Newsgroups: alt.pub.dragons-inn
From: dementia@cheshire.oxy.edu (Daniel Steven Reinker)
Subject: A Meshtak Halloween story
Message-ID: <1992Nov2.032631.3495@cheshire.oxy.edu>
Date: Mon, 2 Nov 1992 03:26:31 GMT

	A special halloween story of Meshtak the draga
	(taken from Meshtak's past)

	It was cloudy and gray when Meshtak awoke; a day that almost
 ensured rain. The mountain air was fairly cold, and Meshtak was chilled
slightly despite his fur coat. The four hytians were bundled together in the
corner of the cave, comforted by the pile of blankets they had brought
with them and by their body heat. Reckshaw slept on the other side of the
now-extinguished fire, bundled up in his sleeping furs. Meshtak was the
first one up, and he stretched nervously. He was always nervous now, it
seemed. 
	For a moment, he thought about letting everyone sleep. They had
endured a hard day the day before, and had covered a lot more ground than
thought possible. Reckshaw had helped by carrying little Tratha, while
Meshtak gave Brentan a piggy-back ride. Still, they were not going as fast
as Meshtak could have alone; despite Midan's fierce determination, his
small size slowed them down. There was nothing they could really do;
Midan and Linsly were hytians, and were not built for moving fast, and
there wasn't any way that Meshtak would abandon them.
	Midan was supposed to be on guard duty, but he had fallen asleep.
Meshtak gave him a shake, and the hytian came instantly awake. Meshtak
then set out trying to awaken Reckshaw while Midan awoke his family.
Reckshaw grumbled as he slit his eyes and let in the daylight. "What is
this?" He grumbled. "Why so early? The suns barely up...."
	"Necessity." said Meshtak. "We need ta get moving...sorry, Reckshaw, but if you want to travel with us, you gotta travel fast, 'cause that's how 
we're traveling." Meshtak went to pack his supplies, ignoring the fighter's 
grumbles.
	"Why're ya in such a hurry to get out of Hytia, anyways?" complained 
Reckshaw as he packed his things. "Why're you so sure yer being pursued? I
 mean, we're pretty deep in the mountains...I think we're pretty safe up here."
	Meshtak didn't answer, so Midan replied. "I won't feel safe until 
we're completely out of Hytia and into Drotshava. Meshtak killed Baron 
Tropin, and Hytian nobility have a big thing about family honor...the new 
Baron isn't going to rest until Meshtak is dead."
	"Yeah." The draga finally added. "Plus, I worked in Tropin's personal 
honor guard, and Tropin had a fetish for having unusual characters in the 
honor guard. Some of those guys were pretty spooky, and some were quite
 powerful in their own ways...I wouldn't want to give up any of our 
headstart. I don't want to face them." Reckshaw continued to grumble, but 
packed away his gear quickly, and pretty soon the party was on their way, 
Meshtak once again carrying Brentan, Reckshaw carrying Tratha.
	The gray clouds indeed foreshadowed rain, and after only an hour of 
travel, it started to rain. It wasn't a fierce kind of rain, but a misty sort, 
and it felt like they were walking in a constant wet haze. Meshtak's fur
got damp instantly and pressed to him, and the others were similarly 
soaked. The road became muddy, and each step was treacherous. It was a 
relief when the road became rockier and they didn't have to worry about 
the constant treading in mud.
	It was around this time, when the terrain started to become rocky, 
that Meshtak started to get a bad feeling. A feeling they were being 
watched. Not used to instinct, Meshtak at first threw it off as heightened 
paranoia, due to the constant threat of pursuit. However, Reckshaw nudged
 Meshtak, and his concerned expression said that he too had the feeling. 
Reckshaw was a seasoned mercenary, and he had learned long ago that to 
ignore one's instincts was to invite trouble.
	Reckshaw moved in close. "We're being followed." he said, whispering
 so as not to disturb the children. "You'll have to take Tratha...I'll hide in 
the rocks, and see if I can catch sight of our pursuer as he goes by." 
Meshtak nodded, and Reckshaw transfered little Tratha to the draga 
(despite the young ones protests.) When they passed a rock cluster, 
Reckshaw faded behind it, and started a rapid scramble up the slope. Once 
again, watching the man fade into the shadows, Meshtak wondered if he was 
actually a thief. Not that it mattered; they were dependent upon him no 
matter what he was.
	Midan drifted until he was walking beside Meshtak, and demanded to 
know what was happening. "Shh." said Meshtak. "We're being followed. 
Reckshaw is going to see who it is."
	"How can he see anything in this horrible weather?" muttered Midan. 
They trudged onward through the rain.
	When Reckshaw appeared later, it was a complete surprise to them 
all, and Meshtak wondered once again whether he was a thief. The man 
eased out of the shadows just ahead of them. Linsly gave a little gasp, and
 even Meshtak jumped slightly. 
	"Reckshaw! Any news?" Meshtak asked.
	"I saw him...or it." said Reckshaw, settling in to a walk beside 
Meshtak. "I couldn't be sure WHAT it was, to be honest. It appeared human, 
but the way it walked...it seemed to have too many joints."
	"Oh, grot." said Meshtak, and his blood ran cold. "Tremar Brekin."
	"Who? Whoever it was, they sure walked funny...kind of a sideways 
crab kind of walk. Very deliberate."
	"It must be Tremar. Yeah, actually I should have expected it; if 
ANYONE was going to get to us, it would be him." Seeing Reckshaw's look 
of quickly fading patience, Meshtak was quick to explain. "Tremar was 
some strange other-realm humanoid...his body was jointed differently, and
 his facial features were slightly different. Otherwise, he looked a lot like
 you humans. He was a wizard of some kind; he knew some strange kind of magic 
that was unique to his own realm. Very mysterious, and very cocky. He 
gave a lot of the others the creeps, just because of his unnatural 
confidence, and his unnatural endurance."
	Reckshaw frowned. "I don't like magic. The more mysterious, the 
more I don't like it." he said.
	"Same with me." agreed Meshtak. "How far behind us was he?"
	"Oh, he could catch up with us if he wanted. He's hanging back, 
probably waiting for our next sleep-stop, so he can move in and attack us 
when we're not ready for him."
	Meshtak sighed. "Any suggestions?"
	Reckshaw nodded. "You and me hide and ambush him; that's my idea. 
If we're going to fight him, let it be on our terms. That way we don't 
involve the young ones."
	Meshtak was about to nod his agreement, when he saw a form 
appearing out of the gray in front of them. "Oh, grot." he said as he 
recognized the inhuman face of Tremar Brekin. The wizard rushed in 
almost before they could react. Linsly screamed as he swung at her; 
Meshtak could see his hands were long claws, in that moment of suspended
 animation before they struck. When the claws ripped through, they took 
only hair; fortunately Linsly ducked just enough for them to miss her head.
	Tremar grinned a mirthless grin at Meshtak. "Well. Well." he said in 
his hideous monotone voice, hideous because it sounded so detached. "Here 
is the draga and the traitor hytian. The baron will be pleased to have your 
heads." Almost lazily, the wizard reached over to claw at Midan. Meshtak 
recognized his mistake in underestimating the hytian, especially when 
Midan was protecting his family. Pulling out his axe, Midan took a mighty 
swing and connected with Tremar's claws. They broke like glass.
	Tremar barely reacted, except to turn his head sideways slightly and
 make eye contact with Midan. In a second, Midan's eyes became empty and 
his face developed the sightless gaze of the mindless. "There, now you 
will behave." Tremar nodded.
	At that moment Reckshaw struck, and his whistling knives made 
Midan's strike appear like the mere stinging of a mosquito. Tremar was 
completely put on the defensive, and Meshtak's respect and admiration for 
the warrior went up yet another notch. In Reckshaw's hands, the knives 
appeared to take on a life of their own, swishing and whistling through the
 air. 
	"Run!" yelled Reckshaw. "Take the young ones and get to safety!"
	Meshtak wasted no time in complying. Carrying Tratha and Brentan, 
he urged Midan and Linsly to run, and they took off through the blinding 
rain.
	They soon came upon a shallow recess in the rocks, where they could
 be protected from the rain. It was getting heavier, more like a gray 
curtain now than a mist, and Meshtak pushed the two children inside and 
encouraged them to bundle up with their mother.
	"I'm going back to help Reckshaw!" yelled Meshtak to Midan.
	"I'm coming too!" declared Midan, clutching his axe.
	Meshtak shook his head. "No, man, stay with your family. They need 
your comforting right now." Meshtak took off back towards where 
Reckshaw battled Tremar, leaving Midan to make his own decision. A quick
 look back affirmed that he chose to stay by his family. "A brave man." 
muttered the draga.
	When Meshtak finally stumbled over to where the battle had been, he 
found it over. Tremar lay in the road, face-down, and Reckshaw stood 
nearby, washing his knife in the rain. "I killed him!" shouted the mercenary.
 "Good fucking deal, huh?" He grinned.
	"Wow." muttered Meshtak. "That was easier than I thought it would 
be." He walked to Tremar's corpse and pushed it over with his toe.
	Tremar had been disembowelled. His innards hung loosely out of the 
hole in his stomach, and his head hung loosely, the eyes staring blankly. 
Dead. Meshtak nodded.
	"Sure looks dead all right..." and then Tremar grinned.
	Meshtak staggered back. "Grot!" he screamed. "He's still alive!"
	Reckshaw's eyes flickered with uncertainty. "Not alive..." he said. 
"Just not dead..."
	Meshtak stumbled backwards. Tremar picked himself up off the 
ground awkwardly, grinning. His head lolled to the side slightly, and his 
eyes were wide and empty. With one hand, the eviscerated wizard stuffed 
his entrails back into his torn stomach, and the skin healed over it, 
leaving him as good as new. With his other, he reached toward Reckshaw.
	"You..." hissed the undead thing, pointing towards Reckshaw and
 smiling with deranged confidence. "You...killed me!" He started to lurch 
toward the mercenary.
	"That's right!" screamed Reckshaw. "I can do it again, too! Just stand 
back! Back off!" His voice went high, reaching alto levels, and cracked. As 
Tremar reached for him, Reckshaw slipped his knife downwards and 
punctured the wizards stomach again, jamming the knife in as far as it 
could go, even getting his whole hand lodged in the undead. Meshtak waited
 for the knife to emerge from the other side. It didn't.
	"You killed me. Took my life." grinned Tremar. "Now, I take yours, 
yes?" And Reckshaw screamed.
	Meshtak stood frozen, the back of his mind telling him that he should
 help, but his eyes were locked in horror on what he was seeing. As he
 watched, Reckshaw strained to push the knife through Tremar's body. But
 it never went through; Meshtak had his eyes fixed on the Tremar's back,
 and the blade never came through. Reckshaw just went deeper in. And then
 he tried to pull himself free, and he could not.
	Reckshaw strained to pull himself free, but to no avail. Tremar only
 grinned, and then Meshtak heard a strange squishing noise coming from
 inside Tremar, and Reckshaw screamed. As Meshtak watched, Reckshaw
 started being pulled into Tremar.
	Meshtak was numb. He couldn't move; all his energy was going
 towards fixing his eyes on the scene before him. Reckshaw struggled, but
 to no avail. He flailed at Tremar with his free knife, but Tremar only
 shrugged off the knife blows, which opened up bloodless cuts that quickly
 healed. Reckshaw tried to grab onto something, like a man sinking into
 quicksand will flail for a vine, but nothing was within reach. Finally
 Reckshaw just screamed, at least until his head was pulled in, whereupon
 the screaming turned into a strange gurgling, which gradually faded.
 Finally, Reckshaws feet were pulled in, and Tremars skin healed over
 them, and Reckshaw was gone, with no trace left that the mercenary had
 ever existed.
	Tremar turned to Meshtak, and grinned, and the draga's blood ran
 cold. Tremar started to lurch in Meshtak's direction, and that finally
 broke Meshtak's paralysis. He pulled his sword free of its scabbard and
 took a swing at the advancing wizard. The sword lodged in Tremar's neck
 and stopped; then it too started to be pulled in to Tremar's body. Tremar
 only stood and grinned.
	Meshtak's only thought when this started to happen was that he
 would lose his weapon, and that could not happen. He needed the sword;
 without it he was helpless. He tugged at the sword, but it would not come
 out. It's just like Reckshaw, Meshtak thought, as the sword was sucked
 into Tremar, and the thought made Meshtak ill.
	Tremar grabbed for Meshtak's hand, and caught hold of the wrist in a
 steel grip. With an evil grin, the wizard pulled Meshtak's hand toward the
 open hole in his neck where the sword was lodged. Meshtak fought it, and
 managed to resist a little, but not enough. Inevitably, though Meshtak
 resisted with all his might, Tremar would pull him in, and destroy him.
 Meshtak resisted, with strength he did not know he possessed, yet it
 seemed to do no good. Tremar tenaciously pulled him toward the open
 wound.
	Meshtak's sword was almost gone into Tremar, and it was then the
 draga saw a small chance. He released the sword, grabbed the hand that
 held onto his wrist, and slammed it against the sword blade, just above
 the hilt. The blade bit deep into Tremar's wrist, yet still, he did not
 release Meshtak. Tremar grinned, and Meshtak knew despair.
	And then Tremar's grin faltered, and Meshtak saw why. Tremar's
 wrist was lodged under the hilt of Meshtak's sword, and as the sword was
 pulled into Tremar's body, so too was Tremar's hand. It seemed even
 Tremar could not resist his magic. As Meshtak watched, Tremar's wrist
 was pulled into his neck. And then it was Tremar that screamed.
	Meshtak put all of his remaining strength into one mighty pull, and
 broke Tremar's hold on his wrist. Meshtak fell backwards, and scrambled
 away from the wizard, slipping in the rain drenched mud. Tremar was
 screaming, howling, as his arm twisted into his neck, sucked in just as
 was Reckshaw. He fell to the ground, flailing, and Meshtak could see his
 arm bending at an odd angle, then heard the crack as it snapped. Then his
 chest was being sucked into his neck, and it looked like the entire wizard
 was being turned inside out. Tremar still screamed. It was an endless
 scream, a scream that spoke of unimaginable agony. Meshtak watched as
 Tremar was ripped to pieces, and
watched as all the pieces were sucked into the hole that led into the
 wizard's neck. And then, with an audible pop, and a sudden cutting off of
 the screams, Tremar was gone. He left no trace.
	"Grot." breathed Meshtak. "Oh, grot, what the denk was that...." He laid
 in the rain for awhile, letting it wash over him. Letting it cleanse him of
 evil. When he tried to stand, he discovered his legs were wobbly, and he
 forced them to cease their shaking. "We must move on." he said to himself
 over and over.
	It was about five minutes until he found Midan and his family
 huddled in the crack where Meshtak had left them. Midan took one look and
 knew not to ask about Reckshaw. The draga had a haunted look in his eyes,
 and Midan had heard the screams in the distance, and he knew they should
 start moving again as fast as possible. They rapidly got their things
 together and once again set forth slogging through the rain. 

Meshtak the Draga
-- 
"You can't help that. We're all mad here."-The cheshire cat, Alice in WL

"A mass hysteria/a megalomania/reveal Dementia/reveal"-Metallica