Now For Something Far Less Familiar..

Roland's eye shot open as the voice roared in his eardrums. An action he regretted as the sun's sting wreaked havoc on his sensitive vision. He squinted as he looked around. The blurry space got into focus as his eye finally settled on a girl who was whipping her face with an oiled rag.

The first thing he noticed was her hair. A poofy mess of vibrant reds that seems to violently clash against each other, all poorly maintained by a rubber band. If he had to guess, it reminded him of the fireplace at the manor. Warm, yet this one felt not as inviting. The girl's complexion was peppered with freckles that were complemented by jade green eyes. Her opened skin nicely kissed by the heat outdoors while the rest covered in a tank top, navy blue overalls straps hanging limply on her sides. Which gave Roland full view of her more than generous breasts.

A hint of irritation could be seen bulging in her freckled neckline. Her mouth slightly clenched and her cheeks a crimson red, "If ya continue to ogle me, I'll be sure ta put ya back unda."

Roland stopped. Giving his head a small shake as he kept his gaze on the woman, "S-Sorry uh..." He looked around. Tools of a wide variety hung on the walls of the room. While the floor itself was littered with slabs of concrete and...metal?

"Where am I?"

The woman raised a heavy eyebrow, before giving a soft snort, "You're in the storage shed. Pa went to great lengths to make sure you're nice an' comfortable. The 'ld man even paid for the town 'ealer to tend to you, an' for de damages." Her eyes narrowed as she leaned in close, "A lot av coin for a stranger, an' for a 'uman at dat."

Roland slowly took in what she said, his turn to be confused, "Coin?"

The glare softened a bit, but not the venom, "Yes. Coin, gauld, currency. De tin' we use ter pay taxes. 'onestly, yer didn't tink dat dis wus free did ya? Entitled bastard." Her glare hardened once more, "Now 'oy ya planning' ter pay back de foive t'ousan' gauld ya owe us?"

"Uh…" He looked at his body. More specifically his arm and his midsection. The arm was bandaged and bloody, yes, but it didn't look like a ruptured twig. There was a distinct scar that swirled from his wrist to his elbow, but it seemed to be of little hindrance. As for his ribs, they were indeed sore but lacked the burning sensation that he remembered. He almost smiled till he noticed he couldn't really feel his legs. Let alone his feet. As for his eye...

He held his breath as he drifted his hand across his left eye, only to find it covered in thick cloth strapped by a bandage. The woman looked away, her hands drumming on the chair,"Restorashun magic can only da so much, dat's..well, nathin' we cud do aboyt it."

Roland's mind reeled as he felt around the bandage, "Magic? What the hell is this? Another fever dream? Am I still asleep in an ICU?"

"A wha?" The girl shook her head before her frown deepened, "Alright, yer feckin 'uman. nigh 'tis me ter ask quesshuns. Why did da save yer 'uh? 'tis not known for us ter show more than simple 'ospitality. He saved ya, an' yer man looked more den stunned whaen he saw yer."

Roland's eye went to the ceiling, "Why...do you keep calling me that?"

"Callin' yer wat? 'uman? yer not a 'alf breed ye?" yer luk 'uman ter me."

Roland gave her a deadpan look, "You...look human as well, I can't really see the difference between us." The girl seemingly gave Roland a hard stare, before hopping off her chair with a loud thump, before standing straight forward.

Her height was...short. More than short, stout even. Her face barely elevated from where she sat. She was a good four-two in height. Maybe an inch more, but that's about it. Despite that, she looked like she was built from brick and mortar due to the unmistakable muscle that bulged in her forearms.

"Never seen a dwarf before 'uh?" She said as she walked to the bed. Her bountiful breasts swayed slightly as she looked at him, a frown on her face, "Now me quesshun. Who are-"

"That's Enough Rune."

A deep voice thundered through the room from where the door was. Heftier footsteps coming close as a heavily bearded man put a hand on her shoulder. Like her, his hair was orange but lacked the vibrant color she possessed, while sporting a bit of silver in the hairline, and a bit of height to boot, "The forge needs to be tended to. Go and tend to it while I talk to him."

'Rune' looked at him before back at Roland, "Yes Da," she said as she walked toward the entrance. Boots clumping against the floor as she turned back toward the two, "This isn't over 'uman, but someone 'as ter pay for de debt yer put on us."

The tools on the wall rattled from the door slamming. Promoting a sigh from the short grizzly man. He sat something down at his feet as he sat in the chair, a knapsack it looked like, "Excuse my daughter, Rune. She can be brash, but her heart is in the right place."

"Who are-"

"I'm not going to play twenty questions with you boy, I simply don't have the time, but with that, I can assume you don't know me?"

Roland shook his head, "I have never seen you before in my life."

The old man gave a slow nod, "Neither have I, but you have a resemblance to someone I know. That, and you had these." The dwarf pulled something out of the Knapsack, the first was the red-scaled notebook. The other, a keyring with a set of seven unique keys."These used to belong to an acquaintance of mine. I gave this to him to keep safe. In hindsight a very shit choice."

"How...do you know my grandfather?"

The dwarf eyes widened, "Grandfather? Oh right, you humans’ age and die quick. then...you must be Evan's grandchild, and... Mary's son, a smile grew on his lips as he leaned forward, "By the hammer, it has been forty years! How is she?"

Roland stayed silent for a moment before answering, "My...mom is dead. She died when I was three. Grandpa took care of me, and...Lewis." Roland tried to hold back the events from the manor. But it burned like a blaze in his thoughts.

The grizzly man's face was next to stone as he gave a slow nod, "Evan and Lewis, dead as well?"

Roland gave a stiff nod, finally allowing the tears to fall. His eye stayed forward as he slowly laid back in bed.

"Of course...." The dwarf's hand gripped his sides. His teeth clamped shut before he took a deep breath, "Assumed that when Weils returned. It has been...a rough four weeks."

Roland's eye widened, "I've been out four-"

"Yes, now stop repeating what I said." He folded his arms before continuing, "you don't just get back up after what you've been through, especially after that landing of yours." He took out a pipe from his pocket and seemingly puffed it, the contents igniting with the blast of air, "Scared the shit out of the townsfolk, hells, they thought they were being attacked. Till they saw you." He sighed as he leaned in his chair, allowing the wisp of smoke to rise from his lips, "You were practically a sack of meat and shattered bones. The only reason I can think of you being alive is you were warded up the ass to keep the flames from eating you completely."

A moment has passed as they both sit in silence, before the older dwarf grumbles before spewing more puffs of smoke, "This is the part where you ask questions...What is your name boy?"

"My name is Roland, and uh…" He glanced around the room and gave a brief look at the window, seeing a bit of country field and grass, "I'm going to make a wild guess and say I'm not in Iowa anymore?"

"No you're not in ‘Iowa’ anymore, a couple of worlds from it I'm afraid." A creased brow displayed his annoyance, "Gold and ore, did Evans not tell you anything? I'm sure he had stories. If not him, Adrian would have mentioned me at least! I made his gear for Gods’ sake!"

"Wait…" Roland squinted his eye at the bulky man, "Stollen? You're Stollen?"

The old man gave a rough nod as he bellowed another puff of smoke, "Figured you'd at least know my name. Can't imagine Lewis keeping his mouth shut that long. I mean, yeah, your Gramps and Lewis were close, but they didn't do everything together. Duels, Dungeon delving, escort jobs, monster hunting. That was our pastime."

Roland raised a finger to dig deeper, before the old man raised a hand, "Apologies, I know it's a lot to soak up, especially when it comes from the lips of another. So that's why I'm going to give a bit of tough love." A smile spread across his face. It wasn't cruel, but it had a devil's look to it, "Rune! Get in here!"

A clattering of tools and the sound of steam spewed from outside as Rune shuffled back inside the shed. Soot now accenting her hair and cheeks as she gave a soft snort, "What ya nade pa? Oi'm gettin' de ingots prepared for today's orders."

"Take the boy down into town would you? He needs something in his stomach after all this time. Also, I'll be taking over the forge today."

"Takin' th-" her eyes narrowed as they veered towards Roland, before back at Stollen, "The orders are foive times more than our usual pa, yer nade me 'ere."

Stollen stood up, placing his pipe in his pocket, and walked over to his daughter, "Yes and no. Yes I need you to do something for me, but it's not you helping with the workload." He pointed to Roland, before reaching for his pocket, pulling out a familiar sapphire pouch, "Show him around Thimbleweed will ya? The fall...took his memory with him, so help him jog it. Answer his questions and such."

Rune looked at her father, before slowly pocketing the coin purse, "Joy, oi git ter add babysittin' ter me line av expertise," She turned to Roland motioning her head at the door, "Da 'ill 'av somethin' for yer ter wear. So 'urry up an' cover yer ass. last tin' oi want is de image av ya johnson in me noggin al' day."

Roland twisted in his bed, placing his feet on the floor as he began to rise from his sickbed, "But...Wait, where are we going? What's Thimbleweed-" He didn't finish as his limbs crumbled underneath him. He puts his arms in front of him to brace for impact until a heavy arm grabs him by the tuff of his shoulder, "First, lets me fetch you clothes and something to keep you on your feet." Said Stollen as he sets him back on the bed before turning to Rune, "Could you wait outside? Got to teach the boy to keep his balance."

The red-haired girl blinked promptly before giving a nod, a softer look then before, "Yea, I'll uh, oi can wait. Meet me outside when you're both finished." She grabbed an apron that hung on the wall before tossing it over her shoulder, walking out without a word.

"Now…" Stollen straightened Roland's posture, "The healer can only do so much, So listen carefully. Plant your feet firmly ..."