At this moment in time, Glinda Arduenna was exactly thirty-six years, seven months, twenty-eight days, three hours and forty-two minutes old. She was waiting patiently for the royal Pie-maker. But this is not their story...
"Well, that looks promising," Elphaba said, staring up at a corpse snared in some vines.
Fiyero gave it a quick look but looked away just as fast. "I think he's trying to tell us something," he said, regarding the corpse.
Again, she found herself questioning his sanity. Maybe all those years as the Scarecrow really had addled his brains. "What?"
"That we probably shouldn't go in there. It's a sign," he explained.
"It's a ploy. Too obvious. Probably put there by some old hermit. It might not even be real."
He didn't look convinced.
"Don't worry, Fiyero, I'll protect you," she teased.
He gave her a half-annoyed, half-amused look.
"If there were anything to fear, Yackle would have alerted us."
"I do not advise. Things will occur as they were intended to," the ancient crone told them.
"Thanks, you've made me feel alot better."
Yackle sneered at him and compared him to the Kalidah, ravenous but notoriously stupid creatures, akin to tigers. One must always wear a blindfold when venturing into their hunting grounds, for they believe that if you can't see them, they can't see you.
Fiyero ignored her comment and began to walk down the trail into the dank wood. "That sign said this is the Chiss forest. The city of Shiz is two miles to the west, do you think it's a spelling mistake," he asked Elphaba.
"Must be," she replied.
Now sharing the cart with Liir, Candle stared up at the corpse as the donkey pulled them slowly past.
"It's going to eat you," Liir taunted, maliciously.
She shuddered involuntarily and he laughed at her reaction.
Yackle fell silent and became still. Her eyes scanned every shadow, ears tuned to the slightest sound.
The donkey came to an abrupt halt and though it did not panic, could not be convinced to go any further. Yackle snorted, "At least someone else here has an ounce of common sense." A sudden silence fell around them.
When nothing happened, Fiyero took a cautious step forward. The earth caved beneath his foot. Elphaba lunged forward and snatched him back.
The hole quickly spread into a chasm. The ground trembled and there came a terrible din like the shrieking of ten-thousand Vixens. A massive leathery paw appeared on one side, followed by a second just like it. Next came the head, a hideous human caricature, as the monstrosity pulled itself out of the chasm. It sucked in a breath and let out another blood-curdling shriek.
In a far realm, known only to three souls ever to traverse the land of Oz, this creature was called manticore. But the travellers knew nothing of that land and little of it's strange inhabitants. Here the creature was known as the Chiss. Whatever the name or the location, the intent was always the same.
"What in the name of the Unnamed One do you call yourselves doing? Have you all gone daft," Yackle screeched at them as she hobbled away. The rest of them scattered in opposite directions. All except for Candle, who had been completely paralyzed by fear. The Chiss hurtled itself towards her.
Taking notice of this, Fiyero stooped to collect some large stones. He realized as soon as he picked them up that they were the skulls of various creatures. The former owners wouldn't be needing them anymore, he decided and threw them at the Chiss. They struck it's side and fell apart. But had been sufficient in drawing it's attention.
It eyes blazed red with sudden rage as it faced him. A spasm rode it's spine and it lifted it's tail. Several barbs came loose and hurtled towards him. Elphaba cast a shockwave. It decimated two of the barbs and knocked him off his feet. The others passed over him. It bellowed it's fury and turned to her. She generated a wall of fire and pushed it at the Chiss. It backed up at the sight of this, growling deep in it's throat and plunged back into the sands. She dismissed the spell. "Is everyone alright," she said, keeping an eye on where the Chiss had vanished.
Fiyero stood up again. "That was a close one. I think we should go back the way we came." He turned and his foot fell again on empty air. The ground shifted and collapsed beneath him. This time Elphaba was too far away to stop it.
It was only a five foot drop but he hit the bottom hard and the wind was knocked out of him. He lay there for a minute, trying to recover his senses. The Chiss wasn't ripping into him at least nor did it seem to be near. He breathed easier and propped himself up on his elbows to look around. His hand brushed something jagged. He picked it up and held it into a lighter shade of dark. Eggshell, he realized after examining it. "Ah fuck me," he cursed his luck. Two fiery pinpricks of light suddenly stood out in the blackness. A keening wail arose and he slowly reached for the knife at his belt. The infant Chiss leapt at him as he pulled the knife free. It sank it's tiny teeth into his arm and the tip of it's tail grazed his side. He flung it loose but it quickly sprang back. This time it met his blade and was neatly sliced in two.
He pushed him self to his feet. "Fiyero! Are you alright," he heard Elphaba cry. She and Candle reached down to help him out. "You're injured," Elphaba gasped.
"It's nothing," he assured her. He wiped the blade clean.
They evacuated the forest and set up night camp what seemed a safe distance away from the wood. But none were too keen on remaining this close. A fire was built.
It can't hurt worse than the diamonds, Fiyero mused, turning the blade over and over in the flames. After some time of doing this he pulled it out and used it to reopen the bite wounds on his arm. He winced and gritted his teeth against the pain. Okay, so yes, this is alot worse than the diamonds. When he was finished, he let the knife drop to the ground. He lifted his shirt up and examined his side. It burned like it was on fire but was little more than a scrape.
Elphaba appeared at his side with a steamy cup of tea. "Here," she said, holding it out to him.
"Thank you," he said, accepting.
And she turned her wrath on Mother Yackle. "You knew about that thing and you couldn't warn us."
"I told you, I do not advise. The consequences of doing so can be dire," the old woman said, looking unconcerned. "But," she said after a pause, "we should probably keep an eye out for a Rak."
"What's a Rak," Elphaba asked.
But this time, Fiyero had an answer. "Fire demons. They come from the Shifting Sands. One of the few creatures that can survive in there."
Yackle nodded. "As does the Chiss. Rak are it's spawn."
"Oh, well, then it's okay then. I killed it in the pit," he told them.
"No, you fool, that was the Chiss's young. Rak are completely different altogether. They can take the shape of anything that walks or crawls. Be it human or animal. Once it has a target it is an unstoppable force and cannot be eluded."
"I'm glad we have you here to keep us calm," Fiyero told her.
Yackle ignored him and looked directly at Elphaba. "When it comes you must be prepared to fight, no matter what."
"You make it sound as though it's already coming. We don't know that," Elphaba said.
"It's on it's way," Yackle said with certainty.
Fiyero shook his head. "She won't have to be alone. Whatever comes at us, she knows I have her back."
Yackle gave him a pitying glance. "That will not be possible."
He frowned at her comment but she said no more on the subject. Elphaba shook her head at his expression. "She's half-senile. Don't give it much thought," she told him in a quiet voice.
"Yeah, I'm sure you're right. There's nothing to be worried about. Because you were obviously right about going into the forest," Fiyero retorted.
She was visibly shocked by his outburst. He turned away from her and feigned sleep.
(Author's note: The Chiss, Rak and Kalidah are all monsters from the original Oz novels but I have altered them to fit my vision but not much. The Chiss becoming like the manticore, Rak being like the Ifriit and so forth. Slight tweaking of the original concept. And so will I do with the Wheelers in a later chapter but they will be greatly changed becoming like the monsters from the Screamers movies, i.e. murderous part-human or Animal, part-machines)