Gladiator Gnoll by April O'Malley

Author:April O'Malley [O'Malley, April]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-08-07T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter 9

Kriska watched the sun move overhead as they rode out of the city, passing down the massive main road to the gate in the distance. There, the human guards checked them and wished them well. They eyed Kriska and his two Firbolg friends suspiciously as they drove away. Kriska looked away, not willing to indulge any horrible ideas they might have had about him.

Outside the city, Kriska saw the farms sprawl out before him as they emerged from the massive stone wall surrounding the city. Over hills and plains, as far as the eye could see, plowed dirt and green foliage bearing vegetables and fruit dotted the land in rows and columns. Oak and pine trees sprung up on the side of the road and fruit trees stood in controlled patches over the land. All the scents melded together into something delicious and Kriska longed for the taste of apples. His Auntie’s apple pies were always the greatest… to the point he and Farran ate two of them without permission.

He saw animals grazing freely on grass as they rode past. The smell of their feces assaulted his senses, and he pinched his snout until he realized he’d have to keep it closed for hours. He endured the smell as they trotted by.

Some animals he’d seen and worked with before, like oxen and cows and chickens. Others weren’t so familiar to him, and he wondered what kinds of creatures there were out in the world he had yet to discover.

He’d always loved animals, and his Auntie let him keep his own pet cat, whom he’d named Leylo. This cat would roam the village freely, and in the village storehouse the chief had installed a door for the cat. Leylo would catch and dispose of rats, and Kriska had always been so proud to be his master.

When Leylo died a few years ago because of old age, Kriska was devastated and hadn’t been able to attach emotionally to another animal since. He wondered now how humans would view his keeping a pet. A gnoll and a cat, being together under the same roof? It would likely be unspeakable. Most humans would think he’d make a snack out of the small furry ball.

Kriska, Farran and Virdan didn’t say much until later that night when they stopped to camp for the night. Farm land still surrounded them, though halfway through the day Kriska saw the farms grow smaller, and more wild plains and woods started to emerge. The scents of the wild started to come back to him, replacing the smells of the city they’d left behind with wild flowers and strange animals and strange plants. Most of the fragrances were new to him. The outside world had so many things Kriska had never experienced.

When they came to a stop, the wagon sat on the side of a well-traveled dirt road, and the driver and Tulinar gathered fallen wood for a fire, and ate provisions from their packs. After they finished, Tulinar threw them their supper almost as an afterthought—stale bread and a water flask.

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