When Darkness Falls
Ch. 8 New Faces
The lack of presence severely disturbed Risinger, who shifted his head quickly to the left and right to survey the surroundings. Still holding Nina tightly, he spoke out, "Have you gotten a good look at me? Do I have the face of a criminal? Where are you?"
"No. Despite your battle-hardened face, you do not appear to be a kidnapper," whispered a voice.
Risinger instantly turned his head in the direction of the voice, but Nina's body in his arms blocked his view of the man. Stepping back a few paces, Risinger's face brightened upon the identification of the figure. "Mogu."
A small, mole-like man was now in plain sight. Despite being only three feet tall, his stocky physique led Risinger to believe that he was very agile and strong, as most Gramorians tend to be due to extensive digging. "Do I know you?" Mogu questioned, confused.
"No, you do not, but Princess Nina has told me dozens of stories about her journey last year. She described everyone's appearances perfectly, and since I wanted to meet you all so badly, I memorized her descriptions, although I didn't expect you to be quite so-" Risinger said, semi- conscience.
"Short? That's the problem with you giants. You're always making fun of us little ones, even when you're half-dead. By the way, I didn't catch your name."
Eyes increasingly droopier, Risinger responded, "I never gave it."
Mogu did not look amused.
"I am Risinger, bodyguard of Princess Nina."
Mogu could see that Risinger was about to pass out, so he dropped the pleasantries and ordered, "This is not the time for formalities. We'll catch up later. For now, let's go to the Lancer's Retreat, which was where you were going anyways, I assume. I have a room there, and you can use it for the night if you wish."
"We are in your debt." Mogu placed his arms gently around the Winlanders, hoping to support them in some way. Mogu was much stronger than he looked, but even he could not fully support two full-grown Winlanders when cantering. Walking extremely slowly toward the inn, the three finally arrived near the creaking sign, which could barely be heard above the loud festivities inside. Mogu noticed that the innkeeper was absent from his counter, a lucky break for the three. However, the journey up the stairs was one of the toughest yet, as Mogu was of no use to Risinger and Nina, since he almost had to climb to make it up the steps, something he was in no way used to back home in Gramor. After eventually stumbling up each and every step, Mogu showed them his room and gave them his bed. Due to her intense slumber, Nina would not have cared if she had been placed on the floor, but she received the most comfortable bed anyway because of status.
After making sure Nina was comfortable, Mogu turned towards Risinger and said, "You're very lucky, you know. You were lucky to bump into me. You should have known all the rooms would be full during the Hippo-Dragon-." There was no point in continuing. Risinger was too tired to be paying attention to him, so Mogu stopped. Risinger had quickly fallen asleep on his bed. Realizing his mistake, Mogu chuckled and made himself at home on the hard wood floor.
~~~~~~~~~~
While the three slept at the Lancer's Retreat, Ryu arrived and landed in the desert town of Arad, a small village slightly south of Wisdon, the floating residency of Bleu, at about 4:30 in the morning. Circling around the only oasis in the desert, Arad was the only existing desert town on the entire continent. As tired and desperate as he was, he contemplated his journey to Arad. Was flying all that way really worth it? He could have waited for the messenger to return with Bleu, or was the meaning of the writing in his dreams so important that he needed the answer as soon as possible? He decided that it was, not to mention the fact that Lenwë was driving him crazy. So he made his way to the inn and rented a room, which was basically a corner of the single giant room. For once he was genuinely tired, as flying for as many hours as he had tended to do that do a person. Although the bed consisted only of straw covered by a sheet and a pillow, Ryu found it to be more than satisfying. Plopping down onto the mildly harsh surface, it only took him a few seconds to nod off.
~~~~~~~~~~
Nina was the first to awaken from her night's sleep, or so she thought. After yawning and rubbing her eyes until she was fully awake, she looked around the room frantically. She had no clue where she was. After a few moments, her eyes fell on Risinger, and she immediately found comfort.
"Nina-" A voice seemingly sounded out of nowhere. It wasn't long before she tracked down where the voice was coming from. In the corner of the room existed a small table, which seemed to look more like a stool as the time went by. The man of whom the voice belonged to had been busily writing away on a piece of paper.
"Mogu?" Nina asked in awe. The little man quit writing and smiled as he looked up.
"That's me," he chuckled. "You do know that rubbing your eyes will give you lots of wrinkles right?" Thinking about himself, he realized that as a mole-person, he had an abundance of wrinkles, although he was not accustomed to that habit. About to retract his last comment, he thought better to leave the situation alone.
"Yes, Mogu. I was not expecting to see you here."
Raising his voice slightly, Mogu snapped, "Why not? You've never heard of Syrus the Swift-Winged?" Due to his increased volume, Risinger finally woke up. Although it was partially his job to prevent situations like this from occurring to Nina, he allowed the conversation to continue, but listened closely.
Nina instantly recognized the name, but she didn't remember where she had heard it from. After pondering it for a few more seconds, she sighed at shook her head as if she didn't even know what he was talking about.
Unfortunately, Mogu was hurt by this. Since he was only nine years old, the equivalent of eighteen in age of almost every other species, he was more mature physically than mentally, causing him to be prone to outbursts of any kind more often than the other companions had been. "Don't you watch the Hippo-Dragon races, Nina?"
"I have never actually been to one, but-" Mogu interjected before she could explain.
"Fine. I see how it is! I thought we were friends." A tear formed in Mogu's eye, giving Nina the impression that he was about to cry.
Nina felt horrible. How could she have known that he wanted her to watch the Hippo-Dragon races? She couldn't have, yet she was blaming herself anyways. "I am sorry, Mogu. If I had known how much they meant to you-"
"Princess Nina, you do not have to apologize to this midget!" Risinger angrily roared.
"Stop calling me short!" Mogu retorted. The bawling from both sides shook the floor beneath them, not to mention that it must have woken up everyone at the inn and perhaps a few in the streets, despite the fact that they probably partied until they dropped the previous night.
They heard footsteps outside the door to their room, which was surprising. Whoever it was must have been fuming to stomp over Risinger and Mogu's boisterous argument. Several knocks on the door ensued. "What's going on in there?" The three stayed quiet, but facial expressions ranged from fear to anger to exhilaration. The man pounded on the door a couple more times. "I said what's going on in there!"
With Risinger about to speak, Mogu adroitly hopped onto his bed and placed his small hands around his mouth. "Shhh! You're not supposed to be in here!" stressed Mogu, as he glanced around the room for a possible escape route. His eyes fell upon the window.
Now heavily breathing, Risinger aimed a knife-like gaze at Mogu, and heatedly whispered, "You did not tell him we were here?"
Mogu regretted, "I'm sorry guys. It was late last night, and I was trying to help you out. Give me a break!" Risinger calmed down but just a little. Continuing, Mogu directed the two towards the window, "That is our only way out."
Nina was the first to stride towards the window, but she was soon blocked by a swish of Risinger's arm. "I will go first, Princess, to make sure it is safe." The pounds were coming more frequently now and much more forceful.
"Hurry!" Mogu shouted as a low as possible.
With that, Risinger and Nina donned their cloaks and leaped out the window, landing on the dirt street below. Surprisingly, most of the festival drunkards still lay sound asleep against various buildings. After brushing themselves off, Risinger turned to Nina to inquire about their next actions, but something unexpected happened.
A blinding blow struck him on the cheek. Nina began to lecture, "Risinger. Never again will you insult Mogu or Ryu or any of the other companions like that! We are all friends, and we respect and accept each other's strengths and weaknesses. Mogu happens to be a little sensitive, but it is nothing to be scolded over, so I expect you to be more tolerable of him in the future."
Deferring, Risinger's eyes settled down, leaving him calm and apologetic. "Princess, it will never happen again." An awkward silence followed, leaving princess and bodyguard staring into the eyes of the other. The tranquility was broken, however, when Mogu darted through the door of the inn so quickly that the hanging wooden sign blew up and around its pole, although it may have been the wind.
A large bald man with a mustache, presumably the innkeeper of the Lancer's Retreat, came out of the door waving his fists. "Don't ever come back here again you freak!"
After running hastily to his friends, Mogu waited for the innkeeper to slam the door before explaining, "Umm, I told him I sleepwalked. Actually, it's more like I sleep-act, meaning I act out my dreams as if I were actually there, and that that was a sort of nightmare. Boy, that was fun." He rolled with laughter.
Nina's face displayed a mixed sense of disgust and brilliance toward his excuse, but Mogu ignored it, "Why are you guys here anyways?"
Risinger looked at Nina as if silently asking if they should let Mogu in on it.
"Oh, I see. Why don't you tell me all about it on the way to the trewell, and you can meet Syrus too?" Mogu asked excitedly.
"That would be nice," responded Nina, hoping to learn what Mogu's been up to the past year.
~~~~~~~~~~
Several hours later, Ryu felt a small nudge at his shoulder. Believing it to be part the surprisedly good dream he was having, he ignored it and went back to sleep. The force persisted, however, soon becoming a sharp jab. "Wake up, sir!" shouted a manly voice. "Ryu!"
With a wave of his arm, he told the man he did not wish to be disturbed. "Leave me alone. I'm tired," he enlightened. Ryu rolled over onto his stomach and began snoring peacefully.
Serenity broke, however, when the man started kicking him lightly to fully acquire his attention, "I need you to finish the task you set me out on!"
Ryu looked up in half a daze, trying to fully make out the blurred figure he saw before him. "Go away! I've had a long night!"
The man, now greatly discouraged, started to leave, believing that there was nothing he could say that would convince Ryu to cooperate. But one last plan came to his attention. One last ray of hope could possibly allow him to complete his task. He decided to try it out.
Without turning back to face the sleeping hero, the man said with a slight inclination of amusement, "It's too bad you came all this way and won't even be able to see Bleu."
Immediately, Ryu's ears perked up. That had done the trick. He sat up and stared at the vague impression of a man in front of him. As his eyes focused in on the figure, he realized who he was. He was a Winlander, and Ryu, in fact, was really hoping he would run into him, for the Winlander was right. He could not see Bleu without an item that the Winlander had been given expressed permission to carry for his task.
At first, Ryu wanted to apologize for his ill-mannered behavior, but he decided against that, and cut straight to the point. "Can you please give me the key to getting into the city?" Although Ryu didn't say sorry verbally, his manner perfected depicted his feelings on the matter.
The Winlander snickered and waved his index finger in back and forth. "I am not giving you anything, you see. I was given strict orders by the queen to fly to Wisdon, get Bleu, and bring her back, and I certainly will carry those orders out. The problem is that I can't get past her guardians without help. I need a strong warrior such as yourself to defeat them. Are you reading me?" His tone was that of deepest disrespect.
Perturbed, Ryu decided to return the same courtesy back to the Winlander, "I'm reading you. You're too weak and scared to face the guardians."
"Fine! I will go and bring Bleu back alone if I have to!" Ryu knew he had gone too far this time. The man stormed out of the inn and transformed into the Great Bird, leaving Ryu to ponder his mistake. After a few moments, Ryu realized that the Winlander would die if he were to fight the three ghosts. He quickly ran outside, wings all the while sprouting from his back.
~~~~~~~~~~
Meanwhile, Nina, Risinger, and Mogu were walking through Nabal at a rather slow pace, being careful to step over the bodies strewn throughout the streets in addition to discussing Ryu's dreams and their reasons for being there. The walk would end soon, as the Lancer's Retreat resided only a few blocks from the Happy Hippo, which was not only a first-class trewell (which is basically like a stable or kennel for Hippo-Dragons) but the official trewell for the Hippo-Dragon races.
"So that's why you're here?" Mogu asked, looking slightly confused. "You're here to find out the source of a Grimfowl problem." Mogu's face suddenly showed a sign of understanding. "Come to think of it, I have been hearing rumors about Grimfowls going nuts, but I thought those drunkards were just making it up."
"I wish that were true," sighed Nina, "but a lot of mysterious things have been happening, and Ryu seems to believe that all these occurrences are linked, and I cannot help but wonder as well."
As these words left Nina's lips, the three arrived outside the Happy Hippo. It was modest-looking building, not something one would think was a first- class trewell. But then again, Hippo-Dragons were uncommonly easy to take care of, one of the only animals able to be completely confined without any complaint whatsoever.
Mogu's face lit up with excitement, "We're almost there. I'm sure Syrus would love to meet you!"
Risinger immediately questioned an animal's ability to "want to meet" someone, but he remembered his promise to Nina to leave Mogu and the others alone. All that escaped was a faint smirk. Mogu directed them into a large room, after which he took the lead and began to lead them to Syrus. Nina gawked at the seemingly endless amount of small pens. Never in her life had she seen so many riders and their mounts. As much as Nina was stunned, however, Risinger felt the exact opposite. Only too well did he know this atmosphere, for the stables of the grand army of Winlan were structured in the same fashion.
After a short while, Risinger and Nina noticed that everyone had shifted their eyes from their own Hippo-Dragons to Mogu. Although many of the riders were cheering, several others were cursing at the mole, shouting insults or claims that they would defeat him.
Bending over to speak with him, Nina whispered, "Mogu, what is going on? Has this commotion started all because of you?"
Like earlier that day, Mogu was a little angered by her bewilderment, but he didn't show it. Embarrassed, he shrugged and responded as if he had no clue what she was talking about, "Yeah, I guess so. Maybe it's because I won Spring's Union Falls race four months ago."
"Really Mogu!?!?" Nina exclaimed excitedly. "Congratulations!"
Mogu momentarily stopped to soak up the praise. "Yeah, it was my first race too." he declared, suddenly stiffening up.
As the cheering died down, a half tiger half man clad in black and orange gradually walked up to them from one of nearby pens, which enclosed a black Hippo-Dragon, possibly the only black one in the entire trewell. "Beginner's luck. That's all it was. I can assure you that he will not win today." After clenching his fists, he marched back to his pen. Nina appeared to be a little suspicious of the man, but Risinger apparently thought nothing of the threat.
"Who was that?" Nina questioned forcefully.
"That was Catorah, the second place winner from the Union Falls race and the returning champion of this race. As a Woren clan member, he's very dangerous and aggressive on the racetrack, and the same goes for his Hippo- Dragon, Shade. He actually rammed me at Union Falls a few times near the end, and for a second I thought he was going to claw and bite me as well."
A hint of a smile grew on Risinger's face. "Is that not common in these races? I would think the prestige alone would drive men mad with greed."
Looking strangely back at Risinger, Mogu responded, "It's not like that here. The officials don't allow that kind of behavior for safety purposes. That's why Catorah's got me worried. I can't help but wonder what he has up his sleeve this time. Oh well." His mood returned to his normal, cheery self. "Let's go find Sy!"
Catorah had actually stopped the group only a couple stalls away from Syrus's, so they walked only a short distance before he finally came into view.
"He is pink!" Risinger yelled, flabbergasted. Syrus grunted as if he knew Risinger was scoffing at him.
"Isn't it great?" Mogu smiled. "Don't let Sy's color fool you. He's the best Hippo-Dragon in the world." Mogu went up to Syrus and hugged him, although his little arms could not reach all the way around him. Risinger looked as if he was going to be sick. "Now there is one more person I want you guys to meet." Mogu turned towards a beautiful young woman in the pen next to his. "Shyluu!" The woman turned around to see who was calling. He had evidently interrupted the grooming process of her bluish-purple Hippo-Dragon.
"Ye-yes, Mogu?" she murmured faintly, while dawdling in there direction.
At just that moment, Risinger realized the magnitude of her beauty. It surpassed even that of Nina's. He immediately tried to suppress these feelings.
Now facing the Winlanders, Mogu enlightened them, "Shyluu's a little-well- shy. I met her about a week ago when I first got here. She seemed like she could use a friend, so I said 'hello.' She's really quite nice once you get to know her."
For some reason, whether because of her extreme timidity or not, it took Shyluu quite a while for her to walk that ten or fifteen feet. After almost thirty seconds passed, however, she finally came up to them and introduced herself, although Mogu had basically done this by shouting out her name.
"I am Nina, a friend of Mogu's, and this is Risinger, a personal friend of mine," Nina said cordially, keeping their identities a secret. Again, Risinger cherished a moment like this. He was usually referred to as a "bodyguard," but today he was a "personal friend." However, the duration of this warm feeling was much shorter than usual, for he found himself staring into Shyluu's captivating brown eyes.
Shyluu blushed when her eyes gaze matched his. "Pleased to-meet you." After that, she scurried back to her pen.
"The race doesn't start for another couple of hours, so make yourselves at home on those chairs while I get Sy ready. Wish me luck!" Mogu pleaded.
Grinning, Nina assured, "We will cheer for you from the stands." A perplexed expression appeared on her face. "Come to think of it, I have not seen any raceway or coliseum around. Where is the track?"
After scratching his head lightly, Mogu replied precisely, "That's not exactly an easy question to answer. We start in a small stadium just outside the castle gates. Then we make our way through the streets until we leave the entrance of the city. Next, we." Petrified, Mogu stopped there.
"Next, you what?" wondered Risinger impatiently.
Mogu gulped. "Next-we enter Grimfowl Forest."
Ch. 8 New Faces
The lack of presence severely disturbed Risinger, who shifted his head quickly to the left and right to survey the surroundings. Still holding Nina tightly, he spoke out, "Have you gotten a good look at me? Do I have the face of a criminal? Where are you?"
"No. Despite your battle-hardened face, you do not appear to be a kidnapper," whispered a voice.
Risinger instantly turned his head in the direction of the voice, but Nina's body in his arms blocked his view of the man. Stepping back a few paces, Risinger's face brightened upon the identification of the figure. "Mogu."
A small, mole-like man was now in plain sight. Despite being only three feet tall, his stocky physique led Risinger to believe that he was very agile and strong, as most Gramorians tend to be due to extensive digging. "Do I know you?" Mogu questioned, confused.
"No, you do not, but Princess Nina has told me dozens of stories about her journey last year. She described everyone's appearances perfectly, and since I wanted to meet you all so badly, I memorized her descriptions, although I didn't expect you to be quite so-" Risinger said, semi- conscience.
"Short? That's the problem with you giants. You're always making fun of us little ones, even when you're half-dead. By the way, I didn't catch your name."
Eyes increasingly droopier, Risinger responded, "I never gave it."
Mogu did not look amused.
"I am Risinger, bodyguard of Princess Nina."
Mogu could see that Risinger was about to pass out, so he dropped the pleasantries and ordered, "This is not the time for formalities. We'll catch up later. For now, let's go to the Lancer's Retreat, which was where you were going anyways, I assume. I have a room there, and you can use it for the night if you wish."
"We are in your debt." Mogu placed his arms gently around the Winlanders, hoping to support them in some way. Mogu was much stronger than he looked, but even he could not fully support two full-grown Winlanders when cantering. Walking extremely slowly toward the inn, the three finally arrived near the creaking sign, which could barely be heard above the loud festivities inside. Mogu noticed that the innkeeper was absent from his counter, a lucky break for the three. However, the journey up the stairs was one of the toughest yet, as Mogu was of no use to Risinger and Nina, since he almost had to climb to make it up the steps, something he was in no way used to back home in Gramor. After eventually stumbling up each and every step, Mogu showed them his room and gave them his bed. Due to her intense slumber, Nina would not have cared if she had been placed on the floor, but she received the most comfortable bed anyway because of status.
After making sure Nina was comfortable, Mogu turned towards Risinger and said, "You're very lucky, you know. You were lucky to bump into me. You should have known all the rooms would be full during the Hippo-Dragon-." There was no point in continuing. Risinger was too tired to be paying attention to him, so Mogu stopped. Risinger had quickly fallen asleep on his bed. Realizing his mistake, Mogu chuckled and made himself at home on the hard wood floor.
~~~~~~~~~~
While the three slept at the Lancer's Retreat, Ryu arrived and landed in the desert town of Arad, a small village slightly south of Wisdon, the floating residency of Bleu, at about 4:30 in the morning. Circling around the only oasis in the desert, Arad was the only existing desert town on the entire continent. As tired and desperate as he was, he contemplated his journey to Arad. Was flying all that way really worth it? He could have waited for the messenger to return with Bleu, or was the meaning of the writing in his dreams so important that he needed the answer as soon as possible? He decided that it was, not to mention the fact that Lenwë was driving him crazy. So he made his way to the inn and rented a room, which was basically a corner of the single giant room. For once he was genuinely tired, as flying for as many hours as he had tended to do that do a person. Although the bed consisted only of straw covered by a sheet and a pillow, Ryu found it to be more than satisfying. Plopping down onto the mildly harsh surface, it only took him a few seconds to nod off.
~~~~~~~~~~
Nina was the first to awaken from her night's sleep, or so she thought. After yawning and rubbing her eyes until she was fully awake, she looked around the room frantically. She had no clue where she was. After a few moments, her eyes fell on Risinger, and she immediately found comfort.
"Nina-" A voice seemingly sounded out of nowhere. It wasn't long before she tracked down where the voice was coming from. In the corner of the room existed a small table, which seemed to look more like a stool as the time went by. The man of whom the voice belonged to had been busily writing away on a piece of paper.
"Mogu?" Nina asked in awe. The little man quit writing and smiled as he looked up.
"That's me," he chuckled. "You do know that rubbing your eyes will give you lots of wrinkles right?" Thinking about himself, he realized that as a mole-person, he had an abundance of wrinkles, although he was not accustomed to that habit. About to retract his last comment, he thought better to leave the situation alone.
"Yes, Mogu. I was not expecting to see you here."
Raising his voice slightly, Mogu snapped, "Why not? You've never heard of Syrus the Swift-Winged?" Due to his increased volume, Risinger finally woke up. Although it was partially his job to prevent situations like this from occurring to Nina, he allowed the conversation to continue, but listened closely.
Nina instantly recognized the name, but she didn't remember where she had heard it from. After pondering it for a few more seconds, she sighed at shook her head as if she didn't even know what he was talking about.
Unfortunately, Mogu was hurt by this. Since he was only nine years old, the equivalent of eighteen in age of almost every other species, he was more mature physically than mentally, causing him to be prone to outbursts of any kind more often than the other companions had been. "Don't you watch the Hippo-Dragon races, Nina?"
"I have never actually been to one, but-" Mogu interjected before she could explain.
"Fine. I see how it is! I thought we were friends." A tear formed in Mogu's eye, giving Nina the impression that he was about to cry.
Nina felt horrible. How could she have known that he wanted her to watch the Hippo-Dragon races? She couldn't have, yet she was blaming herself anyways. "I am sorry, Mogu. If I had known how much they meant to you-"
"Princess Nina, you do not have to apologize to this midget!" Risinger angrily roared.
"Stop calling me short!" Mogu retorted. The bawling from both sides shook the floor beneath them, not to mention that it must have woken up everyone at the inn and perhaps a few in the streets, despite the fact that they probably partied until they dropped the previous night.
They heard footsteps outside the door to their room, which was surprising. Whoever it was must have been fuming to stomp over Risinger and Mogu's boisterous argument. Several knocks on the door ensued. "What's going on in there?" The three stayed quiet, but facial expressions ranged from fear to anger to exhilaration. The man pounded on the door a couple more times. "I said what's going on in there!"
With Risinger about to speak, Mogu adroitly hopped onto his bed and placed his small hands around his mouth. "Shhh! You're not supposed to be in here!" stressed Mogu, as he glanced around the room for a possible escape route. His eyes fell upon the window.
Now heavily breathing, Risinger aimed a knife-like gaze at Mogu, and heatedly whispered, "You did not tell him we were here?"
Mogu regretted, "I'm sorry guys. It was late last night, and I was trying to help you out. Give me a break!" Risinger calmed down but just a little. Continuing, Mogu directed the two towards the window, "That is our only way out."
Nina was the first to stride towards the window, but she was soon blocked by a swish of Risinger's arm. "I will go first, Princess, to make sure it is safe." The pounds were coming more frequently now and much more forceful.
"Hurry!" Mogu shouted as a low as possible.
With that, Risinger and Nina donned their cloaks and leaped out the window, landing on the dirt street below. Surprisingly, most of the festival drunkards still lay sound asleep against various buildings. After brushing themselves off, Risinger turned to Nina to inquire about their next actions, but something unexpected happened.
A blinding blow struck him on the cheek. Nina began to lecture, "Risinger. Never again will you insult Mogu or Ryu or any of the other companions like that! We are all friends, and we respect and accept each other's strengths and weaknesses. Mogu happens to be a little sensitive, but it is nothing to be scolded over, so I expect you to be more tolerable of him in the future."
Deferring, Risinger's eyes settled down, leaving him calm and apologetic. "Princess, it will never happen again." An awkward silence followed, leaving princess and bodyguard staring into the eyes of the other. The tranquility was broken, however, when Mogu darted through the door of the inn so quickly that the hanging wooden sign blew up and around its pole, although it may have been the wind.
A large bald man with a mustache, presumably the innkeeper of the Lancer's Retreat, came out of the door waving his fists. "Don't ever come back here again you freak!"
After running hastily to his friends, Mogu waited for the innkeeper to slam the door before explaining, "Umm, I told him I sleepwalked. Actually, it's more like I sleep-act, meaning I act out my dreams as if I were actually there, and that that was a sort of nightmare. Boy, that was fun." He rolled with laughter.
Nina's face displayed a mixed sense of disgust and brilliance toward his excuse, but Mogu ignored it, "Why are you guys here anyways?"
Risinger looked at Nina as if silently asking if they should let Mogu in on it.
"Oh, I see. Why don't you tell me all about it on the way to the trewell, and you can meet Syrus too?" Mogu asked excitedly.
"That would be nice," responded Nina, hoping to learn what Mogu's been up to the past year.
~~~~~~~~~~
Several hours later, Ryu felt a small nudge at his shoulder. Believing it to be part the surprisedly good dream he was having, he ignored it and went back to sleep. The force persisted, however, soon becoming a sharp jab. "Wake up, sir!" shouted a manly voice. "Ryu!"
With a wave of his arm, he told the man he did not wish to be disturbed. "Leave me alone. I'm tired," he enlightened. Ryu rolled over onto his stomach and began snoring peacefully.
Serenity broke, however, when the man started kicking him lightly to fully acquire his attention, "I need you to finish the task you set me out on!"
Ryu looked up in half a daze, trying to fully make out the blurred figure he saw before him. "Go away! I've had a long night!"
The man, now greatly discouraged, started to leave, believing that there was nothing he could say that would convince Ryu to cooperate. But one last plan came to his attention. One last ray of hope could possibly allow him to complete his task. He decided to try it out.
Without turning back to face the sleeping hero, the man said with a slight inclination of amusement, "It's too bad you came all this way and won't even be able to see Bleu."
Immediately, Ryu's ears perked up. That had done the trick. He sat up and stared at the vague impression of a man in front of him. As his eyes focused in on the figure, he realized who he was. He was a Winlander, and Ryu, in fact, was really hoping he would run into him, for the Winlander was right. He could not see Bleu without an item that the Winlander had been given expressed permission to carry for his task.
At first, Ryu wanted to apologize for his ill-mannered behavior, but he decided against that, and cut straight to the point. "Can you please give me the key to getting into the city?" Although Ryu didn't say sorry verbally, his manner perfected depicted his feelings on the matter.
The Winlander snickered and waved his index finger in back and forth. "I am not giving you anything, you see. I was given strict orders by the queen to fly to Wisdon, get Bleu, and bring her back, and I certainly will carry those orders out. The problem is that I can't get past her guardians without help. I need a strong warrior such as yourself to defeat them. Are you reading me?" His tone was that of deepest disrespect.
Perturbed, Ryu decided to return the same courtesy back to the Winlander, "I'm reading you. You're too weak and scared to face the guardians."
"Fine! I will go and bring Bleu back alone if I have to!" Ryu knew he had gone too far this time. The man stormed out of the inn and transformed into the Great Bird, leaving Ryu to ponder his mistake. After a few moments, Ryu realized that the Winlander would die if he were to fight the three ghosts. He quickly ran outside, wings all the while sprouting from his back.
~~~~~~~~~~
Meanwhile, Nina, Risinger, and Mogu were walking through Nabal at a rather slow pace, being careful to step over the bodies strewn throughout the streets in addition to discussing Ryu's dreams and their reasons for being there. The walk would end soon, as the Lancer's Retreat resided only a few blocks from the Happy Hippo, which was not only a first-class trewell (which is basically like a stable or kennel for Hippo-Dragons) but the official trewell for the Hippo-Dragon races.
"So that's why you're here?" Mogu asked, looking slightly confused. "You're here to find out the source of a Grimfowl problem." Mogu's face suddenly showed a sign of understanding. "Come to think of it, I have been hearing rumors about Grimfowls going nuts, but I thought those drunkards were just making it up."
"I wish that were true," sighed Nina, "but a lot of mysterious things have been happening, and Ryu seems to believe that all these occurrences are linked, and I cannot help but wonder as well."
As these words left Nina's lips, the three arrived outside the Happy Hippo. It was modest-looking building, not something one would think was a first- class trewell. But then again, Hippo-Dragons were uncommonly easy to take care of, one of the only animals able to be completely confined without any complaint whatsoever.
Mogu's face lit up with excitement, "We're almost there. I'm sure Syrus would love to meet you!"
Risinger immediately questioned an animal's ability to "want to meet" someone, but he remembered his promise to Nina to leave Mogu and the others alone. All that escaped was a faint smirk. Mogu directed them into a large room, after which he took the lead and began to lead them to Syrus. Nina gawked at the seemingly endless amount of small pens. Never in her life had she seen so many riders and their mounts. As much as Nina was stunned, however, Risinger felt the exact opposite. Only too well did he know this atmosphere, for the stables of the grand army of Winlan were structured in the same fashion.
After a short while, Risinger and Nina noticed that everyone had shifted their eyes from their own Hippo-Dragons to Mogu. Although many of the riders were cheering, several others were cursing at the mole, shouting insults or claims that they would defeat him.
Bending over to speak with him, Nina whispered, "Mogu, what is going on? Has this commotion started all because of you?"
Like earlier that day, Mogu was a little angered by her bewilderment, but he didn't show it. Embarrassed, he shrugged and responded as if he had no clue what she was talking about, "Yeah, I guess so. Maybe it's because I won Spring's Union Falls race four months ago."
"Really Mogu!?!?" Nina exclaimed excitedly. "Congratulations!"
Mogu momentarily stopped to soak up the praise. "Yeah, it was my first race too." he declared, suddenly stiffening up.
As the cheering died down, a half tiger half man clad in black and orange gradually walked up to them from one of nearby pens, which enclosed a black Hippo-Dragon, possibly the only black one in the entire trewell. "Beginner's luck. That's all it was. I can assure you that he will not win today." After clenching his fists, he marched back to his pen. Nina appeared to be a little suspicious of the man, but Risinger apparently thought nothing of the threat.
"Who was that?" Nina questioned forcefully.
"That was Catorah, the second place winner from the Union Falls race and the returning champion of this race. As a Woren clan member, he's very dangerous and aggressive on the racetrack, and the same goes for his Hippo- Dragon, Shade. He actually rammed me at Union Falls a few times near the end, and for a second I thought he was going to claw and bite me as well."
A hint of a smile grew on Risinger's face. "Is that not common in these races? I would think the prestige alone would drive men mad with greed."
Looking strangely back at Risinger, Mogu responded, "It's not like that here. The officials don't allow that kind of behavior for safety purposes. That's why Catorah's got me worried. I can't help but wonder what he has up his sleeve this time. Oh well." His mood returned to his normal, cheery self. "Let's go find Sy!"
Catorah had actually stopped the group only a couple stalls away from Syrus's, so they walked only a short distance before he finally came into view.
"He is pink!" Risinger yelled, flabbergasted. Syrus grunted as if he knew Risinger was scoffing at him.
"Isn't it great?" Mogu smiled. "Don't let Sy's color fool you. He's the best Hippo-Dragon in the world." Mogu went up to Syrus and hugged him, although his little arms could not reach all the way around him. Risinger looked as if he was going to be sick. "Now there is one more person I want you guys to meet." Mogu turned towards a beautiful young woman in the pen next to his. "Shyluu!" The woman turned around to see who was calling. He had evidently interrupted the grooming process of her bluish-purple Hippo-Dragon.
"Ye-yes, Mogu?" she murmured faintly, while dawdling in there direction.
At just that moment, Risinger realized the magnitude of her beauty. It surpassed even that of Nina's. He immediately tried to suppress these feelings.
Now facing the Winlanders, Mogu enlightened them, "Shyluu's a little-well- shy. I met her about a week ago when I first got here. She seemed like she could use a friend, so I said 'hello.' She's really quite nice once you get to know her."
For some reason, whether because of her extreme timidity or not, it took Shyluu quite a while for her to walk that ten or fifteen feet. After almost thirty seconds passed, however, she finally came up to them and introduced herself, although Mogu had basically done this by shouting out her name.
"I am Nina, a friend of Mogu's, and this is Risinger, a personal friend of mine," Nina said cordially, keeping their identities a secret. Again, Risinger cherished a moment like this. He was usually referred to as a "bodyguard," but today he was a "personal friend." However, the duration of this warm feeling was much shorter than usual, for he found himself staring into Shyluu's captivating brown eyes.
Shyluu blushed when her eyes gaze matched his. "Pleased to-meet you." After that, she scurried back to her pen.
"The race doesn't start for another couple of hours, so make yourselves at home on those chairs while I get Sy ready. Wish me luck!" Mogu pleaded.
Grinning, Nina assured, "We will cheer for you from the stands." A perplexed expression appeared on her face. "Come to think of it, I have not seen any raceway or coliseum around. Where is the track?"
After scratching his head lightly, Mogu replied precisely, "That's not exactly an easy question to answer. We start in a small stadium just outside the castle gates. Then we make our way through the streets until we leave the entrance of the city. Next, we." Petrified, Mogu stopped there.
"Next, you what?" wondered Risinger impatiently.
Mogu gulped. "Next-we enter Grimfowl Forest."