Hello everyone! Hope all are having a nice day. This is my first post here on RedditSerials but I hope to become a consistent poster here. This is a serial that is based off of a prompt I responded to a few years ago. I have been working on it for a few months and am excited to finally share it with others. I hope to update it once every other week or every week if I can manage it.

Thank you for reading! Comments and critiques are always welcome. Have a wonderful day!

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Sheriff of InTween

First Case, Part 1: Introductions and a breath of change

A trickle of sweat slid down her face, and it had nothing to do with the burning sun overhead. Though the air was dry and hot with no shade to provide relief, the heat was not the source of discomfort. A shiver of nervousness crawled up her spine and a hint of fear made her skin prickle, causing her to sweat more.

“Stay behind me,” she muttered softly over her shoulder to the small girl.. She tried to sound braver than she felt by keeping her voice from shaking so her little friend would not panic. “Don’t worry Letty, we’ll get out of this okay.”

“Ok Lara,” Letty replied. A tiny tremble in her throat made the words quaver. “I trust you.” Yet the little goblin girl curled up against the back of Lara’s legs, shaking slightly. She tugged at a crimson hued braid, trying not to whimper.

“That’s a good girl,” Lara replied, patting the goblin on the head.

Steeling herself, she narrowed her emerald green eyes, glaring at the three men walking towards them. She had seen them around more and more lately, always spitting and causing fights in town, claiming to own the streets. So far they had not tried to fight anyone they knew they could not beat, instead bullying those easily cowed.

“What do you three want?” Lara asked, trying to sound as tough as she could. She tried to emulate her father’s tone when he confronted rude people, to inject steel into the cotton of her throat.

It was not enough. The three laughed uproariously, slapping their knees in their amusement.

The big orc was physically the scariest, covered in muscles crisscrossed with scars. He leered at the girls, his metal capped tusks reflecting the sunlight.

The human was not much better. Though shorter and less brawny, he also had an impressive array of scars on him, and he stared at the girls while playing with his knife.

The third made Lara’s skin crawl the most. He was an elf like her but he radiated danger despite being better dressed than his two companions. He did not have any visible scars. Instead he had an intricate tattoo on his neck, a symbol that made her feel queasy. Brown eyes glinted with greed and his smile was as comforting as a rattlesnake..

“Oh, why the hostility, cousin?” the elf asked.

“I’m no cousin of yours!” Lara spat, keeping Letty behind her. Her hand dropped to her side, and she gripped the handle of her knife.

The smile on the elf’s face was cold and reptilian. “But all elves are cousins of a sort. Surely you know I mean you no harm.”

“Then let us go. Why are the three of you cornering two girls like this? Run out of people to bully?”

False good humor faded from their faces and the big orc growled, rough and grating like rusted iron plates in a sack.

“Yer in our territory. Can’t be ‘ere without permission.”

“You can’t claim the Scraps!” Letty cried indignantly. The girl popped her head from behind Lara, ignoring the older girl’s shushing. “The Scraps and stuff belong to the town. Everyone throws things here and are allowed to go through and take what they want. You three can’t have it all!”

“We took it, and people will have to ask us for permission,” the human man snarled, gesturing with the knife.

“Which leads us to our second reason,” the male elf said, pushing the man’s arm down. “We have business with her mother.” He pointed at Letty. “So cousin, hand over the goblin, and you can go on your merry way. Do not worry; we will make sure she returns home, one way or another.”

“Gee, that sure convinced me.” Lara’s words dripped with sarcasm. “So I’m going to trust you three to take care of Letty, nevermind the fact that she can handle herself. I wouldn’t trust you three with a calf. Now clear off if you know what’s good for you!” She drew her dagger and held it out in front of her, desperately trying to keep her arm from shaking.

The facade of nicety fell away from the male elf’s face and his rattlesnake smile turned venomous. “Have it your way cousin; don’t say I did not warn-“

A hill of scrap and junk crashed down, filling the air with a riot of noise. Mixed in with the falling debris was a flow of curses, ones that would be very impolite if they were not obscured by the falling junk.

When the dust settled, a human man was revealed standing behind the once tall pile. He was tall, and a look of utter embarrassment plastered across his face. His dark brown almond-shaped eyes twinkled, and he thumbed the brim of his hat.

“Sorry ‘bout that,” he said, his lips curved in a smile. “Didn’t mean to make a ruckus. The pile looked a little sturdier than it was apparently.”

His eyes swept over the two groups of people and he hooked his thumbs into his belt, drawing attention to the holstered gun at his side. “I sure am glad to see y’all. I’ve been wandering lost for a few. It’s a maze of junk out here. There’s some really old things here.” He pushed at a length of metal in the dust with his boot. “I haven’t seen one of these outside a book. Must be decades old.”

“The Scraps have been here since the town was founded,” Letty said. “Everyone just throws things here and it piles up and up with all the old stuff at the bottom. Mama says it’s a record of history.”

“It sure is. Your mama is really smart.” The man grinned at the goblin’s happy blush. “She runs a store on Main Street right? Just like your parents, if I recall,” he asked Lara.

Before she could reply, the mal elf interrupted. “Who are you and what do you want old man?”

The three had spread out slightly, the big orc lifting a heavy rock and the human gripping his knife. The elf had not shown any visible weapons but his stance screamed aggression, chest thrown out and arms held stiffly at his side.

“Old man?” The man winced. “You’re right though, I didn’t introduce myself. My name is Edwin. Tay Edwin. I’m the new Sheriff of this charming little town.”

“Sheriff?” The three men looked at each other in disbelief. The elf’s eyes narrowed while the orc and the human shuffled their feet.. “There isn’t a Sheriff in the InTween.”

“Well that’s why I said I’m the new one,” Edwin replied genially. “Hence why I got lost here in the...Scraps I think the young lady said? They sure named this place right.”

“I think yer lyin’,” the big orc growled. “Tryin’ to trick us. You ain’t from around here.”

“Never said I was.” The Sheriff leaned back slightly, hands still tucked into his belt. “I was recommended to the town council as per the Agreement, and the council has decided to hire me on. So here I am.”

“If you’re not lying,” Lara cut in before the others could protest, “you would have the badge Pa made. It’s special and pretty much impossible to fake. Pa showed me cause he made it. So if you’re the Sheriff, then you should have it.”

Edwin grinned. “I sure do Miss.” He walked over, never turning his back to the three men, and fished out a slim leather square. “Here you are.”

She took the square from him, flipping it open. A flood of relief filled her as she looked down at the shiny silver badge pinned to the square. It was a simple shield, engraved with a water drop and set with a gleaming sapphire. The name of the town, InTween, was etched beneath the symbol.

With a muttered word of magic, Lara’s eyes glowed. The badge shimmered with magic and Lara sighed happily as she recognized her father’s symbol made into the metal work, the mark he always made to show his handiwork.

“It’s the town’s badge alright,” she said.

As she looked up to give the badge she noticed the orc had raised his arm, ready to throw a heavy rock at the Sheriff. She cried out in alarm, hand holding Letty tight behind her.

Edwin turned, placing himself solidly in front of the two girls, and raising his right hand. An enormous boom shattered the air, causing the two girls to squeal and the three men to yell and jump. Smoke wafted from the barrel of the revolver in his hand.

Lara thought the orc had been shot and expected him to fall over at any moment, spilling blood. Surprisingly, he seemed unharmed. He looked down at himself dumbly, patting his body looking for a bullet wound and his rock forgotten.

Angry hissing caused all to look behind the orc. A large furred form snarled at them, beady red eyes glared over a maw full of serrated teeth. The ground in front of the thing showed a tiny crater from the impact of the bullet. It growled at them before bounding away.

“Sorry ‘bout that,” Edwin said before carefully holstering his gun. “Didn’t want that thing to take a bite. You alright?”

Green skin turned mottled, the big orc stomped over, towering over Edwin and flushed with embarrassment and anger and growled dangerously.

“Rorg,” the elf called. “Enough. We can continue our business another time.” Brown eyes glared daggers at the Sheriff. “We will speak with you another time, Sheriff.”

Edwin patted the big orc on the shoulder, ignoring another threatening growl. “Oh I’m sure we will. You boys be safe now; wouldn’t want to get nipped by one of those things.” He watched the trio leave, keeping his smile up but his eyes followed them closely. When they finally slunk out of sight he visibly relaxed, blowing out a puff of air.

“Whew, well that was bracin’. You ladies alright?”

Lara slumped from pent up nerves while Letty’s eyes sparkled with delight.

“We are, thanks to you, Sheriff. I’m glad you were there.” Lara wiped a hand across her face, her own body trembling now.

“You did good, Miss, “ Edwin praised. “Stood your ground and took good care of your friend. Takes guts.”

“Mama says those boys are trouble,” Letty grumbled, looking at the footsteps left in the dust. “They’re really rude. She thinks they’ll cause a mess soon.”

“I don’t doubt it neither,” Edwin agreed. He pulled out a pocket watch on a chain, clicking it open and looking at it intently before closing it with a snap. “I do not think we will have any trouble right now though.” His eyes were cool and hard when he looked at the watch and his words matched the intensity. When he gazed at the girls however his eyes lost their edge and he grinned. “Why don’t we take y’all back first? How’s that sound?”

“Sounds good to me.” Lara held Letty’s hand. She waited for the Sheriff to take the lead. However, at his reddening face, she looked astonished. “You mean, you really were lost? You weren’t kidding?”

“I did say I just moved in.” Edwin sniffed defensively. “I saw those boys come after you and was hoping to head them off before they caught y’all. But I swear, the heaps all look the same, and it was only when I heard the talking did I find them, and you.” He rubbed his face as the girls gigged. “Now, if you don’t mind; ladies first, after all.