29 Does the Black Moon Howl? (1/2)
In a hole in a mountainside, there reside two dwarves. Not a cold, wet hole filled with the waste of bats and the stench of rotting carcasses: it was a dwarven hole, and that means it is a military outpost. The hole connects to a balcony overseeing the Raiden Forest.
The two dwarves sat on the balcony, looking out at the sun setting down the horizon. Their outpost lay on the border between the Raiden Forest and the Bolsca Kingdom, a mountain kingdom inhabited by mostly dwarves. The king assigned garrisons in the border of the Radien Forest to watch over the goblins and stop any looters or large armies from entering the forest.
The Dwarves garrisoned in the outposts are known as rangers. Each outpost has seven to eleven dwarves, five to eight of these rangers would patrol the forest while the rest stay at the outpost. The two rangers sitting on the balcony were waiting for the patrolling party to come back. One of the dwarves has a long and curly black beard. He has a scar on the left eye, a short stubby nose, and wrinkles around his eyes; he wears a white wig to hide his bald head. The other dwarf had a younger complexion. He had a goatee, bushy eyebrows, and a bowl cut.
”Aleksy, can I ask you a question?” The young dwarf asked.
”What is it, Damari?” The old one answered.
”Why are we doing this?”
”What do you mean?”
”Well, as rangers, we have to protect the forest and the goblins that live in the forest. It doesn't really make sense to me. So what if a bunch of adventurers enters the forest to loot and kill goblins. Why should we care? Goblins are a nuisance to our kingdom. Why protect them?”
Aleksy pondered for a few seconds before giving his answer, ”I don't really know why, but I do know its because of a promise.”
”You mean that promise.”
”Yeah, the promise our king made to the people of the forest. You know those abandoned towns and cities?”
”Yeah, I know about those.”
”The people that lived there once made a contract with the king. The king promised to protect the forest and the goblins from outside countries.”
”But why, though? It doesn't make any sense. Sure no one knows who the people that lived in those towns and cities were. In fact, we have no records about the country that lived in the forest besides that contract the king made with them. But we do know that those goblins must be the cause for the countries downfall. Wouldn't it make more sense if we promised to avenge them rather than protecting the very enemy that destroyed them.”
”You make a good point, new blood!” An old dwarf said down the plight of stairs. It was the patrolling party returning after a day of scouting. They climbed up the stairs connected to the balcony. They looked tired and hungry from their expedition.
”It seemed like you guys had a long day, Farzin,” Aleksy said.
”A long day indeed,” Farzin responded. He had a short brown beard and curly brown hair. He sat down next to Aleksy and Damari on the balcony while the rest of the party entered the hole. ”You would not believe what we saw today.”
Damari leaned in closer, ”What did you see?”
”We saw a troll statue.”
”What?” Damari exclaimed.
”What is a troll doing outside during the day?” Aleksy asked.
”I may have some idea.” A female dwarf walked to the three after putting away her heavy coat. ”You see, we saw the troll looking down a cliff. We climbed down to investigate, and we saw this.” She pulled out a lump of fur.