CHAPTER IV: DESERT SHOWDOWN
Author's Note: This is a pretty short chapter by my standards, a sort of interval to smooth things out before putting up two really long chapters. Oh, and just for my other story-"In the Dark: A Short Story Collection" will be updated once I have finished posting up all the chapters of TSP out of my original work, revised of course.
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The night had been ominous and dark, sinister and freezing cold on the desert. No poignant or decipherable sounds were heard just a garbo, laconic, ebon atmosphere. No hooting owls or foul toads, just a still night. So it was a welcome relief for the travelers on foot when dawn's rosy pink shafts and memorable hues lit up the world once more.
Devnam's hand clenched and unclenched around the hilt of his anelace nervously. How could Lukas have done this? All right maybe the youngling had always been a bit wild, but murder? Devnam couldn't bring himself to face the youth; what was worse he had to, he was part of the group that would have to bring him back or let him deal with justice on the site.
And some kind of posse this is, thought Devnam drolly. Two scores of beasts was more than enough to catch some renegade mouse, thank you very much. Twenty were armed guards, like they expected to face danger at every turn. The others were scholars seeking adventure and bored adolescents. Heaven's sake, what kind of "gallant quest" could this turn out to be? In fact Devnam predicted that they would be back at the mountain today or tomorrow at the very most.
"Sah," panted a young hare guard that had been in the lead, and circled back to Devnam who had been unofficially elected leader. "There's a band of jolly rocky, but not really-um, whasamacallit- steep mountains blocking our flippin' progress.
"Sah-Hmmm. At least you have some respect for your elders." Laughing at the bemused expression on the guard's face, Devnam went on, "Not steep, you say. Well our legs are in prime shape, tanned and muscled, and circling around would take far too long…so let's march on!" A roar of approval went up from the pedestrians, and the beasts (mostly hares but some were creatures of other species, seeking sanctuary at the fire mountain like Devnam) milled forward.
At first the chain of mountains were nothing more but silhouettes in the dusty light. Then as the hikers came closer, the outlines hardened and the terrain swam into view. The mountains were formed of leaning walls of stone, misshapen with oblong granite and jagged rocks that threatened to draw blood. It was hard going for the beasts but they made progress. They circled dangerous ground and unfortunately some pebbles got stuck in their hind paws, rubbing painfully against the tender flesh and causing miniature fountains of blood. These happenings caused some delays, but by mid-morning they had traversed a considerable length.
Chewing some hastily put-together snacks, (mostly rotten nuts, some stale bread and overripe fruits) while raving thirsty and sucking on their saliva, our heroes continued underway as the sun neared the zenith. By noon they had wearily agreed to take a break, as most of the squad were not experienced travelers like Devnam. They had little stamina and had indeed been pushing their limits by traipsing about this amount of time. Even the guards, though a bit more fit, had encountered a few sore and strained muscles. Devnam, despite his age, had been the faring the best, leading the group, but even he was brought to realize that a break was in their best interest.
The youthful guard, who had spoken to Devnam earlier, discovered a wide ledge suitable for their purposes. A few of the less fit travelers laid down for a quick nap and were waken quite rudely by Devnam.
"Up on your buttocks, ye lousy budworms. Ye're here to rest nah sleep. If ya close an eyelid I'll have ye marching in front with me," chastised Devnam. Unfortunately he had to lower himself to physical contact to achieve his goal.
It was about this hour that the bandits arrived.
Devnam had decided to pace back and forth for the enjoyment of it (riiiight). He wanted to get the business of catching Lukas today, and his idiotic companions had to rest. His eyes wandered over the blasted landscape and he saw the masked shadow in a second.
"Wake up, you buffoons! We have company!" screeched Devnam, bringing his troupe to their sparse weapons. The masked beast (he was a weasel-Devnam could tell by his physical shape and fur) held a crossbow clasped in his paws. "One move and you're dead meat," he sneered in a surprisingly educated voice. More masked, armed figures appeared behind him, all clothed in black.
Oh, great. Just great.
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Lukas clasped his temple between his hands. Why couldn't his past let go of him? Why, oh, why had those blasted, stupid hares sent a group to bring him back? Normally he would have left with a "Good riddance", and a self-satisfied smirk if bandits had attacked the posse. Anyways, he wanted to be rid of them, correct? But then there was Devnam.
Lukas was truly sad that he had disappointed Devnam. Truly. Devnam was his only friend and he felt a deep affection for the old wayfarer. The least he could do was save his own savior from the bandits.
Lukas had reached the summit of the peak this morning and now he gazed down at the conflict below. And then an idea struck him like a speeding bolt. Of course! He would send a rockslide to kill the bandits!
It was only after he sent the rocks and boulders rolling down their descent, that his mistake appeared to him. His rockslide would kill the posse too!
Lukas started screaming desperately, hoping his voice would echo downwards to warn the crowd. It was of no use! Lukas collapsed on the top of the peak, gazing down at the deadly boulders. It was his entire fault!
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Geoniyo was a bully with a conscience, something you don't usually come upon. Ironically, he thought of himself as a forceful hero with an iron fist who enforced the law. Only there was a microscopic snag; the "law" happened to be Joluff's rules. Geoniyo was Joluff's best friend. Let's say the scrawny, rat-faced hare was the brains of the pair while Joluff served as the brawn. Geoniyo had wanted to join the others in the posse for strange reasons, nobly illumining himself as a gallant questor who would avenge his friend's death. He'd be disappointed.
Geoniyo watched from behind a muscular guard as Devnam defied the bandit's wish to surrender. In response the bandits sent a flurry of arrows, and Geoniyo found himself no longer safe behind the dead guard. Unknowingly, today Geoniyo would get his first taste of battle. And he wouldn't find it very edible.
Outside was a mêlée of confused slaughter. The guards were falling, their only hope. The "Long Patrol" hares might have been trained but they were greatly outnumbered with a ratio of about one to six, forty hares to about two hundred and a half vermin. The other travelers were ill fitted for battle and no threat whatsoever; the bandits captured them with the intention of using them as slaves, since they probably wouldn't sprout the seed of rebellion. In fact the only person that was even doing fairly well was Devnam. The aged warrior passed Geoniyo, who stood as if struck dumb. It was a wonder he hadn't been killed already. Devnam pressed his anelace in the hand of the youth, and moved on.
The hilt of the knife in his palm brought Geoniyo back to the harsh world around him. A gargantuan, hulking rat with knotted braids of head fur approached Geoniyo, roaring incoherently at the top of his sizeable lungs. Geoniyo did the first thing that came to his mind: he punched at the male's groin.
Geoniyo wasn't the strongest beast around, but even he knew he could have hit harder. His opponent laughed, a harsh, unpleasant sound emitting from his throat. "Goin' 'or th' beeg poi't, heh. 'll 'ake ye scre'm ye whelp," he gurgled. Geoniyo shuddered. The man's threat rang in his ears. ll 'ake ye scre'm ye whelp…What if he went for the same body part, he'd hit?
Unexpectedly Geoniyo rushed forward, burying his blade in the man's stomach. His enemy wheezed in pain. "Oh ye bastard 'are…"
Geoniyo pushed forward with all his strength, nervous system bulging, and adrenaline pumping insanely through his veins. He pushed harder, and harder, and harder. The rat wasn't budging, but grinning superiorly, drawing a knife out of his sheath. His grin turned to a mask of disbelief as he started sliding backwards.
Harder. Harder. Harder. Geoniyo could feel in a way he had passed the limits of his body, but his limbs burned with the need for motion and he fulfilled their wishes. And then his opponent was toppling backwards, slipping downwards over the edge of the ledge. The bandit was plummeting backwards, shrieking to the four corners of the world, cursing the wind and breeze…
"Damn ye, 'll get ye 'or 'his."
Geoniyo fell in a dead faint.
He was jolted awake by a rough hand paw seizing his neck. Another bandit smirked down at him. Then, there came a noise from upwards, and both bandits and adventurers stopped and gazed upwards. Boulders and huge rocks rained down on them. In seconds the ledge was hidden underneath the mass of granite.
Gradually something stirred underneath.
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Agent D: A ring could knock out people if it is metal, big, and thrown hard (at least I think so). I mean I haven't been hit by a ring, but still, metal is harder the wooden chairs, huh? And I don't see what you mean by saying there's no main characters in this story-there are and quite a lot but not all of them have been revealed. But I can tell you safely that after the next chapter you'll have found out about all the main characters. And like I mentioned in my review to your "Author's announcement" I will be glad to be your editor if you can wait for another week. And in my original story the setting did take place close to Turkey but nobody actually went to Turkey.
Mr. Nice Guy, The Flamer, and…Jack: Is Jack your actual name (you don't have to answer that)? Well, actually I'm really good at spelling but not that great at grammar (I'm decent but I skim my writing, so yeah). Anyways, YOU had a typo where you wrote 'typos' as 'typo's'. Oh, what now! Just kidding. Still, 9.2, hmmmm…
Bananas rock my pineapples: Do you like bananas or pineapples better? Just a though question. But who says Rewall is not technologically advanced enough to create nylon?
Avelblue: Thanks for your editing sight to reveal those mistakes, but I personally think working parentheses into the text a lot can be more confusing than needed. And after the following chapter (not this one the one after this) you will realize what the full plot of this fic is.