coverts

coverings, shelter; a hiding place (as for wild animals)

scurfy

resembling, producing, or covering with a flaky or scaly matter (like dandruff)

brine

a salt and water (saline) solution

obtuseness

dullness; flatness; lack of sharp edges

swathed

wrapped

moors

tract of open, peaty, wasteland overgrown with shrubbery

brandishing

to shake or wave as a weapon

gully

a water-worn ravine

ruefully

Feeling or expressing pain or sorrow for sins or offenses

crestfallen

dejected, dispirited, discouraged

sagely

wisely

antagonism

Active hostility or opposition

impervious

incapable of being affected