Episode 4: Food for Thought (Part 2 of 5)

Yurla places the pots by the fire and waddles off into the bushes to forage for food.

While she does, Locke looks to Lil and then looks at the tent before he sniffs and announces, "A bit small, isn't it?"

"Why?" She inquires with a mischievous glint in her eyes. "Does it bother you to be in such close quarters with me?"

"Um, no," Locke replies, wiping his face. "Just don't be all uppity that we're sleeping so close to each other. Don't try and accuse me of doing something I shouldn't!"

Lil purses her lips as she glances away in slight annoyance, "Well, keep your hands to yourself and we'll be fine."

"It's a deal," Locke announces before he stands from his stone and walks over to the tent. "Well, I don't know about you, but that spider has made me pretty weary. I want to make the most of this rest, if we're going to kick some heads in tonight."

"Me too," Lil begins before awkwardly making her way off the stone and to the tent, and then standing before it with a nervous look.

". . . You first."

Locke simply complies by opening the two material drapes of the tent as he crawls in, lying down on the left side of the slightly cushioned throw that covers the dirt – Lil following suit and laying on the opposite side. Once they are laying down, Locke places his hands on his stomach and looks up towards the ceiling of the tent.

"I haven't slept this close to anybody since Zelsa grew out of needing some company after she had a nightmare," he announces.

Lil looks to the side of the tent near which she now lays in an attempt to hide her slightly blushing face as she says, "I've never really slept this close to anybody."

"Well, make the most of it!" Locke announces with a yawn. "It could be the last time you sleep so close to a man for a few years, and I don't mean that in any spiteful way."

Without saying a word, Lil simply reaches for the pillow on her side of the tent and gives Locke a hard smack in the face with it.

"I said I didn't mean anything by it!" Locke cries.

"Sure," Lil says in a huff.

"Oh well. . ." Locke says as he yawns once again. "Have a good rest, Lil. I'll talk to you in a few hours."

Lil simply mutters, "Goodnight."

Weary, our Heroes indulge in a peaceful sleep in the quiet solitude of the thicket as Yurla, with a large grin on her face, waddles around the thicket collecting food so that she may feed her new friends. Her hopes of having her infant back in her arms draw closer and closer as the smile remains etched in her face, while she prepares a meal for our Heroes who now lay fast asleep. After a long rest, our Heroes are eventually awoken from their slumber by the smell of some hot food. A few seconds later, the drapes of the tent part open where our Heroes' new friend, Yurla, appears in view with two bowls of food in her hands. She looks to our Heroes who have now sat up in the small tent.

Seeing how cramped together they are, Yurla slightly chuckles with an embarrassed grin and announces, "I apologize that the sleeping arrangements weren't exactly to your needs. But it was the best I had to offer."

"Well, the smell was pretty dire," Locke announces as he rubs his eyes. "But being warm was nice."

Lil's head instantly snaps to the side as she glares at Locke, saying, "Smell? What smell? Are you trying to say I smell?"

"No, I'm not saying you smell," Locke replies with a grin. "I'm just saying your scent resembles that of a fresh cow pat."

Lil's face turns an instant red as she begins to grow more and more angry, and with a swift right hook, she punches him in the face, screaming, "At least I'm not an obnoxiously loud snorer! I didn't sleep a wink last night!"

"No, you're not an obnoxiously loud snorer," Locke says dizzily after being punched, which threw him back down to the floor. "You're just obnoxiously loud. . ."

Lil shrieks in return, "You stupid—“

Lilanei's words are cut off by Yurla who lets out a small laugh of amusement.

"Ho, ho, ho!" She chuckles in a huge belly laugh. "Well, I can see two people here who really love each other."

"Love!" Lilanei exclaims. "I love Locke as much as I'd love a hole in my head!"

"Did I mention she wanted me to take my sickle and bore it into her temples?" Locke asks jokingly with a smile as he places his arm around Lil, to which Yurla laughs once again.

"Oh, you two," Yurla sighs. "Despite all my problems, you make me smile. Come, sit down with me and we shall eat before we leave."

After Yurla waddles away from the tent towards the campfire, Lilanei looks at Locke with a scowl before she takes both of her hands and violently pushes Locke's arm from around her shoulders. She begins to crawl out of the tent before then standing up. Her stand is premature due to her angry state however as she stands before actually reaching the opening, almost causing the tent to fall from its fastenings. After a few moments, Locke crawls out of the tent as well and joins Yurla and Lilanei at the campfire. Each of them sitting on stones just like earlier, Yurla hands them each a brown bowl of creamy coloured liquid.

"This is a Dwarven recipe," Yurla purrs. "It isn't much – just a soup made with a few vegetables I could find to go with the Dwarf stock I had in my things. Please, enjoy."

Yurla takes the bowl to her lips and, with a loud slurp, ingests some of the soup. Locke follows suit, letting out a noise of approval as he loudly slurps his soup, some of it dripping out of the bowl and into his lap. Lilanei watches Locke eat, and after a few moments, she shakes her head in disapproval before then daintily sipping her own soup.

"Mmm, good!" Locke says in satisfaction between gulps. "So, tell us, Yurla. What's this Bront like?"

"Bront?" Yurla echoes as she looks down at her soup, before exclaiming, "Well. . . Why, he's an evil man! Like I said earlier, he runs illegitimate businesses, and by doing this, it has taken him far. I wish I knew why he was so cold hearted and evil, but I suppose he was just born that way. Many people are born to be evil," Yurla then raises her head and looks towards Lilanei, the moonlight slightly catching Yurla's eyes and giving them a small glint, "Don't you think?"

As Lil looks down at her own soup, she tilts the bowl slightly to and fro causing the liquid to rock as she thinks to herself, before finally saying, "I don't think people are born evil, but that they're born into evil circumstances."

"Hm, yes," Yurla says quietly. "Tell me, what are your plans for Bront? If you have any?"

Lilanei grins as she looks up at Yurla, "I don't have any personally. But Locke is usually the one who takes care of the bad guys."

"You're damn right I am!" Locke bellows as he slams his empty soup bowl down on the stone he's sitting on, before standing up and pumping his fist in the air. "I'm gonna kick his rear end! If you think this Bront is short now, wait until you see him after I take my manly boot and do a dance all over his head. I'll put my foot so far up his—"

Lil cries, "What he means to say is we're going to find this Bront and teach him a lesson!"

"Yeah," Locke says as he sits down, the wind taken out of his proverbial sails. "Then, we're going to get your baby back, Yurla."

Yurla looks at our Heroes after Locke's announcement, and once again the moonlight catches her eyes, making glint slightly.

"Ah, thank you, my friends," she responds, her tone still as calm as before. "You don't how much it will mean to me to have that infant."

Lil smiles, "And I'm sure it'll mean a lot to your daughter to have her mother back."

"Why, of course," Yurla softly purrs as she takes the final gulp of her soup; she then places the soup bowl beside her before she announces, "If you are ready, my friends, let's make our way down to Tuli and face the evil Bront and his henchmen."

"Let's do it!" Locke cries, kicking up some dust as he leaps to his feet. "Onward!"

Now with great confidence, Yurla leads Locke and Lilanei out of the thicket and on to the top of the hill once more – the moon light now fully exposed to them, which slightly illuminates the hill top.

Locke looks down the hill and sees Tuli below, its lights twinkling in the night air before he looks to Lil and announces, "Are you ready?"

Lilanei smiles with a sigh, "As ready as I ever am."

"It could be dangerous," Locke announces, before stating jokingly. "We might see some of those Deathjump Spiders on the way there. If you like, you can keep close to me and I'll protect you."

Lilanei begins to appear infuriated; however her expression suddenly turns to a grin as she says, "I've got a better idea. If one of those ugly spiders shows itself, how about I use you as a human shield? That is, unless you'd let a beautiful lady like me get bitten and poisoned by a big, dangerous spider."

"I wouldn't dream of it!" Locke replies, before motioning with his hand up and down his body. "You can use me as a shield. My dazzling good looks will put them off biting into something as handsome as this! After all, no man or beast would want to spoil these features."

"Yes, yes, whatever you say, 'Adonis.' Shall we head off now?" Lilanei snaps sarcastically.

"Well, we could," Locke answers as he turns his head either side of him. "But Yurla seems to have disappeared."

"What do you mean she's—" Lil says before turning around and snapping her head back and forth as she quickly looks around for Yurla. "Where's she gone?"

"Here I am," she softly says, before walking out from behind a large bush on the eastern side of the hill. "I was just grabbing our transportation."

Locke and Lilanei notice that Yurla is holding a set of reigns. She steps further out from behind the large bush and what follows behind her is a large, yet very graceful, heavenly white Unicorn. Its horn glints in the moonlight and the small breeze that is in the air causes its mane to gracefully swirl in the wind, giving it an air of righteousness and sophistication. Yurla then hops on top of the large Unicorn and, with it, trots over to Locke and Lilanei.

"Shall we?" She asks, looking down to our Heroes.

Upon seeing the Unicorn approach her, Lilanei becomes giddy with excitement.

"A Unicorn!" She cries as she hops up and down.

"Yes," Yurla says proudly as she strokes her Unicorn's mane. "It was my last purchase before I left Tuli."

"Purchase?" Locke asks with a raised eyebrow. "I thought you hadn't the money to save your child, let alone afford such a graceful beast."

"Ah Locke," Yurla replies. "I suppose 'purchase' wasn't the best word. Let's say. . . 'borrowed' from one of Bront's men."

"Hm. . ." Locke murmurs. "Well, I like that style!"

With that, Locke reaches his arm around the Unicorn's back and thrusts himself up and over until he's sitting on the Unicorn.

"Hop on then," Locke says, looking down at Lil.

In all her excitement, Lil clumsily tries to hop onto the horse, before simply sliding back down again. Locke tuts and shakes his head before he slips off the Unicorn and walks up to Lil.

"A Dwarf can get on this thing and you can't?" Locke cries before turning to Yurla, and with an embarrassed grin announces, "No offense."

Locke looks back to Lil and slips his hands under her arms. He then lifts the dainty Lil up into the air, high enough so she can grab hold of the Unicorn and slip herself on. Afterward, Locke hops back on to the Unicorn and slips his arms around Lil's waist to ensure he doesn't slip off, with Lil doing the same to Yurla.

Once on the Unicorn, Lilanei mutters under he breath, "I could've done it myself, you know. . ."

"All set?" Yurla asks, changing the subject. "Here we go."

With that, Yurla softly nudges the Unicorn's sides with her feet and pulls on the reigns. The Unicorn neighs and gallops before then bolting into a sprint, running down the hill at such speed that our Heroes' hair blows violently in the gust. The Unicorn continues its journey down the long, winding hill before reaching the bottom of the hill, where it is then a fair straight sprint into the town of Tuli. Once in the town limits, the Unicorn's speed slows, and Locke and Lil are finally able to fully see their surroundings which were once a blur. Yurla ducks her head down slightly, as so not to be noticed in plain view, as the Unicorn trots down the narrow roads, passing many small buildings which make up the town. Taverns, houses, shops and blacksmiths – all things Locke and Lil would find in any other town – except these were on a much smaller scale. Finally, by a local baker, Yurla steers the Unicorn into a long, dark alley. A rat squeaks among the discarded garbage that's left to rot in the alleyways before a cat then meows as our trio trot through the ally, passing countless yards of brick walls before the light of a street light illuminates the end of the would-be-tunnel.

"There it is," Yurla calmly announces, pointing to the largest building Locke and Lil could see in the town. "Bront's home."

"Huh," Locke mutters. "A dwarf with a human sized home. It is to laugh."

Lil elbows him in the gut, to which Locke emits an "oof!" before he then slips his arms from around Lil's waist and hops down off the Unicorn. He takes a few steps forwards so he is now only just between the two buildings that sandwich the path into the ally.

"Looks quiet enough," Locke announces as he looks back and forth across the street, noticing at this time of night that most people in the area are probably in bed.

Following behind him, Lil hops off the Unicorn, at first stumbling as her feet meet the ground but soon regaining her balance. She walks besides Locke and observes the scene just as she does.

"Okay. We may as well do this. Let's go, Yurla!" Locke announces, but looks back to notice Yurla has yet to leave her Unicorn.

"Oh, I'm afraid I can't go," She says, looking regretful. "I'm sorry, but I can't face that demon of a dwarf. You must go on without me."

Lil turns around with a frown before nodding and saying, "If that's how you feel, Yurla, then we are in no place to force you."

"Let's go then," Locke announces, grabbing hold of Lil's wrist before running across the road to the front of the house. Our Heroes now stand in front of the large house, which in actual fact to beings the size of Locke and Lil, is just an average sized house. The front door is strong and wooded, while next to the door on the immediate left sits a window, which shows the inside of the living room. Looking at the door, Locke grabs the handle but doesn't bother to twist it, assuming the door would be locked at such a time of night.

He looks to Lil and asks, "What do you think?"

Lil frowns and replies, "We can't possibly break in through the door. We'd only be alerting them that we're here. . . Hey! You're a crook, aren't you? Don't you have some kind of tool to break in to the house?"

"I resent that," Locke hisses, frowning at Lil before correcting her, "It's not a crook's tool. Akorrin gave it to me, in case if we were ever imprisoned or the like. It just so happens that it can penetrate any structure. Anyway, that's good thinking, so I'll give it a try. But look through that window, and let me know if there's anyone or anything in there while I do it. We don't want to lose the element of surprise."

Lil nods and crouches slightly as she sneaks just below the window. Slowly, she peers just over the window and peeks inside. Lil's eyes scan the inside of the house, identifying the room she looks at as the living room. In the far left hand corner sits a large chair – or at least, a large one for a Dwarf. In the middle of the room sits a table, with four chairs surrounding it. On two of the chairs sit two dwarves, around Locke and Lil's age, both of them hunched over the table, fast asleep. Lil turns her head a little bit to see further inside the house, where she notes there is a staircase leading up to the next floor as well as a door to the rear of the room, presumably leading into a kitchen.

"I don't mean to add to your troubles, but there's two dwarves in there, sleeping at the table," Lilanei finally announces.

"Really?" Locke asks as he manipulates a small knife-like tool in his left hand which constantly wriggles in the lock. "Well, I suppose it's time. . . for their. . ."

Before Locke can finish his sentence, our Heroes hear a click to which Locke's eyes light up slightly, and with a grin, he very softly pushes the door open which softly creaks as he does.

"It's time for their wake up call," Locke finishes in a whisper.

He stands up and walks through the threshold, peering into the living room. Lilanei follows and both of them then tip toe silently into the room, watching as both dwarves snore loudly, their bellies rising up and down with each breath.

"Hm, could do with a little more running and a little less eating," Locke whispers to Lil as he pokes his own belly.

Lil simply shakes her head and whispers, "Shut up, or you'll get us caught."

Locke nods and then looks to the staircase, "I'd bet my gold – the last there is of it anyway – that Yurla's baby is upstairs. What do you think?"

"Yurla did say that the first floor was home to all of Bront's minions, so I agree."

"Ok," Locke says with a nod. "Let's head upstairs. But quietly – we don't want these tubby midgets waking up."

With the grace of the Unicorn they rode on, Locke and Lilanei begin to slowly and quietly tip toe across the room, past the two Dwarves as they make their way to the staircase. Locke presses his foot on the first step and then lifts his next foot onto the higher step. As he does, the floorboards emit a loud creak causing Locke's eyes to widen slightly as his head jerks back and he looks to the two Dwarves who are sound asleep. Breathing a short sigh, Locke continues slowly up the stairs, with Lil following close behind.


Locke and Lilanei continue their slow and quiet crawl up the staircase; however with each step they take, the floor boards continue to emit a loud creak. Locke looks back to see that Lil is still behind him and okay, and as he turns his head around, his nose brushes into something long and furry. Locke looks up from his position on all fours to see that the thing that is long and furry is actually a long, gray beard, belonging to a Dwarf standing at the top of the staircase – his heavy Warhammer in his left hand as he glares daggers down at Locke and Lilanei.

"Um. . . Hello, sir!" Locke says with a grin. "We're here to check how much firewood you've been using in the last few weeks. Can we see your fireplace?"

"Hm, what's this?" The Dwarf asks in a deep, growling voice. "Trespassers. 'Smart' ones at that. If you think you're getting out of here alive, you've thought wrong!"

"So, I take it that's a no?" Locke asks with a sheepish grin.

The Dwarf doesn't answer; instead, he raises his foot and slams it down, trying to catch Locke's hand under his heavy boot. Locke quickly takes his hand away from the top step and looks up at the Dwarf with a snarl.

"Okay, midget, enough fun and games. You've got a baby and we're here to take it back. Hand it over!"

"The baby?" The Dwarf growls, puzzled. "You don't mean. . . Ohh, no. If you think you're taking that baby where I think you want to take it, once again you've thought wrong! Prepare to die by the hammer of Bront!"

Quickly, Locke shoves Bront away from the top of the stairs, forcing him to back off by a bookshelf adjacent to the stairs. As Locke climbs up the final step, all three now stand in the hallway. Immediately, he reaches for the sickle sheathed on his boot, which he then grabs and withdraws, before quickly standing upright and slashing as he does so – the blade of the sickle catching Bront in his right arm which is uncovered by his Dwarven armour.

Lilanei, who had quickly rushed up the stairs behind Locke, now unsheathes her own weapon and dives forward at Bront's left side in an attempt to stab him with her dagger. However, Bront sees her rush towards him, and so as she charges, he simply thrusts his left shoulder out forwards. Due to the size difference, he plunges his shoulder, which is covered in armour, into Lil's abdominal area causing her to miss her blow and force her back. Looking to Locke once more, Bront grabs his mighty Warhammer and lifts it in the air with all intentions of striking the young smart aleck in front of him. Due to his smaller stature, Bront lifts the hammer and throws it down towards Locke's foot, obviously trying to immobilize him by breaking his foot, but Locke casually jumps into the air – even though his head hits the ceiling before he lands back on the floor.

"Ha-ha, missed my foot!" Locke exclaims, ignoring the throbbing sensation in his freshly hit head.

Continuing to grip his sickle, Locke once again prepares to strike Bront with it once more, aiming for the same part of his arm that he had slashed before. Once again, however, Bront's small size pays dividends as he only has to move the slightest inch and Locke's attempted strike passes harmlessly by the Dwarf Warrior. Meanwhile, Lilanei rushes around the Dwarf and to the far end of the hallway, where she suddenly turns, facing Bront in a direct line of fire before pointing her dagger towards him and chanting a magic spell. The dagger begins to spark and become filled with energy before the power launches violently from the tip of the blade – a silver bolt of force striking Bront in the side of his helmet-covered head. The bolt pushes against Bront's head and violently thrusts him a few feet across the hallway, his helmet dented and smoking but his head practically unharmed even though a large pain now rushes through his skull. Growling from the blow, Bront looks towards Lilanei at the other side of the hallway as he grabs an object from his back. Lil looks on and recognizes the weapon as one Locke uses rather well – a crossbow.

Within seconds, Bront loads the crossbow and points it towards Lilanei before he roars, "You can't have her!"

Immediately following that, Bront squeezes the trigger of the crossbow causing the arrow to fly off the bow with a "twang!" as the arrow flies through the hall towards Lil, immediately striking her as the tip of the arrow digs into her left collar. Taking a deep breath, Lil grasps the arrow in her hand before mustering enough courage to pull the arrow violently from her collar, the wound releasing a small amount of blood before ceasing quickly.

With venom in her voice, she spits, "The baby isn't yours!"

"She is mine!" Bront yells in defiance. "And I defy you to take her! Just try it – I'll kill you first!"

"Ha, in your dreams, tiny!" Locke cries as Bront turns to face Locke – noticing that he has used this time to arm his own hand crossbow, which he quickly points at Bront's head and fires; the arrow flies towards Bront, but the Dwarf simply dips his head very slightly to the left, causing the arrow to fly right past him and instead strike a painting on the wall behind him.

Seeing the damage to the painting, Bront turns to Locke and roars, "That was a rare masterpiece! I'll make you pay for this!"

Lilanei, quite enraged, thrusts her palm forwards before she begins to chant beneath her breath. As she does so, a bolt of sonic power rises from the ground and lashes at the Dwarf's feet swiftly. The energy crackles and whips Bront's feet, causing him to cry out in pain as he comically hops up and down a few times from the sheer stabbing pain of her attack. His fury now even more intense from the pain he is suffering, Bront looks towards Lilanei and, with a scowl, grabs his Warhammer and runs towards her – the Warhammer resting on his right shoulder. Once Bront is within reach of Lil, he exerts some force from his arms, lifting the Warhammer off his shoulder; in a swinging motion, he swipes the Warhammer across to the left in an attempt to violently catch Lil in the jaw. The Warhammer does its work and catches Lilanei flush in the jaw, the force of which sends Lil down to her knees with blood immediately running from her mouth as Bront stands above Lil and laughs.

“Hahaha! Take the baby, would you?" He yells. "When I'm done with you, all you'll be fit for is scrubbing my feet!"

Seeing Lilanei go down violently to the Dwarf's Warhammer, Locke growls, feeling a sense of anger wash over him from seeing his friend be violently struck by this Dwarf. Immediately, Locke puts away his crossbow and once again retrieves his sickle. With a cry, Locke rushes towards Bront in a similar fashion to what Bront just did to Lil, holding his sickle over his head. Once over the Dwarf, Locke takes his sickle and plunges it down into Bront's shoulder – the strike so calculated that the blade bypasses his armour-covered upper body and catches the skin of his shoulder. Bront cries out in pain as the sickle sinks into his shoulder and he feels the sheer agony of the strike. Locke takes the sickle out of Bront's shoulder, grabs him and throws him around into the bookcase behind them. As Bront's large body hits the bookcase, it begins to wobble under its own weight before eventually beginning to topple over. Bront looks behind him just in time to see the bookcase collapse down on top of him, burying him underneath the wooden case and its many books.