After evening prayers to the elven gods the pups went running for to find Chungotlus. He sat in his tent with a curved knife across his lap and his eyes shut. His face was contorted in pain and anger as his mouth slowly formed words. The pups snuck inside watching as the reflection from the flame cast shadows upon his face.
“His eye,” gasped little Jomilbus as she ducked behind a couple of the others. The glint of the fire made one of Chungotlus' lightly cataract-damaged eyes seem to be purely white. The elder drew the blade across his paw with a grimace and then set the tip into the fire.
“Srojlachlis,” he growled out in a pained voice, “Why have you left us so long? Give us what we deserve. Give us blood.” A strange rush of wind blew into the tent and the fire went out casting all of the kobolds into darkness. The pups screamed and tried to run, slamming into each other and collapsing into a pile.
Old Chungotlus stood slowly in the darkness and stepped out into the pale moonlight. “Come children,” he muttered out as he wrapped his hand with a bandage, “Tonight is Srojlachlis' night. We would do well to honor it. Come in to the air and hear of blood being spilled and flesh being rended. Hear of pain and slaughter. Hear of the building of the Claw of Srojlachlis.”Hugo walked upon the edge of the cliff next to the camp of Tadlotlindrirajer. Though spring was coming he had no happiness to his step. The sun was rising and showing the dark forms of the mosquitos that forever haunted the camp. He bared his teeth at the forms in the sky and clenched his claws into fists. Srojlachlis had brought no claws or spears to bare against their foes. Srojlachlis had forsaken them. The buzzing of the mosquitos were a constant reminder of this fact. They buzzed day and night in piercing screeches that permeated the camp. Hugo stared at the black swarm with claws in fists when suddenly he saw a shape running toward the hill. “Sen?” he asked the open air.
Sen was running. More accurately, Sen was fleeing. On a short trip to pick up some rather tasty looking berries for a new batch of brews she wandered a bit too far. Above her mosquitos swarmed and spun, diving down at her in turns. Her heart beat in her ears as she fled berries held in her arms. The hill was ahead, a difficult and treacherous climb in the best of cases. “Help! Taz!” she cried out as she ran, but there was no chance of anyone hearing from that distance.
Suddenly one of the massive beasts was right in front of her. It slammed into her, knocking her to the ground. Her scream was drowned out by the sounds of their wings. The spear of its proboscis jabbed toward her and she was almost hit. Dirt flew as she scrambled on the ground trying to get away. Then the tip of it's blood-sucker jabbed at her again and she swung her basket for berry picking. The basket hit the mosquito in the stinger and snapped it in half.
The mosquito recoiled making a hissing sound of surprise and pain. “No!” chided Sen as she stood up and arranged her dress. “Bad mosquito!” It began to come for her again and she raised her basket. “No! Fly gone!” Then, shockingly, the mosquito turned and flew away. Sen quickly gathered up her berries and began up the hill again. When she reached the top, Hugo checked her for wounds and they stood watching the swarm.
“Lucky,” said Sen after a long moment.
“Lucky,” agreed Hugo. Then he furrowed his brow and added, “Warriors no kill mosquito. Too big.”
The two kobolds nodded at this as they watched the pulsing black swarm in the sky. Then suddenly one of the beasts began to spin and fell to the ground. Sen and Hugo turned with confused looks toward the camp, but there was no sign of Niyazov or Blue casting off arrows.
“What..?” asked Sen quietly as another mosquito fell.
“Srojlachlis,” responded Hugo with a growing smile on his face. “Srojlachlis here. Srojlachlis kill.”
More mosquitos fell from the sky exploding into crackling piles of chitin and ichor. More kobolds gathered behind Hugo and Sen to watch the devastation. Smiles came across mouths that hadn't shown proper joy for some time. Soon the falling was done and the crowd dispersed leaving Suds, Hugo, and Valk. The three looked at the ground where they stood as other kobolds rushed to recover the bodies.
Suds broke the silence by asking quietly, “Hugo. What happen?”
Hugo was deep in thought, chewing his nails nervously. His eyes narrow and he says simply, “Srojlachlis.” Suds nodded to Valk and Valk nodded back. Hugo turned his head to the side and asked, “What?”
Valk smiled widely and gestured to the ground, “We build temple here. Gather the wood. We'll start construction-” He cut off as dark shapes began to loom above. The mosquitos had apparently noticed the dragging of their bodies. The kobolds yelped in terror and ran shouting out for everyone to return to the food cave. With Niyazov covering the retreat with flying shots from her bow the camp returned to safety. They locked themselves inside and waited. But this time hiding from the mosquitos was not a horrible thing. It was a joyful thing. Underground they danced and sang for Srojlachlis had brought them a victory.
”But Chungotlus!” interrupted one of the pups. “There's no such thing as Srojlachlis!” Several of the other pups nodded along at this and barked out their own agreements.
“No such thing as Srojlachlis?” asked Chungotlus with a deep frown on his face. “We have fallen so far... When a knife cuts across fur why do we keep a scar?”
The pups sat in silence with questioning eyes.
“Srojlachlis gives it to us so that we may remember. Why are we strongest when held in a corner? Srojlachlis stands by our sides. These elves speak of their force of nature but what proof do they have? They are fools. The gods stand for us still. You would do well to stand for them.” The pups shuddered against each other at Chungotlus' preaching but they were quieted. The elder sat watching the pups for a long moment before he began again.
When the kobolds exited the cave there was hope in the air. The camp set to work processing the mosquito bodies to get the bitter flesh out. The chitin was discarded, because this was far back before we learned to use it for armor. If they had known they would have been the most well armored of 'bolds. Blue, Straw, and Niyazov set to crafting arrows as the stockpile had become embaressingly small between battles and trading. But soon the cry was given, “Meat!”
Down the hill approaching the camp were moth men. The Unseen Spirits quickly gathered and stood watching them come up the hill. FeralTalon stroked his spear with a wide toothy grin on his face. “Them bones?” he asked as he ran a rock against the tip of the bone spear to get it properly sharpened for the fight ahead.
The other kobolds considered this and gave shrugs. Finally Taz helpfully pointed out. “Them meat!” This brought chuckles from the Spirits and then began to beat their weapons against their bucklers. The beat sped up slowly as they worked themselves up, war dancing and shouting until the moth men drew close enough for the charge.
“KIIIIIIIIIILL!” shouted Corai as he charged down spear lowered for the charge. The other Spirits echoed his call and dirt and dust flew as they moved down.
Corai, Cadbee, and Splinter came upon the first moth man. Without any hesitation, Cadbee jumped forward bowling into it's body and rolling on the ground with it. Corai and Splinter barked out and yapped in encouragement as they rolled and wrestled, pulling and trying to get a good bite. The moth's wings flapped and for a moment it appeared the beast would manage to fly off with Cadbee in tow. Seeing this, Splinter jumped forward, slicing through a wing and causing it to fall onto the ground. Cadbee was thrown and rolled on the ground.
Splinter and Corai drew forward with spear and sword stabbing and slashing. Splinter spun and kicked before slicing across it's face rending the flesh open to the chitinous skull. Still the beast fought on with arms swinging for the dodging, dancing kobolds. Splinter let out a bark of laughter and called out, “Moth dead soooon.” Then the moth grabbed her throat and began to lift her into the air. She gurgled as her sword fell to the side and began to pull at it's fell-grip.
Chitin snapped as Corai's spear ripped through the moth's arm sending the hand careening off in a spurt of ichor. Corai's lips drew back from his fangs and he spat out, “Put down or Corai put moth down.” The moth charged him, slamming into his stomach and knocking him to the ground. Corai's claws grasped for a purchase and he found the ripped open face. His muzzle pushed forward into the wound and he ripped out chunk after chunk of moth flesh. The spearbold pushed himself to his feet and shook his head, ichor splattering off of his fur.
With the other Spirits otherwise occupied, Taz stood head to head with a single moth man. He growled fiercely with his axe and buckler ready. “Come moth. Meet death,” he snarled out at the much larger beast. The moth's chitin twisted in a sickening facsimile of a grin and it moved forward. Little Taz, runty, scrawny, and utterly pushed aside by the other warriors charged with a roar, his buckler slamming into the knees of the beast. He snarled and wrestled with the beast along, blocking strikes with his buckler but slowly losing ground. Then his foot caught on a root and he fell back, axe still raised to protect himself.
There was a blur of grey fur and suddenly Splinter was standing between them. The moth's claw came down and he caught the blow on her hand, knocking it aside. The spearbold grunted with pain as she tried to bring his spear to bear but the attacks just kept coming leaving her on the defensive. Soon Cadbee arrived as well breaking through it's chitin with a blow to the leg. The moth cried out and fell to it's knees only to have Cadbee, Splinter, and Taz descend upon it with kicks, punches, and bashes.
The beast continued to flail at the warriors when there came a barked order of, “Back!” Niyazov and Blue stood poised with their bows raised. Cadbee, Splinter, and Taz jumped back out of the way and arrows began to fly. The moth was unable to move properly at this point and arrow after arrow found flesh. The other three kept the beast boxed in as the archers emptied their supplies into the chitinous monster. “Scratch this,” growled Blue finally and she stepped forward with her crossbow held like an axe. She moved close and slammed the beast over and over in the face.
Soon what was left of it's head was just a grey-filled hole. Blue turned back to the others and began to step back into formation when she stumbled. Cadbee caught her hand and helped her up. “You hurt?” asked Cadbee as she searched for physical signs of a hit. Blue grit her teeth, rubbed her chest lightly. She shook her head and growled out, “Little hurt. Blue live. We fight. Where Nerev?” The other kobolds shook their heads and then began to set out in different direction to find Nerev.
Splinter wandered into the forest. She kept low in her hunt passing through the undergrowth with skill. She heard a rustle ahead and paused, listening for flapping moth wings. When she heard nothing, she stood up and was nearly hit in the face by a swinging moth-claw. She yelped and ducked back, raising her buckler and fighting back as well as she could in the cramped forest environs. Splinter and the moth were deadlocked, each thrust blocked by another.
Suddenly a war cry came from the side and Splinter and the moth looked towards it. A buckler hit the moth's head causing it to explode in ichor, chitin, and dust. Nerev hit the ground and stood up with a deep frown on his face. “No safe fight moth alone,” he chided before suddenly disappearing once again into the forest.
The moth corpses were dragged back to camp and immediately work began on preparing them for meals. Sen hummed cheerfully as she cut and ripped the flesh. “Thank Taz,” she said happily to Taz as he dragged up another body. Taz lowered his head, his tail going between his legs as he admitted, “Taz no kill. Taz just get danger. No win.”
Sen's brow furrowed as she looked up from peeling the meat from the chitin. “Taz win. Taz live.” She held up one of the moth's heads and raised an eyebrow. “See? Moth no live.” Taz slammed his fist down against one of the wooden cutting places. “But Taz too small!” he complained before grabbing up a piece of moth and setting to ripping it up as well. “Taz too small! Too small kill moth!” A paw came down upon his shoulder and he turned. FeralTalon was standing behind him with a crooked grin on his face.
“Taz too small?” the much larger FeralTalon asked with amusement in his voice. “Yes. Taz too small.” Taz lowered his head in shame at this until FeralTalon continued, “All kobold too small. No kobold big enough fight alone. Taz fight good.” Taz nodded at this and FeralTalon walked off chuckling softly to himself.
The next couple of days passed quietly with the kobolds simply taking care of the business of living. Then one day a cry of anguish split the camp. Cogdis was in the middle of training and his ears perked up. “Splinter!” he cried as he gripped his spear and ran, running from the barracks to find his wife. When he came to the living house he found several of the men standing outside with tense looks on their faces. He came to the door and slammed his fists against it shouting out, “Splinter! Splinter!”
The door opened for a moment and Blue's face peeked out for a moment. “Sit, Cogdis! Splinter safe. Stop shout.” The door slammed shut and Cogdis turned to the other men with a confused look on his face. “Why?” he asked with desperation. Time passed and Cogdis waited. None of the females came out until Straw's head finally popped out with a wide grin on her face. “Come Cogdis!” she urged while grabbing his paw to pull him in.
Cogdis hurried in with a terrified look in his eyes to find all of the female kobolds in the camp standing with wide grins on their faces. Splinter lay in one of the beds covered in sweat with an exhausted look on her face. “Cogdis,” she whispered out. “Cogdis meet pups.” In the bed with her were eight tiny kobolds that all snuggled close in the furs. The pups were so small they could not yet open their eyes. Cogdis drew close and climbed into the bed with his wife and their young. The other kobolds stepped outside chatting among themselves as Splinter gestured to the pups in turn.
“Oldest,” she explained in a tired voice as she pointed to a tiny pup. “Little runt, slow yip. Him Drawlsmouldered.” Her paw lightly stroked a second and she introduced, “Her angry. Look fast paws. Someday beautiful. Baitmetals.” Cogdis let out a chuckle at this and nodded for her to continue. “Wringrelieved,” Splinter introduced next as she put a finger into the claw of the second girl. “Think dead, but she hold. Wringrelieved.” The mother looked somewhat amused by this decision of naming and then she patted the second boy, “Him Sloppedspurted. Much drool! So smart.”
Cogdis turned his head a bit to the side and he asked, “Splinter give mother-name?” Splinter shook her head and took Cogdis' paw. “One. Splinter wait for Cogdis. Shhh. Not done.” She picked up another female that already was very fat. “She so big. She Trampleequals.” Her paw moved to the fourth female and she pointed out, “She warrior someday. She Cudgellurid.” Cogdis nodded his head confidently at this, “Good name. Strong name.” Splinter raised an eyebrow at this further interruption of tradition and Cogdis raised his hands in his defense. She continued on to another nice plump kobold and said, “This Leakedname. Splinter hear name before gods. So Leakedname.” She looked faintly embarrassed by this one, but Cogdis gestured to the last.
“Boy pup. Look strong,” pointed out Cogdis proudly. Indeed, it was the strongest of the kobolds already. Splinter smiled widely and stroked it's fur back, “Little Neku.” Her smile split her face as the tiny pup kicked his feet. “Neku be warrior. Neku be Historian.” Cogdis perked up at this and asked rapidly, “Gods say?” Splinter nodded with a pleased look on her face and said softly, “Gods say.”
”Where do pups come from?” asked one of the little male pups. This brought a flurry of chittering and questions along the same lines. Chungotlus peered at the pup with a deep frown on his face. He cleared his throat and gave a shrug, “That I'm afraid is a mystery still. As, I'm afraid, the rest of Spring will have to be for now. Srojlachlis requires more praise and I must go do so. Take care pups and I will tell you the rest on another night.”
Unfortunately, I'm going to have to split Spring 180 because I really wanted to post some substance tonight and just can't get the other half done. The next part may not be quite as long, but there's a decent chance it will be. Part 2 will be posted Thursday!
So many of the screenshots I took were kind of crappy... I'll try to have better ones for Summer!
P.S. We have officially passed Jrusrusrischlifruyin in pages! Thank you all so much!
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Topic: Tadlotlindrirajer: Community Kobold Camp: Please Vote On Our Fate! (Read 30889 times)