Chapter 14
Splat
I stood, staring stupidly at the mark on my hand. I don’t know how long for but I know it must have been a long time. Only warriors had these tattoos. Or, in Abe’s case, saviours of the mudokon race. Did that mean… Was I… I was really confused. I definitely wasn’t a warrior. Some parts of me, like my scrab might be classed as an animal warrior, but that doesn’t really count. On the other hand, I wasn’t really much of a saviour. I’d only ever ruined escape plans and I’d needed saving myself. But then, what if it meant something different all together? Maybe it meant something else…
I was knocked back to reality by a sound from above my head. The laguameacy was waking up. It had 2 normal length arms with wings like a dragons (or an oversized bats) trailing from the arms (strangely, nothing like my wings) with three fingered hands coming off a plain pale, yellow and green body with three fingered hands. I noticed the hands where webbed. It had 2 long legs ending in three-toed webbed feet. It had a slightly-longer-than-average neck leading in to a head basically like the one carved in to the wall outside.
It detached itself from the ceiling and flew down. It turned to face me. It looked at my face, it flew round and looked at my bandaged wings. It came round again and looked at my face again, the space above my head, the laguateeny on my shoulder and the mark on my hand.
It chirped something and the translation appeared in my head: you have not come here before.”
“No,” I chirped in laguameacy tongue.
“You are strange. You look like us, but you also look like masters. And foods.”
“I am strange!” I repeated, not really knowing what else to say!
Then the laguateeny on my shoulder chirped in “he may look strange, but he lead me to food. He showed me to stay aware of the tiny flesh eaters. He showed me how to tell which branches are safe to hang my pod when I grow, and which are not. He showed me these things in strange ways but it helped me learn them. He also showed me kindness when I was scared or shocked. He is a good master, and a good teacher, but not good foods!”
The laguameacy seemed surprised, but then he said “you are wise little one, and I trust you. He shows himself to mean us no harm if he can enter here.” He turned to me, “what do you wish?”
“I wish to…” I didn’t know. I didn’t even know why I came here. I just had nowhere else to go. “I wish, I wish to see more of the temple.” Then I had a thought. “Are their still masters here?”
“Yes.”
“Could you take me to them?”
It hesitated then “I will show you the way.”
It walked down the passage for a while, then stopped at a well. “I cannot leave my post for long but I will take you to a brother who will lead you on.”
He lowered himself into the well and disappeared. I waited a few seconds before following. I flew down for 2 metres at most, before slowing and flying up, up, up, then emerging in bright sunlight.
I squinted for a second as my eyes adjusted to the light, then looked around. I was in a small space with an open ceiling leading out on to the temple roof.
I hoisted out of the dip and looked around. I saw the laguameacies talking, and then one flew over the roof and the other turned to me. “So, you wish to see masters. I will lead you to the marshes of peace. Come.”
He walked across the roof. I noticed that laguameacies are clumsy when walking. I suppose it’s cause the feet are made more for swimming than walking.
After walking about a mile across the roof we came to another hole, this one filled with water. The laguameacy dived in, then, before I could follow, appeared again. “There is something strange here,” it chirped.
“I will see.” I said.
I lowered myself in to the water, the laguateeny that had been perched on my shoulder for the walk across the roof, diving in after me. I looked around. I noticed the laguameacy signalling to me, I looked at it, and strangely, even though I’d never even known that laguameacies used hand signals under water, I understood what it was saying. I guess that the signals where imprinted on the brain, like the language.
2 fingers on one hand in a circle with the others bent down meant look, and the finger pointing showed me where to look. I stared through the murky water then, quickly signalled to the other laguameacy. 2 crossed fingers for danger and a finger held perfectly straight, pointing upwards for go up quickly. It swam to the surface, and I followed, to take a breath. I noticed the laguameacies had gills but I didn’t, I needed to surface every so often.
I dived down quickly again and looked at the sleeping creature, all I could see was its head which was encased in a glass bubble. Behind that was a large lump of metal, ending in a propeller. An aqua slig. I recognised it as an ancient prototype. Slow, heavy, and with one big weakness: Once out of water, the glass bulb protecting its head would crack and when it went in again, the vital electric’s would be out of cover, meaning sliggy go boom, boom! I knew what to do.
Well?