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Underdogs

Episode one: The underdogs always lose

Chapter one 

By Thomas Walsh

Richard kept his canine ears perked as he tread through the dark forest carefully, the dog was without his good friend Edward and without his skills in herbalism a wound gone bad would be deadly before he had a chance to get back home to Athronal.

The sound of a stick breaking very close drew the hounds eyes to meet yellow orbs peering back at him through the darkness of night, startled he backed up and tripped over something as a long tail whipped the ground in front of him leaving only a little imprint in the dirt.

"What was that?!" Richard exclaimed out loud before something shoved his foot-paws and got up, a black figure in the darkness.

"You clumsy mutt!" a young woman's irate voice yelled in anger as the black figure twirled around to show a long pointy muzzle covered in rusty red fur while glowing cat-like eyes glared at the bewildered hound; he'd just trodden over a fox!

"I'm sorry! Something startled me and..." Richard sniffed the air curiously, he could smell blood and it quickly dragged his attention away. "Are you bleeding?" the dog asked with a worried sigh while looking over the fox vixen's form for any darker red he could pick out however the low light made it hard for him to see her colour at all.

"It's just a cut on my leg and why are you worried anyway? You stepped all over me!" the vixen yelled in a mad rage; taking paces towards Richard.

"Where are you when I need you Edward?" He asked thin air quickly as the fox advanced on him. "I didn't see you!" the dog exclaimed as an unexpectedly powerful paw grabbed the front of his plate armour and brought him close for a toothy growl that faded into very heavy breathing. A few silent seconds passed with nothing but the vixen's breathing to break the still; Richard didn't dare breath himself. Then something happened and it wasn't good; the vixen collapsed into his arms.

Giving her a shake did no good so Richard decided on the spot he'd carry her back to a horse settlement he'd seen and look for a healer; they were far from happy to have predators around however and it would be a very long night for the dog. "Why do I always get the short end of the stick..." Richard sighed as he set off on the trail back.

Arriving at the horse settlement early next day Richard was exhausted and soaked from sudden rain in the night which left him ready to collapse himself as he made his way past the many caravans the horses owned, most were asleep at this hour but some sat lazily on boxes or drinking ale while on watch for predators, mostly the barbaric wolves or the occasional mad big-cat who was out of their mind.

The settlement was a a large open plain of grassland that had several caravans the horses pulled themselves dotted about, ready to leave on a moments notice if the gentle giants accidentally intruded or saw danger. They didn't follow the dog kingdom and they refused strike an alliance with the feline republic as well; preferring to be completely indifferent and neutral.

Making his way over to a trailer with a large red plus painted on the dog gave the door a hard kick with a foot-paw, unable to move his arms lest he drop the vixen where he stood. A sound came from inside as the occupier scrambled to answer; an old horse with a greying mane yanked the door open and looked at the sorry sight of the much smaller dog and the vixen he held.

"Come inside, you both look half-dead." his old voice mumbled.

Inside the caravan bottles were stacked high in boxed shelves so they didn't have to be packed away when moving. A worn bed sat in the corner taking up most of the room while a tattered old rug covered much of the floor. "Set the vixen down on the bed so I can have a look at her." the old horse commanded; Richard did as he was told.

Placing her sleeping form on the comfy looking bed Richard longed to lay down and sleep himself, even if he would have had to share a bed; these thoughts were quickly drawn away as a string hand tugged on Richard's plate armour "You look tired so I'll take care of your friend while you have a nap?" the old horse offered, nodding to a worn but comfy and oversized chair. The dog thanked him and pulled off his uncomfortable armour to nap in the simple clothes he had on underneath.

Mary felt her head throbbing as she regained consciousness, the vixen tried to bolt upright but strong hands held her down while something cool and soothing was applied to the gash on her leg. "You don't know the dog do you?" An old voice questioned however Mary couldn't open her eyes to see who it belonged to. "No? Regardless he has done a smart thing by bringing you here, if he'd tried to make a dash for help in Athronal he'd have come back to find you dead, and if he'd tried to carry you then he'd have collapsed himself and you'd have fallen prey to some wolves in the area."

The hands stopped what they were doing and allowed the vixen up; it took her a few moments to open her eyes though. Seeing a horse she felt surprised and also relived since the horse clans were not fighters. Sitting in the corner a young and very soaked dog was asleep on the old horse's chair, he looked too young to be an adventurer and but he was old enough to be a squire. His matted black and white fur led the vixen to guess he was a collie which made little sense since the collies were farmers and not fighters.

The horse touched her shoulder, "You should rest as well, he carried you here through the rain all night non-stop so you could be treated. I've never seen such effort for a stranger but then again I think there are rumours about this dog floating about, I'll have to ask later and in the meantime you can rest up and make sure his effort wasn't wasted.". With a nod the vixen agreed and fell back onto the bed; she was asleep in seconds.

The morning was still bleak next day as the two readied up for the trip north to Athronal, they'd packed whatever they had left when the old horse healer approached them shortly before they reached the settlement's limits. "You two!" His kind old voice called out, stopping the two in their tracks. "Before you leave the people of this clan have a message for you to deliver once in Athroanl."

Richard looked at the puzzled vixen, the road and then back to the horse with a nod. "Please tell the king that we're going on the move again, we're being paid a small price by farmers to move so the land we have eaten to grass can be cultivated, naturally we don't mind and will be passing through the city in one week so the roads will need to be emptied for our hopefully quick passing through."

The dog was given a note just in case and then the two were allowed on their way through the rain after they finished giving some more thanks to the old horse. The beaten path was muddy and no roads were nearby which meant Richard was left with cold paws since he only had bracers on his ankles rather than the 'angled' boots most morphs wore, the horses had no need for anything thanks to their hooves.

"It was the boiling midpoint of summer yesterday, why is it suddenly as cold as the dead of winter?" Richard asked while not really expecting an answer back.

"Better question," the vixen started. "Why did you go out of your way to help me? I'm nothing but a... lost stranger." Her tone suggested something else but Richard didn't intrude and just gave a honest answer.

"Well, I guess because it felt wrong to leave you there with all the wolves hanging around and the knight I work under, Gabriel, would have my head if I dared leave an innocent person to die."

She smiled and turned away as nothing else was said until nightfall, when the rain finally let up enough that Richard could try to light a fire in the fog that had replaced it. Gathering firewood in the forest was no problem but after a half hour it still refused to light.

"This is hopeless!" the annoyed dog yelled, throwing his tinderbox to the ground. "Everything is soaked through and won't light!"

At that moment there was an odd, loud squeak and a ball of fire came out of the fog, the two of them froze expecting a monster to run at them but after a moment a tabby cat stumbled into the small camp while seemingly impervious to the dying flames.

"Edward!" Richard yelled, bolting to grab his friend in a tight hug. "Where have you been?!" It took a few moments for Edward to remove his enthusiastic friend; dogs were too friendly sometimes. "Well you hadn't shown up in two weeks so I master Oswald sent me to find you, he said his teleportation spells worked and they do!.. but my ability to create a dry web to keep any more rain off isn't too good since nothing happened."

Mary blinked and coughed while pointing to the lit fire. "You're not very good at magic are you?" she asked to which the feline started rubbing the back of his neck, "Well... yea, I'm only a novice and magic is hard but I'm getting there." he explained nervously; the tabby was often ridiculed for his poor magic.

"You can't ever get the right spell, are you sure you've even started?" Richard mocked jokingly, getting a glare from his friend before they settled down near the fire where the vixen introduced herself as Mary and claiming to be an out of stock merchant who was robbed by wolves. Richard tried to explain she could get compensated by the king but was cut off when Mary claimed to be independent rather than from a trading guild.

"It's a pity then" Richard mumbled, "You might be able to ask for aid but you'd probably be better off trying to join one of the guilds, they always need more people to help with the caravans and even I doubt they can turn down workers at the moment."

Mary only gave a nod to Richard before a loud pop grabbed the attention of both. Edward had brought an enchanted tent along which he had set it up and it being the magical thing it was the small tent which looked like it was probably not big enough for more than one person was able to easily fit the three of them which it soon did.

Richard seemed amazed "Edward why have I never been told of this wonderful tent?" the collie asked while taking a good look around. It was just a tent made from (presumably enchanted) cloth and sticks on the outside while inside it was big enough to contain a small study, presumably it's use was a home away from home for Edward's mentor Oswald.

The tent had been emptied for the trip prior and now contained a couple of bedrolls and some extra supplies as well as firewood and a tinderbox for lighting it. Mary was quick to grab one of the bedrolls and notify the two she was going to sleep, Richard led his own down as Edward left while mentioning something about cooking a small supper outside.

Breathing in the damp air the dog found it hard to sleep since not only had he forgotten what it was he'd been sent to find it would also not coming back with them and seeing Gabrial tomorrow would be the least of his problems as he needed to make sure Mary wasn't left on the streets, it wouldn't be right to leave her like that.

Time passed and Edward retuned to sleep leaving Richard alone, he needed strength tomorrow so it was best to forget about his troubles for now and get some sleep.