by Kim Fedyk
The creature is sleeping, Arleth thought with relief. It's snoring.
The force of its snoring, finally caused the flesh to become dislodged and it drifted lazily down to land at Arleth's feet. She recoiled instantly and would have fallen had a firm hand not steadied her.
"It's ok Arleth, they are all asleep," Selene whispered in Arleth's ear.
"All!?!" Arleth whispered back.
"Vrog, these caves are full of them. Don't worry they are nocturnal. They are the main reason we waited to cross Frasht forest until the day."
Arleth remembered the screams coming from the forest last night. What was left of the creature that had made them, had just floated to her feet. Her nausea re-asserted itself with full force and she gagged.
Selene put her hand on Arleth's back and for the first time, took in the gash on her forehead and her blood-shot eyes.
"You aren't ok are you?" Selene whispered.
Arleth just shook her head.
"When we get away from the caves, we will stop and I'll help you.”
Arleth forced a smile.
* * *
"We really need to get you to Samara." Selene muttered as she bandaged up Arleth's head. They were back in the forest, a safe distance from the caves and the column had halted for a quick lunch break. At Selene's insistence, Arleth had described her morning of nausea and dizziness. "I can numb the side effects for a bit, but that is the best I can do. We will sleep in Occa tonight, but first thing in the morning, I am taking you to Edika."
Arleth nodded. "You can numb the side effects?"
Selene secured the bandage and nodded. She put her hands on either side of Arleth's head, over her temples and closed her eyes. Almost immediately Arleth's nausea and dizziness went away.
"There, how's that?"
"I'm good as new, thank you!"
"I'm glad you feel better, but no you aren't. I can take away the pain for a bit, but it's going to keep getting worse and worse until Samara teaches you how to control your gift."
"ARLETH! did you see the Vrog?" Zeeshan bounded over. "We are all taught as children to be careful of them and stay inside at night, but I have never actually seen one! They are even bigger than I am now!"
"I know! Did you see the size of its claw?"
"And all the bones?"
"You know that is why we Talywags build our homes in the trees, the Vrog don't know how to climb."
"You live in trees? Cool!"
"Ya we do, you will be so surprised when we get there."
"Thanks Selene!" Arleth called over her shoulder as her and Zeeshan ran off.
Selene sighed.
"You are doing the right thing." Aedan said, coming up behind her.
"Am I though? What if taking her to Occa is one day too long? What if I can't get her to Samara in time?"
"If you leave tomorrow morning, you are only losing half a day. I'm sure the Talywag council will let you take a couple of horses. You will make much better time on horseback than if you left from Iridian yesterday on foot."
"Yes I suppose so."
"Cheer up, you will forget all about it in a few hours when we are arguing with the Talywags."
Selene groaned. "Don't remind me."
Chapter 27
Zeeshan hadn't been exaggerating, Occa was unlike anything Arleth had ever seen before.
For starters, the entire city was built in the trees.
And not just any trees, these trees were by far the largest and tallest that Arleth had ever laid eyes on. In fact, even right in front of her, she almost didn't believe they existed. If Arleth spread out her arms to either side of her, it would easily take at least 10 of her to encircle the base of one of these trees. And the tops were lost to her sight - they stretched farther than she could see from the ground. Arleth knew next to nothing about plants or nature, she had always preferred history or cultural studies back at the orphanage. But she was willing to bet that these trees were thousands of years old. Just looking at the sheer magnitude of them took her breath away.
And that was just the trees.
Built into the lowest branches (about 10 metres off the ground) to the very highest branches that Arleth could see were hundreds of platforms, buildings and bridges.
"As I said before," explained Zeeshan "Occa is built into the trees to protect us from the Vrog. They can't climb trees you see. Every night they come out of their caves and a few of them circle at the bottom here, but they can never reach us."
"I'm sure that pisses them off," Winn said cheerfully as he and Graydon passed by.
"It sure does," Zeeshan smiled.
"Too bad hiding in trees won't save them from Absalom's armies," Graydon muttered when he and his brother were still in earshot.
Arleth looked over at Zeeshan, expecting an angry response, but he seemed not to have heard.
"So if the Vrog can't get up, how do you get up.. or down?" She asked.
"Do you see that rectangular box over there?" Zeeshan pointed at a spot on one of the lowest platforms.
"Right there, at the edge of that platform?"
"Yup, that's an upper."
Arleth stared at him blankly, "A what?"
"An upper." He said it matter of factly, as if it was the most obvious statement in the world.
"Ok, and what is an upper?"
Zeeshan finally noticed her blank stare, "Oh you don't know what an upper is? Really? Hmmm. Ok, well, do you see the ropes that are attached to each corner of it?"
Arleth looked more closely, "Yes."
"They are attached at the top to a crank, which you can't see from here. Someone at the top turns it and the rectangular box travels down the rope to the bottom. To go up, you simply turn the crank in the opposite direction."
"And people sit in the box?"
"Exactly. We pull them all up at night so that the Vrogs can't break them or somehow use them. But during the day it is how we get down to the ground. We have them higher up too, to get from different platform levels. Those are always functional regardless of what time it is. Oh look, the one we were looking at is being lowered to the ground now."
Arleth watched in fascination as the rectangular box was lowered along the ropes to the ground.
"Do they never break?"
"Occasionally a rope gets worn out and frays a bit and it gets replaced. Or the crank get stuck and needs to be replaced."
"No I mean, when people are in them?" Arleth was a little hesitant to ride up so high in a box supported by nothing but ropes.
"Oh, no it has never happened. Certain talywags are specifically responsible for upper safety and maintenance. They report and fix any problems before an issue arises. Also there are weight and number limitations on how many can fit in an upper at one time."
"Oh really, so how many can fi..."
"DAAAAAADDDD!" Zeeshan cut her off with his roar. He ran full speed at the door to the upper that had just opened. A pale green creature stepped out, followed by the messenger that had been sent to find him. The creature was quite short, about shoulder height Arleth guessed and very slender. It had a rather disproportionately large head with two bulging brown eyes the size of plates. To Arleth, the creature, which she assumed was a Talywag, looked quite awkward, as if it would tip over on its head at any moment.
The Talywag took one look at the creature flying at him, uttered a high-pitched scream and ran back into the upper, practically pushing the messenger out of his way.
"Shit!" Aedan raced past Arleth after Zeeshan.
Arleth, not wanting to miss anything followed after him at full speed.
When Arleth and Aedan reached them, Zeeshan was banging on the bars of the upper calling for his dad to come out. The talywag was cowering in the corner as far away from Zeeshan as he could be.
"Whhaaaattt issss iittttt?" The Talywag stammered.
Aedan winced at his choice of words. "Zeeshan," he put his hand gently on the child's arm, "Zeeshan, stop for a second."
"Zeeeessshhh
annn?" the Talywag said in confusion.
"High Councilman Crean, this is your son."
The Councilman screamed.
Zeeshan, realizing for the first time that his own dad didn't recognize him and was in fact terrified of him, collapsed on the ground and burst into tears.
Arleth and Aedan looked at each other and without a word, Arleth turned to Zeeshan, and went over to him. Arleth walked over to her friend and climbed into his lap. His whole body shook with the force of his sobs. Arleth desperately wanted to say something, anything that would make Zeeshan feel better, but she had no idea what that would be. Instead she just wrapped her arms around him as best she could and hugged him silently.
After a few minutes, Zeeshan's sobs subsided slightly and Arleth felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned around to see Aedan, with Zeeshan's dad close behind. Aedan tilted his head as a signal and Arleth, picking up on it climbed off Zeeshan. Aedan took his sister's hand and the two of them walked a little distance off to give Zeeshan and his father some privacy.
The Talywag climbed into his son's lap, the same way Arleth had and reached up to wipe the tears from his eyes.
"I can't imagine how hard that is for both of them," Aedan said to Arleth as they could see father and son begin to talk to each other.
"Is Zeeshan's dad going to accept him?"
"Yes of course. He loves his son, I just had to calm him down enough to realize his son really was the huge creature he sees now, not the small 7 year old Talywag he thought went missing a week ago."
"That's good," Arleth was relieved.
Selene came up behind them. "I hate to break up their reunion, but we have a lot to discuss and I think we should get started."
"True, you are right."
The three of them walked over to Zeeshan and his father. "High Councilman Crean, I hate to interrupt, but we have a lot we need to discuss. I suggest you call a council immediately."
The Talywag looked at his king and nodded. "I will have the council ready in an hour and half."
The Talywag held his son's paw in his much smaller hand and together the two of them made their way to the upper. Aedan and Selene, with Arleth following close behind walked away to organize their army's ascent into Occa.
* * *
"You can't possibly expect us to abandon Occa at the drop of a hat, and what, live in a cave?"
Selene, Aedan and Zeeshan were sitting in the high council meeting with Zeeshan's father and the other six members. It had started later than planned, due mostly in part to the extra hour it had taken to calm down the council and explain who and what Zeeshan was and why he was no longer a Talywag. And when the council had finally started, it hadn't gotten much better. In fact, so far it was going pretty much exactly as well as Selene had expected.
Terribly
"You will not be safe in Occa," Aedan repeated for the third time. "Absalom has made it clear he is targeting Talywags. You yourself said that a number of children have gone missing."
"That is nothing new," councilman Duhn continued. "Talywag children go missing occasionally, they go exploring, or aren't back before it gets dark and they get eaten."
"Fine, but not this time. Isn't Zeeshan proof that Absalom is specifically using Talywags. Now that he has created a successful creature, do you think he will stop with just one? No of course not."
"And he knows that Zeeshan is with us," Selene continued. "He knows we know. He will strike hard and fast."
"So what if he does?" Zeeshan's father countered. "We have been safe in Occa for generations."
Aedan struggled to control his anger. How stubborn could someone be? "Safe by hiding in trees, from mindless Vrog."
"It has been successful for hundreds of years," councilman Yurin interjected.
"Yes and against the Vrog, it likely always will be." Aedan agreed, "However, Absalom's armies are not the Vrog. They are not mindless, they will not be deterred by mere trees. They will use magic and fire and weapons. None of which the Talywags can defend against. You are utterly defenceless. Not to mention, the creatures Absalom is making - Talywags and snow bear hybrids - snow bears climb trees."
"Bah," Duhn retorted, "So what? Our own children wouldn't hurt us, regardless if they are part snow bear."
The stupidity of that comment stunned Aedan and Selene speechless for a moment.
"Right Zeeshan? You have been...combined... but you wouldn't try and kill us right?"
"No, but.."
"See, problem solved." Duhn sat back and crossed his arms, satisfied with his logic.
"But," Zeeshan continued. "My combination wasn't fully successful. My friend Thom... his was. When it was done, he didn't recognize me anymore. He was.. gone.... a puppet. I have no doubt he would have killed me had Rogan ordered it." He shivered at the memory.
"You cannot be certain."
"I can, " Selene countered. "We have had enough experience with Rogan's experiments to know that the person left over is no longer themselves. They are just a mindless husk left to do Rogan or Absalom's will as they command. Zeeshan was very lucky that his experiment was a failure, it only affected his physical appearance, not his mind."
The council burst into an uproar.
"Calm down, calm down." High Councilman Crean yelled, trying to take back control of the council. "Let's say that everything you are saying is correct."
"It's not," councilman Duhn and Yurin said in unison.
"Assuming it is," Crean continued, glaring at them. "Why do we need to leave Occa? Can't we just stay here? You brought part of your army, can't you defend off Absalom's attack?"
Aedan sighed.
"We may be able to defend Absalom's attack, if we are able to build up your defences, if there is time. But Occa is not easily defended, plus we don't know how many Absalom will get to attack us. On top of that, even if we are able to push back Absalom's attack, we can't stay to help you defend against him in the future. He will keep coming back until he gets what he wants."
"Come with us and we can defend you in our stronghold. So far Absalom hasn't even been able to find where it is." Selene added.
The seven council members looked at each other.
"Give us ten minutes to discuss and we will let you know what we decide."
"Sure," Aedan said, not having any other choice.
The Talywags stood up and left the room.
"This is frustrating," Zeeshan growled.
"It sure is," Selene agreed. "For such a smart race, they are passive to the point of stupidity. It just boggles my mind."
"How can they possibly expect that sitting and hiding in trees will protect them from Absalom's army?" Aedan seethed.
Zeeshan and Selene just shook their heads.
* * *
Almost 45 minutes later, the council returned.
"We have reached a decision," Zeeshan's father announced. "We will stay in Occa. It is our home, we have been safe here for hundreds of years, we will continue to be so. We will however, except your help in building fortifications and defence for when the attack comes."
"And what will you do when we are gone and Absalom attacks again?" Aedan queried.
"We will repel them again," Crean said unworriedly.
"You are an idiot." Zeeshan roared at him. "You are all idiots." He stormed from the room.
Aedan wanted to do the exact same thing, but he restrained himself. "Fine, Winn and Graydon will lead the defence of Occa with their army. Selene, Arleth, Val and I need to leave immediately so we will begin fortifications tonight."
"Tonight? Nonsense. You are the true king after all," Crean said. "It would not be proper for you to visit and us not to throw a party. Not proper at all."
"We really don't have time for a party." Selene said.
"No arguments, the preparations are already underway. You can begin tomorrow morning. Absalom won't attack at night and contend with the Vrog."
And with that the seven Talywags left on mass as if to ensure no further arguments ens
ued.
Aedan and Selene were left in the council chamber alone.
"Ridiculous," Aedan shook his head.
"I'll go put up some detection spells before this stupid party. I won't have time to do much else, but at least we will know if an attack is coming."
"Good idea, and I'll ensure a guard is posted."
"Crean probably is right that Absalom won't attack tonight, even he would hesitate to cross Frasht Forest at night, but that doesn't mean he won't come first thing in the morning."
"Yup," Selene agreed "It doesn't mean that at all."
As they left the council chamber, Val was waiting for them outside. He looked at their angry faces, "So how did it go?"
Aedan rolled his eyes, "We are having a party."
"Oh how splendid, I love parties."
Chapter 28
"They are all idiots." Zeeshan complained to Arleth, explaining to her what had happened in the council meeting. "I used to think we were the smartest race, now I don't think so."
Arleth frowned in sympathy.
"I mean, how could they do NOTHING?"
"I dunno."
Zeeshan slumped heavily onto the bed and it groaned under his weight, "They saw what Rogan did to me... I don't get it."
There was a knock on the door and Selene's head popped in, "Can I come in?"
Arleth nodded.
Selene walked in, resplendent in a knee length pale yellow dress. She was holding something blue in her arms.
"I didn't imagine you wanted to wear your dusty travelling clothes to the party?" Selene asked, giving Arleth the once over.
"Oh, no?" Arleth looked down at her clothes and blushed. "No, I guess not."
"I found this for you." She unrolled the blue bundle in her arms and held it out to Arleth.
She looked at the blue dress the woman was holding out to her and smiled. "Thank you Selene!"
"It's Talwag so likely much too short for you, but try it on and I can adjust it for you."
Arleth took the dress from Selene and hugged her, "I've never had a dress to wear to a party before, it's beautiful." She turned and skipped away towards the adjoining room to change.
