Know Your Surroundings

@Rakharo For the "Know Your Surroundings" Quest...scouting out BDP. BDP wolves welcome!

There were other groups of wolves around here, called "packs". It was a strange word, light on his tongue, but he needed to learn this land's tongue if he was ever going to command the slaves they would take from here. He would have to speak to that one slave, Tomahawk, more often, but only after her heat was over. That scent was too distracting, both to him and her.

These packs were not like the khalas of the Dotharan: they did not move from their land, instead staying in one place and jealously guarding that place from outsiders. Zoratto found that idiotic. Herds move after all, even the elk and deer herds. Why stay in one place when it would be much easier to follow the meat and have a constant supply? He wondered if that was why the Rhaesh Thash wolves he met looked so scrawny compared to the Dotharan warriors - they did not get the proper nourishment they needed from a large kill, and had to fed themselves on small prey. Pathetic.

But, regardless of their strength and their habits, they were still an important landmark. Those packs' territories would be places they could raid, or had to avoid. They could, eventually, start to trade with them, too, if they had wives and slaves to spare. Zoratto parted from the khalas to find one of these packs, and size them up.

He headed north; he already knew there were two packs south of the lake, he just had not scouted them personally yet, to the mountains, where the trails of wolf smell were frequent and strong. He followed one of the rivers that fed the lake, observing the scenery as he went. A forest, bright, but unwelcoming to a Dotharan warrior, a gorge, which looked utterly terrifying, and a spot on the west side of the river that seemed to radiant heat and steam. It looked intriguing, but Zoratto was on a mission. He reluctantly kept heading north, following the trails and the river until he found one of them. A border, a pack's border. He sniffed alongside the invisible barrier. Unlike the other border to the north, the scents were strong, fresh. A wolf could be nearby for all he knew.