Hearth Fire

“Clunk, Clunk.”

Stronric woke with a jolt. Something was approaching. A white face with yellow eyes and black elongated pupils loomed over him.

“Baa.”

Stronric sat up and winced from the pain. His ribs hurt and his back was on fire. He laid back down and raised a hand to the goat.

“You win, lassie.”

The goat leaned its head down into his hand. He scratched the goat. How did I live? I was sure I was dead. He turned his head and saw three smaller goats poking their heads around the nanny. He let out a bark of a laughter and stood up, wincing at the pain. Stumbling a few steps, he looked around the cave. The troll was still laying in the campfire, which had burnt down to coals. Ive been out for a while but not too long. Let's see if there is anything valuable and get out of here.

Stronric began searching the cave. He went to the troll’s bedding and tore leather straps from the remains. He rummaged around the various bone piles, picking out bones he could use later. The rest of the cave held nothing of value, so he called to the goats and began to leave. Something flickered near the bottom of debris pile catching his eye. It flickered, reflecting the light from the embers of the small remaining fire. He went over to it and started digging. With his damaged ribs, he couldn’t just pull the thing out. Working with grunts, he used the pick axe to dig around and loosen the item. One kid hoped up and grabbed onto a leather strap attached to the item and helped Stronric pull. They both tumbled and fell back as the item finally gave way. The goats leapt and fled from the stench that followed.

“Son of a b…” he said.

Stronric held a set pauldrons, crafted from thick steel and rotten leather straps. The armor was made to cover the shoulders and wrapped around the neck protecting the collarbones, shoulders and back to the scapulas. It resembled the skin of a lizard with raised squares laying atop another, each meticulously carved. The effort to make such a design is impressive and not often seen. He wiped the muck and filth to see it was shades of gold. Some places reflected a light golden color light, a streak of sunlight. Other parts were a gold so dark it seems to eat the light.

I am gonna need to get some riveting and good leather straps to fix this. Shouldn’t be too hard. The craftsmanship is quite remarkable. Rarely have I seen armor of this quality, and better yet, I have never seen something like this laying in a troll’s garbage pile.

With a glint in his eyes, he turned to the goats and said “I’m going back in” They let out a defeated “baa” and hung their heads.

Hours passed as Stronric sorted through the piles of garbage that filled the cave. He formed four new piles, one for trash, salvageable, questionable, and keep. The keep pile had three daggers, only one with a sheath, four throwing axes that needed sharpening, a hand axe that needed a new haft, and a small sachet of mixed coins. In the questionable pile was some kind of pressed metal with insignias on it, a backpack full of bottles, and a book that was badly damaged. In the salvageable pile were odds and ends, things Stronric could repair and fix if he had a smithy. No reason to carry all of this out. My ribs hurt too much and it won't do much other than clutter up the hearth.

Stronric went back to the pile of garbage he wasn’t going to keep and made a small cavity in the center of it to hide the items he would not take. He then covered the items with more trash, stepped back, and clapped his hands together.

“There all set. Now no one can steal my treasures. When I feel better I am gonna come get ye guys, so don't move em on me, okay?” he said to the goats.

Another long “baa” from a goat.

Patting the nanny on the head, Stronric got an idea.

“Hey ol’ girl, can you give me a hand?” he said to the nanny with a smile.

Soon a plethora of goat noises filled the cavern. Stronric stepped back from his handy work. The nanny stood with the weapons and pauldrons strapped to her sides in a make shift pack strapped to her back. Stronric picked up his pick axe and used it like a cane.

“Come on, I’ll show you to your new home.” He said, waving the goats towards him.

It took the last of Stronric’s might to crank closed the mechanism to the ramp leading to the mountain. He slumped against the wall and let out a long sigh. After he had collected his breath, he started the long path down the steps that lead back into the hold. The goats followed him, veering off every now and again to check something out or to simply jump on things. The party made their way down to the pond. Stronric checked his plug to make sure it was still in place. It was and didn’t look tampered with. He stripped and slid into the crisp refreshing water. He sighed in relief as the crabs got to work and the goats drank from the pond

One of the kids cried out and, “splash” joined him. He opened an eye and looked at the floundering goat. Chuckling to himself, he slid deeper in the water. When he was young, his mother always made him pack ice on any wound he had. Since his whole body was a wound now, he figured the icy cold water around him would work the same. The crabs, having a feeding frenzy eating the days grime away, seemed happy to see him. They crawled over him and bobbed in the water. He reached out and scratched their shells. Some of them finding his actions weird moved away, while others leaned into it, and others leaned into it.

The run back to the fire after his bath was slow and cold. Luckily, the nanny tolerated his cold, soaked clothes thrown over her back. They made their way back to the front room and settled by the fire. He pulled out some newly found leather straps and fashioned a drying rack with the remains of a couple broken chairs. He hung his wet clothes and unburdened the nanny. The goats quickly scampered away to explore the courtyard. Stronric limped over to a keg and poured himself a large draft of beer. He downed it in one go. The alcohol warmed his body and sent tingling sensations down his limbs. Pouring a second drink, he sat down and made dinner.

After he had eaten, he built the fire up, then drank his fill and laid down to sleep. The goats made their way back inside, circling up around the fire. The nanny paced a circle and sat near Stronric’s head. He moved and laid his head onto her belly. Although exhausted and in desperate need of sleep, thoughts kept him awake.

I have made more than one oath, but never has the oath been so physical. I gained strength, energy and my pain waned, if only temporarily. I don't think I could have won that fight without that extra power. I must be more careful when I make oaths. They seem to bind one to a single cause until the oath is fulfilled. Stronric shook his head remembering how powerless he was to stop the killing blow even knowing the benefits the troll’s knowledge held. I am learning so much about this world, what other wonders are hidden. I wish I had someone other than goats and crabs to talk to. I am not convinced it would be safe to invite others here though. I know there was a betrayer from what the trolls and the portcullis said and showed.

If dwarves are really slaves to the elves, that would complicate things. Where are the elves now? Surely they wouldn’t be nearby, no elf would be caught dead living under the ground. Stronric rolled over and grunted in frustration. Maybe after I heal, I will go down the mountain and see what I can find. Maybe I can find a human settlement I can visit and purchase some items. I wonder if humans have libraries in their towns like the large cities did back in the old world. I could buy some books.

Stronric continued thinking about what he should and shouldn’t do until, finally, he started snoring. The goats laid sprawled out on the warm stone. The nanny lifted her head and stared at the cornucopia for a long time. The eyes unblinking, frozen open like the eyes of a dead man. Tracing the lines over and over, never blinking. The nanny finally looked away and shuffled her hooves, revealing a rune carved on the bottom of one hoof. She let out a bleat and laid her head on Stronric and fell asleep.