Back in the real world, Tak' waved his arms around and made loud screeches. The distant yaps and yelps cease to exist and the leader of the dog pack turns high tail and runs away from the scene followed by whatever zhacal was left standing. The whole pack leaves with the exception of those wounded or killed.

The area is quiet, deathly quiet as the bitch that Elric had wounded succumbs to the arrow wound leaving two dead zhacals, a dead aprig and a very confused tagster on the scrubplains.

Mendi shook his head, surprised to see so quick an end to the fight. He nodded towards Tak, in acknowledgment of the small hunter's wits. He then looked with a half smile as Koreth grew redder with the passing heartbeats while closing on Elric.

The mul puts away her weapons as the battle ends. Looking over the group, Rayne realizes there are few wounds - mostly old ones at that. "we've got time to find us a camp and heal and rest some more. We should all be feelin' pretty well with some fresh meat in our bellies! Ahh what a fight, gets ya movin' a skirmish like that does!"

Aryus drops his drawn out spear to the ground in shock, his arms hanging limply to his side. The battle had ended in a flash, too quick, before the windmage had a chance to sort things out or act. He had felt reluctant about this whole encounter form the beginning, but unfortunately the battle had started too suddenly for everyone.

Aryus shakes his head in disgust, "Didn't have to be this way. I feel we have interfered with the workings of nature. I won't claim to know what the great natural cycle of life is, our friend Tak can speak plenty for that, but I feel something was wrong with the blood we drew today." The windmage sighs, "But the winds blew this meeting to us and who are we to question the workings of fate."

Koreth slides his sword back into its sheath, watching as the canines run off after the pack's show of force. He wipes the sweat off of his brow with the back of his hand.

Stepping over to where one of the dogs lays impaled on his spear, Koreth grabs the shaft of the valuable weapon and sets his boot down on the dog's corpse. With a grunt he pulls the gory tip out of the creature, its shiny metal surface still gleaming underneath the gore. Blood covered spear in hand, he turns his gaze to Elric.

"Blood and bloody ashes! Your sand brained impulses almost got us all killed half-breed!" Koreth sets the butt of his spear into the sand near his feet as he stands almost threateningly before Elric "Those bloody dogs couldn't have given a drop of gith piss about us until you and that ragged, mangy cat of yours recklessly attacked them and dragged the rest of us with you!" He jabs his finger in the half-elf's direction, his face growing red, his eyes a lifeless shade of gray.

"Next time, use that big scholarly head of yours before you do something stupid!" the angry noble warrior's grip tightens on the shaft of his spear.

Rayne moves closer to Koreth to get his attention. With her fun-loving smirk playing across her face she winks at the nobleman. "No one's hurt, we did fine, and we got some fresh meat fer dinner - a good day I would say. Much more refreshing than sitting in a closed in cave 'er fightin' stinky giant bugs! Just think of it as exercise!"

Mendi listens to the noble warrior's sortie with an approving look, and then he came to Elric's side before the Warlock had the time to react too hotly. Placing a placating hand on Elric's arm, the peddler says, "Well, though I would have chosen different words, I basically agree with Koreth. You should have waited for Gaigin's decision before acting." Mendi then turns towards Gaigin, waiting for the group's leader reaction.

Elric looks from Koreth to Mendi then speaks with a calmness he doesn't feel "I did not drag you into the conflict with me. Though I truly am glad you aided me. I told you before this whole thing started that I could not and would not speak for the Pak. I did however state that I would aid my pledged companion Whisper in his fight against his instinctual enemy." Looking over to where Whisper padded around the battlefield. "It would seem though his heritage gave him an instinctive hatred for the zhacals, his mother had not lived long enough to teach him the natural caution such dangerous adversaries deserve."

Whisper moves over the scene of the battle nose close to the ground. Finally with a huff the small cub pads over to Rayne. With a whimper of loss, Whisper sits at Rayne's feet, in case his mother would by chance return again.

Rayne bends down and scratches the cub's head sympathetically. "Sorry little one, that's all I can do to bring her around - only in me head, maybe we can teach ye better hunting methods with that trick though . . what ye think Elric? Whisper responds well to her mother in the mindscape, maybe we can train her to be more careful?" The warlock was about to respond when Gaigin came about and his mouth closed as the larger warrior neared.

Gaigin rose from his easy crouch, and approached the scene of the confrontation, grinning as he saw Koreth ready to tear the head off the much smaller warlock, while Elric tried to explain the little mishap away. Mendi then looked to him and Gaigin sighed, turning to Elric.

"All well'n good to say ye gave us the choice, but ye fergot yerself. Ye should know by now that when one o' us fights, for whate'er reason, we all fight. It's the only way a small group like this survives out here. We stand and act as one, whate'er each of us thinks, and that means that when one o' us throws himself into a foolish battle for a stupid reason, the rest o' us grit our teeth, curse loudly, and jump in after him. Kind o' ye t'give us the option o' stayin' out o this one, but we've all had that option in every fight since we left Tyr, and sayin' it out loud's not gonna change the decisions we make. Yer choice was ne'er really a choice at all." Gaigin paused, shook his head, then grinned. "Still, at least we ain't gonna be eatin' scrab-flesh tonight. And, Elric, as the brave leader o' this hunt, ye get the honor a skinnin', guttin', and cleanin' that prig. 'Course we can't camp here, so ye'll have to carry yer prize a fair way, and it probl'y won't smell too good. And once we chose a place, I imagine the rest o' us'll be a might bit tired, so ye'll have to cook the 'prig yerself, after yer done with camp chores o'course. Still, shouldn't be too much trouble fer a strong fellow like yerself."

With a wide grin, Gaigin handed Elric his iron-banded skinning knife and pointed in the direction of the downed Prig'.

Taking the knife Elric begins walking toward the aprig in dejected silence. Half way there he stops for a moment then turns around with a shrug and walks back toward Aryus. Placing the knife in his belt Elric reaches into his pack and pulls forth the spellbook pilfered from the scrabs. Handing it over with a grin "Doesn't look like I will be studying much tonight, at least not spells. I have learned the first one in the tome. What say you learn the second and we will compare them so if one or the other is ill suited both will not have learned a bad spell." With a nod Elric heads back to toward his duties in fair spirits.

As Elric hands him the spellbook, Aryus nods and thanks the warrior mage. "Aye, I thank you once more for sharing this knowledge. I'm sure it will benefit us all greatly. It has been a long time since I've studied preserver magic, my devotion to the winds has occupied most of my energy. But I suppose it never hurts to advance in spellcraft." Aryus takes the spellbook and begins to flip through the pages.

Rayne chuckles at the sight of Elric skinning their supper as she continues to soothe the cub, and keeps a close eye on her angry noble friend. Koreth glares at the mul as she stares at him with her mocking grin. Giving him a playful wink, she finally gets him to crack a smile, but the mul - suddenly feeling a little awkward, looks away and turns her attention back to Whisper.

CAMPSITE AT DUSK

Elric's earlier good spirits were quickly dampened under the smelly weight of the warming aprig meat. As he trudges into the campsite, Elric visibly slumps. Moving to the west side of the area, he sits down the remains of the aprig and begins to assemble a proper cooking area. <By the dragons eyes it'll be a rainy day in the desert before the first major meal I cook turns out like one of Tak's popped spiders.> With renewed purpose, Elric digs out a small pit in the rocky sand. A quick search of the area proves fruitful as Elric hauls two large slabs of rock toward the recently dug pit. Placing the first rock slab in the pit he moves toward the aprig remains. With Gaigin's knife he trims the carcass of dirty sections. Placing the meat on the slab of rock Elric reaches for the second slab and covers the aprig. Standing with a sigh of relief Elric covers the slabs of rock and aprig carcass in sand then builds a large fire on top of the pit. Leaving the meat to cook Elric heads out away from the group to try and remove the stench of labors.

LATER

After dinner, Aryus leans against a cool rock near the campsite and the glowing fire. He opens the spellbook Elric had given him and prepares his mind for study. The windmage begins to breathe deeply and focus his concentration on innate magical abilities. Flipping through the book, Aryus mutters to himself, "The second spell, what secrets may it hold..." Aryus looks over the strange symbols and runes written within the old pages of the book. Guessing from the book's design, it looks almost ancient to the young half-elf. Increasing his concentration, Aryus identifies the strange runes. He digs deep into his mind and rehearses all of his previous knowledge of magic. From the incantations of simple cantrips to the long chants of awe inspiring magic, Aryus tires to recall his younger and perhaps happier days when he traveled with his greatest friend and companion on a journey of knowledge and exploration. The windmage recalled his first lessons in magic, all of the memories, both happy and sad, rushing into the front of his mind.

"The path of preservation is not an easy one to walk upon. But walk it you must for Athas depends upon it."

Aryus touches his palm to the spellbook over the runes of the new spell. He begins to read the incantation silently to himself, then gradually increasing the volume to a hoarse whisper. Slowly the windmage begins to memorize the words of the spell. Aryus closes his eyes and points his face to the sky, all the while keeping his palm upon the spellbook and chanting the words over and over again. A sudden cool breeze blows across the Hinterland plain, giving the windmage a feeling of empowerment. "The winds meant it, this spell I shall learn."

Night's sleep did not come easy for anyone as strange loud cowing noises were heard and the night's skies were pierced by large flying shadows

Expedition Day 16 - Year of the Desert's Fury of the 190th King's Age (Free Year 11)

Scrublands - Somewhere in the Hinterlands

EARLY MORNING

A brisk air had set upon the plain as a wind swept through the campsite. Morning activities came and went without any noticeable events. Koreth still glared at Elric although the previous night's meal did much to calm his spirits. The noble warrior used up all that energy in a particular strenuous morning exercise with Rayne. Both bone swords clashed till it seemed that one of them would crack. They each held some sort of shield; Koreth tried out his newly found Dragon shield and the mul still held onto the tortoise blade and whenever sword was to meet shield, each warrior put all their strength behind the blow. The loud cracks coupled with the loud grunting was enough to wake the rest of them up and not many people found the inner peace and quiet needed for other activities.

Ayrus had just about given up on the spellbook this morning as his concentration just was not with him. Perhaps it was the loud mock battle or perhaps his spirit told him to get up from the book and enjoy the particularly strong breeze, whatever the reason the windmage found himself spreading his arms out into the wind facing the gust with a radiantly smiling face. Elric was stirring the coals from last night's fire and playing with that "underfed cat o' his". It appeared to the warlock that the cat's claws and teeth were growing by the day and he realized that he would need some time to somewhat train the animal. Gaigin was stretching his limbs finally healing most of his wounds and looking for different ways to protect himself from the sure to come sun with that piece of rag that started out as large cloak. No matter how he turned it, he still came up short. Mendi and Tak didn't show any concerns for the battle or the breeze and each was meditating or appeared to be some place calm from the expressions on their faces. Both psionicists experienced the same feeling but probably in very different ways for one was an academy- trained psionicist while the halfling was trained in the traditions of countless generations of masters. Either way, both of them had proven time and time again their worthiness as aspiring masters of the way.

The red sun had only shown its first rays on the greenish sky when a couple of large flying creatures soared the sky near by. Gaigin's eyes wondered on the scene not sure what to make out of it but keeping a wary eye all the same. They looked to be some sort of reptiles with large leathery wings, the brown-greenish hunters circled the camp twice before they continued on. Good thing the party was large enough to discourage them but that may have been differently had the warrior been by himself. He would let Elric know of this and have him make some sort of comment on his map.

The flying lizards were far away but Gaigin knew dam well that large flying creatures covered ground fast. Unseen by the unwary flyers, a third party appeared in the sky. This creature was more than twice the size of the first flyers but looked somewhat similar to them except for a larger tail that trailed behind it. Gaigin yelled out a warning and everyone was soon squinting towards the sky.

The larger lizard dove straight at the two pterraxes and the bone cracking impact was heard even on the ground. Both of them turned back onto the wyvern and the three of them floated and hovered for a while seemingly staring at each other. One of the pterraxes kept the wyvern busy while the other one disengaged mentally and circled upwards for an attack. It was then that the larger lizard closed in on the lizard in front of him. Claws rendered leathery wings and the tail sting pierced deep injecting lethal poison; the wounded pterrax could not maintain itself flying and slowly spiraled downwards while it helplessly watched as the wyvern turned around with plenty of time to face the other pterrax.

This last battle was just as quick and just as deadly but the outcome was slightly different. After claws rendered flesh and sharp beaks bit off chunks at a time, the wyvern grabbed the mortally wounded pterrax and flew off with it while continuously stinging it with its tail until the pterrax moved no more.

A large cloud of dust was seen where the other pterrax fell a few hundred yards ahead of the party…

Your actions…

OUT OF CHARACTER

HEALTH STATUS

Remember the scale:

Healthy (H) 100% hitpoints remaining

Slightly Wounded (SiW) 75% to 100% hitpoints remaining

Wounded (W) 50% to 75% hitpoints remaining

Seriously Wounded (SeW) 25% to 50% hitpoints remaining

Mortally Wounded (MW) 0% to 25% hitpoints remaining

Gaigin (SiW)

Koreth (SiW)

Ayrus (H)

Tak (H)

Rayne (H)

Mendi (SiW)

Elric (H)

Whisper (H)

GENERAL

Good roleplaying this last turn. I want two situations looked at for this turn: a) immediately after and b) later on in the day.

We are playing day 16 and you should reach Lost Scale on day 20. Someone choose an activity during day 16 (noon rest, camp at night, whatever) and the rest of us will follow.

Questions, comments, and suggestions please.

L8r,

Fabian