As the sun
began to rise above the mountains, Stant, and his long time elven friend,
Lichram, set on out to explore the lands. They had no idea what lies
ahead of them, nor did they care. All that interested them, was the
adventure of a life time. An adventure that they could pass down
to the children of their home town, Maizek. The two hardy adventurers
took one last look at their Inn and Tavern, and then they set off to see
the world.
"This has been damp morning hasn't it, Lich," joked Stant.
"Indeed, it has," replied Lichram.
"I hope this fog burns off soon. I don't like not being able to see far in front of me."
"Heh. Remember the last time we rode off in to the fog?"
"Hmmmmmm. I sure do. What a mess that day was."
"Yeah, you'd think a king's army would be more prepared for battle then what we were that day."
"Half our battalion cut down before we even reached the trees."
"I don't even think Jastark was ready."
"Ha ha ha ha. Some leader he turned out to be. The coward ran instead of fighting it out like a man."
"Too bad he got banished for treason."
"Why too bad? I thought for sure King Sahghn was going to have him executed. He should have been executed. You know the only reason he got off was that he convinced the king that he was coming back to get reinforcements."
"What reinforcements? We were the only ones with enough training to even be considered for the title 'Needs Improvement.'"
"Ha ha ha ha ha."
"Pity the rich always get their way."
"Don't worry, Lich, when we finally get back home, we'll be rich enough to live in the castle, with our whole families, for generations."
"Heh. If we don't own the kingdom by then."
They both laugh together for a short time. They approached a river and decided to travel along it to see if there was a bridge that they could use to cross. Sure enough, after about an hour, they came upon a bridge. The dwarf standing in the middle of it wanted a toll.
"Halt, I am Bruline, and this is my bridge!" bellowed Bruline.
"And a very nice bridge it is to." remarked Lichram.
"May we cross here?" asked Stant.
"Not until I receive 10,000 gold coins." Bruline stated.
"Well then, I guess we'll have to find another bridge to cross then, eh Lich?" joked Stant.
"Indeed. The wonderful deals we get these days." Lichram said with a grin.
"Turbun on three," asked Stant.
"One... Two... Three!" yelled Lichram.
In an instant both riders were off their horses, hanging the dwarf over the side of the bridge, and pointing their weapons down at him.
The Dwarf cried for his life, "Stop, please, I can't swim."
Stant, looking at Lichram answered with, "Now how about that?"
"What a dwarf that can't swim, hanging over the side of a bridge, or the fact that the Turbun maneuver actually worked?"
"Heh, both actually. You'd think that someone so close to the ground would have been able to avoid that."
"You'd think that wouldn't you, but obviously not."
"You haven't forgotten about me down here, have you?" demanded the dwarf.
"Ne nerve of some people." remarked Lichram.
"Would you like me to drop you?" asked Stant.
"How about instead of dropping me, I drop the price?" bargained Bruline.
"I say drop him in, and let's get going," whispered Lichram.
"I meant to say 10 gold pieces," cried the dwarf.
"Kind a pricey don't you think?" asked Lichram.
"5 gold pieces!"
"Moderate, but I just don't..."
"3 gold pieces! Please pull me back up!"
"Well, maybe, pull him back up Stant."
Stant pulled the little, now recognizably bad smelling, dwarf back up on top of the bridge. Bruline regained his composure and held out his hand. Stant shook his hand with a grin on his face.
"That's not what I meant and you know it," grumbled Bruline. "I want my gold if you wish to pass. 3 gold coins each."
The two adventurers looked at each other and could barely hold back the laughter. The dwarf put his pudgy little hands to his hips as if to show that he wasn't going to budge with out his money. Lichram reached into his money pouch and pulled out some coins. He held out his hand as if he was going to give it to the dwarf. Bruline began to smile and reached out for Lichram's hand. Just as his arm neared its full reach, Stant grabbed his arm, and with all his might, threw the dwarf over the side of the bridge. With a loud yell, the dwarf hit the water with a giant splash. Stant and Lichram both laughed until their sides hurt.
"That's not funny!" yelled Bruline.
The soaking wet dwarf appeared on the other side of the bridge.
"Sure it was funny. Too bad we didn't have any soap for you." answered Lichram.
"Yeah, you could use a couple of baths." Stant remarked.
Bruline, with an angry look on his face, replied, "Dwarves are supposed to have smells. It lets others know how hard we work."
"Yeah, if they can get close enough to ya." added Stant.
"Joke if you must, but I'm the best weapons smith on this side of the mountains." Bruline commented proudly.
"Hey, if you couldn't swim, how come you got out of the water so quickly?" interrupted Lichram.
"Lucky bounce." Stant mumbled.
Lichram, fighting off more laughter, replied, "I'll get the horses, we can't spend all day here."
"Where are you headed?" asked Bruline.
Stant climbed on top of his horse and answered, "As soon as we get there, I'll let you know."
Lichram climbed onto his horse and began to ride off. Then Stant followed.
Bruline yelled, "Hey you owe me money!"
Stant replied, "Put it on my tab."
They rode off toward the nearest mountain pass to the North. The fastest way to find an adventure is to go where you haven't been before. They both knew this, so it only seemed right to head that way.