Chapter 12: The Necklace
The goat drummed his fingers on the desk in his private room. He was deep in thought. He contemplated both the fact that Silvermist was injured and the fact that her powers were starting to show.
He had received word that someone within his dungeon was at Silvermist's aid. Someone named Gwen. He placed his elbow on the desk and rested his head on his hand to think this over. I have captured many people here who have the exact same first name, he thought to himself.
His thoughts were interrupted when two guards ran in. Their fur was singed and some of their armor was missing. The armor that remained looked as if there were dents and were beaten mercilessly. The goat was compelled to ask what their explanation was for arriving like that, but the guards spoke before he had time to ask. "It's that mountain lion cub."
"The son of Fengbao and Sue," spoke up the other guard.
"Are you saying that a small, young lion cub pulverized the two of you?" he asked.
"Yeah, that pretty much sums it up," replied the guard on the right.
"But he's just a child," the goat argued. The two exchanged glances and they both looked at the floor or at the walls. They looked all around the room and at practically everything; except their boss.
The goat was growing angry at this. "Give me an explanation you fools!" he yelled, slamming his fist on the dark brown desk.
The two flinched at the slamming of their master's fist. "S-sorry sir. The m-m-mountain lion cub t-took our exploding n-nuts and threw th-them at us!"
The goat leaned back in his chair and groaned angrily. "You fools weren't smart enough to keep your nuts securely on your belts or keep them in sight?"
"We did keep them in sight," piped up the guard to the left. He looked down again and replied quietly, "He came straight up to us, unlatched our belts, and took the nuts."
"Then why didn't you simply stop that furball?!" asked their boss.
Now, both of them returned their gaze at the floor. "Our pants fell down, sir."
The goat was silent. He had mixed emotions at that period in time. He was torn between whether to laugh at the image of his guards without pants or to scold them mercilessly and send them to the room.
He drummed his fingers on the desk, still thinking over which emotion to show his guards and came to a calm conclusion, "Fix yourselves up and continue on with your duties."
The two were dumbfounded for a moment, expecting an outburst from their boss. They quickly left before he could let them have it. The goat tried to remember what he was thinking about before his two guards came in. It was about Silvermist getting hurt and going to see someone. Someone named...Gwen! That was it. Her name was Gwen. But which Gwen? he wondered.
He got up and went towards the door. He looked back when he heard a noise. He narrowed his eyes as he waited for the sound again. After a few seconds, there was nothing. He opened the door and walked out, continuing to do what he had planned.
He spotted one of the guards that were supposed to be patrolling the halls at this hour. He knew this and wanted to take advantage of it. "Hello sir," the guard said greeting the goat.
"Hello, Darwin," he replied. He walked over to the ox and whispered in his ear, "I need you to look around for a person named Gwen. She is supposed to have medical experience and will be taking care of the wolf pup, Silvermist."
"You mean the one who had the nut accident?" asked the guard, crossing his arms while thinking his boss' orders over. The goat nodded. The guard scoffed, "Good riddance. That mutt is nothing but a nuisance if you ask me. And that mountain lion cub," the guard looked around as he lowered his voice. "They say he's been torturing the guards ever since Silvermist had gotten hurt."
"Just follow my commands and maybe you'll make it out alive," the goat said with a sharp glare. He walked slowly out of the building with the guard bewildered at his master's instructions. The goat stopped as he was about to walk out. He heard Darwin cry out. The goat stood still as he heard the sound of the exploding nuts go off. He argued in his mind whether to go back or not.
Soon the sound stopped and he waited for something else to happen. There was only silence. He looked over his shoulder and then looked forward, going on and about his own business.
+:*:+
No one in the Valley of Peace paid any mind to him. To them, he was only another goat. The valley had visitors every now and then, mostly because of the Kung Fu Masters. For this reason, he blended in perfectly.
He looked at the path leading out of the valley. He had gotten the apple he had wanted to purchase before and now he needed to continue on with his plan. He stuffed the apple in the pocket of his dark gray-black robe. His eyes focused on the journey ahead. His destination: Hong Luan City.
That's where he needed to travel to. Hong Luan City was the home of Silvermist and more importantly in this case, her parents. He expected the couple being deeply depressed at the loss of their wolf pup. He could imagine their pain and grieving. The thought alone made the vile goat smirk. He even found himself giving a light chuckle while contemplating it over in his mind.
He could also picture the item he needed to retrieve. If he didn't steal the item, this journey would all be in vain. I won't let that happen. I'll go back to that old city, to the home of White-tail, and take what shall help me conquer, he thought to himself. His grin grew bigger as he imagined ruling over more people. Not just in his dungeon, but in hundreds of towns. Millions of cities. All of China! Possibly even further than that! One step at a time, he reminded himself.
His dungeon-like style of ruling would spread. People would be forced to work for him. They would do all the dirty work while he rested pleasurably in a luxurious room of his own. The room alone would be the size of a mansion. Silk clothing, gold and silver decorations hung on the walls, priceless antiques and weapons placed on the sides, and statues of himself in-between the artifacts.
The look of sheer fear in the eyes of the enslaved would just make him feel taller and greater with power. His army of guards working to please him and make his life all the more easy would help keep the puny and weak people of China under control. He would train the guards so that they would soon be able to surpass the ranks of the greatest Kung Fu Masters. Soon, they as well, would bow before him and work for the rest of their lives.
He blinked and looked around at his surroundings. He was closer to Hong Luan City than he had realized. How long had the goat been walking and lost in thought? He shook his head to get the thought out of his mind. That didn't matter. The city would only be a few blocks away. No more time to dream about the future. It was time to focus on the present.
+:*:+
He looked back and forth at the houses built on the plots here and there. His memory was blurred. Which house was White-tail's? Did he have a fence? Did he have that decoration? Could he possibly have moved? Did he have lanterns hanging on the edge of his pagoda? Did he even have a pagoda? He then spotted a poster on the ground. He picked it up and brushed off the dirt and leaves stuck to it.
He narrowed his eyes at the picture of Silvermist. White-tail had apparently sent out posters asking for people to keep an eye out for his daughter. The goat soon tightened his grasp on the paper and crumpled it. He threw it carelessly behind him, then continued on. He would find where White-tail lived no matter what. If he had to, he would ask one of the residents.
His eyes darted from left to right until he thought he saw the shadow of a wolf. He quickly ran behind the house closest to him. With his back against the home, he tried to catch his breath. He felt his heart race as he slowly looked around the corner. His eyes spotted the unmistakable trademark of Silvermist's father. The same trademark that gave him his name. The snowy white tail that stood out from the rest of his fur.
White-tail, he gritted his teeth at the sight of the wolf. If White-tail spotted him, it would reveal his true self. White-tail would've definitely remembered the goat who stole his little girl away. This also; however, would help him. Following White-tail around just might lead him to his home. It would give him the perfect opportunity to steal the Necklace.
White-tail calmly walked down the street, unbeknowst to the goat following him from a few feet away. The goat was determined to keep hidden under any circumstances. The slightest slip-up would ruin his plans from the very beginning, when he captured his first prisoner.
Luckily for him, no one spotted him as he stalked the wolf. The goat then paused as he saw that they were entering the city. As much as he despised having to, he would have to get closer. He couldn't afford losing White-tail; not now. He was too close to achieving his goal.
Soon, they entered the city; people tended to their shops and called out for people roaming the streets to come and buy some of their goods. Kids played and ran from here to there while they laughed and giggled. It's sickening, he thought to himself.
He then regretted glancing at the children that disgusted him. He had lost White-tail. He clenched his fists and gritted his teeth. He looked around at his surroundings. He needed to find that trademark tail. He thought he caught a glimpse of something white and began to pursue it. He began pushing people out of his way, elbowing those who were mere inches away from him, and grumbled insults to those who gave him strange stares.
The goat came to a stop as he spotted the white thing he had been following. It turned out to be a little sheep with a small pink hat upon her head. There was a fluffy white feather on the hat which looked very similar to White-tail's tail.
He let out a frustrated sigh and looked back at the crowd of people who were now whispering behind his back. To his luck, he spotted Ginger. Maybe he didn't need White-tail after all? He made sure he kept a safe distance away from her to avoid being caught.
After a few minutes, Ginger began walking up the hill that was just outside of the city. He saw a small house upon the big hill up ahead. Then he remembered. That's where the Chun family lived.
A small wooden fence blocked anyone from entering in easily and taking Ginger's vegetables. The white house stood out as it had been built on a hill with no other houses nearby. The grass was well cut and a few flower pots rested outside their peaceful home.
Going into the house would not be an easy task. He would easily be spotted on that open hill. No bamboo trees around them. No other neighbors. They lived just on the outskirts of the city. The sounds from the city didn't disturb them from where they lived though. It was just far enough where the noise wasn't too noticeable, but rather tolerable. Yet, they lived close enough where they could walk to and from their home with ease.
Ginger walked in and was greeted by White-tail who had come home before her. He slowly crept up beneath the home's window. As he was about to try and peer through the small opening of the window's bamboo doors, they opened. He was just lucky that he had ducked in time. He held his breath and held his stomach, trying to lay flat against the wall as he possibly could; which wasn't that great.
Despite his stomach that seemed to stick out fairly wide, Ginger didn't take notice. She simply opened the window and dumped out crushed egg shells mixed in with fertilizer to help her garden. She was looking back and talking to White-tail as she did so.
The goat said nothing as his patience thinned. He looked down and saw that he was standing on a small little garden, obviously separate from the vegetables.
As soon as he heard the window close shut, he tried opening them slightly. He could barely see what was inside the home through the small space he had allowed the windows to make. He didn't want to take any chances though. His eye darted from left to right, trying to find what he was looking for. Then, he spotted it.
It seemed to glimmer brightly even in the dim-lighted room. The blue necklace was a simple, yet priceless artifact passed down from White-tail's family from generation to generation. It helped a blood descendant of White-tail's ancestors to control their abilities at a young age. The goat knew that a wolf in the blood line of this important position had to train for many years before simply controlling their abilities properly. Some have never entirely mastered all of the powers they were born with, but were considered great rulers despite that.
He also knew that in the wrong hands, one could control some of the powers the guardian of the World of Old Legends contained.
The silver necklace-two long strands of smooth, spherical beads bound together by fine gold that also left a space between the two strands-could change form. It couldn't change into a different item exactly. It could be shortened to become like a wristband. The males of White-tail's ancestors didn't exactly find wearing a necklace pleasant.
Now, all he had to do was take it at the opportune time. He looked back at the sky. The sun was hanging low and the regular blue color of day was now beginning to turn a yellow-orange. He had to act quickly. Ginger and White-tail had stepped out of the bedroom. He had a chance. Without hesitating, he opened the windows wide and jumped in. He ran over to the square glass cover that separated him from his chance of domination over China. He made his hooves into a fist and punched through the glass.
He immediately grabbed the necklace off the stand and went back out the window in a haste. He knew that Ginger and White-tail would come in a rush to see what had happened. He was doing things so quickly that he didn't know whether to run towards the city or hide by the house until it was safe to leave. He had to choose immediately. The goat dashed back behind the house just before White-tail came into the window where the robbery had been. The goat decided he would sprint in this direction until he felt that he had fled far enough from White-tail's home. Then he could head down the path that would lead him back to his dungeon; even though going nowhere near White-tail's home would take longer.
+:*:+
Kai looked at his claws. He had made sure he had sharpened them before he began to harass the guards again. They were searching for the nurse Gwen. He knew that they wanted Silvermist and he would do everything he could to protect her. He looked over his shoulder and listened to his parents talking to Gwen. Gwen was still working with Silvermist. The wolf pup couldn't speak and she was in too much pain to even try. As he thought more about how much agony that goat and those guards had put her through, his determination grew to extreme levels.
He took a black bandana that Gwen had given him as gift and put it on over the arc of his nose so he could look like a bandit; making sure to tie it tight so it wouldn't fall off. He got his claws out and snuck out of the room quietly. After strolling down the hall calmly without any guards by that area, he raced through the place after reaching a different section of the dungeon. He only did this where he was sure guards were staying.
Kai had found a new bravery because of this incident and had decided to ensure that these guards would rue every second after it. He made sure he stepped up on being more swift since he wasn't that strong yet. It seemed to be working though. The guards can never seem to do anything when he comes along. Kai always struck from behind so they wouldn't be able to fight back. He didn't care that it was fighting dirty. He was angry and wanted to let them know it.
He spotted a guard alone in the hallway. He looked down at his brown belt. He had stolen it from a guard and adjusted it to fit his waist. He now latched on the nut-filled bags to the belt and used them to his pleasure. Kai put one paw on the bag and opened it slightly. He grabbed a handful and closed the brown bag. He then darted off towards the guard. He dug his free paw's claws into the back of the ox and began hurling the nuts at his feet.
The guard let out shouts of pain as he hopped on one foot and then the other. Kai then quickly let go of his grip on the ox's back and went to do his new signature attack on the guards. He pulled down the guard's pants and ran off before more guards arrived.
As Kai scurried down the hallway that would lead to a room filled with guards, he spotted the goat. Kai stopped in his tracks and so did the goat. They were silent as the two stared at one another. Kai then shot a glare at him and unsheathed his claws, getting ready for a fight.
The goat did nothing. He was still trying to catch his breath from running all that way. He simply staggered off towards his own room and left the mountain lion cub to build his rage. Kai simply stood there and watched as the goat went into his office. Kai spotted something shiny in the goat's hands. He squinted them to try and see better, but he left before he could clearly identify it.
Kai wondered whether he should follow the goat to see what the item was, but overheard some guards talking nearby. He would rather torture the guards right now. "I'll find out what it is later," he told himself. The young mountain lion then scurried off to strike fear into the guards. He wouldn't stop until they all knew the pain Silvermist was going through.
Heh-heh, sorry about the really late chapter. Writer's Block is still a thick fog, but some rays of light are shining through. Hope you liked it!