Published Short Stories (When you write for a newspaper, you only get 800 words for each piece. That's not a lot of space at all, so one must be as creative as they can within those restraints, eliminating many words and details that we love so much. Therefore each section is short and to the point. DO NOT be surprised or upset with the length and lack of detail of each portion, as I've done the best I can with the space I have!)
"The Adventures of the Magnificent, Mystical, Magickal Sas, the Mischievous Muckletail"
"The Deception, Thievery, and Treachery of Orko"
By W.E.P.T.
1
"You're rushing, I see. Today must be the big date, eh?" Orchis watched her daughter's cheeks become the deepest shade of purple, as the girl blushed.
Sas had pretty black skin on a petite frame; the curiousness and mischief of a child; wings of a faerie on her back and ears; and a long pretty tail with a tuft of straight, black hair at its tip. She also, like her mother, had the gift for Magick.
"Methinks you should tell a little more about him."
"Ooooh, mum, he's beautiful! His name is Nasturium, and he's an elf with creamy white skin, dark eyes, long golden hair, and lips that women would kill to taste!"
"What the bloody hell are you talking about, missy! You're too young to know anything about a man's lips, you snotty nosed ragamuffin!" She said laughing.
"No, you misunderstand, mum! I just meant that he has a pretty mouth, that's all," Sas teased, as she kissed her mother's cheek and went to wash.
Orchis, humored by her daughter's innocent but debauched frame of mind, turned to do her chores. Her hands glowed, emitting multicoloured clouds as she stepped into the garden, making trees spring from the earth as if they were wells of water. Magickal creatures scurried about as Orchis's hair tentacles ripped nasty weeds, vines, and dead trees from the earth causing them to vanish at once as if they had never existed. New born shrubs, bushes, vegetation, and beautiful flowers erupted in all directions, spreading as far as the eye could see.
Soon Orchis was done with her gardening, and her daughter was on her way. Sas yelled over her shoulder as her flapping wings carried her away into the distance.
"Love u, mum-if it gets too late, I'll conjure the wind to bring you a message."
"Be careful, and don't go using your Magick for silly pranks, or I'll have to swat you like a spoiled toddler!" She smiled worriedly, hoping that this young man would mind his manners.
*
While soaring over Buru Mountain, Sas day dreamt about the devilishly handsome Nasturium and whether or not her sweet elf would greet her with flowers this day. Before her mind wandered even further, her attention was ensnared by something disturbing.
Beneath her, in a large crevice of the mountain was a girl cornered by creatures she thought might be bent on relieving the young woman of her virtue. Sas recognized the beasts as Piglin, Asfart, Smulp, Huss, and an elementary goblin wizard, named Orko.
Piglin was a fat glob of sweaty flesh with pale pimply skin and a boar's face. Even as disgusting as he was, he still went about naked most of the time. Smulp was equally repugnant, only skinny, fully clothed and with a better complexion. Huss was quite handsome for an ogre, very large with a perfectly sculpted physique (he was merely on the 'hairy-side' in certain areas!). However, a fairly attractive visage was overshadowed by a face that could seem to produce no other emotion than anger-it was only this attribute which earned him the title of 'ugly.' The last, Asfart, was the vilest of all, as he came from a group of Trolls called the Stynks. These creatures smelled of bodily waste, as they lived on a constant diet of their very own feces!
Sas noted that Orko stood in a corner, giddy with anticipation of the rape scene. Swelling with fury, she swooped down, completely forgetting that she had to meet Nasturium.
"DON'T TAKE ONE MORE STEP TOWARDS HER!" Sas roared as she landed, blocking the path to the frightened girl. Her tail whipped viciously about, and long sharp claws erupted from her finger tips. The others were instantly on guard, as Sas had dealt with them before. Typically, it was only for things like petty theft or bullying the locals, so she didn't need to really hurt anyone. However, Sas thought she might kill this time, as 'rape' was amongst the most serious of crimes in the Magick world.
"Just tryin' to show the lady a good time. She must want to be here-as ya' can see, she ain't running!" Huss, the Ogre, said waving his giant club about.
Sas looked over her shoulder, observing the shivering girl.
"Hmmm-as if the five of you have an aura that's so incredibly alluring! Orko, the goblin wizard with the most rudimentary spells the Magick world has ever seen. Surely you could charm the garments off a woman! Smulp and Huss, pathetic as can be-you're only here on order from a novice wizard! Piglin-a sweaty fat ass with a prize winning, one inch killer betwixt his thighs! And the mighty Asfart, who has a body and breath that smell like shit pot pie! Yes, I'm positive that the young lady is here, because you all are the very essence of what women find attractive!" Sas snapped.
No mercy this time! She thought to herself, as she cracked her knuckles and got into a defensive stance.
On order from Orko, the fight began.
2
Smulp found himself dead before he was able to bat an eyelash. The blast of Sas's Magick had made a clean wound with no blood or tearing, which was a very odd thing considering the fact that his head was gone! Now she turned to Huss and, with her hands spread wide apart, suspended him in mid-air. She left him alone for a moment and spun around to find Piglin charging her. Sas split his throat open with the nail of her index finger, and his blood spewed from the wound. Soon he was dead as could be.
She looked to the corner, meaning to deliver death to Orko, and only found the remains of smoke. He and Asfart had escaped by means of Magick. Sas stood taken aback for a moment, surprised that Orko had gained enough power to conjure the vanishing spell-let alone make two people disappear at once!
Confused, but infuriated at losing them, she clinched her fists and a blast of Magick erupted from her arms, destroying much of the surrounding rock in the crevice of the mountain. As she stood fuming, Sas noticed that the giant ogre was still writhing about in the air. She turned sideways, and her tail hardened, whipping about. Then it smacked Huss with such a force that it sent all three tons of the ogre flying over the side of the mountain. Just as he disappeared from sight, his body severed in two, sending a fine mist of blood into the atmosphere. No matter how large a creature, there wasn't much that could match the Magickal strength and dexterity of Sas's tail. She huffed with satisfaction, dusting herself off.
Though she wanted to think on Orko's escape more, she dismissed it and flew the young woman to safety. Upon landing, she scolded the young girl as if she were her mother.
"Do try to use a bit more common sense next time! A young lady should never travel in the mountains alone, especially if she doesn't know Magick!"
"I didn't mean to, Lady Sas. I just wanted to get some Chuku berries as medicine for me pappy. I took a short cut through the mountains on the way to the berry fields, but those monsters grabbed me," the girl sobbed in despair.
(Sas wasn't surprised that the girl knew her name. Many young maidens did, as she had unintentionally earned a reputation as a guardian.)
As she watched the young girl's tears splash on the rocks below, Sas cursed her own sympathy. She had to meet Nasturium in under half an hour, and she could not be late! Yet, her compassion compelled her to ask.
"What's wrong with your father?"
"Papa's dying! He crawled through the door awhile ago, bleeding profusely! It looked as if something mauled him. That's why I need Chuku-the berry juice will cauterize the wounds. Will you not help me, mistress? I'll be in your debt forever!" She pleaded.
"Take me to him, now!"
"But, the berries?"
"Never mind that-give me your hand, and close your eyes. Think of your home and all that within! Concentrate, as we haven't much time."
The two of them locked hands, and a nauseating feeling came over the girl as she and Sas disappeared in a cloud of rainbow coloured smoke.
*
"BITCH! I'LL MURDER HER IF IT'S THE LAST THING I DO!" Orko, the goblin yelled in contempt of Sas. At this, several fires erupted in different parts of the cave. Though he was able to conjure powerful spells, he still had no control over them, and he was dangerous to himself and those around.
"AAAHHHHHHHH!" Asfart howled, while rolling around on the floor, attempting to extinguish his flaming buttocks. "Be careful, master! You'll kill us both!" He warned, knowing that unpredictable spells was the price one paid the gods for attaining Magickal skill through treachery.
The ever odorous scent of roasted feces rose from his stench ridden body. Orko rebuked him.
"Listen, ASS-FART-that is how one pronounces your name, is it not? Don't ever tell me how I should use my Magick, or else I will turn you into a pretty flower, or something else that smells good! I doubt you would like that!"
The beast immediately fell to his knees, begging for mercy, as the Stynks' odor was their greatest attribute. Being terribly proud of his hereditary stench, Asfart would rather lay in the earth than relinquish such a fine trait!
"Please don't, Master!"
"Very well then, silence you fool!" Orko huffed as he paced around, plotting on the ever troublesome Sas.
Soon, he sat down in a corner, frustrated. When he looked up, Orko gagged with disgust as Asfart pulled out a nibble from his sack. The buffoon had just bit down into a large piece of petrified shit as if it were a chocolate bar!
"Lunch time, is it?" Orko whispered with nausea.
*
When the cloud of vapor disappeared, Sas found herself and the girl standing in a puddle of blood, looking down at a large muscular man, sprawled on the floor. His body was covered in jagged lacerations and bite wounds. Though no longer conscious, Sas felt his vibrating life force, meaning that he wasn't dead.
"Step aside," she ordered.
The entire room emitted a blinding glow for a moment, and when it settled the girl's father lay sleeping, as if the incident never was. Then he leapt up suddenly, as one waking from a terrible nightmare, screaming.
"ORKO!"
3
Sas cast a calming spell, as to quell the father's hysterics. Meanwhile, she paced about, uneasy that she had been surprised twice in the last ten minutes-first by Orko vanishing with Magick that he was far too unskilled to even know, then this man waking and screaming the goblin's name! Clearly, it was Orko who had attacked him-or something under his command.
While the father got his bearings, Sas observed their home. The cottage was small with many windows. Everything was made of the finest crafted wood, glazed over, giving it a very nice sheen. There were many paintings hanging from the walls, and in between them, Sas could see carvings in the wood. This was an artistic family, she noted. Despite the beauty and coziness of the home, Sas still thought that the place could do with just a hint of Magick-but of course she was biased.
The girl's father had now gotten off the floor, and was sitting in an oak chair with his daughter kissing his cheek. The man recognized his savior.
"Thank you," he said, nodding.
Sas looked upon him with ardent curiosity, glaring into his eyes. She would not think favorably of him, and would even be sorry that she had saved his life, if she found that this man was willingly mixing with the likes of Orko.
Maybe he got more than he could handle from whatever deal he made with the goblin! Sas thought, assuming the worst. However, for all the skepticism in her mind, her heart told her that this was a good man. She relaxed, so that she could hear his story out, free of bias.
"What happened?"
4
He ripped tiny pieces of flesh from his arms and face when bursting through thorn bushes and shrubs. Knowing that it would mean his death if he slowed to look back, he focused all his efforts on making it to the river. The Vahzguls, a race of werewolf-like creatures, could not cross water.
This particular beast was covered in black fur, which became a silvery white at the neck, as it was throughout the rest of its head, except for two black circles of fur surrounding the eyes. Its teeth were deadly sharp, gleaming ivory pillars, protruding from black leathery gums. A monstrous tongue swung to and fro, saliva sloshing everywhere. The Vahzgul howled with exhilaration, able to smell its prey from afar.
Marion gave himself new cuts as he crashed through another heavy patch of branches. His sweat should have viciously stung his wounds, but he was too frightened to feel anything (even the urine running down his legs went unnoticed!). And though he was a fast and agile man, the odor of his fear did him no favor, as that only made it easier for the Vahzgul to track him.
Meanwhile, the beast looked back and growled at its master, assuring him that he would soon have his precious blood sacrifice. Orko nodded. He and his four counterparts were engrossed with the scene as if it were the most magnificent and beautiful of events, observing from a hill at the bottom of the mountain.
"Don't let him get away!" A worried Orko commanded. His Magick was fading and if he didn't have some blood soon, he would again be powerless.
*
Being the shallow and superficial being that he was, Orko's most ardent desires were unlimited power, a slew of mistresses, and world dominion. However, being a mediocre talent with Magick (despite the fact that he came from a family who had practiced it for centuries), he was unable to attain that which he lusted after. Be that as it may, the one thing that Orko did excel at was devising plans having anything to do with macabre violence. It was one such plan that helped him to greatly multiply his Magickal skill fourteen days previous.
Disguised, Orko had gone to visit a humble, unassuming wizard, claiming that he was sick from poison and needed a Magickal remedy. Vahn agreed to help him, and while Orko lay on a bed of straw being examined, the goblin pulled a knife from his purse and cut the wizard's throat, ear to ear. As Vahn lay gagging on his own blood, Orko climbed on top of him, sank the knife deep in his chest and cut out his heart. Orko swallowed it whole, and thereby gained the wizard's power.
However, with his family's teachings long forgotten (for he never was a studious one), it wasn't until his spells started backfiring on him that Orko realized he was cursed. Only drinking a certain amount of human blood once a day could maintain his power. So far, he had concealed fourteen murders through binding the burial sites with sorcery, thereby deceiving Sas, for she could not feel the presence of the lifeless bodies.
Now being accustomed to the consumption of blood once a day, Orko found that he liked to murder more than ever, laughing with wickedness as the Vahzgul closed in on his latest victim.
"MUHAH HAH HAH AHHHH!"
*
Smearing blood upon his face from thorn slashed forearms, he wiped the sweat from his brow. Marion's hair stood on end, hearing a wicked laugh soar through the wind. It was Orko's wail of victory, a sound many often heard echoing throughout the mountains, resulting from one of his hideous acts of wanton violence. As the laughter died in a faint whisper, Marion was seized with a glimmer of hope, seeing the splashing tide of river water ahead. The stream led to his cottage, which rested on the shore, two miles down the miniature rapid.
Putting on a burst of speed, Marion wounded himself further as he leapt over branches and broke through more obstacles, in attempts to evade his pursuer who was drawing ever closer. The Vahzgul saw that his prey was near escaping and reciprocated the speed, demolishing all within its path. As the beast came to the river bank, it snarled in anger, seeing the man leap off the edge.
Beneath the water, Marion relaxed, knowing the river would give him a rough but safe trip. However, as he came up for air, his escape proved all too presumptuous, for he was seized with horror when he found that the Vahzgul had dove in after him! Arms and legs flailing with the treacherous current, Marion attempted to swim out of harms way. It was a pointless gesture, as the beast's claws had suddenly pierced his stomach, dragging him close to rip him limb from limb.
Seeing his precious blood spray onto the Vahzgul's fur, Marion's eyes rolled backwards, as he instinctively tried to block out the pain. As he wailed in agony, the creature howled as well, smoke rising from its scorched fur.
Being too enthralled with the completion of its task, the Vahzgul had ignored the curse. No being of its race could be touched by water, as its purity clashed with their inherent evil. The Vahzgul mutilated Marion thoroughly as possible until his own body was set ablaze, making the pain unbearable. The beast crawled ashore, shrieking in pain, and Marion's limp body floated downstream, submerged in a deep crimson tide.
Orko was infuriated with the beast's incompetence, but his anger subsided when he approached and found several strips of bloody flesh resting on the dirt ground of the forest. Disregarding the beast that lie at his feet, burning to death, Orko took up the flesh and pulled a golden cup from his purse. He squeezed every single drop of blood he could into the cup, threw his head back and swallowed it all.
Feeling a burst of strength enter his body, Orko shivered and got an erection in his ecstatic lust for human blood. As the front of his unicorn hide, leather knickers bulged outward, his fantasy was interrupted by more whimpering from the Vahzgul. Annoyed, Orko snapped his fingers, using newly restored powers to extinguish the flames. The creature crawled forward, licking the bunion covered skin of Orko's gnarled, claw-like toes, being ever so grateful for his master's mercy.
Be this situation as it may, under normal circumstances a goblin would be endangered of dismemberment by a Vahzgul. But since these wolf beasts had always been terrified of sorcery, Orko was able to use their fear to gain this Vahzgul's allegiance. If not for his Magickal prowess, he would have gone nowhere but to his grave, employing the aid of such a creature.
Orko knelt to pet the smoking fur of his servant. "Hungry then?" he asked, handing out the strips of flesh.
The Vahzgul accepted, swallowing each piece whole without chewing and then licked the remaining fragments and sticky blood from his master's fingers. Orko smiled, proud of his success the second time around, for he remembered his face. This very same man escaped him days ago, having been under the protection of a temporary Magickal charm he wore. In his foolishness, Orko had not anticipated such a thing and thus resolved to solicit the aid of a savage creature that was now licking his palms.
Orko gasped suddenly, a chill running down his spine. Assuming Marion dead, he knew that if he didn't scour the stream, he would lose the body, thus alerting the Magickal senses of a certain person that he had no wish to deal with. He turned to his companions.
"Come lads!"
*
Marion left a trail of blood as he clawed his way to the cottage door. Using all the strength he had left, he undid the latch and pushed the door open, immediately collapsing in the entrance. A pair of large blue eyes widened in horror, as they gazed upon him.
"Father!"
To be continued-someday.