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After a good ol' day of hunting 'wabbts', Tobias and Mika enjoy the smell of rabbit stew. Preparing for the meal, that are suddenly attacked by Vergs, the wolf mutants things of the Venomweald; we need more of those mutant things. After a scuffle, Mika and Tobias are separated and most likely dead. Sorry.
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When the last of the sun’s rays kissed the heathland and the greenish purples melted into grey under the moonlight, the warrens emptied, freeing the rabbits to forage and play. They moved slow, lolloping in their ungainly way, grazing as they went. At the slightest noise, they'd perk up on their hind legs, black eyes staring in the direction of a potential predator.

Unfortunately, its stalker lay in the opposite direction, in deathly silence behind a thicket of bushes. With deadly precision, the predator rose, its hungry eyes bearing down on its prey. Without making a sound, it smoothly drew an arrow from its quill and nocked it. The rabbit, oblivious to its hunter’s presence gazed ever deeper into the bleak void hiding unknown danger. Within the blink of an eye, the nocked arrow released, the once ever so cautious rabbit suddenly impaled upon the adjacent tree through its neck.

For but a moment the jungle froze, silence settling upon the massive, living, breathing ecosystem, seemingly paying homage to the loss of life, before a gruff voice broke the void of soundlessness. 

[b]"Lucky shot."[/b] the old man appraised grumpily, rising from hiding place.

Alongside him rose his pupil, the reaper of the rabbit’s demise; Tobias. For hours, they traversed the Venomweald, cutting their way through dense, suffocating undergrowth, fighting through the very air, which hung heavy, moist and still. All around them the jungle lived and breathed, a contentious cycle of prey and predator in which all who habited it walked by. Mika, a woodsman by trade but a hermit by habit, mastered this very cycle of cat and mouse, and like a loving father imparted his vast wealth of knowledge to Tobias.

Smugly, Tobias acknowledged his masters reluctant praise as he strung his bow across his back, it wasn’t every day that the mighty Mika complimented him.

[color=gray]”Luck had nothing to do with it Mika.”[/color] 

With an exasperated sigh and a grumble of disappointment that Tobias was sure he was mentioned in many times, Mika carefully stepped over their cover of shrubbery, his body creaking with old age. Stifling a chuckle, Tobias followed his master over to the impaled corpse. Kneeling, the old hermit pulled the arrow from out the tree, careful not to snap the shaft or break the arrow head. With practiced ease, Mika slid the carcass off the bolt and handed it back to Tobias, who grimaced and cleaned it with a rag.

[b]”A nice and fat one too; Fate smiles upon you boy.”[/b] Mika praised.

Tobias grinned as the old man strung the rabbit over his shoulder and started home, no doubt impressed by the skill he displayed the evening. If Fate didn’t see a double portion of stew in his future, then by the gods themselves he was wronged.

Only a sliver passed before Tobias opened the door of their hut and was greeted by the aroma of stew. Throwing off his boots and setting down his hunting tools, he rushed to the fireplace. [color=gray]“When did you have time to make this? We’ve been out all day.”[/color]

Settling into a chair, Mika picked up his favorite dagger and began to whittle. [b]“When you were asleep. It’s been simmering all day, which might I add, is the only proper way to make stew.”[/b]

The whole house smelled of spices, onions, and roast rabbit. Warmth seeped back into his numb fingers. Outside, the wind howled, and the chimes that hung from the low eaves crashed. [color=gray]“The wind is really picking up.”[/color]

Mika grunted. [b]“Zephy's been raging lately. He'll grow tired and settle down soon enough."[/b]

Tobias was skeptical, after such a successful hunt, surely the smell of slow cooked rabbit stew would pleasure the harrowing gale? But a childish fantasy that was.

Grabbing a spoon that hung from the clay fireplace, he stirred the stew. His mouth watered and he eyed a piece of golden brown meat. He snatched it, and then juggled his steaming prize before popping it into his mouth. It singed his tongue and he yelped.

Behind him, Mika chuckled.

Tobias turned with a glare. [color=gray]“Are you ever going to finish that thing?”[/color] he motioned to the piece of wood in the hermit’s hands that vaguely resembled a pipe. Instead of saying anything, Mika calmly put down his tools and disappeared into his room.

Tobias heard him rummaging, and then dragging what sounded like a large object across the wooden floor. With a grunt of success he came back out carrying a dark blue trunk with a tarnished lock and gilded with ebony leaves. He set it down with a heavy thud.

Grabbing the stool from the table he placed it before Tobias, and then sat back down. [b]“Sit,”[/b] he said. Tobias had never seen the ornate chest before, and a thousand questions wrestled in his head. Shadows played on the chest, and the ornate ebony looked out of place in the rustic cabin. Mika lifted the heavy lid. He hid the contents and drew out something. Then, he shut the lid with a bang, and shoved the chest to the side.

With a flourish, Mika set out two wooden bowls along with a crusty loaf, causing Tobias to frown, he was expecting something more. Snatching the bread, he hooked the teakettle over the fire’s flames, grumbling as Mika began to chuckle, when there was a soft thunk from outside, barely loud enough to be heard over the wind. He cursed. Probably just another loose shingle from the roof, and he'd be the one to fix it. As he turned, a loud rasp made him freeze. He leaned forward, peering out the darkened window. Branches swished. Just the wind, he repeated when a movement caught his eye. [color=gray]“What kind of animal...?”[/color]

A shriek split the wind’s moan, and he backed away from the dark window.

[b]“Douse the flame boy!”[/b] Mika kicked the kettle. The fire hissed and the room plunged into darkness.

He snatched the hermit’s sleeve. [color=gray]“What’s going on?”[/color]

Mika put his fingers to his lips, pale moonlight lighting the man’s features. In the silence, Tobias heard it. Low grunts and snarls. [b]“Go to the back door,”[/b] the hermit whispered. [b]“Then when I tell you to—”[/b]

With a roar, the door burst and Tobias was blown back. In a daze, he crawled behind a nearby chair when he saw the gleam of metal. Mika’s dagger. He gripped it, then tucked it in his leather belt.

Like an apparition, Mika slid into the shadow of the wall. Unease in the pit of his stomach, Tobias peeked around the chair, peering at a cloud of dust where the door once stood.

Click... click... click... it sounded like nails rapping against the wood floor.

Click... click... It came closer still.

Then, it stopped.

With his back pressed to the chair, Tobias twisted to look for Mika and saw only shadows, when a clouded breath filled his vision. Silently, he scrambled away, moving to the other side of the chair. He looked back and saw his nightmares confirmed. A massive head swiveled to the sound—where he had been only moments before. The beast gave a violent, jagged snort. With a rasping breath that frosted in the air, the massive head slunk back and the room returned to a chilling silence.

Tobias caught his breath as more shadows skulked across the window, their strange shapes reflecting on the wall. He eyed his open bedroom door. In a bent dash, he slipped from one dark shadow to the next.

A rough hand clasped over his mouth. [b]“Stay quiet.”[/b]

He glanced over his shoulder and saw the hermit’s lined features. He nodded and silently, they made their way to the back hallway. Long scratches marred the walls, and pockmarks in the wood floor reminded him of the rivets of a nail. He paused.

[color=gray]“I can’t leave it,”[/color] he whispered and Mika raised a thick brow.

[b]“What are you talking about?”[/b] Mika reached out, but was too slow and Tobias scrambled to his room. Inside, other than the broken window and the strange ruby light that filtered through and lit his bed, the room seemed unscathed. Spotting the bundle of cloth that he held so dear, relief flooded through him, it was still here.

Upon grabbing the bundle that hid his sword, the  rapping sounded again.  Click... Click... Click...

Dread flooding his veins, he quickly slipped through the window, staying low and keeping to the shadows of the walls. Quickly, he made his way to the back of the house where the hermit was waiting for him. 

Mika scowled. [B]“You’ll explain that to me one day, and I’ll win that argument.”[/b] He gripped his shoulder. [B]“Stay close to me, and don’t stop for anything.”[/b] 

Swiftly, they sprinted through the jungle, legs burning as he followed the hermit’s cloak through the night. Tree limbs seemed to reach out, lashing at him as a roar cracked through the woods. Suddenly, Mika skidded to a halt, causing Tobias to nearly run into him. They stood in a small clearing, to his left was a sheer cliff with a view of the vast canopy of the lower woods, far below.

He slumped against a tree, catching his breath. [color=gray]“What’s happening? Those things were vergs weren’t they?”[/color] He shivered at even saying the name. Vergs were monstrous creatures, myths rumored them to have lived since the fledgling years of the Venomweald, forged by the veil pools of scabbing evolution.

Mika didn’t seem to be listening, he moved as if searching for something. [b]“It was here! It has to be,”[/b] he muttered. He set down a strange short-sword that Tobias hadn’t seen until now with brown sheath and obsidian-like handle. The hermit’s hands grazed the trunk of a silveroot. He tore into the brush at the base of the tree, ripping away clumps of tanglevine. Tobias watched in confusion as the hermit’s fingers pried into the tree’s base, pulling away a perfectly square hunk of wood from the trunk and unveiling a dark cubbyhole.

He stepped forward. [color=gray]“How did you know that was there?”[/color]

[B]“Because I created it, a long time ago, and have kept it concealed for a much needed time.”[/b] Reaching in, Mika extracted a brown bag. [b]“I will answer all, lad, but this is not the time. Now come forth.”[/b]

Mika grabbed a handful of the forest floor, and then rubbed the soil between his palms. He then put a hand to Tobias' head, the warmth of the man’s palm against his temple comforting him against all odds A chill then coursed through his body. [color=gray]“W-what did you do?”[/color] he stuttered.

[b]“Secret,”[/b] Mika hurried. [b]“It’s nothing special much, but it will hide your scent for five days, and buy you time to get out of the area.[/b].”

[color=gray]“But where will I go?”[/color]

[b]“North and stop for nothing. Follow the Silvas River. It will lead you to safety. I swear I will meet you there. You must go now.”[/b] He picked up the bag and pressed it to Tobias chest. [b]“Here, take this.”[/b]

[color=gray]“What’s this?”[/color]

[b]“Some of the answers to your past,”[/b] said the hermit, [b]“Now, go! There isn’t much time.”[/b] The howls grew louder, emphasizing his words.

He unsheathed his black from his back. [color=gray]“I won’t let you fight them alone. I can help.”[/color]

Abruptly, the woods darkened, and even the silver light from his sword dimmed. [b]“Go!”[/b] Mika shoved him, withdrawing his blade.

[color=gray]“What is that thing chasing us?”[/color]

[b]“A veil creature of the Venomweald,”[/b] Mika grunted, urgency sharpening his words.

Suddenly, a figure stepped out from the shadows, head scraping the belly of the bent boughs.

Despite uneven shadows, Tobias saw teeth like hand-length daggers jutting from a wide mouth.

[b]“Run, boy! Now!”[/b]

Tobias took a step backwards.

The verg gave a throaty growl. Its head snapping in his direction.

[b]“Flee!”[/b] Mika yelled.

Something flashed within the dark slits of trees. The shadows materialized, leaping towards him. He dove to the ground, pitching beneath a set of glistening fangs. His sword tip caught the dirt and was ripped from his grip. He turned to see a large black beast. It turned its massive head, eyeing him with burnished red eyes. Tobias' heart hammered as he grasped for his sword. It was nowhere to be seen. He twisted, and in the pocket of his vision he glimpsed the blade. It was several feet behind him, teetering on the cliff’s edge.

Slowly, he edged towards it. In the corner of his vision, Mika leapt over the verg's massive swipe, moving with incredible speed. As he looked back, the beast lunged. Tobias reached for his sword. As he gripped the handle, sharp teeth snatched his arm scraping against bare bone. He screamed in pain. Still, he gripped the sword and kicked at the beast, slamming his heel into its muzzle. The beast didn’t budge, its teeth like pincers. It snarled and shook, ripping at his flesh. Tobias gasped, pain blotting his vision when he saw trunk-like legs pounding towards him.

[b]“No!”[/b] Mika cried out.

The verg's huge hand seized Tobais' arm and heaved him into the air. He cried out, stretched between the beast's snarling jaws and another verg's brutish grip. Mika dove, lashing at the first verg , lacerating its trunk-like legs with his sword. The vergs gave a bestial roar. The earth shuddered as its fist cracked the ground and shards of dirt flew. Tobias' body whipped like a wet rag. Through his agony, he felt the beast's teeth slip. He heard a loud pop and his vision clouded in pain, voice too hoarse to scream.

When his sight cleared, he saw Mika. The hermit was slumped against a cracked tree trunk. The vergs eyed the hermit like a child playing with a broken doll. Quickly growing bored, one turned its massive head his way. Tobias closed his eyes, feigning unconsciousness

Suddenly, something pressed against his back, digging into the root of his spine. His dagger.

Tobias reached for his dagger, but the verg moved quicker. The beast swiped at him, expecting his attack. At the same time, Tobias unleashed a cry of rage. Ignoring the stunning shards of pain, he grabbed his hidden dagger. With a sudden burst of inhuman speed, he sidestepped the clumsy attack and slammed his dagger into the verg's muscular arm, piercing its thick hide. The verg howled in rage, then flailed, but Tobias held on. He sliced down, cutting bone and tendon. The beast roared. With its free hand, the verg gripped him around the waist, and threw him with a grunt.

Tobias was ripped from the dagger and he catapulted through the air. Hitting the ground hard, he felt the air rush out of his chest as he skidded towards the cliff like a pebble across water. His fingers clawed the ground, but it was useless. The last thing he saw was Mika horrified face as he slipped over the edge and beyond, falling towards a sea of trees.