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1. [DL-C] Unwelcome Distraction
From: "Simon Gale" <s.gale@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
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Message: 1
Date: Wed, 18 Jan 2006 09:55:08 +1000
From: "Simon Gale" <s.gale@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
Subject: [DL-C] Unwelcome Distraction
Day 4
Early afternoon
Memnon lay belly down on a domed rock overlooking the Nomad plains,
staring out into nothingness. The rock was perched high above the
swaying grasses of the plains, an outcropping of stone pushing up in
the middle of the flat expanse. It was the only irregularity in the
flattened greens and browns of the landscape and offered a good vantage
point to search out nearby game and other Nomads. If that was what you
were looking for. Memnon wasn't quite sure what he was looking for. And
so he lay here on this rock, searching the plains for something he
wasn't even sure was out there.
It had been an interesting week thus far. The new dragonriders had all
been assigned to their new wings a few days ago and since that time,
Memnon and the others that had come with him to Alpha Wing had been
getting used to the new structure and chores. Admittedly, it wasn't
much...in fact it was far less than they had had to do in training.
Memnon only really had one major chore, to check the dragon grooming
supplies every morning. It was a job as easy as it had sounded when
explained to him. Even if there was a shortage of something, all he had
to do was tell one of the clerks in the wingleader's office and they
would send off a piece of paper and then the next morning, the shortage
would be gone. It was altogether to easy being a dragonrider.
The practices were a lot harder than training though, and they were
something Memnon and Rage were enjoying more and more. Most of it was
formation flying and manouvers, of which only the basics had been
covered in training. Memnon and Rage and another new dragonrider and
his dragon had been attached to a veteran dragonrider, who was taking
them through increasingly harder and harder drills every day. And even
in the mere three days they had been doing so, the three of them had
found a level of competance together that had seemed to please the
veteran rider, Goran. He and his dragon Shale were both big, bluff and
honest types, used to hard work and the rigours of an active wing. The
other new rider was one of the other Nomad's that had been chosen at
the last hatching, a fierce, black-eyed youth named Sulal. He and his
dragon Fury were outgoing and likeable, but did almost everything at a
frantic pace. Memnon didn't know where the two of them got their energy
from, seeing as both dragon and rider were small and wiry. They did eat
an amazing amount of food between them though, he mused.
<You think about some stupid stuff sometimes> Rage commented from the
sunny ledge below on which he was sunbaking.
The rusty red dragon rolled over, presenting his large back to Memnon
and the sun. Memnon was glad he had the dragon to talk to. Noone else
seemed to understand him. And it was hard to be around people who
didn't understand. That was most of the reason he and Rage were out
here in the plains alone. Their drill exercises had been completed in
the morning and now the afternoon was free. And so they had escaped to
the wild expanses of broad, dry plains to be alone and away from the
peopled world.
He reached over and lobbed a rock down at the big dragon. It clattered
off his shoulder and Rage lifted his head and scowled at his rider. To
see a dragon scowl is most certainly an amusing experience and Memnon
laughed out loud at the comical expression.
<Very funny. Small things do amuse small minds> the dragon snorted.
He flicked his tail out, trying to cuff Memnon with it, one of his
current favourite tricks. And as long as Memnon saw it coming, he was
happy to play. When the tail did connect though, it could easily knock
Memnon flying. Dragons couldn't quite judge the frailty of humans, he
had learnt very quickly. And when they were being 'playful' it could
often be very painful.
He rolled to his left, away from the first swing, pushing himself onto
his feet and waited for the inevitable backswing. Instead Rage suddenly
stood up, shaking out his wings, a distracted look on his face.
<Just received an urgent alarm call from a Cleft dragon...Nadusi is
attacking more Nomads and they need help>
Memnon stood a little straighter. He had been unfortunate enough to
experience the Nadusi up close and personal and it had left him with
substantial feelings of terror about being anywhere near the snake-like
beast.
[Where?] he asked, hoping that somehow this would give him a reason not
to go.
<Not far> Rage replied,
<Out beside Dark Horse Creek, where we caught that wild bullock>
[Looks like we'd better go then] he answered, his spirit quailing
inside at the thought of facing the huge snake yet again. Nevertheless
it was his duty, so he started scrambling down from the high rock.
Unaware of his rider's reluctance, Rage was eager to go and trembled
with excitement. The dragon was keen for battle...any kind of battle
and this situation looked like it could result in exactly such a thing.
There had not been much action for the wing since they had joined,
except for skirmishes with the large snake...none of which Rage or
Memnon had been in. Memnon had seen the serpent up close, but he had
been scouting on foot at night so Rage had not been able to see the
monster for himself. He thought
<Shale just sent through the location image, lets go> he said, looking
back impatiently as Memnon finally leapt down onto his back and settled
himself in the slim saddle that rested between the third and fourth
points of his back crest.
[Right, I'm in] Memnon said, holding tight with his knees and hands as
Rage leapt off the ledge into the characteristic jerking, bucking
take-off of a dragon launch. Rage teleported as soon as he was clear of
the rocks, quickly sweeping into the sky above Dark Horse Creek. They
looked down, seeing two groups of dragons, one group on the ground near
what looked like Nomad tents and the other group circling in the air
above a massive dustcloud. Every now and then a trio of dragons would
swoop down into the dust, and then fly back up out again. From his
vantage point high above, Memnon couldn't quite see what they were
doing, but he guessed that the Nadusi was in that large dustcloud.
<There's Shale and Fury over there> Rage said, dipping his wings
towards the outskirts of the second group.
They flew down, joining the two dragons and their riders in a circling
pattern around the dustcloud. Memnon looked down into the dust. He
could see glimpses of something massive writhing and rolling in the
cloud and knew that this was the Nadusi. No other creature could raise
a dustcloud this big on its own.
[Ask Shale whats going on and what we're meant to be doing] he sent to
Rage, not even bothering trying to yell at Goran. Even though the
dragons were flying a mere wingspan apart, the air flew to quickly
between them to allow any kind of usefull conversation. The only way to
talk was through the mindspeak of the dragons.
<He says we're to stay in this holding pattern for the while> Rage
said, a few moments later.
<The Nadusi attacked the nomad camp over to the west and we're to
distract and hold it up while the other dragons evacuate the remaining
nomads. The ice-breathing dragons are meant to be arriving any second,
but Shale says that its going to be hard for them to score a hit...the
snake has been stirring up this dustcloud since the wing arrived>
Memnon looked down at the dust cloud. It was thick, very thick. He knew
that he did not want to be flying through that knowing a massive snake
was waiting within. The three dragons slowly circled it, gliding on the
hot wind a few hundred feet above, along with the twenty odd other
dragons that had come at the alert call. He thought that they all
looked like a brightly coloured swarm of over-sized vultures, awaiting
the result of some titanic struggle on the dusty plains below.
He looked over at Goran. The big man was his characteristic self,
sitting his large grey dragon calmly. He acknowledged Memnon with a
wave and a grin. Sulal also waved, standing up in his saddle and nearly
overbalancing with the exuberance of his waving. He and his dragon were
pole opposites from the relaxed movements of Shale and Goran. Their
flight was jerky and agitated, and Sulal was constantly leaning out of
his saddle to search the dust cloud below for some glimpse of the
creature within. They obviously couldn't wait to get into the action.
He shuddered. They hadn't seen this creature up close, close enough to
see into the dark depths of its eyes. He had. He had also seen it rip
apart the war party that was trying to kill it in a matter of moments.
And he had run away. He wished he was still running, as cowardly as
that sounded. Nadusi was a demon, an unearthly being with no weakness
and a long-standing symbol of the end of the Nomad peoples. He would
stand toe to toe with a plains lion, and cross swords with any man, but
these were real beings, flesh and blood that could be bested. This
Nadusi was an invincible legend, a horror whose mere name evoked dread
and fear amongst the Nomad peoples. It was of the gods, if not a god
itself. How could a pack of dragons and their riders even think to best
that?
He looked down at the dustcloud again. It looked as if it was moving,
slowly but surely drifting towards the nomad camp. He looked over at
the dragons on the ground. There seemed to be a lot of confusion,
Nomads going everywhere, dragons turning around in the confusion and a
whole lot of arm waving. The evacuation looked like it was going
nowhere fast. If they weren't careful, the Nadusi would catch them all
on the ground. And that would their death.
<Shale says we're about to make a pass through the dust cloud to
distract the Nadusi> Rage said excitedly.
[Are they crazy?!] Memnon replied, staring unhappily at the cloud
again.
[We've got no idea where Nadusi is in dust...this could be suicide]
<Big snake to slow to catch us dragons> Rage replied cockily, waggling
his wings. Memnon could see that he wasn't going get any sympathy from
his dragon. The rusty red dragon was set on some excitement and
confident in his own judgements of the Nadusi's abilities. Memnon had a
bad feeling though that Nadusi would be a lot quicker and dangerous
than Rage thought. It had certainly been lightening fast when he had
seen it. But then again, he was new to dragons and their capabilities,
so anything could happen.
[Maybe, but lets be careful...just in case] he said, resigning himself
to whatever might happen. He re-settled himself in his saddle, checking
the harness one more time before looking over at Goran, waiting for the
signal. The trio circled once more before Goran waved to Sulal and
Memnon. The three dragons turned as one, diving from on high towards
the dust cloud below, red, orange and grey flashes in the afternoon
sunlight.
Submitted by
Simon Gale
aka Memnon & Rage
Summary:
Memnon and Rage hear the call for assistance and teleport to the Nomad
encampment being attacked by Nadusi. They join the dragon's tasked with
distracting Nadusi and circle for a while. They are then ordered to do
a high speed fly-through of the dustcloud.
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