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Lazarus suddenly awoke.
A misty fog covered everything in his sight, and he heard a noise. Something was moving stealthily in the mist. He looked beside him and saw the sleeping form of Cindy huddled under a green woolen blanket.
He heard the noise again. Something materialized out of the fog, and Lazarus created a ball of flames to help see. A black panther padded toward him. It was Royce, and he morphed back into his human form.
"Did you see anything out there?"
Royce nodded. "There are people watching us. They are good people. I cannot find them, but I can smell them. They are men, not beasts."
"Where are they?" Lazarus asked.
Royce sniffed around. "They smell funny, like animals, but not animals."
"I don't like this. The fog is concealing them."
Lazarus held his hand in the air. He whipped his right hand in a circular movement, and a wind came forth and blew the fog upwards and away from their small camp.
Cindy and Grace jumped to their feet. Both woman conjured some type of magic: Cindy created a water sphere, and Grace made a small rock Gollum.
When the mist had dispersed, they saw several people standing in the clearing close to the forest, all dressed in furs, each with a fur-lined hat. There were two men and a woman. They didn't move.
Smaagol jumped up from his sleeping spot and ran to the woman. They hugged, and started talking excitedly.
Lazarus couldn't understand their speech. It sounded like a combination of phrases that said one thing but meant something else.
"Alpha Mages, the people are trappers,” said Shannol. “They are Smaagol's friends, so you can cease your magic."
Lazarus watched as Cindy and Grace ceased their spells. He was tense, and didn't like people sneaking up to them while they slept.
Smaagol walked back to their camp. He smiled. "Master Lazarus, these are the trappers I told you about," he said.
Lazarus noticed there was something wrong with Smaagol. He didn't seem right. Maybe he was getting paranoid, but since Royce told him his suspicions about Smaagol, Lazarus started to notice something odd about the little man. He was all smiles and servitude when Lazarus spoke to him, but it was as if it was like a mask.
"How did they know we were here?" he asked.
Smaagol’s smile faded. "Master Lazarus, they are trappers around this forest. They know when people come to their place."
"Will they help us with supplies?" Lazarus asked.
Smaagol turned to the woman trapper. "Yes, they will help."
"We don't have any money."
Shannol cut in. "Master Lazarus, that’s not true. I have some money."
Lazarus was surprised. Shannol hadn't say anything about having money.
"Shannol, we cannot pay you back."
"Princess Gwyneth gave us money to help you. She knew you would need it," Shannol said. "Don't worry, Alphas."
She took something from her leather armor. It was a round gold coin. He saw a small inscription depicting the Princess's head in profile.
"Smaagol, will this do?" she asked.
Smaagol snatched the coin from her hand so fast Lazarus didn't even see him reach for it.
"Yesss," Smaagol said. "That is good."
Smaagol walked back to the trappers, and they spoke at length. Lazarus hadn't mentioned the type of supplies they needed, but didn't want to walk up to Smaagol while he was conversing with them.
They finally moved away as the fog came into their midst, shrouding the retreating trappers.
"Smaagol," Lazarus said, "will the trappers give us food and lamps?"
Smaagol moved through the fog, almost like a wraith, and all smiles when he approached.
"Yess, Master Lazarus, Shannol already told me. She gave me a list. The trappers will be back later today. It's okay, precious Alphas."
Lazarus nodded to Smaagol. He mused how Tolkien had based his Gollum on this short man. He was creepy.
Over the next few hours the fog dispersed as the day wore on and the sun cast its warm rays upon the shore. Lazarus waited. He wanted to leave, but they had made a deal with the trappers. Shaking his head, he wondered why he suddenly had this sense of urgency. He scanned the lake and the forest beyond. Something was happening, and he didn't understand what it was.
It was now dusk. They spent the day gathering fruits and filling their water skins. Grace and Cindy were more constructive. They practiced their magic. Cindy conjured several types of animals: a small raven, a squirrel, and a butterfly. She sent them to scout around the area. Grace created a rock Gollum, and made the creature cast offensive dirt blast spells and defensive rock shields.
Fog started forming on the surface of the lake. They gathered wood and placed it on the dying bonfire. It was freezing cold, almost arctic.
Royce said, "They're back."
Lazarus saw Royce come out of the darkness of the forest. He was a black panther and then he changed into his human form. Lazarus wanted to ask Royce if he preferred his human or his animal form. He also wanted to know the feeling of being a creature.
The trappers came closer to them, each holding a sack on their back. They were silent. Lazarus didn't like it. He tensed as the woman trapper approached.
She dropped the sack at his feet, almost like an offering. Royce bent down and rummaged through the bag.
"They gave us torches, water skins and food,” he said. “There are also fur lined coats in there."
Lazarus nodded. "Thank you."
The other trappers came and dropped their sacks, too. It was eerie. Smaagol came out of the shadows and got busy talking to the woman. After a few minutes, the trappers left without saying a single word to Lazarus or the others. They only spoke to Smaagol.
Lazarus thought the trappers were a strange lot, and knew they couldn't have talked to them without the small man. "Thank you for helping us, Smaagol."
Smaagol bent down as if he was struck. "Yes, Master Alphasss, we likes to helps." Then he bowed and disappeared.
Lazarus wondered where he slept.
Cindy said, "I wanted to listen, but I didn't want to scare the trappers."
Lazarus nodded and looked around for Shannol. She was not in the camp.
"Yes," Lazarus said. "They were odd."
