Trials Of Impending Night

Chapter 5: Rhinostorm

Chapter 5: RhinostormThe dirt plains of Setune felt longer than a two-day hike, for Wick at least. He staggered behind Lumni and Seff whilst Moon plodded by his side to keep him company. The notion of having no water or food around them made them all the hungrier and thirstier. Getting home was all they could think about, so none of them had a clue as to how far they had travelled, which in turn meant that nobody knew when they'd be free of the dry lands. Hours felt like days and every step felt like it had next to no effect. To make things worse, the cooling dusk would soon bring freezing night, and none of them had a means of shelter. Wick's stomach growled like a demon which made Moon's belly communicate back, setting off a chain reaction between them all. Lumni rubbed her hands together desperately to generate heat, but the northern breeze made sure to strip them all of warmth. “Any Fire Dowsers left?” she asked.

“I don't know. How many did you steal from me?” Seff spat.

“There's two left,” Wick shouted from behind, clawing through his satchel. He rummaged about, forgetting that the potions once belonged to the grumpy old man. “Give me them, I'm making a fire before I freeze,” Lumni ordered.

“We're not stopping,” laughed Seff.

“Yes we are. I'm cold!” Lumni marched to Wick with open hands, yet he tugged his bag away from her reach. She scoffed excessively, then started to lunge for it, but he continuously pushed her away to initiate a sibling squabble. “Come on!” she whined.

“No, Seff said we're not stopping!”

“It's alright for you Wizards… you can keep your hands warm, I can't”. The pouncing and dodging quickly became a struggle, then an outright wrestle. The two of them pushed and yanked each other until they both fell down, rolling around in the dusty soil until they heard a dainty smash. To their surprise, Wick's bag lit up in flames instantly, causing he and Lumni to jump out of their skins. “My bag!” he cried.

“My potions!” Seff followed. The leather material began to bubble and mould into the dirt underneath, providing Lumni with the warmth she craved at least. “I had all sorts in there, you clumsy ruff-slap,” Wick continued.

“Wait, what other potions did you have in that bag, lad?” Seff panted.

“Those Dowsers, a few Fizzers left, and one of those-”. Before he could finish his list, the fire grew three times in size, turning purple in the process. Sparks flung out in all directions, making strange whistling sounds. “Get back!” screamed Seff. Suddenly, the fire shrank until it was no longer visible, but a second later, the bag exploded, sending them all flying back several feet. The noise that belched out of the blast sounded like piercing screams, accompanied with a deep holler which forced them to cover their ears. Once the fire show had ended, all that remained was a small steaming crater, letting off an indescribable foul smell. “What w-was that?” Wick gasped.

“A perfect example of complete and utter foolery!” the Wizard shouted as he cautiously got to his feet. “You don't mix potions!”

“It's not as though we meant for that to happen,” Lumni moaned, still laid flat on the floor. Moon shook his fur to rid himself of the dust, then checked if the boy was okay. “My bag!”

“Forget your bag. Do you know how dangerous that was?” Seff continued to lecture Wick as Lumni looked in front of her at something unsettling. She had zoned out from the petty arguments and hobbled closer to what she had found. A disturbingly large and round footprint was embedded into the floor, and as she looked around, more were revealed, making up a track belonging to a great four-legged creature. “What beast made these?” she asked, provoking the others to come over for a look. Seff dropped to his hands and knees to evaluate every aspect of the print. From the others' perspectives, he looked like a madman crawling around, but they were more than used to his extreme ways. “Yes… hmm, four legs. A chumbii perhaps? No. Or… ah, yes. Yes… rhino-”

“Rhino? I've never seen one before. Maybe we can find it and have a look!” Wick gasped.

“I didn't know they grew so big,” Lumni muttered.

“They don't. Not your average breeds anyway. Trust me, if this is the species I think it is, we'll be better off leaving it be,” Seff warned.

“Giant rhinos?”

“They're called storm rhinos. Their horns conduct lightning, creating incredibly stormy weather. If we startled just one, then we could be responsible for a miniature hurricane. They're one of the Earth's sculptors, and you can imagine how they shape things”.

“Well I imagine they do more harm than good,” Lumni muttered.

“They bring rain which helps the plants, and their large bodies create paths through their lands. They're connected to the world closely, so don't presume they are here to cause damage. Well at least, let's just be thankful it's on its own because a whole herd could… oh my”. Seff's jaw dropped upon looking ahead. There stood two hundred storm rhinos, marching collectively as a group. Though they were relatively far away, Seff took no chances and ordered everyone to lay down as they passed. Their bodies were enormous, covered in grey and blue stripes, with their horns containing a slight glow in them. “Why are they here?” Seff whispered to himself.

“What do you mean?” Wick panted.

“They're from far north… from the rainforests of Apab. They're not known to migrate, especially this far down, and especially in such large quantities,” he explained.

“Something must have driven them from their homes,” Lumni said.

“Or someone. And I can imagine who it was,” Wick signed. The herd began to pass by, but they had tilted their course closer to the gang. It was too late for them to get up and run in fear of scaring them, so they had to hope none of them strolled too close. The many footsteps shook the ground like a tame earthquake as the humming from of their magical confirmed the deadly lightning trapped inside of them, ready to break out. To make matters worse, the larger alpha at the front slowed and began to sniff the air frantically. “They smell us? Surely they can't smell us from here, right?” Lumni panicked. She waited for an answer, but Seff thought to himself for a moment before gasping. “They have a strong connection with the world,” he said.

“Yes?”

“So they can sense imbalances”.

“The potion explosion?” Wick asked.

“No. They sense you!”

“Me? What? Why?”

“The voodoo blood, it must be!” Seff started to crawl in the opposite direction to the rhinos, so the others did the same, with Moon following on the best he could.

For what was a frantic scramble for them, was a mere few paces forward for the alpha. It sniffed their shuffling bodies but quickly twitched back in disgust. It roared to notify the herd and raised one of its front legs for a swift stomp on Wick. The time for sneaking had ended, and the group rolled out of the way of the falling foot and started to run. They could hear the shock and frustration in the rhino's grunts and snorts, but they didn't stop to look back at what the pack was doing. Out of nowhere, dark clouds rolled in from nowhere, covering the sky like a bedsheet. The black night had just grown more dim, but the spontaneous whips of distant lightning provided flashes of light. The herd began to move together, shaking the ground much more than before, mimicking the groaning thunder overhead. A few drops of rain hit their prey's heads, which quickly turned into a violent downpour, soaking them in an instant. The thunder continued as the lightning became more prominent. The greatest hurricane in the world had generated in the matter of seconds. Cyclones and tornadoes span all around them whilst strong winds pushed their bodies from side to side. The stampede of rhinos charged crazily around the dirt plains, passing lightning between their horns and making their blue stripes brighten. The floor was damp and slippery, slowing the escapists down, giving the herd a chance to catch up to them. They soon found themselves running aside the rhinos' huge feet, just moving out of their way each time they pounded onto the soil. Their large bodies made it hard for them to squash with precision, but they were consistently close each time. Seff, Wick, Lumni and Moon all ran in the same direction at first, though were eventually split up due to the mass of legs between them. Rhinos ran in front, behind, at their sides, and sometimes completely over the top of them. The unforgiving rain restricted all their visions for the most part, forcing them to rely on the sparking horns as sources of temporary light. After dodging and weaving for what seemed like forever, Seff let out a stream of fire which scared them off slightly. It gave the group a chance to reunite, if only for a moment, as their clear path was quickly inflicted with danger once more. Bolts of manic lightning struck the ground all around them, forcing them to split up again. All they could do is run and hope not to be hit. Before long, Wick was knocked into the air slightly by a nearby strike. As Moon helped his friend back to his feet, the two of them turned around briefly to see how far away the rhinos were, but they were still drawing closer with every second. He and the bear stuck together to ensure each other's survival, whilst Lumni and Seff were out of view thanks to the rain. The thunder was so loud that it shook their bones and organs, followed by a doubled amount of energy bolts, somehow managing to increase in aggressiveness, indicating that the beasts were right behind them. Again, the rhinos charged by their small bodies, breaking off into multiple hordes so they could apprehend all four of them at the same time. Wick looked up at one of the giants as he ran. He saw its black, beady eye looking back down at him as he roared. Its horn shone much brighter than usual, implying that it was about to do something deadly. Offering no sign of mercy, a self-made stream of lightning sprung out of the tip of it, landing right in front of the boy. The supernatural weight of the rain felt like slaps to his face as he laid flat on his back, leaving Moon stagger around and dragged him out of the way of upcoming footsteps. The herd slowly stopped and turned around to inspect the unconscious, voodoo-riddled teenager, but the bear had other plans. He dragged Wick the opposite way as quickly as possible, with the bumps and knocks he felt as he slid across the ground soon waking him up. Upon his eyelids parting ways, he hoped to have had a better sight than a hundred rhinos running at him. Practically out of nowhere, a horse-driven carriage rode in from the distance. Moon grunted as loud as he could with Wick's collar in his mouth, drowned out by the loud crackles and bangs from the clouds, making it impossible to be heard. Thankfully, the driver of the cart had spotted them first, which was why the horses were coming their way. Moon slopped Wick to the floor, prompting him to get up himself, to prepare for the incoming carriage. He could just make out Quigsy on top of it screaming at them to hurry. “Those beasts are getting too close! I need time to load the bear!” he shouted at Wick whilst jumping off his seat to open the carriage door. The boy felt like he had to do something to scare off the rhinos momentarily, but he was incapable of such a feat at first thought. With the stampede just moments away from smashing straight into them, the only idea he could think of was a fire blast; the dangerous and tricky spell Seff had started to teach him. Wick's inexperience with the hand movements had stopped him from achieving a full surge of flames up until this point. Although filled with tremendous doubt, he had no choice but to try. For the first time, he focused his mind and soul at optimal peak by choosing to ignore the imminent death around him. The fraction of a second felt like a stretched-out breath of fresh air, giving him the time to place his hands, and more so his fingers, in the right positions. The blast of fire gushed out of his arms perfectly at last, which sprayed in the faces of the angry rhinos, causing them to grind recklessly to a halt. Before anyone could celebrate, Quigsy prompted the young Wizard to climb aboard, for Moon had been crammed inside successfully. The beasts ahead were still sliding and slowing down in response to the unexpected fire, so Quigsy had time to steer the horses out of the way. “We must leave these plains!” he screamed.

“No, Seff and Lumni are still out there!” Wick whimpered.

“You are my priority”.

“Well my friends are mine!” he cried. Quigsy sighed to himself and turned the carriage back towards the beasts. The horses weaved in between the rhinos' legs under stern direction from the Bonborran. They passed by the pack and reached the outside of it, giving them the clearest view possible, but the wall of rain continued to make things difficult. Seff was far ahead, shooting out as many fire blasts as he could to keep the animals away, but the rhinos began to run around him in a circle. Lumni was at his side with no way of helping with the close-range weapons she had at her disposal. The flashing bolts from above shot down closer into the centre of the ring where they stood, with just a lucky gap in the blockade of giants for the cart to gallop through to the rescue. “Why is he here?” Seff said in regard to the Bonborran, confused yet more than happy to run to the carriage. The old man blew a gust of wind behind to repel he and Lumni on top, making them land hard at the side of Wick and Quigsy. As soon as he was onboard, he sprayed fire forwards whilst his apprentice did the same behind, giving them a clear escape route. The rhinos gathered together for one last attempt of attack, but the swift horses soon increased the distance between them. “We're almost in the clear!” Lumni cheered. The further they got, the calmer the storm became, indicating that the huge beasts had given up to begrudgingly continue with their migration, which was then confirmed by the black clouds no longer above their heads, along with the rain they carried. The group chose to catch their breaths over asking Quigsy a great deal of valid questions, letting him initiate the talking with his signature vernacular. “I regret to inform you that you're not going home just yet I'm afraid so, yes, apologies, regretful,” the Bonborran rambled.

“Thank you for saving us… again,” Seff exhaled.

“Where are we going?” Lumni finally asked.

“To meet my Master,” Quigsy answered.

“But I thought you said-”.

“Yes, well, circumstances have… changed”. Quigsy guided the carriage through the stodgy mud, back the way they had come. Just when the near-death experience of storm rhinos wasn't enough, the group had the fear of finally meeting the master of mystery. Their bodies were soaking and dripping but the breeze would soon dry them off, unfortunately freezing them in the process. They just hoped that their journey wouldn't take too long, or at least take them to warmer weather.