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They left the city without any fanfare; in fact, the streets were all but empty. It was still too early for most of the city’s occupants to be about their day’s work. Teek only wished there was more light than the occasional street lamp and more time to explore this magnificent underground city and the secrets hid around every corner. Instead, he was rushed through the streets and turned one way or another until the last building was passed and left behind. It was there, at the very farthest edge of the town just at the entrance to a large tunnel, that the blindfold was tied securely over his eyes. Teek didn’t resist. He understood their desire to keep their city’s location a secret although with the myriad of twists and turns they made to finally reach the outside, Teek new very well that even had he not been blindfolded, he never would have been able to retrace his steps to Thornen Dar. They traveled a great distance outside and down the mountain before Teek was given his sight back. They took no chances that one not of their race could stumble back to their home.

They were on the rolling foothills now at the base of the Dorian Mountains. The terrain was like a rippling wave of grass stretching out all around and dotted with groves of aspen trees that rustled peacefully in the gentle spring breeze. In the distance Teek could just make out the dark line on the horizon that he figured must be The Underwoods Forest. He turned and looked south towards his home. He had been too long away from his family and their hut in the great Teague tree. He wondered how much had changed since his absence. It would be a long road back, he would have to carve out another canoe before journey’s end, but he welcomed it. He was ready to give up a life of adventure. Twee had been right. The best adventures were the ones to be had at home.

“I set about fillin’ a pack fer ye,” Helgar suddenly boomed pushing it into Teek’s hands. It’s filled with good things to eat and a nice warm blanket to sleep under.”

Teek smiled warmly at this new friend he had gained, albeit under less than favorable circumstances. “Thank you, Helgar.”

“And I,” Bardolf sounded quickly approaching the two, “have somethin’ fer ye also.” Reaching back into his own pack, Bardolf pulled out an axe. It was beautiful to look at but sturdy in its make. It was obviously not meant to be left hanging on a wall. “I know that ye’ll be needin’ to be makin’ yerself a new canoe to get home by. I thought that this might be a wee bit of help to ye.”

Teek grabbed the axe reverently and stared at it in awe. A real dwarf axe! No one at home would believe it. It was double bladed, each side curving around in the typical crescent shape. The shaft was made of the same fine steel as the blade and didn’t seem to be connected or welded to the head in any way. It was one piece. The grip was wrapped tightly with a leather thong and should he drop the end of the weapon to the ground it would have reached up to his waist. The weight of it strained his arms to hold it for too long but he knew that with time and practice he could wield it with some deftness and accuracy. “Thank you, Bardolf, it’s perfect.”

Bardolf laughed. “It not be much to look at, but it cuts true and that’s what be the most important in these parts of the world.”

“Well boys,” Helgar interjected, “We can’t be sittin’ here all day exchangin’ niceties. We both be about important business that won’t be taken care of itself.”

Helgar quickly showed Teek where he could easily slide his new axe through a loop on the back of his pack and then helped him put it on. “Where will you be going Master Helgar?” Teek asked while he maneuvered his pack into a comfortable position.

“We be headin’ fer Calandra to meet with King Dagan. We need to be addressin’ some matters that need addressin’. And, since I be me father the king’s only son, I be the one that must be doin’ the addressin’. But don’t ye be concernin’ yerself with none of what we be about. Ye jist git yerself back home to that mother of yers and keep yerself far from trouble.”

“Oh, I will do that Master Helgar. You can be certain of that.”

“Then,” Helgar said puffing his chest out a bit, “ye best be on yer way while ye still have daylight to be seein’ by.”

“Ye take could care of yerself,” Bardolf scolded in mock seriousness. “Ye get home safe and give this to yer mother from me.”

Teek suddenly found himself in another crushing bear hug from Bardolf accompanied by strong back blows that rattled his head.

“All right now,” Helgar finally said coming to his rescue, “that be plenty of that. Now off with ye.”

Bardolf let Teek go to the boy’s utter relief and then turned about and followed after an already retreating Helgar. Teek waved. “Goodbye! I won’t ever forget you or your kindness. Thank you!” Helgar and Bardolf did not turn around but each threw up a hand in acknowledgement as they and the guard marched away toward the east.

Teek spent most of the day walking in a south-south-easterly direction not wanting to reach the edge of the Underwoods too quickly, but knowing also that eventually he would have to brave the woods and their evil. He remembered well his mother’s story about the creatures she encountered there. He did not want to run into anything of the like if he could at all help it. He did know that he would eventually have to strike out onto the river that passed through the woods to get home but the river did afford a degree of welcomed safety. This time of year it would be swift and dangerous with the swelling from the spring runoff but even that risk was better than the woods. He had thought of trying to bypass the woods completely by climbing over the mountains, but he knew that that would take longer and he couldn’t count on always finding a lake or stream that could supply him with a day or two of rations. What the dwarfs had given him would last him up to a week if he was careful but that was not enough to get him home. No, it had to be the river. Anyway, he needed a canoe to make the final leg of his journey home and the Underwoods was a sure place to find a trunk to hollow out.

The foothills were a mix of rolling, grassy hills and frequent outcroppings of rock breaking from the sea of grass and jutting out in different angles. Occasional pockets of shrubbery made their stand in small groups that clung to each other and anyone else who got close. The first time such shrubs blocked Teek’s path he tried to go through them but quickly was turned back by their vicious needle like thorns that grabbed relentlessly onto his pack refusing to let go. Teek rubbed at one of the scratches left on his forearm from the fray, the burning it left finally beginning to abate. Now he eyed the shrubs warily when they blocked his way, deciding instead to take the long way around.

As the morning wore on, the sun was finally able to break away at the chill that had been left the previous night and, in spite himself, Teek found himself singing though the ache his shoulders were beginning to feel from the weight of his pack and new axe. Finding a small grove of aspens ahead, he decided that it was about time for lunch. Near the center of the grove, a small stream meandered through the trees on its journey to the river below and invited Teek to sit along side and rest for a while. Releasing his burden to the ground, he helped himself to a soft plot of earth and leaned back against a neighboring tree to enjoy a little rest.

Digging through his pack he pulled at a big round of cheese and a couple of carrots. “This should make for a decent little lunch.” Though unlike the crab and crawfish he was accustomed to at home, it filled his stomach properly and actually tasted rather good. A cool drink from the creek washed it down nicely and then Teek settled back against the trunk and enjoyed the moment. The trees seemed to be whispering to each other overhead as the wind brushed through their leaves creating a soothing sound that mingled with the creek and created a soft melody. Teek gave himself over to the sound without a fight and was quickly pulled into restful slumber.

He was back home pushing his tiny canoe through the Teague swamp weaving through the labyrinth of giant Teague trees that leant their name to the area. His traps had all been full and he was anxious to bring home the treasure of crabs, crawfish, and a large turtle. His mother would be thrilled, as would his little brother and sisters. Suddenly a large cloud covered the sky and all went dark. Then he heard a loud scream. “Mother!”

Teek’s eyes snapped open. Something large hovered over him forcing him to his feet in a shot as he grabbed for the large axe next to him but it’s weight pulled him back down into a pile exposing him to his attacker. Releasing the axe he rolled away and popped up again, this time pulling his dagger free from it’s sheath. The weapon was not as threatening as the ax, of course, but it didn’t throw him back to the ground either.

Another scream shattered the air followed swiftly by a gentle cooing sound that sounded strangely like laughter. “Tchee!” Pushing the dagger back into its cover, Teek ran to the large bird that had invaded his nap and had caused him such a fright. He threw his small arms as best he could around the bird’s chest burying his head into the soft down. “Oh, Tchee, it is so good to see you again! How did you ever find me, and so quickly? I had given up hope that I would ever see you again. You’ll never guess what happened to me.” Teek stepped back and looked up at the Roc that had adopted him and stared into her gem-like blue eyes. Tchee considered him for a moment and then shrieked a tremendous noise followed by tiny growls in her throat that made Teek suddenly feel like a tiny morsel of meat. He stepped back quickly looking quizzically at Tchee as she continued to growl and squawk. “What?”

Tchee bobbed her head back and forth and growled and squawked again and then shot her head forward so fast that Teek had barely enough time to throw his hands back to soften his collision with the ground.

“Hey, what’s that for?”

Tchee loomed over him now and shot her head down at him her razor-sharp beak coming frightfully close to Teek’s tender skin. Again she squawked and growl and bobbed her head.

Teek tried to scramble back away but she was always right over him still making a fuss. Then it hit him. “You’re not mad about the dwarf thing are you?”

Tchee raised her head skyward and released another harsh scream that echoed off the rocks far above and sent birds into flight that were roosting farther down the mountain amongst the trees of the Underwoods.

Teek felt sweat beginning to run down his cheek as the answer came without doubt. “Hey, Tchee, it’s all right. They didn’t hurt me too bad. I know I should have listened to you the first time but it was all a misunderstanding.”

Tchee’s head was suddenly on top of him again, her beak so close to his face that he caught a sniff of the fish she had had for breakfast that morning. Low garbles churned in her chest and then rumbled up to her throat. He could tell she was not pleased with him. He was beginning to feel like he was being lectured just like his mother did when he got hurt after doing something she had warned him not to do.

“I’m sorry, Tchee. Really. Who would have thought I would be mistaken for someone who would steal the weapons of royalty? Really, my head is better now and they even gave me the dagger back. It’s not a big thing, really.”

Tchee eyed him closely for a moment and then raised her head and stepped back giving Teek enough room to stand up again. He rubbed his chest where she had hit him feeling the tenderness of the forming bruise.

“I won’t be upsetting you again. You hit harder than the dwarfs.”

Tchee just stared at him and then suddenly started bouncing around bobbing back and forth while warbling a cheerful melody.

Teek smiled, happy to have his friend back and even happier that she hadn’t taken his head off. “What have you been doing this whole time that I was locked away inside the mountain? I have to say that you weren’t much help at the river when they gave me a big knot on my head.”

Tchee screamed out in protest raising her head high into the air and then bounced it up and down in short, quick gyrations. The low growl returned to her throat causing Teek to raise his hands in submission.

“I know, I know. It was my fault. I was only kidding. It wasn’t all bad though.” Teek’s voice suddenly filled with excitement. “You wouldn’t believe what I saw and did. Of course, the first part wasn’t that great, and I was afraid they were going to kill me more than once, but I did get to meet a real king and stay in a real palace. Then they fed me all of this weird food. Well, not at first. First they just gave me a little bit of mush that didn’t taste like anything, but later I got bacon and cheese and vegetables and eggs and other strange things that were all really good. But what was the best of all was that I got to meet the prince my mother met when she was on her appeasing journey!” Teek suddenly threw his hands in the air and then plopped them back onto the top of his head. “My mother! I need to get back home. Who knows how long I’ve been gone and now that I have a gift for Twee I can go home! I can’t wait to get home. Boy was Twee right about home being the greatest adventure. I don’t think I ever want to leave the swamps again, although it was kind of exciting and I did meet some nice people, well not at first but they were later on.”

Tchee just stared at the Waseeni boy as he babbled on and on about his little adventures dancing about and waving his hands acting out certain parts that excited him most and then parading around about one thing or another. Tchee didn’t interrupt, but had Teek been paying attention he may have caught the slight glint in her eye like a mother patiently watching her child amused by his self-discoveries.

Finally Teek stopped. “I want to get home soon. Can you take me? I know it’s a lot to ask,” he paused putting a hand on his stomach, “and I did just eat but it will take me days and days to get there by walking and canoeing.”

Tchee squawked amicably and bobbed her head back and forth before dropping a wing for him to climb up. Teek smiled and then turned and got his pack. He was amazed at how Tchee seemed to understand everything he said to her and how easily she was able to get her point across to him. Hoisting the heavy pack back onto his shoulders he grabbed the front of the outstretched wing as best he could and then scurried up and onto her back. “You should see the great axe that Bardolf gave me. Mother will be so surprised when I tell her I met them!”

Ignoring his chatter, Tchee moved slightly to the left to clear herself of the aspen branches overhead and then leaped suddenly into the air. Teek’s stomach dropped and he quickly clasped her about the neck trying to hold onto his lunch and keep his perch while Tchee pumped her massive wings and glided swiftly and smoothly higher and higher into the air. As they gained altitude, to Teek’s great relief, his stomach settled a bit almost becoming civil again allowing him to sit up some and look around. The mountains quickly shot into view in the west, stretching out for miles, the highest peaks still covered with last winter’s snow. Looking to the east on his left Teek had a great view of the dark Underwoods Forest that, although somewhat pretty from the air, still gave off a feeling of darkness and foreboding. Straining his eyes ahead while squinting through the rushing air, he thought he could just make out the water and trees of his homeland swamp. From this distance it was difficult to see where the Underwoods ended and the Teague began but he knew that he was headed in the right direction and that home was not going to be so long and hard to reach. It gave him a great rush of excitement. Home. He had wanted to trade it most of his life for the big world of adventure and discovery always feeling he was missing out. Now that the opportunity had been given him, it was home that gave him the greatest thrill now. Scanning the distant trees while trying to get a clearer view he thought he saw a flash of bright light on the horizon. Straining his eyes to see better, he saw it happen again, and then almost immediately it flashed again and again in quick succession. The thrill he felt only moments before vanished replaced by a sense of doom. “Did you see that Tchee?”

Tchee screeched and then turned slightly to the left heading straight for the flashes.

“What do you suppose that is?” Teek’s stomach suddenly felt sick but this time it was not from Tchee’s flying. It felt different. Almost like it felt when Twee died. Something wasn’t right.

For the better part of an hour he watched the horizon as the strange lights continued to flash each burst hitting him like a fist to the gut. He could taste the acid in his throat as his stomach reacted. Tchee remained quiet but seemed to push harder as if sensing Teek’s mood and fear.

Then the flashes suddenly stopped replaced by thin black fingers of smoke snaking their way into the air. He was still too far away to be certain where it was coming from but the direction seemed to be right to put it fairly near to his home. Tchee pushed even harder.

Neither said much the rest of the day. Teek kept his eyes locked on the smoke that billowed dark for a couple of hours before finally beginning to settle into a dark line of haze. They stopped only once for a quick drink and to allow Tchee to rest. She tried to make him eat some of the fish she caught but Teek wouldn’t be bullied this time, his mood wouldn’t allow it. His thoughts had turned dark and frightening and all he could think about was getting home to his family and finding them all healthy and well. “I’m sure they’re all okay,” he whispered almost to himself. Tchee looked at him for a moment and then squawked. Teek turned to stare at his brown and white friend. She shrieked again and then lowered her wing inviting him back onto her back.

They flew for the rest of the day pushing as hard as Tchee could go. The urgency that had welled up in him that morning had long been replaced by a dull sense of wrongness. Something didn’t feel right inside of him. He couldn’t quite make out what it was but it only added to his worry. He tried eating something once or twice but the food seemed to have lost its flavor. As the sun finally dropped below the mountains forcing Tchee to slow and look for a place to nest for the night, tears began to roll down Teek’s face. He didn’t know exactly why he was crying but he couldn’t hold the tears back. A sense of doom had overshadowed him and would not be pushed away. It had been there with him since he first saw the flashes but now it had become almost overbearing. When Tchee finally touched down and leaned over so Teek could slide off, Teek dropped to the ground and curling himself into a ball, he wept. Tchee crouched down next to him laying her soft feathers over him for warmth and comfort. And that is how they both stayed for the remainder of the night.

The next day dawned cold and clear. Teek rushed through a quick meal of dried bread and cheese and washed it down with a cold drink from a nearby stream he hadn’t seen when they landed. Of course, he hadn’t seen much of anything. The feeling of sorrow and loss that had built to a crescendo in him the night before was still rooted firmly in his breast but his eyes would no longer produce the tears to release his feelings. Though feeling somewhat silly and fatalistic for having collapsed as he did the night before, he couldn’t shake the feeling within him. He knew it had to do with his family and the flashes but he was unable to face what it might all mean. He still had hope that he would find his mother smiling at the door of their hut and his brother and sisters crowding out to knock him over with their hugs and kisses but it was all overshadowed by feelings of dread.

Tchee let out a tight snort and then dropped her wing. Teek ignored it though and instead wrapped his arms around her neck. “Where would I be without you, Tchee. Thank you.”

The powerful Roc responded with a low rumbling coo in her throat and then tilted her head to rub gently against his cheek. Teek enjoyed the slightest feeling of comfort for a brief moment before turning and climbing onto Tchee’s back.

As they gained altitude Teek searched for the hazy smoke from the day before but could not make out any sign that anything was amiss. He kept up his search for hours but to no avail and had to finally give up when his eyes started to blur and his head started pounding.

By noon they reached the Maddox, a large lake just beyond the Underwoods that generally marked the beginning of the Teague swamplands. This was also the place where Teek had first met Tchee when he freed her from a poacher’s trap. By all accounts, he should have felt a welling up of excitement building in his chest by their closeness to home but instead the feelings of dread were getting stronger. They should make it to his home just before dark but what would he find there? He had already determined the flashes had to have come from the area around his home. Twice he actually considered turning back and never going home. If he never discovered the truth of his forebodings he would be spared the pain if they were true. But he knew that not knowing would be an even greater burden to carry and he could not leave his mother to wonder about his own fate. “All will be well,” he whispered though in his heart he knew he didn’t believe it. Something terrible had happened and no amount of denial would change the truth of it.

As Tchee flew over the swamp, things started to become somewhat familiar. Teek had never set his traps out this far but he thought he remembered some of the area they passed from when he had first snaked through the swamp at the start of his appeasing journey. Tchee stayed low skimming over the tops of the trees giving Teek a chance to find his way through the swamp and back to his home. It was different, to be sure, from a bird’s eye view but Teek was beginning to point out areas he knew. They were going in the right direction. Teek could feel the fear rising in him.

Suddenly the giant Teague tree sentinels simply disappeared below them. Tchee squawked and Teek gasped. They were gone. In all directions the trees were just no longer there. All that remained were burned up stumps just barely peaking over the water. Teek gripped Tchee’s feathers in his trembling hands his mind unable to comprehend the scene before him. An area stretching in all directions for close to a mile was no longer there. It was gone. Twee’s tree, the elder’s council area, the whole town were all completely wiped out. It was as if a giant hand had reached down and plucked the whole Waseeni race right out of the Teague swamplands. Teek pointed farther in and to the right. “Go over there!” Tchee banked slightly and headed in the direction Teek pointed. His family lived on the outskirts of the town cluster, there was still hope they may have escaped whatever had caused this.

Teek peered ahead trying to put his family hut in the trees ahead but as they neared the edge of the treeless crater he knew that all was lost. They had gone too far. He recognized the area that was now the edge of the great void left behind. It was beyond where his tree was. “No,” was all Teek could say. His mind would not accept what his eyes plainly saw. They were gone. His family and all those he knew and loved were just no longer there. What could have done such a thing?

Tchee circled back and dropped down just over the water. She was searching for survivors but Teek knew that it was hopeless. If whatever had done this hadn’t killed them, what lurked below the swamp water surely would have. He briefly considered the possibility that some may have escaped in their canoes but quickly dismissed it. There would not have been time. They were gone. He was the only one left.

The dread he had been feeling since the day before was now replaced by a strange emptiness that was almost too painful to bear. “What could have done this?” Tchee banked to the right and then circled back for another run. Teek leaned against her neck trying to absorb what had happened. He wanted to cry and let all the hurting out but for some reason he couldn’t. Tears would not come. No longer would Bink, Eeni or Jina rush him as he returned from his traps. No more would his mother hold him and tell him what a good boy he was. They were gone, never to come back. What was he to do now? Where would he go? There were too many questions and not enough answers. Tchee banked for a third time but Teek put his hand against her neck. “No more. They’re gone.”

Tchee pulled up lifting higher into the air and then lit softly onto an outstretched branch on the boarder of the emptiness. Teek slid off easily grabbing another limb that dropped down and looked across the clearing. The sun was starting to fade on the horizon bringing with it the chirps and shrills that he was accustomed to when night fell on the swamp. It was as if all was as it should be save for the vast emptiness in the swamp and in his heart.

The next day Teek woke with the sun just as it was beginning to rise. It was still a shock for him to look out at the nothingness that was once his swampland home. His sleep was fitful at best giving him only moments of rest in between the nightmares that invaded his dreams. Every time he dropped into sleep he saw his mother huddled in their hut with his brother and sisters held tight to her and calling his name as fire dropped down from the sky all around them. He saw the ball of fire crash through the roof lighting everything at once and then he would wake up with a cry. Over and over again the dream replayed itself in his mind giving him no rest and no comfort.

He felt numb. He just wanted to sit in that tree and die. Wanted to wait there until the skin rotted from his bones and relieve the massive weight that dragged on his heart. Then suddenly it hit him. He couldn’t stay. He was the only one left. He was the only one who could fulfill the great responsibility that was almost a crushing weight to him. They all had to be appeased--not only his mother and siblings, but everyone else who had lived there. His whole race, they all had to be appeased. It was too much. How could he do such a thing? How could he appease them all? It would take a lifetime. But a lifetime is really all he had left. There was no choice. It lay upon him.

Reaching into his pack he pulled out the diamond that Helgar had given him. Hefting it in his hand he stared at it for a long time as if seeking answers from within its brilliant surface. Then as if by an oracle, it came to him. The dwarfs. They were the only ones who could help him. He would work the mines his whole life if he had to but he would find a gem for everyone lost. He would dig out their appeasement from the belly of the Dorian Mountains and would grant them their rest before digging one out for himself and letting his life slip away hoping it would be enough for his own appeasement. There was no other way. He had no other choice. It was what had to be done and he would do it. And he would start with Twee.

There was no way to be certain where Twee’s tree had been exactly. He could only put it in the general vicinity. He had regained his spot on Tchee’s back who was now flying as slow as she could and still stay aloft just over the water. Teek searched the stumps below, certain he was in the right area but unable to make an exact choice so he picked a stump at random and unceremoniously dropped the diamond into the water next to it. He hoped it would be enough. It would have to be. There was no way to know where any of them lived exactly. He really had no idea how many Waseeni had even lived there at the time. He would just keep dropping in gems until he no longer had the strength to continue. It wasn’t the best option, but it was the only one.

Teek patted Tchee’s neck and the bird shot up into the sky and banked to the left. She would retrace the miles they had come only days before and seek out Helgar and Bardolf who would hopefully give him the help he needed. He would go back to the mines and start his work. The first gem he would mine would be his mother’s.