This large valley encompasses a large portion of the map. It connects the Red Hand Heights to the Oberon Plateau. The southern streams flow into the Magi Forest.
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This large valley encompasses a large portion of the map. It connects the Red Hand Heights to the Oberon Plateau. The southern streams flow into the Magi Forest.
The trip to our next location was mercifully short. In the wide open space of the plateau I hadn’t realized that the lack of proper bathing was beginning to make itself known. With the windows rolled down and my head hanging out the window. I protected my sensitive nose from the unwashed scent of the others, and to my embarrassment, myself. The truck that had been sent ahead came into view; it rested a few yards off the edge of a stream. The scouts with Kelly were grouped around her, obviously holding a conversation of sorts.
Calling a halt to the Manda driving and waving a hand at the rest of the trucks I directed them to stop. I was out the door before the truck had rolled fully to a stop. Waving a hand to the General and Eddie to follow me I headed for Kelly. Her group dispersed when I approached, heading out in all directions at a rapid pace.
“We arrived less than a half hour before you did. We’ve scouted very little of the terrain so far. I thought it best to spilt up my group further.” Kelly explained at the silent inquiry of a raise brow.
“Very good. Okay, we need to get a perimeter set up. Also, I want everyone to bathe. Set up groups and rotating schedules for perimeter duty and bathing. The DDP’s need to be first but after that split the girls into groups. I also want one of us to be with the girls when they bathe.’ I grinned up at Eddie; he blanched at the mischievous grin.
“Eddie you’ll bathe with me in the last group of girls. We don’t need you to disappear on us, no matter how enticing the offers might be.” I laughed with Kelly and the General as Eddie flushed and looked back towards the Mandas.
~~~~~
The rest of the afternoon flew by. The Mandas had set up a perimeter two hundred yards from the camp while the DDP’s were forced to strip and bathe. I spotted Kelly and the General brandishing their guns at them a couple of times. The soggy group then stood with Kelly and the General as the dark elves and the uninjured spy bathed next, making sure none of them tried to escape.
Firmly settled on my perch, the roof of one of the trucks, I watched them. Unable to help myself I laughed and giggled the time away as I watched the men wash up. I was surprised when the Mandas started up three fires, several yards apart, to warm up and dry by. It was only after the first wave of Mandas hurried up on the shore, that I saw the real reason for their kindness. Pushing, and threatening they surrounded the fires in a constantly moving mass of shivering, wet women.
All too soon a damp Kelly informed me that the last group of Mandas was ready to go in. Calling for Eddie to come with me I walked a few yards up stream from the Mandas. I hesitated as modesty poked at me for a moment then shrugged and stripped. My clothing went into a neatly folded pile beside Eddie’s carelessly tossed clothing. Carefully to avoid looking directly at Eddie I wadded into the water colored by the evening sky.
The cool water had me suck in a breath and reflex as it swirled up and over my feet and lower legs. Behind me I heard Eddie yip at the cold touch against sensitive parts. Grinning to myself, I wadded out until the water was up to my waist. Gritting teeth and holding my breath I dunked myself under. Shaking and scrubbing my head furiously under water I washed my hair as best as I could. Popping from the water, Eddie surprised me by holding a cake of soap.
“I’ll wash your hair for you.”
I looked up at Eddie, cocking a brow at him. I was glad my hair had grown out enough to cover my chest for the most part. A growl from the shore had me looking past Eddie’s shoulder. The alpha bitch of the wolves stood on the bank along with Kelly, the General and several of the Mandas, all of them watching me. I smiled and shook my head.
“Eddie, would you like to have some alone time? I should inform you that The General and Kelly are this world’s versions of my mother. While they are creations, just like you, never the less they will act like the memories of my mother. I think you’re skating on thin ice at the moment.’ I smiled up at his embarrassed expression and took the cake of soap.
“Just behave yourself and ignore anything they say to you.” Soaping my hair and body quickly I handed the cake of soap back to Eddie and swam out further into the stream to rinse my self off and to float in the water for a while, relaxing. I was confident that Kelly and the General could take care of everything to the small space of time I wanted to relax.
Silent as death, a pearl white bubble appeared over the bathers. Its trail was nothing but a blur, and its halt was so sudden that it could give the viewers whiplash. For an agonizingly long second, it hovered frozen and threatening. Then, it popped, and a scream filled the air as if a horror movie had been turned off of mute. The high pitched, incredibly shrill sound followed the bubble’s lone occupant as he plummeted from the evening sky and into the evening bath.
Binky felt nothing but motion as if a giant had scooped him up. Then, he felt liquid all around him like that same giant was dipping him in a cold biscuit sauce. It soaked everything from his long ears to his white cotton tail. His strong legs were still above though, kicking as he fought to lift his armored body from the depths of certain saucy death.
With wild, clumsy splashes, he got his whiskers above the surface and inhaled greedily. Then, his ears hit the air, and he heard the screams of numerous women. With his entire waterlogged body jolting, he opened his eyes and saw the largest group of hairless monkeys he had ever been witness too. He knew they were the hairless variety because they were mostly naked.
As loud as they screamed, he screamed louder. It sounded like he had swallowed a siren and was belting out its final pleas before digestion. With every ounce of air in him, he cried for the opportunity to be on that imaginary giant’s tea table as opposed to surrounded by hairless monkeys and their ravenous, toothy beasts.
Still wailing, he turned in the shallow water and half swam, half stumbled, for the far shore. But, so far from the good grace of his Queen, he knew that he was doomed. That knowledge came in the form of a set of razor sharp teeth clenched around his beautifully puffy tail.
“Fo’ the love of all this is cuddly, save me!” he begged of the air as he was towed backwards and his head was once again sent under.
Enjoying the feel of clean skin and the stress free environment of the water, I never notice the large bubble that appeared overhead. The high wailing scream the pierced the air startled me. Thrashing in a panic, I sank under the water. The sight of large feet flailing in air as the creature struggle to right itself greeted me as sputtering and cursing I stood up.
Behind me, a course of screams rose up from the Mandas as they rushed for the shore as a whole. I swam for the closest shore, snarling an order at the wolves that swam by me. Once on solid ground I hastily pulled on my clothing, grimacing in distaste when the now wet cloth stuck to my skin. I glared at my snickering ‘heroes’.
“Don’t you two have something to do? I want the last group of Mandas dried and everyone ready to move out. First, it was a flying thing, now it is a flying rabbit. What’s next? A cow?” I gritted my teeth at the mocking salutes both women sent me before they sauntered off to rally the troops.
I looked back towards the creature as it still gibbered on in its annoying high-pitched voice. Once, my wolf had towed it back to the shore. I walked around it as it stood, wet and shivering on the ground. The sight of a giant wet rabbit pouting and crying like a child had me struggling to not laugh.
“Eddie, send over a few more of the Red Wolves. I don’t want this creature running while I talk it to.” The half-naked man paused in the middle of puling on his shirt and nodded to me. I waited until he scooped up his shoes and hurried off.
“Now, I would like for you to answer some questions for me. Come, we can move closer to one of the fires. There’s no need for either of us to catch a cold.” Gesturing at the rabbit to follow I turned and headed for the nearest fire. Behind me, I heard an indignant squeal from the rabbit then loud footsteps with a distinctly sulky sound to them.
By the time the rabbit was finally herded to the fire I stood by half a dozen wolves surrounded him. They darted in and nipped him just hard enough to get him to move once more. I shook my head at the sad sight and wondered what type of troops six foot tall rabbits could be. Especially if the rabbit before me was a typical solider. Sighing I shook my head; the noisy crying from it was getting old.
“Where is the rest of your army at? When are you expected to report back?” When my questions went unanswered, I grumbled to my self. Behind me, I could hear several of the Mandas talking about having rabbit for dinner tonight.
“Look, if you don’t make yourself useful I will let my army eat you for dinner.’ I hissed at the rabbit as his crying took on a hysterical quality. I looked down as something was pressed into my hand, one of the razor-embedded paint brushes lay in my hand. A Manda smiled at me, I grinned back a wicked idea blossoming in my head.
Advancing on the rabbit, I held the paintbrush up so the razors in it caught the fire light and gleamed. Grabbing him by one ear, I pulled his head down so I could reach the top of his head. Small tuffs of white fur drifted down to the ground as I took a small strip of fur out from between his ears.
“If you don’t start talking by the time I’m done shaving you I’ll roast you myself. I’m sure the girls will love a real meal rather than the dried rations we’ve been eating.” I whispered into the twitching ear I held. Carefully I removed another six-inch section of fur; the stripe now reached the base of its head.
“Kahlina? We are ready to head out. Actually we need to know which way we are headed.” Blinking I looked at Kelly then noticed that only the faintest hints of daylight still lit up the area. My shadows were now above ground, they were grouped together near the trucks. I nodded and released the rabbit.
“We continue to head west for now. I’ll have the shadows move this pitiful creature into the bed off the truck I’ll be in.”
Out of Character:
((The army has come from area B to area D.))
James sat in the back of one of the technological machines running through the terrain. With hardly any interrogation, he seemed to have been forgotten by the enemy’s leader. He was now being guarded by two seemingly drunk women on either side. Having watched them eye their single male soldier greedily, an idea on how to escape was slowly forming in his mind. He would use their womanly urges to catch them unawares.
“So ladies, what brings you out into this wretched place? I’d think you’d have more fun doing other things.” Casually, he placed a hand on the nearest thigh of each of them. The two looked at each other and slight grins split across their faces. The spy took the expressions as his go ahead to continue his advances. Showing no hesitation, he leaned toward the left woman, bringing both hands to her waist. “We’ll have much more fun here then those fighting out there.”
Suddenly James felt a painful blow to the back of his head, sending him to the floor of the vehicle. “You think you can just do as you please, hmm? You’re the enemy. You have no right to talk to us, much less touch us. You’ll lie there until our next stop. Then we’ll deal with you.”
The rogue slowly slipped into unconsciousness.
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Kataneen shook her head sadly as the army marched into the enormous valley. One of her sons whispered into her ear that the enemy could hardly be seen in the distance, but they were heading in the opposite direction. The fact that the draconian scout was seen by them meant that they would also see the direction he had flown to escape. Why then, wouldn’t they go after the Split Breeds, or prepare for a defense? The Gisela tournament was meant to put armies against each other in a strategic game of war, not run from the slightest hint of danger.
She let out a heavy sigh, shaking the ground immediately around her. “Cowardice is unbecoming for an army or any sort of warrior. Remember that Jerichol. These foes of ours won’t be ready to fight us if they run themselves into a dead end.”
The Faoi chattered amicably and excitedly at the sight of the nearby streams. Deciding to let them enjoy a few moments in their natural surface, she and her children released the telepathic holds they had on the animals. Immediately, they slithered and crawled to the clear water, bathing in it and drinking heavily. The cailpis and mearogs roared and growled angrily. They begged and yet dared the dragon general to release them as well, but the challenges went unanswered. Amaril suddenly had an idea.
“Kataneen, the Faoi can swim much faster than we can march, correct?” She simply nodded to the half-dragon’s question. “Then do you think you could send them ahead to stop our enemies from retreating? They are slowing us down on foot anyways.”
The she-dragon took a few moments to think about the request, staring into the sky with thoughtful eyes. It was a good plan, one that would certainly end the chase much sooner. At the same time however, she couldn’t help feel guilty for even thinking about sending the creatures forward on their own. Apart from the telepathic links to guide them, the animals followed Kataneen and her children because they protected them from various other predators. Sending them to their possible deaths could very easily break that trust. She knew that they would be revived at the end of the tournament, but they weren’t capable of comprehending that fact. A battle between following her temporary leader’s orders and respecting her own kin waged itself in her head until she finally came up with a compromise.
“Sending them through the streams would certainly speed up our travels, though I don’t think it would be wise to have them attack the enemy on their own. From what we’ve gathered, our adversaries are still clumped together and I fear we would lose almost my entire force. It doesn’t seem worth an attempt to stall them.” She paused to let Amaril contemplate these thoughts and nod in approval. “I do agree that we need to slow their progress however. Therefore, I’ll send half of the Faoi forward to meet up with the enemy. Instead of a straightforward attack, I will have them slowly pick away at those soldiers.”
Amaril thought over the plan quickly even though he already knew how he would approach the idea. Kataneen was a wise advisor and he trusted her thoughts, possibly more than his own. “Alright, send half of the Faoi to wear down the enemy little by little. Once they notice what’s going on, they might fall into an even less organized formation.”
Kataneen nodded, though she doubted how unorganized the enemy was. The draconian scout had looked at them from a high distance, not to mention none of the three original scouts had returned. Two had been sent straight toward the enemy and the opposition seemed more than up to the task to take out spies. She didn’t have time to wonder about the well-being of a couple of soldiers from different factions though. She turned instead to her children.
“Jerichol, Laverne, I want you two to take half the Faoi with you through the streams. You heard the plan and I expect to see positive results.” Suddenly her speech changed into a telepathic message meant only for her children. Stay out of sight. If the enemy is too overwhelming, come back with as many faoi as you can. Hopefully the rest of our army will catch up without you having to do much of anything.
Without any further words, the two young dragons took half of Kataneen’s obedient force with them into the streams. Left behind, a reptilian mother shed a solitary tear before returning her attention to those still present.
Hector suddenly appeared from the crowd of his own men. “So, are we going yet or are we just gonna sit on our asses and wait for a miracle to take us forward?”
Amaril shook his head. The Mercs were becoming increasingly obnoxious from the lack of excitement. As the army began to move forward, yet again, he hoped that some excitement would hit the stale army soon. They were well into the second round of the famed Gisela tournament, without having met any opposing force whatsoever.
((The entire army is moving from area D to area A. 100 Faoi and 2 adolescent dragons are traveling through the streams as fast as possible. The other 100 Faoi are traveling through the streams at the same speed as the rest of the army on foot.))