The Dagger of Bahyel

Lupodes! Five lupodes were running right towards them. They were big and gray with red eyes and huge teeth. They looked like wolves, but were larger and had long fur and big, rounded ears. “Run,” screamed Bellina. “Climb a tree,” yelled Gidley. Everyone ran for the nearest tree. Jinto tried to jump to grab the lowest branch and missed several times. By the time he got a hold of the branch, a lupode was right beneath him. Straining and covered in sweat, Jinto pulled himself up and climbed, as fast, and as high, as he could. His startled pony had run back the way they had just come. Dira had an easy time. The lupodes weren’t even close to him, when he started his climb. He sat on the branch and peered down between the twigs. Gidley and Bellina ran for the same tree, and Gidley gave her a push up and she reached down and helped him pull himself up. Reyal couldn’t find a tree with a limb low enough to climb and he was frantically looking around, when the first lupode reached him. Reyal felt the jaws clamp down on his leg as he kicked and screamed in pain. Suddenly, the lupode let go. Reyal, shaking and almost in tears turned to see Casha stabbing the lupode, with her dagger. Immediately everyone else safe in the trees was overcome with shame. As they cowered in the trees, Casha was trying to save Reyal. They all jumped down and pulled their daggers. Gidley, who had experience killing lupodes, soon made short work of killing the one which had come running over towards him. Bellina held her dagger in front of her and charged a lupode, with a murderous scream. Jinto, however, reached out and slashed down with his dagger wounding the animal. Then Jinto and Bellina stepped forward and both stabbed the lupode. Pulling their daggers free, they nodded to each other and turned to go after another lupode. One of the terrible creatures had run over to Casha, just as she finished killing the lupode that was attacking Reyal, and she turned to defend herself. With it snarling and snapping at her, Casha felt afraid, but she was also mad. How dare these things come here to hurt the kindly Elves of Sharrock. First Atilol and his grandchildren were threatened and now themselves. She pulled back her fist and let the vicious lupode have a hard hit right, on the end of his nose. He yelped and ran away into the trees. Casha turned to do battle again, but three of the lupodes were dead and the other one had also run away. The group, sitting down and breathing heavily, could only look at each other. No words would come for several minutes. Bellina was the first to speak. “We need to tend to Reyal.” “I’m okay,” Reyal said. “It’s just a little bite.” Casha noticed that Jinto was very quiet and she asked him what was wrong. “It just be that I hate I had to kill that lupode, like, Miss Casha,” he replied. “I know it be for saving our lives, still they must be hungry and driven to attack. They just be animals, like.” “Jinto I know you feel bad, now,” Casha explained, “But sometimes it’s necessary to defend yourself and your friends. We don’t know what we may encounter as we go along. We may be called upon to do things we normally would never do.” “You be right, Miss,” was all Jinto said. “Jinto, my leg really hurts and I’m grateful that the animals were killed or driven off,” Reyal told him. “Besides, would you rather have Casha or Bellina bitten, too?” “Oh, no!” Jinto said, jumping up. “I’d not be wanting anyone hurt by them, like. I just hate, as they are mean enough to attack and we have to kill them.”