Draggah

by Toby Neighbors

  Tiberius, Lexi, and Rafe sat huddled together around a small fire. Ti’s wives had quickly erected an awning over their heads to keep the rain off. Many of the tribe members worked in the rain. They didn’t seem to mind the cold water falling on them and Olyva was among their number. Unlike the tribe members who were busy working with the Tamaka hides or bones, Olyva was simply letting the rain fall on her upturned face.

  “Why are they so happy about the rain?” Lexi asked.

  “My experience is that they seem happy about everything,” Rafe said.

  “How is Olyva?” Tiberius asked his friend.

  “Physically, she seems okay. The tree parts don’t seem to be taking over or spreading,” Rafe said. “She’s been more social too.”

  “That’s good,” Tiberius said.

  “She kept me calm when we couldn’t find you.”

  “You were looking for me?” Tiberius said. “I thought you were just coming to the watering hole.”

  “We were,” Rafe said. “Although I was trying desperately to get the Rogu out searching for you.”

  “You didn’t think Tiberius could make it on his own?” Lexi asked, with an impish grin.

  “He’s not the most self-sufficient person,” Rafe said.

  “Hey, I did okay,” Tiberius said.

  “I’m not arguing,” Rafe said. “I was worried about you, that’s all. I know you’re a wizard and all, but I don’t like it when you disappear.”

  They all laughed. As night fell, the camp became more subdued. Most of the tribespeople had shelters and lived in family units. They retired early, retreating to the dome tents made of animal hides to escape the cold rain. Rafe used one of his blankets to dry Olyva, who was lethargic. She would have curled up on the muddy turf and slept, but Rafe made her stand near the fire.

  Tiberius and Lexi decided that the best solution for the night was for Olyva to join Lexi and the group of wives Ti had inherited inside the Swanee’s shelter. Rafe and Tiberius would sleep by the fire just outside the entrance to the tent. Once everyone was settled for the night, Rafe and Tiberius stretched out on either side of the fire. They had thick Tamaka hides to lay on. The animal skin wasn’t completely waterproof, but was better than a blanket.

  The members of the Rogu stood guard around the camp, although Tiberius couldn’t imagine being able to see anything in the darkness that shrouded the tribe. The rainfall would also muffle any sounds of approaching danger. Still, he rested better knowing that the group of hunters were watching over them.

  The rain finally let up around midnight. Tiberius could only doze by the fire. If he lay for too long in any one position, water soaked through the Tamaka hide and woke him up. It was still warm in the blighted lands, but the wet ground was cold, and the fire did little to keep him warm. Another hour passed before the commotion started.

  “What’s going on now?” Tiberius said when he heard the women in the tent making noise.

  “Huh?” Rafe asked, propping himself up on his elbow.

  They could hear the women trying to keep Olyva from coming outside. She seemed frantic.

  “What’s happening?” Tiberius whispered into the shelter as loudly as he could.

  “There’s something wrong with Olyva,” Lexi said.

  “Let me out, please,” Olyva pleaded.

  “Let her out,” Rafe said. “It’s okay.”

  Olyva came crawling out of the shelter, her eyes wide with fright.

  “Did you have a nightmare?” Rafe asked.

  Olyva ignored him and hunched onto the ground. Her long, scaly toes dug into the soft turf. Tiberius wasn’t sure what to do. Olyva seemed upset, but she wasn’t throwing a fit. Instead, she seemed to be calming down.

  “What happened?” Rafe asked, trying to conceal the anger in his voice.

  Lexi had followed Olyva out of the shelter along with several other women. She looked frightened.

  “I don’t know exactly,” Lexi said. “We went in and she was sleepy. There are lots of pillows to sleep on and thick fur rugs. She pulled them all out of her way and got as close to the ground as she could.”

  “The shelter has a thin, woven bottom,” Filsa said. The older woman was smoothing down her hair. “She seemed content to sleep on that.”

  “Wouldn’t she get wet?” Rafe snapped.

  “There isn’t much moisture under the tent,” Filsa went on. “Around the edges there might be, but she was in the middle.”

  “I think she wanted to be as close to the ground as she could get,” Lexi said in a soft voice. “She doesn’t like being separated from the ground.”

  “Why?” Rafe asked.

  “Her roots,” Lexi said pointing at Olyva’s toes.

  Tiberius felt strange to be staring at Olyva, much less talking about her. The young noble-born woman was close enough to hear everything they were saying, but she seemed to be oblivious to their conversation.

  “That isn’t funny,” Rafe said.

  “I’m not joking,” Lexi said. “You told us she predicted rain. How could she do that?”

  “I have no idea,” Rafe said, his temper simmering just below the surface.

  Tiberius put his hand on Rafe’s shoulder, hoping to calm his friend down if possible. Rafe was trembling slightly, and Ti didn’t know if it was from anger or fear.

  “She’s changed,” Lexi said. “And maybe she can sense something we can’t.”

  Everyone looked at Olyva. She wasn’t moving, but her eyes were open. She had both palms flat on the ground, and her feet were still squirming down into the turf.

  “Something’s coming,” she said in a serious voice.

  “What?” Rafe said as he got down on his knees beside her. “What’s coming?”

  “Something big,” she said. “I feel it.”

  “What is she talking about?” Lexi said.

  “I don’t know, but we better warn everyone,” Tiberius said. “You stay here. I’ll go find Te’sumee.”

  Tiberius made his way through the camp. In the darkness, it was hard to avoid the shelters and supplies the tribe had left around their personal areas. There was an impending sense of doom as well. Something was coming toward the camp, something big enough to alert Olyva through vibrations in the ground. Tiberius’ mouth was dry and he felt a chill run down his spine. All he could think of were the huge creatures that sometimes attacked Avondale, rising up out of the mists like terrible nightmares coming to life. The city’s guards had ways of protecting the citizens of Avondale and growing up, Tiberius was always excited to see the giant creatures. But now he felt naked and exposed on the flat plains of the blighted lands. If one of those huge monsters was coming, he had no place to take cover, no position of strength to fight from.

  At the edge of the camp, he found one of the Rogu. The tribal hunters were also the warriors and guardians of the Hoskali camp. The Rogu bowed his head in respect.

  “Tiswanee,” he said.

  “I need Te’sumee,” Tiberius said. “Where is he?”

  “He just came off watch,” the man said. “Come with me, I’ll take you to him.”

  It was hard to see the Hoskali warrior in the darkness, but the hunter moved through the camp with ease. The Rogu did not take wives, nor did they sleep in shelters. They lived, hunted, and when necessary, fought together. Being a Rogu, Tiberius was learning, was a great honor among the members of the tribe.

  “He is just there,” the man said, pointing.

  He started to return to his post, but Tiberius stopped him.

  “No, don’t leave yet. Something’s coming toward the camp and we’ll need you to help,” Tiberius said. “We have to wake the others.”

  The Rogu warrior nodded and moved among the sleeping hunters quickly, waking them as Tiberius slowly made his way to where Te’sumee was resting.

  “What is it?” asked the lead hunter.

  “Something is coming,” Tiberus said. “Something big.”

  “How do you know this, Tiswanee?”
the hunter asked.

  Tiberius had expected his news to be met with skepticism, but Te’sumee and the other hunters gathering around Ti only seemed in awe.

  “Olyva,” he explained. “She can feel the vibrations in the ground I think. She predicted the rain too. I think we have to believe her.”

  “Of course, of course,” Te’sumee said. “Many creatures come here to drink.”

  “Should we move the camp?” Tiberius asked.

  “We will protect the camp,” Te’sumee said with obvious pride. “The Rogu will not fail you, Tiswanee.”

  “Rafe and I will come with you.”

  “We are not leaving,” Te’sumee said. “We have no way of knowing where the creature is coming from.”

  Tiberius hadn’t thought about that. In the daylight, they could have seen the creature long before it arrived at the watering hole, but in the dark there was no way of seeing where the threat was coming from.

  “Gather your warriors,” Tiberius said. “Meet me at my shelter. We’ll figure out a plan.”

  “As you wish, Tiswanee.”

  The warriors gathered their wooden clubs and checked their small knives. Tiberius led the Rogu back toward the center of the encampment where his shelter was located. Rafe had built their fire back up and Tiberius felt better just moving closer to the light. He wasn’t afraid of the dark, but in Avondale he couldn’t remember it ever being truly dark. At night in the city, there were always torches, lamps, or candles burning somewhere, and of course the moon and stars shined brightly overhead. In the blighted lands, the thick layer of mist overhead blocked the light from the stars. Fuel for fires was hard to come by, and even though the tribe kept a supply of the dried Tamaka dung for cooking fires, torches were rare.

  “It’s getting closer,” Rafe said as Ti approached.

  Tiberius could tell his friend was anxious, but there was no sign of fear in the young warrior. Ti envied Rafe’s confidence when it came to fighting. Tiberius was more than a little nervous about what they were facing. Personally, he felt inadequate, and as the new Swanee of the Hoskali tribe, he felt the weight of the entire camp on his shoulders. He didn’t think the band of Rogu, as fierce and skilled as they were, could fend off one of the huge creatures he’d seen from the city walls in Avondale. They needed to meet this threat before it got close to the camp and endangered the tribe.

  “Is there any way to know which way the creature is coming from?” Tiberius asked.

  “That way,” Olyva said, pointing toward the darkness.

  “What are our options?” Tiberius said. “I don’t think fighting this creature with clubs and knives is a good idea.”

  “Can we move the camp?” Lexi asked.

  “Too close,” Olyva said in a high-pitched voice. “No time.”

  “How close is it?” Tiberius asked. “We can’t fight what we can’t see.”

  “We have to try,” Rafe said fiercely.

  “Tiswanee,” said Te’sumee as he led his band of warriors to the fire. “We are ready.”

  “We need some kind of light,” Tiberius said. “If we had enough fuel for a fire, it would probably scare the beast away.”

  “Quickly,” Te’sumee said to his band of hunters. “Gather the madrus. We shall build a fire.”

  “What’s madrus?” Rafe asked.

  “It is the Tamaka dung,” Te’sumee said.

  “If we burn that, what will the tribe cook with?” Tiberius said.

  “We will gather more, Tiswanee, never fear. Come, show us where to go.”

  “Stay here,” Tiberius said to Lexi.

  “Ti,” Lexi said, taking him by the arm and speaking in a low voice, almost a whisper. “Maybe it’s time we move on.”

  “We can’t leave the tribe undefended,” Tiberius whispered back.

  “They know how to deal with this, we don’t. If we leave now…”

  She let the thought trail off. Tiberius knew he couldn’t leave, but he understood Lexi’s plea. She wasn’t used to looking out for anyone but herself. Tiberius knew she wasn’t selfish or heartless, just practical.

  “I can’t,” he said. “These people are depending on me.”

  “What about me,” she said. “I’m depending on you too.”

  “Rafe,” Tiberius said turning to his friend. “Show Te’sumee where to go. And get our spears. I’ll feel better knowing we have some weapons that can inflict damage at a distance.”

  “Sure,” Rafe said, nodding in agreement. “This way.”

  He led the Rogu leader away from the fire. Tiberius looked around. The camp seemed peaceful, despite the approaching danger. For a moment, Tiberius felt like maybe everything was being exaggerated. It seemed so unlikely that there was really a monster in the dark; his mind simply refused to believe it. Then, he felt something strange. The ground seemed to vibrate under his feet. Lexi’s eyes grew wide with terror.

  “What is that?” Tiberius said.

  Olyva stood up. She seemed taller and thinner. Her face was lit by the orange flames of their fire, but the expression was grim and made a chill run up Tiberius’ back.

  “It’s here,” she said.

  “Ti, we have to leave,” Lexi said.

  “No,” Tiberius said loudly. People were roused from their sleep by the earth-shaking steps of the creature approaching the camp. They stumbled out of their tents looking frightened. Tiberius knew he couldn’t abandon them.

  “We’re going to stop this thing, Lexi,” he said with more confidence than he felt. “Whatever it is, I’ll stop it. I promise you that.”

  She threw her arms around his neck and squeezed him so hard he could barely breathe. Then she looked at him, her eyes sparkling in the light of their campfire.

  “I’ll be right here when you get back,” she said slowly.

  Tiberius smiled, then he dashed away into the darkness.

  Chapter 11

  Leonosis

  “So you have nothing to report?” Leonosis said angrily.

  “He was an average student,” the Paladin said, with a note of desperation in his voice. “The temple doesn’t promote relationships among the students. Your brother was completely unexceptional. His studies were average, his physical skills subpar, but being the Earl’s son we were willing to overlook that. He made no friends, did only the work that was required, and showed no interest in anything we were teaching.”

  “If I find out you aren’t telling me the truth, I will make you pay dearly,” Leonosis said.

  “On my honor as a servant of the Most High, my lord, I swear I am telling you the truth.”

  The Paladin seemed sure of himself, but Leonosis detected a hint of fear, which pleased him. He wanted to be feared, especially by the people with power in the city. The Priests and Paladins from the temple held sway over the religious beliefs of the people, but Leonosis wanted to know that they respected his power to have them thrown into his dungeons for any reason whatsoever.

  “But are you telling me everything?” Leonosis pressed. “Surely you have archives from before the cataclysm.”

  “We do.”

  “Did my brother spend time there? What did he study?”

  “All our novices study in the archives, but none of the prefects there remembers helping him with anything out of the ordinary. His reports were mundane. Nothing about your brother stood out, and certainly didn’t garner any special attention.”

  “Fine, that is what I needed to know,” Leonosis said with a wave of dismissal.

  “I hope that you are pleased with the thorough nature of our inquiry on your behalf, my liege.”

  Leonosis ignored the Paladin. His mind was already reassessing what he knew about his brother. Tiberius, the dreamer, had somehow gotten himself mixed up with something that could destroy them all. Leonosis couldn’t understand how the Princess could see it but he hadn’t. Robere, the elderly servant, had mentioned magic, and as preposterous as that seemed, it did fit with Princess Ariel’s abilities. What Leonosis could
n’t understand was how Tiberius could have found a way to learn magic. There wasn’t a shred of magical writing left in Avondale… or was there? He needed to know for certain.

  A messenger was dispatched and the other spies were summoned to the palace. Leonosis was impatient. He wanted answers. Hours passed and his mood grew more grim. His patience was gone by the time the spies returned. He met them in the dungeon. It was the most secretive place in the Earl’s palace, and it had the added benefit of reminding the spies what awaited them if they failed.

  “So, what have you learned?” he asked.

  The group of soldiers looked at the ground. It was obvious they hadn’t found out anything about who had let the girl with the horses out of the city. One of the other spies spoke up before Leonosis could lash out at the soldiers.

  “We heard a rumor,” said the man. He had a pointed nose and watery eyes. His hair was thinning and he kept it plastered back over the top of his head.

  “That’s all?” Leonosis said angrily. “Rumors?”

  “The girl’s name was Lexi,” the man said. “We’re fairly certain of that. She was from the streets, a cat burglar.”

  “What would my brother be doing with a thief?” Leonosis said.

  “We’re not sure yet, but word on the street is that they’ve been seen together quite often. And a week or so before you banished him, he paid silver for something in one of the underground markets.”

  “Silver?”

  “A lot of silver. That sort of thing gets noticed,” the man said. “Exaggerated too, but the bottom line is that he was definitely up to something.”

  “What on earth could he have wanted from an underground market?” Leonosis said.

  “Something illegal would be my guess,” the spy said. “We can’t be certain until we find the vendor, but our sources say he was just an old book peddler.”

  “Books,” Leonosis said, his mind suddenly putting the pieces of the puzzle together.

  “That’s right, my lord. Give us another day and we’ll find the man he bought from.”

  “Yes,” Leonosis said. “Find him and bring him here. I’ll question him myself, is that understood?”