The magic student raced through the streets of Alamar. He dashed into the common classroom and along the corridor to the dining room. Temiker and Ukaro were sitting at the table, each on a different side of FalconEye. Temiker was feeding soup to the Sakovan.
“The soldiers are taking the Sakovan bodies,” the student panted.
“What are they doing with them?” asked Temiker.
“Piling them into the wagon,” answered the student. “I heard the soldiers talking. They plan to take the bodies out of town and bury them and burn the wagon.”
“No,” FalconEye said weakly as he pushed Temiker’s hand away. “They must return to the Sakova.”
“Eat your soup,” interjected Ukaro. “I will see that your people are returned safely.”
“That is not wise,” offered Temiker. “The Sakovans do not suffer trespassers. I will go. They know me.”
“Stay and teach your students,” Ukaro shook his head. “Alamar is not the place for me to be. The Sakovans will not attack me, and I will not attack them. Trust me.”
After a long pause Temiker nodded his agreement. Ukaro rose and pulled his hood over his face.
“Do you want help?” asked the student. “I will go with you.”
Ukaro smiled at the student and gently placed his hand on the lad’s shoulder.
“You are a brave one,” he said calmly. “Stay here and help FalconEye. There will be a test of your bravery before things are done in Alamar. A wagon I can handle on my own.”
“But there are soldiers escorting it,” frowned the student. “They will not let you take the wagon. You will have to battle them.”
“There will be no battle,” smiled the Chula shaman. “These flatlanders have not yet proven to be my enemy. When they declare that they are my enemy, then the battle will begin, but not before. This is their land that I am on, not mine.”
Ukaro walked out through the kitchen and the back door of the schoolhouse. He transformed himself into a kitten and ran towards the main street through the city. It waited patiently for the wagon to appear. As the wagon rolled by, the kitten raced into the street and leaped aboard. It stood next to the bodies for a while to see if anyone had noticed its entry and then curled up for a nap.
Several hours later the wagon jolted to a halt. The kitten immediately rose and stretched. It hid in a dark corner as the soldiers reached into the wagon and removed the shovels. Calmly it waited until it heard their voices and the sound of digging. The cat moved to the rear and gazed out. Five soldiers were digging individual graves while the other seven were relaxing. Some of them were stretched out on the ground with their eyes closed.
The kitten leaped out of the wagon and landed soundlessly. It looked around until it found where the Imperial Guard horses were tied and then it padded softly in that direction. Before it reached the tree that the horses were tied to, the kitten hid and transformed into Ukaro. The Chula shaman walked softly to the horses and untied their reins. The horses were skittish as if they sensed something abnormal in the Chula. Ukaro’s split lips smiled and then opened wide as he let out a low growl. The horses panicked and fled while Ukaro stepped into the darkness behind a nearby tree.
The soldiers noticed the noise and turned to see their horses running away. Several of them raced after the horses while the others looked on in confusion. Ukaro waited patiently for the soldiers to resume their digging. He watched the chasers go by and wished them luck with their task of retrieving the horses. When there was no further attention directed his way, Ukaro moved silently to the wagon. He climbed onto the seat and grabbed the reins. He felt the horses begin to fidget nervously. With a light slapping of the reins, he urged the team to begin moving.
The wagon creaked terribly, and Ukaro held his breath as they moved slowly away from the soldiers. As soon as Ukaro heard the first shout of alarm from the soldiers, he growled mightily at the horses. The team panicked and began running as fast as the wagon would allow them. Almost immediately, Ukaro tried calming the horses even as he fought the reins. A few minutes later he managed to get the team under control.
* * *
StarWind’s eyes popped open and she sat up quickly. She jumped to her feet, and a Sakovan star slipped into her hand. She turned and saw StormSong standing just outside the clearing. The tall Sakovan warrior signaled for the spymaster to move to the opposite side of the clearing. StarWind immediately complied, even as her mind was trying to analyze the sound that had awoken her. She moved into the darkness outside the clearing and waited.
Suddenly, she heard the noise again. It was a faint noise, but one that was unmistakable to a Sakovan. She waited patiently for the chokas to arrive. When the large warbirds came into view, LifeTender was astride one of them. StarWind deliberately stepped into the path of the giant warbirds.
“Why are you here?” asked the Sakovan spymaster.
“We had a message from Temiker,” LifeTender said as she slid off the warbird. “I must inform Lyra right away.”
“Inform me of what?” Lyra asked groggily as she moved from one of the wagons towards the healing mage.
“Our caravan to Alamar was ambushed on their way home,” reported LifeTender. “Only FalconEye has survived and his condition is not good.”
“So Alamar is already closed to us,” Lyra sighed with frustration. “How could they have reacted so swiftly? What else did my uncle have to say?”
“Several things,” reported LifeTender. “The attack was not by the garrison soldiers at Alamar. It was a group from Okata. General Manitow has ordered them arrested.”
“So Alamar will still receive us?” asked StarWind.
“Maybe,” frowned LifeTender. “The situation there is volatile. The citizens carried the bodies of our dead to the marketplace and mourned them. They appeared genuinely distressed by the loss of our people.”
“You mean they will miss their food shipments,” snipped StormSong. “That is what they cry for, not Sakovan dead.”
“Temiker doesn’t think that is the case,” LifeTender continued with a slight glare at StormSong. “While the citizens did speak loudly about the end of our food shipments, they also paid tribute to our fallen warriors. Even the Imperial Guards knew better than to interfere.”
“That is saying a lot,” StarWind interjected as her eyebrows rose. “It sounds like General Manitow is walking a fine line. He is allowing the citizens to mourn the enemy, and he is arresting those responsible. That will not make the Katana happy.”
“General Romero is arriving within the week with his army,” LifeTender continued.
“Who is he?” interrupted Lyra.
“He is one of the Katana’s generals,” answered StarWind. “There are four major generals in Okata, Didyk, Romero, Kapla, and Valdey. Those are the men who control the armies that will invade the Sakova. The rest of the generals are much like Manitow. They control regional armies centered in the main cities. They are more likely to be defensive and try to thwart any Sakovan offensives.”
“Continue,” Lyra said to LifeTender.
“The Imperial Guard stole the bodies from the marketplace this evening,” the healing mage continued. “They had planned to bury them and burn the wagon, but there is a complication, and this is why Temiker felt I needed to reach you tonight. There is a Chula shaman who plans to get the wagon and the bodies and return them to the Sakova. Temiker does not want the man hurt. He stresses that Ukaro is an ally.”
“Ukaro?” echoed Lyra. “He is here in the Sakova?”
“Marak mentioned that he was sending a shaman to help with the Omungan crops,” StarWind offered.
“Yes,” nodded Lyra, “but I hardly expected Ukaro to be the one. Marak is a friend indeed.”
“You know this Ukaro?” asked StormSong.
“Yes,” nodded Lyra. “I met him during my visit to Khadora.”
“There is something that you are not telling,” accused StarWind. “Why is this Ukaro so special?”
Lyra realized that she had overreacted to the news. She was not about to reveal that the shaman was Marak’s father.
“Ukaro is the head shaman of the Zatong tribe,” answered Lyra. “His presence here is a bold statement of Emperor Marak’s support of our cause. He must not be harmed or challenged in any way.”
“Why have you brought three chokas?” StarWind asked LifeTender.
“MeadowTune suggested it,” the healer answered. “She feels that the knowledge of General Romero’s army coming to Alamar presents a serious threat to Lyra’s life. She would like the Star to return to StarCity, but she knows that Lyra will refuse. As long as Lyra is going to the city, she wants the journey to be swift so the Star can leave before General Romero gets there. She wants us to go on ahead of the caravan to Alamar. Temiker has promised to get horses and have someone wait outside the city so we do not need to ride the chokas close to the walls.”
“We?” questioned StarWind. “You are a healer. You are not one to go to an Omungan city. She should have sent a warrior or a spy.”
“We,” nodded LifeTender. “I want to help FalconEye. Temiker and Ukaro have saved his life, but he is still in danger. I can help him.”
The clearing fell quiet as everyone waited for Lyra’s response. Finally, the Star of Sakova nodded.
“MeadowTune is correct,” she stated. “StarWind, you will accompany me and LifeTender to Alamar. StormSong, you are to stay with the caravan. Try to push them so they get to Alamar well before General Romero.”
“We are still going to send food to them?” scowled StormSong. “We will just be feeding Romero’s army. It is better that they starve and return to Okata.”
“The caravans are continuing,” Lyra said emphatically. “Let’s go.”
Lyra, LifeTender and StarWind mounted the chokas and disappeared into the night.
* * *
Mistake led the way up the side of the mountain. The narrow footpath they had started on was a distant memory. They had abandoned it when it appeared to skirt the base of the mountain rather than climb the side. Angry clouds still moved across the night sky allowing the full moon to only peek through at times. After a long hike through the darkness, Mistake called a halt.
“We need to get some rest,” she said softly. “We have no idea where we are going, and there is not enough light to see well.”
“You will get no argument from me,” replied MistyTrail. “Let me lead for a bit. I will look for a flat spot for us to rest on.”
Mistake nodded and MistyTrail took the lead. She found a small ledge, but it was much too narrow to sleep on safely. She changed direction and followed the ledge hoping that it would grow wider. It did indeed grow wider, but even better, she found the mouth to a small cave. She knelt on the ledge and squeezed into the narrow opening. It was totally black inside. MistyTrail ran her hand over her head and found that the small cave opened up enough for her to sit up.
“Crawl inside,” MistyTrail called softly.
Mistake crawled into the cave and felt around until she felt her partner. She sat down in the darkness.
“Small,” commented Mistake, “but it will keep us dry if it rains. I am ready to nod off. I doubt that we will need to keep watch here. Get some sleep.”
MistyTrail nodded in the darkness and then laughed inwardly at her gesture. She stretched out on the floor and fell asleep.
When the morning sun broke over the mountains, a faint sliver of light lanced into the small cave. MistyTrail opened her eyes and stretched. She gently nudged Mistake and then rummaged in her pack for some food. She took out two pieces of dried meet and handed one to Mistake as the thief rubbed her eyes and sat up.
“Are you alright?” Mistake asked the Sakovan warrior. “You don’t hate me for getting you into this mess, do you?”
“No,” MistyTrail replied. “I am fine. I was just a little tired last night. Don’t blame yourself for this mess. I would rather be with you than have you go through this alone. I am glad that we are together.”
“Do you really mean that?” brightened Mistake. “I heard you crying last night, and I thought it was because I dragged you into this by leaving the Sakova.”
“Crying?” MistyTrail frowned in confusion. “What are you talking about? I wasn’t crying. I slept through the whole night and just woke seconds ago.”
Suddenly a sharp crack was heard in the distance immediately followed by a scream. The sounds were quite distant, but both of the women had the same reaction. Mistake beat MistyTrail to the mouth of the cave. She eased herself outward slowly and cautiously until her head was sticking out of the mouth of the cave. The sky was clear and sunny, and she squinted to shut out the brightness. Her eyes scanned the valley as she tried to locate the source of the sounds. She watched for several minutes and saw nothing. She heard nothing and slid back into the cave.
“What is out there?” whispered MistyTrail after Mistake had reentered the cave.
“Nothing,” answered Mistake. “It is a bright and sunny morning.”
“You couldn’t see who was using the whip?” asked MistyTrail.
“I thought it sounded like a whip,” shrugged Mistake, “but there is nobody outside that I could see.”
“Well maybe we can’t see them from here,” frowned MistyTrail, “but I bet they will see us when we try to leave. Now we are trapped in here.”
“It was only one sound,” chided Mistake. “It sounded like a whip and a cry, but this cave probably played tricks with our hearing. Canyons can do that sometimes. I think it has to do with how sounds echo off the rock walls.”
“One sound?” retorted MistyTrail. “There were three more while you were out there. How could you miss them?”
“Three more?” frowned Mistake. “You are joking?”
“I don’t consider beating somebody with a whip a joking matter,” scowled MistyTrail. “I saw too much of that in my youth when I visited Omungan cities to think it is funny.”
Mistake sat stunned for several moments. “Those sounds did not come from outside,” she finally said as she turned around.
She crawled into the darkness of the cave, her hand before to find the wall. MistyTrail moved swiftly to avoid Mistake’s feet as the thief changed directions as she ran her hand over the back wall of the cave.
“Here it is,” Mistake whispered. “It is smaller than the entrance. We will have to leave our packs here.”
“To go where?” asked MistyTrail.
“This cave leads somewhere,” Mistake said as she stripped off her pack. “I want to see where it leads.”
“Can’t we just go to the city?” objected MistyTrail.
“No,” Mistake said adamantly as she crawled into the tiny tunnel.
MistyTrail sighed anxiously and removed her pack. She followed Mistake into the black hole. Mistake moved slowly through the dark, one hand always before her testing for walls or drop-offs. The narrow tunnel meandered for fifteen paces before it gradually opened up wider. Mistake’s ears listened for any telltale sounds, but dripping water and her own breathing were the only things she could hear.
As Mistake rounded a bend she smelled sulfur, and smoke drifted in the air. She crinkled her nose and continued onward. After another forty paces, she saw a dull flicker of light ahead and stopped. She waited until she felt MistyTrail behind her and then continued slowly. The flickering steadily grew brighter as she crawled forward. The tunnel widened quite a bit, although the ceiling remained low.
Another fifteen paces brought the pair to a ledge high in a vast chamber. The ceiling domed high above them, but what captured their interest was the floor twenty paces below them. Torches lit the room below them brightly, and people moved about in large numbers. MistyTrail crawled alongside Mistake, and they both stared down in wonder.
Tunnels ran out of the great chamber in many directions. In the center of the room was a huge horizontal wheel that was being rotated by large ape-like creatures. In the center of the wheel was a large hole in the floor of the chamber. Passing into the large hole was a loop of rope with numerous large buckets tied off at regular intervals. Above the wheel was a wooden tower with a large pulley for the rope and a wooden walkway that passed over the wheel to a flight of steps.
People wearing gray tunics and gray knit hats walked over the walkway and waited for a bucket going down. When the bucket came, the person stepped into it and held the rope. They disappeared through the hole in the floor as the rope descended. Mistake did not see any people coming up in buckets on the other side of the rope loop, but there were people constantly moving between tunnels.
A commotion came from one of the tunnels. The crack of the whip was loud, as was the cry that followed it. A small man ran from the tunnel and climbed the steps to the walkway. A large giant of a man followed and cracked the whip at the small man to make him move faster. The small man ran across the walkway and swiftly stepped into the first bucket available to him. He disappeared through the hole in the floor. The large man with the whip disappeared into one of the tunnels. Mistake tapped MistyTrail and moved back from the edge of the ledge.
“What do you make of this?” whispered Mistake. “What have we stumbled across?”
“I am not sure,” replied MistyTrail, “but I do not like the looks of it. I wish we had not come here.”
“At least we can leave,” declared Mistake. “I do not think those going down the rope have a choice. Come on, we will leave now.”
“No,” sniffed MistyTrail. “We cannot leave now.”
“Why not?” frowned Mistake. “This is obviously not the place to ask for directions.”
“Didn’t you see that last man that was forced to go down the rope?” questioned MistyTrail.
“The one who was whipped?” countered Mistake. “Of course I saw him. What about him?”
“Didn’t you notice anything strange about him?” asked MistyTrail.
“Strange?” frowned Mistake. “Not really. I was more focused on the big guy with the whip. He is not someone that I would like to meet. I bet he could wrestle with those large apes and win. What was so strange about the man he whipped?”
“He wasn’t wearing a hat like the rest,” answered MistyTrail.
“So maybe he lost it when he was whipped,” scowled Mistake. “What is wrong with you? You are starting to cry. Tell me what you saw that has distressed you so.”
“His ears,” sniffed MistyTrail. “He had pointy ears like us. We can’t possibly leave now.”
“No, we can’t,” Mistake said softly as she scurried to the edge.
MistyTrail wiped her eyes and scooted forward alongside Mistake. They peered down into the room looking for any other workers who were not wearing hats. They watched for hours, but there were none. Suddenly the wheel stopped moving. The ape-like creatures stopped pushing the wheel and strode off down one of the tunnels. There was no traffic passing through the room. MistyTrail tapped Mistake and moved back from the edge.
“You keep watch,” MistyTrail said. “I am going back to the cave to get some food. Is it alright if we just share one piece of meat?”
“That will be fine,” nodded Mistake. “Be careful.”
MistyTrail turned and left. Mistake crawled forward and kept watch on the chamber. She had not been watching long when she heard MistyTrail returning. She pushed back from the edge and was surprised to see that MistyTrail had brought the rope with her.
“What is that for?” asked Mistake as she accepted half of the dried meat.
“How else can we get down there?” retorted the Sakovan warrior.
“Get down there?” Mistake asked in horror. “Please tell me that you are joking. We are not going down there.”
“We said that we were going to look for our family,” pouted MistyTrail. “How can we not go down there?”
“So he has pointy ears,” argued Mistake. “Maybe he suffered the same quirk of fate that we did. His ears do not make him our relative.”
“Have you ever met anyone else who has ears like us?” asked MistyTrail. “Have you?”
“No,” admitted Mistake. “At least not until I met you, but that is no reason to do something foolish.”
“Just hold one end of the rope,” scowled MistyTrail. “You won’t have to go down.”
“No,” Mistake replied adamantly. “I spent my whole life searching for you. I will not let you throw your life away.”
“Fine,” retorted MistyTrail. “I will just hang from the ledge and drop.”
MistyTrail tried to move her legs to the edge, but Mistake grabbed her.
“Must you do this?” sighed Mistake.
“I have to,” sniffed MistyTrail. “I have to know who he is. Please help me.”
“But he is down the hole,” protested Mistake. “You can’t get down there without the apes.”
“I just want to get his hat,” explained MistyTrail. “He must have dropped it when he was whipped. The timing is perfect right now. There is no one around.”
“Alright,” Mistake shook her head. “You just grab the hat and get back up here. Do you promise?”
“I promise,” MistyTrail nodded vigorously as she grabbed the rope and began lowering one end to the floor below.
“Make it quick,” urged Mistake as she wrapped the rope around herself and found a rock to brace her feet on. “They probably stopped for the midday meal. They won’t be gone for long.”
MistyTrail grabbed the rope and swung her feet over the edge. She slid down the rope as fast as she could. When her feet hit the floor, she looked around nervously to see if anyone was nearby. Seeing no one around, she dashed for the tunnel that the man had emerged from. She peered along the tunnel and could not see the end of it. She ran into the tunnel.
Mistake watched her sister disappear into the tunnel. She chewed nervously on her lip as she waited. Suddenly, the whip man appeared out of one of the tunnels. Mistake cringed with fear. The man walked to the wheel and peered into the hole in the floor. He grumbled under his breath and stormed off down a different tunnel.
“Hurry, MistyTrail,” Mistake said softly to herself.
Mistake heard the whip man bellowing loudly and cracking his whip. The growls that followed let Mistake know that the apes were the targets of the man’s abuse. She began to sweat profusely as she silently urged MistyTrail to hurry.
Finally, MistyTrail emerged from the tunnel she raced across the floor, and Mistake felt the tension on the rope. Mistake held the rope tightly as her eyes remained glued on the entrance to the tunnel that the apes would use to return. MistyTrail pulled herself over the edge, and Mistake frantically pulled in the rope. She just managed to get the end of the rope as the apes stormed into the room. She exhaled her held breath, and turned to stare at MistyTrail.
“Did you find it?” she asked.
MistyTrail grinned and pulled the hat from her belt.
“Don’t ever do that to me again,” warned Mistake. “I would rather be in danger myself than fear for you when I cannot help. What do we do with it now that you have it?”
“We wait for him to return from the hole,” answered MistyTrail. “Maybe we can use the hat to signal him.”
“And hope that he doesn’t point us out to everyone else,” frowned Mistake. “I do not like this plan.”