"I was running." she said, and the two men eagerly listened. "My father is an over-lord. He wanted to force me into a marriage with a Teniqués. I refused and he had me whipped and branded." she pulled the single support strap from her shoulder and exposed the breast of the same side, that looked scarred, with the symbol of a trident burned on it.
Lloyd lifted the shoulder support back onto her shoulder covering her up.
They stared into each other's eyes and Lloyd felt warm from the glow emanating from her.
She took the blanket from around her, dropping it to around her hips where it no longer covered her.
She only wore the single piece of clothing, made of a dark, thin and short fragment of material.
She was barely covered but for her torso, and she didn't wear anything as undergarments.
She put her hand on the upper, inside part of her thigh and when she brought it away there was blood on her fingers.
Boyce just sat back and watched the strange unfolding of her story and actions, all of which were aimed right at Lloyd.
"Are you hurt?" Lloyd asked with much concern.
"I have a small gash in my leg! It must've happened when I was being chased by that!" she pointed at the dead pig.
"Here, let me take a look!" Lloyd offered to assist, genuinely feeling concerned for her.
He took some water on a strip of cloth that he had in his pack and wiped the wound clean, then wrapped the wound with the same cloth.
Although Lloyd was an honourable man, gallantly aiding a distressed female, he could not keep himself from glancing at her naked extremities.
"Does it hurt very much …" he stopped and with his eyes conveyed a question of need to know her name.
"My name is Grenadine." she said and Lloyd echoed with a smile.
Boyce was annoyed by what he saw. Everything was kindness and appreciation between them, but he felt that something was at fault.
"I'm alright." she said and she made a little smile that poked a hole into Lloyd's heart.
"Can you walk, Grenadine? We wish to resume our journey soon and we don't want to leave you behind." Lloyd asked her.
Grenadine nodded to him and they packed up the two packs and climbed down.
Lloyd gave Grenadine his blanket and she wrapped it around her body into a kind of dress that looked like it was made for her.
No seam showed and no string or thread was used to keep it together.
Boyce walked behind Lloyd and Grenadine, keeping all his attention focused on the woods and making certain that they continued to walk in a generally southern direction.
Above them the tree tops were still hidden and sounds like mute whistling came from there.
Boyce began to believe in the gremlin lore and the evil that was supposed to be associated with it.
If it wasn't for the woman travelling with them, Boyce believed that they would have been out of the forest by this time.
Grenadine limped very little but she held on to Lloyd's right arm at all times.
Boyce didn't like that. He saw that Lloyd would have a very slow response in drawing his weapon if it became necessary.
They kept walking and never stopped for a rest.
Grenadine didn't ask for any rest and Boyce had thought that, for a woman, that was peculiar.
With every hour that passed, and they made it further through the forest, Boyce trusted that woman less and less. He couldn't tell this to Lloyd, however. His preoccupation with Grenadine would have made him unreasonable towards Boyce's views about her, so Boyce kept his thoughts to himself and kept his wits about himself.
Lloyd and Grenadine talked to one another throughout the entire distance travelled since they left the rocky ledge where they slept last night.
Lloyd had forgotten an agreement that they made way back in Besten when they chose this route. It was Lloyd's suggestion, too.
"We should keep as quiet as possible when going through the Dark
Forest. We won't draw as many wild animals to the sounds we make."
Boyce remembered those words each and every time that Grenadine's bird-like laugh reverberated through the trees.
There was huge crashing sound that came from their left side, and it wasn't far from them.
They stopped in their tracks and silently waited.
Lloyd had briefly lost his interest in Grenadine and he looked at
Boyce's angered contours, yet he didn't understand them.
They stood still for several minutes, looking about.
Lloyd made Grenadine squat down and he readied his gun for defence.
He and Boyce looked around their immediate proximity but saw nothing.
They became edgy.
Lloyd looked at Grenadine's calmness and helped her up from the ground.
He was proud that she could keep her courage when their's was waning.
Boyce watched both of them with amazement as they sluggishly milled their way in their intended direction.
He followed once again being the eyes for the entire party.
Time passed and the forest grew dark for the second time. Night was again, at hand. Boyce was not at all pleased.
"Lloyd!" Boyce cried out. "We should seek a shelter!"
Lloyd nodded to him and they reconnoitred the entire area around them, in search of some place.
The only shelter available, with any degree of safety offered to them was a gigantic bird's nest.
"Should we try it?" Boyce asked with his answer already suggested in his tone.
"We couldn't find better in this light!"
With Lloyd's answer, they took out their lasers and sliced several dozen rungs into the tree leading up to the branch with the nest.
"Well?" Boyce thrust his hand up at the tree. "Tonight we'll be sleeping with the gremlins."
Grenadine gave Boyce a strange glare of disapproval and Lloyd smiled because he thought it looked amusing.
"We go up in a moment!" said Lloyd then went a few meters from the tree to urinate.
Boyce came up beside him and did the same, taking his first opportunity to speak to Lloyd about the girl, since they took her along.
"Your mind hasn't been on the journey." he told Lloyd. "This place is dangerous and you've fully dropped your guard."
Lloyd didn't say a word while Boyce spoke.
They both finished urinating and Lloyd began to turn but Boyce stopped him.
"Haven't you given any thought on how or why she came to be in this forest?"
Lloyd was still quiet in such a way as to seem like he was ignoring
Boyce.
"You don't believe that story that she gave us, do you?" Boyce demanded and answer.
Look, Boyce! She's a very nice and beautiful woman. We can't leave her here to die!"
"Yes, Lloyd, but don't you see? — She shows no apprehension about being in this place!" He stopped his monotonous whisper and pointed to her. "Look at her Lloyd, does she look frightened to you?"
Lloyd glanced over at the woman but he couldn't see what Boyce was talking about.
All he could see was Grenadine leaning against a tree with her arms crossed and her eyes staring straight ahead.
Lloyd walked away from Boyce and soon was helping her climb up the rungs towards the branch where the nest was resting.
Boyce watched them climb. He was disturbed when Lloyd never came back down to get his pack.
Boyce put both packs on, one around each shoulder and he slowly made his way up the tree and then swung his legs astride the branch when he reached it.
Lloyd and Grenadine were already reclined in the nest when Boyce took the packs and set them inside the nest with them.
From his pack Boyce took out his cape and electric light. With a little food and his water sack, he made his way to the butt of the branch and sat against the trunk of the tree.
With the final particles of light scattering through the forest, Boyce scanned the area to make certain that no animals were in the vicinity. He looked up into the clouded tree tops and wondered about the lore of the gremlin kingdom and whether or not it was true.
It was dark now; pitch and silent but for occasional sounds of night-birds whistling through the trees and, at times the sounds of rocks being overturned by large and hungry animals looking for grubs.
Many hours had passed since Boyce took the first watch.
He was finished slowly eating his food and keeping awake because he didn't dare risk leaving them defenceless.
Hours later, Boyce crawled along the branch to the nest, having his light on it so that he wouldn't fall from it.
At the nest, he was ready to call Lloyd to his turn at watch, and he came upon them when they were at the height of love making. Grenadine was obviously the aggressive one.
He turned off the light and crawled back to the tree trunk, and leaned up against it, throwing his legs around the branch to keep himself stable.
Something, he thought, was happening to his friend. Lloyd was behaving oddly and not like himself, and what's worse, Boyce didn't know how he could help Lloyd.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Lloyd stood up in the nest, stretched and tucked his tunic back into his pants. He looked over at Boyce wrapped tightly in his dark cape, staring right back at him with withdrawn eyes. His face was pale and his lips were dry and slightly cracked from the trifle breeze that filtered through the forest during the night.
Lloyd tipped his head to Boyce and Grenadine peaked over the rim of the nest and look at him, as well.
Lloyd and Grenadine shared some of his rations and Boyce began to straighten up from his uncomfortable night of sleeplessness. His legs dangled off the branch while he sprinkled water on his hand then patted it over his face.
Breathing coarsely and heavily, Boyce looked over at Lloyd and Grenadine setting their clothing in order, and he looked way when he saw Lloyd kiss Grenadine's hand.
Boyce lifted his pack around his shoulders and then threw his cape about himself and climbed down the tree.
It was an eerie peacefulness on the ground and he felt very ill-at-ease all by himself. He took his laser from his belt case and seared some marks on a few dozen trees, heading in a straight line, south from the tree in which they spent the entire night.
Lloyd watched Boyce walk in the direction of the blazed trees and he knew that Boyce was going ahead, alone. He climbed down from the tree with his pack and Grenadine, on his back. Her beautiful legs and delicate arms tightly clutched him about his body, and she sensually rubbed her lips on the back of his neck.
They followed the trail that was hastily marked by Boyce, who was far ahead by the time that they started.
For their own protection and welfare, Boyce knew that they had to hurry out of the forest. This place was taking its toll on the both of them; Boyce with his potent strength and Lloyd with his immobility of character. He was certain that their safety was only assured by the speed of which they could make it to the other side of the forest. A third night would surely taken them, thought Boyce.
Many hours were spent in Boyce's struggle to make the other side. His weapon was drawn at all times and in his speed he shot several large animals, regardless if they motioned to attack him, or not. He couldn't chance any friendly influences in this forest. He could not trust this place of legend and mystery while he worried for his friend, helper and teacher, Lloyd Bartlett, to make it to the other side.
On the other side was an immense canyon, stretching to each side of him, as far as the eye could see.
There, far to one side, was a swinging cable bridge connecting the two sides of the canyon; they were certainly a kilometre apart.
He waited at the place that he came out of the forest, for about an hour. Then, as if beckoned back into the forest, he followed his markings back towards Lloyd and Grenadine.
One half hour into the forest, Boyce saw Lloyd and Grenadine leaning against a large boulder, embraced and oblivious.
Grenadine was in front of Lloyd and she was kissing him while, unnoticed, a large pack of dogs came out of the shadows of the trees and made their way towards them.
Lloyd didn't see the dogs and he didn't even hear some of them snarling as they neared.
Boyce saw the dogs quickly move upon them, and he saw that Lloyd didn't have his laser out of its case. There was no time to warn them.
He rushed down on one knee and set his gun on the electrophoric setting. He fired into the middle of the pack of dogs. Several fell, kicking as they died. A few others howled into a whimper and scurried away. A few of them turned and advanced upon Boyce.
Lloyd looked up and saw the dogs run towards Boyce. In a sleepy daze he drew his laser and pointed it at the dogs. Just as he was firing Grenadine grabbed his arm and pointed it towards the ground, allowing the laser to gouge a large hole into the earth.
Unsure of what had actually happened Lloyd slowly focused his eyes upon Grenadine. As he stared at her he was transfixed upon her green eyes which began to change to a shiny rust colour as she slowly began to back away from him.
Once more he fired several rounds at the dogs, vaporising one that committed to a jump upon Boyce, giving the young man the chance to duck and roll away.
As Boyce rolled he came to rest upon one knee. He raised his laser, bracing his wrist with the other hand. The power cell within the laser was dead and one dog was too near to him for either he or Lloyd to kill it from the positions they were both were situated.
Boyce, fearful of this circumstance, still remained calm. His eyes scanned the ground about him. Quickly he had noticed a large tree branch resting inches from his left hand. Without much plan or thought Boyce scooped the tree branch with his left hand sending it in flight towards his right hand. As surely as rises the sun the branch found its mark. He wielded the stick high over his head as he sprang to his feet. He stood with his feet placed far enough apart for a sure-footed balance and allowed the stick to come crashing down upon one of the dog's as it hurled itself towards him. A thundering crack echoed about the forest as Boyce found the mark of the dog's back, crushing it into a bloody pulp.
Lloyd, now achieving a sense of sobriety, shot at a few more of the dogs and failed to notice Grenadine moving away from him. She picked up a jagged rock and flung it towards Lloyd's head.
Without surprise at what he saw, Boyce quickly sprang off of his feet and lunged towards Lloyd. But the rock found its mark hitting him behind the left cheek before Boyce knocked him to the ground.
Boyce reached him as he had sunk to his knees and toppled to one side.
But Lloyd did not lose consciousness. Boyce lifted him onto his lap
and Lloyd's head shifted over, his eyes seeking the beautiful waif,
Grenadine.
Their eyes caught each other; Lloyd's displayed his broken heart and
Grenadine's showing a satisfied mania.
Before them both, Grenadine broke into a shrieking laugh and fell down upon her hands and knees. In their amazement and horror, she began to transform into a large black wild bitch.
She growled at them, foam frothing and flying out of her mouth. Sharp and moonlight white fangs glistened, only out-shined by the ruby red glint of her eyes. She sprang directly at Boyce catching him in the chest.
Boyce tried to fend her off by flailing his arms, but he was weakened by the shock to his body, knocking the air from him.
With glaring, burning eyes and the flash of the lightning white teeth, she howled then violently thrust at Boyce's throat. Boyce grabbed her head inside his bent elbow and attempted to turn her over. When he finally got her beneath him, he tried to clamp her snout shut with his left hand. In a frenzy but yet in control Boyce made a search of the ground for Lloyd's laser, which had dropped when he was hit by the rock, but he wasn't able to find it.
Boyce suddenly let go of Grenadine's snout, rolling quickly away from her then in a blink of an eye moving into a standing position and defenceless.
Grenadine got onto her feet as well and growled as they both stood there staring and circling one another.
Once more she leaped in Boyce's direction but this time the loud twang of an electrophore resonated about the woods. Lloyd had fired at Grenadine.
Lloyd crawled over to Boyce. He was lying on the ground with Grenadine's lifeless but, again, human body draped over him. He rolled her off from him and put his hand on her chest. In an instant he reached over for Boyce and did the same, then sighed with relief when he found him still breathing.
"Boyce … you're alright!" was all he said.
Boyce silently nodded and spent the next few moments trying to catch his breath, and Lloyd kept a watchful eye for any more dogs.
Boyce sat up and they just looked at one another. Nothing was said. Nothing had to be said. Both knew exactly what had happened and what was, was. Lloyd understood what was on Boyce's mind. He knew that Boyce could see the potential danger over the last few days, but had nevertheless, allowed it to manifest. He, himself, should have realised the danger especially with her unafraid attitude, at the tree, the last evening.
Lloyd pointed his laser at her body. He severed her head then shot a large hole into her chest where he dug out her heart with his bare hands.
Boyce made it to his feet and staggered about the area until he found the laser that he dropped early into the struggle. He finally found it near the body of the dog that he killed with the tree branch.
He tucked the gun into his belt case and surveyed the woods.
Several dogs were still pacing to and fro watching Lloyd mutilate Grenadine's body. They watched as he dug out her heart and stuff it into her dead mouth. They quickly ran off into the woods when he threw her head at them.
"Let's get out of here."
No sooner did Boyce suggest their departure that they began to run through the forest, following the markings he had made earlier.
At the end of the forest they were still running. Boyce lead the way to bridge and entered a few steps into it.
"Is it safe, I wonder?"
"It has to be safer than what we had just left!" Lloyd admitted, pointing in the direction from which they came.
It was at this point that the yelping and growling sounds of many dogs began to echo from the forest not very far away.
They looked at one another and shrugged in unison as they began to run across the bridge. They laughed as they ran especially when the bridge began to swing wildly with every step they took and they prayed to the one true living God to strengthen the bridge until they made it across the canyon. The other side of the canyon seemed to move farther and farther away and the chasm below them became bottomless to their minds.
They pushed on.
Lloyd looked back to see the distance that they had made to this point and there, also making their way across the bridge, was a pack of blood-hungry dogs.
"This is very disconcerting!" Boyce commented.
"Hold on, Boyce!" Lloyd ordered then stomped his foot on the part of the bridge directly behind them and the shock wave travelled back towards the dogs upsetting the lead dogs balance and footing, forcing them off the bridge and into the chasm. A couple others dropped when Lloyd shot at them, but this seemed to egg-on the other dogs even more.
In seconds the shock wave returned to their side of the bridge making both of them nearly lose their footing.
In short order the two men regained their footing and their balance but only to see the relentless dogs steadily, and quickly coming nearer.
"We'll have to do this the hard way!" said Lloyd then motioned to
Boyce to follow what he does.
They wrapped their arms about the tension cables that held the bridge up and they wrapped their legs about the support ropes which held the partly rotten wood that was the bridge. Lloyd then drew his gun and shot into the middle of the bridge just ahead of where the dogs were now encroaching.
The bridge split. Wood splinters flew everywhere. The dogs tumbled hundreds of meters to there deaths on the chasm floor.
Grabbing for the tension cable with his gun hand, Lloyd had released his gun as the bridge head they were hanging on to recoiled towards the opposite cliff wall of the canyon.
Both hit the wall hard, their eyes closed as if that would cushion the pain of impact in some way.
When the bridge moved no more, they opened their eyes and checked to see if the other was still there. Their eyes met and with a reassuring nod they looked up and slowly started to climb.
Although the distance they were climbing was not far the tangled mess of the bridge was difficult to negotiate and both were near to exhaustion from their battle, and their run.
Lloyd's cheek was bleeding but his hands each stretched and searched for the next rung and his feet each found its mark, though it was all through a virtual unconsciousness. What kept him going was his memory of the promise he made to Brook and Dearborne; it was the promise he had, once again, rememebred. It pushed him onward to his success and he continued to climb as he felt a self-embarrassment for their predicament. He had allowed the memory of his promise to escape his mind when he was with Grenadine and now he was sorry.
Lloyd had made it to the top and Boyce pulled him up to the edge and dragged him over some flat rocks. There they both lay for rest, staring at the immense evil forest from which they came, looming on the other side of the canyon.
"Let's not do this again!" Boyce pleaded, with a grin.
Both passed out.
CHAPTER TWENTY
The sun slowly ascended in the east, appearing to rise from the distant end of the canyon, giving light to the rocky gap, through to its other far end.
Boyce opened his eyes to see some birds flying overhead. He quickly sat up but after he saw they had made it across the bridge he felt more relaxed. He stared back, at the immensity of the Dark Forest and its perpetually clouded tree tops.
Now he wondered, more than when they were inside the forest, if the mythical lore about the gremlin city, in the cloudy tree tops, was true.
Lloyd now sat up, as well, and with hazy eyes looked towards the forest, too.
He glanced to Boyce who wasn't looking at him at the time, very much intent in his study of the canyon.
"That place will get a man — one way or another!" Lloyd said waiting for a response from Boyce. "Boyce … I can't begin to say how sorry — "
" — Let it be, Lloyd!" Boyce cut into his apology, but not in a manner suggesting disrespect. "You weren't yourself and nor was I. I suppose the forest reached the both of us."
Lloyd nodded and sighed as he stared towards yesterday's events.
"It was an awesome teacher, my friend." Boyce began. "It taught us what we feared the most. It taught you the pain of loneliness and duty and it taught me that fighting, and killing, is unavoidable."
Lloyd placed his hand firmly on Boyce's shoulder, offering a silent thanks for his understanding and forgiveness.
"I know the need that you had for the company of someone like
Grenadine. I suppose the forest knew that and used it against you.
Yet, it didn't have the power to turn us against one another!"
Lloyd felt ashamed of his behaviour of the last few days but he did believe that Boyce was genuinely sympathetic about it all. He also knew that Boyce was right about the Forest using fear against its trespassers.
Boyce finally looked away from the Forest and riveted his eyes on Lloyd.
"Your father told me about Charnan." he admitted to Lloyd. "I can't tell you how very sorry I felt about that. That's the only reason that I am able to understand."
Lloyd's eyes glided down to his hands. "I began to fall in love with her." he confessed, remembering how soft and smooth Grenadine's skin was to his caresses.
" She was very beautiful … too bad she was a gremlin."
"She was a lycanthrope." Lloyd corrected. "In ancient times they called her kind, werewolves!"
"Whatever she was, Lloyd, I will never dismiss myths or legends after this trip."
Far across the canyon the winds carried the howling cries of the dogs that never made it to the bridge, in pursuit of the two men.
Through the telescope Boyce peered at the other side of the canyon at a scant few dogs that paraded back and forth, and then throwing themselves off of the cliff to join their dead comrades below. He passed the glass to Lloyd.
"The parts couldn't survive without the rest of the body."
Boyce listened and nodded at Lloyd's insight. It was personal to his friend, but Boyce understood the consequences of the dogs'suicide.
"Instead of living with the loss, knowing they would bare great loneliness, they decided to die rather than carry on by themselves."
Several hours after the sun rose high in the sky, the two continued south on their journey back to Pomperaque.
The next five days were relaxing and uneventful, in comparison to their trek through the forest. Many animals were seen along this path but none seemed hostile — to the men's relief.
They only had the one weapon left between them. Physically, they were becoming weaker with each meter that they travelled, but regardless of their discomfort, they relentlessly carried-on.
On their eleventh day of travel they came across a God-sent farming community where they replenished their food and water supplies.
There they spent the evening listening to tales of a once great nation before the great scourge of man. They already knew all the truth, but they didn't anticipate the stories events, and they both kept their knowledge to themselves.
They knew that Manguino's spies and his influence were already reaching into the hearts of little towns, such as this one.
A small skirmish broke-out in the town that night. It was all about the tales of the old ways, but Lloyd and Boyce laughed at the fisticuff like it was part of the story being told, and later graciously accepted an offer by an older man to spent the evening on his farm.
"The loft in my stable is dry and very warm." promised the old man.
Refreshed, with a new supply of food and water, they continued south until two days later they saw the Sedarin capital on the horizon of the Sedarin Plateau.
They spent the evening on a small mesa several kilometres from Sedara and the next morning they made their way into the heart of the city.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Entering the city, Lloyd refreshed for Boyce the details and customs that were peculiar to the Sedash.
"They're hermaphrodites, but some exhibit qualities that are more inclined to one, or other, sex to which we are accustomed."
"How can you tell which is which?"
"You will be able to tell." Lloyd grinned. "They wear obvious clothing, and the two distinct types do carry themselves in a noticeable manner. Plus their title will be the give-away. Those hailed as 'Mas', in their name are the more masculine type. Those that are the more feminine are addressed as 'Dam'."
Lloyd recounted the basic formalities of custom for Boyce and explained that these people were not known to be very hostile. Yet, just as they neared the city centre they were surrounded by a dozen of the city's Eminent - the palatial security force.
"You are not of our people!" accused one of the guards, pressing the tip of their lance up against Lloyd's throat. The others did the same to Boyce.
Surprised by this, the two men stared at the main guard, and expressed their displeasure at the aggressive halt of their path to the palace.
Lloyd took the point of the lance into one of his hands and nonchalantly moved it away from his throat, then cleared it before he spoke.
"We are from Besten. We have permission to pass through your beautiful city!" he said.
"We know nothing of such a thing!" yelled the main guard, then ordered. "Follow!"
"They are 'Mas'?" Boyce guessed.
"Yes!" confirmed Lloyd, as the guards took their supplies from them.
"No speaking till you are given permission!" ordered the guard.
The two men began to follow the lead guard but were stopped momentarily by another one who ripped the belt case from around Boyce's waist.
They were escorted to the palace of the Sedash ruler, Mas-Trephor.
Under a strict watch, they were forced to sit for several hours. That was to be their wait for an audience with the great ruler of Sedara.
During the lengthy wait to see Trephor, there was a Dam that brought to them some food and drink. The guards refused to let her through at first, but then as if they had no choice, allowed her entry to see the two men. She served each one individually but said nothing to them.
The men glanced at one another when she handed them some goblets of drink.
"Don't drink it, yet!" Lloyd whispered.
He took Boyce's goblet and took a sip from it, then soon after took a gulp from his own.
"Can't be too cautious!" Boyce whispered back at him and the Dam hermaphrodite smiled.
"I assure you both that the drinks and the food are quite safe. If you do not believe me let me drink."
Lloyd examined his server. From the slight form he guessed sixteen years of age, and from the look of those bright green eyes, he soon nodded to Boyce that he could drink.
"I am Dam Lehnar. I am the Dam offspring of Mas-Trephor."
She bowed her head to the men and Lloyd introduced himself and his friend. He told her that they hailed from Besten, but didn't burden her with much more.
The response excited her because she had heard many interesting stories about that fantastic city and it was always her wish to one day attend the Blaisaman there.
"My apologies for your detention. I will go now to Trephor and ask that your petition be expedited."
"It would be our greatest appreciation if you did so, Dam-Lehnar."
Boyce kindly smiled at her.
She smiled back at him then turned and hurried down the long hallway adjacent to the room in which they were being kept. In a very short order a page entered the room and summoned the two men to appear before Mas Trephor.
Lloyd was beginning to realise why these people were behaving unlike the reports of their non-hostile ways. They had arrived in Sedara at the time of the month when the major part of the population was in their phase of inconceivability; as relative to their menstrual cycles.
It was during this week-long period of time that was usually set aside for public exhibitions. Prisoners and slaves were violently beaten and raped, and even killed during those festival days. These violations became
a part of the Sedash culture, where they tried to display their superiority over the one-sexed humans.
Trephor, as the ruler, usually molested the first prisoner of his choice, so opening the week-long celebrations.
Throughout the regular times of the month, violations took place regardless, since the Sedash had found great pleasure and entertainment in the inflicting of discomfort on their subordinates. The reports of their non-hostile ways were less than accurate.
Gallant gentlemen as they were, self-taught in the presentation to those who are royal, they both went down upon one knee as they bowed to Mas Trephor.
"Stand!" Trephor's voice cut like a blunt knife through old leather, and although it had an underlying female quality, its hoarseness made both Lloyd and Boyce assume that the voice was practised into being more masculine over the years.
They rose and faced Trephor, still remaining quiet.
"You are handsome men. We welcome you to our court of Sedara. We ask you stay and rest with us before you continue on your journey." Trephor stopped for a moment then leaned forward on one elbow, letting a portion of his wrinkled breast show through the lynx wrap that he wore. "Where are you two lovely men going?"
"Gothal, your majesty! We are scholars from the Blaisaman at Besten, called to Gothal to teach the children there — in the ways of alchemy and medicine." said Lloyd.
Boyce stood there quietly not reacting to anything that Lloyd said.
Lloyd continued. "And may I, also, modestly add that we are quite proficient in the arts and in literature."
Dam Lehnar was seated to the left of Trephor, at all times, and she stared at Lloyd with a
warm and affectionate eye. She was displaying attraction to him since the first time that she saw him. Now, with her believing that he was a scholar for the Bestenese Blaisaman, she was sure that she loved him.
"We were to be allowed safe passage through your lovely city, Mas Trephor. There is an agreement between our two nations." Lloyd continued.
"Yes, friends. There was an agreement but we were not told who was to pass through here, or where they were going. You may rest here for a day or two, if you care to, and you will be escorted to our southern perimeter." Trephor was being quite congenial. "Until then, anything that you desire you may receive at your request!"
Boyce bowed his head slightly to Trephor never removing his eyes from the leader's face as he thanked him.
Lloyd bowed also and Trephor gave them a dismissing nod.
"Escort our friends to the state-room!" he commanded to the guard.
When they exited the royal hall, Trephor called to another guard and whispered to him.
"Do not let them out of the state-room. I want them here for the festival the day after tomorrow!"
Dam Lehnar's comely face lost its radiant gleam when she realised that her father was truncating the agreement signed with Besten.
"They are beautiful and smart men. The prime specimens of their kind, perfect for opening this month's celebration."
Lehnar was panicky and afraid for Lloyd and his companion. She knew that at the celebration they would be tortured and most probably killed.
"Trephor?" Lehnar pleaded with her father. "Do not hurt these two men."
"I cannot permit them to live, Lehnar. They are dangerous and they are men. They lie like demons and would sooner cut out your heart than to give you a nice greeting."
"But one pleases me, father." said Lehnar.
"Which, my dearest — the young king or his faithful teacher?"
"Young king?" Lehnar was astonished by what she heard.
"Yes, Lehnar. That young man is a king. He is called Boyce Loebh. He carries himself like a powerful leader, and that older one — he is a brilliant man, but not a scholar. The Bartletts are leaders in Besten — not students of knowledge." he told her.
"Bartlett pleases me, my dear parent. Will you spare him for me?"
"I will give him to you my sweet daughter. My designs are for the young king — that one possessed this remarkable weapon!"
Trephor took from his lynx wrap a small device. It was Boyce's laser gun. He turned to Lehnar and showed it to her.
"Scholars do not carry such things on lengthy journeys. They just use their minds to defend themselves."
He lifted the gun towards the door, at the other end of the royal hall and fired a burst of the electrophore. The stone doors blew off their hinges and crumbled into dust.
"Yes, indeed. I do so want that young Loebh!"
"And, Bartlett?" pleaded Lehnar.
"He is yours. Do with him, as you will!"
The men had bedded early, after taken into the state-room by the guards.
Aside the fact that the men had fallen asleep early, they didn't wake up until noon.
Now, during their first day of stay in Sedara, Boyce and Lloyd weren't aware that they were being held captive. They slept much of the morning away and relaxed most of the afternoon and evening. they didn't care to leave their chamber and when they requested something to be given to them, their request were carried out without a word.
The following day found the men waking early and by noon they were beginning to feel restless.
They tried to leave their state-room but the guards just asked them if they could bring something to them. But what the men wanted was to just go outside and walk the city. It didn't take long for them to realise what was happening to them.
"It seems like Mas Trephor intends to keep us here.!" Lloyd had said to one of the guards, but received no reply.
It was to their fortunate circumstance that Dam Lehnar had come along and caught what Lloyd had said.
"My dear Mr. bartlett, you are not being confined." she said to him, in a soft tone of voice suggesting sincerity. "Here, walk with me and I will show you our gracious city."
"Thank-you, Dam Lehnar!" Lloyd accepted her invitation but before he left he moved close to Boyce and whispered to him that the Sedash knew who they were.
Boyce responded with a nod and motioned for him to go with Lehnar.
Throughout the day and evening, Dam Lehnar escorted Lloyd to various parts of interest in the city. Many of the sights that she showed him dated back to the time of the first colony of hermaphrodites that established a settlement on the Sedarin Plateau.
In the late evening Lehnar took Lloyd to the theatre and they watched a very graphic account of the Sedash becoming a great and powerful people in their region. There was much violence and bloodshed.
Lehnar sat very close to Lloyd during the evening. He noticed it immediately and prayed that another situation would not develop with her as it did with Grenadine. He also did not feel sexually inclined towards Lehnar, even though she was predominantly feminine and was generally speaking, pleasant to the eye.
Shortly after midnight Lehnar took Lloyd back to the palace. They continued to stroll through the gardens where she was showing Lloyd the various statues that dotted the path. All were of hermaphrodites in erotic poses. She was hoping that he would become interested in her by what he saw. The opposite was true.
"I must thank you for your kindness, Lehnar. Boyce and I appreciate the gracious hospitality that you and your father have extended to us during our stay." Lloyd was starting to become diplomatic. He wanted the stroll to end soon because he was afraid that Lehnar would begin to expect something from him that he was incapable of giving to her. "If you ever come to Besten, it is my hope that you will enjoy yourself as much as I have!"
He thanked her and she began to melt for him. The tone of his voice, expressing his gratitude and trust, made her want him all the more. She had also become very sad, knowing what Trephor had planned for the both of them.
"I feel that I love you, Lloyd!" she announced to him.
He tried to keep any emotion from showing. He tried not to give her any impression of his feelings in regards to her declaration.
"I am very flattered, Dam." he finally replied.
She looked at him as they walked back towards the garden entrance to the palace, and before entering she took his hand. She kissed him on the cheek then asked him a question that made him feel very uneasy.
"Would you mind it very much if you were to live in my city?"
Lloyd wasn't at all perplexed by her question. It was a clear invitation and it clearly displayed her intentions towards him.
He slowly turned away from her resuming his way to the state-room.
"Besten is my home." he answered her. "My family and friends are there. You do understand?"
"Yes. I understand. It seems that you pure humans will never accept our kind!" she said.
"Please, Lehnar … don't speak that way. Man is strange in his ways. I suppose that is why the world is, as it is. We all have our own peculiarities and these are what set all people apart. With some this creates love. With other people, only hate."
She took all her view of him as he spoke and she wished that he was a
Sedash, like herself.
"I don't hate the Sedash, and I do like you." he resumed. "But because of our physical differences I would have difficulties in giving you the love that you seek."
She let her head tip forward, her chin resting on her chest. She understood exactly what Lloyd meant.
"You are attractive, Lehnar. You will find someone else. That person will be much better suited for you than I could ever be."
She glanced at the state-room door as they finally reached it.
"Tell me, Mr. Bartlett … is that young man a good king?
Lloyd didn't respond. His eyes were enough to question her about how she knew who they were.
"My father knew the both of you from the very start. The young one carried himself with great nobility, and you always look to him for approval." she continued to reveal to him her knowledge of them.
Lloyd quietly laughed as he answered her. "Do you really believe that if my friend were a King that we would surely travel the trade route by caravan, rather than travel by foot?"
"My father taught me, methods can often be misleading." she said. "Then there is that strange and powerful weapon that your friend carried. It is not the compliment of an intellectual."
Lloyd took Lehnar's chin in his hand and gazed deeply into her eyes.
"You certainly are an inquisitive one!" he said to her, trying to sound praising. "We will talk more of this tomorrow. I will then explain to you who we are. Now it is late and we both better get some rest."
She smiled with acceptance and Lloyd kissed the back of her hand.
She left him as he entered the state-room and realised for the first time since he was standing with Lehnar that there were no guards. He momentarily became concerned for Boyce's safety. He looked about the dark room until he saw him reclined upon one of the divans.
Boyce was still in the state-room. It was obvious that he had been there all this time without being bothered, but it mildly confused Lloyd that Boyce didn't notice that he was left unguarded.
He quietly shut the door to the room and began to remove his tunic. It was then that he noticed, under the crack of the door, light and the movement of feet.
One shadow crossed the light, but only one.
He bent down and looked along the floor under the crack of the door and saw the callused feet of one guard on each side of the door.
Lloyd now knew for certain that they were no longer as safe as he hoped they were.
He quietly went over to Boyce and touched him on the shoulder.
Boyce got up quickly and before he had a chance to say anything, Lloyd hushed him.
"We're in danger, Boyce." he whispered.
"I know!" Boyce replied then closed his eyes in sleep again.
Lloyd was surprised by the answer but he remained quiet.
Boyce was capable in observing dangerous situations. Afterall, he noticed the problem with Grenadine so Lloyd now trusted him all the more.
"We have been watched every moment since we arrived here. There are a few guards below our window and tonight, at the theatre I overheard some of the Sedash speak of their festival." Boyce's keen senses picked up much as Lloyd discovered in his whisper.
"We have at least two guards at the door!" Lloyd informed him and then told him about Lehnar's mention of their suspicions about Boyce being king.
"They have rescinded the contract!" Boyce stated and Lloyd nodded affirmatively.
"What now, Boyce?"
Boyce eased back and looked at the shadows dancing on the ceiling.
"Festival begins tomorrow night." Boyce started. "That gives us several hours to sleep. This is my suggestion, for now."
"Sleep?" echoed Lloyd, questioning.
"If we're to run tomorrow, we don't want to run tired." said Boyce.
"You taught me that!"
He smiled at Lloyd and wished him an easy and fulfilled sleep, and both quickly nodded off.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
It wasn't until mid-morning when Lloyd and Boyce finally awoke.
Boyce stretched and went to the window, catching sight of several guards marching back and forth, occasionally looking up at their window.
Boyce smiled at Lloyd and pointed down to the ground.
He went back to the table and sat down.
"Well, Lloyd! What should we eat?"
Lloyd smiled at the ease by which Boyce took the situation and he leaned over the table to him.
"You're calm enough to eat?" he asked.
"We need strength for later. So, while we still have this mock service from these people, we should accept it in our own mock way.
Lloyd grinned from ear to tear then went to the door and opened it. He thrust his head into the hallway and told the astonished guards to bring some food and drink to the room.
It would be very difficult to leave the room this day. They had to wait until dark before they could try anything but dark was many hours away.
Dam Lehnar came around in the afternoon dressed in a snug, short white dress with open shoulders, and she sat about with the two men for several hours listening to Lloyd making up more details about who they were and where they were going.
Finally, Lloyd took her hand and told her that all that they had told her was nothing but lies. He told her that they were sorry for lying to her but it was a matter of their safety and need to stay alive.
Then came a want for a favour.
"You told me the other night that you loved me? If you do, let us go. Help my friend and me to escape the festival opening tonight." he asked her.
"How do I help? My father has me watched, too!"
"Try to get our supplies to us and before the guards come, to take us to the stages, divert their attention and we will try to make out way out of the city."
"I may be able to get most of your things." she promised them. "I can't recover your weapon, however. My father carries it with him."
"We don't care for the weapon as much as we care to take our leave from the city." said Boyce.
There was silence in the room for a moment and Lehnar soon stood up.
"I promise you both that I'll see what I can do!"
With this Lehnar left the state-room and the two men sat back and waited.
Sunset was just a couple of hours away and Lehnar had been gone since the thick of the afternoon.
They were worried that she either couldn't get their supply packs or she went against them by telling her father about their plans.
Regardless of their anxieties, however, they waited for her to come back to them.
As the sky began to darken and the hours quickly gained speed, and Boyce and Lloyd became more restless and nervous. However, their long agitated wait was rewarded, for Lehnar had finally come back to their room with just one of their packs. The pack was Lloyd's and much of what was inside was still there. Only the telescope and its case was gone but the change of clothing and the maps were still inside.
Lloyd kissed Lehnar and thanked her.
Boyce had also kissed her hand.
"Thank you so very much, Dam Lehnar!" gleamed Lloyd.
"There are no guards at your door. I told them that I will watch you both and that you would still think that they were outside the door." she said to them. "Leave the palace through the garbage chutes and make your way in the shadows of the fire alley."
"Thank-you for your help, Lehnar." Boyce said graciously and she smiled.
"That alley will take you to the southern plateau and don't stop until you have reached the Divider's Ridge. My people still stop their pursuit there, if they will follow you at all."
"You are as helpful as you are beautiful, Dam Lehnar!" Lloyd complimented her.
"Take care, my friends!" she said, and the men made their way out of the room and down the
hallway to a closet door, and they found that they inside of the closet had no floor.
Lehnar came out of the room and after Boyce, and Lloyd, jumped into the hole, she closed the door behind them then went to her own room.
They hit bottom in a pile of rotting fish.
"This stinks!" Boyce acknowledged.
They looked around themselves trying no to breathe as they saw the mouldy pieces of bread and meat and other food-stuffs that have been down there for a good lengthy time, which only God could know for certain.
They exited the garbage stores and found themselves in a narrow passage with an open ceiling.
This must be the fire alley that Lehnar spoke of, they thought, and bent down low, they slowly but steadily made their way down.
A quarter-hour later they were at the end of the alley, and to each side of them they saw the walls of the city extending in a forbidding manner.
It was very dark now and only the stars were giving the men enough light to run by.
The plateau spanned kilometres before them, and in the distance they saw the small rise that Lehnar called the Diviner's Ridge.
They ran and kept running. Silently they covered countless meters of ground with each breath that they took.
They had to make it quickly to the ridge but they also had to watch the ground for holes and crevices. If one, or both, were to fall into one of them, they would surely be caught and returned to Sedara.
Behind them they now heard a great commotion and the city of Sedara became lit up like a sun.
Trephor was looking for them and they knew it. They were both tired, almost to the point of expiration but they wouldn't stop, lest they be caught.
It was very dark, and although the stars shone enough light to guide them to their destination, they couldn't tell very well if they were being chased by Trephor's army.
Sedara, behind them, emitted substantial light to produce silhouettes of anyone following them, but because of the size of the outer walls of the city, the two men couldn't see their pursuers until they were almost upon them.
Their hearts beat heavily within their bodies.
The pounding was hard and they soon wondered if their hearts were moving around in their bodies. First their chests throbbed, then the sensations moved to their stomachs and legs, then into their necks and head.
Over and over they were becoming weary and they felt like only the beating of their hearts had been pumping their legs the few extra kilometres to the rise.
Boyce looked back and then saw that they truly were being pursued.
With heavy breaths that wheezed and gagged he told Lloyd that they were being chased, but Lloyd kept his head about his and was steadfast.
"Just a little further, my friend!" he urged.
"I'm with you!" Boyce assured him, in three short gasps.
With strength summoned from the deepest recesses of their souls, they began to run faster and steadier, and the ridge that was once distant began to move closer and closer with each
successive stride that they took.
Behind them, the light of Sedara shrank and the stars revealed a small cloud moving in the same direction as the men.
The cloud was Trephor's army. Some were on horse-back but the major part of it was made up of infantry, running as the men ran.
The faster that Boyce and Lloyd had run, the lesser ahead they thought that they were going.
Lloyd turned his head for an instant and saw the small hermaphrodite army, in hot pursuit, gaining ground with every second that expired.
In his heart Boyce prayed that they could make the crest of the ridge before they passed-out, and there it was. The ridge.
"Oh God, lend us strength!" he gulped to himself.
The sounds of horses and feet grew louder and louder. The hermaphrodites were nearly upon them. Abruptly the men lost the sounds of the army as they lost their footing and they plunged into a drop in the ground, then lost consciousness.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
When they came to the sun was already high in the sky.
On his back, Lloyd looked up at the sheer face of a cliff some dozen meters in height and the way that he now felt, he knew that the climb up would be difficult.
Boyce was lying on his stomach and he was regaining consciousness, too. He soon tried to push himself up off the ground and this he tried a few times.
Lloyd heard him finally stagger to his knees and he called to him.
"Boyce!" he said. "Are you hurt?"
"No — just a little sore!" he replied.
"Look at that!" Lloyd pointed to the cliff and upwards.
Boyce looked at it then he said the same thing pointing in the opposite direction.
Lloyd looked and there he saw rolling mountains and shrubs and deep gullies of rock. What he saw was the tail end of the great Krolalin Mountain Range that swung down from the north to the south-west.
They made it over the Divider's Ridge, and the Sedash troops did not pursue them.
Still feeling somewhat exhausted, Lloyd and Boyce didn't eat anything when they awoke. They saw that it was late in the morning and they still had a long way to go before reaching Pomperaque.
They kept their pace steady as they headed south, keeping to the ridges along the route which they were taking so as not be vulnerable to possible ambushes if trapped in one of the dry river beds.
The sun was beating down on them and they found the heat very intense and uncomfortable; yet, between the Dark Forest and Sedara, it was a welcomed blessing of peace to them.
They gained a good distance as they walked and observed the nature around them; amazed at God's handiwork.
Boyce saw a black bird flapping from tree to tree. He wondered if it was a crow, having seen a couple other crows throughout the journey, and when he heard its mocking caw, he knew it to be so.
"Lloyd?" Boyce began. "Do crows travel in groups, pairs or singularly?"
It was an odd question, thought Lloyd, but he did see the crow and he knew that so did his friend.
"I really don't know!" he admitted.
"Do you think it could be the same crow from the mine?"
Lloyd shrugged, not caring one way or the other.
The day slowly passed by while they hiked through the countryside, and night was only a few hours away.
Boyce had told Lloyd that it was to their benefit to stop this day's travel early and rest longer for tomorrow's walk.
On his advise, they stopped beside a trickling brook and built a small shelter and a fire, and had their first meal of the day.
They were both tired but they knew that they could not rest until they've reached Pomperaque, and indeed until Boyce regained his rightful position in Phoride.
They slept under the breezy, starry sky and were blessed with peaceful dreams that put them both apart from hate and struggle.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
For the next two days the men took to walking quickly and for long periods of time, without any rest.
They would wake, have some food then head south to Phoride, and they wouldn't stop walking until it was almost pitch dark night.
They only had one pack between them and they took turns carrying it. Every several hours that elapsed, one would hand the pack to the other while they walked.
They were making good time and were covering long distances with each day that they walked.
They never stopped to eat food, they ate while they walked until they reached the Serpent Strip; the land of the leper race.
In the three days that Boyce and Lloyd travelled from Sedara, they covered over one hundred eighty kilometres (a remarkabl sixty kilometres per day, of walking).
The men cast their eyes on the city of Palatka, sitting in the distance on the floor of the Serpent Strip.
It wasn't an impressive city, made up of squat clay buildings that were cube-shaped. Yet, there was something about the whole place that made Lloyd and Boyce feel very ill-at-ease.
Boyce thought that they felt that way because of the hermaphrodites' renegging on their agreement passage, signed with Besten. He was afraid that the Palatkans would be the same way.
Lloyd was more optimistic about this leg of their journey. He told Boyce that he shouldn't jump to any conclusions about trusting the Palatkans. Nevertheless, Boyce was hoping to convince Lloyd to circle around the Palatkan territory. He argued that going around the Serpent Strip would only take an extra day's journey, but he believed it would be peaceful, as-well-as uneventful. His other argument was the notion that they could replenish their supplies with wild fruit and they could kill game for food, along the way.
Lloyd finally agreed to Boyce's prodding suggestions and seeing that his judgement for such things, throughout the course of this trek, was indeed good.
Off to one side of the rock mound on which they stood they found an old lion's den. There they secreted their pack and they went to sleep.
The trip would be more or less uphill for a while since the Krolalin
Range split into two parts; a smaller chain running all the way south
to Pomperaque and its three rises of land surrounding it: Bimini Hill,
Canon's Butte and Mount Benitar.
They knew that they were close to their destination, now just a week's journey away.
They weren't going to take the chance that the Palatkans would turn on them, as well.
Tomorrow they would circle the strip, endeavouring to avoid further injuries and wear to their bodies.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
It was in the morning during the men's second wave of sleep that was coming over them in the before-dawn hours, that a cawing shriek was heard coming from overhead.
The sun wasn't out yet, although it wasn't totally dark.
The men had, at least one hour of sleep left to them before they were to wake and make their way around the strip. At first they tried to ignore that squawking but it soon became so frantic and intense that they could no longer bare it.
Boyce's slight affection for the single crow he had seen flying around, during their journey, was quickly waning and he quickly sat up to see where it was and shoo it away.
He opened his eyes and saw six male figures standing around the opening of the den.
"Lloyd, we're surrounded!" Boyce screamed out to him and Lloyd quickly sprang to his feet when he saw them.
"Lloyd!" Boyce called out and Lloyd answered him quickly. Boyce continued. "This is getting ridiculous!"
"I would say so!" replied Lloyd. "We should've thought twice before charging our friends, here!"