Chapter 4 of Unamed Book (Great Oak Hollows)

Okay, I really have to think up a title, now. Writing the fourth chapter is a good sign that you'll probably continue the story.

Chapter 4

Ben opened his eyes and stared up at the earth ceiling for a moment, wondering why he was not staring up at his bedroom fan. Then he recalled yesterdays events. That's right, I'm in Elandai. He stretched himself and sat up.

Yev, Klii, and Laerka were already up. Yev was making breakfast, Learka was whittling something, and Klii was reading to himself from an old looking leather-bound book. The old man looked up and saw that Ben was awake.

"Good morning," he greeted. "You're just in time for breakfast. Wake up your sister, please."

Ben walked over to Kaela and shook her. She rolled over and groaned sleepily. "S'not a school day, Ben. Mus' be 'bout 5:30."

"Come on, Kaela. We're in Elandai, remember? Almost time for breakfast. And I don't think it's as early as that. What time is it, anyway?"

"It's almost 8:30." Klii informed them. "You guys slept in late."

Kaela sat up and her eyes opened. "Huh? Well, it feels like 5:30." She stood up and rolled up her sleeping mat. "Breakfast smells good, Yev."

Yev turned from cooking some sausage and smiled. "Thanks. Could you and Ben set the table?"

Ben and Kaela quickly did so, and then breakfast was ready. It was scrambled eggs, some of yesterday's bread turned into toast, and sausage. Laerka set aside his whittling and hastily sat down at the table, looking very hungry. Klii carefully put down his book and came to attention as Yev placed the sausage in the middle of the table. Ben glanced at the book, only to find that it had no title on the front of it.

Klii noticed his gaze and said, "That's the Book of Prophesies. It contains all the promises of Adonai."

Ben nodded. He still didn't get the whole Adonai thing.

Klii said the blessing, and then they all commenced eating. During breakfast, Klii mentioned, "I've sent word to the other followers through Larkin and his tribe. We will meet in the Great Oak Hollow at noon."

"Who's Larkin?" Kaela asked.

"He's a squirrel," Laerka explained. "Very talkative fellow, but can get downright serious in the discussion of nuts. Can you pass the eggs, Yev?"

"Talkative?" exclaimed Ben. "Does he talk?"

Yev nodded as she passed the eggs to her brother. "Of course! Don't the squirrels in your land do the same?"

Ben and Kaela shook their heads. "No," said Kaela. "No animals talk in our world."

Laerka stared openmouthed (thankfully he was not in the middle of chewing) at the children. "No talking animals? Why, almost every animal in Elandai does! There are a few exceptions, but most of them carry on a conversation quite well."

"Well, Cun the Eagle doesn't talk too much, though he knows how," reflected Klii. "But some, like the butterflies, talked your ear off. Before they left, that is."

"Why did they leave?" Ben questioned.

"When Elandai got turned into a waste-land." replied Klii. "But some animals stayed and they live with the followers in their underground homes."

Ben was about to ask more questions when Yev stood up. "If we want to get to Great Oak Hollow, we might want to start soon." she started to clear the dishes.

The rest helped, and then they prepared for the council. Yev, Ben and Kaela packed lunches and Klii flipped open the Book of Prophesies again. Learka continued whittling. When the lunches were packed, everyone grabbed his or her sword.

Learka walked over to a wall which had a rug hanging on it, covering some of it. He lifted the rug, and beneath it was a thick wooden door. He opened it, and Ben stared into a narrow, black, hallway. Yev handed out the lunches, all in packs, and then lit a torch. She gave it to her brother, who nodded his thanks and then led the way down the hall.

Ben looked around as he walked. The hallway was made all out of dirt, and dead-looking roots from the trees above dangled down, some brushing Learka's head. There were a few cobwebs, and the hallway looked like it was out of a movie. There were some smaller halls branching out from the main one, but the group didn't turn off. Eventually the hallway widened out until five could walk abreast with some room to spare.

They must have walked a good amount of miles before they came out into a great big room, lit by many torches on the walls. The roots of a very large tree hung from the cieling, and people were milling around, chatting. This must be Great Oak Hollow. Ben told himself. He was surprised that almost everyone wore swords at their sides, even some of the little ones.

Klii, Learka, Yev, Ben, and Kaela made their way to the front of the room, and then stood for a second. "Can I have your attention?" Klii called.

Some people paused and looked in his direction, but the majority continued talking.

Klii tried again, and then put his fingers to his mouth and whistled piercingly. That got everybodies attention. "Thank you. Before we begin, let's pray."

Everyone in the room bowed their heads, and Klii said a simple prayer, asking for wisdom in the council. Then everyone straightened, and Klii began. "The reason you all were called here was that Adonai has finally sent his help from above. These are what he sent."

Laerka pushed forward Ben and Kaela, who shuffled their feet and looked slightly shy with all the people staring at them.

"Now that our help has finally arrived, we need to consider how we are going to attack Daran. I am very open to suggestions, so please tell your thoughts."

Someone called out, "We should attack quickly while we have the element of surprise!"

Klii furrowed his brow. "Yes, I agree, but how will we attack? Will we go directly for Daran's main castle, Mahal, and put it under siege, or should we concentrate on the small outposts he has, first?"

An old man stepped forward, leaning on a cane. A boy Ben's age was holding onto the man's arm, probably to keep him from falling. "We should definately aim first for Daran's headquarters!" he advised in a very aged and wise voice. "'Cut off the head and the snake will die,'" he quoted.

"But do we have enough force to do that?" A younger man questioned.

The old man turned so abruptly to view the speaker that the boy had a hard time keeping up. "Obviously we have enough force!" he said, his white eyebrows scrunching together in a fearsome way. "'With Adonai, who can stand against us?'" Ben had a feeling the man liked to quote.

Many in the crowd nodded, and a few called out, "Wisely said, Jerod!"

"So," Klii said, "Are we all agreed on attacking Mahal directly?"

A chorus of aye's followed his words.

"Well, then, when should we attack?" a woman's voice asked.

Learka stepped up. "Why not we do it a few days from now. We can meet here, and then make our way by the tunnels as close to Mahal Castle as we can. There's a few days march from the end of the tunnels to the castle, and then we can put it under siege."

"Can't Daran call in his patrols to fight us from outside if we do a siege?" a member of the crowd asked.

Learka frowned. "Well, I suppose we could send some fast, strong men ahead to dig the tunnels further until they're almost all the way up to Mahal. Then we can attack by day when less vakir are out, and hide in the tunnels by night. The digging will go very fast if Adonai approves of our plan."

Ben listened to the discussion, amazed. Everyone talked about this Adonai person as if he was actually in control of all this. He also watched Kaela, and was suprised to see that when the old man had said, 'With Adonai, who can stand against us', Kaela nodded in agreement. He made a mental note to ask her about that later.

Everyone seemed to agree with Learka's strategy, as it was the only one that made sense. Several strong looking men were sent off down the tunnels, on the mission of advancing the halls up to Mahal, pausing before leaving only for a prayer. Then the rest of the followers, as Klii, Learka, and Yev called them, drifted off to their individual dwellings.

Ben and the others were one of the last to leave. They walked back to their small room, with only some talking on the way. The council had taken longer than Ben had thought it had, and he was getting tired.

When they got home, Kaela and Ben got in some sword practice, and then everyone fell asleep.
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That was a fun chapter to write. I like battle strategies.

Izori