Guns of Legend: Chapter Ten
Hey, guys! I know it's been a long time since I've uploaded anything. School's been crazy. I'm going to try to get myself back on track. Let me know what you think of chapter ten! Chapter Ten
"And that's my story," Adlis concluded. She'd spent the entire last hour recounting her experience with the Cursecaster and her fiancé to Gukkalunk, and she'd found the experience draining. So many emotions going so fast... Gukkalunk sighed, rubbing his temples, "I will never understand why people do such things," he grumbled. "I'm sorry," Adlis said, folding her hands in her lap. "I didn't mean to upset you." Gukkalunk shook his head, "I am not angry at you. I feel your pain." Adlis felt a gently tug on the back of her dress. She turned and saw Za beckoning for her to lean in closer. "Ask him if they're going to let us go!" he urged her in a frightened whisper. Adlis turned back to face the old storyteller, "My friend wants to know if you plan on letting us go or not." Gukkalunk stroked his chin thoughtfully, and then turned to his chief, speaking in their strange, grunting language. The chief replied, and pointed to their three captives. "He wants to know why you were on our land," Gukkalunk translated. "Are you with the church as well?" "The church?" Adlis echoed. Gukkalunk nodded, "The Church of Embin. They have been coming to our camp every night, telling us of their ways and their beliefs. They say they are here to civilize us." A chill ran down Adlis' spine. The Embin priests were coming here, of all places? Za sensed her unease, and came to sit closer. "No, we're not from the church," Adlis reassured him. "We're not even from around here. We came to Everdry looking for someone, but he left." She gestured at the fuaro that sat behind them, silently. "Ms. Kilo made us come out here, looking for... something." "Something's been stealing children from Everdry for the past few months," Kilo spoke up finally. "I came out here to kill it." Gukkalunk eyed her suspiciously, "Taking children, you say? And why would that bring you onto our land?" Kilo narrowed her eyes dangerously, "I'm tempted to say I've found the culprits." Gukkalunk stood up suddenly, his expression angry, "You dare come here and accuse us of stealing your children? My kind may not be, as you say, civilized, but we are not so low that we will take defenseless children away from their parents!" Kilo glared at the gargoyle for a few moments, and then sat down, pointedly avoiding his gaze. "I'm sorry for that, sir," Adlis said as Gukkalunk sat back down. "Please don't take it personally. Hers was one of the children that was taken." A touch of sympathy appeared in the storyteller's eyes, and he nodded. "My people are not responsible for the disappearances of your children," he said at last. "I say this because our children have been disappearing as well." Adlis put a paw to her mouth in shock. So, the kidnappings weren't limited to Everdry? Suddenly, Kilo was by her side. "Did anybody see anything?" she demanded, her feelings for the gargoyles suddenly forgotten. "Anything at all?" Gukkalunk shook his head, "Nothing. Whatever is doing this, it is able to pick off our children when nobody is watching them." "Sandgoyles, maybe?" Adlis suggested, recalling stories of the cave dwelling creatures' cousins. "No," the gargoyle said. "The sandgoyles may be much more prone to violence than us, but we have enough respect for each other not to do such a thing." "I'm sorry to interrupt," Za said meekly, shrinking back even as he spoke. "But I'd still like to know if we can leave or not." "I suspect that our chief will let you go as soon as the sun goes down," Gukkalunk answered. He gestured towards the mouth of the cave, where the wall of statues still stood, "As you can see, it would be very difficult to do so now." Adlis nodded in acknowledgement. Beside her, Za breathed a sigh of relief. "I have heard enough for now," the storyteller said, standing up. "You must be tired. You may choose a spot to sleep for the day." With that, he retreated to the back of thhe cave, where the rest of his tribe was gathered. "I still don't like this, Adlis," the worrisome simmk whispered. "What if they kill us when we fall asleep?" "I don't think they will, Za," Adlis assured him, patting his hand comfortingly. "Try to relax." Za nodded his head uncertainly, and chose a spot to sit back against the wall. He still watched the gargoyles suspiciously, but she could see him already drifting into sleep. Kilo, too, found a spot to lay down, muttering about sleeping on solid rock. Getting up from the stone she had been sitting on, Adlis went and sat beside Za. Within minutes, she was asleep too.
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"Wake up!" A rough nudge shook Adlis out of her slumber. She opened her eyes to see Gukkalunk standing over her, looking worried. "What's wrong?" she asked. "Wake your friends," the storyteller said quickly. "The men from the church are coming!" Instantly alert, Adlis stood up and gave Za and Kilo the same rude awakening she had gotten. "So what?" the fuaro snapped after she had explained the situation. "It's not like they're going to care about us." "Maybe not you," Adlis shot back, and pointed to her ears, "but they may not like these!" "What do we do?" Za fretted, bouncing up and down on his heels in agitation. "Come to the back of the cave," Gukkalunk instructed. The other gargoyles made a path for them as they came. "All of you, kneel down!" Adlis, Za, and Kilo did as instructed, huddling together at the very back of the cave. Gukkalunk grabbed a large, thick quilt and threw it over them, ordering them to stay there and be quiet. Adlis found that she could see a bit out of a tiny hole in the fabric. "Come, now," a voice called from outside the cave, "open the way!" "The sun must first go down," Gukkalunk shouted back. "Until then, they can not move." "There is always a way, should you desire it hard enough!" came the reply, but the speaker obliged and waited for the sun to set. It sank slowly behind the horizon, only just visible from behind the gargoyle wall, until darkness covered the desert again. With a startlingly loud cracking sound, the gargoyles blocking the entrance shed their stony skin, becoming flesh once more. They collapsed all over each other, the transformation having apparently exhausted them. A small group of their brethren hurried forward and dragged them away from the entrance, while another pushed the rope ladder over the edge of the cliff. "Much better!" whoever it was at the bottom of the cliff shouted. A minute later, an old, yet still dazzlingly scaled, kashni climbed into the cave. He wore the dark blue robes of a priest of Embin, which he hurriedly dusted off. Behind him, three acolytes climbed up to join him- two ziks and a fuaro. "Everyone, join me in bowing to the will of Embin," the kashni instructed. He got to his knees, and prostrated himself on the cave floor, as did the three acolytes. Though Adlis could tell they did not want to, the gargoyles got to their feet and bowed down as well. "Very good," the priest said as he stood back up, as if he were speaking to a room full of children. "Rise, my sons and daughters, and let me teach you of the ways of Embin!" As the gargoyles took their seats, a quiet, almost inaudible, grumble came from the back of the cave. The kashni immediately perked up, turning his head towards where the noise had come from. "Was that a complaint I just heard?" he asked, admonishingly. When no response came, he stood up and looked out over the tribe of gargoyles. "The great wise Embin has blessed you with our presence this evening so that we may share our knowledge and guidance, and yet you grumble?" "Think nothing of it," Gukkalunk said calmly from the front of the group. "Surely you understand the foolishness of youth. Please, continue." The kashni eyed Gukkalunk with obvious distaste, and then bent down over him. "I would hope that that is all it is, Storyteller" he said in a low, menacing voice. "You know what the church is capable of doing to those who reject the Wise One's teachings." "Of course," Gukkalunk said, bobbing his head up and down furiously. "We would never bring such wrath down upon us. Please, continue." Apparently satisfied, the priest stood up straight and spread his arms out, as if trying to hug the entire tribe, "Listen, and pay heed, Impure Ones! The great Embin, lord of all that is pure and natural, has declared that which you call magic to be wicked and unnatural. Repent, and turn from your heathen ways, and you will be blessed and smiled upon by the Natural One!" The kashni began to pace back and forth across the cave, making eye contact with as many gargoyles as he could, "I know you believe that magic is too deeply imbedded into your history, indeed, even into yourselves, to forsake it, but I tell you now that this is not true! As the Natural One said, if you desire something enough, there will always be a way. Release your hold on such heathenistic practices, and embrace that which is pure and natural." He looked over the small crowd expectantly. When no one came forward to repent, his face soured. "Please, great priest," Gukkalunk pleaded. "Turning our back on such things is difficult. Give us more time, and surely we will come to repent as you desire!" The kashni rose to his full height in outrage, "For two months, I have been coming to this Embin forsaken cave, and for two months you have wasted my time! I demand that you heed my teachings and repent tonight!" Without giving the storyteller time to reply, the priest began to force his way into the crowd. He eyed each one of the gargoyles, searching for something Adlis guessed only he could see. He made his way to the back of the cave before pointing at a small child, who cowered from him in fear. "You!" he declared. "The Natural One wishes for you to repent and beg for his forgiveness this night!" The little gargoyle squealed in protest, and pressed its back into the wall. "Do not resist," the priest growled, reaching down and grabbing the child by its arm, pulling it away from the crowd. "The Wise One commands it!" "No!" Adlis heard herself shout, and immediately covered her mouth in shock. She hadn't meant to say anything. The priest froze, and slowly turned to face the lumpy quilt. He released the child, who scurried back to its parents, and grabbed the blanket, yanking it off and revealing the three travelers. "What is the meaning of this?" he demanded in outrage. "Why are you here?" "Th- they took us captive," Adlis explained as quickly as they could. "We accidentaly trespassed on their land." Even as she spoke, she felt the fur on her ears turn white with terror, and she silently cursed. The priest's eyes widened when he saw the change. "Now I understand," he growled. He reached out and grabbed the young zik by her arm, hauling her upright. "Hey, leave her alone!" Za shouted, getting to his feet, but the priest kicked out, knocking him back against the wall. "No, please!" Adlis pleaded. "It's not what you think! I was cursed! I didn't do this to myself!" The kashni's eyes narrowed, but Adlis knew he could not accuse her of using black magic without proof. "We shall see about that," he said, and turned to drag her out of the cave. He pointed at his acolytes, "Take the others!" The acolytes leaped up and took a hold of Kilo and Za. Adlis breathed a sigh of relief when they allowed themselves to be led away without protest. The priest forced her to climb down the ladder, to where a large, ornately decorated wagon waited. "Get inside," he commanded. She obeyed, and took a seat in the wagon. The seats were cushioned, a clear sign of aristocracy. Za and Kilo filed in as well, taking seats beside her. The wagon was so large that even when the priest and his acolytes joined them inside, there was still plenty of room. "Take us back to the church!" the kashni commanded the driver, another kashni. A whip cracked outside, and the wagon began to move. "And to make sure none of you try to escape," the priest said, pulling a pistol out of his robes and pointing at them. "What are they going to do to us?" Za asked, shaking with terror. "Don't worry, Za," Adlis said, trying to sound comforting through her own fear. "Everything is going to be okay." But as the wagon took them further away from the gargoyle's cave, she couldn't help but wonder if she was lying to him.