WoF: Scavenger Hunt

Ch2 : Page 2

Moray limped back to his hut, carrying the belongings that the scavengers had dropped.

It was about midday by the time he finished up cleaning and bandaging his talon. He understood now, how a scavenger could kill a mighty dragon quickly. But this did not deter his curiosity from wanting to explore these creatures more, no matter how much he argues against it. There was very little information on these animals (even less in his possession), and all throughout his life he's had one thing to do. Learn. 

Studying was all he knows, and his craving for answers to a world he hasn't seen for himself is what drives him to keep his sanity. He can't fly away, he can't swim away, he can't swing from tree to tree until he hits mountainscape and go find the answers for himself. Once there's no more low-hanging fruit he will starve, a herd of deer could kill him, he cried once when a flock of cockatoos attacked him. He's never had to fight or been injured like tonight, and much less a legitimate battle with another dragon, if he ever leaves. He can't go get the answers for himself, and when they just walk right up to his doorstep he loses them.

He sighed, his heart still drumming from the adrenaline and the pain from his wound reminding him of his foolishness. That may have been the dumbest, most dangerous and painful thing I've ever done... but it was also the most exciting. The answers to one of the least understood creatures was right in my talons to finally observe. Some things we may never know, but while scavengers are still here we can still get answers. Who knows, scavengers could go extinct and some dragon like me in the future could want all the answers, but those answers just do not physically exist.

He groaned, knowing that he couldn't stop his mind from guilt-tripping him into falling victim to his curiosity about these two-legged monkeys with coverings and daggers and... long metal claws. An idea popped into his head. I could lure them back here. They'll definitely want these two shiny sharp things back, and their coverings seem important since they all wear them all the time. He knew scavengers liked shiny things, that's the one well-known fact about them.

He looked at the covering piece and blades that sat on his desk. The dagger was crusted with his blood and stained the covering as he carried them back to the hut. The other, the long blade, had grazed him. Thankfully the distance between him and the scavenger left the wound as just a thin scratch down his chest that had dried in a few minutes. Looking at it, the blood seemed to have dried just as it was squeezing out.

I'll need something to hold the scavenger once I catch it. He interrupted his planning. A cage, I guess. I'll have to make a cage... out of sticks? I think they could break sticks, or cut it with their blades. He sat pondering for a moment. Well, what other options do I have? Not like there's a source of metal around here. Guess I better start gathering some sticks.

Dropping an armful of branches onto the sand, Moray began formulating how to build something from them. There's rope, vines, or rope made from seaweed. The easiest to harvest would be vines, but they're soft.
Roots! His mind yelled at him. Roots are impossible to break. They're always in the way of clumsy talons. It's only a matter of harvesting them.

He audibly sighed and began heading for the jungle. Luckily, a lot of the roots were along the surface. Finding a long, winding root he tried to yank it out of the ground. It barely separated from the dirt.
This is going to be a while.

Finally, after hours of sawing at the root with the scavenger blade, the ends of the vine were cut. One final pull ripped it from the ground. Moray dragged it back to the pile of sticks and began cutting the root into tie-able lengths. Soon he formed a corner shape, and then a second. He tied those two together with his last remaining roots and stepped back.
A scavenger-sized cage. With room to roam and lay down.

Moray was kind of proud of himself for making something like this, all by himself. It was quite sturdy. Sturdy enough that a scavenger couldn't wreck. Now... how to catch it. Walk over there and snatch it when it goes to check out the bait? Set up a trap? Are scavengers too smart to fall for the old "box propped up on a stick" trick? Probably... AH-HA! I know what to do.

Moray began construction on his ingenious plan. It was sunset by now, and the coolness of the night and shine of the moons gave him a second wind. He dug a moat around a sand pile he had made. A moat as deep as a scavenger is tall and a distant they shouldn't be able to jump. He placed the items on the sand table in the center. While inspecting them once more, he noticed a small holder or pocket inside the covering piece. It was a perfect fit for the dagger. His brain clicked. Oh, they use these coverings to hide weapons. Of course. He stuck the long blade in the sand of the mound beside the other items, it made an oddly satisfying noise. 

Now we wait.