Chapter 5

Vic the lemming woke to the sound of screaming and violence. He and his sister slept in a room in the Intoxicated Whaler reserved for them by Kathleen and Edgar. Pia was still sound asleep in the bed they decided to share and Vic was about to wake her when Edgar the rhinoceros, Kathleen’s husband threw open the doors to their small room.

“It’s an attack!” the rhinoceros shouted. “We’re under attack!”

If Edgar’s shouting didn’t wake Pia up, the sound of even louder screaming certainly did.

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Zenaida woke up immediately after the first explosion. She slept in a room beneath the stairs of the tavern and immediately went out to find out what was going on. When she stepped outside, she saw just what kind of chaos was already underway.

Outside the windows, people were running and screaming in sheer terror. It was just five-thirty in the morning, according to the grandfather clock in the corner and the sun wasn’t even up yet. However, the city outside was brightly lit with the orange light of fire.

Just what was going on?

Then, the doors to the tavern opened and Kathleen and Jules came in carrying an unconscious Brianna. Both the hippopotamus woman and the pig had probably seen better days but the mouse was probably in the worst condition. Her clothes were singed and blackened and her hair was messy mop covering her face.

Zenaida immediately moved to help them and got the mouse tavern wench to lay down on one of the many wooden tables in the tavern.

“What’s going on out there?” Zenaida asked. “What’s happening?”

“We’re under attack,” Jules said as Kathleen went to get some water. “People are attacking the city.”

“Who?” Zenaida asked as they tried to help Brianna. “Who’s attacking the city? Pirates? Rebels? The Xenjese military?”

“I’m not sure,” Jules said. “But they’re really crazy.”

It was then that Zenaida heard a man’s voice shout loudly: “FLESH FOR THE PYRE GOD!”

“By the Creator!” Jules exclaimed. “The bastards are here!”

The doors to the tavern suddenly swung open.

A man of unknown species stepped forward, clad in a white conical hood with two eyeholes and a matching white cloak. On his chest was a symbol: a golden orange tongue of flame. In one hand he held a bloody machete while in the other was a brightly burning torch. The flames of his torch reflected in his eyes, giving him a wild, maddened look.

“Flesh for the Pyre God!” He chanted. “Ashes for the Halls of Ember!”

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Edgar was leading Vic, Pia and all the other guests of the Intoxicated Whaler out when he saw that his wife was now confronted by a man in a white conical hood and cloak with a burning torch. Not daring to hesitate to defend Kathleen, Edgar rushed forward, his single horn pointed forward. He struck the man directly, wounding him with the horn on his nose, causing the hooded intruder to fall over and drop his weapons.

After dispatching the hooded man, Edgar immediately went to his wife and her companions. Behind him, Vic and Pia emerged and joined them. Edgar was about to ask his wife what had just happened when three more hooded men entered the tavern. All three of them held torches but had different weapons with one wielding another machete, one a club and another had a pistol.

Zenaida took initiative and deftly threw a chair at the hooded men. It struck the one holding a machete and the other with the club but the man with the pistol managed to dodge. He fired his pistol, filling the tavern with its deafening blast. It was aimed at Edgar whom the man saw as the biggest threat in the room.

Jules was quick however and stepped in front of Edgar to take the bullet. His body spasmed as a bullet struck him in the abdomen. He fell backwards and into Edgar, gasping for breath.

Zenaida moved fast, barely a blur and struck the man with a fist before he could draw another weapon. She then kicked him in the belly hard, toppling him over. Then, extending her claws from one hand, she swiped at the hooded man, ripping off his white hood and revealing his identity.

It was a lemming. As a matter of fact, Edgar recognized him. He was the large lemming that got into a fight with the raven in the previous day.

The third man fell over, his face a bloody mess from Zenaida’s claws, still too hurt to get up right away.

Edgar was deciding what to do then when two more of the hooded men showed up at the door and started helping their fallen friends. They also carried clubs and torches which they were now more than willing to use. After getting their fellow hooded men up, including the one whom Zenaida just recently clawed, they rushed at everyone else in the tavern.

This time though they were ready.

Zenaida extended her other claws and began savagely clawing at two of the assailants, tearing gashes in both their clothes and their flesh and revealing them to be lemmings as well.

The three others now attacked Edgar and the others but Edgar, Kathleen, Vic and Pia started fighting them off with some of the chairs in the tavern.

While Zenaida was certainly a strong fighter, the fact that her opponents were also armed with clubs and torches made it difficult for her to fend both of them off simultaneously.

Just then, the thunderous boom of gunfire filled the tavern again and one of Zenaida’s opponent’s fell over instantly.

Up the stairs to the upper floors was Ms. Zeta, the cobra holding a pistol with a smoking barrel. Around her were the same leopard girls she had come with. They too were armed, with one holding a repeating crossbow, another holding short sword and the other holding a wand which crackled with sorcerous power.

The leopard girls attacked immediately, with one helping out Zenaida and the one with the crossbow opening fire on some of the other hooded men. Three well-placed bolts struck one of the hooded men who crumpled to the floor. The man whom Zenaida was fighting now had two opponents with one of them being armed with a short sword.

“Enough of this!” shouted the hooded man who was now unhooded and kicked Vic in the shin, causing the younger lemming to back away. “Let’s get out of here!”

But then they grabbed Pia who was just about to hit them with a chair she held and ran off with her.

“Hey!” shouted Vic but the larger lemming struck him across the face, knocking him over.

Edgar and Kathleen tried to get the young woman they held back but managed to fend them off with their torches and then ran out the tavern door. The leopard with the crossbow fired at the running lemmings but struck only the wooden floor. The lemming whom Zenaida and the other leopard girl fought decided to retreat as well but was caught by a lightning bolt cast by the third leopard girl using magic and doubled over instantly.

“Let go of my sister!” Vic shouted, running after the other lemming. “Put her down!”

“Girls,” Zeta said to the leopard girls. “After them!”

“Yes Ms. Zeta,” they said in unison.

“I’ll go too,” said Zenaida and ran off.

Zeta immediately descended the stairs to take a look at Jules who’d been shot in the gut.

“It hurts,” he said as blood poured from his mouth. “Didn’t think it would hurt this much.”

“Hold on Jules,” Edgar said. “We’ll find help.”

Kathleen then burst into tears in both exhaustion and fear.

“Are they pirates?” Edgar asked as he pressed down on Jules wound to control the bleeding. “Do you know?”

“I know who they are,” Zeta replied. “And they’re something much worse than pirates.”