As I was trotting down the path through the forest, my favorite place to go, I noticed that a handcart, being pulled by an old rat, was coming up behind me. I sat down on a stump and whittled with my sword until the old rat arrived. "Hello, rat. Where are you off to." I asked, calmly. "Hmmm. I'm off to nowhere. I'm a merchant, I sell my wares and good advice." "Good advice?" I asked, and I stopped whittling. "How much?" "Ummmm, well, I'll sell you some if you carry my hand cart with me in it to the end of this forest." "Well," I thought, "I was wanting to trot through the forest anyway, and this cart can't be to heavy, if this old man could carry it. Do I might as well go along and help him." I nodded my head, and the old rat bounced into the back of the cart. I lifted the two cart by it's handles, and I couldn't believe what I realized. This cart was very heavy, and I was amazed that the old rat could carry it at all. I trudged down the path, never stopping once, because when I started to put the handles down, the old rat yelled from inside, "You done? We ain't there yet, so no advice!" I gasped and trundled until finally the end was in sight. With an effort, I finally exited the forest and stood outside, and there I put down the cart and panted. The old rat jumped out, and popped a bottle holding some water towards me. "Here, have a drink and catch your breath, when you're good and ready I'll tell you your reward." I drunk the whole bottle, and handed it back to him, he asked me, "You ready?" "Yes." I panted. "On what do you want the advice?" "Um," I mumbled. "I know! How can a fox like I find some adventure? I need some excitement and I would indeed like to fight." "AAAAAAhhhhhhh." the old rat flexed his jaw and thought. "Hmmmmm. All right. About 1 mile to the north of here there is a great hall. Within that great hall is a score of mice, and those mice are famous warriors. If you are a true vermin, which you are as I can see, you will embark on this great quest and receive great honor." He stopped and then continued. "Oh, yes, and if you pass that barrier, you will find a band of otters marching on Marshank." "WHAT?" I shouted, shocked. "How can that be? Our spies told us no information about them." "The spies were bribed. You must stop them if you are from Marshank." He flexed his arms and picked up the handles of his cart. "Good luck, if you are to embark on this quest. May you succeed." I watched as the old mouse walked away and eventually faded away into the distance. I decided that I must go and fight these mice warriors, and destroy the otter band. I began to hike north on an old, dusty path. I knew that the journey may be an impossible one, and a few days hike, even walking briskly. I decided that there was no huge rush, the otters would have to pass me on the way, and with all my life I would fit and kill them all if they dared try to pass. The night of the first day's journey, I was huddled around a fire I had made from old bark and small saplings. Suddenly I heard a twig snap behind me, and I spun around, my sword drawn, ready to fight to the death, when I recognized the figure. "Patcheye!" I gasped, putting my sword away. "What in the blazes are you doing here?" "I followed yer all the way back where yer carried that ol' rat's cart. I was a wondering wheres you where going." "Well," I said. "I'm on a quest, alone. But will you take this message to King Hisk?" He nodded, and I scribbled madly on a piece of paper. "Here, this explains why I am gone and not to send backup. Bring it to King Hisk, and don't come back and follow me!" "Allrighty, BloodEye. I'll bring this letter, and I'll stay in Marshank. I've got some slaves that need a good whipping, so I guess I'll see you at the end of your adventure." "Yes, I think you will." I mumbled. Patcheye nodded, and grabbed the note. We waved, and he ran off into the blackness. I huddled back by the fire, and then slept. I awoke to find my arms tied, and my feet also tied. I had a headache, so I looked up. I was tied upside down, and the blood had gone to my head. I struggled, and then I saw 2 rabbits pocking around my bag and sword. I began to gnaw at the ropes that tied my hands, and then, when they were free, untied my legs. I hit the ground with a thud, which didn't help my headache at all. The 2 hares turned and looked at me. "AYA! HE'S FREE! GET HIM!" But, luckily for me, I had started spying lessons with Wolfsbane, and I easily disappeared into the foliage. I heard the hares saying, "Hey? Where in the blazes did he go?" "He must be some sort of Marlfox. We can outwit him." They put my sword on a log and drew their pikes. I crept around through the bushes until I was barely behind the stump that my sword was laying. I silently crept forward, and suddenly darted up an grabbed my sword, drew it from it's scabbard, and plunged at the hares with a yell. "MARSHANK! MARSHANK!" The 2 hares were so surprised and frightened that they didn't have time to defend themselves. I ran one through, and chopped the other's arms off and finally finished him off with a blow to the chest. The 2 rabbits, now dead, were near the foliage where I originally disappeared. I then slung my sheath on my back, and strapped it on. I placed my sword into the scabbard, and began to continue. After 3 days without incident, I reached the great hall. And, as the old rat had said, there was a great amount of mice. All had a weapon with them, and were eating and talking. I silently climbed onto the roof, and slid a few shingled off, reviling the original wood. It was so rotted away, I just had to cut an outline an pull it out to make a large hole in the roof. I threw the chunk of wood away and climbed down into the support beams inside the hall. Bellow me the mice where drinking and eating and singing, and most of them were drunk. I drew my sword and prepared to make my move. I would sneak down and silently kill them, one at a time, until there were enough to fight head on. I was about to climb down when my foot hit a nail, and I slipped and fell down onto the dirt floor of the hall. I was stunned, and my shoulder was bleeding, but the mice were coming at me with full force, some with mace and chains, some with swords, and even some with war hooks. They ran up but before the got in range, I made my move. I spun around and kicked on in the face while I stabbed another in the chest, then spun around and tripped one with my foot while I punched another behind me in the nose. The fight went on and on like this, I spun and stabbed and kicked and punched, while they hit me, cut me, and stabbed at me. I was bleeding in great quantities, and I felt like I was a fool to try to kill these mice. But I kept my confidence and yelled the battle cry, "MARSHANK!" and continued fighting with all my strength. Finally, after 2 hours, my strength failed me. I collapsed onto the floor, panting, to tired and hurt to move. The mice seemed surprised to see me so suddenly fall, and they first just stood there, but then, the grabbed me by my cloak, and pulled me out back, all the while yelling, "Hang him! Hang him! Hang the murder! The vermin! The servant of Hisk! HANG HIM!" They carried me to the gallows and threw the rope around my neck. The hangman said, "Well hang you with your sword, and leave you hear for the crows to eat!" He then slapped me across the face, and pulled the trapdoor. My breath was gone, and I was choking. I realized that I was being hung. I gulped and tried with all my might to breath, but my airway was closed. I gasped and grabbed the rope, each time gasping, and panting, and the roar and the cheers of the mice grew louder and louder. Things began to swirl around me, and my eyes felt like they were going to pop out. I finally grabbed my sword, and with my remaining strength I cut there rope around my neck. This also cut my face, but I didn't care. I breathed deeply, as the few remaining mice roared in anger, and drew their weapons. But my strength was back. The first one, with a mace, charged, thinking that I was weak and at death's door. But I slashed him through the chest, and he fell, dead. I then yelled for the next time, "FOR HISK! FOR MARSHANK! FOR DARKSAIL!" and I charged the mob. Fighting, slashing, and killing was all that I could think about. I battled, parried and chopped. I gored, stabbed, and severed. Finally, the last mouse ran up, with his mace and chain. The blow hit me on the shoulder, the same one that I had fallen on in the hall. I doubled over in pain, but before he could strike the fatal blow, a swoop came down, and a seagull, giant and hungry, picked him up in his beak, and carried him up. The mouse's head was in the seagull's jaws, and then I saw him snap, and the mouse was no more. I then collapsed on the gallows, and slept. I awoke at night. No one was near me. I was still surrounded by corpses of the mice, and as far as I could tell, the great hall was empty. But then I saw, sneaking out of the great hall with a mouse in it's jaws, a skinny, slithering shape. It was black in the silhouette of the night, and it's huge fangs were dripping with venom. "Snake." I shuddered in pure terror. One bite from a snake would mean my death. I stood still, and silently drew my blade. The snake's yellow eyes, burning with an inner hatred, caught my gaze. He stared strait into my eyes, and I was so frightened, I couldn't move. But the snake's gaze changed as he suddenly saw a rustle in the bushes. My chance had come! I lunged with my sword, catching the snake a blow to the side. It hissed and coiled, and grasped me with his tail. I chopped it off, and the snake hissed again. He lunged with those killer teeth and just barely missed my head. He bit the gallows wood, where I chopped off his head. His body, still writhing and squirming, whipped the ground near my feet, and the severed snake head, dripping blood, hissed and then it's eyes became glazed, and he hissed no more. I sighed with thankfulness that the snake was dead, and I staggered off back to the fort. I light a fire and took a burning stick to the great hall. The building blazed, and the fire spread from cadaver to cadaver, and I ran about 100 feet away and watched the giant blaze. My eyes closed looking at that giant flame, and I slept again. I awoke that morning. I looked around with glazed eyes and suddenly I saw a band of otters with pikes, maces, and swords marching down the path. I realized that these where the otters, the ones the old rat had talked about! The fort was still burning, and the otters were approaching the part of the road that passed right next to the flaming mass of wood, twigs, and beams. I suddenly had a plain. The wood was burnt most away, and I realized that they weren't sturdy. I approached the flaming hall, and just as the otters were next to it, I chopped the support beams. The whole hall fell, onto the otters, in a flaming, burning mess. The otters yelled and screamed, as burning beams, straw, and shingled fell on them. The leader roared in anger and then, seeing me, drew his sword and charged. The dual began! We fought, and tried to thrust our sword points into the other, but each other was so go a swordsman, that we couldn't even get close. We where both about to collapse from exhaustion when the otter said, "Hold! Hold. Please hold. Let us rest, please." I was glad that he wanted to rest, so I plopped down on a burnt log and began to polish my sword. "Who are you?" The otter asked. "I am BloodEye, the Marlfox. But I am also called BloodEye the Slaver, for I catch many slaves for King Hisk." "King Hisk?" the otter asked, trembling. "You, you didn't send for backups did you?" I decided that a little lie would help. "Er, yes! Our army is on the way!" The otter suddenly cried out and kneeled at my feet. "PLEASE! Don't kill me! I'll fight for your side, please! Please! Don't let them kill me!" "Oh, all right. You can join!" "Really? Oh thank you, great fox! Thank you much! I'll go to Marshank and surrender myself!" "Ah, shut up and get out of here." "Oh, I will! I will! Goodbye, great Marlfox!" The cowardly otter ran off. I then smiled, shut my eyes, and slept. The next couple days, I hiked south, back to Marshank. When I returned, and told King Hisk my story. "Good, good." he said. "You will be well rewarded." "Thank you, King Hisk." I sighed. "Now I would like a nice day in bed. Suddenly I'm very tired!" So I slept, and I was rewarded as King Hisk said, because, after all, he always keeps his word.
By: BloodEye
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Re: Wolfsong Borealis (-ooc- If you want to take the time, click on each letter of Wolfsong's name, each will lead to a different picture of him.)
