Light. It’s the first spell that most choose to learn. A ball, a beam, a ray. Anything to brighten the area. Anything to fend against the dark, and all that hide within it. But light can come from natural sources as well. The light from a fire, burning in the night. The light of the sun, chasing off the dark. The gentle light of several flickering torches, illuminating a tavern’s walls, high enough to be just out of reach of the rowdy drunken crowd. The night was dark, and the rain was cold. A perfect night to warm your body with some hard ale. That was the plan for most of the tavern guests. There were goblins playing cards, a couple of half-blooded dragons attempting to throw darts, and of course some gnomes and dwarves arguing over who was tallest among them. Those who sat at the booths were those who were too drunk to stand, some even able to impressively sleep through the shouts and murmurs of the other guests. Others sat at the barstools drinking alone, trying desperately to drown their sorrows in hard liquor.

  Not too many heads were raised by the chiming of the bell at the door, as all were welcome at this run-down bar. Almost all, that is. As the girl walked in, not many batted an eye. She quietly wrung her soaked sleeves by the door, pushing a clump of her damp, golden bangs out of her face. She walked up to the bar and just barely managed to pull herself on top of one of the barstools. The bartender, a cranky kobold who was cleaning some spilled booze off the floor, looked up and sighed with contempt as the young girl flashed him a toothy grin. Those who managed to notice her looked her up and down with as much confusion as their inebriated minds would allow.

  “Ma’am, I don’t care what race you’re about to say you are, I know you are not within drinking age.” As the bartender got to his feet, he began to fill a clean glass with cold cider from a tapped barrel.

  “No worries, I’m not here to drink.” The girl replied, she was beginning to use some of the napkins to pat herself down. She put extra special care into drying off her headwear, which was starting to attract stares. Her outfit seemed relatively normal, some oversized robes and travelling shoes. However, the centerpiece of it all was the cartoonish purple rabbit shaped ears she had tied onto her head.

  “I’m afraid the costume party was yesterday; you’re a bit late.” He spoke, while handing the cider off to an of-age man at the bar. A few patrons began chuckling at the bartender’s witty remarks, which were his specialty. Whether it flew over her head or bounced off her skin, the young girl did not seem to pay his words any mind.

  “I’m here on a quest!” She proclaimed, stopping herself from pumping a fist into the air. The sober patrons laughed; the drunk ones laughed harder. Some guests began making a game out of guessing what the quest could be. A dragonborn hissed a suggestion of robbing a candy store. A gnome retorted that she was on a journey to discover the lost clan of elf cookie bakers. She simply rolled her eyes and continued. “I intend to infiltrate the lair of the shadows.” As soon as the last word slipped out of her lips, a hush fell over the crowd. Several men exchanged looks of fear, some stayed silent, others whispered doubts to their neighbors. “I need a group of adventurers who are willing to join me. Anyone volunteer?”

  No one spoke, for fear of being perceived as a willing participant in this girl’s schemes. Eyes darted in every direction to avoid meeting hers. The only sounds to be heard were the whispers of condolences being passed between those who were close to one another, those who knew they had lost loved ones at the hands of the hot-blooded beasts. Those who had no one left to console simply took a moment of silence to pay their respects to the fallen. The silence was broken by a shattered glass, just barely escaping the bartender’s hands.

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  “No one has ever ventured to the lair of the shadows and lived to tell the tale. And no one is stupid enough to try.” The kobold knelt down and began to sweep up some of the broken glass. “Besides, it’s not our problem to solve. Everyone knows who is to blame for the shadows.” The last sentence made the girl’s fingers curl into fists.

  “And who is that?” She asked, rhetorically.

  In one swift motion as the kobold snapped a clawed finger, the elf sitting beside the girl gripped at her collar and lifted her up. Before the girl could protest, the elf pulled her rabbit ears down to her neck and revealed her rounded ears to the rest of the bar.

  “Everyone knows humans are to blame for the shadows.” The bartender hissed. “You all made this mess, now you expect us to clean it up? You make me sick.” He turned and waved a hand, and the elf quickly stood and threw the girl out the tavern door.

  The night was dark, and the rain was cold, so she summoned her strength and cast a spell to produce an orb of light. She sighed softly and straightened her fake ears to better cover her real ones.

  “Did you really think those would fool anyone?” A gruff voice spoke from the darkness. An older looking dwarf revealed himself, leaning up against the tavern. “I mean, I don’t even know of any race with ears like that.”

  “I know, I don’t either. They were just a gift...” She trailed off, as if she had more to say but was not sure how to say it. Somehow, she had said enough.

  “The name’s Seward. And yours?” The dwarf reached out a large, calloused hand.

  “Sunny.” She suddenly let out a huge gasp and jumped to her feet. “Does this mean you’re joining me?”

  “Perhaps, I’d hate to think of what might happen if you walked into the shadow’s lair on your own.” Seward rolled his eyes, and Sunny excitedly took him by the hands. “But you do know this is a suicide mission, don’t you?” Sunny made a stern expression and nodded to convey her understanding. The dwarf began perusing through the satchel he had around his shoulder and tried not to show the lack of coin, silently cursing that he had spent as much as he did on booze. “We might need to make a supply run, how much do you have?”

  “Um…” Sunny reached into her pockets and pulled out a couple handmade friendship bracelets, flower petals, and a particularly shiny rock she had found on the ground. Pretty, but worthless. “How much do you think this will go for?”

  “I think you have just enough to get a laugh from most traders, and run out of most inns.” Seward let out a heavy sigh and looked around. “I think there is a forest around here where we can find some medicinal herbs. As for the lack of gold, I hope you like camping under the stars.”

  “Ooh! I love camping! We can tell scary stories!” The young human exclaimed with joy.

  “Something tells me we are going to have a pretty scary story to tell after this journey.” Seward began to lead the way and Sunny followed, trying not to squeal with excitement. The old dwarf was quiet, admiring the way both her magic and her energy lit up everything around her. He wished he was still able to view the world from her eyes and see the light; but in the cold of the rain, and the dark of the night, all he could see were the shadows. And the shadows were looking right back.