Reply To: Tales from the Federation

[Tyler]

“It happun’d inna instant,” Meat growled quietly. “I didn’av time ta think, I jus dove fer th’ground.”

The hulking barbarian shifted uncomfortably in his seat as the tragedy began to unfurl in his mind. “Me an the human was sent in ta back up the clerics, heard they was takin’ a beating an needed some help.”

Meat remembered the fleshy undead humanoid, strangulating Kearin with it’s ropy appendages, and the blood that flowed freely from his armor.

“We saved ‘im though, started choppin’ our way through hordes a’undead. I can’t ‘member how many I cut down.”

Meat paused, and felt an emotion he hadn’t felt in a long time; regret. For as long as he could remember, the young half orc had only ever looked out for his own best intentions and damned the rest. However, since joining the Federation, Meat has come upon something that he has never had before: a family. He grew attached to the myriad of fellow adventurers, considering them endeared siblings that he would gladly lay his life down for.

“We got cocky…I think,” Meat scratched the back of his neck. “The human opened a door, opened it up to somethin’ mean. It looked like a skull, but it was floatin’ in th’air and on fire!

“As soon as I saw’d it, I hit the floor. I felt somethin’ big then, somethin’ big an’loud. By th’time I come round to my senses…”

Meat trailed off, muttering to himself, lost in the horror of the scene as it played out before him.

“It killed two of ’em it did. Took ’em out in an instant.”

Meat’s hands balled up into fists and his greyish green knuckles turned white.

“I should’ve done somethin’, anythin’, and now they’re dead, gone…couldn’t even give ’em a proper burial…”

Meat pushed himself to his feet, he was tired suddenly, and turned away from the Old Man with his book and quill. He paused, shuffled around in his pouch, and pulled forth a crystalline quill with an inbuilt ink reservoir. He observed it for a moment before leaving it on the chair.

“You can hav’it, don’t much like it anymore.”