From 4cf057546dbad3053ea0b366fd65b0bebe82abe9 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: taco Date: Thu, 18 Jun 2026 18:07:31 -0600 Subject: [PATCH] release meppa chapter 3 --- content/writing/meppa-3/index.md | 48 +++++++++++++++++++++++--------- 1 file changed, 35 insertions(+), 13 deletions(-) diff --git a/content/writing/meppa-3/index.md b/content/writing/meppa-3/index.md index eed6f30..93f6735 100644 --- a/content/writing/meppa-3/index.md +++ b/content/writing/meppa-3/index.md @@ -1,6 +1,6 @@ +++ -date = '2026-05-29T16:00:00-06:00' -draft = true +date = '2026-06-17T16:00:00-06:00' +draft = false title = "Those Who are Underfoot, Chapter Three" summary = "Meppa and her company are lost, they need to continue their journey." tags = ['story', 'meppa the kobold'] @@ -30,15 +30,37 @@ them through fogs. Without their navigator or even a map, their best bet was to soon found a river that cut through the mountain range. Following it, they reached a point in the river where it was joined by another creating an impassible obstacle, water. -They put as much ingenuity as they could come up with to solve the problem, one considered a raft, but without proper -materials or time this was not an option, another was to follow the river until its beginning. The idea that took the -most interest was a catapult. They would simply propel themselves across, and its design was going to be significantly -simpler than a raft. **Meppa** found herself as the unwilling test subject for the catapult, not only since she was -unskilled at the arts of construction, but also due to the animosity that her traveling party had grown for her and her -sister. **Dekkara** reassured her that it would be OK, **Meppa** was uncertain, she was not a strong swimmer, and the -river was likely to sweep her away. +There was plenty of discussion regarding who should cross first and tie the crossing rope. The group eventually singled +out **Meppa** as many of the group had a growing animosity towards her. Her sister reassured her that it would be fine, +but **Meppa** had a sinking feeling in her stomach. She was not the best of swimmers, and the river was likely to sweep +her away. -When the contraption was finalized, a rudimentary rope and a couple logs quickly assembled, **Meppa** found herself -seated on the device with great uncertainty. The rope used to provide tension creaked and groaned under the stress it -found itself in, threatening to explode at any moment. Her group released the catapult arm and **Meppa** found herself -flying, she felt her stomach fly into her chest. The world went into slow motion as her heart raced \ No newline at end of file +Despite her objections, she found herself with a rope tied around her waist. The river seemed calm enough, perhaps it +would be alright, and besides, it didn't look too deep all things considered. **Meppa** slowly waded out into the waters, +immediately feeling the large drag of the moving water. It was hard for her to keep her footing, her claws dug into the +mud scraping the rocks buried beneath. Every step forward was a struggle, the river grew deep, and she could feel her +strength faltering. She pushed off the riverbed and began to swim. It was a struggle, splashing, coughing; the cacophony +of her struggle muted the world around her. + +The rope tied to her waist pulled her down like a ball and chain, giving the river even more grip on her. Her strength +began to wane, and soon the weight of the rope started to pull her down into the water. Frantically she fought, +her will to survive propelling her forward she had to survive. She had a small glimmer of hope, she could do it, the +opposite bank couldn't be much further. + +Her muscles gave out, and she suddenly felt herself sucked under. The burning in her lungs slowly grew, and she flapped +her limbs pointlessly with whatever strength she had left. She felt the rope tugger her back towards shore, her companions +evidently wouldn't let her drown. For the moment she surrendered to the pull of the rope, letting it carry her back. +Then it slipped, she felt the tightness around her waist loosen. Looking down in the murky waters, she saw the knot +was coming undone. Frantically she grabbed at the rope as it let go of her. + +Her hands grew weak, she started to slip down the rope; there were only a couple feet left, then a foot, then a few inches. +In the blink of an eye she felt the rope slip from her fingers. Without the weight of the rope she was finally able to +swim to the surface. She gasped and frantically splashed quickly looking about, she could see her traveling companions +chasing after her. She was moving faster than they could keep up, and she watched her sister, frantically sprinting after. +But to no avail. + +**Meppa** frantically swam towards the shore, but it was not enough, soon the water became ferocious. The calm deceitful +river slowly became a frothing raging beast, pulling **Meppa** further from the river bank, trying to pull her down into +the swirling cacophony below. She desperately struggled, but soon the futility of her situation became clear. Meppa was +going to die. No, she wasn't she saw a log that had fallen across the river, she just had to grab it. She prepared +herself as the log rapidly approached her. Then her head met the log, and the world went black. \ No newline at end of file