Adventures of the Clavats and Selkies and Stuff
Chapter 4 : For a Drop of Myrrh...
"DAMMIT BOBO, RUN!!!!"
And run Bobo did.
In the last chapter, Garnos, Rikana, and Bobo were cornered on a beach by a band of vicious goblins when the worst that could happen at that moment happened. A tsunami was speeding towards them, growing in strength and size as it came closer and closer. Bobo, with his two passengers clinging to his back for dear life, took off as fast as his short little legs could, sand flying from his heels as he ran through the crowd of fleeing goblins that were a bit slower than Bobo. Rikana risked another glance behind her, and saw that the tsunami was even closer than ever. She also noticed that Bobo was traveling uphill, which was both good and bad. Good, because they will be safe from the tsunami on higher ground. Bad because this was slowing Bobo down, and if they didn't get high enough fast enough, they would be swept down and into the sea by the monstrous wave.
"Hurry up, Bobo! Hurry hurry hurry!!!" Rikana urged Bobo on, and Bobo struggled to speed up some more, but he was getting tired. Suddenly, he slipped on some loose rocks and earth, slamming his face into the ground, catapulting Rikana and Garnos off his back and into the hill he was scaling. They lay there, momentarily stunned from the sudden fall. Rikana was the first to recover. Rubbing her head, she sat up and looked behind her, and screamed. The tsunami was much too close now, it was going to hit land within a minute!! She stared with wide eyes at the giant, 60ft tall wave roaring in. There was no time to lose, they had to move, now!! She kicked out at Bobo, and when Bobo managed to get on his feet, Rikana dumped Garnos on him and jumped on behind Garnos, and Bobo began runnning up the hill again. Rikana could hear the screams of the slower goblins who were too slow to escape the tsunami. The deafening roar of the tsunami grew louder and closer.
"RIKANA!! THE FREAKISHLY HUGE WAVE IS ABOUT TO-" Garnos, newly awakened began to scream at Rikana, but was cut off by the loud, splashing, crashing noise of a 60ft tall wall of solid water striking land at like 200mph; the three were only 65 feet up the hill, 5 feet from the top of the hill (I guess it is more like a smallish mountain...). The land rumbled and shook, and the loose earth on the hill crumbled and slid down, making it even harder for Bobo to continue climbing up. Rikana and Garnos screamed as the water exploded upwards and over them, the spray completely drenching them; time seemed to slow down under the arching roof of water. Any moment now, and the water would crash down on them and sweep them out to sea!! Bobo quickly braced himself, while the Clavat and the Selkie clung for dear life to Bobo's saddle thing and blue fur. The dirty water seemed to pause in midair over them before it came crashing down.
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Silvon and Serina started with suprise as the earth rumbled and shook a bit. Silvon immediately tried to scramble away just as Serina lunged at him to give him another death hug, this time out of fear of the shaking and stuff, but he failed sort of miserably. She managed to wrap her arms around his middle, and immediately loosened her grasp at his gasp of pain; she didn't want to break a bone for real this time! She look up at him, her golden-brown eyes big and round.
"What was that?? Was that an earthquake?" She asked in a tiny voice. Silvon thought about this, then shook his head.
"I don't think so...it didn't feel like an earthquake should feel...it feels more like something hit the ground with tremendous force!" Silvon answered and Serina wailed in fear and buried her face in his tunic-like clothing. Silvon's face turned white to what he heard Serina say next.
"Oh Silvon!! Rikana and Garnos are still out there!! Suppose they were attacked by whatever hit the ground so hard? Suppose that those are their screams we are hearing!!"
"Oh my god...oh my god..." Silvon breathed, his heart beating faster, his mind reeled. What were they going to do? They needed their wagon, it provided shelter and protection, so they couldn't really abandon it in fear that someone would steal it or something. But he banished that thought; who and how was someone going to steal it? They would need some serious muscle power to pull the wagon away, especially through all that mud! He managed to pry Serina off her and shook her by the shoulders gently to snap her out of her delirious wailing.
"Listen, Serina! We need to go out and find Rikana and Garnos quick! If they are in trouble, we must help them! Quick, grab your weapons and that cure stone, I will take the chalice!"
"Ahem...'scuse me, I will be able to do that for you, kupo," Ham intervened, fluttering over to the chalice and taking it in his tiny mouth.
"Alright then...Let's go! We are running out of time!" Serina nodded dumbly, and, wiping her face on her long sleeves, she grabbed her sword, tucked the stone into her voluminous shirt and ran outside. Silvon grabbed his racket, paused, then slung a coil of rope over his shoulder and followed Serina out, Ham close on his heels.
"Where to?" Serina asked. Silvon looked around a bit.
"That way!" Silvon ran into the woods, following Rikana's tracks. The other two followed him; the rescue party was coming!
Several minutes of hard running later...
"Are you sure you are going the right way?" Serina stupidly called up to Silvon, who was following the wide path of grass, still freshly trampled by many feet. Silvon only grunted in reply.
"I thay, thow down a bit, peath, kupo?" Ham panted around the chalice thing in his mouth.
"Not now Ham!! I see our friends!! Oh my god..." The three stopped at the crest of a tiny hill and gaped at the tsunami's second giant wave; though it was smaller than the first, it was still some 50 feet tall. From their vantage point, they could see their friends, completely soaked, some 48 feet up the hill; the first wave did not wash them out to sea, but dragged them down some 12 feet down the hill. If Silvon and the others did not help Bobo, Rikana and Garnos in time, they would be hit straight on by the top of the wave, knocked down and swept away! Garnos here raised his tousled head and saw Silvon, Serina and Ham.
"Heeeeelllp!!!" He wailed piteously, while Rikana was urging Bobo to move up the hill. Bobo's strength, however, was taxed to its limit from staying firm and keeping himself and the others from getting swept into their watery grave. Bobo panted heavily, and slowly inched his way up the hill.
"Hang on buddies!!" Silvon wound and securely tied his rope around a knobbly tree growing crooked on the crest of the hill, then, still holding on to the rope, jumped down and slid all professional like down the slippery and muddy hill. He slowed to a stop next to Bobo, and he quickly tied that end of the rope around Bobo's neck, leaving several feet of left over dangling. He wound the end of this around his hand and slid down behind Bobo. He dug his toes in the mud and set his hands on Bobo's backside, ready to push.
"Hurry guys! Go around front, hold on tight to the rope, and pull!!" Rikana obeyed instantly, Garnos with some hesitation but hurried up with a kick from Rikana. Serina slid down next to Silvon, grabbed his rope, and prepared to push too.
"What are you doing? It is too dangerous!!" Silvon yelled at Serina.
"What are you gonna do when Bobo begins sliding backwards?? You will need someone to help, man!" Silvon opened his mouth to argue, then decided against it. He nodded, and they both pushed, and the other two pulled, with Ham fluttering around nervously with the chalice. Bobo helped by digging his feet in the mud and pushed upwards. 20 feet until the top of the hill. Would they make it?
They all sweated and panted heavily as they fought the slippery mud, which seemed intent on keeping them within striking range of the monster wave coming closer and closer. 15 feet now, what about that wave? Silvon glanced backwards, and immediately dug his feet into the mud.
"Dig yourself in, another wave oncoming!!" Silvon shouted, and everyone obeyed instantly. The wave hit some 5 feet below them, shaking the earth again, and Garnos panicked slightly as they all began to slide slowly down the hill.
"AHHHHHH!!! WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE IN SLOW MOTION!!!" He cried, and Rikana slapped him.
"SHUT IT, AND GET CLIMBING!!" She roared.
"Oh! Serina!" Silvon gasped as Serina slipped in the mud, lost her grip on the rope, and began sliding down the hill which now resembled a giant mud slide. He reached out, and somehow grabbed her hand and held on tightly, despite how muddy their fingers were. Grunting with exertion, he pulled her up, and she grabbed the rope again with her shaking hands. He hoped that she wouldn't want to give him another death hug; she didn't, fortunately.
After what seemed like an eternity of pulling and pushing, and digging in when more of the tsunami's increasingly weaker and smaller waves hit land, they made it to the top. Gasping and wheezing, completely covered in mud, they collapsed on the grass, panting, except for Ham, who just fluttered there, holding the chalice so that they would be protected from the miasma. Serina cut through the rope binding Bobo to the crooked tree with a chop of her blade.
"Whew, that was too close!" Garnos managed to say, sprawled out wide on the grass. He smartly rolled over, barely avoiding the head of Rikana's racket, which was aimed for his stomach.
"THIS WAS ALL YOUR FAULT, YOU FATTY!!" Incredibly enough, even though she was more tired than anything, she still managed to yell at Garnos. "IF IT WASN'T FOR YOUR STUPID FAT STOMACH AND YOU WANDERING OFF, NONE OF THIS WOULD HAVE HAPPENED!!"
"Please, Rikana, stop it!" Silvon cried as he clutched his head with both hands. He felt like his head was going to explode!! Rikana looked as though she was going to continue her rampage, but stopped at a sharp glance from Silvon. She grumbled something foul under her breath and leaned back against the crooked tree, which cracked and gave way almost instantly.
"What the-" She rolled away, and they all watched as the tree they had been using as an anchor for the rope slid down the muddy hill. They looked at each other breathless, realizing how special they should be feeling as the narrator decided not to let the tree fail them before they reached the top and let them slide to their watery grave. I mean, this story would suck a hundred times more than it does already if I went ahead and killed the entire caravan. I gotta finish the story first before I go doing that!
"Man, I hate this story, it's a death trap," Garnos groaned, wrapping his arms around his legs, burying his face in his knees, and he rocked back and forth.
"Careful!" Silvon said sharply as Serina ran over to him again, about to give him a death hug. She paused, then gently wrapped her arms around him. He stroked her soiled hair with one hand, wondering why the hell this crazy lady liked to hug him so much. But it didn't matter, he decided, looking at her gentle features, which were so much like an open book to her thoughts and feelings to him. She was so pretty, even though she was covered in mud...
"Ahem, Silvon, you are staring at Serina in the strangest of ways, kupo," Ham spoiled the moment in his usual annoyingly pompous way. Silvon felt like dashing the moogle's head against a rock and feeding it to some monsters.
"How violent, kupo!!" Ham exclaimed, astonished. He dropped the chalice and fluttered a safe distance away from Silvon, who was glaring daggers at him, while Serina was looking at him curiously. Ham fluttered closer to some trees, and-
"KUPO!!!" A large red goblin jumped out, snatched the moogle and disappeared into the trees.
"HAM!!!" Garnos jumped up, ready to attack, but stopped as he realized he didn't have his sword, and he had lost the goblin's blade to the tsunami.
"Sit down, Garnos," Silvon said wearily.
"But that goblin's got Ham!!" Garnos shouted, running agitatedly around like a retard, unsure of what to do.
"So what? That moogle's not worth the trouble of fighting some goblins right now."
"I say, I heard that, kupo!" Ham's voice drifted towards them.
"I don't care if you can hear! All I care about is rest right now!" Silvon yelled back, irritated.
-Hmph...they aren't reacting to this as I thought they would...Time I changed that!
The goblin that had kidnapped Ham stomped back to the group sitting there and tossed the moogle into Garnos' face, foiling his attempt at a lunge to attack the foe. Sighing wearily, wondering why the narrator was making him go against 4 fledgling warriors, one of which was a complete idiot, it pulled out its large, curved blade and charged at the most vulnerable and unprepared looking couple; Silvon and Serina. Serina screamed in fright, and Silvon quickly shoved her away and rolled in the opposite direction. The goblin's blade tip buried itself in the ground where Silvon's head was a second ago. In a flash Silvon was on his feet wielding his racket; he swung it up high, then brought it crashing down.
Crunch!
There was a sickening cracking sound as the racket crushed the goblin's skull. The goblin collapsed in a limp heap instantly. Silvon did not have to worry about whether the foe was dead or not, as Serina made certain it was dead by stabbing it repeatedly, yelling strange curses and stuff at it. Within seconds, Serina was tearing the body to shreds, the goblin's black blood was everywhere, and Silvon had to drag Serina away to make her stop.
"Serina, stop, STOP!! Can't you see it's dead!?"
"IT IS NOT DEAD, IT IS FAKING!!"
"Then what do you say to that??" Silvon said as the goblin's head came off.
"...I SAY IT IS STILL FAKING!!!"
"That's enough!!" Silvon managed to snatch her blade away without getting his hand chopped off and he held it out of her reach. "Stop!! It is dead!!! That's enough!!" Serina jumped around a bit, trying to get her blade back, then gave up and pouted. Silvon eyed Serina warily.
"Are you going to stop now?" He asked. Serina looked as though she was going to say 'no', then held back. Silvon repeated the question like he would to a naughty 3-year-old. Serina glared at him, tightened her lips, and stiffly nodded.
"Good," He handed her blade back, carefully watching her face for any hint that she would resume shredding what was left of the goblin. He sighed wearily, and Rikana came up to him.
"What are we going to do now?" She asked nonchalantly.
"We might as well go back to our wagon, now that we got everybody back together again...but first, let's get cleaned up somewhere. Anyone know where a nice pool is?" Everybody shook their heads.
"Well...we might as well start looking..." Silvon went over to rouse Bobo, who had fallen asleep. Bobo grunted in displeasure, and reluctantly got up. Silvon took the cut end of the rope still tied around Bobo's neck and led him off through the woods, back to the wagon.
"Come on everybody, let's go get Bobo back in the harness at the wagon, then we will look for someplace to clean up." Everybody wearily got up and plodded after Silvon and Bobo. After a considerable time of fighting throught the underbrush and stuff, they reached the wagon. Garnos grabbed his blade, and everybody got some towels and and spare clothing while Silvon tried to hitch Bobo back up to the wagon. He shook his head in disgust, as Bobo had broken the straps to get away. He untied the long length of rope from Bobo's neck and made a makeshift harness thing out of it. That will have to do for now...
The caravaners and Ham wandered around along a path through the trees, looking for water. They eventually came upon a small river. Garnos promptly jumped in...but only got his shoes cleaned. The water was only ankle deep!
"Don't worry, Garnos," Silvon said as Garnos looked utterly confused. "I am sure this water is sprouting from some kind of pool. Let's go there, maybe there will be deeper water there." So they walked up the stream, and sure enough, it lead to a big pool of some sort, shaded under a cool cliff, off of which ran a waterfall. Everybody gladly jumped in, wearing only an old shirt and shorts, and Silvon thought he saw movement behind the screen of water, where there was a large, dark spot on the cliff wall under the waterfall, which seemed to be a cave of some sort. However, he was enjoying himself too much in the water to care too much.
"Mmmmm, this feels good!" Rikana exclaimed, and everybody else felt the same. It felt good to be in a fresh pool and become clean of all that mud that had begun to dry on them. The water grew only the slightest bit dirty from the filthy bodies swimming around in it, and it did not stop Garnos from drinking gallons of it. They splashed each other and played in the pool, laughing and having a good time. They got out to wash their clothes and the ladies their hair in the stream of course, but the moment they were done, they jumped right back in the pool. However, Silvon continued to get the unsettling feeling that there was something moving in the cave under the waterfall, and he was watching it more and more. Suddenly, he waded ashore, quietly ushering the others to land.
"Quick! Get out of the pool! Quietly now!" Everybody but Garnos sensed the urgent undertone in his voice, and they instantly obeyed. Garnos, however, floated on his back in the middle of the pool and spouted a little fountain of water out of his mouth and nose.
"Whatchya'll doin'?" He scoffed at them. "The water is free and nice, why are you-AAAHHH-"
Silvon gasped and Serina screamed as a giant crab rushed out of the cave in an explosion of water and dunked Garnos under, cutting his cry short. Rikana was instantly shooting burning orbs of energy from her racket at the crab's exposed giant claw in fury.
"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING?? LET GARNOS GO THIS INSTANT!!" She screamed, as though screaming at a crab that knew not a single word of english would make it stop drowing Garnos. It didn't.
"Oh my god oh my god oh my god..." Serina gasped, completely in shock. Silvon, however, joined Rikana in shooting at the crab that was drowning Garnos.
"Serina, STOP STANDING THERE, DO SOMETHING!!" He shouted angrily. And Serina did do something. In fact, she did the weirdest thing to the crab. She jumped in the water and proceeded to tickle it under one fleshy armpit while poking it in its eye at the same time. The crab wriggled with both pain and silent laughter, then, unable to take it anymore, exploded out of the water, completely drenching Rikana and Silvon as it sailed over their heads and landed behind them with a teeth-rattling BOOM! Serina quickly brought Garnos ashore and worked frantically to revive him.
"Oh shit!" Silvon and Rikana dived out of the way as the crab swung its overgrown claw at them. It slammed into the ground where they were standing just a second ago. Because there was a manner of dangerous sharp objects projecting from the claw, it got stuck fast in the ground. The crab stood there, frothing bubbles at its mouth as it struggled to free its claw. Silvon and Rikana immediately began attacking it's weak points with energy missiles and their rackets. Furious, it glowed with energy, then released a great wave of some electricity at them. They both managed to avoid it, but it caught Silvon's left arm a glancing blow. He gasped in pain, his arm now hung limp, numb and useless at his side. He danced to the side as the crab forcefully tore its claw loose in his direction, throwing giant clods of torn-up earth at them.
"Argh!! My arm!!" Silvon tried to move it as the crab temporarily targeted Rikana, as Silvon was no longer a big threat. He felt a tingly sensation, and the pain and the numbness receded completely. He flexed his arm, and saw that Serina had cured him. She was able to revive Garnos, but he was still not battle-ready yet. He lay a safe distance away, blinking slowly and looking confused. Poor Ham was racing around, trying to keep the others except Rikana in the safety of the chalice's crystal. He did not need to protect Rikana, she still had that portable crystal the narrator gave her.
The 3 drew circles around the slower crab, stabbing and shooting here and there. The crab slashed at them with its other claw, which resembled more of a scythe-like thing, and it would try to catch them under it's killer ginormous claw. However, the constant attacks of the caravaners took its toll; Serina was able to chop off the biggest claw, while the other claw fell off from the constant burning and hammering of the Selkies' long-ranged attackes. All the crab was able to do now was jump around, blow bubbles, and cast thunder magic, which never hit anybody.
"Geese, when will this stupid thing die??" Rikana panted; after all, they have been fighting the crab now for like nearly an hour. Where was Garnos in all of this?
"Garnos...Garnos? Garnos!!" Serina called, and everybody grew alarmed to see that Garnos wasn't laying in the grass a safe distance anymore. The crab took this distraction to its advantage, and, wanting revenge on the Clavat, it prepared to shock her with some thunder magic. It was about to release the spell when-
Crruunsquelch!
Everybody turned to the sickening noise of something sharp stabbing something both squishy and crunchy; it was Garnos! He had drove his blade up to the hilt between the creature's eyes. It frothed terribly at the mouth, and its feet stomped crazily on the ground as it went into its death throes. It shuddered, collapsed near the pool, and exploded. Crabby stuff flew everywhere!
"Ooooo, crabby patties!!" Garnos jumped around, trying to catch a chunk of the crab meat, and Rikana slapped him for like the third time that day.
"STOPPIT, THAT IS JUST DISGUSTING!!" She shrilled. She turned absolutely green when Silvon, grinning, shoved a handful of the slimy stuff in her face.
"I think Garnos has a good idea! All this crab meat can last us for months! We would be able to feed Garnos with this!" Rikana looked sick at the idea. Silvon chuckled as she ran off, and there were sounds of her retching into the stream.
"Hey, come look at this!" Serina called from inside the cave the crab had hid in. They came over (Rikana came eventually after hurling her lunch into the stream for the fishies to eat) and joined Serina. They gasped in wonderment as they saw what the crab was guarding. It was the myrrh tree!
"We are about to collect our very first drop of myrrh!!" Garnos was getting all excited. He was so excited, that he snatched the chalice away from Ham and slammed it onto the rock conveniently placed under the tree. Ignoring Silvon's scolding about handling the chalice more carefully, they crowded around and eagerly watched the tree for the drop of myrrh. The single drop of myrrh formed at the tip of the weird, glowing branch extending over the stone, and it dropped in slow-motion...and because of the retarded way Garnos put the chalice on the rock, it was going to miss it completely...
"OH SHIT!!" Silvon dived at the rock all cool and stuff, and knocked the chalice forward just in time. The drop of myrrh landed perfectly in the chalice, their very first drop of myrrh!!
Everybody began to celebrate and stuff except for Garnos and Silvon, who was yelling at Garnos for nearly costing them a precious drop of myrrh by being an idiot and placing the chalice all wrong. And the boring part with the mail moogle and everybody getting their mail ruined their celebration, so they attacked the mail moogle, who managed to somehow get out alive. But Serina chased it down and dragged it back so that it could take their replies to their families. Here are the letters to each of the caravaners, and their replies:
Dear Silvon,
How are you doing, dear? Are you eating alright? Are you getting along well with the others? The last thing we need is quarreling among you guys! I guess we shouldn't worry about you too much, you are so responsible and dependable. I'll bet you are the only one keeping the others in place! Send us some supplies for our forges! And don't forget to come back now and then! We can make you and your friends some useful stuff!
Love,
Dah Maat (father) and Loo Kul (mother)
----Silvon's reply:
Dear Mother and Father,
I am doing quite well, and we have...well now we have enough food to keep us going for a while. However, a fellow caravaner by the name Garnos eats...a lot. I mean, A LOT. I fear we would die from starving rather than monsters with him along! We'll manage though, so don't worry. I'll be sure to visit sometime.
Love,
Silvon
----From Rikana's parents:
Dear Rikana,
How is my big girl doing? I hope you aren't treating the others too poorly; I know how bad of a temper you got. Be sure to visit sometime soon, especially for your sister Sala Nah's birthday! She wants a gourd potato for her birthday!
Love,
Daen Keilei (father) and Noo Mee (mother)
----Rikana's reply:
Dear Mother and Father,
I am doing fine, stop asking. Don't worry, I am treating the others like crap. I hate everybody, they are all so stupid! Especially one named Garnos. He is such a pig!! He nearly got us all killed!! And Sala Nah can hope for nothing for her birthday.
Sincerely,
Rikana
----From Serina's parents:
Hey Serina! How is life treating you? Find any myrrh yet? What is the trail like? Rough or easy-going? We all hope that you are not experiencing too much trouble. Did you feel that earthquake? There was a tsunami!! Man, it was awesome! We all wished you could hace seen it! Well, have fun now, dear!
Much love,
Belgano (father) and Harmia (mother)
----Serina's reply:
Dear Mom and Dad,
Life is treating me quite fine! Despite the fact that Bobo ran away at one point, and I was nearly killed by that tsunami, everything has been great! I mean, I found someone I quite like. I dunno if you would approve...because...well he's a Selkie. But that doesn't mean he's mean! He so nice and great and stuff...Well, I will be sure to visit and show you him soon!
With much more love than you (nyah nyah!),
Serina
----From Garnos' parents:
Dear Garnos,
Have you starved your caravan to death, yet? For once, we are able to have full plates for dinner, and there are actually leftovers!! I hope you are not irritating your mates to death, and do try to keep out of trouble! Visit...uh...every now and then, but dont' visit too frequently, you got only a year to get those drops of myrrh! Oh, and Paulie says, "I hope you die!" Isn't she so loving? Take care now!
From your loving parents,
Arion (father) and Christie (mother)
----Garnos' reply:
Dear Mommy and Daddy,
At one point, I did eat all the food in the wagon, but we got a ton more from this gigantic crab we fought and killed. Yay, crabby patties!! Anyways, it seems that the others are already irritated by my presence...except for this Selkie that pays too much attention to me. If you express love through yelling and physical abuse, then she is tripping over herself in love with me! And tell Paulie, "I love you too...not." Could you, like, poison her milk cup one day? That would make me very happy!
Love,
Garnos
With the letters sent, the drop of myrrh collected, and their clothes washed, they headed back to the wagon. By now, it was very dark, and everybody was exhausted. They had Bobo pull the wagon over under the shelter of some tall trees next to the road, and they crowded in the wagon and slept deeply. Only Silvon and Ham stayed awake a bit longer to record all the happenings today in the thick book they had brought with them. So it was on this day in their Crystal Chronicles that they had collected their very first drop of myrrh, not to mention face a bunch of goblins and defeated their first boss creature.
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End of the longest chapter I have ever written!! Wow, this is like super long compared to the other chapters! Now, what happens next? The caravaners are growing into experienced warriors, and they still have 2 more drops of myrrh to collect. Will they visit home, as it is so close? Or will they continue forward, braving the dangers of the miasma swamped wilderness and collect another drop of myrrh? Read and review, and I shall update!