Bog the Frog

The Four hooligans sprinted through the alleys, splashing through puddles and slipping, during the escape it had begun to rain slightly. Their gait corrected before falling looking behind them for pursuers. They were carrying bags full of random goods and coins. “Come on, keep moving.” the leader said, “Can’t let the guards catch us.”

Eventually the group of criminals ran into a dead end. Though with no one chasing it would be as easy as back tracking. “Shit.” the one in the middle said, “Right boys back track.” as they started to turn a lump of white and bright lime green dropped from a building’s wall, with a slightly wet plop sound as the creature's feet stuck to the ground.

“A frog…in clothes?” a man with wild hair said, confused.

The three foot tall frog man looked at his hands and feet and nodded enthusiastically “Yeea.” he said seemingly happy someone noticed. “I frog.” he said, “I also Bog.” he added.

“Bog the…frog…” wild hair man said.

“Yeea.” Bog croaked happy that someone got it. “Put back?” he said pointing to the stuff they’d taken, staring at them with his huge yellow eyes. Blinking very slowly.

“No.” the leader said, “Boys.” he said motioning for them to deal with the frog.

“Boss. Look how small he is…we can just walk past him. Not really a reason to hurt him.”

“Are you getting soft?” he looked at the largest man in the group who suggested to just let the frog go.

“No boss…but…look at him.” the large man motioned to the frog. “It’d be like murdering a kid.”

The Boss groaned, “What about you?” he asked the wild hair man.

Bog pointed to the bag again and the boss snapped back “Give us a minute.”

“Kay.” Bog said, putting his hand down, opening and closing his fingers and toes showing his webbed digits.

“I’d rather not kill a frog.” he said.

“I agree.” the slim man said.

The boss, threw up his hands fine…”But if he follows us I’ll cut him down.” the boss responded.

“Mean.” Bog said in a disappointed tone, as they passed.

Once they’d all passed and before they broke out into a run again Bog cracked one in the back of the knee. The man buckled and the small frogman hopped up and cracked him in the back of the head with the staff.

The three remaining men turned around. “You’re dead ‘Bog’...dead.” the boss spat, dropping his sack of loot and drawing a sword from his hip.

Bog looked at the sword. “Hmmf…” he said, seemingly not bothered. “You try.” he said pointing with his bo staff to the sword. “Make Bog ‘dead’.”

“Boss.” the man with wild hair put his hand on the leader’s shoulder. “Maybe you shouldn’t.

“I’m not going to let a reptile humiliate me or my crew.”

The tall thin man chimed in. “Amphibians…frogs are amphibians. I read it in a book.”

The boss shrugged out of wild hair’s grasp and shoved thin man back. “Move.” he said walking forward towards Bog.

“You Try?” he asked a genuine tone to his voice. “Luck to you.” he croaked, spreading his legs to a defensive stance, and put the staff out in front.

“Don’t mock me.” the boss said and took a series of wild swings Bog defecting each out, causing the man to stumble slightly with each swing.

Bog made a sound that if human would have likely been a tongue click, like a ‘tsk’ but sounded more like a wet cheek pop. “Messy.” he said, “Not good.” he said as he kept batting away the wild slashes. “Try.” he repeated. Even when the man thrust the sword in an attempt to stab him Bog just deftly changed the direction of the blade. “Friends better?” he asked.

The boss pulled back, acting like he was tired, and then tried to feign a slash but went for a lunge, Bog moved out of the way and when the boss stumbled past falling into a stack of small weather rotted crates.

“Next?” Bog asked.

The tall man drew what looked like an old table leg wrapped in strips of iron thick metal studs held it in place.

The man swung hard downward trying to catch the frog on top of his head. But Bog caught it with his staff and pushed it off to the side where the tall man’s club crashed into the ground. The man nearly dropping it with the shock of the metal fixtures hitting the stone ground. “AHHHH.” he sounded stepping back.

“Sorry.” Bog said.

“Sorry?” the man asked before the staff caught him almost in the groin, hitting the inner part of this thigh. Bog drove it sideways causing the man to nearly do the splits on the rain soaked cobblestone where he let out a ‘eep’ before falling and holding what was probably a pulled muscle or two. Bog then finished the man by knocking him out with a heavy bonk on the head.

“Next?” Bog asked the last remaining man, Wild hair.

“No…no…” wild hair said throwing his hands up. “I don’t want any more trouble.” he begged. “I’ll help you take the stuff back. Just don’t kill me.”

“Kill?” Bog asked confusedly. “Only make sleep.” he said pointing to the knocked out trio.

“You didn’t kill them?” wild hair asked.

“Only kill if have to.” Bog said sternly. “Kill is bad.”

As the two talked the boss popped out of the broken crates, hand crossbow drawn. “Die.”

The boss let the bolt lose, and Bog whirled his staff, catching the bolt and in a swift flourish, of spins and motions he dislodged the bolt, and slid it on his back once more, and quick as a flash in those intricate moves the there a knife which hit the man in his chest, clear of any vital parts if he kept the knife in and got to a healer if he removed it he would die. “Mean.” Bog repeated. “Keep in, Live.”

The wild haired man, gathered up all the bag, and grunted with the effort but left his ‘friends’ on the ground to deal with their choices. He knew Bog wasn’t a friend but maybe if he was some kind of ‘hero’ he’d make sure the guards knew he surrendered.