« (Jasper) »
Jasper was glad that she had good night vision; it enabled her to fly south without problems. She had decided to use the trees of the forest as cover. The broken core was heavier than she liked, but she dared not relinquish it.
Finally, after what seemed for ever she reached the hills and the forest. She flew with supreme unconcern between the trees. She ignored the rustling of one of the trees she passed, thinking nothing of it.
So it came as a huge shock to her when a sharp tipped stick flashed past her head, missing her by scant centimetres. It was accompanied by a barked, “Leave our woods, spawn of hell.”
Jasper shot to the side and made as if to hide behind a tree. “Why!” she screamed, "I just want to pass through.”
“Hellspawn are not welcome. Leave or die.”
Reluctantly she turned round and headed out. Then sure she had left them behind she changed her path and headed back at an angle.
When one of the sharp tipped sticks punched through the membrane of her left wing, she screamed, more in surprise than in pain, and spat out a fireball. The fireball not surprisingly, impacted a tree and set it on fire even as she dropped to the ground.
Looking up in terror, Jasper saw several huge – for her – armed ape-men jumping through the branches in her direction. She grabbed her core to her ample breasts and flew as hard as she could until she managed to leave the forest.
Once clear of the forest she collapsed to the ground and sobbed with a mixture of fear and relief. Two hours later her wing was healed, leaving only a faint scar. All thanks to her species’ regeneration ability. So once again she took to the air. This time heading northeast, to where she could vaguely sense something on the horizon. Or maybe it was over the horizon, but it was calling.
She hid in a bush during the day. Then she flew all night. She was also involved in a rather messy melee with some giant fanged bats. Her saving grace was the fact that she was faster, for the bats were far more acrobatic.
She spent the day in a deserted animal den. The next night found her approaching what she thought was an extinct volcano. It seemed to be half collapsed, as if it had been damaged by an earthquake sometime far in the past.
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She landed on a large smooth rock to better examine the sight. Something told her that there might be caves – lava tubes – she could use in that broken mountain.
She was grinning and making plans when the ‘rock’ she was standing on opened its wing cases, spread its wings and took off depositing her on her well-padded derriere.
“Ow!” said Jasper while rubbing her bruised bottom. “Why is the whole world out to get me?” she asked herself just before taking to the air once again. She hunted around until she found some caves. She avoided the occupied ones and finally entered a small tube of a passage in a black cliff. It was about three meters from the ground, and that suited her.
She made her way down a series of interlocking tube-like tunnels. She settled for a largish depression where two of the tunnels had come together. She placed the pieces of her core on a small uneven shelf and studied them. Surrendering to tiredness she went to sleep.
« (Vlad) »
It was on the day following the day that Jasper had left, that Vlad regained control his dungeon. And with that he gained the jitters. He had an empty dungeon. It was wide open.
He started summoning his guardians and giving them treasures. He moved his core back home and slowly relaxed. He felt better, less on edge but there was still that bittersweet lack. That empty link, it was not so much that he missed Jasper, especially how she had been acting lately. But he had known her all his life. Her reaction on seeing the broken core had hurt.
« Hey you! What’s your name anyway? Look you should do something for your goat girls. »
Vlad regarded the pushy half grown ginger cat. « What do you suggest? And it’s Vlad. »
« They could do with a few low walls in their caves, and ledges on the walls. With some way for the poor disabled things to climb up. Give them the chance to ambush the boors that keep invading their rooms. How about some cream? »
Vlad examined the cat and summoned up a saucer of cream. He then examined the caves of the goat girls. He started to create a maze of small walls and the suggested ledges with hand and footholds to help his guardians to climb.
« Any other bright ideas cat? »
The cat looked up from his bowl of cream and licked his nose. « Hang some rocks from the ceilings. Make sure they are hard to see, and give the girls a way to make them drop. »
Vlad watched the cat return his attention to the bowl of cream while he thought about the idea. Then he installed at least one boulder in each cave and informed the goat girls about them.
Vlad watched the next few runs with interest. Then he examined the little curled up puddle of fur sleeping in front of his very own private fireplace.
« (Vaspedian) »
Vaspedian listened to the reports. He breathed a sigh of relief, he still had a dungeon, even if seemed to be getting more cunning. And no sign of any undead on the first two levels. That annex had vanished too.
He got up and stretched before strolling to the entrance of the dungeon. He noted with interest that grass was starting to grow in formerly barren patch that used to surround the entrance of the dungeon.
Hopefully the damn duck would stop bothering him and move on to pastures new. Unfortunately that still left the uptight sun lover. He turned and made his way back to his office. It was time to write another letter asking to be transferred.