Daring Do and the Eyes of the Demon

by PegasusKlondike

Beyond Those Walls

With their mission compromised, Daring and Timur spent the day frantically getting things together. Timur went to the archives of the local trade lords in a desperate attempt to learn anything about the Eyes of the Demon so they might avert having to go into Din'Jaro land. Which for some reason he seemed to be adamant about avoiding, even though he was the one that said passing through that territory was unavoidable.

Daring spent the day shopping in the market for what supplies they might need. Timur had left a neat little grocery list for Daring to go to the market for; mostly it consisted of potion supplies. The pegasus didn't understand what half the stuff on the list even came from, much less what it looked like. But she went down to the crowded market of Tashim nonetheless.

Dutifully she walked down the crowded and bustling streets, magenta eyes fixed on the list clasped in her wingtip. "Okay, powdered crocodile teeth, where do I get crocodile teeth?" Looking up from the list, she glanced around for any vendors that might be selling such a hard to get item. Looking back at the list she placed that on the back burner. "Uh huh, how about buchu bark, what the heck does that even look like?" Daring tipped her pith helmet over and scratched her charcoal mane with a hoof. Groaning in exasperation, she approached a vendor stall where several dried plants hung from the roof.

"Excuse me, sir?" She waved to the old zebra snoring on a stool in the back of the stall. "Sir?" The old zebra snapped to, muttering to himself. Slowly getting up to all fours he meandered his way to the front of the stall.

Licking his lips, the old zebra looked over Daring with inquisitive eyes. "Ndiyo? Jinsi gani ninaweza kukusaidia?"

Daring lifted a hoof and nervously gave a wave. "Uh, hi. I need these things." She slid the list over to him. The elderly zebra looked over the list, turning it this way and that. Squinting at it, he reached into a saddlebag and pulled out a pair of spectacles. Placing them on his muzzle, things snapped into focus. He nodded his stiff maned head.

"Naweza kupata hii, lakini itachukua muda."

Daring grimaced. "Is that a yes or a no?"

The old zebra muttered to himself, then licked his lips again. "Can get, five minute."

Daring visibly relaxed. "Oh thank heavens. How much will that cost? You know, cost...money?" She jingled her coin purse.

The old zebra calculated for a minute. "Can get, say, thirty bit?" The mare slid thirty bits over the counter. The zebra counted them out, and then disappeared back into his shop.

Leaning against the counter, Daring whistled to pass the time. Lifting a wing, she examined the feathers, noticing one divided near the top. "Dang it, another split end." She quickly nibbled on the feather to realign it. So she preened in public, what of it?

While waiting for her groceries, the pegasus glanced around. She spied a turbaned zebra mare sitting in a plush silk tent, beckoning to her. Looking around, she saw nopony else that she might be beckoning to. She shrugged her shoulders and walked over.

"Beautiful mare with pelt of gold, care to have your fortune told?" The pegasus entered her tent; the zebra was dressed in enough jewelry to sink a ship and the heavy scents of perfume wafted from her robes.

Daring smirked as she sat down on a pillow across from the zebra. "This ought to be worth a laugh. Sure, why the heck not?" The pegasus looked to the turban the zebra was wearing, right at her forehead a small horn spiraled out. "What the hay? Are you some kind of unicorn?"

The fortuneteller grinned. "I am abada, a user of magic among zebra. Ask me any question that you wish to know, and the crystal ball will show."

Daring thought for a second. "What am I supposed to ask?"

The zebra mare smiled. "Is all in your life as it seems? Will the next stallion you meet be the one of your dreams? The spirits know all there is in the world, simply ask and your future will unfurl."

"Um, okay," she leaned in a little closer. "Who will I marry?"

The zebra placed her hooves over the orb, waving them over and chanting as her small horn glowed with magic. The crystal ball began to swirl with colored mist, revealing words to the zebra in a runic language. "You will have a child with your own name. But a husband is not seen, what a shame."

"Humph, okay," Daring thought of a clever one to throw the fortuneteller for a loop. "Who is going to win next year's hoofball finals?"

The zebra looked rather agitated, but relayed her question into the crystal ball. After a few seconds, the fortuneteller raised an eyebrow and looked at Daring. "Cloudsdale Razors by a single goal. Please ask something that won't make you look a foal."

Daring's eyebrows shot up, "Really? Come to think of it, they did have a good draft this year." She pulled out a pencil and her notepad, scribbling a note to herself to bet on the Razors to win next year's brackets. "Alright, one more question and then I have to leave. Where are the Eyes of the Demon?" she asked without really thinking about it.

The fortuneteller stared stunned at Daring; she swallowed a knot in her throat and fearfully relayed the question to the crystal ball. The swirling colors in the crystal ball turned a stark green, and the fortuneteller reeled back on her cushion, clutching her head with her hooves. Her eyes glowed with the same magic inside of the orb. The explorer recoiled from the crystal ball and the fortuneteller.

"Only they with the purest hearts may seek the Eyes of the Demon. To look upon them is doom for any but those whose souls are unstained!"

Daring leaned towards the possessed fortuneteller. "I am pure of heart! I don't want to use them, I just want to keep them safe from those who would use them!"

"You cannot keep the Eyes safe, for they will seek destruction wherever they go. But if you dare to seek them, it is your doom that waits at the end of that path. The Eyes of the Demon only bow to Grinwa, the brother of Tirek. Anyone else is merely a tool of chaos for such evil. Know that you have been warned, Daring Do."

The magical flames coming from the fortuneteller's eyes left. She gasped and looked around; on the table her crystal ball lay cracked and clouded. The fortune teller glared at Daring with accusations in her eyes. "You, you broke my crystal ball! Get out before the guards I call!"

"What? I didn't break it! You broke it when you went all magic eyes and...." Daring skewed her eyes and waved her hooves around wildly.

"OUT! OUT OUT OUT!!!" shrieked the abada zebra.

Daring scowled and tossed a few bits on the table before storming out of the tent. "I freaking hate magic," she muttered under her breath. She walked back over to the apothecary where the old zebra waited with the alchemy ingredients in a sack, thanked the old zebra and flew off back to the Equestrian embassy.

***********************************************

Timur had already returned from the archives by the time Daring reached their quarters at the embassy. Throwing on his pouches, the zebra slid a procured bush knife into a sheathe on his back and settled an odd shaped throwing blade at his torso. Also present was a spear he kept in his hoof. He was cinching on the throwing blade when Daring landed on the balcony with the supplies.

"Ms Do, I have a gift for you." He tossed her of the short spears with a belt. She caught the strange weapon with a hoof. She looked over the leaf bladed spear and short wooden haft with mild disdain.

"Um, I typically don't use weapons.... ever. Where did you even get all those weapons?"

"With the war in the bush, local merchants have gotten onto a new business, weapons and armor. Wear that assegai with pride Ms Do. Where we are going, get used to having a weapon at your side."

Daring reluctantly buckled on the strange hybrid of a pegasus dory and a javelin. "So, learn anything about the Eyes?"

Timur rifled through the sack of apothecary supplies. "All I found was a moldy old piece of parchment that said, 'past the Everguard's watchful gaze...'. I don't even know if it means anything. The archivist told me it was the right age, but there is no way of knowing whether it pertains to the Eyes at all."

"So we have to get out of this city and hit the countryside with no direction in mind? Geez, even when I went after the Sapphire Statuette I had a least a partial map!"

Her guide clenched his teeth and closed his eyes. "I have an idea. Even if most of the zebra tribes have forgotten where to find Talib's tomb, maybe some of the witch doctors in the bush or maybe even some other race may know where to find it. It is only a matter of finding out who may know."

"Or we could just ask the Din-...whatever! You know who I'm talking about! What is making you so afraid of them?"

The zebra exploded in fury, grabbing Daring by the front of her jacket and lifting her to eye level. "I am not afraid of the Din'Jaro!"

Daring threw off his hooves and pushed the offensive. "Then why? Why can't we just go to the one place where we know that we can find information?! Are they going to kill us? Are they going to make us Mask slaves just for asking a few questions!?" The last words came out as a shout, the pegasus actually achieving liftoff with how much her wings shivered in agitation.

Timur turned back to his supplies, packing them in his pouches. "You would not understand."

"Try me."

The zebra sighed, "It is...complicated."

"Then make it simple."

Timur opened his mouth and took a deep breath. "I cannot," he swallowed his pride, "Yeye forgive me. Daring, we will go to their land, and ask the high chief of the Din'Jaro about the Eyes. But I warn you, they will not be pleased when I show my face, and you may be collateral damage."

"If we get to the artifact first, then it's a risk I'm willing to take."

*******************************************

The pair exited the city gates of Tashim at a full gallop, dust from the dry Zebrican soil being flung up in their wake. Timur took the lead, his assegai spear and knowledge of Zebrica leading them into the interior of the continent. On through the burning heat of the day they ran eastward, the shimmering waves of heat obscuring the horizon, as they pressed onward.

At around noon the zebra stopped at a roadside acacia, whose branches spread far enough to provide shade to the weary travelers. "We rest here until the hottest part of the day is through, then we continue." Daring tossed herself down onto the warm sands at the trunk of the acacia, panting with exhaustion. Timur passed her a gourd of water, "Breathe through your nose, you lose less water that way."

Daring nodded as she drank deeply from the offered gourd of water. Zebrica was unlike any environment she had ever traversed. The closest it could be compared to was the Great Southern Jungles, but that was a lush and green environment. And the heat there was a wet, sticky, humid heat. The dryness was like Snowreach in winter, where the very moisture in your breath would freeze into snowflakes. But the thorny, scrubby bush was more like the deserts in Equestria's badlands. It seemed like all of her adventures had just been preparations for this one task.

Forelegs folded under her head, Daring stared up at the plush white clouds that occasionally floated by. How she wished to go up there, to catch a nice breeze and cool off. But as long as she traveled with earth bound creatures, it was considered a politeness among winged creatures to stay grounded.

Timur stayed alert, stiller than a dead breeze except for the rasp of a stone along the blade of his spearhead. His normally chipper attitude seemed dampened by the thought of going to the Din'Jaro for help. Sliding the brim of her pith helmet back over her eyes, Daring pondered hard about what was making him so irritated. Was it the fact that he was from a different tribe? Maybe that was it, warring tribes and all that. Or maybe he did something to insult their chief. Or he could have committed some crime against them. Who knew?

After around an hour of resting in the shade of the acacia, Timur nudged Daring in the ribs. "Get up, you need to practice with that assegai."

"Why? You're enough warrior for both of us."

"Normally I would take that as a compliment, but I may not always be around to cover your back." Daring pulled the short spear out of its sheathe as she stood. Timur directed a hoof towards a strange bundle of sticks hanging from the shade tree's branch. "Throw your spear at that weaver bird nest."

"Won't that hurt the birds?"

"It is abandoned, now throw!"

Daring shrugged, holding the broad headed spear in a fetlock. Cocking back her leg, she hurled the spear with all her might at the defenseless nest. Not that it needed defenses, the spear flew harmlessly under it.

"A decent throw, for a beginner." Timur pulled the strange throwing blade from his side, flicking it towards the bird nest, the ax-knife hybrid whirled through the air and sheared the bird nest in half. "Now it just got harder for you, get your spear and try again." Daring retrieved her weapon and tried again, again she missed, but this time but a much narrower margin. "Better." Again Timur threw his throwing knife, again shearing the nest in half. "Even more difficult, try again."

Daring scooped up her assegai, taking careful aim at the bird nest. She took in a deep breath, letting it out slowly. She hurled the spear at the bundle of sticks, sticking it through the center of the remaining quarter of the weaver bird nest. Daring afforded herself a small grin of satisfaction.

Timur nodded, "Good, a few more years and you may be ready to go to battle. Now let us be going, we can reach the Okavana River by nightfall if we hurry." With a small amount of pride Daring kept the assegai spear loose in its quiver, feeling like she could take on a charging rhino.

****************************************

Grimhide slapped the large fly that nipped at his shoulder. The nandi that he sat on worked its way down the road, muzzle to the ground. Though Grimhide's right eye had been crippled in a fight for the position of alpha years ago, he was still the deadliest warrior of the former Blackclaw gnolls. And his new alpha treated him and his fellows well, even going so far as to give them better weapons than those expendable foot soldiers that they drafted from conquered tribes. The dragonscale sword on his back attested to that fact.

They followed N'dutu's order to the letter. And now Grimhide and a detachment of his nandi cavalry breached the territory of the trade lords to scout around Tashim for the pony with golden fur. Their spies in the port city had reported sighting a gold furred pegasus wandering around the market, and it was only a matter of time before she had to leave.

Another gnoll rode up on his mount, dropping out of the saddle and kneeling before his superior. "We have scent, spies get it from inside the city!" The gnoll reached into a pouch and brought out a golden feather. Grimhide nodded, and the lesser gnoll held the feather in front of his nandi's powerful nose. The nandi snapped at the gnoll's hand, but after a punishing smack, it sniffed the feather. Lowering its head to the ground, it started sniffing for any sign. Remounting, the cavalry began to sweep the road for any scent of the gold pegasus.

The feather was passed around to all ten nandi riders in the group, and soon every one of their mounts slowly made their way up the road, with Grimhide at the front. Grimhide impatiently drummed his claws on his saddle, if they wanted to do some tracking, why in Tartarus didn't N'dutu send them with a flight of kongomatos or even a grootslang? N'dutu may have been his alpha, but by no means was he a good commander. Instead of sending mixed units out, he sent the entire flight of flying, reptilian kongomatos north to scout the jungles for the Din'Jaro raiders that had recently become a problem, and most of the elephantine grootslangs had been deployed almost as far as the Rift Valley to level the villages of the Mbusa. The grootslang's incredibly acute sense of smell could have eliminated the need to get a feather in the first place. But a huge, green skinned, four tusked, carnivorous elephant monster would be a lot harder to hide than a few nandi riders here and there.

But it was considered to be a challenge of rank to not follow the orders of the alpha, especially since that alpha was well on his way to being emperor of Zebrica. So Grimhide and his cavalry obeyed without question. And the fewer questions they asked, the more benefits they reaped.

Grimhide's mount stopped suddenly. He cocked his ankles to give it a swift kick in the ribs when he noticed it was sniffing intently at a small impression on the sandy soil. Grimhide held up a paw to halt the rest of his riders. Lifting its square head, the nandi strained at its reins, growling towards the shimmering heat on the horizon. The gnoll whooped and began to cackle, drawing his dragonscale sword as he spurred his mount forward. The rest of his detachment drew their weapons and followed close behind.

**************************************

As Daring Do and her guide Timur got closer to the Okavana River, the landscape began to subtly change. The low scrubby bush thinned and gradually became replaced by small zebra farms. Tall stands of millet, corn and even small herds of cows dotted the side of the road to Tashim. But as she galloped down the road, Daring noticed a grim feel in the air. Every so often a patrol of the mercenary guards would walk by, their eyes kept peeled and their weapons ready. What farmers were seen looked tired and slightly afraid of the strange pony that ran by, towards the place they knew to be the gates of Hell.

The sun dipped low on the skyline as the zebra and the pony came to the banks of the Okavana River. A trio of shacks lay on its banks; several canoes and a barge sat idle on the far shore. A thick rope attached the ferry to the other end of the bank.

Timur stopped by the bank near the rope, ringing a small bell at their end to signal the ferry captain on the far bank. Daring sat down on her haunches to catch her breath, looking out over the brown expanse of river, she longed to strip off her jacket and take a little dip. Maybe even sunbathe on those odd, rounded boulders in the middle of the river.

Daring squinted at one of the boulders, "Wait a second, did that rock just move?"

Timur also squinted at the rock, "Huh, didn't know they would be in this quick of a river area. Also an area this deep." He met Daring's confusion with an impish grin. "Watch this." He cupped his hooves to his mouth and made a quick series of grunts towards the boulders. One rose higher in the water, opening its mouth to reveal a double set of saber-like tusks.

"It's an animal!" Daring said, slack jawed.

"Hippopotamus. Don't get in the water with them around. Nasty beasts when provoked, they'll even kill crocodiles if they're in a bad mood, which the bulls usually are." Timur looked over to the far shore. "What is taking that ferry captain so long?"

While Timur dismissed the river behemoths easily, Daring stared them down with childlike fascination. Pulling out her notepad, she began to scribble notes and draw pictures of this huge creature she had only ever seen in a picture book as a filly in Hoofington.

Annoyed, Timur reached up and rang the bell again. At the far end of the shore, a zebra walked over to the ferry. Hopping on, he began to pull on the rope to bring the barge over.

Daring kept on drawing the hippos as best as she could with her limited talent. She did the final shading adjustments. Satisfied with her drawing, she placed her notebook back in her pocket. Smiling at the bloated animals, her ears picked up something in the air. She nudged Timur with a hoof, "I have to check something."

Spreading her wings, Daring vaulted herself straight up into the air. Going up several hundred feet, she scanned the horizon. A quickly approaching cloud of dust piqued her interest. Swooping down lower, she saw eleven of those giant hyenas being ridden by gnolls, weapons out and eyes dead ahead. Daring's eyes widened as she realized they were after her. Winging her way quickly back to the ferry, she landed next to Timur with wings outspread and spear at the ready.

"Get ready! We're gonna have company here in a few minutes," Daring shouted.

Timur drew his own assegai. "How many?"

"Eleven of them, all riding those big brain-eating hyenas."

Timur swore under his breath, looking back over the river to the barge that was only about a third of the way across. The nandi riders were visible now through the shimmering waves of heat, and it would only be a matter of minutes before they caught up to their quarry. Daring and Timur stood ready, waiting for the damn ferry barge to make it across. The gnolls spotted them with their sharp vision, whooping and cackling at the sight of the gold pegasus.

The ferrystallion also noticed the upcoming gnolls, and promptly started pulling his barge back towards the far shore. With record speed he reached the dock, promptly turned around and cut the rope from his end, running off to the bush like a coward.

Daring and Timur stared at the spectacle, Timur snapped like a twig. "COWARD! Damn it! Ms Do, if we do not survive, know that...."

Daring sheathed her spear, "Don't start making death bed confessions just yet." She grabbed the bulkier zebra around the waist and flapped her wings as hard as she could. Straining under his weight, Daring managed to lift the zebra off the ground a few feet. Turning to the far end of the river, she propelled herself forward just as the first thrown spears started landing around her.

Timur's hooves skimmed the top of the water as Daring distressingly towed him across the entire Okavana River. Her wings threatened to give in as she approached the far shore. With a heave she tossed Timur on the dusty shore. Shaking himself off, he jumped to his hooves and looked across the water.

Eleven mounted gnolls paced along the shore, jeering and crying at their failure to capture Daring Do. One shoved past the others, drawing his black sword. He slapped his mount on the flank with the flat of the blade. The nandi looked at the water apprehensively, then jumped into the river and began to paddle across. The other mounted warriors whooped and forced their mounts into the water.

Timur drew his spear again, "It is hopeless! Even if we make a break for it, they will still catch us if we run!"

Daring stood back, "And we'll die if we try to fight all them!" An idea trickled into her mind, and a devious smile crept up her face. "Wait.... we don't have to fight them!"

"What do you mean?!"

Daring smirked at her guide, "Watch this."

She took wing once again, flying straight to the middle of the river. The gnolls shot darts and arrows at the pegasus, but she dodged each and every one, narrowly avoiding getting skewered. Stopping over the center of the water, she cupped her hooves to her mouth and began to grunt.

The gnolls urged their mounts closer to the pegasus, the nandi panting as they paddled across the river. A gnoll was within twenty feet of the pegasus when the water underneath him erupted. The enraged hippo grabbed the nandi in his teeth, shaking him like a rag doll and throwing his rider. More and more of the riders were tossed from their mounts by the rampaging hippos. On land the nandi were fierce predators, but in water they were sitting ducks. The dismounted gnolls desperately began to paddle back to shore, only the be thrown in the air by the one ton bulk of a hippo. The river was pockmarked by the corpses of both gnoll and nandi as the remainder of the force scrambled back to shore.

Daring grinned as she flew back over to Timur. The zebra sat stoic, then his facade melted away with laughter. "That was incredible! Where did you learn that one?"

Daring settled next to the zebra, "Great Southern Jungles, except that time it was alligators."

Over on the opposite shore, Grimhide clambered onto the bank of the river. Standing up, he shook the water from his fur. Looking with his one good eye back to the eastern shore, he snarled at the gold pegasus and the zebra that laughed at their misfortune. He roared at the pair, picking up a cast aside spear to hurl it with all his might at the gloating pegasus. The spear made it barely a fourth of the way across, only increasing the gnoll's frustration. Out of his original eleven riders, only five gnolls remained, and only four nandi.

Grimhide grabbed his subordinate by the collar, "Go upriver, find a crossing!" He tossed the gnoll back towards his mount, venting his frustration. N'dutu would not be happy about this failure, and when their quarry had been close enough to taste nonetheless. Grimhide grabbed a nandi by the reins and leapt on its sodden back. Digging his heels into its flank, he took off to look for a safer crossing.