The little gnome unclipped the straps of his well-stuffed backpack and placed it on the ground for a moment, giving him a little extra freedom to explore.
"So damn heavy," he mumbled to himself.
Twopaz hadn't really been born and bred for hard traveling. Not like this anyway, not on foot and lumbering around with all one's needs tied to your back like a mangy old donkey. And things. He liked things. Collecting them, looking at them, writing about them, thinking about them, and of course finding ears willing to hear about them. A donkey. That's what he needed.
He sighed.
Yes, the wolves will just love the taste of that. And how do you hide a donkey? I bet someone knows.
These days he could only just walk under the weight of his possessions, even after a vicious cleanout. Rope, nope. Torches? They can go. What he'd been left with was what the gnome considered bare essentials. A bedroll cut in half to save space. It wasn't like he needed all six foot of it. A collection of goods he couldn't live without. That's all that made the cut. And still it was too damn heavy.
If only his friend Skitter could hang about a while longer. Skitter really wasn't himself these days either, the summoned helping hand now devoid of flesh and looking rather macarbre, like most things around here. Still, for short periods of time the tricker's mage hand helped carry around a few pounds or so.
Twopaz decided to shuffle around the unusual monuments, looking upwards at their symbols with head tilted to the side. He scratched his chin, contemplating.
It didn't take much for this gloomy world to muster memories of home and freedom, warm sunshine and real, proper wine. He wondered what cities these might be? What season it was back home? What purpose these megaliths might serve?
He started getting excited.
Damnation, if I had parchment, I could copy the symbols and study later. Unfortunately he'd run out and hadn't yet got around to trading for some more. Disguises and transactions were risky business. It would take more than a desire for mere paper to lure him back into that kind of danger.
And then he came upon the teeth. Children's canines and molars? An offering? What race's mouths had they once hung in?
Maybe Skitter should pick a few up and let me look without touching. There was little doubt that magic was a play here, but before he could get his analytical hat on, so to speak, he got distracted yet again.
Twopaz enjoyed studying things so much, that sometimes it was difficult to know where to start. And by the time he'd come to any inkling of a decision, he heard movement.
Peeking from behind a megalith, he spotted them. A sight for sore eyes! Travelers. Was that a demihuman among them? Did that other one have a tail? They didn't seem like locals, but they were heading into the old windmill.
Actually, the raggy looking breeze-fueled device had been next on Twopaz's list of things to investigate. Windmills used stone to grind things right? Twopaz liked stone. And methods of grinding were right up his alley.
He couldn't resist. The lure of fresh ears and information was too much. Maybe if he just stood here he'd be condemned to this place for eternity. What if those souls were like him? What if they needed help?
Twopaz pushed thoughts of cities, the endless cycle of the seasons and children's dentistry to the side. This was more important! With a grunt he hoisted the pack back upon his shoulders, and carefully made steps towards the strangers, keeping a distance but waving a hand friendlily towards them.
"Howdy-do," he said in the common tongue, mustering a nervous smile and moving closer.
The little heart beat harder within his chest.
Let's test the water. First sign of anything scary, we run and hide. That plan has worked pretty well so far...