The Realms of Animar (7 page)

Frustrated, Dugan walked towards the villagers working deeper in the woods, his bright blue tunic helping the boys track his movements.

“Dugan!” Azil proclaimed when he looked up and saw the approaching guard. “What brings you out here? Sounds like you have lost Thane again.”

“Azil my friend, how are you?” Dugan replied as the two men shook hands in greeting. “Indeed I have. That pony always seems to slip past me.”

Thane stood up in defiance. Just as he began to yell out at them, Javan pulled him down.

“I’m not a pony!” he muttered, quietly.

The two men turned and glanced over to where the boys were hiding, detecting their subdued movements.

Dugan laughed. “I don’t think it will take me long to find him this time.”

The men then turned and began walking towards the boys, grinning from ear to ear.

Suddenly, a cry erupted from the depths of the forest. Alarmed, the men turned and looked for the source.

“That was Eryk!” Azil bellowed as he grabbed a large staff from the back of the wagon.

The men then turned and quickly ran into the woods, anxiously picking their way through the trees in search of their friend. Above them, four primate workers followed in the trees, leaping from limb to limb.

The boys soon lost sight of the group as the dense forest engulfed them. Thane stood up to run after them but then sensed something and stopped, now guided by his natural instincts. He looked back at Javan who was peering out from behind the stump, his large black eyes glazed and frightened.

“What do we do?” Thane asked quietly.

“Stay put!” Javan replied. “Dugan would put us on plow duty if we followed them!”

Thane turned and peered into the trees, searching for signs of Dugan and the other workers. Reluctantly, he returned to his concealed spot beside Javan as fear began to set in. Together they waited.

***

Dugan and Azil, followed by the primates above in the trees, continued through the forest for several minutes, stopping occasionally to call for their friend and to listen for other signs of distress. Suddenly the group stopped in their tracks, baffled by what they had stumbled upon.

Just in front of them, seated on a thick branch about 10 feet off the ground, was a ragged, skinny, middle-aged man. His grayish hair was thin and scraggly and his attire, where it actually existed, was torn and filthy. He wore no shoes, yet seemed content with himself, legs crossed beneath him, swaying back and forth.

The primates in the trees surrounded the stranger and chatted nervously as they looked around for others.

“Hello gentlemen,” the disheveled man said with a crooked grin. “How might you be today?”

Dugan sized up the man seated above them. He obviously suspected the stranger was toying with them. “You had best show your morph sir. That is the customary greeting for strangers in these parts.”

The stranger looked down at Dugan, apparently irritated by his request. “Sir, I am but a tired, lost traveler. My name is Critias and I pose no threat to you.”

Worried about his friend, Azil ignored the man, cupped his hands around his mouth and yelled with all of his might, “Eryk!” He then peered into the woods as his voice echoed in the distance.

After a brief silence the sound of snapping branches could be heard nearby.

Startled by the sounds that seemed to be coming from all around them, the primates grew restless and began to shake the trees, sending a shower of colorful leaves cascading to the ground.

“One of our friends has gone missing,” Dugan nervously said to the stranger. “We heard him yell from this direction.”

The stranger named Critias surprised them all when a smirk appeared on his face and he then asked, “Was he by chance a mule?”

“Yes he’s a mule!” Azil roared. “Where is he? Tell us now or else!”

Critias chuckled gleefully, so much so that he was forced to grab a nearby limb to keep from falling. After he regained his balance the stranger peered into the woods and grinned widely, revealing his horrible, decayed teeth for all to see.

“Or else what?” Critias cackled. “Are you going to trot on my face? Yes, you brainless horse, I saw your friend. He wandered this way not too long ago. He was heading to the river just beyond here. Stupid beast, I think he was looking for a drink.”

Dugan and Azil looked at one another. It struck them both that the stranger had known that Azil’s morph was a horse.

“I have had enough of this,” Azil declared. “Tell us now what happened to him or I will rip it from your throat myself.”

Azil then tossed the staff he was wielding to Dugan. With his massive hands, he grabbed the trunk of the tree holding the stranger and began to climb. Azil was sturdy and muscular, capable of making quick work of any adversary who dared anger him. He had obviously been sufficiently provoked.

Surprisingly, Critias seemed less concerned with Azil than he was of the chimpanzee that had wandered from the group and appeared headed toward a large pile of leaves that stood out in the distance.

Meanwhile, the sounds of movement around them grew louder.

***

The chimpanzee navigated the trees and approached the pile of leaves that he had spotted cautiously. It was far from where they normally worked and did not appear natural in origin. Curious, he whipped his long arms about, quickly clearing the leaves.

It was then that he realized to his horror that the ravaged body of a mule had been concealed beneath. He was momentarily frozen by shock.

Almost instantly a wave of eerie sounds unlike anything the chimp had ever heard spilled forth from the forest. They seemed to come from all directions, a sort of high-pitched maniacal laughter that made the beast’s hair stand on edge.

***

Dugan and Azil glanced around frantically in response to the frightening sounds from the unseen creatures in the woods around them.

Critias smirked. “Ah!” he said, licking his lips. “Supper time!”

The strange man then revealed his morph when he transformed into a broad-chested brown bird with a sharp, pointed beak and long, bald neck. He was larger than most birds, although certainly scrawny for his kind.

It had been some time since they had actually seen a vulture, let alone one as ragged as the specimen peering down at them. Dugan realized at once that this was the bird the young girl had spotted a few days prior. She had been right.

Vultures were harmless on their own, although any carnivore was viewed as a threat to the people of Avryndale. The trouble was that he was clearly not alone.

The orangutans in the trees above them began to wail, emitting a loud shriek that forced Dugan to cover his ears and obviously spooked the vulture, sending it darting to a higher branch with a squawk.

Through the dimly lit thick trees they could now make out a number of shadowy, dog-like figures that seemed to be producing the horrific sounds that had overwhelmed them. They were yellowish-gray in color, with dark brown round markings covering their bodies.

“Hyenas!” Dugan yelled as he looked to the orangutans in the trees above him. “Esa! Pilus! Hurry, get help!”

The monkeys nodded to Dugan in understanding. Desper-ate, they began navigating through the trees as fast as they could, hoping to reach Avryndale before it was too late.

Eager to feed, the hyenas were running about in all directions. Although not known for hunting in the woods, they were much more organized than most scavengers and obviously had teamed with the vulture the group had stumbled upon. Dugan had not encountered this type of co-operation from the carnivores before and he knew that it was vital that they alert Avryn.

Azil gathered his thoughts and quickly morphed into a massive brown horse with a flowing black mane. Dugan leaped onto his back just as the hyenas descended upon them in a flock of gnashing teeth. Panicked, the horse looked about anxiously, trying to find an escape route through the trees. The unnatural sound of the hyenas grew even louder as their numbers continued to increase. Fighting them here was useless.

Dugan swung the long staff at the beasts as they approached, trying to fend them off as best he could. Azil lurched forward, nearly tossing his rider to the ground when a hyena sunk its teeth into one of his hind legs. He kicked frantically until the hungry creature released its grasp when its jaw snapped. Several of the hyenas broke free from the attack and descended upon the wounded. Hunger outweighed pity in their eyes.

Azil kicked again as another hyena approached, sending the disheveled dog crashing into a tree behind them. The two chimp workers jumped down from the trees above, one of them wielding a large branch as a club. The monkeys were surprisingly strong but greatly outnumbered. They could not hold out long.

“There are too many!” Dugan yelled to the chimps. “Get back in the trees!”

They both refused and continued to swing their arms about as the hyenas swarmed upon them.

***

The two orangutans, Esa and Pilus, stopped on the branch of a giant oak and looked around, now lost in the maze of trees. They quickly climbed to the top, hoping to see clearly in what direction home, and help, waited. Beneath them, three hyenas had followed, patiently awaiting an opportunity to pounce.

As they emerged from the canopy of trees, they could see Avryndale in the distance to the east, peaceful and quiet, yet so far away.

Without warning a pair of vultures descended upon them from the sky, claws outreached as they attacked. Esa was struck in the shoulder but managed to keep from falling. Pilus, however, was not as fortunate. He jumped to avoid the oncoming birds but failed to find a solid branch to land on.

He plummeted through the air as he reached frantically for branches, hoping to catch hold of something to stop his fall. The limbs were too sparse to hold his weight and Esa watched in agony from above as Pilus crashed to the damp forest ground below. Within seconds, the hyenas moved in, fighting with each other for position.

She glanced down at her fallen husband who was now concealed beneath the ravenous creatures feasting upon him. She broke off a branch and tossed it down at them as she screamed. The hyenas were unaffected and focused on their task. Pilus was lost.

The squeal of vultures sounded nearby and Esa whimpered. She had to move on.

***

Thane and Javan sat petrified, frozen by the terrifying sounds coming from all around them. Javan peered back at the opening in the woods and could see their village.

“Don’t do it,” Thane whispered. “Not yet.” He then pointed to a shadowy figure that moved in the trees near them. The stranger’s attention seemed to be directed at the village, unaware of the two concealed boys that watched him. A vulture then descended to the ground beside the man and the boys watched as it morphed into a short, ragged figure. The men gestured to the village and seemed to be discussing something, but neither boy could make out what was being said.

Javan curled up in a ball and struggled to hold off the tears that formed in his eyes. He wanted to go home.

***

The hyenas were everywhere. The chimps that were fighting on the ground had been overwhelmed, engulfed by their hungry, bloodthirsty attackers. Dugan braced himself as Azil leapt over some advancing dogs and ran to where a small pack was scavenging their fallen friends. The hyenas backed off momentarily, sizing up the horse and his rider. They were too late, their friends were dead.

Azil then angrily jumped a fallen tree and started running through a small opening, constantly fighting to keep Dugan balanced on his back. Branches whipped at them from all sides as they searched for a clear passage out of the dense woods, their pursuers not far behind.

They soon arrived back at the camp where they had been working earlier. They knew that the village was nearby and the chance for survival had returned. It was then that Dugan remembered to his horror that the boys had been hiding just ahead. He glanced over at the stump but detected no movement. He feared the worst.

Suddenly Azil reared back on his hind legs, sending Dugan plummeting to the ground. The guard scrambled to his feet and regained his bearings, noticing to his dismay that a long spear had become lodged in the horse’s side. The once magnificent creature struggled to remain upright but the wound was too deep and with a painful groan his body tumbled to the ground.

The sound of a bowstring then pierced the air and a sharp pain erupted in Dugan’s back when an arrow found its mark. The horrible feeling that shot through his body was unimaginable and he fought to maintain consciousness. Dugan turned around and saw three men standing nearby, one being Critias who was wielding a crude bow. Around him the hyenas could be heard closing in, their maniacal laughter echoing in his ears.

Dugan was dazed as he stumbled about, clinging to life. Beside him, Azil was bellowing the last of his final breaths. Dugan reached out his hand to his friend, sorrow overcoming the reality of his own flickering life.

He gathered his strength and began running away from the men, heading for the opening leading out of the forest, the village now in sight. Thoughts of his home and friends darted through his mind as pain overwhelmed him and he began to doubt if he could make the run back.

He stumbled up to the large tree stump where Thane and Javan had been hiding. There, peering up at him with teary eyes and half buried by a pile of leaves, sat the boys, quivering with fright.

Dugan abruptly stopped, reeling in pain and whispered to them, “Stay down. Wait….” He took a deep, painful breath as he attempted in vain to pull the arrow from his back. With the sound of the hyenas growing louder, he realized they were doomed.