<html xmlns:v="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml" xmlns:o="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" xmlns:w="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:word" xmlns:m="http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/2004/12/omml" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40"><head><meta http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=us-ascii"><meta name=Generator content="Microsoft Word 12 (filtered medium)"><style></style></head><body lang=EN-US link=blue vlink=purple><div class=WordSection1><o:p> </o:p>I am going to try this again. I have rewritten the first part of my Metamor Keep story and added more to it. I hope you like it!<o:p></o:p><o:p> </o:p>You can find all the Metamor Keep stories here http://metamorkeep.com<o:p></o:p><o:p> </o:p> Chris<o:p></o:p> The Lurking Fox<o:p></o:p><o:p> </o:p>Shadows of the Past and Present<o:p></o:p>by Christian O'Kane<o:p></o:p><o:p> </o:p>CR708 Hareford, Metamor Valley<o:p></o:p><o:p> </o:p> Sir Nestorius Sentilus took all of his tasks seriously. As commander of Harford he had as his responsibility maintaining the town, the castle and the walls that surrounded both. Also he was responsible for the welfare and happiness of the town's 350 residents. as well as the 400 or so lived in the countryside around it.<o:p></o:p><o:p> </o:p> The mage prepared for two days making sure he had all the spells and equipment they might need. Of course what he wanted to take had to be balanced against what he could carry. Finally the blacked colored lion morph put on a simple but durable tunic and pants. Over that he had a waterproof cape with a hood large enough to accommodate his mane without tangling the fur too much. He paused in front of a mirror and examined himself one last time. No matter how hard he tried his vanity just wouldn't let him leave his bedroom without checking.<o:p></o:p><o:p> </o:p> The figure that looked back at him was a anthropomorphic lion that stood six foot four inches tall and weighed 325 pounds. He liked to think that was all still muscle but the sedentary life of a town nobleman was starting to take its toll. What would have stood out most strongly to a stranger meeting him was his color. Lions, those majestic savannah hunters had fur a golden tan with the males possessing a black mane. But all of Nestorius's fur was jet black in color. Being a lion-man was the result of the curse of Metamor Keep. His black coloring was the result of a ferocious duel with a necromancer. It was a small price to pay for defeating such evil. And his wife Amelia thought it made him look sexy.<o:p></o:p><o:p> </o:p> He arrived at the agreed upon meeting place early. Behind him was the road that led west to Hareford. In front of him was a road that ran north to south, going the entire length of Metamor valley. The road ran north before ending at the Northern mouth of the valley at Giants Dike. To the south the road wound past Metamor Keep before running completely out of the southern end of the valley. Beyord that was the Northern Midlands.<o:p></o:p><o:p> </o:p> Six hundred years ago that road had been called the Via Maractania as the Seuilman empire called the entire valley the province of Maractania. The road he had just traveled was called the Via Adurni since it ran to the city of Adurni. Now that city and legion fortress were the small walled town of Hareford. Nestorius' research told him that centuries ago this crossroads had been the town of Durnovaria. But in spite of intense searching the mage had yet to locate so much as a single worked stone. He feared he would need to dig up the entire area before he'd locate any trace of the Seuilman town.<o:p></o:p><o:p> </o:p> Standing on the road from Hareford he paid no mind to the paths that led north, south and west. He was facing east where there was no road or path. The lush and overgrown haunted forest filled that side of the road like a green and brown wall. The long, thick branches blocking all movement through like soldiers guarding a wall.<o:p></o:p><o:p> </o:p> But it had not always been like that. If you carefully examined the eastern side of the Via Maractania you could see where the curbstones stopped for a stretch of some twenty feet. Just barely visible were paving stones that told of a major road that used to run east. But that road was now long gone; buried under the dirt, brush and plant life of a five century old forest.<o:p></o:p><o:p> </o:p> In that forest was the ruins of the Seuilman city of Camuludunum the capital of the province of Maractania. Once a vibrant city with palaces, shops, temples, markets and home to thousands of people. All of that was destroyed when the empire collapsed in CR 150 under a wave of Lutin invaders. But simply being dead had not see the people of Camuludunum at rest. Desperate to stop the invaders the empire mages and done something truly terrible. Now their souls haunted the forest choked ruins. And they did not brook intruders lightly. Lutins and humans entered those woods carefully and none did so at night. Only the suicidal actually ever tried to loot the ruins.<o:p></o:p><o:p> </o:p> This was where Edmund, Stealth and Nestorius had met for their last sojourn into the haunted forest and it seemed the appropriate place to meet this time. It was merely an hour or so before a figure appeared, walking up the road from the south and headed towards him. In a few minutes the man had come close enough for the mage to get a better look. This person had been like Nest effected by the curse of Metamor keep. But he had become a lean and spotted cheetah morph. He stood a little over five and a half feet tall and literally weighed half of the mages weight. He was wearing a suit of chainmail armor. The tabard which covered the armor over his chest was dark blue. The gold cross on the front and back marked him as a paladin of the Order of the Protectors. A long sword dangled from his belt in a simple leather scabbard.<o:p></o:p><o:p> </o:p> Nest took in all the details of his friend easily but one thing noticed that truly worried him; that the paladin was alone.<o:p></o:p><o:p> </o:p> The lion looked around. "Where is Stealth?".<o:p></o:p><o:p> </o:p> "Stealth has decided not to come this time," Edmund responded in clipped tones.<o:p></o:p><o:p> </o:p> "We need Stealth here with us," Nestorius said nervously. "He'll be missed."<o:p></o:p><o:p> </o:p> "I know but we must respect his wishes," Edmund answered firmly. "I was unable to convince him to come. He refuses to come."<o:p></o:p><o:p> </o:p> Nestorius gave a growl of annoyance and shook his head.<o:p></o:p><o:p> </o:p> "Going without him feels wrong to me as well," The paladin commented. "But Stealth has never felt comfortable going into those woods."<o:p></o:p><o:p> </o:p> The mage nodded his head as the fur of his mane shook in unison. "I am fearful of going into that haunted place. Dealing with the undead is always dangerous but we must do this." He pointed to the forest. "We cannot leave those souls trapped in there. And whatever has them trapped must be explored and dealt with."<o:p></o:p><o:p> </o:p> Edmund held up a hand to silence his friend. "I understand that. Those are arguments for later when we can talk to our friend. For this trip we must go without him."<o:p></o:p><o:p> </o:p> "Agreed. I understand. I do not agree with it but I understand it," Nestorius growled softly. "Are you ready?"<o:p></o:p><o:p> </o:p> "I am ready to go," the cheetah answered as he looked south east in the direction of the Keep.<o:p></o:p><o:p> </o:p> Nestorius took a step towards the forest wall and paused for a moment. The mage took a deep breath to calm his nerves. Going into the woods made him nervous, doing so without his friend made him even more nervous. Finally Nestorius pushed the brush aside. He stepped through the opening he'd created. Edmund the paladin followed after him. The brush returned to its normal place of its own accord and all trace of the two vanished as if the woods had swallowed them up.<o:p></o:p><o:p> </o:p><o:p> </o:p>****************<o:p></o:p><o:p> </o:p><o:p> </o:p> Back at Metamor keep itself in one of its countless rooms a small group of four had gathered. Their leader like Edmund was a cheetah morph. He was slightly shorter than the paladin and of course the pattern of his spots was completely different. Stealth was wearing leather armor and had a long sword and dagger on his belt. Resting on a table nearby by was his longbow and a quiver with 20 arrows.<o:p></o:p><o:p> </o:p> Stealth glanced at the symbol on his cuffs. A sword with the point facing down, surrounded by a bow. The bow marked him as a scout and the sword pointing down as a sergeant. The promotion to sergeant meant more coins for him which was nice but it also meant he was responsible for the people in his squad. Three people who now depended on him making the right choices. Would he make the right choices?<o:p></o:p><o:p> </o:p> Standing at the front of the group was a wolf morph who was quite a bit taller than Stealth. His head and muzzle were tattooed with blue and red lines that marked him as a warrior from a human tribe north of the valley. Although exactly which tribe Stealth did not know. He was wearing armor made of small, palm sized squares of steel. His shield was hexagon shaped in that it had six edges but the four side parts were longer than the top and bottom. This gave the shield an odd rectangular shape. Dasan had a crossbow in hand. On his back was a quiver filled with a score of bolts and a short sword dangled from his belt in a leather sheath.<o:p></o:p><o:p> </o:p> The woman standing next to the wolf was slightly shorter than him. Her body was slimmer and trimmer but still her muscles showed when she moved. Mairsil had a large composite bow strapped to her back and a quiver dangled from her belt. Her long, brown hair was tied tightly into a bun.<o:p></o:p><o:p> </o:p> Mairsil was talking to the third person of the team. Adelyte was taller and stockier but the woman had the muscles and movements of a soldier. She had a spear in one hand and a bow and quiver strapped to her back. A jagged scar along her right cheek was a reminder of a fight with a Lutin.<o:p></o:p><o:p> </o:p> Stealth tried to follow all of Edmund's advice and look calm and confident even if he didn't feel calm or confident. "Our mission is a simple one. To watch a section of trail leading to Mycransburg," he said trying to sound confident. "We've scouted together before, we've hunted together. This is the same. We do this the same way as when we're hunting deer."<o:p></o:p><o:p> </o:p> "Except these deer carry weapons and can shoot back," Mairsil joked.<o:p></o:p><o:p> </o:p> "That doesn't change the tactics," Stealth countered. "Hopefully things will be quiet."<o:p></o:p><o:p> </o:p> "Nice and boring," the wolf added.<o:p></o:p><o:p> </o:p> "Hopefully but we have to stay on our guard just in case," Stealth responded. <o:p></o:p><o:p> </o:p><o:p> </o:p>**************<o:p></o:p><o:p> </o:p><o:p> </o:p> It was a quiet trip from the Keep. Just Stealth and the three scouts under his command. The journey north went well enough. After leaving the Keep they made their way north. Moving carefully they avoided the main roads as they were too obvious and they'd be too exposed. Eventually they reached their destination. It was a place where a small trail exited the haunted forest and crossed a small clearing. The trail then entered another forest that was not haunted. It was at the edge of the non-haunted woods that they settled in. The group split into pairs with each pair created a hiding spot. This was partly a hole dug into the ground and partly wood, earth and debris placed to make it invisible to the untrained eye.<o:p></o:p><o:p> </o:p> He should have been thinking about his small command. Four other people were depending on him to make the right decision. Stealth checked and rechecked all their hiding places trying to remember everything he had learned. But no matter how much he tried to concentrate his mind kept wandering to the haunted forest and his friends. He wondered what they were doing. Part of him wondered if he should have gone with them. Another part of him was relieved at not being in that haunted place. <o:p></o:p><o:p> </o:p> Time passed slowly for the group and Stealth climbed from his own hide every so often to check on the others. The cheetah scout had just finished such a visit and settled back into his hiding spot.<o:p></o:p><o:p> </o:p> A figure stepped out of the haunted woods and started walking intently across the clearing towards where the scouts were hiding. The creature's leonine features were clearly visible in spite of being all black in color. It took Stealth several seconds before he recognized him. He stood up and moved towards the figure. "Nestorius? Is that you?"<o:p></o:p><o:p> </o:p> The lion man turned towards him and ran forward. In moments he was close to the cheetah scout. "Stealth! I've found you!" He hugged the cheetah scout.<o:p></o:p><o:p> </o:p> "How did you know where I was?" Stealth asked.<o:p></o:p><o:p> </o:p> "I used a spell of course," the feline mage responded.<o:p></o:p><o:p> </o:p> "Am I that easy to find?" Stealth asked.<o:p></o:p><o:p> </o:p> The lion shook his head and the fur in his mane rustled back and forth. "No but as a friend it's easier to track you."<o:p></o:p><o:p> </o:p> He squinted at the lion. "How long have you been tracking me?"<o:p></o:p><o:p> </o:p> "Since I first found out you wouldn't be going into the forest with us," Nestorius answered.<o:p></o:p><o:p> </o:p> "Why?"<o:p></o:p><o:p> </o:p> "In case we needed your help," the mage explained. "And I was right."<o:p></o:p><o:p> </o:p> The cheetah's eyes narrowed. "Ah."<o:p></o:p><o:p> </o:p> The lion leaned close. "I have survived this long by being prepared. And I do like to watch over my friends. To be sure they are safe."<o:p></o:p><o:p> </o:p> "I see. So what happened? Why are you here and where is Ed?"<o:p></o:p><o:p> </o:p> "It was remarkable actually," the lion gestured wildly with his hands. "When we entered the forest it changed. It was as if we had been transported back in time. We hadn't been in a ruin in a forest. Instead we were in a living, vibrant Suielman city."<o:p></o:p><o:p> </o:p> "What?" Stealth asked, surprised. "You were where?"<o:p></o:p><o:p> </o:p> "We were in the Suielman city of Camulodunum back when it was a living place," Nest answered slowly as if doubting his own words.<o:p></o:p><o:p> </o:p> "You were seeing more ghosts." the scout answered slowly. "We've seen ghosts every time we went into those woods."<o:p></o:p><o:p> </o:p> The lion shook his head. "No," he said slowly. "This wasn't seeing a few ghosts in the ruins. What we saw was the live city. We were walking in a living, breathing place. We were interacting with the people there as easily as we are talking here, now. It did not look or feel like we were seeing ghosts."<o:p></o:p><o:p> </o:p> Stealth had a puzzled look as his tail flipped back and forth. "That's amazing and scary. If you were walking among them and talking to the locals why didn't they notice a lion and a cheetah wandering around?"<o:p></o:p><o:p> </o:p> Nestorius shook his head. "We looked to be Seuilman we even seemed to speak the right language."<o:p></o:p><o:p> </o:p> "How?"<o:p></o:p><o:p> </o:p> "I do not know. But those are mere details. The problem is Edmund," the mage added. "He was overcome by the spirit of the environment and he truly thinks he is a citizen of the city. He believes himself to be a Vigilis."<o:p></o:p><o:p> </o:p> Stealth stood there for a moment unresponsive as if unable to absorb what he had just heard. Then he blinked slowly and shook his head as if to drive away a bad dream. He stared at the mage intently. "What? He thinks he's a what?"<o:p></o:p><o:p> </o:p> "A Vigilis," the mage answered. "The Seuilman version of the city watch. He truly believes he is one." <o:p></o:p><o:p> </o:p> "What? How?" Stealth snarled.<o:p></o:p><o:p> </o:p> The mage shrugged. "I am not sure. But all of his memories of being here at Metamor, being a paladin, his entire life. Gone. Replaced by a false one from six hundred years ago."<o:p></o:p><o:p> </o:p> Stealth sighed deeply and shook his head. "Why is nothing about those woods easy."<o:p></o:p><o:p> </o:p> "I've never liked those woods," Mairsil commented. "They've always creeped me out."<o:p></o:p><o:p> </o:p> "If you both were there why weren't you overwhelmed by it?" Stealth asked. "Why aren't you wandering around thinking you're a Suielman?"<o:p></o:p><o:p> </o:p> "I always have protection," the mage answered. "And so did Edmund. But for some reason he was affected anyway."<o:p></o:p><o:p> </o:p> "He was there before." Stealth answered calmly. "And not in some weird dream. We both were there back in 150."<o:p></o:p><o:p> </o:p> "Edmund mentioned that to me. You truly believe you were soldiers back then and reincarnated?" The mage asked.<o:p></o:p><o:p> </o:p> The scout nodded his head. "I remember things I shouldn't, Call it a trick, my imagination, a spell, whatever. I know Edmund believes that, but Ed would believe he's destined to go to the moon if you draw it on a napkin."<o:p></o:p><o:p> </o:p> Nestorius was quiet for a long moment. "That makes sense. It would explain why he was so vulnerable. His soul was remembering its previous life."<o:p></o:p><o:p> </o:p> "That's it?" Stealth asked. Slightly confused.<o:p></o:p><o:p> </o:p> Nest looked at his friend. "You made a logical argument that fits all the criteria. What's wrong? You were expecting an argument?"<o:p></o:p><o:p> </o:p> "Well," Stealth said slowly. "Yes. Edmund and me have been arguing over that for months."<o:p></o:p><o:p> </o:p> "I am not Edmund," Nestorius responded calmly. "Now am I? But all of this debate must be saved for another day. We need to rescue our friend. Now will you help?"<o:p></o:p><o:p> </o:p> "Of course!" Stealth responded. The feline scout was silent for a moment then he turned to his squad mates.<o:p></o:p><o:p> </o:p> The three Keepers were standing and listening quietly.<o:p></o:p><o:p> </o:p> "Philip," Stealth said calmly. "Take the squad back to the Keep. Report directly to George and tell him what's happened. Also tell him that Nestorius and I have gone to rescue Edmund."<o:p></o:p><o:p> </o:p> "You two are going in there alone?" Philip responded. "We should go with you."<o:p></o:p><o:p> </o:p> The cheetah shook his head. "No. We've been in those ghost filled woods before. You haven't. And I won't risk all of you."<o:p></o:p><o:p> </o:p><o:p> </o:p>**********************<o:p></o:p><o:p> </o:p><o:p> </o:p> Up ahead a tumbled down and overgrown wall suddenly loomed up. The mage came to a halt barely two steps from the ruins. "This is about where it happened. When we reach the wall you will change. So don't be surprised."<o:p></o:p><o:p> </o:p> Stealth gave a chirp of laughter. "The curse changed me into a cheetah. After that, nothing can surprise me."<o:p></o:p><o:p> </o:p> Nestorius didn't speak but turned and walked forward. The other feline followed and suddenly everything changed.<o:p></o:p><o:p> </o:p></div></body></html>