{"sf1_id":617267,"sf2_id":null,"title":"Guns of Legend: Chapter Ten","author":"ThisAdamGuy","words":2224,"posted_at":"2013-11-23T04:32:00.000Z","tags":["Cowboys","Fantasy","Guns","Indians","Magic","Shotguns","Western","pistols","rifles"],"url":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/617267-guns-of-legend-chapter-ten","original_url":"https://sofurry.com/view/617267","image_url":"https://www.sofurryfiles.com/std/thumb?page=617267\u0026ext=.jpg","description":"","content":"Hey, guys! I know it's been a long time since I've uploaded anything. School's been crazy. I'm going to try to get myself back on track. Let me know what you think of chapter ten!\nChapter Ten\n \n\"And that's my story,\" Adlis concluded. She'd spent the entire last hour recounting\nher experience with the Cursecaster and her fiancé to Gukkalunk, and she'd\nfound the experience draining. So many\nemotions going so fast...\nGukkalunk sighed, rubbing his temples, \"I will never\nunderstand why people do such things,\" he grumbled.\n\"I'm sorry,\" Adlis said, folding her hands in her lap. \"I didn't mean to upset you.\"\nGukkalunk shook his head, \"I am not angry at you. I feel your pain.\"\nAdlis felt a gently tug on the back of her dress. She turned and saw Za beckoning for her to\nlean in closer.\n\"Ask him if they're going to let us go!\" he urged her in a\nfrightened whisper.\nAdlis turned back to face the old storyteller, \"My friend\nwants to know if you plan on letting us go or not.\"\nGukkalunk stroked his chin thoughtfully, and then turned to\nhis chief, speaking in their strange, grunting language. The chief replied, and pointed to their three\ncaptives.\n\"He wants to know why you were on our land,\" Gukkalunk\ntranslated. \"Are you with the church as\nwell?\"\n\"The church?\" Adlis echoed.\nGukkalunk nodded, \"The Church of Embin. They have been coming to our camp every\nnight, telling us of their ways and their beliefs. They say they are here to civilize us.\"\nA chill ran down Adlis' spine. The Embin priests were coming here, of all\nplaces? Za sensed her unease, and came\nto sit closer.\n\"No, we're not from the church,\" Adlis reassured him. \"We're not even from around here. We came to Everdry looking for someone, but he\nleft.\" She gestured at the fuaro that sat behind them, silently. \"Ms. Kilo made\nus come out here, looking for... something.\"\n\"Something's been stealing children from Everdry for the\npast few months,\" Kilo spoke up finally.\n\"I came out here to kill it.\"\nGukkalunk eyed her suspiciously, \"Taking children, you\nsay? And why would that bring you onto\nour land?\"\nKilo narrowed her eyes dangerously, \"I'm tempted to say I've\nfound the culprits.\"\nGukkalunk stood up suddenly, his expression angry, \"You dare\ncome here and accuse us of stealing your children? My kind may not be, as you say, civilized,\nbut we are not so low that we will take defenseless children away from their\nparents!\"\nKilo glared at the gargoyle for a few moments, and then sat\ndown, pointedly avoiding his gaze.\n\"I'm sorry for that, sir,\" Adlis said as Gukkalunk sat back\ndown. \"Please don't take it\npersonally. Hers was one of the children\nthat was taken.\"\nA touch of sympathy appeared in the storyteller's eyes, and\nhe nodded.\n\"My people are not responsible for the disappearances of\nyour children,\" he said at last. \"I say\nthis because our children have been disappearing as well.\"\nAdlis put a paw to her mouth in shock. So, the kidnappings weren't limited to\nEverdry? Suddenly, Kilo was by her side.\n\"Did anybody see anything?\" she demanded, her feelings for\nthe gargoyles suddenly forgotten. \"Anything\nat all?\"\nGukkalunk shook his head, \"Nothing. Whatever is doing this, it is able to pick\noff our children when nobody is watching them.\"\n\"Sandgoyles, maybe?\" Adlis suggested, recalling stories of\nthe cave dwelling creatures' cousins.\n\"No,\" the gargoyle said.\n\"The sandgoyles may be much more prone to violence than us, but we have\nenough respect for each other not to do such a thing.\"\n\"I'm sorry to interrupt,\" Za said meekly, shrinking back\neven as he spoke. \"But I'd still like to\nknow if we can leave or not.\"\n\"I suspect that our chief will let you go as soon as the sun\ngoes down,\" Gukkalunk answered. He\ngestured towards the mouth of the cave, where the wall of statues still stood, \"As\nyou can see, it would be very difficult to do so now.\"\nAdlis nodded in acknowledgement. Beside her, Za breathed a sigh of relief.\n\"I have heard enough for now,\" the storyteller said,\nstanding up. \"You must be tired. You may choose a spot to sleep for the day.\"\nWith that, he retreated to the back of thhe cave, where the\nrest of his tribe was gathered.\n\"I still don't like this, Adlis,\" the worrisome simmk\nwhispered. \"What if they kill us when we\nfall asleep?\"\n\"I don't think they will, Za,\" Adlis assured him, patting\nhis hand comfortingly. \"Try to relax.\"\nZa nodded his head uncertainly, and chose a spot to sit back\nagainst the wall. He still watched the\ngargoyles suspiciously, but she could see him already drifting into sleep. Kilo, too, found a spot to lay down,\nmuttering about sleeping on solid rock.\nGetting up from the stone she had been sitting on, Adlis went and sat\nbeside Za. Within minutes, she was\nasleep too.\n \n\u003c\u003e\u003c\u003e\u003c\u003e\u003c\u003e\u003c\u003e \n \n\"Wake up!\"\nA rough nudge shook Adlis out of her slumber. She opened her eyes to see Gukkalunk standing\nover her, looking worried.\n\"What's wrong?\" she asked.\n\"Wake your friends,\" the storyteller said quickly. \"The men from the church are coming!\"\nInstantly alert, Adlis stood up and gave Za and Kilo the\nsame rude awakening she had gotten.\n\"So what?\" the fuaro snapped after she had explained the\nsituation. \"It's not like they're going\nto care about us.\"\n\"Maybe not you,\" Adlis shot back, and pointed to her ears, \"but\nthey may not like these!\"\n\"What do we do?\" Za fretted, bouncing up and down on his heels\nin agitation.\n\"Come to the back of the cave,\" Gukkalunk instructed. The other gargoyles made a path for them as\nthey came. \"All of you, kneel down!\"\nAdlis, Za, and Kilo did as instructed, huddling together at\nthe very back of the cave. Gukkalunk\ngrabbed a large, thick quilt and threw it over them, ordering them to stay\nthere and be quiet. Adlis found that she\ncould see a bit out of a tiny hole in the fabric.\n\"Come, now,\" a voice called from outside the cave, \"open the\nway!\"\n\"The sun must first go down,\" Gukkalunk shouted back. \"Until then, they can not move.\"\n\"There is always a way, should you desire it hard enough!\"\ncame the reply, but the speaker obliged and waited for the sun to set. It sank slowly behind the horizon, only just\nvisible from behind the gargoyle wall, until darkness covered the desert again.\nWith a startlingly loud cracking sound, the gargoyles\nblocking the entrance shed their stony skin, becoming flesh once more. They collapsed all over each other, the\ntransformation having apparently exhausted them. A small group of their brethren hurried\nforward and dragged them away from the entrance, while another pushed the rope\nladder over the edge of the cliff.\n\"Much better!\" whoever it was at the bottom of the cliff\nshouted. A minute later, an old, yet\nstill dazzlingly scaled, kashni climbed into the cave. He wore the dark blue robes of a priest of\nEmbin, which he hurriedly dusted off.\nBehind him, three acolytes climbed up to join him- two ziks and a fuaro.\n\"Everyone, join me in bowing to the will of Embin,\" the\nkashni instructed. He got to his knees,\nand prostrated himself on the cave floor, as did the three acolytes. Though Adlis could tell they did not want to,\nthe gargoyles got to their feet and bowed down as well.\n\"Very good,\" the priest said as he stood back up, as if he\nwere speaking to a room full of children.\n\"Rise, my sons and daughters, and let me teach you of the ways of Embin!\"\nAs the gargoyles took their seats, a quiet, almost\ninaudible, grumble came from the back of the cave. The kashni immediately perked up, turning his\nhead towards where the noise had come from.\n\"Was that a complaint I just heard?\" he asked,\nadmonishingly. When no response came, he\nstood up and looked out over the tribe of gargoyles. \"The great wise Embin has blessed you with\nour presence this evening so that we may share our knowledge and guidance, and\nyet you grumble?\"\n\"Think nothing of it,\" Gukkalunk said calmly from the front\nof the group. \"Surely you understand the\nfoolishness of youth. Please, continue.\"\nThe kashni eyed Gukkalunk with obvious distaste, and then\nbent down over him.\n\"I would hope that that is all it is, Storyteller\" he said\nin a low, menacing voice. \"You know what\nthe church is capable of doing to those who reject the Wise One's teachings.\"\n\"Of course,\" Gukkalunk said, bobbing his head up and down\nfuriously. \"We would never bring such\nwrath down upon us. Please, continue.\"\nApparently satisfied, the priest stood up straight and\nspread his arms out, as if trying to hug the entire tribe, \"Listen, and pay\nheed, Impure Ones! The great Embin, lord\nof all that is pure and natural, has declared that which you call magic to be\nwicked and unnatural. Repent, and turn\nfrom your heathen ways, and you will be blessed and smiled upon by the Natural\nOne!\"\nThe kashni began to pace back and forth across the cave,\nmaking eye contact with as many gargoyles as he could, \"I know you believe that\nmagic is too deeply imbedded into your history, indeed, even into yourselves,\nto forsake it, but I tell you now that this is not true! As the Natural One said, if you desire\nsomething enough, there will always be a way.\nRelease your hold on such heathenistic practices, and embrace that which\nis pure and natural.\"\nHe looked over the small crowd expectantly. When no one came forward to repent, his face\nsoured.\n\"Please, great priest,\" Gukkalunk pleaded. \"Turning our back on such things is\ndifficult. Give us more time, and surely\nwe will come to repent as you desire!\"\nThe kashni rose to his full height in outrage, \"For two\nmonths, I have been coming to this Embin forsaken cave, and for two months you\nhave wasted my time! I demand that you\nheed my teachings and repent tonight!\"\nWithout giving the storyteller time to reply, the priest\nbegan to force his way into the crowd.\nHe eyed each one of the gargoyles, searching for something Adlis guessed\nonly he could see. He made his way to\nthe back of the cave before pointing at a small child, who cowered from him in\nfear.\n\"You!\" he declared. \"The\nNatural One wishes for you to repent and beg for his forgiveness this night!\"\nThe little gargoyle squealed in protest, and pressed its\nback into the wall.\n\"Do not resist,\" the priest growled, reaching down and\ngrabbing the child by its arm, pulling it away from the crowd. \"The Wise One commands it!\"\n\"No!\" Adlis heard herself shout, and immediately covered her\nmouth in shock. She hadn't meant to say\nanything.\nThe priest froze, and slowly turned to face the lumpy\nquilt. He released the child, who\nscurried back to its parents, and grabbed the blanket, yanking it off and\nrevealing the three travelers.\n\"What is the meaning of this?\" he demanded in outrage. \"Why are you here?\"\n\"Th- they took us captive,\" Adlis explained as quickly as\nthey could. \"We accidentaly trespassed\non their land.\"\nEven as she spoke, she felt the fur on her ears turn white\nwith terror, and she silently cursed.\nThe priest's eyes widened when he saw the change.\n\"Now I understand,\" he growled. He reached out and grabbed the young zik by\nher arm, hauling her upright.\n\"Hey, leave her alone!\" Za shouted, getting to his feet, but\nthe priest kicked out, knocking him back against the wall.\n\"No, please!\" Adlis pleaded.\n\"It's not what you think! I was\ncursed! I didn't do this to myself!\"\nThe kashni's eyes narrowed, but Adlis knew he could not\naccuse her of using black magic without proof.\n\"We shall see about that,\" he said, and turned to drag her\nout of the cave. He pointed at his\nacolytes, \"Take the others!\"\nThe acolytes leaped up and took a hold of Kilo and Za. Adlis breathed a sigh of relief when they\nallowed themselves to be led away without protest. The priest forced her to climb down the ladder,\nto where a large, ornately decorated wagon waited.\n\"Get inside,\" he commanded.\nShe obeyed, and took a seat in the wagon. The seats were cushioned, a clear sign of\naristocracy. Za and Kilo filed in as\nwell, taking seats beside her. The wagon\nwas so large that even when the priest and his acolytes joined them inside, there\nwas still plenty of room.\n\"Take us back to the church!\" the kashni commanded the\ndriver, another kashni. A whip cracked\noutside, and the wagon began to move.\n\"And to make sure none of you try to escape,\" the priest\nsaid, pulling a pistol out of his robes and pointing at them.\n\"What are they going to do to us?\" Za asked, shaking with\nterror.\n\"Don't worry, Za,\" Adlis said, trying to sound comforting\nthrough her own fear. \"Everything is\ngoing to be okay.\"\nBut as the wagon took them further away from the gargoyle's\ncave, she couldn't help but wonder if she was lying to him.\n"}