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Have Axe, Will Travel

Chapter One

Standing over her opponent, fangs glinting wickedly in the harsh desert sun, Nakhti placed her sturdy paw atop the man's chest and forced him down into the sand. "Still weak." She cackled, raising her axe above her head, before swinging it down for the killing blow.

"Guh--you don't have to rub it in." Her challenger grumbled, his face a mask of annoyance as the powerful gnoll above him swung her wooden training axe down into the sand. It kicked up a cloud of the stuff, and the man sputtered and coughed, pushing away her paw and rising to his feet.

"Rub it in? Noooo. Rubbing it in would be something more like, let's see..." She began, displaying her teeth in an impish grin. "How about the fact that you haven't been able to score a single blow on me since we met? Even those times you tried to be sneaky." Nakhti hefted that axe over her shoulder, convinced the action was over.

"Well, not all of us are gifted in the art of bashing other people's faces in. Some of us are a little more interested in diplomacy." The young half-elf shook the sand from his shoulder-length blonde hair, regarding her with piercing eyes. "You should take father's lessons to heart. If you do want to leave the village and strike out on your own, you won't be able to solve every problem you come across with brute force."

Nakhti conceded in her mind that he was probably right, even if she was loathe to admit it. Her clan's blood feud with a neighboring tribe was the reason she'd ended up here in the first place, listening to this pipsqueak lecturing her. She sneered.

"It's worked pretty well for me so far. And maybe I'd listen better to your old man if his stories were any good, Cran. He could at least throw a dragon or two somewhere in the mix."

"Very funny." The half-elf groaned, rubbing at his shoulder where she'd thumped him something fierce only a minute prior. "Speaking of father, he will want to see you. Y'know, before you, ah...set off, as it were." His face hardened a bit as he managed the last part, her friend looking down at his boots.

"Yeah." Nakhti replied, with a slight shrug. "This place is my home, and I know I'll always have a place here and all that. But there's so much more out there. I still think if you had any semblance of a spine, you'd come with me. Think of all the gold we could make with my muscles and your, uh...winning personality."

"You know I can't." Cran said, frowning. "I've already been learning how to deal with father's responsibilities. I'm to replace him eventually as the leader of Unarith."

"Ah, yes. All that sand isn't going to rule itself." She grunted, kicking at the stuff.

"Oh, come off it." The half-elf barked, folding his arms. "You're just mad because, for once, you can't bully me into making a bad decision. Maybe it'll even be nice around here without you stinking up the place."

Nakhti scoffed, rolling her eyes. "I don't stink." She replied, though she did try to subtly take a sniff at her underarm. The gnoll discovered with a start that he was right.

"Well, it doesn't matter. Let's just...go back to town." Cran muttered, sticking his quarterstaff into the sand and leaving the training grounds. Nakhti sighed, tossing her axe over her shoulder as she made to follow him.

The sun felt warm on her spotted brown fur as she jogged along behind the half-elf, the two of them heading into the town proper. Most of the buildings were assembled with mud-brick, none taller than two stories, though the years had seen the place expanding considerably from what she remembered of her childhood.

Cran's father, Reid, had built up Unarith as something of a place for outcasts, misfits, and the shunned to call home. His generosity and wisdom made him a natural leader, and helped him cobble together what was now practically a city with all the undesirables that other places rejected.

Nakhti followed close behind Cran, towering over him as if he were a child as the two traveled wordlessly toward the town hall. It was only set apart from the other buildings by a cloth banner that hung above the open doorway. The gnoll stooped down to clear the entrance, her violet eyes taking in that all-too-familiar interior.

"Father, we've returned from training." Cran called out to the older, bearded man that sat behind a desk covered in scrolls and old, dusty books. "It went...about the same as usual."

Nakhti grinned, padding right up to his desk. She wore nothing but linen wraps and a loincloth, never one for the silk fineries that other people favored. If you couldn't break into a sprint on a moment's notice in your clothes, what was the point of wearing them? "I clobbered him, he means."

"Yes, hardly a surprise." The elf gave her a polite smile as he scrawled his signature hastily onto a piece of parchment, before rising to his feet with a groan. "And now you've come here for me to see you off, I wager?"

"That's right." Nakhti nodded, her dark, shaggy hair falling into her eyes. "Time for me to be rid of this podunk little village. You kept me here long enough, old man, but I'm a woman grown now. I want to get out and see the world."

"So you've said many times before." Reid nodded, his smile a thin line on his angular face. "And I still insist that you aren't ready. You're a natural with a blade in your hand, and I'm more than confident in your skills in that regard. But you're naive, quick to anger, boastful, and extremely impulsive. You throw a fit when supper is an hour late, for Gadhelyn's sake. How will you fare when your travel rations run out?"

The gnoll could feel her face burning red beneath her fur. How dare he speak to her like that? "I'll...rrrhh. I'll figure it out when it gets to that point. Don't admonish me as if I'm a child--I'm strong, and I can handle myself."

"So you've said." Reid grunted, folding his arms. Cran's eyes darted between the two of them fretfully, the half-elf always a bit nervous when they began arguing like this. "It pains me to see you go, half-cocked as you are. If you had your druthers, I'm confident that you'd get lost in the desert and die of thirst." The older man picked up a folded paper off of his desk, thrusting it out to her.

"It's a map of the area. I knew you weren't going to take no for an answer much longer, so I got in touch with a cartographer who had this made for me. I also received some intel about a potential first stop on your misguided little adventure." Nakhti took the parchment, unfolding it to reveal a simple, very utilitarian-looking map with little dots signifying landmarks and locations.

"Oh, I..." The gnoll began, but Reid continued, jabbing a finger at one of the larger dots on her map.

"It's a city called Januli. Only a few years ago, it was an unassuming little town built around a coal mine. However, one day, a worker is toiling away with his pickaxe, and the rock gives way to masonry and torchlight. He tells his friends, and before long they've got a hole large enough to crawl through. They start exploring."

"Y-yeah?" Nakhti stammered. Was Reid actually telling an interesting story for once?

"Aye. Unfortunately for them, they soon happened upon the ghastly creatures who called that place home. Goblins, kobolds, dretches--the sorts of monsters that people warn their children about to make them behave. Some of the men died, but enough lived to get a missive out to their ruling kingdom detailing what they'd seen."

"What happened next?" The gnoll asked, realizing her tongue had been hanging out of her mouth in an excited pant. She cleared her throat, trying to look nonchalant to the best of her ability.

"A group of knights was deployed to investigate. As it turned out, the area those miners had discovered was simply the top floor to a unfathomably deep labyrinth. The king's men managed to make it down a few levels before they were exhausted and forced to retreat. When they arrived on the surface, however, they were carrying a trunk full of gold and precious gems. Those sprawling depths were positively inundated with treasure."

"Ohh. That sounds amazing." She beamed, inadvertently squeezing the map and creasing the paper.

Reid just chuckled. "Yes, so...naturally, once word got out, Januli became something of a boom town overnight. Adventurers from far and wide flocked to those mines, lusting after glory and treasure, much like yourself. I've heard it's quite the place to see now."

"And I can make it there on foot?" She inquired, arching a curious eyebrow at him.

"Oh, heavens no." The elf shook his head, pointing to a large body of water between Unarith and there. "However, there's a town to the North called Limar where you can secure travel by boat across the sea. It will be expensive, but I was able to rustle up some gold pieces for you to take along with you." Stepping back toward his desk, Reid bent down, lifting up a heavy rucksack with a groan. Nakhti quickly scurried over, taking it off his hands.

"What is this?" She asked, testing its weight. It felt like it was loaded to the brim with goods.

"For your journey." He said simply, rubbing his aching back. "You were always terrible at hunting, being impatient as you are. So I put plenty of dried meats in there for you. It ought to last until you get to Limar, unless you decide to eat it all in one day."

"Reid, I don't know what to say." The gnoll managed, resisting a sniffle. "You really did all this for me? You might never see me again, why waste the effort?"

"It's not a waste. I've always viewed you as my child." Reid sighed, placing a hand on her furry, muscular shoulder. "My people called me a fool for rescuing you when we came across your village in the state it was. They told me that your lot are born evil, and if I allow you to grow and prosper in Unarith, you'd end up killing and eating all of us. Gadhelyn's arrow, you should have seen the shock on their faces when I allowed you to play with my son out in the fields!"

Reid laughed, but Nakhti was sucking in heavy breaths through her nose, tears running from her violet eyes unbidden. Eventually the floodgates broke, and the big, powerful gnoll began to bawl, tossing the map aside and wrapping the elf in a bear hug. He groaned, feeling his back popping from the sheer force of her embrace. Cran snickered, not used to seeing her like this.

"In their defense, you were quite the rough-houser." Her childhood friend chimed in, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. "I'm surprised all those bite and claw marks you left on me back then didn't scar. I was basically a chew toy."

"There there." Reid soothed, rubbing her back as she cried it out. She recovered quickly enough, wiping her face on his doublet. The elf didn't want to look, afraid she'd smeared her snot onto it.

"Thank you." The gnoll huffed, embarrassed at such an emotional outburst. "C-can I uh, can I take Ol' Chopper with me when I go?"

Reid blinked for a moment in confusion, before recognition set in. "Oh, the--the woodcutting axe. Yes, of course. It's as good as yours anyway, the haft is too long for any of my men to use."

Nakhti sniffled, nodding her head quickly in appreciation. "I'm terrible with goodbyes, so...I think I'm just going to go, okay? Tell everyone that I love them, and I appreciate everything they've done for me over the years. And tell Mrs. Gormley that I'm still really sorry about eating her chicken."

"Yes, of course." Reid nodded, looking up at her with a bittersweet expression on his face. "I wish you the best of luck, Nakhti. I'll go busy myself with something else while you see her off, Cran." With that, the old elf bowed his head, before heading toward the back of the building, leaving them alone together.

"I'm gonna miss you." The half-elf finally spoke, staring down at his boots. "It's not gonna be the same with you gone."

"I know." She nodded, taking Cran's much smaller hand in her own. She began to walk, shortening her strides so as not to drag the poor fellow along behind her. "But I can't stay here, you know that. I can't help but feel there's something out there for me, like--what does your father call it?"

"Destiny?" Cran replied, his cheeks a little red as they held hands.

"Yeah, that. Every day I remain here, the pull gets stronger. Much as you're meant to take over for your father, I think my calling is somewhere far away."

"I understand." Cran murmured as he followed her, hand-in-hand, to the outskirts of Unarith. The unforgiving desert stretched out before them, and Nakhti squeezed her friend's hand. Was that apprehension he sensed from her?

"You have to let go first." She managed, her hand trembling in his. The half-elf blinked at her for a moment, before his expression softened. He squeezed her massive, padded palm in his, leaning in against her muscular frame. Nakhti stooped down and dragged her big, drooly tongue along his cheek, causing him to recoil in disgust.

"I won't miss that." He laughed, finally releasing her hand. The gnoll took a few steps forward, before glancing back over her shoulder at Cran.

"See you." The giant beastwoman said with a wave, one which Cran returned.

"See you." He replied, and just like that, she was off. He watched her growing smaller in the distance as the sun beat down upon him, still standing there once he could no longer see her. Shaking his head and smiling sadly, the half-elf returned to Unarith, resuming his responsibilities for the day.