The Forgotten Land of Myria

ANGUS

I had staggered back until I was pressed against the walls of the cave.

“Oh, don’t tell me you’re scared of them,” Isabelle giggled. “They aren’t fierce, just a bit shy.”

The two pairs of eyes belonged to two children. It may seem pathetic, but I had every right to be scared. They had wild, matted hair, callosity-covered hands and feet; and misshapen jaws that held elongated canines, made for ripping flesh apart. Not to mention those blood-thirsty predator eyes.

They did as well have arms and legs, but they didn’t quite use them normally. They sat on their haunches like mutts, but with fully formed arms and legs--not polio.

They were two human kids with very few human things about them. Besides the similar primitive characteristics, I could obviously tell one was a boy and one was a girl--they were naked. Only mildly covered by fur collars and some natural fiber wound into armbands, but other than that, completely exposed. The boy tilted his head much like a dog would do when confused. The girl, however, didn’t seem at all interested in friendly affairs. She made sure to show me how sharp her teeth were.

Finally, Isabelle decided to break the ice. “How silly of me not to introduce you! Tanya, Zeff, meet...Err, what’s your name again? I only know you as Mr. Dead Serious. Hihihi!”

“A--Angus. Angus Harper.”

“Tanya, Zeff, meet Angus Harper.” Isabelle turned quickly towards me. “Now hold out your hand.”

“Um...I’m not sure if--”

“Do it!” she hissed. “And don’t hesitate! They’ll know if you’re scared.”

Trying not to quiver, I extended my hand and the boy immediately clambered towards me, his knuckles scraping the floor. At a foot’s length from my fingers, he stopped, leaned forward, and sniffed my hand. His nose and ears then twitched, and he finally extended both of his hands, wrapping his long fingers over mine. He bowed his head and said some sort of gibberish that probably meant “My name is Zeff”.

Zeff took a few steps back and gestured to his sister. She still wore an unfavorable frown but ended up trudging towards me as well, repeating the same movements as her brother. They now sat attentively, staring at me, as if waiting for orders.

“Where did they learn to communicate like that?” I asked Isabelle.

She pointed at herself in response, fluttering her sparkled wings in pride, but my questions weren’t over.

“You’ve known them for a while? How long? I thought you’d just been summoned!”

“Oh, err...no, that’s quite a long story, hihihi!”

“Well, I don’t have much time, so just give me the highlights.”

“Well, there’s a lot more you need to know!” she turned her focus to Tanya and Zeff, gesturing.

“Isabelle,” I spoke deliberately so that she would understand. “You were summoned to help me.”

The nixie flickered to a halt, putting me on my back foot. Her strict face melted into a maternal softness, as she glided towards me. She landed sidesaddle on my nose, delicately crossing her ankles as she tapped her temples.

“Poor boy,” she sighed. “You still haven’t left the cave.”

Before I could say anything else, Isabelle quickly sprung off my nose and started gibbering away with the feral children.

“What--what are you telling them?” I asked.

The twins nodded and chattered back. Once she was done, she hiccuped and cleared her throat.

“I told them you’re lost and you need to find your friends. They said they might just know where they are. You might want to hear this.”

“Well?” I said, urging for more information. She turned to them and they began gesturing and mumbling, while she translated.

“Okay, err...five! There are five of them! Well, four humans...they’re saying one of the five is a furry creature with long ears.”

Banebee!

My heart raced with excitement, but I had a second thought.

Why are there only four?

More gesturing and brandishing.

“H--how do they look? I need to know!”

“Hold it!” she squeaked. “Clearly they don’t know how to describe it...”

“Now what?”

“Fine! geez, you’re so demanding!” Isabelle jingled. She then crossed her twig-like legs in mid-air, in a meditation pose.

“Sorry, I guess, I just--”

“Shhh!” she cut me off. She closed her eyes and tapped her fingers across her forehead. Instantly, the twins were struck still, their faces wiped blank with their fearsome yellow eyes shot wide open. Isabelle began speaking softly, eyes shut.

“Ohh, I see.”

“What do you see? Are you hypnotizing them?”

“SHH! There are two girls. One has red hair and gray eyes.”

“Safira,” I muttered. “Go on...”

“The other girl is...woahh, this one’s pretty!”

“Is she angelically-featured with golden angel hair? Like an angel?”

“Yes, she’s yellow-haired--but are those tribal marks on her arm? Have you seen those? Neat!”

As a matter of fact, I hadn’t...tribal marks? On her arms? Isabelle’s head bobbed around as if following the marks.

“Does she draw those every day?”

“I--dunno. I’ve never seen them...Who else is there?” I asked.

“Okay...umm, there is a boy.” She squinted. “A strange boy. Oh, he’s terribly ugly. Tall, skinny, black hair, and nasty eyes.”

“That would be Eulisses. And where are they exactly?”

Isabelle wrinkled her nose, repulsed.

“Oof...”

“Ahem...who else? You said there were four humans.”

Isabelle’s expression went glum, something unusual for her nature.

“What is it? What do you see?”

“Err...” she stumbled upon words, eyes still shut, clearly reluctant to reveal whatever she was seeing. “This one’s in trouble. Wait, they’re not carrying weapons anymore. Oh...”

“Who? Who’s in trouble? Describe it!” Her eyes shot open and Tanya and Zeff instantly regained consciousness and began wildly shaking their heads, like something had gotten stuck in there. Isabelle approached them and, with a snap of her fingers, got their attention back.

“Wha--Listen, I demand an answer as to what’s going on.

“Where are my friends?”

Isabelle muttered something else, threw a few gestures, and the twins nodded. Finally, they stood up. Straight. Like humans.

Isabelle wheeled at me. “Go get your bag. We’re leaving now.”

She didn’t wait for a response to take off.

“Wait! Where are we going? You haven’t even finished--”

“Didn’t I say they would help you? I’ve seen where your friends are and it’s not the best place to be. Apparently, there was a fire and as they tried to escape they were caught by the gnomes. Now come on!”

Zeff snarled in agreement.

I must admit I was relieved, yet hesitant. I brushed off some of the dirt from my garments and slung my knapsack over my head, strapping the Ocarina neatly to my waist.

“Ready!” I called out, “Now where are we going? Is there even a way out?”

“Quit it with the questions!” Isabelle snapped, in a tone she had yet to use. At that moment, Tanya had crawled to the cave’s ceiling and, in a split second, disappeared into a thin-almost invisible--opening that I hadn’t noticed before. Zeff prepared to do the same.

“Just follow their lead!”