As we stepped off the bridge, Cragger turned about to face us. There was a strange glow in his eyes which I knew had nothing to do with Anti-Chi. "Get back on that bridge!" said he. "I'll keep them away!" "You have done enough," I said, holding up a hand. "We must all cross at some point. And that point is slipping--" "GO!" said Cragger, kicking a lion away. Ewar shrugged, dodged a lance that was hurled his way, and ran back to the bridge. I was about to follow (grudgingly but swiftly) when I noticed a flicker of movement from the corner of my eye. Next I knew, Cragger was at the edge of the canyon, poised to jump. "NO!" I shouted, and snatched his belt, pulling him back. "What has come over you?! We must cross to the other side!" "I was tricked," he muttered, "But I'll find them, I will." Shaking my head worriedly, I dragged the struggling Cragger onto the log behind me. It was quite difficult, what with him kicking and snarling, but the angry, lance-throwing lions further behind were sufficient encouragement. By the time I stepped onto the other side of the canyon, Cragger had calmed down slightly. "What got into him?" asked Eris. "Anti-Chi?" "In all honesty, I don't know," I said, releasing hold of Cragger. It was clear, though, that something had affected him deeply. Later, perhaps, I would ask what; but for now, I would give him time to calm himself more (and give myself time to rest). I sank down into a sitting position and closed my eye. I heard Ewar speak: "The lions don't seem to be able to cross the bridge. Something's stopping them." A pause, during which I heard several shouted curses from the lions. "Now they're riding away." "I can see, y'know," said Worriz. I opened my eye. "I know," said Ewar edgily, "But you weren't looking." Laval walked up to me then and sat down.
I turned from Worriz and Ewar to face him. "I..." Laval began awkwardly. He clutched one of his arms near the shoulder. I merely blinked and waited for him to continue. "Um...thanks." As soon as the words left his mouth, Laval's face contorted with a jumble of emotions. "You're quite welcome," I said evenly, trying to keep confusion from showing on my face as well as in my voice. "No, no." Roughly, he snatched my shoulder. "I've never thought about what death'd be like.... Being so close to it.... I--I never thought it would come to me--not soon, anyway--" Laval bowed his head and shuddered. I waited, knowing he would go on. "I--I felt sure I was gonna die back there, and--well, I thanked you. There." Surely he had difficulty in saying these words; I could tell, not only by his uneven tone, but by the way he fidgeted as he spoke, and how he made to stand and walk away the instant he had finished. "Watch your pockets," I said to his back. "There is a thief about...." Laval froze, turning back with an expression of outrage on his face; but as he patted himself down, his emotion cooled slightly. "You...haven't stolen anything?" I smiled to myself. "Exactly." And leaving him with this, I stood and walked over to Cragger, who seemed to be mumbling nonsense. He stopped the instant I sat down next to him, however; and before I had a chance to explain my presence, he burst out, "You want to know why I tried to jump into the gorge, right?" My beak moved soundlessly as I nodded my head. Cragger took a deep breath. "Not right now," he said. "I...need to...recover." From what? I wanted to ask. It rather seemed as if he did not trust me. "I can tell you later," said he, taking a breath, "When we're not so close to the gorge." He then shut his eyes, and I could get no more out of him.
I sat at the edge of the group nearest the canyon and relived the past day in my head. There were several things I did not understand. First and foremost, the barrier that had appeared in the canyon. What exactly was it? (Other than a possible figment of my imagination.) For some reason, I felt I could not afford to dismiss any strange happenings as hallucinations or dreams. Invisible barrier...? Then a thought struck me: could the barrier in the canyon and the barrier betwixt the ground and Mount Cavora be the same? Or did they exist for the same purpose? I shook my head; I had no actual proof that either barrier existed at all. My mind drifted back to its original intent.... Why had the lions not been able to cross the bridge? And lastly, why had Cragger attempted to dive into the canyon? Despite his claims, I doubted whether he would tell me his reason, ever. Sighing, I swept my gaze over the group. There seemed to be precious little trust between us until faced with death; and even then, it seemed, we could not come together.... Could I have something to do with it? "WHAT---is he doing here?!" I looked up to see Worriz standing over a red-eyed, tied-up lion. Laval had taken him across the bridge (but how?), and I had all but forgotten. "He's a prisoner," returned Laval weakly. Worriz pulled a short staff with teeth protruding at right angles from one end (a weapon I recognized as a "Maulus"). "I can see that," snarled Worriz (Ewar stiffened). "Now can you please just answer my question?!"
Laval couldn't seem to come up with a good answer; at least, not anytime soon. And so Cragger stepped betwixt the two and said, "Let's...try and talk this through. Sensibly." Worriz didn't at all look happy about this, but for the moment he stood down and put away his Maulus. "But Laval," said Ewar, "Why did you bring this lion across the bridge?" "Or how, for that matter?" I put in. Laval shrugged. "I don't know why the other lions couldn't get across," he said. "But I didn't have any trouble carrying him. Now why I took him..." "My comrades could not cross the bridge because there was a magical barrier in place," spat the lion. "We could not cross unless someone of kind intentions brought us. But we shall get you eventually, count on that." We all tensed. "Who asked you, Lennox?" said Laval, baring his teeth. Lennox cackled. "You don't need to ask. I can tell you exactly what you want to know, it changes nothing. We will finish you in the end." "Hm!" said Razar. "Like we haven't heard that before..." Lennox whipped his head about to face Razar, his brow pressed down over sunken red eyes. When I saw those eyes, I was reminded of something; something I knew to be important, yet at the moment it remained beyond the reach of thought. "You know," said Lennox, "It does not pay to underestimate our" --That was when he caught sight of Ewar, who stood next to Razar. Lennox began to foam at the mouth, staring at Ewar in undisguised hatred, his hands appearing to move behind his back. Then I remembered what the something was, and I gasped out loud. "He has a knife--" I shouted, but it was too late; Lennox had slashed his bindings, and was now advancing on a defenseless Ewar.
Laval couldn't seem to come up with a good answer; at least, not anytime soon. And so Cragger stepped betwixt the two and said, "Let's...try and talk this through. Sensibly." Worriz didn't at all look happy about this, but for the moment he stood down and put away his Maulus. "But Laval," said Ewar, "Why did you bring this lion across the bridge?" "Or how, for that matter?" I put in. Laval shrugged. "I don't know why the other lions couldn't get across," he said. "But I didn't have any trouble carrying him. Now why I took him..." "My comrades could not cross the bridge because there was a magical barrier in place," spat the lion. "We could not cross unless someone of kind intentions brought us. But we shall get you eventually, count on that." We all tensed. "Who asked you, Lennox?" said Laval, baring his teeth. Lennox cackled. "You don't need to ask. I can tell you exactly what you want to know, it changes nothing. We will finish you in the end." "Hm!" said Razar. "Like we haven't heard that before..." Lennox whipped his head about to face Razar, his brow pressed down over sunken red eyes. When I saw those eyes, I was reminded of something; something I knew to be important, yet at the moment it remained beyond the reach of thought. "You know," said Lennox, "It does not pay to underestimate our" --That was when he caught sight of Ewar, who stood next to Razar. Lennox began to foam at the mouth, staring at Ewar in undisguised hatred, his hands appearing to move behind his back. Then I remembered what the something was, and I gasped out loud. "He has a knife--" I shouted, but it was too late; Lennox had slashed his bindings, and was now advancing on a defenseless Ewar.
We all stared on in shock, with one exception. Worriz instantaneously drew his Maulus and charged Lennox, forcing him to the ground. Ewar shuddered and took a step back. "No funny business," said Worriz, panting as he held Lennox down. The red-eyed lion grinned. "You have my word." And with that, Lennox hurled his knife at Ewar. Time seemed to slow for a second as the knife flew through the air. Then it clattered to the ground. There was a collective outtake of breath. Lennox cursed. Dumbfounded, I walked over to Ewar, who clasped his midsection with a set of claws. His eyes were closed and he was breathing heavily. Distantly, I could hear Worriz raging at Lennox, but I could not understand a word spoken by either. I slipped into a sort of trance in which the only knowledge I possessed was that Ewar was gone. "Rizzo." Someone snatched my arm and shook it. I turned to see that it was Razar. "Are you alright?" he asked quietly. Turning back to Ewar, I said, "I believe so." Ewar drew his claws away--and underneath a faint bluish glow emanated from his skin where the knife had struck (and fallen away). "Oh, if I had only listened," a voice murmured behind my back. Once the glow faded and it appeared that the knife had done Ewar no lasting harm, I whirled about. "You," I said to Lennox. "You knew this--this would happen. And still you tried--" "You cannot blame one for trying," he returned angrily, struggling beneath Worriz's grip. I stood, speechless, for there was nothing more to say him.
As the others closed in around Lennox to hold him down and tie him up, I turned back to Ewar. His eyes were still screwed shut, and his feathers now appeared oily from stress. "Ewar?" I said tentatively. He offered no response. "Ewar!" I tried again. Finally Ewar blinked his eyes open and looked down at himself. "Oh...that hurt," he said sluggishly. Then his legs wobbled and fell out from beneath him. Instantly I stepped forward and steadied him. Such pain he must have been in, for he did not decline a raven's assistance. "What happened?" said Ewar. "Why didn't that knife go right through my stomach?" "In truth, I don't know," I sighed. "It went too quickly for any of us to see." Or had it? Now that I thought about it, it seemed I could picture the knife ripping through the air--but not its impact. Strange indeed. At that moment Laval strode over. "You OK, Ewar?" asked he. Ewar winced and clutched his midsection again, but Laval wasn't looking at him. "Good," he went on, ""Cause now we have to decide what to do with Lennox." And he turned and walked back towards the captive lion. "Come, lean on me," I said to Ewar, groaning as he complied. "This isn't the kind of pain I expected," said Ewar as we stumbled along. I turned to look at him. "How so?" "Well," said he, "It's...I don't know how to describe it. The word that comes to mind is...rippling. Rippling pain. Aahh!" Ewar fell to his knees. Through a tightly clamped beak, he said, "I don't suppose it would've been better if the knife actually got to me?" I shook my head meaningfully. Then, helping him up and supporting him along the way, we walked the few steps back to the others, where the matter of Lennox had yet to be settled.
What to do with the captive lion--that was the question on everyone's mind, I felt sure. I let Ewar take a sitting position as Laval began, "So..." And then stopped. There followed an uncomfortable silence we each considered Lennox's fate (Excepting possibly Razar...). "I say we throw 'im in the canyon," Worriz burst out. Laval looked shocked. "What? No! He's...he used to be...my friend." Worriz seemed to sense the weakness in this, and he pounced on it. "What does that have to do with it? He isn't exactly your friend now, is he?" Laval's expression darkened, and I cut in, "Laval is right in this case. Lennox cannot be held responsible for his actions." "Well," said (surprisingly) Razar, "They are his actions." "No, no, no: he isn't in control of himself!" I stepped forward. "We must move on. Too much time has already been wasted--" "Um--and who's timing us?" "Rizzo's right," said Eris (I sighed with relief). "We should take a vote on this--to speed things up. All in favor of throwing Lennox in the canyon?" Only Worriz and Razar held up their hands. Lennox turned to me and smiled faintly. "Thank you my friend," said he, "But you shouldn't have bothered with my life. It means nothing: to our plan, to my master, even to myself--" "Shut up," hissed Laval, his expression somewhere between sorrow and anger. Eris sighed. "Well... what're the other options?" "We could leave him behind," said Laval. "Tied up and everything..." No one responded. "Or we could take him with us..." "Or send him back to Loradus with a message," said Razar. Lennox cackled again. "Can you make him stop?!" said Worriz, folding his ears back, then covering them. "My laughter is music compared to your howling," said Lennox, "But I will do as you say. Honestly, though! What message could you possibly have for my master?" Cragger let out a sort of whine, barely audible. Instantly, Lennox turned towards the sound, and when he saw Cragger, his eyes burned with a fierce light.
At the moment, however, I was watching Laval, for a change began to steal over his eyes: a scarlet glow overtaking the gold. He trembled slightly, then grinned and walked over to stand beside Lennox. "Not now..." said Ewar. Almost involuntarily, I began to back away. But Laval and Lennox were looking only at Cragger, who began to appear worried. "OK, what is it?" he asked, pulling out his mace-and-chain. "Yes," said Lennox; "Yes, you've got the right idea. Now use that Gronk to rid us of these meddlesome Travelers!" "The master will reward you handsomely," added Laval, his ugly grin growing ever wider. Cragger glanced briefly to the rest of us in turn, clearly confused. Lennox turned his back on Cragger to face us as well. "A shame we have no flowers for you..." said Laval. "Indeed," growled Lennox. "If you do not make your move, we will!" "Not with your hands tied behind your back," said Worriz, laying his ears back the instant the words left his mouth. Lennox roared and charged him; but the end of Cragger's mace-and-chain crashed into the back of his head, knocking him out instantly. Cragger then used the length of chain on the weapon to tie Laval's paws behind his back. "That's enough," said Laval. "I can understand pretending to help them, but this has gone too far!" Finally I recovered from shock and went over to help. "Cover his ears," said Cragger. I complied. "I just realized," he went on, "They think I'm still under Crooler's control! Playing out Loradus's plan with them!" "So...?" said Worriz. "So," I said, "We can...use the knowledge to our advantage?" Eris did not look convinced of this. "But don't you think Cragger lost their trust just now? By attacking them?" Cragger glanced at Lennox guiltily. "Could be, dudes," said Gorzan suddenly. "But the bummer-lion should come with us--" "--Just in case," I finished. After everyone agreed who could, I took my palms from Laval's ears, allowing him to hear once more.
Progress over the following days was slow at best. Constantly Lennox attempted to run away, but was stopped every time by either Cragger or Laval. Several times, when the Anti-Chi within the latter took control, Lennox and Laval willingly walked along with us, as long as Cragger swore allegiance to Loradus and promised to betray us when the time came. (I convinced him to do both, though he rather detested it.) One day, Cragger said to me, "I don't know how much longer I can pretend. When Crooler made me fight everyone, I...I only felt pain. In many ways. But I couldn't stop. And that pain starts to come back whenever Lennox talks to me." "Or the inverted Laval, for that matter, yes?" I said, raising a talon. Cragger looked away. "No...that's even worse." I patted his arm. "Worry not. I believe you can carry on as long as needed. Which...hopefully, shall not be too long." I paused. "And you never did tell me why you tried to dive into the canyon." "Later," said Cragger stiffly, and he moved to the front of the group. On the map, fifteen days' walk from the bridge (not accounting for the time it took to catch Lennox) we were to come to the start of another jungle. For the time being, however, we were walking across a flat, rocky ground that stretched off in all directions, much like the land before the bridge, only much more expansive (a maze of rock spires had come up shortly after we had crossed the canyon, but it was days behind now). The openness of the land made catching Lennox, restraining Laval, and night time guard duty (for which Ewar and I were still the only ones selected) slightly easier; but walking became rather tiresome. Only the slightest tinge of green on the horizon hinted at what was ahead.
When I woke on the eleventh day since departing the bridge, it was to a gray sky. Cloud cover was fairly common in Chima, but, try as I might, I couldn't recall a day during which I could not find the sun. But that wasn't what worried me at the moment. If the clouds were blocking out the sunlight entirely, what had caused me to wake up? A harsh-sounding whisper found its way into my hearing, and I winced. That had to be it. Turning my head slightly, I saw that the whisper had yet to wake anyone else. I then rolled onto my stomach and crawled over to Ewar, who was keeping watch. "What is that whispering?" I asked. Ewar blinked sleep from his eyes. "Lennox," he said. "He's been muttering to himself all night. Tried not to let it distract me." He yawned. "I'll wake the others soon." I nodded, then went over to sit near Lennox. "Making plans, are you?" "Evil never sleeps," he grinned. "Funny weather we're having, isn't it?" The sudden change of subject gave me pause. Was he trying to tell me something--in a roundabout way? "You wouldn't have anything to do with it, would you?" said Lennox. Instinct told me to get as far from him as I could right then, but I now knew he had something to say, and I wanted to hear it. "To the best of my knowledge," I said, "No." Lennox's smile grew very wide indeed. "Are you quite sure?" I stared into his eyes and did not answer. Somehow, it felt as if every word I spoke to him helped Loradus in achieving his ends. "I didn't think so," said Lennox, his voice as cold as the breeze that began to blow in.
I shivered and made for the middle of our camp, knowing that my audience with Lennox was over. I sat down and rested, conserving my energy (and heat) for the day ahead. Soon, Ewar came over and began to shake everyone. "Come on, wake up," he would say, over and over. Eris and Worriz were the first to rise, blinking and yawning. And when the latter saw Ewar's failing attempts to wake the others, he screamed, "THE PRISONER IS ESCAPING!!" The "prisoner" rolled his eyes, but Laval and Cragger leaped instantly to their feet as if aided by springs, taking battle-ready (though rather ridiculous) stances. As they began to realize that nothing was wrong, and relaxed slightly, Worriz burst out laughing. "You should've seen yerselves!" he said gleefully. "It was--" Laval growled fiercely, putting an end to what merriment there was. "I'm sick of your jabs at me!" he spat. "Huh," said Worriz, "Well, I'm sick of your face." Ewar sighed, and I walked up to him. "At least they are awake," I said; and when he didn't respond, I peered up at the gray sky. It must have been mid-morning, yet it was getting darker. What could cause such a change in weather from the previous day? The only reason I could come up with for such an event was that the balance of nature was shifting. But why? Could Loradus be behind it somehow? "Enough! Dudes!" shouted Gorzan, pushing Laval and Worriz apart, for the were practically nose-to-nose. "Stop arguing. Make peace." Quite obviously, they didn't want to do either; and so they stood, neither willing to be the first to stand down. "We really should get going," said Eris. "Can we settle this later, please?"
We started off, the sky only growing darker, though no none seemed to mind. Laval was at the very front of the group, and in a foul temper. When anyone attempted to walk alongside him, he quickened his pace and outdistanced them; and he refused to answer if someone spoke to him. The others, particularly Cragger and Eris, seemed to be worried about him somehow. But the weather was the single thing on my mind. Strange forces were at work, I knew. Hopefully things couldn't get too much worse.... "Cragger?" I said, turning to him. "Yes?" returned he. I gulped. "May I...?" Something caught in my throat. Keeping his claws tightly clenched around Lennox's arm (he had been tasked with guarding the captive lion), Cragger turned to stare at me, looking rather disgruntled. "Alright. Fine. I dived--" "You need not tell me if you're not yet ready," I cut him off. "And that isn't what I came to ask of you." Cragger raised an eyeridge. "May I take Lennox for a moment?" I asked. After several minutes, during which the clouds continued to thicken, Cragger said, "OK. But watch him closely. Don't let him get on your blind side." He gave me a rather suspicious look, then he gave me Lennox's arm. Immediately after he had moved away, I hissed, "Tell me what you know concerning this weather." (Such was my anxiety that the words came out more harshly than I had intended.) "How bad shall it get?" "A storm," said Lennox, now appearing genuinely concerned. "A storm with the power to destroy you all."
"There is still time to prevent it," he went on. "Now that you have come around, you can stop what you started." I grasped his arm with both hands and looked to the clouds. Could Lennox be right? Was I the cause of this weather after all? I cringed as a clap of thunder sounded somewhere behind us. "How do I stop this?" I finally asked, striving to keep the fear out of my voice. Lennox no longer appeared worried, in fact, he now looked rather smug. "You want to know very badly, now don't you?" I turned away (still holding him firmly), not wanting to answer. "I'm terribly sorry," said he, "But you don't know these lands. You were a fool to think I could tell you." Then, before I could do anything to stop him, he whipped his head down to bite my claws. Instinctively, I cried out in pain and pulled away. Lennox cackled and ran off in the direction opposite the one we were heading. Almost instantly Cragger was at my side. "What did you do?!" I groaned and held my bitten claws close to myself. "I let down my guard," I said. "But a problem bigger than Lennox arises--" "I knew this would happen!" growled Cragger, as the first drops of rain moistened the ground. "Go on ahead with the others. I'll be chasing the runaway." "No!" I called as he ran off. "We shall lose you in the downpour!" But he didn't look back. I considered racing after him, but instead did as he told me and rejoined the others. Laval and Worriz were arguing fiercely again when I stumbled into their midst. I turned to find Razar and Ewar standing off to the side, and Gorzan attending to Eris, who was obviously out cold (most likely due to getting between Laval and Worriz). Then something large and heavy collided with my back.
I quickly turned to shake it off, and found that it was the unconscious form of Worriz. At a touch, he crumpled in the other direction, crashing to the unforgiving ground. I stared as Laval advanced, looking down at Worriz and twitching slightly. "H--ha," he said, with out much enthusiasm. "Y--you had it coming." The rain began to lash down then, flattening fur and feathers alike. Thunder sounded again, this time louder and closer. "Laval," I breathed. "We must move on." He rolled his eyes at me before continuing to look at Worriz, a trace of regret flashing across his features. "Fine. Worriz...? Uh, get up?" A slight grumbling issued from Worriz's mouth, but he did not move. "Dudes," said Gorzan gravely. "There's going to be a big--" The end of what he said was drowned out by a deafening crash of thunder. At the exact same moment, a streak of lightning blazed directly behind Laval, and the ground split open. I watched in terror as the split widened and he teetered on the edge.... "Cragger!" I screamed instinctively, though I was certain he couldn't hear me (and even if he could, was in no position to help us now). Ewar pulled Laval to relative safety, and those still conscious huddled together. "What do we do?!" said Ewar, once we had gathered round. I closed my eye as lightning fractured the heavens. "Lennox spoke of a way to end all this," said I. "And you believed him?" said Razar. "Really?" Laval squinted. "Wait... where is Lennox?" He looked pointedly at me. "Or Cragger? Didn't I hear you just call for him?" I took a deep breath and said, "That matters not at the moment. We--" "What happened to them?" I swallowed, desperately trying to keep calm. "Not happy," Gorzan moaned. "Nature's not happy...." I let my beak drop open. That was it. "Can you spout off about Mellowness somewhere else?!" Laval turned his displeasure to Gorzan, then to all of us. "None of you care about what really matters!" I looked at him, shocked and puzzled.
