Chapter 8--What Happened to the Others
At the same time, four other travelers were Gating into an unknown World, attempting to find the other half of the Key. For them, the quest was not so simple; they didn't even know where to start looking.Tea, Kaiba, Joey, and Tristan had landed in a large, wet field, completely barren of any life but the tall, thick grass that reached their knees. It was raining heavily, and visibility was poor. They were cold, wet, and lost. Four weaker spirits might have given up right there. Luckily for all concerned, however, they decided to go somewhere, always assuming they would realize where they were once they arrived.
They all, of course, had differing opinions about which way to go.
"How about that way--you know, west," suggested Tea, struggling to maintain a positive outlook.
"I don't think that's west; it might be north," Kaiba replied in an undertone, too uncomfortable to be obnoxious.
"Who cares? Let's go dat way anyway," Joey said impatiently, wanting to stop talking and start doing something.
"According to my compass, that way is West, and that way is North," Tristan said, wondering if his compass was even functioning correctly in this World.
"What difference does it make? We don't know where we're going anyway," Kaiba snapped, working hard to regain his usual attitude.
"Unless you have a better idea, keep quiet!" Joey said, temper fraying; the longer they stood in one place, the wetter they were going to get.
"Anything would be a better idea than what you have to say," Kaiba said coldly.
"Knock it off!" Tristan said; usually he wouldn't have cared about arguing with Kaiba, but right now they needed to make a decision.
"Stop fighting, guys," Tea said, adding to Tristan's case. "We have to go somewhere, and since we don't know where we are anyway, what difference does it make which way we go? Let's just go that way." She pointed in a random direction.
Having no better options, they set off into the fog, deciding that Tea was right; however, as they would learn later in their quest, she was wrong. Choices always make a difference, whether you know what you are choosing or not.-o-o-o-o-o-The four adventurers continued walking into the ever-deepening twilight. After several hours, they saw faint lights up ahead. It was a tiny village, looking hastily constructed, at the very edge of the large field. Beyond it lay an eerily silent forest; the first trees were directly over the village. They looked at it uncertainly, then looked back at the village, and back at the forest once more.
"I don't know...if we travel that forest at night, we may get lost. Of course, we don't know where we are anyway," Tea said, thinking.
"Let's keep going, then. We can't get lost since we don't know where we are," Tristan put in, figuring that if they had to be cold and wet, they might as well be getting somewhere.
"Maybe we should ask the people of da village for directions," Joey said excitedly, having just gotten this idea.
"What, we just walk in and ask if they know where half of a key is? They'll think we're crazy, you moron." Kaiba said, squashing Joey's idea reflexively.
"At least we could find out where we are!" Joey replied, doing his best to defend himself.
"We have nothing to lose, right? Come on. We may as well find out where we're going," Tea said, splitting the two up again; she was quickly growing tired of doing so.
They approached the village cautiously, making as little noise as possible; of course, since they were four inexperienced, tired, miserable teenagers, they were actually fairly noisy.
Suddenly, someone seemed to materialize in front of them! He called to an unseen companion in a strange language. Soon, nearly a dozen strangers, all armed with long, serrated knives or bows and quivers of arrows with dark-colored feathers, stood around them.
"Kai ro? Dak me shi? Krar nai!" one barked, gesturing violently with his blade. He was obviously furious with them for something, but Tea, Kaiba, Joey, and Tristan were mystified.
"What did he say?" Joey asked, hiding nervously behind Tristan.
"He's not speaking English, you moron. How should I know?" Kaiba said back, equally nervous but refusing to show it.
"Would you two shut up? I don't know what he's saying, but he looks angry!" Tristan said; he had more reason than Joey to be nervous, since he was the one closer to the knives.
One of the strangers began to question them in thickly accented English, apparently realizing that they didn't speak his language. "Trespassers. You. Why here? Your mission? Alignment? Names? Answer me!"
Tea stepped forward, swallowing hard and hoping she sounded more confident than she felt; if they didn't believe her, all of them were in big trouble.. "We're really sorry that we trespassed on your land, but we don't really have a mission, and we're not aligned with anybody, and I don't see any reason why I should tell you my name!"
The stranger whistled sharply to his companions. He gave them some quick orders, then said, "All of you, follow me. Come, now. We go to Chieftenn."
What choice did they have? They were surrounded and in unfamiliar territory, with a group of obviously trained warriors glaring at them. They followed the strangers through the darkness, towards the village beyond.-o-o-o-o-o-They were lead through the village to the base of a large tree. One of the warriors called out something, and a rope ladder was dropped. After a precarious climb, they reached the canopy, and realized that this was actually one of a group of trees on which roofed and walled wooden platforms had been built. Bridges connected the trees, and a large portion of the forest seemed to be colonized by these resourceful, if hostile, people.
Tea, Kaiba, Joey, and Tristan followed their captors up two ladders and across many bridges before they came to the central structure. It was an impressive building, a round, domed structure made entirely of living trees and a wooden floor. It seemed that its builder's skill had been so great, they had convinced the trees to grow as they willed them.
All but one of their escort stood aside as they entered the building. At the far end of the hall was a throne made of more trees, also growing in formation. The seated Chieftenn rose and approached them. They saw that the Clann leader was a slim, short woman of indisernable age; her height made her look young, but her dark-green eyes seemed ancient in wisdom. All those standing in the hall knelt. The guard beside them shoved them downwards as well.
The Chieftenn looked coldly at them. "At ease. Explain your purpose in trespassing on my land, strangers!"
Tea started to explain, when Joey broke in. "Hey--what gives? You're just a kid! How come you're da Chieftenn?"
Tea blushed. "Shhh! You're not supposed to just say stuff like that to leaders of other civilizations, Joey!"
"Why not? It's true, isn't it?"
The Chieftenn stalked forward; Kaiba privately thought that she must be very old indeed as even he felt a prickle of fear before her fury. "You will not question the organizational principles of my Clann, stranger! I am Lai-shi, Chieftenn of the Matanue Clann (Clann of the Spirit of the Panther), and you will address me as such! Explain your presence here at once!"
"I'm sorry, Lai-shi. We didn't mean to trespass--we just got lost."
Lai-Shi scowled. "You will address me as Chieftenn, not by name. I require your names and your alignment. Where do you come from? Why were you in this region at all? Answer me! You have told less than you know, and I will have it all!"
Realizing that Lai-shi would be satisfied only with the truth, Tea decided to put all the cards on the table. "We're not Clanners. We come from another World, and we're here to search for half of a key. Could you...tell us where we are?"
Lai-shi stepped forward and looked her in the eye. "You speak the truth. Please wait a moment." She clapped her hands twice. "Raidoshu! Raidoshu, I need you!"
A middle-aged woman with short brown hair entered the room, carrying a shoulder-height spear. "Yes, my lady?"
Lai-shi smiled. "Raidoshu, please take these travelers to the north villa. They are not enemies, and therefore it is the honorable duty of this Clann to offer them shelter. Thank you, Raidoshu."
Raidoshu bowed, as did Lai-shi. Turning to the aforementioned travelers, she said, "Come, strangers. You are in no danger here." They followed across another series of bridges to a different platform, apparently the north villa. Raidoshu bowed. "You can stay here for the night. Lai-shi may wish to speak to you in the morning, so get some sleep."
