Macster - The Missing Links

Along the edge of the riverbank, just north of the docks, a grating sound emanated from the crumbling, roughly-hewn wall of the Snow White Memorial Prison. One of the massive blocks forming the wall jolted forward, grinding and scraping out of its niche, until at last it tumbled onto the untended earth. A cloud of dust and dirt arose, and then Clay Face's misshapen visage poked out into the wan light. Seeing that the coast was clear, he extended his hands out the opening and wriggled forward, rolling out with alacrity and vaulting to his feet. Not bothering to brush all the grime from his clothes and hair, he turned back to the tunnel and reached in to help Acorn scramble free. "Yes!" the dwarf crowed, leaping to the ground.

For a moment the two cellmates looked at each other. Though neither was so attached to the other they would give their lives for them or remain everlasting friends, they had spent decades together in that cell, and would miss the camaraderie and companionship they'd provided each other.

Acorn peered up at him a trifle hopefully. "Sure you don't wanna come with me?" It was clear they'd already discussed this subject before and the decision had already been made.

Clay Face shook his head. "Goblins travel fastest alone."

The two nodded to each other one last time, then the goblin turned and dashed to the riverbank. Not even breaking his stride, Clay Face leapt into the water. Breaching the surface, he began swimming with powerful, easy strokes, heading west toward the Third Kingdom and the safety of the goblin villages there.

Acorn watched him only for a few seconds, then raced away himself, along the shoreline. Finally he found what he was looking for at the docks, the trash barge with all the junk the Governor had made them toss. He needed a boat to make his escape, and this one would do doubly well because surely something on it would garner him a nice bundle of cash from some fool thinking it was worth it, allowing him to gain the money he needed to get far away. Maybe even that mirror Tony had been so interested in.

Untying the mooring line, the dwarf leaped onboard and opened the throttle, starting the engine. Beneath the water, the propellors whirled, and the engine coughed. Soon the boat was chugging out into the river. Acorn grinned back at the prison as it began to dwindle in the distance. "Yes!" He'd made it...and now that place would never hold him again...

On the bow of the barge, the mirror glimmered with silver light, almost seeming to glow.