A/N: Doo dee doo dee doo dum… ^__^ Oh hey! Keep the reviews coming in!! I realized that it made a sudden drop in statistics!! :( I need reviews!!!!!!
-- sylver_rain
The Clydesdales
Chapter 16: Caught
The Clydesdales had been walking for hours now with no idea as to where they were being led. The strange men had put some sort of strong rope around their necks that linked them all together and had been silent throughout the entire journey, and they must have traveled a few miles already. They were all tired but it was obvious that Remy had been undergoing the most pain, especially since his wound hadn't fully recovered yet and his body was probably using two times its energy to keep moving. His hands were tied behind his back by the little men, probably because the men thought he may pull some stunt.
Remy had tried making conversation with them at the start, asking them questions like who they were, where they were going, and why. But the dwarf-like men said not a word, and so they all had made the long tiring journey in silence.
Todd sighed. As much as it was cool that they could talk to each other in English, they just couldn't take the chance of speaking in front of their self-proclaimed captors. Their looks were suspicious enough, and talking in anything else but horse language would just make things worse.
It was dark now and still nothing was to be seen. Todd was starting to get very tired and no doubt the others were too. It was then he spotted something, or more like the top of something, peeking out from over a large sand dune. It looked like the top of a tree, which means more trees, which means an oasis, which means some sort of civilization! Todd was about to yelp out the news but remembered the speaking problem, so he kept silent until they reached wherever they were to be taken to.
Although it was only about half an hour, the grueling journey over the large sand dune (it was a very large sand dune) seemed to take forever, and Todd thought he was going to pass out anytime soon. But whatever was behind the sand dune was now in sight, and so all the Clydesdales got a good look at it.
Remy and the Clydesdales took in the surroundings. It was like any other typical oasis with a nice large water hole right in the middle and layers of palm trees surrounding it. So, we got the trees, the water, but no civilization. Todd's hopes for a nice long rest fell, but they could at least get a drink now.
Todd wasn't as desperate for a drink as the others. Apparently he has some kind of ability to disallow too much loss of water, and instead of the damp skin he usually had, now his skin was very dry, preserving as much fluid in his body as it possibly could. Probably a mutant trait of his.
He joined the others at the drinking hole and took in his fill, and he was about to flop down onto the ground when one of the strange men poked him with the blunt end of a spear, speaking in the strange language they spoke.
"Awww man…" Todd mumbled. The man looked at him in surprise. Todd suddenly realized his mistake and tried to cover it up by grunting the way horses do. The man didn't seem all that convinced first, but decided that it was probably his imagination.
Todd sighed. Close call… he thought to himself. He was quite surprised that the small men had made the whole trip without a drip of water themselves. What's more, they didn't seem tired at all, and looked as normal as when he had first seen them.
Todd prepared himself for another long walk but the pygmy men stopped them instead of starting another grueling journey. The Clydesdales stared around at the empty space in front of them. All they could see was sand. They stared at the dwarf-like men, waiting to see what they were going to do.
The assumed leader of the group stepped up and starting calling out in their strange language. Then he stomped on the ground a certain number of times in a certain beat.
Silence was all that greeted them next, but after a few seconds, they heard a faint moan. Todd wasn't sure but he had thought he saw the sand move for a second. He peered closer at it, and was about to tell himself it was just his imagination when the sand started to move again for real.
A large flat plane lifted up, not by mechanical means, as it was made of some sort of wood. It looked heavy and was lifted up with the help of four strong wooden poles, so instead of opening the way a trapdoor would, it was lifted up by the four poles, and it definitely wasn't a push-button or pull-lever type of contraption.
The pygmy men led them down the steep stairway. The steps were made of sand itself, but it wasn't the soft type where you're feet would sink into. It was hard, almost as hard as normal ground itself. They probably used sand and some type of sticky liquid that hardened when left to dry to make the steps.
As Todd went down, he realized that it was extremely difficult to go down steps when you had four legs. Going up was not a problem. Going down just gave him the feeling that he was going to fall forward.
After the tedious climb down the stairs, the Clydesdales could finally concentrate on their surroundings, not that there was anything to look at.
It was a large chamber, cave like, and made of sand. The same sticky liquid used to make the stairs was probably used to keep the ceiling up. The walls were a little weaker than the ceiling and stairs, as they were the real hard soil under the desert sand, and could hold up without the sticky liquid thing. The ground was still soft sand, and the Clydesdales saw that the door they had walked through had been opened up manually. More pygmy men were there, pulling a rope that was probably connected to the poles of the door entrance in some way or another, which meant that if the men had let go of the rope while the Clydesdales were under it, the door would have fallen and crushed someone. Todd felt a little uneasy that someone could have died moments ago just because of the slip of someone else's grip.
They entered into a cave with fire-lit torches at the sides to light the way. They walked down the passageway, passing other passages that branched off to other chambers. Todd took a peek at most of them. Some were just more passages branching off, some were like motels, housing more dwarf-like people, and some were still in the process of becoming a chamber, with small men digging and hacking at hard sand. Soon they came to another chamber. Todd realized that he hadn't seen any doors to any of the chambers yet.
They went into the chamber, and it was a lot larger than the previous one. But what got them staring was how grand it was.
With huge patterned torches hanging from the ceiling and blazing high above them, and walls covered with carpets of all different colors, shapes and patterns, the chamber was huge and well-decorated, as if it was the most important room in the entire underground city.
Before them was a single large throne, and sitting on it was also a dwarf-like man, obviously the King, and he was watching passively as the Clydesdales and Remy was brought before him. Remy was pushed to his knees on the ground. He winced in pain from the impact, but he felt his legs relax a little.
The leader of the group talked to the King in their native tongue and Remy was getting more nervous as the seconds went by. All he heard was blabber and he hated it when he couldn't understand someone.
[A/N: Ok, I'll let u guys see how the convo between the leader and the King…]
King: Kanwa, who are these men?
Leader/ Kanwa: Sire, we found them near the Canjap waterhole. I think they… finished all the water.
King: *raises an eyebrow* All of it?
Kanwa: All, Sire.
King: *strokes beard* Hmm… they must have been pretty thirsty to finish an entire pond, Kanwa.
Kanwa: I think they were, Sire. They used up one of the Kingdom's main water sources. We have taken them captive. What would you like to do with them?
King: I see the animals look very… peculiar. Are they horses?
Kanwa: Perhaps, Sire. Unless they are like the Fire god?
King: Yes, the thought has crossed my mind. Let us ask their owner. What is his name?
Kanwa: We have not asked yet.
King: Well, let's find out.
End of Chapter 16
A/N: Sorry… got a bit lazy and decided to go into script mode. That was a pretty sucky ending too, huh? Ok… let's just see what happens next week…
