{"sf1_id":617547,"sf2_id":null,"title":"Guns of Legend: Chapter Eleven","author":"ThisAdamGuy","words":957,"posted_at":"2013-11-24T00:26:00.000Z","tags":["Cowboys","Fantasy","Guns","Indians","Magic","Shotguns","Western","pistols","rifles"],"url":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/617547-guns-of-legend-chapter-eleven","original_url":"https://sofurry.com/view/617547","image_url":"https://www.sofurryfiles.com/std/thumb?page=617547\u0026ext=.jpg","description":"","content":"Chapter Eleven Where's\nmy pendant?That thought was all it took to\nbring Kulgan back to full awareness, sitting upright in his bed.Wait, bed?Memories of the previous night flew\nthrough his mind. Finally seeing the\ncreature. Fighting the creature... Losing badly.\nBut that had all been in the desert.\nHe quickly took stock of his surroundings. The room was small and plain, but well\nlit. The only decoration was a painting\nof an old, gray-furred fuaro hanging on the wall, illuminated by three candles\nplaced underneath it. On the opposite\nside of the room was a small desk, upon\nwhich sat a thick, hardbound book.\nAll in all, it became quickly apparent to the anxious zik that this was\nnot the desert. In fact, if the painting\non the wall was any indication, he was in a Church of Embin.Kulgan swore under his breath, and\nswung his legs over the side of the bed.\nHis wounds, he noted, had all been bandaged, and he felt decently\nfit. When he stood up, his legs were\nstrong beneath him, supporting his weight without trouble. Whatever the priests had done, it had worked.Still, all of this paled in\ncomparison to the fact that his Twisting pendant was missing.\"Where do you think you're off to\nin such a hurry?\" a voice came from the corner of the room.Kulgan snapped his head around,\nsurprised to see a figure standing there he hadn't seen before. It was a zik, like him, but its fur was as\ndark as the inside of a cave. He wore a\nlong, black coat and a wide brimmed hat of the same color. Kulgan noted, with some unease, the snipe\nrifle slung over the intruder's back.\"Luka,\" Kulgan said after a moment's\nhesitation. \"Is that you?\"A grim chuckle came from the corner\nwhere the zik was standing, \"So, you remember me, do you?\"\"I haven't seen you in years,\"\nKulgan said. \"What are you doing here?\"Luka stepped out of the corner, his\nspurred boots clomping and jingling loudly.\nHe stopped when he was only a foot away from Kulgan.\"I cam looking for you,\" he said\ncalmly, and then punched him as hard as he could in the stomach.Kulgan grunted as he stumbled\nbackwards, his insides lighting up with pain.\nObviously he wasn't nearly as healed on the inside as he was on the\noutside. He sat down hard on the bed,\nholding his stomach in his arms.\"Do you know what I've been doing\never since the moment you disappeared all those years ago?\" Luka asked\ncasually. \"I've been looking for you.\"\"Looking to collect on my bounty?\"\nthe gray zik spat in disgust. \"That fits\nyou, I guess.\"\"Nothing so simple as that,\" Luka\nsaid, and took a step back. \"I couldn't\ncare less about you or the old man you killed.\nI want what you took from him.\"Kulgan's eyes widened in surprise\nfor but a moment, and then he regained his composure, \"Well, you wasted your\ntime. I don't have it.\"\"Come on, Kulgan,\" Luka\ncrooned. \"You don't really think I'm so\nstupid that I'd think you left something like that behind when it was just\nsitting there, free for the taking?\"\"You know the responsibility that\ncomes with those things,\" Kulgan insisted.\n\"Even if I didn't intend to use it, I'd be accepting those\nresponsibilities as my own.\"Luka nodded, grinning, \"Oh, I do\nknow. More than you realize, in fact.\"With that, he reached behind his\nback and pulled out his sniper rifle.\nKulgan didn't feel threatened, the long-barreled rifle was too long and\ncumbersome to use in such a confined area.\nHe was, however, shocked by the wave of power that radiated from the\ngun, slamming into him like a slap to the face.\"No way,\" he said in\ndisbelief. \"Where did you...\"\"Get ahold of one of the Guns of\nLegend?\" Luka finished for him, a satisfied smile on his face. \"Last I checked, they were standard issue for\nthe Marshals.\"Kulgan froze.\"You?\" he said slowly. \"A Marshal?\"He stood up, ignoring the pain that\nflashed inside of him, and crossed the room to stand face to face with Luka, \"Have\nthey lost their minds?\"Again, Luka's fist lashed out, this\ntime connecting with Kulgan's face.\nKulgan staggered backwards, his head spinning, and collided with the far\nwall. He stood there for a few moments,\nleaning against the wall until he got his balance back, and then looked back at\nLuka. A bitter smile rose to his face.\"So, you're a Marshal now,\" he chuckled. \"And here you are, bounty hunting like\nalways.\"Luka's laugh caught him off\nguard. He'd expected to be hit again\nafter the insult.\"I told you,\" the black zik said,\nhis voice filled with mirth, \"I'm not here for your bounty!\"With a swift, skillful movement, he\nholstered the rifle over his shoulder again, and then reached into the breast\npocket of his coat. Slowly, he withdrew\nsomething. Kulgan's blood lurched as he\nrecognized his Twisting pendant.\"Luka...\" he said softly, his eyes\ngrowing abnormally wide with desperate need, \"Give me that.\" His skin itched. His fingers twitched with the urge to reach\nout and grab it from him. He needed that\npendant- more than he'd ever needed anything before.\"So,\" Luka mused, \"this is what\nTwisting does to you.\" He held up the\npendant tauntingly, \"Being this close to it, but unable to touch it... it's\ndriving you insane, isn't it?\"Kulgan didn't reply. He just stared at the pendant. The tiny piece of stone that he loved so\nmuch- even though he hated it with all his life. He needed it so badly that his head couldn't\nform coherent words.\"Sure, I'll give it back,\" Luka\nagreed, grinning smugly. Then he balled\nit in his fist, hiding it from Kulgan's view.\n\"Just tell me where you hid Spitfire!\""}