Chapter 11: The Runaways
Yohan sat with Sebastian under the moonlight. Sly was still out from the snake's attack. A full moon sat in the sky and Sebastian could not resist the temptation to howl proudly. As he did, Yohan listened to the graceful tone. The sound put his heart at ease, and Yohan found himself mimicking the wolf's howl, although it sounded more like purring than anything else. After Sebastian finished his display, he sat down beside the injured Sly. The blood had already dried, leaving his fur clumped together in blotches. His breathing was becoming weaker by the minute and Sebastian feared the worst. He took a cloak and placed it over Sly to keep him warm.
"Do you think that will help?" said Yohan. " We're in a jungle."
"I'm doing all that I know."
It was some time before any of them spoke again. Yohan was becoming worried about Brute's absence.
"Brute has been gone for awhile."
"Don't worry he'll be back soon enough," Sebastian said reclining on the ground.
The wolf saw that the kitten wanted to say more; he gave the kitten liberty to speak his mind.
"Why do the wolves howl at the moon?"
"Most of the wolves do it for ritual's sake, at other times it was used to warn other wolves of danger. However, my parents taught me that a wolf should use his howl to thank our Creator for the celestial bodies he has placed in the sky: the moon to give us light, the sun to keep us warm, and the stars to direct us, but I have used mine to mourn for Sly."
"He's not gone yet," replied Yohan. "There is still hope."
"If he was younger, I might agree with you. If Brute doesn't return with good news, we may have to bury him tomorrow."
Three miles away the large wolf looked desperately for help. Brute had thought that the idea of finding help on his own would only waste time, but Sebastian demanded the individual effort, and now he found himself running blindly into the dark jungle. To keep from getting lost, he would use his claws to scratch a tree; this would an indicator for him that he had come that way before. As Brute continued his search, he gave a silent prayer for help. There seemed to be no aid in sight, but just before Brute decided to give up, a bright ember light appeared further westward from his current direction. The wolf quietly followed the light as it got brighter with every step. It glowed steadily; and, what was better he heard voices, many voices laughing and speaking of tales that were quite familiar to him. Brute listened for a few moments and finally his mind was made up. "Shavronites, could it be. My prayer has been answered," he thought to himself.
He proceeded to draw near to the joyous laugher of his own kind. The ember light, that had given the wolf a burst of hope, also provided the wolf with more help than he imagined. Up in the treetops were two guards armed with a bow and arrows. They were placed there to keep out any intruders that might attack the creatures below. The guards were trained to shoot first and ask questions later. The light barely made them visible; Brute shuddered at the thought of being foolish enough to walk right up in between them without any strategic plan. Brute did not risk an encounter alone, and he wasn't sure if those two guard were the only ones around. Seeing the ember light was enough. So he slowly backed away to return to his friends. When he arrived, he told Yohan and Sebastian what he had found.
"How far?"
"Three miles." Said Brute.
They quickly gathered Sly and rushed towards the village. They followed Brute‘s markings back to the appointed spot. Along the way, Sebastian continued his interrogating,
"Is that all you saw?"
"Yes, I couldn‘t go further, there are two guards posted near the light. "And you say they were Shavronites?" inquired Sebastian.
"I‘m very sure. They were speaking of the stories in our history."
They came to the spot where Brute had seen the light; the guards, however, were not present.
"Strange they were here before."
"That's better for us," said Sebastian. "Let's not waist time, come on."
Before they got within five feet, an arrow flew through the air and struck a tree near Sebastian's head. To their left sprouted an archer, and then from the right another came forward. The archer looked over the group, the one to the left spoke,
" Your names quickly," said the first archer aiming his arrow at Sebastian. Names were given without hesitation.
"What's wrong with him," the archer said referring to Sly.
"He's sick, he needs help," said Sebastian. "Is this a trick?" said the second archer. "No, he‘s hurt badly."
Sebastian saw that the archer had Aznar's brand on his hand.
"I am a Shavronite, just as you," he said holding up his hand displaying the mark. "My word is my bond."
"That seal and your word mean nothing to me," replied the second archer "Please, sir," cried Yohan, "he'll die if you don't help."
The kitten was out of eyesight of the second archer, but upon seeing him, the archer saw some truth in the kitten's eyes. The archer waved the group towards the ember light. Over a hill a great fire blazed upwards into the starry sky. A large multitude of creatures sat in a circle around that fire listening to a storyteller speak about ancient days and great adventures. Yohan, Sebastian, and Brute did not join the audience, but they heard every word. The storyteller spoke about the white rabbit that, with the help of the Holy One, defeated a thousand leopards. He told the tale of Shavron‘s disobedience and God‘s wrath by taking their offspring into the world of night. He talked about Gabriel the first king of Shavron. As the story went on, there was a creature that caught the attention of the audience more than any other. The very mention of his name put joy into their hearts of greater days to come. Glory was the last creature the storyteller spoke of. He told them how he put fear into the unicorns very soul and how he freed the captives from the darkened world. He told of his power, of his mercy, and his love. Yohan was astonished by the tales. The tigers had always stressed to him that the unicorn was a good natured creature, but theses stories were different. He had never heard of a creature greater than the white unicorn, but now the name of Glory rested on his mind and he wanted to know more. Slowly the fire died out and the audience returned to their homes for a night's rest. None of them took notice of the new arrivals, save the storyteller.
"Bring them over," said the storyteller. "Let me take a look at them."
What stood near the dying fire was a chubby beaver. The look on his face was apathetic as he scanned the strangers. The beaver wore a brown shirt with a geometric emblem made up of triangles and pentagons. The hair on the top of his head stuck up and he would frequently wipe his scalp to reverse the effect. The beaver looked at the two guards.
"Why didn't you shoot them on the spot?" said the beaver. "Shavronites sir," said the archer, "one of them is gravely ill."
The Beaver went over to Sly, and upon looking over the pitiful sight, he removed the cloak, and placed his hand on the wolf's forehead. The beaver caught a glimpse of Yohan. "What about the cat?" asked the beaver.
"He's with us," replied Brute. "What are your names?"
"I would gladly give the names of my friends as well as mine," said Sebastian, " but my friend is dying. Please, help him if you can."
"Meladeck, Gardos!" cried the beaver, "Meladeck, Gardos come quickly!"
From out of one of the homes, two black bears appeared. They took Sly and disappeared from whence they came.
"What are they going to do to him?" said Brute.
"They are going to do what you have asked. Now give me your names." Sebastian cleared his throat.
"I am Sebastian, well; actually my real name is Nahu. The big wolf here is Durgon, and this is Yohan."
The beaver sent the guards away.
"What are three slaves doing with a Tajirian?"
Sebastian gave most of the details, leaving out the pursuit of the silver horn. The beaver showed approval over the wolves escape from the tigers. He clapped his hands and started laughing. The three were taken aback.
"That's a great story," the beaver said swatting his knee, "Right under their noses you say? Amazing, but why take Yohan?"
It was quiet, far too quiet. The beaver waited for an answer and it looked as if he would not change the subject until he got one.
"There are some things that we cannot reveal," replied Sebastian.
The beaver stood up straight with a very insulting look on his face, and then, like the changing of the wind, he smiled and said,
"It's none of my business anyway. You can sleep in an empty room I have in my home, follow me."
The beaver led them down the beaten path between the villager's homes. The houses were built with the touch of a great architect. The roofs were flat, allowing one or more homes to be stacked one upon another. Long ladders led to other homes that sat high in the trees. "I always wanted a tree-house, but the tigers cut down most of the trees." said Yohan.
"The tigers are fools," was the beaver‘s curt response.
The beaver's home was like the others; however, once he lit a few candles, the interior represented a creature that had impeccable taste. There was a rocking chair placed in a corner of the main room. On the floor, sat a rug; and with a closer look, they saw that it was made of bird feathers. There was a hammock hanging at the other side of the room, which provided a bed for the beaver. Sebastian, Yohan, and Brute were taken into the empty room. The beaver excused himself and returned with a small table and a candle. He placed the table and the candle in the room.
"Sorry about the accommodations, but this is the best I can do for now. Tomorrow we'll get some hammocks together, good night."
"Wait, can we have your name?" said Brute. "My name is Lobin."
"Lobin, what a strange name?" said Sebastian. " What does it mean?" The beaver turned his head just before closing the door and said, "There are certain things I cannot reveal."
The door was shut, the kitten and wolves went to sleep; and for the first time, they felt safe in this runaway village. The next day, Sebastian found himself alone in the room. His first thoughts were of trickery on the side of the beaver. He rushed out of the room with his sword drawn. Lobin, surprised to see the wolf so agitated, was reluctant to greet him. Sebastian stomped over to Lobin. He pointed his finger at the beaver's nose and demanded the whereabouts of his friends.
"Where are they? What have you done with them?" said Sebastian pulling his rapier Hurry up and speak or I'll---"
"Well, look who got up on the wrong side of the floor this morning," said Lobin. " Calm down, look out the window."
Outside Sebastian saw a group of children playing a game of tag, Yohan was among them. A little further away, Brute was helping the villagers with building a new home; he was carrying a tree trunk all by himself. The villagers gave him a round of applause; Brute flexed a muscle to show off.
"Their enjoying themselves," Sebastian said laughing," Lobin, tell me more about this place."
Lobin gave Sebastian the short story of how a few Shavronites escaped from Tajir into this jungle. They started the village to live in peace and called it the "New Shavron".
"I was born free here, my parents were once slaves. Now that they are gone, I am one of many here that look over this village. I tell stories often to remind the creatures here of their heritage. Maybe one day the children will pass it along to their children; and just in case, I've been writing the stories down.
Lobin showed Sebastian the papers. It was very crude in quality; not as fine as the paper from Tajir, and the ink, which was made from blackberries, started to fade into the paper. "That won't last long."
"I do the best I can. So are you four going to stay here?"
"Until Sly is better," replied Sebastian, " and then we have other business to attend to. Please don't ask, I see that curious look in your eye."
"Like I said last night, it's none of my business, but I might be able to help you out."
"What you can do is tell me about the story of the unicorn and the silver horn. I like it very much."
"Any particular reason why?" Lobin said raising an eyebrow. Sebastian gave Lobin a dissatisfying look.
"All right, all right I'll start. Before time had begun the Holy One--"
"Just get to the unicorn and the horn," Sebastian said cutting him short. "I'm not interested in what the Holy One did."
"Well you should be. If it wasn't for Him you wouldn't even exist."
This bothered Sebastian; for he never was open to God because of his life as a slave.
"Oh just forget about it, " he said walking away. " I'm going to see if Sly's o.k. Which house is he in?"
"The one with the two bear prints on the side of the door."
Sebastian made his way over to the bears' home. Inside he found an assortment of items that looked to be used for medical purposes: there were bowls full of different types of seeds, dry plants were laid out on a table, and there were numerous bottles full of elixirs. Sebastian picked one of them up and read the inscription,
"S-e-s-a-m-a-l-i-x-"
"It's pronounced Sesamalixir," replied Gardos, "It's a potion made of walnuts, sesame seeds and two parts water; it helps with a sore throat."
Gardos extended his hand to greet the wolf.
"I saw you last night. I guess you're looking for your friend, follow me."
In an adjacent room, Maledeck was giving Sly some water. The wolf had trouble taking the water, but slowly the water alleviated his dry mouth and Sly sighed in relief.
"He looks better," said Sebastain.
"Yup, we've been working on him since early this morning. We cleaned up all that nasty dry blood. What happened to him?"
"Let's just say he had a run in with a snake."
"Well, we've given him some Cocotine, Moxzlin, and some Oranlixir for good measure."
"I don't know what you just said," said Sebastian giving the bear a perplexing look, "but if it gets him walking again that is all that matters."
Suddenly Sly called out for Sebastian; the wolf knelt beside the bed. "Where- where am I?"
"You're safe; we're still in the jungle; its o.k."
"Are Brute and Yohan all right? All I remember is getting eaten and then-- the saliva and the smell," he said groaning.
"Take it easy. We're lucky we found this place."
"Blessed to find it. I don't think the silver horn is worth all of this--"
The wolf groaned once again from his pain. Maledeck jumped in and gave him some more elixir, it seemed to help; the wolf's temperament calmed.
"You hang in there," Sebastian said placing his hand on the wolf's shoulder.
"You'll be thanking me when you're wearing fine silk and living in a palace."
Sebastian was beginning to leave when Gardos stopped him.
"Did he say the silver horn? That's strange, why would he mention that?"
"He's delirious," Sebastian said nervously, "Just take care of him."
The rest of the day went by and night came once again. Yohan and the wolves retired to their room. This time three hammocks were prepared for them. Sebastian laid above Brute, although he preferred the bottom hammock, and Yohan rested cozy on the other side of the room.
"You two looked like you were enjoying yourselves today."
"Yup!" said Yohan excitedly.
"I saw Sly today."
"How is he?" said Brute.
"Good, he's talking. However, I believe he's losing the heart to finish our treasure hunt."
"Can you blame him?" said Brute pausing, "We could stay here. We're with our own kind and it's safe."
"It is," Sebastian, said rocking his hammock from side to side. "What about me?" asked Yohan. " I‘ve got a family back in Tajir."
Oh yeah," said Sebastian smiling, I almost forgot. The kid has a point; his family will not wait for him forever. We have to find the silver horn and to make sure Yohan returns to his family safely. However, I think we can change our plans slightly."
"What do you mean?" asked Brute.
"We have been going about this all wrong. We were going to sell the horn to a foreign monarch, when we already have a monarch who wants it."
"You're speaking nonsense."
"Wait, hear me out. You know how Aznar paced the great palace once he heard that Yohan knew where the horn was. That tiger would give his soul for it; and even better, he would give us his kingdom for it."
"I don't know, Sebastian, greed may drive the tiger, but he's not stupid."
"True, but greed is a powerful thing, yes, very powerful."
Sebastian and Brute went to sleep, but Yohan left the room to find Lobin. The beaver was sitting in his rocking chair, writing in a book. He would frequently stop writing and think about some thought that had crossed his mind. Yohan decided not to disturb him, but Lobin called out to him.
"Yohan, is there anything that you want?"
"Well, I wanted to know more about God. Is he real?"
The beaver was surprised by the question; for he had never know a Tajirian ever interested in the Holy One.
"He‘s very real." said Lobin.
"How do you know?"
"Remember when I was talking about when He freed all those creatures from the darkened world?" said Lobin. "Out of all those creatures came stories from witnesses that were there. The bears, birds, elephants, monkeys, and other creatures have their stories about Holy One.
"But have you seen him?"
"No."
"I don‘t understand," Yohan said shaking his head, "How can you believe in something you cannot see?"
"Yohan have you ever seen the old tiger kings of Tajir?"
"No, their all dead"
"But how do you know that they have existed?" said Lobin.
"Because of the history, the writings, and the tigers talk about them all the time."
"Well it‘s the same with the God. There are writings, history, and many creatures, other than the Shavronites, that speak of him. In fact, I‘ve been doing some writing myself."
"About what?"
Lobin showed Yohan a few of the wo