[Mkguild] Forest Dagger

[Stealth]

This is an old story I've had on hand as a kind of filler.

Forest Dagger

Copyright (c) 2009 Michael Nastov





September 707



            A hopeful young man walked casually on the trail north to
Metamor Keep. Banc recently lost his horse gambling at an inn... he
vowed he’d make enough money to buy a new one, until that day his own
legs would serve him just fine. Banc made ends meet as a travelling
merchant. He knew there was a war and even some sort of curse in this
valley but he didn’t intend to stay long and the risks meant he could
get a higher price.



            He’d ne’er even seen a keeper before, they were supposed
to be really hairy and have big ears or something. Everyone always
seemed to have a different account of what they were. Some people
claimed they turned into animals, others say they became women and
some said they turned into kids. Either way, Banc just wanted to sell
his wares and leave before he became whatever one of those was true.



            The merchant walked along the side of the road, minding
the occasional passing carriage. His mind drifted to his surroundings,
the emerging reds and yellows of the forest, the crunch of leaves
under his feet.



            The ground suddenly gave way and Banc gasped in surprise.
The merchant fell, his large pack coming to rest on the ground he once
stood on as his legs fell into a pit, the calves and thighs of his
legs impaled on sharpened sticks below.



            Banc screamed in pain and frantically pulled himself back
up from the pit, dragging himself and his bloodied legs onto the crisp
leafs of the forest floor.



            As the man moaned and clenched at his legs he could dimly
hear rustling coming from the brush. Little green things approached
from the scrub, wicked and sadistic grins on their faces. Banc tried
to squirm away but he could hardly move his legs. Suddenly, an arrow
blossomed from the eyeball of one of the monsters. The projectile
ripped clean through the flesh and embedded itself in the ground.



            As the lutin fell, the other two screamed gibberish which
was quickly silenced. One took an arrow clear through the neck
severing the jugular, the other had one through the skull – after he
fell to the ground the arrow pierced the dirt and fixed him in place
for a moment before slowly sliding down the unlevel terrain.



            Banc looked up to the trees and there he saw it. Nothing
at first until an animal of some sort came into clear view. It
balanced on the branch on digitgrade feet, quiver of arrows hanging
off its waist and bow with another arrow already notched held in both
paws.



            It’s one of those Keeper things!



            The thing looked like an animal with very large ears and a
fluffy tail with tan coloured fur but it looked almost like a person
and it defiantly had breasts. Huh, they were hairy with big ears then.
The female archer creature looked at him with a sly grin and... wagged
her tail.



            On the ground to the side, another strange creature
emerged from seclusion, this one was also apparently a female and
small in form but she looked to be very muscular and she had fangs –
big, long fangs! She looked menacing indeed, Banc assumed for a moment
it would eat him while the other looked on with a grin, but no, as
frightening a form this woman-thing had, she also had a warm, caring
smile.



            Images came to mind, those he’d seen in tomes of such
creatures. The one in the tree was a fennec fox vixen. She had big
ears indeed but they complimented her form well, not like the big ears
he’d seen on some nobles. The other creature was an obscure feline,
one which lived in the Giant Downs.  It’s scientific name was lost on
him but the basic term was Forest Dagger. They had large fangs like a
long extinct creature but a smaller frame and a long, bushy tail.



            This forest dagger cat’s tail flicked back and forth
hypnotically, just brushing the leaves underneath. The wounded
merchant looked into her eyes and began to relax. He watched the
feline kneel beside him and begin to remove objects from a large
pouch. As she worked to heal him he could feel the slight stings but
nothing harsh as her paws were gentle yet firm.



            Banc continued to look into her eyes. She paid him no heed
but focused on her task. When the sabre-toothed creature noticed his
gaze she looked at him with a warm and gentle smile. The man’s worries
continued to melt and he began to relax.



            He just continued to look into her eyes and thought of
what he knew the first time he saw them. That everything would be
alright.





Forest Dagger

Copyright (c) 2009 Michael Nastov