Karnepae

# Karnepae #
A forest, black trees on a purple sky.  A tiny house dug into the side of a hill.  Outside of this house, on the edge of a mushroom garden, stands 2 horses.  One of them, a white mare, stands in a casual manner, as casual as a horse can be.She seems to be enjoying the cool night's air on her bare back, and on more than one occasion had been warned not to eat the mushrooms.  The other, a black brute, leaned against a branchless pine, trying to nurse a wound beneath its saddle from a spur, dug too far in.

The mare trotted over to him and tried to push her muzzle against the strap, wanting to relieve a bit of his pain, but he snorted in protest and shuffled away.

The calm silence was shattered by someone screaming the word "Thieves" and the door being roughly shouldered off it's hinges by a large man in a woolen gray cloak.  The black horse leaning on the tree begrudgingly pulled away from it and stood in the path of the large man.  Once in range, he sprang on to the horse's saddle and snatched the reins.  The exhausted horse found renewed energy as spurs found their place and dug hard.

A second figure wearing a cloak as black as a magpie's breast dove off the stairs and rolled through the mushrooms, further angering the owner of the house.  The white horse bobbed her head several times and trotted over to him.  He came out of the roll and dove again, draping himself across her back.

With out being told to, she broke into a gallop and chased after the black brute.

Finally,  a third figure in a dirty blue dress jumped down from what remained of her porch and snarled, brandishing a gnarled staff, topped with a diamond.  With a scream of gaelic, bones leapt from the ground and reassembled into six already running horses.  Vines, refusing to let go of their treasure were drawn almost to the point of breaking.

On the other end of these vines was the house in the hill, and they were reluctant to release this as well.  Instead, the hill gave a compromise and the house was ripped out and was dragged behind the team of skeletal horses, snatching the witch up as well.  As she stood on her carriage, she waved her staff, summoning a blue ball of energy.

The young man draped across the white mare's back looked back to see a carriage drawn by undead horses gaining on their tails.  He sat up on his horse's back and wrapped his arms around her neck.  Following the silent command, she quickened her pace and caught even with the black brute.

"Look back!" The young man shouted to the other rider, hoping he could hear him over the dyn of hooves.

He obeyed and nearly fell off his horse as a skeleton ran barely 3 yards back, and that gap was closing... "Quick! ...Think of something!"

"A river!  Witches can't cross them, can they?"

"That's an old wives tale...!"

"Do you know for sure!?"

"Nope...! But I just had an idea!"  The large man, the king, whipped the reigns and forced his horse to push onward, foam already spraying from his mouth.  The white mare caught up quickly showing very little effort.

The witch behind them cackled loudly and struck her staff at them, sending a ball of energy at their backs, quickly returning it to the circle over her head.  "The blood of a king, and the blood of an orphan in my brew, how sweet the sorrow for neither me or you!  Something wicked for the kingdom, something that spells certain doom!"

"That doesn't rhyme!" Called the king.

"it doesn't matter!  My spell cast, you will shatter!"

"Also, when you said thieves, there was nothing used after that to rhyme!  You're terrible at this!"

"Shut up! Your flesh I'll soon cut up!"  She screamed, her staff wavering a bit and the blue ball of light taking an oval shape instead.

"You can't rhyme up with up!" The young man called, catching on to the game the king had started.  "And you call yourself a witch!?"

The witch stopped her waving and stared at the young man with her mouth gaping open.  The ball of energy above her head fell onto the floor of her carriage and exploded, ripping out the back of her home and scattering cloth and the remaining gems on the forest floor.

Losing most of the house also lost a few vines and the 2 lead horses broke free and were crushed into dust beneath the remaining 4.

A fork in the road came to greet them and a quick decision was made.  "Alright boy, you go right, I'll go left!"  But they didn't. They chose the opposite paths, causing the white mare to duck down and dart under the black brute as he leapt over her.

The witch lost 2 more horses as the 2 leads didn't respond in time.  She made the decision to follow the king and dove to the right as the first vines were snapped by the tree, then the house was further ripped apart as the house met the tree, tearing it in half.

The witch chased after the king, but the young man slowed his horse to a trot, the 2 skeletons charging passed, half a hut behind them.  He whistled to them, as the stable master had showed him, and they slowed as well.  As the white mare carried him over, he slid from her back and waited to be noticed.



The king was not having a good time though... he could feel his horse starting to sway beneath his weight, and while the witch was not gaining on him, she wasn't falling behind either...

He spared one more glance back at her, seeing how much time was left until she got her staff back together.

"Don't worry about me!" She cackled. "I'll finish you soon, deary..."  his gaze shifted to the line of trees near him, and bless the stars, the moon was shining and he could clearly see a river just a few yards away.  He just had to wait for a break in the tree line.

The which cackled again, "Now you will die!" She had her staff and was waving it around.  The king, clutched his horse, waiting for the worst.

Just as the witch was about to cast her spell, 2 horse skeletons with their ribs full of stones, slammed into the witch.  The impact was so great, she and her carriage were slammed off the path and through several trees... right into the river where her house floated away and she was turned to stone...

The king heard all of this as A tremendous crash which shook the ground beneath his horse, startling it.  The beast bucked, sending his rider onto the path ahead.  

A moment passed, and He swore he was dead, as everything was black and silent, and something was crushing his chest.  "Perhaps this is my demise..." he said aloud.  "And I alway thought I would be beheaded for my crimes..."

"Sir?"

"Oh no... you're dead too!?  Woe is me, I should never have let you go with me..."

"My lord..."

"No, don't. We are all equal in the land of the dead..."

The young man had to hide a smile.  "Maribelle, could you please push Phantom off..."

The white mare nodded and stepped forward, nudging the brute off of the king.  The man lay stunned, half buried, staring up at the white mare.  "I'm alive!" He cried, making the young man smile again.



They took a tour of the area, backtracking along the path they took and managed to gather 20 pounds of gold and gems and a few fine furs, along with 2 more horses.  The witch they left, as a witch in any form was never a good thing to have around.

"Come boy, let's get going" the king called, trying to get him to look away from the witch who had turned to stone, her eyes just barely above the surface of the water.  "We should get home before the sun rises"

"Orm son ervo skate sgam erthom sa yade moss eeb la lil ee ded!"  the young man replied, his horse shifting beneath him nervously...

"Are you okay?" The king asked, almost as worried as the horse.

"What?  Oh, I'm fine..."  and because I'm he narrator, I'll tell you that's a lie...