Mythical Book #1

Chapter 18

'This heat....has it really been that long?' Kalla trudges along the rocky sandy trail.

'Huh? The Felinala seems to be slowing down. A bit unusual. She must have been away from the desert for a long time,' Gnor notices. He jumps off his shadow-stallion, and grabs the water container out of the saddle pack. Gnor then hurries over to Kalla and hands it to her. Kalla bows her head in gratitude. 'Her eyes are mesmerizing! That color is unusual for them. She's different than the average Felinala. There is something more to her. And how her body moves when she....Wait, stop!' Quickly Gnor shakes his thoughts away, "Would you like to ride Astrapi for a bit?" he asks Kalla.

'I'm not sure I like this beast very much. But, my paws are aching!' "Yes Gnor, thank you," Kalla climbs on Astrapi. The shadow-stallion squirms a bit, but then quickly gets used to her. 'Wow, he is so tame. Especially considering its nature. Gnor must have some real talent.'

Bannick flies back from scouting ahead and then notices that the two have switched places. "Um, Okay...Hey, so, it flattens out about two-thousand or so indals ahead, so we can rest when we get there," Bannick suggests, a bit out of breath from the heat.

"Ree-oww! Two-thousand? How about twenty more steps?" Kalla slips a cat groan, then lies on Astrapi's back.

"But, you're not walking, so what does it matter?" Bannick shoots back pointing out the obvious. "Gnor, are you tired?"

"No, m'lord, I'm in good spirits," Gnor replies.

"Well, then, off to the flat spot!"

"Aye, aye, fearless leader," Kalla mumbles to Bannick, and then curls up.

They approach the flat spot, which is a very large flat stone surface amongst the pebbles, cacti and brush. Kalla is fast asleep on the back of Astrapi, purring loudly. The sky glows a brilliant orange and pink. "Well, I don't think she's going to wake up soon," Gnor says gesturing to Kalla.

"Aye, I think she has the right idea. Let's make camp," Bannick replies.

"Agreed." Gnor says, and then quietly goes to Astrapi and pulls out supplies from the packs to make camp.

Kalla rouses awake enough to jump off Astrapi, and take a huge drink of water from a canteen. She then sees the bed of animal skins, 'Gnor must have made that so I don't have to lay on the bare ground,' Kalla looks at Gnor, who's laying on the bare ground next to the fire. She smiles to him, and then crawls in the bed and falls back to sleep.

'Kalla, something is above you!' Abruptly Kalla wakes up. She quickly rolls over to see a silhouette of a Petnubus soldier blocking out some of the stars. Suddenly, blackness! A sack is pulled over her. Potent plant and floral scents surround her, "Wha..wh...this is a nice scent," She begins to purr uncontrollably and then she instantly relaxes back to sleep.

"KALLA!"

Kalla bolts upward from the ground at the shout of her name. Light sneaks through the burlap holes of the sack that is still covering her. Unlatching a claw, she quickly slices the sack open to reveal a wooden cage surrounding her. It's just large enough for her to sit up in. 'We're in a large Petnubus encampment,' Kalla scans around. To her right is Gnor. He's in a smaller metallic cage. 'Gnor seems, okay. Where's Bannick? Oh no, a Fairy Trap!' To her left is Bannick, who's inside a large transparent container. It's completely round except for the top which has a bottle neck opening just large enough for a Fairy at its smallest size to fit in. It is corked shut. There are three small air-holes in the front, and it is being held off the ground by three very large metal prongs.

'We are surrounded by Petnubus tents, we must be in the center of the camp,' Kalla hones in.

All Petnubus tents are Dwarf-made, and are designed and built for durability and air flow. They can be taken down and put back up fairly quickly. Framed of wood and stone, they are walled with colorful cloths that have Petnubus patterns and hieroglyphs on them. The Petnubus men wear a white cloth kilt and no shirts. Around their necks are a wide circular cloth adorned with color, showing off their family tribe. The wealthier ones have precious metals and jewels sewn into the circular cloth. The women wear a white cloth dress and have various jewelry and adornments.