Chapter 10
Crawa's seventh birthday is met with little celebration.
Crawa streaked out of bed and flew to the door as soon as the first rays of sunlight found their way through her curtains. She was seven today, a full year older, full of a year that had seemed to go by even more quickly than she could have imagined.
She flung herself into the corridor in her pajamas, running the short distance down the hall to Garaf's room. “GARAAAAF! Wake up!†She had no answer other than a muffled snore, and she huffed in impatience. “GRAMPA!†she yelled as a recourse, knowing that at least her grandfather would hearken to her call.
Her instincts were correct, for it was not long before the door slid open and old Guthlac emerged, bleary-eyed but dressed. “Good... morning, sweet heart.†he creaked, hobbling down the hall towards her.
“Did mama and papa get here yet? Can I see them??â€Â
The old man shook his head. “Patience, sweet heart. They did not arrive last night, but it is not unusual for them to take the extra night to travel. They will be here today, never fear.â€Â
Crawa pouted, but acquiesced. She dressed, ate, and fidgeted as the day went on, reluctantly studying at Esslar's behest, and scuttling to the window whenever the adults' backs were turned. The day seemed to last an eternity.
*
“Why aren't they here yet?!†The newly seven year old Crawa demanded, pounding a small fist on the table. “They should be here! It's my birthday!â€Â
The sun had gone down, and there had been no sight nor sign of Gilhend and Tuilinn Nerian. Garaf and Crawa sat at the table, picking at the remains of their dinners while their elders talked quietly in the corner.
“This isn't fair,†she frowned, absentmindedly knocking her spoon against her plate. Garaf didn't answer, the only other voices being those of her grandfather and the lalafell.
“It is highly unusual for them to not send word of their delay. I shall begin to worry before much longer,†Esslar pronounced, sipping his tea with a considerable air of agitation.
“Peace,†Guthlac answered through his beard. “They will come.â€Â
Crawa listened to their mumbling voices until they began to blur together into a buzz, not even realizing that she was resting her head on the table. The next thing she noticed was sunlight streaming through her window; she had been put to bed, and it was day, and she was seven – and her parents hadn't come.
The day went by as the previous one had, and the next ones quickly followed after. Crawa passed the time in a mood too foul and self-absorbed to notice the adults' increasing worry. The silence around the dinner table after a week had passed was heavy and uncomfortable; even Garaf's routine complaints about his vegetables were quelled. The weather outside seemed to echo the mood in the room, rain pounding on the roof between shuddering thunderclaps. As Crawa picked over a left-over piece of birthday cake – Esslar had made extra to comfort her – she suddenly threw down her fork and burst into tears.
Seeming to sense the cause of her fit, her grandfather left his seat and came to her. “There, sweet heart. They're coming, don't worry. They'll be here-â€Â
“You're lying!†Crawa wailed, interrupting him. “They're NEVER coming! Never!â€Â
Guthlac said nothing, but gathered her in his arms as she wailed. It startled everyone when Garaf slammed his fist down on the table with a frustrated "GORRAMIT!" and bolted from the room.
*
Rain was coming down in sheets, pelting him with a non-stop torrent as Garaf splashed through the forest. Occasionally lightning would explode in the sky, casting the trees in stark brilliance before returning to the dark of a stormy night. The Duskwight had no thought to where he was headed; only a grim determination to see Crawa's parents returned to her. In his state of mind, rational thought of how to accomplish that goal never occurred to him. He had no plan but the will to see it done.
He splashed through a large puddle, tripped over a root, and found his momentum suddenly redirected towards the ground. He picked himself out of the mud and wiped the leaves and clay from his face. 'What am I doing?' he thought, 'I've never even met them. How would I know them? Where would I even look?' The recent memory of Crawa crying by her birthday cake swept through his mind. 'Doesn't matter. I'll do it anyway.'
Before he resumed his dash through the woods, however, he recognized a sound under the splatter of the rain: stout footsteps and the clink of metal. He knew the woods well enough to know there weren't any roads nearby; no reason for anyone else to be wandering through the trees. He crept closer to the sound and squinted through the rain as he peeked from behind a tree trunk.
A flash of lightning showed a squat creature covered in boiled leather and ramshackle pieces of armor shuffling along the forest floor. As it moved, the mis-matched pieces of armor clanked together, making a tinkling sound that stood out amidst the falling rain. Garaf could barely make it out when the darkness returned, but he recognized it as a goblin. Within his child's mind a scenario came to him, and in that moment he laid all the confusion and pain he'd witnessed in the last year on the goblin. Suddenly it was the beastman's fault that Crawa's parents were missing, that he couldn't remember his own parents or any life he'd had before, that he was never quite sure of where he fit into things.
He jumped out from behind the tree and shouted as he charged towards the creature. "BRING THEM BACK!" The goblin, not expecting a sopping wet, screaming child to charge it suddenly, was caught unawares and Garaf tackled it to the ground, pummeling it with punches. "I know you took them! Where are they?!"
A year of labor had put steel in the boy's muscles, and at first the goblin struggled and squealed to ward off the blows. But he had twice the mass of Garaf, and the benefit of surprise soon wore off. The goblin pulled a knife and slashed out, cutting open the boy's tunic and knocking him down.
Garaf, heedless of the gash stretching from his left arm to his sternum, tried getting to his feet but found a grubby boot on his stomach. The boy bore a grim expression as he looked up to see a slab of iron, ground to a rough edge, brandished above him. The goblin drew back to strike again when a shout broke through the tumult of the storm.
"FIRE!"... and just then a small ball of flame erupted on the goblin's shoulder. The beastman squealed and hopped about, slapping its shoulder and then glowered back at the boy. Garaf was still laying in the mud, watching the goblin with sharp, angry eyes. Lightning flashed again, illuminating the dark silhouette of another among the trees. The goblin hopped and ran to shuffle off in the other direction.
Garaf looked up and saw Crawa standing over him. Her clothes were covered in mud and rain and torn from running through the woods. “Garaf! What were you doing?!†The girl's breath came in gasps. “You're bleeding! We have to go back. The goblin's gonna find us again, quick now!†She pulled at Garaf's arm, looking around frantically.
"I didn't find them... yet." Garaf looked away again, seeming not to have heard her. He felt shame, not for having run off into the night, but for having failed to find her parents. He heard the leaves squish as she knelt down next to him, but he certainly didn't expect it when she slapped him.
"Stupid! Everybody's always leaving me and going away. I won't forgive you if you leave too!"
"I ain't gonna sit 'round 'n watch you gettin' lonely! Iffin' I find your folks then everything'll be good 'n happy."
Crawa quieted at that, but after a few moments put her hands on her hips in a stance of determination. “If you go out running after them now, you'll get eaten by goblins, or worse! We're just kids. Besides, mama and papa always come back. Grampa said so.†The words were certain, but her voice was hesitant. “And... and if they don't, we'll go and look for them when we're grown ups who can go away without permission and fight bad guys without getting hurt!†She glared pointedly at the gash that sliced through Garaf's tunic.
Garaf nodded and worked his way back to his feet, wincing as his body reminded him he was leaking. The cut wasn't deep, but it stung. "Ok. We'll go tagether." Satisfied, Crawa got up on her own feet, and the two of them began to work their way back to the Temple. “Hey, look now,†the girl said, pointing at the sky. “Isn't it pretty?†The rain had stopped and the clouds were swiftly parting. The storm had finally cleared, revealing a sky full of stars.
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