[Mkguild] To Snare a Rabbit, Part 2

[Kit]

Haha, discussion's not on the wiki :p And don't worry, what you've got is
well within precedent, as would probably be the griffin and angel models.
Bird morphs get a little more flexibility on this issue because the issue of
what exactly a half bird is is more complicated than half animals. Even if
it wasn't within precendent, you got the all clear from Misha which means
it's good. I was mostly just commenting that you've the first one within the
actual universe. ^_^

On Mon, Nov 9, 2009 at 11:38 PM, David Edwards <dedwards at stanford.edu>wrote:

> I guess I've missed the discussion on the wiki, but I would imagine a
> bird-taur would follow an angel-esque structural archetype. However, I
> imagine there are stranger things in Metamor than a quadrupedal avian
> taur...
>
> --Trailsend
>
> On Mon, Nov 9, 2009 at 8:30 PM, Logan Zoel <nagolinc at hotmail.com> wrote:
>
>>  Kit,
>> Sorry, guess I didn't realize there were special rules for bird-taurs.  I
>> was imagining it as being like any other taur, with two wings and four pairs
>> of legs (like this
>> http://static.spore.com/static/image/500/297/905/500297905463_lrg.png ).
>> Also, there are hands at the end of the wings so Griff can still hold things
>> in his taur form.  If this violates precedent too badly, I can change it
>> without messing up much my story that badly.
>> It's a pleasure writing with you all,
>> Nagolinc
>>
>> ------------------------------
>> Date: Mon, 9 Nov 2009 12:51:54 -0500
>> Subject: Re: [Mkguild] To Snare a Rabbit, Part 2
>> From: stormkit10 at gmail.com
>> To: nagolinc at hotmail.com
>> CC: mkguild at lists.integral.org
>>
>> Quite an amusing story you have here, and despite how completely
>> unbelievable it is, it remains physically feasible! The one thing I did
>> notice was that your model of eagle morph seems very different from most
>> other established bird morphs. In particular, wh ether or not a bird-taur
>> can exist and if so what it would look like has been the topic of much
>> discussion around here. Theoretically, the two extra limbs would be the
>> wings, rendering the taur into a griffin like being without the cat parts if
>> anything at all. There are variations thereof, but all of them include wings
>> and then four other limbs. Could you describe your version in more detail
>> maybe?
>>
>>
>> Kit
>>
>> On Sun, Nov 8, 2009 at 11:31 PM, Logan Zoel <nagolinc at hotmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>  The second half of my second story; hope you all like it.
>>
>> *****
>>
>> Griff struggled against the crushing strength of the giant's grip. In the
>> distance he could hear Oonsus--who had been transferred to the giant's other
>> hand--screaming violently Griff fought for a moment to break free from the
>> imprisoning walls of the giant's fist, but soon gave up, realizing it was
>> almost certainly futile.
>>
>> Griff now lay placidly in the giant's enormous fist and attempted to
>> resign himself to fate. In doing so, he reflected back on his life. It had
>> been a prosperous one at the beginning. Becoming the head of Baron Fredrick
>> the Pacific's royal guard at a young age, he and his family held high hopes
>> for the future. Even before the Battle of Three Gates, however, it had been
>> obvious that things were headed downhill. Baron Fredrick proved not to have
>> the genius and initiative that his father had possessed, Wyrd forest was
>> gradually becoming an unimportant backwater, and short of applying for
>> transfer to Metamor Keep, Griff had few ways out. The Battle of Three Gates
>> and subsequent confusion had only hastened the decline, soon reducing Wyrd
>> Forest to the pathetic state in which it now languished. Griff's family,
>> too, had been destroyed. His father had died in the battle--one in which he
>> was too old to fight-- and his mother and sister had both gone insane and
>> were never heard of after the curse took its hold over them. After all that,
>> Griff thought to himself, death couldn't be much of a disappointment. After
>> all, it wasn't as if he had much further to fall from where he now stood..
>>
>> As the giant momentarily tightened his grip, nearly crushing Griff's
>> ribcage, Griff decided to reconsider the idea that he had nothing left to
>> lose. He vaguely remembered someone once mentioning a proverb about a live
>> dog and a dead lion that now came to mind. Suddenly, Oonsus's muffled voice
>> emerged from the giant's other fist.
>>
>> "Prepare yourself, foul monster," Oonsus shouted just loud enough that
>> Griff could hear him. "For I shall destroy you out of my unbreakable
>> commitment to justice!"
>>
>> Although now was hardly the time, Griff suddenly felt an overwhelming urge
>> to roll his eyes sarcastically. And then, to Griff's complete amazement, the
>> giant responded to Oonsus's barely-audible threat.
>>
>> "But.. but...." the giant stammered, clearly unable to control its
>> emotions. "But Gath don't want to be destroyed! Not Gath's fault he got lost
>> in the mountain passages! All Gath want is to go home! Gath no want
>> unbreakable juices! Gath want help!"
>>
>> And then the giant--whose name was apparently Gath--dropped both Griff and
>> Oonsus and pressed his hands to his face to hold back a river of tears.
>> Griff was so surprised that he barely had time to spread his wings in order
>> to slow his fall before hitting the ground. Landing with a thud, Griff
>> slowly backed away from the giant, who was now crying so loudly that Griff
>> found it difficult to hear himself think.
>>
>> Griff now spotted Oonsus, who had landed near Gath's left foot and
>> appeared substantially unharmed. Rather than running away as Griff had,
>> however, the boy appeared to be pounding on the giant's toe and shouting
>> something up at it. Griff raced over to Oonsus and attempted to drag him
>> away from the giant.
>>
>> "Let it go," Griff said. "Even if you scared it, there's no way we could
>> take on something this size... well, maybe if I flew you and we went for its
>> eyes... but... it's not worth our time. Come on! Let's get out of here!"
>>
>> Griff was unsure how much of his speech Oonsus was able to hear over the
>> giant's unbearably loud crying.
>>
>> "Didn't... hear!?" Oonsus screamed just loud enough that Griff could make
>> out every other word. "We... have... hurt... we... to ...it!"
>>
>> "We what!?" Griff shouted back, unable to understand Oonsus.
>>
>> "Hell... it!" Oonsus explained.
>>
>> "WHAT!?" Griff demanded, not understanding the words that were coming out
>> of Oonsus's lips.
>>
>> "HELP IT!" Oonsus shouted at the top of his lungs so that Griff could just
>> barely understand.
>>
>> "You're crazy!" Griff shouted back and then turned to go.
>>
>> Griff walked a few paces before turning around and realizing that Oonsus
>> was still pounding on the giant Gath's toe. Ignoring the recklessly foolish
>> boy, Griff determined to continue on his way. Suddenly the giant reached
>> down, and scooping up the young boy lifted Oonsus towards his mouth. Pushing
>> aside his reservations about fighting a giant--and a large one at
>> that--Griff took wing. It wasn't as though Griff's conscience would allow
>> him to let Gath eat Oonsus (who had saved his life less than an hour ago)
>> without a fight.
>>
>> *Guess I'll go for the eyes*, Griff thought as he streaked through the
>> air towards the giant, who was now holding Oonsus within a hand's breadth of
>> his mouth. A giant's hand-breadth albeit. As he dove towards Gath's left
>> eye, claws extended, however, he noticed that Oonsus was not screaming in
>> terror as Griff would have expected. Instead, the boy was talking with the
>> giant.
>>
>> "Where are you from?" Oonsus asked in a perfectly calm tone of voice.
>>
>> "North... me think," Gath answered in a booming voice, the force of which
>> pushed Griff several feet backwards as he attempted to hover in place. "I
>> not really sure," the giant continued. "Me got lost..."
>>
>> "You must be from the Giantdowns," Oonsus reasoned. "I'm from the Outer
>> Midlands.... My name's Oonsus Koguja, by the way.... what's yours?"
>>
>> Griff was surprised that even Oonsus could have forgotten the giant's name
>> already.
>>
>> "Me Gath Djilla," the giant boomed in reply.
>>
>> This time Griff had braced himself and was not blown back quite as far.
>>
>> "It's a pleasure to meet you, mister Gath Djilla, sir," Oonsus said
>> excitedly.
>>
>> Griff continued to hover a few yards away from Gath's head, not at all
>> sure what to make of the ongoing conversation. Only a moment ago, he had
>> felt quite sure that Gath was planning to eat Oonsus and now the two of them
>> were conversing politely.
>>
>> "Me glad meet you, too," Gath replied. "You help me get home?"
>>
>> Griff was again caught off guard by the sudden excitement in Gath's voice
>> and was blown back several yards. Hovering at a distance, he listened for a
>> moment longer as the boy and giant continued to talk and then turned to go.
>>
>> "Of course I'll help you," Oonsus replied without hesitation.
>>
>> Oonsus--or so it appeared to Griff--had already picked up a new adventure.
>> *I have to take care of Wyrd Forest*, Griff thought to himself. *Leave
>> the boy and the giant to their adventures...* Neither Gath nor Oonsus
>> seemed to notice as Griff gradually drifted farther and farther away from
>> the two of them. Griff shouted a distant, unheard goodbye, and then turned
>> towards the walls of the canyon they were in.
>>
>> As he gained a better feeling for their surroundings, Griff realized that
>> he and Oonsus had emerged into a box-canyon. Walled on either side by
>> towering cliffs, a narrow valley--one just big enough for Gath to have
>> wandered through--lead out of the valley in the direction of the Great
>> Barrier Range. Gath must have wandered through some unknown pass to arrive
>> at this place from the Giantdowns, Griff reasoned to himself.
>>
>> Rising up over the canyon walls, it took Griff only a few minutes to
>> orient himself. The canyon, he realized, lay just beyond the foothills of
>> the great barrier range that marked the eastern boundary of Wyrd Forest. It
>> would only be a short flight for Griff to return to the palace and warn the
>> baron of the menace hiding in the cave that Oonsus had revealed to him. It
>> would be a simple matter to seal off the cave. Or, if that didn't work, to
>> have a contingent of soldiers from Metamor Keep flush it clean of whatever
>> terrors lay within. Griff had already battled what he now realized must be a
>> centipede-morph, and Oonsus had testified to seeing a dragon in the cave as
>> well. Although it was likely that the dragon existed only in Oonsus's
>> hyperactive imagination, Griff didn't think it was beyond the ability of
>> Metamor Keep to deal with one if it did exist. It was hardly the sort of
>> thing that could be handled by the Wyrd Forest palace guard, however.
>>
>> On his way back to Baron Fredrick's palace, Griff suddenly realized that
>> he should probably stop back at the peasant's hut and relate to them the
>> fate of their dear Ol' Sally. Griff spiraled downward towards the dismal
>> shack in which the beaver-morph and his family lived. Practically landing on
>> the peasants' doorstep, Griff morphed into his humanoid form and rapped on
>> the door. Normally he would have worried about no one being home, but it was
>> late enough that he reasoned the peasants should have returned home for
>> their supper already.
>>
>> After a few moments, a particularly humble-looking beaver opened the door.
>>
>> "Why, mister... Sen," the beaver said, stumbling over his words. "What....
>> what'a.... surprise to see....see you... again..."
>>
>> "I'm afraid I have some bad news," Griff said darkly.
>>
>> "W--won't you come... in... and have a bit... a bit to... eat?" the beaver
>> offered, now trembling from head-to-toe.
>>
>> Griff was confused by the beaver's terror. Earlier he had been overly
>> respectful, but hadn't seemed afraid of Griff.
>>
>> "Oh, no, I'm on my way back to the palace," Griff said. "I just wanted to
>> stop and tell you what I found out... about... Ol'... your cow..."
>>
>> "You must come in," the beaver pleaded. "I... in--insis--t..."
>>
>> "Very well then," Griff conceded, not exactly sure how he wanted to break
>> the news about the cow's death. "But only for a minute... I have some
>> important news I must relay to Baron Fredrick."
>>
>> "Im--important news?" the beaver said, taking Griff by the hand and
>> pulling him inside. "But... how important.... could it... be? It's..
>> only...a.. cow."
>>
>> Something about the beaver's trembling and his sudden lack of care for his
>> once beloved Ol' Sally just didn't add up. For a moment Griff resisted the
>> beaver's urgings to come inside, but then the beaver--who was surprisingly
>> strong--literally pulled him though the door. Once Griff was inside, the
>> door was slammed shut by an unseen hand, leaving him surrounded by darkness.
>> There was no fire in the fireplace, and the only light in the shack came
>> from the dim evening light that filtered through holes in the home's
>> poorly-built walls.
>>
>> "Who's there?" Griff demanded and sensing danger morphed into his taur
>> form.
>>
>> "I think I should ask that question," an ominous voice whispered in the
>> darkness. "But, I think that I already know.... After all, the investigator
>> always returns to the scene of the crime; don't you, Griff Sen?"
>>
>> "I think you mean the criminal always returns to the scene of the crime,"
>> Griff replied and then suddenly realized who he must be talking to.
>> "Barhat!" he shouted. "You cannot escape the clutches of justice forever!"
>>
>> "I believe it is my clutches you will find difficult to escape," the
>> whispering voice replied. "You did so once, but don't think I'll let you do
>> it again... not when you know where my secret hiding-place is... speaking of
>> which, were is the boy?"
>>
>> Griff knew better than to answer the question. Instead, he bared his claws
>> and lunged towards the source of the whispering voice.
>>
>> Somehow the voice dodged and then retaliated. The Last thing Griff felt
>> was the heavy wooden club crashing into the back of his head.
>>
>> * * * * *
>>
>> Griff Sen regained consciousness to a sharp throbbing pain in the back of
>> his head. His ankles and wrists also burned as if they had been rubbed raw
>> by constant abrasion. He also felt slightly disoriented. As he grew more
>> alert, Griff realized that this was because he was hanging by his hands and
>> feet.
>>
>> Griff flailed against the ropes binding his hands and feet in an effort to
>> break free.
>>
>> "I wouldn't do that if I were you," an unseen voice commanded; it was the
>> same one as from the peasant beaver's shack. "Look where you're hanging
>> before you take the plunge..."
>>
>> Twisting his neck around, Griff could just see out of the corner of his
>> eye a flicker of flame coming from under what smelled like a cauldron of
>> boiling soup. A second ago, Griff had been wondering if he could cut the
>> ropes with his claws if he morphed. Now he realized that wasn't such a good
>> idea.
>>
>> "Yes, you see it now, don't you?" the unseen voice said with obvious
>> delight in his voice. "We're making ourselves a bit of a soup... and
>> you're.. the main... INGREDIENT!"
>>
>> Panic raced through Griff's head. He suddenly remembered the image of Ol'
>> Sally, torn to pieces by the giant centipede he and Oonsus had battled
>> earlier. Was he to share the fate of the cow he had failed to rescue
>> earlier?
>>
>> "You're a monster!" Griff accused the unseen voice.
>>
>> "Me?" the voice replied defensively. "I'm just the chef... a mere master
>> of the culinary arts... an artist, if I may say so myself. It's my friend
>> here who has a taste for rare treats, such as... eagle soup..."
>>
>> "The centipede morph," Griff inferred.
>>
>> "GIANT centipede morph," the unseen voice corrected Griff. "Surely you
>> noticed he was more than six inches long when you fought him, didn't you?"
>>
>> "More like six feet," Griff agreed.
>>
>> "Six feet of very hungry centipede that needs to be fed fairly
>> frequently," the voice said with a bit of an amused chuckle. "And you...
>> will have.. to do."
>>
>> "I won't do it!" Griff exclaimed.
>>
>> Griff struggled against his bonds more violently than before. He guessed
>> that the pot below him probably wouldn't burn him instantly. If he could get
>> free, at least he had a fighting chance. Not much of a chance, Griff thought
>> grimly, as both the unseen voice and the centipede had already bested him in
>> a fight once already.
>>
>> "Oh, and good luck with those ropes," the unseen voice said. "I'm afraid
>> you'll find them unlikely to break, even if you had a knife handy, which I
>> was careful to make sure you don't... wouldn't want my friend's meal to get
>> away, now would I?"
>>
>> Griff suddenly realized that the pack he normally kept strapped to his
>> chest was now missing.
>>
>> "So long as I'm not going to be living much longer, I don't suppose I
>> could have the privilege of seeing the face of the Vile Thief Barhat once
>> before I die, could I?" Griff asked.
>>
>> "I suppose... I couldn't deny the dying wish of a condemned man, now could
>> I?" the voice conceded after a moment's hesitation.
>>
>> A second later, a creature stepped into Griff's field of vision. Although
>> it was difficult to see any details by firelight, the outline of Barhat's
>> rounded body and floppy ears were undoubtedly those of a rabbit.
>>
>> "A rabbit, so I was right," Griff said upon seeing Barhat. "Didn't think
>> your kind had much taste for meat, though..."
>>
>> "If I've told you once, I've told you a thousand times," Barhat replied,
>> placing his hands on his hips impudently. "The soup... err... you... are for
>> my centipede friend, Munus."
>>
>> "Munus?" Griff said, somewhat surprised. "He has a name? I wasn't even
>> aware that he could talk.... he's hardly as talkative as you, to say the
>> least..."
>>
>> "I'm afraid the curse has taken away his tongue," Barhat admitted. "He
>> does still screech furiously from time-to-time when he feels particularly
>> riled.... He hissed at me for almost an hour after you and that... *boy*...
>> disturbed his meal. Guess it affected his digestion. Speaking of which, were
>> is the boy? I rather hoped he might come for you sooner or later... only
>> real reason I've been keeping you alive... although... I suppose he has no
>> way of knowing... may as well cook you now...."
>>
>> With that unceremonious speculation, Barhat suddenly reached for a rope
>> tied down to a large rock and loosened it, letting out a few inches of rope.
>> Griff felt himself plunge a towards the bubbling vat beneath him. He could
>> feel the steam wafting up towards his body and felt as if he was already
>> being cooked alive. At the same time, Barhat reached into a jar on the floor
>> and, retrieving a potato from the jar, tossed it into the pot of boiling
>> water. Griff winced as super-hot water splashed onto his back and neck.
>>
>> "Wait!" Griff said, suddenly feeling a desire to save his own life. "Isn't
>> there something you'd accept in exchange for freeing me? I'm sure that Baron
>> Fredrick would pay you handsomely for returning the head of his palace
>> guard...."
>>
>> "Bah!" Barhat scoffed. "If I set you free, you'd just come back after
>> me... probably with reinforcements from Metamor Keep. Besides, you and I
>> both know that our dear Baron Fred is completely broke.... At this point,
>> I've stolen pretty much everything of value that remains in Wyrd Forest....
>> Been thinking of moving on to more fertile pasture for weeks now."
>>
>> "But... you'll never get away with this!" Griff shrieked, realizing at the
>> same time how utterly pathetic he sounded.
>>
>> "But I already have,” Barhat pointed out. “At this point, it would be more
>> trouble for me to free you than to cook you…. For one thing, I’d have to
>> figure out how to get you down without dropping you in the pot beneath you.”
>>
>> Then, as if to reinforce his point, he let out another few inches of rope.
>> Griff plunged precariously towards the pot of boiling soup and then came to
>> a sudden stop, the rope tearing at his wrists and ankles as he did.
>>
>> There was nothing else left, then, Griff was going to have to fight his
>> way out of this. If only he could figure out a way how. Again Griff
>> struggled against the ropes holding him and grasped at them with his claws.
>>
>> "I've told you already," Barhat said, chuckling as he watched Griff
>> struggle. "There's no way short of magic you're going to break free of those
>> ropes..."
>>
>> *I still have one last chance*, Griff thought to himself. He must have
>> morphed back into his humanoid form while unconscious. If he tried morphing
>> into his taur-form, he would have a free pair of claws to untie the rope. If
>> that failed, or if Barhat dropped him into the soup before he could break
>> free, there was no chance for his salvation.
>>
>> Deciding that there was no time like the present, Griff at once morphed
>> into his taur form and began slashing at the ropes with the pair of claws
>> that appeared between his arms and legs. Unsurprisingly, the ropes did not
>> give way and four of his six limbs remained as tightly bound as ever.
>> Barhat's promise, then, remained valid. To Griff's surprise, Barhat made no
>> motion to lower the rope and drop him into the soup. Instead, the rabbit
>> remained as he was, staring at the struggling eagle-taur and laughing out
>> loud.
>>
>> "You think I'm going to shorten your suffering just because you kick and
>> scream a little?" Barhat asked; the firelight revealed a look of obvious
>> delight on his face. “I’ll have you know that you—and this damned
>> valley—have given me quite a bit of trouble. I wasn’t always like this you
>> know. Had a home and a family. But once I wandered into this damn valley and
>> morphed into… this… well, I could never go back.”
>>
>> Griff said nothing but continued to tear at the rope with his claws.
>>
>> "You and this valley have taken my entire life,” Barhat continued. “So,
>> no, I’m not going to let you go easy. I'm going to cook you one inch at a
>> time until you beg for mercy.”
>>
>> "From a thief and a coward who hides in caves and steals from peasants?"
>> Griff said, having just enough mental capacity to form this insult. "I'd
>> sooner die than give you the satisfaction..."
>>
>> "What about that bit earlier when you said the Baron would ransom you?"
>> Barhat pointed out.
>>
>> "That wasn't begging; it was negotiating," Griff shot back.
>>
>> "I like to call negotiations where one party is hanging helplessly over a
>> fire...*begging*," Barhat replied without missing a beat. "How about I
>> lower the rope another inch and see if you scream?"
>>
>> Barhat let out another section of rope and Griff again plunged downward.
>> This time, the back of his head--now the lowest part of his body--came into
>> contact with the scalding hot water. He snatched it away instantly,
>> suppressing a desire to scream. Barhat seemed unimpressed by Griff's
>> resolve, instead reaching for another potato to throw into the pot.
>>
>> "Aww, did the poor little birdie get burned?" Barhat said patronizingly as
>> the potato splashed boiling hot water onto Griff.
>>
>> Griff refused to give Barhat the pleasure of hearing his reply.
>>
>> Griff gave one last frantic tug against the ropes binding his arms and two
>> of his legs. At the same time, Barhat reached out for the rope again,
>> undoubtedly to let out more rope and begin the slow process of cooking Griff
>> alive. Before he could let loose another section of rope, however, he was
>> stopped by a voice in the background.
>>
>> "Hold it right there, you vile fiend!" came the all-to-familiar voice.
>>
>> "Oonsus!" Griff called out in surprise, unsure of whether to thank the boy
>> for coming or scold him for putting himself in such danger.
>>
>> "Hold what?" Barhat asked, looking at Oonsus with an appearance of supreme
>> innocence on his face.
>>
>> "That's my friend!" Oonsus shouted. "Let him go!"
>>
>> Griff visibly winced. Oonsus's choice of words had been unfortunate, and
>> Griff had no doubts as to what Barhat would do next.
>>
>> "Okay," Barhat said generously.
>>
>> Pulling a previously unnoticed knife from is waist, he slashed through the
>> rope supporting Griff in a single fluid moment. Griff experienced a single
>> moment of panic and then searing pain as he was doused in a pot of boiling
>> hot soup.
>>
>> "AAAAAGGGGHHHH!" Griff let out a scream of pain as he clamored to grasp
>> the edge of the pot with his two free claws.
>>
>> "Griff!" Oonsus said, charging towards Barhat and the pot containing Griff
>> with sword drawn. "Don't worry, I'll save you."
>>
>> Barhat took one look at the angry, sword-wielding boy and sprinted out of
>> the room as fast as his rabbit-feet would take him. Ignoring Barhat's
>> flight, Oonsus reached for the pot containing Griff and with his bare hands
>> tipped it over with a single shove.
>>
>> Griff, along with the other contents of Barhat's quite possibly delicious
>> soup, spilled out onto the cave floor. Still bound, Griff writhed on the
>> cave floor until Oonsus cut through the rope binding his hands and lower
>> feet with his sword. Morphing back into his humanoid form, Griff attempted
>> to thank Oonsus.
>>
>> "thank... I mean... I appreciate... well... you shouldn't have... err...
>> I'm glad you..." Griff struggled for words.
>>
>> Oonsus seemed too enfixed by staring at his badly-burned hands to notice
>> anything the eagle-morph was saying. The pot being much hotter than the soup
>> inside, Oonsus's hands had suffered far worse than Griff, who had been in
>> the water for only seconds.
>>
>> "I have something that should help that," Griff said, noticing Oonsus's
>> hands.
>>
>> Looking around, Griff was relieved to see his pouch lying on the
>> cave-floor. Picking it up, he strapped it back onto his chest. Rummaging
>> through it, he pulled out a bottle of salve that had been blessed by the
>> Lightbringers of Metamor Keep. It was incredibly powerful, and therefore
>> incredibly expensive as well; Griff guessed that it would cost about two
>> months of his present salary to replace the bottle.
>>
>> "Here, try putting some of this on your hands," Griff offered, handing the
>> bottle to Oonsus.
>>
>> "Thanks!" Oonsus replied.
>>
>> Holding the bottle by the cap he unscrewed it. Predictably, as soon as the
>> cap came off, the bottle fell to the ground, shattering on the rocky cave
>> floor.
>>
>> "Oops," Oonsus said, looking at the puddle of greenish-gray goo on the
>> ground.
>>
>> Griff repressed an overwhelming desire to curse.
>>
>> "Here... I can fix it," Oonsus said, kneeling down and trying to collect
>> most of the liquid in his hands before it seeped into the cave floor.
>>
>> "Just... never mind," Griff said, pulling Oonsus away from the puddle.
>> "Rub your hands together to soak it in a little."
>>
>> Oonsus rubbed his hands together and smiled in apparent delight as the
>> healing potion took affect. Griff had forgotten that the potion also had
>> mild euphoric qualities. In less than a minute the burns on Oonsus's hands
>> were completely healed. Griff's own claws still shivered with the pain of
>> having recently been scalded.
>>
>> "Why did you come back in here?" Griff asked suddenly, deciding to put
>> forth the question that had been on his mind for the last several minutes.
>> "How did you know I was in danger?"
>>
>> "The Dragon told me," Oonsus replied matter-of-factly.
>>
>> "Dragon?" Griff asked, either not understanding or refusing to believe.
>>
>> "The same one that was chasing us before," Oonsus attempted to explain.
>>
>> "The dragon... that was chasing us... told you I was in danger...?" Griff
>> asked skeptically.
>>
>> "Yeah," Oonsus agreed. "And it even gave me directions. You see, before I
>> thought that it was an enemy, but it turns out that it was actually really
>> friendly and it even said that it knew me from somewhere..."
>>
>> "You've meet this dragon before?" Griff said, perplexed. Oonsus’s
>> explanation was growing less and less probable with every word.
>>
>> "No," Oonsus said. "But he'd met me... well... it's hard to explain, and I
>> don't really understand all of it..."
>>
>> "I see..." Griff said, deciding to let the issue drop. He suspected that
>> the ‘dragon’ was no more real than the demons Oonsus had been fighting that
>> morning. "So, this... dragon... told you that I was in danger and how to
>> find me?"
>>
>> "Uh-huh," Oonsus agreed. "It was a good thing, too, because I got really
>> lost looking for you... that's how I found his lair in the first place."
>>
>> "You were looking for me?" Griff asked. "Why?"
>>
>> "I wanted to say goodbye," Oonsus said innocently. "You disappeared while
>> I was talking to Gath, so I figured you must have gone back into the caves,
>> didn't you?"
>>
>> "Well, not exactly," Griff confessed.
>>
>> "But then you got caught by that tricky guy, Barhat, right?" Oonsus
>> continued, apparently ignoring Griff's statement.
>>
>> "Err... something like that," Griff conceded.
>>
>> "And then he tried to turn you into soup, but I came and rescued you just
>> in time?" Oonsus asked.
>>
>> "Yup," Griff said.
>>
>> "Wow! Isn't it cool!?" Oonsus said.
>>
>> "Cool isn't exactly the word I would have used," Griff said.
>>
>> At the same time, Griff could feel the burns all over his body. He was
>> moderately worried that most of his feathers might fall out.
>>
>> "Oh, and did I tell you about Gath?" Oonsus said, again ignoring Griff's
>> reply.
>>
>> "No, you didn't," Griff said.
>>
>> "It turns out he's not a mean scary giant after all," Oonsus said. "He's a
>> friendly giant. He's from the Giantdowns and he got lost and he needs
>> somebody to guide him back home..."
>>
>> "I gathered that much myself," Griff agreed.
>>
>> "So I told him that I would help him," Oonsus continued. "But first I had
>> to come back and say goodbye to you. And then the dragon told me you were in
>> danger. And then I rescued you. And then... well, that's now, isn't it?"
>>
>> "Yes," Griff smiled--as much as it was possible to smile with a beak for a
>> mouth. "Yes it is."
>>
>> "So?" Oonsus said.
>>
>> "So... what?" Griff asked, suddenly confused.
>>
>> Everything Oonsus had been saying had made at least moderate sense and yet
>> he had somehow managed to confuse Griff again.
>>
>> "So do you want to help me take Gath back to the Giantdowns?" Oonsus
>> asked.
>>
>> "You want... me?" Griff responded, his eyes widening in surprise.
>>
>> "Uh-huh," Oonsus said. "I think we make a really great team!"
>>
>> For a split second Griff seriously considered the possibility of going
>> with Oonsus to help Gath. It would be nice, he thought to himself, to go on
>> an adventure; to get away from it all. And then he remembered his duties as
>> the head of Baron Fredrick the Pacific's palace guard. There were things
>> that had to be done. For one, this cave had to be thoroughly cleansed of
>> Barhat and his friend Munus (the giant centipede morph), as well as whatever
>> other vermin lived in here. At the very least, the entrance should be sealed
>> off. The more he thought about it, the more Griff realized that the barony
>> would probably completely fall apart in his absence.
>>
>> "I'm sorry," Griff concluded. "But I have to stay here and protect Wyrd
>> Forest."
>>
>> "That's okay," Oonsus said, not missing a beat. "But I'll be sure to come
>> back and visit you if I'm ever headed this way again..."
>>
>> "Well, I'll look forward to it," Griff replied.
>>
>> And then, without saying another word, Griff and Oonsus started walking
>> towards the exit to the cave chamber they were in. Both took a torch of
>> burning wood from the fire that Barhat had been prepared to cook Griff with.
>> After walking down the cave tunnel for some time, they came to a split.
>> Griff--who had regained his bearings now that he was less
>> panicked--recognized the split. One way led east to the valley with Gath in
>> it. The other led south to Wyrd Forest. Surprisingly Oonsus too appeared to
>> recognize the intersection.
>>
>> "Um... I guess this is where we part ways," Oonsus said softly.
>>
>> "I guess so..." Griff agreed, looking off to one side.
>>
>> "It was nice meeting you, Mr. Griff," Oonsus said, smiling warmly. His
>> face looked strangely supernatural in the flickering torchlight.
>>
>> "It was nice meeting you too, Oonsus," Griff agreed.
>>
>> And then Oonsus reached over and gave Griff a tremendous hug, sending
>> waves of pain across Griff's badly scalded skin. He winced and then weakly
>> returned the embrace. A moment later, Oonsus set off down his branch of the
>> tunnel and disappeared into the darkness. Griff stared out into that
>> darkness for a long time, wondering if he had made the wrong choice.
>> Eventually, he started off down the tunnel that led back to Wyrd Forest
>>
>> * * * * *
>>
>> The End of "To Snare a Rabbit".
>> By: Nagolinc.
>> CopyNot 2009.
>>
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