Chapter 7

A gift from the Underground

I dreamt of going to down to the plains in the south where there are buffalo and wide open fields. I tried the new claws, sneaking up on a single unsuspecting Buffalo. It was chewing on a recently bitten off piece of grass in the field.

I looked around to see if there where any other buffalo around. None. I took a breath, ready to lunge, I checked my claws, they were wide open, my new enhancement shining

I lunged, two lunges and I was on top of the buffalo, riding it as it darted off. I rode it trying to get to the neck. He was thrashing and darting side to side. I had to grip into it’s thick fur with my claws so I didn’t fall off.

The fur was too thick. The only thing that kept me on were the steel claws, five time the length of my own.

I couldn’t stay on, not with all this movement. I dropped, letting my quarry get away.

I sat there on the ground where I was, thinking of another way to tackle these buffalo and get them back home. Maybe a corral, round them up and herd them back home.

I can see the forest from here. I know I’m close. But not close at all. I don’t even know how to get back.

Maybe there was another way, wait for them to come to me then lunge in at the neck, digging a few inches of steel into their arteries and let them bleed out. But then how would I get the meat back home.

I sat there thinking for a while longer. A mole came out of the ground, a little guy, blindly searching upwards and finding that the midday sunlight was on top of him.

Maybe moles would be good banquet food though.

He came out of his hole, seemingly looking for me, and once he recognized who I was he grew and grew into just about the same size as me.

“Dawn?”

I hesitated, “Yes?”

“Dawn!” He yelled and went back to his hole, yelling down that he’s found me. “We’ve heard that you were around so now that I’ve found you I must bring you to my king.”

“Your king?”

“Yes, my King. He is King Monty of the underground kingdom. He is the one who sent me. He is waiting!”

“How do I get there?”

“By tunnels of course.”

“But I don’t think that hole will allow me to—.”

He stopped me and pulled me down the tunnel. I guess I did fit, it was a tight squeeze, but he said that’s normal, “Most tunnels aren’t that big, until you get into the city. When you see the kingdom, you might as well think you’re above ground.”

“How far is it?” I asked.

“Not long, you weren’t too far out of the city limits to begin with, and we should be able to see the city soon.”

“But I can’t see anything at all as it is.”

“Hmm, I guess that’s true, you haven’t trained you eyes well enough.”

“I can see fine, but there’s no light at all down here.”

“Don’t worry, you won’t have to see much anyways, you only have to listen to the wonderful vastness when we get there. You’ll see. When you don’t have to see, you can see everything in a new perspective, it’s almost better without eyes anyways. I never use them.”

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I didn’t know what to say to that, even if it did make sense. Maybe I’ll have to learn and just train my eyes in this pitch black darkness.

“We’re in the city now.” He told me, allowing me to stand up. I checked, putting a hand up to check the ceiling, and it was there, I could reach the ceiling. What vastness.

His faithfulness of me being able to see without eyes was nearly true, I could almost see everything that was going on, without seeing anything. Different voices over there, another group chatting over here.

I stubbed my toe on a rock.

Really I didn’t see anything. It was pitch black, not even a fire to light up a thing.

He lead me through the city, a long winding route all the way through. I had to hold on to his tail so I wouldn’t lose him, he allowed that. I could hear the cautious voices of others around me. It wasn’t in a language I understood, but I could hear their tones were quite skeptical about a Feline being in their personal quarters. I even heard some screams and some jump out of fright that I had arrived, but my guide led me the way through and told them something that made them sigh in relief. “A hero,” they said, but I wouldn’t know if it was about me or him.

A few more minutes of walking and we had arrived and the center of the city where apparently the kingdom was and where Monty, the king, is waiting for me. Yet I wouldn’t really know, as I definitely can’t see anything.

“Just this way." He said as he led me further. “These are the gardens. You can smell them. They smell lovely, don’t you think?”

I could smell them, a very aromatic smell of moss and lichen and a few others rooty smells. “They smell nice.” I told him, trying to not upset. Yet it wasn’t a lie, it wasn’t bad, but nothing that compares to the smell of the gardens Celentine and I have at the Temple.

We had made it up the slope that took us to the castle and up to see King Monty.

More tour like phrases came from my guide as he led us through the dark maze. “This tunnel leads to the tombs of past kings for thousands of years past… This tunnel leads to the king and queen’s banquet hall… These are photos of them, they’re quite stunning aren’t they. The colors…”

He rambled on and on as we completed more and more of the maze.

How is it that he can remember everything that is here?

I guess it’s the same as I know where everything is in my village, even in the dark, yet I can still see where things are.

Maybe it’s his sense of smell and sound that makes him recognize what is around him.

“And this,” his voice booming though the small corridor, “is the door to King Monty himself!”

He knocked a couple of times and the sound echoed all around.

I heard door open and he led me in.

“Your majesty, this is Dawn, I have brought her here for you to see as you have requested.”

“Thank you dear esquire, your work is beautifully on time and you didn’t skip a beat on bringing her here for me. Your good work shall be praised by the Gods and you shall feast well tonight. For it is a good day for us all here in the underground kingdom!”

“Thank you, your royalty, King Monty.”

“Now, Dawn. We have some business and maybe some papers to sign. Yes? I’d like to make it all legal.”

He laughed. “Joking. No papers for this transaction. It will be legal enough, you shall see.”

“Thank you King Monty.” I replied. “And what is it that I am supposed to agree to?”

“Well, what you ask for, is something that you already do have, it is just a matter of giving it to you, and though it may be hard for you to grab it you shall get it once you do.”

I didn’t quite get it. “What?”

“The time will come darling.”

“Well ok, and how am I to get it. I can’t see too well down here, is there any lights we could turn on?”

“No lights, I’m afraid. See, we can see without the lights, its a different way of seeing and really a better way than anyone. Just a secret to us in the underground. But! You will come to see soon.”

He led me off down another tunnel and by the sound of it there were quite a few sentries escorting him and I as we went.

“What you see here are various tombs and relics of the past and though you may want many of them there is only one that your Ares and Xeres had left for you. They had made sure that we keep it safe for you down here as, truly, nothing is safe up there.”

I imagined him pointing upwards with his finger.

“And, truly, this is one of the oldest relics that we have and you are very lucky to get to have it. The relics you are passing by now are new to us, old to this world and even older than this world. But, their uses and knowledge to us are scant and are merely waiting for their true purpose to arise, or the decay of the very thing itself. The thing I can tell you is that anything down here is safe with us.”

He led me further and further. From what I could tell, we had been going downwards ever since I had stepped into the castle. I must be reaching the center of the earth by now.

“Here we are now, Dawn. The precious Stone of the Felines, my dear. For you. Here. Take it. Dawn, over here. No. Closer, closer, reach out. Grab it.”

I found it and suddenly the whole world came alive in the most brilliant colors, darkness had turned to light and sounds turned into voices. As distinct as daylight.

Everything was as bright as the morning sun just as I was back in my room, sprawled out in my bed, my new weapon of claws still laying beside me. I looked around, I must have slept through the whole night. I definitely felt well rested.