"Get her out of there, Lord Bogo!" Jack cried. "I'll fend these guys off."
The leporine went to send a kick towards the reptilian guard. The protector of the area, however, twirled around in a circle, swiping at him with his powerful tail and knocking him forcefully to the ground.
As both Jack, Judy, and Travis continued to fight off the guards that occupied where they were, Lord Bogo ran up to where Skye had been locked. As they continued to dodge the keepers attacks, the buffalo approached the lockup and started to conduct the energy within him.
A bolt shot out from his grasp, hitting one the steel bars of what the vixen was trapped inside, curving out and encompassing the ones adjacent to it in a chain reaction. The arctic vulpine was in absolute shock at what was going on, but her shock transformed into relief when the bars that kept her from escaping ended up being unexplainably busted off.
"Come on!" the bovine compelled, gesturing for her to get out from where she was.
Her head remaining slightly crouched down to avoid bumping her head, she approached the very edge of her lockup. As it moved around with her moving weight, her eyes ended up darting down to the deadly spikes below her. She looked away from the danger, though, and left from where she stood. She landed a few inches away from where the buffalo that aided in her rescue was, thankful that she didn't end up falling to her demise.
"Thank you," she said with a shallow sigh of relief. "Thank you."
"No need for gratitude," Lord Bogo replied. "We have to get you out of here."
A bolt of energy, larger than the others that had been casted by him before, took shape in the bovine's grasp. As the buffalo grunted loudly, the conjured energy blasted from in between his hooves, spreading across the walls like the electricity created by an oscillator. The blast managed to directly strike the guards that Jack and Travis had been fighting off, and caused two others that were to serve as reinforcement to retreat back to where they were starting to emerge.
"Guys!" someone cried.
They all turned their heads to see Nick, who was running up to where all of the commotion was occurring.
"Run!" Lord Bogo bellowed to the fox. "We must go!"
The vulpine gulped and quickly turned his back, darting back where he had just come from. The others swiftly followed his steps as they ran threw an area of the steeple that was a little more narrow and lacking in light.
"The absconder stays here," a raspy voice chattered. The voice coming from a lanky dingo that awaited them at the very bottom of the steps they were descending. "By order of Leodore-"
"It doesn't matter what Leodore decrees!" Jack interrupted with a booming tone of voice. "If you want her, you have to deal with me first!"
The striped rabbit pushed his way passed the others, quickly skittering down some of the steps before leaping from the final two. Once he found himself standing in the middle of the more spacious area of the construction, he approached the canine with the sandy-colored coat of fur. But before he could do so much as even prepare to throw a jab, the dingo glared at him before performing a motion with his paws and snarling something under his breath.
Whatever he had said caused Jack's arm to stay completely frozen in the position it was in, making him unable to lower it or unclench his fist. The buck found himself in shock as the dingo then did another motion that caused him to life both of his arms up in the air. He tried to fight off whatever was happening to him, but his efforts were of no use. This canid was manipulating his movements through some supernatural force.
The next thing he knew, the striped lagomorph found himself being hoisted up from the floor, right before being unexpectedly thrown to the other side of the room.
"Jack!" Lord Bogo cried, proceeding to approach who had done that to the buck.
The dingo cackled as he looked over at the buffalo. "Are you looking to have the same thing happen to you?" he asked.
The bovine proceeded to fight off the canid with ease, and the others ran over to where Jack ended up. As they approached him, they saw that the jackrabbit was clutching onto his leg like he was in pain.
As Skye got on her knees and down to his level, she inquired, "What's wrong? Are you hurt?"
Nodding his head, Jack gazed back at the vixen and said, "A lot of pain, but I'll manage. I am just glad you have escaped."
"He needs a medic, but there's no possibility of finding one around these parts," Judy chimed in. "It's very well possible something got pulled in his leg when he was thrown back, depending on how he landed."
"I know of where you may find assistance," an unknown mammal whispered, coming from the right.
The voice caused them all to jump and look in that direction. A wombat emerged from a blackened corner of the space, nearly invisible to the naked eye, and probably for good reason. After all, if he had any connection with Leodore's enforcements—and the possibility of that was very large—he would more than likely receive death for helping others from another realm.
"I might be defying my duties by saying this, but there's a practitioner of healing about seven leagues from here," the marsupial whispered informatively. "She healed a cousin of mine once, and it's possible she could be of assistance. You'll find her in a wooden lodging outside a small village."
"Thank you," Judy said to the wombat. She could tell from his reassuring tone of voice that he was telling the truth, and that he certainly was not the villainous member of Leodore's crew that he was forced to be.
Skye got herself up from her crouched position and proceed to pick him up from the ground to carry him. The jackrabbit let out a noise that told her that his leg was starting to hurt more than it did previously.
She turned her to the side, noticing that the cape buffalo was delivering a roundhouse kick to the dingo, powerful enough to send him stumbling backwards, unable to fight off anymore.
"We have to go, Lord Bogo!" Nick called out to the bovine. "Seven leagues from here! Can you try to get us close enough this time?"
Lord Bogo nodded and ran out of the steeple, the others following his lead. As they ran alongside him, Skye continued to carry Jack.
"Let's hope we can get him to this healer safely," the vixen said with concern for the rabbit.
The buffalo in front waved both hooves around him, and with that they found themselves being teleported from this awful place.
As he let out a gasp for air, the muffled mumbling of several voices was the first thing Jack's ears registered as he fluttered his eyes open. Regaining his senses, he immediately noticed that he appeared to be laying down on something. He didn't know where he was, either; the only thing he did know was what had happened to him while he was rescuing that arctic vixen.
Wait, where's Skye? he thought.
The lagomorph quickly peaked his head up, noticing that she was in this unknown location alongside the others. He looked around at his surroundings, noticing that where he was had been constructed primarily out of wood. Several plants in little ceramic pots rested on some nearby counters, as well as an assortment of colored glass bottles with transparent fluids inside of them.
"Thank the gods," Skye breathed.
"That lady who healed your leg is truly some miracle worker," Nick chimed in. "Haven't the slightest idea what she was doin', but it seemed to work out just fine."
"Something seems to be troubling your thoughts, Jack," Lord Bogo said. "What is wrong?"
"It was…" Jack replied with hesitation to the buffalo. "I believe I had another vision right before I awakened. I don't understand the reason I keep having them, though."
"What did you see?" the bovine asked.
The buck did his best to recollect what details he could. "I saw my brother this time," he said, "and he was saying things to me that didn't make sense to me."
"What kind of things?"
"He said to find the cheetah and travel to the talisman by boat. And then he said that that was the key in setting his soul free from Leodore." Jack sagged his head. "But I don't understand the definition of his message, or why these visions are unexplainably coming to me."
Lord Bogo replied, "Visions and revelations are delivered solely by apparitions, so it is quite possible your brother is sending them to you so you can defeat who killed him."
The striped leporine shook his head. "But if I can't understand what he meant, I feel as if I am letting him down."
"I believe I have partial understanding of what he is talking about," a figure said, coming from behind the others.
A middle-aged tanuki walked in front of them and over to where Jack was still sitting.
"Who are you?" Jack inquired to her.
The raccoon dog pointed a paw to herself and replied, "My name is Ichika, and I am the one who healed your leg. Are you feeling any better?"
The buck moved his leg around, realizing that all of the pain was gone. With a faint smile, he nodded. "It's better. The pain seems to have vanished. Thank you very much."
"You have the plants and their healing properties to thank for that," Ichika remarked in reply. "It is because of the gifts of nature, and my knowledge of their use, that you received healing. My husband used to say that I was obsessed with obtaining knowledge of plants." She let out a heavy sigh. "Rest his soul. It's just me and the plants in this house of mine now."
"I'm sorry," Jack replied sympathetically.
Ichika shook her head. "Oh, he didn't die. I only say that because I wish him the best with the way of life he chose. We divorced quite some time ago. After the mammal says he'll love me unconditionally, he takes a trip into a different part of the land and ends up getting lead to adultery by someone with a more exquisite complexion. To be honest, I could care less about where that bastard is and what he does now." She let out another deep sigh. "But that's enough about my life's woes. As I said before, I believe I can help decipher what you mentioned before. You were saying something before about needing to find a cheetah, right?"
"I did," the jackrabbit said with a nod of his head. "Then there was something else about traveling by boat."
The tanuki replied, "Then I know the exact mammal that you need to find. His name is Benjamin Clawhauser. If he's not out on his boat, you'll probably be able to find him fishing along the waters at the edge of the village. Tell him that Ichika sent you to him and I am certain he will help you with whatever it is that you need."
With the exception of the occasional rippling made by the fish that called it their home, the silvery-blue water remained mostly flat. The air consisted of the pungent fragrance of some blossoms, sprouting a good distance away from the water.
Gripping tightly onto the rod he had in his paws, the cheetah, pudgy in appearance compared to others in his kind, continued to anticipate the moment a fish would fall for the bait he had on his hook. Other than him catching two little pinfish that he had decided to put back in the water, not much action was occurring. Not compared to the other times he came to this lake and reeled in much larger catches, or when he took his boat to a deeper portion of water to fish.
A pair of voices were talking back and forth to his left, and he looked over to see two beavers, father and son, fishing some distance away from where he had casted out. Both of them were reeling in like they each had something on their hooks, only to realize they had accidentally got their hooks caught together.
The cheetah laughed and went back to focusing on his own rod, just in time to feel something tugging at the bait he had in the water. Once that happened, the portly feline started to quickly reel what he had on the line up to shore. Finally, he thought. A larger fish!
Just as he continued to reel it in, however, he felt he thought he had caught release it self from the hook, presumably traveling to where it was in the water before. The cheetah sighed once again at the not-so-good luck he was having on this particular day. But there was no point in getting upset about those circumstances, though; it was impossible for one to control that sort of thing.
Perhaps it just wasn't a good time for fishing, and that he should try again at a different time…
Just as he turned around to head back towards home, he caught sight of five figures walking up towards where he was currently standing. A fox, a gray doe, a striped jackrabbit, an arctic vixen, a black ferret, and a tall cape buffalo were now strolling up to where he had been fishing before.
The cheetah looked back at them with a scant amount of confusion; he never recalled seeing these particular mammals around these parts. He knew just about everybody in the village that he called home, so the five were like complete strangers to him.
"Hello," he greeted out of sheer politeness. "Can I help you?"
The cape buffalo amongst the group of mammals nodded his head and took two steps forward. "Yes," he said. "We are looking for a cheetah by the name of Benjamin Clawhauser."
"That's me," the spotted feline replied. Shifting the subject slightly, he added, "I don't recall ever seeing you around this village. Are you sojourners?"
The bovine answered, "We are not from here, but we traveled here because there is a very significant matter that needs resolving. That is why we needed to find you."
The cheetah looked back at him with a bit of confusion. "Uhhh…"
The striped buck approached the corpulent feline and looked up at him, remembering what he was told to tell him. "Ichika sent us here?" he said, his words coming out more like a question rather than a statement.
"You folks met Ichika?" Benjamin asked in reply.
The jackrabbit nodded. "We have. She managed to completely heal an injury I ended up taking to my leg. She told us to look for you, and that you could potentially help us with something."
"How may I be of assistance?" the cheetah inquired.
"Ichika told us that you could help us get to where we need to venture to by boat. Is that true?"
"Oh, yes! I haven't taken by boat out in the water quite some time now. I would be happy to assist you folks in helping you reach your destination."
"Yeah, but wait a minute," the ferret of the group interrupted, holing up a paw. "How do we know that this cheetah doesn't have connections with that Leodore guy?" He looked over at the gray doe a few spaces away from him. "Hopps, you have to remember that Woolter was friendly to us in the beginning before giving us the run-around. We gotta watch before we just go placin' faith in some stranger."
Clawhauser let out a small laugh upon overhearing the mustelid's worries. "I see why you have concerns," he said to the ferret understandingly. "If I were in your position, I would probably be thinking the same thoughts. I will reassure you all, though, that I don't—and will never—have any ties to Leodore. In fact, this entire village I live consists of humble mammals that are actually against his sovereignty."
The red fox looked over at the cape buffalo and asked, "What do you think, Lord Bogo? Is he telling the truth?"
Lord Bogo nodded and responded, "I can sense that this mammal has a kind heart, and is not one to lie or deceive others."
"That is correct," Benjamin said to the bovine. "Sometimes I feel as if I and the few that live in this village are the only kind ones in this entire world."
"And that statement is probably not far from the truth," the buffalo replied. "If you can help us reach our next point of disembarkation, I will be sure to request that the Elder Gods grant you and the citizens of this village better life in Earthrealm."
The stout feline looked at him, evidently addled by what he heard. "I-I'm sorry, what do you say?"
"It's a long and crazy story," the fox called out from where he stood.
"That it is," Lord Bogo added. "But I will spare you a good majority of the minor details." He bowed his head. "To make a more formal introduction, my name is Lord Bogo. And the mammals standing alongside me have come together with the goal of defeating Leodore."
"But what was it you were saying about Elder Gods and granting me a better life?" Benjamin questioned.
The russet vulpine of the group chimed in, "Believe it or not, who you're talkin' to is actually a god."
The cape buffalo looked over at the tod and then back at the cheetah. "I am," he said. "And as I just said, Leodore is the reason that I casted myself here."
Clawhauser changed the subject back to where it had previously been. "So where is it that you all needed to travel to?"
Jack looked over at Lord Bogo. "Are you sure it's a good idea to tell him? Can he be trusted?"
The bovine reassuringly turned his head to him and nodded his head.
The striped leporine looked over at the rotund cheetah and said, "I had this… vision, and it told me not just to find you but to travel to where a talisman is located. Would you, by any chance, have any idea as to where one could find something of that sort?"
Benjamin remained silent for a moment before answering his question. "As a matter of fact, I believe I do. I'm not exactly sure, but this vision you say you had might have been trying to tell you about the Bouquetin's Talisman."
"What is that?" Jack inquired in reply.
The feline informed, "Supposedly, from the lore I've heard surrounding it, it's an artifact that mysteriously appeared in the land. Not much is really known about how it originated—everyone believes it was brought up from the netherworld—but what is known is that a red panda named Qiong was the first to discover it. But after he placed it around his neck, his mind had become unsound, like he was possessed by a demon. After he ended up being freed by the trance it placed him under, it was placed inside the deserted synagogue with hopes it wouldn't be touched again." He let out a deep sigh. "I'm a bit hesitant about taking you to there, though. Especially after what happened in recent months…"
"What happened?"
"There was a member of the village named Emmitt Otterton, and he liked to call himself an explorer. He went in search for the talisman after hearing word about it…" Benjamin paused a moment and sagged his head. "But that was weeks ago. There hasn't been any sign of him since the day he left. It's been hard for his wife and two pups for him to be missing this long, but they refuse to give up hope. But if you wish to search for the artifact too, I will help you get there. If you'll follow me I will lead you to the boat."
"The rain just kept pouring down on me, and the lightning was getting really close to where I was at. But i just kept ignoring it, 'cause right then I felt something big pulling on my reel. So the moment I realized that I hooked it, I reeled that thing up to the boat, and then…"
As the cheetah, who he quickly realized was extremely talkative, continued another fishing story of his, Nick drowned out the words and gazed at the open water. Who knew this mammal was such a chatterbox?
"You sure have a lot of fishing stories," the tod said.
The cheetah stopped in the midst of his tale. "Mhmm," he replied. "Telling stories of all kinds is a tradition carried by most of the folks in the village. And I am no exclusion to that."
Since they had all gotten on the water, their embarkment went quite smoothly. The boat was much large than Nick anticipated it would be. He had first thought that it was just going to be some small outrigger canoe, and that multiple vessels of similar design would be required for all of them to reach their destination. But, much to his surprise, Clawhauser's watercraft was capable of accommodating all of them. Pulled by both wind—which there currently was a lack of—and powerful rowing from the spotted feline, it glided steadily along the watery passageway. Its appearance reminded him of the traveling boats from ancient civilizations he remembered having to learn about in school once.
To the right some spaces away from the fox was Jack, who appeared to be absorbed in some trail of thought. Standing up and looking onto the horizon a few inches away from the buck was Skye.
Looking over at him, the vixen said to the striped lagomorph, "There is something about the water that is just so fascinating."
Jack's eyes coursed over to where she stood, and he nodded his head. "That is true," he replied. "I guess you could say that the water is where an entirely different world lies. That's what my brother used to say about it, at least."
"You know," Skye continued, "when I was just a little kit, the water used to frighten me. Looking back at the memory of that now, I have no idea why. I just was. But how can one fear something that is actually quite tranquil in nature?"
"I have not a clue why fears of certain things plague some mammals," Jack responded. "My personal belief has always been that we occasionally possess fears so we learn to face and overcome them, to become more courageous than we were before."
The vixen looked over at the jackrabbit once again. "I know I have already told you this before we set sail, but I want to thank you for saving me before. How are you feeling, by the way?"
"What do you mean?"
"Your leg. How does it feel since the healer helped you?"
Jack moved the leg that had been injured before. "It feels perfectly fine. It was as if nothing ever happened to it." He smiled back at Skye before returning his gaze back to the water. "There is just something that I wish I had more of an understanding of."
"And what is that, rabbit?" the arctic vulpine inquired.
The buck answered, "That vision I had of my brother told us to find this… talisman. But, at the moment, I don't know what finding this object will do for us when we are trying to face the threat of Leodore right now."
"The answers to your questions are probably soon to come," Skye replied. "I am quite sure of that. It is quite possible that your brother came to you with this vision because we are to encounter someone along the way that will help us. Sometimes things aren't clearly stated to us, but grant us an answer when it is due."
"Yes. Perhaps that is true…"
"We are close to our destination, guys!" called the cheerful voice of the cheetah, who had been rowing and guiding them this entire time.
Approaching them dead ahead was some sandy grounds where the water started to get more shallow than it was before. Benjamin lead them near enough so they could exit the boat safely, and all of the got out and walked onto the sand.
For a brief moment, Nick started to get confused. "Hold on a sec," he said, looking over at the feline that brought them here. "Aren't we supposed to go to some synagogue? There's nothin' of the sort here."
"This was the route Otterton said he was going to take before he vanished," Clawhauser replied, "so I believe we are on the right track."
"It's out there, in the distance," Nick heard Judy stating to his right. She was pointing at something that had caught her eye. "Do you see it?"
"See what?" the fox muttered in reply.
"That structure out there," Judy said. "That's probably the synagogue that the talisman was left in."
What the gray bunny was telling about was further away from where they stood, yet perceptible. From what he could see, the building was large in terms of scale, with tiered roofs on top of it.
"Oh, wow," Benjamin chimed in. "That sure is a good walking distance away from 'ere. Hope I can withstand that long of a trek. I'm not exactly in the best of shape."
That was when Lord Bogo started to step forward. "There is no need to concern yourselves the length of a trek," he said. "That is where my powers are able to be of assistance."
"Yeah," Nick added, "bein' a god and all, he can transport right to where we need to go."
"Are you serious?" Benjamin asked the fox, unsure whether what he was saying was the truth or not.
"Come stand beside me, everyone," Lord Bogo said to the others.
They listened to what the buffalo told them and joined him where he stood. From there, the bovine held one hoof up in the air, and they all felt the sand beneath them totally disappear.
All of a sudden, they all found themselves standing only a short numbers of years away from the synagogue that they needed to go to. After just being teleported to this location alongside the others, Benjamin was evidently in a state of perplexity. He looked around at his surroundings, still in surprise at how he had managed to go from the shoreline straight to the synagogue in the matter of a few seconds.
"I can't believe it," the cheetah muttered out loud to himself. "I can't believe I just traveled without having to lift a paw."
Nick couldn't help but chuckle at that remark. "I remember not too long ago being in that exact same state of disbelief," he said.
Clawhauser let out a small squeal. "This has got to be one of the adventurous days I've had in a long time!" he remarked. "Never would I have ever thought I would be standing in the presence of a god in the flesh."
Lord Bogo looked over the feline, and then over at Jack. "Is this the exact location you were instructed to go to in that vision?" he asked him.
The jackrabbit shrugged his shoulders with uncertainty. "I don't know, Lord Bogo," he said. "I didn't see anything except my brother when I was having it."
Nick chimed in, "Guess that leaves us with only one option: We start lookin' around for any sign of this talisman we're supposed to get our paws on."
The fox got a better look at synagogue, noticing more of the details in its architecture now that he was seeing it more up-close. He had read of what places of worship were like, and even saw photographs of them taken from various corners of the world in travel magazines before. But this didn't have any similarities to those religious buildings whatsoever. Unlike the ones he knew of that had resplendent vestibules, this synagogue's entrance looked like it consisted of a low annex. And rather than possessing a hemispherical apse, it looked like this place featured nothing more than a single, large hall. Wood-carved corbels jutted from the tiered roofs above, supplying them with much-needed support.
Nick hesitantly stepped forward, and Jack in front of him and walked ahead. The others followed as they strolled up to the entrance of the synagogue's one and only hall. Upon stepping inside, they were met with a room that was in a very dilapidated state.
With the exception of some old pew-looking benches and a podium where a minister of religion once spoke, the building looked completely bare. On the wall above the podium was oil painting that displayed some artist's representation of what the afterlife looked like. After looking at that painting for an additional moment, they realized that small vertical cuts were visible near the very bottom of it, as if someone had previously defaced it.
"Wait," Judy said to the others behind her, taking a few steps closer. "Those are claw marks in that canvas."
Nick started to ask, "Who would just approach a painting like that and just scratch near the bottom of it? That don't make-"
A snarl, hoarse and harsh in sound, arose from where the podium was located, causing everyone to be taken aback for a brief moment. There wasn't anyone else in the building except for them, so what could've produced such a startling sound?
Something long and slim emerged from behind the wooden rostrum, scurrying to the left corner of space. As soon as they unfroze from their surprised state, they went to walk up to whatever had just skittered over to the edge of the hall. But they didn't even manage to take two steps forward before whatever was there ended up skittering away to the opposite side of the room. The sound of the figure's webbed paws pattering made them all turn their heads in the direction it was going in.
Judy quickly reached for the flashlight she still had on her uniform's belt, turning it on and shining it where the figure had darted to. The cylindrical glow the light dispersed shined directly upon an otter, who wore a tattered green chiton and was crouched down on all fours. Upon getting the flashlight shone in its face, it let out a hiss and put a paw over his eyes.
Once it got on its legs and darted off again, the gray rabbit continued to point her flashlight in the direction the otter was going. The brown-furred mustelid now had its back turned to the wall, standing next to a little plinth that had an aged bo staff resting across the top of it.
As the otter, clearly in some sort of horrible trance, turned to the side, Benjamin recognized who was here.
"Oh my…" the cheetah muttered quietly to himself, placing a large paw over his mouth in bewilderment. "That's Emmitt."
"That's the otter you said went missing several months ago?" Jack whispered to the feline. "The one you said went looking for this talisman?"
Benjamin nodded his head to the striped rabbit with confirmation. "That's him." Looking back over at the mustelid they had encountered, the feline remarked, "Emmitt!"
His voice captured the otter's full attention, causing to become suddenly motionless. He glared over at the cheetah and the others, letting out a shrill, bellicose hiss at them.
Clawhauser was confused at why Emmitt, a good-natured soul who was nice to everyone, was hissing at them in such an antagonistic fashion. It was almost as if he wasn't the same mammal, like some evil fiend was occupying his body and making him behave in such a way.
"Emmitt, don't you recognize me?" Clawhauser said feebly to the otter. "It's me, Benjamin."
The cheetah's words had no effect. Emmitt simply snarled under his breath, ducking his head downward.
"Look," Jack said to Benjamin, pointing towards the otter. "Do you not see what is hanging around is neck?"
Clawhauser, upon realizing what the buck was pertaining to, became surprised once again. "The Bouqetin's Talisman…" he muttered before his mouth hung wide open.
Around Emmit's neck was an ornamental-looking object that was suspended by a gold chain. The length of its chain had it drooping down the otter's body, with the talisman resting near the very bottom of his green tunic.
"If that story about what that talisman does to others is true," Jack said, "then that is why he is acting so aggressive towards us. Its controlling his actions."
"How do we get it off of him, then?" Clawhauser asked the striped rabbit.
"Doing that is going to be easier said than done, I presume," the buck replied.
Benjamin took a step forward to where the otter currently stood. "It's okay, Emmitt," he said to him, his voice similar to kind one would use to calm a crying infant. "I know you mean no harm. It's that talisman around your neck that's making you-"
"Don't!" Jack exclaimed in quietest possible voice.
Just as the cheetah was extending a paw outward to try and get a hold of the talisman, Emmitt snarled nastily. Quickly getting as close as he could to the feline, he lunged at him and kicked at him with both legs before hitting the ground.
The suddenness of it had Clawhauser letting out a yelp before stepping back out of defense. The rabbit is right, he thought. What should be a simple task will be a little more complicated than it should be.
Getting himself up from the rickety floor below him, held his sharply-clawed paws out in front of him. Turning around, he quickly swiped the staff that was resting on the stand near him. Gripping tightly onto the long, wooden rod, he twirled it in a circle before benignantly pointing it out towards the feline and rabbit.
Jack looked over at the snarling otter, proceeding to run up towards him. But before anything could even occur, the brown mustelid held the staff out longways to block any oncoming strikes. Tossing it down to the ground like a toddler throwing a toy, he closely approached the striped lagomorph and kicked a webbed foot towards his chest. The rabbit was quick to block this, though.
However, when Jack let it his guard down for a brief second, he was immediately met with a much more forceful kick, followed by two swift jabs and an uppercut that managed to knock him down. He grunted upon landing on his back, quickly picking himself up. After just getting the bad injury he had gotten fixed, he surely didn't want to hurt himself that badly again.
As who had knocked him to the ground snarled at him and got closer to him, Jack raised a leg (the one that hadn't been injured prior to this encounter) to deliver a kick, only to have it blocked. The otter soon enough responded with a flurry of fiercely-thrown jabs that made the leporine step back in retreat.
"Remember!" he heard Skye cry out from the other side of the room. As he turned his head in her direction, she added, "Channel the energy!"
"Right," Jack muttered to himself.
Just as he did the first time the vixen suggested to use this before they traveled to Outworld, he cupped his paws and an orange ball of light formed. As he saw the mustelid running up his way, he shot the ball from out of his grasp, and it hit who was approaching him directly.
The otter found himself getting flung back towards a wall behind him, and the talisman ended up flying off of his neck and landing some space away from him.
"Don't hurt him!" Jack heard Clawhauser say to him.
The striped bunny turned to the concern cheetah. "He is fine," he said to him. "That talisman is now off of him. He won't be under the effects of it any longer."
Walking in front of the jackrabbit, Benjamin slowly approached Emmitt Otterton, who uttered a small groan as he looked around at his surroundings.
"W-What happened?" the otter muttered. He looked at all of the other mammals that were occupying the synagogue alongside Clawhauser. "And who are all of these mammals?"
"Emmitt!" the cheetah said delightedly. "Oh, I'm so glad you're all right."
Emmitt looked over at Benjamin with confusion. "What do you mean?"
The spotted feline replied, "Are you aware of how long you have been gone?"
"Well, just yesterday I sailed out to this location, so not even that long."
Clawhauser sighed. "You're wrong," he said. After a long pause, he informed, "You've been gone, actually, for quite some time. Your family has been extremely concerned about you, and some of us were worried if you were still alive or not."
The mustelid shook his head in disbelief. "No, that can't be true. Tell me you're lying."
"As much as I wish it wasn't the truth, I'm afraid it is."
"And I really have been gone longer than I thought I've been?"
"Yes, you have."
Emmitt sagged his head. "The children must be worried sick about what happened to their father. But I couldn't answer that question for them; I don't even know what really happened myself. The last thing I remember was walking into here in search of that talisman. It had been laying astray on the ground, and it was almost like it was trying to attract me towards it so I could try it on. I found myself walking over to it and putting it on me, and the next thing I knew… everything just started to go… bleak. I have not the slightest idea why, though."
"What do you mean by things going bleak?"
"Trying to describe it is a little bit difficult. All I can remember was my vision becoming this big blur not even a few seconds I put the talisman on. It almost felt like I was going blind in that moment. Then this… this snarling escaped me, and it frightened me greatly so I put a paw over my mouth to cover it. And then after that…" Emmitt sighed. "I-I don't remember anything that happened after that."
"The snarling you're talking about was a result of the effects of the talisman, Emmitt. That thing you had hanging around your neck was making you act all hostile towards us. Do you remember that?"
Looking back at him in a shocked fashion, the otter shook his head. "N-No," he blurted in reply. "I remember no such thing! Did I try to harm you? But I wouldn't so much as hurt a fly. If I truly did that, then the stories about the talisman I heard of are true." He placed a paw over his eyes. "I feel so terrible."
"Don't feel that way," Clawhauser replied. "What you did was not of your own doing. It was the talisman's fault."
"Yes," Emmitt said, "but I was the one who-"
"It's okay," the cheetah interrupted, a paw held in front of him. "It's over now, and it will be buried in the past."
The otter sighed and responded with a nod. "All right," he muttered under his breath. After a moment of silence, he asked, "Who are all of these other mammals that are accompanying you, by the way? They do not appear to be from the village."
Clawhauser replied, "They aren't from here, but they all share the same goal of bringing an end to Leodore's reign."
The buck standing in front of the cheetah took a step forward and bowed his head. "Allow me to introduce myself," he said to the otter. "My name is Jack"—he pointed over to the others that stood on the opposite side of the hall—"and over there are some allies from Earthrealm."
From where they all stood, Nick, Judy, and Travis all waved to Emmitt. Skye simply greeted him with a nod of her head, and Lord Bogo got down on one knee and bowed towards him.
"Pleasure to meet you all," Emmitt said to the others in the room. "And I must apologize again if I have given you all such fright."
"You see," Jack continued to the otter, "my brother—who lost his life too young because of Leodore—sent me this vision, telling me to come find the talisman. So we ended up meeting Benjamin and he gladly-"
The buck's words were brought to a halt upon his eyes catching sight of some other figure—an apparition of some sort—in the left corner of his vision. He paused and looked over where he thought he was seeing something. Standing there was the almost-pellucid figure of his brother.
"Destroy it," Jack heard his brother's apparition beckon.
Jack blinked his eyes, and the figure he saw was gone. He looked over at the cape buffalo in the room. "Lord Bogo?" he said.
The bovine slowly made his way over to where he was standing. "Yes, Jack?" he inquired.
The jackrabbit responded, "I… I had a short vision of my brother standing in the corner. He said, 'Destroy it,' and I believe he is pertaining to that talisman. Perhaps it must be destroyed so it doesn't cause anyone else any undesired effects."
Lord Bogo nodded his head. "If that is what must be done, then I shall destroy it." He turned his head over to the gray rabbit in the room. "Hopps, come over here and shine that light of yours over to where the talisman is."
"Yes, Lord Bogo," Judy responded, walking up to where he stood and pulling out her flashlight.
The gray doe shined the light on the object, and Lord Bogo got closer to it so he could get a closer look at its details. The talisman had a gold-colored outline, with several small jewels creating an outline around its circular design. In the middle of it looked like a polished ruby, with what looked like the depiction of a hoof print etched upon its surface. (That hoof that is engraved on it is probably why it received the name of Bouquetin's Talisman, he thought.)
"What are you going to do to it?" Emmitt asked the buffalo out of sudden curiosity. Not because he wished for the artifact that caused such an issue to stay enact, but because his inquisitiveness had been piqued.
"I am going to ensure that this evil object does not fall into the paws of someone innocent ever agin," Lord Bogo responded, stating the obvious. He looked back at the otter. "It is advised you shield yourself, in case shards of it would happen to scatter."
The bovine put his hooves together, generating a flow of blue-colored electricity within them. Once it had been formed, he pointed down at the talisman and shot the energy directly upon its surface. A few seconds after it had been struck, it suddenly did what he said was a possibility.
The talisman suddenly burst into a series of tiny pieces. Emmitt placed his paws over his face and ducked his head, hopefully protecting himself from the fragments. The others in the room shielded themselves as well.
After some time had passed, Lord Bogo muttered to the others, "It is done."
Jack looked over at him, and then over at Emmitt. He outstretched his arm, and the otter held out a webbed paw. After he hoisted back up to his feet again, he dusted off his green tunic and looked around the hall.
"We will be heading back to the village now," Benjamin said to Emmitt. "Let us get you back to your family."
The otter smiled. "Yes, it's time for me to go back home."
Some Time Later…
A big, spotted paw rapped on the rickety door a second time. Several seconds after he knocked, Clawhauser heard the sound of someone approaching.
"Coming," a voice said from behind the door. The voice belonged to Emmitt Otterton's wife.
The door was slowly opened, and the figure of a female otter in a light purple kirtle stared back at the cheetah. "Yes?" she said.
"Mrs. Otterton?" Clawhauser replied. "I believe there is someone that has come to see you."
Smiling back at her, Benjamin took a few steps to the left, revealing that Emmitt had been standing right behind him.
Mrs. Otterton placed a paw over her mouth in shock, and she started to feel tears taking formation in her eyes. "Emmitt!" she exclaimed with joy.
As his wife ran straight up to him and embraced him with a large hug, Emmitt smiled and hugged her back. "I have returned, my dear Octavia. You have not a need to worry about me anymore. I am safe."
Mrs. Otterton sniffled. "I'm so glad you're okay. The children and I have been praying for you to return."
"Well," Emmitt replied, still smiling brightly, "I couldn't have been brought home without a few helpful mammals. They aren't from here, but they were called to save me and did just that."
Lord Bogo and the others all approached the front door to the house of the Ottertons, smiles on all of their faces.
"Thank you," Mrs. Otterton said. "Thank you so much."
"Papa!" two young voices squealed from inside of the house.
The figures of Emmitt's two beloved children came running outside to where he stood, happy as ever to see their father once again after being gone for a good period of time.
"Finn! Eva!" Emmitt greeted them, giving them hugs. "I am so glad to see you guys again!"
"I'm so happy you're home again, Papa," Finn said to his father.
"You two been good for your mother? No picking on each other?"
"Maybe a little bit," Eva admitted with a small giggle.
"Guess what, Papa?" Finn asked excitedly.
"What is it, son?" Emmitt inquired back.
The otter pup giddily replied, "I had a little swimming race the other day with Liam and Olivia by the water, and I won!"
"That's fascinating, son!"
"Mhmm," Finn said back. "I knew I could win at a race. You know us otters are powerful swimmers."
Emmitt couldn't help but let out a small chuckle at his son's remark. "We sure are, Finn. I wish I would've been able to see it."
"And Mother was teaching me how to stitch," Eva chimed in. "I'm not as good as her at it, though."
"You'll get better at it with enough practice. The same rule applies to just about everything."
"You're home just in time for the Storyteller's Circle tonight, Papa," Finn said. "I'm going to be playing a song on my draymin there, too."
"That sounds wonderful. I cannot wait to hear you play."
Mrs. Otterton looked over at the mammals that helped her husband get back home. "You know," she suggested to them, "you are more than welcome to join us and the rest of the village later. If that is possible with you all."
The mammals surrounding Lord Bogo looked over at him. The bovine then gave an approving nod of his head, indicating to them all that they would be staying for this Storyteller's Circle that was spoken of earlier.
Later…
The Storyteller's Circle in the village looked almost like one would have assumed it would look like. Near the outside of the settlement, away from the homes and the like, sat a small area that was almost reminiscent of a camping space. Wooden logs that served as "seats" to the circle, and a small spot that had dried straw and chunks of wood in the middle of it all was presumably where a fire was to be lit.
The members of the village all took their seats where they had chosen, all of them possessing these friendly expressions on their faces. For almost a brief moment, it was very much possible to forget that Outworld was the location of this village. Considering how most of the realm was unwelcoming and inhospitable, these folks seemed like anomalies within the land.
Jack managed to find himself a seat alongside the others. Directly on his left was Skye, with Lord Bogo, Nick, Judy, and Travis a couple of spaces away, and the Ottertons were on his right.
The conversations that were brewing amongst those that gathered immediately hushed as they heard the sounds of frail paws stepping against the dust-covered grounds. Approaching all of them was an elderly pangolin, who feebly held onto a walking stick as made his way over to somewhere he could sit. After becoming sedentary on the log nearest to him, he immediately went state of weak and hoarse coughing before looking at who was surrounding him.
"Who is that?" Jack asked, looking over at the Otterton family.
"That's the village's storyteller," Emmitt informed. "For as long as I can remember, he has been spinning a variety of tales."
Mrs. Otterton chimed in, "He also blessed our marriage and the birth of our two pups as well. His soul knows no limits when it comes to kindness."
The sound of the pangolin clearing his throat caught everybody's full attention. "Greetings, my fellow mammals," he said in an old, fragile tone of voice. "And I would also wish to give my greetings to some guests, as they are some folks here that I never recall seeing before. So I wish to welcome them." He paused a moment. "Before I tell you all a story, there will be a young mammal that will provide us with some music." He pointed a paw towards the family of otters that were present. "Finn Otterton, would you come to me and play for us all?"
"Go on," Mrs. Otterton whispered to his son.
Finn smiled, slowly making his way over to where the storyteller sat with his stringed instrument in his grasp. He nervously looked at everyone that was watching him, and then over at his mother and father. A moment of silence had passed, and the otter pup started to pluck at the six strings of his lute in a slow pattern. He did so for a short amount of time before he paused, only to start strumming at all of the strings with his tiny webbed paw. Along with his playing, he started to sing in what he hoped was a good enough tone of voice. Although he was quite young, his voice was actually quite pleasant to the ears.
From where he sat, Jack listened as the young otter sang. After some time had passed, he ended up mumbling aloud, "What is that he's singing about?"
"I believe I have an idea," Skye remarked after overhearing the buck's muttering.
The striped lagomorph looked at her. "Really?"
The vixen nodded. "His song is talking about the fall of Edenia."
"What is that?"
"Edenia was a realm that was once very prosperous. Everyone who inhabited it lived great and long lives, and the world was known for its beauty. But that changed when Seido took over."
"And what is Seido?"
"Seido was a realm of complete order and control, where citizens were met with nothing but regulations practically from the moment they take their first steps. Seido's leader found the realm of Edenia to be too overpopulated and its prettiness overbearing, so he destroyed it. The realm lost its beauty and many lives were snuffed."
"And that's what that otter is singing about?"
"Yes. Based on the fact that he is referring to a beautiful land turned to ruin, that is what I get out of it."
Jack nodded. "That's quite a treacherous tale for someone as young as him to be singing of."
"I agree," Skye responded. "But history is filled with its share of brutal moments. That is why we are taught it, so we can learn from mammalkind's mistakes and become better than the wrongdoers of the past."
"That is…" the buck trailed. "That is a great observation on the matter."
After he had remarked those words, Jack felt the larger white paw of the vixen rested upon his. He looked over and gave her a smile just as the otter's song came to its close.
Applause from his family, as well as the village members, greeted the pup's ears as he ran back to his mother.
From there, the pangolin addressed the crowd that he was going to tell the story that he had prepared for them. A succinct tale told in prose was what followed, told in such a way that it reminded them that kindness is always relayed to those who give it. The story reminded Jack of the fables he had read when he was really young as he listened to it.
After he finished up the tale, the storyteller added, "There is also two things that I wish to tell you all. Firstly, I must inform you that I sense the presence of the mammal who will stop the oppressive lion known as Leodore. In fact, he is sitting alongside you all at this very moment."
Conversations started to stir around the circle upon them hearing that remark from the pangolin. The storyteller had always had a tendency to sense when an event, whether big or small, was soon to come. And everyone knew that when he sensed something, it rung true.
"Secondly," the pangolin proceeded, "although not positive news, is something that I feel is important to address. My health, as you are probably aware, is worsening, and I feel that my time might be coming for me to take on a new form. That is why my-"
As he went to continue, he found himself going into yet another state of long and dry coughing. Upon hearing his coughing, a mole rushed over to him and helped him get back up from where he sat. After he was given his walking stick by who had helped him, he slowly trotted away from the villagers.
After things abruptly ended, Jack looked over at Emmitt Otterton and asked him, "What is wrong with him? The storyteller, I mean."
Emmitt sighed. "He hasn't been in the best of health for a good bit of time now," he answered. "But it's just now that his condition is taking its turn for the worse. He has been a member of our little community, though, for many, many years. Some thought he was going to die way before he even got to his current state."
"Umm, Mister Rabbit?" a small voice said quietly. The one that had made the inquiry was Eva Otterton, who looked over at Jack liked she wanted to ask him something.
The jackrabbit looked over at the otter and replied, "Yes?"
Eva then asked, "Are you the mammal the storyteller said is going to stop that mean lion?"
Jack paused, putting on a smile. "I am, little one. I've come in hopes of finally bringing a stop to him."
Meanwhile...
It was known fact that desperate times commonly called for desperate measures. And according to Leodore's mind, these truly were desperate times for him. If he were going to make sure those mammals from the other realm were going to lose to him, he was going to have to do anything in his power to make sure things work out in his favor.
And that was when Maura secretly suggested to him that a ritual be performed…
Small stones and pebbles shifted under their paws as they entered the tenebrous cave, and the noise they created forbiddingly reiterated against the rough walls of rock encompassing them. What awaited further ahead was a shear mystery due to the fact that light was absent, with no way of telling if an incorrectly-placed step would lead to one of them plummeting into the depth of the rocky hollow.
Lucky for those who were following him from behind, Leodore wasn't leading those who belonged to his crew without something to guide their path. With a small green orb of radiance he had casted, courtesy of the powers that he possessed, they were able to see a little bit of what was in front of them all.
The lion lead the five mammals behind him a bit further into the cave, stopping at a spot that seemed to be even darker than where they had been before. He made the orb that had been lighting their steps start to swell in size, and soon the entire circumference of where they stood had been casted in a green glow that made things visible enough.
He walked over to the very wall of the cave and stood idle. Maura ruffled her cloak as she joined him where he stood, and the other four that were present looked back at the two of them, awaiting what was to happen next.
"Here we are…" Leodore muttered. "According to the writings Maura has told me about, the only way Dolion can be summoned is by performing the ritual inside of a cave."
Xavier, who was among those Leodore had brought down to the cave, looked over at the lion in shock. Up until he had told them what exactly they were doing, he had simply been following him after he was instructed to join him.
"Summon Dolion?" the raccoon repeated. "Watcher of the Netherealm?"
"Remember when I told you that you're knowledge of invocation was going to be needed? Well, my good sir, this is one of the moments where it is necessary."
The raccoon stared back at the lion, completely frozen in place. He knew of Dolion thanks to his studies of evil spirits in the past. Summoning him, despite his research on such sorcery, was a task that actually gave him fright. Attempting to make communications with anything spawn of the Netherealm wasn't recommend for the inexperienced, but there was no use trying to tell Leodore what he was thinking. If he decided to open his mouth and blurt out something of that sort, the gods only knew what consequences would ensue.
Maura pointed a paw at him, getting his attention. As he and the others beside him looked back the lioness, she instructed them to get in the proper position for the ritual. She told to form the closest thing possible to a circle, and that was what they did.
Beside Xavier was Honey, Fangmeyer, and Maximus. The four slowly moved around the area. The raccoon's right paw held onto to the orange paw of the tiger, and his left onto the paw of the honey badger on his opposite side. And Honey held onto to the hoof of the horse, whose current face gave off the impression that he was beginning to feel a bit of fear as well.
Maura looked over to her side. A slender stick of some sort rested near her, presumably from someone who had previously ventured into this particular portion the cave. No one was present except for them, so it was best to assume that this had been left by a wanderer who probably met his doom here.
Reaching for the stick and grabbing it, she slowly approached the four mammals standing in their circle. Using the slender piece of wood she held in her paw, she started to trace some sort of shape on the dirt floor of the cave, right where the four were standing. While she did so, they remained focus as she muttered some arcane phrase under her breath. As the lioness stepped away from them, she muttered to them to not, under any circumstances, let go of each other's grasp. They all nodded their heads understandingly, and with that she walked over to where Leodore stood, who watched with patience as this process took place.
Maura got down to her knees, placing her paws flatly on the ground as the phrase she had previously muttered was repeated. Only this time she said a lot more audibly, and with a more powerful tone to her voice. After she did so, she clapped her paws together and gazed over at those that had formed the circle. Not even two seconds after she clapped, as if it were on cue, the green orb Leodore had casted to light their scenery suddenly went out. The entire cave was coated in darkness once again, and a gasp from Xavier soon followed.
A short moment of tenebrosity had passed, and the very middle of the symbol Maura had traced in dirt started to glow with an eery red color, similar to the tint of freshly-drawn blood. The deep glimmer started to grow in size, and it started to encircle where the four mammals were standing. All of a sudden, the mysterious glow's color transformed from red to bright purple. It started to get brighter and brighter, to the point where Xavier and the others found themselves having to squint their eyes due to the powerfulness of it.
The glow started to increase in height, to the point where it almost seemed to be covering them like a bedsheet. As this occurred, the brightness lessened in its intensity. Xavier took a deep breath, trying to not get too panicked as the glimmering continued to circulate him and the others that were forming the circle.
A flash of light unexpectedly streaked across his vision, causing him to utter a grunt at how sudden it was. As it dissipated, the raccoon found himself looking at the ground. When he gazed down at his paws, he immediately saw that they appeared to be disjoined from his legs in his vision. Seeing this caused him to gasp in shock, but he quickly reminded himself that he was probably envisioning it.
According to his own studies, the apparent perception of things like that weren't uncommon during invocations of this kind. It was always important to disregard anything strange that was seen during this process, but Xavier had forgotten to do so.
He picked his head back up and looked over at Honey, who looked like she hadn't moved a single muscle since all of this began. It was if she weren't even aware of all that was currently happening. As he continued to look at the honey badger, he noticed that she appeared to be losing her bodily outline. Just then, he saw the ratel suddenly shapeshift before his eyes, becoming nothing more than a viscous version of herself in his vision. He then looked over to his other side, noticing that Fangmeyer had become an orange-tinted variation of the same thing.
This isn't real, Xavier reminded himself. It is nothing more than an illusion. You are summoning something from the Netherealm, after all.
Whiteness then encompassed everything surround the procyon, and he found himself being suddenly blown backwards. The same occurred to the others, and the circle had been broken as the luminosity dissipated.
Xavier gazed around the room, noticing that a purplish glow still remained, just vivid enough to provide some illumination. As he looked around at the cave, he noticed that everyone seemed to be back to normal. Just as he had assumed, what he was previously seeing was just a strange illusion.
Honey was flat on her back, slowly hoisting herself back on her paws. Maximus let out a small whicker, rubbing a hoof over his neck after being thrown over to the other side of the cave. Fangmeyer groaned as he got up on one knee, looking over at the raccoon that still appeared to be in shock from it all.
Just as Xavier went to ask the others if everyone was okay, he found himself jumping as a sudden poof of smoke, also purple in tint, arose where their circle was. Laughter arose from where it had come from, coming from an ibex that arose from the gradually-dissipating vapor. The goat stretched his neck as he looked around at those who had summoned, a large grin taking shape on his face.
"Dolion…" the procyon trailed, eyes now widened.
"How wondrous of a feeling it is to step outside of the fires of the Netherealm," the steinbock muttered. "Who among you is the one that has summoned me?"
As Xavier saw Dolion himself glare back at him, he started to shake. He held up a paw. "W-We all played a part in your-"
"Do not cower when you speak to me," the goat interrupted. "I can tell that you are the type to define yourself as a necromancer, and yet want to run with that bushy tail of yours between your legs when what you summoned speaks to you."
"I-I'm sorry," Xavier replied.
The ibex responded, "In the domain I keep watch of, saying you're sorry doesn't work. In fact, pleads for forgiveness are things we despise. I let you make note of that for the future."
"Dolion," Leodore called.
The goat looked over at the lion. "What?" he blurted in reply.
The tall feline answered, "It is actually the lioness that stands beside who thought of bringing you here. I am in desperate need of help, you see, and I believe you would be able to assist us."
"And what is it that you want to me to help you with?"
"You see, the tournament between Outworld and-"
"So you believe I will help you achieve victory?" Dolion interrupted, finishing the lion's thoughts exactly.
Leodore nodded. "Yes," he replied. "The combatants from the realm are much stronger than I anticipated. They traveled here to Outworld with hopes of stopping my reign after I've held onto it for so long. I have faith that it is you that will help me get what I desire."
The ibex hesitated. "And what would I get in return?" he asked. "I do not just offer assistance to someone without receiving something for doing so."
"Whatever you wish, Dolion, is what I'll give to you."
Dolion chuckled under his breath. "I can see that you are very desperate to make such a remark."
"There is also something else."
"What would that be?"
"There is a former member of my team that recently decided to ally herself with the other realm. As a matter of fact, I had received word prior to us summoning you that she managed to escape yet another one of my attempts of imprisoning her for her actions. If there is a possible way to make sure she is out of the picture once and for all, you have every ounce of my appreciation."
"You act as if I am some genie that will grant anything your mortal heart desires. I presume this mammal you speak of is an arctic vixen. Is that true?"
Leodore's eyes suddenly widened. "Yes, that is true. H-How did you know what kind of mammal she was?"
"You are staring at an all-knowing entity, and yet you question how I know of such details." After a brief pause, Dolion added, "A creation of mine will actually be quite useful in helping you track down this traitor of yours. She was made with the sole purpose of seeking whoever I command her to."
The goat then held his right hoof out stiffly in front of him, waving it as he gazed down at the ground below him. His eyes started to cast a greenish glow as he remained focused on what he was doing.
Another puff of smoke filled the area, and another figure emerged from it. Now standing before them was another white-furred vixen. In Leodore's eyes, she looked almost identical to Skye, except for the fact that she a set of sharp, unnaturally oversized teeth.
The vixen, clothed in an outfit that was shade of purplish-pink, stretched and let out a soft yawn. She smiled widely as she stared back at Dolion.
"Meet Milda," the ibex stated to those that were surrounding him. "This is who I was just mentioning to you."
"I was in the middle of a very enchanting dream," she muttered in a smooth tone of voice. "What is it that you request of me now, my creator?"
Dolion pointed at Leodore. "That lion over there has someone that he believes must be stopped. Do you believe it is possible to help him find this mammal and track her down?"
"With pleasure," Milda replied bubbly. "Spying on and finding mammals is my specialty."
"Excellent…" Leodore muttered as he broke out into laughter.