Chapter 11 - Toffan the dwarf

Toffan's eyes opened wide in awe. “Never in my wildest dreams did I ever imagine meeting the Earth Keeper! And that she would be so beautiful, too!” Toffan took Serenity's hand and kissed it gently while her cheeks grew a crimson red with embarrassment. “Welcome to my humble home and dwarf trading post. Stay as long as you like, it will be an honor to have you here.”

Tlen took over for her. “Thank you, good friend, but Zarayne is hot on our trail. We'll stay here for the night and be on our way in the morning.”

“Oh that blood thirsty wizard! If I ever got my hands on him, I'd make his Wolf's blood spill all over this very floor!” Anger and hate fill the dwarf's eyes. Then, regaining his composure, he asked, “Would either of you like some tea?” And with that, he scurried off to a nearby room that Serenity suspected was the kitchen.

Tlen turned to Serenity. Puzzlement and confusion filled her face. He guessed she'd never seen a dwarf before or even guessed wizards existed. Evil, filthy, vile creatures those wizards, he thought. Hopefully, she'll never have to meet one.

“Care to take a seat?” Toffan poked his head out of the nearby room. “There's a table and chairs over there if you want to sit.”

Serenity took up his offer and went to go sit in the undersized chairs. The table was also meant for shorter folk, so she moved her knees to the side so they wouldn't get stuck under the table.

Toffan came out of the kitchen carrying a pot of steaming liquid. He set it down on the wooden table and pulled out three cups from a cupboard, placing one in front of each of them.

“So, tell me, what makes me so special that I get a visit from the Earth Keeper?” Toffan inquired, raising one of his bushy eyebrows.

“Actually, under great danger. As you know, our former Earth Keeper, Alknahn, died after giving his Earth Keeper rights to his baby daughter. What you didn't know, is she was hiding on the planet Earth with an adoptive family to keep her safe from Zarayne. One of his minions was planning on capturing or killing Serenity, so I knew it was our turn to make a move.”

Toffan looked thoughtfully over at Serenity. “Yes, our turn indeed.” Then he snapped out of it and asked, “Hmm, I bet you're both famished after climbing that mountain, and you're not done yet. I have some beef cooking in the stove and it should be done by now. I'll go check.”

Serenity knew there was something going on that she didn't know about. Secrets know by everyone, except her.

She would've continued to ponder, but Toffan interrupted her thoughts when he walked out of the kitchen with a big, juicy slab of meat on a plate.

“Ho, ho this looks like the best meat I've cooked all season! I'll go get the plates!” Toffan excitedly bounced off, leaving the Serenity and Tlen to smile after him.



...



The three of them stayed up late into the night listening to Toffan's stories and sharing some of their own. Laughter filled the small house.

“So there I was, just me, my ax, and this giant bug Zarayne had cooked up just for me! The thing looked quite a bit like his master, if ya don't mind me sayin' so!” Again, they were caught up in laughter.

“I once had an experience just like that,” Serenity said. “Only it was an actual person!”

And so it went on like this, deep into the night until Serenity's eyes started to droop.

Toffan led the two to a staircase leading into the earth. “Us dwarves fancy digging more than building, so the majority of the house is beneath the house,” Toffan explained for them.

They went down the stairs and found another table and chairs, except this one was bigger and longer than the last table. They turned lest and found a cozy room with four cots lined along the walls.

“Here we are! It ain't much, but it's comfortable,” Toffan said as he left the room. “I'll leave this oil lamp on you in case you need to get up.”

“Thank you,” Serenity said as she put her traveling sack down on the ground and lay down. Memories of the wolves kept her awake, until she thought of how, even through the wind and snow, Tlen had carried her and how they'd both laughed. She was beginning to think she might not mind it here after all. These thoughts warmed her heart and she finally drifted off to sleep.



Tlen was just starting to fall asleep, when someone shook him awake.

“Young man, I think we need to talk.” Toffan stood above him, kicking him with the toe of his boot. Tlen crawled off the cot and stood up.

Toffan led Tlen to the other dining room with the oil lamp and sat down. “Take a seat.”

Tlen obeyed and sat down in the seat across from Toffan.

“She doesn't know, does she, Tlen?” Toffan's eyes bored into Tlen's own white ones.

“Well how can I tell her? She doesn't know enough about our world to understand.”

“Tlen, she needs to know. How much have you told her about yourself already? Nothing? Your past isn't that bad! You're not. But-“

“Look, how can I tell her? If she knew, she would probably hate me, and then how am I supposed to protect her?”

“You're not evil just because someone else's evil blood flows through your veins. You need to tell her, sooner rather than later.”

Tlen sighed and leaned back in his chair. He knew his friend was right. “Okay. I will tell her. But not for awhile yet, when she understands how this world works better.”

Toffan smiled. “Good. Then if we're finished here, I'm going to get my beauty rest.”

Tlen smiled. He was glad he had at least one friend her could trust.

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