Princeling Galbrath ran through the undergrowth of the Forest. He ran and ran and ran, until he could run no further. He fell to his knees, panting like a dog, sweating like a pig and groaning like the unfit person he was.
‘Blast!’ he yelled. Startled by the noise, a flock of birds took to the air from one of the trees. A small furry creature with round, watery eyes hopped out from a nearby bush, its curiosity getting the better of it. Galbrath backhanded it, sending it flying into the trunk of a large tree.
‘Ow!’ whined the princeling, rubbing at his hand, tears threatening his eyes. He felt like hitting something again. He looked around, but if there were any more small furry animals around, they were staying hidden. He shouted instead. ‘Ahhh!’
He was furious! More furious than he had ever been in his short but eventful life. His grandfather's sword o’ light was lost, before he could sell it. And after all the trouble he had gone through to get it. He had poisoned three siblings and a parent in order to inherit that damn sword, and had been set to sell it for a king's ransom in gold — enough gold to buy him years in Designers Paradise. He slammed his fist onto the grassy earth.
‘Damn the Designers,’ he screamed, as tears finally welled up in his eyes. Then in a quieter voice, as the tears cascaded down, he sobbed, ‘Why is my life always so difficult?’ He raised his face skywards. ‘Designers have pity on me. Give me some sign that you have not forsaken me.’
And then he remembered! He remembered something important. He had not lost everything, after all. Yes, his mage was dead, his sword o’ light stolen, his soldiers and retinue gone. But he still had something. He still had the item that he had used the sword o’ light to obtain.
He carefully put a hand into his pocket and pulled out the key. Images of a better life floated through his mind, broken up by sizzling grey emptiness. The key shone with an inner light. The princeling raised it skywards and called out at the top of his voice:
‘Praise be to the Designers!’