Who Is Patch?

Festival of the Dwarves

Dear Diary,

I have become quite a active member of Northolme though at times I feel that my life is a game where Anubis and Set have set pieces to undo the work that Overkill has done.

Occasionally the ‘pieces’ of this eternal war end up here and need to be ‘taken care of’. Northolme doesn’t celebrate Isis and the gods of light quite as they do in Havea. As I have said in previous pages that the Dwarves here worship Belimar; the Dwarf god of the North. I wonder at times if you, being from the North, had heard of him. Well at any rate, the Dwarves held a festival in his honor every year and my shop was packed with dwarves attempting to get some of my cooking. Some have even begun to refer to my cooking as ‘Dwarven quality”. I giggle when I hear that. I have had the opportunity to even spread my expertise to Dwarven ale. I am pretty good though people say that it’s a bit sweet for their taste. I don’t care, I think that honey does nicely for the liquor that I produce but that’s not why I am writing.

On the last day of the holiday of Belimar there was this Dwarf that has come into my shop these two holidays and just drank ale and talked to the locals in Dwarven. He is very polite and jovial. He always has a patch over his eye and the patch is colorful as to draw everyone’s attention to it. Some have grown to call him ‘Patch’ and will talk to him like he is one of the locals though I do not see him around any other part of the year.

One particular night ‘Patch’ was in my shop when I was about to close and he asked me a strange question. There was no other Dwarf in the shop except my employee and baby in the back. Being alone with Patch was never disconcerting but I was cautious and still kept my father’s blade always at my side. Patch always was kind and warm but what he asked sent chills up my spine.

“Do you think that CrIsis’ Dwarf has the power to unite all of Dwarf kind?”

I suspected that it was the liquor talking and humored him as I cleaned the tables and counters taking careful note as to where he was; my fathers blade occasionally smacking my leg.

“I do not know. CrIsis’ Dwarf has the power to move our kind Patch but I am not sure that he could move all the Dwarves in the world.”

“Perhaps if he saw the whole world, then could he move all of Dwarf kind?”

“Old Dwarf you ask a strange question but if a Dwarf saw the whole world and succeeded in his quest, I suppose that that would be possible.”

At that point the baby began to cry and I asked one of my employees to take over while I attended the babe. I took her out to the bar so as to not be rude to my guest to continue the conversation.

“Madam Martyr, could such a Dwarf move all Dwarf kind to worship Belimar; hypothetically speaking of course?”

Now Patch was getting a bit personal about my Overkill. I knew that he worshiped Thoth of the Gods of Light, so I was certain that this was quite impossible without a shift in religion. Why I didn’t even woarship the god of Dwarves so I couldn’t see my beloved doing this.

“I do not know Patch. There are a lot of gods worshiped by Dwarf kind but I suppose that were there some moment where someone as popular and influential as the Dwarf of CrIsis a member of the Northolme faith… perhaps but it would be a very far stretch.”

My back was turned and I was working so I had taken very little notice that the employee was now washing Patch’s table giving him no notice at all. The old Dwarf finished his ale and left his payment on the table. The employee jumped and yelped I turned around and the room was bare save me, the baby and employee.

My employee Eepp (a nick name as he is prone to being spooked easily) looked at me confused and explained that the money just ‘appeared’. “What about Patch?” I inquired. “There is no one here but us three” he exclaimed. “I came out when the baby cried and locked the door while you attended the young babe.” I checked the door and sure enough it was locked.

Eepp showed me the money that Patch had left behind; a dragon coin; extremely valuable. There is something about Patch that I have yet to learn. Perhaps next holiday I will ask him.

Written by Mary in her diary on the 1st of Gryphon, the day of the Festival of Belimar, in the 24th year of King Bafag… I mean the 1st year of King Minischmee.

Picture from Tribal Tattoo Online.