"Right, ten copper, five bronze, or two gold," The Gnomish man said from beneath his thick, blonde, pigtailed beard. Onsel looked down at the man standing just over three feet tall. The Gnomes were Dwarven pygmies from the Northern Mountains, north of the Great River. The Ankhor Dwarves and the Northern Gnomes had little contact with each other, with the Dwarven population and production rates trumping the Gnomes there was little effort to trade, and soon the single underground highway that ran from Ankhor to the Northern Mountains was abandoned, and when Celandine separated itself between the races the Northern Mountains fell to the Elves, the Gnomes still in them.
"You can't seriously tell me ten copper is worth two gold?" Onsel muttered as she held the blade up.
"You 'an just pay with th' copper, lassy. I'm not tryin' to pull th' wool over ye'r eyes," The Gnomish man spat loudly between uneven, yellow teeth. "Business be business."
"Indeed it be," Onsel muttered as she pulled her money sacklette out. "I'll take that Elven blouse, those corduroy Human trousers... Eh, the blade, her sheath... The iron gauntlets, matching greaves... And the leather vest and shoes," She muttered as she glanced over the man's items. "Also, knock off how much you'll take for a Dwarven Jarl-Commander's armour," She muttered as she handed him the different parts of her outfit.
"I'll take th' armour, you take your goods, and we'll call it even, aye?" The Gnome said as he examined the expensive Dwarven armor. Onsel smiled at him as she took her products from his cart and carried them back into the tavern. The Gnome climbed the stepladder on the side of his yak back onto it's saddle and began to move along once more down the road, onto the next town no doubt. After a few minutes Onsel emerged from the tavern once again, fully dressed in her new outfit, the only remaining feature being her inside out Jarl's cloak.
"Ready at last!" The Old Dwarf hummed as he stepped out of the bakery, he too dressed plainly. "Ah yes! Much less conspicuous."
"Right," Onsel muttered as she rubbed her eyes, still tired even though it was midday. "Let's be off. I've had enough of this village to last a lifetime."
"Or two, in your case," The Old Dwarf murmured.
"Stop," Onsel sighed as the two began their journey north through the human fields, in the east the outline of the Ankhor mountains loomed in the distance...
***
Onsel tugged at the hips of her trousers as she walked. They were meant for children, she had to buy children's clothing it would be the only things that fit her in human lands. The problem with that was that human children, while her height, were generally frail, thin and starving, and she was not frail and most definitely not thin. Same issue applied to the Elven blouse, which she barely squeezed into. With the armour, the gauntlets and greaves, she faced the opposite problem. They were meant for short human warriors, Equestrian pirate make, but were still not small enough for a Dwarf. They were too large for her, with the gauntlets ending beyond her elbow and the greaves beyond her knees. Still, looking like an ill-dressed buffoon was better than looking like the Conquerer of Naugeskor wherever she roamed, that much she was certain.
"Wait," The Old Dwarf whispered as he knelt down into the grasses along the edge of the hill they walked upon. Onsel lay on her stomach beside him and watched as below a Human patrol passed. "Not taking chances today, we mustn't..." He mumbled through his beard and the grasses.
"So we are out here cause of midget sightings and some drunk fisher," One of the soldiers spat as he walked through the grasses with his hands on his hips. "Great... here U thought the plan was to take the war to the pointy ears but no gotta follow some drunk's tale..."
"Oh do shut up!" Another muttered. "If ya' want to open your piehole do it to the Commander when we get back to camp."
"Oh Yes... Little camp in the dark woods... Can we just get back there? This patrol is a waste of time..." The first replied.
"Fine. Let's get back, move it troops," A third, the Commander said. Onsel recognized them, they were dressed in mismatched armor, just as the small Human army that had decimated her forces were dressed. The Human patrol began to walk away. Onsel began to raise from the ground, just as, below her, just slightly off from where the humans were, Elven forms stood from the tall grasses they had hid in. Onsel quickly narrowed herself onto the hilltop again at the sight.
"Looks like we just walked into a war..." One of the Elves sighed from below.
"Yes," Another replied. "Lady Sylvia will want to hear this... Back to camp, double time."
As the Elves began to run off through the grasses the Old Dwarf quickly raised himself from the ground and brushed himself off. "Quickly, Darcy, my dear. After those Elves!"
"...Why," Onsel replied with a shrug. "We're supposed to go North to the Dwarf occupied city."
"The Dwarves have always raged war on the plains here, that was the battle of the lush!" The Old Dwarf bellowed at Onsel. "That was our place. Keep calm and carry on we did, it was just everyday, we'd gotten used to it. We know the Dwarves well, we do. Hell I am one!"
"I think you mean waged; and right, so let's go there, to the occupied city, since we already know how they work," Onsel suggested helpfully.
"But Elves! Elves coming to the plains!" The Old Dwarf continued angrily. "The Human's here know the Dwarven threat, they can deal with it. But Elves... No, no we must stop this at once..." And with that the Old Dwarf turned around and began to follow the distant Elven forms through the grass.
"Wait!" Onsel spat. "I need to get to that city, you don't understand how important it is! I... I really have to settle my debt and you're my only guide!"
"Then come with me!" The Old Dwarf called. "We see what these Elves are up to, knock a few heads, then get back up North to the city! Trust me lass, come with me and I won't let your quest go on unresolved!"
Onsel paused for a moment before cursing beneath her breath. She steadily ran up beside the Old Dwarf and the two continued through the grasslands, now heading south after the distant shadows of the Elven scouts. As they ran she glanced to the Old Dwarf beside her. He truly believed she was like him, an exiled Dwarf now on Humanity's side. How little he knew about her truly unfortunate situation. And so they ran on...