@ask-maruta Maruta stopped suddenly and looked up when she heard Quizozo. She sighed, “When ya hafta work ‘round Western tavens an’ saloons, ya learn a thang or two.”When asked for the plan, she took out a map she had about the West Mudos area. One it were red circles, lines, and dates. She pointed to red circle that was dated to a week later and around an Industrial area. “Ah’ve been keepin’ tabs on the bastards for over 2 years, jus’ in case Ah found an opportunity fer vengeance. ‘Round this time, they always meet here with the owner ta give ‘im black market goods in exchange for a good chunk of moolah. If we leave now, we c’n git thar an’ spring a trap. They won’t be expectin’ an ambush, but we should be careful since one of em’s a sniper, while the leader is a professional hunter of critters that make scrabs look threatenin’ as a rat.”
Not entirely sure of what Maruta was even saying, he understood enough to go along. “Ambushing isn’t really my style… You want your victim to know who is killing them.” Crossing his arms he tries to think up how this would play out. “Best to eliminate the one shooting from a distance. I can probably smell him earlier than he could possibly see us coming. Once he’s taken care of, the others are meep for the slaughter.” While talking, he increasingly got more amused, it had been too long for a good spree. “Either way, I’ll eat well tonight. We should probably get going. You lead the way.”
Maruta thought of this before nodding in agreement. “…You’re right. We’ll still hafta be careful of the leader though. He’s hunted many, many animals an’ creatures, large or small, clever or dull, dangerous or docile. He’s almost as smart as a Vykker, but as strong as a scrab. Ah do want him ta see me ‘specially, but Ah hafta be careful.”
Maruta then began to lead on. After a few minutes of walking, she asked, “How fast are ya? It’s normally almost 5 days of travelin’ by Mudokon foot.”
“Five days, huh? That gives us precious little time to prepare on site… Assumin we don’t run into any trouble on the way there. If we could fly straight on, we would easily make it in three. I can sprout wings, but even then I would only save two without rest…” Quizozo pondered out loud. He preferred stalking his prey for a while and this would throw a giant wrench in his methods. “There has to be a faster way…”
“Flying, eh?” Maruta smiled a little before holding her pendant in the palm of her hands. She began chanting (or trying to). After a while, she glowed red, her form beginning to change until it resembled a vulture, only with red and black feather and red makeup/paint streaked down her eyes. She then grabbed her bag with her talons before attempting to fly, having read books on animals such as birds ever since she was a child. When she was above the trees, she let off a squack at Quizozo, almost as if to say, “Ya comin’, or what?”
Puzzled for a moment about what Maruta was doing, he was absolutely gobsmacked when he realized what was happening. Once the transformation was complete, Quizozo stood in awe at the massive majestic creature in front of him; the pendant that still swung from the vulture’s neck giving him a vital clue to what happened. “Wow… That should do it!” Taking a few steps closer, he wore an impressed look on his face while looking her over. “Well, looks like I don’t need to do any walking at all.” Jumping up, he made himself small so he could take a seat on the beast’s neck. “We should probably fly during the night, and rest during the day.” He began while grabbing onto the pendant’s rope. “Now let’s take to the skies!”
Maruta nodded in agreement before taking to the blue skies. It took awhile to get the hang of flying as a vulture, but she soon adapted to it like she was an actual vulture. As a child, she always dreamed of flying free and happy through the clouds, and the actual experience was just as she always imagined…aside from being a little cold and wet of course (don’t worry, the sun was shining brightly enough to dry her off).
She was slightly bothered by Quizozo riding on her neck, but did not protest.
She flew for hours on end, determined to get back to West Mudos before their window of opportunity closed.
After having spent in slumber for odd knows how many centuries, Quizozo stared in awe at how much the world had changed. It didn’t take long for them to fly out of the jungle and into the wild plains that were clearly scarred by industrial activity. Dumps, abandoned plants, and poisoned patches where nothing would ever grow again. His heart ached at what they had done to what was once a sprawling forest... As the sun slowly crept over the horizon, it wouldn’t be safe to keep flying around here in broad daylight. Spotting what seemed to be a rusted out logging mill, Quizozo nudged Maruta and pointed out the hiding place. “We should land there and wait for nightfall...”
