At that moment the kobold jumped for Cebyr, shoving the poor toddler to the ground and taking my baby from his hands. The child suddenly was frightened to the bone by this mean creature and started to wail, begging his mother to help him. The kobold nodded at me with an evil smirk and took for the woods.

I grabbed my still crying Cebyr by his waist and held him under my arm, then took back on the chase, using my powerful legs to hop from tree to tree.

The kobold took a slide under a fallen tree just as I jumped for him. I miscalculated, crashing into the thing. The kobold looked around and a laugh escaped him, Cebyr took the worst of the fall, slamming into the tree at full force, and his crying soon began again. I tried to hush the little owlet, telling him it would be alright and that I was sorry… I really shouldn’t have taken him along, but a mother’s instinct is to keep all her children close, especially in emergencies.

After finally getting Cebyr to settle down again I tried to find the kobold between the trees, but he was long gone. Still I wouldn’t give in, I took Cebyr’s hands and gave him a stern look.

“Look Cebyr, mommy has to go and do something that may be scary and will need you to be quiet for now, okay?”

He nodded and wiped away his last tears. “Thank you dear, now… Let’s go get your sibling back.”

I took a high jump and pushed myself off of the tree, jolting down the path the kobold went along. If someone would have seen the anger in my eyes at this point, they would have ran in fear.

Back at Smorts Indrink, Aeris was hastily trying to get in contact with Fargnau.

“Oh come on Fargnau, wake up already! We need you!”

Aeris’ spellbook glowed brightly, a circle of light above it. In the sphere a mirror into the wood owl’s room, who still lay sleeping.

“FARGNAU!” she shouted, finally grabbing the snoozing sage’s attention as she saw his eyes slowly open.

“What is it? It’s too early for gossip or stories, let me sleep, whoever is there” he finally replied as he reached for his staff.

He tapped it on the ground a few times, and a similar mirror appeared above it, showing Aeris on the other side.

Aeris’ voice was panicked as it often was, her eyes wide open as though she had just heard the worst new rumor like a teenage schoolgirl. “Sekti ran after a burglar--They have your egg!”

Fargnau’s ever tired eyes gave a look of disbelief.

“A… Burglar? A thief? What kind of joke is this?” His voice tired and uninterested, shaking his head slowly to get himself to wake.

-It’s not a joke! She took Cebyr with her and ran!”

Aeris’ stature dropped from being on her toes to being a little more relaxed, and with a lower voice she said: “Look. Sekti needs you, please use that spell to come over here. I know it’s not an easy task but she requires you here for whatever reason.”

Fargnau nodded slowly. “You know I won’t be able to perform anything for a day then, right? It will render me useless anyway.”

Aeris shook her head. “Just get over here already! Be there for your wife for once!”

She closed her book, she couldn’t stand the old grumpy man, his unnaturally high apathy, only caring for his books and scriptures. One needed to be able to talk to their companions!