Chapter 14: A Life Threatened
The keepers‘ temple was quiet for the first time in years. It had been three weeks and Paskalo walked through the halls moping about his embarrassment at the party by the hands of the farmer. He pondered how he would lay more traps for the panda. He thought about sending more spies or maybe personally challenging him again.
Under the heavy melancholy, his walk lead him to the basement of the temple where the holy annals of Shavron were kept and preserved for all generations. The greyhound took on the tedious task of finding the prophesies dealing with the coming of the savior. He found the prophesies of Samson the wolf during the time of the Rebirth of Shavron and he found a old book written by Yohan the cat who was alive during the time of the Shavronites captivity in Tajir, a narrative known as the Silver Horn. There were other words by other prophets not widely know, but their words, none the less, were inspired by the Spirit of God. Paskalo read intently, taking the time only to eat, until he was sure about the evidence present to him. After the last book, he sat back in his chair, weary and of need of rest, but most of all he was now at the point of believing that Kleos was who he said he was: God in flesh.
The greyhound came from the basement, rubbing his temple; hoping that this new found belief would rub off like a patch of dirt. His fellow keepers met him in their private chamber. Reiach saw his fellow keeper and ran towards him.
"What‘s wrong? Still thinking about the panda?"
"Yes," said Paskalo.
"He's continues to embarrass us," said the otter, " We have to get rid of him and quick, Paskalo. I have sent more spies out to trick him and gather information. The last spy informed me that he been teaching that he is the way to heaven---Paskalo---Paskalo are you listening to me?"
"I heard you," replied Paskalo.
"Good," said Reiach. " Naasson, and Seth have an idea I want you to hear. All you have to do is approve it, come."
Reiach showed Paskalo the book of a thousand rules sitting on a table. The book was opened to a blank page. Naasson was counting a small bag of gold coins. He had gotten them earlier that day by catching a few citizens breaking rule number seventy four, which demanded a fee if broken. The hyena was quite pleased with his small fortune, and made it a point to buy himself a new jacket. Paskalo sat down in a chair; he continued to rub his head to get rid of that belief.
"What's wrong with you, Paskalo?" said Seth.
Paskalo ignored the question by telling the sloth that he was fine with the wave of his hand.
"The only way to get rid of that farmer is to make a new rule," said Reiach infuriated, " This farmer–no– this troublemaker is destroying the way of the keepers single handedly. We are losing the hold on the common citizens. He talks about the ways of the Holy One as if he truly knows him, no one completely knows God."
"Unless he is God," Paskalo said quietly.
"What did you say?"
"Nothing." the greyhound said, rubbing his temple.
"Anyway," replied the otter, "it won't be long before the citizens turn against us, stop listening to us, and worst of all we won‘t be able to get a cent out of them!"
Seth dipped his pen in a bottle of ink, waiting for the dictation from Reiach. "Tell him the rule so he can approve it," said Naasson.
"Yes, rule number one thousand one: Any creature that speaks against the keepers will be flogged by the number a keeper specifies; and if a creature claims to be God in anyway, that one must be tortured and killed."
Suddenly, Paskalo came out of his mental stupor. He stood straight up in his chair and eyed the three keepers as if he want to kill them.
"WHAT‘S WRONG WITH YOU THREE, ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MINDS?!!! I'm not passing that rule!"
" And why not? " said Seth. "You're the judge of instruction. That farmer threatens you most of all. If you don't pass the rule it will be the end of you."
"Besides," Reiach said, " you said you wanted to get rid of him."
"Yes: put him in jail, throw him out of the country, but not kill him. I'm not a murderer."
"Is our judge going soft on us?" inquired the hyena, " You‘re not giving in are you?--- You're not becoming a follower are you?"
Paskalo took a deep swallow. The three keepers were slowly losing faith in their leader.
"I‘ve been reading the prophesies of old and that farmer has fulfilled every one of them. Even the one about him being born in Girgandale is correct. Besides, we tell the citizens not to do something, but we do the opposite. He‘s spoken right about us: we are hypocrites! We've gone too far, there's no reason to make a rule to murder him just to keep this system going."
Seth slammed the book close. Reiach called Paskalo an idiot, and then Paskalo left the room. Once he was gone, Reiach took matters into his own hands. He took the pen from Seth and opened the book to the blank page.
"What are you doing?" said Naasson.
Reiach said nothing as he wrote the next rule in the book. He slammed the pen down on the table and shoot a nasty glare at the hyena.
"I'm second in command of the keepers and since our leader is mentally incapable of approving the rule, then I will make it law. We have to destroy this farmer, nothing can stand in our way; not even one of our own."
"But when Paskalo finds out that you--"
" Seth, who says he'll find out?" Reiach said closing the book, "I have another idea, but you two have to support me. If not say good-bye to your wealth and prestige."
The very thought scared the two into agreement with the otter, not matter how wicked his scheme was to be.
The greyhound made his way through the temple. He could hear students committing the one thousand rules to memory so that they could continue the practice into the next generation. For the first time Paskalo understood how ridiculous the rules were; how he broke most of them, yet acted as if he didn't. He ran to the room where the students were and ordered that they stop with their work. The chief keeper sent them away and said that there would be no further studies over the book. Once he was alone he looked over the walls that held three tapestries of the most famous judges of instruction in Shavron: one of them was of Deborah. There was a quote that sat under the portrait. It was the words she spoke on her death-bed:
We who have been called to carry this responsibility, must remain true to what the Holy One wants us to do. We are not here to hold on to power nor to misuse it, but to remind the citizens of their history: of a God who chose this land to bless others; of God who shows mercy; and of God who will redeem us all in His good time. I say this not only of myself , but of every judge that comes after me. If we go wrong, the citizens will go wrong; if we cheat them, we cheat ourselves; and if we stir them away from the Holy One, we will answer for it."
Paskalo removed the crest of instruction and tossed it to the floor. His unworthiness was before him and the agony lead him to secretly resign from his duty. It was God touching the greyhound‘s heart: it was done for him to see his sinfulness.
Paskalo was returning to his room, and as he passed the meeting room, he heard Reiach saying something that caught his attention. The door was closed and it was hard to hear what was being said. Paskalo placed his ear up to the door and listened carefully.
"It's crazy," said Naasson, "How will we get away with it?"
"Simple," said Reiach, " we'll make sure that his absence is normal–like going on vacation or something."
"Who'll do the deed and when?" asked the sloth.
"At night when he's sleep. I'll get one of the riffraff from the streets to kill him. A good price will not be ignored."
Paskalo removed his ear quickly from the door, but curiosity got the best of him and he returned to his listening so he could hear the rest of the conversation.
"How come you get to be the judge of instruction after we kill him?"
"I thought I explained this already," said Reiach, "We must have order, and I was next in line so I will be the judge."
"Fine, but what do we get out of this?" asked Naasson.
"Yeah," said Seth, "If I don't get something good, I'll tell Paskalo right now of your plan."
"All right, you little snakes," the otter said sneering, " what do you what?"
Seth mused over the proposal, which from the otter‘s and hyena‘s viewpoint looked rather difficult for him. He looked up to the ceiling, tapped his skull with his finger, and finally came up with it.
"I want his bedroom! He has the biggest one in the temple, I want it!"
Reiach and Naasson had a dumbfounded look on their faces. "Fine, you've got it," said Reiach, " That was easy."
"It won't be easy for me," replied the hyena, " I want more pay and I want more power and I want to make any rule I want when I see fit."
Reiach thought about the hyena's proposal. "As long as you don‘t cross me, you‘ve got it."
Paskalo continued to listen, but suddenly it became quiet. To his surprise, the door swung open. Paskalo stumbled over to the back wall, his heart pumping madly from being caught in the act, but he had little to fear: for the three keepers were just as surprised as he was.
"Paskalo, what a pleasant surprise." Reiach said nervously, "Are you all right? You look tired, maybe you should take a nap."
"NO!–I mean–I'm not tired."
Naasson walked up to the keeper, placed his hand on his shoulder, and looked him directly in the eye.
"I think Reiach is right, you should sleep."
Paskalo knew if he continued to avoid going to his room, the three would figure out that he had heard everything they said. He played along, for the moment, until he could escape. He placed his hand to his head and fell back on the wall. Naasson quickly came to his aid.
"You're right. I'm not feeling well. Laying down would be a good idea; I might sleep through the night."
"We're looking forward to it," said Seth.
Reiach shoot a nasty look at the sloth. Seth quickly left the scene. The hyena helped Paskalo to stand.
"Let me help you to your room."
"No, I can make it myself," said Paskalo.
The greyhound walked away. Once he was out of sight, he quickly ran to his room and locked the door. The greyhound quickly put on his heavy cloak and made plans to escape. Jumping from his window would prove to be nearly fatal: the window was thirty feet from the ground, and he had nothing to use to lower himself down. He would have to sneak out without alarming any suspicion. Paskalo went over to the door and cracked it, looking to see if it was clear to leave: it was and he proceed to sneak down the hall hoping to get away. The top floor provided no difficulties; no one was around and the journey to the stairs leading to the second floor was short. But the second floor was harder to navigate due to the fact that a host of students were mingling there.
Paskalo checked behind him to make sure he was safe, but he couldn't risk being seen by anyone. He waited, and then waited some more until the students went away. The greyhound crept down the stairs, staying close to the wall, and he checked to the left and right making his way down the hall to the next flight of stairs. Suddenly, Paskalo could hear someone drawing nearer. A room; which, thankfully was unoccupied, was a hiding place. The greyhound went in and waited. Seth came down the hallway singing happily to himself with a little jig.
"Paskalo's room; mine to be! His death at night; his grave I‘ll see!"
" You ninny," Paskalo said quietly, "I never liked you anyway."
The sloth continued his singing until it faded away. Paskalo came out of the room and made his way to the last flight of stairs. The first floor was clear, to his joy, but getting past the students who guarded the main entrance would be tricky. He thought that if he could distract them from their post long enough, he could slip by without raising suspicion. Paskalo came up to the students; both stood straight and tall to show reverence to their leader.
"Two fine students stand before me– ah you two will make fine keepers one day."
"Thank you, sir," replied both with glee.
Paskalo went to leave, but one of the students stopped him.
"Excuse me sir, I don't want to be disrespectful but shouldn't you be wearing you crest when you go out?"
"My crest," he replied, patting his chest as if it was there, "Yes, I–I lost it. Could you two help me look for it."
Without a second thought the students went into action. With the opportunity at hand, Paskalo made his way into town. Many of the citizens caught sight of him and wonder why he was out during such a time, but the greyhound was not approached by anyone; and this made things easier on him. Sadly, he didn't bother to grab any money when he ran away, so he was forced to ask for lodging from his fellow citizens. During his pursuit for a room, it started to rain. He was drenched as he stepped up to the first house. It was a aristocrat‘s house, which gave the greyhound a sense of security. When the owner asked who he was, Paskalo gave his name. However, without his crest, the owner had a very hard time believing the greyhound. After a few words unkind words from the owner, the door was slammed in Paskalo‘s face. He tried another home and then another, but no one would believe him. It was now night and Paskalo understood that he would have to sleep in the streets. He found an alleyway were many of the poor stayed. As he sat down in the cold, wet street one creature, a ragged dog, took notice of him.
"Hey, I know you."
Paskalo lowered his head to try to hide his appearance.
"No you don‘t."
"Yes I do," said the dog, "You‘re that judge– the keeper!"
"Keeper," cried another creature, emerging from the shadows like a phantom, "What is he doing here?"
Suddenly ten more creatures stepped Paskalo's way; the greyhound rose to his feet and planted himself against the alley wall.
"You just asking for it, aren‘t you?" said the dog, " Coming out here during the night is frankly suicide. The keepers took a lot of money from me...in fact it was so much that I'm sleeping on the street. I don't like that, I want my money back."
"Yeah, so do I," replied another creature.
"I can‘t get your money back, but I– I want to say I‘m sorry." The group couldn‘t contain their laughter.
"No one cares about you being sorry," one said cracking his knuckles," You like rules don‘t you? We've got our own rules, and we‘re going to teach you one right now." The group of creatures surround Paskalo so he would have no escape. His hands and body shook not just from the cold, but from fear of the inevitable.
"Not so high and mighty now are you?"
The creatures bared their teeth and growled; Paskalo did the same. They all came at him at once. The group bit, punched, and clawed him mercilessly until he fell to the ground. Paskalo body was lifeless, yet he was not dead. The dog pulled a knife, grabbed Paskalo by the ears, yanked his head back, and placed the knife squarely on his throat.
"I'm going to slice you nice and slow."
Before the knife had its fill of blood, a dark silhouette of a immense creature was seen by the dog. The creature walked forward until he was in view. Boss, the crocodile, hissed sending the dog and the other miscreants running scared. Paskalo's vision was blurry, but it cleared just in time to see the crocodile. He wanted to run , but he was too weak to do so. The crocodile lifted Paskalo up, threw him on his shoulder, and left the alleyway.
Further away, Ricco was working near a small fire being tended at Pottermer‘s home. The cook was preparing to conjure up a good stew for his friends. When Boss returned he was the first to greet him with Ricco‘s signature brand of saying hello.
"Where have you been at for the past two hours? I thought Kleos sent you out to get food? What that on your shoulder?"
Boss grunted (his way of speaking) and carefully laid Paskalo down near the fire, placing a pillow under his head. The others came in curious of who was there.
"Who is that anyway?" asked Priscilla.
Everyone stood over him, trying to get a better look.
"He looks like he got beat down." said Pottermer "That's because he did get beat down." said Jaq.
It was agreed that Kleos should be brought to the injured dog, but he had separated himself for prayer, as he was known to do. Gradually, Paskalo came out of his stupor; and when he saw nine strangers looking over him, he quickly went on the defense. "DON'T HURT ME! GET WAY! LEAVE ME ALONE!"
"Calm down, no one is going to hurt you." said Priscilla.
"You look familiar, doesn‘t he Poe?" said Angus, " Aren't you that– "
Kleos enter the room. The nine made room so Paskalo could see who was there. The greyhound could not believe his eyes. As far as he was concerned he was in the enemy's camp. He tried to speak, but found it hard to do so. The mortification of the moment forced him to lie back down. Kleos came closer and had pity on Paskalo, but the greyhound was apprehensive of the panda's intentions. He was sure the farmer knew of the spies that were being sent out to trap him and of all the lies that were being conjured up against him."
"Sent him?" Paskalo said surprised, "How did you know about that? I didn‘t call out for help."
"But I have called for you." Kleos said, removing his outer cloak.
Kleos began to tear his cloak into bandages. Ricco saw this and implored him not to, but he said.
"I have a little headache, Lord," said Ricco. "Place one of the bandages on me."
The red panda was given water and a container of balm to aid Paskalo‘s wounds. Angus refused to believe that Kleos was actually caring for his enemy. The husky dog came pointing rebuking Kleos.
"Stop this. He aims to destroy you!" Kleos shot a stern glare at Angus and said,
Paskalo watched Kleos as he tended to his wounds. Paskalo wanted to say thank you, but he was overwhelmed by the sheer love he was experiencing. After Kleos had finished, Paskalo laid quietly by the fire and fell asleep. For the first time in years, Paskalo had rest.