"By which you mean Thragonothor's torso?" Benjamin asked with a smirk. "No matter I'll cover the high points three days ago Tragonothor's one true love botches a spell of some kind and poof off to somewhere she goes. Tragonothor sets out from her tower to rescue her with no clue where she is or how to find her other than the giant disk thing he uses as a belt buckle. Along the way he rescues me from some goblins and decides I am a little boy and therefore need the protection of an adult. Then we came across you and having listen to him prattle on for hours about his broken heart I decided to cheer him up and suggest he rescue you. To end we are now lost in the woods under the care of a melancholy giant who won't change his mind." Benjamin's voice had dripped sarcasm a various points in his narration "Any questions?" Serceese looked thoughtful for a moment and slowly said "So if you told him you could read the markings on the disk he would have to take off his belt, right?" "Are you serious right now?" the halfling asked after a moment of stunned silence. "A girl has needs and men don't get to his size without having them as well." "You mean like 8 hours of sleep, 3 square meals and plenty of sunshine and exercise?" a puzzled voice ask from over their heads.
Tragonothor jerked up from his bedroll "Stranger danger!! Did she touch your naughty place Ben-Ben?" he was still mostly asleep but the twin girlish shrieks of terror had awoken him. Benjamin came sprinting back to the campsite "there is someone out there Tragonothor! Wait what? no!" The poor halfling was truly confused as too many things had just happened. Serceese strutted back into camp, "Way to go there manly man abandoning the girl". "Do you mean me or you?" said the figure walking behind her in a voice like a 6 year old girl. "Who is she?" the halfling asked. "Hi I'm Pixie" she bubbled cheerfully. "Aren't pixies smaller and with wings?" Benjamin asked. He could now see she was an elven girl (young woman as the fire flared up and showed more of her) with blonde hair, cornflower blue eyes, freckles and a button nose.
She giggled infectiously "No silly i am not a pixie Pixie is my name." "Forgive Ben-Ben he is still Tragonothor's little man and gets confused especially past bedtime." Tragonothor frowned at Benjamin and Serceese. The halfling was sputtering in indignation Tragonothor had talked to her like an adult and still treated him as a child. "What are you doing here anyways?" asked a hostile Serceese, she had no intention of sharing the barbarian with this airhead. "Gosh, you already know that, true love." Pixie said in a matter of fact tone of voice. "Come again? What the heck is that supposed to mean?" Serceese was starting to wonder if she was still dreaming. Benjamin tugged on her sleeve and whispered "Please tell me she didn't just say gosh". "Golly Mr. Tragonothor I didn't mean to listen to your friends private conversation but they were talking right under where I was sleeping and it would have been rude to interrupt" she looked somewhat embarrassed. "No problem Pixie they shouldn't have been out past curfew anyways Tragonothor understands". The halfling and elf woman looked at each other in silent amazement they didn't have to say "curfew" aloud to each other. "Gee that's swell of you Mr Tragonothor" the girl gushed. "It must be spiffy having a true love, I am waiting on mine. So anyways when I heard them say you were lost and depending on true love to guide you I knew that was why they ended up under my tree so in the morning we can set out for Glimmerdale." "Thank you Pixie Tragonothor wasn't worried he and Soonamor are fated to be as one but even I wasn't hoping for true love to guide me with someone so nice." The large man and small elf exchanged grins before lying down and almost immediately falling asleep.
"Holy crap we're cursed" Benjamin said despondently. "What do you mean?" Serceese asked. "Our guide is a small female Tragonothor, do you know what tomorrow will be like?" he looked in horror at the two of them sleeping. Serceese shrugged "Much like today for me he is quite large and muscly, stare at Poxies undersized girly bits and you won't have to actually listen to them either." Benjamin sat down and seriously thought over his situation and could one come up with only one explanation and it chilled him to his core. It had been 20 years since what was called "the night of being left Alone" over half of the intelligent creatures of Medorca vanished in one night. All the great heroes; high priests; kings; despots you name it there was no one left to lead and everyone expected an apocalypse that didn't actually occur. Most people just shrugged and went on with their lives as much as possible and along the way new leaders emerged but not clergy. The gods had stopped answering on "The Night" and no prayer had produced an effect since. Benjamin was worried some gods had returned and were the kind that did look kindly on thieves and swindlers, he might actually be forced to go straight. Benjamin did not sleep well that night at all.
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