Chapter 10
The Minions Search
Though Zodner and Semp were not ready to travel the long distances to find the slaves, they knew they could never return to the Savage Kingdom without them. They knew the hard work they had ahead of them and started by leaving the city and traveling east. Mandune was a small country that only consisted of two major cities, The City of Ferocities and the newly re-founded Grandelyn (which had been blocked off and vacant for over a decade now). The remainder of the country was a variety many small towns and villages. Their eastward journey took Zodner and Semp to a small town called Warush. It was a wealthy town and the people there did pretty well for themselves. The town’s residents included successful farmers, vineyard owners and bottlers, shoemakers, and clothiers. The citizens of Warush kept to themselves and weren't keen to outsiders. So when Zodner and Semp galloped onto their land, they were very easy to spot. The two looked at this land of green pastures in amazement. They wondered how such a small community could have so much.
A nearby farmer casually walked up to the two visitors. His dark balding hair, sackcloth pants, and bare feet were a stark contrast to the armor and weaponry of Zodner and Semp.
“Is there something I can help you with, sirs?” The farmer looked at them suspiciously as he asked.
“Yes, peasant, we are looking for a group of fat people” Semp carelessly blurted out, studying his glove and avoiding eye contact.
The farmer became offended. “Peasant? No, sir, I assure you we are no peasants here. But we would appreciate it if you would leave our land.” Semp scoffed at the man.
“Look, you trite! We are on a mission from our Emperor Kalos to find a group of disobedient slaves. Now have you seen them?” The farmer became even more insulted.
“I would advise you both to leave.” The man warned. Zodner and Semp looked at each other and laughed.
“And what exactly are you going to do if we don't?” Zodner challenged, spit coming from his mouth.
The farmer pulled out a hatchet and whistled, signaling for more of his people to come. Within seconds, other farmers with farming tools came over, accompanied by barbers with razors and knives, bottlers with glass bottles and others. The makeshift army surrounded Zodner and Semp and their horses. The two looked dumb-founded.
“So no help from the peasants?” Semp blurted out again.
With that, the people began to charge the two, running after them with weapons in hand. Zodner and Semp galloped all the way out of the town of Warush.
“You idiot!” Zodner said angrily to Semp who was now quiet. The two were now safe and back on empty roads, though they were not sure where they led.
“I didn't know they would be so sensitive.” Semp said, defending himself.
“This is why your nose looks the way it does now. You don't know how to keep your mouth shut.” Zodner continued to complain.
There would be more trips like these as they went through several towns, villages and lands. They came across a village where there was nothing but alligators and possums, but no people. Another was nothing but water. There was a swamp, then a lake, then a river, and eventually what looked like a sea.
“They definitely couldn't be here. They would've all drowned.” Zodner chuckled.
The next land they arrived at was completely snow-covered. They had never seen snow before; the accompanying cold had them freezing. Their horses were freezing too, and were unable to trek through the snow. Zodner and Semp had to drag their bodies out of that land into the heated roads until they became unthawed.
Their travels throughout the east and south took a total of nine months. They were slowly dying from dehydration; the horses as well. They had sores and blisters all over their bodies from the mixed weather conditions that each land presented. The horses were weak and skinny. To satisfy their hunger they cooked dead birds found along the road, with the help of fires provided by the sun and a few sticks found on the side of the road. They were even forced to backtrack their trails to the land of all water to quench their thirst.
“Zodner, we have been out here for months and we don't have anything to show for it.” Semp complained.
“Yes, but we can't return without them, Semp. You know that.”
“I know, but I'm starving. We haven't had a good cooked meal in many months, our horses are perishing and we look like death is upon us” Semp whined. Is this even worth the 50 coins the Emperor has given us?”
“It’s either this or we remain homeless forever” Zodner solemnly proclaimed. “Since we have traveled the entire east and south of Mandune, we must go forth to the west and north. They have to be out there somewhere.”
They made the harsh travel back towards the west. Fortunately along the way a crew of villagers riding oxen-driven carts spotted the haggard men on the side of the road.
“You men look like you could use some help” The first driver said cheerfully.
“Yes, sir. Our horses are dying and we can't hold on much longer” Semp pleaded.
“Well where are you, men, headed?” The passenger asked.
“Out west. We want to go west.” Zodner said enthusiastically.
It just so happened that the villagers were heading west as well. “Well we don't have much food, but the food and water we have should be enough for you and your horses.” The driver explained.
Zodner and Semp, graciously thanked the men. The villagers gave them food and drink and helped board them into their carts. They traveled for at least two more months, as the villagers took short cuts, before getting to a small land at the beginning border of the west side of Mandune.
“We must end our journey together here, men.” The courteous driver said to them. The villagers had to take another route to continue onto their own path. Zodner and Semp were very thankful. By now they were well fed, their thirsts quenched and their horses now stable and filled with energy. They were able to continue on their own now. The problem was they were dropped off on a land that wasn't inhabited by anyone or anything. It was barren desert. Zodner looked at his compass and anxiously led the way. As they rode along the paths, a black image that was far way caught Semp's eye. He squinted his eyes and said. “Is that a horse?”
“Don't be preposterous. We are the only ones here.” Zodner scolded.
Semp squinted harder. “No, look. That is a horse.”
“I think you are hallucinating. That is simply a mirage in your mind.”
Semp, becoming frustrated, kicked his horse and sped up to the distant image. When he got closer he yelled excitedly. “See I told you it was a horse!”
Zodner followed. He could see a dying horse lying on the ground in the sand. And two more that had died already behind it.
”Wow are those our horses?” Zodner questioned. They reached out to the dehydrated dying horse and checked the back of its ear, revealing the SK symbol.
“This is one of ours.” Semp discovered. “These are the ones the slaves stole from us.” The remaining horses, five in all, looked very sickly and were on the verge of dying. There were only five horses left out of the 51 that were taken by the slaves. After they had ran away from the scare of the white Siamese twin dragons of Grandelyn, this is where they stayed.
“This means they are near.” Zodner thought. The two couldn't take seeing their once beloved horses in agony, so they put all 5 of them out of their misery by breaking their necks. They left their bodies and continued west. Not quite sure of their destination or direction, it took Zodner and Semp a week to stumble upon the small village of Nashre'.
“Look at this place of peasantry” Semp scoffed in a haughty way.
“Just don't call them that, okay? I don't feel like being chased out again.” Zodner pleaded.
“I'll try, but I loathe people like this.” Semp said, spitting on the ground.
The old haggard dressed man with the one blind eye saw their arrival. He limped over peacefully to the men.
“Is there
something that I can help you with?” He asked humbly, afraid because he knew they were from Ferocities.
“Yes, peasan... I mean, sir” Semp corrected himself. “We were sent out to find our fat slaves.” Semp nonchalantly said. The old man gasped. His young dark-haired maiden daughter came over to her dad.
“What's wrong, Father?” She asked.
“These gentlemen are looking for those people that we catered to a few months ago” he said with fear.
“Well they did come by here months ago, but we don't know where they have gone” The maiden explained.
“You wouldn't lie to us now would you?” Semp said while slowly pulling out his sword.
“They did say they were looking for a place. I can't remember the name.” She pondered.
“Remember, girl!” Semp threatened. She paced through her mind trying to recall the name of the land.
“It was Gremlin or Greenland...” she stuttered.
“Gremlin? Greenland? Stop your foolishness, girl!” Semp demanded getting angry. The old man feared for his daughter's life.
“Remember, child. Remember.” He encouraged her softly.
“Grandelyn!” She suddenly remembered. “They were looking for a place called Grandelyn.” The two minions looked at their maps and couldn't find such a place.
“It doesn't exist.” Zodner said in disbelief.
“That's what we told them, but they were also looking for the tree that bridges the brown sand lands and the white sand lands. You shouldn’t go there, but if you find that tree you may be able to find them.” The young maiden suggested. Zodner and Semp looked at each other, shrugged their shoulders and turned to gallop out of Nashre'.
“Just continue North-West!” She called out to them, hoping to never see them again.
Zodner and Semp, now extremely exhausted from the brutal traveling they had endured for almost a year, traveled for one more day before finding the same isolated palm tree that did stand between the brown sand lands and the white sand lands on the opposite side.
“Zodner, look. Do you think that could possibly be the tree that peasant maiden spoke of?” Semp asked studying the full bloom tree. They noticed the fafuras still growing on them. They had never seen these fruits. Zodner found a rock and threw it up at the tree. One of the fafuras fell.
“What is this? Is this even fruit? I've never seen a fruit like this.” He peeled the white rhine back revealing the blue citrus slices.
“This is unusual.” Semp said as he pulled off a slice and tasted it. “It’s pretty good...”
“Let me taste.” Zodner snatched the fruit and ate. “It is really good but we have no time to eat. We have to find the slaves.”
Zodner gave the rest of the fruit to the horses and crossed over to the white sands. There was no attack from the evil spirits that once dominated this crossroads. After the escapees had crossed over with Crystaline in the medallion, that spell was broken. This meant that anyone could walk into that forbidden area. What the men didn't know was that they were a lot closer to their destination then they thought. As they continued riding, Zodner curiously eyed Semp.
“Is it just me or do you look a little thicker than before?”
Grandelyn Page 11