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Dominant Species
Issue #13
by Tom Zjaba
Chapter Fifteen
The Oracle
As a new day dawns, the men rise and prepare for their visit
to the Big Easy. Realizing they need to move a thousand pound pig, they work on
creating something that will aid them. After some foraging, they find some
felled trees that can be turned into logs. Using Eightdigit's axe, they are able
to trim away the branches and make them easier to work with. Once this is done,
they place the logs next to each other and with some vines, they are able to tie
them together into a raft. The men then all grab hold of the pig and with great
effort, they try to hoist the giant pig onto what looks like a raft out of
water. But the immense size of the pig halts their progress. Scott rubs his back
as he feels like he pulled a muscle. In the back of his mind, he knows he is
invincible, but psychologically he feels the strain. He then remembers the belt
he found in the dragon's den and pulls it out. The belt is quite thick,
resembling a weight lifting belt. It is black in color with a large, gold buckle
on the front. There are ornate carved letters around the belt that look to be
some ancient language. Scott puts it on, hoping the support from the belt will
ease the pain in his back. He knows his father used to wear a belt like that
when he went to work, delivering furniture. As he tightens the belt around his
waist, he gets a strange feeling. It feels like a volcano is erupting inside him
and its power is flowing outward. It is not painful as one would expect from a
volcanic eruption, more unsettling. His arms and legs tighten up as this
eruption of energy overcomes his body. He wants to remove the belt as this
feeling is disturbing him, but a part of him decides to wait and see what
happens. In this world, it can be anything from bad to good to great. The
feeling overtakes his entire body and then it begins to subside. Within seconds,
it goes away completely and he feels himself returning to normal. "That was
weird." he says out loud. Derrick turns to him and asks "What's weird?" He looks
down at the belt and says "The feeling I got when I put this belt on." This
causes Derrick to walk over and examine the belt. "These are ancient ruins on
the belt. I don't know what they say, but this belt is probably some kind of
magic belt." Scott looks at the belt too and then adds "Well, I hope it is a
good magic belt."
As the men return to the task of moving the pig, Scott grabs
one side of the pig, along with Howlingmad and the Chief and work on lifting the
pig's carcass onto the raft. On the other side is Derrick, Bearslayer and
Eightdigit. As they all lift in unison, they are amazed when one side goes up
easily. To their amazement, Scott, who before offered little help, is now
lifting the pig almost by himself and doing it effortlessly. He easily lifts it
onto the raft. The other men step back in awe as he does this. When he realizes
that he is doing it alone, he also stops in amazement. He then looks down at the
belt and shakes his head in disbelief. Derrick rushes over and looks closely at
the belt. "This must be some kind of strength belt. Maybe a belt of giant
strength or something." Scott smiles at the belt and says "I don't know, but I
like it." He then grabs the raft with the pig on it and single-handily lifts one
side and drags it along. The men just all stop and watch as this scrawny little
kid pulls along this half ton hog.
At the water's edge, they wait for the mermaids to surface.
As the ladies all come to the surface, they see the giant pig and ooh and ahh.
"King Poseidon will be pleased." they say as the look at the immense size of the
beast. The chief then holds up a large Tupperware plant that is full of wild
grapes. "We also have the grapes for wine." he says as he offers the natural
container to the mermaids. They smile with excitement as the men have done well
in their quest. They then push the raft into the water with the huge hog on it.
The girls pull it out into the sea and then one of them goes underwater and
disappears into the murky water. After a few seconds, she comes up with four
dolphins, who push the raft over and knock the pig into the water. As it sinks
into the water, they dive under and use their noses to guide the pig towards
King Poseidon. As the pigs disappears under the water, the mermaids motion for
the men to follow. Scott then works on his spell, which he then places on the
men. After a few seconds, they feel confident that the spell has worked and dive
into the water. Soon, they are underwater and breathing with no problem. Once
the initial shock wears off, they are swimming with no problems. They then all
head towards the throne room, following the dolphins who are already part way
there.
In the throne room, King Poseidon is waiting for them. He
smiles as he looks at the immense hog. "You have done well, you have my deepest
thanks." he says to the men as they enter the room. Like before, he speaks
through thoughts as his words appear in their heads. Derrick, who is most at
ease with this form of communication is the one to speak. "You are welcome, your
highness. Now may we ask you a favor?" The king looks at him in amazement as he
wonders what kind of favor he would ask for. "We are in need of information
about others like myself. There are two more men who cannot be harmed like
myself that I am looking for. Is there any way you can help us find them?" A
smile comes over his face as he is relieved that their favor is something that
he can easily accommodate. "We can consult the oracle. It has the answers to all
questions." The men are all excited as they hear this. "When can you take us to
the oracle?" Derrick asks. "We can go now. But you must promise to stay for
roast pig." The men all nod in agreement. Derrick does add "We will need to
surface first and put another breathe water spell before we eat." He agrees to
this. With that, he turns and swims out of the room. As he leaves the throne
room, he turns and motions for them to follow.
Once again, they are in the underwater city. The men follow
King Poseidon as he moves through the streets of the Big Easy. Everywhere he
goes, the people stop and bow to him. Most of the time he just waves in
acknowledgement. He winds through the city blocks as he makes his way to the
outskirts of town. The men are all impressed at the sheer size of the city and
how many merfolk live there. It is impressive to watch how effortless he can
swim. With his powerful shark body, he can easily glide through the water with
what looks like little effort. The men on the other hand, must furiously paddle
their arms and legs to try and keep up with the king and his bodyguards. This
really sends home the message of how much out of their element they are. A
lesson that is repeated over and over is how humbling this world can be for
humans. They literally are at the bottom of the food chain.
As the king reaches the outskirt of town, he comes to a large
cave. The cave is dark, except for a red glow that comes from inside the cave.
The red glow makes the cave look a ominous. As the king comes up to the cave, he
stops in front and waits. What the men do not know is he is calling out with his
mind. The men all stop behind him and use the opportunity to catch their breath
and rest their weary muscles. Being fit on the surface is allot different than
being fit underwater. They find that they are exercising muscles they did not
know exist. After a few minutes, a hooded figure emerges from the cave and emits
a thought into the men's minds "What do you want with the oracle?" The king
looks at him and says "We come to seek the answer to a question." The hooded
figure then floats over to Derrick and looks at him. All Derrick can see is two
glowing eyes as they peer at him. "You come seeking your friends. What do you
have to offer the oracle in return for this information?" Derrick reaches into
his pocket and pulls out the two rings that he found in the dragon's cave. He is
reluctant to give them up after seeing what Scott's belt can do, but he knows he
must learn where his friends are. As he is learning, the world is huge and it
could take decades to find his friends without help. He holds out the two rings
to the hooded figure and thinks "I have these. Treasures from a dragon's den."
The hooded figure looks down at the two rings and then picks up the black ring
with the dragon on it. "This will do for payment." He then turns and motions for
Derrick to follow him. "Only you may enter the cave of the oracle." He then
disappears into the darkness, with Derrick right behind him.
Derrick finds it difficult to keep up with the hooded figure
as they swim into the cave . He is amazed that someone in a long robe can swim
that fast. But he is quite the swimmer as he gracefully glides through the water
into the deep cave. Deeper in the cave, they emerge into a large room. This room
is where the red glow is coming from as the walls all give off a red glow.
Derrick is unsure of what is giving off the red glow, but it makes the room very
creepy. In the center of the room is a giant pearl that is floating. The hooded
figure walks up to the giant pearl and rubs his hands over it. As Derrick sees
the hooded figure's hands for the first time, he is shocked. They look like the
flippers of a sea turtle. "Great oracle, we ask for your great wisdom." he says
as he rubs his flippers over the giant pearl. "We seek the whereabouts of a
person." As he does this, the oracle begins to glow a bright yellow glow as it
starts to turn. As the speed of the revolutions increase, so does the brightness
of the oracle. Then a voice speaks out "Let the one who seeks the answer, come
forth and place their hands on the oracle." Derrick looks at the hooded figure
who brings him over and helps him place his hands on the oracle. As his hands
touch the oracle, he feels a surge of energy shoot through his body. He then
hears a voice in his head say "Go to New Rome across the ocean. There you will
find a gladiator king who cannot be harmed by any weapon made by man or beast."
An image of Italy enters his mind and then he sees a city that looks allot like
ancient Rome. After the voice finishes, Dennis feels his hands being moved away.
He steps back as the oracle stops spinning. The hooded figure then instructs him
to follow him out of the cave. He quickly leaves to tell the others about what
he has learned.
Later that day, the men all sit down for a feast of roast
pig. King Poseidon goes all out for the meal. There is a large portion of the
giant hog, which is roasted. There is also a large variety of seafood dishes as
well. The rest of the hog has been sliced up and distributed to the citizens of
the city. The royal dining room is full activity as merfolk bring in dishes of
food. Many of the mermaids have also joined them as they come to see the men
before they leave. Everyone is having a good time with so much delicious food.
The king especially is enjoying the roast pork. He rarely gets to enjoy this
meal and when he has a chance, he overindulges.
When the meal is over and everyone is full, the men prepare
to head back to the surface. This time, the king decides to follow them up. They
are surprised by this, but gladly accept his escort. As they make their way to
the surface, they see that there is a growing number of merfolk heading to the
surface. Once they reach the top, they struggle to get out of the water. Their
bloated stomachs make it tougher to climb out. Like the king, they gorged
themselves on the pork and the seafood.
As the men are all out of the water, the king rises from the
water and looks at them. "I know this is goodbye. You have a long trip ahead of
you, one that is wrought with danger." After he says this, he lifts his trident
out of the water and waves it in the air. He then continues talking, only now he
is speaking instead of sending thoughts "I have one gift for you to help in your
journey. May this lead you to your destination safely." As he finishes, they see
a boat come around a bend in the distance. This large boat looks like one of the
tall ships that would sometimes visit the different cities. It has large masts
full of sails and looks to be in great shape. The men all look at it in
amazement as they see it sailing towards them. As they look lower, they see that
a giant sea turtle is pulling it along. A thick rope is tied around the main
sail and the other end is held in the mouth of the giant beast. The turtle looks
to be almost as big as the boat. The king then says "I want you to return and
tell us of your journey." Derrick smiles and says "That is a promise." The
turtle then pulls the boat up to the shore and lets it go. As the boat slowly
rolls towards the shore, the turtle dives down into the water and out of the way
of the boat.
As the boat stops at the shore, the men all look at the boat.
There is a ladder hanging from the one side, that reaches the water below. They
all jump into the water and swim to the ladder and start climbing up. Derrick
goes over to the king and says "Thanks for everything! We are fortunate to have
friends like you." The king smiles as he says "Just be sure to return and visit
us." One of the mermaids comes over to the shore and motions for Derrick to come
over. As he walks over, she takes a necklace of pearls and places it on his
neck. She then kisses him on the lips. He is surprised by this but gladly
returns the kiss. They lock lips for a good ten seconds, before she breaks the
embrace. "Come back to me." she says as she heads back under the water. Derrick
nods in agreement and then heads over to join the rest of the men. As they all
are in the ship, the King waves his trident again and the turtle resurfaces.
"Take them out to sea." he says to the turtle, who grabs the rope with his teeth
and begins to pull them away from the city. They all wave as they watch the city
disappear in the horizon. They then go to the front of the boat and watch the
turtle as he pulls the boat. He pulls it for another half hour before he lets
loose of the rope and dives under the water. By this time, they are far out to
sea. A strong wind then grabs the sails and the boat is moving at a good pace.
As the boat sails along, the men all head down below to
explore the boat. As they go into the lower deck, they find a surprise.
Obviously the king has thought of everything as there is a pile of canned food
and barrels of drink. "Wonder where he got this from?" the chief says as he
looks over the cans of fruit, ham and other canned goods. He laughs as he finds
cans of Spam and says "I have not had Spam in ages." Scott comes over and sees
the can and laughs as he looks at it. Bearslayer looks at the can and asks "What
is so funny about Spam?" The chief and Scott both break out laughing.
Dominant Species ©
2006 - 2007 Tom Zjaba
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