Visions II: To Save an Ogrin - Part Two

     The door to his room slid open and Nil stood from the ground as the medic came out. Anshu nodded to her. “He’ll be fine. For now he needs to rest, though.”

     “Can I see him?”

     “Yes, but just don’t wake him.” Anshu looked back into the room through the open door. “He’s pretty worn-out. Looks like he was in a fight with someone and they managed to strike a blow to his head.”

     That Wocky, Nil thought angrily. She bowed her head and thanked Anshu quietly before entering the room.

     She had only been in the Ogrin Master’s room once before while she was touring the temple with one of her classmates, Milo. It was very simple and without a lot of decoration. Milo told her there had once been a painting of a flying ship with lanterns strung about it that the Master had done himself when he could still see, but it had been given to Queen Fyora a long time ago.

     As she approached the Ogrin Master’s bed, she couldn’t help but notice that his walking stick was nowhere in the room. She knew that it was precious to him, so it was a surprise to find it was missing.

     Nil sat down next to the Master and looked at him, trying to make sure he was truly all right. There was a large bandage covering one side of his head, but other than that, he was perfectly fine.

     “I’m sorry this happened,” she whispered, adjusting the cloth over her blind eye. “If only I’d stopped that Wocky...”

     “Yes, that Wocky,” said a familiar voice. The Ogrin Master opened his large, blind eyes that seemed to stare straight into her, even though they could see nothing. “He’s the attacker, not you.”

     Nil looked at the Ogrin, slightly dazed. “W-What do you mean?”

     The Ogrin Master sat up, keeping his eyes level with her own. It was strange how they seemed to stare at nothing, yet at the same time it felt like they were seeing everything.

     “My attacker was a Wocky, not a half-blind Kyrii,” the Master explained. “You’re the half-blind Kyrii that the Wocky tried to frame, aren’t you?” He smiled knowingly.

     Nil blinked a few times and bowed her head. “Yes, Master.” She waited as the Ogrin Master took in the information.

     The Ogrin smiled at her and lay back down on the mat. “Class is canceled for the day. I suggest you go see your friend, Karan, and let me have some rest.”

     Slowly, Nil stood. “Alright, Master.” She bowed and left, running into Brynn as she did so.

     “Hello,” Brynn greeted.

     “Yeah, hi,” Nil said, moving around her. She walked off, leaving Brynn staring after her.

     “What’s her problem?” Brynn mumbled, and continued down the hall.

     ***

     The fishing net slipped again, spilling some of its contents onto the ground. The red Xweetok who had been handling it muttered to himself before picking up the fish and placing them into the basket. He couldn’t believe how difficult it was to him, even after a week of getting back into the practice of fishing.

     I hope Nil’s doing better with her training, he thought, carefully transferring the other fish into the basket. He hadn’t been very fond of the Kyrii when he first met her, but now they were reasonably good friends. At least, as good of a friend as you could be with her.

     Karan still remembered the way she harshly refused his help and how distant she seemed to be from anyone else’s problems. She was still pretty reclusive with him, but not as much as she had been.

     “Hello? Neopia to Karan?” the Lutari next to him said, trying to get his attention.

     “Oh, sorry. I spaced out for a moment.” Karan quickly finished packing the fish and put a lid on the basket.

     “Are you thinking about your father?”

     “No, just my friend.” Karan grabbed the basket’s handles and hefted it up, walking onto the dock and setting it down with the other baskets. He then went back to the small fishing boat and checked the nets for holes.

     “You know, I could finish up today’s load and you could go see her, if you’d like.”

     Karan looked up from the net, his ears perked up. “Really? You sure you don’t need help with anything?”

     The Lutari smiled. “I’m sure. Besides, with how much you’ve been helping me out, you deserve a break.” He took the net from Karan and folded it up. “You’re father’s doing well and if I do need help, I’ll just get Baisho to help me.”

     Karan nodded and stood from the bench. “Thank you. I’ll try to help out more tomorrow, I promise.”

     “Just go have fun.”

     The Xweetok nodded and left, heading for the stairway that led up into Shenkuu. He got there shortly and noticed someone was coming down. It didn’t take long for him to recognize the yellow Kyrii he had traveled with.

     “Nil!” Karan called, waving at her from the bottom of the stairs. The Kyrii looked up at him and gave a small wave back, quickly descending the last stairs.

     “Hi, how’ve you been,” Karan greeted. “What’s with that cloth over your eye?”

     “I need to hide my eye,” Nil explained. “The blue Wocky’s here and Brynn and Hanso are with him and he attacked the Ogrin Master this morning.”

     Karan blinked. “Wait, what? I thought he was just trying to kill King Altador.”

     Nil shook her head. “No, he’s after a few people. I’m not sure why, though.”

     “Well, do you think it has to do with what happened in Faerieland? That’s the only thing that really connects the two.”

     The Kyrii shrugged and leaned against the end posts of the railing. “I don’t know. Maybe. He’s after Jazan, Brynn, Hanso, and the other two.”

     “Wait, do you mean King Jazan?” Karan looked at her, his eyes wide in disbelief.

     She shrugged again. “I don’t know. I’m a thief. I don’t care who’s ruling where as long as I can eat.”

     “We have to tell someone about this,” Karan insisted. Then, he shook his head. “Why didn’t you tell me before? You must’ve known about this when you stopped the Wocky when he tried to kill King Altador.”

     Nil shook her head. “I had no clue what was going on. Saving Altador was just by coincidence and so is being here.”

     Karan crossed his arms and looked at her. “What is it that you don’t want to tell me? You’ve done this before and I want to know what’s going on.”

     “Unless you want to put your own life in danger as well as your father’s, stay out of it. I came down here to make sure you don’t get tangled up in my mess.”

     “Isn’t it my choice whether or not I do?”

     “You don’t know what you’re up against.”

     “Well, then tell me and I will.”

     Nil recognized the look in his eyes. He wasn’t about to back down unless he got his way and there was nothing that could convince him otherwise. There is one thing, though, she thought.

     “Your father is weak and won’t be able to defend himself if the Wocky tries kidnapping him. If you get involved, you’ll be risking your father’s life.”

     Karan stared at her as the message sank in. He slowly nodded. “You’re right. I’ll stay out of it for now, but once my father’s better, I’m going to help you.”

     Nil was about to leave, then she stopped, realizing something was wrong still. “Um, where is Jazan?”

     Her friend let out a huge laugh, managing to calm down enough to reply, “In Qasala. It’s in the Lost Desert, which is south south east of here. Hey, when exactly will you leave?”

     “Depends on when the Wocky leaves,” she replied, and headed up the stairs.

     “I hope the Ogrin Master gets better,” Karan called.

     “Thanks,” Nil responded. “I hope your dad does, too.”

     Karan watched the Kyrii walk back up the stairway, and then went back towards the house he was staying at. Along his way, he passed some of the locals. A few knew him by name, but most just recognized his face. He tended to stay away from them and focus on work, though he did like chatting with a few about current events.

     He reached the house and entered, immediately heading for his father’s room. He peeked inside and saw that his father was up. Karan knocked and perked up when he heard his father say in a strong voice, “Come in.”

     Karan entered and went to his father’s side. “Glad to see you’re up. Feeling any better?”

     The yellow Xweetok nodded. “Much, though I don’t think I can travel just yet. How have you been? I haven’t seen much of you this past week. Come to think of it, it’s been awhile since we’ve actually even talked to each other.”

     “I’ve been fine, and I’m sorry that I haven’t seen you much. I’ve been working with the Lutari for most of the time, and most of the time you’re asleep.” He grabbed at the necklace he was wearing, feeling the familiar charm and fishing line.

     “What’s on your mind, Karan?”

     The red Xweetok looked up from his necklace and into his father’s eyes. “It’s just, I was wondering...” He stopped for a moment, and then pressed on. “What happened to Ahnil?”

     Karan’s father blinked. “You mean your little sister?”

     “Yes. She disappeared that night along with Mom. What happened to them?”

     A sad look overcame his father’s face. “Your mother took your sister away in the middle of the night. I can’t tell you where.”

     “Then at least tell me why.”

     For a moment, Karan thought he wouldn’t answer, but then his father nodded and said, “Alright. I’ll tell you.”

To be continued...