Hey guys! Here's chapter fourteen. I just want to let you know that I am slowly working on writing book 5, but for whatever reason, I'm struggling with it. I HAVE NO INTENTIONS OF ABANDONING THIS SERIES, I just wanted to let you guys know.

Also guess what i just realized... I managed to post this chapter already, as chapter twelve. I will be fixing that right away

-owl

The path the Rhino Riders took the Greencloaks on was overgrown, uneven, and so winding that Rollan was ninety-nine percent sure that they had doubled back on themselves at least once. They had to ride single file. Each of the Greencloaks had been paired with a rider and their rhino. They rode bareback, though the six of them had ropes tied to them to avoid falling off.

Rollan was sure of one thing. Well, actually, he was sure of a lot of things: Essix was bonded to him, his parents did not raise him, they were in one of the jungles of Zhong, as well as a multitude of other things. But, what he had come to realize in the last few hours, was that riding on the back of a rhino was not fun. In any sense of the word.

While Rollan wasn't a big fan of riding on a horse, he had to admit that it was leaps and bounds more comfortable than riding on a rhino. After all, a horse was not nearly as wide as a rhino, nor did one regularly ride a horse bareback while traveling.

He had been on a lot of journeys on horseback. The one to Glengavin was admittedly short lived, as they had been ambushed halfway there and lost their horses. He still felt bad that they had lost Jon's, the Greencloak living in the Euran port that they had used, horses. The man had sent a letter to Greenhaven saying that the horses had wandered back to Surtin on their own, and asking after the health of the riders. Before that, there was the trip to find Arax, accompanied by Nicolai, Barlow, and Monte.

Rollan's favorite memories of horseback riding were when he and Lucette were sent to save Nicolai and Tarik from the dungeons in Meilin's house. Yes, the whole thing had been very stressful, but it was still time that Rollan got to spend with Lucette. She had been so worried for her brother then, and now with him captured, Rollan totally understood why she was distancing herself from everything.

Once again, Rollan really wished that she was here with them.

Eventually they left the hidden path and continued their journey on a path that was wide enough that they could ride eight across. Slowly the land on either side of the path began to incline, while the path itself did not, meaning that within half an hour they were enclosed on both sides with rocky cliffs, nearly four times Tarik's height.

Rollan could see Abeke biting her lip and glancing around in short bursts. Her posture was rigid, and her left hand was resting on the tattoo of Uraza on her right arm. It took Rollan a minute to figure it out, that she was most likely nervous about the cliffs on either side of them. After all, she was a hunter that was used to the wide open savanna. This was quite different.

Soon enough the cliff height lessened, until they were in view of a lake with gentle waves lapping at the shore. In the middle of the lake was an island, taken up entirely by a large pyramid. Around the outer shore of the lake was a few yards of sand leading to the water's edge.

"We are here."

Jodoboda's words weren't really necessary, as it was quite obvious that they had arrived. Even so, the Greencloaks took that as their cue to untie the ropes around them and hop off the rhinos that had given them a ride.

Meilin didn't do anything to get off the rhino, though it appeared that she was leaning slightly to one side. After a moment, it became clear that she was leaning. And, before Rollan or anyone else could try to catch her, she fell right off the rhino. Her eyes snapped open upon impact with the ground. As she stood up, Rollan could see her cheeks blazing red.

"Thank you, Jodoboda," Lishay said diplomatically.

The leader of the Rhino Riders nodded. "We will leave you now."

It took them a few minutes, but the entire tribe of Riders turned and left without a fuss, leaving the Greencloaks alone beside the lake. The first thing most of them did was call their animals from passive state. Uraza bounded alongside Zhosur, the large cats playing with one another. Briggan inspected their surroundings carefully. Lumeo leapt towards the water, but after a few panicked splashes, he returned to sit on Tarik's shoulder.

Lishay stood next to the water, peering into it. "Snakeheads," she said, her voice a mixture of disdain and annoyance.

Rollan blinked and he was no longer straining to see around the lake. "There's people on the island," he said, pointing. "Or, at least I think they're people. There, near the middle of the base of the pyramid." Indeed, though the bodies were humanoid, the heads were elephant-like. The others might not be able to discern anything other than the general shapes of the bodies, but they at least knew where their watchers were.

Tarik frowned. "I'm assuming that Dinesh is in the pyramid. We need to get there somehow. There's got to be a boat somewhere."

Abeke pointed at a cliff to their left. "Look! It's a giant elephant carving! Maybe there's something there that will help us."

There, carved in the cliff face was a huge elephant. Its trunk was raised and spouting water as it stood in a river or lake.

"Some of the lines are carved much deeper than the others," Meilin commented, brushing her hand across them. "Look, there's a door! Follow the lines. It goes up that leg, across the body, down the back leg and then along the lake. And there's a line in the middle as well. It's a large rectangle cut in half, double doors."

Conor nodded doubtfully. "If they are doors, they're very tight fitting. How would we get them open?"

Tarik rubbed a hand over his chin. "Oftentimes secret doors are opened by a lever or button. That was a good observation, Meilin."

"What about the eye?" Conor asked, pointing. "It sticks out much more than anything else."

"I could jump and kick it," Abeke offered.

"No, wait. It's too obvious," Rollan cut in. "It might be a trap. Let's try to poke it with a stick, from the side."

"I can push it with my quarterstaff, if I stand over there. You all should get clear first, though," Meilin said, moving to where she had pointed.

Once they were all far enough away, Meilin stretched herself as far as she could reach. Then she moved her staff towards the eye. The eye depressed into the carving by an inch or so, with an audible click. A dozen arrows suddenly shot from hidden holes in the carving. If Abeke had kicked the eye, she would have been hit for sure.

"So, if the eye isn't the button, then what is?" Abeke asked.

There was nothing else in the carving that stood out for any reason. They all stared at it, searching, until Lumeo sat up and chittered something in Tarik's ear.

"Of course," he muttered. "A boat." He pointed to the water, right by the elephant's leg. There, a small round carving was hidden.

"Are you sure?" Rollan asked skeptically. "It looks more like a squashed banana gourd. Or maybe an insect."

Conor gave him a look. "You, of all people here, should be able to see it the best. Or is Essix not bothering to help you right now?" Though the words could be construed as rude, Conor's tone of voice made it clear he was just teasing.

"I can probably press it from the other side," Meilin offered, already clambering down from her perch.

Once she was in place, the rest of them adopted a similar positioning as when Meilin had pressed the eye button. Just like last time, she stretched out, holding the staff. This time, however, it was further away from her, and the end of the staff couldn't be steadied enough to touch the boat carving.

"Jhi, I need your help," Meilin said.

The panda ambled over to Meilin and sat down with a thump next to her. Meilin took a deep breath, followed by another and another, until it looked like she was asleep. Then she reached out the staff again and with perfect aim and no wobbling, touched the carving.

There was a deep rumbling from inside the rock. Dust fell from the seams of the doors as they sprang open, revealing a dark abyss. The doors then dismounted from their top hinges and made some sort of ramp from their previous place.

"Wait!" Tarik yelled, stopping Conor from going inside.

A forty-foot-long boat came gliding out of the gaping maw of the rock. It was made of tightly woven reeds and its mast was laying down the middle of the boat itself. Between twelve and twenty-four oars were also in the boat.

Rollan quickly hopped down from his place by the carving and rushed to grab the ropes that trailed the boat before it could reach the water and leave without them.