Stranger Passing: The Sword and the Flame Novella

Chapter 2

Spring was a beautiful time of year for the village of Glensford, as it breathed new life into the surrounding world. Known more for being thieves and storytellers, Halflings were often left alone by the other races. Those choosing to bother the three-foot-tall people often lived to regret their decision, as few could prove as troublesome as a hundred flustered Halflings. The way for one to avoid such a predicament was to either avoid them or wipe them out. No one wanted the blood of another race on their hands except for the Ogres, but their lands were far enough away that it would take an act of the Gods to bring them to Glensford.

Originally founded as a gathering place for traveling Halflings, Glensford soon became a comfortable place for them to settle into the routine of life. While few remained in the village for more than a handful of years, Glensford was never threatened with becoming a ghost village. Instead, it continued to thrive as more Halflings traveled there when it was time to start a family or they became too old to journey anymore. A little piece of paradise in the middle of the chaotic and dangerous Wilderness, few knew of the village's existence aside from the Halfling race. Not known as a people able to keep a secret, keeping the village hidden was considered a tremendous feat by outsiders who knew of its existence. The odd thing about that theory, from a Halfling's point of view, was they thought they were good at keeping secrets. The ones they deemed important, anyway. Such was the life of a people considered little more than vermin by the other races of Pyrain. Whatever the reasoning or opinions about them by others, the people of Glensford never let it interfere with their daily lives.

That was never more apparent than when the quiet morning following the rainstorm was broken by the laughter of children. Like most children, Eron was filled with an energy his elders often wished they had. He breathed in the morning fragrances. There was something about the air — the cleanliness of it — that made his heart beat faster and pushed his mind to the mental edge of observation. Eron didn't care why he felt the way he did, he only knew he loved that brief time period between the after-storm morning and afternoon sun. In a few hours, the air would lose its texture and scent. Being normal didn't appeal to him at his age, so he ran around the village's narrow paths and tall grass in an attempt to soak in as much of the morning as possible.

Eron took in as deep a breath as he could with each step, enjoying the feeling of the cool, damp air in his lungs. Rounding the corner of a path brought him to the first major decision of his morning. Should he stay on the path as it turned to the right or continue straight into the small clearing of long grass? Allowing his instincts to lead him, he continued straight ahead and plunged into the long grass. Eron extended his arms like he saw birds do when they flew. The long grass was a tad shorter than two feet, so the tops of the grass barely touched his palms. The gentle caress of the grass tickled, bringing a larger smile and giggle from him.

Lost in his enjoyment of imagining the grass being the wind beneath him as he flew through the air, Eron didn't stop until his legs had enough. Only when he plunged to his knees in the grass and fell onto his side did he realize how tired he was. Gasping for air, he rolled onto his back and remained lying where he fell to watch the clouds move overhead.

Everything about the day was peaceful, allowing Eron to feel content without understanding the trials of life. Watching the clouds had always been one of his greatest pleasures, and he fell asleep minutes after first finding his perch.

He had no way of knowing how long he'd been asleep aside from the rumbling of his stomach. The vibration proved to be more of a factor in him waking than the sound, although he was known to have a loud grumble at times. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, Eron remained lying in his sanctuary while staring at the clouds. He didn't want to leave such a restful spot, but one of his golden rules in life was to never miss a meal. To emphasize its point, his stomach rumbled again.