Healing

      After another week of travel the party was moving past the Nameless lakes. The lakes were at the border of Oristan and Michocan. For the longest time no one could agree on a name for any of the three lakes. So they became known as the Nameless lakes by everyone and by now the name has stuck. Or at least that's what Ten Rabbit said and Nahla didn't contradict him so there it was. The rainy days had become more and more common making it much harder to find dry camping places as time went on. You'd think that all the trees would help keep places dry for camping but it really didn't. There was so much rain coming down that not even the trees could keep the ground dry anymore.

       The first time that Devshi had seen the trees from a distance she had thought they were much smaller and closer than they really were. When she actually saw how tall they were, just before riding into them, Devshi had almost balked at going in. They were taller than anything Devshi had imagined. Taller than the tallest building in Alkhadharam. The trees were more than a little disturbing to Devshi who had spent her whole life in a city. Up til now the only trees she had really seen where either in a city park or on the way to the Adikha Yunavarasiti. Neither of which grew to a fraction of the height of these giant trees.

     The dark rain filled clouds had been scuttling across the sky from the south for weeks now but apparently had decided to dump all of their moisture right on the party. Devshi decided that it was only correct for the skies to be as gloomy as she felt. She still hadn't decided how she felt about her mentors betrayal. Eventually she knew she was going to have to get word back to her temple but currently didn't know how. Any normal message that she sent would go through the hands of the very person she was trying to warn them about. Devshi hadn't figured out any other way to warn her temple so far, but maybe something would present itself.

     It was later that day when Devshi saw Nahla lift her head up and look around. Between the trees and the rain, she wasn't sure how the Oristani shaman could see at any distance, but at least the rain had mostly stopped. Even Devshi had gotten tired of the rain, no matter how much it matched her foul mood. Nahla raised her hand to stop the party, dismounted Usha, and stared closely. At first at the ground, then at a couple of trees before nodding to herself. Devshi had given up asking why Nahla did things like this. Ever since she had read the note that contained Veenha's distinctive signature Devshi had problems talking to Nahla. She knew that Nahla was a completely different person than her mentor, but they were the same race. Even if that was the only thing that the two of them had in common right now, it was enough to make Devshi uncomfortable in Nahla's presence.

       Out of no where a loud howling noise split the air making everyone except Nahla jump in startlement. When Nahla replied with the same noise the whole party just stared at Nahla slack-jawed. For a brief moment Devshi wondered if Nahla had also betrayed them when a large lean Oristani male came out from behind a tree in front of them. Devshi would have sworn there was no one there just a moment ago but there the Oristani was, literally larger than life. Nahla, who had remained dismounted, started to walk towards the male, hand raised in greeting speaking rapidly in her own tongue. The male made a small bow of his upper body, right hand on his heart before gesturing to the rest of them. Nahla signaled them all to dismount and began the introductions this time in the common trade tongue of Kishnagari.

        Not long after the introductions, the whole party learned the tribe was called the Kulgana and that they were one of three tribes that lived primarily in the forest. The party was gathered in the clearing with the Kulgana tribe for lunch. The clearing was surrounded by small circular stone buildings. Each of the buildings was topped by what looked like a bizarre pile of leaves. Devshi wondered if the buildings were used to store the leaves for some reason. Then she saw kids running in and out of the buildings and realized that those must be roofs. She had never heard of Oristani that had settled in one place before. She did wonder why only the walls were stone, wouldn't it make more sense to make the whole building out of stone? Maybe there was a shortage of stone but then why have so many buildings. She had thought that the Oristani families all lived in one tent together, not in a lot of small tents. That's how all of the other tribes had lived at least. Devshi decided to not think about it right now. She could always ask later.

     During lunch Devshi watched as a young Oristani male climbed up one of the fruit trees. He didn't use any climbing aids just his hands and feet. She was amazed at how he had scurried up the fruit tree. One moment he'd been on the ground and the next he was halfway up the tree. The teenage Oristani moved so fast up the tree that he looked like a squirrel. No one else in the tribe noticed, obviously this was a normal occurrence for them. The rest of the party also seemed more than a little impressed by his tree-climbing skill just as Devshi was.

     That was when tragedy struck, with a sharp cry the young male fell out of the tree and hit the ground, hard. For a brief moment there was silence while no one moved then pandemonium broke out. The rest of the Kulgana tribe rushed forward, many of them screaming while they ran to the male crumpled on the ground. Devshi however reacted like the trained healer she was. She started out by yelling louder than anyone else present to not move him. Right on the heels of that she told Nahla to get her medical bag, all while running towards the injured young man.

     When Devshi actually saw him however she wasn't certain that anyone could do anything. Not only was he hurt from his fall from the tree, he'd landed on the upthrust growth of some kind of plant that had impaled him completely through his upper chest near his shoulder. Again Devshi had to stop his tribe from trying to pull the young man off of the plant. Not only because they could make any other injuries worse but also because the bleeding would increase, causing him to quickly bleed out if it was removed from his body. Something that would only hurry his death.

     Devshi quickly and carefully did everything that she could to help him. The wailing and crying that his whole tribe was doing was distracting to her, but she didn't let it stop her. Snapping out orders to Nahla, the only other person with any kind of medical training. Devshi started to asses the injuries before her. She refused to think about the small trickle of blood that was starting to show at the corner of her patients mouth and one ear. Instead she carefully packed the puncture wound with some cloths she had in her medical bag before moving him carefully off of the plant that was impaling him. Then asking Nahla to hold his torso steady she carefully started straightening his limbs. Once that was done Devshi really looked at the young adult laying injured before her. There was nothing she could do, he was going to die. Suddenly Devshi could hear the wailing of his family as they started to mourn the lost life. She had healed Irene hadn't she? Maybe she could heal this young male too? She had to at least try, otherwise she would hate herself forever.

     For the first time since she had learned about her mentor's betrayal Devshi tried to pray. Putting her hands gently on his chest, Devshi closed her eyes and tried to find the quiet place in her soul that Veenha had told her about when she'd been a novice in the temple of Parvai all those years ago.  Nothing happened, she couldn't find the part of herself that was her god's. All she could feel was a hollow emptiness. In her soul Devshi started to despair again that none of it had been real. That she was a failure and would always be one. It wasn't going to work. He was going to die and it would all be her fault. Tears ran down Devshi's face dropping one by one onto her hands laying on the poor males chest.

      Devshi was about to give up on her attempt at healing when she started to feel the warm weight of huge paws covering her hands. At the same time she could hear the hum that resonated through her. As the sensation of paws got stronger the hum got louder. Until the weight of the paws was almost pushing her hands into the injured males chest and all she could hear was the resonating hum. Not just in her ears but in her whole body. There was a moment, a single point in time that was over instantly and simultaneously lasted forever. In that moment a joyous note was added to the hum and then there was silence.

     Devshi blinked as she looked down at her blood stained hands that still lay on the young Oristani males chest. But instead of being injured the young male was struggling to sit up, completely healed. The cries of his tribesmen were now of joy rather than sorrow. Nothing was broken and the large puncture on his upper chest was completely gone. The only sign that it had ever been there at all was the tear in his tunic. Devshi had no idea how it had happened. Her attempt had failed, hadn't it? She was no longer certain if only because he was now jumping around with the rest of his people. Clearly now hale and healthy. Even the air seemed to shine with joy. Devshi looked up and the golden eyes of a huge tiger looked into hers. Eyes that held her mind and soul transfixed in a timeless moment. That was when Devshi heard Bisha's voice over the sounds of the ecstatic Kulgana tribe.

     "Why is that tiger wearing a saddle?"

.

The Road

      Nahla had just started to get used to all of the tall trees when they hit open the farmland just outside of Tlatlolitzli, the capitol city of Michocan. As soon as they had entered the Michocan lands at the No Name lakes Ten Rabbit had insisted on walking, saying that there was no way he was going to look like an invalid or elderly person in his own lands. While they were in the forest it had made sense to Nahla, She had decided to walk as well after she had almost hit her head on a couple times on lower branches that she hadn't noticed until almost to late when going around a larger tree, that had happened one too many times for her comfort so she was on foot. For his part Ten Rabbit had only smiled and nodded before continuing on his way.

      Ten Rabbit had told them while they were traveling to the capitol that Tlatlolitzli was unlike any city that they had ever seen before. Nahla could easily believe that since her only experience with cities were Alkhadharam and the four she'd seen here in Michocan but she noticed the rest of the party wasn't as convinced as she was. But then they had all lived in cities their whole lives so they may have a point. Nahla decided she would find out who was right when they got there. After all every new place was a wonder to her, city or not. The party had managed to make amazing time on the Michocan roads. They had only been traveling for about two weeks since they had joined the road at Tepantli and now they were at the outskirts of the capitol.

     Thinking back over their journey so far, Nahla had originally thought that they were going to be walking through the forest all the way to the capitol of Michocan. At least the trees kept the party more or less dry during the almost ever present rains. Three days after they had entered the denser Cuacuautla forest they had reached the city of Tepantli. That had been a revelation, not because of the population but because of the roads. Ten Rabbit had said that they would pick up the road there but that word didn't come even close to describing what Nahla had seen before her. When Nahla had heard the word road she had imagined the roads she had seen everywhere else. Paved in the cities, cobble stone in the towns, dirt track everywhere else and no wider than a largish cart. That was her image of a road. She had never seen a road before she had gone to Kishnagar. There were paths in the mountains but for the most part the Oristani didn't make or really need roads, they had no need of them in the trackless lands of her nomadic people.

     What Nahla saw before her wasn't a road, it was a construction, and not a small one either. The main road was elevated about two feet above the ground and started in the center of the city of Tepantli. The road ended in a shallow ramp that started in the plaza at the center of the city and went off into the distance. When she'd first seen it Nahla had been startled. This was a road? They had entered the city well before the noon meal so they had decided to continue on their way instead of stopping to eat. Even more surprising was how wide the paved road was. It was wide enough for the whole party to ride side by side with plenty of room left over. The gleaming white paving material was also unusual but, nowhere near the last of the surprises.

     Considering everything that had happened to them since leaving Adikha Yunavarasiti, Nahla wasn't sure that surprise was the correct term.  Bisha's majic had gone suddenly wild and unpredictable. Devshi had healed lethal wounds without medicine, twice and Irene seemed to be much stronger and faster than she was before. Even Ten Rabbit has started to act oddly at times as if he were someone else.  For that matter, Devshi's tiger wasn't nearly as shocking as it should have been. It seemed that impossible things were happening to them with what was becoming a frightening regularity. The fact that she hadn't exhibited some strange new power made her more uneasy, was that a good thing or bad. Nahla wondered what was going to happen next?

     The city of Tepantli itself was a surprise to Nahla, it was constructed out of huge heavily carved blocks of stone. All of the carvings were painted in a variety of brilliantly vivid colors on top of a dazzling white. The light of the sun made the white almost shine on its own making the colors sparkle like gems. The majority of those stone buildings were single story while there were other buildings that were built on stone platforms. The buildings on the platforms were much larger and richer looking than those built on the ground.  The higher the platform the richer the buildings looked. The largest of all was a huge structure that was somehow even more colorful than everything else, built with a massive base that got narrower in steps as the building reached its top. On the front of the structure was a single staircase that was so steep it looked like you had to crawl up it to get to the top.  

     The biggest surprise however, was the sheer amount of people, it wasn't the riotous crowded chaos of Alkhadharam, nor was it the massive tangle of people that the yearly trade gathering of the Oristani was. It was a huge number of people that flowed reminding Nahla of a calm wind blowing on the plains. The silence of that number of people, politely making room for everyone else was more like a meeting of the Oristan rather than the deafening noise that was ever present in even the smallest town in Kishnagar that Nahla had ever visited. Everyone was so much quieter as if all of the conversation was done at a whisper. More than a few of the people were something that Nahla only just knew about and could recognize because of her time in Alkhadharam, tourists. The bustle that was happening around the central plaza of Tepantli was just as confusing to Nahla as Alkadharam had been, just in a completely different way.   Ten Rabbit had lead the way onto the road not really giving her a real look around but from what Nahla had seen it was as odd to her as Alkhadharam had been.

     Over the next two weeks the party traveled through three more cities, all along the road. Each of them was different and unique while still following the same general template. While the carvings and temple would look different they were all in the same general places. The biggest difference about each city that Nahla could see was the number of roads that went through it. The road was straight and level for as far as Nahla could see. No it was more than that, the road was level no matter what the landscape it was built on did. Hill? go through it. Valley? build until its the same level as it was before. River? build a bridge, it didn't matter. The road stayed level. Nahla wondered what they would do if there was a mountain in the way. About every twenty or so miles, when the road was close to the ground, there were more ramps that lead onto paths leading to villages with camping places as well as taking care of other needs. This Nahla thought was very civilized.

      The fields outside the capitol of Michocan, Tlatlolitzli where huge and seemed to run forever. The abruptness of the change was a shock. They had been traveling through a dense forest on a road that never changed direction or height as far as Nahla had been able to tell. Well it did change height but it seemed to Nahla that is was more like in some places the ground fell away instead of the road got higher. When they were outside of the cities the part of the road that was walked on was scuffed and not as luminous as it was in the habitated areas. More than once the party had passed groups of workers doing something to the road. When Devshi had asked, Ten Rabbit told them that they were doing minor repairs and cleaning the road. Apparently one of the workers knew common because he had made flapping signs like donkey ears with his hands on each side of his head behind Ten Rabbit. This had made the whole group of workers crack up laughing. Later when Nahla had asked Ten Rabbit what the flapping was all about she was told it was the motion made to signal that someone was either stupid or crazy. Nahla wasn't sure how she felt about a stranger making fun of Devshi but it had been a fairly silly question.

          The journey through the fields took another two fingers of time, or as the rest of the party thought of it, candle marks. Nahla knew that she was going to have to start thinking in candle marks rather than fingers if only so the rest of them would stop looking at her odd when she said it. It wasn't her fault that none of them had ever learned to tell time by the sun's position in the sky. Once they were through the cultivated fields Ten Rabbit stopped the group and turned to look at them. The smile on his face was a combination of smugness and laughter. Nahla followed his gesture towards the lake before them and that's when she realized that the city was floating, not in the air of course but on a lake.  Sitting like a swan on the lake was a huge city made of stone just like every other city the party had gone through. For a moment all Nahla could do was stare slack-jawed at the sight before her. The fact that everyone else save Ten Rabbit looked exactly the same was a balm to her pride.

      "So," Ten Rabbit said his tone of voice a match for the smile on his face. "What do you all think? Did I tell the truth?"

       It was a long moment before anyone could do anything other than blink at the sight of a stone city floating on the water. It was even longer before any of the words that jumbled out of them resembled actual speech. There was a whole lot of stammered buts and hows before Bisha finally got out a complete sentence.

      "Does it float because of majic?"

      Ten Rabbits grin actually got wider, something that Nahla hadn't known was possible. He didn't say anything he just shook his head as he turned back to the road they were on, heading towards the causeway and into the city. Just before the the party was about to enter the causeway Ten Rabbit again stopped and turned towards them. To the right of the party was a series of large barns with corrals on the opposite side of the barn from the road. Inside the corrals were many different animals, mostly horses with a mix of donkeys, llamas and alpaca. For a brief moment Nahla was confused about why they had stopped here then she figured it out. This was where they would leave their mounts and baggage beasts. That made sense to a point but did they really think that she was going to leave Usha here? Not going to happen if Nahla had anything to say about it. Unfortunately Nahla didn't have a choice about it if only because there was no way to get a temee onto one of the barges that plied the canals between the various islands that made up the city of Tlatlolitzli. Once Ten Rabbit had pointed that fact out even Nahla had to agree that it was best for Usha to stay here. For once Usha actually agreed to stay behind once it was pointed out to her that was the only way to go with her rider.

     Once they had crossed the causeway the party had passed through a huge market that took up the majority of the island they were on. Just like every other city they had traveled through the market was a riot of colors and scents, many of which Nahla had never smelled before. What she hadn't smelled in any of the Michocan cities was the sour smells of too many bodies, garbage and other unpleasant smell that up to now Nahla had thought were missing because of the rains cleaning the air. When Nahla arrived at the market though she realized that the absences of the other unpleasant smells was due to something else. What exactly she had no clue, but was very happy that they were absent.

     It was not surprising to Nahla that Ryah would stay with her, for some reason her two friends seemed to feel that at least one of them would always be near to help her if she needed it. Exactly how they were supposed to 'help' Nahla had no clue but she did feel better knowing that at least one of her constant companions was with her. That the tiger that had shown up so surprisingly when Devshi had miraculously saved the life of the Oristani male that had fallen out of the tree was going to stay with Devshi was a bit of a surprise. But who was going to tell a huge tiger that she had to stay behind. Nahla sure wasn't going to try. The tiger had simply walked onto the waiting reed barge and sat down looking supremely unconcerned. Devshi had only followed the tiger not saying anything.

      It was obvious to Nahla that Devshi was still upset, at least she was no longer flinching whenever Nahla came near to her, at least there had been that much of an improvement since the second major healing. The one trait of Devshi that Nahla hadn't expected to miss was her almost constant humming and singing that she didn't. Sure it was almost under her breath but it was always going on. What Nahla hadn't known when she'd been wishing for it to stop was that her humming and singing were an indication of how she was feeling. Nahla know missed the constant questions and having Devshi almost follow her around. She'd figured out that Devshi subconsciously thought of Nahla as a mentor the same way her old teacher ... what was her name? oh yes Veenha had been. The scrawny Kishnagari turning out to be a traitor had put Devshi into a deep depression that Nahla had been hard pressed to get her out of. Little had she known that constantly humming or singing under her breath was a sign of health. That kind of behavior was almost unknown to the Oristani once they were old enough to get their own Temee. Nahla decided that she would need to think about the situation more to see if she could help her small friend.

     Nahla thought about Devshi and what she had accomplished. That had been the second time that Devshi had healed someone that should have died. First Irene and her neck wound and second the young Oristani male that had not only fallen from a height but also skewered himself through the chest just under his shoulder. Neither of which would have survived without Devshi's intervention. When the tiger had first shown up Nahla had 'talked' to it but all it would say was that Devshi was hers much the same way that Nahla was Usha's. After that the tiger had kept to the mysterious air that all cats, no matter what size seemed to share and mostly refused to talk to her unless it was needed. Nahla wished that her old teacher had been available. She really wanted to discuss what Devshi had done with someone wiser than herself. Nothing of what Nahla thought showed on her face though. As always she maintained the almost dour demeanor that she always showed to the world like any Shaman would.

      Once they were all on the barge that would take them to the inn that Nahla assumed they would be staying in, Ten Rabbit surprised them all by stating that instead of going to an inn they would be staying at his families estate. Nahla wasn't sure she'd heard him correctly at first. Had Ten Rabbit actually said that his family had an estate? Not that Nahla had any idea what an estate of any kind would look like but she had an image in her mind based on the various homes she had seen in Alkhadharam as well as the Mahapratanidhi's palace. Also she had learned that many of the larger structures on platforms in the cities they had traveled through had been the homes of the nobles in that area. But even with that Nahla had no clue what to expect to see. The biggest surprise though was that Ten Rabbit's family had an estate at all. Were they particularly rich or did he come from some kind of noble family? Nahla wasn't really clear on how one got an estate or became noble, after all the Oristan didn't really have nobles and though they did have wealth it wasn't measured the way the dusba measured it.

    For that reason Nahla had no expectations of what Ten Rabbits family home would look like, she hadn't been expecting the hulking size of it. Logically Nahla knew that there probably wasn't going to be any platforms for them to rest upon, but other than that there had been no concept of what it would look like. As a result the island full of huge white homes that had the same style of vividly colored painted carvings that every other Michocano structure that Nahla had ever seen was not at all surprising to her. The greeting that they all received however was more unexpected. As soon as they had all disembarked from the reed barge they had all ridden to the island that the nobles lived on, Ten Rabbit had hurried the party to one of the sprawling houses. The house that Ten Rabbit lead the towards was fully as large as any of those she had seen raised upon platforms in any of the larger cities they had traveled through on their way here. The only difference seemed to be that none of them had anything like a yard of any size. There was only the smallest strip of land that was the only thing that kept the buildings from running into each other. The majority of the brightly colored carvings on the house Ten Rabbit lead them to resembled stylized bats usually combined with many other stylized animals and what Nahla thought might be people. This was the first time that Nahla had really had an opportunity to look at any of the carvings closely enough to tell what they represented.

     As soon as he had reached the walkway that lead to the doorway Ten Rabbit started to call out in the Michocan tongue. As far as Nahla could tell Ten Rabbit was calling names. Not that she understood the language but after weeks completely surrounded by it Nahla had started to get a sense of the rhythm of it. The two older adults that came out at Ten Rabbits call confirmed her supposition. There was a very strong family resemblance between Ten Rabbit and the two people that were currently embracing him while they all babbled at each other. Nahla was fairly certain that no one was really keeping track of what was actually being said. But she had a good idea about what they each were saying, it would be various iterations of we missed you, how are you etc. Nahla could only smile as she looked upon the greeting that Ten Rabbit was getting from those that could only be his parents.

      Throughout their journey Ten Rabbit had maintained a coolness that sometimes seemed to be a sense of superiority. Now however Nahla was fairly certain that, like her, he was trying to seem older than he actually was. In a way his demeanor now made Nahla feel closer to him than she had before. As these thoughts were crossing her mind Ten Rabbit turned from greeting his parents towards the rest of the party that was standing waiting to be told what was happening. At first he spoke to his parents in his native tongue gesturing to each party member in turn, clearly introducing them to his parents. No sooner had he done that then he switched to Kishnagar, the common trade tongue that just about everyone spoke to some degree or other and introduced his parents. His father Eight Bat and his mother Sixteen Fox both seemed very happy to meet them and immediately invited them to stay with them rather than at on of the Atlapetle inns that Nahla had decided were everywhere. Mainly because no matter how small the village they were stopping at on the road to the capitol was an Atlapetle Inn. Nahla was starting to wonder if they were the Michocan version of the Haarber Inns that also seemed to be everywhere. In fact except when they were staying at the Adventurers Guild House in Alkhadharam, every inn they had stayed in before reaching Michocan had been a Haarber Inn.

     As they were walking into the main entry into the house Nahla noticed an alter off to on side of the spacious room. On it was a carved stone statue almost as tall as Ten Rabbit of a stylized man standing with both arms raised at the elbow holding something in each hand. Nahla had to look twice at what the statue was holding. The tube that he held in his left hand resembled a distance viewer enough that she was willing to go with it being one, even with all of the added branches, feathers, and such stuck into it. But in his right hand he held what Nahla thought was a Temacte. A new food that Ten Rabbit had introduced the party to once they entered Michocan lands. Nahla decided to put the mystery aside for now and refocused on her hosts. Later it would be time to ask polite questions, now was for finding out about the place they would stay to avoid giving offense.

In the Temple of Camatz

     Ten Rabbit hurried into his home behind his parents and the party. He had to change quickly and get to the main temple of Camatz. He needed to report as soon as possible and there was much to tell. Ten Rabbit had no idea how his superiors would take what he had to tell or what they would make of it. The Michocan didn't often leave their lands, they were much like the Oristani in that regard. There just wasn't anything that they were all that interested in in other lands. No where in any of the reports he had read from those who had traveled to other lands was there anything like what he had witnessed on this trip. Ten Rabbit had been there for all of it and he wasn't sure he believed it. How was he ever going to get the High Priest of Camatz to.

     Once Ten Rabbit had changed out of his travel clothes and back into his usual clothing for the city he felt much better. He had never believed that what you wear affects how you feel about yourself until he had spent months in the same clothing that a common worker outside of Michocan would wear. Gone were the loose trews, vest and poncho, back was the loin cloth and hip wrap that every Michocano wore. Although his was richly appointed as befit one of noble blood. He felt much more like himself in what he considered to be proper clothing. Even though he would only be wearing it until he got to the temple. What he had been wearing was a bit uncomfortable especially now that the rains had started. It wasn't all that much colder but when it wasn't raining it was significantly more humid.

     Until he had returned to Michocan and especially his home here in Tlatlolitzli Ten Rabbit hadn't realized that he had been homesick. He had attributed his feelings of being down to all of the stress from everything that had been happening. Ten Rabbit had originally planned to only stay with the party long enough to get back home and hopefully set up a meeting with someone important enough to help them on their way. Once he had killed, indirectly, his target there had been no reason to continue with them after all. Everything had changed not long ago and now he was going to stay with them until the end. Which is why Ten Rabbit really needed the High Priest of Camatz to believe him and let him go. But even if the High Priest didn't Ten Rabbit intended to go anyhow which felt like the right thing to do.

      As Ten Rabbit was leaving, weaving his way through the press of his relatives come to greet the new comers and make them feel welcome he was approached by Fulha, the Kishnagari assassin that was disguised as a diplomat. Although considering what he had learned about Kishnagar politics he might actually be one. Fulha had explained to him that he needed to go to the Kishnagari embassy and do his job. For a long moment Ten Rabbit just stared at the older male, trying to decide which of his jobs he needed to do. But since it was the embassy that he wanted Ten Rabbit decided it was probably diplomacy not assassination that he intended. And if he did want to kill someone at the embassy it most likely wouldn't be a Michocano and thus wasn't his problem. If he did want to kill a Michocano it still wouldn't be Ten Rabbits problem but it most definitely would be Fulha's. With that in mind Ten Rabbit had told Fulha that he would guide him to the Kishnagar embassy on his way to the temple of Camatz.

     Once he had dropped the distinguished older male off Ten Rabbit went back to thinking about how to convince his superiors about what had happened, he still hadn't figured it out when he reached his own drop off point. For some reason though he kept hearing a small chuckle in the deepest part of his mind. This was actually starting to bother him but he quickly went back to his more immediate problem. Those thoughts consumed his mind while he quickly stopped at his new, and so far unused, quarters in the quarter where the priests who serviced the various temples in the city lived. There was absolutely no way he was going to show up at the temple in anything other than the correct attire for a junior priest of Camatz. While he didn't believe that how you were dressed affected how you felt, he did know that it affected how others felt about you. Beside his sacred attire felt almost like a kind of armor and Ten Rabbit had decided that he needed all the protection he could get.

     He was still trying to figure out how to tell his tale and be believed when he reached the primary Temple of Camatz. Unlike the public temple of Camatz, this one was reserved for the priest class. Like all temples in Michocan, Camatz's temple was a huge multi-storied building made of large blocks of stone that were covered in ornate and highly stylized carvings, vividly painted to show as much detail as possible. In this case, because it was a temple to Camatz, the carvings show the god performing his duties of separating the soul from the body so it can begin its journey to the afterlife. The carvings also show what happens to the souls that don't receive the attentions of Camatz for whatever reason. As well as depictions from the many different stories and legends about Camatz and his worship. The ceilings of the public area of the temple soared above him only to be lost in in the darkness beyond the reach of the torches that were used to light the way for the initiates and younger priests who came to worship. On each side of him were doorways that lead into the darkness where the best offerings to Camatz from the public temples were delivered by the priesthood. Every sound echoed off of the stone walls making the expansive public area of the temple seem to be the heart of the deepest cave. Further adding to the mystery that was the worship of Camatz, on every wall lit by the flickering of the torches were scenes of Camatz performing his duty of separating the soul from the body in even greater detail than any found outside of the temple.

     Ten Rabbit felt the difference of temperature as soon as he was past the public rooms and into the temple proper. The vaulted ceiling was more the height one would find in a normal home and the halls were much narrower giving the sense of a cave in the depths of the earth. The walls were painted instead of carved but what was shown was not much different from the carved depictions in the public areas. Though the detail was much greater and more vividly colored. It wasn't until you were in the deepest heart of the temple that the images changed to show the secrete mysteries of the worship of Camatz. Mysteries that Ten Rabbit not only knew about but believed in and followed with a fervor that would have surprised any of his party members. The walk started to focus Ten Rabbits thoughts inwardly, more on Camatz and less on himself. By the time Ten Rabbits had reached the vestibule where he would wait to be called to speak to the first of many priests before speaking to one high enough to make a decision his mind had already shifted into a more meditative, worshipful state rather than the day to day state of regular existence. Sooner than Ten Rabbit had expected he was called to speak to the High Priest of Camatz himself. This was unexpected, Ten Rabbit had figured that he would speak to multiple lower priests before he actually spoke to the High Priest himself.

      When Ten Rabbit entered the audience chamber that the High Priest used to have informal meeting with lesser priests, it was the first time Ten Rabbit had been in this chamber for anything other than cleaning it. In fact this was his first official meeting as a priest. Before he had only been a novice and still learning about or going through his ordeal. Like many temples around the world, the temples here in Michocan used novices to do the majority of the menial chores that were needed. So this wasn't the first time Ten Rabbit had been in here, it was just the first time he'd been in here for a meeting if any kind. Ten Rabbit bowed deeply before walking the proper five steps towards the high priest before dropping onto his left knee while folding his hands on to his right, keeping his head bowed down so that all he could see of his leader in the temple was the High Priests ornate sandals.

      Ten Rabbit had always strongly believed in Camatz, his god and patron. While he also believed in the gods worshiped by just about every people on Ardu, Camatz was the only true god for him. It was more than the fact that his family's patron deity was Camatz, Ten Rabbit felt that Camatz had chosen him personally. It had been explained to him by his earliest instructors that this belief was the sign that he had a calling to be a priest. Ten Rabbit had also been taught to listen for his voice within for it would tell him, after he was trained of course, what it was that Camatz wanted of him. So for his whole life Ten Rabbit had been listening for the voice within to tell him what he was supposed to do and until he heard it he was going to follow the dictates of his superiors who without a doubt did hear it. For a brief moment Ten Rabbit considered the possibility that what he'd been hearing in his head was the voice within but somehow he didn't think so, why for instance would it be laughing. Was it laughing at him?

      Once the proper greetings had been exchanged Ten Rabbit was allowed to rise and take a seat for what his superior had said must be a very long report if only because he had been gone so long. This gave him the opportunity to actually look at the High Priest for one of the first times in his life. Always before he had been required, because of his station, to keep his eyes lowered so he had only seen his superiors feet up close. For a moment a look crossed the High Priests face that Ten Rabbit had trouble naming. In anyone else he would have said that whoever had that fleeting look was upset to see the person before them. But that couldn't be true, hadn't the High Priest sent him on the very mission he was reporting on? Ten Rabbit quickly decided to ignore the look and instead focus on giving his report. There was much he had to say and much of it was almost unbelievable.

        After what had seemed an eternity of giving his report than going through intense questioning about everything that had happened Ten Rabbit was finally finished. He felt completely wrung out and exhausted by the High Priests intense questioning but Ten Rabbit was fairly certain that his superior believed him. Now he was waiting to find out what was going to happen. Silently Ten Rabbit was praying that the High Priest would allow him to continue to travel with the party and help them complete their mission. When the High Priest dismissed him without letting him know one way or the other Ten Rabbit had been disappointed but, he consoled himself, there was much to consider. Ten Rabbit vowed to make offerings to Camatz until he was given word either way. so rather than making a protest Ten Rabbit merely stood bowed and started to leave. That was when he thought he heard the sound of huge wings rushing towards him and knew nothing else.

     Camatz looked out through Ten Rabbit's eyes and did not like what he saw. How dare this priest who claimed to be acting in His name so disregard His tenets. This upstart before him was actually working for his enemy. Camatz had long ago found out that his High Priest was working in the name of someone else, long long ago but for the first time he could actually do something about it.

     " TELL ME WHY I SHOULDN'T JUST SLAY YOU NOW AND LEAVE YOUR SOUL TO WANDER THE DARKNESS FOREVER!" Camatz thundered in a voice that seemed to echo through time itself.

     The effect that voice had on the High Priest was enough to please even Camatz, a god not known for his gentleness or forgiveness. At the first syllable that resounded around the chamber and through the High Priests body with equal force he dropped to his knees and began to whimper out requests for forgiveness while abasing himself over and over again. Camatz let him grovel for a while before calling a halt to the High Priests display with a single word. "ENOUGH!"  This had the immediate affect of freezing the High Priest in place the words stopped at his lips. Camatz pondered the groveling male before him for what must have felt like an eternity to prostrate priest.

     "I ASK AGAIN. WHY DID YOU DESECRATE MY HOLY PLACE WITH THE FOULNESS OF MRTIS." Camatz modulated his voice a bit so he didn't cause such abject terror. He did need the fool to be able to speak and answer questions after all. While the groveling and babble were pleasing they didn't get the job done and he needed to get a move on. He couldn't control Ten Rabbit forever without damaging him, not something Camatz was willing to do right now. Who knew how long it could take him to find another he could actively work through, it had taken forever to find this one after all. Over the next candle mark or so Camatz got every piece of information that the High Priest had to give.  Everything that the male knew about the plans of Mrtis as well as how and why the priest had become a traitor to not only his god but one to all life. Camatz had much to think about before he took any further action. He had decided to let the fool stay as High Priest, for now, mainly because removing him might make problems for his focus. His final act before surrendering the body back to Ten Rabbit was to command the priest to say nothing about what had just happened and to let Ten Rabbit continue his journey with the rest of the party. And if he wasn't obeyed Camatz informed the miserable High Priest exactly what would happen to him.

      Ten Rabbit blinked a couple of times, his hand out in front of him to brush the beaded curtain out of the way of the door. He really hoped that he hadn't been just standing there for an inordinate amount of time with his hand stuck out into the air. Risking a quick glance over his shoulder at his superior Ten Rabbit was confused by how white the High Priest's face was all of a sudden. But since nothing else seemed to be wrong Ten Rabbit left and returned back to his families home, wondering what the party had made of his family. As Ten Rabbit left the room the High Priest watered himself right there.

     Camatz looked out from behind Ten Rabbit's eyes there was one more thing he needed to do before Ten Rabbit could go home. The next moment Ten Rabbit was again asleep, though he didn't know it, and only Camatz was present. The next moment Camatz was in the air flying towards the royal palace, there was someone he wished to speak to. In the dark of the night Camatz flew unseen to the balcony that lead into the Teotlepetl's quarters. There was no reason for Camatz to travel like a mortal, he was a god after all. Sure, the body he was using was a mortal's but when he was manifested it was the body of a god. Camatz landed silently on the balcony and paused for a minute to make sure the next room was empty before entering the private quarters of the Teotlepetl. Camatz wasn't worried that a guard or servant would hurt him, he was concerned that he himself would hurt the guard or servant by accident.

     By chance the room that the balcony entered into was the Teotlepetl's bed chamber. The room was spacious, opulent with beautiful painted carvings of the gods engaging in their various duties. In the center of all of the other gods was the King of the gods Q'Qu'Matzle, the feathered serpent creator of the world. Paramount among the other gods Q'Qu'Matzle had brought the gods from the dying universe and into this one, carrying them in his own body. Camatz bowed deeply to the image Q'Qu'Matzle giving obeisance to the most respected of the gods, briefly asking permission to bother his earthly representative in his sleep. Camatz had no feelings for the Teotlepetl himself but would never do something that would annoy his own ruler any more than a Michocano would do something to upset the Teotlepetl.

      "Awake," Camatz said, trying and failing to keep his voice down. He wanted to speak to the Teotlepetl not the whole damned building after all. Almost immediately Camatz sensed the guards outside every door into the room starting to open. Frustrated Camatz made a sweeping gesture and all of the doors froze in place, along with the guards outside them. He would deal with them later, right now there were more important things to do. Like get the God-King to do the correct thing as far as the gods were concerned.

     Camatz watched as the Teotlepetl woke up. The Teotlepetl blinked up at Camatz clearly confused as to why he had been woken up in the middle of the night by someone he'd never seen before. Camatz almost laughed at the look of confusion on the mortals face but right now wasn't the best time to crack a smile. He was very pleased to see how quickly the Teotlepetl woke up and realized that something out of the ordinary was happening. Camatz stepped back from the bed to allow the mortal to get out of bed. He watched as the Teotlepetl sat up and got out of bed, reaching for a covering as he did so. The Teotlepetl just stood there looking at Camatz not saying anything, something that made Camatz very glad because it meant that his king Q'Qu'Matzle hadn't chosen an idiot for his personal representative.

    "I must speak to you Teotlepetl." Camatz said before continuing to tell the Teotlepetl all about the party and the reason that they were on their mission. When they were done Camatz told the God-King to go back to bed before turning to go back out onto the balcony. Just as he was about to take off from the balcony Camatz remembered the guards standing outside of the doors leading into the Teotlepetl's sleeping chamber so he released them before leaving.

   Ten Rabbit was amused as he walked down the path to his parents house. Normally as a full priest he would no longer live with his parents because his parents were hosting the rest of his party at their house he decided to stay there as well. It was funny how you can blank out on activities if you do them often enough. It was going to be a nice trip home.

Meet the Family

     Devshi looked at the bustle around her with dismay, at the crush of wildly gesturing and enthusiastic people around her. Ten Rabbit had told them all a little bit about his family so she had expected a large one, large like her own family of ten including her parents. There had to be a good thirty people here with children running like the wind all around them making it impossible to know the real number of them making the huge room they were in seem like a closet. And the noise, Oh Parvai, the noise it sounded like a mob in full throat from their talking all at once rather than a bunch of people greeting new comers. It was enough to make her feel more than a little overwhelmed. Ever since she'd found out about the treachery of her former mentor Devshi had been feeling disconnected from herself like she was standing on slippery ground and this exuberant crowd was enough to make her want to run away. Then she felt a warm moisture in the palm of her hand. When she looked down to see what it was she saw her tiger Somnadi touching her hand gently with her nose. This small act of comradery gave Devshi a sense of grounding and allowed her to stay where she was.

     A childs scream pierced the noise, stopping all sound and movement for a long moment before they all jumped into frantic action. Devshi looked around trying find what had frightened the poor child, then she understood that it was Somnadi that had caused the disruption before her. As soon as the adults had seen what had scared the child they had started to grab the young ones, males handing any child they had grabbed to any female before placing themselves between them and the overly large tiger. A few of the males must have gone after weapons because before Devshi could do anything they had come running back in carrying various weapons handing some to their unarmed family members all yelling to the party to carefully move away from the huge predator that had somehow ended up in their front room.

       Devshi decided that since Somnadi was her tiger than she should be the one to explain about the larger than normal feline. With her arms spread wide Devshi stepped between the tiger and the people now bristling with weapons all of which were pointed at her mount. Devshi knew that having a tiger as a mount was definitely not normal but the tiger had come to her already wearing the saddle. Since her god, Parvai, had sent the tiger to her ready to be ridden it would be downright sacrilegious not to do so. Right now however she had to find the correct words to keep her newest friend from becoming a pin cushion. Over the next few minutes Devshi proceeded to do just that, explaining to Ten Rabbits relatives that the tiger Somnadi was a gift from her god Parvai to be her mount. Slowly after many repetitions the message sunk in to the frightened adults, but it wasn't until an elderly female that Devshi led up to Somnadi and held her hand out for the tiger to smell, like she would have for a dog.    With the upmost of gentleness and solemnity Somnadi touched the elderly female's hand before giving it the smallest of licks. 

     Devshi looked at the stooped old female, she was not much taller than Devshi herself was but obviously had once been almost as tall as Ten Rabbit himself. Now that she looked at her, Devshi noticed a distinct family resemblance especially across the eyes and nose. While people from other nations might have a difficulty telling people from different races apart, Devshi was from Kishnagar where the whole population was made up of members of each of the races on Ardu, so for her it was an easy task. The elderly female was very obviously an important member of the family because there had been multiple aborted attempts to stop her from going to the huge tiger. Each one was halted by a glance at whoever was reaching towards her without a single word being spoken. And now that she was clearly fine the smiles of relief were matched with the lowering of the weapons. Something that made Devshi give her own smile of relief while she also relaxed, a bit.

     The elderly female introduced herself as Two Squirrel and said that she was Ten Rabbit's grandmother. Well that explained the family relationship Devshi thought to herself. Devshi introduced both herself and her tiger while all around her the volume started to rise again but this time there was a nervous edge to it that hadn't been there before. Out of the corner of her eye Devshi saw that there were many uneasy glances at both herself and Somnadi, wisely she decided to not notice them. Bravado on the part of a lot of nervous males, and more than a couple of females now that she took a good look, was definitely not needed right now. For now at least the tension in the room took Devshi back to some of her earliest training as a priest so she modulated her voice and movements to calm those around her. Later she would think about who exactly had taught her the skills she was currently using. Eventually even the most apprehensive of those in the room calmed down and by the time for the noon meal the children were begging for rides on the tiger. Every instinct Devshi possessed told her it wouldn't be a good idea so she told them not right now, Somnadi needed to rest.

       The first thing that Ten Rabbits grandmother, Two Squirrel had insisted on was food. She then proceeded to direct a goodly number of her family members on just that. Two Squirrel told some of her family to take the party to be refreshed while others were put to fixing the meal. And what a meal it was, Devshi had been to feasts at the Mahapratanidhi's palace and this meal compared favorably with that on sheer volume of food. Of course it all tasted very different than anything that she had ever eaten back in Alkhadharam but oh was it good. Two Squirrel kept insisting that they needed to eat more until everyone was stuffed full, only then did she allow anyone to set aside their dishes. 

     Then the questions began. Devshi hadn't noticed at first that every male was gone from the table. Well every male and Irene, and considering her beard they may have thought that she was a male as well. Truthfully the only thing Devshi really cared about was getting a bath, a real bath where she could soak in hot water not a cold dip in a river. As far as Devshi was concerned a cold dip might get you clean, if the water wasn't to cold, but it wasn't a bath not to her thinking at least. While they had been in the Oristan lands she hadn't gotten even that much, so when Two Squirrel had mentioned baths Devshi was happier than she'd been in a very long time. When asked if they wanted baths both Devshi and Nahla replied with an emphatic yes, which made both Two Squirrel and Ten Rabbits mother Sixteen Fox laugh. Apparently Nahla had come to appreciate hot baths while she had been traveling with them, something that Devshi wouldn't have credited when they had first met. 

       Devshi was actually curious to see the room that could bathe this hoard of people that were Ten Rabbits close kin, either it was as large as the front room or they bathed on a schedule. She could see no other way that the whole family could get a bath. Devshi had been more than a little surprised when Two Squirrel and Sixteen Fox had lead Nahla and herself out of their spacious home towards the docks where the ever present reed barges waited to take anyone to another island. Devshi asked what happened if someone needed a ride at night only to be informed that the barge handlers had homes on each of the islands so if someone needed to go somewhere after everyone was usually in bed they would be available. Devshi considered her hosts reaction to her tiger Somnadi and politely asked the tiger to stay at the house. Somnadi nodded her agreement, giving Devshi the distinct feeling of humor in her mind. A feeling that Devshi dismissed since she had no skill in speaking to animals. At first Devshi had asked Nahla to talk to Somnadi but had long since learned that the tiger easily understood her when Devshi just talked to her.

     The group walked past the docks towards a very large building that was didn't look anything like Ten Rabbits palatial home. For one thing the only windows that Devshi could see were up high on the walls very near the roof. Although it did look as though the windows were very large and ran almost the whole length of the wall it was in. But there was absolutely no way that someone on the outside could see what was going on inside, not without a really tall ladder at least. Devshi was fairly certain that such ladders existed but were only used when it came time to wash the windows. She was even more surprised when she entered the building. A large, long highly painted wall depicting people and what Devshi assumed were gods either bathing in large pools or being cooked in equally large pots. Michocan art was often hard to interpret correctly because of its symbolic nature, what looked like stylized people being beheaded was actually the god of death helping the soul start its journey to the lands of the dead. Devshi knew that one because she had asked Two Squirrel what the artwork that covered their home was when they had first left it. So best guess, this was a house for bathing but she didn't have long to really look at the artwork because Two Squirrel lead the whole group off to the right of the long hallway that ran along the painted wall.

     Devshi noticed a difference in the air as she walked down that long painted hallway. It was distinctly warm and damp in this building. While outside was definitely damp, in fact it was down right soggy when she thought about it. But in this building the air was a nice kind of damp, not a muggy or humid damp that made you more uncomfortable than just the rain managed. Devshi also noticed in passing that all of the depictions of people and probably gods were distinctly female. It was easy to tell since the majority of them were wearing nothing or so close as to make no difference. Devshi was starting to get a tad uncomfortable. Not because of the naked females. No, depictions of naked gods were common place in Kishnagar. No it was the warm moist air that was making her uneasy, it indicated that bathing here was a communal thing. Sure she had bathed with other females when she had been a temple novice. But those baths had been in individual baths that happened to all be in one room not everyone all in the same big bath. She just hoped that it would only be females in the room, she didn't think she could of born to undress in front of a male, especially strange males.

     Devshi however was surprised when they walked into a room that had a bunch of females sitting on cushions around what looked almost like a artificial pond with their feet in the water. When they got closer she saw that there were a large bunch of very small fish in the pond and each female had them clustered around their feet. Along each of the walls were padded benches with little cubicles above them that seemed to hold ... shoes? This was completely beyond Devshi's experience and could only look at her hosts in almost total surprise. Before she could speak however Two Squirrel answered her as yet unspoken question.

     "Take shoes off and put feet in the water," Two Squirrel said gently in slightly broken but clear Kishnagari trade tongue before continuing. "The Tepichin will clean the dead skin from your feet. This makes both the fish and the feet happy."

     For a long moment both Nahla and Devshi could only look back and forth between Ten Rabbit's two female relatives, then the water with its females doing just that, and then back. Then Nahla just shrugged and sat down on one of the benches, hiked up her robes and the trews under them and started to remove her shoes. After another long moment Devshi followed her lead and did the same. At first when they had joined the other females around the pool of fish, Devshi had expected to feel odd and maybe uncomfortable but as soon as they were settled Sixteen Fox had introduced the pair to everyone else there. This lead to some spirited conversation and more than a couple of hilarious misconceptions that Devshi and Nahla had to correct. Strangely enough to Devshi's thinking the other females were more often wrong about Kishnagar than they were Oristan. After thinking about it more, however it started to make sense, after all Michocan had much more contact with the Oristani than they did pretty much anyone else.

     After a surprisingly pleasant hour Sixteen Fox suggested that they should probably move on to the bath area. A suggestion that Devshi was surprisingly happy to agree with. She had already decided that it was going to be one big bath rather than a large number of individual ones. Her earlier enviousness about it aside, Devshi so wanted a real bath that she found she no longer cared one way or the other. Hot water and a chance to soak, that was what she had decided was important, not how many people were in the bath with you. Besides Devshi couldn't let Nahla seem to be more accepting than she was, could she. The lectures she would get if her old teachers back in Alkhadharam heard about that. Briefly the pain of that thought stopped Devshi in her tracks but she quickly buried the bad feelings back down where they belonged and continued to follow the rest of the group. Later, once she'd had her bath, Devshi decided that she hadn't felt so good or clean for a very long time. She may never get used to bathing in the same bath as everyone else but every other part of her bath had been the height of civilization as far as she was concerned.

      There was one problem that had cropped up however, as soon as the older females had found out that neither Nahla nor herself were married they had as a group decided to try and fix that lack as quickly as possible. It had taken quite a lot of talking on her part for Devshi to explain that as a priest she wasn't allowed to marry, that she was already married to her goddess. Not exactly the truth but the circumstances in which it would be allowed were too complicated to even try to explain. Nahla however had no such luck, the Michocan were well aware that shaman had no prohibitions about marriage. Not even telling them her real age had deterred the females, after all fourteen was plenty old enough to marry in Michocan even if it was considered to be too young to the Oristan. It wasn't until Nahla had explained that she had a more pressing duty to the parties mission and thus couldn't devote the appropriate time to a marriage that they had finally left her alone. Although Sixteen Fox was still advocating for Ten Rabbit to marry her, they were on the same mission after all.

     Once the sun started to go down the males all came back and Devshi was both surprised and amused by the looks on the faces of Bisha and Irene, for completely different reasons. Bisha looked like he'd had fun for the first time in his life. Irene however looked like she'd swallowed a fish, sideways. Devshi could hardly wait until she heard what their day had been like. The most amusing situation however had come after they, Ten Rabbit included, had all eaten dinner. Apparently all of the adults slept in the same room with the children in another. Two Squirrel explained to Devshi that there was also a nursery where the babes slept with an adult to take care of their needs but they didn't have any in the household currently. No one slept in what Devshi would have called a bed though instead they slept in hammocks hung from the ceiling. She had never seen a hammock but quickly figured out how it was used, if not how to get into it. Irene, surprisingly, seemed to know how to get into it even if she needed a bit of help because of how high they were from the floor. Nahla had taken one look at the contraption and straight up refused to even try to get into the thing. Devshi couldn't blame her at all since Nahla was taller than the hammock was long. There was absolutely no way Nahla was going to fit into it by any stretch of imagination. So Nahla decided to sleep on the floor and Devshi really, really wished that she'd had the guts to do the same.

Bisha Makes a Friend

     Bisha woke up after their first night in Tlatlolitzli, the capitol city of Michocan, in a hammock with people all around him that were also waking up. In fact the noise of all the people around him had been what had woken him up. He hadn't had other people around him while he slept since he'd gone on for higher education at yunavarasiti back home. So waking up in a crowd this morning had made him feel a bit self-conscious, the party he traveled with didn't count. For one thing there were only four of them, not including himself, not to mention they were sleeping outside. Sleeping in a hammock had been odd as well, rather like what he'd imagined sleeping in the air would be like. He had heard once that sailors slept on hammocks when they were on ship but the only boats he'd ever been on had been for short trips of at most a few hours so no sleeping needed but it was what he had heard.

      While he made his way down towards the large room they had met everyone yesterday to have first meal he thought about everything that had happened yesterday. It had overall been an odd day in his opinion. First he and Irene had been neatly peeled off from Nahla and Devshi by the males of Ten Rabbit's family. At first he had thought that maybe the males and females were mostly separate in all things but no apparently the matriarch of the family had given one of the males with them a signal that he had missed but Ten Rabbit's cousin hadn't. Bisha and Irene had been taken out by, what appeared to be all of the males in Ten Rabbit's family or at the very least all of them that were home. The reason that the two of them had been separated from Nahla and Devshi wasn't immediately apparent, why would they break up the party. Then he figured it out, Ten Rabbit's family had thought that Irene was a male Zwergin probably because of her beard. Did the Michocan not know that all Zwergin had beards? Heck, someone's sex wasn't even a factor to the Zwergin and was something kept very secret. So much so that generally only close family would actually know if one was male or female. The only reason that the whole party knew that Irene was a female was because of an injury that she had sustained that required the removal of her her armor and upper garments.

     The group of about fifteen to twenty Michocano males from ten Rabbit's family, Bisha wasn't sure on the exact number, dragged Irene and himself away from their huge home in the driving rain towards the docks following in the tracks of the party of females. Bisha watched Ten Rabbit's mother and grandmother took Nahla and Devshi away from the docks ahead of both groups and off in a completely different direction. 'I wonder where they're going,' he thought to himself as Irene and himself followed their hosts away, ready to see what the day was going to bring.Bisha hoped that they had a good time off doing whatever it was Ten Rabbit's mother and grandmother had in store for them.

      The first thing that the group of young Michocan males, collectively called the cousins, did was get them all onto a reed barge. Unlike the one they had ridden yesterday this barge had cushions and what looked to Bisha to be vendors selling both food and drink. When asked one of the group that had brought them explained that the first barge had been a cargo vessel that carried people, goods and animals of all types, this one however was a noble's barge often used for going to and from parties or other events, that was why the food and drink, and the cushions of course. Nobles couldn't be expected to travel on bare wood benches after all. Bisha wasn't sure what he thought about that attitude but decided to let it go for now. At least it was an opinion that Ten Rabbit didn't share, which was good as far as Bisha was concerned.

      The group disembarked the barge at the very next island. The first thing Bisha saw was a very large structure, two story walls on all four sides with what looked to be stairs on one wall leading to the top with no sign of a roof that he could see. Sounds of yelling and excitement coming from inside of the structure made Bisha wonder what was going on inside. When the group reached the top Bisha was amazed by what he saw. What he had originally thought was just a wall had turned out to so much more. To start with, the top of the wall was at one end of a long wide paved court that was a good ten feet below them. Bisha now saw a door at ground level at the other end the long side from himself. The walls that surrounded the courtyard were wider front to back than he had expected. The walls at the narrower sides were significantly wider than those on the long sides. In fact the wall on the narrow sides were wide enough for the significant number of people seated there and it was obvious that more could easily fit.

      From what Bisha could see there was a dog race being run in the court below them though he'd never seen any dog like the ones he was looking at now. The dogs were large, muscular, and angular looking which in and of itself wasn't odd. The odd part was that as far as Bisha could tell, the grey dogs with a black area on their heads were hairless, completely and totally hairless. While he may not know anything about hairless dogs specifically, Bisha did know about dog races and was very glad to see something so familiar in such an unfamiliar place. All around him people were either standing or jumping up and down excitedly depending on how they felt about what was going on in the race below them. The dogs were running down one long side across the narrower area back up the other long side and ending back where they had begun at.

     The court the race was being run in was a long and wide area that gave the impression it was narrow because it was walled on all four sides as well as its size. Along both long sides was a fairly steep ramp that ended a few feet below a single stone ring sticking out the wall about four feet above where the ramp stopped. The inside diameter of the ring looked to be about a foot across from where he was sitting. The ring was attached to the wall so that its center was facing the narrower ends of the ball court with the diameter of the ring causing the center of it to stick out into the ball court by about two feet. The side of the ring facing him was carved with symbols that Bisha didn't recognize at all but were probably important, if only to the Michocan, so he made a note to ask about them later. Bisha was fairly certain that dog races were not the main reason this structure was built, you don't need rings halfway up the walls for those after all. Whatever event that normally happened here Bisha was glad to see something familiar.

      All around him was the dull roar of people excitedly exclaiming whatever it was they were saying over each other. Bisha didn't have a good grasp of the Michocan language at the best of times and trying to figure out what a crowd was saying was definitely not the best of times. Beside him one of Ten Rabbits relatives asked Bisha a question in broken trade tongue that he really didn't understand because of all the other voices talking all at the same time. The young male that had asked the question must have read the look of confusion on Bisha's face correctly because he quickly smiled and nodded before handing him an unknown drink in a roughly carved cup. Bisha took a sip and almost spit it back out, this was not the juice that he had been expecting. It had alcohol in it and it had an odd sour almost bitter taste that wasn't entirely unpleasant. Bisha remembered all too well how his last experience with alcohol had gone. From what he could see however Irene had taken the drink with more enthusiasm than he had seen from her since they had left Ten Rabbit's home, but then the Zwergin had more of a drinking culture than Ashfanabad majic users did. A thoroughly soaked Bisha had enjoyed himself immensely. 

      Today promised to be interesting in a completely different way as Bisha sat down at a table that he swore hadn't been there the night before admittedly he wasn't really paying attention when he'd come back last night. Bisha was just about the last one to sit down for breakfast and wasn't really paying attention to anything other than his food when Ten Rabbit spoke.

    "Don't make any plans for our visitors today. We will be going to go and see the Teotlepetl himself after breakfast."

     Ten Rabbit had said this as calmly as announcing that it was raining. He just sat and continued to eat completely ignoring the reaction of from his family as soon as he was done speaking. Ten Rabbit had returned from where ever it was he'd gone last night not long after he and Irene had. He hadn't really said anything about where he'd gone much less who he'd spoken to. All Ten Rabbit had told them was that he had to go and 'check in' with his superiors but none of the party had any clue about who that might have been. The news that they would be seeing this Teotlepetl, who ever that might be had the effect of causing all of Ten Rabbit's family to stop and stare at Ten Rabbit in shock. For the first time since he'd met them Ten Rabbit's normally boisterous family was silent with shock.

     "But ... But ... But no one sees the Teotlepetl so quickly," one of Ten Rabbit's male relatives stammered.

      Ten Rabbit merely smiled and didn't answer, he only continued to eat. Bisha watched as Ten Rabbit's relatives almost burst with questions that for some reason Bisha didn't understand they refused to ask.  Bisha who as a rule wasn't the greatest at reading the room as Devshi called it decided to not ask any questions either. Besides, first meal was much more interesting than any of the questions he had. The food Bisha was eating was not the Sikmit bread or Silbher that he was accustomed to. When he first saw what they were having he'd been a bit confused it looked just like the temacte they'd had for dinner but when he took a bite his eyes opened in delight. It was a temacte but this one was filled with scrambled egg as well as lightly spiced meat and beans he'd been expecting. Bisha settled down to eat, thoroughly enjoying the food. When he reached for his drink he had expected it to be the tea just about everyone drank but instead the drink in his cup was not tea it was an extremely bitter drink that was almost black in color. The look on Two Squirrels face showed Bisha that just about everyone else in the party had had the same reaction he did. He was very happy and thanked her when she took away the bitter drink and replaced it with the tea he was used to.

     About the time that everyone had finished eating, Ten Rabbit took pity on his family and let them know how they had gotten in to see the Teotlepetl so quickly, apparently the High Priest of Camatz had gone to the Teotlepetl and told him that they needed to see him as quickly as possible. It seemed that Ten Rabbit had gotten a message last night from one of the temple runners to let him know to have his party ready right after breakfast this morning. Now that they were all done eating it was time to get ready to go, Fulha would meet them there since he had stayed in the embassy the night before. Ten Rabbit also told them that they would need to be ritually cleansed before they met the Teotlepetl, that was when the confused looks on the rest of the parties faces finally got through to Ten Rabbit and he explained that the Teotlepetl was the king of the Michocan and was considered the physical embodiment of the gods. Now everyone's surprise at how quickly they had gotten in to see him made sense to Bisha, after all one didn't just walk into a new country and get to see the ruler who was also a god. All though they had gotten in to see the Mahapratanidhi in just three days they had also been bringing in news of upmost importance to her of her kingdom.

     Once they were on their way to where they would get ritually cleansed, Ten Rabbit explained that as a rule no one that wasn't either a high raking priest or a very high noble ever got to see the Teotlepetl at all. It wasn't even common to see one of his direct officials even if one was an ambassador, so them even getting into the palace complex was a shock. Getting to see the Teotlepetl himself was almost unheard of. Ten Rabbit said that his family was probably going to add this to their house murals because it was such an honor for not only the party but for his whole family since they were hosting the party while they stayed here in Tlatlolitzli. Bisha had always known that what someone did could reflect honor onto their people like when he'd qualified for higher education had reflected honor onto the orphanage he'd grown up in but he'd never thought that getting to see someone would be such an honor for everyone involved. Bisha thought about everything he'd been told and decided his teachers were right, it really was an odd world and no two countries had the same idea about honor.

     Once they had been cleansed the party continued on to meet the Teotlepetl, the God-King and ruler of Michocan. Bisha was very amused to discover that ritual cleansing wasn't just physical like a bath but also included many other things as well. They'd had incense blown all over and around them, been anointed by unguents and oils, they're hair had been arranged in very particular ways, it had been a very interesting and time consuming experience as far as Bisha was concerned. Ten Rabbit did explain that since they were not Michocano and didn't follow the gods of Michocan they were considered to be more unclean than usual. If they'd ever been ritually cleaned to enter a Michocan temple it wouldn't have been so extensive. This wasn't anything against them as people but just that the cleansing needed was more because they'd never had it done before. Then Ten Rabbit showed the group the proper greeting for the Teotlepetl, down on the left knee both hands stretched out in front of you at chest height, wrists together with the right above the left, hands in an open claw shape like a mouth. If they did anything correctly it had better be this one thing because failure wouldn't just shame themselves and Ten Rabbits family but if the Teotlepetl was insulted enough it might lead to the death of everyone involved, including his family. Bisha resolved to get everything absolutely correct and from the look on everyone else's face so did they.

     Then they were there, at the God-King's palace, Bisha had problems with how the correct word was pronounced even in his head. Bisha had thought that the buildings he'd seen so far were impressive but they looked like hovels when compared to the tremendous building before him. Bisha thought that it was on par with the royal palaces of any kingdom he had ever seen, which admittedly was a grand total of two. The royal palace of the Mahapratanidhi in Alkhadharam and the royal palace of the Pasha in his own home city of Khunduz in Ashfanabad. But this building was easily as grand as either of those and when you remembered that it was floating on water, without majic mind you, it was even more amazing. Like every other building in Michocan that Bisha had seen, this one was also covered in brightly painted carvings as well as just paintings on the walls. Unlike those buildings though this one sported representations of every god that Bisha now knew were associated with the Michocan pantheon. The most prominent was a feathered serpent that was often shown carrying the rest of the gods as well as being shown by itself. Bisha wanted to stop and examine the artwork more fully not because he thought it would give him any insight into the Michocan mind but because the artwork was some of the most stunning that he had ever seen, but Ten Rabbit hurried him along with the wise reminder that one doesn't keep a ruler of any kind waiting.

      The whole time that they were walking towards the reception room of the Teotlepetl, or God-King as Bisha continued to think of the Michocan ruler, the artwork continued to amaze everyone. Bisha knew this because of all the times that Ten Rabbit had to collect them back up when they stopped to look at this or that piece of artwork on the walls. The hallways would have been dark and hard to see in if they hadn't been abundantly lit by braziers filled with perfumed oil as well as torches that used scented oils to make them burn. The hallways they were walking down were large not only side to side but in height as well. They were so large that there was an echo of the party's footsteps reverberating around them. It had the effect of making Bisha feel very insignificant. The flickering light from the torches and braziers making the beautiful carvings that they had all admired seem almost alive and a bit sinister only added to the feeling. The further they walked down the hallways the more insignificant that Bisha felt. It was almost enough to make him, want to hunch himself down so he was harder to see so he didn't attract the attention of who or what ever it was that had created the effect. By the time the group had reached the entrance to the God-King's reception hall Bisha was fairly certain that rest of the party was feeling the same way he was, even Ten Rabbit seemed to feel it though no where near as much.

     Bisha had thought that the hallways were large until he saw the cavernous room before them. To Bisha the room looked as large as a whole city block and the ceiling was so high it made the hallway look like it belonged in a doll house. Inset into the walls at regular distances were alcoves that had shadowed forms that Bisha figured were guards but they could have been statues as far as he could tell, he never saw one move after all, but the alcoves were deep enough in the shadows that he wondered if he would if one did. As Ten Rabbit had told them the whole party walked ten paces into the room and assumed the position that he'd coached them to take, then they waited. It seemed to Bisha that the party waited there for a very long time, but it probably wasn't more than a minute or two, for the God-King to speak.

      "So you are the travelers that the High Priest of Camatz requested that I meet with. A very unusual request I might add. Come forward, I would meet the folk who inspired a High Priest to such activity in the middle of the night." The deep melodious voice of the Teotlepetl reverberated around the room, a subtle sense of humor evident in it.

     It was a smooth, well modulated voice that put Bisha at ease, he couldn't explain it but all of his fear just flowed away. Bisha hadn't even realized that he'd been afraid, partially because he'd been afraid for most of his life. But mainly everything that he'd learned in all of the libraries he'd visited and all of the historians he'd spoken to had made him very afraid that something worse was coming but he had no idea what it might be. All of that fear evaporated, not because there wasn't a reason to fear, but because the reason for his fear, whatever it was, couldn't get him here and now. The relief from the constant fear that he'd been carrying with him all this time, fear that was if not actually gone then at least it was in abeyance for the first time in months was enough to make feel like he was walking ten feet above the ground. At Ten Rabbit's signal everyone walked up to the base of the platform the God-king's throne rested upon. Ten steps led from the floor to the top of the platform but they weren't steep, the Teotlepetl was easily seen reclining on his throne.

     Bisha had no idea what to expect next but the God-King sitting up from his reclining position, standing and then walking down the stairs towards them. Bisha glanced at Ten Rabbit and saw the shock that was clearly displayed there, he looks like someone ran past and hit him in the head with a fish Bisha thought to himself as the Teotlepetl walked calmly towards them. Bisha didn't know what to do so he defaulted to the manners of his home and bowed deeply, this got a chuckle from the God-King and a gasp of amazement from Ten Rabbit. Apparently this wasn't supposed to happen which made Bisha even more uncomfortable. He didn't do real well when he didn't know the rules and what was going to happen. If the expert, Ten Rabbit, didn't know what was going on, how could he keep from getting himself and possibly all of them killed.

     "Greetings Bisha, I have heard much about you."

     Bisha thought he was going to faint as he started to panic, this wasn't how Ten Rabbit had said it would go. Ten Rabbit had told him that the meeting was just a formality and that they would primarily be talking to one of his ilcatza or assistants, coming down and talking to them had NOT been on the schedule. Shaking trying not to run away Bisha tried to look up at the God-King while staying in the deep bow he'd assumed when the Leader of Michocan had started towards him, an attempt that almost caused him to fall down. The God-King gestured for him to rise with a smile on his lips, a small chuckle echoing around the gigantic room. Bisha took a quick glance around the room while he rose from his bow, Ten Rabbit looked like he was about to faint while the rest of the party just looked confused.

    "Walk with me," the God-King said with a gesture to Bisha, seemingly not paying any attention to the rest of the party.

Learning to Fly

     Over the next four days Ten Rabbit watched as Bisha spent more and more time with the Teotlepetl, the God-King. Ten Rabbit didn't know what to do, it went against all convention to have someone directly speaking to the Teotlepetl. Ten Rabbit didn't know of anyone, ever having the kind of relationship with the Teotlepetl that Bisha had. Bisha having unlimited access to the royal library whenever he wasn't with the Teotlepetl and frequently when he was would have been more astonishing if the two of them weren't already spending so much time together. The oddest part was that they were often alone with only guards and servants around. It was unbelievable to Ten Rabbit that Bisha had such unprecedented access to the Teotlepetl.

    Another thing that was bothering Ten Rabbit was the fleeting look that he thought he'd seen on the God-King's face when he'd first entered the throne room. He wasn't even sure that he'd seen it, but Ten Rabbit had been trained to look for the smallest details as they might affect his ability to carry out his duties as a Sacred Assassin. But the look had been so fleeting that even with his powers of observation he couldn't be sure he'd actually seen it. Why would the Teotlepetl have any reason to look at him oddly, as far as Ten Rabbit knew the Teotlepetl had never met or seen him before. But he still couldn't shake the feeling that for just a split instant the look had been there.

     Just this evening Ten Rabbit listened as Bisha told anyone who would listen all about the Ocanihueca, or Far Seer, that the Teotlepetl had shown him. He went on and on about how the solar system is just like the Jadu, the smallest majical particle found. Apparently this was a major discovery and needed to be shared with everyone even if the people who he told had absolutely no clue what it meant. The looks of complete confusion on everyone's face would have been hilarious if Ten Rabbit hadn't been one of them. Ten Rabbit would have been concerned about Bisha acting this way but this had been going on since he'd first met him. Whenever he learned something new Bisha would talk about it endlessly to anyone who would listen and since they were traveling together they had to listen to it all. Now the whole party had very narrow and specific knowledge of various types majic and its uses.

     The next day the whole party was sent for by the Teotlepetl, not just Bisha but all of them including Fulha. This was new since the Teotlepetl hadn't yet met Fulha as far as Ten Rabbit knew, he couldn't be sure though since the Mahapratanidhi's addition to the party had been staying in the embassy the whole time.  The biggest surprise was that they were going to the small island that housed the royal observatory. Ten Rabbit hadn't known that the observatory also did research into anything at all. As far as the rest of the world was concerned the only thing that happened there was looking at the stars. Ten Rabbit learned where they were going when they boarded the ferry to get there, evidently Bisha had known their destination because he showed no surprise at all.

     When they reached the island the royal observatory was on they were met by a group of the Teotlepetl's personal guard. The guards led them from the pier towards the buildings. Ten Rabbit was amazed, there were only two buildings on the island. The size of the building on the left was huge even by Michocan standards. The huge square building had a large dome right in the center of the roof that confused Ten Rabbit until Bisha told him that it was where the Ocanihueca was kept. Apparently this was where Bisha had discovered that the solar system was like the godo, or was it jadu? whatever it was that he was so excited about last night was called. For a moment Ten Rabbit wondered if they were going to the Ocanihueca but quickly realized that it was the other building, the one on the right that they were heading towards. Ten Rabbit wondered what was in this equally large building. This building was a squat narrow building bracketed at both long ends by two much larger and taller buildings.

     The entrance to the building was in the small middle part of the building, disproportionately large door were set into the center of the wall the path lead up to. The two heavy doors were almost completely covered in beautifully carved and painted scenes from the story of Q'Qu'Matzle bringing the gods to Ardu. The concept of flight was important to the Michocan and something that very few aside from the gods could do, although there were some stories that certain Oristani had achieved flight but no one really believed them. Of course the sacred attire of those in his order had what was called a flying suit but it was more of a controlled fall suit than one that actually let you fly. Ten Rabbit was starting to get curious about what was behind the doors in front of him. One of the guards accompanying them ran ahead and opened the door just wide enough for them to enter single file.

    Once they were through the door the party was lead to the right down a surprisingly long hallway and into a huge room that held only one thing, a large vessel. Generally it looked like a large Michocan barge, only instead of being made out of reeds like the barges that were seen all around the lake. This one seemed to be made out of tlatoani, a very rare natural metal alloy of copper and copernium that gave off a very faint majical glow in the dim lighting of the building they were in. Tlatoani is one of the rare majical metals usually used to create armor and weapons that either use or are majical. He'd never seen anything this large made out of tlatoani, he hadn't even known that there was this much tlatoani in the whole world. The amount needed to make a vessel this size completely astounded Ten Rabbit. Sticking out from the sides of the vessel were long poles also made from tlatoani, they were shaped like oars that had ends that look like each one was a birds feather. Where the poles entered the vessel they were surrounded by natural rubber from the forests of Michocan.

       But the oddest part was the fact that the ship was floating above the ground rather than setting in a dry dock stand, how was the ship floating. Ten Rabbit knew that he wasn't very informed about majic in any way shape or form, well except all of the random things he'd learned from Bisha's almost nightly excited elucidation of majic and what he's discovered about it that day. Nothing he'd heard, nothing he'd learned nothing he'd even imagined had prepared Ten Rabbit for the vessel he now saw floating in the center of the room. For a while the only thing anyone in the party could do was walk around the floating ship trying to figure out how it stayed in the air.

     All along the walls were even more of the Teotlepetl's personal guards and the guards that had come in with them had spaced themselves between the ship and the party. Ten Rabbit leaned forward between to guards to take a closer look at the floating wonder when suddenly there was a blade in front of his face, the blade didn't touch him but it moved faster than even he could see. Before he could react in anyway however a voice above them gave a significant, but polite cough. Looking up he saw the Teotlepetl looking down on him with a smile on his face gesturing for the guard to let Ten Rabbit look closer.

     "When you're done looking at the outside, would all of you like to really get a look?" the Teotlepetl asked dropping a rope ladder.

     Ten Rabbit looked at the rest of the party when his Teotlepetl asked the question and the look on Bisha's face said it all. If they weren't allowed to go look Bisha would likely have exploded, smiling Ten Rabbit told Bisha to go ahead, climb the ladder and lead the way onto the vessel. As soon as he climbed aboard Ten Rabbit noticed that the deck of the vessel was actually made of wood with a casing of tlatoani. Behind him Ten Rabbit could hear the Teotlepetl, Bisha and a couple of engineers were already discussing how the vessel was made and what it could do, Ten Rabbit wasn't surprised at all. Ten Rabbit decided to wonder around and look at things while Bisha and the God-King talked about the esoteric details of the vessel. Almost immediately an engineer that Ten Rabbit hadn't even noticed approached him and asked if he would like a tour. 

     Ten Rabbit hesitated at first thinking that it would be no different from following Bisha but quickly realized that wasn't the case. The engineer was easy to understand and fun to talk to. The first thing that Ten Rabbit noticed was that everything was clearly labeled, not just the flight controls but everything including a plaque over every door announcing what was behind it. He'd been surprised to find out that there was more than one level to the ship but right there in the control room was a trap door with a label that said lower level. There was much more to this vessel than Ten Rabbit had originally thought. When the engineer showing him around asked if Ten Rabbit wanted to look around below he immediately said yes.

     "I have decided to give this vessel to you and your party Bisha," the Teotlepetl said as soon as everyone was done with their tour.

     Ten Rabbit was shocked. The vessel was clearly one of the most closely guarded secrets of the Michocan empire and the Teotlepetl was just giving it to them? this was beyond anything he had expected. Ten Rabbit could see the Teotlepetl ordering the crew to take them to their next destination but it had never crossed his mind that they might be given the ship. Ten Rabbit's attention was caught by the Teotlepetl saying his name snapping his attention back to what was being said. Did he dare ask for the Teotlepetl to repeat himself when he was saved by Devshi saying she was thankful that Ten Rabbit was along to translate the signs for them. The Teotlepetl finished by telling the party that two engineers would travel with them to do the majority of the actual piloting of the vessel. The last thing he asked was what they wanted the ship to be named.

     During the journey back to Ten Rabbit's family home the party debated what the name of the flying vessel should be. There were many suggestions but no consensus by the time they got to where they were going. During dinner that night the whole family got in on trying to name the vessel with even more names. some were fairly good like cloud cutter and some were bad like flying boat. None of them were exactly right so the hunt continued until it was time for bed. Maybe they would have better luck tomorrow either way they weren't flying on the vessel until it was named, it would be very bad luck.

     "Good Morning grandmother," Ten Rabbit said greeting Two Squirrel who had a huge grin on her face. 

    "Good Morning," Ten Rabbit's grandmother replied still grinning. "I think I have the perfect name but let's wait for everyone else to arrive before I tell you."

     Two Squirrel's grin got broader and broader with each person that showed up until the whole party was there. Once everyone was seated and eating Ten Rabbit looked at his grandmother wondering how long she was going to wait before speaking. The suspense was starting to get annoying by the time everyone was done eating. Everyone was starting to get up after eating before Two Squirrel gestured for them to stay where they were.

     "Atlom's Axe," Two Squirrel said smiling. "I think you should name the ship Atlom's Axe."

     "Atlom is the god of the sky and navigation. He taught the world how to navigate using the stars, how to find islands using cloud formations and ocean currents. Trees are considered strands of Atlom's hair because they are used to make ocean going ships. Most important however is that Atlom's Axe always points the correct way to travel," Ten Rabbit told everyone when he saw the confused looks on their faces.

      After Ten Rabbit's explanation of who and what Atlom was the party quickly agreed with Two Squirrel about the vessels name, Atlom's Axe was perfect.  Now they could plan their next destination and when they would leave. The only difficulty that Ten Rabbit could foresee was how they were going to get Usha, Nahla's temee, on board, and more importantly were Nahla and Usha going to get seasick while on board. He'd heard all about how sick the two of them had gotten on their only time sailing. Sure Nahla hadn't gotten seasick in any of the barges but they weren't really ships of any kind, but it was still a concern. It didn't even cross Ten Rabbit's mind that Nahla would leave Usha behind, he only wondered how to get the temee on board.