| Master Rift lay on his blankets and snored peacefully by the fire.
Now was the time to act. Fred and Astra huddled close and whispered to
each other. The dwarf paid no attention to them and continued to watch
the darkness. His name was Tarin-Gazin and he had kept quiet through the
entire journey and seemed to be of little threat. All they had to do was
overpower the little man and knock him out without waking Rift and then
they would be on their way. Fred stood up and stretched, while Astra edged
herself into the darkness beyond the camp's firelight.
The dwarf watched Fred and said nothing. Fred smiled and casually moved toward him. "That's close enough," the dwarf spoke. "What? You're not afraid of little old me, are you?" Fred said with a self-deprecating smile. "Why should I be?" Tarin replied calmly. "Well, maybe you're afraid of me...BITING YOU!" Fred grinned dramatically, showing off his snoutful of teeth. By this time Astra had silently moved completely into the shadows. Tarin laughed. "I don't think so, dog-tail. You and your friend act very strange for your kind. What do you think you are, a were-fox?" This caught Fred by surprise, "Well of course I'm a were-fox. Helloooho, see the fur, the fangs." Whatever this dwarf was, thought Fred, he wasn't very bright. Tarin leveled his gaze at Fred and then looked up into the night sky. "Excuse me, dog-face, but do you see a full moon?" Fred looked up and then realized the dwarf was right. The moon was only half full. He and Astra couldn't be werecreatures. "But Malachi told us we were were-foxes..." "Hah! Either this Malachi is trying to pull one over on a couple of rubes or else he's as stupid as a dragon," Tarin chortled. "Uh, he, I mean she is a dragon," Fred mumbled. "Was a dragon anyway; she's dead now." Tarin shook his head in disbelief. Whatever this Fred was, thought the dwarf, he wasn't very bright. "Now listen up, human. I'm starting to see the picture here. You haven't exactly been truthful to us, have you? Well let me explain a few things you don't seem to understand. One, you're a demi-fox, not a were-fox. If you bite me, rabies is the worst I would get. Two, I'm a dwarf. So I'm immune to that kind of magical moon curse crap, anyway. Three, if you tried anything you'd be dead before you got to within three feet of me. Your girlfriend too," he said, and glanced directly at where Astra was hiding in the darkness. Go Back |
