The Beginning Of The End

Posted on Tue Sep 20th, 2022 @ 3:11am by Holdstaff Unnamed
Edited on on Tue Sep 20th, 2022 @ 3:25am

Mission: FRH
Location: A holdless encampment
Summary: The Plot Begins
Timeline: M4 D25

Her breaths came so fast, so sharp, that her head started to reel. Her vision blurred and cleared with each exhale and each inhale. A burning pain shot between her ribs causing her to stumble and reach for a tree branch.

*Not now! Not now!* she pleaded silently.

The sounds of jungle foliage whipping and snapping as large bodies rushed through assaulted her ears even over her own rasping breathing. They were catching up.

She pushed herself off the tree with a weak grunt. Her energy was flagging, the evening becoming darker. If she could only reach the encampment. Then she'd be safe.

Only a few minutes later, she knew she wouldn't make it back to her brother and the others of the holdless camp. She only had one other choice. She darted sharply to her right, hoping she had judged her location correctly. It was her only chance.

Suddenly the stench of a male wher filled her nostrils. She threw herself to the ground and crawled under the roots of giant broom tree. The sound of footsteps and the slither of wherhide on greenery closed in. Her hand covered her nose and mouth to hush the reedy gasps of her breath as tears streamed down her cheeks.

Then the sounds of her pursuers faded away. After listening for a few more minutes, she made a desperate run for what she hoped would be her salvation.

She found the small cave entrance by sheer luck, but she didn't pause to thank the Dawn Stars. The hunters were coming back.

Down on her stomach, she squeezed her way into the crack in the rock face. Her hips felt the pressure of the narrow opening. Skin scraped off along a thigh as she struggled to get her legs in fast enough.

A blinding pain seared up her leg starting at her ankle. She screamed as the wher closed his teeth around her ankle and started to drag her out into black night.

Gravel and dirt tore at her stomach while filling into her tunic. Her nails broke off as her bloodied fingers tried desperately to find a hold on the rock. Then she was laying on the jungle floor sobbing. The wher released his hold at the command of the dark shadow silhouetted against the filtered starlight coming down through the canopy above.

"It was a good try, girl" the man grumbled in what might have been a laugh. "Didn't your mama tell you to never go out at night alone?"

He picked the girl up by the back of her torn tunicand set her on her feet. She gulped in great streams of air in between silent sobs. There was no point in screaming or crying out loud, it was too late. A hard shove sent her into the calloused hands of another man.

"Tie her hands and attach the rope to Yick's collar. She fills the order and we have no time to find a spare if she runs off. When we get back, chain her to the others, hand and foot."

In the depth of the now fallen darkness, a grunt of acknowledgement could be heard.

The wher started off with the girl in tow, the second man leading the way.

"Tomorrow you will be sailing on the sea," the first man said to his new prisoner as he brought up the rear.

Even though he made it sound like she was in for a wonderful journey, the girl knew better.

This was just the beginning of the end.

Unnamed holdless girl.
Unnamed men.
Yick the Wher

Muchele~ [email protected]