Jeanette

Chapter 1 Welcome to Zont

Chapter 01

Welcome to Zont

Down the road came a brightly colored wagon pulled by a colorful black and white paint horse with large puffs of hair around his fetlocks. A youthful looking woman with black and white striped fur covered skin sat on the driver's bench. She had a rather equine head with an erect mane also alternating between black and white. "Hay Patty can you smell that?"

"I can't get away from that smell." A much larger brown and white pinto patterned young woman with a horse's tail and rather horse like head came out to sit next to her smaller companion. "Zelda, what happened here? For anything to smell this bad you'd think there was magic involved, and I should see that. Hatter how can you be so calm?"

The horse pulling the wagon gasped, "I was holding my breath, and you had to go and spoil that!"

"You couldn't have held it forever Hatter," Said Zelda.

Hatter laughed "Zelda have I ever told you that you have the strangest accent."

"Yes, nearly every time we talk. You know I don't speak Sylvan, and you know why."

"Would you two stop bickering? Can either of you see where that smell is coming from?"

"Patty, I can't see any better than you," Said Hatter.

"That bush is dripping with something," Offered Zelda indicating a modest sized bush about thirty paces up a gentle hill from the road.

"Thank the gods. The wind is blowing it away from us."

"Amen to that." Spoke Hatter and Zelda each in their preferred language.

"It must have taken an army of skunks to do that," Continued Zelda.

"There has to be magic involved to make it stink this much up wind. I just don't see it yet. Yes, Hatter you may trot until we get to fresh air," said Patty who was by now on the verge of gagging.

"Yes, please trot," Added Zelda.

It took only a few minutes to get clear of the worst of the horrific smell, but by then all three of them were having trouble keeping their eyes open from the irritation caused by the skunk odor. "I would hate to meet that skunk in a bad mood," offered Patty.

"I don't want to meet him at all," insisted Hatter

After an hour most of it at a casual walk Hatter came to a halt, fifty yards from a bridge. On the bridge railing sat a young woman. Her lightweight blue jacket and white blouse offered no disguise for an almost extreme figure. On her head she had white hair. Her body, what they could see of it, was covered in black fur with white stripes running down through an improbably large tail. She was looking down stream, apparently not aware of their approach.

"Come on Hatter slow and steady," Patty quietly urged.

"Patty! Do you see what direction that tail is pointed? You pull the wagon across the bridge. You're stronger than I am," complained Hatter.

The figure on the bridge moved, but continued to look down stream.

"Don't make any sudden moves we don't want to startle her," cautioned Zelda.

"We can't stay here forever," responded Patty.

"OK let's go back the way we came," added Hatter.

Without looking up the figure on the bridge asked, "What are you looking at?"

Without any hesitation Hatter answered, "The biggest skunk in the world, and the end of breathing as we know it."