{"sf1_id":563841,"sf2_id":null,"title":"Guns of Legend: Chapter One","author":"ThisAdamGuy","words":807,"posted_at":"2013-07-16T02:10:00.000Z","tags":["Fantasy","Gargoyles","Guns","cowboy","furry","indian"],"url":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/563841-guns-of-legend-chapter-one","original_url":"https://sofurry.com/view/563841","image_url":"https://www.sofurryfiles.com/std/thumb?page=563841\u0026ext=.jpg","description":"","content":"This is the first chapter of a story I'm experimenting with.  It's a\nfantasy story set in a cowboy western type of world.  It's currently\nuntitled, but I'd like to know what you think of it, if you don't mind.Chapter One\nThe sharp crack of Kulgan's pistol\nrang out six times through the cold desert night. Six bullets were sent flying towards the\nmassive goyles as they sprang up from the sands around him, and then he flicked\nthe chamber open and loaded six more bullets into it.  They were sandgoyles, so their bodies\nexploded into fine powder wherever the bullets struck them, only to be replaced\nas more sand shifted to fill the holes.  Still\nmore goyles rose up from the sandy ground as he watched, and he quickly took\naim and fired again.It was stupid of him to venture\nthis far into the desert so close to sunset, and Kulgan knew it.  His tail twitched in annoyance as the monsters\nconverged on him, snarling with bloodlust.  Sandgoyles were difficult to kill on solid ground, a task made nearly\nimpossible on their natural habitat where they had limitless sand to heal\nthemselves with.  There were no less than\ntwenty gathered around him now, and if the shifting sand below his feet was any\nindicator, there were plenty more ready to join them.  He'd inadvertently walked directly into their\nnesting grounds.The goyle closest to him raised its\nhand, its claws ready to dismember Kulgan. \nBefore it had a chance to strike, though, the nimble zik fired again,\nshooting off its hand and placing two bullets into its chest and stomach.  They weren't enough to kill the monster, but\nthey would at least cause it enough pain to force away.  With a howl of rage, the sandgoyle backed\noff, glaring at its furry foe with animalistic hatred.Despite his skill, Kulgan knew was\nin trouble.  There were simply too many\ngoyles for him to fight.  If he kept this\nup, he would be out of ammo within ten minutes, and then the sandgoyles would have\nhim at their mercy.  His only chance was\nto escape.  Before the goyles could work\nup the courage to come at him again, he reached up and tapped his claw against the\npendant that hung around his neck.  Magic\nspewed out of it, seeping through his body like sludge water through his\nveins.  Two large bumps formed on his\nback, straining the fabric of his shirt before bursting free with the sound of\ntearing fabric.  Two wings now protruded\nfrom his back, thin and fleshy like a bat's and growing larger with every\npassing second.  The sandgoyles recoiled\nin terror.  A zik was not supposed to\nhave wings!  Even a stupid monster like a\ngoyle was smart enough to recognize the Dreadwave that accompanied a Twisting.  He was throwing Nature itself out of balance.  Kulgan grimaced at the thought.\nKulgan raised his new wings and\nthrust them down, rising off the ground a few feet.  He flapped three more times, putting himself\nsafely out of the sandgoyles' reach before angling himself to the north and\nflying away.  The goyles made no attempt\nto follow him, but he still flew more than a mile before landing.  Tapping the pendant again, he felt the magic\nretreat back into the necklace with an obscene slurping sound.  Without the magic to sustain them, the wings began\nto shrivel and die, the flesh rotting and falling off while the bones retreated\npainfully back into Kulgan's spine.  With\na gasp, the zik was in his normal form once more.Removing the tattered remains of his shirt,\nKulgan cast it upon the ground.  It was proper\nto burn any clothing that was destroyed by a Twisting, but he wasn't willing to\nrisk attracting whatever other predators might be stalking the night for a\nstupid superstition.  Hopefully the dull grey\nfur that covered his body would be enough to ward off the desert cold until he\nreached civilization.  He plucked his hip\nflask from his belt and considered taking a long swig to fight off the\ncold.  Instead, he put it back.  The Dreadwave was still coming off of him hard\nenough to make the flies steer clear of him, and would most likely still be in\neffect when he made it back to Everdry. \nIf he used up all his whiskey now, he'd have a very hard time getting\nmore from Olgi's pub until he was able to be around other people without his\nmere presence frightening them away.  That\nwas the price of Twisting, but in his line of work it was worth it.  The real problem would arise when he was\nforced to tell his employer that he'd lost the tracks once again when the\nsandgoyles appeared.\nOh well, one more child wouldn't be\ntoo high of a price, right?"}