Forgotten Fable RPG™: Meeka, Dhatura, and the Lich (short fiction)

by Adam Frank

     Meeka and his uekijin friend Dhatura continued to look around the treasury.

     “This?” came the soft yet crisp voice of the ninja.

     “Remember what I told you. Smash it against a wall or something. If it breaks it isn't magical.” Meeka responded, his whiskers twitching. He continued to look around the room his magic detection active. The lich's phylactery had to be around here somewhere but in a room full of trinkets, all of which were magical, it was hard to tell which.

     A loud thud came from the other side of the room. “It broke; guess it’s not magical then.”

     Meeka turned to face the green uekijin showing pleasure on his face, his large black eyes sparkling in the light. “Guess not! Let's keep looking.”

     “This stuff used to be easy didn't it? We never had to look through a room as full of magic as the endless lakes are full of fish.” Meeka chuckled to himself at the thought of the last visit he and Dhatura made to the lakes. They were forced to kill three water elementals who thought the two were there to hunt the fish. One of the three had so many fish swimming in it that Dhatura had mentioned it was more of a fish elemental than a water elemental.

     Meeka continued to scan the piles of jewelry, the cupboards bursting with china and the bookshelves. Almost everything was surrounded in the beautiful aura of magic his spell was showing him. Glancing over at the uekijin Meeka saw a very bright aura indicating a very powerful spell on an item. It was a small onyx ring. Dhatura picked it up and examined it for a moment and threw it with great force onto the floor. Meeka couldn't help it, he laughed. Long and hard after seeing his ninja friend throw a possibly priceless magical item onto the ground like it was rubbish.

     “What?” questioned Dhatura, xis white-tipped red head petal ruffling in an emotion Meeka understood as frustration and annoyance.

     Meeka scurried after the black ring chuckling to himself. “I was looking directly at that one, I could have told you it one was magical.” He picked up the ring and examined it for a bit. “Damn! Not the right item.” It would fetch a hefty sum at the right shops though. He pocketed it for selling it. From behind him came a raspy chuckle, almost a like a clearing of a throat if the performer had no to throat to clear.

     “Damn,” the uekijin swore. Meeka watched as the ninja drew xis weapons two swords with lightning speed.

     The tenjikujin spun pulling free his blade, the green light of the runes emblazoned upon his weapon casting a ghostly light at odds with the torches on the walls. A skeleton, likely about six feet tall stood there, the grin on its face casting an amused look around the room. Orange pinpricks of light in the eye sockets darted between the rune knight and the ninja. The lich put out his hand a thin silver chain falling from it.

     “I believe you are looking for this,” came the raspy voice of the creature “come and get it.” The undead being chuckled, a sound of infinite condescension before the battle that was to come.

Forgotten Fable RPG™: Meeka and the Battle for Kitta (short fiction)

by Adam Frank

Tonight, blood would be drawn. Meeka the tenjikujin rune knight, spoke a few words of power and his sword blazed to life. Green glowing runes etched themselves into the adamantine blade as his magic flowed from his body.

Surveying the field before him, the short tenjikujin took stock of his enemies. Behind him stood his small force, mostly made up of humans who were defending Kitta, their new settlement. Before him, an army made up of multiple races, at their head an uekijin—a humanoid plant—dressed in the grey robes of a summoner of the burgeoning kingdom Komaki. The summoner began casting a spell and dark, billowing smoke poured from its thin hands.

Meeka knew that the power of a summoned creature could turn the tide of battle and he had to stop it. He ordered his men to stay back and protect their home. Layering himself in various protection spells he charged toward the smoke. He felt himself gain more speed as his haste took hold and felt a renewal of energy as the life magic of regeneration swam through his body. It felt like a warm sense of safety. He had given it a color in his mind, a friendly green. Finally the armor spell he had cast upon himself hardened his already tough suit of mail. He breathed in the summoned smoke and trusted his senses to tell him that a naga spirit had been called to the aid of the uekijin. He jumped headlong into the concealing smoke.

The naga attacked with its gigantic tail. Meeka dodged it by jumping swiftly over the tail and struck with his blade. As the short glowing sword bit into the naga's flesh an explosion of fire rocked its head back as a spell stored within the weapon was released. Using his haste, Meeka struck again and again, releasing other spells into the snake’s body. He knew he had to finish this quickly or his small force could be overwhelmed by the enemy.

The snake struck with fangs almost as long as the tenjikujin rune knight was tall, scraping against his magical armor. Then it struck again, shattering his protective spells and biting into his shoulder, his regeneration knitting the wound closed just as soon as it was inflicted. Meeka knew he had to end this now. His hands danced in front of him preparing to conjure a spell. Wind flew out of Meeka's hands in a burst around his body, instantly clearing away the smoke and striking the snake, the summoner and much of the opposing force with the force of a hammer.

The Naga began to fade away as the summoner's link to this world was severed. Meeka sprinted to the summoner, who kipped up and blasted Meeka with a barrage of magic meant to strip away the Rune Knight’s protective magics. Stumbling as he felt himself moving faster than his body could compensate he turned his fall into a graceful roll coming up within striking distance of the enemy leader. He shouted and his force charged forward.

The summoner had a staff which it used to parry most of Meeka's blows, and he was keeping the plant creature on the defensive and stopping it from summoning any more horrors. His blast of wind had taken out a sizable number of the enemy army, while not exactly equal in number, were significantly closer in size. He smiled; they stood a chance of victory. Meeka's bravado, unusual for one of his species, had served him well in the past and it was continuing to do so now. His weapon finally stuck his enemy and he released the final fire spell into the plant creature.

The explosion was enough to send everyone on the field reeling. Meeka wasn't even sure that some of his own forces' casualties weren't his fault. The conflagration did what it was supposed to though. At the end, a burned husk was all that was left of the opposing summoner and its army was fleeing in unrestrained terror. Meeka had fended off the army this time. Hopefully he could do it again should they return. Tonight, drinks will be shared.