The three become four and head to Raam:
19
MAR/21
Oni’s eyes started to fill with tears. He did not completely believe he would ever see Pakku again. He looked healthy. He now had a slight slouch. Oni tried to examine why. Was something weighting him down. He looked over the other men with him. They all had this slight slouch as well. It must have been from riding the Pegasi. It modifies the body over time. The tears started to swell and drop down his face in a slow pattern. Pakku was holding in similar tears on his side.
Pakku stepped up a step. Oni came over. Just as they left the last time, they stood within inches of each other. They both gently leaned their heads to touch foreheads. This was a how they would meet among the Yavapai. Both whispered so quietly that only the two of them could hear each other, “by the sands of dunes, it is good to see you.” Their tears mingled on the ground below. They stood for long moments. Finally, they both pulled apart.
The men with Pakku landed on the far side of the pond. They went up to the water and started to make sure they all had a fresh drink of water. The mounts looked weak from travel. They had been riding these creatures too much over the last five days. All needed some time off. The men looked equally weak. They had been eating nothing but hard tack for days and needed protein, to rebuild. Oni and Pakku started to slowly walk over to the other men. Audun was running over. He saw Oni’s calmness and slowed. You could see fear run through him. Had these three been against them all along. David stayed back a little, but Mar’iya came right up to Pakku. They did not bump heads, and only nodded to one another.
Mar’iya: “what are you doing here? I thought you were going to stay in Raam.”
Pakku: “I need your help. Raam is in chaos. Since the two dawns the city has been wrong. It was always bad, but some have gone crazy. Buildings are burning.”
Oni: “why us?”
Pakku: “to be honest, you were the only people I could think of. That I trust. We must hurry back to Raam.”
David walking up: “Those mounts are not going anywhere. They need rest… and so do you.”
Pakku: “who are you?”
Oni: “a friend. David meet Pakku… My oldest friend in this world.”
David: “good to meet you.”
Oni yelling back: “Hey Audun, do you mind sharing a little fresh meat with these guys.”
Flora yelling back: “no problem.”
Mar’iya: “we do not have grain but there is grass over there.”
Pakku: “we really need to go. I fear for the city and the other fliers.”
Oni: “Pakku. My friend. My brother. You and your men would not make the trip back. We were leaving in the morning anyway. We will all go.”
The men made a quick camp. Flora brought them food. They took the saddles off the mounts. They all pulled out this ahrd brushes and worked the animals with them. They all stood a little taller. They were about to become lame. They went to rest for the night. Oni explained when the two dawns happened. That they were being watched by the night sky. They could not travel at night anyway. Pakku and his men slept the night just a little way off. They had to be seen by her doing their normal patrol. In the morning they could head out.
Just before the Dawn, Oni sat on the edge of the tent. He was looking out when the sound of a thwap happened right next to him. He had been surviving in the desert a long time now and knew that you need to make sure something was a danger before waking your friends. He looked over and in the moon light, stood a really fat old owl. It was huge. Many of its feathers had turned gray with age. Oni looked at it with pure curiosity. It was wearing a necklace. It had a tiny scroll tied to one leg. It was flicking the leg at Oni as if annoyed with him. Oni pulled the scroll out to read it. The Owl started to walk around taking in the entire place.
“Hi, my name is Weasleton. I am a friend of Herman. He is in a little danger, but I have sent him help. You and the Purple Warrior must get to Raam. I know, you are planning on going to tomorrow blah blah blah. Not fast enough. You needed to be there yesterday. Go ahead and head to Raam tomorrow. I will find you in route. I have a way to open a portal to get you and your group to Raam. Please don’t ask me a lot of questions. It is heard to communicate. I don’t know why you need to be there, except for a prophecy. Uuuuuuuuu a prophecy. I know very exciting. Just go into the portal when you see it.”
Oni read the note multiple times. He looks down to the owl. The owl is just bobbing as if saying yes. Oni wanted to test the little creature, “so your name is Peter.” The Owl stopped bobby. Walked a like closer and wrote “no” in the sand. It looked at Oni is a sarcastic manor, trying to figure out if he could read. Oni looked at the creature in a new light. Oni made sure the owl knew he understood. With its little claw foot, it wrote out a new message, “young Peter died. It was sad. Let’s not talk about it.” Oni was confused but now believed in the creature’s intelligence. Oni sat back a little, “okay, I will do as you ask.”
The owl smiled, and with another thwap disappeared in a small yellow flash. Oni made sure no one woke.
The next day they took flight. They were heading to Raam. Pakku led the group. Three of the riders had to double up their mount. Each carrying one of the desert folks. They flew towards Raam. After several hours of flight, just as the owl had predicted a vortex opened in the sky near them. As it expanded creatures came bursting out in all directions. Little bursts of Yellow were followed by creatures of all types thwapping into existence. With a larger Thwap the old owl Weasleton, appeared in the center of the forming vortex. It barely flew in a circle and flew into the vortex. Oni yelled, “follow that bird.”
Pakku turned to whole flight of mounts and headed into the vortex. Each man in turn followed behind him. Oni noticed the birds grabbing the other creatures. He started to see as the wingless lose energy and started to plumet. Oni grabbed the reins from his rider to shift his Pegasis to try and grab some of the doomed animals. As Oni shifted, he saw some of the other riders doing the same. Oni’s driver fought him a little as they gathered companions. As they entered the Vortex, he leaned left, overextended and fell from the mount. Oni’s mount was now covered with eight other creatures. Mar’iya was the only one that somehow grabbed more. He entered the vortex with ten creatures attached to him and his mount. Mar’iya was covered in snakes. Oni was covered in large beetles. David had a mostly small mammals on his mount as he entered.
Solus had the reins. He tugged them a little as Pakku started to lead them into the vortex. His rider Oni had been difficult the entire time. Oni had asked him hundreds of questions and just never stopped talking. Solus did not care as the animals started to fall. He was moving his mount to the left to avoid one. Oni reached up and jerked the creature to right. Oni reached out and brought in a large pill beetle. Solus leaved out to the left and started to become unstable. Oni caring more to the insects grabbed the reins harder to control the mount better.
Just as they entered the vortex. Oni pulled one more time to get a beetle that was falling. Solus lost his grip and fell, into the vortex. Oni tried to reach out for him, but just their fingertips brushed as he fell. The last thing Oni saw was a flash of yellow before Solus disappeared. Solus smashed to the ground. He had taken a few small falls from his mount, but this was much further. All of his breath left his body and he struggle to breath again. It took him what felt like a lifetime before he could breathe again. He could not stand yet. He propped himself up and looked around. He was in a town or city. It looked clean and nice. It was fairly empty, but as the sights came to him, he saw all kinds of strange creature. All around him were the bipedal versions of all the familiars that lived within the Nexus. He could not know this, but Solus was lost within the Nexus.
Oni grabbed the reins and pulled his mount through the vortex. He could not control it as well as his former driver, Solus. He continued to follow Pakku and the others through it. He was the last to stumble through to the other side of Raam. The smell of smoke and burning flesh made him cough. His mount instantly followed the others to the ground in a small landing area. Oni was doing little to control it, “be kind to me, beast.” He looked back to watch the vortex start to close. As it did many birds flew through, carrying their rescued mates. The old fat owl, Weasleton, could not make it back in. He struggled to land on a rooftop and started to breath heavy. Oni hoped these creatures sacrifice would be rewarded in the world they now entered. He landed and all his little cargo scurried off and away. They all headed off the same direction.
Oni scanned the area. He saw the man tied to pole. He saw the scaley priest trying to control a group of thugs. He knew, he was the problem. Music came to his head, “this time he would be bulletproof.”