[Belated happy new year!]

 

 

“Uh… hi”

The elder of rocks stared at the little fire, a single blue gemstone eye examining from a stony socket. There was a clear absence in the other eye socket.

“Long has been the time since I last saw one of your kind, small spark, with the coming of the firelord, there has been fewer of you”

“Are there really so few of my kind?”

“Yes, you are one of the first since the Firelord began to snuff all other flames out, even so, you are such a small one, you should hide spark, my people will shelter, I remember how things were, when your people and mine protected so many of the denizens of elcon, now many of the rocks apart from this place are little more than thugs and the Firelord could not be called a protector of anything other than his own vanity and pride”

“That is sad, what if the firelord was to be defeated? Surely that would help?”

There was a great rumbling shake, the little fire thought it was the cave collapsing, but it was really only the Elder laughing.

“Ah, a pity you are such a small spark, in you I am reminded of the great protectors of old. No, you need not worry yourself about the Firelord, I have given one eye to efforts to bring that menace down, when my other eye is needed, it will be the beginning of the end for him, no little spark, you should keep yourself safe, for when the Firelord is no more”

It was around that moment that petil woke, and seeing the great face before her, and her being a coneperson, this made the face seem only bigger and scarier. So, she screamed, then screamed some more, then fainted.

“I promised I would protect her on her way home, I cannot stay here” The little fire explained.

The great stone face frowned, and the rocks murmured among themselves. For a few moments, the little fire was afraid that he would not be allowed to leave.

He felt a little ashamed that he had thought the elder would keep him after what the elder said next.

“Ah, here am I, wishing for the protectors of old, when before me is a little spark far braver than many. Very well, you must go, it is only right for the strong to aid the weak”

“Don’t git much weaker thun a conepersun”

One of the rocks mumbled, but the elder gave it such a cutting glance that a chip or two flew off its’ body. The rude rock rolled back into the crowd of rocks, ashamed.

“Well, though you may go, you will not want for aid! Boulder the Brash! Come forth!”

A number of rocks went flying like bowling pins, and a huge smooth round rock rolled up.

“The Boulder is here, Daddy-yo!”

The little fire thought he heard a sigh from the elder.

“I believe I told you to stop calling me that, well anyway, Boulder would you be so good as to join with this little spark as he protects this coneperson on her way home?”

“The Boulder is one mean stone that gathers no moss, The Boulder rolls with cool justice. The Boulder approves.”

The little fire wasn’t quite sure what all that meant, then he wondered how many rocks were called boulder there was probably a lot. The Elder smiled.

“Good, I am sure this little spark will find a steady companion in you Boulder. Well, Goodbye, I’m going back to sleep, wake me when some plucky band of misfits come to take my other eye to defeat the Firelord.”

The Elder of rocks closed his eyes, and his face seemed to sink a bit into the walls again, though now that he knew it was there, the little fire could see the face. There was an awkward silence for a while after the Elder had gone back to sleep.

Then petil woke.

“ohmygoodnessthatwastheelderofrocksiwishihadnotbeensoscaredihavesomanyquestionsiwouldliketoaskhimhuhwheredidhego”

“He went back to sleep”

“what do you mean he went back to sleep, there is so much i have to ask him, he holds wisdom of the ages, he know all kinds of things that aren’t in books!”

Petil leapt off the slab-like rock.

“all that knowledge and i can’t hear any of it? why was i born a coneperson… oh well”

Petil then noticed all the rocks around them.

“…bravespark why are we surrounded by… oh elder of rocks of course there’d be rocks, wait that doesn’t explain why we are here, what happened?”

“Well, we crashed into a rock, then it turned out to be the turf of the rocks, then I talked with the elder and now Boulder the Brash will be joining us.”

“Fo’ shizzle” Boulder proclaimed.

“oh my you are huge. uh well i guess we don’t need to stick around do we, hey you guys got my book? er please?”

A nearby rock rocked and Petil took her book from it, she wondered how it had kept in so neat. Little did she know how resourceful a being with absolutely no limbs (not even magical ethereal ones) could be.

“I guess so”

After they had awkwardly thanked the rocks, they also awkwardly moved on with their journey, leaving the Elder of rocks to sleep until some band of misfits came to use his remaining eye to defeat the Firelord.