The rest of the morning was spent making their way to the rest of the pack.
They followed the river for about a mile and then veered off towards the right,
traveling through the lush forest. The soldiers had gone ahead to scout out
any possible danger, leaving Baro to lead the small pack. What happened to them?
What could be so strong to force a pack from its homelands? Whatever it is, I
just hope they haven�t brought it with them.
�So, I�m sure you�re wondering what has driven us into your lands,� Zarkus said,
breaking the silence. �I do not make it my business to pry, my lord. I am
here to serve and protect, nothing more,� Baro replied. Zarkus chuckled and said,
�Yes, I should have expected that response from a soldier. Well, it�s going to be
a long trip so we might as well talk about something!�
A�If it will please you to do so then I am all ears. I must admit, I am a little
curious of your journeys.� Baro glanced around to make sure they were not in any
danger. I could�ve sworn I heard�what was that? Some sort of strange clicking,
maybe just the birds. Ah, you�re losing it old boy. Zarkus had already begun his
tale, and Baro had no idea what he was talking about. He listened closely to see
if he could catch some hint of what was happening.
��and we just kept getting more and more reports of our scouts being slain. Finally,
we decided that we would send out a team of our best soldiers to rid out woods of
the ferocious killers. We sent ten of our warriors early the next morning. But, by
that afternoon, only three made it home.� Zarkus paused for a moment, and Baro couldn�t
help but hear a muffled whimper from Asoth. They must�ve been the three from the journey.
What is this thing? He glanced back towards Reinor, Asoth and Kull who were bringing up
the rear of the group. I can�t imagine what they�ve been through.
�Once they returned,� Zarkus continued, �they told us that the raptors had-�
�Raptors? But they don�t come down this far!� Baro interrupted. Zarkus realized that
he hadn�t heard the beginning of the story. �Yes, they normally don�t. These were young
ones looking to start their own pack; unfortunately, all of the land to the north has
already been claimed. There were five of them to start with, so we did not bother them.
But as their numbers grew, territory became an issue. Now, where was I? Ah, yes, with
most of my soldiers slain, I decided that we could no longer remain in Tresthula. I was
sure that the raptors would soon to try and destroy us. We had to act immediately. We
waited until the moon had fully risen and began to move the pack out. But once we reached
the tree line, we were attacked. Their scouts had sent word of the move back to the pack
quicker than we had hoped. We managed to escape however, with few casualties.�
�Raptors do not see well in the night, so we had a slight advantage. We ran straight
through them, and although they pursued us only to the edge of the plains, we did not
stop. We ran through the night. Only until we reached the pond did we stop to rest.
Those who were able went out and hunted for the pack. We rested until mid-day, and then
set off again. We reached the Gobazi desert shortly after nightfall and decided to wait
until the morning to try and cross it. However, when the morning came about, a few of
our pack members decided that they would be better off to take their chances on the plains
than to cross the desert. I could not persuade them to come, and with most of the day
spent arguing, I did not want to waste anymore time. We left four behind as we entered
into our uncertain fate. The desert was harsh. We lost four to the heat and starvation.
We also lost one of our pups to a snake in the night. After two weeks in the scorching
sun, we almost couldn�t believe we had finally arrived.�
Baro was silently trying to take in all he�d just heard. Raptors? I can�t believe they�ve
come this far. �Don�t worry my cousins, you�re safe with us now.�
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