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Post by blackfox7 on Jan 20, 2009 16:36:43 GMT -5
To many travelling woodlanders the landscape was the closest they would ever see to a desert;seemingly endless sands stretched out over miles and miles, so wide and so vast that nobeast, and even most high-flying birds could not make out the other side. The topography was varied;most of it was heaped up into wind-blown dunes, but sometimes patches of grassy sward and cold, bubbling springs poked out from the sands.
The whole landscape, from the mouth of the River Moss to the Great South Stream and from the Western Sea to the beginnings of Bat Mountpit, it was all called the Great Dunes.
The camp had been set up beside one of the larger of the springs, providing water for its few inhabitants. The stoat brothers, Bhagavad and Yana, had proved their ingenuity over their dopeyness by constructing two large shelters of mountain shale and woven branches they had found on the mountains. They had been there scarcely over a week, them and their comrade Nilansh the fox, recieving training from the mongoose warrior they had taken to traveling with.
Shatrunjay had done his work well in the short time he had been whipping them into shape: They found themselves less inclined to torment each other and would follow their leader to a word, showing extemely well-learned discipline.
Not to mention the new skills he had taught them. Now there would be no more need for them to return to their previous lives as theives.
Nilansh squinted and sighted down the shaft he had made, aiming for the sandhill target daubed with an image of their pursuer, Shardear, with vegetable dyes. The red fox frowned in concentration as he exhaled and fired.
The arrow pierced the target in the very center of its chest, sending a wispy spray of fine sand into the air.
"Hah!",Nilansh grinned, "That's much better than when I started. Pretty soon I'll be a half-decent archer, eh?"
He turned to the hill behind him, smiling toothily at Shatrunjay.
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Post by Hans Vermeer (Cole) on Jan 20, 2009 17:46:43 GMT -5
Shatrunjay gave one of his rare smiles at his student when he managed to hit his target in a mortal area or "bulls eye." He felt a lot like the masters who had taught him a little about martial arts when he was a small child. They had all gone through a lot and these beasts were really the only ones he ever really fought along side with more than once. These two stoats and one fox were his first students he had trains not only how to fight, but also is planning on teaching them the martial arts. Maybe even Invisible Blade or the Red Dragon's Charge if they became experienced enough.
"Your skills with the bow and with knives have improved a lot in a small span of time since we left the caves. Your a very quick learner. You'll soon be a very great archer. "
The mongoose knew Shardear was still on trail of him. But the hot dunes should lessen her numbers. At lest her slimey skinned lizards...
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Post by blackfox7 on Jan 20, 2009 18:40:13 GMT -5
Nilansh continued to grin as he selected another arrow.
Yana the stoat came scurrying up the sandhill from behind the mongoose, carrying an armful of dead birds and root vegetables.
"'Ey, sir. I gots de fudd like ya wanted me too." Bhagavad followed him shortly, but his burden was green, straight twigs and long shrub poles as opposed to birds.
"Aye, an' we kin make more arrers an' chuckin' spears widd deez sticks." The stoat reported dutifully, offering one of the poles to Shatrunjay for his inspection.
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Deadun, the dormouse slave of Shardear, panted in the heat of the scorching sun as he followed his Master dullheartedly. It did not help that the sand reflected most of the stifling heat back into the pads of the beast's footpaws. The horde of the maniac pine marten was suffering.
She was deaf to the moans and pained hisses of the trudging masses. At least 50 of the newts and a scattering of jackdaws, rooks, and voles had already died from heat, exhaustion, dehydration, and in the case of the newts, suffucation (All amphibians breathe through their skin, therefore, if they dry they die). To Shard those numbers weren't high enough: If those lazy, pampered slugs put more effort into obeying her it would be sure to show!
The few snakes and lizards in the horde were doing surprisingly well, though. She would have to remember that.
A scouting party of skink lizards had been sent ahead. The pine Marten sulked as she plodded ever forward, not satisfied with their lack of speediness in reporting back...
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Post by Hans Vermeer (Cole) on Jan 20, 2009 19:21:20 GMT -5
Shatrunjay grabbed the pole and looked it over. It was straight enough, perfect for throwing. He did a small attempt to bend it, It didn't bend at all under the pressure. Strong enough, won't break under much pressure easily. He tapped a claw on it. It was not hollow. It had passed his inspection. "You two are becoming very good at foraging. This is good, strong and reliable wood. Perfect for arrows and spears. The bird feathers and meat will also be very useful. The roots may not only be good for eating but maybe also might be useful for healing purposes..."
"But! We can't stay here for long. I sense an old foe is still on the hunt for us. Though we may not have to worry too much for now. I bet she is already having problems trying to keep her slime lizards from drying out. We had those creatures in my home land too and they were scared of two things. Heat and the Sun. We won't have to deal with as many of them as before."
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Post by blackfox7 on Jan 20, 2009 20:05:20 GMT -5
Yana made a gigglesnort.
"Heehee... slime lizards...", he chortled. The other vermin gave him odd looks.
"Well, er, moving on..."Nilansh muttered, nocking his arrow to his bowstring and sighting down the shaft,"I've been wondering, d'you have a plan for ridding us of our marten problem? I'd hate to think that we'll have to muck around with 'er on our trail 'til we turn grey in the fur..." The fox let fly the missile, this time striking the target off center slightly on its forehead.
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Awlees pattered through the sand, at the head of Shardear's scouting party. He was a yellow-bellied sand lizard, perfectly suited to the dune environment.
Some of his charges weren't: Skinks commonly lived near shade, and this was simply not a place that provided that. They panted rapidly, lagged far behind, and whined periodically.
"Yeerg, can't we hassa rest soon? I no go no furrtherrr!" One lizard complained. Awlees thwaked him smartly with his tail.
"Not so loud, dumbworm. They hearrr you iffa they nearrr."
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Post by Hans Vermeer (Cole) on Jan 20, 2009 20:32:36 GMT -5
"As a matter of fact. I had talked to that bat leader about our position and where we would end up if we left his cave and also about the surrounding area, i have an idea on how to deal with her. Once and for all."
the mongoose bent down and started to draw the location of the cave, dunes, Salamandastron, and the Northlands. He drew lines to connect the cave, dunes, Salamandastron, and finally ended with with the Northlands with a circle.
"If we fight her now. Her horde will kill us all. I'm no dragon, even with my experience i could not beat that army. But nature can. My plan is to use different environments and new enemies against her. First off I'm using the dunes to dry out and kill her slame lizards and other water adapted creatures, than we are going to try to pass by this mountain called "Salamandastron", from the bat i learned they have some short of hare army called "Long Patrol". With only 4 of us, they will not see us as a threat and we can pass by hopefully, but when the marten comes with her horde. They might take her as a threat. Forcing her to battle them. Hopefully, this will kill her and her entire horde. If not, we will head for the cold Northlands so the freezing cold can deal with her birds. This is where we will finally make our stand. With her horde going through all of this hardship and reduced to much more smaller and manageable numbers. We will be able to finally kill her and whats left of her army off."
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Post by blackfox7 on Jan 20, 2009 20:57:24 GMT -5
The fox grinned slyly, glad to be accompanied by a creature of similar or greater intelligence to himself.
"Hah-ha! So we lead her on a merry dance through the most extreme of places, all the while dragging that unsavory bunch through the turf of hostile warriors! That's all well an' good. No muss or fuss 'til the very end of th' show"He exclaimed gleefully.
Bhagavad and Yana sat down on the sand nearby and jointly worked on sharpening the poles into proper spears with Bhagavad's scimitar.
"Hoi, Bhaggy, tain't we lukky we gots cleverbeasts widd us?"
"Yah, de nasdy pine mardden don' stan' no chance."
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Awlees held up a claw for the scouts to stop. There was the faint sound of voices on the air, coming from northwest of them.
"Stay herre. I go ahead."
The sand lizard lowered himself to all fours and scurried quietly towards the voices. Two dunes later his glassy, flat eyes peeked over a stone in the ground and observed a small settlement, or was it a camp? He crept closer, stopping short with his breath held as Shatrunjay's back came into view.
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