Dwarven Aid

After a long night of searching a tired and nervous Caleb stopped when he came upon a place he could sit and rest his feet. As he relaxed, he deliberately began pulling his weaponry out and giving it a thorough examination. So far as Caleb tried to follow the path when he last crossed paths with the Dwarves all he managed to do was avoid vicious wildlife. With each successful examination, Caleb returned the weapon he found that his nerves calmed down. Once finished Caleb got to his feet and continued his attempt at following the path his last hunt. Unfortunately, this world’s terrain was still too familiar, but Caleb knew the colony required him to succeed in his assignment. With a sigh of frustration, Caleb resumed his search.

As the day wore on Caleb rubbed at his eyes as he forced himself to keep putting one foot in front of the other. He needed to find the dwarves, he knew that without their aid the settlement couldn’t stand up to the massing threat. As Caleb stumbled into a tree, he shook his head and resigned himself to look for a place where that he could secure to get a few hours of sleep. Just as he altered his search, Caleb finally caught sight of tracks that didn’t belong to the natural wildlife. The discovery forced the exhaustion out of his mind and with a newfound vigor he started following the tracks. Unfortunately as Caleb followed the tracks his nerves began to fray as they rapidly began diminishing.

Caleb stopped at the closest tree to check his weapons. Once done, he reoriented and scanned for the faint trail left by his team’s last hunt. The landscape offered no guidance. Everything looked the same. He sighed, holstered his sidearm, and lifted his rifle before continuing. A fine mist hung heavy with the scent of moss and earth, obscuring his view.

Even the birds had stopped calling, leaving only the soft crunch of Caleb’s boots to mark the passage of time. The silence pressed against his ears like a warning. He rubbed his eyes and forced himself to keep moving. Without the dwarves’ help, the settlement would fail, and his search had turned up nothing. He could almost hear their gregarious laughter echoing beneath phantom cries and the imagined groan of the settlement.

The woods felt heavier with each step, like they resented his presence. As he stumbled forward, Caleb paused and yawned. A few hours of sleep could make all the difference between success and failure. And of course, when he made that decision, he caught sight of some tracks. With a groan, he pushed his fatigue aside and started following them.

He tried to stay quiet, but his exhaustion betrayed him. With every footfall, the cracking branches and undergrowth grew louder. Still, each step crystallized his purpose. He was searching for the dwarves and pondering what he’d say.

He had only met a handful of them the last time, and Fitik had essentially said don’t look for us, we’ll find you. Despite that, Caleb hoped that the sheer mass of trolls and goblins would inspire these stout warriors to their aid. He rehearsed what to say, trying to strike the right balance between urgency, respect, and desperation.