Chapter 4:
The Journey Begins:
Jewel and Blu smiled to one another as they seated themselves in the shade just below the hollowed tree, their three kids gathered around them. This would be the last time all five of them would be together for a long while, so Jewel had prepared a quick but special breakfast to memorialise the occasion.
"Mangoes, kiwis, and papayas, it's not much to look at," Jewel admitted. "But I figured it was better than wasting a lot of time, and it's the thought that counts."
Blu studied the small helping of fruits laid out on a small leaf. He licked his beak hungrily, reaching to steal a small mango with his talon.
"Not yet, Blu." Jewel giggled, playfully swatting at his talon with her wing. "Kinski thought it would be appropriate if he were to sing a special song to protect you and Rose during your journey."
"Kinski can sing?" Blu arched a curious eyebrow. "I didn't know that-"
"Just listen," Jewel grinned, "and be nice, the boy is sensitive when it comes to things like this."
Kinski got up onto his talons, eyeing both his father and sister. He cleared his vocal pipes and sang out loud and strong.
"You leave today to find a rose
Our hearts go with you, so you know
Two full days, you'll travel far.
Your journey will be long and hard.
Your family, you will leave behind.
Your safety will be on our mind.
Our thoughts will dwell upon your task.
You shall hold the heroes mask.
Three trials, you shall face.
Defeat the snake of blue sur-face.
Travel through fire, the land of grim
Journey through death, and find its brim.
Find the forest, you shall see
Stay away from the trees.
Sand, the sand, it sinks you slow
It swallows you down into a hole.
After this you will see...
You are there, you made history.
You are there you're not quite done.
Find the one who holds the sun.
Follow his impressive gaze.
That's the puzzle through the maze.
Your reward awaits you, you are done
Monkey's there will have their fun
The blood orchid, you now have
Beware the thorns, mui gulav
A single prick will end it all
Be a hero, rise or fall?"
Rose's eyes widened as she peered through her book, coming to a small inscription on the page. She read the text word for word, eyeing her brother with a sly smile.
"You little thief, you stole that from my riddle map!"
Kinski traced his leg awkwardly across the grass. He eyed the food and reached out to grab it, only to be stopped by his mother.
"Kinski, did you take Rose's book without asking her permission?"
"Yes, mom... I just wanted to look at it," he pouted, "I wanted to feel like I was a part of the quest too."
Blu rubbed his feathery head. He eyed the book, flipping it in all directions as he tried to make heads or tails of the instructions written upon the sheet of paper.
"It's really pretty. I like it." He smiled doing a little dance as he repeated the first few lines. "But that won't help me unless I can figure out what the words mean."
Rose raised her head triumphantly, "That is precisely why you have me coming along with you. I'm really good at puzzles like this."
Blu nodded and peered at the food, he had forgotten all about the effort his wife had taken to prepare it for them.
"Well, we won't be starting just standing around here talking about it. Let's finish this food and let's get moving."
Blu ate automatically as he shovelled the food into his mouth. He knew it would be a long while before he could taste fruit this good again. Stuffing a whole mango into his jaw, he chomped noisily until he was able to swallow the melon down his throat.
Rose turned to her mother, disgusted by her father's embarrassing display.
"What do you see in him?" She whispered, "Has he always been this weird?"
Jewel stifled a giggle and whispered back. "Honey, when I first met your father, this behaviour would actually be considered normal."
After the food had been packed away, Jewel bid Buster and Kinski off to play. Rose and Blu sat staring at the parchment of paper. They spoke amongst themselves.
"So where do you think we should start?" Blu asked.
"The puzzle doesn't give us an exact starting point, but let's take it one line at a time."
"You leave today to find a rose
Our hearts go with you, so you know
Two full days, you'll travel far.
Your journey will be long and hard."
Blu nodded his head as he looked at the small section Rose had read aloud. She noted the words and began to voice her thoughts.
"You leave today to find a rose, that's the opening. It obviously means that these are instructions to find the orchid."
"What about our hearts go with you, so you know?" Blu queried. "Why would paper have a heart? Unless it's from the paper-mate company."
Rose shook her head. "I'm guessing that's a message from the person who wrote this thing. I mean he or she would have had to have travelled the whole way, and therefore knows how difficult the journey ahead is... see the next two lines... Two full days, you'll travel far, you're journey will be long and hard."
Blu nodded in understanding. "Oh ok, so this guy is wishing us good luck with finding the orchid."
"Exactly, the first few lines are preparing us for the journey ahead. I think the length of the adventure is located in TWO DAYS... I believe he's saying it will take two full days to make it to where we need to go."
Rose continued to study the riddle and nodded her head.
"The next few lines are about our family that we must leave behind... I believe our instructions begin with the line following all of that. Three Trials, you shall face. Defeat the snake of blue sur-face."
Blu shuddered remembering his first experience with the Brazilian rainforest. A rather large snake swallowed a frog with little effort.
"I don't fancy meeting any kind of snake." Blu swallowed hard. "Couldn't we just skip that trial and move on to the next one?"
Rose rolled her eyes and shook her head. "I really don't think it is meaning a real snake, dad. Look it says, Snake of blue sur-face..."
"Yeah, and...? That's about as clear as mud"
"Think about it for a moment dad." Rose smiled, "When you are flying through the sky, a river bends and turns just like a snake. The water itself is called the surface, snake of sur-face... or if you say it normally, it would be pronounced snake of surface."
Blu snapped his talon and came to the realisation of what she was saying.
"We must get to Rio and cross the river!"
"No," Rose shook her head, "The river in the city flows straight. That isn't very snake like... but that river isn't the only river around here. What about the one you, Nigel, and Jose fell into a few months ago? If I remember, mom said that it reminded her of a giant blue snake, it almost gave her the creeps."
Blu nodded his head, "Well that's the best place to start. Let's go, you can lead the way. I'll cover our backs."
# # #
Blu peered straight down, studying the swift moving river. His eyes filled with fear as he remembered the events that took place here a mere six months ago. The water splashed up against the sheer granite wall, spraying Blu with the misty run off. He swallowed a large lump in his throat, shaking off the memories.
"I remember falling in there like it was yesterday." He groaned, "It hurt badly. I think I might have even bounced off the granite on my way down. I don't remember much before I hit the water, except the sudden pain flowing through my wing."
Rose shook her head and frowned. She peered down at the long drop for several moments, shuddering at the thought.
"I'm glad that wasn't me-"
"If it had been any member of my family, I would have dived right in after you." Blu explained, "Whether my wing was damaged or not. Sometimes you just got to ignore what's in your head, and follow what's in your heart."
Rose formed a peaceful smile. Her mind traced back to all the times in her life she had heard stories about her mother's blossoming romance. She knew the story so well that it almost seemed like some kind of fictional belief.
She could picture her father travelling over six thousand miles to find his future wife... only to be captured by smugglers and held prisoner in a cage. She could picture him leaping from a moving airplane, in a last ditch effort to tell her mother how he felt... she breathed inwards sighing as she even pictured the romantic kiss during what could have possibly been their final moments on Earth. It all seemed like some kind of wonderful fairy tale. But now standing here with her father, she could see that her mother's words were all too real.
"He was willing to die to save her," she sighed, "he is one of the bravest birds, I've ever known. I wish I could have seen them back then... how romantic they must have been."
Blu eyed his daughter for a moment. His beak curled into a smile. He held out his good wing and placed it across his daughter's spine.
"It's not just your mother either." He admitted, "I would have jumped even if it had been you or your brothers that day."
Rose's smile deepened. She continued to stare down at the water. Her fears subsided as she listened to her father's comforting voice.
"I think we should continue onwards." She said, "We've wasted enough time here."
Blu nodded, "But which way do we go from here?"
"Three trials, you shall face. Defeat the snake of Blu Sur-face." She read from the book aloud. "How would you defeat a river?"
Blu shrugged his good wing. "I'm not entirely sure. I would guess that one would cross a river."
Rose snapped her wing and smiled.
"Dad you're a genius. Mountain climbers defeat a mountain once they have reached its peak. We need to find a way to cross the river in order to defeat it."
"That doesn't sound so hard," Blu shrugged, "Except we can't swim... the current is far too strong. Last time it swept me away for miles."
"Than how are we supposed to cross? You can't fly, you're wing is too damaged."
Blu grabbed his daughter with his talon and proceeded to the edge.
"Once I throw you, fly to the other side." He instructed her. "When you get there, find a comfortable place to sit. I'll meet back up with you. I promise."
Rose nodded her head. Blu spread both of his wings, ignoring the severe pain flowing through the joint. He cringed, but continued onwards. He tossed his daughter and watched as she landed safely on the far side.
"Ok, Blu..." Blu told himself, "You are not an ostrich, now run and fly!"
Blu shuffled his feet across the dirt ground, spreading a cloud of dust into the air. Jumping forward off of the edge, he flapped his wings, ignoring the cracking of his wing as it moved groggily. He frowned, falling into the water.
Good. Now swim Blu, make for the rocks.
Blu twisted his body through the water, making his way along the current. He dodged the rapids, until he found himself attached to the granite wall.
"Ok, how is this possible?" He asked himself, opening his eyes. Blu peered down at his wings, surprised to find them covered in a thick sticky algae.
"Well that certainly is convenient." Blu chuckled, "I'm not complaining though. It makes my job a lot easier."
Blu used his good wing to pry himself higher, sticking his bad wing on the rocks only moments later. He cringed as he shuddered under the impact of the rocks, but he forced himself onward. Up and up, he forced himself higher, until he collapsed exhausted on the top of the ledge.
"Let's never do that again," he smiled, struggling to catch his breath from exerting the huge effort.
"At least we made it past the river," his daughter admitted appearing over top of him, her beak forcing a huge proud smile.
"I'm not bad for a flightless bird, am I?" he asked.
"Not bad. But I have seen better attempts at rock climbing." She teased.
"Oh, ha ha, everyone is a critic."
Rose shoved her father playfully. She peered down at the next phrase in her book. Her eyes widened in horror at what she read.
"We're not done yet, we should keep on moving."
Blu studied the look on his daughter's face. His smile faded into a more serious tone. "What does it say, Rose?"
"Three trials, you shall face.
Defeat the snake of blue sur-face.
Travel through fire, the land of grim
Journey through death, and find its brim."
Blu nodded his head, holding up his talon as he thought about the next phrase of the riddle. He pouted as he shuddered at the thought of what laid ahead.
"If that river was truly the snake of blue sur-face... then we still have to go through something involving fire... and something involving death."
Rose nodded her head.
Blu swallowed a large lump in his throat. He peered out at the horizon. Not sure what to make of the ominous instructions. Was he meant to die out this far from his home, without ever getting his wing fixed? Would he even reach the blood orchid before it died off?
"I think we might have just escaped the frying pan." Blu gulped, "But we landed in the fire."
Rose nodded her head.
"Let's keep going, dad." She said, "We'll never figure out the answer to this riddle if we sit here worrying about it."
Both birds continued onwards, neither slowing down as the sun grew higher in the sky... and neither saw the smoke hovering in the air just ahead of where they were heading.