The Forgotten Gate
“Do you remember when there were gates everywhere?” I asked Graxilda, leaning back in my creaking wooden chair.
“Yeah, it was an annoying time,” Graxilda replied, puffing on their pipe, sending purple clouds billowing into the already smoky room.
I nodded in agreement, swigging from my tankard that was slowly emptying and savoured the sweet liquid as it slithered down my throat lazily.
“Always creatures popping out at random times from random locations. Life was so… unpredictable then, eh?” Said Graxilda, reminiscing between pipe puffs.
“Do you remember that four-armed Blather beast that once popped into existence outside the old sweet shop?” I asked Graxilda, remembering its startled expression and the shattering glass and flying sweets as it flailed its arms around wildly.
Graxilda nodded. “Oh yes, that was quite the clean up effort wasn’t it?”
I gestured at the barkeep for one more. “Yes, I know it took a long time and a lot of effort, but I’m glad the authorities shut them all down. They made life too… Too unpredictable. You never knew what was going to happen next. You could be quietly minding your own business when a world-conquering entity suddenly manifested in front of you demanding to be taken to your leader. Except, of course, you never understood them anyway.”
“You know…” Said Grixalda, a knowing look in their eye and the faint glint of adventure. “They didn’t close them all…”
“What!” I exclaimed, sputtering over my new very full beverage.
“I heard they missed a couple. A couple of the quieter ones that not much emerged from. So easy to miss.” They reclined in their seat with a self-satisfied look in their eye.
“What do you say, old friend? After these, shall we have an adventure?”
I looked around me. It was cosy in the tavern. I was comfortable in my new life. Maybe a bit too cosy and comfortable. Girxalda and I used to have such an eventful existence day after day. There was the tiniest part of me buried deep down in my lethargic complacency that missed those days.
Grixalda was looking at me, waiting for an answer, and I swigged long and hard at my drink. Mostly to hide my gulps of nervous contemplation. They had always been bolder than me, the first to dive into any challenge with gusto, whereas I would generally just follow along, with want of anything better to do. I was old, sure, but not too old to turn over a new leaf.
I looked Grixalda square in the eye. “You know what, old friend. We shall, right now. We will face whatever lies beyond that gate together, like we always did in the past. But this time…” I paused, calming my nerves, “I’m going in first!”
We shook hands rigorously, downed our drinks and left the tavern into the night, arm in arm in adventure once again.
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