[Mkguild] Nunly's Lutins - part 6

[Mythril Vulpes]

                          Nunly's Lutins

                         by Mythril Vulpes


------------ Part 6  - Safety --------------


  Nunly slowly turned his back on the Fire Rose and began trudging
toward the tribe. He was so thirsty it seemed his tongue was dragging
on the dusty path. The casting seemed to drain him, and he felt himself
slipping into a trance, dreaming of Muddo and his ale.  He felt no urgency
to break the dream, as he was confident in the protection offered by the
Fire Rose. The riders passed by without slowing for a moment, even though
the tribe must have left some trace behind.  However, the very nature of the
Fire Rose would give more than ample protection from the curious wanderer.

  Nunly walked slowly, occasionally shaking from the effort he had put
forth. Most spells were easily magnified by the mirror, but this spell
seemed to effect him in a new way. Not only was he drained far more than
normal, but the results were far beyond anything he dared to hope for.
The growth spell he used was able to force the growth of a single small
bush from a leaf, but would have only the slightest effect on the mass of
leaves he had scattered. His hope was that the mirror would allow his
magic to grow a field of Fire Rose high enough to discourage pursuit.
Instead, he created a wall that was the perfect defense - strong, self-
healing, and one that didn't look like it was defending anything. He
hoped that he would be able to remember the pattern of the leaves he
had spread, or they might be trapped in the valley by the same relentless
guardian that was keeping the enemy out.

  Nunly's strength returned as he walked along the path that slowly widened
into a lush green valley. The valley was lined with high walls of smooth
rock - virtually impossible to climb. As he walked he paused occasionally
to rest, closing his eyes and breathing deeply. He came to recognize the
scents of the various flowers. Walking further along, he started to
recognize the sweet scent of the flowers of various fruit trees, and the
more mature scent of the ripening fruit, causing Nunly to smile to himself.
The map had led them to an incredible haven, safe from any enemy, with
resources to keep them self-sufficient for some time to come.

  At one rest stop Nunly's reverie was interrupted by an odor that intruded
on the sweet smell of the flowers like a knife. He recognized it immediately,
but wanted to ignore it, and concentrate on the sweet fruit scent he was
enjoying. The force of the new smell was not to be denied, and slowly
overwhelmed the other scents. Nunly's irritation grew as he was unable to
ignore the smell, and it grew faster as he realized he knew the smell, the
same smell he had lived with, that he had grown so accustomed to that it
was almost a natural part of him. His eyes snapped open with the realization
that he was standing near Lutins, probably a lot of them, and he wanted to
get away.

  By habit, Nunly cast his spell to ignore the Lutin odor.

  "This is it!" roared the Chief.

  Nunly gritted his teeth as he quickly realized the crowed of Lutins he
smelled was actually just the Chief. Nunly's heart sank as he realized the
Lutin was generating a smell this strong, the entire tribe would be able to
totally destroy this beautiful environment.

  "This is it!" the Chief roared again. "Come see. Our new home!"

  The Chief practically danced in front of Nunly in his excitement. Nunly
was so stunned to see him acting this way he followed automatically,
trying not be breath when the wind shifted to blow the Lutin's body
odor back at him.

  The Chief started around an outcropping of rock at the base of a
small hill, motioning Nunly to hurry.

  "Here! This way! Here it is! Here is our new home!"

  Nunly rounded the outcropping, only to see a perfect valley. Fruit trees,
berry bushes, meadows, and streams gave him the impressions that anyone
could live here forever, if they only didn't have to endure that
smell!

  As he looked around, Nunly realized he didn't see any Lutins. The Chief
had said this was their perfect home, so why weren't they here prancing
around? he could certainly smell them, but where were they?

  "Down here! Hurry, here it is!" the Chief called.

  Nunly looked for his voice, and found him following a trail down into
a lower valley. This one had far less vegetation, with rock outcroppings
and caves lining the sides of the valley. One large flat area in the
fartherest part of the valley was in distinct contrast to peaks of rock
that jutted up to random heights on the floor of the rest of the valley.

  Nunly was already on edge from the smell of the Chief. This view of the
"perfect home" caused him to believe that the Chief was leading him on
for some reason, and his experience was that being led on usually was
the equivalent to a lamb being led to the slaughter.

  "Look, look at the moss growing EVERWHERE!" the Chief cried.

  Nunly looked, and his surprise at the quantity and variety of moss
growing everywhere around them almost drowned out his suspicions. Perhaps
some of that weird moss growing in a dark corner was poisonous, just waiting
for the Chief to harvest?

  The Chief scampered along the path, pointing to an opening in the valley
wall, while he practically screamed "Look, my new home!"

  Nunly followed the Chief, amazed that the chief could possibly be so
happy with a cave. As he looked around, Nunly realized that the cave,
and the valley in general, looked a lot like the home the Lutins had
left behind. In fact, it even smelled the same.

  "Look, look, water. My own water in my home!"  The Chief
danced over to a small stream that ran out of the side of the cave,
along the base of one wall, and then disappeared into a hole in the
floor of the cave.

  "Come see, the best water ever!"

  Nunly walked to the stream watching the Chief dance around. He had just
about concluded that the Chief was finally going totally insane, when he
caught a whiff of the stream; sulphur, and a lot of it.

  "This water is great" crowed the Chief as he took a large drink from
the stream. "Truly you and the map have led us to a better place!"

  Nunly just stared. The surprises were coming faster, and he was getting
numb. He was familiar with sulphur from his working with magic,
and hated it. He found it hard to believe that any living thing on the planet
would find sulphur water drinkable, much less think it tasted good.
Or maybe it was tasting the sulphur that caused the Chief to act this way.
Nunly looked at the stream, but decided tasting the water was an
experiment better left for another day.

  The Chief was already bellowing for him to follow out the door.
Judging by the way the Chief was acting.  the best was yet to come,

  They walked along the path to the flat area. There, on one side, the
Chief sat down on a particularly flat rock that was higher than most.

  "Look, I even have a new throne!" the Chief exclaimed. "And here is
one for you."

  The Chief pointed to a flat rock that was slightly higher that the one
the Chief was sitting on, a sign of how Nunly's importance in the tribe
had been elevated.

  He walked over and sat down, totally numb that the trek had worked out so well
for the Lutins. It seemed as though this tribe of Lutins and this place were
made for each other. Now if he could only find a way to get back out of
the Lutin valley to the green paradise above.

  Nunly snapped to attention as every Lutin the the tribe converged
on him, shouting, dancing, and jumping on each other. Nunly jumped
onto his new throne, before the Lutins could engulf him, raised his
hands high over his head, and screamed something to the crowd. The
crowd responded with more screaming and running around Nunly, forcing
him to say in, the focus of the unwanted attention.

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