 Posted:
Thu Jun 19, 2008 5:34 pm |
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This is an old story I stumbled across in my computer. It's pointless but I figured I might as well make it public. Kaid doesn't exist anywhere but here. There are people still playing this game, right? Write something, anything.
The forest loomed ahead of him, its trees draped in creepers, its limbs twisting grotesquely, craving the light but seeming to shun it. It had once been a vibrant wood, he knew. It had once been a part of a thriving empire full of life and commerce. It was a home to the dead now. A home to things worse than the dead.
Lost Myridius. Parents told tales of it to frighten children, men used it as an example of humanity misled, humanity killing itself. Kaid looked grimly ahead, eyes searching the space beneath the canopy, the forbidding darkness between misshapen trunks and sprawling undergrowth. Very few attempted to travel the paths of lost Myridius and even fewer lived to tell about it. Fewer still returned to travel them again.
This was not Kaid’s first trip to the ruins of Myridius. He hoisted his rucksack higher on his back and adjusted his belt, making sure his blades were positioned where he could draw them on the instant. He traveled lightly with just some rations of food and water in his pack, along with a spare light and a pair of spare blades. That’s what one needed if he hoped to survive in these ancient wilds; sustenance, to preserve his own health, and steel, to carve the health out of whatever threatened his own.
Any normal man who came across Kaid outfitted the way he was and with his face set like a frozen stone, eyes saying kill or be killed, would likely realize he had something pressing to do somewhere far away. He moved lithely, garbed primarily in dark leathers and dulled mithril. The exception was a light, form-fitting breastplate over his chest and vitals. The only other visible oddity was that his belt was made entirely of woven feathers. They were long, broad feathers blacker than pitch and seemed to force your eyes to stare and yet slide away. He had daggers at each hip and each shoulder as well as a finely crafted short bow hung across his back. Definitely not a man to tangle with.
Kaid walked briskly along the outskirts of the wood, peering intently at the ground over which he passed and into the undergrowth on his right. He hoped he hadn’t passed the trail. It was nearly impossible to see where the old track connected with the highway, even for someone who had found it before. Abruptly he came upon exactly what he was looking for and darted off into the depths without the slightest hesitation.
The forest was quiet, extremely quiet. It wasn’t completely silent, there was still the creaking of tree limbs and the rustle of leaves along with an occasional bird cry or the scurrying of some small rodent, but the sounds all seemed muted, as if even the wildlife was afraid to draw the attention of something sinister. The path beneath Kaid’s feet slowly changed from nothing but a wider-than-natural gap between the trees into a dirt path overgrown with weeds and brush. Soon he started to see ancient cobbles, many strewn haphazardly around the area, a result of the trials of time. It was hard to imagine this place as part of a thriving trade route.
Kaid moved quickly, his eyes never ceasing to probe the musty half-dark around him. It was only midmorning but, in the woods, it seemed almost dusk. It was dangerous even to be walking under these trees. Old, rotted branches shared the treetops with healthy limbs, primed to fall and batter an unwary traveler. This trip was tense and Kaid felt his shoulders starting to knot up. He didn’t want to dwell too long on all of the possible problems he could run into, or the problems that could run into him.
There was a howl in the distance. Kaid immediately tensed and drew both of his blades but didn’t stop. He kept his pace but was now poised to run on the instant. He heard another howl, and this one was slightly closer than the first; his worst fears confirmed. Blood wolves.
Kaid broke into a sprint. There was no waiting for a pack of blood wolves to converge. He was in a headlong plunge, tree trunks blurring by without registering, his feet barely seeming to even touch the ground. Sweat sprang from every pour in his body and his breath was coming raggedly, but he was intent on keeping that breath. He heard more longing howls. The wolves seemed to be easily keeping pace. There was nothing for it but to keep going.
Another few moments and Kaid could hear his pursuers come abreast of him, crashing through the underbrush, but he still could not see them. Still he ran. If he stopped, he died. His legs churned, growing weary, his blood pounded in his ears and his breath heaved and rasped. A flicker of motion at the periphery of his vision caused Kaid to strike out, not even turning. A high-pitched yelp barely registered as Kaid continued his head-long plunge.
Motion again, this time on his left. A huge, furry shape came growling out of the trees bordering the path and Kaid slashed both of his blades crosswise, viciously slicing through hair, muscle and sinew. After the twist he flowed smoothly back into his sprinting gait. Another flash of motion, another splatter of blood and still Kaid ran. He didn’t know how much farther he had to go.
The cobbles beneath his feet were becoming more uniform, starting to more greatly resemble the road they had once been. He was close. Even blood wolves shun the streets of Myridius itself. He let his momentum carry him forward, focusing on everything but his own labored steps and breathing. Twin snarls came launching out of the woods, one on either side. Kaid simply flew into a headlong dive straight forward, always forward, and tucked at the last instant into a roll that brought him to his feet. He received the satisfaction of hearing a muffled yelp behind him as the two massive bodies collided.
Before he was able to complete a single step, however, a huge weight slammed into his back, bearing him to the ground. Giant claws gouged his shoulders as he fell but Kaid didn’t even notice as instinct and adrenaline spun him in mid-fall, allowing him to drive his arms around and slam his blades into the side of the beast. In rapid succession Kaid stabbed the body again and again while at the same time extricating his legs from underneath it. As soon as he was free he was back on his feet and sprinting the rest of the way into the tumbled, decrepit ruins of a once-proud city.
Once he was about a block in, he turned and looked back upon the path he had just run. He was just able to see a long, bushy tail disappear into the foliage beside the ancient path, leaving the lone corpse of its brethren behind. Kaid stood there for several minutes, catching his breath and investigating his wounds. As his adrenaline subsided his shoulders began to ache but, considering, they were not bad. Only a couple of the wolf’s claws had bitten deeply. Looking up at the sun, Kaid estimated he had been beneath the trees for half an hour. He had been sprinting for half that.
One last, deep, breath and an exhalation and Kaid turned to walk deeper into the ruins. He wanted to be done with this quickly. He had a recall scheduled when the sun reached its peak. Not even he was mad enough to go back out the way he had come. |
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Anonymous
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