After Kraang was dead, Deebus left her lair and returned home. The sun was starting to set, so he decided he would remain there until morning. He came to Grakakakalis and told her that it was done, and she thanked him on behalf of tribe Shidigiginkus. She was going to go tell the elders, but then Deebus had an idea.
Going after the monsters one at a time and returning back seemed like too slow of a way to do things. He asked her why not tell him where all the monsters that the elders knew of were? He could then go out and hunt them down as he neared them, instead of traveling back each time.
Chief Grakakakalis thought for a moment about this. There was much wisdom in the idea, so she agreed. She told him a long list, and he committed it to memory:
There were 11 troglodytes that lived in holes near the surface and had grieved Shidigiginkus in the past; Orax Ponderstroke, Gido Nationforded, Slaught Thirstrules, Cusal Dimplesavant, Pateri Flashcontrol, Exilang Spymost, Meplul Groovedissolved, Zoku Fatwashes, Rimad Heatpleat, Alveror Stonemagics, and Strox Plainnettles.
There were also 3 animals that had taken particular interest of kobold flesh, and whose abodes were known to them. These were Scred Airripe the dingo, Torrejus the grizzly bear, and Ceta the polar bear.
These, she said, were only the ones that their scouts had located. Other beasts Deebus would find on his own. The next morning, after a quick breakfast of horse meat, Deebus set out with a good-luck wish from the Elders.
Day 2 - 26 Malachite, 200
At the break of dawn, Deebus set out due northwest. After hours of creeping through the countryside he came to then den Leafyechoed while the sun was still low in the eastern sky. He entered the hole carefully and sneaked down the long, straight passage. The sandy burrow was bigger than he expected it to be, making him wonder about what this troglodyte must keep in all this space. The passage led to the main chamber, at the entrance to which was a kobold skeleton. Within the main chamber, Deebus saw something more surprising.
Three troglodytes! The scouts had been wrong; Gido, Orax, and Slaughte all shared a cave! Luckily for him, Deebus hadn't been seen yet due to his now legendary skill at treading lightly. He observed them, though, and realized this would require a new strategy. He slunk back further up the passage until only one of them was visible, and loosed an arrow at her. The arrow caught Slaughte full in the right arm. He readied another arrow, but when he fired it into her leg, she saw him and raised the screamed at the others. They all rushed him, and in his haste he dodged into a corner.
Thinking that now they would shortly rip him to shreds, the beasts tried to pile on him; but Deebus wasn't done yet. As they charged he stabbed one in both legs, cippling her, and another caught a spear to the head. They jumped back and crawled away from the fight. Gido continued to pound at Deebus, but he blocked every one of his strikes. Deebus countered by breaking his ribs with a well-aimed spear thrust, and simply rolled away from his next attack. With a single motion, he stood up and jammed the spear into Gido's right leg. This caused Gido to fall over, but not before slamming into Deebus and stunning him.
Deebus recovered, though, and with one mighty thrust staved the troglodyte's head in with the spearpoint. The other troglodytes were now fleeing, Orax dragging herself along the ground and Slaughte running. Deebus only walked slowly up to Orax. She pitifully took a few swipes at him from the ground, but in the end could not stop the spear from spilling her brains as well.
Running out of the cave, he saw Slaughte sprinting through the woods as fast as she could with arrows in 2 limbs. He decided to add a third, which struck her in the right leg and chipped the bone. She fell over with a sickening crunch from her leg. Once more did he walk slowly to his fleeing foe and deftly finish her off with a spear through the eye.
With this done, Deebus took off his helmet and wiped his brow, and then looked up.
Three monsters dead and the sun was barely risen. And the weather was nice.
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Topic: The journey of Deebus, a kobold story. (Read 193822 times)