It would have been remarkable had the lions not suspected something. As soon as I raised my claws above my head to signal, the circle of lion warriors began to close in. Dropping my claws to my side, I reasoned that fleeing now would give the lions a chance to pile onto the jet before it took off. I made several signs to Rawzom, who in turn flew over to nearby trees and broke away ten strong branches. He then tossed one to each raven. All the while, the lions grew steadily closer, and Lagravis was urging them on. Edging up to Rawzom, I asked, "Have you any rope?" "Maybe," answered he. "For a price--" I kicked him in the shins, causing him to stumble. "Alright!" he relented. "Now where is it...." "Everyone!" I shouted. "It is crucial that you not inhale the pollen of these flowers! It shall put you under their influence!" Showing no sign of having heard me, the ravens, Laval, and Eris rushed up to meet the oncoming force. Almost instantly, I felt something prod my back. I whipped around with my branch held out, but it was only Rawzom. "Er, yes, about that rope," he began. "I believe I left it in my glider...." "It need not be rope," I countered. "Simply something with which to tie up the lions." Leaving Rawzom stuttering, I cast about for such an item. Apparently, the others had come to the same conclusions I had, and were not counterattacking viciously; rather, they were protecting the eagle jet from sabotage. I tripped and hit my head on the ground, reprimanding myself for not looking where I was going. I was about to get myself up when a strange thought struck me. Turning about sharply (for while the others defended valiantly, the lion warriors kept on advancing, gaining ground) and falling on talons and knees, I felt around on the ground for what had tripped me. Then I found it: a long, narrow, flexible tube that stretched away in both directions. If I could gather it up, it would work just fine.
I had to rip the tube up from beneath the ground, and if I had not known better, I would have assumed that it was a tree-root. Eventually, I ended up slicing off whatever length was gathered, for the tube went on quite a ways in both directions, and the lions were forcing me back. In walking backward, I bumped into someone. Razar. "Put it to me simply," I quickly said. "What do you think you're doing?" Razar looked over his shoulder guiltily and obscured something from my view. "Huhmm?" "You know full well what I mean," I said, glaring. Something rough struck the back of my head. Rubbing where it had hit, I turned to find that the circle of lions was a weapon-length away, and they were now hurling rocks. I needed to move now or never. I unrolled the length of tube and tossed one end to Razar. "Pull it taut and--" "Run right at them!" Razar finished for me. The closed ranks of the lions looked impassible, but there would be no going back now. I ran for a space directly betwixt two lions, squinted my eye all but shut, and prepared to be violently repelled. My shoulders were bumped around some, but soon Razar and I had passed through--dragging a goodly amount of the warriors with us. "Now tie both ends together!" I shouted. Once I had seen Razar was capable of tying them up, I rushed back to the others. The circle of lions was now in disarray; no longer were we on the defensive. I singled out one lion who seemed to be a particular problem: Lagravis. He was walking for the jet, unchallenged. "Eris!" I called. When she looked over, I pointed to Lagravis, for I would never have reached him in time. Spreading her wings, Eris flew over to Lagravis and forced him away. As soon as I reached the eagle jet, I asked, "What is Emerot? I must know." Lagravis laughed as Eris said, "Another name for Mount Cavora." She then gestured to the other ravens and Laval and inclined her head towards the jet. I nodded, then, raising my claws above my head, I shouted, "To the jet!"
The ravens quickly flew over and perched on top of the jet, that is, all but one: Rerde. For as soon as he had turned to flee, the lion he had been battling deftly tripped him and advanced, waving the flower. I was about to ask Eris for more information regarding Emerot when Rawzom called, "First raven to rescue Rerde gets three coins!" Despite their love for treasure, none of the ravens moved. Apparently they preferred to steal rather than earn. Taking a deep breath, I raced for Rerde. The lion, of course, saw me coming, and charged me, practically stuffing the flower up my beak. I flicked my wings, rising slightly off the ground whilst offering no resistance. The lion's momentum sent him hurtling past me and out the clearing. "Rerde," I said, landing. "Let us go!" He needed no further enticement, thus taking to wing and reaching the jet safely. I myself ran as fast as I could, though the lions seemed to be regrouping. When I reached the jet, I jumped onto the back and urged Eris to take off. Lagravis was nowhere to be seen. "Um...where's Laval?" said Eris. Looking around, I couldn't see him anywhere either. "I am certain you shall find him once we are up in the air," I assured her. All the same, I hopped down to see if I could spot Laval. No sooner had I touched the ground than someone pushed me against the leg of the eagle jet. "Going somewhere?" said Laval. My eye widened. "Oh yeah, you're trying to run away," he continued. "Just remember that it was you who caused this!" And he let me go. I was too shocked to speak. Was all that had happened truly my fault? Some part of my mind said no--but another said that I had played an important part in it all. Laval looked angry and hurt, like he might have blamed anyone. But somehow, his accusation hit home--and stung. Still speechless, I flew to the back of the jet. "Take flight!" I called to Eris, trying to keep my voice steady. "And be quick about it!" I peered over the edge to see Laval cling to a jet leg as we took off.
I pointed Laval out for Eris, and she nodded, hurriedly working at the controls. As we rose off the ground (thankfully with no stowaways), I settled back to find something to hold on to for the flight. I did not bother asking Rawzom for the three coins, for I knew he would not part with them. Before we had risen above the trees, Eris said, "This reminds me of a joke..." By now we ravens had gotten used to this manner, but not one of us wanted to stay here a second longer, and Eris had halted in midair. "Proceed," grumbled Rawzom. Eris turned back to the controls. "We aren't out 'o the woods yet!" We all groaned as the jet began ascending again, this time much more quickly. I attempted to rest, but whenever I closed my eye, the image of the lion temple exploding filled every corner of my mind. (I assumed) All the lions had gotten out unharmed, yet still.... And what of the rearranging temple passageways? What of the flower field I had found (presumably where the mind-altering flowers came from)? What exactly did the message about Emerot mean? Was Laval still gripped by the "spell" of the flower? And last but not least, what was the tube I had found meant to be used for? These questions would have to be answered before any decisive action was made. A nasty thunk! cut through my thoughts and brought me back to the moment. Turning thoughts over in my head had seemed to take hours, when in reality, it had only been seconds. Peering over the edge of the jet again, I saw that a lance had pinned a scrawled note to the jet leg, missing Laval by a hair. Down below, Lagravis was grinning and waving, the ruins of the temple spread out behind him. I averted my eye as Laval shouted, "Get us outta here!" Once the clearing was out of sight (and earshot), I asked, "Where are we going?" "The only place we can find answers," returned Eris. "The eagle library."
"A...library?" said Razar uncomfortably. "Keep quiet," Rawzom said in an undertone. "In a place as rich as that eagles' castle, there's bound to be more than just books in the library." "You're going to walk through the front gate--with ten ravens?!" Laval called out. "Seriously?" That was my concern as well. The eagles would most likely not take well to so many thieves inside their walls "This is the only way to figure things out," said Eris, silencing us. "I actually read something about Emerot and..." "Hey, can someone pull me up?" Laval interrupted. Sighing, I reached my claws down to him. But as I was pulling him up, his kilt snagged on the lance Lagravis had thrown. "Go on," I told Eris as I continued to haul Laval to the top of the jet. "Well," said Eris, "I was reading about Mount Cavora and Chi, then I found the other name: Emerot. I thought that name sounded familiar, and when I researched it, I realized... the lion who kept too much Chi for himself hundreds of years ago is connected to Emerot somehow." Laval stepped onto the back of the jet then and grabbed at a piece of metal for support. The lance had actually been pinning his kilt to the jet along with the message, hence my difficulties in helping him up. "Most interesting," I said (meaning about Emerot). "Am I right in assuming that we shall further our research on this once we arrive at the castle?" The ravens looked at me oddly, but Eris nodded. "That is settled then," I went on. "Shall we have a look at this?" I held up the message, pierced by the lance. "Eh," said Razar. "It's probably full of empty threats." Quite likely. Still, I decided I had best read it anyhow. "It's not like we have anything else to do," said Laval. "Let's hear what it says."
A chorus of howls came from below, perfectly summing up my mood. "That'll be the wolves signaling the end of night," Laval said. "The sun should rise in a few hours." I looked at Laval intensely and he fell silent (though not without returning the look). "Right," said I. "This is what Lagravis wrote. Ahem. "Fear not, our story isn't yet over. We know where you're headed, and we'll get there first. And if we fail to stop you, there is another, much greater than I, who will. Lagravis." "Well, that's nice," said Razar. "Just like I said, full of empty threats." "I wish I held your opinion," I said. Razar was rather near to me, and his claws began straying towards me. "You mean to say you believe what that crazy old lion said?" "It would not be wise to ignore such a message when the writer very nearly destroyed us!" A pause followed my outburst. Laval stared at me. "My dad..." he began. "My dad's been taken over by a flower?" "A mind-controlling flower, supposedly," I said. Then a thought struck me. "Laval. What if the pollen you inhaled is within you still? Does--" I snatched Razar's wrist as it inched away from my pouches, then turned on him. "What have you taken?" I demanded. "Oh, nothing," said Razar carelessly. I shook his wrist; there came the unmistakable jingle of coins from inside his tightly clenched claws. "Why do you keep trying to steal from me?" "Ah, loosen up," said Razar. He then lowered his voice. "I'm trying to keep you from getting too friendly with goody two-paws here." Razar gestured to Laval, who looked on suspiciously. "You should be thanking me." Just when I was about to cry out with frustration, Eris said, "There it is! The castle!"
With a jerk, I emptied my coins from Razar's claws, then turned to take in the view of the castle. It was not easy to discern many details, for the moon had sunk below the horizon and the sun had yet to rise. But from what I could see, the castle looked like something out of a fable or myth; in other words majestic, if slightly unreal. "You'll have to follow my lead," said Eris. "I'm sure Equila won't like seeing you guys again." Razar stood up to better see the castle. "I'll say," he said. I could imagine perfectly Razar feigning innocence for Equila. Anything to live to steal another day. Whether Equila would believe him, however, was a different story. "Laval," I said, turning to him. "You have been--" I stumbled back, surprised. Laval's eyes were red. "Does this mean the lions will be waiting for us at the castle?" asked Rawzom, apparently not knowing that Laval had inhaled the flower pollen and that perhaps it was controlling him still. "Eris, we have a problem!" I called. "Hold on!" she returned, working furiously at the controls. "We're almost there!" Recognizing me, of course, Laval pinned me to the jet-top and reached for his Valious, a broadsword with lion patterns. "Get him off me!" I cried, struggling as hard as I could against his viselike grip. The ravens simply stared. I managed to free one of my sets of talons, and, fumbling, I pulled a Chi orb from one of my pouches. In the hopes that its use would counteract the pollen inside him, I allowed Laval to snatch the orb from my grasp. He stood up and released me, thus I seized my chance to edge away. Too late I realized I should have disarmed him, now all I could do was watch and see if it worked.
Finally the ravens saw fit to take action--yet not the helpful sort. They cowered and crawled away, shielding their heads. I should have done the same, but so convinced was I that my idea would work, I did nothing but look on as Laval raised the Chi orb towards his harness. As the orb fitted into its place and Laval's Chi form surged upwards, I instantly knew I had made a mistake. For his Chi form flared as red as his eyes rather than the usual azure, and the eagle jet bucked as if about to drop from the sky. Apparently, Chi would do nothing to purge the flower dust in one's system. "Eris?!" I called. "What?" she answered, struggling to keep the jet level. I distanced myself from Laval, who was beginning to pound on the jet's engine. "Shall we be landing anytime soon?" I said. Eris turned to see Laval wrecking the engine. "Ummm..." "Simply answer my query!" Desperately, I ran at Laval, intending to get him away from the engine, but Razar pulled me back. "This is what you get for trusting the lions," he said. "No," I returned, closing my eye, behind which was still the image of the exploding lion temple. "This is my fault, my mistake. Not Laval's. And I shall not let any one of you pay for it." "We're losing altitude fast," Eris cut in. "And at this rate...we won't make it to the castle!" I opened my eye. Time to set things right. "Eris!" I said. "Flip the jet!" She hesitated. "Now? But what about--" "Just do as I say!!" I practically screamed. Eris complied, turning the jet completely upside down. The ravens and I spread our wings to keep from falling, but Laval plummeted, roaring, his destruction of the engine halted. As the jet stopped wobbling, Eris righted it and dived to catch Laval. When its talons closed around him, his eyes were still clearly red, the flower still controlling him. Sighing with relief, I hunkered down near the rattling engine--which then died. Everyone sat up, eyes wide. Then Eris spoke up. "It's OK, our momentum should get us there..."
"I've steered us on course to land on the eagle runway," Eris said. "Hopefully we'll get there..." My biggest fear was crashing into an inhabited area and harming the eagles. I couldn't see a runway anywhere, but Eris seemed to know what she was doing. "Are the jet's talons still in working order?" I asked. "They should be," Eris answered. I looked down at Laval. "After all, we wouldn't want him to drop." The jet gained speed as it fell forward and down. We were now close enough to the castle to see movement (eagle sentries pacing), and still no runway was visible. "Heh! Where d'you think our eagle friend is taking us?" A voice whispered into my ear, making me jump. I turned to find Razar shifting about nervously. "Give it time," I hissed, moving out of arms-reach. "I gave you time before," Razar retorted. "You're the one who got us into this mess, remember." That might not have been true, but I could not deny it. I should have realized that Razar was panicking and randomly pinning blame. However, since this was not the first time I had been blamed (and partly because I, too, was panicking) Razar's words nearly knocked me over. "And if I told Rawzom and the rest about this," he went on, a crazed look in his widening eyes, "Why, I'm sure they would reward me if I shoved you off right now." The castle was very close now, but I barely noticed. Razar's words horrified me. What was more, the other ravens were now watching us intently. "Yes, yes," said Razar, laughing as tears flowed down his face. "That's exactly what I'll do." We were falling so fast now that thinking and breathing became difficult. I was dimly aware that if we crashed the way we were oriented at the moment, Laval would be crushed. Pulling along whichever ravens were closest, I moved to one side of the jet in an attempt to counter-balance it, so the side opposite Laval would take the more damage. And then the jet smashed into the runway, and everything went dark.
I was spiraling through blackness. All sense of direction was gone. Then-- "Ah, look, this one's starting to come around." I forced my eyelid to open and found an eagle standing over me, presumably a medic (guessing from the robe he wore). My eyelid sagged as if carrying a great weight, closing again. When I could open my eye again, it required no effort to keep open, and my surroundings looked considerably less fuzzy than before. I was apparently in an eagle treatment room. Beds lined the back wall, one of which I was laying in. On the other side of the room, there was a single table, and a doorway leading out. By now, the eagle medic who had been looking me over was tending to patients in the other beds. Looking around, I counted three eagle medics in the room, and I realized that Laval and the ravens occupied the other beds. Eris was nowhere to be seen. After they saw to it that we were all (at least part-way) conscious, the eagles left the room. So we had all survived the crash (with the possible exception of Eris). We were safe for the time being. Sighing, I rested my head back on the pillow, and I was just about to drift off to sleep again when a voice said, "Hey!" I turned to see who had spoken and groaned. "Leave me be, Razar," I said. He stood up and walked over to my bed. "Come on," said he. "I woke up before you, with nothing to do! Let's go find the library, I'm sure Eris is already there." "Even if she is, neither of us has the slightest idea where the library is," I returned. "And it is not as if we can ask for directions." Razar paused to consider this, then shrugged. "I guess I'll go by myself then." And he turned and walked for the door, snatching a jingling bag from the table as he passed it by. As soon as he walked out the door, the realization of what he had done struck me. "No! Bring that back!" I called, jumping out of bed and walking quickly across the room and out the door.
Leaving the treatment room brought me to a hallway that stretched away to the left and right. Looking both ways, I spotted Razar sprinting in the former direction. Soon, however, he slowed down, then stopped altogether and leaned against a wall, panting. "Razar!" I hissed. He turned back to look at me. "Stop!" I continued. "You shall only end up hopelessly lost." Once I had walked over to where Razar stood, he held up the bag he had stolen and said, "Ten coins says Eris is at the library." I shook my head. "So we are betting now?" said I. Razar smiled. "And another twenty coins says I know how to get to the library." So saying, he turned and continued on, but more slowly. I followed after him in disbelief. "But what if the eagles return to the treatment room and find us and that bag missing?" "Treatment room?" said Razar, without stopping or even turning his head to look at me. "Is that what you call it?" I grabbed Razar by the shoulder and attempted to turn him about, but all I did was twist my arm painfully--a reminder that I should be resting and recovering from the jet crash. "Did you not hear what I said?!" I whispered angrily. Razar looked taken aback. "I did," he said. "But I wouldn't worry." And he walked on. The passage forked several times, and every time it did, Razar chose betwixt two hallways instantly, walking whichever way he chose without hesitation. I do not know what made me keep going. I should have gone back to the treatment and let Razar get himself lost. After a long while, I asked, "Have you any idea where exactly you are going?" "Actually, yes," Razar returned. "It's not the first time I've been here." Then certainly the eagles would not want to find him wandering around without their knowing about it. And sure enough, once we turned a final corner, there was the door marked "Library".
Pushing Razar aside, I heaved the door open, stepped into the library, and looked about in awe. The room was enormous--yet still not big enough for all the books it held. They were crammed onto floor-to-ceiling shelves, set in spinning racks, laid out on tables, and placed on display stools. Such a multitude there was that hundreds lay in various precariously stacked piles on the floor. At the opposite end of the room, a ray of sunlight (in which dust particles could be seen swirling and dancing) shone through a solitary window. Now it was Razar who pushed me aside. "What're you doing, just standing there?" he said. "Let's find Eris!" "But how do we even know she is--" "Hey!" called Eris's voice. "Over here!" Following the sound, we ended up at a small table at which Eris was sitting. "I've found it," she said excitedly. "This." She held up a little green book with an attached silk bookmark. There was no visible title. "This is a bunch of old fireside stories, legends, and poems. There's a very detailed section about Emerot and the lion who kept too much Chi for himself: Loradus. Turns out, he also studied sorcery." My beak dropped open. Sorcery? Then did that mean-- "What is it?" asked Eris, having see my shocked face. "Oh," said I. "I shall tell once we are all gathered." Eris looked at us more closely. "Where are the others?" she asked, suspicion creeping into her voice. "Aaaah," said Razar, turning to me. "You explain." But I did not get the chance. For no sooner had I opened my beak than a long, low wail filled our ears. "That's the eagle horns," said Eris. "How did you get here?" "We came from the treatment room," I answered. Eris closed her eyes, looking worried. "You weren't supposed to leave the room, were you?" "No one told us not to," Razar said weakly. "The last thing you need is to let an eagle catch you walking around, alone," said Eris. "I'd better get you back to the treatment room, now."
Eris walked to the library door, pushed it open, and gestured for us to follow. Razar looked happy at the idea of going back to the treatment room with a stolen bag of something hidden away. But I hesitated, looking back at the book Eris had found concerning Emerot (or Mount Cavora) and the lion, Loradus. "Rizzo!" Eris whispered forcefully. Taking one last look at the surrounding bookshelves, I turned and limped out the door. Eris set off down an adjoining hallway almost at a run, making it hard to keep her in sight at my pace. Razar took advantage of the situation by staying slightly behind Eris as well, so he could talk to me without her hearing. "You know," Razar began, "I did win both my bets..." He pulled out the bag he had swiped from the treatment room and opened it up. Inside was an assortment of medical instruments. Razar stared. "No gold?" he beaked silently. I started walking faster, in case he tried to steal my treasure. Soon we reached the treatment room. The door was ajar, so Eris peeked in. "No one there but the other ravens and Laval," she reported. And that was when I spotted Equila coming down the hall. I tapped Eris's shoulder and pointed. She nodded and inclined her head towards the door. Thankfully, Equila had not noticed us yet, so Razar and I crept through it. Eris shut the door behind us. "What were you thinking?" I said quietly. Razar snorted as we made our way towards the beds, depositing the bag of medical instrument on the table where he had found it. I settled down in the bed, closing my eye as the door opened. "So they are here," came Equila's voice. "And the medics' tools. Hmmm. The guard I sent here must have been seeing things. Still, can't be too careful with ravens..." His voice faded away and Eris entered the room. "Everyone awake?" she asked. The others (excepting Razar) grumbled sleepily, but sat up and gave an affirmative. "OK then," said Eris. "I need to have a word with the medics."
Rawzom blinked sleep out of his eyes. "What was all that about?" he said, looking to Razar, who shrugged. Of everyone, Laval seemed to be the least conscious. His head kept bowing under its own weight and his eyes (golden once again) were less than half-open. The force of the flower appeared to have left him drained of all energy. As I was pondering this, Eris walked back into the room. "I may have found some leads as to what happened at the lion temple," she said. "Does anyone want to join me in my research?" Tired though he must have been, Laval was the first to walk over to Eris. "If it means finding a way to help my dad"--(And you, I thought)--"Then count me it." Eris looked overjoyed at this. Clearly she enjoyed Laval's company, though to what extent I was uncertain. (Equally uncertain was I about whether the feeling was reciprocated.) I was the second to stand, subtly nudging Razar on my way towards Laval and Eris. "I believe it is crucial to understand what befell the lions, the protectors of our Chi," I said. "For if the Chi is lost, then so are we." Laval stared as if surprised that the words had come from my beak and the ravens stared as if they did not understand me, but Eris seemed grateful for the support, raven or not. After a long, rather awkward pause, Razar stood up and walked over, offering no reason why, avoiding eye contact. The other ravens stayed where they were. "OK," said Eris, turning to the doorway. "Equila! We're--" "On second thought," Rawzom cut her off, "We'll all come with you." Eris gave a brief nod, and called out, "Equila! We're going!" Equila walked into the treatment room with a rather nondescript eagle warrior by his side. "All of you?" Equila asked, looking over the ravens. "Yes," said Eris. Equila shifted his gaze to her again. "Do me a favor, take Ewar with you," he said, glancing at the eagle beside him. "He hasn't been sure what to do with himself." Ewar looked as if he wanted to disagree, but instead joined our group.
"Let's see...where is it..." Eris was searching through the little green book for anything of relevance at a dusty table. Laval and Ewar (who had been informed of the happenings at the lion temple) and I looked on impatiently. The other ravens were supposedly "browsing" the book collection. "Ah! Here we are!" Eris stopped flipping pages and looked up. "I've found the story of 'the lion who upset the balance.' It mentions Emerot, an archaic name for Mount Cavora, which Rizzo"--she pointed to me--"said he found in a message created by the Chi, burned into the wall of the lion temple." When Eris said the word "message", something pulled at the back of my mind. "Eris," I said. "Apologies for interrupting, but what about the message Lagravis wrote?" Eris raised an eyebrow. "What about it?" she asked. "Well," I continued, "Did it not say, 'we know where you're going and we'll get there first', or something of the sort? What did that mean?" Eris sighed and looked back at her book. "Whatever it meant, they aren't here at the castle. Now, should I read this out to you?" Laval, Ewar, and I all said yes. "Oh," said I, just as she was about to start reading. "I should fetch Razar. I believe it is important that he hear this. Worry not, I shan't be long." I dashed off to find Razar. If I had not had an idea of where he was, searching for him would have taken days. But luckily, on the way to the table, Rawzom had pointed out what he thought was a safe; so I knew I would find Razar there. Sure enough, once I reached the so-called safe, Razar had his ear pressed to it, testing for weak points, the group of ravens crowded around. "Razar!" I said forcefully. "You are needed!" "Hah!" he returned. "How can I be more needed than I am here?" "I--" What could I say to come back from that? Grunting, I snatched Razar's arm and dragged him to the table. "Here I am," I said simply. Eris gave a slow nod, then looked down at the page.
