“What the hell is that?” yelled Kyra as the beast emerged from its hiding place in the soft sand and rocks at the side of the ravine.
Bazur could hear the surprise and fear in her voice. He couldn’t blame her. The creature, a sciane, was an awful looking thing. Scianes, giant flesh eating crabs that weighted upwards of fifty pounds, looked like a combination of a massively oversized crab and a fanged grubworm. The fleshy head with a double row of razor sharp teeth looked out of place on the shell-covered cousin of a crab. “It’s a sciane.”
As if to acknowledge his naming of the beast, the creature took a swipe at Bazur with one of its huge claws. The pinchers clicked together loudly as it snapped at Bazur.
Bazur avoided the pinch and thrust the tip of his war scythe into the mouth of the beast, killing it. You could strike a sciane’s hard shell all day and not do any damage, but its head and mouth were vulnerable to attacks.
“Gods alive! What an ugly creature. It came out of nowhere.”
Bazur whipped his head around, scanning all the sand banks along the edges of the ravine. “Yes, scianes burrow into the sand. They’ll wait for days for prey to come along. There must be a natural well or an oasis in one of these nearby canyons.”
“Bazur… why do you keep saying they?”
Bazur glanced at Kyra, noted the worried look on her face. She was studying him, watching how carefully he was scanning the sandbanks. “Scianes hunt in groups. We were lucky, this little one was over eager.”
Kyra’s head whipped around as she looked for more of the ugly crablike creatures. “That is a little one! It’s the size of a dog. Its pinchers are the size of my arms. It looks like it could lob my head off with one chop.”
“No. Those little ones are strong. It would take at least three chops to take your head off,” replied Bazur. “Now a full sized sciane, that is something else. Just stay behind me and we’ll try to avoid finding out if they can or not.”
“You’re not inspiring confidence. At least lie to me and tell me it’s going to be okay.”
“Those pants make your ass look fat, and it’s going to be okay,” said Bazur as he took three slow steps away from Kyra.
“Really? You pick now to develop a sense of humor? I hope you get a sciane pincher stuck where the sun don’t shine.” Kyra wrinkled her nose at Bazur.
Bazur tried not to smile. He purposely was goading her, trying to draw her ire. Annoyed and irritated, Kyra was much more aware of her surroundings and less likely to panic when the attack came. He just needed to keep her focused, but not get her so angry she pulled her knife on him. The woman did have a fierce temper when aroused. “It’s not so much the pants that are the problem.” Bazur noted a few sand particles shifting in a couple of the dunes. The scianes were about to launch their attack. All they were waiting for was him to move further into their planned trap. Bazur rolled his neck and shrugged his shoulders up towards his ears, stretching out his back and shoulder muscles. He tensed and relaxed his hands around the handle of his war scythe. He took another three steps forward.
“Are you seriously suggesting my ass is too—” Kyra stopped talking abruptly as six scianes simultaneously shot out of their hiding places in the sand to attack Bazur.
The moment the attack started, Bazur spun to his right and ran towards the sciane on his right. Before the dangerous creature could fully escape the soft sand Bazur leapt and brought his war scythe swiftly down slicing into the exposed sciane’s head. Bazur landed on the animal’s shelled back and immediately used the hard shell as a platform to leap back into the air, landing on top of the next sciane. Again, his scythe sliced down, parting the beast’s soft head.
Bazur had encountered scianes before. He knew how they hunted. Forming a circle around their prey and quickly closing until there was no escaping their deadly pinchers. Luckily, the young sciane’s premature attack had broken the circle. Knowing that the sciane at his back was dead, Bazur was able to leave Kyra’s side and attack. By attacking the two beasts on one side, he bought time before the others could cross the ravine and create a new circle. Now the remaining four scianes were all in front of him with Kyra safely off to the side. As the four scianes scurried across the ravine, Bazur started running towards them. He needed to keep on the attack, dictate the pace of battle, and not let the dangerous creatures get behind him. As he ran forward Bazur reversed his grip on his war scythe and threw it like a spear into the mouth of the closest sciane. Still running forward, Bazur drew his sword and angled at the next closest sciane. As he drew close, the sciane jabbed forward, both deadly pinchers snapping at Bazur’s chest like a pair of shears chopping a twig. Bazur ducked and rolled under the pinchers and as he sprung out of the roll, his sword sliced up in a vicious uppercut, penetrating the sciane’s bottom jaw and into its neck. But Bazur had misjudged the angle of his attack and the tip of the sword penetrated deep into the sciane until it was lodged into it. Instead of trying to free his stuck sword, Bazur let go of the blade and focused his attention on the two remaining scianes. The scianes were trying to flank him, one on each side. Bazur used the carcass of the sciane as cover, crouching as close to the dead animal as possible. When the two remaining scianes made their attack, Bazur jumped over the carcass and ran to the next dead sciane where his war scythe was. With a weapon in hand, Bazur turned and faced the remaining scianes.
As the two scianes approached Bazur, Kyra suddenly jumped on the back of one of the beasts, stabbing it in the head with her sword. As the other sciane turned to try protect its companion from Kyra’s sneak attack, Bazur once more launched his war scythe, killing the last sciane.
Kyra was still stabbing the sciane in its head as it collapsed to the ground. Bazur watched as she violently hacked away at its head. When she finally stopped, she looked over at Bazur. “What? I’m making sure it doesn’t get up.”
Bazur shook his head. Kyra had once again surprised him. Attacking a full grown sciane was not for the weak of heart. If she wanted to hack away for a month, he wouldn’t say a thing. “I was just admiring your technique.”
“You were surprised my fat ass was able to jump on top of this ugly brute’s back, weren’t you?” Kyra’s eyebrows furrowed and her eyes sparkled dangerously.
Bazur looked carefully into Kyra’s eyes. He couldn’t tell if she was joking or had truly taken offense to his comments about the size of her delectable derriere. Now that the danger of the scianes had passed, he would tread lightly. With the need to distract her from her fear gone, he no longer felt there was anything to gain by arousing her anger, lest he wanted to be hacked at like the beast at her feet. “If there is a more perfect pair of buttocks in all of Draisha, they never crossed my eyes.”
Kyra nodded. “That’s more like it.”
Bazur returned to the sciane with his sword lodged into its maw. He gave the blade a hard yank, freeing it from the inside of the creature. He then pushed the creature over so that it was laying on its back.
“What are you doing?” asked Kyra.
Bazur drove his sword into the side of the dead creature. “Sciane’s top shell is all one piece, but its underside is a series of pieces of shell attached by muscles. As he used his sword to pry loose one of the pieces of shell, he continued to explain. “Although they're dangerous and have the ugliest mugs ever seen, sciane have some of the tastiest meat.” Bazur popped another chunk of shell loose. “Tonight we’re going to dine like kings and queens.”
“That is disgusting. There is no way I’m eating that crap. I don’t even like crab, why would I want to eat oversized desert crab.”
“Scianes might look like an ugly oversized crab, but they taste more like pheasant soaked in honey and berries.” Bazur sliced big chunks of sciane flesh from the carcass. When he was done carving the meat away from the shell, Bazur used his war scythe to pry the beasts top shell away from the rest of the carcass. He then hacked off one of the sciane’s pinchers, and cleaned it out. Using his sword, he drilled two holes into the she
ll. With a strip of leather from his weapons belt, he made a makeshift caring case out of the pincher. He then placed all of the cut meat into the pincher. “Let’s go. We’ll cook the meat when we get to Westmere.”
Kyra gave his handiwork an appraising look. “I’m still not going to eat any of it, but that is a smart way to carry the meat.”
Bazur grinned. “If we weren’t in a hurry, we’d be salvaging all of the sciane shells and meat. We could make a small fortune off this stuff.”
Kyra raised an eyebrow.
“Sciane shell is strong and very lightweight. The top shells make excellent shields, and the rest can be made into armor. It’s not as tough as vraber skin or dragon hide, but it is better than any metal armor.”
“How about orc skin? If I skin you and make a shield, can I sell that?”
“Why would you do that?” asked Bazur, amused by her threat.
Kyra turned and started walking, she slapped her ass. “Rude comments.”
Shaking his head, Bazur followed Kyra. If they didn’t run into any more trouble, they’d make Westmere by nightfall. Perhaps by then Kyra would forget he’d said anything about her bottom. He couldn't understand why human women were so sensitive about it. Female orcs found it a high compliment. It meant their hips were wide enough to produce large and powerful warriors.
…
WESTMERE was an abandoned fort built near a series of natural pools. The pools were a year round source of water, which made building the fort logical. The problem was, operating a fort in the middle of the badlands was expensive and the watering hole wasn’t strategically situated. The watering hole at Pera was closer to all the major trading routes, and with the small community of traders that lived there, it became the natural route for the majority of traders. The fort at Westmere had long been abandoned and was now mostly decaying ruins. The water pools were still good and any travelers that chose to go through Westmere found the clear water and available shelter lifesaving.
When they arrived, Bazur was extremely cautious. They circled the pools and old fort twice searching for tracks and any sign of bandits. He didn’t expect the bandits to be here this early, but he wouldn’t put it past them to be scouting all the watering holes in the badlands while they waited for Mauri Planche to make his trek. Satisfied that no one had been to the watering hole in several days, they made their way to it. After drinking their fill and replenishing their water sacks, Bazur and Kyra moved away from the watering hole and the old fort. They found a large rock cropping that gave them cover from the wind and hid them from view of the watering hole. After gathering a few handfuls of dry wood, Bazur built a fire and started roasting the sciane meat. The aroma of the meat was strong, sweet and savory. Bazur’s mouth watered as he waited for the delicacy to finish cooking. Despite her earlier protests, Kyra seemed intrigued. He’d noticed her subconsciously licking her lips whenever she glanced over at his cooking fire. Bazur pretended to ignore her and focused on his cooking. Taking the first cooked morsels off the fire, Bazur made a show of slowly biting into the meat. He closed his eyes and filled his nostrils with the scent of the meat. It truly was a delicious meal. It was a shame they’d had to leave so much of the meat behind, but he’d enjoy what they had. If his guess was right, so would Kyra. Bazur smacked his lips in satisfaction as he swallowed the first morsel. The meal was almost perfect. All they needed was a jug of orc mead to make it perfect.
“Are you going to be a jerk all night or are you going to share?”
Bazur opened his eyes and glanced over at Kyra, giving her a confused look. “I thought you said you’d never eat sciane. I only cooked enough for myself.”
“Come on, you giant oaf. I’m starving and it smells amazing. It even looks like a proper meal now that you’ve cooked it.”
Bazur shook his head as he teased her. “There’s still plenty of jerky in our stores. You can have that. You don’t have to eat the sciane.”
Kyra stood up and walked over to Bazur, plucking a chunk of meat out of his fingertips. She placed the morsel in her mouth and started chewing. Between bites, she gave a running dialogue, “Wow! It is does taste like pheasant. The juices are like honey. This is amazing!” She continued chewing. “Oh, now I can taste raspberries, and a hint of bumble berry.” When she finished swallowing, she turned to Bazur. “I’ll have some more, please.”
“You want me to share?” asked Bazur mockingly.
“Don’t be like that. Do you need me to say you were right?” asked Kyra. She then stepped closer to him, putting her hand on his shoulder and sliding it slowly down his arm while she leaned in and whispered in his ear, “Or do you need me to beg for it?”
Beg for it, he thought to himself as naughty images of Kyra on her knees begging him filled his mind. He then pulled his roasting stick from the fire, removing the next piece of meat. He lifted it to Kyra’s mouth. She opened her mouth, letting him slide the roast sciane onto her tongue. She closed her lips around his fingertips trapping them in her mouth so she could lick them clean of the juices. She stared into his eyes and he slowly pulled his fingers free. The digits made an audible pop as they exited her mouth. Kyra closed her eyes as she started to chew. “Thank you,” she purred after devouring the morsel.
Bazur grinned and started cooking more of the sciane. The sweet meat was a favorite of his, but feeding it to Kyra made it an even more special meal. He took enjoyment from her pleasure.
After several more pieces, Kyra finally groaned and rubbed her belly. “No more. It’s so good but my poor belly is going to explode.”
“I’m surprised it hasn’t already. You ate a whole sciane.”
“Ha. Not quite, but more than my little belly can handle. Maybe it will all go to my ass.”
Bazur groaned. “You’re never going to let that go, are you?”
“Probably not. There are certain things you never say to a lady.” Kyra belched loudly. “Where are we going tomorrow? You said we could see it from here.”
It was getting dark out, the evening light was quickly fading, but the nearby hills and rock formations could still easily be seen. Bazur pointed out into the night. “See that one in the distance. The one that looks like a finger pointed towards the sky? That is the Devil’s Arm.”
Kyra squinted and scoffed. “That doesn’t look like a finger. It looks like a giant cock!”
“I’ve heard it called that.” Bazur admitted. “I think Devil’s Arm is someone being ironic.”
“Well, phallic shape aside, why are we going there? The base of it isn’t really high ground. We could go onto any of the plateaus nearby and get a better view of the area.”
“From the top of the Devil’s Arm you can see for miles,” replied Bazur.
“From the top? Are you crazy! How are we going to climb that thing without ropes?”
“That is a question for tomorrow. Get some sleep. It is going to be a long day tomorrow. We leave before dawn.”
12
BADLANDS
WHEN Bazur woke with Kyra snuggled up against him, it didn’t even bother him. It had simply become part of their complicated relationship. While there was a large amount of sexual tension between the two of them, the cuddling up to him during the night was something else. Bazur didn’t quite understand it, but he accepted it. Gently nudging Kyra, Bazur rose and started packing. It was only a few miles to the Devil’s Arm but he wanted to be there as early as possible. He didn’t think that the enemy bandits would know to scout this route until Mauri left Pera heading north towards Westmere, but it wouldn’t be wise to make any assumptions. The sooner they were hidden, the better.
Silently, they trudged across the cold rocky desert, the cool temperature would soon turn to blazing hot as the sun filled the sky, but for now the weather was their friend. Bazur walked as swiftly as he could, using his war scythe like a walking cane to feel for boulders and drops in the ground. There wasn’t enough light yet for the eye to see the ground. He’d scouted the route the previous day as best he
could, but as they got closer to the Devil’s Arm, they began covering ground he’d not yet seen. They had to slow down and rely more on his scythe to tell them what was ahead. As dawn started to break and the world went from black to grey, travel became easier and they were able to speed up. The sky was getting lighter by the moment. Soon it would be daytime and they would be visible to anyone in the area. Bazur felt the need to get up the rock formation as soon as possible.
“It’s much bigger than it looked from the camp last night,” said Kyra. “But I still don’t see how we are going to climb it. It’s almost straight up and down.”
“Only on this side,” said Bazur as he kept walking around the base of the Devil’s Arm. On the opposite side, not visible from Westmere, the base of the rock formation stretched out several hundred yards farther as a small hill. By following the ridge of the hill, they easily made their way up until they were almost half way up the rock formation. At that point, the rock became much steeper, but they still could hike up without great difficulty. When they were twenty feet from the summit, the rock became a sheer cliff.
Kyra looked up and shook her head. “I can’t climb that.”
Bazur hadn’t expected her to be able to climb the last section, it was a dangerous and challenging cliff. Only an experienced climber could do it without ropes, a climber like Bazur who’d ventured all over the rock formations of the badlands. Instead of replying to her comment, Bazur focused his attention on the cliff. It looked sheer, but there were little ridges and cracks in the rock all the way to the top. Satisfied that he knew his route, Bazur removed his boots.
“What are you doing?” asked Kyra.
“Climbing.” Bazur took the leather harness off his back and put it around Kyra. He needed to shorten the strap for her smaller frame, but with a quick knot he secured it and placed his war scythe back in the harness. He then attached his food and water sacks to the harness, loading Kyra like a mule. After making sure all their supplies were tightly fastened to her, Bazur moved closer to the cliff. “Jump on my back.”
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