Graz Stoutstump's ranch, three years after the Third War
"Shara, Graz was wondering if you had the extra shears ready?" Leodry asked, stooping to poke his head through the low door. The bleating of sheep could be heard outside, along with the happy banter of several dwarves. The lady dwarf he addressed was sharpening shearing blades, the whetstone quick in her deft hands. She gave him a quick smile and nodded.
"Aye, Leo. There," she indicated the tools sitting on the heavy, wooden table and turned her attention back to the tool in her hand. "This 'un 'll be ready soon enough." Leodry nodded and grabbed the shearing tools, bounding back up the stone steps two at a time of the Stoutstump home to the outside.
Sheep were milling in a makeshift pen, all of them carrying heavy coats. With the spring coming, they'd need to be sheared. Besides, Aerie Peak needs the wool for textiles and padding for the new gryphon tack, Leodry thought to himself, watching over the animals. Graz, father and leader of the small clan, stood at the fence with one of his sons and his daughter, along with several volunteers from nearby homes. After an accident with a gryphon, the younger of his two sons decided breeding gryphons wasn't his calling after all. Now left with just one eye and a nasty scar, Gren found peace on the ranch, helping his father care for the mountain sheep.
"Shearing day, Longshanks," he jested, poking at Leodry's stomach as he came to stand beside his adopted family. "Moira's ready, as is Da. Ye 'ave the shears?" Leodry nodded in response, handing out the sharp tools. Graz nodded, then, and said, "Le's ge' started."
The sheep would squirm and try to escape, but there was no getting away from strong, healthy dwarves and a tall human who had once trained as a soldier. They worked until sunset, the sheep giving up their wool. By the time the sun was low over the mountains, peeking through treetops, the entire herd had been sheared and a very generous stack of wool had been produced. Shara and Moira set about getting it separated out into the different qualities and colors while the men cleaned the shears, and broke down the temporary paddock to let the sheep run over the mountains again.
They talked and laughed, joking and telling stories, and though an outsider walking by might think it strange that these Wildhammer dwarves had taken in a human, specially one as old as Leodry now was, they thought nothing of it. To Graz, he was a little like another son, although much taller, and to Moira and Gren he was like a very close friend or even brother. Leodry imagined that Shara, being shy and distrustful of outsiders as she was, probably thought of him as a ranch hand, more than a son, but she cared about him nonetheless.
They were a family. They lived together, ate together, and tended to the home and ranch together. When they finished up and the wool was separated out and sorted, the other dwarves heading back to their homes, they headed inside for dinner. Moira helped her mother prepare the meal and set out ale for the men. The cooking fire was bright and warm and they all celebrated another good day of work before heading off to their rooms to sleep.
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Leodry was startled awake. He didn't know why, at first, and groped about in the dark, confused. Then he heard the shouting. He bolted upright, recognizing the voice as Graz's. He tumbled out of the low bed, blankets and furs scattering, and reached for his pants. As soon as he was able to untangle himself from the bed, he ran for the door, only stopping to pull down a dull sword from the wall where it had hung as decoration.
It was dark in the house, but after living there for as long as he had, he knew his way around well enough to do it blind. The door was standing open to the cold night and Graz's voice was now joined by Gren's which only spurred him on, making him take steps three at a time to get outside. The moon was just a sliver in the sky, the shadows under the trees deep and dark. Leo took only a moment to scan the shearing yard to realize they weren't there.
His sword glinted in the faint moonlight as he stood, listening hard for the direction to run. He heard Graz and Gren yelling, along with the sounds of fighting, but the trees spread out the sound, echoing it strangely, but finally he figured out the direction. He took off, fast as his legs could carry him, into the forest, dodging trees and jumping over brush. The sound of a battle soon reached his ears.
He burst into a clearing where several sheep had been slaughtered, Graz and Gren standing amidst the fallen livestock, surrounded by trolls. Tall, muscular, green-skinned, and deadly, they surrounded the clearing and the two dwarves. With a yell, Leodry joined the fray, his sword flashing in the moonlight, temporarily startling the trolls, pushing them back a few steps.
"Glad ye could join us, laddy," Graz roared, holding off a troll with a huge hammer. Gren held two smaller hammers, each crackling with energy, his minimal shamanistic power manifesting. While not immediately fatal, Leodry knew those hammers would pack a punch. Several of the trolls seemed to think that the addition of a human warrior was too much and turned tail despite the obvious protests of their bretheren, scooping up two of the dead sheep on their way. Those that stayed behind rushed the dwarves and man, their stone axes trying to bite deep into their flesh.
Leodry had survived the Scourge and a prince gone made. Simple mountain trolls, even ones as bold as these were, didn't frighten him in the least. Skilled with his short sword, he held the trolls that attacked him at bay long enough for the two dwarves to take them out permanently. Just as it seemed like the trolls were running away, Leodry glanced behind him. A troll had doubled back and was preparing to throw an axe at Graz's head.
"No!" he yelled, diving for the old dwarf. He collided with Graz, knocking him to the ground, but cried out as his shoulder flared in terrible pain. The troll had thrown and Leodry had just gotten Graz out of the way, taking the weapon to his naked shoulder. Gren yelled, throwing one of his hammers, striking the troll squarely in the forehead with enough force to kill it instantly.
"Leo!" Gren called out. "By th' mountain, Leo, yer a damn fool." He jumped up and ran as fast as he could back towards the house, calling for Moira and Shara. Graz rolled over and took a look at the wound, grimacing. The axe was still stuck in the flesh of his shoulder and Leo wanted to die from the pain. His eyes were squeezed shut tight and he groaned trying not to move the torn muscles.
Moira came running after her brother, a roll of bandages in her hand. She gasped and nearly dropped the long strips of woolen cloth in shock. "Oh, Leo, what happened?"
"Not now, Moira. Ge' 'im fixed up. I 'ave te warn the neighbors," Graz said, getting up and running off into the woods. The soldier in Leodry awoke and he wanted to reach out and stop his friends from running through the dark woods unprotected. He could only manage another moan, though, and Moira did her best to calm him.
Finally, Shara arrived, Gren in tow. With her daughter's help, they carefully pulled the primitive, stone throwing axe from Leo's shoulder, blood now flowing freely down his back. Shara rinsed the wound with warm water and slapped a few bits of wool over it quickly, telling him she'd have to do a more thorough job back at the house. Moira and Gren helped him back to his feet, and did their best to support him as he stumbled back through the dark woods. The windows were alight from torches and a fire inside, looking for all the world as though nothing had happened.
The four of them finally made it to the door and nearly fell inside. Shara directed them to help him to the stool near the fire where she had him sit. She then pulled a chair near and stood on it looking over the wound. Shaking her head, Shara handed him a stick to bite down on and got to work. "Moira, bring me hot water an' th' bruiseweed. Gren, bring me sewin' kit an' find some strong alcohol. Quick now, quick." Shara whispered a few prayers over the water and steeped the bruiseweed, crushing it in her fingers. She then pulled back the cloth bandage they had used to stem the bleeding in the clearing. Shara hissed through her teeth when the wound started bleeding again.
Leodry realized then where Gren got his shamanistic gifts as the quiet Shara smeared the quickly-made poultice over the gaping wound. He groaned with pain, but held still. Quickly, the pain subsided to just a minor dull ache and he sighed with relief.
"Sorry, lad," Shara whispered, then opened a bottle Gren had handed her. Moments later, Leodry nearly roared in pain, managing to just groan through his teeth as whatever strong drink Gren has found was poured over the wound. Even with the poultice dulling the pain, the cleaning was painful. Then, Shara motioned for Gren to hand her her sewing kit and she opened it to pull out a needle and thread.
"Gren, hold this o'er th'fire fer a moment, quick," she asked him, handing him the needle she had chosen. Leodry nearly gasped in surprise as Gren's skin turned grey and hard, the needle firmly grasped between his fingers, and held it over the heat of the fire, sterilizing the sewing tool. Once he brought it back to Shara, she got to work.
Though the bruiseweed pultice had helped, he still gasped in pain when the needle pierced his skin. Shara, calm, continued on, her hand steady. Slowly - agonizingly slowly in Leodry's opinion - the wound was stitched up and the bleeding finally slowed to nearly nothing.
"Moira, the bandages," Shara gestured to his back and walked to a nearby basin to wash her hands. It was then that Graz returned and closed the door behind him. Moira took her mother's place on the chair behind Leodry and carefully bandaged his shoulder. Graz held a whispered conversation with his wife and then came over to Leo, concern on his bearded face.
"Well, lad, 'ow 'r' ye doin'?" he asked and Leodry grunted, the bruiseweed beginning to wear off and the ache getting worse. "I've been better." Gren pressed a mug into his hands and he gulped it down, discovering it was more of the alcohol that had been used to clean his wound and was greatful for the dulling sensation it gave him. "What's this? Bourbon?" Gren nodded. Leodry took another large gulp of the alcohol, his head starting to swim a bit, but the ache in his shoulder dulling.
Graz looked down at his feet for a moment, then straight into Leodry's eyes. Placing a hand on his good shoulder, he squeezed gently. "Thank ye, lad. I... Iff'n 't weren't fer ye, I'd be-"
"I know," Leodry said, reaching up to grab the old dwarf's forearm. "Graz, you're like a father to me. I couldn't bear thinking what would happen if you were gone. Trust me, I'd do the same thing all over again, given the same chance."
Graz finally let go, a small nod of understanding, and a smile. Leodry took a deep breath and stood, swaying on his feet a bit, both from loss of blood and from the strong drink. Gren helped steady him and got him to his room where he collapsed on the low bed. As soon as his eyes closed he was asleep, dreaming of dark forests full of trolls and axes flying through the air.
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