I promised the first installment... so here it is! Enjoy or else...

===============
YESTERYEAR RABBITS
===============

The night rain beat down on the roof of the “Rabbit Den”, an out of the way tavern located in Greenbrier Forest. Inside a few weary travelers rested from their long days journey. At the bar stood a rabbit in his mid forties, but still tall and muscular. He had whitish gray hair and dark blue eyes. His name was Erick, and he had run the Den since his twenties. Once you had lived in the area for a few months, chances are you might start hearing rumors about Erick. Local propaganda said that Erick had been a merc in King Fairear’s army until age twenty-four and had deserted after accidentally betraying Fairear’s kingdom. No one had ever been able to prove this, but many rabbits claimed it was true.

A rabbit on horseback rode through the pouring rain as fast as he could. The information he carried was critical, and he had to reach his destination before it was too late. A chill ran up and down his spine that didn’t come from the cold night. He felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up and sensed that something was wrong. His horse trembled underneath him as they continued to rush through the downpour. Rounding a bend, the horse pawed for a grip on the muddy roads. Clutching the rains tightly the rider held on for his life until the horse regained its footing.
“Almost there,” the thought rider to himself, “Only ten more minutes and I’ll have reached the den.”
As the horse and rider rounded another bend in the roads, a shadowy form leaped onto the path twenty feet in front of him. The rider reigned in his horse and stopped.
“Hullo, there!” shouted the rider, “You’re blocking the path!”
The figure made no reply, but drew something from under his coat. A flash of lightning illuminated the sky and the rider’s heart leapt into his throat. The other rabbit had drawn a sword from under his dark cloak.
Before the rider could react, his attacker rushed at the horse without losing his footing in the muddy ground. He ate up the distance with incredible speed. With a leap the cloaked rabbit leapt over the horses head and made a vicious cut with his sword. The rider, however, was gone. Looking around to see where he went, the attacker was greeted will a blow to the face from the rider’s steel-toed boot. The kick would have rendered a normal rabbit unconscious, and when the attacker simply flipped backwards the rider knew this was no ordinary road thief. Stopping in the middle of the road the black figure threw back his head and gave a wild cry. Leaping over the horse he cut at the rider once more. Panicking, the horse bolted down the road and disappeared in the blinding rain. In a desperate attempt to escape his enemy’s blade, the rider tucked and rolled to the right on the muddy ground. He heard a swishing sound as the blade went over his head. Standing up and covered in mud the rider had a chance to draw his scimitar. It was hand crafted by the Toorwind Mountain Rabbits and was the finest of its type. The sward was laced with engravings and intricate designs, but its real purpose was clear: it was not for art. It was for killing.
Seeing the sword in his opponent’s hand, the attacker seemed to falter for a moment. This gave the rider an opening he desperately needed. Stepping forward he swung his scimitar at lightning speed, but the attacker parried like an expert. Again and again the rider tried to get past the attackers sword, but the other rabbit parried almost effortlessly. Glancing at his enemies face the rider noticed for the first time that the attackers eyes glowed a dull red. What was more, they had no pupils in them. That could only mean one thing. His opponent was a genetically engineered warrior, something that was forbidden in Fairear’s Kingdom. And that could only mean one thing… he had to get his message through, and fast! Attacking with new energy he furiously came at the warrior and began to push him backwards. Though he was finally making headway, he could feel his strength begin to sap from him. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed a deep rut just behind and to the left of his opponent. With a few more blows he drove the dark warrior into the rut. When the warrior stumbled the rider made the final blow. But instead of crumpling to the ground the warrior vanished in a flash of red light. Stepping back in surprise the rider almost fell. Looking at the ground where the warrior used to stand the rabbit saw only a steaming patch of mud. He stared for a few seconds, and then bounded after his horse.

The “Rabbit Den” was now empty and the time was almost twelve ‘o clock midnight. As Erick went to lock the door, he heard a horse thunder up to the door. He heard a rider leap of the horse and the door flew open. A rabbit covered in mud and breathing heavily lurched into the room to collapse on a chair. Reaching into his pocket he pulled out a roll of parchment and handed it to the barkeeper. Erick took it without a word and raised an eyebrow when he noticed that the paper was perfectly dry. As he read the message his brow began to furrow, and then he turned a walked up a flight of stairs behind the counter.
Finally catching his breath, the rider, whose name was Corey, looked around the tavern. This was it, he thought. Definitely the right place, but not like he had imagined. “How can he be the rabbit I was to deliver the message to?” he thought to himself. He could hear the older rabbit coming down the stairs again and he stood up. The rabbit began to speak, “I can assure you that…” but he stopped mid sentence. The tavern’s owner was no longer clad in his civilian clothing, but the garb of a Yester Age Warrior; brown leather pants, scrap mail over a silk shirt, a green and brown hunter’s shirt over the armor, a black headband that signified a mercenary, and the most amazing of all: a dae-ko strapped to his back, a weapon that no longer existed except for in history books. With powerful strides the rabbit seemingly from the past strode past Corey towards the door.
“Let’s go,” Erick said in a gruff, low voice. Coming to his senses, Corey saluted briskly and hurried after him.

Outside, Erick mounted his war stallion and Corey mounted his trained Carrier horse. The two galloped into the black and stormy night, leaving the “Rabbits Den” behind them in the gloom.


===
TBC
===

Sorry for any spelling errors and such. So, what do you think?

-The March Hare