About midday we came out of the jungle and into a grassy field, where the grey clouds completely obscured the sky and it began to rain lightly; and by evening we came upon a wide forest of pines. There Gorzan stopped and sat down, looking faintly puzzled; and when he refused to keep going (at least for the day), we walked up and down along the edge, scanning for threats within the trees. And that was when we found it: a narrow path winding through the trees, mostly clear of pine needles. Laval grimaced. "That settles it," he said. "We're spending the night out here." I peered into the shadows of the pines, wiping rainwater from my face. "Do you think the forest could be inhabited?" I asked. It seemed quite likely to me. But Laval would not answer, and we made our way back to where Gorzan sat for the night. I sat myself down in the wet grass, the sight of the pines reminding me of something...but what, exactly? Closing my eye, I thought back over the days we had been travelling (they must have added up to at least a moon at that time), and it came to me. Eris had read out several locations written on the map previously--a pine forest had been among them. So we had come in the right direction after all. But what did a "right direction" mean when one's destination was far behind him? Opening my eye, I squinted through the drizzle towards Mount Cavora, which appeared farther away than ever (though, strangely enough, the cloud cover hadn't blocked that from view). Would our journey truly deliver us there? Or were we wandering into unknown lands, never to return? I bowed my head, trying to stop doubting our purpose. But at times such as this, it was difficult.
I did not, however, worry about the constant drizzle being the effect of hoarding Chi. It was obvious that this was entirely natural of the region, and it was actually rather comforting in an odd sort of way. The sky began to further darken, and I shook out my feathers ere laying myself down to rest. And I was just nodding off when bits of a whispered conversation entered my hearing: "...We should send one of them in to check it out..." "Are you sure?" I moved my head slightly and half-opened my eye to see Laval and Eris sitting nearby. "Hey, it's no big deal," said the former, though rather hesitantly. "They're--they are the two most disposable members of our team." At this, Eris raised her eyebrows worriedly and glanced in my direction; I quickly closed my eye and strained my ears to listen. "Well," said Eris eventually, "just because me and Razar're here doesn't mean you can send the others to get lost." "They'd be following a path! And even if one of them did get off track, it's no big loss. Like you said, we have you and Razar. We don't absolutely need Ewar and Rizzo to unlock Mount Cavora." At that point, I was fully awake, and trying to calm my breathing. Did he truly intend to send either me or Ewar to scout the forest alone? And what did he mean, 'disposable'? "OK, OK, I get it," said Eris, though she clearly did not. "Do whatever you want." There followed a rustling sound, as of someone rising from the grass and moving away. Then Laval's voice called out, and something inside me sank: "Ewar! Yeah! Can you go an' scout out the forest for us?" I heard Ewar mumble, "Yes," miserably, and I opened my eye again to watch him start off towards the forest path. And as the others began to settle down, I came to a desicion.
Once I felt certain the others were sleeping soundly, I silently rose and readied myself to enter the forest. Deep within, I knew we couldn't afford to lose Ewar, but there seemed to be little sense in such feelings when I gave them thought. I took a deep breath. There were no dangers among those pines that we knew of, but it was the unknown, of course, about which I worried the most.... I pushed all thoughts to the back of my mind--right now, they could only slow me down. Snatching up the nearest weapon (which, oddly, turned out to be Laval's Valious), I made my way towards the path. The rain continued to come down, flattening my feathers to my skin; and, surprisingly, coming under the cover of the trees did not help much. Rainwater puddled in numerous places along the path and under the trees, and I slogged forwards, pushing back all second thoughts a second time. Although the way was fairly straight, I couldn't see Ewar anywhere ahead. I lowered the Valious blade to drag along the ground, my eyelid drooping as I walked on and on and on through the drizzle, muscles aching, mind tired, every part of my being begging for a dry place to fold my wings and rest. Long after my senses had begun to fade and spots swam in my vision, I came to a small brook that crossed the path, stepping stones set in the shallow water. I hummed and sat down, about to close my eye when a twig snapped to my left. Lazily, I turned my head in time to see a furry face peering out at me, the band of color over the eyes and snout looking like a mask of black. Then it brought a short length of tube to its mouth and exhaled sharply, and I only felt the tiniest of pinpricks in my shoulder before I passed out.
When I came to, it was inside a small room of brick with no windows. My hands were tied behind my back. My shoulder ached. My mind was still fuzzy as well, but it was fast in clearing. Pulling at my bonds, I found that they were not at all strong, and with one good jerk I freed myself and got to my feet. The 'room', I soon realized, made up the entire dwelling; a cooking pot hung in a fireplace on one wall, and a bedcloth made of woven pine needles (stuck end to end with resin to form the nesescary threads) lay rolled up in a corner. A single three-legged stool sat in the center of the dirt floor. The occupant was not at home, that much was obvious; and so with a last glance about I located the door and made for it. Raising my left hand to the wooden knob, I felt something on the same shoulder. Instinctively I reached with the other hand to brush against it, and after a small stab of pain, something fell to the floor. I stooped to pick it up: a twig, short and thin and sharpened to a point at one end. Perhaps dipped in sleeping potion, or something of the sort. That would have made it easy for he who had shot it to carry me off. Could this have happened to Ewar as well? It seemed all too likely, but I would find out one way or another. I placed the twig point-down in the floor; then, placing my right hand over the ache in my shoulder, I reached out my left hand and opened the door.
Stepping out into the rain, I very nearly stumbled into the masked creature I had seen in the trees ere losing consciousness. "Oh--oh, sorry," he stammered. "I was just about to come get you, but now--broken the bonds--" he glanced quickly at my wrists "--you freed yourself--er--come along!" He had quite a nervous way of speaking, as if he knew not what to say, exactly, and so everything came out at once. Questions flooded my mind; nevertheless, I did as he said, and followed him as he turned and strode off. I could not help noticing that he was rather plump, but despite this, he could move at a quick pace, ringed tail dragging behind. We walked among dozens of brick dwellings, much like the one I had just left, but there was a single unique structure in the center of them all that caught my eye: a giant wheel that turned continuously, yet never rolled away. Gentle splashing noises carried from it over to us. I tapped the creature on the shoulder, making him jump. He turned his wide face. "Yes?" "If I might ask, what is that?" I pointed to the wheel. But the creature only turned back to his path, saying, "I can--I can tell you later." Left with no other choice, I continued to follow him, stepping over miniature streamlets on my way (I began to realize that they were everywhere, flowing with definite purpose in every direction). After a short while, we reached a small clearing in which Ewar sat, polishing his spyglass and looking rather worried. The ring-tailed creature cleared his throat (uncomfortably, I thought). "Um--" Ewar looked up, and a relieved smile came over his face. "Rizzo!" I felt relief as well upon seeing that he was here, safe and (seemingly) unhurt, and I limped up to him happily.
Refusing my hand when I offered it, he stood up by himself and put away his spyglass. "How did you find me?" he asked. "Where are the others? Did they--" I held up both hands, glancing back to the strange ring-tailed creature. He grinned awkwardly. "How I came to find you," I repeated, frowning as I recalled what I had overheard between Laval and Eris. "Deeming Laval's...treatment...of you unfair, I followed after to make certain you would return unharmed. Then this fellow here--" I gestured to the creature "--Shot me with a--" And then the questions I had been holding back sprang forth in my mind, and I turned on the creature. "Why is it you shot me?" He twiddled his fingers, eyes shifting. "Er--I--" "If not to harm me, then, why?" He dropped his arms to his sides. "I'm no good with talking," he mumbled. "And both loo--both of you looked like you needed help. It was--shooting darts--er--easiest way to bring you here. My name--name's Rothmir, by the way." Knocking us out? Easiest way to bring us here? Clearly this creature was troubled, and I instantly regretted being so accusatory. Bowing slightly in recognition, I said, "Er--Rizzo. And...exactly which tribe do I have the pleasure of addressing?" "Um...Rizzo?" I turned at Ewar's voice, raising an eyebrow. "These are the raccoons. You must not--I mean, the raccoons are another tribe that wanted to be apart from the rest of Chima. They're shy...live alone in their houses..." "I w--I guess you could say that," said Rothmir the raccoon. "I don't get together--with others--often. Just--I mean I'll--erm--sit next to the fire. Out of the rain and--and eat." His wide, masked face began to turn red wth the continued effort of speaking to both of us.
I felt bad for him--surrounded by his tribe, and yet separate from it, rarely conversing with any other living being, little to occupy his time--it seemed quite a depressing way to live. But then why did it also seem so familiar...? "So--your tribe made the path through the forest?" Ewar's voice jarred me out of my thoughts. "Well--yes," said Rothmir. "That--a while ago.... Hey, I noticed--what's wrong with your hand?" He pointed to my left hand--the one that had gotten crushed in the rats' prison door. The Bloom of Eternal Beauty may have halted infection and soothed the pain, but the hand was still taking time to completely heal over. "Oh--nothing," I said, folding both hands behind my back. "Now that you have brought me to Ewar, I--I should like to know what the wheel at the center of your housing is for." Rothmir flashed a glance at it ere returning his gaze to the ground. "I did say I would--er--tell you later--right. That's our waterwheel. We use the power it ma--generates--to help--erm--work stones into bricks--chop firewood--" I was thinking what an ingenious idea this all was when Ewar blurted out, "Why can't you just use Chi?" "Chi?" Rothmir shivered. "Never again!" I narrowed my eye. "I'm sorry, what?" He turned his head as far from us as he could, holding out a hand. "It's what caused the Great Division! We don't--don't even speak of it!" At the risk of terribly offending him, I asked, "Division of what?" He did not answer, instead turning his wide, dark eyes to meet mine for the first time. "Sorry," said Ewar quietly, and I echoed his apology.
Now there was but one thing to ask of Rothmir; and after a short, uncomfortable silence, I wiped the rain from my face and spoke up. "Er...can you gather members of your tribe and fetch our travelling companions?" Rothmir's mouth fell open. "You mean--more of you? I--" He flicked his eyes about. "Yes, more of us," said Ewar gently. "They won't hurt you, don't worry." This, I felt, was not entirely true, especially if the raccoons came upon the camp with loaded blowpipes. "Ewar," I said, "Would you care to accompany them in seeing our friends to safety?" I took his arm and pulled him near to me, whispering, "I can't imagine you wanting to witness more plowpipe shootings." Ewar winced. "Yeah, that was painful." "He shot you?" "He tried. The dart bounced off, like Lennox's knives; and once he saw the pain I was in, he started getting really worried. So I agreed to follow him when he offered, and he calmed down." "Ah." I clapped him on the shoulder. "You had best get going then." "Er--is--is everything alright?" Rothmir asked. Ewar looked at me strangely as he turned away, checking himself to see, perhaps, if I had taken anything. Still did he not trust me? "Everything's fine," said Ewar. "Now, who do we see about putting together a retrieval team?" A wobbly smile came over Rothmir's face. "That--erm--Rowley. He's our tribe leader. But--but--we haven't had a tribe meeting for years. It--I--" "You will be fine," I assured him. "Gather your party and set off." "But what about you?" asked Ewar. I opened my beak, but couldn't find an answer, for I didn't know. Rothmir, however, had already thought of this, and he said, "You can stay in my house--get out of the rain."
I did so, lighting the hearth and sitting by it to dry my feathers. Soon, Ewar and Rothmir knocked on the door to announce their leave-taking. "Do be sure not to scare anyone," I said to Rothmir, smiling. "And...oh, what time of day would you say it is?" The raccoon swallowed and looked up. "Hard--hard to tell." I nodded, and they went off, following the creek that flowed through the houses. I sat in front of the fire and waited. Long stretches of time passed, and I looked about the house for food and drink. But while there was an abundance of the latter (coming from an outside streamlet, I assumed), I could not find a scrap to eat, and my hunger continued to grow. Many hours it must have been, sitting, pacing, staring into the fire, counting the feathers in my wings--though it seemed like much, much more. I wouldn't have been surprised if days and nights were slipping by outside. At one point, I sat back in a corner and slept; and when I awoke, there was still no sign of the others. Finally, taking a deep breath, I opened the wooden door and looked out into the drizzle. Everything was as I had last seen it. Yet still I hesitated in closing the door. Should I take a walk? Examine the workings of the waterwheel? I sighed and brought up the stool to watch the rain. Already I had wondered what the Great Division could be (several times, in fact), but it came into my thoughts once again. Somehow I felt it was relevant to our journey, but I also felt that we wouldn't be recieving any answers on the matter. Ah, well. My thoughts drifted again. So it went.
This was a post written by reader romo6464 on the original topic (edits and division line added for clarity):
As I sat there, I wondered if they would be safe. What if Loradus' troops found them? What if Rothmir, or whatever his name was, was a spy? I rested uneasily, not being able to sleep, thinking about Rasstok and Equila and King Rawzom and my fellow Ravens. Finally I thought about Laval. How could he be so cruel? I wondered if they were missing me at all, after I took off secretly. I finally fell asleep, thinking about my friends and family.
You do NOT have to care ANYTHING about this chapter; I wrote it just for suggestions. You can follow it if you like it. I am not asking for any credit.
Woah...that's good! Unfortunately, the entire story's already written, so it's not like I can just write it in now...besides which, Rizzo's wait is about to come to an end...
Still, well done; we can say that that's an addition onto the last chapter.
The sky darkened, and as evening came over the forest, I saw a faint glow from within the dark pines. I sat up straighter; surely in these conditions a torch had not been lit? Straining my eye, I caught a flash as of reflective metal. Pulling myself to my feet, I limped through the rain towards it, and soon found myself heading into Ewar and Rothmir's search party, which had returned very much successful. Rothmir was holding up what looked to be a flame trapped inside a teardrop-shaped glass container, framed in rough metal: a lantern. I had read about attempts to create such things (and witnessed a few), but all had failed terribly. And here was one now.... "Hallo!" I said. "Good to see you all back!" Rothmir forced a smile and nodded, but from all others I received no response. They merely plodded on, and I was forced to join them in returning to Rothmir's small house. We all crowded in (excepting the raccoons) and around the fire, which still crackled and snapped in the hearth. "Exhausted?" I asked Ewar. He nodded, rain dripping from the end of his beak. Rothmir stepped in to set the lantern on the stool. "You're--erm--probably hungry, right? I'll see about--" he cleared his throat. "I'll get something for you. And see about-- finding--finding places to stay." He walked out the door backwards, shutting it as he left.
This was a post written by reader romo6464 on the original topic (edits and division line added for clarity):
As I sat there, I wondered if they would be safe. What if Loradus' troops found them? What if Rothmir, or whatever his name was, was a spy? I rested uneasily, not being able to sleep, thinking about Rasstok and Equila and King Rawzom and my fellow Ravens. Finally I thought about Laval. How could he be so cruel? I wondered if they were missing me at all, after I took off secretly. I finally fell asleep, thinking about my friends and family.
You do NOT have to care ANYTHING about this chapter; I wrote it just for suggestions. You can follow it if you like it. I am not asking for any credit.
Woah...that's good! Unfortunately, the entire story's already written, so it's not like I can just write it in now...besides which, Rizzo's wait is about to come to an end...
Still, well done; we can say that that's an addition onto the last chapter.
Oh, also, if romo6464 is on LMBE, he must've changed his username. So, apologies for not tagging you if you're here.
There was a collective sigh as the others shook out fur or feathers accordingly, or mopped their foreheads with damp hands. "Rizzo." I turned to see Laval narrow his eyes and lift the Valious into my vision. "D'you know where I found this?" he asked. I shook my head, waiting for him to continue; but I was afraid I did know where he had found it. "It was in the creek we followed to get here." Laval set it on the dirt floor again. Still I waited for him to elaborate, not at all liking where this (currently, one-sided) conversation was headed. Then Laval came out with it: "Why did you steal my Valious?" "Your treatment of Ewar was disgraceful," I said defensively, holding up my hands, "and so I followed him, b-borrowing your Valious to defend myself if I ran into danger." I winced as the last several words left my beak, for they sounded like nothing more than an excuse. Laval, however, seemed to have expected such a response from me, and snorted ere turning back towards the fire. "Good one," Razar said into my ear. I gave a start and hopped backward. "What is it?" Razar smoothed the feathers on his head and pointed to the lantern. "I'll need to 'borrow' that before we leave," he said, as if he had never heard the word 'borrow' before. "It'll sell for a small fortune back at home!" I glanced at the Valious again. Why had I brought it into the forest? What had possessed me to take Laval's sword specifically? He would certainly be one to care if I lost it. I sighed and looked around at the oversized shadows of the others, cast onto the brick walls by the fire. Not a single apology would be accepted now, that I knew. Not from a raven. "Rizzo!" Razar was tapping my shoulder with his hook. "Rizzo! Are you listening?!"
I shook myself alert. "Yes, Razar?" Razar humphed and crossed his arms. "You wouldn't care. If you did, you would listen to the whole deal." "Please pardon me for not listening--I was rather--er--" Suddenly, I was reminded of what Ewar had said about self-absorption, and I weakly finished, "Caught up in my thoughts." It happened out of habit now more than anything else--or did it? In any case, I knew it had to stop. Razar turned away sharply, and every pouch hanging from his belts jingled. This brought to mind another matter.... "Razar," I said, raising an eyebrow, "Why must you repeatedly steal our treasure?" Razar widened both eyes, looking genuinely surprised (and a little hurt). "Steal?" he said. "I'm not stealing. Or borrowing. Just taking what's due." "Taking what's due?" "Yes. I don't travel with all of you for free." I opened my beak to utter a disbelieving response when a knock on the door halted all conversation. "Come in," said Laval shortly. The door swung open, and Rothmir strode in. He stood silently by the doorway for a few moments. Then--"The food," he said. "It's--you'll have to wait a little longer for that--'til morning, maybe. "But--er--" He shifted his weight, seemingly waiting for one of us to speak up. "Our housing," Ewar prompted. Rothmir nodded gratefully. "Yes, that. Ra--I mean, three--erm--several of my friends will give their houses--for a night, at least--two of you to a house." He cleared his throat and looked at the ground. "Well...that's great!" said Laval, beaming. "Can you lead us to them?" "Yeah--sure." Rothmir gestured to the doorway, eyes still averted.
Worriz snatched Ewar's arm. "You're with me, OK?" Ewar gave me a desperate look, but I shook my head, not wanting to argue with Worriz. Eventually, he seemed to understand this, and followed the wolf out the door without complaint. Two by two the others left as well--Cragger with Razar, Laval with Gorzan--leaving me and (I quickly figured) Eris to spend the night in Rothmir's home. "G-good night," said the raccoon, and he shut the door once again. I put a hand on the knob and sighed. "There...there is a pine-cloth somewhere about," I said to Eris. "Make yourself comfortable. I will be outside if you have need of me." "What?" said Eris. "You heard what Rothmir said, didn't you? You don't have to sleep outside." I turned to face her fully, my chest deflating with--what? Sorrow? Regret? "I need time to myself," I said. "Besides which, I didn't think you would want a raven in your company." Though this sounded wrong, even to my ears. Eris raised an eyebrow. "You'd be the first raven to acknowledge that, you know." I crossed the room to retrieve the lantern, then returned to the door and opened it half-way. The rain still came down in a steady drizzle. I turned back to Eris. "Why is it that you didn't choose to go with Laval? Or one of the others?" She lifted her shoulders. "I didn't feel like making that choice, I guess. Why, do you not want to be with me? Is that why you're going outside--?" I held up a claw. "Oh, no, no. That's not it at all." There was a pause, the fire crackling in the hearth. "Why did you bring up Laval, specifically?" asked Eris quietly and at length. To that I had no answer, and she began saying, to my surprise, "He decided to send Ewar into the forest alone. And he might've sent you--" "I know," I said without thinking. "He can be very thoughtless at times." Eris blinked, then sighed. "Well--he's usually nice, but--I guess you're right." Letting the lantern drop to my side, I took this in.
![[y]](http://storage.proboards.com/6672327/images/WYWPH2VRo26pOFDid7QZ.png)
we can say that that's an addition onto the last chapter.