Chapter 2

Raindrops on Roses

Novembre 19-23, 5599

As the rainy days slowly passed, the amount of rain, along with the strength of the wind, began to slacken. During the inclement weather, Maidawn and Shorn trained ten hours a day behind the red door.

In the barn behind Theleisium’s cottage, Cyereth the elf, Braunk the centaur, and Thorfrn Throkreaver, the Yellowbeard Dwarf, found ways of entertaining themselves. They played games, practiced battle technique, told stories, maintained their weapons, enjoyed each other’s company, and relaxed. They were trapped inside and knew that they had to wait out the storm. Luckily, there was plenty of food and drink to be had as the magical icebox. They just had to run through the rain, avoiding the worst of the puddles, to make it back to the cottage for meals.

As for Stench, the green goblin, he spent a lot of time with Chomper, his donkey, and Thrasher, Shorn’s black warhorse. He did enjoy playing games with the other three as he liked to win, at any cost. Unfortunately for him, Stench was frequently caught cheating and booted from whichever game they were playing. Every time this happened, Stench promised that he wouldn’t cheat anymore and pleaded until they couldn’t take it anymore. Eventually, they would let him join them again, only to kick the goblin out again, and again, and again from every single game. He had yet to actually finish a game.

Stench always shrugged his shoulders and said, “It’s in my nature to cheat. I’m a goblin. It really can’t be helped.” Then he would always get up from the table and give them a compliment of some sort. “Gee, you guys sure are swell.”

This always elicited a round of groans from the others. They promised to help him get over his tendency to be dishonest, but it never lasted long. Stench really tried to play a clean game, but it just wasn’t in his makeup.

Inside the cottage, Spck the flairie spent the days exploring the entire building, except, of course, what was behind the red door. She investigated the cupboards in the kitchen, under the beds, even the toiletroom, in which she discovered NOT to fly down into the dark, dank hole.

At first, her favorite game was making her way under the couch cushions looking for lost trinkets. But things changed she discovered that by really pulling on the icebox handle, her wings flapping like crazy, she could open the door. Ever since that happened, she spent a lot of the day tasting all the different foods that were stored in there. Boy, oh boy, did she love that icebox. It was the most miraculous thing she had ever discovered. She spent most of her days on top of the icebox sleeping off her latest food frenzy. Most importantly, she keeping an eye on whomever wanted a snack, dive bombing them if she felt like they were taking too much. She didn’t seem to realize that the icebox magically refilled itself.

During the fifth day of training, the rain stopped early in the morning and the suns, Brumel and Pasq, bathed the drenched land in glorious, water-evaporating rays of sunsshine. The puddles on the ground began to dry up and the ground began to harden again. Byrds came out of hiding and filling the forest with their joyous songs while squirellees frolicked on the limbs of trees hunting for their hidden nuts.

That afternoon, Theleisium called a meeting and the party all gathered in the main room of his cottage, shortly after the midday meal.

“Maidawn and Shorn have made great progress in mastering their Amber magic,” with mage stated with a certain sense of satisfaction. “I believe it’s time to leave this place and make our way to Kexy Island. What say you?”

“Aye, about time,” Thorfrn stated, a slight smile on his lips. “Got me an itchin’ for some adventurin’.”

“I’m anxious to travel,” Cyereth chimed in, rocking back and forth on her heel with happiness. “This is a beautiful forest, but I have grown weary of all this rain.”

“I had thought to return to Yärum,” Braunk said, “but after much discussion this week with my new friends, I have decided to remain at your side. I owe you a debt of gratitude for rescuing me from my imprisonment in Yelve. If it were not for all of you, I would have ended up in a yellow goblin stew, I am sure.”

“We’re happy to have you remain with us,” Alizabet said, giving Braunk a pat on his hindquarters.

Spck flew around the room in circles and then landed on Shorn’s head. She sat down and crossed her legs, slapping her hands on her thighs in joy. She glanced at the icebox and then shrugged her tiny shoulders. She was really going to miss all that interesting food.

“Well, then,” Theleisium said, smiling, “we’ll leave in an hour. Everyone go and pack and we’ll all meet in the barn and then head out.”

Maidawn laughed and hugged Cyereth. Everyone joined in and the cabin was filled with joy and excited talking.

After all, four pieces of Amber Armor were still missing. Their quest was just beginning.