A Bard’s Story

~The Beginning~

You could say I live a normal life, but that would be wrong. I can barely remember my family nowadays, all but for my father. He was an elderly Tarutaru, who had seen much violence among Windurst and the Beastmen. He was rather stubborn, one could say. He was almost obsessed on how the Beastmen hordes must be purged from all of Vana’Diel. I had to run a task out to West Sarutabaruta to get some herbs for some ceremony he was preforming when I experienced how dangerous-and how kind- the Beastmen really were.

As I hiked home from picking up the herbs from the Outpost, I had a feeling in my gut that I was being followed. I picked up the pace, only to run into the leg of something. Now, one must note the fact that I was not higher than two feet at the time, but anyways. I looked up, and i saw a sharp, curved beak pointing down at my face, along with a pair of large yellow eyes. It was a Yagudo. Father had said many times to watch out for them, but I was too scared to move.

“Now, now, look what we found here….Young meat…”
I was in trouble. That Yagudo pulled a sharp looking scimitar from behind his back, and i knew he was going to cleave me in two with it. I had no choice but to run. Further and further south i ran, until i stood at the edge of the great cliffs falling down into the ocean. “P-p-p-please….I’m notaru food….” Then i heard a faint voice, hissing quietly, as if like a snake’s. “Yagudo, I do not know what you desssssire with the boy, but leave him be…” The Yagudo sneered, and raised his scimitar high. “Fool…” The voice echoed again, and something suddenly shot out of the Yagudo’s lower chest. His eyes went blank, and his blade fell to the ground with a heavy [i[clang.[/i] The Yagudo collapsed on the spot, lifeless, dead, and with the hilt of a large butcher-looking knife protruding out of his back. Then I saw what had killed the Yagudo.

A small, green, round creature, with large full-moon eyes, and a lantern clasped in his right hand advanced on the Yagudo, and pulled the knife out of his back, suprisingly devoid of any blood on it. “Umm….Hello-mellow….” I said. “Thank you for saving my l-l-lifey-fifey…” I said, still shocked at what happened. “You are welcome. I am Rensu, a Tonberry.”
“What’s a tonbewwy?” I replied.
“I am one, for sssstarters. We live on an island far to the south, where few Tarutaru tread.”
“Then why are you here?”
“A misssssssion for my masters, my fellow Beasssssstmen.”
“B-B-B-B-B…” I said, mouth wide, knowing that he could very easily kill me, just like the Yagudo.
“Do not worry, I have no urge to harm you. In fact, I was readying to return to my homelands.”
“It was nice to meet you then…Goodbye.”
“Yes, I must leave.” He then handed me a small rune, in the shape of two half-moons curve to curve, and a small star in the center.
“That is my crest. Do not forget me.”
“I wontaru…Thank you!” I said, waving goodbye as the Tonberry walked off into the shadows.