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Markdown
80 lines
5.0 KiB
Markdown
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date = '2026-05-28T06:00:00-06:00'
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draft = false
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title = "Those Who are Underfoot, Chapter Two"
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summary = "Meppa's journey continues, she learns first hand to be wary of the tall creatures."
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tags = ['story', 'meppa the kobold']
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showTableOfContents = false
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showPagination = false
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showZenMode = true
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+++
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## Chapter Two
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The journey was slow and arduous. **Meppa** had never walked so far in her entire life. Her travel party avoided the
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main paths, which was the custom to avoid the **Tall Creatures** as they were considered dangerous. This did mean that
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they had to travel through the wilds, which brought their own perils to the small group. Thankfully, they had **Kip**,
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the navigator.
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This was not **Kip’s** first pilgrimage, his first journey was during the cold months, and he still has never talked
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about the journey. All that is known is of the 7 that set out for **Kaelrath**, only 4 returned. Since then **Kip** had
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become a bit of a loner, preferring the wilds to the warm safety of **Yipton**. Supposedly, the eldest council even
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requested to speak with him in **Fathomsreach** but **Kip** never talked much of that if it did happen. All **Meppa**
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knew was she was thankful **Kip** was there now. No one knew the wilds like he did.
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Their camp was outside the settlement **Holey Town**. The **Tall Creatures** built this town in a foolish location as it
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seemed to be constantly under barrage of falling stars. The name, however, did elicit a humorous reaction from many in
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**Meppa’s** party, and it was often joked about back in **Yipton**. Honestly, **Meppa** was a bit curious about the
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settlement. She had never seen how the **Tall Creatures** lived, only heard of it. It was hard to object to **Dekkara**
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when she suggested going and checking it out. The lights of the town were within sight of their camp, and they shone as
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tantalizing beacons, beckoning her to delight in their presence.
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Her willpower caved when the stars began to fall, and she and **Ekkard** left in the middle of the night.
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Outside Holey Town**, the two sisters found themselves before an ocean of wheat. **Dekkara** reassured **Meppa** that it
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was safe, any of the **Tall Creatures** would be asleep at this time. They both crawled cautiously through the seemingly
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endless field of wheat until they finally found the end. **Meppa’s** heart sank, before them stood another wall of
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wheat. They cautiously started to travel through the next endless forest of wheat until they exited, facing yet another
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wall of wheat.
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“Where is the town?” Meppa asked nervously.
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“It can't be much farther.” Dekkara replied.
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They slowly ventured into the next field of wheat, and **Meppa** could have sworn she heard rustling. She tugged on
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**Dekkara’s** tail and whispered in her ear.
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“I think I heard something, be still”
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Both sisters froze in place and listened carefully. They could hear the wind, and a gentle crash in the distance as a
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star came crashing down to earth. What could only have been a few moments felt like an age, as they listened and waited
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in fear. **Meppa** could swear she heard something, she cautiously turned to her sister, ready to whisper that perhaps
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it was nothing when in a blink of an eye, her sister vanished.
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**Meppa** could feel the wheat whipping by her and a bizarre pain in her tail as if a trap had snared her. She tried in
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desperation to grab anything to stop her unplanned abduction. Whatever had her whipped her around with ease, threatening
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to snap her neck with force. For only a moment whatever had taken her let go before a mouth of fangs and stinging pain
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gripped her by her neck. This was it, this was how **Meppa** would die.
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Snarling, pain, the taste of blood, the burning of her neck, the sound of the breeze blowing through the wheat.
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**Meppa** could feel her body failing her. The beast had her, she was nothing, she was weak.
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A sudden howl of pain followed by a guttural screeching suddenly ceased the pain of daggers digging into **Meppa’s**
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neck, she tried to look and see, but her body refused to respond. Soon all she could hear was the sound of a blade
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stabbing a corpse repeatedly. The world went black.
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**Meppa** awoke, being pulled by her tail once again; the creature still had her, where was her sister? She tried to
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look, tried to do anything to escape her fate, to find **Dekkara**.
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“Please don’t struggle.” Came **Dekkara’s** voice.
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“You are wounded, I must get you to camp”
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**Meppa** relaxed and felt herself losing consciousness. The embrace of the earth under her and the incessant itching
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sensation in her neck was the only thing keeping her awake. She would later learn that **Dekkara** had drugged her all
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the way back to camp, stopping several times to try and staunch her bleeding. **Meppa** and **Dekkara** were both spared
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the lectures due to **Meppa’s** condition, but they could feel the disapproval of the group. Such mistakes could not be
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made again, for both their sakes.
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## Continue reading
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{{< article link="/posts/meppa-3/" showSummary=true compactSummary=true >}} |