The Lost Bow of the Drykas (Sea of Grass) 16.W.509

[Hex]

Laying beneath the smoldering body of the dead zith, Hex heaved and pushed at the limp form that threatened to cut off her supply of air. From pushing at the scorched flesh of the beast, several spots on her arms and shoulders received burns that stung and stunk of cooked flesh. She swallowed a gag that forced its way through her throat as the scent passed her nostrils, and when Vanator finally helped her out from under it, she kicked at it still - almost convinced that it might launch at her again if given the chance. Tears of exhaustion and fear flitted out of her eyes as she steadied herself on her feet. She was dehydrated, scared, and feeling rather ill after their near death experience. The zith had pushed her past any limits she thought herself capable of performing. But when the shriek of nearing zith mingled with the pressure of her dying friend, her most unconscious of reactions took over, and she sped through wobbling knees towards Kayiri who was swaying in place near his steed. The blood that caked his armour seemed to run unending down his arm and the gash was splayed open like the fleshy pedals of a flower opening to the face of a rising sun. The wound was too deep for her expertise and all she could do would include stopping the blood and possibly stitching up the wound after cleaning it. What time they had seemed to dwindle quickly as the flapping of wings emitted the same vibrations that Hex had detected when they crouched in the tunnel behind the cave. With the long linen pieces she had pulled from her pack she wound the fabric around his arm several times with many strips and tied the ends with shaky, sweaty hands. Hex barely looked into Kayiri's eyes as she went about the task, she was on the verge of tears and her stomach turned as flashes of the horror they survived tumbled across her vision, so menacing in their plight that she could barely see what she was doing. "That will stop the blood until we can patch you up Kayiri. Now Ride!" She pleaded with him and helped him onto his saddle before sprinting towards Backlash and clambering up to perch on her back behind Vanator. When they finally set off, it took all of her energy just to hang on to Vanator's torso with both of her arms' strength, but she gripped his leather armour and buried her face into his back, submitting to the sobs of fright she had held in through their ordeal. Her lingering faith in the Drykas Striders pushed her through the thought that they might be hunted down by the winged abominations that would soon find their kin shredded and burned.

[Tarot]

They rode and rode and rode, without looking back. Battered, bruised, wounded, their lives on the line. Kayiri spent most of the following day in a fever. This ordeal would take him months to recover from unless he found a highly blessed healer. And he had Hex and her first aid to thank if he was even able to survive this day. Indeed, all three had been crucial to the group's survival.

All this over a bow. It was something to think about, even for someone as proud as a Drykas. A brief look at the Zith corpses would tell Kayiri that the original thief was not among them. Was Sparrow still alive, and if so, would he be back for the bow at some point? No-one could tell.

But they were alive. And in the Sea of Grass, that counted as no small accomplishent.

Hex +3 Auristics +2 Riding +2 Meditation +2 Medicine +1 Weapon: Throwing dagger Kayiri +3 Weapon: Longsword +3 Riding +3 Body building Vanator +3 Riding +3 Negotiation +2 Weapon: Battle axe All Lore of Din Lore of Zith ambushing tactics Additional notes: Done here as far as I can tell. Thanks for the thread!