"I don't want to do it anymore, SkekNa"
came a voice on the light breeze.
"I can't go to the Gathering.
I won't."
"Hhhhahhh.. I knew you were a spy," said
another voice. Tyrin instantly
recognized it as the Hunter's.
"Shhh, SkekMal! You will not harm my spies, or I will make sure the Emperor
will have your essence, may his beak be ever bent." This voice was higher, like a constant
whine. "If I have to come out
to save a spy from you again, I'll-"
"I didn't know she was a spy, you
slavegrinder," the Hunter growled.
There was a pause, then the whining voice
continued. "Gelfling, you
will show me what this Gathering is.
Or do you not care for your brother or father?"
"Oh please, don't hurt them! You've had Renn for so long. Please let him go, at least. I've done everything you've asked of me!" Tyrin was sure that the voice belonged
to Morra. He crept along the
ground until he saw movement, then stayed low and still.
Standing in a clearing was the Hunter, idly picking
at Minn's torn crystalweave cloak.
In front of him stood another Skeksis adorned in ill-fitting leather
armor that was worn over an old yellow robe. Around his neck was a large black frill of feather and bone,
rising over his back like a hump.
Although he was smaller than the Hunter, he still towered over Morra,
whose arm he kept in a tight grip.
At his side, a cadre of balding creatures stood near a litter that was
covered in finery. It was obvious
that they had been carrying the smaller Skeksis upon it. The creatures weren't even half as tall
as their master and were round in feature, with white, spiritless eyes. Tyrin had seen podlings before, but
never like this. It was as if their
spirits had been broken along with their minds.
"You will not be taking any gelflings from me,
SkekNa. Do not forget that I am in
the Emperor's favor. Hhhhhe fears
me almost as much as you do," the Hunter said and pushed at SkekNa's chest
in defiance. SkekNa pushed back.
"You just lost four gelflings, SkekMal. You're starting to slip. The Emperor's favor won't last
forever," SkekNa retorted with a menacing sneer and pressed his beak so
close to SkekMal's that they nearly touched. "I hear SkekUng has nearly completed
his newest creations, something that can gather dozens of podlings at once and can't betray the Emperor. They look promising."
SkekMal's furs and feathers rose and bristled in anger,
but only briefly. He pulled away
from the smaller Skeksis and fell silent.
"Please," Morra begged. "Let my brother Renn go! You can have me instead!"
SkekNa pushed her roughly to the ground. "Why would I want you? I need to know why the gelflings are
gathering, and you are going to be the one to show me," he said, his voice
getting deeper and more menacing.
"Whether you like it or not." SkekNa reached one of his hands out and opened it. A small, black creature that looked
like a piece of fuzz jumped from it and landed on Morra. Small, wiry legs gripped at her
clothing, keeping it in place.
"My spyeye will see everything you do," SkekNa said. "When this Gathering is over, it
will return to me."
Morra grabbed at the spyeye frantically and pulled it
off. The moment it touched the
ground, it jumped back at her and attached itself once again. She used both hands to swat at it, but
to no avail. As swiftly as she
could pull it off, it would simply return to her as effortlessly as a leaf
blowing in the wind. After a
moment, she settled down in defeat.
The Hunter tilted his head up and sniffed at the
air. "I smell prey," he
said.
"You smell nothing! You will take the gelflings you already have to the
castle," SkekNa told him.
"Leave the others. Or
do I need to remind you of what happens to those who take potential essence
from the Emperor?"
SkekMal pushed his finger into SkekNa's chest. "I will go, but you will do well
to remember whhhho you are talking to.
You don't want to walk into a trap, do you?" he said, then left the
others and quickly vanished into the forest. SkekNa ran a hand around his neck with a look of dread on
his face. When he saw Morra still
sitting on the ground in submission, he pulled a whip out and snapped it near
her.
"Move, gelfling!" Morra got to her feet in an instant and ran into the woods as
SkekNa clambered onto the litter. The podlings all labored at their posts to
lift him, but with impatience, SkekNa snapped the whip at them. "Now, slaves! Move now!" They started off into the trees with
the ever-present threats of their master over them.
It didn't take long for Tyrin to find where Morra gone. She lay on the ground near a stream,
sobbing. Even when he approached,
she didn't move.
"Morra, I didn't know," he said in a soft,
soothing voice, sitting down beside her.
She looked up at him with terror on her face. "Oh Tyrin. You saw it, didn't you?" she said,
bringing her legs up so she could hug her knees. Tyrin nodded to her.
"I just don't know what to do, Tyrin. They have my brother.
And now they have my father."
She leaned against Tyrin as he put his arm around her. "Why are you so nice to me? I'm a traitor. I've betrayed everyone."
"I think you've been through enough, Morra." Her wings fluttered a little and she
rubbed at her eyes with the back of her hand. "I don't blame you; you did what you thought you had to
do to save your family," Tyrin said.
"You don't know how hard it's been, living with
the secret that I caused Renn's capture, that I was spying on my clan all that
time. I wish I could trade my life
for theirs."
"Well you can't. So don't worry about things like that. Just focus on what you can do."
Morra sat up and looked at him. "Tyrin, it's been so long since
I've dared to dreamfast with anyone, but I need to let someone know. I can't keep this inside any
longer. Will you?" He nodded to her and took her hand.
Images of the other's life flooded through their
minds. Morra saw how Tyrin had
never known a family, but made a family out of those he met on the road. He had made many friends, but never
held any of them very close. Tyrin
saw scenes from Morra's past. She
used to love playing with her brother, taunting him with her wings. She was an instigator. She goaded Renn on. That's how he got her to sneak into the
forbidden ruins that lay a day's travel from their home. They found a Skeksis performing
some dark ritual to create armored monstrosities, but they were
discovered. Renn was forced to
become a slave while Morra returned home, clandestinely sending reports of her
clan back to SkekNa in hopes that her cooperation would result in her brother's
release. When the dreamfast ended,
she looked both relieved and sad.
"Now you know," she told him.
He smiled at her with that same friendliness that he
always shared. "Yes. And now I think we need to get back to
the others. You're the last of the
Vapra convoy, the only one who can represent them. You have to go, even with that… thing watching you. Where is it?"
Morra shrugged.
"I guess it's hiding, now.
Do you think it's safe?
Should I let everyone know?" she asked. Tyrin nodded to her.
"That would probably be wise. I have a feeling that the less the
Skeksis know, the better it is for us.
Come on. You'll feel better
after we get some food and find our friends."
A small smile formed on her lips. "Thank you, Tyrin," she said
and rose to her feet. They walked
off together, hand in hand.
Neither of them noticed the peymakan was crawling
away from them. In its needle-like
beak it carried the fuzzy spyeye, its limbs hanging loosely. The peymakan crawled up a tree and onto
a dark, long branch, which curled into a bony hand. SkekMal emerged from his hiding place and brought his pet
close. He took the spyeye, then
crushed it in his strong grip.
When he dropped it, it remained still. SkekMal the Hunter wheezed for a moment, his eyes fixed on
the gelflings as they walked away.
This concludes my entry to the Dark Crystal Author Quest. I hope you enjoyed it!
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