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As soon as you step paw into the territory, you hear a scolding voice. The air reeks of blood and rotting decay, and the large camp seems almost abandoned from the outside.
A few more steps in, you catch sight of a large Smilus guarded by a lion and a lioness. Each of the guards seem tired and scarred, while the Smilus’s only emotion is pure hatred.
A stubby dwarf lioness looks down at her paws in front of the king; it looks almost as she is sobbing. The stubby lioness seems to be the Smilus’s target, as he seems to be screaming his brains out at her.
The male guard seems to have caught your eye; he nudges the Smilus, who at once stops yelling and rises his posture.
“Do you need someone?” The female guard asks in a voice that’s obviously hiding back fear. The group of lions—excluding the dwarf—all pad towards you in a fashionable way. The Smilus holds his head high and stares at you with a skeptical gaze.
“I came for Deputy Ruskea. Is he around?” you answer, keeping a high gaze. The guards seem confused.
“It’s King Ruskea around here,” Ruskea, previously known as the Smilus, states. As he stops ahead of you, you realize how unattractive he is close up. His fur is slicked back, yet has a hideous pattern. His teeth are stained nearly red and yellow, and his breath stinks of blood. Though, he’s still pretty intimidating with his large body and scorching gaze.
“Yes, sir. I wanted to see if you had Saphira with you at this time. TigerTooth sent me to ask her some questions.”
The stubby lioness you had seen early appeared from behind the group of lions, her face lit up with a smile almost as wide as her head. “I’m here!” Saphira exclaimed. “Is he here? Is TigerTooth here?”
A large paw, larger than her head, struck her small frame, claws unsheathed. A large scar formed on her torso, slightly starting to bleed. She plummeted to the ground, making a soft whimper as she scrambled up and backed away with her ears down and her terrified eyes glued on the king.
“I didn’t tell you to come here, fool!” Ruskea spat, snarling at the lion that now seemed an eighth his size. He turned towards you, his ears folding back in embarrassment. “I’m sorry. Take her for now but bring her back. Hailstone, stay with them.”
The female guard chased after Ruskea, seeming unbothered as if this had happened a lot. The male guard, now recognized as Hailstone, stood still. “I apologize,” he sighed, “I don’t know what’s wrong with him, but I’m not strong enough to overthrow him.”
“It’s alright, but is Saphira alright?”
Saphira nodded, her eyes filled with a strange sense of hope. “Take this,” she whispered as she tossed you a large scroll. “Read it. And give it to TigerTooth. Tell him as well that if he wants answers he must visit me himself.” She looked up at Hailstorm, “Let’s go.”
Hailstorm and her looked back at you, nodding goodbye. A bit confused, yet sympathetic, you take a look at the title of the scroll. ‘Diary of Ruskea THE KING, Do NOT read this, private.’ How strange.
Diary Contents(daily updates)
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