Dust billowed around me as I leapt into the light of the gorge. Coughing and spluttering, I lay there on the ground next to the dwarf. Sitting up, I looked around and saw that everyone had made it out of the cave uninjured.

I back flipped onto my feet and raised my fists into the air. “Wwwooooooooooo!” I shouted, and leapt around in triumph. Last time I had felt that much excitement was when I won in Game Ball against the Zadash Owlbears. “Yes! That was amazing!”

“Just remember, the reward’s fer us three,” he said, wagging his finger between himself, the tabaxi, and the bard.

“Quiet down, ye dolt!” the dwarf grumbled. Gracefully executing a back handspring over the dwarf, I slapped him on the shoulder, then bounded away in a couple more flips. I heard him growl at me, but I was too busy grabbing Fred’s arm and holding it above our heads to care.

“Dwarf! You should have seen yourself in there,” I said, somersaulting over to Jerry. “Those goblins didn’t stand a chance!” Punching the tabaxi in the arm, I said to him, “That thing you did with the daggers! That was really cool!”

“Eh. Ye didn’t do half bad yerself. Now settle down, and let’s get out of here,” said the dwarf. Complimenting him seemed to dull the edge of his attitude.

I fell into step at the dwarf’s side. “Really though. That was a lot of fun. Thank you for letting me help.”

“Aye!” the dwarf agreed, then scowled at me sideways. “Just remember, the reward’s fer us three,” he said, wagging his finger between himself, the tabaxi, and the bard.

“Yes, of course,” I responded, patted the dust off of my leathers. “Do you guys always do this sort of thing?”

Fred stepped closer. “Yes, we’ve been taking odd jobs here and there. Are you an adventurer? You can join us if you like,” he said, then continued, “I’ve got a rope. Do you have a rope?”

Once again taken aback by the odd questions, I began to answer, but the dwarf interrupted. “I didn’t say he could join us!” The musician started to protest.

“He’s not bad with a bow,” Jerry spoke up. He didn’t normally say much, and his accent was very unfamiliar.

“Bah, fine,” the dwarf acquiesced.

“Awesome!” I said, and then asked, “So, what’s the next job?”

“We’ll pick it up in Nicodranas,” the dwarf replied, his tone indicating that I should know the answer to such a simple question.

I responded with a smile. The dwarf’s belligerence wasn’t going to get me down. Meeting this group was a godsend for me. Having someone to talk to and staying busy helped me keep my mind off of Lucien and gave me a sense of belonging, even though the dwarf didn’t seem to trust me. That said, I sensed a grudging respect coming from him after our battle with the goblins.

We still had a full day of travel before we would arrive in Nicodranas, so I spent that time telling my new acquaintances stories from Trostenwald. I told them practically everything about me except for my flings, Lucien, and the trouble I was in. No need to get anyone caught up in that nightmare. 

Fred started talking next, and I learned that he didn’t know who his parents were, and that he was looking for them. He had been adopted, and as soon as he turned of age, he left home to become a traveling musician. Then he fell into the various stories and adventures in his past that had led him to meet Jerry and the dwarf. Apparently, the dwarf didn’t even share his name with these two.

Jerry’s story was short, and incomplete. He suffered from amnesia and had no idea where he came from, who his parents were, or even what a tabaxi was.

I found his story heart wrenching. How could one go through life without knowing his past? For me, my past was everything. It had shaped the foundation of my life and sculpted me into who I grew up to be. “I’m very sorry, Jerry, I don’t know how you can cope with that,” I said to him, clapping him on his shoulder. His response was a shrug, so I let it be.

“What about you, dwarf? You have a story to tell?” I asked. 

“No,” came the reply. 

“Are you serious?” I asked. “Surely, there’s something worth telling.”

“Aye, I’m serious. Now shut up!” he said, while raising his hand up to stop our forward march.

That’s when I noticed he was staring at the tall grass on the side of the road, his axe out and his stance ready.

I nocked an arrow and readied myself for danger. The grass parted, and a massive shape leapt at us, a blur of muscle and claws.

~ Michael C. Sahd, author of The Unfettered Child and Assassin Marked

The arrow whizzed past my nose, and two more thudded into the dwarf’s shield. “Get ’em!” the dwarf shouted as he charged toward the little creatures. Grabbing an arrow from my quiver, I nocked my bow and took aim. The missile flew true, taking out the closest goblin. “That was my kill,” the dwarf shouted as he charged forward.

“Brace yourself, dwarf,” I shouted, leaping onto his shoulder, then high into the air.

At almost the same time, the tabaxi placed a dagger in his paw and cast a spell. The blade flew through the air as though on its own. It struck a goblin in the shoulder. The creature stumbled, cursing in its guttural language, but soon the dwarf hacked its stomach open, and it fell to the ground. The last of the goblins, seeing his advantage of surprise foiled, dashed to a cave not far from the rocks.

We followed him in, while the dwarf mumbled something about cowards. The cave was narrow, with not a lot of room for us. I took up the rear and could barely see inside the narrow cavern. “Guys, I can’t see anything in here,” I said.

“How is it that a blasted elf can’t see in the dark?” the dwarf grumbled, as he hacked the goblin’s back, pinning it to the cave floor. A taller goblin loomed out of the dark, probably a bugbear. It lifted its spear, getting ready to thrust it into the dwarf’s lowered guard. The bard started playing his lute. Three orbs of light illuminated the cavern, revealing several goblins getting ready to charge in.

I had already killed one of the little guys, and although I didn’t want to kill more, it looked like an us-or-them situation. I darted forward, stepping up onto the side of the walls, arching over my companions and letting loose an arrow, striking the bugbear under the shoulder and then leaping behind it. The dwarf slashed up and gashed the goblinoid under the chin, finishing it off. He then dashed past me, shouldering the body of the bugbear out of the way.

I ran with him into the wider area of the cave. “Brace yourself, dwarf,” I shouted, leaping onto his shoulder, then high into the air. When I had attained enough height, I used my natural genasi ability to levitate and floated into the air, then shot another goblin right on its crown.

The dwarf charged forward, catching arrows in his shield, and cut down the closest archer. A dagger shot into the room from the cavern entrance, speeding straight into another goblin. The melody from the bard picked up, and I felt inspired. A female goblin wearing bones and feathers cast a spell that streaked a line of fire toward the cave entrance. One of my arrows pierced the spellcaster through the eye, and the other goblins started to flee deeper into the cave, while another bugbear came roaring out. The dwarf intercepted its charge, hacking its knees out from under it, and I finished it off with an arrow.

The goblins dispatched, the dwarf went about cutting off their ears. “What are you doing?” I asked, aghast, as I floated back to the ground.

“We need proof that we did the job. Aye, it’s grisly, but we don’t get paid without ’em.”

I shook my head and started looking for something else the goblins may have left behind. I had just found a chest and commenced digging through it, when the ground began to shake.

“Everyone out!” the dwarf shouted. I ran for the exit as the ceiling started coming down.

During the day, the gorge walls cast deep shadows across the floor, and at night, the darkness was near absolute. I walked through the rocky pass an hour after the sun had set, and my eyes refused to adjust to the complete darkness. Regardless, I could see the campfire flickering against the stone walls in the distance. You never know who or what you might encounter at night, so I approached cautiously. The nearer I came, the more details of the trio sitting around the fire began to materialize.

A surly looking dwarf sat across from a human musician and between them was the largest tabaxi I had ever seen. Glancing at their fire with envy, I decided to simply introduce myself. “Good evening gentlemen.” If they turned out to be hostile, I felt certain that I could easily outrun them. “Mind if I join you for the evening? I’ve been traveling far, and could use a break.”

“Sure,” the musician spoke up. They didn’t seem surprised by my stealthy entrance. “Say, would you like some gold? Here . . .” He reached into a bag and started counting coins. Yes, my jaw dropped, and I looked over to his companions. The tabaxi rolled his eyes, and the dwarf sighed with exasperation.

“Put yer blasted coin away! We don’t even know this fellow,” hollered the belligerent dwarf. “Fer all we know, he could be a crook.”

“I-I really don’t need your gold,” I stammered.

“Are you a crook?” the musician asked, temporarily discontinuing his counting. The thick foundations of face paint cracked slightly as he smiled at me. Never before had I seen a man with so much makeup on, except in the circus, but this guy clearly intended to look normal.

“Of course not!” What a strange group of people to encounter on the road. The musician immediately went back to counting coins, and then held out nine gold coins in his gloved hand.

“Fine!” the dwarf said, followed by a heavy sigh. “Ye can stay the night by the fire, but yer not taking a watch. I’m keeping an eye on ye!”

Lifting my hands up in a gesture of peace, I said. “Look, that’s fine. I really mean no trouble.” I sat cross-legged across from the tabaxi, and the bard dropped the coins in my lap. “Well, thank you,” I said.

“We’re searching for a group of goblins. The guards in Nicodranas are paying us for clearing out the rabble,” the musician continued. “Would you like to help?”

“Sure . . .” I started to say, but the dwarf interrupted.

“Oh no ye don’t,” the dwarf bellowed, glaring at the musician. “They offered the job ta the three of us, and the reward is for the three of us.”

“Look here,” I said gently, and the dwarf set his glare on me. Smiling at him, I said, “I’m not here to take anything from you guys. I’m just trying to get to Nicodranas and was hoping for a good night’s rest. Consider my help with the goblins payment, as well as this gold your companion just offered me.”

The tabaxi chimed in, his voice deep. “That sounds reasonable to me.”

“Fine!” the dwarf grumbled.

“Thank you,” I said, smiling at each of them in turn. An awkward silence followed, and I decided to break it by introducing myself. “So . . . my name is Elohel. I’m from Trostenwald, and if you haven’t heard of me already, I’m the local swimming champion and I was the team captain of the Trostenwald Brewers.”

After I received some blank looks, the musician spoke up. “My name is Fred. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” I shook his hand.

Then the tabaxi introduced himself. “You can call me Jerry.” Tabaxi were not common in Trostenwald, but not unknown. I had run around with a few when I was younger, but this guy was massive and his mane hid the back of his head and his neck. Thinking back, I hadn’t met a tabaxi with a mane before, but I had seen a few in story books.

Turning to the dwarf for an introduction, I received a glare from under bushy brows. “None of yer damn business, elf. Now get ta sleep. If yer goin’ ta help terminate some goblin pests, then ye’ll need some rest. I hope yer as good with that bow o’ yers, as yer at games.” Then the dwarf lay down on his mat and pulled some covers over himself. “Fred, ye keep the first watch; Jerry, yer next; and wake me if there be any trouble.” At that, he glared pointedly at me before pulling his wool over his head.

Chuckling, I also lay down for the evening. Many people confused me for an elf or at least a half-elf because of my ears. Genasi are a rare breed, and I never felt the need to correct people’s misunderstandings.

****

I woke before the sun lit up the gorge and saw the dwarf stirring the coals of the fire. Sitting up, I stretched my shoulders, hearing the bones crack. “What are ye doing up, elf?” the dwarf asked.

Standing up, I stretched my calves and hips. “I always wake up before the sun, to do my exercise routine.” I dropped and started doing pushups.

Grunting, the dwarf said, “That’s fine, but don’t wander too far. I can hear the little green buggers prepping an ambush over yonder.” He indicated the direction with a nod of his chin.

“Noted, and thank you.” I spent the next thirty minutes going through part of my routine, skipping the jog. When the sun started peeking over the walls of the canyon, I stopped. The dwarf woke the rest of the party.

“Alright, time to wake,” he said, as he gently shook his companions. Then he explained the situation about the goblins to the others. “Are we ready, then?” he asked the group. We all nodded, and I picked up my bow and shouldered my quiver.

After everyone packed their gear, we cautiously moved forward. This is where I suppose I should admit that I have never killed a person before, and although some don’t consider goblins people, I figure that if it can talk, it’s a person. I’ve been hunting, and I’ve killed game and other beasts, but . . . let’s just say, I was very nervous.

Sweat poured down my forehead, and butterflies danced in my stomach, as we neared some massive boulders that had fallen from the cliffs, now serving as sentries to those who pass.

The wind blew from behind us, whistling through the gorge and funneling through the rocky walls. As we passed the rocks, I turned to peek around a rock, and my eyes locked with a tiny snarling goblin who aimed at us with a bow. I watched in dismay as an arrow glided in the air directly at me.

~ Michael C. Sahd, author of The Unfettered Child and Assassin Marked

I personally find woodworking and crafting fun. So, over the last couple of weeks, perhaps more, I set to work making a crosscut sled for my table saw and a dice box in addition.

For those of you who may not know what a crosscut sled is, I’ll explain and show the pictures.

Generally, a table saw is for ripping boards. It has a fence and a circular saw blade that protrudes from a flat and level table. The fence can be moved right and left, but it always stays parallel to the blade. This will allow you to take a board and slide it along the table so that you can cut its width perfectly using the fence as a width stopper while the blade cuts your desired width the entire length of the board.

However, the table saw usually has tracks built into the surface to place a miter gauge. This gauge allows a person to make a crosscut at different angles. The crosscut sled however, always sits 90 degrees from the blade and has a fence that extends across the cutting area so that small, perfect cuts are possible. It’s very useful for making cuts for smaller items, which a miter saw lacks due to its cutting area.

So, I put my first cross cut sled together and then I went ahead and built a box to roll my dice in.

This project was incredibly fun. I cut the walls of the box in one solid piece, and then I cut out the grooves that will hold the bottom of the box in. Then I cut the edges at a 45 degree angle and pieced them together with glue.

I slid the base in after connecting two sides, and then I fit the entire thing together, gluing the project together.

For the base, I cut it seperate from the bottom of the box so that it can be removed. The reason for this inclusion was so that I could glue felt to the base. I used scrap wood from my crosscut sled so it’s a little heavier than I intended. Regardless, the box is awesome, and incredibly lucky. I rolled so many 20s the day that I first introduced it to the D&D group.

I’m pretty sure everyone is jealous.

~Michael C. Sahd, author of The Unfettered Child and Assassin Marked