While trying to shorten their travel time Okuha and her friends decide to cut across the plains, a decision they soon regret as they find themselves caught between advancing gnoll armies fighting for resources and territory. They manage to get away from the battlefield but in the commotion they get split up. So Okuha now has to make her own way to their agreed meeting point, an abandoned trading post near the foot of the mountains.

Cutting through the forest at the edge of the plains Okuha runs into a gnoll scouting party and is chased into a clearing and right into another battle between more gnolls and a salamander. Surprised as she was, Okuha had nowhere left to run caught between this battle and her persuers so she had to make her stand here and hope this Salamander wouldn't attack her next. Running into the clearing she stopped a short distance away from the salamander and turned to face the gnolls behind her, using her ice breath to surprise the first one breaking into the clearing by freezing him on the spot. Feeling a heat rising behind her she glanced over her shoulder just in time to witness the salamander burst into flame and hack into the remaining gnolls with a ferocity she had never seen before as the gnolls quickly fell in a whirlwind of black steel and fire.

It didn't take long for the gnolls to sound the retreat, but as they were running away the salamander ran after the leader of the pack, picking up an axe near a dead gnoll and in one swift motion throwing it at the gnoll leader, hitting her clean in the back of the skull before catching up and pouncing on the two betas who were lucky to be dead before they hit the ground and were set on fire by the slamander's flames. Then suddenly it was as if all the fire just moved and was absorbed into the salamander still hunched over the dead gnoll betas and the scene became eerily quiet save for the distant sound of the main battlefield. The Salamander remained there panting for a few moments before getting up and walking over to the dead alpha to rummage through it's pack and satchels, retrieving a small obsidian object. Lifting the alpha's head the salamander glared into her dead eyes for a moment before spitting into her face and speaking softly "Bitch. That's what you get...You shouldn't have tried to steal from me and decieve me. Pity though...we had some fun together but you had to ruin it all. Last time I trust one of your kind again."

Standing up the salamander finally seemded to acknowledge Okuha who had been silently watching, standing over an unconcious gnoll at her feet and one behind her thawing out of his icy cage. "Now who are you? And what is a dragon kin doing all the way out here...you don't look like you're friends with these flea-ridden furbags. First dragon kin I've seen that actually knows how to put up a somewhat decent fight as well, not too bad."

Artwork by  Foxena
Characters belong to me  Chakat_Blackwater