Welcome back again my joyous readers. I really appreciate how much you guys seem to be enjoying the story so far. It's kinds piecemeal in my head as to all that's going to happen and major events change slightly as I write the in between chapters. Yet, there is a definitive end point. So this chapter is being posted later than I wanted because of the immense number of delays and interruptions I had from my parents. They just wouldn't leave me alone to write. They had to make sure I had done some piece of my summer homework or took out the trash. I didn't get into a good writing spot until 9 pm and then it took me about 4 hours to finish and fix all I had messed up. Also, listening to Rise Against is the best music for writing. That is all. Read and Enjoy.
Chapter 9
Time seemed to have slowed down, as worried looks bounced between the group. The only sound was Hazard's heavy breaths. Ripred almost immediately got up and started to pace back and forth, his tail moving almost independently of his body. Gregor could see droplets of nervous sweat beading up on Roderick's forehead as he realized the situation they may be under. And then time sped back up as Vikus slowly got out of his chair and went to his grandson.
"Hazard, do you know why they have come?" he asked imperatively and grasping Hazard by the arm.
"No, Vikus. I was showing Margaret the view from the wall between my lessons. I heard a noise and we watched to see what it was. A group of twenty stingers approached the wall and stopped when they saw us. Margaret and I called for a bat and came back to the palace. I was not sure where to find Luxa to tell her, until I found you all here." Hazard's breath slowly came back to him as he explained the situation. If they hadn't attacked yet, then perhaps they were here for negotiations.
"Why are you all looking like that?" Margaret asked from the doorway. Neither Hazard nor Margaret had walked far into the room, so there was no way for them to see what lay on the table in front of the group. Gregor could tell Margaret was a little scared, not from seeing massive scorpions, but from the look on her brothers face.
Hazard tried to work his way towards the table and he ran right into Ripred's tail. It curled around his waist quicker than he could react. He fought against it, pushing and pulling on the mass of muscle that blocked his way. Ripred didn't let him go and kept his tail wrapped around him to prevent him from seeing what was there. Gregor couldn't tell why. Both kids would find out anyway.
"Just let him go, Ripred. Both of them will find out eventually anyway," Gregor said. Ripred's tail loosened some, but still didn't let him go.
"We are going to find out what?" Hazard asked as he still tried to extricate himself from the gripping pink snake that held him in place. Margaret had walked closer to the group, regaining her usual spunkiness and natural curiosity. She walked past Ripred, who didn't try to stop her as she walked to her brother's side.
"Let him go, Ripred," Luxa said realizing that Gregor was right and that Ripred was waiting for her word. His tail snapped off of Hazard's waist and Hazard nearly tripped on his head long rush to cover the last few feet to the table. His eyes grew wide when he saw the severed tail on the laying out before him and his mouth dropped open as realization dawned on him. He could now see why everyone was so worried by his news.
"Are we going to be attacked?" Margaret asked confidently, all traces of her nerves gone. Gregor shrugged, as did Roderick. Luxa looked the younger girl in the eyes and shook her head.
"No. No, we will not be attacked. I will go talk with them and find out why they have come here. It is my city and I will not see it fall before my eyes." Luxa sounded every bit the Queen she was. She stood, followed quickly by the rest of those seated. "We shall all go. All of us will have a role to play in this. Vikus, summon our fliers." And with that she walked right out the door, Hazard hot on her heels. Everyone else followed suit until it was just Gregor and Margaret left. As they headed towards the door a sudden thought hit Gregor. His hand fell to his belt and he found no sword.
"Margaret, follow the rest of them. I have to go get something," Gregor said. As soon as the last word left his lips he was running again. He heard Margaret's voice behind him, but the words were distorted by the halls, the wind as it whistled by his ears, and the sound of his boots slamming into the hard rock. He was not sure where he was exactly in the Palace, but he knew where his room was and the he was heading in the right direction towards it.
He flew up flights of stairs and down hallways like a speeding bullet. At full sprint Gregor wasn't sure how long he could run like this. A few minutes at the most. Hopefully he would find his room ast and get up to the High Hall without keeping them waiting long. Servants gave him strange looks as he blew past them like a speeding bullet, not that they knew what a bullet was. The surroundings started to look familiar and Gregor, took a quick left turn. His feet slammed out a rhythmic beat as he pushed further on. Doorways came and went, their curtains billowing after he passed. Six...seven...eight… nine… ten… eleven… TWELVE! Gregor counted as he found his room.
He burst through the curtain and slammed to a stop, hopping over one of the stone chairs at his table so as to not wreck his leg on it. He scrambled to his bedside and grabbed his sword belt from where he had left it the night before, when he nodded off. It should have been logical to always wear his damn sword on him all the time, but Gregor always forgot. He slapped himself on the head, jumped back to his feet and was gone like a bolt again.
Out into the hall he went, accelerating back to his best speed. It wasn't as fast as he could run; he only ran that fast for the 100 yard dash. However, this was far faster than many other people could run, especially for as long as he had been running. The path to the high hall was ingrained in his head and Gregor didn't even have to look to know where he was. Flights of stairs were lost below his long legs as he climbed up them three or four stairs at a time. Long halls were covered in as few steps as he could take. Gregor could bet his track coach would be proud of him for his running in just the last few minutes let alone the last few hours.
The entrance to the High Hall was just in front of Gregor. He put his last burst of speed on and dashed through. He got a quick glimpse of the group waiting and then… he ran right into a wall of fur and muscle. His back slammed into the floor and slid a few feet back along the ground. The breath was knocked out of his lungs and his head had hit the ground again, putting a bump on top of the bump he already had there. Ripred loomed over him, teeth bared, saliva dripping from them.
"Boy, where were you? We don't have time for your shenanigans! Those stingers could decide to stop waiting and decide to start attacking any minute and you had to go get something! What are you thinking?" The words came out as a growl and Gregor flinched back at Ripred's putrid breath. The rat pushed him down as he tried to get up.
"Move, Ripred! I had to go get my sword! Will you get off of me?" Gregor snarled back at the rat. Ripred didn't move an inch, which was more counterproductive to the reason he was holding Gregor there.
"Didn't have your sword? What kind of warrior are you to not carry your weapon around with you all the time?" The sarcasm oozed from Ripred's words as he let Gregor push himself to his feet. Gregor walked past Ripred without a word, having learned that replying was the worst thing he could do. A humph came from behind him as Ripred followed him over to the fliers. That was a victory for Gregor, not that either really cared.
Margaret stood with Artemese and everyone else was already mounted. A small group of guards sat mounted as well off to the side. Gregor recognized a few as men he had drunk with in the barracks, and he nodded to them. They gave quick nods back and then sat unmoving again.
"You ready for this, Margaret?" Gregor asked his sister as he picked her up and placed her on Artemese's back. She nodded to him and he hopped on behind her. Ripred gave a flick of his tail, off the back of massive flier, and all the bats lifted off. Massive wings beat the air and the group of twelve shot off towards the wall. The first wall passed beneath them not long after, and the massive fields of Regalia spanned miles beneath them. Farmers toiled at their work below, their eyes looking up as the squad of bats flew above them. The smaller second wall protected the fields from attack and gave extra protection to the city proper.
Artemese fluttered down to the walls top and Gregor dismounted. Margaret slid off his back and joined Gregor. Ripred was already in deep discussion with Roderick; Stellovet and Luxa stood with Vikus, all three of them staring over the edge of the wall. Margaret ran over to Hazard who stood off by himself. And now alone, Gregor took a glance over the edge of the wall. There was room beneath it, maybe 30 yards of pure empty space, before he saw the first stingers. Like Hazard had said there were perhaps 20 stingers, if not a few more, all varying in size. The numbers of legs made the size of the small group seem much larger. The pincers and arching massive tails were deadly looking and they gleamed in the minimal torch light.
Gregor felt safe on top of the wall. That was until he remembered the wall in the Fount. It had been crushed through as if a missile had exploded against it. If the stingers could do it there they could do it here. With that mindset, Gregor took a step back. A hand firmly grasped his arm and pulled him to the side.
"Hey, Lu-," Gregor began before he saw who it was, "Stellovet. What's up?"
"Do you see those monsters down there? Why do you think they are here? Luxa thinks they want to talk to us. I think they want to kill us and we should attack them first." Her eyes showed no remorse in her words. What she thought was her only thought and it wasn't changing.
"Well, umm, you see, uhhh, I think they're here to talk as well. They haven't attacked us yet, so I'm siding with Luxa on this one." Gregor stammered his answer out with Stellovet's eyes watching him closely. Her face dropped and Gregor thought it lost some color. She seemed to have hoped Gregor would agree with her. "Well, that's dumb of her to think," Gregor thought, "Of course I'm not just gonna blindly attack them when they haven't said why they were here."
Stellovet turned on her heel and stalked off away from everyone. "Girls," Gregor muttered under his breath, as he walked over to Luxa and Vikus. The old man turned his obvious downtrodden face to Gregor. He didn't seem confident about what was going to happen. His attention turned to Luxa, whose eyes had not left the group of scorpions. Gregor stood next to her and rested his hand on top of hers. Luxa's gaze quickly shifted away from the stingers and to Gregor.
"Why do you think they are here?" Luxa asked Gregor, her voice calm.
"They want to talk with us about something. Not sure what though." Gregor gave her hand a reassuring squeeze.
"I agree," Luxa replied a few moments later, "What did Stellovet ask you?" Her tone had changed. This was a totally different conversation now. Luxa looked Gregor dead in the eyes, the stingers forgotten. They weren't going anywhere and they were letting them make the first move.
"She asked me the same thing you did, actually. She wants us to go and slaughter them in revenge. I told her no more or less and she left huffing and puffing." Luxa gave him a look at the last few words. "I guess they don't huff and puff down here," Gregor thought with a chuckle.
"She told me the same. She thought you would think the same as her. I do not know why," Luxa paused for a moment, before continuing,"She fancies you very much." Gregor was surprised she brought it up at a time like this. He knew that Stellovet had a thing for him, but this just wasn't the time to talk about it.
"Let's talk about this another time. So are we waiting for the stingers or what?" Gregor asked to just change the subject."
"No we are not, overlander," Roderick said behind them. Gregor jumped at the sudden voice and his hand shot away from Luxa's. He still wasn't used to people seeing them showing any kind of romance. He was fine when they were just talking like friends next to each other or being close when no one was around. But as soon as someone showed up, he becomes jumpy.
"It's time we went and said hello to our visitors. Hazard, you are coming to to translate. Vikus, Margaret, and Stellovet stay up here with the guards. They will be able to return to the palace with messages," Ripred said as he motioned for the fliers to ready themselves. Artemese fluttered over to Gregor and Gregor climbed onto the purple bats strong back. They lifted off and floated fifteen yards from the wall where his feet landed. It had taken all of six seconds to do. Two stinger approached them and Gregor got a good look at them for the second time in his life.
Stingers were massive. The two in front of him had to be about ten to twelve feet long and they weren't even the largest of the group. There were at some in the back that looked to be nearly sixteen feet long. And there tails were nearly as long as their bodies. The sharp barb ended tail arced up and slightly over their backs. And then there was their shiny exoskeleton that had to be thick as tank armor and just as strong. Each one was basically heavy artillery.
Ripred sauntered forward with Luxa at her side. Hazard stood on the other side of Ripred. Roderick and Gregor stood behind them as back up and with one true job: Get Luxa out if anything went wrong. Ripred positioned Gregor right behind her and Roderick behind Hazard. He needed no back up.
"Tell them who we are," Luxa commanded her younger cousin. Hazard started clicking in crawler and got no response. The last time Gregor had seen them talk with stingers, Hazard had used crawler. Here it didn't work. Hazard quickly switched to spinner and got the same response: nothing. He went through hisser and gnawer and nibbler. There was no reply to any of it.
"No luck Luxa," Hazard told them, frustration apparent in his voice. The stingers hadn't reacted to any of the languages they had tried. At least in Hades Hall the stingers had reacted some to the different ways they were spoken to. Gregor could feel frustration welling in him as well and he wasn't even trying to communicate with them.
Luxa had whispered something in Ripred's ear and the rat seemed to like it. He turned around and headed back toward the fliers, Luxa right on his heels. Hazard quickly ran to join them. After they all had passed Gregor he was about to turn when something he hadn't expected to happen happened.
"Greetings, Queen Luxa." something said. Gregor looked towards the mass of stingers to see if there was another creature among them that spoke English. He saw none. His attention turned to the stingers that had come to talk with them. He looked towards their mouths to see if they had possibly been the ones to talk. He couldn't tell.
Luxa, Ripred and Hazard had also all turned back at the sound. A devilish smile had crossed Luxa's face. "She is good," Gregor though, realizing that Luxa had forced their hand. If the humans didn't know their language and they wanted to communicate they would use English. It was a trick she had hoped would work, and her guess had been correct. Luxa and Ripred walked back to them, both of their faces showing extreme annoyance.
"I apologize for our behavior. We were testing your resolve and will to listen to us. It seems as if it is quite large. Your translator used many languages of which I knew several of. But now that we are at an agreement on language, you probably are wondering why we are here," the stinger seemed to have to work quite a bit to produce English. It took a creature of extreme intellect to teach it's vocal cords and body to make certain sounds.
"Indeed we wish to know your reasons for coming to my city," Luxa started her voice showing little of the anger or annoyance that she was feeling. "I also would like to know why stingers attacked the Fount only six days ago."
The stinger quickly translated Luxa's words to his companion. It seemed it was a rare gift for a stinger to speak human words. The two conversed between each other in a mixture of clicks and hisses. Hazard focused intently on how they talked and Gregor could bet he would be hearing the boy clicking and hissing trying to figure out their language for the next few days or even weeks. Finally the hissing and clicking stopped and the English speaking stinger turned back towards them.
"We are here for your assistance, Queen Luxa. Our species has become divided amongst ourselves and we are the minority of the division. The others attacked your city known as the Fount. There is no alliances between our species and after the atrocity of what the rest of our brethren have done, I would understand if you did not give us sanctum in your city." Gregor believed what he said right away. There was no reason to not. Then again there was no reason to believe them either. And Luxa didn't believe them.
"That is a nice story, but you must tell me more to make me believe you. You will not enter my city unless you can prove to me that you did not attack the Fount," Luxa replied harshly. She was all business and did not trust any of the stingers. There was no chance that she would let them harm her people again.
"You knew that stingers had attacked the Fount. How?" the stinger asked her in the same level voice. There was no fluctuation in its voice. It was always the same calm sounding almost scratchy voice every time. And Gregor never saw the mouth move.
"Our search parties found a severed tail in a destroyed home," Luxa replied. She glanced at Ripred and then Gregor asking if they knew what the stingers train of thought was. Gregor and Ripred both shrugged. It was a mystery to them as much as it was to her.
"Did the tail look much like ours?" the stinger replied as it quickly scuttled so it's tail was better in the light. It was much larger. The segments were squarer shaped then the one they had in the tactics room. It also had fewer segments, but each one was larger. It was as if they were different species. Luxa was still studying the tail with such scrutiny that Gregor was certain she was looking for any reason to answer with a yes.
"No, your tail looks completely different," Gregor blurted out. Ripred and Luxa both shot him looks, but he put his hands up as if saying let me handle this. They both laid back and payed attention to him. "Yet, what does that have to do with anything. Not all rats look the same or all humans. Why does it matter among your species?"
Ascreeching soundcame from the stinger in short burst and Gregor realized it was laughing. It was one of the most terrifying sounds he had ever heard and it reminded him of something similar to a teacher running their fingernails down a chalk board. Its beady eyes focused on Gregor now, who had walked up next to Luxa and actually slightly in front of her.
"It is honor to meet you, Overlander. We have heard of your abilities and you fighting prowess. But yet it seems your intellect is not as far advanced. You saw we have different tails than the one you have discovered. It so happens that this matters deeply. There are two types of stingers. The fat tails and the yellow legs. The yellow legs are far more common and have the potential to grow larger than us. These distinctions lead to a split in our species many, many years ago. They lead themselves and us the same. We are a separate body from them and thus were not involved in the attack on your people. We wish to help you to the best of our abilities."
Gregor took in the entire story and bounced it around in his head. The first thing he realized was that he had been insulted by a giant bug and second he saw that they wanted to help. It was obvious in the tone that he saw they were telling the truth and all the facts needed were on the table back in the palace. All they would have to do is compare the tails and everything the stinger had said would be proven true. Luxa was set in stone. Her face hadn't changed one bit.
"Can you give us a moment, please?" Gregor asked the stingers. They back up a few paces in response and Gregor grabbed Luxa and Ripred by the arms, dragging them away. "Ripred, you have to see that what it says is logical. The tail doesn't look anything like that ones," Gregor pointed emphatically at the stinger.
"Yes, that does seem true. But the biggest question is can we trust them?" Ripred was calculated in his response. It was the one thing Gregor had passed over. It may have all seemed true. There probably was more than one variety of stinger and they may as well have different features and numbers. But does that make them trustworthy? There was no way to test them on it either. He looked at Luxa and she was agreeing with Ripred on this one. And he couldn't blame her for it. Ripred was right in every way.
"Okay. Okay," Gregor said,"We don't know if they are trustworthy now, but is there any way we could find out if they truly are?"
"Perhaps, we should ask them," came a quiet voice from behind them. Vikus slowly walked towards them, leaning more heavily on his cane due to the uneven ground. If a mind was needed here it was his. But Gregor was the only one who thought so.
"Vikus, what are you doing down here?" Luxa asked more harshly than she meant. Or Gregor hoped she wasn't trying to be so harsh to her own grandfather. Vikus hardly noticed however as he joined the three of them.
"If we must see them as trustworthy, then we must show them our trust. If we reject them perhaps they will join with the true enemy and we will be lost forever. It is better to trust now, then to hate later." The fight in Luxa's head was obvious. Her eye's darted between Vikus, himself, and the group of stingers as if weighing each ones point. Her eyes rested on Gregor and he gave her a slow nod. It was her choice and her's only. He could only advise her to the best of his abilities.
"I am not sure, Vikus," she said as she turned to the old man. "Gregor, come with me, please." Gregor could hear the pain in her voice. The decision was one that could make or break her. He took her out stretched hand and let her pull him off to the side. They were still within everyone's view, but he didn't care. They were at least out of earshot, so what they said would at least be private.
"What's up, Lux?" Gregor asked her as she fell into his arms. He pulled her close to him and he could feel that the decision even in the short time had made her physically change. Her skin was cold and she was shivering, and yet her head was warm. The choice was weighing on her very much and yet it had only been mere minutes. He held her tighter, the warmth from his body being reassuring for her. His head looked to the rest of his companion's. Only one looked on at them. Ripred's eyes never waived from the pair. He caught Gregor's eye and nodded to them. Ripred could truly care less.
Luxa's shivering slowly subsided, and he could feel her coming back to herself. "This was just like one of Liz's panic attacks," Gregor thought and then his own spirits dropped. His little sister, dead, from a car crash and the first thing he thinks about her for was her panic attacks. He pushed the thought from his mind and turned back to the matter at hand. He released his grip on Luxa and bent down so he was looking up into her eyes.
"You can do this, Luxa. You are the strongest person I know. Do what is right in your heart."
"But, Gregor, what is right? If they are telling the truth, then I can't leave them. They would be an ally against a much deadlier enemy. And if they are the enemy then I would be letting them straight to my people. What do I do?" Luxa was almost pleading with him to help her. She was strong and yet she cared so much about her city and her people that she needed someone close to her to help her. Someone who wasn't her grandfather or her bond. Someone even closer. And a thought hit him.
"If they wanted to attack us, why would they have waited? Yes we could let them in the city and they could wreak havoc on the people, but the most important beings for the humans are standing right here, on this ground, mere yards from them. If they wanted to hurt the people of Regalia they would have killed us twenty minutes ago."
Luxa's eyes grew big at the realization. She was the Queen and most important person in Regalia. Ripred lead the rats. Vikus and Roderick were top diplomats and military strategists. And Gregor was their best fighter. If they wanted them dead they would be dead and Regalia would fall right behind them. There would be no leadership and the Stingers would have what they wanted. And yet they hadn't done it. There was the trust she needed.
"Thank you, Warrior," she said as she bent down and kissed his forehead. Gregor smiled and stood. He offered her his arm and the two walked back to Ripred and Vikus, both with smiles across their faces. Vikus saw this and looked to Gregor for confirmation on what he was thinking. Gregor nodded and winked at the old man who also started to smile. Ripred also seemed to be happier than before. Luxa let go of Gregor's arm and approached the stingers. One came out and Gregor assumed it was the one who spoke English.
"Have you made a decision, Queen Luxa?" came the same level voice again.
"Yes, I have. Welcome to Regalia," she said as she flourished her arms towards the city. The news seemed to awaken the stinger who scurried back to his companions. The strange hissing clicks filled the cave and then it was silent. The stingers slowly walked toward Gregor and Luxa, single file. The English speaker stopped next to them as the rest filed toward the wall. As they passed Luxa, they flourished the pincers in a gesture. Luxa looked at the stinger next to them asking what it meant.
"It is a gesture of thanks, your grace," it said again. Luxa turned her attention to the wall. The stingers were building a ladder of their bodies to bridge the height of the wall. The two largest, easily reached the top of the wall, with plenty of body to spare. The rest of them scurried along their backs and over the wall. The must have dropped off the other side as the came up and over as the top of the wall was empty except for Stellovet, Margaret, and the guards.
The English speaker left Luxa and Gregor and was the last over the wall. The top stinger clambered over and the last one was hoisted up by his tail, with other stingers grabbing it with their pincers. It seemed oddly planned to Gregor, but if it worked it worked.
"Roderick and Vikus, take Margaret, Stellovet, and the guards back to the palace. Ripred, Gregor, and I will walk our new friends into the city ourselves." Luxa commanded. They both bowed before mounting their fliers and taking off for the wall. Artemese looked over at Gregor as if expecting him to need a ride.
"Can you fly Margaret back for me, Artemese. I'll be walking anyway," Artemese took off like a purple blur landing on the wall to join the other bats. Roderick placed her on Artemese and off they went.
"How do you plan to get over the wall, now?" Ripred asked him. He was mounted on his bat and Luxa on Aurora. Gregor hadn't thought that through very much had he. He looked over at Luxa and Aurora, and they both laughed. Gregr rushed over and jumped onto Aurora's back. They would only fly for a few seconds before they landed on the other side of the wall.
Gregor's boots hit dirt just 10 seconds later as Aurora landed next to the stingers. Luxa and Ripred joined him as the bats took back off into the air above, where they followed the humans and rat. The English speaker stood at the front of his 'people' and Gregor could pick him out somehow. He realized now that the tail had a brown stripe running down it along with the yellow green body color they had. He stuck out much more because of it.
"May I ask your name?" Gregor asked him as they started the walk through the field. Luxa and Gregor walked next to each other, with her arm looped through his. Ripred stood on the other side of the scorpion.
"I am called Truxin," he responded. The name seemed strangely hispanic to Gregor not that there was any chance it was related. It was still a pretty cool name though.
"It is an honor, Truxin," Luxa replied,"You have a rare gift amongst your kind it seems."
"That is very true. Not many stingers ever learn the way humans speak. It is hard and we rarely have much contact. I have been lucky to meet several humans and not all have been pleasant," Truxin replied. It was really hard to get any emotion out of his words. A noise behind Gregor caused his head to turn. There were four fliers flying straight towards them at high speed. Gregor recognized one as Andromeda.
He raised his hand to wave, and then saw the glint of light off of metal. Swords poked out of each figures hand.
"Attack!" yelled Eisen as loud as he could as his flier dove towards the stingers.
I thought this chapter was gonna be short, but I was wrong. Still came out at a pretty good length and I actually like how it progressed. And the ending is gonna lead to some sweet action next chapter. Tell me what you guys thought. Peace out!
P.S. If you want to know what I'm basing each stinger species on check out this site: articles/296820_the-five-deadliest-scorpions-in-the-world
The fat tails are the first scorpion and the yellow legs are the last one.
Thanks again guys!