The Quest of Catmandu (standard:fantasy, 2893 words) [3/6] show all parts
Author: nightshade	Added: Dec 27 2000	Views/Reads: 2871/2061	Part vote: 0.00 (0 votes)
plans are put in motion to aid the cheetah clan

Click here to read the first 75 lines of the story

representation before her. 

the princess spoke, as she had been told, of how all clans had
collaborated in mapping the lands over seven generations ago. she went 
on to translate the meaning of the icons shown on the legend. 

Chevelle enjoyed the learning..almost as much as the Tiger woman enjoyed
her enthusiasm. 

"hold on." Shae stopped. "that's not all. just as important and possibly
more valuable is this. i am enlisting the aid of our other alliance 
members in finding missing members of your clan, be they lost, captive, 
alive or dead. enemy teritories will be held under observation and if 
neccessary, infiltrated. if any captives are found to be there, they 
will be freed...and retribution will be meted out." 

The Cheetah clan's ambassador was speechless. her eyes brightened with
hope and a long lost optimism that her tribe sorely needed. with any 
luck, her clan would feel that optimism. 

Karo's arrival time still hadn't been determined at this point. so.."if
we assume that she and Parnak got their messages at..say..middday.." 
Charval offered. "then they should.." Shae was aware of the distant 
pounding of hooves and Charval's indentification of not one...but two 
horses carrying riders..coming fast. closer inspection left no doubt. 

"Karo, Parnak!" Shae called in greeting as the arrivals dismounted and
were met with hugs and licks of the princess, and her bodyguards. 

"so much for a long time, your highness." Karo jested. "it is good to
see you nonetheless." Parnak declared. "as it is good to see the two of 
you." the princess replied. 

"Karo, Parnak," Rachyl called. "allow me to present Chevelle, ambassador
of the Cheetah clan." Parnak's brows raised in recognition. "i believe 
we met about three suns ago, when i visited their lands with Tromal to 
aquire some rare herbs." "yes..i remember now." Chevelle replied. "it's 
good to see you again. how is Tromal?" a solemn expression came across 
the faces of the Tiger women and Chevelle knew the answer then. "how 
long ago?" "a moon." Rhachyl replied. "I'm sorry. she was a kind, wise 
woman. i came to know her well, during her visit." 

"speaking of visits," Parnak interjected. "we had better leave now and
get to your people as quickly as possible to administer treatment." "my 
thoughts exactly." Shae agreed. "princess," Karo called, "Rhachyl, 
Parnak and i are leaving now. the three of you can head to the Falcon 
river dock at first light." 

"what about food?" Parnak wondered. "Chevelle, does your clan live close
together?" "we only need one camp, since there only eight of us left." 
No response. Karo and Parnak were dumbstruck. what could you say to 
something like that? "do they have enough food to last..a half moon at 
maximum?" Karo asked. "i wish i could tell you with absolute certainty, 
but i'm just not sure. with any luck, we might be able to pull in some 
fish. other than that.." "then we will help find food until our clan 
arrives." the medicine woman declared. "please," Parnak pleaded. "let's 
not waste any time. it will take long enough to reach their northwest 
dock as it is. more time than that could prove fatal." 

"Chevelle, ride with me." Karo urged. "thank you, but no. i'm feeling
much better after having been fed and treated by your princess. i'd 
rather run. besides, horses give me the creeps when they're used in 
more intimate fashion than food." "they eat horses?" Cahrval whispered 
in disbelief. "Eeeewwww!" "Charval, please." Shae quietly cautioned. 
"we must go." Parnak said. 

"this should be good." Charval whispered. "what do you mean?" asked
Shae. "haven't you ever seen a Cheetah woman run at full speed?" Tynak 
asked. "now that you mention it, no" "you want to see speed?" Chevelle 
asked, having overheard. "then watch this." before anyone had a chance 
to blink, the Cheetah woman was off in a cloud of dust. When it 
cleared, all they could see was a fast moving dust ball..that was 
already two hundred yards away, ten seconds after her start. not a word 
was spoken as the Tiger women all stared in dumb amazement. soon after, 
Karo, Parnak and Rhachyl took off in hot pursuit on the horses. the sun 
was about to touch the western horizon and Shae knew that she and her 
companions would be hard pressed to reach the dock before the sun was 
gone for the night. 

fifty minutes later, the tigresses on horseback arrived at the Border
river dock to find Chevelle smiling widely. "i was wondering when you'd 
show." she laughed. "how long have you been waiting?" asked Rhachyl. 
"since the sun was a quarter down." Chevelle said, before bursting into 
giggles. 

after the horses were released to return home, the striped women joined
their ally on the dock. "now, if only we could row this boat as fast as 
you run." Rhachyl chuckled as she gave Chevelle a friendly pat on the 
back. "rowing?" Chevelle questioned, with a look of amusement in her 
eyes. "who said anything about rowing?" "how else are we supposed to 
get across to your island?" Karo quizzed. "if the three of you will 
kindly keep your eyes on the water, i'll gladly show you." The Cheetah 
woman prduced a long wooden flute unlike any that her benefactors had 
ever seen. With as deep breath, she blew hard until she could blow no 
more. "that thing doesn't work," Charval mused. "i didn't hear a 
thing." "trust me, my friend," Chevelle assured them. "it works. 
believe me..it works." 

after another long bow, Chevelle smiled as a half dozen rises appeared
in the water about fifty meters out. suddenly, twenty feet from the 
dock, five fish-like forms burst high out of the water and dove back in 
five feet away, soaking the boats and scaring the living daylights out 
of the Tigers at the sane time. they jumped back in momentary panic 
only to fall into the water on the other side of the dock. 

The Cheetah clans ambassador couldn't help but shriek with helpless
laughter the whole time, even as the Tiger woman clawed their soaking 
bodies back onto the dock. for a couple of minutes, they sat huddled 
together, with wide eyes and wildly heaving breasts, as they fought 
desperately to regain their composure. 

"i'm sorry, my friends." Chevelle laughed as she helped them to their
feet. "i should have warned you, although my dolphins are actually 
quite friendly." "what are they doing here?" Karo asked breathlessly. 
"they're here to give us our ride." "what?" the tigresses said in 
unison. "my family and i have been raising and protecting dolphins 
since i was eight sun cycles old. these ones come from a specific pod 
that I myself have trained to tow small boats carrying four to six 
passengers." "how is that possible?" Parnak asked. "i mean..how are 
they even here? i thought dolphins were extinct." "everyone did at one 
time." Chevelle agreed. "but when i was seven and a half, my mother, 
sisters and i discovered twenty-four living in our island's lake. in 
the next six months, we found another seventy-six of the dolphins. 
since the day i turned eight, a solemn vow has been made to protect the 
dolphins and aid them in perpetuating their species. as of this day, 
their numbers have grown to a thousand." "that's astonishing" Rhachyl 
remarked. "you must be very proud of yourself." "not of myself." the 
Cheetah woman clarified, "but of my family's legacy of work and the 
willingness to help these friendly creatures." "very well then," Parnak 
agreed. "let's get going." 

in the time it took for Karo, Parnak and Rahchyl to get their equipment
into the boat, Chevelle had the dolphins grabbing the ropes that were 
fastened to the bow..and they were off. the Tiger women held on for 
dear life and watched in utter amazement at how fast they moved across 
the waters of Kaelon sea. they realized they would reach their 
destination far ahead of their pre-planned time. "Chevelle," Rhachyl 
bellowed over the noise of the splashing water. "how long did it take 
you to reach our dock from yours?" "i thought you'd never ask." the 
Cheetah woman said as she produced..a gold plated pocket watch, 
something her Tigress passengers had never seen before. "What is that?" 
Rhachyl asked, above the roaring waves. "this is a watch..a pocket 
watch. it divides each day into smaller segments of time than what we 
usually know..but it will best be explained when we reach land." "well 
enough," Karo agreed. "we'll learn more about this 'watch' when we make 
camp." 

with nothing to do while Chevelle kept watch over her dolphins as they
pulled the boat, the Tiger women fell asleep, after having become 
accustomed to the speed and motion of the boat. with the sky having 
gone dark, it was that much easier. within only a few short hours, 
however, they were being gently nudged awake to find themselves 
floating towards a dock illuminated by a dozen torches, set in the 
posts that lined the dock's edges. 

"we're there? already?" the medicine woman asked in disbelief as she
stretched and yawned. "yes." Chevelle replied. the boat bumped the dock 
and was quickly tied. the four women were quick to depart the craft and 
hop onto dry land. "we'll stop for the night at the nearest camp." 
Chevelle anounced. "it;s only ten miles south-east of here by the 
nearest river to us." "good plan." Karo agreed. "i'll run ahead and 
have everything set up by the time you get there, including something 
to eat, from an emergency cache that..damn! i forgot, that cache was 
already emptied a few days ago." "no matter," Parnak smiled. "we 
brought fresh meat ourselves." "then give it here, and i'll have it 
roasted by the time you get there." Chevelle suggested. with a quick 
relay of the meat to its new host, she was off. 

they followed, travelling at a fast jog, that covered a mile every six
minutes. they were amazed that after only three miles, a fire could be 
seen in the distance. when they reached it, Chevelle had been true to 
her word by having had the proffered meat well-roasted and waiting for 
them. 

"you made it. good." Chevelle greeted. "have a rest and i'll be with you
in a bit." they soon ate..the whole while the guests noticing an 
unusual yet delicious flavoring in the meat. whatever it was, they had 
to find out. "Chevelle, what did you put in the meat?" Rhachyl 
inquired. "did you like it?" "i loved it." "as did I." Parnak agreed. 
"thank Cheetus." Chevelle sighed with relief. "it seems so log since 
i've been able to use it." "use what?" Karo probed wantingly. "what is 
it?" "it's a mixture of red onion, sea salt, and lemon juice." "it was 
delicious." Rhachyl complimented. "well, when we get to the camp, i may 
be able to show you something just as good." 

as tea was distributed, the mission was discussed. "how far is it to
your camp?" Rhachyl asked. "roughly two hundred miles." Chevelle 
replied. "for me, it's a half-days journey..with frequent stops." "for 
us, it would be two days journey on foot." "that will not do," Karo 
barked. "we can't afford that time." "which is why..three horses were 
borrowed from your land, the first time over there." Chevelle smiled. 
"how?" the medicine woman asked. "that's what i'd like to know myself." 
Rhachyl wondered. "didn't you see that much larger boat at the dock?" 
Chevelle quizzed. "i recall seeing it, yes." Parnak affirmed. "there's 
your answer." the Cheetah woman declared. "that is our boat for that 
particular dock." "one question, though." Parnak probed. "where are 
they? the horses, that is." "they're in a fenced area down by the 
river, where they can eat and drink." "that's settled then," Parnak 
sighed. "now, i suggest we get some sleep and get moving before first 
light. we shouldn't wait any longer than necessary." "agreed." Chevelle 
said. "til morning then, ladies." 

"would Voran, Yantar, or Lorell's camps have made it home before the
birds got to them?" Charval wondered while picking her teeth. "Lorell's 
camp would've." Shae said. "as for the others, you never know." "what 
of Karo, Parnak, Rhachyl and Chevelle?" Tynak asked. "how are they 
supposed to get across Kaelon sea at night without going too far one 
way and getting lost?" "good question." the princess acknowledged. 
"we'll just have to hope for the best. besides, Chevelle know where 
she's going." "you know," Charval paused. "rowing an ark boat across 
that distance is not something i'm looking forward too." "what about 
Parnak and the others?" Tynak huffed. "how do you think they must 
feel?" "its something that needs to be done whether we like it or not." 
Shae stated with a shrug and a smile. "we'd better pack it in then." 
Tynak yawned. "if we're going to get to Falcon river dock quickly to 
greet the help." if only they knew, eh? 

to be continued, in chapter 4
------------------------------------------------ we hope you enjoyed 
this chapter. please let us know. karlw@telusplanet.net 
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