I wheeze, stopping to catch my breath.
If there's something that I hate ,more than this city ...it would be Rowan and his ragtag bunch assholes.
Yet, I really couldn't blame them- not being their kindred made me a 'justified' prey.
It was their 'mandate' to wipe off plight from the face of the earth.
The 'plight' being me... nkt
Neither that nor could I put mind on the contemptous looks the 'good ratkin folk' gave me- though some try to hide it
I had learned to ignore them, long ago.
Either way, I had no say in such matters, I have no leverage, no strength or power to speak of.
Being a 'greyskin' only made it worse.
Stretching, my weary back finds purchase onto a rocky outcrop.
My wheezes finally calm down as I seat.
I take in the view before me;
In the valley down below,
A dark river- Ekat' marra coiled as it snaked its way through the rocks, roaring, unbothered ....unrelenting as its dark waters violently crashed aganist granite.
A show of sheer unrelenting will.
This said river was the subject of uncountable tales.
I've heard many of them, praising or warnings of its might.
"Yea right! As if..." I snicker, arguing their logic
Seeing the roaring waves below, warnings or not, I wouldn't dare get five feet close to it.
Not to mention its rumours- that once Ekat marra has sunk its claws on you- YOU. ARE . A . GONER.
The rumours?
Let them be ...I'm not foolish enough to try debunking them- a fools errand I say
"Haah...back to work"
My feet burst in action, lifting my weight, one two three...
My steps get in tempo, leveraging my balance with every step- carrying me.
My destination awaits.
I give the churning waters a last glance as I walk off.
Not a long while later, my silhouette scalled down the cliff.
Brows sweating from the intense situation I find myself in.
A plunge from this height and it would be my last.
"FUCK!"
My hold slips, sending pebbles flying down below, and dust into my eyes!
The pebbles clattered and bounced down the cliffside, echoing faintly in the valley below.
I knew, my burning eyes would have to wait!
My face is soaked with sweat- trickling down my visage, into my lips and down my chin, I could taste the salt in it.
My hands shake as I struggle to maintain my hold onto the chiseled rocky cliff.
My fingers!
They had turned into a mess of scarlet-brown and black mess.
I've seen worse- this was not my first rodeo.
Yet, each time I vow never to set foot into these horrid depths
"Ahh"
Relief washes over my body as I feel my legs kiss the solid ground.
I have made it!
Bloody fingers wrap around soft leather handles,
I yank them out, unsheathing my daggers.
Or rather kitchen knives re-purposed.
Why the caution you ask?
My past self would beg to differ.
The first time I set foot here, I was immediately sent packing.
Lest I be food for the critters of this depths.
Back then, I came face to face with vermin the size of mutts.
You would think they would make great soup, but no!
Good for nothing vermin, riddled with plague and disease.
What a waste.
A waste, yes ...but the rulers of this abbyss nevertheless.
Also, they offered good practise, in purging them off this world.
Thumbs up for the decent 'dagger' practise they've given me over the years.
Oww, I digress.
My reason for setting foot in this vile place over and again?
It would be the mushroom grotto, an undiscovered 'golden garden'- and it would remain so.
I wouldn't want it to be shared! There was barely enough to go around already.
Nevertheless, they have fed me and Lum for quite a while.
.
Ahh, before me lay the magnificence I'd come for- an expanse glowing mushrooms.
The place was heavenly- if you overlooked the chewed out mushroom stems.
The work of vermin of course (*smirk*)
I couldn't fault them, really- one has to do what he's got to do to survive- so long as they kept their filthy claws to themselves
I take it all in, the ethereal glow cast by the mycelium,
The occassional chittering of bugs,
The sweet and pleasant fragrance emanating from them....so quiet ...so peaceful.
A snicker escapes my lips.
"It always catches me off guard huh?"
That 'peaceful' feeling, a lure, bait cast by the reaper himself.
To be entranced by the sight is to give in to the cold embrace of death.
The illusion of tranquility was just but an effect of spores inhaled....enthrall those foolish and weak willed.
They weren't that strong though, one could shrug its allure, so long as you remain aware.
A closer look and you'll witness clusters of mushroom growing out of rotted out vermin, alive and entralled.
Frankly, I am awed by the irony of it all- vermin and mycellium in a system of survival.
Vermin chewing out mushrooms, whilst the weak willed of them entralled and turned into nourishment for the mycellium.
Grim as it is, this is the reality of the world they lived in...he wouldn't complain.
or rather, he couldn't, who am I to morally judge the course of nature
I am but a speck of dust in this vile and accursed world
"There."
I murmurs to no one in particular, and to atleast break the deafening silence
At the periphery of my vision, a toppled mushroom lay- my work in 'farming'
Upon its rotting trunk was a patch of bone white mushrooms.
Round bulbs with thin stems, barely supporting their own weight.
These were the prize he'd come for.
They were the mild and distant cousins of the towering mushrooms.
Their suppressed effects are still welcomed, they will do great in easing Lum's pain- mild halucinogens and whatnot.
Make Lum's last days tolerable.
Within my musings, my fingers work their way, grabbing a bunch of mushrooms and running his dagger aganist the bulbs
The handful gets deposited into the satchel.
It takes me a couple of minutes to be done with the cluster.
The satchel bulging behind my back.
These would last us quite a while- just to be dried and packed for storage.
They make quite a mean broth (smiles)
~~
"Boss are 'ye sure he'll come this way?"
Rowan glares at his lieutenant, he growls as he delivers a few smacks to the head
"Of course he will...you numbskull!"
He stops, a smirk marring his visage. Points at the horizon
"Talk of the devil."
At a distance, a figure lugged a large backpack, his steps weary as it thudded aganist the stone walkway.
It was an unmistakable figure of the 'greyskin' they awaited
"Oi! You've kept us waiting!"
"Scram the hell off, Rowan, this is not the time"
Rain huffs, almost collapsing from the weight on his back.
It had been a long journey...he wasn't in the mood to tolerate, let alone entertain some idle numbskulls.
"What did you say to me? You vile creature!"
Rowan hisses, his mouth foaming with anger
The ratkin makes a sudden leap and twists, whipping his tail across Rain's limbs- sending him tumbling
No sooner had he hit the rocky ground when Rowan's minions were upon him, pummeling him with blows and kicks.
Rain didn't stay down for long though, a few blows got his adrenaline kicking.
Akin to a demented spirit, Rain delivered knees and elbows to his attackers, managing to make them back off, nurse their throbbing bruises.
The scuffle had drawn in a crowd, watching at a distance, yet hesitant to step in.
"He ought to be taught a lesson!" someone in the crowd murmured, throwing a contemptous look at Rain.
"I wonder why Lum harbors such a vile creature!" Another quips in, scratching her whiskers.
The growing crowd roused me from my wrathful and crazed state.
I've grown sick of Rowan's antics.
The urge to smack the stars out of that smug and whiskered face soared, threatening to unleash its fury at a moments notice.
Yet, I couldn't risk the ire of the crowd.
I grab my bulging satchel and silently leave- or rather I attempt to leave.
Incensed, Rowan bellows, charging at me
Swift as I am, I dodge then roll, escaping Rowan's tackle.
Shifting from a roll to standing upright, I barely had time to sidestep the follow up tail lash.
Air blew aganist my face as the lash missed by a hair's breadth.
I don't look back as I slide, dodging the circling ratkin.
"GET HIM!"
The chase ensued.
With my swift dodges I made some distance, the ratkin close behind, closed in, hissing in anger.
My eyes gleam, as I quickly closed in on the city gates, past them, losing these bastards will be childsplay.
The pack on my back weighed down on me, fatigue was just but a moment from catching up to me- but it was the same case with my pursuerers.
They will give up soon, They always do.
It was at that split second thaf a blur went across my vision.
The next second I my vision swam; I was sent flying.
Knocking my breath off as I crashed aganist the rock walls.
My sight blurry, I scan my sorrounding, trying to make sense of what had transpired- get my bearing
There!
A ratkin gave me a shit eating grin, looking smug.
Yet still piercing me with a contemptous look - a member of Rowan's followers.
Had they anticipated my escape and planned around it?
Made contingencies to stop me?
I flex my knee, trying to get up
Swiiip
A tail lash got my back onto the ground- face first.
I could barely get a grip on what happened next- all I could perceive were blurs, coupled with stinging pain shooting up my nerves.
My ears protested,
Ringing from the heavy blows and numerous tail lashes landing on my figure.
I lost senses, of time ,of where I was- what overloaded my perception was the sense of pain, all over....everywhere!
My mouth hung loose spewing scarlet ichor- a mix of blood and bits of flesh.
"Hold him down!"
[Riiip!]
The sound of tearing fabric rent the air drowning out the chaos of the scuffle
Rowan stretched his clawed hand, smirked as he rasps
"LETS GET SOM3 GREYSKIN OFF YOU!!"
AAAArRRHHHHHH
A earth rending scream esacapes my maw.
Th3 pain jolts me from my dazed stupor.
My back spewing blood, drenching my garments.
All senses return.
I hear a guttural laughter, my eyes move, scanning the source of the sound.
Rowan, a piece of gray flesh in hand.
It was then that all hell broke loose!
One moment, I was pinned to the ground, the next?
Dagger unsheathed and plunged into Rowan's breast.
His face still marred with a sadistic grin, before realisation struck him, or rather the pain.
My eyes bore holes into his face, wrath flaring within.
I grasp the dagger hilt and twist it, a sickening crunch of flesh reaching my ears- the melody I oh so desired.
Rowan stumbles, clutching the still embedded knife, disbelief and horror on his face.
It was then that I awaken from my crazed frenzy
My hands shake as I stares down at the twitching and foaming Rowan.
"Call the healers!!"
Panic set in.
Rowan's minions yelling in horror as they watched their kindred bleed out.
They grabbed his twitching figure and rushed into the distance, to the healers shade.
It was doubtful that he would make it
Still shaking, I stare at the pool of blood- Rowan's
He didn't even notice the one pooling beneath his feet.
Realisation kicked in.
I have gone past the point of no return.