by Floyd Looney
“Marwyn clean out the stable, Marwyn slop the hogs, feed the chickens, collect the eggs, Marwyn do this and Marwyn do that.” Marwyn grumbled to himself, he was ugly and short and stupid and a low menial laborer. The lowest menial laborer for he worked for a cruel witch and she wasn't exactly rich herself, was she?
Marwyn could do worse. Marwyn could starve to death in some dirty alley, he could. Nobody would stop to help Marwyn, he wasn't a cute puppy even if he was barely bigger than one. Even the other dwarfs would make fun of his height, if he ever met another dwarf.
After scraping his muddy boots on the stones near the back door to the shack he ambled into the kitchen and began preparing the old witches tea and a bit of the potato soup left over from the previous night. It should be warmed up by now, he figured. The bread was getting a bit stale but it'd be okay dunked into the soup.
This and a small jug of the cheapest wine he put onto the platter. Then he carried it into the other room where the witch sat at a small table, her chair being the bed. It was a very small shack. The old witch kept her good eye on him as he ambled across the small room and laid the tray onto the table.
“Your lunch, Madam.” he said politely after stepping back like a proper servant. Or what he imagined a proper servant would be like.
“Took long enough, you pile of smelly pig waste.” she said, showing off her four teeth. She didn't even sound mean about it, this was just the hags normal way of talking. Marwyn was immune to it by now, this was all routine really. “If you die, I couldn't even use your body to fertilize the garden, it'd poison everything.”
“Yes Madam.” he said with a bow, at the same time turning the door knob and backing into the kitchen to get his own bowl of the soup. He took a ragged, dented cup from the lowest shelf and used the ladle to pour the hot soup. He warmed his hands on it, he was still a little wet from being outside and then he took a drink, closed his eyes and felt the warm soup chase off the cold.
He opened one eye as the pigs squealed, he could hear them run around in their pen. This was unusual, so he put the cup down and picked up the dull bread knife and opened the door to outside. He closed it and walked out toward the pig pen and the outhouse, something was out here. A fox or a wild dog or something he would have to chase off.
Instead he saw four cloaked creatures about as large as fat potatoes. They were wearing cloaks and possibly leather clothes, if leather came from rat or mole skins. They had tiny knitting needles slung across their backs like swords.
“What are you doing? Are you stealing?” he asked, waving his knife around in front of him in a way he hoped was threatening. Gnomes, these were gnomes, foul creatures that lived in holes and stole from gardens for a living.
“We are sorry for being rude.” one of the gnomes said “But we need your help, sir.”
Sir? Marwyn was taken aback by this. What game were these things playing?
“We need someone big and strong and brave to take on the dragon who has run off with one of our fellows!” the gnome “The other humans won't pay any attention to us, they would treat us like gophers or other pests.”
That was certainly true, Marwyn wouldn't have treated them much differently come to that. They were gnomes and that was the way things were. He did feel a bit of kinship because he was treated in a similar manner.
“Big, brave sir like you could lead us on our quest to rescue our friend.” the gnome in the bluish cape said, taking a step toward Marwyn. Big and brave? Who were they fooling? They must be up to something. He glanced around the outbuilding to see if other gnomes were running away with the piglets or digging up the garden. Nothing.
“My name is Marwyn.” he told them.
“Mister Marwyn” the first said but the one in the bluish cape interjected “Sir Marwyn!”... then the first continued “Please lead our quest to retrieve our friend from the dragon”
Mister? Sir Marwyn? For the first time in his life he felt respected, instead of looked down on. He was much taller than these creatures, they didn't see him as a short dwarf. They seemed to look up to him and he felt some responsibility to them in return.
“Ah” he said, shaking it off “If a dragon has your friend, he's gone. A snack, if that.”
“It was but a small dragon!” the gnome said “Still too big for us, but you could handle him.”
“We have silver coins” the gnome in the blue cape said holding out his hands, the coins barely fit into those tiny hands. Marwyn reached down and picked one up, held it in the air and examined it closely, it looked real. It wasn't gold but it was more money than Marwyn had ever held before.
He gave the silver coin back to the gnome. Took a deep breath. “I will have to inform the Madam I will be indispose this evening.”
He ambled through the mud, scraped some off his boots and entered the shack. He found a large wooden bowl and put the bread knife next to it. He would take these with him. First he chopped up a bit of dried pork belly and tossed it into the simmering pot of potato soup. This would do for Madam witches dinner.
He knocked and entered the room where the old witch was sitting and staring off into space, probably reliving memories of her childhood or something. He did not really want to interrupt her deep thoughts but he had to tell her, he couldn't just vanish. Well, he had dreamed of doing that many times but he felt it would be rude since he did plan to come back.
“Madam?” he said “There is somewhere I need to go tonight.”
She looked at him, confused, because it never happened before “What do you mean by that?”
“I need to help some friends with a chore, I should be back by morning. The potato soup is simmering, I put some dried pork belly in it, I know you like it that way. It should do for supper.” he said.
“Friends?” she asked “When did you get friends? You haven't left here in fifteen years.”
Not exactly true since he did go to the Mercantile Shop monthly for provisions like tea, crackers, candles or whatnot. He really hated the way people looked at him and treated him, heck the condescending “nice” ones were the worst. No, honestly the children were the worst, they were simply cruel.
“There are some people who need a bit of help, and who is more of a bit than me? Eh?” he laughed “I will return by morning and tell you everything.”
“Whatever. I don't care if you go, whats it to me!?” she said, looking worried to Marwyns eyes “I'm supposed to miss an ugly thing like you? I don't care if you come back...”
Marwyn actually got the impression she would miss him a great deal as he opened the door and bowed on his way out. He stood there a moment, feeling touched. The old bat had seemed scared at the idea he would leave. He took a deep breath and took the bowl, it would make a fine helmet and the dull bread knife, it would do as a sword. It was a quest, he decided, so onward to the dragon!
The four gnomes were lined up as he exited the shack. He put his hands on his hips and said “Take me to the dragon!”
The gnomes made what he thought were happy and excited sounds and they started off on their journey. They were headed away from the main road and away from the direction of the village. Marwyn vaguely recalled that there would be a stream in this direction and then the land would rise about a dozen feet pretty suddenly.
When they arrived at the stream, which couldn't be more than several inches deep, the gnomes stopped and looked around. It seemed they were trying to find a way across. Marwyn rolled his eyes. “I'll just carry you across.” he told them and he was surprised that he could carry all four of them at once.
“Our champion is strong!” “Our knight is kind!” “Our hero is...er.. heroic”
He was embarrassed by all that, it was just too corny. The stream was less ten feet across and he made it without getting anything above his shins wet. “It will be dark before we can get back.” one of the gnomes said. Marwyn didn't care, he wasn't tired. He felt good, for once. He wanted to keep moving, besides the gnomes showed they had excellent night visio
n. They spent most of their life underground, so it made sense in a way.
So even as darkness spread they continued their walk, but then the land rose up sharply in front of them and the gnomes were looking to Marwyn again.
“If we just took this way or that way, the slope would probably be less steep somewhere else.” he said and then got an idea “Or I could climb up after tossing you all up over the top there.”
This excited the gnomes. They were tough buggers and the idea of being thrown a dozen feet up sounded quite fun to them. Marwyn hadn't known gnomes were so easy to get alone with. So he tossed them one after another and they all landed at the top of the rise. They seemed quite happy about it as they looked down at him, expectantly.
Climbing up the wet slope was difficult because he kept sliding back down with hands full of mud, when he grabbed a root it broke when he pulled himself up. Marwyn was about to declare this an impossible task when a thick vine was lowered to him. The gnomes had found a vine and extracted it from wherever and found him a way to climb up.
His feet still dug into the muddy wall as he climbed and he was covered in filth when he finally rolled over onto the grass up at the top. The gnomes applauded, suddenly he felt more energy. So, this is why some men wanted to be heroes! Besides the fame, glory, gold and women of course.
They marched through this forest again, towards where they said the dragon lived. They talked about their friend and how he was still alive the last time they had seen him. “The dragon did not eat him, but he was keeping him inside his den for some reason.” the leading gnome said. So there was a bit of mystery to this as well.
Finally the gnomes decided to stop and rest under the criss-crossing canopies of tall trees. They said the dragon was too close for them to build a fire, it would not be safe. Marwyn sat with them and they made a circle.
“We shall write songs about this quest!” the blue-cloaked gnome said “Marwyn the Great shall become famous among the gnomes!”
He chuckled a little to himself. Being famous among gnomes, it was preposterous but he felt good. Never had he been treated like this in his entire miserable life. The gnomes were now singing and it hurt his hears but it seemed they were singing about him and this quest. Not waiting for it to be over was a bit presumptuous but he heard that vikings and others did the same before battle, gets their nerves up.
“We are but a few miles from the village, how can there be a dragon so close without everyone knowing?” Marwyn asked.
“It is a small dragon.” one of them said
“Possibly it is recently arrived.” another added
Marwyn stroked his gnarly beard. It seemed too easy. Well, maybe not for the gnomes. To the gnomes this was a big deal, no doubt. The gnomes saw the look on his face because they broke into his thoughts. “Quietly. Over here, you can see.” one of them said walking bent over. Marwyn stifled a laugh to see a creature a foot tall crouching down. Then he followed.
He poked his head through some bushes and saw the ground slope down and create a small valley below them. There in the center of this was a round mound of dirt with a dark hole in it. To his eyes it looked like an ancient kiln or oven that had somehow survived time and weather.
“Tis the dragon den.” the gnome said in a whisper
“How would a dragon fit in there?” Marwyn asked
“It is but a small one.” the gnome reminded him
“It must be smaller than a man to fit in there!” Marwyn said and then almost laughed again. “Are you telling me that your friend was dragged off by a baby dragon?”
The gnome thought about this for a moment. “It is still far too big and dangerous for gnomes to handle.”
That was true, Marwyn thought, the little guy had a point. Well, if their friend was alive in that den, then he was a toy more than food. Maybe it was an orphan? He didn't know much about dragons but if it had lost its mother, then it was a sad thing indeed. Still, the creature would grow to become a monster unequaled by any lion, crocodile or sea-creature, maybe such sympathy is misplaced.
They waited and watched the den until the sun started rising. Then suddenly a small thing moved away from the entrance of the den.
“It's Betah!” one of the gnomes said gleefully “He is alive.”
The gnomes got up and were ready to run to their friend when another blur emerged from the den and closed the distance to Betah in hardly more than a second or two. Or so it seemed. Then it held Betah down with a paw and lifted its head and Marwyn prepared himself for the roar of a monster. Instead there was an unmistakable laugh.
It could have been a big gray dog, if it had a long neck and folded wings on its back and a thicker tail. Some other differences but it looked a big, overgrown dog. At least at first glance.
Marwyn was confused.
“Got you again.” the dragon said with joy in its voice “Did you really think you could escape from me while I slept? As if a dragon ever really sleeps just for a night. Alright, you had your fun, back to the den and then we play!”
“Play?” Marwyn asked increduously “This dragon likes to play with his food?”
The other gnomes ran out of the bushes and down the slope toward their fellow and the small gray dragon. The dragon looked up at them as they got close and Betah squealed from underneath the clawed foot “What took you guys so long?”
“Maybe they would like to play too?” the dragon asked, “roar!”
The four little gnomes pulled out their 2 inch swords, or maybe knitting needles from what Marwyn could see of them. “Put them pointers away.” he told the gnomes as he walked out of the underbrush and joined them in the field.
“Who are you?” the dragon demanded.
“I am Sir Marwyn” he said with a little bow “I have been contracted by these gnomes to rescue their friend from your captivity.”
The dragon gave thought to this and then laughed his child-like laugh. “I'm not hurting nobody! I just wanted to play because I was bored.”
Marwyn drew himself up and tried to stand as tall as he could, but the head of the dragon on its long neck still towered over him. “Where is your mother?” he asked the dragon.
The young dragon got a serious look on his face. “She... she's around here somewhere!”
“Don't listen to him! He's an orphan!” Betah said and the dragon moved his head very close to that of the captive gnome “I could still eat you, you know!”
Marwyn nodded “That is what I thought. A dragon mother would never abandon her child, so you must be an orphan. You do know how to catch food and stay away from humans, right?”
The dragon looked crestfallen “I hadn't really learned much before... you know.”
The four gnomes sat down and pulled out dirty handkerchiefs and cried. “It's so sad!” “He's an orphan!” “Poor little dragon!” “Needs his ma!”
“You need to find a big dragon that is willing to teach you.” Marwyn said and pointed “I have heard there is a dragon lives in a cave up on Mount Morant over there. See it in the distance?”
“I already met him.” the dragon said “He wasn't very nice, he wouldn't even let me in his cave. Said he would eat me! Everything is okay though, I have this cave and there is fish in the stream and there are sheep and lambs in the fields...”
“Humans will hunt you down if they catch you.” Marwyn told him “Those animals are their livelihood. That den is not going to stop them, for one thing its on the ground in a ruddy field!”
The dragon sat on his haunches and let poor Betah go free. “I don't know what to do!”
“Don't stay in one place. Have dens and such all over, if your stealing sheep you'd better not be there when humans there try to find you! That's just for starters.”
“Sir Marwyn!” the blue-cloaked gnome said “Maybe you can take him in and teach him how to be a dragon? You could rule this county if you had your own dragon!”
The idea was absurd, of course. Just for a second he imagined himself as Lord Marwyn,
Keeper of a Dragon, most powerful person in the county and King of the Gnomes! Then he shook it off.
“I don't have a place to keep a dragon.” he told them “How would I feed him, and he's going to grow to become a massive beast! No offense...”
“None taken.” the dragon said, now lying on the grass with his front paws crossed, looking very comfortable. “My name is Kino, by the way.”
“I'm Gant.” said the gnome leader
“I'm Sooty!” said the blue-cloaked gnome
“Dorka!” “Soddy.” “Betah... but you knew that.”
“Okay, nice to meet you all.” he said “We have to help Kino, for sure, but he won't fit into the warren where you gnomes live and I have no place to keep him.”
“It is a quandary.” said the blue-cloaked Sooty.
“Kino, for now just keep a low profile. Stay in the den in the day, hunt for fish and wild game at night. For heaven's sake, leave the human herds alone.” he told the dragon “That will buy us some time to consider things.”
“There is a cave on Craggy Hill.” one of the gnomes said “It's a few miles west of here. I heard it that humans don't go there.”
“Just don't come out in the daylight!” Marwyn said
Kino thought about this, it was real obvious when he was thinking. His face twisted up and his eyes looked aside into the sky. He might as well be scratching his chin, Marwyn thought.
“I will take your advice.” he said “But I get bored, I don't like to be alone.”
“It's because you are still too young, you are supposed to yearn for your mother at this age, it's only natural” Marwyn told him.
“Does Sir Marwyn miss his mum, too?” Gant, the gnome leader, asked.
“My mum? I hardly remember her, she bore me in a field and threw me in a pigsty as she passed, after seeing how ugly I was” he said, and wiped his nose and eyes. “She wasn't dumb enough to keep me, I would have just been an anchor around her neck.”
“Will you guys come and visit me often?” Kino asked, looking at Betah especially. Betah seemed inclined to say no but Gant assured the baby dragon “Yes we will! It is nice to have a new friend, after all!”
Kino was happy he stood and flapped his wings.
“No flying in the day time!” Marwyn told him.
“Oh, I forgot!” Kino said “I was so happy.”
“Good bye Kino, I'll try to think of something to help you. The gnomes will visit, as they promised, but I need to go back now.” Marwyn said, wondering what the look on the village bookshop keepers face when he asked about books on dragons. That should be an entertaining reaction.
So he led the gnomes back up the slope, through the wood, down the other side and carried them across the stream and finally they were home. The trip back was a lot easier and faster than the original journey.
He arrived at the hut, scraped the mud off his boots and entered the kitchen. Much to his surprise the witch was at the stove and she had brushed her hair.
“Hello Marwyn.” she said “You must be tired, why don't you lie down on the bed while I make you something to eat.”
Marwyn just froze in place and blinked a couple of times. He could hardly believe his eyes and ears, nothing like this had ever happened before. His first instinct was to go back outside and run for his life. Instead he opened the door and entered the other room. He stood there and looked around, for snakes or scorpions or something nasty and deadly.
Then he decided to throw caution to the wind and took off his jacket and laid it across a chair and climbed into the bed. It was softer than he imagined, no wonder she spent so much time in it. He got got as comfortable as he could, might as well do that before he dies.
“Ouch!” he said and he pulled something out from the covers. A book, he hadn't even known the old bat could read. He also hadn't known there was a book in the house. What else is she keeping secret and why is she being so nice now?
Then the door creaked open and she brought in a tray. He waited for the punchline on this little joke but she paid it on the bedside. He saw that there was a bowl of stew, fresh bread, and a mug of ale. This was a bit shocking.
“I hope you don't leave.” she said sitting in the chair at the foot of the bed “You are all the family I have left.”
All in all Marwyn thought, it had been an interesting day. Not a bad day at that.
END
