Crow Attack!!!(Salamandastron Ambassadors Log)
- A little over two weeks into the trip **
The group has been walking along the forest paths and following a stream. They walk a little during one night of travel and stopped after a while. They are now coming to less forest and the forest that is here is a bunch of pine trees, the badger frowns a little and studies the map, yep the flatlands are less than a day away, a small path up a slight path between a couple small mountains, but it avoids the swamps after all, it cuts across a very small corner of it, but not in a dangerous area and then will come the dunes and finally the sea coast where they will be able to head up to the Mt. itself.
Leon looks around and walks quietly along the path, this one have a few weeds along the side of it. " We..maybe shouldn't stay in this area too long" He says in a soft voice.
It's a bit....creepy under here. DoraRose hefts her axe, then goes to quietly hand it to her husband. "I agree. Could you hold this, please?" The axe is heavy, which indicates just /how/ strong the Warrior truly is to be able to wield it as well as she does in battle. She then quietly loads her sling, keeping a weather eye on the trees.
Zinnia looks around the trees, she has been very quiet this past few days, in fact she has stopped talking all together it seems as before she would at least say a word here or there, but then it got to shrugs, nods and pointing to the map or down a path.
Leon eeerks a little, he will try his best to hold the ax, he carefully lets it rest on his shoulder and frowns. They are lucky he remembered a couple things from before, even if some was from the air on a swan, he did peek out sometimes and he does know how to read a map so he has been able to help some at least.
Sadly, Dora has literally no idea how to read a map, so she would be completely lost were it not for her traveling companions. She smiles at her husband and reaches out to take it back. Keeping her loaded sling in her right paw, the Warrior easily hefts Nightsong with her left paw, making it seem as easy as holding a stick. "Zinnia, I think we need to hurry up a little. I don't like the looks of those trees. Keep up with me." She steps up the pace to a quick dogtrot, looking back over her shoulder to keep watch on them. She may be getting irritated with the badger not talking, but she knows that this is not the time nor the place to address it.
Zinnia nods as she picks up the pace, its then shadows seem to go along the ground, at first a couple and then maybe about five or more. The badger maid frowns at this starting to dislike this area very quickly.
Leon smiles as the ax is once more with Dorarose but the smile doesn’t last as he sees the shadows, are those bird shaped shadows? He tenses up slightly as he doesn’t like birds, he has mostly had bad luck with birds in the past.
Gasping, Rose spots the birds and shouts 1 word: "Run!" She whips the stone off to the nearest shape, and is rewarded by an agonized squawk. She wraps her sling around her axe haft and shouts again. "Run! We need to get out of here!!"
Zinnia frowns, at the word run she runs towards what she hopes is an area to avoid the birds, then again an open area may not be too good either. She is not a fighter but is stronger than she seems, a crow dives towards her with a loud CAW! She slaps at it and it is sent into a tree and slides down dazed but still alive, some of its feathers loosely fall to the forest floor.
Leon just runs, he is not a fan of birds and it shows. He screams as one barely misses grabbing him as he goes flat on the ground and the crow flies over top of him, he gulps and crawls a few feet before slowly standing looking for an area in which to run. He looks up and sees there are more than 5 of them and frowns.
Roaring, Dora swings her axe at a crow, but it just flies out of her reach. Growling, she goes to hand her husband her axe again and loads her sling. "Hurry! Follow Zinnia! I'm right behind you!! If need be, make her carry Nightsong--but don't leave it behind!!" She looses a rock at a crow and smirks as it thumps into the bird's head. She quickly loads another stone and looses it.
Zinnia has looked around and found a large branch, she uses it and knocks out a couple of the crows, but more keep coming. She screams as one grabs at her knapsack and tries to tear it from her gasp, another nicks her ear as he swoops past her.
Leon frowns, he is not too good lifting the x with one paw, he barely manages to balance it with his other arm but he knows it’s important to not lose it, he goes to try and help Zinnia out..well try is the word, and he has yet to get out a sling shot he has.
Whipping around and roaring like a mad beast, Dora is slinging rocks off, one right after another, hitting each bird she aims at with deadly precision. She charges towards the badger, ignoring the birds pecking and clawing at her. She looses a stone at the crow attacking the badger, aiming for its head. Blood trickles down her jaw from the scratch she has just suffered on top of her head. Upon reaching the Recorder (and presumably her husband), she suddenly starts lashing out with her loaded sling. The birds attacking Rose squawk in alarm and give the trio a few moments respite. The Warrior glares at them, her blue eyes tinged red with the Bloodwrath. "Keep moving," she grates out. Loosing a rock at a crow, she asks, "Is every beast alright?" If any are still attacking them, she's hitting them with her loaded sling.
Zinnia does take time to get the ax from Leon, she can lift it very well but she is not too good at swinging it and mainly does once in a panic when a crow dives right at her, she gasps as she has managed to seriously damage the crows wing and shivers, she looks towards the tree line, there is the flatlands, so should they run that way?
Leon blinks, he then gets his own sling out and fires off a stone, it hits a crow in the eye and it caws and retreats, yeah one out of 2o is a coward so far, he pants and frowns "they...keep..coming we have to get away from this place but..but where?"
Firing off a stone, Rose takes a chance to look around. The flatlands! "That way!" she points, then let’s off another stone. "Start walking slowly towards the grassland. If they charge, we need to run, but no matter what happens, we need to stay together as a bunch. If we separate out we'll be easy to grab, and then we'll be as good as dead." She starts to slowly shuffle backwards towards the flatlands, twirling her loaded sling.
Zinnia frowns, she keeps an eye out on the crows, since the one was hit with the ax, a couple seem a bit afraid of the badger now, one gets brave and dives at her and she ducks, the raven slams into a tree and knocks it's self out and the badger gulps. She looks over her shoulder as it’s not too far to the grasses and flatlands now.
Leon frowns "You had to say dead...I HATE birds!" He gasps and fires off a rock from his sling and hits one in the beck, he tenses like he wants to run but stays close to Dora and Zinnia, "Why birds..why did it have to be birds?"
"Not helping." Rose grunts as she hits a bold bird on the head with her loaded sling. They crows and things start cawing, and the Warrior picks up the pace. "They're getting ready for a charge. When I say 'run', I need you to grab each-other's paws and run as fast as you can to the flatlands. I'll be right behind you." That last part isn't exactly accurate, seeing as how she's silently preparing herself to die if need be. But she will certainly try to keep up with them.
Zinnia frowns, she rather not see any other beast die, weather from a cause she can't stop or a fight. She shakes her head no as she doesn't want to leave anyone behind, she is already depressed as it is.
Leon says, "You can't fight this many one your own Dora.""
Growling, DoraRose whips off a stone at the crows, whose caws are just increasing in volume. "And neither one of you are Warriors! I'll be fine--" the birds suddenly leave the tree canopy and charge in mass towards the little group. Rose fires off another stone and shouts, "RUN!" she loads her sling, turns, goes to shove her friends towards the tree line, then whips back around just in time to see a crow coming at her face. She swings her loaded sling at its face.
Zinnia frowns, why run, she starts to and a crow grabs at her shoulder, she swings the axe and the crow falls and she then goes to run, she turns and frowns stopping and goes to swing at a crow behind Dorarose and knocks it out with the axe.
Leon frowns, he does run but stops as he sees Zinnia is not "Zinnia!" He frowns and fires off a rock and then another at the crows, the grasslands are a couple steps away, he screams as one gets near him and tries to grab at his shoulders.
"Reeeeedwaaaaaaallll!!" Dora swings her loaded slings all around her, until it becomes a brown blur of pain. Her eyes are rapidly turning a deeper shade of red as the Bloodwrath begins to take her over. She turns at the sound of her husband screaming and looses the rock at the bird trying to lift him up. She then roars as a couple of the crows lift her up into the air. Feathers fly as she starts hitting, kicking, and biting.
Zinnia frowns, she swings the axe at a couple birds and gasps as they die and shivers.....she drops the axe and starts to back off as if she has done a horrible crime, then she sees her friends in trouble and frowns. It’s then she remembers something, the small pack of hot root she seems to treasure oddly. She gets it out and opens it and rushes forwards throwing it at a couple ravens and it hits one who gasps wildly, and a cloud of the very hot peppery stuff goes into the air and crows crash into each other, a couple fly away quickly leaving a very few now.
Leon is lifted into the air and tenses up as a talon digs into his arm and causes blood to form, the crow goes to beck him, where it would surely mean instead death and suddenly drops the mouse, not very far off the ground luckily but he still passes out when he feels himself fall, he had not known how high he was. The crow caws madly and flies oddly, it crashes and starts twitching..maybe the hot root was bad for it:P.
The crows fly off, leaving the injured behind to scramble away. Dora falls to the ground and rolls, then leaps up. Grabbing her axe, she goes to shove it into the badger's arms. "Carry this, please! Hurry, run to the flatlands!" Her eyes are basically clear from the Bloodwrath as she goes to lift her husband up and carry him out of the tree cover, as quickly as she can.
Zinnia is sort of in a daze, she points to the one dead crow and then blinks as the axe is given to her, she coughs as some of the hot root gets into her own throat and then runs ahead to the flatlands and a little further from the clearing before she drops to her knees and shivers some, she looks behind her and frowns.
Leon is not too injured, a talon mark on his arm and he has some bruises on his side from the fall. He is passed out and groans as he is picked up and carried or rushed to the more clear area.
Rushing out onto the grasslands, Dora trips, tries to save herself, then collapses, striving to keep her husband from going bump on the hard ground. Looking over to the badger, she manages to gasp out between breaths, "Zinnia, did you just kill a crow? Are you bleeding anywhere?"
Zinnia frowns, she looks at the blood on her, most of it belongs to the crow. She also has some of that hot root powder on herself. She does have one area that’s bleeding as it seems a crow did get her shoulder, it’s not deep but it still hurts, and she has a small cut on her ear that’s bleeding. She hugs her knees to her chest and frowns.
Leon groans, his shoulder is bumped but otherwise he is ok and it wasn’t a hard bump as he looks to maybe be waking some as he lets out a groan again. He has the one talon mark on his lower arm. A bruised side and some cuts in a couple places from running before .
Sighing, DoraRose goes to shake her husband. "Leon. Leon, please wake up. We're all bleeding, and I don't know what to do. Please wake up." She has scratches on her head and back, and her right ear is bleeding. She glances at the badger, then adds, "We should move further away from this accursed place. Please wake up, Leon..."
Zinnia nods slowly and looks around "Yeah.." Wow a word! She looks at the map and then where they are, trying to figure out where to go, she looks around.
Leon opens his eyes and blinks a few times "Dora...Zinnia..where the birds go?" He sits up "How..bad hurt?"
Pointing to the trees, Dora says, "We left them back in the woods. I think we need to move now, then when we make camp we can tend to our injuries. I don't want those crows thinking that they can leave their home and attack us out here."
Zinnia looks at the map and stands Shakely and starts walking, she singles for them to follow and they walk maybe an hour till they find what looks like a small creek before she sits down quietly.
Leon nods in agreement and goes to follow, he limps a few minutes and then seems ok again and they head to camp.
Standing, the Warrior takes a step, then stumbles as exhaustion sweeps upon her like a fog. Leaning heavily on her axe, she follows, and when the badger sits down it's all Dora can do to not faint. As it is, she falls to her knees and forepaws and sways back and forth. "Oooouuuuungh.......I'mso tired......"she mumbles.
Zinnia frowns some but just sits up camp, looking around a little and once more very quiet.
Leon checks any wounds Dora may have, his own can wait, "You should sleep love" He says to Dora and looks over at Zinnia and back to Dora as he will clean, sew if needed and apply needed herbs to her wound and then help her lay down to sleep. He then goes to check on Zinnia's wounds "Maybe you can..bandage my arm and apply this" He hands her a herb mix to apply to it , yes he needs help sometimes and can’t really tend to his own wound as well.
Zinnia nods and tries not to tense up too much as he arm is looked at, her ear is basically fine. She nods to the herb and will clean Leon’s arm before placing the herb on and slowly bandaging, she knows some first aid from being a sister in the order and her father had taught her some as well.
The shallow scratches on Dora's head and back are easily tended to, as is the wound on her ear. She shakes her head, mumbling incoherently, then lets him help her lay down and get comfortable. She manages to dig out her blanket and cover herself with it before she drifts off. Her axe is nearby, leaning against her haversack.
Leon sighs, he stays close to her and looks over at Zinnia, "You ok?" He looks around "We should rest...maybe take first watch, then wake me for the 2nd one?"
Zinnia nods slowly, she can do that. They are far enough from the crows now where it’s not a concern, they will stay the mile or so away in the pines and leave them alone. She dusts off some of the hot root and hugs her knees to her chest again as she sits and stares off into the distance, she is keeping an eye on the area, but she is also...more withdrawn? Is that even possible? And why so upset over hot root for?
DoraRose falls into a deep sleep, exhausted beyond description. As she drifts towards the land of dreams, she remembers her children, and feels thankful that she didn't die and leave them motherless. And then darkness overtakes her, and she rests.
Zinnia watches both of the mice as they sleep, she decides they need 2 days rest here, two days won’t mess any travel time up and it is safe here, she sighs and looks up at the stars when they come out. They can take turns watching the camp and making sure supplies stay good. The badger does slip off once to get some watercress and finds some crayfish. Well it can make a fairly good meal and she is otherwise quiet, so quiet and just nods or shrugs. Well this will be an interesting next couple days.
