The empress took a stroll through the  forest of Tanjent Hills as the gremlin followed close behind. Watching out for anything strange, her guard was up. Weak creatures were desperate by nature, it made them dangerous, too.  The two of them carefully crept though the dead silent eerie terrain. She could feel the strong vibe of nervousness coming from Vamier. Another ten minutes of walking in the strange forest the gremlin broke that silence.

"How far do you plan to go miss?"  He asked, practically sputtering the words out.

"Not that far. I walk to stretch my legs, clear my thoughts and let the dragon sleep." She explained to him. 

"That makes sense." He replied as they walked down the emptied path in the woods. 

             Another half mile into Tanjent hills they heard something hiding behind a large dark blue elm tree. As they got closer the creature leaped out from his hiding place.The empress could feel his fear radiating from his soul. By the look of him she could see he was part troll, sanding only four inches taller than Vamier who had been hiding behind her. 

The fellow had dark skin, mud yellow eyes and black frizzy hair. The empress took a slow deep breath.

"Hello there. We aren't here to harm you." She told the troll looking fellow.

"Why should I believe that?" He spoke almost growling.

"We are just passing through here." 

"We're on the way to Depheria, my dragon needed rest." She explained.

"What dragon?" He asked.

"He's about a mile and a half behind us. I'm Ralvania and this is Vamier." 

"I'm Fazzio." 

"Good to meet you. Are you of the troll race?" She asked.

"I'm a gnome-troll. I live out here and I'll defend my home in anyway possible." He told her with a deep stare. 

"As would I." She agreed with him.

"How long will you be here?" He asked.

"Maybe another hour, then we'll be on our way." She told him.

"We don't get visitors often. If we do it usually means trouble." He informed them both.

"I can understand why you're cautious, then." She responded.

"Thanks." Fazzio replied.

"How long have you lived here?" Vamier asked peering out from behind the empress.

"I was born here." 

"We're on our way to my home. It's being threatened with dark magic." Vamier told him in a sad tone.

" I do hope you can save you home." 

"Me too." He told the gnome-troll.

"I'm sorry if we startled you." The empress added.

"No harm has been done here. I'm one of the defenders, there aren't many of us left." He told them.

"We should get back to the dragon. It was good to meet you Fazzio."  The empress stated.

"You too." He responded then went back to his tree.

The empress and gremlin headed back to the dragon quickly before they ran into anything else out here.