THE TERROR OF THE DESERT
Written by Marius
In his cave Jasha sat meddling with some stones ,waiting for Jackalclaw to send and tell him it was time to go out hunting again !The last hunt had gone very well but he had still not cought any thing himself.
It had been ten hunts since he had cought a bristle boar and ever since that he had not cought anything.
He didn't hit anything with his bow and his traps were left untouched.
The elders had told him it was a sign that told him to stay home while the others were out hunting ,but how could that be?He couldn't stay home ,the hunters needed him incase of a storm or something else that needed a rock-shaper to form a cave for shelter.
Suddenly he heard Jackalclaws sending ,telling him the hunting party was ready.
When he came out of his cave ,he saw the hunting party esembled outside the village.Each had their zwoots and Jackalclaw stood there with his jackal and Jashas zwoot ,waiting impatiencentlig for Jasha too come.When they saw Jasha coming they began climbing up on their zwoots and riding in a slow pace towards the sun-goes up. When he reached the place where Jackalclaw waited for him he slowly climbed his zwoot and began riding fast enough to catch up with the others.Jackleclaw rode at the same pace as Jasha ,triyng to persuade him to stay home as the elders had told him!
It was for no good ,because he had made up his mind to follow the hunting party where ever they went!
They soon caught up with the rest of the group.
They were first going to check the traps then put up new ones ,before they went hunting for animals.
If the traps had produced enough food they didn't have to risk dehaydration ,or any other dangers that followed with a hunt.The warm sand and hot sun made it difficult for the traps to be efficient so they didn't produce as much food as they hoped and they had to go on a hunt.
The hunt lasted for many hours ,and went fairly well.But in in the midst of the the hunt they didn't noticed that they slowly approched some hills that lay in the desert.
When the night approched they finaly noticed the hills that now lay only a couple of hundred yards away from them.They decided to make the camp by the windproff walls by the hills.
On their way to the hills Jackalclaw smelled something strange in the air ,but he couldn't quite put a name to it!It was something vagely familiar with the smell but it was not the smell of an elf ,and not any animal he had ever encountered.And still it didn't smell quite like humans!He didn't really think much about the smell and he soon forgot it when the they began putting up tents and building a camp fire.
When the two moons where at their highest ,the scent Jackalclaw smelled became stronger.
He began to follow the scent ,when Jasha suddenly woke up when Jackalclaw bumped in to him.He began to exsplain to Jasha about the wierd scent he had noticed and that he had to follow it to see what it was.Jasha saw around after any signs about the smell ,and his eyes went wide open when he saw shadows up on the hill top.The moment after he saw them they disappered like ghosts.Jackalclaw didn't see them ,but now he could smell them much better than he did before.They smelled like a mixture of elves ,humans and animals.He couldn't tell what race they where.Jasha began to scream ,as loudly as he could.The other elves started to wake up when suddenly a couple of arrows came flying toward them.Jasha could hear Cactusfist scream.Cactusfist had always been like an uncle to him ,always been there when he came in trouble.And now he was hurt.Jasha couldn't bear to lose Cactusfist as well as his parents.He had to do something ,and he had to do it fast.
He yelled at Kyara ,the tribe healer to get to Cactusfist and heal him.While Kyara did so ,Jasha noticed another rainshower of arrows coming against them.The other elves where to buisy drawing their swords and finding their bows and arrows that they couldn't dodge the arrows.Jasha acted quickly ,and with his ability he made the rocks grow a wall in front of the hunting party.The wall worked and the arrows hit it instead of the party.He was exausted after a work like that.He was still young and wasn't finished with his magical training ,and he had never tried to use his abilitys so much with that quicknes.
He fell to his knees and where unable to move.He saw that the partys archers began shooting toward the enemy and the others running with great speed towards them.What he didn't notice was the shape coming slowly towards him from behind.When he turned around he saw a hooded man ,swinging his dagger against him.He was to tired to move so the dagger cut through his stomach ,leaving a deadly wound.He fell to the ground hearing the hoded mans laughter.When he saw around ,he slowly lost consciousness.But he still noticed that the hunting party was winning the fight.Secca had brought down one more and Jackalclaw and his jackal had killed three.
There was only one left and he was trying to get away ,not fight.He also heard the hooded man walking away ,and some new footsteeps coming.Then all went black.
When Jasha's eyes finaly adjusted to the light ,he saw Jackaclaw riding beside him.
Jasha lay on a stretcher which was tied to the back of his zwoot.He was not dead ,but his stomach hurt.
How could he have survived such a blow.He had never seen Kyara manage to heal a wound like that.
When he looked around he saw all the hunters ,but there was one exstra.It was a beautiful woman.She had brown eyes and long brown hair.He tryied to speak ,but only groaning sounds came out of his mouth.Jackalclaw turned toward Jasha.He saw Jasha's eyes open and then he smiled at him.Jackalclaw told him what had happend.The attackers where human bounty hunters.The reason he didn't recognise their scent was because they had been in the desert a very long time without encountering others of their kind.They wore elven bones as headwere and jewelry.They had recently killed some elves and alot of animals.This resulted in a mixture of smells that he couldn't recognise.Then he told him who the other woman was.She and four other elves had survived one of the raids against the old tribe called Tribes of the winds.They had made a new village ,which lay a couple of days towards the sun-goes up.
The human bounty hunters had found this village and destroyed it.They had killed the other elves but kept Cartana ,which her name was , as a prisoner ,becouse of her healing abilitys.When we came to the hills the humans had made camp on the other side.When they noticed us they arranged an ambush and forgot all about Cartana.She managed to ascape ,and hid behind some rocks.When you where struck by the dagger ,she attacked the priest that did it ,and killed him.She has only minimal healing abilitys but enough to keep you alive a few minuttes more.Kyarra and Cartana worked their magic together on you and they managed save you.
The humans had enough food to last for days ,so the hunt was over and they where on their way home.No one had died and there had become a new tribe member.
The hunters went home proude that day ,their heads high and their saddlebags full of meat.
