Sorry for the wait! Had to figure out some things. But I figured I would spend some time developing the character. But the chapter this time feels too short. Must make it longer next chapter. Just need to know how.

Enjoy the read! I enjoy it...

Comedy tag is there because I find myself funny. This story is for my amusement.

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“Wait up Borin! It’s.. too hot….”

With a thud, I fall into the hot sand. The wind made the sand rise and blow into my hair, jumping across my entire body. The heat only made the sand burn with a fever as the sun beat down from above my head.

Borin the dwarf was already leagues in front of me, at least from my point of view. But in reality it was only a few yards ahead of me. The look on Borin’s face, or at least from the way his beard and eyebrows looked down upon me all pinched up, was one of pity.

“Yer’ stilla youngin’, and we gotta ways ter go.”

Turning back towards the direction he was once facing, Borin resumes his trek across the sand, leaving me to eat his dust… but only for a little bit.

“I can still go on! Wait up Borin!”

I push myself out of the slippery sand, the dune I laid upon shifting with my weight. But it was enough for me to get back onto my creaking legs and run with only shorts on, the baggy clothing always kept on sliding down for a very uncomfortable run. But seeing how Borin gave them to me, it was still nice to cover up

Seeing as how Borin was already a good distance away from me, the running I committed myself to in the burning sand allowed me to get closer to him, in physical distance.

My body ached from the heat though. The unbearable heat toyed with my back, itching and peeling due to excessive skin burning. It was almost unbearable, but it gives me a constant reminder that I can still move, that I’m still alive.

After many hours passed, and the sun began to set, Borin started to move towards a big boulder off to the left of our predicted path. I began to wonder why he would do such a thing, but since he is an inhabitant of this world, I best follow his lead.

Having reached with big boulder, I find Borin already starting a fire on the cold rock, with a dark hole that had appeared right next to him. Seeing my arrival, he grunts and gestures with his head to sit down next to the dark, mysterious hole. I do as he gestured, and sit down next to the eerily formed hole.

Noticing my discomfort, Borin smiles, or at least that’s what I make of his beard curving upwards where the mouth would be.

“Scared of dis’ her’ hole?”

“What is this hole? I can’t see anything from where I am.”

Truthfully, the reason why I found it eerie was actually the fact that I couldn’t see, despite the fire giving off enough light to see shadows from pebbles on top of the boulder.

“Di’ reason for that boy, is cause it’sa pocket.”

“A pocket?”

“Meh heard somethin bout how it’sa created, but it’sa door to anotha’ room.”

“It’s your own room in a hole!? Isn’t it small?”

Borin begins to chuckle at my question, and instead of answering he teeters over it and falls into the hole head first.

Surprised, I don’t hesitate to follow his lead, as the time from the long walk deeply ingrained into me. Falling over and into the hole, I close my eyes, hoping I don’t end up bashing my head against the boulder we set the fire on.

After a few minutes, I begin to hear Borin laughing out loud. I slowly open my eyes, light brighter than the fire entering my eyes. I squint, as I slowly begin to adjust to the brightness of the light. I make out Borin’s figure in the light, his beard glowing softly because of the background lighting. His arms are spread out wide, and he smiles.

“This her’ is meh home away froma home.”

I look around, trying to figure out what was around me, and all I see are a couple of dressers, suits of armor similar to what Borin is already wearing, and a huge pair of axes that most definitely not used for chopping wood. Although the fireplace had some logs stacked next to it. Looking at what I guessed was his bed, was a small dog-like bed with furs from numerous animals draped over it like a blanket.

Borin quickly turns towards his bed, and lifts up the blankets. He hops in, armor and all, and his head pokes out from underneath the furry mass. He smiles similar to a man drinking his first cup of coffee in the morning, and looks at me.

“Get yer’self a blanket, we’re sleepin her’.”

He turns around, and just as quickly I hear him snoring. The question I was about to ask dying on my tongue.

Where was I supposed to get a blanket?

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As quickly as I could fall asleep, I woke up to the glaring sun smiling upon my brow. I look down to find that instead of the nice wooden floor of Borin’s home away from home, I was in the sand.

Bound by rope, and being dragged by Borin himself.

Quickly making the conclusion that I was being put into a unfriendly occupation, I begin to squirm like hell, which caused the tension in the rope to vibrate from my worm dance. But then a searing hot pain that has only happened once before bites into my head, and my whole body feels the burn. I yell out from pain.

I stop moving as I hear Borin moving as quick as he could on his stubby legs towards my position. I continue to look up at the sky as Borin’s face appears above mine, beard and all. But mostly beard.

“Look’s like yer’ goin through da procession. How old are yer’ boy?”

“Procesion-ah! I’m 1-ah-3.” (Thirteen fyi.)

“That explains it. It usually happens at yer’ 5th, but it’sa mor’ painful as yer’ get older.”

Not even answering my question as to what the procession is, Borin grabs the rope that ties me up, and hefts me onto his shoulders. Murmuring something under his breath, Borin begins to pick up speed. Not by much, but enough to dry my tears from the wind resistance.

But the pain that was beginning to ebb away suddenly comes back at 110%. I scream out loud, as the pain always seemed to target my new right arm, then my head, and then finally my spine itself. Not only those areas, but these three areas were the worst when it came to the pain.

In 3 minutes, the pain once again began to ebb away. But I felt a warm liquid begin to pool against my back and arm, as well as coming from one side of my head. Borin looks at me, or more specifically at the side of my head, and whistles. While he isn’t watching where he is running in the desert.

“Vernier loves yer’, that’s fer’ sure.”

The pain decides once again to strike my body as I begin to form the question. Borin turns back round to facing the open desert, and his running begins to slow down, as I begin to feel the tears rolling down my face.

He sets me down onto the ground like a backpack, and begins to untie the ropes binding me. I don’t squirm, as everytime I try to move the pain continues to rack through my entire body. If this was electricity, I would be fried beyond recognition.

Borin sits on the sand next to me, and begins to carefully examine my body with his eyes and hands. Although this feels weird, the pain doesn’t allow me to retaliate against his sensing hands. But then I feel a little tug in my back, and I hear a large ripping sound, the sound of clothing and skin ripping apart from each other.

Borin comes into my field of vision, and holds up what looks like a big black box, except it’s no bigger than the size of my fist, so it isn’t that big. Borin smiles at me.

“Figured yer’ had somethin stuck to yer’ body that was odd. Noticed it last night, I did. Sorry yer’ had to go through that, that ther’ was a Genetic Modification box from those Council bastards.. Yer’ weren’t going to be human after that. Hahaha! Yer’ lucky meh found yer’ back then, otherwise yer’ bea monster!”

Borin looked proud of himself and laughed at the sky. But that was the last thing that came to my mind as a new flash of pain decided to introduce itself to me.

For some reason, I think that black box was helping me, was the last thought before I blacked out.

Borin, on the other had, decided to head to the closest village he could find, or knew of. His hometown to be exact. The village of the desert, Sa’im. There, Borin knew he could find a place just perfect for the boy he found in the middle of nowhere. A place he right now desperately needed.

Borin bundles up the bloody boy similar to a ‘pig in the blanket’ and carries him on his back, his strengthened legs carrying them further and further away from where he took out the ‘GM’ box.

After a distance, Borin never looked back. If he did, he would see a pale blue light shining from whence he came.