Commando Part 36

Maurice rode on his steed at a steady pace with his team on Unseen Bears, Uwaux, Tuxir, Ranger, and Red Heart warrior behind him. A half an hour's ride was all they could get out of the journey before nightfall came. It did not matter now since they were in no bi hurry and the city of Khansungai was not too far away.

In the dark they made camp along the side of the road flanked by the trees of the forest. While the seven warriors and soldiers rested around the fire Maurice kept recalling what the native woman said to them. He did not sleep for half the night. When he did go to sleep he had a dream of a former lover he left years ago before going to the Unknown Lands. This former lover of his was a traveling bard who was also a musician, singer and a dancer. She met him in a university around the time this war broke out. Maurice recalled her nickname which was Mellow Talent. At this university they spent four years together however his studies actually spiraled downward in his attempts to become a master at pseudoscience, and psychology behind necromancy. His family urged him to study both so they could identify any forbidden activity going on within their family. Alas he failed and sought out the Vestrisian Expeditionary forces. His youth brought about a sense of adventure and the willingness to fight. For two years he trained in boot camp and earned a chance to become an officer. Even that chance was botched when he beat her to the ground one night.

His dream was more of a nightmare of himself punching her and beating her out of rage over something. Maurice's wrath was over her being at a party, getting drunk and a Goblin getting inside her cleavage. Most patrons of the party overlooked that as they were all drunk that night. The two of them ,Mellow, and that Goblin were wasted and the goblin put himself between her bosoms spraying her in the act. Maurice did not hear about this a month before his promotion to Captain. On that night he allowed his own wrath to get the better of him. She betrayed their love for each other at that party with the act of ravenous behavior. In his nightmare he continued to punch her in multiple places numerous times including her pretty face and stomach. She begged, screamed and cried for him to stop, pleading for forgiveness and mercy. The last thing he saw was her battered face, big eyes swelling with tears and a hurt expression on her face. Maurice jolted awake almost crying out loud in the jungle road of the Unknown Lands.

His party members were woken up by his outburst in the jungle. Maurice muffled himself the same time his companions pounced on him to silence him. With his fellow countrymen holding him down Eyanosa, Taregan, Oraceth, and Brittany kept an eye out for any predators, savage tribesmen, and other hostiles. He only saw the skies, clouds, trees, leaves, and Amonif's arm. Maurice blinked several times before he to be released.

.When there were no dangers around they released Maurice and lowered their guard. The Lieutenant got up shaking the nightmare away as though nothing had happened. Treating the situation like nothing occurred the seven companions ate their meals and prepared to press on. On their steeds Maurice's party followed the road, seeing the same types of foliage, trees, some rocks along the road, and a few travelers who jumped out of the way of the steeds. These seven warriors and soldiers ignored the gawping eyes of other pedestrians on this jungle road that was mostly dirt cleared of foliage. It ran straight through the jungle forest snaking through it like a snake and containing some paths that branched off.

For several more miles the party saw they were getting close to this lake. It appeared large with some trees surrounding it. There were also large trees often found in swamps dotting the surface of the lake. Getting a little closer to this lake they noticed it was larger than most lakes they had seen in these lands. In the air around the tree branches flew bat like creatures with green and red fur. None of these flying creatures noticed their approach since they were far too busy eating fruits, chasing insects, and flying around or hanging on branches upside down. Maurice watched these creatures for a while then returned to the road which went past the lake and also veered left like a fork in the road.

In his head the woman's words kept repeating over and over. He slowed his large cat steed with his eyes on the turn in the road. A few more minutes on the road and they made it to the turn in this dirt road. As they turned on his path the bats dove and went to the trees. This caused them to halt in surprise at this. Seeing all these bats act like this seemed normal, but it was the way these creatures stared at them. These red and green fury winging creatures stared at them upside down with hungry eyes. He stared one down for a few moments waiting for it to attack before pressing on. There was not much else to look at aside from the hanging vines low, branches, leaves, trees, foliage, bats, and other creatures in this area. Through the foliage, and between the trees they got a good view of the lake that was still a good distance away.

When Maurice looked at this lake he spotted the large creature through the trees sitting in the water. He did not see the full size of the thing, but he could tell it was massive, even colossal. Its skin appeared murky, covered in mud, brownish, dirty, covered in muck. Maurice did not look at it for very long since he had to press on down this road. Just as the native woman described numerous corpses, helmets, bones, weapons, limbs, heaps of bodies covered in foliage laid where they had been left. The gruesome sight was spread out in the jungle and on the road. Most of the corpses were bones of the invaders left to rot in the earth. They did not spend much time site seeing.

As the party of seven passed all the corpses covered in foliage, insects, critters, and snakes something else caught their attention. Next to the road lay a large statue that had toppled over. Vines and foliage covered this statue which must have marked the ruins of a lost city. When he looked past this statue there stood the city Khasungai in his view. It was just down the road they had to take only they were not the only ones headed to the city. The force of Khasungai soldiers that attacked the gangs was marching to their city-state.