I HAD THE BEST PLAN EVER! I uploaded this in school 8) don't ask me how I managed it, but I did! I didn't have time to word process it though :(
A/N: Thank you to all of the people, who are reading my Rayman fan fiction!
Dawnspirit: Be patient, and wait for more clues! When the time comes and you realise what's going on, it'll all be ooh! And I get it! ^_^
Rayfan: Thank you, thank you, and thank you again :)
Raymangirl: well, practice makes perfect I suppose…it didn't seem like one chapter to me, I just did a bit a day, and it was all fine (I'm going to do this in a whole block though, to see if it works XD)
Heyhwa: I thank you!
Here comes chapter five…
Chapter Five: Journey To The Cave Of Jades
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The companions, and they guides were in a forest again. It was not very think, however, and there was a lot of space to move about. The sunlight shined from the sky above, through the leaves of
Furion turned around and saw that the three companions where lagging behind again. He sighed, and, turning to Furio, he spoke.
'They're behind us again,' He said. 'We should wait for them…' Furion was not paying attention to anything. He was usually like this, he just followed Furion. He was not idle though, he was thinking. He was a rare type of Muddie, he was a magical being; yet he was also a warrior. He was mainly magical however. Furion on the other hand was a warrior with magical abilities. Together, they were a formidable team. But they hadn't been able to prevent themselves being kidnapped. They also had another power.
Communication.
They could commune with themselves without any other being knowing. Thought speech they called it. And it made sense too. They could share their own thoughts with each other. At first there had been the problem of how to hide private thoughts. They had soon worked out how to though. They thought-spoke with each other now.
They need rest Furion. They don't have the energy that we do. They seem to need rest, all except the limbless one.
Yes, he seems to be they leader. I wonder what the true reason is that they are travelling together…
So you think they are lying?
Well… Furion sounded uncomfortable. I know that I'm not the expert on these things, but I believe that they are hiding something.
maybe so, Furio replied, but there was no lie in they eyes when they told us that they wanted to go to the cave of jades.
That's just it though, Furion argued, why do they want to go there? You don't think that they are…friends of our enemies?
Now it was Furio's turn to sound uncomfortable. I'm not sure. He admitted, but they did not seem to be serving him. Should we question them?
No, Furion replied, for all we know, they could be waiting for the right moment to attack, maybe when we are asleep. And what if they are just trying to find our secret passage?
Nevertheless, they could be our only hope. Furio pondered, the limbless one has a great power about him. It could be him who stops our enemy, and free our race.
I agree, but we should be careful. They may all be lying. Furion replied. If this is a trap, we will fall straight into it.
That is the point. Furio replied, he let all of the people who were with me go free. I don't think that he would let them if he truly was a servitor of out enemy. But let's leave it for a while. We should rest, and allow them to do the same.
Furion agreed. They both turned, and told Rayman and the others that they could rest. Ly and Globox looked grateful. Rayman did not, and he hid it well, sitting down as though grateful, and chatting to his friends. Furio and Furion both agreed that whatever else he may be, he was a good friend.
'We should take watch, you know. In case some muddies, or more fowl things, attack us.' Furion said. 'I'll take first watch!'
'And I'll take second.' Furio volunteered.
'Ok and I'll take third.' Rayman said. 'And don't hesitate to wake me if you need to' he smiled, and lying on the leaves, he fell to sleep almost instantly. Globox also went to sleep quickly, smiling in his sleep. Ly, however, couldn't sleep. She just couldn't shake off the feeling that they were being watched. She yawned. Rayman and the brothers could take care of it.
--
It was later in the night, and Furio had taken over Furion's shift, and Rayman Furio's. In truth neither brother was asleep, neither had been all night, and neither would be for the rest of that night.
I trust him. Furio told Furion, they were in the middle of conversation. He does not seem to be the type that would serve the evil.
I know. But it could all be a big act. Furion replied.
Well, no way to know unless we find out…
And so, switching abruptly from thought-speech to normal speech, he spoke to directly to Rayman.
'Rayman,' he began. Rayman started, and turned to Furio. He smiled.
'Didn't realise you were awake' he smiled. 'What is it?'
'Rayman, we have told you everything about ourselves. Now it is your turn to tell us.' Furio replied. 'You must forgive us for being but a little suspicious. The spies of the enemy are everywhere, and for all we know, you could be leading us into a trap!'
'Leading you?' Rayman laughed 'Well, you're the guides. And yes, I do understand, and forgive you for being suspicious. I hope you'll do the same for me!' So Rayman continued to tell them the story; the full story. Not emitting any parts: he told them of his dream, of Polokus' disappearance, and of the journey to the teensie's library. Here he paused.
'I can't tell you what I saw in the vision. I was…forbidden,' as he spoke these words, he realised that he could here a voice…it sounded like the seers! They told him something.
'Furio,' he began, not knowing how to say this. 'I just got a message from the seers. They told me that if you didn't believe me, I could tell you something; in the cave of jades. There is a legend amongst your people…that there is power to be found there, but only to those who deserve it? You believe that there is a greatly powerful being that lives there, guarding the jades…and the powers.' He stopped. This was not all that the seers had told him. He decided to tell them the rest of it too. 'There's one more thing. It's about the seers. They told me that they also exist in your lore. They are known as the oracle to you. They eyeless ones who see all of the world. Furio gasped.
'The oracles…?' He spoke, in wonder and in awe. 'The oracles granted you a vision?'
'I don't believe a word of it!' Snarled Furion, forgetting himself for a moment, then pausing, but not backing down.
Furio glanced at him furtively. He saved your life! Doesn't that count for something? And I do believe him! Why do you think he would lie, and how else does he know of the oracle?
Furion glanced down at his feet. I know. I'm sorry, I just forgot myself for a moment.
Furio turned to Rayman. 'I believe you, but my brother has his doubts. We can talk to each other using our brains. It's complicated; it'd take a long time to explain.'
Rayman grinned, and was about to say that they had all night when they were interrupted.
A large, rhino-like creature bounded out from the deeps of the forest, trampling trees as it went. It had a think, grey hide with black stripes across its back. It had four horns, one on the end of its nose, two on wither side – like an elephants tusks – and another just beneath its chin, pointing out almost like a beard. But there was nothing comical about this. Its eyes were red with rage, and its skin seemed crumpled, and not well-kept. It saw the companions, sniffed, and raised itself on its hind legs. It let out a ferocious roar that uprooted some trees, and woke Ly and Globox.
They were both instantly awake. Rayman stood next to the creature, not wanting to hurt it as he knew that it was innocent. He spoke to it softly, but that seemed to enrage it.
'I AM NOT A DUMB ANIMAL FOOL! YOU SHALL FACE THE WRATH, OF NEREVAR!' he roared, and upon doing that, launched itself upon Rayman. Ly gasped, and bound forward to help him, lighting up the night with her energy spheres. Rayman himself was throwing punches at it, but neither seemed to have any effect. Furio and Furion also tried vainly to stop it from killing them all. It was Globox who saved them.
He started dancing around, waving his arms, and screaming some unknown words. Suddenly, some rain clouds appeared, but not in the sky. They were underneath Nerevar's feet. This made Nerevar slip, and fall. There was a huge explosion, and in a puff of smoke, and black dust, Nerevar was gone.
Weird… thought Rayman. I wonder what happened to it.
'WOW Globox, how did you know what to do?' exclaimed Ly.
'Yeah that was pretty cool!' Rayman smiled at Globox. 'Thanks, for saving our lives,'
'Hey, what are friends for?' Globox grinned back at him. 'Did you see that? Wow-kapow! Just like that, and POOF! He disappeared!' Globox couldn't believe it himself, and he went on. Ly smiled inwardly. He deserved his moment. He deserved it. But eventually, even Globox's exited talking quietened down, and fell silent.
None of the five companions could get much sleep that night, so they set of early, before dawn. No birds cawed, and the silence seemed eary. They all sought to break it, but they couldn't quite manage it. It was all dark. They all held hold of the person if front's hand. Furio was in the lead, followed by Furio, followed by Ly, and Globox. Rayman brought up the rear.
Rayman waved his free hand in front of him. He couldn't see it. He realised that this time would be perfect for an ambush. Ly, apparently, thought the same thing. She created a glow ball in her hand. It lighted up the dark, but the light never seemed to reach far beyond the ball.
Furio suggested that they rest for the rest of the night, as they had in idea what trap they may walk into. They lay against some trees. Ly and Globox were quickly asleep. Rayman volunteered to keep watch with the brothers. They didn't talk; none of them were in the mood. Instead they just kept a lookout. Nothing much happened that night, and, curiously, this gave Rayman an ominous feeling. It felt like they were being lulled into a false sense of security.
-_~*~_-
The next day they set off again. They walked and walked. And walked. And walked and walked and walked.
And walked.
They were in the middle of a barren, sandy desert like place. Globox was reminded of the desert of the knareen. He shuddered. He hoped there weren't any here.
It was all getting boring, as Globox was saying. Even Ly wanted some action.
And they got it.
CHARGE!
'FIGHT FOR YOUR LIVES! STOP THEM!' Furio yelled, his eyes bulging, as he loosened his sword.
'Why?' Rayman shouted back.
But Furio had no time to answer. There was a general roar as they were ambushed. Suddenly, they were surrounded. There was silence.
Furion whispered to the rest. 'They are evil creatures. We believe that they aren't even alive! The evil made them. They look like they are made out of sand.'
And, indeed, they did. They looked humanoid. They were held together with sand, like cement. But there wasn't any skin, no bones. They looked like they were made entirely out of sand. Rayman sent a fist flying into the nearest one. It collapsed into the sand. But even as he did so, a wind sent the sand particles to flow together, making some more creatures.
Then they attacked. Throwing themselves onto the companions, blinding; choking them.
'Globox,' Rayman spluttered. 'Use the rain!'
'OK!' Globox managed to choke out, and –blinded by the sand- outstretched his hands. The sand creatures, realising what was happening, sent a wild fury of sand flying over them. The wind seemed to be helping them.
Within seconds, they were engulfed in a sea of sand. Globox seemed to be still trying to help them, however, as there was a sudden gush of rain. It wasn't much however, and it was faltering. Rayman made his way to Globox by throwing fists ahead of him. His fists seemed to go through the sand creatures, and then through the ones behind them. He charged another fist. He sent it flying.
'OUCH!' came a voice, so much like Globox.
'Globox, don't give up!' Rayman screamed, trying to make his way to Globox's side. He appeared suddenly at Globox's side, and threw fists at all sides, protecting Globox. This seemed to strengthen Globox, and rain came falling all around them. The sand creatures melted away. They were free!
Rayman congratulated Globox, but Globox shook his head.
'I would never have done it without you. They were smothering me, and I wouldn't have managed it if you hadn't moved them away. And besides, it was you who told me what to do in the first place!' Rayman was very taken aback. He hadn't thought of it like that. He paused for a few seconds, and then smiled at Globox.
'I suppose your right,' he replied. Ly, and Globox cheered, and Furio and Furion smiled at him. Rayman felt proud.
'We really should be going' he told them. 'I'd rather get out of this small desert then get attacked again!' Ly laughed, and agreed. They walked on.
Before long, they left the sandy desert, and reached a rocky area. It was smooth, nice rock, and it felt nice to the touch. Furion suggested that they have a rest.
This time Ly took first watch. It was still day-time, and everyone was awake, so it didn't really count as a watch. Rayman was looking across the desert, trying-but not quite succeeding-to look like he was talking along with the rest.
He was staring out across the rock, to where the cave of jade was. He was always like this; whenever he went on a quest. He was always so serious, but trying not to look it. Ly thought that he probably took everything seriously. Every invasion was a possibility that this world could be taken over. He couldn't let that happen.
-_~*~_-
It had barely been a year. Not even a year! Since Mr. Dark had invaded this land. But now, again, it was being invaded. An army consisting entirely of robots had appeared out of nowhere, in a giant ship that floated in the air. And then, without warning, they had attacked.
Now, hopes were dim for the people of Rayman's world, but he still hadn't given up that last small glimmer of hope. It was all that he needed. He and the small amount of living creatures that where still free had conducted a plan. It was dangerous, and if Rayman failed: possibly fatal.
But still, he had stuck stubbornly to his idea, along with Globox (whom the plan had greatly involved) and so eventually, the others had to give in. Ly looked into his deep eyes with admiration. He would willingly give up so much for them, for his people, for his friends, the people who had taken him in, and accepted him. She was proud to be one of them.
'Rayman,' she had said, 'You don't have to go ahead with this.' And he had turned to look at her, a sharp look of courage and hope in his eyes.
'I don't…' He had replied. 'I don't, but I will. You helped me when I was in need of it. You gave me shelter when I had no place to go. You were my friends. If I didn't help you now, when you needed it, and deserved it, I wouldn't be able to live with myself. It's the only way I can thank you.' And now he had smiled. 'And besides, what are friends for?'
Ly had smiled at him, but the smiles hid a fear, she had a bad feeling. What are friends for Rayman? I do not know. She had thought. And she hadn't. She still didn't. When she came to her senses, she had seen that Rayman had left her, knowing that she had wanted to be left alone. She smiled inwardly. She was grateful to him for that.
Rayman had gone to talk with Globox, who was sitting on his own, a sad look in his eyes, his lips trembling. A single tear had run down his face, and he had wiped it off. He let out a great shuddering sigh. He had been slouched forward. He hadn't known that she was watching him. Something must have happened to him.
As she thought that thought, her immediate next thought was of how to comfort him. She had not known how to. That was when she had noticed Rayman, standing behind Globox. She watched him, as she sat down next to Globox. She couldn't here what he said, but he looked at Globox – evidently trying to comfort him. He put an arm on Globox's shoulder. Globox had looked at him. The tears gone, he looked at Rayman.
He had smiled, and nodded at Rayman. Wiping away what was left of his tears, he had stood up and walked away. Ly had caught Rayman's eyes and smiled at him. He had grinned back, and flashed her thumbs up.
Rayman was a good friend, a very good friend. He had pushed aside his own fears to help others. She had lost concentration again, delving into her own thoughts. She felt Rayman's hand on her shoulder. She turned to him, and realised that there were tears in her eyes.
'Rayman,' she had said, 'Please, be ok, please come back ok!' she had said, wiping away her tears. Rayman himself had looked down to his feet and she saw that he was also scared.
'Rayman,' she had tried to comfort him. 'You will come back. You will succeed.' She had told him, and as she said it she knew it to be true.
'I wish I was as sure as you.' He had replied. The words had shocked Ly. He had always seemed so sure, so…brave.
'Ly?'
'Mm?'
'You are a good friend too.' And he had left his seat. She just stared at the blank spot where Rayman had been. She smiled. Rayman had comforted Globox, just like she had comforted her. Yes. She was a good friend to.
She left her seat, and went to her house.
-_~*~_-
'We are almost there. The cave of jades lies not far ahead.' Furio told Rayman. 'But first we need some food, and drink. Yours is almost running out, and we also need some food. I ask you and your friends to wait here as we find some food.'
'Ok,' Rayman had replied, 'but I'll come with you.'
'Ok,' Furio sighed 'We'll be right back.'
Ly was not to happy at being left with Globox, but she also agreed.
'Ill stay,' he smiled, 'I'll protect Ly!' he had laughed. He was joking.
'You're the one who'll need protecting!' Ly laughed back.
Furio had returned, having conjured a small basket out of leaves. Magic bound them together.
Rayman and Furio walked onwards into the trees. Rayman had been about to say that they were vegetarians, all three of them, but he had not needed to. It appeared that Furio and Furion were also vegetarians.
Pretty soon, there was a decent amount of food in the make-shift basket. Rayman's keen hearing soon heard a small stream. Rayman had brought along some water-skins and he had filled them all, and then had a small wash in the stream. Refreshed and strengthened, they threesome walked back to Globox and Ly.
As they got colder, it appeared that Globox and Ly were evidently having a good time. Rayman smiled at himself, and walked into the 'camp'. Globox had found some dry firewood, and laid it out for a fire. It was getting dark, and they should rest for the night. Rayman told them about the stream, and lead Globox to it. He had come back some time later, and took Ly to the stream. Meanwhile, Rayman discussed plans with Furio.
'How long do you think it will be till we get to the cave?' He asked.
'If we have a rest tonight, and make a hard journey tomorrow, we should be there by tomorrow easily.' Furio replied. 'But that's counting without danger or interruption.'
'So is that is like not a long time, like say…half a day?' Rayman questioned.
'Correct, but we must set off early nevertheless.'
'RAYMAN, FURIO!' Furion's voice shouted. 'WE ARE UNDER ATTACK!' Almost before this sentence had finished, Rayman was up and running to Furion. And, indeed, he was under attack. Many stone and rock beings were pummelling them with their heavy fists. As Rayman stared at them, wide eyed, a small single word stirred in his memory.
Golem.
They were golems! Earthen-creatures: creatures made entirely of earth. So the sand creatures…could they have been golems too? It was certainly possible…
Rayman sent his fists at the golems, seemingly made out of mud. They were brown, and the mud almost seemed to drip of them. They were short, the tallest reaching Rayman's height. As the fists touched them, they crumbled. It was a short battle, yet a victory short-lived. More golems came crashing out of the trees. The mud-golems came at front, but there were more: huge things, and grey. They seemed to be made of stone, and rock.
Rayman gulped, this was going to be hard. Furio was casting spells, causing the golems to explode. Furion was hacking at them with his sword: a beautiful thing, its blade made of silver, and its golden hilt encrusted with jewels and magical rocks. They were enchanted swords, and Furio also owned one. They seemed to slice through the mud-golems, but it was harder to destroy the stone-golems.
Rayman sent fist after fist at them, but –although some stone crumbled, and fell of these mighty titans- they still stood. This mountain like creatures took some work. It was a long and wearisome battle. They not only used power, but they were sly too. They feinted to go to the left, but they went to the right. At last Rayman fell into a weary dance, until the last was destroyed.
Even then they were not granted rest.
Ly and Globox came running out of the wood from were the stream had been, followed by more golems. Globox seemed to have tried to protect Ly, as he was moving gingerly, and collapsed on the ground near Rayman.
'I…tried…' he gasped, and shaking his head, lay down, and couldn't move. He seemed to have broken some ribs, as he clutched his heart. It hurt him. There were cuts and scratches all over him, were he had been hurt.
'You did your best Globox. Have a rest; I'll take care of these!' and with that, he turned to face the golems. His heart sank. There were legions of them! Or so it seemed…mud golems followed by stone golems…they kept on coming!
Ly was shooting her spheres at the golems, and it seemed to be affective. The brown mud golems crumbled before they could reach the four defenders, and the grey stone golems were not too hard either.
But there were too much. They kept on coming: never tiring. Furio and Furion were both felled, and Ly collapsed because she was so tired. Only Rayman remained. His teeth gritted in concentration, he leapt to protect the guides. He picked them up and moved them to Globox, so he could protect all three of them.
The golems were still coming though, and Ly was still in the line of fire. Rayman leaped to her just before she was trampled by a golem, and ran back carrying her to the other three. The golems seemed to be lessening, there were definitely less. Sweat covered Rayman's brow as he tried to stop them altogether. It had taken him a long time, but he finally managed it. He collapsed next to Ly, and would have fallen asleep right there had he not heard the big bangs.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
Footsteps,
BANG! BANG! BANG!
Coming nearer
BANG! BANG! BANG!
Rayman forced himself to get up. His aching muscles hurt, but he had to protect his friends. What he saw almost made his collapse again. There was another golem; one last golem. But it was HUGE.
It was much bigger then the stone golems. Rayman looked up and stared at its face. When reflux had mutated, and become huge, he still was just a tiny bit bigger then this golem. It was a deep purple. It had a brown face. Rayman tried punching it one its leg, and although a small slab came out, the move did more damage to Rayman then the golem.
'R-R-R-Rayman,' spoke Furio. 'Go for its head!'
Rayman did a quick calculation in his head. It was after him; it would ignore the others. Because it was so large, it would be a big advantage to Rayman to stay as small as possible, so that he could stay out of its sight. He darted underneath the golem, and for a moment it was confused. The Rayman produced a sharp stick, and swung it into the golem's leg. He had another in his left hand, and he swung that up too.
Rayman had never been mountaineering, but that is what he was doing now. He was using Furio and Furion's swords. He climbed his way to the golems face, and when he got there, he unleashed a charged punch that hit the golem in the face.
The face fell clean off. It landed some few metres away, and there it smashed. Without its head, the golem stumbled, and fell. It smashed into a million small pieces.
But were was Rayman?
Ly gasped, having seen it all from the floor. She couldn't see Rayman in the dark. Furio and Furion had also managed to pick themselves up. Globox was unconscious, it appeared. Ly was grateful, to him. He had saved her life. She let up an energy sphere.
'Rayman, where are you?' she shouted, calling at him. She couldn't hear anything. Furio was crouched next to Globox. A bright light came from the stars, and crashed into Globox. It made him levitate, and glow with an intensity. He landed gently onto the floor, and awakened.
'Hey…' he began, moving his arms, as though testing them. 'I'm ok! What happened?' Then he spotted the shattered golem. 'Wow that must've been big!' He looked around. 'Where's Rayman?'
Ly help back a tear. 'I don't know,' she said, grateful that her voice sounded normal. 'He stopped the golem, but he was on it when it shattered.'
Globox got to his feet. 'Rayman?' he shouted. 'RAYMAN!' This time he heard something. A small voice:
'Help!'
'Hey, that's Rayman!' Globox shouted, running off toward the voice. Ly caught up to him, and Furio and Furion got there shortly after. Ly used her magic to life the rock, aided greatly by Globox. Rayman was underneath it, crushed by the weight of the rock. One of his hands was badly bent, and his feet were bent in an uncomfortable position. He was bleeding heavily from his face, and Ly suspected internal bleeding too.
'Rayman!' Ly sobbed, hoping that he could be alright.
'Move aside,' commanded Furio. Ly did so. Furio used the same spell that he had used on Globox. Rayman also began to glow, but the spell didn't work as well as it did on Globox. Although both Rayman's feet were healed, and his hand looked better, the bleeding didn't stop entirely. Although the internal bleeding seemed to have stopped, and the external bleeding was slowing, he still moved gingerly, and although he didn't say anything it still hurt.
Furio tried again, but this time he used a more powerful spell: he used the same spell, but he managed to channel Furio's, Ly's, and Globox's powers. They all managed to create a gigantic force bubble, which swallowed Rayman. Small jets of electricity spat out from it in to Rayman, healing all his pains. When the bubble disappeared, he came back; as good as new. He smiled at them.
'Thanks,' he said. 'We should really get some rest, we'll be setting off early tomorrow.'
'Yes. And if we are fast enough, we should be there by midday tomorrow.' Furio replied. They all lay down and one by one, dropped off. They never thought of leaving a guard: they were too tired, and relieved. It was luck that kept them safe during the night.
They set off early, as planned the next day, and the journey went quietly and safely: quietly because they were all tired from the day before, and safely because there seemed to be no enemies. Rayman was glad for that, because he felt that he couldn't fight off another attack.
'We are almost there.' Spoke Furion, Furio had gone back to his thinking state. 'This is the last climb.' They had climbed many hills. 'I think we should have a rest before we climb it.' He looked sideways at Furio, as though seeking his approval, but Furio said nothing.
They had a short rest and some food too. After these they all felt good again and there was a lot of merry-making; even Furio joined in. They were all happy that they had almost reached the cave of jades.
But Rayman was forcing himself to smile, and to be happy. He wasn't. He knew that the end of the journey would not be at the cave of jades. It was only the first leg! And it was too…if this was only the first leg, how dangerous would the second leg be? Or the third, fourth, even fifth?
As the enemy gained more power, so would those attacking him…
…and his friends. There was to much danger. They would be attacked again, and again. Rayman feared for his friends like he had never before. Mr. Dark had never truly killed anybody. Razorbeard wanted slaves. The only person in danger from André was Globox, but even then he wasn't: André was inside him: that meant that the hoodlums wouldn't kill Globox for fear of killing they master.
But now the danger was very real. How much Rayman wished that they could just be left alone; to be happy until the end of their days.
But he knew that wouldn't happen. He had to protect his friends. He had a choice: and he wanted to help them. He may be different, or scary, but they had still helped him. He felt that he owed his life to them. Especially Ly, the fairy who had answered the door: the one who had helped him, and stuck by him faithfully as a friend all these years.
Rayman was glad that he had friends. He remembered the days before that, lonely, with nobody to help him. And even before that. Worse memories, worse nightmares. Rayman never liked remembering them times. Evil times they were: worse then any else he had.
But he shook those memories away, focusing on the task at hand. His friends: those who had helped his as a child, who had cared for him as nobody else had.
Love, friendship, caring, kindness. He had never felt those emotions before, and when he had, he had been happy. Happy that at last he was regarded as something more then just a creature.
Rayman's thoughts were interrupted by Furio's voice suggesting that they set off. Rayman got up, and they climbed over the last hill. It no longer felt like a taxing job, more like a friendly outing.
It did not take them very long to reach the top, but they reached it eventually. Furio went first, to check that the coast was clear. Furion climbed up after him, and helped the others up as Furio kept a lookout. Ly went first, then Globox. Rayman looked up.
He gasped. Never had he seen such cruelty. Slaves were being whipped to carry precious jades from the cave, to the other side of the valley, for indeed, the cave of jades was located in a valley. It was a flat valley, almost unnaturally so. The slave drivers that had no masks had evil grins on they faces, as though they enjoyed their work. Some did have masks on. Hideous things, with lashes of what looked at first sight like paint, and as Rayman looked more closely, he sae that it was not paint: it was blood. There was also some shoddy thread work, and although they were mostly the same colour, there were a few that looked as though one piece of string had run out, and a completely different colour had been used. There were many clashes of colour.
The slaves themselves were badly driven, cuts and bruises on their backs and faces. Here and there lay decomposing bodies of people who had just dropped down dead of exhaustion, and starvation. Some had been whipped to death. None of them had been picked up. Some looked like they had been there for weeks, and some were decomposing; leaving a sickly odour around the valley. Single children had to carry giant loads of gems that seemed too heavy to carry. It was a gloomy atmosphere, but Rayman was enraged. Never had he seen such cruelty: some slaves were being whipped for no reason as they worked. A mother cried over her dead child's body, which had died, it seemed of badly infected whip lashes. The slave drivers did not care for the slaves, as long as they got the job done. There were many different types of people too, fairies, muddies, teensies, and many others that Rayman had never seen before.
As the five companions stared at the gruesome scene below them, Furion spoke out aloud.
'What do we do now?'
'I say that we help these people. I say that we set them free, and then we can go to the cave! Who's with me?' he roared.
There was a cheer, as everybody raised they hands to agree with Rayman.
'Ok,' Rayman smiled. 'Here's the plan.' Rayman looked down at the slaves below him, and wondered if his plan would work…
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