The Black & White Saga

Chapter 11 - A Pleasant Evening (3)

While everyone was enjoying dessert, Melinda asked Trey, “is it time for the annual exam at Continental Academy already?  I recall Lunette usually reports back to the academy in late spring for her yearly assessment.”

“Not yet.  I came on a request from Lunette’s teacher.  The Academy is going to select students for a quest into the Banshee Mountain Range next week.  Elder Baldwin wanted her to take part on this mission.  Master Seabrook has been chosen to lead the expedition.  He is requiring all his disciples that are not in seclusion to go with him, so Christian and I have to attend as well.  That old man is just too lazy to manage the rest of the students, so he’s making us do the work for him,” Trey responded with furrowed brows.

“How troublesome…….” Lunette commented.

“Principle Celeste also requested you join this mission, Savana,” Trey added.

“Ugh……. Can’t she just leave me alone?  I’m currently in the middle of an experiment,” Savana grumbled.

“The Banshee Mountains are not a pleasant place to be,” said Melinda.

“Yeah,” agreed Freya.  “Last time Sommer and I went there for a mission, we had to wear the strongest noise cancellers the Crafter’s Guild made.  Even then, we were haunted by the terrible screeches throughout our entire journey.”

Lunette took a bite of her chocolate covered strawberry, and tried to think of an excuse for her master.  “That old man must want some crafting materials from the Banshee Mountain Range,” she concluded.  “Otherwise he would not care about some silly quest from the academy.  Looks like I can’t bribe him with some bamboo wine to get out of it this time…”  

“Are there really banshees living there?” asked Micah.

“That’s the rumor,” answered Sommer as he fed Freya her favorite strawberry shortcake with a fork.  “Locals say banshees live at the mountain tops in the mountain range.  They only come down at night to eat children and women.  In the daylight, they stun men with their shrieking calls, and drag them to their lair for a cursed ritual.  The thing is, no one who has seen a banshee has survived long enough to tell the tale.  Most people run into shrieking goblins who live at the bottom of the mountain.  They are said to be the servants of the banshees.”

“Ooooh, how scary,” commented Sue, while munching on a kumquat.  Lulu and Cierra nodded in agreement while sharing a berry tart. 

“I had a group of friends who went there on a mission from the Adventurer’s Guild before,” said Sam.  “Most of them were badly injured, and one even lost his life.  They said it was extremely dangerous and scary.  I thought those dudes were only exaggerating, so I didn’t pay much attention to their dramatic reenactment.”

“Was it Tommy Chu’s team?” asked Nebula.  

Melinda sipped on her warm herbal tea as she listened.

“Yes.  They are the only ones crazy enough to take missions in Xylan, when they know how aggressive those people are towards enlightened beasts like ourselves,” responded Sam.

“The League of Arcadia is asking all major powers across the globe to participate in the quest this time.  People have been disappearing from the villages around the Banshee Mountain Range for the past couple of months.  The League’s initial investigation did not turn up anything, and is still ongoing.  Then last week, a pink fog started in the mountain range.  It got thicker and started expanding.  The League’s first team of investigators couldn’t do anything about it.  About half the team started falling into a coma three days after coming in contact with the pink fog.  Any villager touched by the pink fog also fell into a coma a couple days after contact.  This is becoming a major incident, so LOA is calling all its allies.  Other than our academy, the top clans and schools of each continent will also be bringing people,”  Trey continued.

Delos had a pondering look on his face, while he chewed on his apple. 

“The pink fog sounds interesting,” remarked Savana as she took a bite of her fine flower shaped cookie.

“Can we meet your teacher at Banshee Mountain?” Lunette asked Trey.  “It’ll take a week to get back to school from here even if we take the flying route.  If we go directly to Xylan, we’ll have more time to prepare.”

“That should be fine.  I’ll contact my master tonight,” replied Trey, after picking up a piece of mango.

“Alright, let’s set out in three days,” Lunette said as she took another bite of an intricately crafted chocolate layer cake.  Savana and Trey nodded in agreement.

Gaia and Skye looked at each other.  “Lunette is leaving?!” they silently communicated.  Both of them had mirror images on their faces.  Their round eyes were watery with big drops of tears threatening to fall out.  Their petit noses quivered lightly with sniffles, and their little mouths wide open in shock. 

“No!” they thought.  “Our sister cannot leave us!”  They both turned to Lunette sitting across the table, and tried to run across the table to ask her to take them with her.  Unfortunately for them, their baby chairs did their job, and kept them strapped in place.

“Miiiimiiiiiiiii,” Gaia and Skye whined.  Tears started dripping from Gaia’s eyes as she sniffled.  Skye raised his arms in Lunette’s direction, asking her to pick him up.

“What’s wrong?” Lunette asked as she put down her cup, and walked around the table to where the cubs were sitting.

“Why are you both crying?” questioned Sam, as he looked at his daughter and son.

“Oh, dear,” Nebula said, looking at both cubs with loving smiles.  She picked up Gaia and comforted her to ease her crying.  “Looks like Gaia and Skye can’t bear to part from Lunette.”

Lunette picked Skye at the same time and cuddled him in her arms.  She gently stroked Gaia’s head, and said, ”I’ll be back before you know it.  I’ll miss you both, too.”

Gaia grasped one of Lunette’s fingers and shook it with her little arms, as she called out to her.  “Miii miiimimii miii mi miiiii,” she reasoned while looking at Lunette with watery eyes.

“Mi miiiii,” Skye added from her arms.

“This mission is too dangerous.  I can’t take you with me this time.  I’ll take you both out next time when you are a little bit older,” Lunette coaxed.  

“Oh how heart wrenching,” Lulu commented quietly, dabbing her eyes.

“How touching,” agreed Cierra.  Next to them, Delos and Sue were hugging each other while sobbing their eyes out.  

“This almost makes me want to have children,” said Freya, as Sommer put his arms around her.  “How can they be so sweet?!”

“Oh my dears, you still have us here,” Melinda said gently.  Micah walked over and patted the twins on their backs.

Trey also came to Lunette’s side and bent down to Skye and Gaia’s eye level.  He gently told them, “Don’t be sad.  I’ll bring her back as soon as possible.”

The two baby pandas looked at him for a moment before turning their backs to him.  Gaia reached out of her mother’s arms, and tried to jump to Lunette for a hug.  Lunette supported her as Nebula handed Gaia to her. Skye buried his head into Lunette’s shoulder and clung on to her shirt.

“You brats, what about me?” Savana asked.  “Aren’t you going to miss your Aunt Savana?”

The two cubs looked at Savana from Lunette’s arms.  They thought about all the times she tried to feed them bitter concoctions.  Staring at her with wide eyes, both cubs waved their paws at her in farewell before they buried themselves back into Lunette’s embrace.

“Hey!” Savana exclaimed with a her arms at her hips.