JULY 9, 2014.
Post by Lenneth on Jan 3, 2014 12:12:03 GMT -5
Those hollows could not be far off. Lenneth had followed their trail for a few hours now, and their smell was becoming stronger with every step they made. They should get into sight every minute now, the sandy wastes of this country did not exactly make it easy to hide, unless they had decided to attempt another burrow ambush. She had two of those so far, since she had crossed into the sexta’s lands. Hollows would burrow into the sand, preferably dunes, and attempt to jump anyone who tried to cross them. A safe tactic to grab weaker prey and to at least gain a small advantage on moderate opponents, but it was nothing compared to what she was used to. Those guys were small fry, and they were few inbetween, hardly a satisfying meal. At least one of the hollows she met on her way there had left her a nice coat that offered some protection from the merciless sun above. It stung harshly, even now, that twilight was afoot.
Maybe that was the reason why the hollows had stopped. Either that, or they had found some kind of prey further ahead. It did not matter much to Lenneth, she was only interested in this unusually large group ahead. According to the first appetizer, these hollows were renegades, outcasts from the sixth’s sanctuary. If they banded together like this, then it must have been some kind of gang or posse, which, among hollows, always implied a strong leader, perhaps even worthy of her attention.
But the time for thought and daydreaming came to a close. When their stench became more and more apparent, she allowed herself to tense up, to ready herself for combat. It should not be too far anymore, possibly right behind the dune in front of her. While there were no natural stones in the wastes, the formation she found there was surprisingly elaborate. It was, for all means and purposes a dustbowl, a kind of valley surrounded by dunes on all sides, with a makeshift village of tents in the middle. A bandit hideout? Len dropped on all fours when she climbed the dunes, and kept low for the moment, assessing the situation. From where she was, she could not really hear what was going on down there, but those hollow were clearly agitated about something. As if they had found something, but were also confused about it. Lenneth did not really know what was going on, but so far, no one appeared to notice her, so she kept on gazing at that place, intent to wait until answers presented themselves.
