Chapter Two: A Night Without Stars
Tohan gazed momentarily at the blazing fire arrow before he heard it; a sound, small and muffled at first, but growing steadily larger. Somewhere, across Furni, Tohan could hear the hysterical screaming of women and the frantic shouting of men, as he was able to note, that several white clay houses had caught fire and were spreading flames quickly. Sure enough, just as he had envisioned, one after another, within mere seconds, many and if not most, of Furni's buildings were ablaze. People, in clusters at a time, surfaced from their burning homes, shouting, screaming and crying. The streets had awoken with a start, and the blanket of silence had been ripped off as the town suddenly came to a panicked life. One by one, but commonly in crowds, people began to stream past Tohan, not caring in the least that he lie immobilized on the ground. Another barrage of arrows had been fired, and as Tohan had dreamed, even the streets and water had caught fire.
A little girl, no older than six, had run by him screaming in terror for her mother.
"MOM! MOM! WHERE ARE YOU MOM! I'm scared! MOM?" she shouted, as her pleas were instantly absorbed and silenced by the prominent chaos that was abounding.
Tohan realized with horror that the child was going to be struck by a fire arrow, as it loomed lethally towards her. Tohan found the last of his strength and raised himself to his knees, springing at the child from there. He missed her torso, but succeeded in grabbing her around the knees, causing her to fall just shy of where the arrow landed, inches from her nose.
The child hysterically struggled for her freedom, not knowing what had just occurred. She flailed madly, kicking Tohan in the nose.
"OW!" he yelped and then let go. The little girl turned around immediately, recognizing that her captor had a human voice.
"Oh mister, have you seen my mother?" she asked in a terrified and frantic squeak. Tohan picked his head up only enough to clearly look at the kid. He had never seen her before, so naturally he had no idea who her mother was.
"No. . .I haven't," Tohan said weakly, "But why don't you come with me and we'll see if we can find her," he suggested, struggling to get to his feet. Tohan knew very well that finding anyone particular in this chaos was highly unlikely, especially when that person was a stranger, but it was almost a grantee that if left her on her own, the little girl would probably die.
"Okay," the child said timidly. She looked up at him with bright blue eyes. "Hey mister, are you okay? Why are you just lying there?" she asked curiously. Tohan wanted to laugh, but only managed a weak smile. The innocence and naiveté of children.
"I know! You must be tired! My mom always looks like that when she's tired!" the little girl suddenly exclaimed.
"I feel immense pity for your mom if she always has the kind of day I've had today," Tohan mumbled under his breath.
"Well, come on sleepyhead, I don't think now is a good time for a nap!" she said in concern.
"I agree," Tohan said, but he still couldn't quite find the strength to return himself to his feet.
He was suddenly given the motivation he needed; a fire arrow had just embedded itself into his family's house. Tohan let out a loud gasp in horror as he suddenly found his feet. He was met with a sharp pain in his forehead.
"KAMUY!" Tohan tried to yell over top of the colossal noise. He felt a movement of wind as Kamuy jumped nimbly over a patch of flame to get to him. Tohan was overcome with dizziness and staggered. Seeing double, he groped for the real Kamuy, but had no trouble finding him. Kamuy was already beside him.
"Kamuy, take this little girl to safety! I have to go help mom and dad!" he commanded.
Kamuy whined and licked Tohan's face, but he did not disobey him. The white wolf turned to the blonde-headed child, who eyed him and backed away.
"Don't be scared. This my dog, Kamuy. Get on his back and he'll take you somewhere safe and help you find your mom," Tohan coaxed gently. He could see why she would be afraid, Kamuy was monumental in size compared to her.
The little girl hesitated, but then nodded."Okay . . .if you say so mister."
Kamuy hoisted the little girl up onto his back.
"Wow, he certainly is a big doggie," she said, slightly in awe.
Tohan turned and ushered Kamuy away, before racing towards his blazing house in a rush of adrenaline, ignoring the searing pain and fatigue.
RAAARREER. A shrill roar deafened Tohan as he looked up in horror and found not one, but several tree-monsters enter the city from the boundaries of the Evergreen Forest. Identically to his premonition, like watching a replay, the monsters began to stomp on houses, throw debris, and one even pitched a screaming person into its mouth. Tohan became overwhelmed with a queasy feeling at the sight, and vomited onto the ground .
Realizing his parents were still in danger, he ignored everything he felt as he raced towards his doorstep. Reaching the water channel that separated him from his home, Tohan dived underneath the water's flaming surface and swam as best as he was able until he reached the entranceway to his house. Tohan labored to drag himself up onto the docking platform, soaking wet and hurting over every inch of his body.
With still no mind to his taxing wounds, Tohan arrived at the front door and reached for the handle. He tried to open the door, but found no matter how hard he tried he could not budge the door. He screamed out in horror.
"MOM? DAD? MR. MORRIS?" With no answer, he tried again, louder this time. He could hear the flames roar within the house. "MOTHER? FATHER? ANSWER ME! ANYONE!" he cried with tears threatening his vision. This time, however, he received a muffled shout from behind the other side of the door. It was his father.
"TOHAN! IS THAT YOU?"
"YES DAD, IT'S ME!" Tohan yelled back clearly. He could hear his father coughing.
"TOHAN, THE DOOR IS JAMMED, I CAN'T BUDGE IT!"
Tohan's mind raced and suddenly a thought occurred to him. His axe; it was probably still in the boat if his mother hadn't taken it out when she had brought him and Mr. Morris into the house.
"HOLD ON DAD! I HAVE A PLAN!" he yelled, as he raced as fast as humanly possible back to their dockside. "Soa. . .please let it be there," he reached the boat, which had predictably caught fire.
"Damn!" he cursed, but just as he was about to turn away, a gleam of metal caught his eye. Without thinking, Tohan thrust his hand into the boat, despite the flame. Luckily, the wooden handle of his axe hadn't caught fire yet, but the same couldn't be said for his hand. As he reached for his weapon, the bandages on his injured hand caught fire. Tohan quickly unwrapped his bandaged hand and dropped the burning bandage into the water. It continued to burn. . . .
Tohan ran back to the door and could hear more coughing.
"TOHAN ARE YOU THERE?" his father's choking voice called.
"DAD, I'M HERE! GET EVERYONE AWAY FROM THE DOOR!" he shouted. Ignoring the piercing pain from the friction of the axe handle against his raw hand and the protest from his aching muscles, Tohan began hacking at the once elaborate wooden door. After several consecutive strikes, he managed to chop the door down. Clouds of thick, sulfuric smoke seeped out into the hall, but when we could see again, he saw that his mother and father were in the doorway, holding Mr. Morris between them. They were alive, and more or less unharmed.
"Tohan!" his mother cried. Tohan ran into the house to them, amidst the flames. There was no time for embraces however, as the archway hall, leading to the dock caved in under the weight of the burnt ceiling. Now Tohan and his family were trapped inside together. Tohan cringed when he heard his father curse in urgency and desperation.
Fa was crying."At least we're all together," she said sadly, as a second story wall crashed down from above into the staircase.
The heat from the flames all around them was baking Tohan alive. Even the water that had covered him and dried. He coughed as a cloud of smoke wafted across his face. There had to be a way out.
"I have an idea!" Teo yelled as he looked around. "Our house is made of clay, and clay gets hard and brittle when it's fired, right? If we could just manage to break through a wall !"
"The walls are too thick Teo! We'd need something immensely heavy to break through! And even if we could find something that heavy, even with our combined strength, we couldn't lift it!" Fa cried in despair.
"Ask your boy!" Mr. Morris cried, "If he could lift that tree--"
"-- FOR GOD'S SAKE MITCHEL, LOOK AT HIM! HE CAN BARELY STAND! I SWEAR BY SOA YOU MUST HAVE FALLEN ON YOUR HEAD BACK THERE! I REALLY DON'T WANT TO DIE ARGUING!" Fa screamed in dispirit.
Tohan, however, had taken the idea to heart. Why not, it was worth a try, wasn't it? Anything was better than nothing. If he could do it once, why couldn't he lift something that heavy again?
I have been able to come this far, despite my pain, he thought to himself. Tohan looked around and stopped when he arrived at their kitchen wall unit. It had been hand-carved by one of Endiness' finest craftsmen from heavy maple wood. It had been in the house as long as Tohan could remember, and it looked more than heavy enough.
"Mom," Tohan said quickly, choking on more smoke, "How heavy do you think this wall unit is?"
Fa looked at him blankly. Without thinking, she answered,"Why, at least half a ton, why that. . ."
But Tohan was no longer listening. The teenage boy walked right over to the flaming unit and placed his hands in a push/pull position. The kitchen appliances came off the wall easily enough. . . . Tohan placed his injured hand at the base of the fixture and the other at his side. He lifted, but was unable to move the object.
Fa stopped babbling hysterically when she saw him, and instead started shouting angrily."Young man, just what do you think you're doing? Surely you don't believe Mitchel's babble? Son, you are only human! Tohan-- no one can lift that thing!" she cried in concern for her son. It would have appeared that Fa was right. As hard as Tohan tried he couldn't lift the structure.
"Soa, I'm too weak . . .I don't have anymore strength. I can't move anymore," the teenager whispered to himself hopelessly. As if a sign from an angry heaven, the den's burning ceiling collapsed, but mercifully missed his family. Fa screamed and Teo held her and Mr. Morris close to him, tight with fear. They would die . . . Tohan and his family would die and his vision would come to pass, if he did not somehow find his mysterious strength again.
Just the thought of a life without his family gave him all the strength he needed. With muscles quaking and an ungodly amount of pain, Tohan managed, very slowly at first, to lift the object an inch at a time. Out of the corner of his eye, Tohan saw his father gawking and he heard his mother scream. Fresh blood oozed from his hand again, and his arm threatened to break. But these occurrences did not stop Tohan. The pain his body felt was nothing compared to the ache in his heart at the mere thought of losing the people that mattered most to him in the world.
"STOP IT TOHAN, YOU'LL KILL YOURSELF!" his mother shrieked in mortification.
"I'm not going to let us all die here when I can prevent it!" Tohan cried, as he gave final push and lifted the furnishing above his head. He began walking towards their left wall with unnatural strength.
"By God! I would have never thought it possible unless I had seen it with my own two eyes!" Teo exclaimed in amazement.
With a last heave of inhuman strength, Tohan heaved the fixture through the wall, causing it to shatter and large hole to form. As Tohan stepped outside, be careful to avoid the flaming walls, he immediately dropped to his knees in pain and grabbed at his injured arm. Fa, Teo, and Mr. Morris all ran outside into the night air.
"I told you!" Mr. Morris insisted adamantly.
" My God, Tohan, how did you--?" Teo breathed.
Tohan looked at him. "Dad, I need a healing potion. . .I have to get to there before Kamuy, or Captain Harris is going to die!" Tohan panted, suddenly realizing that if this much of his premonition had been true, then the rest probably was as well. And he had seen what was coming.
"What are you talking about, son?" Teo asked as he knelt down beside him.
"Dad, help me," Tohan groaned.
Teo's face suddenly become one of realization. "Are you saying that you knew this was going to happen?" he asserted suddenly.
Tohan didn't answer.
"Why didn't you tell somebody?" Teo yelled and unconsciously grabbed his son by the shoulders and started shaking him gently.
"I tried," Tohan breathed out.
"STOP IT TEO, YOU'LL HURT HIM!" Fa screamed. Teo realized what he was doing and just as suddenly let go of his son. A roar brought the boy's attention to the monsters that were still stomping around freely.
"My god, Tohan, what are those things?" Teo said in a voice barely above a whisper. It was the first time the mayor had been outside, and the first time he had seen the creatures. He looked to Tohan, expectant that he held the answer.
"I don't know, dad. I have to get to the timberline, or Kamuy will die! Dad, please, I know Dr. Zipra gave you a healing potion!" Tohan pleaded again.
Teo shook his head furiously. "There is no way in the name of Soa I am letting you go out there, and especially alone! Kamuy can take care of himself and Harris can too!" Teo protested solidly.
"But Kamuy is my best friend. And I'm the only one who can help him. I need to go. I have to go. I have this . . .feeling. Dad please."
"Absolutely not!" Teo replied.
"Forgive me," Tohan answered, before he darted his hand in his father's pocket and grabbed the healing potion. Clasping it tightly, Tohan let himself fall back into one of the nearby water canals, before his father could grab hold of him. Tohan momentarily twisted under the water and relaxed somewhat as the current carried him to the other side of the canal. Upon breaking the water's surface in a space that was mercifully devoid of flame, Tohan pulled the cork out of the potion bottle and downed the contents. The pain in his body subsided to a lesser degree, but did not vanish completely. At least he got most of his strength back.
Over on the other side of the canal, Teo was yelling furiously. "TOHAN FLANDERS, COME BACK HERE THIS INSTANT!"
Tohan faced his father and called back, "DAD, TAKE MOM AND MR. MORRIS AND GET TO SAFETY!" Tohan was about to leave, when suddenly his mother called out to him, in an expression he never would have thought possible from her.
Realizing her son's determination, Fa had picked up, and thrown Tohan's axe across the canal to him."TOHAN, TAKE THAT WITH YOU AND FOR GOD'S SAKE, BE CAREFUL!" she called.
Teo rounded on her in a mixture of anger and surprise."FA, WHAT IN HEAVEN'S NAME ARE YOU--"
"He's not so different from you when you were young. You also defied everyone and everything to protect those you love. I can't explain it, Teo, but I think Tohan is right, he has to go," she replied gently, although not without great weariness. If Tohan was going to go, and Fa knew he was, they were not going to be able to stop him. It was better that he be armed, in her opinion, though she would have preferred he had not gone at all.
"This is different from running away from home, Fa! And this is different from what I did! The people in the forest were after Kamuy, not me! They wouldn't have hurt me! God knows whatever is going on, but I'm sure whoever's doing this and those, those things, wouldn't lose any sleep over hurting people! Tohan could get killed!" Teo protested powerfully, but in a much gentler tone.
"We don't have a say. Let him go," Fa said, with tears in her eyes.
Turning to Tohan, who was retrieving his axe on the other side of the water, Teo called out, "BOY, YOU'D BETTER B BACK SOON, OR I'M COMING AFTER YOU!"
Tohan nodded."DON'T WORRY, MOM, DAD, I'LL BE BACK SHORTLY!" A howl, unmistakably Kamuy's from the sound, drew Tohan into action. He turned from the canal with one last look at his parents before he took off running.
Dodging arrows that fell all around him like rain, Tohan managed to make it through the mass of disarrayed people, to timberline path. Why on Endiness had Kamuy gone there, when Tohan had clearly told him to escort the girl to safety. Not long after entering upon the path, Tohan began to encounter the bodies of several of Furni's knights, all dressed in the tradition silver battle armor. Most were bleeding from severe gashes and arrow wounds, and all were showing the signs of a heavy battle. One of the soldiers weakly called out to Tohan as he ran.
"Please . . .young man . . .Captain Harris . . .dark elf . . ." he moaned. Those were his last words.
"I know, and I'm going to save them," Tohan said quietly to himself. The teenager heard Kamuy howl again, this time the sound was closer. Following the path he had taken in his vision he soon arrived at a familiar clearing. There, as he expected, was Captain Harris, badly injured, along with Kamuy and someone else he had not seen-- the little girl he had saved.
Kamuy sprang at the dark elf before him, just as Tohan had seen. Tohan could not utter a single warning as the elf shot forth a vine from his hand that wrapped around Kamuy.
"That ought to teach you to fight alongside humans!" the elf's arrogant voice beamed as the vines began to constrict the breath out of Kamuy. The elf then proceeded to walk over to Captain Harris, pick him up by the coif, and press a dagger to his throat. "Listen, pathetic human, and listen well. Don't let that Arane wolf's death be for nothing. Where is it?" the elf sneered.
"I . . don't know . . .what you're talking about," Captain Harris gasped.
The dark elf snarled and pressed the dagger tighter. "Don't play coy with me human! I'm losing patience! THE STONE, THE KEY, WHERE ARE THEY?"
The little girl Tohan had rescued stood glued to the spot crying as Harris spat, " I . . I'll never tell you!"
The sinister elf smiled cruelly."Well then, say good-bye to them." Captain Harris's family was brought before them.
"Please don't! They're innocent! They know nothing! Let my family go!" Harris yelled in sudden desperation.
"I think not," said the elf, "Now tell me where the stone and the key are, or you all die."
Tohan used this opportunity to sneak behind a few trees and make his way to Kamuy. The little girl, whom had cuddled up into a little ball, looked up hastily and would have screamed if Tohan hadn't clapped his hand over her mouth.
"Shhh, it's okay," he whispered into her ear.
She nodded slowly and he released her.
"Don't make a sound," he added.
Tohan crept slowly over to Kamuy, all the while, trying to avoid detection. Kamuy saw Tohan approach him and tried to whine in greeting.
"Shhh!" Tohan urged gently, as Kamuy stopped struggling against the vine. Tohan began using the blade of his axe to cut Kamuy free of his green bindings, and soon he was free. Once Kamuy was free, he turned to the little girl, whose blonde pigtails shook as she sniffled. Wordlessly, Tohan motioned for her to return to Kamuy's back. Once Tohan had made sure that his young friend was secure, he knelt down and whispered into the white wolf's ear, "Make sure not to lose her, Kamuy. Take care of the three captors and I'll take care of the one in front."
Kamuy whimpered apologetically.
"I know, boy. He must have found you guys first. I don't blame you. Hurry now, go!" Tohan replied as he and Kamuy both darted for their targets.
"I tire of this, human. You are of no further use to me," the elf growled and drew back his wavy dagger to strike.
Now, Tohan was no expert fighter, but his father had taught him a few things. Tohan tapped the elf on the shoulder. Sure enough, the creature turned around whit an agitated, "WHAT?" and when he did, Tohan racked the elf square across the jaw with a right hook hard enough to knock the wind out of his opponent. The elf seemingly dropped Captain Harris, and his dagger from a combination of the force of the blow the and shock.
The dark elf looked surprised, but then furious as he whirled on Tohan. "HOW DARE YOU HUMAN! KILL YOUR HOSTAGES CAPTAINS! THAT--"
"ARGHHH!"
Kamuy had sprung onto one of the elf captains, knocking him down and causing him to release the little girl he had been holding. Taking great care to trample on his opponent as he ran by, Kamuy grabbed the robe of another of the elves, as he tried to execute Captain Harris' wife. With a tug backwards, the middle-aged woman was saved. Kamuy flicked his head, and in so doing, tossed the elf into the air and lunged after the final hostage-holding elf.
Tohan had problems of his own. The pale elf had telekinetically retrieved his dagger and swiped at him. Tohan ducked instantly as the dagger sliced the air above his head. Tohan immediately responded with a kick to the elf's knees, causing the elf to buckle. Tohan followed up with another punch into the elf's abdomen, that was met with a punch in the shoulder that he received from the elf in return. The elf proceeded with a spinning kick into Tohan's gut that sent him flying. The teenager hit the ground roughly.
The dark elf grinned as he levitated into the air and began shooting spires of ice from his palms towards Tohan. Tohan rolled to the side quickly and found his feet. Tohan readied his axe as he rushed at the evil elf, dodging several more ice spires. This proved to be in vain as he was suddenly met with a fierce gale of wind from his dark assailant and knocked backwards again.
"Oh humans are indeed pathetic!" the elf laughed, "However, I must admit, you are the first that has ever dared to strike the Great General Ziran! For that, you'll pay!" A strange spiraling energy slammed against Tohan, knocking him ever further backwards.
"Leave him alone, you meanie!" a childish voice yelled. That threat was accompanied by a far more menacing growl. Kamuy and his young passenger had turned towards the elf called Ziran, whom merely laugher harder.
"Oh, so now a child is giving me orders? How sad. Obviously no one has ever taught you proper respect for authority. Perhaps I might just make time to teach you now," he laughed, and using his telekinesis once more, he pulled the little girl clear off Kamuy's back and into his pale hands.
Tohan was overcome with desperation as he charged Ziran again.
"Down human! It's time your race learned their place!" the elf general sneered as Tohan ran headlong into a force-field the elf had erected around himself. Turning his attention back to his captive he smiled wickedly, while she struggled frantically for release. "Ah yes, now what should I do with you? How about I--OUCH!"
The six year old clamped down strongly on Ziran's hand with her teeth causing him to drop her.
"WHY YOU BRAT!" the elf screeched as he lunged at her. However, Tohan was ready for him, and hit the elf general hard across the face with the sharp end of his axe.
Ziran began screaming in pain and gushing blood from the deep gash across his face. While Ziran was yelling, Tohan grabbed his young rescuer and jumped on Kamuy's waiting back.
"MY FACE! MY FACE! HOW DARE YOU HUMANS! MY FACE!" the general screeched in a mixture of pain and fury. Tohan wasn't quite sure how the general could still be alive after that, much less standing, so it took him by surprise when the general suddenly stopping shrieking, although he was gasping for breath, and looked up at them. Tohan's slice had been clear, the elf called Ziran had a horribly disfiguring, diagonal gash from just beside his left eye down through his lips ending at the right side of his lower neck. Dripping with blood and sprouting a ghastly injury, all the while gleaming at them with maniacal, wild eyes that had suddenly turned as red as his blood, Ziran looked truly frightening. The child with Tohan had caught sight of him and screamed in terror. Even Tohan himself was taken aback by the new hideousness the elf general had sustained.
Moments later the general resumed his screeching."YOU'RE GOING TO PAY! YOU'RE GOING TO PAY WITH YOUR LIVES!" The elf followed up the threat, with a loud, echoing whistle. Seconds later, the earth began to shake, and Tohan looked up to find a scene from one of his worst nightmares. A monster, closely resembling a large, walking, petrified tree was running towards them, rattling the earth with each step.
"Oh Soa . . . " Tohan said in quiet fear as he gazed at the creature in terror. "KAMUY RUN!" he suddenly ordered hysterically.
Tohan began to feel the wind whip by as Kamuy broke out into a dead run. Any other time, Tohan would have enjoyed the sensation, but the pitching of the ground and the rattling of the earth backed by a chorus of Ziran's screaming, "GUARDIAN, KILL THEM! KILL THEM BEFORE THEY ESCSAPE!" changed Tohan's mood considerably.
Kamuy was running faster than Tohan had ever seen him run before, his speed could have rivaled that of the finest racing stallion in Endiness. Tohan did not doubt that Kamuy understood the fact that their lives rested with him, however, even with how fast the white wolf was running, the tree monstrosity was quickly overtaking them. They could not defeat the creature by fighting it, they simply did not have the power. Tohan was certain that even his seemingly super strength could not bring this monster down, and nor could they outrun it. Tohan felt truly powerless, a feeling he hated, and his mind was fresh out of ideas and mostly empty, save for his will to live.
The tree monster caught up to them and swung a massive hand at them with the power of a raging hurricane. The wind caused Kamuy's balance to falter. The tree guardian swung again with its other hand. Kamuy jumped quickly to the side as the house-sized hand shattered the trees behind them. The little girl Tohan held in front of him in riding position began bawling into Kamuy's neck fur.
"We're going to die, aren't we mister?" she cried hysterically.
Tohan did not even want to consider thinking about death. "It will be just fine. We'll make it," Tohan assured her as he hugged her closer to him. He hoped they would make it. Somehow.
The tree guardian outstretched its hand and this time they were within reach. The little girl buried her head deeper into Kamuy's fur, revealing a beautiful necklace she was wearing that consisted of several small, rounded silver stones about an inch in length and a forth of one in width. These seemingly bright silver "pearls" for Tohan had no idea what to call them, where strung together around the base of the girl's neck.
"I WISH WE WERE SOMEWHERE ELSE!" she cried as the tree monster's shadow fell over them. Was it Tohan's eyes, or were those stones starting to glow? The tree reached for them, with its branch like fingers open.
"I WISH WE WERE SOMEWHERE FAR, FAR AWAY FROM HERE!" the child cried again.
The tree demon's fingers closed in around the three of them like a cage and Tohan cringed and held his breath. They were going to die and it was all his fault. . . .
"I WISH WE WERE FAR, FAR AWAY!" the child cried out once more with no one but helpless Tohan to hear her.
As the monster's fingers walled them in, there was a blinding flash of silver light. It appeared to be coming from the girl's necklace! The next thing Tohan knew, he, the girl and Kamuy were being spun around in an open portal so fast that he blacked out.
MEANWHILE
Another dark elf, the one that had been trampled by the huge white wolf during his earlier attempt to assassinate his human hostage, approached a brooding General Ziran as he overlooked upon the destruction of Furni.
"My General, the conquest and subjugation of this Water City is nearly complete. The people have begun surrendering, and those that will not do so openly are being dealt with--what happened to your face?" the underling said in sudden shock and lack of restraint as the General turned to look at him.
Ziran scowled and backhanded his informant so hard he spiraled to the ground. "That is none of your concern!" he spat venomously.
The Captain hesitated, but then picked himself up and continued. "Sir, was it that boy and his wolf-pet?"
Ziran drew his dagger from its sheath and turned around sharply. " I SAID IT WAS NONE OF YOUR CONCERN!" he bellowed, but then, laughing to himself in a most mentally unsettling manner, or so the Captain thought, he lowered his voice, "They are being dealt with as we speak."
"If they are dead then that brings good news!" the Captain exclaimed as optimistically as General Ziran would allow for.
"And why is that, Captain?" Ziran asked in annoyance.
"Well, we're looking for some type of key, aren't we, sir? Well, I saw something odd when that huge wolf trampled me. . . "
"Spit it out!" Ziran hissed in irritability.
Not that the Captain could blame him. It was General Ziran who had been given this monumental and demanding task, and it was the General that would have to answer to Lord Nvernias before too long.
The Captain didn't feel any bit jealous over whatever had happened to his face, either."The wolf had a collar, sir."
"YOU IDIOT! THE CREATURE IS THE BOY'S PET! THE FACT THAT IT HAS A COLLAR SHOULDN'T COME AS A SURPRISE!" Ziran snarled and drew back his hand to strike.
"No sir! I mean the collar had a peculiar bronze adornment attached to it. It had some sort of prong in the back, like it fits into something," the Captain corrected swiftly.
General Ziran's eyes became wide. "And what did this ornament look like, Captain? Did it have a shape?"
The Captain nodded."Yes sir. It appeared to resemble the rising sun."
General Ziran dropped his dagger and actually smiled, making the Captain cringe slightly, before he heard his next words."Well done, Captain. I'll see to it that you receive a bonus. Now, all we have to do is send someone to collect the key off the animal's carcass, which will most likely be brought to us any minute now, anyway. Ah, the guardian returns. Is it done? Where are their bodies?" Ziran called impatiently to the gargantuan creature that had just lumbered up to him and placed one massive foot in front of him.
The massive monster shook its head and grumbled noisily. It was something that only Ziran seemed to understand, and it didn't please him.
"You don't know?" he snapped. A thought occurred to the elf General, and his face suddenly turned sour. "You don't know . . .or did they get away?"
The gigantic tree-like creature gave what was unmistakably a nod.
Ziran cursed. "HOW IN MAYFIL IS THIS EVEN POSSIBLE? YOU'VE FAILED ME, CAPTAIN, GUARDIAN! CAPTAIN, GET ME A LOCATING SPELL! I WANT THOSE TWIRPS FOUND AND ANIHILATED! WE NEED THAT KEY!" he bellowed in fury.