Gah! I broke the surface of the water with a gasp, air flooding into my lungs like a divine wind. I'd remained under the surface of the pool for a full 3 minutes after diving in, 10 orcs and 4 wolves on my tail! I checked around. Nothing in sight. I could hear the excited howling of wolves in the distance. They were heading away from me..... good.
I dragged myself from the water, soaked to the bone, freezing and collapsed on the riverbank. Darkness engulfed me.
I awoke suddenly. I had been dreaming of large metal birds, flying faster than dragons with many people inside them. A hint of my past. Certainly far away from here.....
I bent down to wash my face in the water. It was cool and refreshing. The water was metallic where I came from.... Unless you paid for it, yes that was it. Silly really.
At this point I actaully saw my own reflection for the first time. A name sprung to mind, 'dwarf'? I think that was it. For some reason a hearty laugh sprang from my throat. I laughed long and hard, at least for a minute. So that's who I was then. A stunty little gold fiend with a nasty temper and a gift for making up songs about 'gold'.
Suddenly there was a snap behind me. A twig suddenly breaking. I pulled out my boomstick and then remembered the powder was still damp. Muttering something under my breath I drew my axe and crouched behind a tree.
"WHO'S THERE? SHOW YOURSELF!"
