The Crossroads

12 | The Crossroads

WC: 3361

When taking down the final Ravager, Etho is faced with his own crossroads.

-

Ironically--in more ways than one--the Ravager was still in the castle courtyard when they found it.

Tango, Impulse, and Etho had all decided that each minute they spent in the throne room discussing a plan was another minute the Ravager was loose. It was better to make a plan up once they tracked it down--that way, they could keep an eye on it while figuring out what to do next.

The amount of damage in the courtyard had increased by a sizable amount. The Ravager had moved on from the leaky fountain to raze the nearby benches and crush the tediously-pruned bushes underhoof.

If they ever got out of this, Etho felt bad for whoever had to repair the whole Keep after all this destruction. It wasn't going to be an easy job.

As he scanned the broken courtyard, Etho couldn't help but feel a little nostalgic--could you call bad memories nostalgic? This is where this whole mess had started for him, where he'd accepted that stupid dare the guard had given him. That had been a little over a month ago now...time flies.

It seemed so petty in hindsight...but had he really changed that much? He was complaining over the fact that, when this last Ravager was gone, no one would know about what really happened behind the scenes, anyway, for god's sake.

Petty as ever--though he didn't want to admit it. He might have changed Impulse and Tango's minds about their fight being long overdue back in the throne room, but he sure didn't change his own.

The trio was crouched behind one of the larger pieces of rubble, which provided a hiding spot close enough to the Ravager that they could watch it without it noticing them. So, while Tango and Impulse started conjuring up a plan to kill it, Etho sized up what they were actually up against.

It was as big as the Fortress Ravager, if not more. Its hide looked leathery and rough and was nicked and scratched from its recent breakout of the old dungeon. Half of its right horn was missing, like it had broken off--probably from ramming its head against the obsidian walls constantly.

Other than that, it looked like the rest of the Ravagers had--at least, physically it did. But its mannerisms seemed more...extreme. Every exhale was forced out in a breathy grunt, and it rammed its head into the wooden benches with such gusto that Etho really didn't want to see what it could do to a person.

Everything it did, it did with such unnecessary extra force. Etho could see why Tango had gotten it riled up so easily. It was like the other Ravagers in that sense--once it locked onto its target, it wouldn't stop until that target was gone.

But you didn't want this particular Ravager after you.

"You trapped the worst one out of the bunch, Tango," Etho muttered under his breath, ducking back down behind the rubble as the Ravager turned its head side to side.

"Three years ramming its head in the Dungeon didn't help, either," Tango agreed, though he looked preoccupied with coming up with a plan with Impulse.

Or, rather, arguing with Impulse over said plan.

Impulse was shaking his head vehemently, strongly disagreeing with whatever Tango was saying. "No. I'm not going to let you lead the chase here. I don't trust you to do the job properly."

"Can't you just trust me for once?" Tango whisper-yelled.

"Knowing you, you'd just screw everything up again," Impulse countered.