Revelation
VIII: The Storyteller
The group of four continued to trek across the grass plain as the sun was beginning to set. "This Storyteller character must like being out in the middle of nowhere because that's where we are right now." "Actually Serena." Seamus started, "We passed Nowhere a few minutes ago. We're in Howisthishere." "We're just a few miles out of Sunroost. Besides, if we are there, then, why is there a grove with smoke just over there?" Serena and Seamus looked to where Madeline was pointing. In the open grass plain a large thicket of trees were growing and a wisp of bluish smoke was wafting up and out of the canopy. "Well it appears that we have found this Storyteller's place." Seamus said. Storm picked up the pace, "Come on guys it's not too far now!" His friends sighed and trudged after the running mongoose.
Geoffrey tossed a small log into his furnace and sat back in his chair. He picked up his cup of tea and let his ears relax causing them to flop to the sides of his head. "Ah. What a nice morning to relax to. Just a little bit of a chill and a cozy fire." He took a sip and closed his eyes. Around him were assorted boxes of the things he wanted to take with him when he moved. A few items sat half wrapped in paper, and some were in unclosed boxes that contained straw. A few minutes later there was a knock on his door. Geoffrey opened an eye. "Probably was my imagination playing a trick on me." There was another knock, and the rabbit got out of his chair. "This had better not be one of those salesmen type characters." He opened the door and Morgan was standing there. Geoffrey caught his breath, but noticed something wasn't the same with his friend. "Are you the Storyteller?" Geoffrey shook his head a little to recover from the déjà vu. "Yes I am. Please come inside." The mongoose walked in and looked around. "It looks like we caught you just in time. It seems that you are moving to a different location." "That you did. Wait, 'we'?" The mongoose turned around. "I have a couple friends that should be arriving shortly. They decided to take their time getting here instead of running with me." Geoffrey shut the door and walked over to his guest, "Sounds like fun. It's been awhile since I've gotten a visitor let alone more than one. Take a seat and I will get you a cup for some tea." The hare went into his kitchen and searched through some of the boxes.
Madeline was the first to arrive at the small home surrounded by trees with a garden out front. There was a neatly kept path that led to the main path, and had stones on the edges. "What a wonderful little cottage. It's so rustic." She said. Seamus and Serena arrived shortly after her and were panting. "I don't know how Storm could have ran this far. I'm straight out tired." "Same here Seamus. I wonder if the Storyteller has anything to drink." Madeline wrapped shortly on the wooden door. They were surprised when a hare stuck his head out of a window. "Come in come in! Your friend told me that you would arrive shortly after him." The old hare returned to the inside of his home while the three travelers opened the door and walked inside. Storm was sitting on a chair with a small cup in his hand. "It's about time you three arrived here. Geoffrey is locating some more teacups and making some more tea. Feel free to take a seat, but leave the armchair for him. He told me specifically to keep it open." The three of his friends found seats and sat down, grateful for the rest.
The lop-eared rabbit came back into the room with a tray loaded with all assortments of things for tea. "Now that we have everyone here, what can I do for you mongoose?" Geoffrey asked while setting the tray down. Storm set his cup down on the saucer. "Well, I'd like to have some dreams interpreted if I could. Then, if anyone else has anything they want, they can ask. Otherwise, we wouldn't mind a story telling if you'd honor us." Geoffrey pondered the offer and took off his floppy hat to place it on a side table. "I think I could help you out. First off, what are all of your names?" The four of them told the hermit their names as their turn came around. "What wonderful names. Anyways back to business, though. What are these dreams you mentioned Storm?" The rabbit sat back in his chair ready to hear what his visitor had to say. "The most prominent one that I know of is one where I'm in a cavern. The cavern was pretty dark, but I could make out some form of crystal-like thing that seemed common throughout the visible area." Storm started. "Interesting… continue on then." The mongoose picked up where he left off. "In this dream a voice calls out to me saying that we'll meet eventually. At least, that's what I remember mainly." Geoffrey was intrigued by this dream; although, he usually is by any kind of dream. "What was this voice like?" He asked curiously. "It was dark and powerful. Not just loud powerful, but the entirety of the voice was just filled with power. It could belong to a massive creature, but it also sounded ancient." Storm said in reply. "That's very curious, very curious indeed. If you would allow me to, I will think this over, and give you a response. What about these others?" Geoffrey continued. Storm's friends were listening to the two go back and forth. "The others are more of just backgrounds, but it's who is in them. Every couple of times I'll have dream or rather a past memory of myself with this girl mongoose. I've heard the name Morgan heard once in another dream, but I haven't been able to actually call her by that name without more proof." Geoffrey knew of this mongoose, but didn't say anything. "Is she a friend or family member of yours?" Storm shrugged, "A family member more than likely, but I don't know if that's Morgan or not." Geoffrey took a sip from his cup while pondering a decent answer.
After a minute or two of thinking, Geoffrey set his cup back down. "I think that the only way you can solve that is by finding this Morgan even if she could be on the other side of Verona. She may even be looking for you. Now as for the other with the voice, that place you described sounds familiar." Geoffrey opened a box and pulled out a big book. "Let's see here… I'll be able to recognize it when I see it. Days of Tiberius no…Hawthorne Journal not at all…" The rabbit flipped through the table of contents until he found the one he was looking for. "Ah yes, here it is, The Obsidian King. A part of this story takes place in this cavern. To be fair though, I will read the story once everyone else has had a turn for sharing dreams." Seamus, Madeline, and Serena looked at each other. "I don't believe any of us have any dreams for you Geoffrey. Storm was the one who had his memory blocked off." Madeline said. Seamus nodded. Serena added, "I may have dreams about throwing a shoe at a bug, but I think that's pretty self explanatory. You can read the story if you like." Geoffrey adjusted his spectacles and flipped to the page. "Then let us begin the story shall we?"
Back in the early years of Verona, even past the formation of the High Council, mythical races ruled over the planet…
At the castle Gierdëlien, the three faction leaders were in a meeting. "I'm telling you Araforn, we need more people in order to keep things in order. Staying out of site from these people is getting increasingly more difficult." "I understand what you're asking of us Farek, but is it possible to trust them with such a power?" The purplish werewolf looked at the griffon. "It's a stretch, but may be worth the effort. What is your opinion on the matter Seraphus?" The sable dragon looked up from a book he was reading. His emerald eyes peered sharply over the table into the amber ones of Farek. "I think it is a good idea. Would give us all a break, and time to do our own things rather than keeping then in order." Araforn stood up and spread his wings after sitting with them folded. "Then it's settled," he started, "We'll begin with finding suitable Veronians for the position. We can't reveal our presence to the others though. So to speak, we'll be giving them our title of 'Legend'. All the others need to know is what is going on, nothing more." Seraphus closed his book and stood up. "Do it quickly Araforn. I'd like to take a trip soon with the soon to be had freedom." The dragon walked out of the hall leaving Farek and Araforn alone. "Something has been off with Seraphus lately." Farek said. Araforn nodded. "Must just be an agitation with a puzzle. He gets that way with ones he can't get right away."
A few weeks later Araforn and Farek stood in front of a group of animals. "Where is Seraphus? He should have been here already." Farek whispered to the griffon. Araforn shrugged, "I don't know. We'll have to start without him though. This can't wait." He walked forward and called for the Veronians' attentions. "Welcome! I am called Araforn. My friend Farek and I have gathered you here to ask a favor from you." A lion spoke up, "What kind of favor are you suggesting Legend?" "Tiberius, we need you and everyone here to essentially take our place. We can't be everywhere at once, but with your help that could be remedied. We'd grant you powers like ours, powers of elements. You'd be known as elementalists oddly enough. You'll be able to recruit others, but they won't have the same strength as you, but will be under your branch. Will you help us in this time of need?" The group of Veronians conversed amidst each other. Tiberius and his sister Minara talked back and forth amongst each other. After a lot of whispering and mumbling the gathered Veronians stopped talking. Tiberius stepped forward to give the decision they had made. "We will help you Araforn. Just tell us what to do." Araforn and Farek smiled to see that these animals were devoted to protecting and helping their home world.
Seraphus was in a cavern beneath a mountain range that was given no name. The cavern was outfitted with several instruments, tools, and mixtures. The ebony dragon placed a beaker containing a black liquid on a table centered between four coils. "Begin the test Hesja." "Test beginning sire." The bluish lizard pulled a lever down and shifted another half way up. Streaks of lightning shot out of the coils and into the beaker. The glass shattered on the initial impact leaving the liquid to spread across the table. Another lizard was watching readings on a computer. "The conditions are stable Seraphus." "Good. Boost the output to sixty percent." Hesja pushed the lever further up. The boosted output of electricity was rewarded with the liquid beginning to take shape. Two red dots appeared out of the black mass, and were followed by a bigger opening that let out a small cry. Serpahus motioned to a green and brown lizard. "Ragha, you know what comes next." The lizard stepped forward and carefully added small doses to the mass. "Increase output to seventy-five percent." The liquid formed into a small infant-like shape letting out more small cries. "Cut the power." The electricity that lit the room left onlookers slightly dazed from the absence of light. Seraphus walked over to the table. "I have finally created another being. A sil'lis." The creature cried out and moved its sickle-like arms back and forth. "Rise my sil'lis, rise!" The lump stopped moving and looked at Seraphus with a confused look. The dragon slammed his hand into a rock ledge. "It lacks the ability to think…" Ragha stepped forward to the Legend. "If I may suggest sire, I will take the sil'lis and absorb it." "What do you mean by that Ragha?" The lizard stepped up to the table. "I will take on the characteristics of this creature, and let it use by body to think. It will take on my name, and work as you wish for it. The only thing is if it will act as I am describing." The ebony dragon read back through the notes he had wrote down before this experiment. "I have not recorded anything any phenomenon that have the sil'lis behaving this way; however, that doesn't mean they don't. Try it Ragha. If it fails, then it fails." The green and brown lizard placed a clawed hand on the sil'lis. The creature looked at the lizard funny, but then started to form around the hand and arm. Ragha cried out with initial shock, but calmed down as his vision cleared. His body resembled the sil'lis' in every aspect. Seraphus looked at the black creature that had just formed. "So… the sil'lis can take on a host. This changes the game entirely. We will need more of these creatures. Prepare more solutions!" The lizards rushed back and forth with vials and beakers. Seraphus walked over to Ragha. "Your insight has brought a new dimension for my creations. For this I thank you Ragha." The sil'lis looked up at the dragon with its ruby eyes. "I'm glad to have served you this well Seraphus."
A few weeks passed as the original legends were finishing the elementalists' training. You have proven yourselves worthy enough to begin taking control without one of us supervising." Farek said. Araforn backed her up, "This is true. If you should ever need anything, you can call for our help, until we see each other again." With that the two Legends bowed and disappeared into the wind. Tiberius and the others sat down in the court's chamber. "This is a great gift my friends. We should begin to find other elementalists to help. Araforn said that we could do this." A badger, by the name of Gurden, raised his hand, "I agree Tiberius. I will begin recruiting new members for the Urthenmöor branch as soon as I can." The badger left the room, and was followed by other court members to look for other elementalists. Minara looked over to her brother, "Tiberius, are we going to find elementalists for our branches?" The lion shook his head. "Araforn and Farek told me that you and I will not have any other elementalists under our houses until we are to retire from our positions as heads of the court." The panther nodded and looked down to the end of the empty chamber.
Two sil'lis walked quickly behind Ragha. Both carried containers with sil'lis hatchlings in protected cases. "Quickly, we must find hosts for both of these hatchlings." Ragha said to the others. One by the name of Mora spoke up, "How far to the village then Ragha?" Juhyo added, "I agree with Mora." The older sil'lis replied, "It should be just over this grotto. Just find anyone and let the hatchling do its work." The two sil'lis behind Ragha stayed quiet to accept the answer. The three of them saw the village and quickly rushed into the shadows. "Remember you two. Be quick, and bring the new ones back with you." The two nodded and carried the cases quickly to carry out their duties.
Gurden walked through the village and was knocking on doors. Whoever would answer he would ask about joining his branch of the high court. Some would say yes, but others would pass on the offer. For those that did agree, Gurden would give a blessing to the mother which would grant her next child the powers of Urthenmöor. For families that couldn't have any more children, Gurden would grant the powers to the youngest of the family. This would give them time to mature their powers, and be ready to use their powers when they were strong enough. As he was walking to the next house he noticed muffled sound in the alley. The badger turned to look down the houses' aisle to see the sil'lis Juhyo trying to attach a sil'lis hatchling to a hedgehog. "Hey what are you doing?!" The hedgehog looked over to Gurden, "Please help me sir! I don't know what this…this creature wants from me!" The sil'lis hissed at the badger and proceeded to try and bond the hatchling. Gurden summoned up a rock slab threw it at Juhyo. The creature was sent flying out of the alley and into the street. The hatchlings cried out pitifully as their life forces drained from them. Gurden ran out and welcomed the recovering sil'lis with a pillar to its gut. The sil'lis gasped as it landed, and tried to rise, but the head of the Urthenmöor branch placed a foot on its chest. "Your penalty for attempting to harm this citizen is death, creature. He raised his foot up a bit, but slammed it down again creating a crater under the sil'lis. The black creature shrieked as its body was broken and buried beneath the rocks. Gurden walked away and met up with the hedgehog. "Thank you sir, I was just walking home from a meeting with a friend when that thing jumped me and dragged me into that alley. I'm not sure what would have happened if you didn't show up." The badger smiled, "It was nothing. As a member of the high court, it is my duty to protect Verona, and those on her, from danger." After leaving the hedgehog at his house, Gurden left for the high court's keep.
The moon was beginning to rise and Ragha was growing impatient with Mora and Juhyo. "Where could those two be? How hard is it to find hosts?" His thoughts were interrupted by a rustling noise behind him. Mora appeared and had the body of Juhyo in tow. Two other sil'lis were helping carry their fallen brother. Ragha ran over to Mora. "What happened to Juhyo, Mora?" The creature recovered its breath and looked up at Ragha, "A badger caught Juhyo trying to turn a hedgehog into another one of our brethren. I have never seen anyone be able to control the earth. He pushed Juhyo into the ground with just his foot and killed Juhyo. I thought Seraphus was the only one who had powers like that." Ragha looked at the body of Juhyo and motioned for the other sil'lis to pick it up. "We'll report this to Seraphus. Juhyo's death won't be left unnoticed." The four black creatures left into the night with the body of their brother in their possession.
Gurden arrived back at Gierdëlien carrying a list in his bag of elementalists that were to join him. He raised his hands up to the wall gate, and an orange trinity appeared on his right hand. The doors slowly swung out and opened to the court member. The badger walked in through the marble wall and towards the white monolith known as Gierdëlien. The inner grounds were vacant save for trees, bushes, and the occasional pond with a shallow river. Gurden made his across the courtyard to the castle and from there to the top where the court was meeting. Tiberius and the others looked towards the door when they heard the door scrape against the floor. Gurden looked around at all of them before realizing what had happened. "My apologies for being late Tiberius, I ran into a problem in the town I was at." "That's quite alright Gurden. Take your seat and we'll fill you in on what we've discussed." The badger nodded and quickly moved to his seat.
Seraphus paced impatiently as he waited for the return of his top sil'lis. The door to his chambers opened with a quiet creak, and Ragha entered with Mora, two new sil'lis, and the body of Juhyo. "What happened?" Seraphus asked as he approached the group of sil'lis. Ragha spoke up, "Juhyo was killed by a badger when he was caught trying to turn a hedgehog into one of our brethren. The badger wielded earth as if it was nothing." The black dragon stared at the crushed body of Juhyo. "We must accelerate our plans Ragha. Prepare the horde to move. I know who's responsible for the passing of Juhyo. We march at dawn." Ragha bowed quickly and the group left the dragon's chamber. Seraphus gripped the window sill and began creating scratches in the dark stone.
Geoffrey set the book down and looked up to see his guests were entranced with the tale. "Are you four alright? You look like you've been hypnotized or something." They all shook themselves awake when Geoffrey pointed out how they were. "Sorry Geoffrey. I guess we were all so focused on the story that we must have looked funny." Serena said as she stretched. The lop-eared rabbit placed a marker inside the book and set it down. "Let's take a break for some dinner and resume afterwards." Madeline got out of her chair and walked with Geoffrey into his kitchen. "I'll give you a hand if you need one." "Well, I already have two good ones on my arms right now, but I guess a third one wouldn't be bad. I'll show you around, so that you don't mix in something that would taste bad." The two of them disappeared behind the short curtains that were hanging in front of the kitchen entrance. Seamus was busy looking in his cup to see if he missed any tea. "The story was very interesting. Don't you think Storm?" The mongoose nodded, "It really was. To think that the council was once a court and that they aren't the original. I wonder if the Legends are still around." Seamus placed his cup back down. "I like it so far. I can't wait to hear the rest of it, but something tells me that it isn't going to end well. I have a gut feeling about that part." "I agree. I got that feeling when Seraphus wanted to move his plans ahead and stuff." Serena added on. They continued to discuss while various smells began to waft in from the kitchen.
Ragha and Mora walked into a large hall that had a red glow at the other end. "We both know what could happen. He could easily end us right here." "I know that Mora. I'm hoping he's in a better mood today." The two elder sil'lis began walking towards the light coming from a red crystal mounted in the wall. A voice called out to them before they reached the end of the hall. "I see you two want to report what I've known for quite some time now." Ragha and Mora swallowed hard. "You must understand our predicament Bö-" "Oh do shut up. If you had failed enough to be destroyed, you wouldn't be here talking to me. However, your disappointments have brought me to something I really don't want to do." Something in the chair shifted and started moving forward. A black mongoose walked into sight, but his features weren't those of a normal mongoose. His face resembled a sil'lis, but he wasn't a complete sil'lis in form. He moved like the shadows, but he was clearly in control of the creature that cloaked him in the dark blanket. "Böromer trust me, Mora and I-" Böromer said, "What did I say about shutting up? Since you're forcing my hand, I'm risking the chance of being revealed for what happened so long ago." The crystal shimmered a little and then returned to its normal glow. "Like I said," he continued, "I'm taking a big risk to do your job. I see now why Seraphus charged me with keeping control of you two. You seem to have problems keeping to jobs. You're free to go now." The disgraced sil'lis turned and began to walk out of the hall. Böromer looked up at the red crystal. "You and I both know that I am the better Zetanus Böromer."
The small grove hut continued to send wisps of smoke out from its brick chimney. The group of travelers was talking with Geoffrey over some stew and bread he and Madeline had made while in the kitchen. "So you've seen quite a bit and been even more." Geoffrey said around a mouthful of bread. Storm nodded and swallowed some of the potato stew. "I'm sure we'll be seeing more as we continue our travels Geoffrey. How about we finish the story of The Obsidian King when we're done eating? I'd like to know how the story finishes." His friends backed up his request. "I guess I don't have much of a choice then do I?" Geoffrey said with a chuckle. They finished up with their food and placed the dishes on a side table. The lop-eared rabbit picked up the big book again and flipped to where the marker was. "Let's see. Where did we leave off… Ah yes, the window sill."
Gurden was out scouting through another town, but he was with Roenna Aquios who was a brown-tabby. "How many have you found to recruit Gurden? I know you went to that one town and a couple others." Gurden responded, "I've only found a couple. There was less than ten that I listed. I'm more concerned with what I prevented while in that town. I'm hoping to increase numbers, so that there are more than who I have." Roenna looked concerned when the badger referred to something that he prevented. "What did you prevent Gurden? I know you mentioned it when you showed up late to the meeting yesterday." The badger looked down at his feet. "There was this creature that had a hedgehog in its grasp. It was trying to attach this small, black thing to the hedgehog. I haven't seen such a creature in all my life; even in the almanacs that Araforn and Farek left for us." Gurden looked up at Roenna. "What are your thoughts about these black creatures Roenna?" The cat pondered his question and replied, "I haven't a faint idea on what these things could possibly be." Both of them continued to walk through the town unaware that they were being watched.
Seraphus stood in his ebony plate mail watching his creations meander about as they adjusted to being out in the open world. Ragha stood next to Seraphus as he read a map of the area. "Ragha, I want you and Mora to take a group of sil'lis to these two towns and take them. I don't want any survivors, so either turn them or kill them." "It will be done. Come Mora; we have work to do." The two of them left to locate the groups. Seraphus continued to read the maps of the surrounding towns that had future elementalists in them. "To begin the takeover, I plan on killing the seeds before roots can sprout."
The noon sun began to rise along with pillars of smoke from nearby towns. The sil'lis groups were doing excellent jobs of ransacking the towns. They spread like a virus across the countryside. Seraphus marched through the ranks of the new sil'lis that had turned to his "cause". The smoking ruins of the town sent out a massive smoke pillar that anyone could see it. It could even be seen by the inhabitants of Gierdëlien castle.
Tiberius looked out from the top balcony at the several pillars of smoke in the distance. Minara approached him from inside. "What is it brother?" She asked him. The lion let out a low hum before replying to his sister. "Something about those pillars of smoke gives me an eerie feeling that those are not natural causes. Someone purposely lit them for some reason." "You would be correct Tiberius Helion." Both the lion and panther turned to see Araforn and Farek standing there. "Araforn! Farek!" Both of them bowed. Farek brought them back up. "There's no time for formalities. We need to summon the others to the meeting hall. There's no time to waste." They went inside and began sending out the summons.
Roenna and Gurden left a house when their trinity marks began glowing. "I wonder what Tiberius wants." Roenna said. "Your guess is as good as mine." Roenna summoned some water and carved out a teleport circle in the dirt. They were about to leave when something tackled Gurden into the side of a building. Roenna looked to see something crouching on Gurden's chest. "You will pay for what you did to Juhyo!" Before it could slash Gurden, the badger kicked the sil'lis off of him and then followed up with a pillar of rock. "Roenna! Get out of here quickly! You need to tell the court about this!" He smacked aside another sil'lis as it lunged from a building top. Roenna returned to the circle and disappeared in a flash of light blue light. Gurden returned his attention to the two sil'lis that attacked him. He noticed that their numbers were slowly growing. Some of them even were attacking the town inhabitants and starting fires. "Come at me with all you've got you stinking black insects!"
The court members watched as Roenna appeared in the chamber. "We've been waiting for you. Where's Gurden?" "He's being attacked by some creature. He told me to tell you. He may need help." Araforn and Farek looked at one another and nodded. Araforn spoke up, "If that's the case, we need to go and aide him now. We're going to need brave hearts and courage in this battle. Roenna, we can fill you in on the way." They all left the castle meeting room and disappeared into a flash from the teleporter circle.
Gurden stood in a circle of fallen sil'lis he was breathing heavily and was wounded in multiple places. A trickle of blood was flowing down and in between his eyes. "Is that all you've got? A few magic tricks and runts to go with them?" Ragha made his way around the corner to look into the badger's eyes. "How DARE you kill my brethren!" The elder sil'lis lunged at the badger and received a rock wall as its reward. Gurden slid his foot forward and the wall came down upon the sil'lis. He raised his hands and Ragha popped out from the stone. Upon hitting the ground; though, the sil'lis dissipated into the air. Gurden looked around with several rocks floating around him as he scanned the area for his adversary. The Legends and the other court members appeared nearby. Roenna noticed Gurden and called out to him, "Gurden! The court has come to help! Araforn and Farek have come as well!" The badger looked over to them, "That's great. Have some of them protect the locals. I can't do anyth-" He stopped talking and looked down at black spike that appeared from his chest. Tiberius cried out, "GURDEN!" "That was for Juhyo and my other fallen brethren. It's too bad I had to kill you; though, you would have made a nice addition to Seraphus' horde." Ragha removed his arm from the badger and let him fall to the ground. Before the sil'lis could leave; one of Farek's cuff chains latched onto his arm. The werewolf yanked the chain back and met Ragha face to face. The amber eyes of Farek glared into the red holes of Ragha. "Seraphus?!" Ragha nodded in fear. The badger may have been easy prey, but this she-wolf wasn't normal. She had a different feel of atmosphere around her. It was like being in Seraphus' presence. Farek looked at Araforn. He had the same look in his eyes. Farek returned her attention to Ragha. "You tell him that Araforn Windrider and Farek Unïdire are looking for his wretched hide." She dropped the sil'lis and watched it run away from the scene. She drew the chain back and clasped it on her wrist. "Go around and use your powers to cure any locals that are still being turned by these abominations. Roenna." The she-cat looked at Farek. "Go to Gurden." The tabby nodded and ran over to the badger. The others ran to assist the injured and those assailed by the sil'lis. Roenna crouched next to her fallen friend. The place where the black spike once was, was now a dark pool of blood. The stain was starting to seep outwards and pool beneath from the other side. Gurden coughed and some blood appeared at the corner of his mouth. "Roenna…" She placed a finger on his mouth. "Don't exert yourself. I'm going to get you out of here." She summoned some water and began washing the cuts, but Gurden grabbed onto her arm weakly. "I'm not going to make it much further in my life Roenna. Th-there's nothing more you can do other than being here to see me off." She grabbed hold of his hand and held it tightly. Tears were beginning to form in her eyes as she watched her friend from their childhood begin to pass on. "I don't want to leave here, but what fate has written, cannot be changed." He moved his other hand to his neck and pulled off two necklaces. One had a symbol on it and the other had several charms. "Give the one with my house symbol to my successor and keep the other for yourself. It was the gift you gave me when I made you a charm necklace to match. I've made one for each year we did something special to remember." He placed both in her hand and pressed it to the one holding his other hand. "Make sure to keep them both safe Roenna." "I will Gurden. Don't you dare underestimate me." The badger chuckled a little, but winced with the effort. "I guess I forgot this year's bead when we were offered these positions. Let me fix that." Gurden raised his hands above the ground and a small dirt orb floated into his palm. He moved his hand around a bit and then made it float to Roenna. "There. Now you have one to add for this year." The bead was made from blue clay and engraved with a white rock. "Make sure to give my regards to the others." Roenna's tears dropped down onto the badger's clothes as he closed his eyes and died.
Geoffrey turned to the next page, and went to continue reading, but the page titled another book. "That's strange." Madeline gave a quizzical look to the rabbit. "What is it Geoffrey?" The lop-eared rabbit shook the book upside down and looked at it hard. "It seems that a few pages are missing. This isn't good at all. How can a storyteller's book be missing pages?" "Do you know the ending of the story Geoffrey?" Seamus asked anxiously. The Storyteller shook his head, "Sadly I do not know the rest of it Seamus. That's why I have this book." The others let their shoulders hang down in disappointment. "Well that's a bummer." Serena said. Storm added, "It is a real inconvenience to not know the rest of the story, but things like this can't be helped." Geoffrey got up and looked around and through several boxes. "A book doesn't just have missing pages for no reason. They have to be somewhere around here." The lop-eared rabbit continued to look frantically around for them. Madeline got up and placed a hand on the old rabbit's shoulder. "It's not the upmost importance that you finish the story Geoffrey. It was nice to learn about some of the past events of Verona." "I guess you're right Madeline, but it'll bug me if I can't find these pages. I'll go nuts. I refuse to have the winter of 1137 happen again. That was a doozy, and yet it was only over a recipe card. I can only imagine what could happen with missing pages." The grey cat let the rabbit continue his search while she returned to her seat. "I'm guessing that we'll be leaving tomorrow to continue on our mission?" Storm shrugged and tilted his hand back and forth. "Sort of, we'll be leaving when we can, after we are rested. I don't plan on having you three march on only a few hours of sleep. When we're ready to leave, then we'll start off again. Sound like a plan?" The three of them nodded as Geoffrey flopped down in his arm chair. "I'll have to continue this when you all leave. How about we have a little music to dance to and then off to bed? Not only will it help you burn off energy, but it will get you stretched out and relaxed afterwards." "Sounds like a plan then Geoffrey." Serena said. The lop-eared rabbit pulled a small guitar-like instrument and plucked the strings to tune them up before he dared attempt to play anything. After a few off key notes, Geoffrey started to pluck out a song. "You can't dance while just sitting down. Get up and dance!" The group of travelers looked at one another, and stood up slowly all except for Madeline. She stood up quickly and turned around to Storm. "Come on lazy bones. It's been forever since I've seen you dance. If I remember right, you danced at the last harvest festival." Storm protested, "There's a particular reason behind me not dancing since then Madeline." She ignored his attempt to skip out, and pulled him into the middle of the living room. "Nonsense Storm, tonight you're going to dance, and that's final." She pulled him in close and they began to move around the room while Seamus and Serena started to dance as well. Geoffrey added in to what Madeline had said. "Here here! Get his blood moving again! Tonight is a small celebration!" They continued to dance while the lop-eared rabbit plucked away on his instrument to supply the music. After of what seemed like a few minutes, but really two hours, Geoffrey finished the last song and placed his instrument on a stand. He rubbed his fingers together to bring feeling back into them. "It's been quite awhile since I've played that much. I hope you've all had your fun because these hands have had enough playing for one night. You four better get to bed, so you can continue on your journey tomorrow." He began to make his way to his room, but was stopped by a question from Storm. "Where will we be able to sleep?" "You know," he started, "I didn't think about that. I have another room down the hall, but no other rooms. You're welcome to use the living room and any chairs. Don't touch my arm chair though. You'd be out in the night before you could draw another breath." The lop-eared rabbit continued, then, to enter his bedroom where he soon fell asleep. "Seamus and I can sleep out here." "Alright, we'll see you guys in the morning." Madeline and Serena walked down the hall and sent back the small click of a closing door. Seamus stretched out on the small couch, and rolled over onto his stomach. Stormsurge was getting comfy on the floor with a chair cushion. "I'm pretty sure Madeline likes to see you dance Storm." Seamus said. "You're right about that." He replied. "I don't think it's just the dancing part, though. I think she likes to dance with you, and be close to you." The tiger added. "You'd be right about that too. We've been friends ever since I woke up in the monastery ten years ago. We're closer than most other people could say." "I would believe that. I'd say the same about Serena, but I only knew her for awhile, and didn't see her every day. You should tell her you like her more than just being a friend. It would be wrong to not say anything." "Yeah you're right Seam- hey wait a minute! Who said that I liked her more than a friend?" Storm said as he sat upright in the chair. Seamus had to clamp his hands to his mouth in order to stop from busting out in laughter. "I didn't say a word. You said it yourself. I just pushed you in that direction, and if you didn't you would have responded quicker than that." Storm threw a nearby cushion at his friend. "You've won this round Seamus. Now get some sleep before I have to smother you with a cushion." The tiger tossed the cushion back. "Fair enough, good night." The hut inhabitants fell into their own dreams, and slept well as the night sky continued to move on its natural path.