Chapter fifteen. I don't really have much to say here. Please, Please, let me know what you think.

-owl

Once Rollan had caught the boat and brought it to shore, it was easy enough for everyone to get in and prepare to sail. Tarik and Conor worked quickly to raise the mast. It was a little difficult to shove off from the shore, as they were wary to step even one foot into the water, at risk of the snakeheads. They eventually managed it, though, and were on their way. Most of the spirit animals went into passive state. Lumeo and Essix stayed, though.

"There's a current," Tarik said, trying his best to keep them steered towards the island. He had taken the position at the back of the boat, to steer. "There's got to be an inlet somewhere here."

Rollan nodded and scanned the rocky walls that ringed the lake. "There!" he said, pointing. "Fresh water is coming in there."

Abeke frowned. "It's big enough that almost anything could get through."

"Maybe even one of those crocs," Conor put in with a shudder.

"Hey, uh, guys," Rollan said, slowly gaining the attention of the others. He was seated at the front of the boat, as a lookout. And it was a good thing, there were twenty of the weird people emerging from the base of the pyramid. "Those people I saw earlier, they're back. On the down side, they've got bows and they look like they're not afraid to use them. On the upside, I figured out why they look so weird!" He paused for a second, then continued when no one said anything. "They're wearing elephant masks!"

Tarik frowned. "They're likely priests, humans who worship the Great Beasts like gods. Most of them discourage it." There was a sudden double screech from Essix, almost like she was laughing. "Keep the boat steady, let's see if they'll parlay. Abeke, Lishay, prepare your own bows."

"I only have three arrows, and one of them is bent," Abeke said, though nevertheless she did grab her bow.

Everyone scrambled to do as Tarik said. The man himself carefully picked his way towards the front of the boat, next to Rollan, before cupping his hands around his mouth.

"We are an envoy from the Greencloaks!" he shouted. "We seek to speak with Dinesh! We mean you no harm!"

One of the elephant heads removed their mask, revealing a middle aged woman with her skin painted gray. "The Great Elephant doesn't want visitors!"

"It is imperative that we speak to Dinesh!"

"If you don't turn back, we'll shoot!"

"If you shoot, we'll have no choice but to fight!"

There was no response as the spokeswoman replaced her mask and nocked an arrow, matching the position of the others.

A volley of arrows came their way, though they fell so far from the boat that Rollan had to wonder if they were even trying to hit the boat.

"Lishay, Abeke," Tarik said, nodding to them. "Shoot for the woman who spoke. Her legs, we don't need to aim to kill."

They nodded. And, together, they both loosed an arrow, one in each leg. There was a loud scream, and the spokeswoman fell to the ground. Four other elephant heads rushed her inside.

"Let us land the boat! We need to speak to Dinesh!" Tarik yelled. "We don't want to hurt you!"

Another volley of arrows came their direction. Meilin hit a few away with her staff, but again, they didn't fly far enough to be a true threat.

Tarik sighed. "Shoot two more in the legs. I wish they'd have some sense."

"Maybe they think we're Conquerors?" Meilin offered, watching as Abeke and Lishay let loose two more arrows.

Rollan frowned. How could anyone think they were Conquerors? Six people in a boat, with no army behind them... Then again, they could be a scouting party.

The two shots hit, sending another two elephant heads to the ground. Five people each brought them inside. That left three of them outside, and they too scurried into the pyramid when they saw Abeke and Lishay nock their bows once again.

With no more opposition, they were able to sail the boat to the island. There was a dock there where they tied off the boat once they were all out of it. In a series of flashes, Briggan, Uraza, Jhi, and Zhosur appeared along with the group.

There was no way for them to get inside the pyramid. The bronze doors that the elephant heads had used were sealed shut. Essix flew above their heads, shrieking.

"I think there's something at the top of the pyramid!" Rollan shouted, hoping that he was interpreting the falcon correctly.

As a group, the six of them began to ascend the pyramid. It was a slow process, as each step of the pyramid was four feet high. Abeke was leading the group, as she had the assistance of Uraza in addition to her own natural skill of climbing.

When they were about halfway up, Tarik let out a gasp of dismay. "Look! Over there!"

There were three dark shapes swimming into the lake, from the inlet. They were crocodiles, Bile crocodiles. That meant the Conquerors couldn't be far behind.

"The snakeheads should delay them, right?" Abeke asked.

As soon as the words left her lips, a pink frothiness began to exude from the water around the crocodiles. The snakeheads were no match for the crocs. One snap of the latter's jaws could take out a half dozen of the former.

"There are people, and animals, along the crater ring!" Lishay announced worriedly.

Indeed, it seemed, the Conqueror army had arrived.

With no other choice, they kept climbing. When they reached the top, there was nothing that was an obvious entrance to the pyramid. The only thing was the different colored stone of the top tiers of the pyramid. Essix continued to fly around, seeming annoyed that they hadn't figured it out yet.

Briggan also approached the different stone and sat down.

"If you're telling us that the entrance is beneath that, I don't know how that's going to help us," Conor said, shaking his head at the animals.

Uraza sat next to Briggan, tilting her head at the humans' foolishness.

"So tell us what we're missing!" Abeke cried.

Uraza approached and leapt onto her hind legs, extending her claws. She let herself fall forward and scratched her claws against the stone. Sparks shot off in all directions, and there was a faint curl of what could have been smoke.

The pyramid began rumbling. "Not another booby trap!" someone exclaimed, but Rollan didn't have the time to figure out who had spoken.

The different colored stone began rising from the pyramid, getting bigger and bigger. Then it uncurled its legs, standing on the top tier of the pyramid. A flank took shape, followed by a trunk and a large, floppy ear.

There was suddenly an elephant in front of them. Bigger than Arax or Rumfuss. Everything around them felt five times smaller than it had three seconds ago.

It moved to face the Greencloaks, showing off tusks that had to be twelve yards long. They were also very sharp looking.

"WHAT DO I HAVE TO DO TO BE LEFT ALONE?" roared Dinesh the Elephant.