Fan Fiction ❯ Skyhawke ❯ Chapter 2 ( Chapter 2 )

Ch 2-

An hour or so later, as Morgan trudged up the slope of the valley, she figured that this adventuring wasn't all it was cracked up to be. So far she felt exhausted, bruised, and cranky. She'd stubbed her toe countless times on the small rocks hidden in the tall grass, and the bugs seemed to think she was an all-you-can-eat buffet. She had yet to feel the `spirit of adventure'.

Morgan flopped down on a large rock, wiping sweat from her face. Looking down the slope, she could still see the village in the distance. Over her shoulder she saw the long stretch of slope that remained to be conquered and sighed. The beautiful hills of Tirre, yeah right. She lurched to her feet and began to trudge up the slope again.

After a few yards, Morgan came across a rather large rosebush. She didn't pay to much attention to it, until she got close enough to hear the music and see the light flashing throughout the leaves. Morgan slowed to a stop, regarding the bush with a mixture of curiosity and apprehension. The music was faint, but lively, and she thought she saw a couple of figures flitting through out the leaves. They looked like butterflies the size of her hand…

Abruptly, there was a loud squeak and a small figure fell out of the bush. It fluttered lazily to the ground and Morgan bent to investigate. Could it be a fey? Morgan had heard stories of the various fey races, and she knew that the pixies generally resided in these hills, which they called Pikette, but this was the first time she'd ever encountered one. The pixie rubbed her head and blinked. She had slightly curly orange hair. Yes, orange. Not `bright red', it was visibly orange. Morgan had to squint to see, but when the pixie glanced up her eyes were vivid purple. She wore and assortment of petals that seemed sewn together and belted with spider silk, and when Morgan squinted she saw a pair of iridescent wings gently fluttering.

The diminutive fey squinted up at her, "*hic* `Lo, don't get much big-folk `round *hic* here." She slurred.

Morgan blinked and picked the pixie up. The little fey swayed and held her head, "Whoa, major vertigo *hic*. My name's Sachi. Who're you? *hic*"

Morgan shook her head as the tipsy pixie wobbled to her feet in her palm. "My name's Morgan. Are you okay, I think you've had a little too much to drink…"

Sachi gaped indignantly and stomped her foot, flapping her wings to keep her already shaky balance, "Are you sayin' I'm drunk?! A pixie can never have too much nectar! *hic* It's my farewell party after all… goin' to the lake… to… to… t…" Sachi struggled with the sentence before passing out, falling in a heap of limbs, petals, and wings. Morgan shook her head. She figured Sachi was also going to Lake Amir. As far as she knew, there was only one lake on the continent. Morgan carefully put Sachi into a pocket in her pack and resumed her uphill trudging.

<*~.~*>

A while later, Morgan finally reached the top of the steep hill when Sachi woke up. The pixie poked her head up out of the pocket and looked around.

"Oh, headache…" she moaned in her soft voice, "Where am I…" She looked around, then blinked at Morgan, "Who're you??"

Morgan smiled, "I'm Morgan Landus of Ashiri Village."

"Oh, well I'm Sachi of Pikette." Sachi chirped brightly, headache forgotten. "Where're we going?"

"I'm headed for Guardian Isle, but I'm swinging by the lake."

"Oh good! Would you mind if I hitched a ride?" Sachi asked in a sweet tone, batting her eyelashes.

Morgan grinned, "No problem." Morgan turned around to look at the valley below her. She'd never been out of sight of her village. She looked down at the other side of the hill and was relived to see a road at the foot of it that tunneled through the hills of Tirre. She was just about to begin trekking down the hill, when she was startled by a loud voice.

"Thief!!!" A black shape tore around the hill, moving too fast for Morgan to get a clear view of it. A tall man in armor, brandishing a sword, was chasing it. Morgan gaped, what kinda of idiot would steal from a fully trained warrior??

Suddenly, said idiot turned almost ninety degrees and shot up the hill towards her. Morgan drew her sword. She didn't know what she was going to do against something that fast, but she wasn't going down without a fight. Sachi scrunched her little face up into a scowl and brought her hands together over her head. A small ball of light winked into view, and she launched it right in the thief's face.

The small muted light whizzed toward it and exploded with a not so muted crack. There was a bright flash of purple light. Morgan and the warrior looked away, and turned back to see the stranger flat on his back, blinking rapidly.

Morgan gaped. He seemed to be covered from head to toe in black fur, his fingers were tipped in claws. Two cat ears poked out of the top of his head, and when he sat up, she noticed a black tail waving behind his back. She'd never seen nor heard about anything like it.

The warrior trudged up the hill and snatched a bag out of the thief's paw. Nodding to Morgan and Sachi, he walked back down hill to the road and started going back the way he came. The stranger rubbed his eyes, still blinking. "What was that?" he groaned as he jumped to his feet. As he spoke, Morgan noticed how sharp his incisors were, sharp enough to be called fangs.

"Just a little fey magic." Sachi grinned. "I'm Sachi, this is Morgan, and you are…?" Morgan looked over at Sachi, startled that she would be so friendly to someone that just tried to rob a man.

"Maarkiss." The name sounded like a cross between a purr and a hiss.

Morgan frowned wondering how to word her question, settling on just asking it, "What are you?"

Maarkiss blinked then laughed, "I'm a Tabaxi, or a `cat-person' if you ask some uneducated folk."

Morgan tilted her head to the side, "I've never heard of Tabaxi… Where are you from?"

Maarkiss shook his head, "You country people don't get out much, do you?" Before she could decide whether or not to be insulted, he continued with, "I'm from the Sunset Isles." Morgan `ahhed' in understanding. The Sunset Isles were a group of islands off the western coast of the continent. It was said that many strange and exotic things could be found in those isles.

Suddenly, Morgan remembered whom she was talking to, "You're a thief?" she asked warily, bringing her sword back into position.

Maarkiss raised his hands placatingly, "I'm not going to rip you guys off!" Morgan wasn't convinced, "Honest! Why would I? As a matter of fact, I was wondering if I could travel with you guys." Morgan didn't drop the sword.

Maarkiss looked a little desperate now, "Look, I was traveling to the Nenrei Mountains to visit some relatives, and I kinda lost all my money gambling… So I decided to borrow some from that guy." He jerked his head in the direction of the departing warrior. Morgan considered. The Nenrei Mountains began northeast of Lake Amir and then widened into a large plateau until they ended in cliffs at the ocean.

"You can come…" she muttered, "but if you do anything strange…" she trailed off, mostly because she wouldn't know what she would do if he did.

Maarkiss' face lit up, she noticed that he had very feline eyes, yellow-green split by a black slit of a pupil. "You can trust me." He said with a smile. "So where are you guys going?"

"Luckily for you, were headed to Lake Amir." Sachi piped up from Morgan's pack.

"Lucky indeed. Shall we?" He made a flourishing motion toward the road, indicating that they should go first. Morgan looked at her village one last time before turning away and trudging down the steep hill with her new companions.