The Monster hunt

Writers: Chelle, Emma, Paula
Date Posted: 11th August 2009

Characters: Reyela, Ondiah, Tamon, Werenn, Kerrana, Diamah
Description: The hunt for the Weyr's monster doesn't turn out as planned.
Location: River Bluff Weyr
Date: month 4, day 4 of Turn 5

"Are we set to go?" Tamon asked. The boy had selected himself as a
leader of this expedition. He had repeated his father's story of the
Weyr's monster to some of their friends and they had decided to go and
look for it.

"I'm ready." Kerrana grinned. This could be fun.

"We are ready," Ondiah replied for herself and her little sister.

Frankly Tamon would have preferred to leave the youngest one off from
this adventure, but she threatened to make a noise and alarm their
parents if she was left behind. "I got a few glows in pocket," Ondiah
said, always the sensible one.

"Right. Since the hidden lake is supposted be beneath the weyr, we
start from the corridors behind the kitchens. There are stairs down
there. That means sneaking past the kitchen without anyone seeing us,"
Tamon said.

"So we need to be quiet?"

"Very quiet," Tamon affirmed and gestured the to start moving. He felt
an excitement fluttering in his belly.

"You're all stupid," Reyela felt she should point that out. "There's
no such thing as a monster, our Da and Grandda would know if there was
one."

"Well don't come then," Kerrana shot back before anyone could reply.
"We're not scared of what we might find."

"It's not the monster, it's the adventure of hunting for one. Even if
it doesn't exist," Ondiah explained, sounding much older than her
seven turns.

"I'm coming with you Ondiah," Kerrana glared at her sister. "Even if
the scaredy feline here won't."

"Come ON!" Tamon was getting angry and frustrated with them "Stupid
girls," he muttered.

"Well I'm ready." Kerrana marched herself over to Tamon and Ondiah.

"Come or come not, I'm going," Tamon growled and started to stamp
towards the kitchens. After few feets, he glanced backwards to see who
was coming.

Werenn had been spending her freetime after chores with Reyela. The
Weyrbrat had been curious at first about the monster stories. After
some thinking, she thought it was stupid. Still, it wouldn't be good
to let the little kids go alone right? "Well hurry up, we haven't got
all day."

"Come on then Tamon!" Kerrana yelled. "Let's move."

They snuck past the kitchens. Luckily, that staff was too busy in
their food preparations to notice the string of children, even if they
didn't quite manage to be that quiet. Then they were on the stairs
that led downwards. There were kitchen stores there, that much Tamon
knew. The stuff they needed to keep cold.

"Reyela..if you were a monster, would you live under a Weyr?" Werenn
had never really met a monster.. She'd met dragons aplenty but they
were good. Careful, she watched as she walked, stepping down the
stairs.

"What? When there are all these dragons about?" snorted Reyela.

"Dad said it is a giant tunnelsnake. There's plenty of tunnelsnakes
living in the Weyr," Ondiah said.

They walked past closed doors. Out of curiosity, Tamon looked in one
of the rooms. He was greeted with a blast of cold air that turned into
a steam around him. He realized he was staring into a whole, skinned
carcass of an ovine hanging from the roof. Despite the fact he knew
well where his food come from and he had seen dragons eat many times,
the sight unsettled him. He closed the door. "Just food stuff," he
murmured as an answer to the girls' questioning expression.

"Frozen herdbeast," Reyela said to Werenn.

She'd seen butchered meat before, having worked her chores in the
kitchens at times, so Werenn simply nodded. A giant tunnelsnake..she'd
seen giant felines, so maybe it *was* possible. And dragons were just
big flits right? Gulping, she grabbed Reyela's hand and walked along
with her.

They walked on, until the main corridor ended into a solid stonewall.
They returned backwards, and took another corridor from an
intersection. After this had happened few times, Ondiah pulled his
brother's shirt to make him stop. "Do you have any idea where we are?"
she asked.

"Umh," Tamon hesitated and realized he had lost track of their
progress. How many times they had turned? The place they were looked
unused, with dust on the floor and spinner webs hanging in corners.

"No sign of a monster here." Reyela sounded like she was about to say
'I told you so.' "C'mon, Tamon, admit your Da just told you a scary
story."

"Perhaps," Tamon muttered.

Tired Diamah just suddenly plopped down on her rear and started to
wail. "I don't want to walk, I wanna mama!"

"Maybe we should go back?" suggested Keranna.

"That's the best idea today," Ondiah replied and tried to get her little
sister to calm down.

Werenn sighed and walked over to Diamah. "Do you want me to carry you
then?" She reached her arms out, already wishing she was back at her
Auntie's, eating sweetmeats.

"Tamon can carry her, he's the big brave boy," Ondiah's glance towards
her brother and tone were quite nasty.

"Let Tamon do it," Reyela said.

"No, I'll carry her. Tamon, you get us out of here." Showing a rare
side of her, Werenn grabbed up Diamah and stood there, waiting. She
was tired of this adventure and was hungry.

"Okay, this way," Ondiah said, taking charge, since her brother didn't
seem to have a clue where they was.

"Didn't we go that way on the way down here?" Keranna pointed to her left.

"I don't think it matters as long as we go up." That made sense right?
Reaching a hand up to soothe Diamah, Werenn looked to Reyela.

"We passed on our way here stairs up," Ondiah said. The adventure was
turning out to be a boring one. No monsters, just miles and miles of
dusty, empty corridors.

"Up is good, once we get to ground level we can find our way out,"
commented Reyela.

Werenn followed the troop as they backtracked and headed up the stairs. She
really hoped they weren't too far down. She didn't think she could carry
Diamah too much longer.

When they reached the top of the stairs, they were greeted with a blast
of moist air and steam clouds. "I know where we are now!" Tamon
exclaimed. "We're near the laundry! Egg, we just crossed the whole
lower cavern beneath it."

"Thank Faranth," Werenn muttered under her breath and hoisted Diamah up
further on her small hip.

"Yeah," Ondiah sighed. She had been really worried for a while. "I bet
our fostermums are frantic with worry."

"My Da would skin us alive," joked Reyela.

For some reason, that thought scared Tamon more than the getting lost did.

"Ohhh don't tell him! He's my Da's Wingleader.." Werenn didn't want to get
*her* Daddy in trouble.

"I won't tell him," Kerrana said. She hated the thought of someone else
getting in trouble.

"Good. Now, let's just go home, okay?" Tamon sighed.

Last updated on the August 16th 2009

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