Re: Fan Fic Contest: Are you the best writer?
I know it’s long. I’m really sorry, but I’ve just been charging up my imagination for this one for so long. I don’t know what to take out. Anyway I thought I could get away with a long one this time cause Dadnarg is judging.
The Ashen Mere was silent under the pale light of the full moon. Slink and his escort ran tirelessly through the swamp, there feet making no sound against the soft earth. An owl hooted high above, and then was silent. It had been twenty years since they had driven the orcs from their lands. Peace reigned supreme in the still swamp that the naga race called home. All man all snake these creatures were once again the supreme beings, fierce in war, but relishing peace the naga had the adaptability and vitality to survive. A naga’s true form may never be known, but they enjoy both their humanoid and their snake forms. Slink held up his hand and the escort halted.
“Sssslink, why have you sssstopped? It is only a mile yet to reach the village.”
“Ssssilence Chuka.” Chuka obediently fell silent, then looked up suddenly eyes wide and wary. “You sssense it too?”
“Yesss my lord.”
“I’m afraid we may not be the firssst onessss there. Hurry!”
The escort took off after Slink. As they neared the village they heard it to. Screams of terror, wales of children, yelling, and groaning of the wounded and dying, but accompanying it was the most horrible sound. A cross between choking and snarling it was. Slink happened to look at the sky, “Dear Boahesu!” escaped his lips, “No!” He and his escort burst into the marshy town center weapons at the ready, but they were too late…
The clearing was silent as the tomb it had become. Bodies of the fallen were strewn upon the ground. Trees had been ripped up by their roots and the inhabitants living beneath it quickly slaughtered.
Eyes wide with horror and alarm Chuka spoke under his breath, “Just like when the orcsss attacked.”
“No Chuka. Thisss wasss not done by orcsss.”
“Who then?”
“I have a sssusspicion, but we will look for cluesss. I correct myssself. You will look for cluesss.”
“Where are you going?” Chuka asked, but Slink had already torn off in the direction of his dwelling. The other members of his escort and Chuka began searching.
Slink exploded into his den looking around wildly. Everything had been ransacked, doors had been ripped off hinges and flung across the dwelling. Slink raced into the child’s room, but there was no one on the covers. He flung them aside, and still nothing. He turned and ran breathing hard to his room looking around desperately. He was rushing out of the dwelling when he saw something sticking out from under the overturned table. It was an arm. Slink hurled the table aside, and there on the floor before him, pale as death, face frozen in horror, lay his wife Keisha. He sank to his knees, grasping her cold hand, and, pressing it too his lips, he began weeping. Sensing something he open his eyes and shook away the tears. He saw it now, minuscule as it was, Keisha’s belly was rising and falling ever so slightly. He ran to the door and called for Chuka, “Chuka get over here!”
Chuka came quickly, “Yess my lord?”
“Run for the sssnakebender quickly!” Chuka dashed off to the west without another word. The snakebender was living by himself at the far end of the Ashen Mere.
“Ssslink?” Keisha breathed weakly.
Slink rushed to her side again, “The sssnakebender isss coming. He can heal you.” He pulled her up and held her in his powerful arms. Her head drooped back, and her silky hair fell from it. Slink moved his hand to support it. “Who did this? Where is Aaron?”
“They got him.”
“Who’s they?”
“Esenwein.” She said, and passed out.
“Ssslink! Wolves!”
Slink looked up expecting to see them, but the naga who had called him, Dedrick, was waving a piece of light brown fur, “Nubiensss Ssslink. It was nubiens!”
“How’d they even…” then Slink remembered what Keisha had said. “Dedrick take care of her.”
“Yess ssir.”
Slink scrounged up whatever provisions he could, grabbed his bow, knives, sword, and an extra cloak, and raced off into the night in the direction of Cyprien’s castle.
He arrived earlier than he had expected, at the moat surrounding Cyprien’s fortress. It stood formidable against the night sky. A moat of mucky brown water surrounded it, and wolves patrolled the ramparts. Changing into a serpent Slink slithered easily across the moat. He rolled his elongated body in the mud to camoflauge himself. He was almost at the other side when he chanced a look behind him. He swore under his breath, “A barracuda. Of course he’s got a barracuda.” He changed into a sea snake dove to the side and delivered it a vicious bite to the gills injecting his potent venom into the creatures respiratory system. It sank below the surface. He changed into a boa constrictor and proceeded to slither up the wall of the fortress muttering something along the lines of, “Why do the generals spend so much time trying to get through the walls, when they could just go over the darn things?” He found a windowsill and curled on it, and as he turned his little loop he also turned into a king cobra. “So far so good.” He thought, “now I just have to find out where the heck they have my son and what they want with him.”
He plopped down onto the floor and proceeded to glide in the shadowed corner of the room. Suddenly a hand reached down and snatched him up by the head. He struggled and squirmed, a voice cackled, “Now what would a snake like you be doing in a castle like this? Hmm a common cobra—“
“King. King cobra…” thought Slink.
“You know it may have been wiser to pick a different way to be born,” another cackle, “Oh right you can’t control that now can you little fella? You realize I’m going to have to kill you don’t you?” then Slink realized that she had no idea that he was anything more than a cobra. She let out a surprised squeal as the cobra turned into a sidewinder breaking her grip and biting her nose. Then quickly her neck before she could make any other protest.
He transformed into a black rat snake, and proceeded to evacuate the vicinity. He crawled up a wall until he was eye level with a minion, “Where isss the new prisssoner?”
The minion captivated instantly by Slink’s hypnotic gaze quickly answered. Slink killed him then moved on. He found a qhoul with access to the chamber and she was delighted to bring him there. He killed her as well, “This is getting tiresome.”
“This is getting tiresome.” Repeated a voice from within, and Slink froze on the spot believing himself to have been spotted. However the creature who spoke was not speaking to him. He was pacing about in front of a raised table. That’s when Slink saw him. For the first time since he had left for his meeting with the other chiefs Slink saw his twelve year old son, but now his son was tied to a table with all manner of fiends about him.
Cyprien was speaking, “His father could be here any moment! I want to know what gives them their power!”
“My lord, their power does not appear to come from within.”
“Of course it does! Wear else could it come from unless…”
“You guessed it,” said Slink out loud, “A wellspring.”
“Yes I knew it!” shouted Cyprien with glee. Then he paused wondering who answered him. He scratched his head thinking, looked around, thinking, thinking, thinking, almost had it! Then it hit him…
The last things that the unwary Nubiens saw that night was two retreating backs in the distance. That night was the last one they saw...someone put sea snake poison in the water supply...I think...
Hurray I get the first one up!
EDIT; did some editing, but mom wants computer so brb. Ok back! Go ahead Dadnarg!
Of course, right?
