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sykotikkytten @
Erisna
Guess who finally got around to assigning stats and stones to part of the party? This gal did. Also guess who hates the Scorched Forest? This gal. Sam was down to 2 HP from an unlucky round.
Day 3 - Fodder
Saul woke them early, with the dawn. Lorn seemed to be doing a lot better, and Saul wanted to see what his gaggle of misfits was really made of. He pushed them hard. Harder than, perhaps, he had any right to. They followed Carrion Canyon, Gift yelling directions from overhead while the others followed below. Lorn found she could keep up better by trailing in Gift's wake; the large Imperial cut through the drafts and high winds. If Lorn were inclined to such things, she might be embarrassed. As it was, she was just happy that Gift didn't mind 'towing' her.
The air crackled and sizzled with the promise of a storm-- all normal for the Shifting Expanse. What wasn't normal was the smell of rain hanging in the air. They'd made good time, but they needed shelter fast; the Shifting Expanse had some of the deadliest weather in Sornieth outside of the Windswept Plateau. The shelter couldn't be down in the canyon. While Gift and Lorn could navigate the treacherous winds, Saul was a clumsy flier and Samaeth couldn't fly at all. It also needed to be big enough to fit all four of them. Saul and Lorn weren't huge, but Gift and Sam were gigantic.
"W-we should really th-th-think about a p-portable shelter," Samaeth commented out loud, to anyone that would listen.
"Yeah, we should. You're the best one to design it, Sam. You're the closest thing we have to an engineer," Saul replied.
Sam didn't reply. He froze, then whistled for attention. "C-centaurs.
Lots of 'em." Lorn had a good nose, but even she hadn't picked up on the scent. Sam's was better. A lot better.
At the same time, Gift circled back. "I found a big rock formation that may have a cave in which to spend the night!" she told Saul cheerfully. Saul motioned for her to land.
"See any centaurs?" Saul asked. Gift shook her head no. "I think we just found our shelter. I think we're gonna have to fight pretty damn hard for it. Lorn, you stay back. Gift, Sammy, you're with me."
"Friendship binds e'er the sweeter,
with each new vict'ry won,
perhaps their hate of dragons teeters,
and our friendship may show them all the sun?" Lorn ventured.
Saul had no idea why Lorn chose to communicate exclusively in godawful poetry, but she was quick and clear enough about it that he didn't care overmuch about it. He just put it down to a Windy quirk. "I really don't think so. Not just because I'm a career warrior. Think about it. If your oldest sworn enemy came at you with an olive branch after centuries of hostilities, but they wanted something of yours, what would you do? Being diplomatic would plant a big fat target on our backs."
Lorn looked visibly disappointed.
"And so the night will end in fire and blood;
we prey on them as fish upon the scud."
"Yeah, I know you're upset. I promise when we encounter other dragons, we'll try diplomacy first. Beastmen aren't gonna listen to us. All they want is draconic life extinguished. I wish it was different." Saul patted Lorn on the back. "They're vicious and savage. Trust me. They think they came before dragonkind and that Sornieth is rightfully theirs. They don't want peace. They believe the dragon gods are horrid usurpers instead of, well, deities. There is no peace with them."
"I do not mean to rush you all but the storm gathers!" Gift warned them. Saul tossed his head for them to follow and led Gift and Samaeth up to the mouth of the cave.
Lorn sat safely far away, playing with her cauldron familiar. She was very, very ill at ease.
"My heart and mind cannot agree with Saul;
there has to be a way for peace for all," she told it. The cauldron just hissed and bubbled, then poked at her foot, demanding that she brew something in it. Lorn had a feeling that she'd have plenty to brew with after the battle.
The battle was long, and arduous, and brutal, and bloody. It was Samaeth and Gift's first time seeing real combat; oh, sure, they'd trained under a few of the clan's warriors before heading out, but it was the first time they'd had to depend on themselves in a real battle. It was Saul's first time directing untrained dragons in a fight; he had to call Samaeth to heal him a few times when some lucky arrows hit, and he'd had to warn Gift to watch her back.
Overall, Saul was proud of them. They drove the centaurs out, in the end. All of them had almost died at least once. All of them were hurt and bloody and bruised. But they would eat well tonight on the stores the centaurs had left behind, and rest well in the massive cavern, and wait out the storm.
As gentle as he seemed, Samaeth didn't even flinch when the fight got brutal. It was like he was born for it, although the big tundra seemed to instinctively fight to
capture rather than to
kill. Saul would've wondered if he was Shade-touched, except that Samaeth read as way more pure than any of the rest of his clanmates when it came to background Shade-iation. Very odd.
For his part, the archivist did his best to patch up the three fighters, then went to get Lorn. He entertained the alchemist with poorly-told stories from some of his old history books, and Lorn seemed to appreciate it. Saul smiled. He was worried about her. Thinking about peace with Beastclans? She must be sick, somehow. He watched her drop some of the battle's detritus into the cauldron.
Gift gently nosed Saul's side. "They will be okay, friend. We emerged victorious, and Sam and I are stronger than before. I can feel it in my bones."
"Yeah, I know. I just worry is all."
"You truly do care more than you realize," Gift pointed out.
Saul chuckled. "Probably. Maybe we can figure out what made Sam grow so huge on the way. He's the biggest tundra I've ever seen. Maybe it's super potent magic?"
"Do you not think that he would have found that answer?" Gift gently admonished.
"Eh. Maybe. Maybe he just needs more access to different and better libraries," Saul ventured.
"Perhaps. I will take first watch. Goodnight, Saul."
"Gnight."