Different Type of Companion, A

Stories Gretchin

'''A Different Type of Companion
 * -''by Gretchin

Chapter 1
Tiern looked upward. The small cliff was nearly ten feet above the ground he stood on. the overhang loomed over him, and the snow that gently caressed it's edges had made it slippery with dew.

He heaved a great sigh and slung his rifle to his large back. Several packs adorned it, along with a map holster and a journal hanging from a tattered stocking. All of these things dangled freely, along with two or three pans and a pot. It made quite a ruckuss in the still air. Tiern dropped them, and took out several shot bars, a canteen, and a blanket.

Tieing the blanket around his upper body like a makeshift shawl, he began to work his way up the small wall, picking out and scaling the rocks portruding from the snow. He slipped a few times, but made it up in one piece, to find himself in amazement.

A large cave sat before him. The sunlight hit the edges of the grotto, and Tiern could make out a large. . .well, very large form laying fast asleep. He checked the scrap of paper he had brought in his coat.

"Vagash"

With a mumble and a sigh, he looked around for a good spot. Finding none, he turned behind him and lo-and-behold, a small hill. It was not two steps infront of him, so he climbed it to the middle, an easy task for a Dwarf who had just scaled a short cliff, and threw his gray blanket over himself. He chuckled, thinking there was a good reason to piss on your sheets.

Loading his musket with a piece of black shot, he took aim. The beast still slept without break, so he concentrated hard. His finger on the trigger slowly fled backwards untill. . .CRACK!, the snow over the cliff instantly melted into steaming puddles of water. A huge roar followed the sound, and the beast Vagash charged from his den. His furr looked like it had once been white, but now it was charred, and blackened. Tiern looked around for the maker of the large crack. He found him. A small man wrapped heavily in warm winter robes stood, his hand fingering around a small fireball. His face was bound with a ruffled brown beard, and a grinning, toothy smile plagued his features.

The creature was tearing away mercillessly at the poor little man. Taking pride in aiding his poor Gnomish ally. He let his rifle spit out a bullet straight at the beast's exposed skull. It let out a deafening cry, whirled around, opened it's eyes wide, and fell comically off the cliff side. Tiern hopped up, gave a helping hand to the Gnome, and looked down the side of the mountain. Vagash lay, his leg portruding in a grotesque angle, and a steady bloodflow was leaking from the back of his head.

Looking at the small man, the Dwarf nodded towards Vagash, and then nodded at the cliff. The man smiled, and quickly vanished them both down. Tiern picked up his things, happy to have a new companion.