The Reader

by GnollReader

Chapter 22: Gnoll work

Purple Haze was ripped out of her sleep by a scream. As she got up she heard the sound of shelves being overthrown, and more strange screams. They sounded like high pitched squeaks. As she rushed to the stairs Twilight came out of her room, she looked scared, "What's happening? Are those screams?!"

"Twilight, go inside your room! It's not safe!" In the darkness of the library she could only make out shadowy movements downstairs.

"What? I can't just stand up here while my library is being torn ap..."

From below came a strange wet sound accompanied by a squeak so terrible it made her blood chill. The next moment something crashed into the wall above the stairs with enough force to crack the wood. In the light of Twilight's candle, Purple Haze could barely make it out as it slid down the wall and onto the stairs.

"What is that?" Twilight whispered in shock. She started to edge closer.

"Stay back!" It was a dead rat. A huge rat at that. There was a long knife in one of its paws. Purple Haze couldn't believe her eyes, she had never heard of a race like that. As she got a better look at the thing she realized what the sound before had been.

It was only half a rat, it stopped beneath its chest. And it had not been the wood that had cracked. What was left of the creature was strongly deformed when it was thrown into the wall with enough force to break bones. She felt her stomach starting to turn.

More squeaks and shuffling from below. She turned to Twilight, "Lock yourself in your room. Turn on the lights in the library. Write the princess a letter, we're being attacked. Don't come out until I tell you too!" Twilight, still shocked from even the little she had seen only nodded and rushed inside her room.

There was a flash of light as the candles in the library burst to life. She took in the scene. The main room of the library was a mess. Shelves were overthrown and she saw two bloody, unmoving rats in different corners of the room. The lower half of the first rat was lying near the entrance. A fourth rat, startled by the sudden illumination, stopped for a second. The gnoll did not.

In horror she watched as Scar buried his teeth inside the rats body and flung it around wildly. The rat was dead instantly, the life being crushed along with its ribcage as the gnoll's jaws closed down upon it. With a sideways motion of his head he flung the body aside. He looked over the room, searching for more of the rats.

They tasted just as bad as they smelled. His eyes searched the room. He counted five dead rats, good, he had gotten all of them. Evil little things with evil little knives. There was one stuck in his lower arm and another in his back. He barely noticed them. The first rat he had killed had managed to get a wild cut across his muzzle. It hurt but it would only leave a scar. He hoped the damage to the books wasn't big.

"Scar what happened? What are these things?" Purple Haze rushed down the stairs, "YOU'RE BLEEDING!"

"Only little cut. Will heal. Evil little rats say they come to cut ponies. So Scar..." he stopped in mid-sentence.

She could see his nostrils flare and his eyes narrow. "IT SMELLS ONE MORE RAT!" She could hear the sound of running feet from an open window. The gnoll gave off another savage snarl, "NOW GNOLL WILL HUNT!" he headed for the door. Purple Haze needed time to think. She couldn't leave Twilight behind in a library filled with dead rats but she couldn't just let the gnoll chase off into the night. Or could she? She needed to know what these things were and why they had come.

"Scar! We need it alive! We have to find out what's going on. Bring it back alive!" The gnoll was already outside the door. He reared up to full size and gave a long thundering scream. He wanted the rat to know he was coming. He shot off into the night.

---

He hadn't been gone for long when a flash of light filled the library and princess Celestia appeared accompanied by several guards. She saw the bodies, "Izelim..." she turned to Purple Haze, "Where is Twilight?"

"She's upstairs, locked in her room. She's alright."

Celestia sighed in relief. She turned to her guards "Remove these bodies, I do not wish my subjects to see this. Send guards to the other elements and ensure they are well. Also make sure that there are no ponies on the streets." The guards sprang to work instantly. She turned to Purple Haze, "It has come far if there are izelim in Equestria."

"Is that what they're called?"

"Yes, that is the name the rat race calls itself. What happened?"

"I don't know, we were woken up by screams. Scar was down here, killing these... rats. He said they came to 'cut ponies'... "

Celestia cast a worried glance around the library. She needed to know why exactly they had come. She suddenly realized the gnoll was nowhere to be seen, "Where is Scar?"

"He smelled another rat outside and ran off after it. I told him to bring it back alive but I don't know if he heard me. I hope he's okay, but I couldn't just leave Twilight behind with the library looking like this."

Celestia nodded, "You did well, it is dangerous to hunt izelim at night. They are fast and devious. If anypony can catch one it is him. I'll go talk to Twilight, please assist my guards cleaning up this terrible mess."

Purple Haze's stomach almost turned at the thought of touching what remained of the rats, but she gathered what was left of her courage and saluted, "At once princess!" She hoped Scar was alright. One of the other guards heaved as he was dragging one of the mangled bodies, at least she wasn't the only one having trouble with this kind of work.

---

The rat was also having trouble with its work. Mostly with the fact that it was currently running for its life. It had been on guard duty outside the window when hell erupted inside. That thing, those eyes, those teeth! It had been supposed to be simple killing work. Slit a few ponies in their sleep, easy enough. But this, this was far from easy. It had turned into a full disaster. Now the only thing left was to run.

He heard a savage scream from the tree. The message was clear. There would be a hunt now. The rat doubled his sprint, if he could reach the forest he would have a chance. It constantly craned his neck to look behind as it dashed through the empty streets, no sight of the thing, only darkness as the houses passed by in a blur. But then, two red eyes appeared from the dark. Driven by pure terror the rat managed to increase its speed.

It dashed around a corner and into a narrow alley, a dead end. No crevice, no nooks to climb up. With a shuddering breath and shaky hands the rat drew his knives and got ready for its last dance. The fat goddess had left him, but he wouldn't go down without a fight. The rat waited for the beast to appear in entrance of the alley. It never saw the gnoll when it came from the rooftops.

Comments

[LW-313]

They never look up do they? Another great chapter that leaves me wanting more.

[Fanskapet]

fucking skaven man they always run away lol
im actually starting to really like your dog

[Blaze Song]

interrogate then KILL!! MAKE.IT.MESSY VERY MESSY...

[Gentlemuffin]

Okay, I searched "Izelim" and cant find a bloody thing. Did you just make that up?
If so, could you maybe change it to "Kobold" instead? When I first saw the word "Gnoll" in this story, I was immediately reminded of the dog-like creatures in Warcraft3. In that game as well, there were rat-like creatures called Kobolds.

Not gonna tell you what to do with your story, but some folks might be more familiar with a creature's name they've known that a creature's name they've heard just now.

Nice story btw. Big fan. Will keep reading. AVANTE!

[Focusphobia]

1952171
I thought of it more as D&D then WoW.

[Svgb]

1952171 1968760 They seem more like Skaven assassins to me.

Silly author, that's not how you spell it!

[Lucky424]

Death from above motherbuckers!!!

[chaos5367]

parkour for the win!

[Luckysweep]

Le parkour bitches! Or wharever a female rat is called!!

[Nataniel]

until I tell you too

[everyskyborn]

Remember the Creed Scar.

[The Crimson Reaper]

7578671
which one? "Stay your blade from the flesh of an innocent?" "Hide in plain sight?" or is it "Never compromise the brotherhood?"