/ Duel Universe
/ Author: The Cowboy of Oklahoma
/ Ch 35: Gorilla Clan
/ word count: 2489
Monster World:
The Hercules class transport, the Harbinger, was moving at a steady pace over the landscape below. Shelly Carson at the controls, her face an unreadable expression. Maiden of the Moonlight stood to her side and just behind the pilot's chair. She'd given Shelly the necessary directions on which way to go and was telling her details about what to look for. Shelly followed the directions and was nearing their destination, but her mind wasn't in the moment, but rather what came before and what's to come from ahead.
"I want to go too sis!" Akiza said to her adopted sister.
"Not this time Aki. I need to see this through, and I need to face him alone...figuratively," Shelly said looking over her shoulder at the winged elf behind her, "so just stay here and wait for me back at our quarters. I'll find ya' when I get back, okay kiddo?"
Her words echoed in her mind, she hadn't meant to drag Aki along with her when she stormed into the castle, but her sister never left her side throughout the whole ordeal. Now she owed apologies to a few people, just a dozen or so but still, she would have to try and make it up to them somehow, especially Dark Magician Girl and Akiza. Now for Ka'an, he had some explaining to do, like who this winged hussy was and why she suddenly confessed her feelings for him. What did he do to catch the eye of such a creature and not his actual girlfriend? Girlfriend, not that she has been much of one since the training really intensified. The duel courses were intriguing, hard, but they seemed to just keep calling her to do more. Right up until the incident with Steve Bensen, she held the longest win streak, and the most duels fought on the course's. However, the fight ahead seemed like it was going to be the most intense to come. But unlike a duel, she had absolutely no idea how she would deal with the coming conflict.
"Ka'an." Shelly whispered.
"Hm? Did you say something Miss Carson?" Moonlight asked.
"Nothin', nevermind, just talkin' to myself." Shelly said quickly, turning back to the task of flying.
"Oh, okay." Moonlight said, then looked back out the cockpit windows. "There! That clearing where the smoke is rising is our destination. It's big enough to land at its edge…safe…ly," She trailed off at the scene below.
Shelly maneuvered the craft in a wide arc and came in low, slowing so as to not blow away the treetops as they came to land. Out the front windows, Shelly saw blackened scorch marks, several craters and a thatched hut burnt and destroyed.
"Moonlight!" She hollered.
Moonlight stepped forward and almost immediately clasped her hands to her mouth, stifling a scream. "What!? How!? When!? Master!!"
Shelly sensed that this wasn't normal and dropped the ship a lot faster to the deck. Lowering the ramp, Moonlight stepped down from the craft first, flapping her wings hard to reach what remained of the hut quickly, "master!? MASTER!?" She screamed, wishing for a reply to come and answer her. To hear his voice, reassuring her he's okay. There was nothing, just faint crackles as small bits of wood and straw continued to smolder.
Shelly finally ran up beside her from the transport, her eyes darting around at the wreckage that was once, as she could best describe, a peaceful place. "Moonlight! What happened here!? Where's Ka'an!?" She questioned.
Moonlight just looked around, moving large enough pieces of debris with her magic to see if Ka'an was underneath anything, but he was not here.
"Moonlight!" Shelly screamed as she grabbed the elf by the shoulders, turning the elf to face her. "Get ahold o' yer'self! What happened here!? Who could'a done this!? Where's Ka'an!?"
"I...I don't know! Ever since he saved me from that one evil monster, it was peaceful here until the darkness from your human encampment happened and he left to go deal with it. There was nothing else around here that could have done all this. Not to him." Moonlight explained.
"If he's not here, look for clues, footprints, drag marks, somethin' that can give us a sense of what direction to take!" Shelly ordered. "He would have given 'em a fight! I'll bet some of these craters here are his doin' to! So he has to be alive somewhere! Not dead! Not captured! Not a prisoner! So help me look for a way to find him!!" She screamed.
Moonlight finally got some control of her limbs and mind, not wanting to leave but started to see reason, "o..okay, I can help. I'll get a view from the air." She said, then flew up into the air.
Shelly began to go around the area, looking for clues as to what happened. There were a few human sized footprints, and a few more of varying sizes.
"Two...four, no several attackers!" She noted, claw marks in what wood remained visible, one beam was cleaved cleanly in two, "a bladed weapon of some sort was used.., "she found a sort of stick, different from any other around here, it was burnt on one end. There was a bit of cloth wrapping the burnt end, "a torch?" There was a carving on it, not to mention some claw marks as well, "this doesn't belong here…," she said to herself.
"Miss Carson!" A voice from overhead got her attention.
"Huh?" Looking up to see Moonlight coming towards her.
Moonlight landed and began to tell what she discovered. "I found some broken branches in the trees leading deeper into the woods and some leading towards the mountains. There are caves and some neutral monsters that live there." She said.
Shelly turned and handed Moonlight the torch she had found. "Found this and some blade damage over here. Somethin' big cleaved a post clean in half, and there appears to have been several of them that came." She explained.
"This marking belongs to the Gorilla Clan, the neutral monsters I mentioned. They're not overly aggressive or dangerous, so there has to be a reason why they'd suddenly attack anyone out of nowhere. Ka'an wouldn't have gone to them for any reason and they most certainly wouldn't have had a legitimate reason for doing this." Moonlight said. "Something's not right here."
"Gee, was it the ruined hut or the destroyed ground that gave ya' that idea?" Shelly remarked snarkily.
"I'm serious Miss Carson! You could walk straight into their cave system and walk out as long as you don't touch or take anything or do something insane! They're that peaceful! So to come down from their cave and attack anyone, is unheard of."
Making their way through the woods, the two females approached the entrance of the cave on foot.
"We shouldn't take the transport, its noise could be considered aggressive to the Gorillas." Moonlight had suggested.
So they walked for nearly two hours to reach the cave entrance. Footprints and drag marks were evident that something or someone wasn't walking when they left the campsite. The markings followed a roughly made path that wasn't there before Moonlight had left. They approached as quietly as possible, using the few shadows and clear patches to move closer as the cave came into view. Moonlight had to keep her wings tucked right against her form to try and keep them from brushing every limb she passed. They got within 40yds when Shelly finally saw movement at the entrance. A very large gorilla-like creature stalked up and started looking around, surveying the surroundings. It wore a simple leather piece over its middle, covering its…its privates. When it suddenly stopped and seemed to lift its face to the sky. Shelly was confused by just what this creature was doing. There was a wisp of wind coming from behind her and her hair moved from the gentle breeze, it cooled her from the long walk and sweat she had worked up.
"Wait! Sweat! Our scent! He's smelling the air locatin' us!" Shelly said in a worried hushed tone to Moonlight.
Moonlights' eyes began to widen in realization of exactly what Shelly meant and was about to suggest they retreat, when the gorilla bellowed.
"Come out who hiding over there!! I can smell you!!" He said pointing in their general direction.
"Crap. Well, no choice now," Shelly said, standing and walking clear of the underbrush, Moonlight close behind her.
"She 'uman, and winged she elf?" He sounded genuinely confused for a moment. "What you do here? There no need of you here. Why you here!?" He said with a low growl.
"A man was brought here, and we believe against his will! Release 'em to us and we won't start any trouble!!" Shelly demanded.
"'Uman man? Or Elf man? Who here with us?" It questioned looking down its nose at them.
"Human!!" Shelly was beginning to lose her patience.
Her hand was shaking with the anger rising up inside her. Moonlight saw this and placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Miss Carson, calm down please. That won't help anyone right now." Moonlight whispered into Shelly's ear.
Shelly visibly was not happy about this whole ordeal and was ready to fight her way into that cave. She gave a glaring look over her shoulder at Moonlight, who did not budge from her position. It took a solid minute for Shelly to visibly reign in her emotions.
She turned back to the gorilla and asked, "may we see the human man that was taken from the campsite below, in the valley?" She said through clenched teeth.
The gorilla looked at them for a moment longer then said, "follow me." Turning back to the cave and entering it.
Both women moved forward quickly to catch up to him and not fall behind. Shelly kept her duel disk at the ready, the deck already set, but the device was not active yet.
The three walked for a good ten minutes before they reached a cavern that opened up at the very top where a hole was allowing sunlight to shine down apon a great tree at the center of a vast village. The tree, its limbs, roots, and branches, completely filled the cavern from floor to ceiling. At the top were what looked like there should have been stalagmites, but each one was either cut or broken off. That explains the burnt torch they found in the campsite. They used the stone of the stalagmites as tools, maybe more, maybe even as blunt weapons.
"Wait, if they use stone as their weapons, where'd the blades come from?" Shelly said to herself, trying to figure out just what was happening here.
They continued walking until they reached some thatched huts where small fires with some stone pots were cooking what appeared to be meat and vegetables. It wasn't overly appealing to smell, but it wasn't a horrid stink either. Their guide walked up to a medium sized hut and then held out a hand in front of the females.
"Stay," he said.
Shelly almost protested the idea, when a club, half the size of her own body, slammed down right beside her. She stared at it in disbelief, following it from where it came from, until she saw a hand that was nearly as large as herself. Its owner was hidden by the low level of light and abundant shade covering that particular area. Its yellow eyes were large, and even she could tell that they were old and powerful in their own right.
Then the gorilla that had guided them in reaffirmed, "stay!"
This time she gave no motion of protest as he disappeared into the hut. A little while later, a much smaller gorilla came to the door. It was evidently a female of their species because she was covered from neck to knees. She came over to Shelly and Moonlight, taking each of their hands in one of her own, then led them inside. Then they saw it, a decent sized bed with a single occupant in it. There he was, Ka'an, unconscious with makeshift bandages covering him nearly from head to toe.
Moonlight flared her wings and flew up to his side, grasping his hand. "Master!!"
Shelly tried to move too, but the small gorilla held her back, her grip was quite strong for such a little one.
"Get back she elf!" An older female gorilla with coverings also from neck to knees said to Moonlight, "'uman not recovered, not be touched!"
A hand reached over and clasped both of Moonlights' wings, keeping them from flapping anymore. She was then hoisted off the bed and held to the side by their guide. She struggled in vain to get free, but she couldn't reach her captors hand, so she just hung there helpless. The other large female gorilla finished placing the makeshift bandages on Ka'ans' form and then covered him to his neck with what could best be described as a blanket.
"He rest now. Injuries heal soon," she said, then got up to leave the hut, "do not disturb!" She warned.
Shelly was finally released from the little gorilla girl's hold and stood beside the bed, thankful he was alive, but confused as to why he was here.
"What happened to him?" She asked their guide.
"Him attack by mean beast-warrior clan. This many to just him," he said holding up eight of his digits on his hands and feet, never letting go of Moonlights' wings, "he beat four, but others smash him good. He no match for so many."
"Master is invincible!!" Moonlight shouted, "nothing can beat him!"
"Quiet she elf! He sleep now. Be nice or I rip wings off!" He threatened.
"Hey!" Shelly raised her voice too, but kept it low enough not to carry. "Don't threaten us! We followed the trail here to ye'r caves! How were we to know it weren't y'all that did this to him!?"
"We help him. Drive off mean beast-warriors fight lone 'uman, unfair, not want fight entire Gorilla clan. Then bring here be healed," he pointed out.
Moonlight listened to the story, and looked to Shelly, to see her expression. Shelly just stood there, a look of confusion and indecision crossing her features. His story, if one could call it that, wasn't very detailed and left questions unanswered, but one could not argue with the end result. Here he was in a bed, battered, beaten, and bruised, now bandaged up to begin healing. The story was incredible, but with what has been seen, how the Gorillas have acted towards them, and how they have taken care of a lone injured human, it could be argued that there was some truth to it.
"I'll believe you, for now, but I'm not leaving here until I know he is perfectly safe," Shelly stated.