Jarrick Mason
"Are you awake?"
....
"Can you hear me? What in the world happened to you?"
Jarrick looked up, still hazy. A beautiful woman, four or five years younger than him from what he could gather by looks, looked back at him with with concerned features. He sat still and just focused on her, trying to bring the rest of the room into perspective. Morning sunlight crept across the wooden floorboards, dust particles dancing in the stream of light.
"Uh.. Where.." He mumbled before his eyelids began to flutter, the room losing focus once more.
"Wait.. oh dear!" She exclaimed, before fading from existence.
When he opened his eyes once more, an orange glow had filled the room. The sun was just visible outside the window, hanging low on the horizon.
Soft footsteps outside the room turned into slow creaking as the door to the room opened.
The woman he vaguely remembered from earlier returned, a metal bucket on hand and white cloth hanging over her forearm. She turned to close the door softly, then looked at him.
"Oh.. You're awake! The one time I leave the room you decide to wake up." She giggled a little. "I hope you stay awake this time."
He drew himself into an upright sitting position as she crossed the room to her chair, resting his back against the headboard of the bed. A quick glance revealed water in the bucket as she set it down on the floor.
He rubbed the back of his neck, feeling fairly stiff. "How.. did I get here..?"
She dipped the cloth into the bucket and rung the water out, looking up to him. Her features were soft, illuminated by the evening glow. She smiled.
"Grandmother found you just off the road that winds through the woods not too far from here." She finished ringing the cloth and drew her chair closer to him, raising it close to his face. "Oh.. I'm sorry.. Is it alright..?"
He furrowed his brow at her and drew his hands to his face, wiping just below his eyes then glancing down at them. Filthy.
"Ah.. Sure.. I'm sorry, I'm still.. Trying to figure out what's going on."
She smiled genuinely at him and began to dab his face with the wet cloth. "Like I said, grandmother found you just off the road not far from here.. But I was curious why you were laying there in the first place..?" She continued to gently dab, obviously ready to listen.
He closed his eyes and tilted his head side to side, cracking his neck to relieve some of the stiffness. When he opened his eyes, his gaze met hers as she eagerly awaited to hear the tale.
"Well..." He put two fingers to his temple.
---
Jarrick led his few fellow Templars down the dirt road, camp just a few miles away. Another day of unexpected success, triumph chatter bouncing between them as they walked. It was rare to return to Theramore with good news, though things had slowly been looking up after the events which transpired a few weeks back.
"Travelers! Yes, you, travelers!" A voice rang out behind them. An accent far too familiar that usually meant one thing.
The group turned to see a goblin caravan rushing towards them at full speed. Jarrick looked back at the other Templars, all rolling eyes and shaking heads.
"Travelers! I see you wander these roads unarmed and unprepared for what dangers lurk in the darkness!" The goblin shouted in true salesman fashion as the sun sat high noon. They looked about themselves noting shields, swords, and armor. Each Templar armed to the bone for combat.
"Since you are so ill-prepared, have I got a deal for you! Please, step right up to the cart and see all of the amazing things you're going to purchase! All the finest quality items from Undermine right here, delivered to you! We've got Sapper Charges, Bomb Dispensers, Jumper Cables..."
Jarrick raises his hand to cut the goblin off. "We have business to attend to els--..."
"ROCKET LAUNCHERS, rocket FUEL, rocket BOOTS, rockets for ANY OCCASION! Don't be shy, I've got what you need! Low on cash? I'll even sell you USED items for HALF OFF! Used merchandise tax applicable. Just remember, you get what you pay for!" He spouted, posing dramatically while emphasizing the most expensives of the wares.
If life as a salesman fails, he would make a fine ballerina.
Jarrick closed his eyes a moment and shook his head, his hand still raised. "No, we--.."
"Target Acquired: Termination Protocol activated. Awaiting green light command."
The Templars turned on a heel back the opposite way, face-to-face with an enormous humanoid-like mechanical contraption under gnomish command.
"Hey Spixle, we found 'em!" A shrill voice shouted back towards the group of gnomes, causing a pink haired female to emerge. She shuffled to the front and hopped up on the contraption to get a better view.
"Heeeeey, good work boys! About time we found these scoundrels!" She shouted, loud enough for the goblins to hear her loud and clear. "Hey, Trade Princess, where are you at?!" She grinned and let out a shriek of laughter, bouncing up and down.
A goblin emerged from the caravan and crawled on top of the cart, throwing a fist in their general direction shouting "TRADE PRINCESS?! Why I oughta.. We run a legit business here, go find someone else to pester with your worthless pieces of scrap metal and outdated technologies!"
Spixle gasped and threw her own fist back in the air. "SCRAP metal?! OUTDATED TECHNOLOGY?! You STOLE our technology to sell in your little "legit" business! Give it back and we'll make this easy on you!"
"We don't need no stinkin' GNOME technology to make an honest living!" A solid red hue was starting to form below his green skin as he gritted his teeth, clearly pissed.
Turning to the gnomes, the Templars were greeted with a full arsenal of Death Rays, Battle Chickens and Poultryizers directed at the goblins.
A glance over their shoulders revealed ROCKETS (for any occasion), bombs and guns directed point blank at the gnomes.
"STINKIN' GNOME TECHNOLOGY?! Ohhh, you're in for it now! I'll show you STINKIN' GNOME TECHNOLOGY!" Spixle shouted back, her cheeks burning pink.
"FIRE!"
The air erupted in glitter, sparkles, rainbow beams and massive explosions. The smell of charred chicken and bubble gum blasted their senses as confetti rained down from above. Disco music blared while a horn honked in the distance. Goblins, gnomes and Templars alike vanished from the fray, teleported to some far off locale.
Those were the lucky ones.
Somewhere throughout the fight, Jarrick found himself away from the fray lying on his back, staring up at the clouds. Barely conscious, bright lights and vivid sounds danced throughout his mind.
Then it went dark.
---
"Next thing I know.. I'm here, with you." He connected with her gaze once more, her lips pursed as she took it all in. As she finished processing the story, she rang out the cloth in now-filthy water bucket and let it hang on the lip.
"Grandmother did say she found.. Glitter! On your armor." She giggled. "I didn't believe her at first.. I mean, you don't look like you carry glitter around with you."
He smirked at her. "Not by choice, generally." He re-adjusted himself on the bed and looked down, much cleaner than he was when he awoke. "Thank you for all of this.. Miss..? I don't even know your name."
She put her finger to her lips and smiled. "My name is Grace. And it has been nice having your company Mister Jarrick, it isn't often that grandmother brings home strangers." She giggled again. He looked her over a moment, and realized that his Templar insignia sat on the chest against the wall. That is how she knew his name.
The light had nearly faded from the room now. Night was approaching fast.
"Well, Miss Grace, I do appreciate your hospitality. It's not often I find myself in such a situation.. Actually, this particular situation was a first, if you can imagine that."
She smiled at him and nodded courteously. "Grandmother is the one to thank! After all, she did find you. I just wanted to make sure you were alright."
A small nod as a smile began to form on his lips. "I will be sure to thank her when I leave then."
"Oh!" She chimed in, "You are more than welcome to this bed for the night if you'd like. You won't be imposing, I assure you. Your gryphon came to the house shortly after you were brought back here. We've been taking good care of him, I don't think he would mind a nights rest either." She smiled softly, eager to hear his response.
He ran his hand through his hair and pondered the situation a moment. His business ended early, but he was not expected back to the city for a few more days. Looking up at her, he smiled and nodded.
"Thank you, then.. I will take you up on that offer."
Her eyes twinkled in the fading light and she nodded happily.
They continued to exchange stories late into the night, enjoying each others company and peace that it brought.
