HOME | DD

Description
Grumpy awoke to the sound of voices. A male and a female. As his head cleared a bit, he recognized the woman as Princess. There was something familiar about the male as well, but his throbbing head didn't want to provide any answers for that. He tried getting up, but as soon as he lifted himself up, the entire world started spinning, and he almost vomited. Not feeling entirely confident about the unkown person's intentions, he decided to keep quiet and try to get a better sense of the situation. Unfortunately, lying down and keeping quiet in Grumpy's condition quickly led to unconsciousness.

The next time he woke up, he had an awful taste in his mouth. Princess was sitting by his side and carefully slipping some foul concoction down his throat. Even though he realized it was either medicine or something equally useful, he still spat it out just because... well, it was his way of reacting. Princess giggled «He said you would do that if you woke up while I gave it to you». Grumpy lifted his head warily, and while he immediately got dizzy, it wasn't as bad as the last time. He wiped his lips with the back of his hand and peered suspiciously around. He noticed more of his surroundings this time. Most importantly, he wasn't in the cave anymore, but instead in a bed that was, he had to admit, fairly comfortable for a rustic piece of crap.

He looked at her, wary of any sign that something was amiss. «How did we end up here in the trading post?» She hesitated a bit before answering. «Your friend chanced upon us. Or rather, he found you in the snow, and apparently knew of the cave» His eyes narrowed suspiciously, but before he found the right words for his thoughts, he felt that same strange instinct that he had felt when he hired her, that even though it seemed wrong, it was right. Not feeling comfortable with this contrary instinct, he decided to move on instead. «So, you say a friend of mine found me... who is he?» She grinned victoriously «Someone who uses names, actually. Although the way you treat people, I am not sure you know it. I'll get him».

She walked out into the other room, and Grumpy took the chance to see what weapons were available, just in case this friend wasn't as friendly as he had Princess believe. Granted, if he wanted him dead, he could have just left him in the snow, but that alone was no proof of good intentions. However, the bedroom was sorely lacking in weapons, and whoever had dressed his wounds had naturally removed his hidden daggers along with the clothes. He tried remembering what incantations he knew that didn't require components, but all he got was a headache. In the end, he had no other options than clenching his fists and hoping for the best when Princess returned... which made him irritable, optimism just wasn't his thing.

He didn't have to wait too long before she returned. Behind her followed a man, whose face Grumpy instantly recognized. He was a large man, taller than both Princess and Grumpy, and his wide frame held a considerable amount of muscle. His wellgroomed goatee and diligently maintained skin clothes often made Grumpy think of him as steel wrapped in silk. «Thorne» he called out, enjoying the surprised look on Princess' face when he used his name. She looked from one man to the other «You use real names? You mean I could have lured your name out of Thorne while you were out?» Thorne chuckled. Grumpy pulled himself up to a sitting position and turned toward Thorne «Enough with this chitchat. What happened to the enemy?» «You killed two, and the last one got away. I hope you don't mind that I chose saving you over following the tracks»

Grumpy grumbled to himself before turning towards Princess «So, little Princess. What have you done to upset the Sons of Auren?» Princess looked genuinely uncomfortable, and left the room. Thorne patted Grumpy on the head «Still have the touch with the ladies, I see»

Description
Grumpy awoke to the sound of voices. A male and a female. As his head cleared a bit, he recognized the woman as Princess. There was something familiar about the male as well, but his throbbing head didn't want to provide any answers for that. He tried getting up, but as soon as he lifted himself up, the entire world started spinning, and he almost vomited. Not feeling entirely confident about the unkown person's intentions, he decided to keep quiet and try to get a better sense of the situation. Unfortunately, lying down and keeping quiet in Grumpy's condition quickly led to unconsciousness.

The next time he woke up, he had an awful taste in his mouth. Princess was sitting by his side and carefully slipping some foul concoction down his throat. Even though he realized it was either medicine or something equally useful, he still spat it out just because... well, it was his way of reacting. Princess giggled «He said you would do that if you woke up while I gave it to you». Grumpy lifted his head warily, and while he immediately got dizzy, it wasn't as bad as the last time. He wiped his lips with the back of his hand and peered suspiciously around. He noticed more of his surroundings this time. Most importantly, he wasn't in the cave anymore, but instead in a bed that was, he had to admit, fairly comfortable for a rustic piece of crap.

He looked at her, wary of any sign that something was amiss. «How did we end up here in the trading post?» She hesitated a bit before answering. «Your friend chanced upon us. Or rather, he found you in the snow, and apparently knew of the cave» His eyes narrowed suspiciously, but before he found the right words for his thoughts, he felt that same strange instinct that he had felt when he hired her, that even though it seemed wrong, it was right. Not feeling comfortable with this contrary instinct, he decided to move on instead. «So, you say a friend of mine found me... who is he?» She grinned victoriously «Someone who uses names, actually. Although the way you treat people, I am not sure you know it. I'll get him».

She walked out into the other room, and Grumpy took the chance to see what weapons were available, just in case this friend wasn't as friendly as he had Princess believe. Granted, if he wanted him dead, he could have just left him in the snow, but that alone was no proof of good intentions. However, the bedroom was sorely lacking in weapons, and whoever had dressed his wounds had naturally removed his hidden daggers along with the clothes. He tried remembering what incantations he knew that didn't require components, but all he got was a headache. In the end, he had no other options than clenching his fists and hoping for the best when Princess returned... which made him irritable, optimism just wasn't his thing.

He didn't have to wait too long before she returned. Behind her followed a man, whose face Grumpy instantly recognized. He was a large man, taller than both Princess and Grumpy, and his wide frame held a considerable amount of muscle. His wellgroomed goatee and diligently maintained skin clothes often made Grumpy think of him as steel wrapped in silk. «Thorne» he called out, enjoying the surprised look on Princess' face when he used his name. She looked from one man to the other «You use real names? You mean I could have lured your name out of Thorne while you were out?» Thorne chuckled. Grumpy pulled himself up to a sitting position and turned toward Thorne «Enough with this chitchat. What happened to the enemy?» «You killed two, and the last one got away. I hope you don't mind that I chose saving you over following the tracks»

Grumpy grumbled to himself before turning towards Princess «So, little Princess. What have you done to upset the Sons of Auren?» Princess looked genuinely uncomfortable, and left the room. Thorne patted Grumpy on the head «Still have the touch with the ladies, I see»