getting everyone's attention, "the sounds have stopped."
Hilda looked at the hole, looking a little concerned, "Why haven't they come out yet?"
Each of them looked worried about this, until then, after a few minutes of silence, there was a small bit of gibberish, no doubt from the minxies, until something finally started to come back out through the hole, much to everyone's surprise.
Stepping out of the hole, was the Naked Mole Cat, a little bruised, and being walked out by the two minxies, the portly one not having its hat on, Alfur by the creature's side, and Patrick, the amulet regained with his armor and sword, wearing the portly minxie's hat and currently helping the two minxies walk the defeated creature out.
"By Gorgas!" Blinky said in surprise, "You summoned the armor, got the minxies and caught a Nake Mole Cat!"
"Wow, you did it!" Hilda cheered, as she, Frida and David clapped, followed by Papyrus and Sans, even Alphys happily clapped too.
"Way to go, human!" Papyrus said.
"Well done, young boy." Grobar complimented with a smirk.
"Thank you, thank you." Patrick smiled, as he gestured to his tiny companions and added with a grin, "I don't want to forget the little people."
"Expedient and good humor." Blinky said with a smile of interest, as he joined in the clapping, while Patrick returned the portly minxie's hat to him.
"Oh, my hero!" Bagdwella happily cheered.
"How did you manage to get hold of a Nake Mole Cat as well, young Paladin?" Grobar asked, "It's true that they're one of the big problems to get around Delta Rune, but how did this one get there?"
"It's kind of a long story there." Patrick said, letting out a sigh of relief.
"Hold on," Frida then spoke, "where's Thimbletack?"
Before Patrick could reply, Thimbletack (still a Boggart) let out a cry as he jumped out, startling the group, as he yelled, "Who else wants a piece of me, huh?!"
"Is that Thimbletack?!" David asked.
"Did he turn into a Boggart?!" Frida added.
"Yeah, I kinda accidentally insulted him a little under pressure, though the upside, he did help beat this Mole Cat…" Patrick scratched his head, as he watched the still ranting Thimbletack scare off the Mole Cat and threaten the others, asking if they wanted a piece of him, then looked to David and Frida, "you wouldn't mind helping cooling him down, would you? Sorry…"
"Don't worry, we're on it," Frida said, before looking at David, "David, there's a thing of honey in my bag, could you get it out?"
"Okay." David nodded, and got out a small bottle of honey, as he handed it to Frida, who then approached Thimbletack.
"Thimbletack," Frida said, in a dotty voice like any parent would say to their child, "I've got some honey for you to cheer you up."
"I don't want your honey! I'm not falling for tha-!" Thimbletack ranted before getting cut off as he instantly took the bottle of honey and began to drink it down in an instant.
The group then looked as Thimbletack soon returned to normal as he was soon done drinking the bottle of honey.
"Wow, he sure likes honey, doesn't he?" Hilda smiled.
"Definitely," Patrick smiled back, before looking to the Brownie (who was tidying himself up) as he said, "Thimbletack, sorry about what I said back there, it was bit of a heat of the moment, you know, with the near-death situation of that odd creature. Thanks for helping too."
Thimbletack smiled a little on that apology, and nodded in reply.
Patrick then looked up to Blinky, Alphys and the dwarves, as he then asked, "So, what about this shrinking thing? How will it wear off?"
"Don't worry, young Paladin," Grobar said, "for what you've seen and experienced is a bit of work from the gem that was used for the machine: Nanonite."
"Nanontie?"
"Indeed, Nanonite is a rare type of gem with a magical shrinking ability when grinded and sometimes liquidated into a special shrinking potion." Grobar explained, "Which is specially used mainly for the Furgolator too."
"But how will I get back to normal size?" Patrick asked.
"Not to worry, Patrick, since I rubbed a bit of the gem's magic on my hands, all I do is tap my cheeks and…" Grobar then tapped his cheeks with his hands, and just like that, Patrick was back to his normal size, much to his relief.
"Good to finally be back to normal size," Patrick smiled, "now I won't need an elevator to climb one stair step."
"You take a good rest, Master Patrick," Blinky said, proudly, "and how you've earned it: Patrick the Minxie-Catcher!"
"And, uh, what about these two cute little guys?" Luz asked, as she picked them up in her hands.
"All that's left to do with them is for the Paladin to take care of them." Blinky replied.
"Wait, 'take care of them'?" Chuckie asked.
"Rule #2." AAARRRGGHH! responded.
"Always finish the fight." Papyrus added.
"You mean… kill these little fellas?" David said, looking a little concerned, as the two minxies looked scared on hearing that.
"Or don't kill, it's the kid's call." Sans pointed out.
Everyone looked to Patrick when he heard that, then looked to the minxies, who were looking back with worried eyes, until Patrick smiled, as if he had knew something, as he looked back to the others and said, "You know, someone once told me, 'Know your enemy and know yourself and you can fight a hundred battles without disaster.'"
He then picked up the minxies and continued, "While it did seem like they were attacking me a little bit, it turned out that they just wanted a home."
Patrick saw Blinky like he was to say something, and stopped him as he said, "I know that minxies can be a bit mischievous, like you said, but like you also said, it's my choice to spare them or not, and well, I like to start things off with giving them a new place to call home."
The minxies smiled at that and happily cheered upon hearing this.
Patrick's friends also smiled to hear this, especially Luz and Hilda, as Mr. Sturges said just that to Patrick back at school.
"Very well, Master Patrick," Blinky said with a smile, "if that's what you want. Though I'm curious to know who would be willing to look after these two."
Just then, Chuckie spoke up, getting everyone's attention, "Oh! I've got an idea!"
Later, Wolowitz House, Chuckie's Room…
Patrick and his friends all had nice smiles on their faces as they looked at the nice thing they were looking at.
After taking the minxies from Trollmarket, Chuckie escorted Patrick and the others back to his house (where he lived with his grandmother, Eloise Wolowitz, or Nana Wolowitz), and found his grandma's old dollhouse. The dollhouse, like any other dollhouse, had a flap on the front of the house, which opened to reveal the insides of the house, which included a lounge, a bedroom, stairs, kitchen and bathroom, all with small furniture included.
The group looked as the two minxies were happily making themselves feel at home, as they were currently sitting in the small lounge, happily enjoying some Cookie Crunchies on the sofa.
"Great idea on the dollhouse, Chuckie." Patrick smiled at him.
"Yeah, Nana's dollhouse has been in the loft for a really long time," Chuckie explained, "I think it's great to put it to use again."
"So we're gonna be keeping them?" Hilda smiled.
"It looks like we are, sis." Taylor replied, as Patrick nodded on that too.
"You know, don't these remind you of the mice from Cinderella?" Patrick grinned, as they had a good look at the minxies, "What were their names again?"
"You mean Jaq and Gus?" Chuckie replied, then brightened up as he said, "That's perfect! I like that, a little tribute to those characters."
"And we see what you meant on how those minxies look like those mice, too." Chris smiled.
"Jaq and Gus the minxies." Taylor chuckled, "I like it. So it looks like we've got a few new mouths to feed." she looked to the two minxies, as the slender one, Jaq, began playing with his small guitar, while the portly minxie, Gus, was trying to get the small TV to work (even though it was still a toy TV).
She then looked to Patrick and said, "And great move on sparing these guys too, Patrick."
"Yeah," Luz nodded, "they're just too cute be… you know…" she made a gagging sound as she brought a finger to her throat.
"The 2nd rule did sort of say for us to take care of them," Patrick said, "so, I guess we can indeed take care of them."
"I hope you don't mind having these little guys to hang with you as well, Alfur? Thimbletack?" Hilda asked Alfur and Thimbletack, as they looked at each other, then back to Hilda.
"I suppose we can get used to these two hanging out with us." Alfur shrugged.
"If so they become quite a big fuss." Thimbletack added, sort of in a rhythm, earning a few little chuckles from the others.
Patrick chuckled a little on that too, feeling quite happy that the advice Mr. Sturges said to him helped a bit today, then thought to himself, 'One problem down, two to go…'
Brady Oaks High, Spanish Class, the Next Day…
The Adventures of Don Quixote.
This was the exam that Patrick had chosen, telling the tale of a man who dreamed of adventure and becoming a hero (something that seemingly fit so well with Patrick, with the exception of the death of the hero part, of course… probably…)
He was very concerned and a little worried when he was given the exam, but following what had happened with the minxies, it gave him a little bit of confidence, and was ready to do what his teacher wanted him to do. Though he was a tiny bit nervous not to screw it up.
In perfect Spanish, he read out her presentation, his accent a little bit immaculate. Everything went quite well, and it seemed that his grades wouldn't slip after all. The report came to an end, and he smiled at his teacher. "And, uh, that's it, folks!" Nervously, he laughed.
Uhl nodded. "That was surprisingly good, Mr. Kirby, considering the circumstances. A- , for you." He awarded generously.
Patrick breathed out a sigh of relief as he said, "Gracias, Señor Uhl.", while Luz and most of the class clapped on the job well done.
As class was dismissed and most of the students left the room, Mr. Sturges arrived into the class, two cups of coffee in his hands, "Here you go, Uhl. Non-decaf, just the way you like it."
"Thank you, Sturges." Uhl thanked him, as he took his cup from Rodney's hand.
Rodney then looked to Patrick, who was being congratulated by Luz (who was starting to leave to get ready for the next bit of work from Eda later after school), and was about to leave when Rodney called for him.
"Young Atlas," he said, getting Patrick to turn to him, "did you manage to take care of that little pest problem you had yesterday?"
"Pest problem?" Uhl asked.
"Indeed," Rodney replied as he explained, "Patrick was trying to deal with some thieving mice that stole something from him and his sisters. I'm certain it's all sorted out?"
Patrick smiled, as he nodded and said, "Oh, it's all settled, Mr. Sturges. In fact, I took your advice and was able to give them a new home."
"That's good to hear." Sturges smiled.
"And to be honest, it's also helped me out a little on getting through Uhl's lesson too…" Patrick admitted, scratching the back of his head with a hint of nervousness.
"And I must say that he did a good job, and a very bold acting presentation too." Uhl admitted, a small smile on his face before taking a sip of coffee.
"Thanks again, sir."
"Good to hear," Sturges smiled, before smirking as he then said, "speaking about acting, should you be getting to your rehearsal right about now, Mr. Kirby?"
Patrick's eyes widened at that, then checked the clock, it was almost time for today's rehearsals!
"Oh crud!" he cried, as he rushed out as he quickly added as he left, "SorryIcan'tsta,yIhavetobeatactingwithVicky,okay,thanksbye!"
Uhl raised an eyebrow at this, while Sturges smiled with a small chuckle, "Heh, kids these days…"
Gym/Assembly Hall
Victoria stood there, proudly in the spotlight, as she was currently doing her lines for Juliet, who is looking out for her love, Romeo, and wishing for him to change his name.
"...So Romeo would, were he not Romeo call'd, Retain that dear perfection which he owes Without that title. Romeo, doff thy name, And for that name which is no part of thee Take all myself." she said beautifully, but as she finished her lines she waited for her scene partner to speak.
A minute had passed, but he didn't seem to appear, and she was about to grow upset by this, when suddenly a voice spoke up from the curtains to her right.
"I take thee at thy word: Call me but love, and I'll be new baptized; Henceforth I never will be Romeo." Patrick spoke up, as he appeared from the curtains, earning a smile from Victoria, as they approached each other, a smile on both their faces.
Victoria smiled at this, and looked to her partner, until their teacher and director spoke up.
"Ah, Mr. Kirby," Mrs. Lamb spoke up, "2 minutes late, I see."
Patrick nervously chuckled, until the drama teacher soon smiled as she said, "Though I'm sure we can improvise on that."
"Thank you, Miss." Patrick sighed on hearing that.
"Glad to see you made it," Victoria said, getting his attention, "or I would have really ended up like Juliet."
"Well, her Romeo does arrive on time… at times… I suppose."
Both of them let out a chuckle, as Mrs. Lamb approached them and Patrick turned to her.
"Mrs. Lamb, I want to say that I'm sorry about missing out at yesterday's rehearsals." Patrick apologized.
"Don't worry, Patrick, I understand well that you have other work to do," Mrs. Lamb replied, the two smiled upon hearing that, "in fact, someone was kind enough to take help out and take the role of understudy incase of possible future absence."
"Wait… understudy?" Patrick raised an eyebrow.
"Who volunteered?" Vicky added with curiosity.
Then another voice spoke up another bit of Romeo's lines… one voice that dreaded them both, "Alack, there lies more peril in thine eye Than twenty of their swords: look thou but sweet, And I am proof against their enmity."
Patrick and Victoria turned around and saw… Biff Tennant, proudly dressed up in the attire for the play, 3-D by his side, as both were snickering as they approached the duo and the drama teacher.
"Heya, Kirby." Biff grinned, before looking to Victoria and smooched his lips, much to her disgust.
"Mister Tennant was telling me about all the struggling work you got on the plate, Mr. Kirby," Mrs. Lamb said with a smile, totally unaware of the opposite effect on the two that were meant for each other, "so he was happy to help take the mantle of Romeo for you as your understudy! Isn't that wonderful?"
"It sure is." Biff smiled wickedly, totally unaware from the drama teacher as she started to leave.
"Yeah…" Patrick nervously said through a worried, forced smile
"Great…" Victoria added, also through a worried, forced smile.
The bullies looked to the two, as 3-D did a bomb drop sound impression, while Biff grinned at this turn of events.
Patrick and Victoria, unfortunately, weren't so happy of this turn of events, as they both looked at each other with worry, as one word came to their minds as they both thought it together.
'Crumbs…'
Next time, some magic mayhem in magic school, and meeting some more new magical friends!
Until next time, True Believers!
Excelsior!