p class="Normal tm5 tm6"Despite his official title as Defender of the Faith, Zaius didn't consider himself to be a religious ape. A life in the political arena had taught him very quickly that there was no such thing as divine intervention, and that justice was a fragile thing that had to be served and protected by ape, and ape alone./p
p class="Normal tm5 tm6"Today though, he found himself staring out of the window of his study, holding onto a copy of the Sacred Scrolls. It rested unopened in his hand; he knew the verses by heart. It was just that the feel of the scroll was soothing to him, somehow./p
p class="Normal tm5 tm6"Behind him, the locksmith fit a new lock into the door to his private study. Zaius allowed himself a tiny, ironic smile at that. It didn't matter anymore; the damage had already been done./p
p class="Normal tm5 tm6"Man had taken back one of his weapons - weapons that Urko had shown them - and used it against Ape. Five soldiers had died in the explosion, and eight had been wounded, some of them badly./p
p class="Normal tm5 tm6"And now the humans had escaped, like fire that jumped from building to building and over the city walls, racing through the fields and forests, devouring the world that Ape had toiled to build from the ruins of Man. Urko was determined to find them, plotting the hunt with his commanders somewhere, but Zaius knew better. It was already too late./p
p class="Normal tm5 tm6"The humans were out in the world now, and with them two young apes, their hearts already bent towards them, their minds filled with a knowledge that, without wisdom to guide it, was poisonous. He had no doubt that they would sooner or later share that forbidden knowledge with the humans./p
p class="Normal tm5 tm6"He unrolled the scroll and read./p
p class="Normal tm5 tm7" align="center"Beware the beast man, for he is the scourge of Earth./p
p class="Normal tm5 tm7" align="center"He alone among primates/p
p class="Normal tm5 tm7" align="center"kills for sport, or lust, or greed./p
p class="Normal tm5 tm7" align="center"Yea, he will murder his brother/p
p class="Normal tm5 tm7" align="center"to possess his brother's land./p
p class="Normal tm5 tm7" align="center"Let him not breed in great numbers/p
p class="Normal tm5 tm7" align="center"for he will make a desert of his home and yours./p
p class="Normal tm5 tm7" align="center"Shun him!/p
p class="Normal tm5 tm7" align="center"Drive him back into his lair!/p
p class="Normal tm5 tm7" align="center"For he is the harbinger of death./p
hr /
p class="Normal tm5 tm6""They'll either try to get into the badlands directly, or travel up North, beyond the mountains. If I were them, I'd try to get into strays' territory as quickly as possible, but since it's a mixed group, that's not a given, so we'll cover all our bases." Urko cracked his knuckles./p
p class="Normal tm5 tm6"He wouldn't admit it, but he was enjoying himself./p
p class="Normal tm5 tm6""We know that a human can make about twenty miles per day, they may not be that fast with the dear doctor travelling with them, but let's be generous here. That means we'll send out messengers to all prefectures in that radius for perimeter duty. I want guards at every bridge, tunnel, main road and byroad./p
p class="Normal tm5 tm6""I also want patrols going door to door — make it crystal clear to people that I'll regard everyone who is helping or hiding them to be an enemy of the state. They can make up their mind if they want to enjoy the breeze together with our outlaws, or not."/p
p class="Normal tm5 tm6"He'd have preferred to offer a reward instead of just continued living, but that was Zaius' business and so far, the council hadn't yet uttered a single word about allocating cash for rewards. The old fool was probably on his knees in his study right now, muttering verses from the Scrolls. Urko growled in disgust./p
p class="Normal tm5 tm6""I want every single barn, farmhouse, roadhouse, townhouse and temple to be searched. Nelva," his new second in command caught the pen he chucked towards him, "draw up a grid and apportion your search parties — I want the fields, the woods, and the rivers combed, and I'm talking of a fine-toothed comb here. Grab the farm lads to stock up the cordons, if necessary."/p
p class="Normal tm5 tm6"He leaned back and surveyed his map./p
p class="Normal tm5 tm6""Go get them."/p
p class="Normal tm5 tm6"Today though, he found himself staring out of the window of his study, holding onto a copy of the Sacred Scrolls. It rested unopened in his hand; he knew the verses by heart. It was just that the feel of the scroll was soothing to him, somehow./p
p class="Normal tm5 tm6"Behind him, the locksmith fit a new lock into the door to his private study. Zaius allowed himself a tiny, ironic smile at that. It didn't matter anymore; the damage had already been done./p
p class="Normal tm5 tm6"Man had taken back one of his weapons - weapons that Urko had shown them - and used it against Ape. Five soldiers had died in the explosion, and eight had been wounded, some of them badly./p
p class="Normal tm5 tm6"And now the humans had escaped, like fire that jumped from building to building and over the city walls, racing through the fields and forests, devouring the world that Ape had toiled to build from the ruins of Man. Urko was determined to find them, plotting the hunt with his commanders somewhere, but Zaius knew better. It was already too late./p
p class="Normal tm5 tm6"The humans were out in the world now, and with them two young apes, their hearts already bent towards them, their minds filled with a knowledge that, without wisdom to guide it, was poisonous. He had no doubt that they would sooner or later share that forbidden knowledge with the humans./p
p class="Normal tm5 tm6"He unrolled the scroll and read./p
p class="Normal tm5 tm7" align="center"Beware the beast man, for he is the scourge of Earth./p
p class="Normal tm5 tm7" align="center"He alone among primates/p
p class="Normal tm5 tm7" align="center"kills for sport, or lust, or greed./p
p class="Normal tm5 tm7" align="center"Yea, he will murder his brother/p
p class="Normal tm5 tm7" align="center"to possess his brother's land./p
p class="Normal tm5 tm7" align="center"Let him not breed in great numbers/p
p class="Normal tm5 tm7" align="center"for he will make a desert of his home and yours./p
p class="Normal tm5 tm7" align="center"Shun him!/p
p class="Normal tm5 tm7" align="center"Drive him back into his lair!/p
p class="Normal tm5 tm7" align="center"For he is the harbinger of death./p
hr /
p class="Normal tm5 tm6""They'll either try to get into the badlands directly, or travel up North, beyond the mountains. If I were them, I'd try to get into strays' territory as quickly as possible, but since it's a mixed group, that's not a given, so we'll cover all our bases." Urko cracked his knuckles./p
p class="Normal tm5 tm6"He wouldn't admit it, but he was enjoying himself./p
p class="Normal tm5 tm6""We know that a human can make about twenty miles per day, they may not be that fast with the dear doctor travelling with them, but let's be generous here. That means we'll send out messengers to all prefectures in that radius for perimeter duty. I want guards at every bridge, tunnel, main road and byroad./p
p class="Normal tm5 tm6""I also want patrols going door to door — make it crystal clear to people that I'll regard everyone who is helping or hiding them to be an enemy of the state. They can make up their mind if they want to enjoy the breeze together with our outlaws, or not."/p
p class="Normal tm5 tm6"He'd have preferred to offer a reward instead of just continued living, but that was Zaius' business and so far, the council hadn't yet uttered a single word about allocating cash for rewards. The old fool was probably on his knees in his study right now, muttering verses from the Scrolls. Urko growled in disgust./p
p class="Normal tm5 tm6""I want every single barn, farmhouse, roadhouse, townhouse and temple to be searched. Nelva," his new second in command caught the pen he chucked towards him, "draw up a grid and apportion your search parties — I want the fields, the woods, and the rivers combed, and I'm talking of a fine-toothed comb here. Grab the farm lads to stock up the cordons, if necessary."/p
p class="Normal tm5 tm6"He leaned back and surveyed his map./p
p class="Normal tm5 tm6""Go get them."/p