Legends: The Folklore Trilogy Book 2

Chapter 22-Where We Meet an Interesting Sort of Friend

The Tempter closed its mouth and the shrieking cut off abruptly. I gasped unintentionally, my eyes closing for a second. It felt like a breath of clean air after being in a city of smog. The Tempter's eyes glistened with contempt for a still, breathless moment.

Then it shot off into the night sky.

Deynan-the-dwarf collapsed sideways onto the ground, gasping. My tiny dwarf legs pounded the gritty sand as I ran towards him.

In case anyone was wondering, it's just as hard to run on sand as a dwarf as it is to run on sand as a human. Running on sand is difficult and I do not recommend it.

We reached Deynan. He had his eyes closed tightly in a mixture of fear, pain, and anticipation. But it seemed less serious than that. No...it looked like...

Embarrassment?

"Deynan..." I said slowly.

"Oh my god, don't even talk to me," he said, rolling away from us. Isaac and I shared a worried look, then looked back. He was still breathing heavily.

"I'm going to transform," he said suddenly. "Back away. I don't want you to be blinded."

"That's a good idea," Isaac said quietly as we back up. "We're kind of vulnerable in this state."

I wasn't so sure about that. I honestly felt more certain of myself as a dwarf. More centered. More down-to-earth.

But I let the imaginary wind ripple over me nonetheless, shooting back up to normal height. I experienced a brief moment of dizziness from the abrupt change in height, but it passed quickly. I took a moment to look out at the ocean. It rippled gently, moving in and out against the shore, like a hands brushing against something, like a lucky stone. Something about it reminded me to take a deep breath. The greed Tempter unsettled me. I had never felt anything like it before.

I looked back at Isaac, who was looking at Deynan. Deynan had sat up at this point, staring at his hands. I walked slowly back over to him.

I stopped where Isaac had stopped. This really was his area of expertise: consolation.

But he said nothing.

I scanned his face in curiosity. For the first time, I noticed a tinge of uncertainty. I frowned. Just what had Isaac felt from the greed Tempter?

"Whoa!" Deynan shouted suddenly. "What the--!"

I spun around to see him scrambling backwards in the sand, away from...a figure.

Isaac and I jogged up to Deynan's side, peering cautiously at the silhouette of what appeared to be a man emerging from the woods. Deynan stood up, brushing sand off his pants.

The silhouette had curly hair, and appeared to be a broader chested man. It didn't look like he had a shirt on. His pants looked furry though, like those vulgar fur coats that rich ladies used to wear. Just not as well groomed.

That was weird. Who wears pants like that? They were making him walk funny.

And there appeared to be something sticking out of his head...

The man stepped out into the moonlight and my eyes widened.

He wasn't a man. He was only half man.

For what was standing only five feet away from us was, unmistakably, a satyr.

I gaped.

He looked rather timid, as if he was just as unsure of what to make of us as we were of him. He walked forwards slowly, his hooves making interesting, round indentations in the sand.