Summary
Gul, a trapper for his clan of giants, finds a large deer in one of his traps. As he picks it up and plays with it, the deer suddenly leans upward, changing shape as it does, into a man-skunk. It sprays Gul, flings itself onto his back, and then stabs him in the neck. Gul the giant falls down dead.
Murikeer inspects Gul's belongings while memories of his past are brought to the surface. He was 10 years old during the Battle of the Three Gates. He does not remember the battle, but remembers his father was away at the time, and as soon as he returned, he took Murikeer with him into the south. He became a talented magician early on, and was apprenticed to his father's friend, Heiorn. When his father died, Heiorn took him in. Murikeer soon outstripped his fellow apprentices and ascended to the rank of journeyman.
Not long after, Murikeer began to change. The curse had never gone away, and had merely waited until puberty to appear. For 2 months, Murikeer used illusions to hide it, before people began to notice. Angry townsfolk demanded he be given to the Lightbringers for cleansing. Heiorn called them on their hypocrisy, and was forced to ward his estate against their clerics' attacks. The next day, Heiorn gave Murikeer three magic tomes, coins in gold and platinum, and a week's supply of food, and told him to seek refuge at Metamor Keep.
Within days, hunters had begun pursuing him, chasing him off his path for a year, until Murikeer took a path through the mountains themselves to escape. Now, Murikeer lives along the mountains, having learned never to trust humans, believing that even Metamor Keep would have attacked him.
He pulls out his pickaxe from the giant's head, but the head snaps. Muri growls; it will take a week to replace it. With the rest of his new supplies, he leaves the corpse of the dead giant behind.
Characters
Main characters:
- Murikeer Khannas: A teenage skunk morph, experienced in magic and hunting.
- He is a little over 5 feet tall. His eyes were blue before the change; now they are black. He used to have a smooth tenor; now he has a harsh burr.
- He was born in 689 CR; he began to change in 703 CR, fled past the mountains in 704 CR, and has been living in the Giantdowns for 2 years now.
- He does not know much about the curse, and assumes that eventually he will become a full skunk, and has come to terms with it.
- He currently works against Nasoj's agents. Among his current activities, he leads enemy patrols in the mountains away from safe passages. He also slays giants, whether they serve Nasoj or not.
- He wields a pick axe, enchanted with minor magics to crack a giant's skull with one hit. It breaks here, but Muri knows how to build a new one.
Supporting:
- Gul: A giant in the North. He was 12 foot tall. He was killed by Murikeer, who pretended to be a trapped deer.
- He prefers hunting over guarding, in particular trapping. Trapping is the only form of hunting he is good at. The other giants consider him dumb because of this.
- He learned trapping by studying the Lutin traps he often got caught in.
- He likes to torture the prey that he catches.
- He wore cured furs without buttons, and carried four spears, rope and other parts for traps, and a polished southland steel cooking pan for clubbing.
Important mention:
- Murikeer's father. He was killed by a bandit by the time Muri was hit with the curse.
- Heiorn: A Sathmoran mage, friend to Muri's father. He was Muri's teacher, and became Muri's surrogate father after his father's death. Muri considered him a close friend and a mentor, but never a true father.
- Keletikt: An apprentice Lutin shaman who trades with Muri.
- Nasoj: The enemy mage of the North, who laid the spells that cursed the Keep, and now leads the Lutins and giants against the Keep. Murikeer considers him a personal enemy, and has done what little he can to destroy his plans.
Points of Interest
- Neither he nor Heiorn know much about the curse. Both assumed that it would continue until Murikeer had become a full skunk.
- Heiorn called the angry townsfolk "Shadowbringers".
- The Spear of Damerkan is a Sathmore legend, of a spear hanging over someone's head (similar to the Sword of Damocles).
