Tinker

Crashing through the undergrowth, trails of sparks following in her wake, the onetime forge ran for her life, fire licking at her heels. She ducked one branch, but missed the one hidden in the leaf litter and tumbled to the forest floor. There was nothing left for it, she was going to die here, burned alive by the flames of her own forge that had somehow exploded, belching flames and ash everywhere.

"Get up, get up!" Something was kicking at her, tugging at her. "Get UP!" She blinked into a set of Forest eyes. "Come on! Get up or I'll have to leave you!" He was younger than her, the color of the earthen stone she once worked to make tools. And something in his eyes made her find the strength to get up, despite her twisted leg.

With the youngster half dragging, half carrying her, they made their way out of the forest, into the Shadowlands. "We'll be safe here, for a bit. Let's get you looked at, all right?" She was embarrassed, but his gentle forepaws worked quickly, and soon the injured leg was poulticed and bandaged. "It'll be easier going, with the worst behind us. So we can go slower, help you heal."

"Why help me? Surely you could already be to safety if you had gone on alone?"

"The Green Man would never let me live it down if I left someone behind I could help. Besides, I'm a fixer. I make things better."

"Well then fixer, let's get going. I don't like the shadows, and I swear that mushroom just blinked at me."

He gave a laugh, and they started on their way. After many days of travel, they finally arrived at the edge of the great lake that housed the Water King. "Let's rest, huh? Let me check your bandages."

"Whatever you say Tinker," she replied with a chuckle, and a shy smile.

He gave the leg a once over, and gave her a nod. "I don't think it needs any more bandaging or now, but let me know if it starts hurting again."

"I'll do that. And maybe, we might find a place to settle, more permanently than just a night?"

"That's a good idea, but I think we might want to talk to the locals first, make sure there isn't someone already living here."

"That'ssss a very good idea..." spoke us a strangely sibilant voice. "We don't take kindly to sssstrangerssss," came another, the same hissing dissonance in it's tones.

The two guardians turned to see two Plague eyed mirrors watching them carefully. 'We are the guardsss of the Sssssunken Ssssssanctum. Why are you ssssitting on out doorssstep?"

Tinker flinched, unsure how to respond to the two mirrors. But his companion drew herself up, and bobbed her head to the pair. "We are refugees. Our home is lost. We can offer our services, to prove our worth as potential members of your clan. This one, he is a skilled healer. And I, I am a toolmaker."

The two mirrors turned to each other, hissing under their breath as they conversed far too quickly for the guardians to understand. Finally they turned back. "It isss nor our choice to have you join, but you sssspeak well, and fair. We sssshall take you to the matriarch. Sssshe will decide your fatessss."

They turned and began walking back to the water. The guardians looked at each other. "What do we do?" Tinker asked, worriedly.

"What else can we do? We follow."