Chapter 6: Welcome to the Jungle
The next morning brought an eerie silence. No one spoke for most of the day. Even Aznar, with his commands, was speechless at times. With most of the canoes damaged, the group was forced to head out on foot. The tigers and the three wolves lined up to march along the remaining stretch of Titan's river. Yohan walked along side the king; he couldn't help but notice a fear in Aznar's eyes, in fact, that fear appeared on every tiger's face. The wolves were quiet as well, but their demeanor showed more strength than cowardice. The river ended at a rocky embankment. The rocks stood on top of one another and created an unstable knoll that they had to climb. Aznar sent the wolves first. The wolves managed to make it to the top, nearly slipping on few stones, and signaled for the others to come up. Once at the top, the tigers were able to look above a vast valley of trees that grew far into the distance; so far, that it almost seemed to be a country in itself. How deep it went, no one knew. Sly sniffed the air. A low growl came from deep inside him. The tigers took note of Sly‘s reaction and it spooked them further than they already were.
"Quiet wolf," said Aznar, " or I'll give you something to growl about!" he said in a shaky voice.
Sly lowered his tone. He had never seen his master so frightened before; and frankly, he was enjoying it. Finding the horn in the great jungle was going to be more difficult than they had imagined. Aznar kept Yohan close to him. The kitten was the map in that uninviting realm of wood, and Aznar was going to keep him close to be sure not to lose him. A beaten path led the way to a small opening in the jungle. The tigers went down from the rocky slope and began to slowly travel along the dirty strip. Aznar halted his soldiers twenty feet from the opening. The tear in the jungle looked like a mouth ready to gobble up the entire group. He sent a soldier forward.
The soldier nodded and ran forward into the mouth of the jungle. The king took Yohan aside from the rest of the party. Aznar knelt down to Yohan, putting his hands on his shoulders.
"You have done your king a great service. Now, which way does your dream tell you to go to find the horn?"
"I don't know." said Yohan.
Aznar shook the kitten once to force an answer out of him. Aznar's voice became aggressive.
"It's just like the whirlpool, you knew the way. It was dangerous; and lives were lost, but we're closer to the treasure. You're not holding out on your king, are you? What would your parents think? Tell me, Yohan which way do we go? Is it straight through, to the east, or to the west? Which way do we go?"
Yohan was confused and terrified by the tiger's onslaught of questioning. So once again, he said the first thing that came to his mind.
"We go straight through."
"Very good---that's right-- you're just nervous from the whirlpool. Its o.k., you‘re just a child."
The soldier came back. His armor and face was wet from the dew among the leaves. The soldier took his spot back with his companions, and the group moved languidly into the jungle. Inside, the trees were covered with moss and liverworts; no tree was bare from it. A thick mist hung heavily amongst the treetops. The mist sent down airy moisture that quickly dampened everyone's armor, jackets, or cloaks. A labyrinth of roots grew large and abundant on the jungle floor, causing the group to climb over or to pass under the growth.
The air was quiet and still; and, with the occasional call of a distant creature, nothing crept, crawled, or slithered along the ground from what the tigers could see. Aznar, with Yohan next to him, stayed at the back of his force. The tigers that had claimed superiority and great courage were now scared, insignificant cats in this foreboding kingdom. The wolves, however, stood tall and courageous. Aznar took note of this; the jealousy inside him bubbled, but he could do nothing to the wolves, so he tried to give his troops a boost of morale.
"Stop looking like children! We are tigers, no forest can scare us. Stop hunching over. The Shavronites stand tall, aren‘t you better than they?"
The soldiers gained some confidence, but only for a moment. Slowly each tiger returned to his hunched position as they clutched their weaponry tightly, looking to the left and right as not to be surprised. The marching inched on. The opening to the forest had disappeared behind the vegetation. The day was becoming old and what light the mist had let through was fading away into the dusk. The main concern now was to find a camping site. After another hour of walking, the group stopped by an enormous tree. The ground was flat, except for a few stones, and would due for a bed. The tigers had nothing to place on the ground (losing most of the supplies at the whirlpool) so they were forced to sleep on the muddy floor. Aznar, with the help of three more tigers, chained his slaves to the trunks of smaller trees further away from the campsite. Yohan did not like the way the wolves were treated. Sly was chained by both legs. Brute was chained by the neck.
The brace around his throat was so tight that his breathing was spastic at times. Sebastian was placed right up against a tree; the only way he could have slept was standing up. The daylight was gone and it seemed that the forest came alive when night fell. Hoots and hollering buzzed from all directions. Frogs croaked in the background and a bird‘s call resonated throughout the tree tops. The tigers looked earnestly for the perpetrators of the noises, but nothing was seen. The creatures were hidden by the jungle, away from the tigers‘ fears.
The noise of the forest died away and a few tigers gathered together to tell stories about the silver horn. Yohan, although not apart of the group, lay nearby to listen until he fell asleep.
"My father told me that the silver horn is worth more than all the money in the world," announced one tiger, "And when our king gets it, he‘ll wish all of us into great riches." Another tiger cleared his throat to speak.
"Ah you speak truth my friend," said another soldier, "yes, truth indeed."
There were other stories the tigers told into the night, but you and I know they were not true. They were only lies their forefathers made up to cover up what really happened.
Who could have ever thought that a mere rabbit would stand against the white unicorn? But with the Holy One‘s help it did happen. Now after the tigers were fast asleep, the three wolves were having a discussion themselves.
"Sly!" said Sebastian, " Hey are you awake, Sly?"
"Yes, what do you want?"
"Remember what we talked about once we reached the jungle?"
"It's time?" said Sly looking around.
"It‘s the perfect time, but first we have to get away from these trees. Brute are you o.k?"
"Barely," he said gasping for air.
"Look our best time for escape is now. I need you to push your tree over, Its not that large and I know you can do it."
"No good," said Brute. " When it falls the noise will wake up the tigers, and then Aznar will teach us a whip us, you know that."
"Well can you break your chain?" inquired Sebastian.
"Not without a tool."
"Dig for a rock--two flat ones," said Sly, "and break the chain that way.
Brute began to dig furiously, throwing some dirt in the face of his companions. It wasn‘t long before he found two rocks just large enough to help him break the metal. He placed one rock on the ground, placed his chain on top of it, and used the remaining rock as a hammer. His first strike had no effect. Brute gather all his strength for the second strike, and when both rocks met the chain snapped in two.
"YES!," replied Sly elatedly.
"Shhh!," came Sebastian to quiet him, "Don‘t celebrate yet."
Brute was still gasping for air, but he managed enough strength to break Sly‘s chains. Sebastian was a harder case. The tree wasn‘t good for breaking the chain, so it took Brute a few minutes to break them. Once Sebastian was free, there was one more task before the escape.
"I want my rapier. I‘ll be back, you two stay here."
"Leave it." said Sly.
Sebastian ignored the command and made his way into the camp. The wolf spotted his master sucking his thumb; the wolf had to cover his mouth to keep from laughing. Beside Aznar slept Yohan; Sebastian had plans for him, but first he had to retrieve his blade. The wolf was able to get his sword without causing any suspicion and returned to his companions
"Well Brute, we‘re going to have to do something about that brace of yours," said Sebastian. " No point of you passing out on us."
"Yes," he said clutching is throat, "It would be appreciated."
The lock was placed behind the brace. The shackle of the lock was large enough for Sebastian to break it without hurting Brute.
"Now, you kneel down and keep you head steady. My nerves tend to get the best of me at these critical moments."
Brute saw Sebastian‘s hand shaking.
"Forget it," he said moving out of the way. " I‘ll take my chances with the brace instead of a sword in my throat."
"Calm down, I was just kidding," replied Sebastian smiling, " I‘m steady as a rock. Just hold still."
The wolf raised the sword and brought it down quickly. The shackle broke, Sly went to remove it, and Brute took a few breaths of fresh air.
"Let‘s go." said Sly.
"No, not yet. There is something in that camp that is very valuable to us and to the tigers."
"That being?"
"The map---the kitten!" replied Sebastian.
The wolves inspected the scene, planning the best way to get the cat.
"How are we to get him? He‘s right by Aznar." said Brute.
"It‘s just like getting the sword; all I have to do is grab him and run, there nothing to it." Sebastian slowly made his way back into the tiger‘s camp; his companions watched on with shaken nerves and silent prayers. The kitten was sleeping behind Aznar, which made the deed easier to be done. Sebastian went to pick up Yohan, but the kitten squirmed and nearly woke up. The wolf waited a few seconds before his second attempt. He placed his hand under Yohan‘s head; the cat purred, laying snuggly in the wolf‘s palm. The second hand went under his legs. The kitten was lifted from his place; and with the map secured, the wolf dashed into the shadows of the jungle with the other two close behind him. It was silent like it had been before; not one tiger awoke, all dreamed of great riches and the silver treasure.