The Arrival of a Badger Lord (Long Patrol and Salamandastron Reboot)
Western Shore
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A sea of sand surrounds the magnificent mountain now to your side. The golden sand is flat and hard, easy to walk on. You stand directly between the volcano and the sea. The refreshing sea spray tickles your face as a tropical wind from off the sea whisks it in your direction. The serene roar of the blue-green waves and perhaps the call of a distant gull are typically all that can be heard.
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Exits: [W]estern [S]ide of the [M]ountain, [Sh]allows, [U]pshore, [D]ownshore
Dagda the Hare. Baatar the hare. Tyree the Hare. Windrose the Hare. Ciocan the Badger. Felicity the hare (my new 'friend'! :D). Thecla the hare. Sersi the hare.
The shoreline before Salamandastron is barren, as it often has been, of late. A trio of tall, long-eared figures in uniforms walk at a brisk pace up the coast, headed towards the mountain. Among them is Dagda, his satchel hanging at his side, strong feet churning up the damp sand below him. "Long walk f' nothin', eh, Sah?" The healer glances over at the other buck, shaking his head, and by extension, his ears.
Windrose walks along with them, she is use to walking and sometimes running so this doesn't bother her, she smiles "Walks are are good for ya, wot sir?"
Baatar has just barely joined the patrol and he didn't go out to walk today, in fact he over slept and already had to do some push ups and sit ups, extra of each, and now he is just a little ways upshore from the other three hares.
Tyree shakes his head. "Not for nothin'," Tyree replies curtly. "This is a patrol, Dagda, so let's try an' act like it, eh? Just because we are few does not mean that we are *less,* you know what I mean, wot?" He keeps his chin up. "Should take a lesson from Windrose! Nothin' else, walking is good for aerobics. Keeps the heart beating. An' that incident with the crab *was* rather entertaining."
Crabs. Creepy things, crabs. Much like armoured spiders. Speaking of which, Felicity has 1 in her stone pouch. A teeny, tiny baby one. It's really kind of pretty. This young hare is a runner, and for good reason. This walk is too slow for her and her fast metabolism. The pretty auburn-furred, blue-eyed hare does a cartwheel beside the others, then dashes off a short distance, slightly impatient about the slow pace they're using. For now she stays silent. Why talk when you can do more cartwheels?
From the south, far along the shoreline a new figure comes into view as they steadily walk north down by the shoreline, the sighing waves lapping over broad, powerful feet that create small depressions in the soft, wet sand that fill with water behind him. His armoured clothing catches the sunlight and gleams whilst his monochrome head is safely shaded by his baggy hat. It's mostly their armour that makes them distinctive from a distance, the bronze and copper light reflects the sunlight but they are steadily walking north, their head tilted back, seemingly staring up at the mountain and not paying too much attention to what is in front of him. He hasn't seen the group of hares heading toward the mountain but is now close enough to be seen by them should they be being vigilant. [Ciocan]
A Patrol hare always has his head on a swivel when out on the move, and so it doesn't take long for the newcomer's arrival to be noticed. "Uh. Sah, you migh' want t' take a look at this," Dagda notes, nudging the major and pointing in the figure's direction.
Windrose glances over as well, she keeps up with Tyree and Dagda as she walks along with them. She waits to see what will be said as she is a runner after all.
Tyree is still going on about the virtues of good exercise when Dagda bumps him. "Eh?" he says, jerking to a halt and turning south. His eyes squint, recognizing the glint of sunlight on armor. "They're armed," he mutters. "Paws on your weapons, everybeast. Keep walkin' an' we'll meet them as they come to the mountain."
Baatar is a little far away to see the figure yet, that or maybe he isn't paying attention which is probably more likely he isn't paying attention right now. He then does finally see the figure and frowns. He has a dirk with him and seems to debate on whether he needs it or not.
Felicity spots the stranger at about the same time as everyone else, and she unwinds her sling from her waist. Jogging over to the trio, she drops her baby crab on the sand and fits a rock into her sling. Upon hearing the command, she nods and skips back to the mountain, turning a cartwheel or 2 and humming a pretty song. It calms the nerves. Or at least her nerves.
Ciocan keeps walking, leaving the shoreline and the endless movement of the waves and starts to walk up the beach, the sunlight gleams off his armour, the shadows shift and as he crests the top of a dune about a hundred metres from the approaching hares he stops, staring up at the mountain. He pulls off his hat as if to get a better view, revealing something that hasn't been seen on these shores for a long time, a striped, black and white muzzle that towers head and shoulders over the tallest set of ears on the beach.
When the hat comes off, Dagda's squinting stare is rewarded by the sight of a badger's head. A badger's head. The healer blinks, his whole face contorting with the effort, then stares again. Yes, he was right. "Sah. Is Lord Sebastian out t'day? Seems a bit... unprecedented, wot."
Windrose stays close to the other hares and just waits on any orders given.
Baatar stays where he is, he can see the others and the badger, he relaxes some as ,well it is a badger so it's not a threat after all.
"That's not Lord Sebastian." Tyree's grip on his sabre tightens, not just out of anxiety but excitement. The hares, the mountain, the badgers, all of them are intimately connected. It's an 'event' just to see a badger near Salamandastron. "Hoooo there!" he calls out, raising his paw. "You come to Salamandastron, home of the Long Patrol! Come closer an' let's meet each other properly, wot?!"
Soon another figure materializes from the shade and brush at the foot of the mountain. Thecla trots for the beach, toward the various creatures in convergence, but stops at what she judges to be safe distance--a good place to spot familiar faces. When she find them, all are looking down the beach in a singular direction. She pivots on a heel and joins the collective stare, sucking in a sharp breath as Tyree makes contact with the behemoth stranger.
Felicity stops her cartwheels and jogs back over to the trio. For once in her life she is still as she listens to her commanding officer make contact. Still silent, her face is hard and not trusting. He may be a badger, but that doesn't necessarily mean he's not a foe.
Ciocan turns his head as the sounds of Tyree's hail and for a moment tenses, his hand falls to the haft of the gigantic hammer hanging off his belt. He stares at the patrol of hares for a long moment then lets his body relax and walks down the sand dune toward them, "Well met friends, didja be calling tha' place Salamandastron?" he points a finger at the looming bulwark of the mountain and his head follows, eyes fixed on the craggy peak of the ancient volcano once again, "Aye've wondered wot it was called.... it's been singing in me sleep fer many a season now." he moves slowly closer to the hares still looking up at the mountain.
"Why, /yes/, sah, as a mattah of fact!" Dagda's voice is excited and a bit tremulous as he struggles to contain the emotion welling up inside him. To see two badger lords arrive in one career is an experience seldom heard of among Patrollers. "It is indeed." He falls silent, letting the major take over.
Windrose watches the very tall badger, silent still, she is unsure what to say herself and stays very alert.
Baatar blinks, "Whoa, that be one tall badger wot!" He goes to move a little closer as he is curious, yeah he can be grumbled at later but to him this is truly very interesting.
Tyree moves to the head of the group of hares, and even though he is rather tall, he must crane his neck to look up at the badger. His face is polite, neutral, and businesslike. "Has it now, your lordship?" he asks, his voice wispy and hushed. "Then I think you've come ta' just the right place. Wot." He bows, indicating the others should as well. "Welcome to the mountain. *The* mountain. And it welcomes you."
Thecla is on the move again as the badger and patrol connect. Before long, she has joined the group of hares, offering any who acknowledge her arrival a brief salute; all she has for Ciocan is a dumbstruck stare. He is, with certainty, the most humongous beast the doe has ever seen. His size was obvious, even at a distance, but at this proximity Thecla is too flummoxed for words.
Felicity's eyes are wide. She feels like a Dibbun next to this ginormous badger. No, make that she feels like a tiny doll made of glass. She just stares at him, dumbstruck. And hoping against hope that he's actually a friend and not a foe...she's too flabbergasted to be able to fight back.
Ciocan looks down at Dagda and replaces his hat, "Wha's with all this Lordship business? Aye be nah a Lord ohn Hill nor any dale... aye be Ciocan, the Sea-Smith..." his head comes back up and he stares at the mountain, "I would dearly love ta see tha mountain... it is... hollow yes? An... an I think there are stairs 'n chambers 'n near tha top... a room... with a crack in one wall?"
"Ciocan," Dagda murmurs in wonder, bowing like the rest, his knee pressing into the sand. The healer holds the badger's gaze for a moment, before dropping his head in deferment.
Windrose does as the commanding officer seems to want them to do, she bows to the badger, still silent for now.
Baatar may be new, he may be a bit immature but he knows when its important and he too bows and says a simple "Welcome sur."
A swift clip carries a figure from upshore, uniform signifying no threat to the patrol. Rather, it signifies the shirking of one's guard duty at the mountain. The runner makes no attempt to veil her arrival, but she deliberately slows her pace when regarding the behavior of the group. Unsure how to react, Sersi simply stares.
"D'you not know about the legends?" Tyree asks, standing up again. "A badger comes to the mountain, he has dreams of times future and past. And then he goes in, and..." He stops, blinks, licks his lips nervously. "Yes, there is a room just like that. Come an' we'll show you," he says, vaguely wagging his paw at the others to form up in a respectful parade line. "Patrollers," he says over his shoulder. "A badger's come t' the mountain. Let's give him a Long Patrol escort."
Thecla reflexively dips in concert with her fellow hares. The maneuver brings the doe back to reality; finally, she grasps the situation. As the gravity of the giant's arrival washes over the doe, she stubbornly straightens her back and joins the queue. "Aye, Major!" she shouts.
After bowing, the auburn haremaid winces at Thecla's shout. "Seriously? Didja hafta do that, wot?" After wriggling a finger in her ear, the doe says, "I'ma gonna run ahead and alert the mountain, sah! Felicity, runner, shall report, er, later, sah!" and she takes off from a dead stop, running faster than it would seem possible. And so she reaches the mountain before the rest of the group and disappears inside the door. Trapdoor. Entrance. Thingy.
Thanks for reading! Continued in this log: http://rwmuck.limitless.org/rwmuck/content/arrival-badger-lord-part-2-lo... :)
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