WoodSpirits

The Never Ending Quest - Episode 1729

About three years ago in the Duchy of Suffex

A stern-looking man eyed his son and said, "Go with the gods, boy. The Guard D'Honaire shall stay with you until you reach the Centerstone, from there keep on the King's Way until you reach Caemlyn. Study well the ways of the Dragon and practice the sword as if it were your life, for one day it may well be."

Over one year ago in the Seat of Allaria

A king stood on a parapet and announced to a festive throng, "And so we send our most heroic warrior, Lord Fred, to vanquish the most terrible Dragon of the Southern Caves..."

Some ten months ago in Walants, a city within MalBoncton

A strange red-furred she-fox whispered to a red-skinned fox-man, "So...Mr. Freddy Vulpine, what do you and your mate want to do now?"

Today, somewhere in MalBoncton

The woods erupted in laughter as three creatures with flames flying off their tails ran into the nearby stream. "Mother!" screamed the first one to leave the cooling waters. "Moe lit our tails on fire...again!"

From out of a patchwork cabin came a creature that seemed part fox, part human, and all woman. Her snout sported reddish whiskers that twitched in the sunlight, her eyes were a deep auburn, her long, full tail was a light brown with a tinge of violet. Her children called her 'mother' while others had come to hear of her as 'the Vixen.' She looked about, smelling for her sons Moe, Sam, and Godfrey. They were the love of her life...and the terror of their sisters. Wherever Moe was, the other two were sure to be as well. Kirsten, dripping from her submersion, went to her mother followed by her sisters Tess and Angie. They were a queer sight, the three small girl-children whose heads were part fox, part human, and whose colors ranged from black to orange. "Boys!" yelled out the Vixen. "If you don't come out now, I'll let your father nibble your toes!" With such a threat, three smallish boy-children scampered out from behind a large boulder.

"Aw, mom," said the tallest one. "It was only for fun."

"Well, your sisters didn't think it was all too fun, now did they? No more fire-play. You should be practicing the meditations. We are not of this earth, we are of the spirit. Never forget that."

Indeed. This was a family of Kitsune, shape-shifting spirits that inhabited earthen bodies. It has been said that the spirit-creatures exist in the 'inbetween' and that they survive within a complex hierarchy of stations and figures and ranks. This particular family of Kitsune took their existence from the forms of two humans who were now long dead.

The Vixen sniffed the air as her children returned to their more serious play. She smiled for she could smell her mate approaching upon the winds. The form of a man with red skin and a full beard came into view. He wore tan breeches and a blue shirt that flowed at the wrists.

"Well, if it isn't ole Freddy Vulpine!" said the she-creature with a wicked wink.

"And his curvaceous woodwife Vix," he replied with a beam in his eye.

They embraced with a long and deep kiss. They stood like statues for quite a time, for humans it would've been a bizarre act, but for the Kitsune it was their way. In their embrace, their touch, they sensed each other, knew each other. They communicated in a way that no human or dwarf or other earthly creature could fathom or hope for. When they disengaged, both knew how each other's day had gone.

"That bad, huh?" said Vix.

"Yep," answered Freddy. "The Syndicate called in an Assassins Guild to finish off the lower rabble, which includes our most pliable clientele."

"First they 'cleansed' Rydar, then Greyton, and now Malevlant," sighed Vix.

"And they've got plans for Walants too."

"At least that's not our concern, too far away to bother us. Walants is eight days ride from here, but Malevlant is only one."

"Humans are a strange folk," said Freddy. "Let them kill each other, I say, its what they're good for. We'll continue to thieve in Malevlants as long as we can, and besides, picking the pocket of an assassin sounds fun!"

"It is a good life," murmured Vix as she led her mate into their cabin.

  1. The Kitsune continue their thieving pursuits until the day the 'Blackrobes' arrive in Malevlant...
  2. With the arrival of the assassins in Malevlant, there is an exodus of poor scum from the city. These vagabonds and derelicts find their way to forests and glens across the countryside, including the woods in which the Kitsune live...

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2/4/2001 12:21:27 AM

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