Commando Part 14

      Out of the thick jungle emerged a large reptilian creature standing on its hind legs upright. Standing about three stories tall this reptilian carnivore had scales of a dragon and snake, thick hind legs for running, arms with claws for grabbing and a large head full of razor sharp teeth as long as swords. Its body coincided with the size of its head making it almost colossal. The tail reached thirty feet in length and swung back and forth as it gazed at the mass of fighters. Every single Beast Man turned to this carnivore in fear. The air was silent and still within the jungle. Not a single muscle stirred or any movement made. Everyone seemed frozen in place like statues with their feet stuck to the ground. It sniffed the air around them then proceeded to sniff them as it approached. Whatever type of carnivore this was it had a hungry look in its eyes. Without warning it roared again. This roar was elongated and louder than the last one.

      Not even hesitant the Beast Men made a run for it. All the tribal warriors fled from the area scattering in fear. Seeing it had hundreds of fleeing food to choose from this large reptilian carnivore chased after the hundreds of Beast Men. As it pursued the tribal warriors this carnivore roared. As soon as it disappeared into the jungle the whole party went into action. Scared and preferring not to become this reptile’s next meal they got in their feline steeds. The non-combatants were loaded on the back of the saddles with enough room for a sack. Each passenger held on tightly as the Prowler, Tuxir Trackers led the party at a southward course through the jungles. Speeding through the jungle on the backs of Jumbo Cats Maurice felt leaves, and brush skim across his cheeks, and his body. His own steed followed the other cats with several other cats behind him. Covering the rear of their pack Amonif rode armed with a long lance from the Tuxir fighter. Their Forsythan friend did have the strength to fend off the beast but not even he seemed certain if he could kill one so large.

      In full gallop the enlarged party rushed through the jungle passing trees, brush, stones, tribal pillars, nests, totem poles, abandoned villages, shacks and other things found in the jungles. His own steed leapt over fallen trees, logs, low branches while following Brittany’s steed. For some time they sped their way through the jungles in a serpentine like pattern. Allowing their steeds and the leaders to drive the party forth they came to a slowed halt in the middle of a clearing. This clearing stretched barely less than ten thousand square feet on all sides. Most of it had been made, but was starting to show signs of regrowth. Twelve steeds with two riders each circled this clearing that was full of abandoned tents, equipment, sheds, and the makings of a military campsite/outpost.

      All of them stopped where they were able to dismount. Dropping to the ground the party members let their steeds rest who went to a group of trees for more shade. While their large feline steeds rested by a patch of trees in the clearing the riders and rescued captives studied their surroundings. Looking around it was apparent to those familiar with military camps that this was indeed a Vestrisian forward camp. It appeared to be in the process of becoming an outpost. Maurice’s memories of such camps and forward outposts being founded beyond their fronts came back. Investigating his own memories the commando recalled about seven known outposts created back in the year 1845. That was the very year he lost contact with the rest of the Vestrisian Army as it retreated out of the Unknown Lands.

      He shook the horrible memories of those weeks and months out of his head. Within moments of shaking the bad memories away Maurice observed his surroundings. Some parts of the camp appeared to be intact and in working condition. This Vestrisian camp-outpost had about seven or so pitched tents in quite horrid, tattered condition. Only a few of these tents seemed inhabitable for a short amount of time. These tents were arranged in the standard military style with gaps in the set up where tents used to be. On one side of this camp outpost was a larger tent with multiple sections and rooms. It must have served as the officer’s lodging and the main headquarters until the camp became more of an outpost then transform into a base. Opposite the headquarters was the first structure of the outpost made from wood, metal, and logs cut from trees. The logs were set in the back of this structure as part of the wall like fence that was to go around the outpost/base.

      Next to this structure were the tool shed and the ammunition depot. To one corner was the construction of a watchtower. One of the three standing guard towers was broke down and collapsed. Maurice looked towards the entrance which faced south where a machinegun nest rested next to it opposite a check in shack. He turned his head with the others circling around out of curiosity. Most appeared disturbed by the discovery whereas others looked around nervously with paranoid expressions. On the west side of the camp four cabins lined the wall where the fence was missing. Each of these cabins was the size of a one or two room shack. All of them appeared empty and abandoned with no signs of life exempt the vines and vegetation taking over.

      As he turned around to check the other parts one of the zoologists checked one of the cabins out of curiosity. She looked into one of the more broken down cabin. His gaze turned back to face the tents and their cat steeds. Their steeds made themselves comfortable under the shelter they found. He studied their surroundings a bit more as his fellow companions wandered the old camp-outpost. One of the spaces where a tent used be pitched seemed odd. Maurice approached this particular space and found it was a sheet of dust, dirt, and jungle waste covering the collapsed tent. Finding this suspicious, and feeling curious he checked it out. He picked up a stick and began picking through the debris. As he brushed off the dirt off the tent something under the tent caught his eye. Pulling part of the tent back revealed the skeleton of a deceased soldier of the Vestrisian Expedition. It appeared mostly decayed with hardly any tissue or remaining flesh after decomposing. The under shirt of the Vestrisian uniform was mostly tattered and the cap rested on the skull. Looking at the smile of the deceased comrade Maurice noticed the dog tag around its neck. Just as he reached for the dog tag someone screamed a horrified scream.

      The scream nearly made him jump out of his skin since it was so sudden and out of nowhere with little to no warning. Moments after the scream he regained himself and yanked the dog tag from the skeleton. Turning around to the source of the scream Maurice discovered the scream came from the nosy Zoologist. She ran away from the cabins whimpering and trying not to cry while regaining composure. Others went over to the cabins to see what made her scream of fear. His party of fighters went on their guard expecting something to come out and attack them. The Onyx Cougars, and Silver Harpy yelled at the zoologist for their foolishness. Maurice ignored them while Brittany brought them to heel. Amonif, and the prowler approached the cabins. Holding the dog tag the commando took a look inside the cabins. Inside two of these cabins were skeletons of Vestrisian soldiers stuffed inside.
    Taking this chance to complete part of his mission Maurice Viyamor began snatching up any dog tags he could see and reach from the door or window. He had Amonif and Hilastes help him get the skeletons out of the cabins. Regardless of the zoologists, guides, and anthropologist’s fear and disgust of this the commando collected the rest of the dog tags. All together Maurice gathered seventeen dog tags from the skeletal corpses of fallen comrades. 

        

Commando Part 13

Eight former captives sat on their knees wondering what would their future hold now. Twelve heavily armed fighters and their Jumbo Cat steeds stood between the captives and the mouth of the cave. All the captives looked at each other with concerned and scared looks. They must have though these new warriors would either kill them and feed them to their cats or simply leave them at the cave. All twelve looked at these rescued captives then to each other wondering what the Hithna to do with these captives. Maurice desired to press on and reach their objective as did half his group. The other half wanted to help them escape the Unknown Lands. However that would mean going west or turning back. Scared and confused the captives stared at them in horror until three other figures appeared out of the cave.

     Behind them Oladele Zeim, Eledhien, and Pokeha exited the cave. Seeing the other three captives eased the concerns and swept away the fear that gripped the other captives. Oladele approached them with a knife unsheathed then proceeded to untie them. As they stood up their rescuers were about to leave. Before he even mounted he studied the captives trying to figure out how long they had been out here and what they were doing in this part of the world.

     Four of these captives were zoologists exploring the jungles in search of the species and any new ones. From the way they dressed in the typical safari explorer outfits he assumed they were part of a team. Two of the other captives are the native guides to the zoologists. Each one wore a decorative tribal shawl over the typical tribal garb. Next to them was a hunter who dressed in the more traditional style of a southern explorer. He was an older man with graying hair and a few scars here and there who resided alone in these jungles. The last captive was a female anthropologist known as Dr. Evia Judith Westley. She was part of a study team from the Redrin Republic University of Langshier in Redrin city of Iberai. Her team was attacked and butchered before the rest were taken by different tribes. It appeared to be the same story with the other captives except the hunter who was dragged from his own hunting lodging.

     None of these freed captives had any sense of where they were or how far in the jungles they were. In a brief discussion among themselves the other eight captives decided to join the fifteen adventurers. Since it would most likely take a few or more months to traverse these jungles in search of lost Vestrisians Maurice allowed this. Using the skills, and knowledge of the guides and hunter the increased party of twenty three snaked through the brush of the jungles. As they pressed on for hours into the day they came upon a campsite. It appeared to be a Gantronese camp that was abandoned some time ago. In a clearing six tents with the Gantronese emblem on both sides sat in a circle with an old fire place in the middle. They checked each tent finding some useful items and canned goods. One of the tents had a skeleton of a long dead Gantronese soldier with a knife in his back.

     Quickly grabbing up the supplies the party then pressed on towards the east in search of their own campsites, but only found more abandoned posts and other campsites. Seven total campsites were discovered during their trek through the jungles. The second camp was another Gantronese camp that was completely torn apart by the savage natives. A week passed before they found another camp belonging to the Gantronese, which was not as bad as the previous plus with more useful items. Not too far from this one was an outpost belonging to the Gantronese. For a whole day they camped here before going on to the next. As another week passed after the discovery of the outpost they found a fourth abandoned campsite full of old supplies and canned food strewn about. Maurice picked on up to find bite marks on it. The savage beasts or some animal had tried getting to the food inside. He shook it causing the contents to shift a little inside. One of their prowlers and Hilastes checked each can before claiming it as theirs.

     Pakeha followed tracks that she found that led straight to one of the zoologists’ camps. This one was one of five camps the zoologists set up in the jungle. It appeared to be bigger than the other camps they came across. High tech equipment still sat there in the camp some damaged others left alone. Here the Zoologists insisted they be left here. The bodyguard and guides warned them not to do that. After a brief argument they were given no chose but to press onward in a southern route. As they pushed further to the southwest they cut a path in case the zoologists foolishly wanted to go back. To their surprise these zoologists came over via airship. However it was nowhere to be seen since it probably dropped them off like a taxi cab would. A few more days in the jungle took them to another campsite towards the eastern side of the other camps.

     Tired and sick of the jungle the large party found a camp that belonged to the anthropologist. Unfortunately it was located close to a tribe of Beast men. Dr. Westley ignored the fact that this camp was close to another tribe. She began rummaging through boxes, crates, and her own belongings for records of her studies. As she gathered up what files and research she could a small group of hostiles appeared in the trees and brush. Everyone froze where they stood realizing they were surrounded by an entire tribe or war band of Beast Men. As he looked around them he counted close to two hundred or more Beast Men surrounding them. A few dozen of the tribal warriors charged at the fighters ignoring the unarmed scientists. The hunter tried to defend himself only to get swarmed by the savages and have his throat slit. Seeing the hunter die in such a gruesome way horrified the zoologists, and anthropologist whom ran for shelter. Maurice sent Amonif after them to ensure none ran off into the jungle blinded by fear.

     Hilastes killed several tribal warriors before more of the tribal warriors charged in the quarrel in the abandoned campsite outpost. Nine fighters fought for their lives against overwhelming odds. Each one had killed dozens upon dozens of Beast Men warriors littering the cleared campsite of corpses. The Jumbo Cats were mainly left alone to attack freely since Beast Men somewhat feared these large cats. To the greater misfortune these cats simply laid there and watched the fight after killing a few more Beast Men. Infuriated that these older Jumbo Cats had little interest in dealing with the Beast Men, Maurice sliced open a large warrior who had three skulls tied to his belt.

     As the party of escorts fought on the cats maneuvered around the camp-battlefield killing or knocking down a few more Beast Men. Twelve large cats with different colored coats of furs laid around the shed the zoologists, anthropologists, and their guides hid. Every cat had its own fur coat from black, brown, fawn, chocolate with stripes, reddish, grey, blue, and flaxen. All of them were bred for the soul purpose of warfare, riding, and basic needs of a culture in the jungles. However the Jumbo Cat had the habit of acting like a house cat. They’d choose to obey you or not depending on their thoughts, attitude or situation. In this particular situation these young and old cats seemed intrigued just watching them fight. Acknowledging the large cats being lazy and not helping Maurice gave them glares every now and then. In response to his glares and others shouting at them some turned away, a few yawned and one simple rolled over showing its belly. Cats usually showed their belly as a way of saying it loved you. This knowledge of felines crossed his mind as he fought off a few war club wielding warriors and a war chief. In the thick jungle a loud roar shattered the air causing everyone to stop. Each cat propped up its head with wide eyes and ears back. 

Commando Part 12

Twelve Sarcagosee fighters ventured in to the thick jungle leaving the civilized part of the Unknown Lands. Trees, brush, bushes, vines, tall grass, fungus, uprooted trees, stumps, fallen trees, and some rocks cluttered the jungle. Noises from various animals filled their ears as they cut through the brush trying to find a path the Uwaux told them about. Tuxir Trackers and the Prowler scouted ahead returning with both good and bad news. For some number of days the party trekked through the jungle following the guidance of a compass heading south west and their Uxane companions. Maurice was surprised to come as far as they had without coming across any dangers, ambushes or traps. Yet he could not get rid of the feeling that eyes hidden by the thickness of the jungle were watching them.

      For another thirteen miles they discovered a river flowing into a cave. It was here they chose to camp despite the possible dangers lurking inside and out. Like most caves in the jungle this one was dry, cool, and dark. It was even deep, stretching out into the earth with multiple tunnels and chambers. They found a chamber closer to the entrance big enough for all twelve of them. Their own steeds were placed in a few separate chambers with no other extensions or tunnels. Every entrance was covered with a black or dark tapestry of some sort to hide from anything that would wander inside.

      On this night they were sound asleep until very late past sundown. All twelve were woken up by the sounds of a horrifying scream and shouting outside the cave. Each one grabbed his or her weapon ready to come to the aid of the screaming person or at least avenge them. Maurice held out a hand to stop them and listened to the struggle. He listened to the screams and the shouting. It sounded like several women struggling to get away from the monsters of the Unknown Lands’ jungles. Each scream and shouts grew louder and louder as the source drew closer to their cave. Listening to this ruckus come closer it became clearer that some unfortunate souls were in the hands of some Savage Beast men. The Beast men were mostly organized into tribes, but only several confederacies existed since most tribes often fought each other.

      Maurice peeked through the flap to see six Beast men holding three women captive maybe more. In the dark it was not too hard to tell the difference since Beast men had long hair. From the shouts he discerned it was a wealthy aristocratic elf trying to squirm out of their hold. The second was a tribal girl from one of the Uxane-Curnai tribes. The third captive was a Zegrav-Badraani in white sand colored desert robe-tunic held to her waste with a belt. Her legs were covered by a tannish green pants and black boots. For several minutes the Beast men arranged the three women while the elf still shouted at them. The third woman tried calming her down despite the situation they were in. She called the elf by her name which was Eledhien Silver. This Eledhien screamed at the Zegrav-Badraani calling her a worthless bodyguard. In moments the six Beast men were about to have their way when one of the Tuxir gave out a war shout running at the Beast men armed with a tomahawk. Maurice then gave the signal forced to attack. All twelve immediately rushed at the Beast men who were caught unawares. It did not take long for them to slay the monsters since they merely outnumbered them two to one and had surprise on their side.

      When Maurice looked outside the cave he saw there were more Beast men outside of the cave. He counted up to seventy four or more Beast men surrounding sixteen other captives. All eyes are on the cave waiting for the six deceased Beast men to be done with their little mating with the women. Beast men of the Unknown lands were also known to capture females and forcefully mate with them. Every captive that is captive and impregnated is forced to stay with the tribe and give birth. Not many people wanted to know what happened after that despite rumors and horror tales plus the occasional survival stories of those who escaped or sold into slavery then liberated.

      Seeing they were cornered in the cave, outnumbered and at a slight disadvantage the Sarcagosee resulted in egging the Beast men into a fight man to man. Many Beast men would often fall for this acting aggressive by nature, dull minded, and not very bright. Maurice looked into the face of one particular Beast man who seemed taller than most of them there. It had the typical appearance of the Beast men despite the breeding with other races. Beast men have a primate like face of various colors which depended on the mother who spawned it. This one was darker skinned than the others with protruding fangs. Some were born with tusks, large fangs or filed sharpened teeth. Its nostrils are larger than the average primate and often had a bone piercing or a metal one. These creatures had large bodies, which were not muscular at all, but were furry. Every one of them had large hands and feet to match thick arms and tree trunk sized legs. This one seemed to be decorated with tribal tattoos and prized pieces of armor taken from those it killed. Beast men wear a loincloth, fur clothing or leather tunics. They’d always be armed with a war club, tribal cudgel, or any weapon they can get their hands on.

      About seven or so started to approach the cave when another group of savages attacked them. This other group of savages was Green Demon tribesmen. Many tales about these tribesmen entail of their cruelty towards outsiders and their enemies. Some local tribes believe them to be Demons due to their appearance which they made themselves. Green was the color they used to dye their skin or paint it to blend in with the jungle surroundings. In front of the cave the two tribes fought over the captives some of whom must have belonged to the Green tribesmen. Several of the tribesmen from both sides attacked them as well as they witnessed the battle from the cave. Each warrior was cut down immediately with no chance against the Sarcagosee.

      For fifteen to thirty minutes the two tribes fought each other. Dozens still broke off from the group and attacked those in the cave. Each warrior and beast fell to their hands laying lifeless at the cave entrance. Savage blows and thrusts from spear points were thrown all around as the two tribes fought each other before the mouth of the cave. Within moments it almost seemed to go on without any end as more joined the fight. As soon as it was about to go on both sides fled from the fight taking whatever they could pick up. Whatever fights this was it turned out to be no more than a skirmish leaving scores upon scores dead, dying or wounded. It appeared more a quick skirmish compared to the long drawn out battles that would last for days in the jungles. Corpses of the slain and dying lay limp while those only wounded dragged their bodies over dirt, rocks, foliage and other corpses. Some tried to finish the fight but were too wounded. Few who were able to stand fought it out with those standing as well. Half of those fell to the hands of other wounded while half of those who won died of their wounds. Among the corpses and wounded only eight of the captives remained. The other eight captives were likely rescued or taken by the Green Demons.