P-Elub Shore Chapter 50

Read Table of Content | +Kyla Scurchio
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                    With my head foggy I finally woke up. My arms were tied, and spears were in my face. It was still dark but we were no longer on the shore. We were crouched in a dense patch of grass and trees. My captor’s held up a finger to their mouths to keep my quiet. Grunting quietly to myself I lifted myself up off the ground to see what they were looking at over the grasses.  Another tribe was gathered some yards away from
us. Unlike the Elub tribe, who wore shades of blue, this new tribe wore only shades of green.
                    “Pay attention hunter.” Spat one of the Champion mice. The water flowed lightly around her as we watch the Nerg tribe.
                    “And what,” I spat “am I suppose to be paying attention to exactly?”  The water from the champion mouse snaked its way around my throat threateningly before releasing me once more.
                    “To your new enemies.” She pointed to the mice and listed them off for me. “The beast tamer is tough, able to take down the mightiest of animals from the Jungle of Dread.”
                    The mouse was wrestling with a beast in the far corner of the tribe’s camp. With his hands outstretched, he stopped the animal in its movement without even touching it. As he lowered his arms the beast crashed to the ground where it stayed motionless.
                    “The Alnilam Mouse.” said the Champion mouse pointing to the next. “Do not be fooled by their technique. They make a lot of noise but if you ignore all their antics they are easy to bring down.”
                    I watched as the mice, separated from the rest of the group, practiced with their long spears in unison. Every move was matched perfectly by each of the group.
                    “The brute of the group, the one you will most likely have trouble with at first is the Conqueror.”
This mouse was by itself pacing around the perimeter of the camp swishing its massive sword through the air as he went. In the middle of the camp was a chieftain mouse. I didn’t need him pointed out to me and the Champion mouse didn’t say anything as I took in the chief and his protectors.
                    “The Defender, and the slayer” the Champion whispered to me, nodding at each mouse individually. “The slayer can control its surroundings, be wary hunter. The defender is stronger than any warrior on the tribe and is a mighty foe.”
                    “And what is the point of me knowing about all of them.” I said glancing at the mouse next to me.
                    “Because hunter, you are going to help us take them out.”
                    I wasn’t even given the chance to say no to the tribe’s crazy plan. Tactical mice were tricky and I wanted nothing to do with it. Why would I want to risk my well being for a bunch of insane mice? As if the Champion mouse could read my thoughts she called over the soothsayer who ratted me out.
                    “Do not think of this as a favor for us hunter.” said the soothsayer, “I know it would go against your nature to help out the very thing your blood craves to kill. Think of it as taking out plenty of the enemy in exchange for the whereabouts of the hunter Zugzwang.”
                    My body froze. How did they know about him? Was he here on the island? I nodded my head in agreement to the plan. They really had given me no choice, I fight, I receive precious knowledge about Z, I don’t fight, and I’m kept a hostage.
                    “I’ll do it. But I’ll need some time to prepare my own battle strategy. I need to study some spells and gather my weapons.” The mice cringed at the thought of my spells and weapons. I saw the soothsayer look at me curiously as if it wondered what kind of power I truly had. They nodded and left me alone, or as alone as they would dare; four spearmen formed a wide circle around me turning away, leaving me to my thoughts.
                    I was useless at most spells when faced with immediate danger but I hoped to pull off a few of the simple ones I thought would be useful. Since the slayer mouse was able to use the surrounding land to its advantage I thought I’d try to do the same with a few of my own spells. If I manipulated the landscape then I could stand a chance to take out several mice at once, or at least stop them in their tracks and let the Elub warriors do the dirty work.
                    I spent the longest portion of my time making sure I could grow and shrink my traps in an instant. I couldn’t grow them to full height so near to the Nerg camp but I got the spell down really well and would be able to use it even under stress.
                    The only problem I faced was the ability of my traps to work well. For the most part I would have to do the job my trap normally would have. Hand to hand combat was not my idea of a good time. But I looked at my sad Ambush trap and the Last Move and realized they didn’t really stand a chance. If anything it would be a great distraction. I would have to rely on magic more than any hunting strategy I knew. Hand to hand was going to be a problem too with both my arms sore and stiff. As long as I didn’t twist or bend them too much it was something I could overlook.
                    When I thought I was as ready as I could ever be, I nodded to the soothsayer who relayed the message for the battle to start. I could feel my heart thrumming within me.  The quicker I could end this the quicker I’d find my way to Zugzwang, and then home. Who would have thought I’d miss the meadow so much.
I smirked to myself then headed over to the front line. All of us were hunched in the bushes waiting. When the champion let out her battle cry all of us tore out of the trees and grasses. The mice all around me let out shouts of war. When Nerg realized what was occurring, they quickly gathered and met us head on. The clash of weapons on weapons was deafening. It had begun.