Chapter 2; Rian

Rian “Ahhhh! Uhhhh! Ahhhh! *Looks behind* Ahhh! Uhhhhh! Uhhhh! Faster! Faster! Uhhhhh! *Looks at the gemstone in his right hand* Ughhhh!”

After 5 minutes of running Rian finally gets back to where he left off, he is met with 3 scavengers, browsing through his bag.

Rian “Hey! Ughhhh! Uhhhhh! Those! Those are mine!”

Unknown scavenger “Finder’s keepers kid, fuck off!”

Rian “Hey! I told you to stop!”

Rian grabs one of them with both hands, pushing him away from his bag.

Slap!

Rian “Ackkkhhh!”

Rian falls to the ground.

Rian “I’VE TOLD YOU TO STOOOOOP!”

The three scavengers freeze in place, unable to move.

Unknown Scavenger “Ughhh… What’s this? Magic? I can’t mooove my leeeggh….”

Rian(Startled) “What!? *He quickly grabs his bag, attempting to run away* Ackkk!”

Unknown Scavenger “Where do you think you’re going?” The scavenger shouted, pulling the bag out of Rian’s hands, pushing him to the ground.

Rian “Ughhhh! Gurghhhhh!”

Unknown Scavenger “How about I just **** the life out of you, and we take what we found?”

Lara “Ohh! My! What an unsightly sight this is, grown men, bullying a little boy…”

Unknown Scavenger “Who the hell are you?”

Lara “Just a concerned citizen, *She walks by the scavengers without a care in the world, helping Rian get up, Tap! Tap! Tap! As she taps the dust off his clothes she gently moves her hand downwards towards Rian’s crotch,* Hmmmm, what’s this now....” she asked, noticing the bulge in Rian’s pants.

Lara “You’ve been a very naughty boy, haven’t you?” She spoke in a gentle yet quiet tone, as she followed by grabbing the bag off the ground giving it to Rian.

Unknown Scavenger “That’s ours… leave woman…”

Lara “How about I leave… and you fine gentlemen follow me? Certainly I’m a far better prize than a few cabbages and wine, right?”

Rian “Don’t go, here, have this!” Rian shouted as he gave them his bag.

Lara “It’s the bag or me…” Lara softly spoke as she gently lay down her robe, walking towards the deep forest.

The scavengers looked at each other for a brief second.

Unknown Scavengers(At the same time) “Fuck Yeah! Let’s go!”

Rian(Pleading) “No! Please! You don’t understand!”

Slap!

Unknown Scavenger “Fuck off kid, is that your aunty or something? Is that why you don’t want us to have a go at her? Too bad for you, you have no idea how long it has been since we’ve felt the touch of a woman, let’s go boys! Whooooooo!”

Unknown Scavengers(Together) “Whooooooo!”

Rian(Pleading) “No! Stop! You have to understand! *The gemstone is pushing him away from them* Wha!?”

Unknown Scavenger “Stick around kid, we remember faces, we’ll meet again soon enough…”

Rian “No, no we won’t… You don’t understand, you’re walking to your deaths…” Rian whispered.

Rian grabs his bag from the ground.

Rian(Thinking) “Why!? Why wouldn't they listen? *DuuuuHHuuum DuuhhUUUmm* Are you agreeing with me? Are you trying to tell me something? *DuhhUUUm* You are a strange stone, aren’t you? *Sad DuhhhUUm* Why aren’t you pulling me towards her again? *Annoyed DuhhhUUum* I’m feeling that I fail to understand what you want from me… *Slightly Annoyed DuhhhUUUm* Okay, let’s do this, vibrate once if yes, and twice if no, *Excited DuHuuuuM,* Okay…”

Rian “What was that just now? I shouted and they froze in place, was that your doing?”

Stone “Duhum!”

Rian “Okay…. Uhmmm… Did you pull me into the direction of danger on purpose?”

Stone “Duhum! Duhum!”

Rian “So… not because of the danger but because of something else?”

Stone “Duhum!”

Rian “Uhhh… How can I make you tell me… Was it because of the… you know… Uhmmm… what they were about to do?”

Stone “Duhum!”

Rian “Uhmmm.. Okay…. Why would you have done that?”

Stone “Annoyed Duhums!”

Rian “I know, that’s not quite a yes or no question, mostly just asked myself…”

Rian “Hmmm…. Now why would a magical gemstone attract me towards a sexual act….”

Stone “Irritated Duhums!”

Rian “Are you perhaps drawing power from such acts?”

Stone “Duhum!”

Rian “Ohhhh….. So… as long as you are in my possession you will constantly drag me towards such acts?”

Stone “Duhum!”

Rian “Ughhh…. Well… Let me just ask you this, the more sexual acts we notice? Or perform? You get stronger? Right?”

Stone “Duhum!”

Rian “Which in turn will make me stronger, by having you by my side…”

Stone “Duhum!”

Rian “I’m sure you’re really sought after, I mean… stopping people in place, just by a word… that’s magic that not even the strongest of wizards can perform, almost as if you are stepping within the realm of Gods…”

Stone “Excited Duhum!”

Rian “What? You? You’re a God?”

Stone “An even more excited Duhum!”

Rian “A god? Of what exactly….”

Stone “Annoyed Duhum…”

Rian “I know… I know… Just asking myself… again…”

Rian “Wait! That witch! Did she steal you from somewhere?”

Stone “Duhum! Duhum!”

Rian “She didn’t… Humph…. Don’t you want to get back to her then?”

Stone “Duhum! Duhum!”

Rian “So that’s a no… Are you contempt with being with me?”

Stone “Ehhhh… So-So Duhum!”

---

Amari “Rian!”

Rian quickly hides the gemstone.

Rian “Ahhh! Mom! What are you doing? What brings you out this far into the woods?”

Amari “I need to go to the town for a few hours, are you okay with taking care of the Inn while I’m gone?”

Rian “What? What for? I just came back with everything on your list, I’m… Uhhh?”

Amari “I need to pick up something else… Uhmmm I forgot to write it down… Ahhhh… Carrots! Yes! Carrots! I need to go pick up some carrots! You know how Gregori gets when we’re out of carrots!”

Rian “I can just go back and…”

Amari “No! No! I know how to pick the best ones, the ones that he likes…”

Rian “Mom, they’re carrots, everyone knows how to differentiate a good one from a bad one, and he’s a horse, he’ll eat whatever you give him… Are you okay?”

Amari “Not really… A few guards came earlier… they… Uhmmm… they trashed most of the Inn, I’m not sure what they were looking for, but of course, they didn’t find it… And, I know this is a huge ask, can you please just get the rooms sorted out, please, while I’m gone?”

Rian “I see what’s going on, you want me to fix the bedrooms, *Rian puts both of his hands on Amari’s shoulders from behind, pushing her* Come on, you’ve earned your free day, you don’t have to go to such lengths… I'll take care of everything..”

Amari “Ahhh! Thank you baby! I’ll make sure to grab something sweet from the town as well, just for you!”

Rian “Yeah sure…”

Amari “I’m not lying! Look!” She spoke, excited, as she grabbed two silver coins from her bag.

Rian “Silver!? What!? Where did you get that from!?”

Amari “From our new tenant, she paid upfront! She also said that we are not to disturb her… So, whatever you hear from the 3rd room upstairs, don’t go in, okay?”

Rian “Okay! Okay! Just go!”

Amari “Prooomise me, okaaay!?” Amari shouted out from a distance.

Rian “I promise!”

Rian (Thinking) “What’s gotten into her? Ughhh…. Hopefully she’s not gonna spend it all on ****, again… I can’t deal with that version of her anymore, she wouldn't, right? She’s been sober for the last two years… But… just the thought of it happening again, makes my spine tingle…”

---

Rian walks into his room.

Rian “Stone, are you still here?”

Stone “Duhum!”

Rian “What was that about, was that really Mia’s mother? Or something else?”

Stone “Annoyed Duhum!”

Rian “Okay! Okay! Vibrate three times if you don’t know…”

Stone “Duhum! Duhum! Duhum!”

Rian “Well.. if even someone like you doesn’t know… How could I possibly know…”

Rian (Thinking) “Time to do some cleaning… get my mind off these things,” Rian stated as he placed the stone within a cabinet drawer.

---

3 hours later;

Rian “Uahhhhhhh! Ahhhhhh! Finally! All done! Except room 3…. I wonder…” He places his ear on the wall, listening into room 3.

Unknown “Viiirhahhhhhh Hiiiiirrrruuuuuum! Agramethhhhhaaa! Fahrammmm! Viiirhahhhhhh Hiiiiirrrruuuuuum! Agramethhhhhaaa! Fahrammmm! Viiirhahhhhhh Hiiiiirrrruuuuuum! Agramethhhhhaaa! Fahrammmm!”

Rian(Thinking) “What the…”

Rian(Thinking, Concerned) “Well… that’s none of my business…”

Rian “I should probably ready the stove and heat up some porridge…”

20 minutes later;

Rian(Eating/Thinking) “It’s getting late… How come she hasn’t come back yet… God… I hope she’s not drunk somewhere… Ughhh…. I’ll need to finish up soon and go look for her… before she does anything stupid…”

Unknown(Shouting) ““Viiirhahhhhhh Hiiiiirrrruuuuuum! Agramethhhhhaaa! Fahrammmm! Viiirhahhhhhh Hiiiiirrrruuuuuum! Agramethhhhhaaa! Fahrammmm! Viiirhahhhhhh Hiiiiirrrruuuuuum! Agramethhhhhaaa! Fahrammmm!”

Dhuuuuum!

A large explosion could be heard from upstairs.

Rian rushes towards the 3rd room, he opens the door instantly.

Unknown “God Damned! Old crone! She told me this was Ogre mucus! This is fucking Troll Mucus!”

Rian “Ahhhh! *Brushes over dust with small movements of his right hand around his eyes* What happened!?”

Unknown “Ha!?”

Rian&Unknown “You!”