Word: Riparian

 

riparian

[ ri-pair-ee-uhn, rahy- ]

adjective

1. of, relating to, or situated or dwelling on the bank of a river or other body of water:

   riparian villas.

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Ed’s mouth felt like sandpaper and his head was pounding. He wanted nothing more than to lay down, curl up and go to sleep. But if he did that, it would not end well for him. So, he kept moving. He needed to find water. He was in the middle of a forest. There had to be water somewhere. Finding it was the hard part. 

His mind drifted to his situation. He had been brought to another world. He was supposed to have god-like power and several attractive young women fawning over him. Not only did he not have any special powers, but he had been dropped in the middle of a large forest without any supplies. Not even a hint about what to do or where to go. Several near death encounters later, and he was about to die of dehydration. 

What a way to go. 

Still, he had to keep going. Maybe he would find a beautiful female knight who would help him. And then other things. His mind sluggishly churned at the thought when he noticed something. The sound of running water. A river! He had finally found a river! 

He urged his body to move faster and soon exited the trees. He had never felt so relieved to find running water. He rushed forward and dunked his whole head into the cold water. It was magical. He did not even care about what might be living in the water. Parasites could be dealt with once he was fully hydrated. 

Ed drank deeply for a moment. Then, when his lungs were ready to burst, he came up for a breath. Before he went back for more though, he saw movement out of the corner of his eye. He slowly turned and saw...something. Something that his fantasy riddled mind told him was a goblin. 

The humanoid creature was tiny, only coming up to his knees. It had mottled green skin, long ears and equally long nose. And a mouth full of sharp teeth. Ed looked at it. The goblin looked back. He sighed. Welp, at least he would die of goblin and not dehydration. That was at least more interesting. 

But the goblin did not attack. In fact, it looked more like a curious child than a blood thirsty monster. Its large eyes looked at him like he was something new and interesting.  

“Uh...hi?” Ed said. He was not sure if goblins spoke English. The small creature did not respond.  

At least, not verbally. Its eyes opened even wider, and it ran away. Or rather, it ran towards what Ed was now seeing was a small riverside village. A village containing more goblins, most of which were larger than the first. They still only reach waist height, but still.  

Mud and thatch huts were positioned nearby, each one large enough to house a family of goblins, but much too small for a human. A different building was built half on land and half over the water, supported by thick branches. And a third larger building was positioned in the exact center of the village. 

Thankfully, none of the goblins moved to attack. They whispered amongst themselves in a language that was definitely not English, but they did not seem hostile. That was something. Maybe he would finally be able to find out something about the world he had been forcefully brought to.  

Well, just as soon as he could understand someone.  

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I'm sure this'll turn out fine for everyone involved. Yup. No chance of anything horrible happening.