Story 2

Grumin The Necromancer lived in a very secluded place. One would have to travel through many secret and magickally protected passageways and many more dangerous woods, swamps, and crossings to get to the forest where his home resided. Grumin had been trudging along this dangerous and long path for days, carrying the goods he had purchased with him. He was tired, and that was very evident in how he was carrying himself as he trudged along. His long red hair was in a messy braid that he had put it in when he left for the market. His matching red tail was hanging low and dragging on the ground behind him, which only made the red tuft of hair on the end of it even more tangled and dirty. His black eyes with blue or red irises were drooping shut from exhaustion, and his long pointed ears were following them in a downward droop. Grumin's usually tall form was hunched over, his legs dragging slightly and his arms looking weak from holding all of his market laid with him. '

'Why did I make my home so hard to get to?' Grumin sighed to himself as he continued on with his journey. 'And why do I insist on buying so much at one time?'

The large gray-skinned elfling was tired and desperately wished to rest, but he could not. He was cursing himself for building his home in such a hard to reach place and for buying so much during one trip to the market, but he knew it was for the best. Grumin was a necromancer, he was known as Grumin The Necromancer. Unfortunately Necromancy was a very frowned upon practice in a majority of the kingdoms, and necromancers and their creations would often be hunted down because of it. Grumin was smart enough to live in a kingdom which allowed and protected necromancers, but he was still nervous. He loved his creations, for they were family to him, and he would take any and all precautions necessary to prevent them from being harmed or used.

'I'll be home soon. I hope a lot of them are alright.' Grumin sighed, pausing once at the exit of the final magick passageway. He opened the secret gate and continued out of the tunnel and into the large lush forest that he had made his home in. He wasn't far from his living space now. A new rush of excitement filled him as he entered the familiar forest, and with it came a burst of energy. Grumin began to quickly walk through the well known paths, his 6'9" form taking large strides now that he was standing straight while walking in full.

'I know how much they all miss me whenever I leave. Hopefully Laurence was able to keep them all in check.' Grumin kept his fast pace, rushing past stone and tree landmarks as he headed back to his home. 'I know he gets anxious when I leave without him, but he's the only one I can trust to watch over the rest of them now that Jax has gone to a new home.'

Grumin the Necromancer slowed his pace a bit. Going from a slow jog to a quick paced walk. His luggage seemed lighter now, and his mood brighter. He was almost home to the wonderful little family of his, and he couldn't wait to see them all again.

Finally, after what felt like the longest stretch of his journey, Grumin crossed over a final river and turned the corner to see his house.

Grumin had built the place himself many years ago, using the materials around him and some help from his family to build them all a home. It looked rather small on the outside. A simple cottage-like building with two floors and a visible attic, a large garden space and small farm fields out to the left of the house. There was a collection of stables and animal housing littered around both the main building and further away from it. Bird-houses of all shapes, colors, and sizes were hung up in the trees. Some of them were as small as a pinecone, while others were the size of a durian or larger.

"I'm Back!" Grumin joyfully shouted into the seemingly empty forest, waiting a moment for that blissful noise of his family. There was a singular moment of silence left in that forest, before a small stampede could be heard.

Out from the house, stables, birdhouses, hidden resting spots, the animal houses, and the farm fields they all came. All of them barreling towards Grumin. A stampede of skeleton animals. There were lions, bears, dragons, monkeys, birds of all kinds, rabbits, sloths, turtles, even skeleton fish that came to the surface of the large pond and streams by the house.

"Hello everyone!! I've missed you all so much!" Grumin dropped his bags before the animals reached him and fell to the floor in order to hug and cuddle his family properly.

*This story is by a friend and I, it started as a joke and turned into a whole thing. I'm currently working on writing the full version of this one.

- Moki-Mori*