taco-site/content/writing/meppa-3/index.md

+++
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']
showTableOfContents = false
showPagination = false
showZenMode = true
+++

## Chapter Three

He vanished in the night. No one knew where he went or if he went there voluntarily, but **Kip** was gone. **Meppa** 
was convinced he had probably been eaten by some monster, perhaps the same that had mauled her a week prior. Her neck 
had still not healed fully, even with medical attention from **Silbin** the healer of the group. Thanks to her, **Meppa** 
was likely to make a full recovery, but that was not her primary concern.

With the group gathered around their meager fire, one question remained, where do we go from here? **Meppa** just wanted 
to curl up and die, to dig a hole to hide in, maybe fill that hole with spikes...

It was **Dekkara** who took charge in the end. She said simply that, "If we head towards **Kaelrath**, we head towards 
our goal. She is watching over us!" This did seem to inspire the group with some hope, and even **Meppa** felt a bit of 
hope despite the desperation that she was drowning in. They decided the best course of action was to keep heading towards 
**Kaelrath** and avoid any **Tall Creature** towns.

Leaving the outskirts of **Holey Town**, they could see **Kaelrath** through a break in the mountain range decorated 
with thick fogs. This was their most promising direction to head, and **Meppa** was certain their path would not take 
them through fogs. Without their navigator or even a map, their best bet was to travel as directly as they could. They 
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.

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.

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.