FSE

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Two days of travel had left Nadirah's pack much lighter, but she felt no closer to her ultimate goal. The gentle swells of the grassy plain had quickly become homogeneous, giving to the illusion that she was simply walking in place.

In a land with no shade, the constant wind kept the heat of the suns from becoming overwhelming, but it also slowed the tarin's progress. Constantly it pushed against her as if trying to force her back to the mountain she had left behind. Occasionally she would pass a herd of wild kordox, the animals lining up to watch her until she was out of sight. A curious reebird would occasionally pop up out of it's den in the ground when she walked over its tunnels. But the doe barely noticed the plethora of wildlife that thrived in the grasslands, being far too busy looking for any hint of shelter in the wide open plains.

Nadirah was exhausted by the time the second sun reached the horizon, but she found no protection in the green swells that would allow her peaceful rest. Not a single outcropping of rock or clump of trees presented itself to her vigilant gaze. In fact, she couldn't recall seeing a single tree or evidence that trees had ever even existed there at all.

It was resignation that finally made her stop at the base of a small hill, settling her pack on the ground before taking a drink from her flask. She had just brought the filled skin to her lips when the sound of hoof beats caught her attention. She rose to her feet and looked back just in time to see several riders on horseback disappear over the crest of her hill. Moments later, the groans and screams of a fight drifted down to her ears.

Curious, the doe snatched up her pack and ran to the top, despite her previous exhaustion. What she saw both confused and excited her. A small horde of creatures fought their way through a field of flailing vines and large pink flowers with snapping centers while a group of riders charged swiftly toward them on headless horses. A few feet behind the shambling creatures, several figures in black robes had begun to flee from the riders. One of the hooded figures was heading right for her.

The figures looked just like the ones she had encountered before her self exile, filling the doe with rage. She bared her teeth as her hand reached for her sword. Her battle cry rumbled across the plain as she dropped her pack and charged the single black-robed figure, her hooves tearing large chunks out of the soft ground. Seeing the furious tarin approaching, the figure turned and tried to run in another direction, but the warrior was already on him. With a sweep of her blade, the figure cried out and fell to the ground before being trampled as she continued running. Hardly satisfied with one kill, Nadirah charged down to the bottom of the hill where the rest of the action was taking place.

As Nadirah got closer, she recognized the creatures tangled in the vines. They all had tattered skin, some with exposed bones or organs, and rotting clothing covered in filth. They were ghouls, just like the thief she had met in the badlands, but these ghouls did not seem to be truly cognitive. Instead they groaned mindlessly and moved about with clumsy jerks like badly-controlled puppets. Most of them had been human, but she also caught sight of a few orks.

Thorned vines whipped out and coiled around the warrior's legs as she approached the field, noticing too late that the riders had skirted it's edges. The sharp spikes pierced and tore painfully at her skin as they pulled her toward the hungry flowers, but a hard stomp made them loosen their grip if not release her entirely. Stubbornly trampling a path through the carnivorous weeds, she reached the first of the struggling ghouls and beheaded it without pause.

Before she could approach the next one, spiked vines wrapped around one of her wrists while another sank into her upper thigh before moving to immobilize the rest of her leg. The doe growled in irritation, struggling to pull her leg free while even more vines tried to capture her other arm. The mouth-like openings in the middle of the large flowers opened and closed eagerly as more vines wrapped about the trapped tarin. Still struggling against the pull of the vines, Nadirah grasped her sword in her free hand and raised it above her head, preparing to slash her way free, but just before she could swing downward, she heard a groan and felt cold fingers grab her arm. She turned her head in time to see a wide open mouth full of broken and rotting teeth biting down on her forearm.

The warrior let out a bellow of pain and rage as the ghoul attempted to tear the bite of flesh from her arm, shaking its head from side to side like a wild animal while its milky eyes stared at her hungrily. The doe's lips peeled back in a snarl of black rage, her fists curling tighter as the muscles of her arms tensed. "Now you've just managed to piss me off." She said through clenched teeth.

The ghoul showed no recognition of her words, choosing instead to continue gnawing on her like a dog with a bone. Never taking her eyes off of the shambling horror, Nadirah's other arm strained against the vines, blood dripping down the long tendrils as the thorns dug deeper into her skin. One final tug was followed by a loud tearing sound as the vines were ripped from the plants themselves, and one was completely uprooted, its mouth opening and closing frantically as it was lifted from the ground. The impact of the furious doe's fist obliterated the ghoul's decomposing head, leaving a single jagged tooth stuck in her skin. Bone and decayed flesh sprayed outward, raining on the plants in a symphony of wet plops. The rest of the ghoul's body clung only for a few seconds more before it fell to the ground with a thud, immediately obscured by hungry whip vines.

As she cut the rest of her body free, she took notice of the horsemen, who gathered on the opposite side of the field to watch her progress in silence. The uprooted plant was carefully unwrapped and flung away before another eager flower was stabbed and another sliced in half. The vines gave her no further trouble as she hobbled out of the patch, the remaining ghouls already falling prey to the slashing tentacles or having been dispatched by the riders themselves.

Once free of the last of the plants, the doe collapsed to one knee, her fur darkened by gushing blood, and carefully peeled off the few remaining vines. More blood flowed from each fresh puncture once the barbed needles were torn away. As she was tossing aside the last vine, a pair of horse hooves came into her view, stopping a few inches away. Nadirah took a deep breath and let it out slowly, giving time for more hooves to appear, surrounding her in a semi-circle that bordered the field. The doe's eyes traveled slowly up the long equine legs in front of her to the point where the neck should have been, but instead sprouted the upper body of a human. The human-like torso was covered in fur that matched the color of the horse body, but it was the head of a horse that looked down at her from the otherwise human neck. "Aw hell." Nadirah muttered irritably before lowering her head again.

The horse-like creatures, which she had mistaken for riders, watched her closely, occasionally nickering back and forth to each other while the doe kneeled before them, trying to catch her breath, but they offered neither aid nor hostility. When she finally felt strong enough, the warrior rose carefully to her feet, watching them in return. Her limbs felt slightly stiff from the drying blood in her fur, so she flexed her joints carefully.

After a moment, one of the creatures took a step forward. It was smaller than the others around it, both in frame and stature, although it still stood several inches taller than the tarin. As it came closer, Nadirah could make out more details in the fading light. She saw it was a young stallion that approached her, his gray-dappled coat ending in dark stockings on his legs. His dark mane flowed freely in the undying breeze, half obscuring his equinish face. "No happy... you?" He said awkwardly, his voice breathy and high pitched. He looked down impassively at the tarin as he spoke.

"I've been better." Nadirah panted, looking curiously at the other creatures and surprised to find that most of them appeared to be female, their decorated manes cropped in bristling mohawks. "Are you guys the welcoming committee?"

The male glanced at one of the others before turning his attention back to the doe. "We no speak,.... I speak for all."

"Understood." Nadirah replied softly, straightening up as best she could while favoring one leg.

"We no happy... you... ruin." The creature spoke haltingly, struggling to find the right words in a language that was not his own. "Ruin... trap. No happy."

"Yeah, it happens." Nadirah said with a shrug. "Especially with necros around." Careful not to lose her balance, she turned to look back at the field. "Although that does seem like an efficient way to dispose of them now that I think about it."

The young male neighed loudly then tossed his mane. There were several responding whinnies and the group seemed to talk amongst themselves in this manner before Nadirah was addressed again. "Dead not-dead come always since pointed-tooths take down.... wall. Dead not-dead.... father? No... king. King send always. Wants kentaur lands and kentaur slaves. You sent from king?"

"Why does everyone keep thinking someone else sent me?" Nadirah grumbled. "I'm just passing through. But who's the pointed tooth and what wall are you talking about?" The doe looked around at the group as the kentaurs began to talk amongst themselves again. Most of them wore bands of braided vines, spikes sticking out, high on their arms and wrists. Two of them wore colorful blankets draped across their horse backs. One older female wore what appeared to be warpaint.

"Pointed-tooths live on edge of kentaur lands." The young male finally spoke up again, recapturing the doe's attention. "They have... long tooths... ? Can't keep teeth in mouth." The kentaur explained, reiterating his point by pointing his hands to either side of his mouth and pointing his index fingers upward. "Angry. Always angry."

"Oh. You mean orks." Nadirah said with a nod of understanding. "Good. Just the people I'm looking for." She looked past the huddle of kentaurs in the direction the young male had indicated. "How far away is it? How many days of travel?"

"No far for kentaur." The young male explained calmly.

"Great." Nadirah replied. "Then I'll just get my pack and be on my way then." But the group of kentaurs did not move, even as the young male relayed her message to the rest of them. They all remained in place, staring down at her, neither hostile nor welcoming.

"No." The young male spoke up again. "You ruin... Must bring in now. You." He pointed at her blood-coated legs. "Need... wellness? No... make wellness... flayers...make sick."

"Aw hell." Nadirah sighed in resignation. "Are you telling me I've been poisoned by your damn flower garden?"

The stallion nodded and pointed at her again. "You help, we give wellness."

"You mean cure." Nadirah snapped irritably, glancing at the slow seep of blood from a small wound that had not yet closed. "Fine. Let's make this quick. I have somewhere else to be."

The first sun was peeking over the horizon, painting the clouds in their brightest colors and splashing the sky with a cheerful blue. But the pastel rainbow of sunrise brought no cheer to the exhausted tarin. She had worked through the night to fix the kentaurs' vicious garden, despite the increasing stiffness of her body. By the time a headache began to blossom behind her eyes, she had finally finished her work.

The damaged flowers had been uprooted and piled together, their whipping vines sliced off close to the stem and set neatly in another pile. She had worked with only the light of the moons, the dapple grey kentaur always standing near by to keep guard.

The last of her energy finally used up while the poison slowly paralyzed her body, Nadirah looked at the evidence of her work and sighed wearily, then sat down on the soft grass before lowering her head to her chest and closing her eyes. Her headache was swiftly growing in intensity, only worsened by the morning light.

"Drink." The young male's voice came from somewhere far away, but Nadirah ignored him. She had no energy to go chase him down. Her head was pounding with the rhythm of her pulse and the rest of her body felt like it was carved of cold stone. "Drink." The kentaur demanded again, but the doe did not even flick an ear in recognition of his demand. "Must drink!" He said with a sense of urgency. Nadirah offered no resistance as her head was pulled back, her mouth falling limply open. A thick and syrupy liquid was poured onto her tongue. It slid and slithered into her throat, almost choking her. As her head was released, it fell backward, straining her neck.

The syrup had been sweet at first but left a bitter aftertaste and the tarin longed to spit it out, but even the act of breathing began to feel like to tremendous of an effort to continue. The pain in her head continued to increase, making her feel as if her very skull was about to explode from some invisible pressure. The world around her faded away to nothing until it was only her and the pain, separated from existence yet constantly reminded of its bitter reality.

For a time beyond her understanding, Nadirah sat motionless but for the gentle swell and drop of her chest. Just her and the terrible, blinding pain in her head, the stench of old blood and stale sweat filling her nostrils. And then suddenly it was gone in a wave of sweet release, and the doe collapsed limply to the ground.

When Nadirah woke again, she found herself stretched out on the ground, tucked between two rough blankets. The pain in her head was completely gone and her prior weakness had fled. Tossing aside the blanket covering her, she sat up and stretched, testing her limbs. Several of her joints popped loudly but there was no lingering issues. The antivenom had worked.

A flash of white in her peripheral vision made Nadirah look at her arms. Stretching them out in front of her, she was surprised to see that the blood had been thoroughly cleaned from her fur and several bandages had been placed over the worst of her wounds. More bandages covered her legs. Her leather armor had been removed and replaced by wide strips of the scratchy material, tied loosely with braided cords.

Carefully she rose to her feet and looked around, surprised to find herself in a wide square tent. The walls were a dark green, woven of the same material that had blanketed her while she slept. A pair of overlapping sheets flapped against each other, short beams of light flickering in through the shifting gaps. Nadirah made her way to them and pushed them apart, squinting her eyes against the brilliant sunlight.

A loud neigh was sounded as the tarin was spotted, summoning the young male that acted as translator for the herd. He came trotting up to the confused doe, carrying a clay bowl of water which he offered to her. "Thirsty you?" He asked awkwardly, offering her the bowl.

"No, I've got..." Nadirah started to reply, reaching automatically for her flask but finding it missing along with the rest of her possessions. "I had... something. Where are all of my things?"

"Dirty." The stallion replied. "Very dirty. Like mare. Clean soon. Herd no happy." Message delivered, he lowered his head and slurped at the water in the bowl, then offered it to Nadirah again when he was finished. "Water good. Thirsty you?"

"I need a translator for the translator." Nadirah muttered in annoyance and began walking away, irritated when the kentaur followed her.

Nadirah's confusion only grew as she began to look around her surroundings, finding herself in the middle of a busy kentaur camp. The camp was bustling with activity, everyone doing something. Briefly she paused to watch a large group who were sorting through the flayer plants she had harvested the night before.

They had segmented themselves into smaller clusters, some cutting off the roots and flowers, some putting all the different parts into different piles while another group was dumping roots into a large pot to boil. Yet another group was mashing already boiled roots and carefully extracting long threads from the mash before hanging them to dry on wooden racks.

Several feet away, another cluster of kentaur were carefully weaving the dried root threads into a large cloth. Several smaller sheets were also being dyed farther away. As Nadirah watched the workers curiously, she began to feel a slight pang of loss and longing. The quiet domesticity of the camp began to bring back mostly forgotten memories; of warm sunny days playing in tall grasses, of sitting before a warm fire at night. A sudden realization, however, chased the memories away as the doe noticed for the first time that every individual she could see was male.

"Hey, pony boy." She called to the stallion who shadowed her. He walked up beside her but offered no comment. "Where are all your females? I remember seeing some yesterday. Are they all still sleeping?"

The kentaur shrugged before answering. "Mares do... mares want do. Stallions do work so mares keep. Lazy stallion no mare want."

Nadirah paused a moment to ponder the stallion's words. "What do you mean by 'mares do mares want do'?" She asked, just beginning to grasp the meaning of his words. "You mean they don't do anything to help?"

The stallion paused, closing his eyes as he thought his response over carefully. "Mares... lead." He finally continued haltingly. "Mares... fight. Stallions no fight. If mares happy, they keep stallions. If no happy, they leave herd. Keep mares happy so stay with herd. No mare, no herd."

"Understood." Nadirah replied flippantly, already having lost interest in the subject. "So where did you say my things were?"

The stallion seemed confused a moment, then lifted his head and neighed loudly. After a few seconds, a faint answer came and the kentaur nodded. "No here. Soon." He paused and then lifted his head, looking around a moment before turning his attention back to the waiting doe. "You work hard like stallion." The young male continued, following beside Nadirah as she started wandering again. "Mares want keep, but no keep mares. So I here."

"You didn't already know I was a... mare, this whole time?" Nadirah asked with a tone of offense she didn't genuinely feel.

"No..." The stallion answered earnestly. "No make work if know. But not kentaur." He bowed his head shamefully before continuing. "Not know pointed-tooths also. Not kentaur, not know."

"Orks all look the same to me too." She replied dismissively, once again loosing interest. "What's going on over there?"

The stallion turned his head to look in the direction she was pointing. A small group of stallions were settled around a pile of flayer vines, weaving them into various shapes. "For mares." He replied. "Mares fight. Need make...protect."

"You mean armor?" Nadirah corrected. "Your making armor for the mares?" The stallion nodded. "Speaking of armor, how soon until mine is done? I need to get going."

"Hungry, you?" The kentaur asked, dodging her question. "I get food." Before she could respond, he turned and trotted away.

Giving a sigh, Nadirah shook her head and turned her attention back to the armor weavers. Their deft fingers worked the thorn-covered vines with practiced skill, transforming them into various other shapes. Curious, she approached the group, watching them work for several moments. After a while, she reached to the pile of completed items, the stallions halting their work to watch her as she lifted up a piece that confused her. It started with a small ring of narrow vine and slowly expanded outward as it spiraled down. "What is this?" She asked one of the watching stallions, holding out the object.

The kentaurs shared a round of whinnies before they rose to their feet, surrounding the tarin and looking down at her. The object was gently plucked from her fingers and their hands began to reach out, grasping at her. "Ah hell." The doe offered no resistance as she felt herself tugged and moved in various directions, the swift-moving hands of the stallions traveling lightly across her body. When they suddenly released her and stepped back, it took Nadirah several seconds to realize what had happened.

The dapple grey stallion stood a few feet in front of her holding a bowl of steaming brown liquid. He nickered to the others still loosely surrounding her, then stepped forward. "Mare look..." He paused as he tried to find the correct word, then settled on a different one. "Good. Hungry, you?"

Nadirah tilted her head, then looked down at herself, surprised to find that she was wearing several of the woven items. The bell-shaped object she had inquired about covered her forearm like a bracer. A braided belt lined her waist, and an unfamiliar weight on her shoulders made her look over her shoulder at the loosely woven cape that draped down behind her. "I feel like a druid." She replied in amusement. "Come here, pony boy."

Uncertainly, the stallion stepped forward and the others stepped away, returning to their work with the remaining vines. As he came closer, Nadirah unhooked the cloak from the base of her neck and swung it across the dapple gray's back. "There. It fits you a lot better than it does me."

The stallion gave a soft snort and folded his ears, his head lowering slightly, but he offered no complaint as he reached down and secured it around his waist with one hand. "I will carry for mare." He said softly, once more offering the bowl.

Nadirah accepted the bowl and sniffed it's contents curiously. It did not smell offensive to her nose, so she glanced at the stallion, then took a cautious sip. The soup was delicious to the doe's tongue and awakened a hunger she did not realize she had. Slightly spicy with a nutty flavor, the doe found herself emptying the bowl before she knew it. "Wow, that stuff is good! Is it made from those plants of yours?"

"Yes." The stallion nodded, accepting back the bowl. "Flayer good... all needs." He said awkwardly. He seemed to have a difficult time meeting her eye when she looked at him. "Hungry, you?"

"Actually I need to be heading out." She replied, beginning to walk again and followed by the stallion. "How long until I can have my possessions back?"

Rather than responding, the stallion raised his head and let out a loud neigh. After a few seconds he received a response. "He come now. Happy you?"

"I suppose I will be once I get my things back." She replied, pausing as she heard the sound of approaching hoof beats. A few seconds later, another stallion appeared, carrying a large cloth bundle in his hands. The new stallion slowed as he approached, finally stopping before the doe and offering out the bundle to her. Once she took it he bowed and stepped back, watching her impassively.

"He clean for mare." The dapple grey said. "Happy, you?"

Nadirah unwrapped the bundle and smiled slightly at what she found. Her sword and flask rested on top of her armor, which had been folded neatly. The leather had been scrubbed and oiled to a near shine. The light chain glimmered in the sunlight from its polishing. Even her sword had been meticulously cared for, the scabbard looking nearly brand new. "Yes." Nadirah finally answered as she set the bundle to the ground and began to carefully remove the items. "You guys did a great job. I'm impressed!"

The gray stallion translated her answer and the other gave another bow before turning and walking away, his hooves lifting pridefully high. Nadirah watched him go, amused by his behavior, then stripped off the rough cloth strips she had been wearing, dressing quickly in her newly-cleaned armor. "Well, pony boy, it's been fun and all, but I really need to be going. How far is it to ork territory?"

The stallion looked away and flipped his ears nervously, one hoof pawing at the grass. "I... take. Happy you?"

"Take me where? Happy about what?" Nadirah asked with an annoyed flick of her ears. "You've got to speak better common than this, pony boy. Even the Kin put together better sentences."

The stallion bowed his head in embarrassment, leaning down to set the bowl on the ground in an attempt to hide the emotion. "I... take with you. To pointed-tooth land. Create... no... make... make happy, you?"

"Are you offering me a ride or just an escort?" The doe asked as she strapped on her sword, pulling it out to inspect the polished blade.

Again the stallion's head bowed and rose. "Mare do as mare want."

Riding the back of the dapple grey kentaur, the trip to the border between kentaur and ork territory took only a few hours. Born and raised on the hilly plains, the young stallion was able to keep a steady and efficient pace that the tarin could not have matched in the best of circumstances.

The suns had set when they reached the border. A glance up at the sky showed only one moon as the two eclipsed each other. A generous spray of stars twinkled in the otherwise empty darkness of the sky. Even with the minimal light, Nadirah could see only desolation that stretched out before her. The grass ended abruptly, turning into hard packed red clay. The ragged stumps of long felled trees littered the dead ground. Deep grooves had been carved into the clay from heavily burdened wheels. "Sharp tooths not far." The stallion said as his passenger climbed off. "Go in light. Dark no good."

"I think I'll be alright." Nadirah replied softly, stretching her tired muscles. "I've seen worse. Besides, in this case it would be better for me to approach at night anyway. Less chance of my prey spotting me coming."

"No." Pony Boy protested, bowing his head again. "I no go in dark. No cover. Very danger. Hurt." He paused, searching for the words he longed to say. "We go in light. Mare wait." Nadirah turned to face the stallion, giving him a pat on the arm. "You did me favor enough to take me this far. This is the end of your territory, pony boy. You can go on back now. Or stay here and wait for morning if you prefer. But I'm going to go alone from here. You'll only get in my way if you come with me." Without waiting for the kentaur to respond, the warrior turned away and walked into the devastated wasteland that had once been a thick forest. The kentaur stood where she left him, continuing to watch her until she disappeared into the heavy darkness.