Chapter 5 (I've given up on chapter names)
**********************************
The next day, every creature slept in, all a few pounds heavier, due to the
fact that they had all eaten immense amounts of food at the feast the night
before.
Pilkaro, yawning and scratching his bald head, entered the great hall the next day to the sweet smell of oatmeal. He licked his lips as he sat beside the king and gave a huge sniff as a steaming bowel of oatmeal with brownsugar was placed infront of him.
"Mmm-mmm" he said, as he picked up his spoon.
"Just wait till you actually taste it" laughed the king, slurping a spoonful of his own porridge.
"I cant wait" was the reply. But as Pilkaro lifted his oatmeal dripping spoon to his lips, he hesitated. "Wait a moment."
"What is it?" said the king, looking at him questioningly.
"You live in a mountain"
"Yes"
"In the middle of the desert"
"Thats true"
"How in the world did you get oats to make your oatmeal!?!"
"Ah, I see" said the king, setting his spoon down."Finish up and come to my study with me. It all has to do with the history of this mountain."
Pilkaro, remembering the kings promise the night before to tell him all about the mountain, quickly slurped down his oatmeal, wiped his whiskers and followed the king out of the hall.
Amallo came to breakfast late, flopping herself into the chair next to her mother, followed shortly by Martello who took his position behind her chair. She was carefull not to look at him.
"You had me worried last night, Amallo, leaving like that without saying a word" said her mother, not looking up at her.
"Well, it was either that or be yelled and screamed at by father."
"He had good reason to, didnt he."
"No, not really" Amallo muttered under her breath.
"What did you say?" her mother snapped.
"I said yes m'am"
"Good"
They sat in silence for a moment, Amallo swirling her spoon around in her oatmeal.
"Dont play with your food, dear" scolded her mother.
Amallo dropped her spoon and stood. "Im not hungry" and she began to walk away from the table.
"And...?" her mother called after her.
"And,"Amallo reluctantly stopped and turned to face her mother, "and may I please be excused?"
Her mother sipped her tea for a moment as though she hadnt heard her daughter. Amallo was forced to wait.
"Yes, you may" the queen finally said and Amallo turned and walked out of the hall, followed by Martello.
When Amallo reached her room, she whirled on Martello, who took a step back because of the angry look on her face."Why dont you just go away!" she yelled at him. And with that, she ran into her room and slammed the door.
Martello stood for a moment, staring at the closed door, then took his post next to it.
"These are amazing" said Pilkaro, awestruck. He was examining one of the walls in the kings study. It was covered in faded paintings of white squirrels battling against what appeared to be a mix of snakes, lizards, toads, and even some fish with sharp menacing teeth.
"So you say" said Pilkaro to the king, who was sitting in a chair behind an enormous rock slab desk covered in old scripts and writings,"that there was a huge war between the forest creatures and the water creatures?"
"Not water creatures, not all of them. They were Scaleys, or thats what we called them. Anything with scales rebelled againts anything with fur."
"Why did they rebel?"
"Well, it wasnt really rebellion. They just called it that to make it seem as though they were being treated un-justly, which wasnt true. They just wanted the forest to themselves. Didnt want to have to follow the laws that were laid down by The forest council anymore."
"Forest council? Laws? We've never had any laws that included snakes and creatures like that before."
"You must keep in mind that this was a very long time ago, Pilkaro. My great great grandfather, who founded this mountain, was just only just of age when this all happened. You see, it all started when all the creatures in the forest, the Scaleys and vermin included, decided it was time to make peace." The king shifted in his chair, getting more comfortable. Pilkaro, sensing a long story coming, left the hieroglyphed wall and took a seat opposite the king. The king continued.
"A leader for every species of creature in the forest was chosen, and they made up the forest council. They solved the problems of forest creatures and kept kept trust between the different clans. Alteast they tried to, anyway. You know how rats and them are, Im sure. Unless they've drastically changed over the passed few hundred years?" Pilkaro shook his head."Didnt think so"said the king."Well, the illience between everyone lasted for quite a few years, amazingly. But eventually, back stabbing broke out between the members of the council. Creatures stopped trusting one another and alliences were formed. Of course, the vermin and Scaleys formed one group and all the other creatures in the other. What more would you expect. Then, the vermin and Scaleys started making up lies, like they had been promised half the forest to themselves, and half the food supply. And at they same time, they started killing innocents again, and stealing from creatures. Eventually, was broke out between the two groups. The scaleys and vermin didnt think the others would stand a chance against them. But they were wrong. The good forest animals fought back with full force, though there numbers were very small. The vermin got cold feet and fled after there ferret leader was killed by a mouse. They never saw that coming. They all built boats and sailed out to sea. The Scaleys were too proud to leave. so they continued to fight. They somehow convinced the fishs to their side, and the fur creatures could no longer get water, for fear that they might be eaten by a fish if they got to near the water. One day, the squirrel tribe decided that it was getting to dangerous for their women and children to stay. They appointed a leader, my great great grandfather, Senibus, and he was to lead the women and children squirrels out of the forest and to safety. You see, Senibus was strong and smart, and he could have been a great warrior, but he was born missing an arm, and he couldnt have been much help when it came to shooting a bow and arrow or fighting with a sword. But they new he could keep the women and children safe. So he lead them single handedly to the edge of the forest. They hadnt met a single snake or toad till they reached the edge. A Scaley spy had seen them traveling and tipped of one of his generals. A band of lizards were sent to cut them off and kill them before they ecscaped. When Senibus and the others had reached the edge, they were faced with a great white desert of sand that went as far as the eye could see. They had decided to turn north and head for the ocean, but lizards came from everyone and there were trapped. The only way for them to go, was straight into the desert. And they did. The lizards figured they were as good as dead out there and never gave them a second thought. Seldon pushed the small band of women and children on, convinced that they would find some end to the sad. They walked for days without water and barely any food. They had almost given up, when they stumbled upon this mountain. They found its entrance and on upon getting to the entrance to the gave, they found it had an underground river and a strange sort of edible veggietation that grew by the rivers edge. They lived of of this for months. Then one day, they sent out one of the stonger females squirrels left the mountainto head back to the forest and see what had happened. She returned a many weeks later with the remaining small group of male squirrels who brought news of there forest. It had been burnt to the ground by the scallies and very few of the fur creatures lived. It was the greatest loss in our history." The king looked out the window, his face, mournful."Much and many were lost. The Great Scallies war will never be forgotten. The scars it left run deep." He sat in silence for a long time. When he turned back to Pilkaro, his eyes were glazed over with a look of saddness."Our tribe decided that they never wanted to have to expirience that kind of loss again. They decided to make this mountian there permanent home. They worked for years trying to make it the place it is today." He stood and walked to the window. Pilkaro stood and joined him. The king opened his arms, presenting Pilkaro with the magnificent site before him."This," he said quietly "is what they did. They carved these homes, these streets, everything with their bare hands. They gave the rest of there lonely lives to make this a home for the next generation. In they're honor, we do not leave it. Not even to glimps the sunlight. Besides" he said, striding over to the wall Pilkaro had been looking at earlier "we have everything we need here." He stopped infront of a faded painting of a squirrel. It was a bit larger then the others and in its had, it held a long bright green stem with many very small leaves. The king ran his hand over the squirrel respectfully. Pilkaro had seen this painted squirrel earlier, and only just noticed, that it had only one arm. "They named the mountain after him" said the king proudly,"and made him king. After all, they never would have found this place if he hadnt kept the others going, if he hadnt been strong and had faith." The king stepped back next to Pilkaro and they stood and stared at the squirrel in a silent reverence. Then Pilkaro noticed something else.
"Your majesty?" he whispered.
"Yes, Pilkaro?"
"These squirrels painted on the walls, there all brown and gray. And all the squirrels here now are white. Why is that?"
"I suppose its because of our lack of sun."
"Oh, of course."
A moment more of silence.
"And, your majesty?"
"Yes?"
"What is the strange green plant Senibus is holding?"
"Oh of course!!" the king suddenly boomed."I forgot you wanted to know about that. Come with me." and he lead Pilkaro out to the back of the palace. It was like a stone maze. Stone walls 5 times the size of Pilkaro made a very thin walkway twisting and turning as they went. Once they entered it, Pilkaro began to hear a strange sound. And as they walked further, it got louder and louder, until it was recognizable as the sound of flowing water. They turned once more and entered a small area of flat stone. It was one of the corners of the immense cave.Buckets were strewn about it and at the far end, against the edge of the cave wall,was a fair sized river that ran from one side to the other. And all around the edge of it, some, even growing up the walls, were hundreds of long bright green stems with lots of little green leaves.
"This" said the king, picking one and handing it to Pilkaro "is what your oatmeal was made with. We call them grebs. There amazing! You can either eat them plain" he took a bite of one "or cook them. There as sweet as sugar now. But the longer you boil them, them more thick, chewy and bitter they get. If you cook them just long enough, they make a great stew. And" continued the king, his face breaking out into a wide grin now, "if they are left to grow long enough, little soft fruits grow on them. They taste like heaven and even heal a bit. But they take ages to grow, so they are only used when someone is sick." The kings face fell a bit when he said this."But atleast it makes getting sick worthwhile." He winked at Pilkaro, who said "This is all so amazing!" throught a laugh.
"What is?" asked the king.
"Your way of life! This plant! Your history! It just astounds me! It will make quite a tale to tell." Pilkaro turned to the king and bowed. "Never before have I ever heard or seen such wonderful things. Not even in all my travels."
The kings laughter echoed though the cave as he slapped Pilkaro on the back, "Im glad you liked it. And now that I have told you everything you wanted to know, you can teach me that fire trick thing of yours."
"Well, its all in how you mix different exploding powders," began Pilkaro as he and the king strolled back to palace, laughing together.
Pilkaro, yawning and scratching his bald head, entered the great hall the next day to the sweet smell of oatmeal. He licked his lips as he sat beside the king and gave a huge sniff as a steaming bowel of oatmeal with brownsugar was placed infront of him.
"Mmm-mmm" he said, as he picked up his spoon.
"Just wait till you actually taste it" laughed the king, slurping a spoonful of his own porridge.
"I cant wait" was the reply. But as Pilkaro lifted his oatmeal dripping spoon to his lips, he hesitated. "Wait a moment."
"What is it?" said the king, looking at him questioningly.
"You live in a mountain"
"Yes"
"In the middle of the desert"
"Thats true"
"How in the world did you get oats to make your oatmeal!?!"
"Ah, I see" said the king, setting his spoon down."Finish up and come to my study with me. It all has to do with the history of this mountain."
Pilkaro, remembering the kings promise the night before to tell him all about the mountain, quickly slurped down his oatmeal, wiped his whiskers and followed the king out of the hall.
Amallo came to breakfast late, flopping herself into the chair next to her mother, followed shortly by Martello who took his position behind her chair. She was carefull not to look at him.
"You had me worried last night, Amallo, leaving like that without saying a word" said her mother, not looking up at her.
"Well, it was either that or be yelled and screamed at by father."
"He had good reason to, didnt he."
"No, not really" Amallo muttered under her breath.
"What did you say?" her mother snapped.
"I said yes m'am"
"Good"
They sat in silence for a moment, Amallo swirling her spoon around in her oatmeal.
"Dont play with your food, dear" scolded her mother.
Amallo dropped her spoon and stood. "Im not hungry" and she began to walk away from the table.
"And...?" her mother called after her.
"And,"Amallo reluctantly stopped and turned to face her mother, "and may I please be excused?"
Her mother sipped her tea for a moment as though she hadnt heard her daughter. Amallo was forced to wait.
"Yes, you may" the queen finally said and Amallo turned and walked out of the hall, followed by Martello.
When Amallo reached her room, she whirled on Martello, who took a step back because of the angry look on her face."Why dont you just go away!" she yelled at him. And with that, she ran into her room and slammed the door.
Martello stood for a moment, staring at the closed door, then took his post next to it.
"These are amazing" said Pilkaro, awestruck. He was examining one of the walls in the kings study. It was covered in faded paintings of white squirrels battling against what appeared to be a mix of snakes, lizards, toads, and even some fish with sharp menacing teeth.
"So you say" said Pilkaro to the king, who was sitting in a chair behind an enormous rock slab desk covered in old scripts and writings,"that there was a huge war between the forest creatures and the water creatures?"
"Not water creatures, not all of them. They were Scaleys, or thats what we called them. Anything with scales rebelled againts anything with fur."
"Why did they rebel?"
"Well, it wasnt really rebellion. They just called it that to make it seem as though they were being treated un-justly, which wasnt true. They just wanted the forest to themselves. Didnt want to have to follow the laws that were laid down by The forest council anymore."
"Forest council? Laws? We've never had any laws that included snakes and creatures like that before."
"You must keep in mind that this was a very long time ago, Pilkaro. My great great grandfather, who founded this mountain, was just only just of age when this all happened. You see, it all started when all the creatures in the forest, the Scaleys and vermin included, decided it was time to make peace." The king shifted in his chair, getting more comfortable. Pilkaro, sensing a long story coming, left the hieroglyphed wall and took a seat opposite the king. The king continued.
"A leader for every species of creature in the forest was chosen, and they made up the forest council. They solved the problems of forest creatures and kept kept trust between the different clans. Alteast they tried to, anyway. You know how rats and them are, Im sure. Unless they've drastically changed over the passed few hundred years?" Pilkaro shook his head."Didnt think so"said the king."Well, the illience between everyone lasted for quite a few years, amazingly. But eventually, back stabbing broke out between the members of the council. Creatures stopped trusting one another and alliences were formed. Of course, the vermin and Scaleys formed one group and all the other creatures in the other. What more would you expect. Then, the vermin and Scaleys started making up lies, like they had been promised half the forest to themselves, and half the food supply. And at they same time, they started killing innocents again, and stealing from creatures. Eventually, was broke out between the two groups. The scaleys and vermin didnt think the others would stand a chance against them. But they were wrong. The good forest animals fought back with full force, though there numbers were very small. The vermin got cold feet and fled after there ferret leader was killed by a mouse. They never saw that coming. They all built boats and sailed out to sea. The Scaleys were too proud to leave. so they continued to fight. They somehow convinced the fishs to their side, and the fur creatures could no longer get water, for fear that they might be eaten by a fish if they got to near the water. One day, the squirrel tribe decided that it was getting to dangerous for their women and children to stay. They appointed a leader, my great great grandfather, Senibus, and he was to lead the women and children squirrels out of the forest and to safety. You see, Senibus was strong and smart, and he could have been a great warrior, but he was born missing an arm, and he couldnt have been much help when it came to shooting a bow and arrow or fighting with a sword. But they new he could keep the women and children safe. So he lead them single handedly to the edge of the forest. They hadnt met a single snake or toad till they reached the edge. A Scaley spy had seen them traveling and tipped of one of his generals. A band of lizards were sent to cut them off and kill them before they ecscaped. When Senibus and the others had reached the edge, they were faced with a great white desert of sand that went as far as the eye could see. They had decided to turn north and head for the ocean, but lizards came from everyone and there were trapped. The only way for them to go, was straight into the desert. And they did. The lizards figured they were as good as dead out there and never gave them a second thought. Seldon pushed the small band of women and children on, convinced that they would find some end to the sad. They walked for days without water and barely any food. They had almost given up, when they stumbled upon this mountain. They found its entrance and on upon getting to the entrance to the gave, they found it had an underground river and a strange sort of edible veggietation that grew by the rivers edge. They lived of of this for months. Then one day, they sent out one of the stonger females squirrels left the mountainto head back to the forest and see what had happened. She returned a many weeks later with the remaining small group of male squirrels who brought news of there forest. It had been burnt to the ground by the scallies and very few of the fur creatures lived. It was the greatest loss in our history." The king looked out the window, his face, mournful."Much and many were lost. The Great Scallies war will never be forgotten. The scars it left run deep." He sat in silence for a long time. When he turned back to Pilkaro, his eyes were glazed over with a look of saddness."Our tribe decided that they never wanted to have to expirience that kind of loss again. They decided to make this mountian there permanent home. They worked for years trying to make it the place it is today." He stood and walked to the window. Pilkaro stood and joined him. The king opened his arms, presenting Pilkaro with the magnificent site before him."This," he said quietly "is what they did. They carved these homes, these streets, everything with their bare hands. They gave the rest of there lonely lives to make this a home for the next generation. In they're honor, we do not leave it. Not even to glimps the sunlight. Besides" he said, striding over to the wall Pilkaro had been looking at earlier "we have everything we need here." He stopped infront of a faded painting of a squirrel. It was a bit larger then the others and in its had, it held a long bright green stem with many very small leaves. The king ran his hand over the squirrel respectfully. Pilkaro had seen this painted squirrel earlier, and only just noticed, that it had only one arm. "They named the mountain after him" said the king proudly,"and made him king. After all, they never would have found this place if he hadnt kept the others going, if he hadnt been strong and had faith." The king stepped back next to Pilkaro and they stood and stared at the squirrel in a silent reverence. Then Pilkaro noticed something else.
"Your majesty?" he whispered.
"Yes, Pilkaro?"
"These squirrels painted on the walls, there all brown and gray. And all the squirrels here now are white. Why is that?"
"I suppose its because of our lack of sun."
"Oh, of course."
A moment more of silence.
"And, your majesty?"
"Yes?"
"What is the strange green plant Senibus is holding?"
"Oh of course!!" the king suddenly boomed."I forgot you wanted to know about that. Come with me." and he lead Pilkaro out to the back of the palace. It was like a stone maze. Stone walls 5 times the size of Pilkaro made a very thin walkway twisting and turning as they went. Once they entered it, Pilkaro began to hear a strange sound. And as they walked further, it got louder and louder, until it was recognizable as the sound of flowing water. They turned once more and entered a small area of flat stone. It was one of the corners of the immense cave.Buckets were strewn about it and at the far end, against the edge of the cave wall,was a fair sized river that ran from one side to the other. And all around the edge of it, some, even growing up the walls, were hundreds of long bright green stems with lots of little green leaves.
"This" said the king, picking one and handing it to Pilkaro "is what your oatmeal was made with. We call them grebs. There amazing! You can either eat them plain" he took a bite of one "or cook them. There as sweet as sugar now. But the longer you boil them, them more thick, chewy and bitter they get. If you cook them just long enough, they make a great stew. And" continued the king, his face breaking out into a wide grin now, "if they are left to grow long enough, little soft fruits grow on them. They taste like heaven and even heal a bit. But they take ages to grow, so they are only used when someone is sick." The kings face fell a bit when he said this."But atleast it makes getting sick worthwhile." He winked at Pilkaro, who said "This is all so amazing!" throught a laugh.
"What is?" asked the king.
"Your way of life! This plant! Your history! It just astounds me! It will make quite a tale to tell." Pilkaro turned to the king and bowed. "Never before have I ever heard or seen such wonderful things. Not even in all my travels."
The kings laughter echoed though the cave as he slapped Pilkaro on the back, "Im glad you liked it. And now that I have told you everything you wanted to know, you can teach me that fire trick thing of yours."
"Well, its all in how you mix different exploding powders," began Pilkaro as he and the king strolled back to palace, laughing together.
