The Journal of Harren Smoulder Entry #14

I am alone tonight, alone with Mollie. She is far more than what I first thought. While she sleeps I hope I can manage to sneak these words onto the paper. I don't know if I can keep my pen steady as I write this entry. My hands are shaking so much I can hordly write. Already a mistake, how lovely.

Trapped in the cathedral's basement we searched and searched for an exit but were unsuccessful. There were no notes or instructions left by the glasses wearing snake in the grass on how to operate the mechanism from beneath. No obvious switches, buttons, or levers. All we managed to do was create an awful mess. Zanvar was our rescuer. He thought to use the magic coin to wish for the ability to move the alter aside. His luck was strong making him exponentially stronger. It still wasn't easy for him to break it off of its track and make a large enough opening for us to crawl trough. He was so tired that we had to take him out in pieces! I was glad to do it though, almost honored to really.

It's hard to tell just how long we were down there but it wasn't more than a few hours. There was still a good amount of light left, enough for us to be back at the inn before dark. I never thought I'd miss looking up and not seeing something. I know I'm miles underground but I can't really tell, the ceiling is too high. We parted ways with Diedre and Annie a short distance from Dragonhallow. Neither of them wanted to involve themselves with familial drama serious enough for a man to attempt to murder half a dozen people. I can't blame them. There's no denying that the situation has gotten out of hand.

We went straight to Mollie's home. It didn't take more than a single knock for her to answer. Her hair was pulled up in a knot but was coming loose from an undoubtedly rough day taking care of Meh. We delivered the news of her husbands dirty deeds, how he was so desperate to get away from her that he would kill all of us just to stay hidden. I expected such a revelation to break her heart. She rolled her eyes, fixed her hair, and invited us all in. She asked us to stay with her daughter for a while. Before I could ask what she was planning she took a runner's stance. She was off as fast as spooked deer.

I didn't know what she intended to do but I wasn't going to let her go alone. I mounted Wee, my trust placed in him to out pace or at the least keep up with Mollie. Eric's short legs wouldn't be nearly enough to give chase, so he threw his grappling hook around Wee's tail. I feel no remorse for cracking his skull now that he did something so reckless. Throwing a sharp metal object at my raptor, just so that he could tag along. What if he'd hurt Wee? I swear the little man is as short sighted as he is short. It delighted me to see him dragging behind me as the wind blew through my hair.

It's almost impossible how fast she ran. I move quickly. Wee takes a moment to hit his stride but he'll cover more than twice the ground I can. Mollie was moving nearly as fast as Wee. I would have lost her at the beginning if not for the dirt she was kicking up. She was heading to the slide we'd taken on our way down to this level. Her huge strides were more like leaps. Eric's grip was strong but Wee's running jostled his grappling hook loose. He was sent rolling off to the side while I slowly but surely closed the gap.

I only took a minute more than her to reach the slide. Sure enough, four eyes was there trying to climb up. She pulled him back down while giving him an ear full about how he has to be responsible and needs to grow up. When I ran up she was manhandling him with his feet off the ground. His glasses fell off after a particularly violent shake. Being a gentlemam I picked them up for safe keeping but it turns out I didn't have to. There was no glass in them, they were only frames.

I chuckled and said something about how wearing frames is pretty immature, and that seemed to get Mollie's attention. She dropped him and started complaining to me. No job, ugly, always with his face in a book. It was clear she was unhappy with him and he was unhappy with her. I said as much and they both agreed that I was right. So why was she trying to get him back? She said it was for her daughter's sake. Growing up with no father and no siblings would be unacceptable.

I seized the opportunity. I took her hand in mine and plead my case. Her eyes were hypnotic, causing words to flow from my mouth without any hesitation. I can hardly remember what I said to her but I know it was true. “I would sire the strongest sons and you would birth the most beautiful daughters. We were always meant to be together. I can be the father your daughter needs.” She looked back to her previous man. She took a moment, a VERY small moment I should add, and shooed him away up the slide. My heart vas and still is aflutter. She scooped me up over her shoulder running back to her home. When I looked back to the slide Wee was growling at the zero Mollie'd left before following us back to Dragonhallow.

We burst through the front door giggling like a couple of smitten children. Mollie said a short something to Meh as she walked past on her way to her bedroom. She put me down and locked the door behind us. Her room is cluttered with bits and bobs I don't recognize. She must have done some traveling or perhaps these are just orcish things that I don't know about. She waved me over to her bed big enough for two. I was about to climb onto it before she lifted it up. Underneath was a cellar door. She led me down by my scarf. Among the root vegetables we held one another close.

I'm not ashamed to admit I'm ill equipped to describe such an intimate moment. I won't even try to describe the things we did but suffice it to say this was my first foray into love. Based on the feeling in my chest and her peaceful little snore I'd call it a success. I feel so hot and need a drink but the door won't open. Trapped twice in one day. I'm not so bothered by it right now. Tomorrow we'll move onto something else and the adventures can continue. I've dreamed about what I might find on my adventures almost every night since I started. Fame, fortune, glory, and yes love. I didn't expect the love to come first though. The first three are always what makes a hero attractive to a lady in the stories I've read. I suppose I must already more dashing than they were.

Picture of glasses provided for free by Pixabay https://pixabay.com/en/eyeglass-frame-optical-reading-34011/