The sun beat down on the team as they walked through the barren desert. No.9 and L.G. trudged on with sweat beating down their faces. Luckily Mortimer was light, but the random shrubs and rocks jutting out from the soil made carrying their homemade stretcher difficult.
"Wake up, Mortimer," Genie Wiz repeated for the third time in ten minutes.
Mortimer's deep pink complexion was fading slightly. He blinked his large round eyes several times before giving Genie Wiz a small smile of thanks.
"Wait a second," Mr. Invent called out as if suddenly remembering something he had forgotten. He hurried over to Mortimer and the stretcher as he rifled through his bag. "Here we go," he exclaimed as he pulled out one of his homemade energy bars. "Try this, Mortimer."
Mortimer took the energy bar and plopped it into his mouth. He chewed the bar slowly and struggled to swallow it down, but once he did his eyelids became less heavy and he appeared to be more alert.
"What was that, sir?"
"Just something to keep you awake," Mr. Invent replied. "Do you feel more awake?"
"Yes, sir. Well, a little. I am so very tired you see."
'Mortimer," Bombshell cut in. "Why don't you tell us some more stories about Sacoy? Maybe talking will keep you awake. You know, if you're up to it."
"I think I can do that, miss," Mortimer replied. "That strange food is making me feel less tired by the minute. Now what story to tell...That is the question."
Mortimer lay there a moment contemplating. While he did so Blonde Bomb checked inside of her bag again to see if Setra was still breathing.
"Invent," she called out. "Do you have any of those bars left? Maybe just a few crumbs?"
Mr. Invent walked over to Blonde Bomb and peeked inside of her bag. His facial expression told everyone that what he saw was not good.
"You know," Mr. Invent said in a low voice. "I do have a few poison capsules...I always bring them in case I'm captured or being tortured...It might be more helpful to put him out of his misery Blonde."
"Invent!" Blonde Bomb replied back in disgust. "I want to keep him alive! Now, do you have any more of your energy bars or not?"
Mr. Invent pulled out another one of his bars, broke off a small chunk, and handed it over to Blonde Bomb.
"I'm sorry," he said as he dropped the chunk into her hand. "Only trying to help."
"Thank you," Blonde Bomb replied back coldly.
"Ahh," Mortimer suddenly replied after being deep in thought. "I have just the tale for you all."
"Let's hear it Mortimer," L.G. replied as he stepped over a jagged rock.
"This desert wasn't always a desert," Mortimer began. "It was once one of the largest villages in Sacoy with over 200,000 Ublegs and other creatures living together peaceably. I lived here myself when I was barely three feet high. Me, my father, and my mother. One morning, after the eating of the first meal, my father told me to go out into the meadow and pick Snickberries for Snickberry tea. The meadow was just over a large hill on the outskirts of the village and was always full of Snickberries at that time of the Cycle. So I did as me father said and went to the meadow and picked a bucketful of Snickberries like any normal day. Only that day something was different. There weren't a sound in the meadow at all. No Tribbit croaks, no buzzing about or swallow songs. I didn't think anything of that until much later..."
Mortimer stopped briefly and hung his head low. There seemed to be something troubling him and sadness was written all over his face.
"Are you alright Mortimer?" No.9 asked directly above Mortimer.
"Ah, sorry sir." he replied. "It's just looking back...I should have known."
"What happened next Mortimer?" Genie Wiz pressed gently.
"I started to walk back to the village," Mortimer went on. "When I reached the top of the hill I saw something I hope to never see again. People were screaming, young ones were crying, and the strong were trying to fend off one of the worst beasts in all of Sacoy: the Nolwelt."
Everyone walked on in silence as they listened to Mortimer describe the scene. A Nolwelt, he explained to them, was like a giant, green, flying troll. It's strength was unmatched by any other in the village as it swooped down to wreak havoc.
"They were believed to be extinct before that day," Mortimer continued. "We all believed that the Deltoids had driven them away forever. Now we know at least one of them survived."
Mortimer went on to explain the fight with the Norwelt. Ublegs were a peaceful people, he explained to them, and weren't known to be fierce in battle. The Norwelt was praying on the weak for no reason other than total annihilation. Fortunately, a warlocks guild was stationed in the village.
"After half of the men had fell," Mortimer breathed out, "the warlocks had managed to come to our aid. They hurled spell after spell at the Norwelt, but he continued to destroy the village. Eventually my dad found me on the hill and took me away to safety. But my mother..."
Mortimer trailed off again and stared down at his feet laying lamely on the stretcher.
"That sounds awful, Mortimer," Genie Wiz said, laying her hand gently on Mortimer's shoulder as she walked in time with the stretcher.
"I heard later," Mortimer said softly, choking back on tears, "that more than half of the warlocks died before they could drive the Norwelt away. Only four survived. They used their strongest fire spells to burn off his wings. But they burned everything for miles around in the process. Then they brought in a great frost to freeze the Norwelt's blood and slow him down. But they killed all of the plants and animals too."
"How did you and your father escape all of that?" L.G. cut in.
"Oh this was days later, sir," Mortimer replied. "The warlocks fought the Norwelts for an entire week, without rest, before they used devastating spells. I'm thankful for what they did, but not everyone feels the same way, you see. Some of those who survived the attack feel the warlocks went too far and that they destroyed an entire region for no reason. I say those people are fools if you ask me!"
"I'm with you Mortimer," No.9 agreed. "It's sad that the village and the meadow and all of this was turned into a desert...but what choice did they have?"
"Quite right, sir," Mortimer said, nodding his head in firm agreement. "That is the story of The Weeping Desert and the destruction of Baghdol my friends. Every Ubleg knows it or remembers the events themselves. It's sadness is only bested by the capture of the Deltoids."
"Thank you for sharing that with us, Mortimer," said No.9. "I'm sure it was difficult for you to talk about, but I'm glad we know more about you, your people, and Sacoy now."
"Wake up, Mortimer," Genie Wiz repeated for the third time in ten minutes.
Mortimer's deep pink complexion was fading slightly. He blinked his large round eyes several times before giving Genie Wiz a small smile of thanks.
"Wait a second," Mr. Invent called out as if suddenly remembering something he had forgotten. He hurried over to Mortimer and the stretcher as he rifled through his bag. "Here we go," he exclaimed as he pulled out one of his homemade energy bars. "Try this, Mortimer."
Mortimer took the energy bar and plopped it into his mouth. He chewed the bar slowly and struggled to swallow it down, but once he did his eyelids became less heavy and he appeared to be more alert.
"What was that, sir?"
"Just something to keep you awake," Mr. Invent replied. "Do you feel more awake?"
"Yes, sir. Well, a little. I am so very tired you see."
'Mortimer," Bombshell cut in. "Why don't you tell us some more stories about Sacoy? Maybe talking will keep you awake. You know, if you're up to it."
"I think I can do that, miss," Mortimer replied. "That strange food is making me feel less tired by the minute. Now what story to tell...That is the question."
Mortimer lay there a moment contemplating. While he did so Blonde Bomb checked inside of her bag again to see if Setra was still breathing.
"Invent," she called out. "Do you have any of those bars left? Maybe just a few crumbs?"
Mr. Invent walked over to Blonde Bomb and peeked inside of her bag. His facial expression told everyone that what he saw was not good.
"You know," Mr. Invent said in a low voice. "I do have a few poison capsules...I always bring them in case I'm captured or being tortured...It might be more helpful to put him out of his misery Blonde."
"Invent!" Blonde Bomb replied back in disgust. "I want to keep him alive! Now, do you have any more of your energy bars or not?"
Mr. Invent pulled out another one of his bars, broke off a small chunk, and handed it over to Blonde Bomb.
"I'm sorry," he said as he dropped the chunk into her hand. "Only trying to help."
"Thank you," Blonde Bomb replied back coldly.
"Ahh," Mortimer suddenly replied after being deep in thought. "I have just the tale for you all."
"Let's hear it Mortimer," L.G. replied as he stepped over a jagged rock.
"This desert wasn't always a desert," Mortimer began. "It was once one of the largest villages in Sacoy with over 200,000 Ublegs and other creatures living together peaceably. I lived here myself when I was barely three feet high. Me, my father, and my mother. One morning, after the eating of the first meal, my father told me to go out into the meadow and pick Snickberries for Snickberry tea. The meadow was just over a large hill on the outskirts of the village and was always full of Snickberries at that time of the Cycle. So I did as me father said and went to the meadow and picked a bucketful of Snickberries like any normal day. Only that day something was different. There weren't a sound in the meadow at all. No Tribbit croaks, no buzzing about or swallow songs. I didn't think anything of that until much later..."
Mortimer stopped briefly and hung his head low. There seemed to be something troubling him and sadness was written all over his face.
"Are you alright Mortimer?" No.9 asked directly above Mortimer.
"Ah, sorry sir." he replied. "It's just looking back...I should have known."
"What happened next Mortimer?" Genie Wiz pressed gently.
"I started to walk back to the village," Mortimer went on. "When I reached the top of the hill I saw something I hope to never see again. People were screaming, young ones were crying, and the strong were trying to fend off one of the worst beasts in all of Sacoy: the Nolwelt."
Everyone walked on in silence as they listened to Mortimer describe the scene. A Nolwelt, he explained to them, was like a giant, green, flying troll. It's strength was unmatched by any other in the village as it swooped down to wreak havoc.
"They were believed to be extinct before that day," Mortimer continued. "We all believed that the Deltoids had driven them away forever. Now we know at least one of them survived."
Mortimer went on to explain the fight with the Norwelt. Ublegs were a peaceful people, he explained to them, and weren't known to be fierce in battle. The Norwelt was praying on the weak for no reason other than total annihilation. Fortunately, a warlocks guild was stationed in the village.
"After half of the men had fell," Mortimer breathed out, "the warlocks had managed to come to our aid. They hurled spell after spell at the Norwelt, but he continued to destroy the village. Eventually my dad found me on the hill and took me away to safety. But my mother..."
Mortimer trailed off again and stared down at his feet laying lamely on the stretcher.
"That sounds awful, Mortimer," Genie Wiz said, laying her hand gently on Mortimer's shoulder as she walked in time with the stretcher.
"I heard later," Mortimer said softly, choking back on tears, "that more than half of the warlocks died before they could drive the Norwelt away. Only four survived. They used their strongest fire spells to burn off his wings. But they burned everything for miles around in the process. Then they brought in a great frost to freeze the Norwelt's blood and slow him down. But they killed all of the plants and animals too."
"How did you and your father escape all of that?" L.G. cut in.
"Oh this was days later, sir," Mortimer replied. "The warlocks fought the Norwelts for an entire week, without rest, before they used devastating spells. I'm thankful for what they did, but not everyone feels the same way, you see. Some of those who survived the attack feel the warlocks went too far and that they destroyed an entire region for no reason. I say those people are fools if you ask me!"
"I'm with you Mortimer," No.9 agreed. "It's sad that the village and the meadow and all of this was turned into a desert...but what choice did they have?"
"Quite right, sir," Mortimer said, nodding his head in firm agreement. "That is the story of The Weeping Desert and the destruction of Baghdol my friends. Every Ubleg knows it or remembers the events themselves. It's sadness is only bested by the capture of the Deltoids."
"Thank you for sharing that with us, Mortimer," said No.9. "I'm sure it was difficult for you to talk about, but I'm glad we know more about you, your people, and Sacoy now."
