Chapter 14
August 20, 648 East Skrall Woods, Gallia Two days had passed since the confrontation, and the Whitefires hadn’t had their camp spotted since. This was all thanks to Samba finding a big batch of cloakweed. Cloakweed was a plant that was very good at covering up the scent of something, or someone. It was well known among the beast and dog tribes as an effective tool. Samba didn’t remember much about his time with his biological parents, but he did remember that. It worked for most of them, but Amiel appeared to have a cloakweed allergy. He broke out in a itchy rash when the leaf was placed in his collar. Staying nearby appeared to be the only option, but Kelly wouldn’t hear of it. She was convinced that there was another way to hide the priest’s scent, and demanded that he give her his robes so she could “deodorize” them using a vial of pure water, various other plants, and some wind magic. Everyone but the timid healer scoffed at this idea, but he regretted his decision later when too much wind magic was used and his clothes went flying into the high branches of a tree. Samba retrieved them so he wouldn’t have to stay in the bushes or walk out in his underwear. The robes weren’t soaking wet, but they were cold and stiff and generally uncomfortable. During lunch, Samba raised his head and sniffed, then made a disgusted face. “Do you guys smell that?” “Whoever smelt it dealt it.” Leo commented between mouthfuls. “No!” Samba whacked him with his tail. “It smells more like somebody who hasn’t taken a bath in months.” Darcen shuddered. “Sounds like bandits...and we’re in Gallia. Fantastic...” “I’ve never met a laguz bandit.” Eloin said, frowning. “Or a beorc one for that matter...don’t want to either way.” A patch of foliage rustled, and a head poked out. The man was obviously a bandit. His hair was messy, dirty, and plastered to his head. His expression changed from blank to hostile, then back to blank as he muttered something about “wrong way” and slipped away. “Yeah, you better walk away!” Cerai shook her fist at the retreating bandit. “Filthy creep!” “He looked like he was up to something...” Amiel frowned and dug at the rash on his neck. “One bandit won’t last long against a laguz town.” Eloin pointed out. “You’re in for a rude awakening.” Leo told her. “Bandits are like mice. You see one, there’s got to be a lot more, and if you don’t get rid of them, they’ll take over.” After a pause, he added: “Only they don’t reproduce near as quickly...” Cerai laughed. “Yeah, and that’s a good thing. Also, they’re easily dealt with when you have a cat...” She turned to Samba during that last statement. “Know what I’m saying?” Samba threw his arms in the air and huffed. “You want me to use scent to track them down...why, exactly? We’re just passing through and I’m sure everyone here is capable enough.” “We know they’re in the area...even if they will get what’s coming to them, they might catch the Gallians by surprise and kill some kids or something.” Cerai replied. Leo nodded. “Remember what we said when we started this group? That we would do our best to make sure innocent lives aren’t lost, whenever we can? I think that also applies to wherever.” “Okay fine.” Samba shifted and flicked his tail. “I think they went...this way.” August 20, 648 Somewhere along the Gallia/Begnion border The scent trail led to a rundown building, deep in the woods. Darcen tilted his head when it came into view. “This looks like...” “A bandit hideout.” Kelly said. “Yes, it would appear so. But I can finish my own sentences, thank you very much...” Darcen looked up at the sound of wing flaps. “Did you three see anything from up there? Any indication of whether or not they’re actually here?” All three landed, and Eloin spoke. “There’s a carriage with a cart behind it coming straight toward us. Do bandits even use horses and carriages?” “I haven’t seen any that do before, but I’d assume they’d use them if they get the chance.” Cerai shrugged. Scanning the faces of the group revealed that Kurt looked like he had an idea. She turned to him and raised an eyebrow. “What are you thinking about so intently?” “I’m thinking I should meet that carriage before it gets here and find out who it is and what they’re doing.” “Are you nuts? What if they’re the bandits?” Leo scoffed. “I’m sure you can deal with one, but we don’t know how many’s in there and how tough they are. Or what they have as weapons...if just a few of them have anti cavalry weapons, that’s a potential suicide.” “Nobody said I had to take them on. Stella’s part racehorse. If I run into trouble, I can be back here in a flash. Then we’ll have them right where we want them.” The black mare nickered in agreement. “Show me the direction they were coming from.” Eloin pointed to the southwest. “Be careful.” ---- A man dressed in tattered clothes and with a steel bow slung over his shoulder was driving a carriage down a dirt road. He turned to one of his companions inside the carriage and spoke gruffly. “Go silence those mangy things, will ya? They’re making too much racket!” “Yes sir!” The swordsman hopped out as the driver stopped the carriage, and made his way to the back. The cart was a closed one, and it was rattling. The man whacked it with his sword hilt. “Shut up in there! Before the boss decides to turn you into rugs!” Kurt had seen the whole thing. Definitively bandits...with laguz prisoners from the looks of things. He decided to do a surprise attack on them since they appeared to not see him. The myrmidon bandit turned just in time to see a young man on a black horse charging from the bushes at the side of the road, yelling and swiping at him with a sword. The blade connected, slicing the bandit’s shoulder. He yelped and attempted to hit his attacker with his own sword as he moved past, but he was too slow. The sword lodged itself into the wooden carriage. “Idiot!” The driver spat. “Get your ass back in here! We’re going after him!” ---- Samba dug his claws into the ground. “How long must I keep smelling this stench? Let’s get Kurt and get outta here!” As if on cue, a carriage and cart came thundering down the road, chasing Kurt and Stella. “They’ve got prisoners, don’t hit the cart!” Leo was raring to go. Pulling on Frostbite’s reins, he launched himself into the air and prepared to charge the driver of the carriage. Cerai was yelling something behind him. He found it odd that she wasn’t doing the same, but then an arrow pierced one of Frostbite’s wings and they both plummeted into the bushes. “I told you to watch it!” Cerai snapped. She didn’t have time to say any more. The bandit leader had an evil grin on his face and he was aiming an arrow toward her now. A sudden burst of energy, triggered by anger and adrenaline, allowed her to take him out before he could shoot. “Boss is down and we’re outnumbered!” A bandit yelled. Another started toward the front of the carriage, but was blocked by Samba. “Just leave them! Not worth it!” A group of four bandits left the carriage and retreated. “Those were the wimpiest bandits I’ve ever seen.” Cerai breathed a sigh of relief at the sound of Leo’s voice. Turning around, she saw him limp out of the bushes with twigs sticking to him. He looked like he had sprained his ankle, but he was otherwise fine. “Didn’t you say something about prisoners?” Leo turned to Kurt, picking twigs out of his hair. Frostbite raised his head and whined. He, too, was covered in twigs, and there was a bleeding puncture wound in his wing membrane. “Yes, I did...” Kurt walked over to the cart and looked for a way to open it. When he didn’t find one, he tapped it. “You’re safe now, we just need to find a way to get you out.” “You smell like a beorc.” A child’s voice came from the cart. “But...you’re not stinky. I think you’re a good guy.” “LAGUZ prisoners? Kids? Those monsters!” Samba raced over, still in cat form. “Are you hurt?” “And you smell like a laguz! My mom says sometimes laguz and beorc work together, but I’ve never actually seen that.” “I’m fine, but I tried to bite through to get out and now my fangs hurt.” This voice had the gritty sound that laguz voices had while shifted, but was still recognizable as belonging to a young child. Frostbite let out a loud screech. Leo patted him. “I know it hurts, buddy! I wish I would’ve paid more attention in the first aid class...” “Luckily for you, I passed that one with flying colors!” Eloin walked over, holding a roll of gauze, tape, and a small dark brown bottle. “This is hydrogen peroxide, it’ll clean the wound, but it might sting...” The white wyvern winced and screeched softly as the contents of the bottle were poured onto the puncture. Eloin covered it with the gauze and taped it in place. “That should work, it doesn’t look like any major tendons or nerves were cut. For that, you’re lucky...and if I remember correctly, you can still fly while it’s healing, as long as you’re careful.” A key had been found in the dead bandit leader’s pocket, allowing Samba to shift back and unlock the cart. There were three young laguz, two cats and a tiger. The tiger was dark red furred and the only shifted one, but he returned to human form after jumping out. “I haven’t seen you ever...you must be from Zarzi or somewhere else?” “Yeah, pretty much.” Samba smiled. One of the cats, a tiny green haired female, ran across the road. “Aunt Shenzi!” Sure enough, the lioness from two days ago had showed up, and so had Torrel. They were shifted at first, but not when they saw that the bandits were gone. Shenzi smiled and caught her niece as she lunged at her. “Thank gods you’re safe!” “These nice people chased those bad guys off!” Torrel’s ears pricked. “We meet again...” Then she noticed Samba. “...You’re with these beorc, aren’t you?” Samba nodded. “Yes...long story.” “Long stories seem to be quite common these days.” Torrel said. “But that’s not important. The important thing is, you deserve a thanks. I have a feeling we’d be following those idiots for longer if you hadn’t stepped in. Beorc bandits have been trying stuff like this a lot lately. I don’t want to think about what they might want the cubs for...” “Yeah, me neither.” “You’re welcome.” Torrel smiled slightly at the twins. “Best of luck on your journey or whatever. Come on cubs, let’s get you back to your folks.” After they had left, Cerai spoke. “We need to make haste. We’ll cross the border and go as far as we can before nightfall...running into any more trouble wouldn’t be good...”
Why on god's green earth did this get moved to FFtF...?