"Star!" I heard a call from below me, "get down from there!"
I quickly glanced down into a pair of big blue eyes. Nikki."Hey Nikster!" I cried, jumping down onto the ground, "What’s up?"
"Exactly," she said, grinning, "what’s up there?"
"Oh just a raven," I shrugged, pulling the strap of my pack higher on my shoulder. I put an arm around her shoulder. "So what’s up with you? How are you doing?" I asked. She smiled. "Pretty good, Starry, just looking for Obi right now".
I grinned. Obiwan was Nikki’s boyfriend, and she was forever searching for him as in his wizhood he was racing around helping many mortals. "You’ll find him," I reassured her, "He’ll be somewhere around here, probably chatting no doubt". She giggled. "Probably".
I waved to Nikki and continued on my way. I was off to Hobbitat to find myself some armour.. I needed to keep myself unscarred if I wanted to stay alive. I walked north, ducking my head under low branches and stepping over many corpses of furries, smiling at the killer as I did so. Hobb wasn’t a far village, and I was itching to see if Sharrow was ok, and pay her a little visit.. and probably some of my scarce gold coins if she had what I wanted. I stepped into a long tunnel and ducked through a small doorway to my right. The store looked as it always had, with quite a low roof, good sturdy wooden walls and it’s shiny counter. I was pleased to see Sharrow was behind the desk today.
"Hello Stargirl," she said cheerfully, "how are you today?"
"Just great Shar," I replied, equally as cheerful.
I read the long list before me. "Aw, shar, no sturdy platemails today?"
She shook her pretty head. "Sorry star, but i’m all out".
I waved to her and headed out of the store. Now where should I go to hunt down a platemail?
"Boo!" a loud voice interrupted my thoughts.
I jumped. "Toxic!" I cried, "you brat!" I wrapped my arms around his neck and gave him a tight hug. "How are ya?" he asked, grinning wickedly. I smiled warmly at him. "Just great.. how’s eldar-life treating you?"
Toxic was a member of a large group called the Eldar. He wore a shiny silver headband and carried a large longsword. "Just great!" he cried, "how’re the minkies?"
The monks, or as many people nicknamed them the minkies, were the big fun group that I belonged to. I tickled him under the chin with a feather.
"Just great, crazy as ever!," I cried, running before he caught me and my feather. I ran through hobbitat and over some round hills, out into the deep forest.
Oof! I fell flat on my face. He’d caught up with me and tackled me from behind.
"Didn’t I tell you never to do that to me?" he said, tickling me mercilessly.
"Hey," I said, laughing, "don’t... tickle... me.." I was incredibly ticklish.. and if he kept this up i’d be crying in a minute. He sat up, taking my hand. Standing, he pulled me with him, and dusted me off. "Where are you headed?" he asked me. I scratched my head. "I’m going to pop into Nepeth to the store.. i’m trying to find a sturdy," I replied.
"Ah," he replied, smiling, "mind if I join ya? I’m headed that way myself".
"Why not?" I grinned mishievously at him.
We headed out into the forest and took a sharp right for a short while before we reached a stream. Jumping in, we waded to the west and through some more forest before we reached the sprawling village of Nepeth. We headed north to the castle and I skipped a little way to the left before I reached my destination. Toxic scanned the list for me while I swung some swords around.
"Ah," he said, "here’s what i’m looking for". Counting out some coins on his hand, he passed them over the counter into the hands of a smiling Knight clerk. The clerk reached behind and grabbed a large pack from behind him. "Your fashionable knight’s pack, sire".
As there were no sturdies, I bade farewell to Tox and headed out of the castle and into the flower shop. I felt like buying some flowers to keep me cheery as I travelled. The girl at the counter didn’t look like she was interested in making a sale so I clicked my fingers in front of her face. "Hello?" I asked. "Yup?" she murmured, not fully awake, in fact, pretty dang uncomprehending.
"hmm.. three sunflowers would be nice thanks," I said to her, picturing those sticking out of my pack, smiling. She sprung into action, collecting my coins and passing me a large bunch of flowers. I placed them gently inside my pack, only their pretty yellow heads sticking out into the sun.
As I left the store and entered the forest, heading back to tant, I felt a sharp tug to the back of me. I spun around, grabbing my sword. Behind me I saw Clyde, who held a small white card in one hand and a handful of coins in the other.
"My good fellow!" I cried, "didn’t anyone ever teach you never to steal from a fellow monk?"
He looked extremely guilty. "I was just.. practising," he said, grinning.
I grabbed him and gave him a big snuggle, squishing the poor man’s face into my chest. "You know that if you ask, i’ll gladly give you money.. please don’t steal from me, k?" I took the coins from his hand and returned them to my pocket. Taking the white card from his other hand, I cast my eyes over it.
"Thanks for the practice steal, Clyde ;-)" I smiled sweetly and dropped it to the ground, where it turned to a pile of dust. I waved to him, heading back onto the main road, hoping I wouldn’t get ambushed by another rogue such as Clyde. I had been lucky that time, as I knew the guy.. and could always sweet-talk a fellow minkie.
