Chapter II: Gideon and the Great Lizard
The boat was stationed at a small port at Korsica. The surrounding area looked civilized, but the judges were unsure of their surroundings.
"Captain, when will we be leaving tomorrow?" said Gideon.
"At ten. Be out here precisely at that time. I got a bad feeling about this place."
"I‘ve got a bad feeling about you taking my money," the cheetah said eyeing the shrew, "maybe there is a leader here that will have pity on us for one night since we have no money."
The shrew ascertained that the comment was directed towards him.
"You‘re a sassy creature aren‘t you?" he said giving her an askance.
Deborah sucked her teeth and Gideon followed her into town. The inhabitants were iguanas and the judges felt out of place every moment they were there. The lizards looked at them with haunting eyes. Both judges tried to avoid contact with the natives. What was also an eerie sight was a certain statue that appeared along the way. The statue was of an iguana which wore a crown and sat in a chair that a king would. They passed at least five of them; each one was different than the last. One of them showed the lizard flexing his skinny frame, the other showed the lizard dressed in armor with a sword over his shoulder, and the rest of the statues followed suit.
"Talk about a power trip."
"That must be the king, " she said, "Should we talk to him?"
"I see why not, a room in a palace would be nice. I‘ll ask this creature where to find the king. Excuse me, could you tell us where your king‘s palace is?"
The lizard gave Gideon a stare that sent a chill down his spine.
"Just follow that path there," the lizard said pointing with his long finger, "The king will be very delighted with your presence."
The weather became cloudy as the judges continued. The architecture in the land was brilliant. The buildings were as beautiful as Shavron‘s; however, the iguanas did not do a very good job at housekeeping. Moss and fungi began to grow in the cracks of the buildings. There were also a series of frescos painted on the walls depicting gladiator battles. There was a bear fighting a lion, another showed a dog fighting a jackal, but most of the frescos showed a lizard as one of the opponents. Finally the judges reached the king‘s residence. It was a large castle with four towers. The stairway to the entrance was split in half by a stream of water. Its walls were a cold, dead gray. The two sculptures placed near the door were large and daunting. Gideon was fearful and began to lag behind Deborah.
"Come on, there‘s nothing to fear."
"I don‘t trust this place, " said Gideon nervously looking around, " Let‘s not give our true identities here. Take off your crest and put it in you bag."
"You can put yours in but I‘m leaving mine on."
"Fine, just follow my act," the hare said, " If they ask who we are we are merchants, got it."
"Merchants? Is that the best you can come up with?" Gideon was annoyed by her comment.
"At the moment yes. If you have any better ideas you‘re free to let me know."
"Being honest it a good idea," she said giving the hare a serious look, " but I‘ll play it your way---we are merchants."
Approaching the statues, the judges were overwhelmed by their size. They were sculpted with armor that covered their chest, arms, and lower legs. When the judges tried to pass between the statues their path was blocked. The statues were not statues at all, but two guards on duty. Gideon took a deep swallow.
"Excuse me we need to speak with your king."
"We have to see him right away." stated Deborah secondly.
The guards gave no response. They continued to look down on the judges. Deborah nudged Gideon in the side for him to speak.
"We are merchants who have come to trade."
This remark got the guards attention. One of them whispered in the ear of the other. The guard left momentarily and then came back. The judges were allowed to pass. They were escorted directly to the king. The judges stood silently before a throne. A lizard wearing a crown and red cloak came in and sat down on the throne.
"I‘ve been told that you are merchants," said the king of Korsica, " What do you have to trade?"
"Uh—spices"
Spices?" Deborah said looking at Gideon.
"Yeah spices!" he said bobbing his head at her, " You know…the ones we brought with us?" he said pointing outside.
"Your lying is going to get us in trouble" she said whispering.
"If you would follow along like I said we‘ll be fine," he whispered back.
The bickering continued until the lizard king spoke up.
"What kind of spices?"
"All kinds!"
"Sounds appealing, " replied the king, " I will take you up on the offer." Suddenly the king‘s eyes caught sight of Gideon‘s sword hilt. He sat straight up in his chair.
"Is that a sword? Do you know how to use it?"
The lizard king‘s glare was disturbing. Gideon touched his sword, trying to move it out of view.
"Yes. But we have something else we need from you. My friend and I need a place to sleep. We don‘t have any money. Could you help us?"
"But of course. I have two open rooms upstairs. My servants will show you to your rooms."
The judges paid their respects to the king. Gideon and Deborah followed one of the guards upstairs. The kings held his hands together and twiddled his fingers. He had different plan for the two creatures. He was thinking hard until a guard addressed him.
"My king do you understand the opportunity before you?" the guard said hastily,
"You could—"
"Silence fool!" shouted the king, " Stand at attention--- I totally understand the situation far more than you do. We haven‘t seen a gladiator game in months. I know that rabbit is lying. Whoever heard of merchants that carries no money? His folly will be my footstool. Get the word out that there will be a game tomorrow morning."
"But will the rabbit fight?" asked the guard.
"Don‘t worry that will be taken care of. The rabbit will fight no worry in that."
Gideon and Deborah had dinner with he king. The meal was delicious and after that they went to bed. The next morning Gideon knocked on Deborah‘s door. He got no answer. He tried again and the door cracked open.
"Deborah, are you all right. I‘m coming in"
Deborah was not there. The room was made as if no one had slept there. Gideon inspected the scene and found a letter placed on the bed. This is how it ran:
Don’t fret, merchant, your companion is safe for now. If you want to see her again, just hop your way over to the coliseum. Follow the cheering. You will fight and fight you must!
Cartzgill, the Lizard King
Gideon immediately went to Deborah‘s aid. The palace and the entire city were deserted. As Gideon approached the coliseum, the cheering became louder with every step. Inside, the rabbit walked down a long tunnel with soldiers positioned on both sides. One of them whispered to the other,
“Once Dolius gets done with him, some of us will be dining on rabbit stew tonight.”
Gideon broke the threshold and stepped into the center arena. He was looking in all directions as the crowd‘s cheering grew louder. Finally, the crowd grew silent. Gideon spotted the Lizard king and Deborah off to his right. The cheetah was tied by her hands to prevent her escape. She was struggling to get free. Suddenly, the lizard king aggressively took her by the arm.
"If you move again, I‘ll do worst to you than that rabbit down there."
Deborah got the hint and stopped moving. The lizard king stood up; the deadly game was about to begin.
"Welcome my fellow creatures to the game. You‘ve waited for a fight and now the wait is over. It‘s a fight like no other. A mere rabbit will take on our champion."
Cartzgill pulled out the crest of battle from under his cloak. He read the inscription on the back.
"Ha! I wouldn‘t want you to go into battle without your full attire," Cartzgill said throwing the crest into the ring," Maybe your god will help you."
Gideon picked up his crest and placed it around his neck. The king continued his speech.
"Our first gladiator is a mere light weight. I present to you the foe that has to go; the hare from who knows where; I introduce you to the righteous rabbit."
The crowd booed. Some of them threw rotten vegetables and fruit at him. Gideon dodged the raid. A shadow was cast over the arena floor by a group of lizards pulling a canopy over the coliseum.
"Now my friends I present to you the savant of speed; the hustle of muscle; I give you our undefeated champion, Dolius!"
Suddenly, the canopy was pull back. All eyes were on the arch at the end of the arena. Gideon‘s heart pounded rapidly. He stood to see the beast that would emerge from the darkened tunnel. A tall potent figure stepped in between the arch. As the iguana came forward, the crowd cheered. The iguana played to the crowd, blowing kiss and he posed on all fours for an enormous barrage of cheers. Gideon rolled his eyes. The lizard was three times the size of Gideon. Its muscles seemed to have been carved by an artist. The lizard wore a silver breastplate and heavy arm bracelets.
"How does it feel, rabbit?" said Cartzgill happily, " It‘s going to get ugly down there."
"Yeah, just like