The Forgotten Race

Needing to make camp, Galad sighs and pushes his sadness away to look for wood to make a fire. He wanders a fair distance around the town, collecting stray branches and logs before piling them up. As he takes another look at his camping area, he looks for anything that could catch fire but sees nothing.

After setting out his bedroll, he gets started on carving the runes into the dirt to protect him. Once he finishes carving them, he builds a small fire to sit by before going to sleep. He then pulls a log over to sit on and rests on it while staring into the fire as the sadness comes back two-fold, finding himself humming along to a song sung a great many years ago.

As the song ends, Galad wipes his eyes as he remembers the rest of that story. Knowing that a brave band took their home back from the dragon that drove them from it, driving him out in turn when a skilled bowman from Esgaroth slew the beast. He then remembers how that tale continued, with various armies showing up to lay claim to the treasure inside Erebor. Though the dwarves kept everyone out at the orders of King Thrain II at first, several thousands of orcs showed up. When they banded together finally, the king rode out to bring down Azog the Defiler. He succeeded at the cost of his own life in the end, reclaiming Erebor for the dwarves.

A few hours pass as the dwarf decides to lie down, starting to miss home a little. His dreams are pleasant, allowing him to sleep through the night. He wakes up as the rising sun shines upon his eyelids, then thinks about the stones he gathered and smiles as he kicks dirt onto the smoldering fire. He then gets started on carving the stones for his 5 new friends, then sets them down before wiping the runes in the dirt away. With the campsite mostly finished, he picks up his bedroll and puts it back onto his pack, then lifts it onto his shoulders and picks the carvings up to carry them in his left arm.

After making his way into town, he spots Applejack heading into town pulling a cart, and waves at her saying, "Hey Applejack, got a moment?"

Applejack looks over at the dwarf and smiles saying, "Sure, ah have a moment. What'cha need pardner?"

Galad then smiles saying, "Well I have some scouting to do, so I was wondering if you could give these to the others for me since I have no clue where they live?"

She then nods her head with a smile saying, "Ah'd be happy to, when will ya be back?"

He then scratches his head a bit and says, "Honestly, I have no idea, because I need to go back home to check in with my parents in a few days." he then starts to hand them to her one by one saying, "Oh, so you know, the pony pulling the wagon is for you. The small bunny is for Fluttershy, the flying pegasus is for Rainbow, the unicorn reading a book is for Twilight, and the pony taking a bite out of the cake is for Pinkie Pie."

Applejack giggles as she puts them into the cart to deliver them first before opening her apple stand saying, "Alright then pardner, ah'll be sure to do that. Ah'll see ya when ya visit again, don't be a stranger Galad."

Galad then nods his head saying, "I will most definitely be back again someday, after all, there is so much out here I need to see! Farewell for now, Applejack." then starts heading outside of town to go report his findings to his family.

She then watches him leave and decides to go deliver the stone carvings first saying, "Ah think ah'll give Pinkie hers first because she is closer..."

Close to sunset, near the hidden entrance to Hammerdeep

Galad approaches the hidden door while looking around for anyone nearby, but sees no one around and places his hand on the door saying, "Vinr." then looks for the ring to pull the door open after hearing the telltale click. Finding it, he grabs it and starts to pull it open.

The stone door opens slowly, requiring the dwarf to pull hard on it as it continues to open with a slow grinding sound. Once it is finally open, he looks down to see why the door was so noisy. Looking closer, he sees sand on the bottom of the door and then cleans it off, then heads inside and pulls it closed behind him. After hearing the click again, he continues down the dark tunnel to see his mother first and tell her about his journey.

Liandra is at home, sitting in her red oak rocking chair, looking through her family album when she hears heavy footsteps come from the cellar. Curious, she puts down the book and hustles downstairs to see if her son is coming back already. She slides the shelf over to reveal the tunnel when she sees her son jogging through the tunnel. She throws her arms wide and hurries toward him to give him a big hug saying, "You're back! Oh, I have missed you even though it has only been a few days, I was expecting you to come back in a week. Did something happen to send you back early?"

Galad slows to a walk and hugs his mother back, happy to see her again, and chuckles saying, "Well, I'm back for a little bit. I was intending to make my journey longer, however, I discovered something that spells trouble so I must go investigate it."

She releases her son and backs up a few steps, keeping her hands on his shoulders asking, "Why, what happened during your adventure?"

He then tells her about his adventure, how he wandered and came upon a group of ponies, about how they braved the woods and came upon a really powerful foe where he had to step in and help a little, then how he met two princesses briefly before traveling back with the group to the town called Ponyville, then about how he found goblins mounted on Timberwolves scouting the town saying, "I made short work of those goblins and Timberwolves, but then I heard the buzzing of insect wings which faded away before I could find it. So after a little bit, I spoke with Twilight again and looked for the two princesses again, telling them what went on. Now, I know there are more goblins out there which I have to locate to figure out their plans, I do need to inform father of this discovery so we can act fast when I learn their plans."

Liandra sighs and drops her hands from his shoulders saying, "Alright dear, you know he will be home shortly. Your sisters should be home soon for supper anyway as will your father, leave your pack in the tunnel so you can return to it later after he gives his answer."

An hour passes as Galad catches up with his older and younger sister about what went on in the city when he hears the front door close with a bang and watches the front entryway when his father strides into the room and locks eyes with each other saying, "Welcome home, father."

Highlord Breorlun takes off his golden crown and hangs it from a peg on the wall as a big smile crosses his face saying, "Welcome home, my son. You're back so soon, was your adventure fruitful?"

He nods his head saying, "It was, I have learned that the ponies have prospered on their own and have their own society now. Let me tell you all about my brief adventure before I must go back out again."

The highlord takes a seat at the head of the table and says, "Alright, I'm eager to hear all about it, so please go on." and listens to his son's story intently as he tells them all about how he watched the sunset and the moon rise, of the birds' songs and the smells of the forest.

The family all listen to his tale, eager to hear about what is outside their mountain home when the highlord chuckles and says, "The hunting party came across a manticore not too long ago that had slain a deer and eaten it, perhaps it was the one you passed by."

Galad chuckles and nods saying, "It probably was, which means at least you all had great food one evening."

The older sister grins saying, "We did, that manticore was delicious, which was unfortunate for you."

He looks at her and narrows his eyes playfully at her teasing saying, "Yeah, yeah, rub it in why don't ya." then rolls his eyes saying, "Anyways, as I was saying..." and continues his tale leading up to his meeting of the ponies, then his encounter with the cockatrice that startled one of the ponies.

The youngest sister looks up at her older brother with awe at how he dealt with the cockatrice, then how the manticore ran away from spotting him. When she hears how he plugged his ears from the song one of them was singing, she laughs saying, "Big bwother is soo silly!"

Galad rolls his eyes and says, "Yeah, I'm sure that ya would have loved the song they sang little Liddy." and resumes his tale, getting to the part where he met the sea serpent named Steven Magnet.

Breorlun's eyebrows rise with surprise at hearing how many sea serpents managed to survive and says with a sad sigh, "I honestly thought we wiped them from existence..." but gives a gentle, happy smile and adding, "but I am relieved to hear that they managed to continue existing."

He nods his head and smiles, then continues his tale. He tells his family about how he crossed the river and made his way across a rope bridge that creaked with each step he took, then how he left his pack behind and took his hammer and shield with him into the castle.

Liandra watches her son tell his story, smiling all the while as he tells them of his short fight with the older pony. As the story continues on, she looks at the other children. Seeing them completely enraptured in his tale, she smiles fondly while wondering what future lies ahead for her family.

Farelda laughs so hard that tears start running from the corners of her eyes and down to her chin, slapping the stone table top saying, "Leave it to you to do something to ruin a touching reunion!"

Galad blushes lightly at his sister's words and says, "I did all I could to keep it from happening, but there was no way to keep it from happening, Ferretta."

Breorlun smirks at the humorous teasing as he looks at his son saying, "Don't let her get to you, son. She has missed you terribly, continue with the story of your adventure."

He chuckles as his sister abruptly stops laughing and blushes with embarrassment at being ratted out by her own father, resuming his tale about the brief talk he had with the two princesses including the conversation on the way to Ponyville with the others. A smirk comes to his face when he says, "You should have seen the shock and amazed faces that were on the ponies when they heard how long we have been in this world and that they chose to live alongside us and have learned much during that time."

The highlord's wife listens and waits patiently for her son to get to the end of this story so she can do what she can to help her son get the results he hopes for.

As Galad gets to the part where he wandered off toward the forest he says, "The reason I wandered away from the group is that I was hoping to come up with a way for us to atone for the bad things we have done in the past that caused us to lose the Spirit's favor. If we could earn their forgiveness, perhaps we could re-emerge back into the outside world?" Not wanting to derail the ending of the story, he quickly says, "Anyways, consider that possibility as I continue with the rest of the story."

Breorlon listens intently as his face slowly begins to redden with anger at how the goblins somehow managed to survive their relentless onslaught so many years ago and bangs his fist on the table, unintentionally interrupting his son's story saying, "I can't believe those grimy bastards survived through our crusade to purge them from existence..." He then lets out a grumbling sigh and finishes, "Apologies for interrupting you son, please continue."

He nods his head and then resumes his story, telling them all what happened after the fight and that he thought he heard insect wings buzzing, saying, "I looked for where it was coming from but couldn't find the source, but I suspected that it could have been changelings." then goes into how he found two glowing gems and was about to place them in a pocket when he heard a gentle humming coming from the gems, and then raised them to look at them closely when he saw a pattern between the two.

Liandra listens to the part she hasn't heard yet with an eyebrow raised, waiting until he reaches the point when he spots Twilight sitting near his pack and says, "You said her name was Everfree, correct?"

Galad nods his head and says, "Aye, she told me that was just one of many names she goes by. What is on your mind?"

She smiles and wonders if she is the spirit their race met so many years ago and shakes her head saying, "I was just thinking that she might be the spirit we once knew long ago, but it is too early to tell yet."

His eyes go wide at the possibility, saying, "Really, you think that Everfree might actually be her?"

Liandra chuckles and says, "It is far too early to assume it is her, I was just stating my thoughts that it could be her. I might be wrong and she is a separate entity altogether, so don't assume that she is the Guardian Queen and risk insulting her."

Galad takes a calming breath and slowly nods his head, then continues with his story. When he finishes his tale, he looks up at his father and says, "Father, I know I am young and to be the next Highlord, but I wish to do all I can to ensure that the ponies be kept safe from the vile goblins. In order to do that, I wish to assemble a scouting force to scour the woods for any tunnels leading to the goblins' hideout. What do you think about it, father?"

Breorlun runs his fingers through his beard as he takes a few moments to think it over before looking up at his son with a single nod saying, "Although I want you to keep yourself out of danger, I agree to your wishes to keep them safe. However, it is another story entirely for us to re-emerge into today's society. I will have to call a council meeting between the other dwarven cities to hear their opinions about the matter, and if they agree...we will have to compile a list of the various nations we have wronged and gain their approval for us to rejoin the world above."

He looks at his father with a smile and says, "Thank you father, let us begin compiling a list of who shall be accompanying me on this scouting mission."

The highlord chuckles and says, "No need...I have already decided who will be going with you."

Galad raises a curious eyebrow asking, "You have? Who is going to be accompanying me?"

Highlord Breorlun looks at his son with a smirk, saying, "The battlemage Dalain..." and then briefly glances at his eldest daughter and waits a few moments before saying, "Your older sister Farelda."

He stares at his father in disbelief saying, "WHAAAT!? ARE YOU SERIOUS?!"