By Samwise Graber
I’m coming, Mara. I shoulder my pack, set my walking stick on the path, and start up the slope.
“I wouldn’t go that way if I were you.”
I jump, my foot catches on a patch of gravel, and I tumble to the ground. My elbow scrapes against a rock as I land hard on my seat.
“Woah there. It’s not safe to be that kind of clumsy on a mountain.” A short woman sits on the ledge above me, kicking her heels.
I push myself to my feet and brush dust off my tunic. “Why shouldn’t I go this way? Are you planning to stop me?”
She glances at the slope behind her. “Of course not. But there happens to be a group of goblins around the bend just waiting for the next traveler to come along. You ought to turn back.”
“Who are you talking to?” Mara asks in my head.
Oh dear. “A traveler, Mara.” Mara worries about me too much already. If she knew about the goblins, she might try to talk me out of coming.
“What sort of traveler?”
“She’s a girl. Short, blond–” I cut off and flush. I’m speaking aloud.
“What on Earth are you blathering about?” The short woman puts her hands on her hips. “Just because you took a lot longer to reach the perfect height doesn’t mean you have to be jealous. I’m a dwarf, if you must know. My name is Daria.”
“Dormir.” “She’s a dwarf, and I think I just made her angry.”
“Oh, Dormir, you sure know how to put your foot in your mouth.”
“You try holding two conversations at once.” I step past Daria and up the path.
“Didn’t you hear what I told you?” Daria asks.
“Yes, goblins. I suppose I’ll have to test my mettle against them.”
Daria hops down from her ledge. “You don’t intend to take my advice?”
“Can’t.” I point my walking stick at the mountain peak. “My girlfriend is over there. I promised I would reunite with her.”
“In that case, I’m coming.” Daria sweeps her golden braids behind her and turns up the slope.
I lean against my walking stick. “She wants to come with me.”
“Why not? She can keep you company on the road.”
I glance at Daria. “I don’t think those legs could keep up with me.”
Daria shoves a finger inches from my face. “Ohhhhh, now you’ve done it, big boy. You may be fast and tall, but those long legs aren’t going to do you any good if you run headlong into a pack of goblins. Besides, I’ve got a thing or two that could help you.”
Daria fans out her overcoat. The interior is lined with glistening vials of colorful liquid.
I step back. “You’re a witch?”
Daria shakes her head and narrows her eyes. “Such a crude word. I’m an alchemist, Dormir. This isn’t about spells and magic, just basic potions that’ll help you out.” She touches one vial. “This one helps your lungs take in more oxygen at a higher elevation. This one eases the exhaustion in your muscles. And this…”
She pulls out a handful of vials filled with a dull-red mixture. “Let’s just say a goblin’s not going to be too thrilled if you throw this in his face.”
I shrug one shoulder. “Fine, let’s go.”
I turn and start up the path again. Daria runs to catch me.
“Take these.” She shoves two of the red vials into my free hand.
I slide them into my cloak pocket. “Thanks.” “I decided to bring her along.”
“Ooh, I’m excited to meet her,” says Mara.
Gravel crunches behind us. I turn. A goblin stands on the path—green skinned, pointy eared, and somewhere between my height and Daria’s.
Ugly little fella.
Daria grabs me by the belt and turns me around. “Mind yourself. I’ve got this one.”
Above us, two more goblins shuffle down the path with short swords in their claws. Behind them, a third nocks an arrow to a short bow.
“Dormir!” Mara can sense my alarm.
“What? Nothing’s wrong. I’m trying to climb over this little crevice and it’s…” I cut off. Mara doesn’t believe me.
I grab one of the vials from my cloak pocket and sling it at the goblins. It hits the left goblin in the shoulder and shatters into a burst of flame. The goblin shrieks and tumbles down the mountain slope.
His companion growls and charges. He swipes at me with his short sword. I jump back and swing my walking stick.
Crack!
The wood connects with the side of his head, and he falls after his companion.
The third goblin raises his bow and draws.
Daria grabs me around the waist and pushes me down, throwing a vial of liquid into the air. The spray casts a myriad of phantom images across my vision.
Whoosh.
An arrow bursts through the liquid above our heads and sprays us with phantom juice and a gust of wind.
The elixir splatters across the path, and we’re left facing a wide-eyed goblin with an empty bowstring.
I grab my extra vial and hurl it. The vial soars over the goblin’s head and volcanoes on the path behind him. The goblin shrieks and reaches for another arrow.
Daria nudges me aside and flings her own vial. The potion catches the goblin full on the chest and explodes in a burst of flame. The goblin crumples and rolls down the slope.
“You need to work on your aim.” Daria chuckles.
“Dormir, are you okay? What happened?” says Mara.
“We had a bit of a run-in with a party of goblins, but we’re okay now.”
“Don’t scare me like that! You should’ve told me you were going into danger. Just stay safe, okay?”
I grin. “Don’t worry. Daria and I handled them pretty well.”
I shake out my cloak and set my walking stick on the path. Nothing would keep us from Mara.
Can you guess which song from the 1960's inspired this story? Share in the comments!
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I like the alchemist dwarf, I think Mara and Daria might give the guy a hard time.
Really enjoyed that! These two make a fun pair, and I’m still wondering why and how Mara and Dormir communicate telepathically. I feel something more must be going on! 😁
This is awesome! I love the alchemy ;)
‘Dormir’ is Spanish for ‘to sleep’, so I was expecting the plot twist at the end to be that he was actually dreaming the whole time or something like that.
Well-written. The beginning of something I’d like to read more of. :)