Rojuun (25 page)

He slumped in the chair, all four arms
hanging down over the sides of the chairs. Jarrrn Garrrn looked
tired.

“How large are they?” Tathan asked
quietly.

“About as long as a Rojuun is tall and their
legs are each half as long. The legs move in all directions and
they can crawl along the walls of a tunnel, though not the
ceiling.” He made long gesturing motions with his arms that
indicated crawling. “They are not intelligent. They just hunt and
kill and keep killing.”

Tathan was amazed by how expressive a person
could be with an extra set of arms. He considered the information
for a moment with his own arms crossed. “A wizard I worked for in
Dralin liked to talk about the caves of Ryallon. He said it would
be impossible for any creatures to live in the depths, as there’s
no way for breathable air to get down there. Can a human
survive?”

“Did your human wizard ever enter a cave?”
Jarrrn asked with a superior look. “I realize you humans try to be
intelligent and it is cute, but not necessary.” He waved a hand in
dismissal at the concept. “There is plenty of breathable air in the
caverns. Do you understand how air is made, human?”

Tathan was trying hard not to sputter in
outrage at the outright dismissal of human intelligence. “Air isn’t
made, it just exists.”

“Of course you would think that,” Jarrrn
replied with a sigh. “Very well. I will attempt to explain it to
you once, but I will not waste my time again should you prove too
dense or righteous about your own ignorance,” he warned with a
waggle of his finger.

Tathan took a deep breath and exhaled. He
felt Liselle put a hand on his arm to calm him.

“Rojuun, humans, and all living creatures
breathe in one type of air and breathe out another. I won’t go into
technical terms so as not to confuse you or make your head hurt,”
he said with a gracious smile. “What you humans don’t seem to
understand is that plants also breathe in and out.”

Tathan thought that was silly. How could
plants breathe in and out when they didn’t have mouths or noses? He
didn’t say anything about it as he was too angry. Plus, if he was
being honest with himself, he didn’t want to sound ‘dense’.

Jarrrn Garrrn leaned forward with a finger
up to emphasize his point. “Now, this is where it gets tricky. The
air we breathe in is the air plant life breathes out. The air that
plants breathe in is air we breathe out.”

Tathan didn’t know if he believed that, but
he was curious. He liked learning new things, always trying to
figure out for himself if they were true. “Alright,” he said to
show that he was still listening.

The Rojuun continued with a smile. “You
humans seem to like it here above the ground with all the sky above
you,” he said, gesturing above him with one hand to indicate the
sky while pointing at them with another. “You get your breathable
air from vast forests, grasses and plants. There are also many
plants in your oceans that produce breathable air.” He leaned
forward, enjoying the lecture he was giving. “You have more air
than you need, in fact! It fills the sky to great heights.”

Tathan had never considered that the world
could run out of air. It wasn’t a pleasant thought.

“Now, the reason you need to know this is to
help you understand how there is air in the caverns.” Jarrrn Garrrn
took a sip of his wine. “Within the extensive caverns of Ryallon,
there is an abundance of life. There are vast open caves with
plants, animals and even trees.” He gestured to emphasize the size
of the caverns. “Many animals graze while others prey upon them
just as animals do above ground. There are also numerous rivers,
lakes and seas underground. Plants within them also give off
breathable air.” There was a smile on his face as he spoke of his
home. “It is absolutely wonderful to breathe that air.”

Liselle was frowning. “Plants need sunlight
to survive, but there’s no sunlight underground. How do they
grow?”

“Now that is a very good question.” Jarrrn
pointed toward Liselle. “Plants are not the same underground as
they are here. They grow differently, with less color.” He stood
and moved to a potted flower. “I must admit that I love the colors
of your flowers above ground. They are so beautiful.”

The flower was leaning toward Liselle and
even seemed to be happy to see her. Liselle waved at the flower,
smiling, which seemed to please it to no end.

“The flowers underground glow, even the ones
underwater.” A look of divine pleasure crossed Jarrrn’s face as he
closed his eyes to imagine the sight. “Glowing moss covers many
walls and ceilings. And the plants grow from the dirt floor.”

“Dirt floors? I thought it was all rock,”
said Sir Danth.

“No. There is a great deal of dirt. Rivers
wash sediment from above ground throughout the caverns and have
been doing so for as long as Ryallon has existed. There are worms
everywhere that pulverize rock into dirt while plants and animals
return to the soil in death, making it soft and fertile.” As Jarrrn
explained, he moved one hand to the next, then that one to the next
and all the way around in a circle to show each point and how it
affected the others.

Tathan wanted to see the things the Rojuun
described. He felt wanderlust not experienced in a while. “How far
away is Juulla?”

“There are tunnels, but it would take weeks
to get there. I have a teleport portal set up in this house that
connects to my family’s home,” Jarrrn Garrrn said. “If you are
prepared, we can go now. I will take you, introduce you to my
family and give you a place to stay while you work.”

Tathan was almost beginning to like Jarrrn.
The companions were being treated better than most employers had
ever treated him, even if everything was a command. “We’re ready.”
Tathan looked at the rest of the party to see them nod in
agreement. Liselle had wide eyes and a big grin.

“This way then.” Master Garrrn led them
through the door. Liselle brushed her hand gently against the
flower as they followed. Tathan could have sworn the flower
purred.

Chapter
22

The room they entered was large. Four stands
with orbs floating above were set around a large circle on the
floor. Silver runes ran throughout the circle, glowing with energy.
Moonlight illuminated the room through a multi-paned glass dome
above.

Teleport circles were rare and only the most
powerful wizards had them. Tathan had only seen one before and it
was much smaller with space for just one person. This was a grand
room and the circle was large enough for them all to stand in with
room to spare.

Jarrrn Garrrn gestured while making a
multilayered sound with his voices. Magical light globes around the
room began to glow. The four floating orbs above the stands started
to spin rapidly, while the runes in the floor grew bright.

“This is my teleport room. You are to walk
slowly without touching anything,” he warned them. “This room and
the teleport circle took nine years to build. You could damage it
by being careless.”

Tathan noticed that the Rojuun’s hands were
all on knives. He had no doubt Jarrrn Garrrn would do his very best
to kill them should they not agree. “We’ll be extremely careful,
Master Garrrn,” Tathan reassured him.

“Very good,” he replied, relaxing a little.
“I do not normally transport humans, but the distance is great and
the sooner I get you to my home, the better.” He motioned for them
to stay while he went to each of the orbs, making gestures and
chanting in quiet tones.

“I want one of these in my lair,” stated
Vevin. “Oh yes I do! This is wonderful!” The dragon was barely
restraining himself from doing a dance so as not to upset their
employer.

Jarrrn Garrrn still didn’t seem to notice
Vevin as he came back over to the companions. “I will take you to
your place in the circle one at a time. You are to stand completely
still once there.” He motioned for Tathan to follow him first.

Tathan walked slowly behind the Rojuun and
moved to the spot indicated. Liselle and Sir Danth were next. He
placed them all so they were facing back toward the door they had
entered. When it came time to place Vevin, Jarrrn did a double take
before shaking his head as if to clear cobwebs. He led Vevin to his
place in the circle.

Once they were set, Jarrrn strode to the
middle of the circle. He took one last look to see that the
companions were in their correct places. His gaze lingered on Vevin
for an extra moment, who simply stared straight ahead, ignoring the
Rojuun.

“Now we will teleport,” Jarrrn said. “I need
you to keep your minds and bodies as relaxed as possible. It will
feel as though your soul is being held while your body is magically
moved from one place to the next. I will not explain the process,
but rest assured that all will be well.”

Tathan didn’t know what to expect. He took a
deep breath, relaxing his mind and body.

Jarrrn began speaking in the multilayered
tone he had used on the floating orbs. His arms were outstretched
and his head was back. A magical breeze began to flow from in front
of the Rojuun, ruffling a few loose hairs in his braids and blowing
the hem of his robe back. Silver tendrils of power flowed from his
hands out to the orbs. Power gathered around them, spinning down
through channels on the pedestals to the runes within the
circle.

Time slowed for Tathan. Everything became
blurry and then ceased to exist, including his body. There was no
sound, smell, sight, substance or . . . anything. It felt as though
he were in a soft cocoon of nothingness. The universe shifted
around him, but only an infinitesimal amount. He had the impression
that the universe wasn’t aware of him, nor did it care.

Then everything became blurry again and
reappeared. Only they weren’t in the same room. The teleport circle
was still there as were the orbs and pedestals, but the room itself
was different. He looked up and saw a glass paneled dome above
them, but there was no moon or stars, just a soft glow from a
cavern ceiling high above.

“Here we are.” Jarrrn stepped forward out of
the circle. The orbs slowed as the power dimmed. “Take a moment to
compose your thoughts then come forward into the hallway.”

Tathan looked down at his body, holding his
hands out. Everything was where it was supposed to be and felt the
same. Vevin was the first to walk out of the circle, smiling after
the experience. Sir Danth was the next to go, not giving any clue
about his feelings. Liselle took a deep breath and then departed
the circle as well. Tathan followed, joining them in the
hallway.

There were doors along the hallway, each one
with elaborate designs. The floor was made of polished stone,
possibly the stone floor of the cavern. Various paintings lined the
green walls and the ceiling was yellow. Those seemed to be the
family colors.

Jarrrn led them into another sitting room,
more lushly decorated than the one at his house in Puujan, though
the furnishings were of an alien design. It didn’t appear as though
humans had made any of it.

There was another Rojuun sitting in the
room, the first female the party had seen. “This is my wife, Yrrraa
Garrrn,” Jarrrn announced with a gesture. “You will be
exceptionally pleasant to her and greet her with a bow. Do not
touch her as she is not familiar with humans.”

They all bowed and said hello. She nodded to
each in return. Yrrraa was shorter than Jarrrn, reaching his
shoulder. Her features were more delicate. Bright yellow, catlike
eyes peered from a soft brow. Her body was somewhat wider than that
of the male Rojuun they had seen and she had round breasts about
the size of a human’s. She wore robes with yellows, oranges and
reds to highlight her eyes. It would be easy to believe that she
might be considered beautiful by Rojuun standards.

Yrrraa turned to her husband. “They are
rather intimidating, especially the one dressed in metal,” she said
with an awed voice while pointing at Sir Danth. “They are also much
more pleasant than I expected, though you told me they would be,
Husband.” Her voices were lighter with even more variations than
Jarrrn’s.

“Yes, Wife. They are pleasant and it is good
that they are also intimidating. We need strong, dangerous humans
to fight off the sstejj so that we may be free to explore artistic
endeavors.” He put a hand on her shoulder. With another hand, he
gestured to the seats around them. “Sit and be comfortable.”

They sat, with the exception of Sir Danth
who moved to the back of the room to out a window.

“You are now in my home. This is a place you
will treat with respect,” Jarrrn said in his normal commanding
manner. “It is resting time for us as it is for you, though we do
not have night here as you do above the caverns.”

“I cannot imagine what it must be like above
the caverns,” his wife spoke in awed tones. “I would be afraid of
falling into your sky, though I know that to be silly.” She
giggled. One of her voices emitted a normal, girly giggle, but the
other sounded like bells. It was an extraordinary effect.

Jarrrn smiled at his wife and then turned to
them, “I will show you to your quarters in a moment, but my wife
wanted to meet you first.” He tenderly stroked her neck and
shoulder as he spoke to the party. “In the morning I will introduce
you to my sister, Marrraa. She is responsible for defending the
family home. After that, I am leaving to conduct more business in
Puujan.”

Yrrraa pouted. “Must you, Husband?”

“You know I must.” Jarrrn smiled while
stroking her shoulder. “Let me see them to their room after which I
will meet you in ours.”

“Yes, Husband,” she replied, standing. She
ran her two left hands seductively along his chest as she moved
toward the door.