It was a dark starless night with the full moon casting shadows around the forest making it seem as though your every move was being watched. The forest was dense and a shelter for some of the more lethal creatures that lived in this land. The one that you should, no matter what, steer clear of is the Kamaton. Its shaggy algae covered fur blends in perfectly with its surroundings. The Kamaton prefers live prey so it has teeth to paralyze then while its food is still, the Kamaton makes its move.

One particular Kamaton was watching, with gleaming purple eyes, two people walking along the overgrown path. One looked this and sinewy-not so nice for eating- but the Kamaton realized that this man was undoubtedly evil. The other was short and plump however, this one looked scared and hungry. Hungry itself, the Kamaton took a step forward and…

"Wait!" Said the tall one throwing out his arm taking the other clean off his feet. "I think I hear something."

Whilst the plump man looked around fearfully, the other one muttered an incantation under his breath. Suddenly there was a flash of light and with a startled yelp the Kamaton fell dead out from the bushes.

"Only a Kamaton," Said the plump man dully picking himself up from the ground. "Good thing too as we were in short supply. Shall I gather it up?"

"What? Oh, yes, gather it up and put it in the sack. Lets head back to the castle."

"As you wish, O great master."

The servant hurried to do his masters bidding but once the sack was full, he realized that it was heavier than expected. He strained to pick it up and once he managed started to stumble along behind his master. He tried to go as fast as he could but the sack was just too heavy.

"Hurry along Rattoes!" Shouted the master. "If you keep me waiting any longer you will go without dinner."

"Big change that would be." Mumbled Rattoes, then louder "Yes master. I'm coming"

Rattoes absolutely hated his master Gamith. He was beaten regularly and occasionally starved for forgetting to build up the fire in his master's study or for neglecting to clean the workroom. However, Rattoes had no choice in serving his master. His mother couldn't stand him as a child so he was "given" to Gamith as a servant. Now he was bound in service forever or until he was set free (unlikely) or he could pay Gamith to let him free (impossible as Rattoes had no money). So he was forced to obey every wish and whim of his master every day, every month, every year until his dying day.

Gamith set a punishing pace marching through the woods towards his castle. The castle was always covered in darkness because of the evil lurking there. The four towers were at the four compass points North, South, East and West and so the towers were named thus. Each room had a fireplace as large as a man but the only ones that were lit were the ones in Gamith's study, his workroom and the kitchens when cooking. So the rest of the castle was frosty cold, especially in the dungeons, the towers and Rattoes' room. Rattoes thought of the castle as a prison as he was not allowed to leave save with his master. All of the stonework was crumbling in various states of disrepair and was covered in moss that was slimy to the touch. It smelt of rotting flesh and all in all was a horrible place to live.

When they got back, Gamith went straight to his study and closed the door. Rattoes went down to the supply room to get his job over with as quickly as possible. The Kamaton had started to omit a foul odor already. To cut a long story short, by the end of the harvesting, Rattoes was covered in blood, fur and who knows what else. After putting a cork in the last bottle and wiping down the final workbench he went up to his master's study and knocked asking if he could retire for the night.

"Yes, off you go." Replied Gamith not looking up from the large textbook he was studying. "Your dinner is in the kitchen."

"Many thanks, O master."

Gruel. Like everything else in his life Rattoes hated it. But he had to eat to survive. He choked down the lumpy food and slouched off to bed. Rattoes' room was the only place he could be truly free of his master. A long time ago, Rattoes had saved his master's life and so was granted that his room could never be entered by Gamith unless Rattoes said so. He lay down on the hard bed and tried to fall asleep. However, he found that he could not sleep, as his mind was too full. He was tossing and turning trying to make his thoughts slow down enough so that he could make sense of it all. One though stood out from all the rest, how to destroy his master. Rattoes knew that destroying Gamith's most treasured object was the only way to kill his master. His Amulet of power. However Rattoes lacked one important piece of information. Gamith had protected the Amulet with spell and incantations so that no man, woman nor child of that land could destroy that Amulet. Rattoes had made plans to destroy it and so had planned to drop it off the tallest tower, therefore shattering it. But he would have to wait until his master was asleep so he wouldn't be caught. So Rattoes lit a candle and sat on the corner of his bed waiting for the sound of his master's bedroom door shutting for the night. Waiting for the chance to finally be free forever.