Rise of Kings

Chapitre Trois

"Kid! Come on, wake up! We've go training to do!" Memorian shook Skrilliant awake

"Huh, what..?" He asked, blinking and rubbing his eyes with his paws.

"I said come on!" Memorian growled and dragged the quilt off Skrilliant. The cool temperature of the air was enough to wake him up, and he shivered.

"What on earth are we training for?" Skrilliant asked through gritted teeth.

"Come on, you'll find out soon enough!" Memorian barked and motioned to the door, his

tail wagging. Skrilliant sighed halfheartedly and trudged to the doorway, stealing a glare at Memorian.

"Oh, kid you're going to love this!"

As the front door shut behind them, Skrilliant couldn't help but wonder where Memorian was taking him. Oh, don't worry dumb-nut. It's going to be fun, Memorian's thoughts entered Skrilliant's mind. Wonderful, Skrilliant thought bitterly.

Memorian led Skrilliant onward, through the pine forest's dappled shade to a location unknown. As their paws made contact with the fallen pine needles, Memorian couldn't help but wonder as the minutes wore on,

"Hey Skrilliant?"

"Hm?" he replied, his train of thought interrupted.

"Where are you from?" Memorian asked, all hint of humor gone from his tone. The question, though an innocent one, caught Skrilliant off-guard.

"Where am I from?" Skrilliant asked disbelievingly. Memorian turned to look at him and nodded his head. "Why the sudden interest?" he asked, a hint of suspicion lacing his voice.

"I dunno, just wondering," Memorian replied casually.

"Well, er... I came from the outskirts of Jamaa Township, a few years back. You know, back when..."

"Phantoms were still allowed into Jamaa?" Memorian finished.

"Yeah."

"Is that it?" Memorian asked curiously.

"No." Skrilliant replied dryly. After a few more minutes of walking in silence, Skrilliant made it clear that he would say no more.

They continued walking until Memorian stopped suddenly, Skrilliant nearly running into him. In front of them there appeared to be a clump of ferns, but Memorian's broad shoulders made it nearly impossible to see anything past that.

"Move, I can't see!" Skrilliant said, attempting to shove Memorian out of the way.

"Patience, dingus, they'll be here soon enough," Memorian said eagerly. His tail was wagging again, nearly slapping Skrilliant in the face.

"Ugh," Skrilliant growled impatiently. He sat down and looked around at his environment. The pine trees had all but disappeared, and they were surrounded by dogwood and juniper trees. On the ground there were ferns everywhere, and grass grew wild in large clumps. Skrilliant noticed that they were on a trail of some sort, which looked especially worn out. With a start, he recognized where they were.

"Memorian," Skrilliant hissed.

"Hmm?" he tilted his head questioningly.

"Why on earth are we in Jamaa?" Skrilliant asked indignantly.

"Wait and see," He replied happily. Skrilliant sighed in defeat and sat back down. As the minutes passed, Skrilliant grew more and more impatient. After what seemed like an eternity, Skrilliant broke the silence.

"What are we waiting for?" There was no reply. Memorian only twitched his ears and continued watching the clearing past the ferns.

"We're waiting for this," he replied suddenly, and motioned for Skrilliant to have a look. Outside their hiding place, three Jamaasian wolves and a rabbit were walking past on a trail that led out of sight. They were talking amongst themselves. Skrilliant perked his ears and began to decipher what they were saying.

"Do you guys think we'll find any good chests?" the rabbit said. It had a small black dagger and a sunhat on.

"I dunno, they all seem like duds to me," replied a she wolf with light grey and a blue dappled pattern. It held a stone sword and a black glove.

The other two wolves were heavily armored with what appeared to be armor-Of a phantom make. Those items were stolen. Memorian thought to Skrilliant.

How could they have stolen them?

They go on expeditions to see how many phantoms they can kill-the more phantoms, the more money. Sometimes the phantoms will be carrying armor.

Skrilliant recoiled in horror. Why would they do such a thing?!

Memorian shook his head. After a moment, a twisted smile crossed his face. Skrilliant looked at him curiously.

"Wanna go take back what was rightfully ours?" he asked.

Skrilliant looked at Memorian, then back at the Jammers. "But... Kill them? Doesn't that sound a little extreme?" he asked.

"Kid, no war can ever be won without a little bloodshed," he replied, a grim determination in his tone.

Skrilliant shook his head. "But why would I kill those innocent animals? It's not right."

Memorian only stared in disbelief. "Skrilliant, they've killed countless thousands of us. They're anything but innocent."

Skrilliant looked back uncertainly at the Jammers.