The Custom Quest

[ShadyBro]

Do Not Post

Slim's Egypt Adventure


Day One

Day Two

Day Three

Day Four

Day Five

[ShadyBro]

"Dear Journal,
Im currently in the dune buggy they use to get around here, and we just arrived at base camp. After hours of desert and some interesting trail rides in some even more interesting vehicles, we finally made it to the oasis. Palm trees line a gorgeous lake, with shrubs and rock forms to accent it. Im so excited to check everything out, so Ill catch up to this later."

"Dear Journal,
We spent the whole day exploring areas around the camp. No Dusa were spotted yet, but they said the herds steer clear of the camp so we will have to do a little more exploring tomorrow. I have an awesome tent set up and its huge, all to myself, since everyone else decided to stay in a camper together. I didnt like the idea of being around that many strangers but I also didnt like the idea of being alone, so the camps dog Jack is sleeping in here as well. Im actually pretty tired after the long trip so Ill wait until tomorrow night to keep writing."

"Dear Journal,
I woke up in the middle of the night to the howls of the Dusa. Im so excited I cant go back to sleep, so Im going to do a few sketches here on the next couple pages."


My first glance at the oasis near base camp.


Jack, the white german shepherd who lives here with the crew.

[ShadyBro]

"Dear Journal,
Its finally time to go out and find some Dusa! Jack is coming with us too, which Im pretty happy about because Im pretty nervous to be around all these unfamiliar faces. One of the guys here have been pretty nice to me, almost flirty, but I just wanna focus on the trip. Im looking forward to seeing some packs and checking out some of these wicked mutations Iv been told about, so Ill keep writing when I get back!"

"Dear Journal,
We just finished up with dinner. We spent the whole day out in the desert, and Im dead tired. Jack is even tired out, and he does this almost every day haha. Im brimming with joy still however, because I just spotted my first wild Dusa! She was a grey sable with light spotting, and these gorgeous big ears and long horns. She even had a little fawn with her. We only saw her for a few moments before she and her fawn disappeared behind one of the cliff edges, and despite spending hours trying to fan out and find her again we didnt see anything else. Some of the camp regulars said they saw some evidence of pack activity farther away from the camp so we will go out there tomorrow morning in hopes of finding them. I really hope we do, but just being here has been a blast so far. Ill write more about it tomorrow, bu right now I wanna save some daylight for a few sketches (the camp leader told me to stop wasting the gas lamps for my 'silly sketches' haha.)"


Our first Dusa sighting!


Baby Dusa tracks are the cutest things.


Just wippin up some more 'silly sketches' with Jack haha.

[ShadyBro]

"Dear Journal,
We didnt get to go out today. The rain hit earlier than expected, and the crew was worried the trucks would get stuck in the mud. Thankfully it wasnt much and the clouds seem to have passed, so everything should be alright for tomorrow. Meanwhile, a few volunteers went out and mapped out where the last bit of pack activity was seen so that we wouldnt loose track. They took Jack with them, so I guess Ill have to go out and make some human friends. Unfortunately. Ill try and write more after lunch."

"Dear Journal,
Today was actually pretty fun, despite the lack of events. That guy from before, Derrick, hung out with me all day. We goofed around in the water and 'borrowed' one of the dune buggys to go explore around the dryer parts of camp. It was so much fun and we even got to watch some wild jackals play with their pups a few miles from camp. We got stuck a few times and by the time we got back we were covered in mud and guck, but it was totally worth it. Im all cleaned up now but it seems like everyone is a little worried about the volunteers. They havnt come back yet, so we might have to go out and look for them. Derrick talked me into signing up to be the second group of volunteers in case we ended up actually having to go out, and Im totally dreading it right now. Hopefully everyone is alright, I really miss Jack! Haha."

"Dear Journal,
The volunteers just got back. Theyre alright, and they were able to map out a trail the pack seemed to follow, so we will have no problem finding them tomorrow! Im super excited, and Derrick and I are on the tagging job, meaning we will actually be capturing and tagging a Dusa with the main crew. Everyone else will go back to the base early to record some data or something, so for once Im actually happy Derrick signed me up for something against my will. Jack however dosnt seem too pleased with my late night writings, so Ill tell you all about it tomorrow night."


The jackals were using some rocks as their playground. I dont think the mum knew what to do.


"Dude, draw me." "I dont draw people much.." "Do ittttttttt" "Fine, sit still!" *Drops to the ground and lays in the mud*

[ShadyBro]

"Dear Journal,
Today was the best day by far. I actually got to get up close and study one of the most beautiful Dusa I have ever seen. We decided to go out on horseback for one of the trails because it was a pretty narrow and still muddy trail, which was definitely one of the first highlights of my day. I got a beautiful fleabitten grey, and she was one of the calmest horses Iv ever rode. Derrick wasnt as lucky, as his buckskin stallion was pretty rowdy and experienced. Needless to say Jack spent most of his time up front with me haha. When we finally got close to the pack we stopped and left the horses, supplies, and even Jack with two of the camp crew members to look after. I peered through the little bit of foliage, a group of fallen and broken palm trees, and watched as the pack swarmed over the remains of their latest kill. A large coyote was unlucky enough to pass through their territory, and the last bits of flesh was being picked off by a few small fawns. As the pack finished up and began to spread out again, lazying about from their fullness, we began to set up for the capture. Derrick was the lucky one, as he got to use the dart gun. He found a Dusa that was fairly young and darted him with ease. The beautiful dark tan and white male bucked and wobbled and ran in circles before collapsing, the loud outburst sending the rest of the pack running. We came up and began working on him right away, some of the crew drawing blood and DNA samples as others clipped fur and hair samples. I got to clip the tag on and record the tracking number, and we dotted another number onto the opposite ear. When we were finished we gave him the reverse drug and went back to the horses to wait and watch. Several dusa from the pack, which must have been watching us from behind some of the rock forms, rushed out moments after we left to nuzzle the young buck. He stood on wobbly legs and followed them, shaking his head as they nosed and nibbled at his new ear accessory. When we got back the crew went and submitted all of the samples and recorded all the data we had collected. Tomorrow we will be going out to explore some more before making our way back home, and as excited as I am, I still really miss the ranch and all my companions waiting there for me to return. I also feel a little down thinking about how much Ill miss Jack and Derrick, as we have become oddly close in the past few days. But either way I know that this will have been one of the best experiences of my life."


Jesi, the fleabitten grey arabian mare.


All tagged up and ready for release.


Bye bye dusa pack, we enjoyed poking and prodding your little friend.

[ShadyBro]

"Dear Journal,
I write this as I'm sitting in the back of a med truck. Please excuse any blood on the pages.
It wasn't more than an hour into our trip through the normal trails when we heard this awful scream. It was only Derrick, Jack, the camp leader Charles, and I out at the time, so we decided we had to go and figure out what it was ourselves. The screams grew more frequent and louder, a pain tingling howl of despair. It was seeming more and more Dusa-like in nature, and I became increasingly worried. Charles pulled out his rifle and told us to stay back while he untied Jack. I don't think Iv ever seen that dog run with such purpose. Minutes went by but it seemed more like hours. After a while I couldn't help myself, and neither could Derrick. We hopped out of the truck bed and ran after Charles and Jack, trying to track them and still keep up. Two, three gunshots went off and I ran faster than I though I ever could. When we finally reached them the screams had stopped, and I felt my heart break looking at what I saw. Two men lay on the ground, bullet holes in their skulls. Another man in the same style of dress was running with an awful limp away from us in a panic, and I watched as another bullet lodged itself in his back. He fell with a scream and a thud. I looked over at Charles as he lowered his gun and fell to his knees. A knife stuck out of his leg. I was in such a panic I had frozen in place, unaware as to what was happening around me. Eventually Derrick snapped me out of it and pulled me over to Charles, who had already unlodged the knife and begun bandaging himself up. "What..happened?" I asked him tentatively. He didn't say a word, just pointed to a large group of shrubs. Behind them a large, black Dusa was breathing hard. Jack lay at its side, whimpering and nosing its sullen face. I walked over with fear in every step, my breath caught in my throat. I looked down at the beautiful creature, now desecrated by the greed of humanity. It became clear very quickly who those awful men were and what they had planned to do, or already started to do, to this poor Dusa. He lay there with a bullet hole in his shoulder, a few slashes from a knife over random parts of his body, and part of his horn sawed off. The hunters ran so fast they didn't even have time to get all the way through the horn, leaving the rusty bone saw stuck in it. Charles limped up behind me and sent Derrick off to the truck to get the first aid kit. He asked for me to help, knowing I had a little bit of experience with this kind of thing from my time volunteering at veterinary offices. We removed the saw first thing so he wouldn't try to buck his head and hurt himself more. The top of the horn spit at a jagged edge and tore off, leaving a gentle stream of blood in its place. We stopped the bleeding there as well on several of the cuts on his pelt, stitching ones that were too deep. Thankfully he didnt have to many and the bleeding stopped fairly quick. It was obvious however that the young male was overheating quick. How could a black dusa survive for as long as he had out here anyways? Either way he wasnt going to be able to live out here like this, that was for sure. Charles went back to the truck to call for backup and in a few short hours we were all loaded up and bringing the injured animal to a veterinary station a few miles back. Hopefully we will get there soon."

"Dear Journal,
We just got out of the vets. The dusa, who has been named Cryptic, is doing much better. No one knows how he has been alive this long, but he is definitely a trooper. They defined his coat as being 'melanistic', which is sort of like the opposite of albinism. The pigmentation darkens the coat instead of turning it a flat black though, so he still has various white and grey spotting over his coat. His eyes are a dark red color with lighter pink pupils, like an albino, while his horns and hooves remain a lighter color as well. His broken horn was cut too close to the base, killing the flesh around it and therefore the cells inside as well. It unfortunately will not grow back entirely, though it may gain a few inched over time. His wounds will heal up pretty well, and the scaring should be minimal. Apparently he is fairly young, not yet a teen even, which I would never have guessed from his size, so he will need constant care for a while. Were currently discussing how we will find a caretaker for such a huge responsibility."

"Dear Journal,
Cryptic is now officially part of my pack. We were talking it over and somehow Derrick twisted my words, so it looks like the not so little darling will be flown home with me. Derrick and Jack will be coming with me as well, as Derrick wishes to study Crypt's mutation further and Charles isnt too keen on caring for the rambunctious dog any more, now that he is unable to walk correctly. It seems I will not be saying any hard goodbyes after all."

"Dear Journal,
Its about midnight now. Everyone is settled in nicely at the house. Jack and the other dogs are getting along perfectly, Derrick is passed out on the loveseat, and Cryptic is currently curled up on a mat out on the porch. Tomorrow I will take him out to meet the rest of the pack and hopefully find him a high ranking spot with the rest of them. He seems to have a very dominate nature now that Iv seen him comfortable and more alive. He is very playful with us as well, and I am absolutely in love with the little darling's positive and outgoing attitude. Perhaps he had a rough start, but his future will be filled with love from all of us here."

A little painting I did the morning after we got back <3