If you climb in the saddle, be ready for the ride.

It was about a week on the road when I met Larry. To be honest, it was lonelier than I thought it’d be. I imagined the roads filled with people, but there wasn’t hardly anybody. Nobody going where I was, anyway. After getting into the main roads, I did meet more people. I’d ride with them to the next town then we’d split ways. Met some unusual folks, but they was all nice enough. But Larry was the first person going the same direction I was, north. Well, he said he was willing to go anywhere. But north was somewhere, and he looked like he needed a friend.

Well… okay… yeah, and I needed a friend too.

Anyway, the first place we stayed at for awhile was Jaimelgar. That was where we met the others. Vebradu and Sledge we met first on the road into town. Neither of em really seemed like they’d been traveling for long. Sledge was.. confused. About everything. But he was curious, he had a lotta questions and seemed excited to learn about stuff. He said he’d been asleep I guess since before The Rupture. Oh yeah, Sledge is a robot. Taller than a horse on her hind legs too I’ll tell you what. Vebradu was book smart, real book smart, like the twins. But he didn’t know much about nothin else. Not that I can judge him for it, but y’know. He would sometimes say stuff all confident like because he read it in a book, not ‘cause it was true. But he knew a lotta interesting stuff about the past and things. I think that was why Sledge liked him, beyond him saving his life. Wait, do robots have lives? Or do they call it something different? Life I guess, yeah. Vebradu saved Sledge’s life, Sledge said he’d still have been asleep if Vebradu didn’t find him. So.. I guess he didn’t really save his life? But sleeping forever wouldn’t really be much of a life either, so it’s close enough I guess. They was a funny group, they about broke their necks looking each other in the eye.

So after we introduced ourselves to Vebradu and Sledge was when we got attacked for the first time. They wasn’t no match for us, but they was a surprise. It was a group of Wolf Riders, they came up outta the bushes with knives and spears and such. And their turtle escaped! He didn’t seem too happy with how the Wolf Riders was treating him, and I don’t blame him! They wasn’t the best to ol’ Big Clyde, I could tell by lookin at him. Well, it was that and because he started eating one of the goblins. Yeah, alive. Like, while he was standing up and everything. I never seen nothing like it. But while that was happening, some goblins had sneaked up behind us and slashed Charlotte’s saddlebags, but Larry and I was able to deal with it before they got too far. Then Larry lead Charlotte outta the worst of the fighting. I was given one of the goblins a piece of my mind when I realized Sledge and Vebradu wasn’t doing so good. One of the goblins stole something important of Vebradu’s and he was making chase, leaving his buddy behind. And then I realized I was alone and surrounded, so I made buddies with Big Clyde. We had a common enemy, and I promised him pocket oats after. He is uh.. real good at listening. But we was able to scare off the rest of em once they realized we wasn’t going down without a fight and they wasn’t gonna get any of our stuff. Vebradu was able to get his thang back and we went back on our way.

Jaimelgar was fortified as good as a town like it could be. Wasn’t no surprise to learn they’d been having a goblin problem. They’d come in on their wolves at all hours, pillaging and raiding and killing. The poor boy at the gate could barely stand, they’d been making guards work double time. Sledge took his post for a bit, poor kid needed a nap. While he was doing that, Larry and I went to see what our inn stay was gonna be like while I found Charlotte somewhere to sleep. Vebradu went off and did.. something else. I don’t remember. And now that I’m thinking of it, I can’t remember what Big Clyde was doing. Maybe I don’t wanna know.

When we get into the inn, Larry and I found out what was going on. The inn was filled with people. Broken and sad looking, most of em hurt. I talked to the barkeep, Millie, she said the goblins was coming from the north and they blocked the roads coming from that way. The town wasn’t able to get no goods or money or nothing and they was starving and thirsty. They saw all the faerie blood on my clothes and knuckles and told me I should deal with it, since I was able to survive one attack by em. I didn’t really know what much to think of it, but I needed to get north and there wasn’t nobody else volunteering. Poor Larry had to wait a good twenty minutes before he could get himself a drink too, I didn’t know it then but I talk too much. And Millie seemed like she needed somebody to talk to. Anyway, he drank and I headed upstairs to see what the sleeping situation was. Millie agreed to give me free board if I dealt with the goblin thang too, so I was as happy as a rooster at sunrise, until I saw half the town crowded together all in the same place. I didn’t like how they eyed our bags, so me and Larry left to make camp on our own.

We met back up with the boys and made a campfire behind the inn. I figured it got enough people going in and out we wouldn’t be left as sitting ducks. Plus, with Sledge, nobody really wanted to tell us what to do. So we made camp and talked about what we should do. We all agreed we should deal with the goblins. Millie said there was a witch at the edge of town that could get us something to be sneaky. Oh, I forgot - we had to be sneaky because they didn’t know why the goblins was attacking and Millie thought maybe we could figure out why and get a peace talk going. They had an agreement, the town and the Wolf Riders, but something changed about them and the town wasn’t sure what was going on. So Millie thought our best bet was to figure out what they was doing and find some kinda compromise. That was easier than fighting our way out. But we had to be ready for that too, in case we got caught or ambushed or something. Sledge got some rusty iron nails and put em between his fingers, like claws, so he was ready to get em where it hurt.

We agreed we’d head out to the witch’s house in the morning.