Progeny
By Jeffrey Vasquez

Disclaimer:

Based on the series Sailor Moon. All characters copyrighted by
Naoko
Takeuchi, Toei Animation, and Kodansha.

The characters of Ranma ½ are the express property of the most
benevolent queen of comedy, her Highness, the revered Rumiko
Takahashi and Shogokukan. I am in no way claiming, or even
pretending to own these characters.

Although, I can wish can't I?

The rest belong to me.

********
Chapter Two
Monday, 11a.m.

Nerima, like all of the districts of Tokyo, was like a small city
unto
itself.  Self-sufficient and self sustaining, each district held
its own
personality that reflected the residents that lived there.

Tokyo itself could be considered a pseudo-nation in its own
right,
supporting and housing millions of people within its borders.
The tall
towers of steel and glass inspired awe, while the technological
advances
created here, drove the rest of the known world.  Truly, it had
become
the Emerald city of Oz.

But, for all its splendor, the city around him wasn't what held
Ranma's
attention at the moment.  That honor was reserved, currently, by
the
small letter in his hands.

It had come by way of tossed spatula earlier that morning, waking
Ranma from a deep slumber.  A small spatula embedded an inch from
your head tended to do that.  It had taken him a bit of time to
shake the
grogginess from his tired body, and by that time the messenger
had
departed.

He had thought to chase her down, and talk to her.  Maybe even
apologize, but he knew that it would do no good.  She deserved
better
than what he could offer, and he at least hoped that she could
find it.

He returned his attention to the letter.  Ukyou's script was
beautiful.
**No, not beautiful.  Elegant.**  He corrected himself sadly.

The stationary that she had written on was girlish, sporting cute
characters all across the top and bottom of the pages.  It was as
if a war
raged inside of his dear friend's soul.

On one side you have the mature business woman, fighting to live
in a
harsh world and survive.  While on the opposing field, a little
girl
played, trying to recapture what she had lost so long ago when a
fat man
and his son betrayed her.  And somewhere in the middle rested his
old
buddy Uc-chan.

It's funny, how losing someone close to you can open your eyes to
so
many things; things that you couldn't or wouldn't see before.
Like a
desperate, lonely, young woman that was in love with a dumb,
blind,
jock.  A love that he couldn't return in the manner that she had
desired.

He shook his head as he stared at the building where Ukyou's
restaurant
had been only yesterday.  She hadn't taken his let down very
well, and
he still sported the bruises to prove it.  She had begged for a
chance to
build something with him, and he reluctantly refused.  She beat
him silly
with her spatula, and he, refusing to lift a hand in his own
defense, let
her vent.

Ukyou cried in his arms for the better part of two hours, weeping
and
cursing him.  But in the end she said that she understood.  The
lie was
probably the bravest thing that he had ever witnessed, but it was
a lie
none-the-less.  He had offered to make up for everything somehow:
the
Yattai, the engagement, everything.  But she just called him a
jackass
and threw him out.  As he returned to the dojo, he felt another
part of
himself wither and die.

She was right, he was a jackass.

Ranma wondered silently how much more he could handle before he
finally lost it.  Her goodbye letter had been a blow, saying that
she was
returning to her family.  She wished him well in his life, and
asked that
he not look for her again.

Akane's loss was devastating, but coupled with everything else,
Ranma
felt like Hiroshima after the A-bomb.  First Akane, then Shampoo,
and
now Uc-chan.  Everyone was abandoning him.

No. That wasn't true.  Nabiki hadn't abandoned him, although he
almost
wished she had. He shuddered involuntarily at the memory; whether
from delight or something else, he couldn't say.  Women sure knew
how
to scramble a guy's brain.

"I wonder if they teach `em this stuff in a special class?"  He
mused.  A
sudden curiosity welled within him.

**Maybe. . .if I got wet and went to class as a girl one day. . .
**  Ranma shook his head violently to toss the thought from his
brain.

**That's the last thing that I need right now.** he thought
angrily.  His
head still shaking he turned and began walking away from the
restaurant, and consequently the rest of Nerima.

It was time to leave.

**Bury the memories and move on.** He just hoped that his mother'
s
place was quiet.  The last thing he wanted was to be locked in
the
craziness again.

The walk to the train station was uneventful.  The buildings slid
by
unnoticed, the people blurred passed in their rush to get
nowhere, and
traffic moved methodically to wherever.  In spite of all this
movement,
it was strangely silent.

The streets had silenced themselves at his passing.

An era had ended, and an epoch had died.  If a place could mourn,
Ranma felt that this would be how it shared its grief with the
rest of the
world.

Silent and heavy.

The stillness followed him into the station, wrapped around him
like a
cloak.  It infused the area as he bought his ticket, and left in
his wake.
Life slowly, and quietly returned to Nerima.  But it was never
the same.

*******
Juuban terminal


Ami Mizuno read as she waited patiently for her mother to
disembark
from the train.  She hadn't realized how captivating Descartes
would be.
His thoughts and base were intriguing, but there was something
essential
that she felt that he lacked.  She couldn't quite see the fault
in his
philosophy, but then again, half the fun was trying to find the
answer to
the problem.

Small, warm, breezes rustled her school dress and lightly tossed
her hair
around in her face.  She absently pulled the offending lock back
over her
ear.

She was so caught up in her reverie, that she didn't see the red
blur until
it was too late.  There was a sudden jostling, a brief struggle,
and then
the imminent sensation of weightlessness.  Instinct over took
her, and
she reached out and grabbed a hold of the first thing that she
found.

It felt smooth, like silk, but underneath it was rock hard.  As
she turned
her head to see what she had caught, she noticed that her body
was laid
out horizontally, but she wasn't on the ground.  Her mind quickly
calculated the distance between terra firma and her suspended
body, and
came back with approximately three and some half feet.

That's when she realized that there was an arm supporting her
back,
with a hand firmly clutching her left shoulder.  Her legs were
draped
over another arm.

She turned her head upward and her eyes were swallowed by the
most
beautiful, haunting, eyes that she had ever seen.  They reminded
her of
storm clouds just before the rains began to fall.

*******

Ranma left the train, and tried to gather his bearings.   He
really hated
train stations.  Too many people for his liking, all pushing and
shoving
to get somewhere.  He spun around to verify that he had the right
station, when he collided with a soft body.

His body reacted on instinct; Rotating around faster that the eye
could
follow.  His hands shot out and caught up whomever he had
disturbed.

He noticed how light they were first, then his brain registered
the
feminine curves.  He felt her hand grab his shoulder to steady
herself.

He closed his eyes and sighed.  Somewhere in the back of his mind
he
was thankful that he wasn't holding a man.

Not a man....

**Oh, no.**

When he opened his eyes, all the color drained from his face.

********

Ami watched her rescuer's face drain of color.  She could feel
the depth
of his pain as it registered in those striking eyes of his.
Beneath the pain
was an intense love that consumed her.  She couldn't escape the
ardent
passion, and something inside her said that she didn't really
want to.

She had read about the "Eternal Moment", but had never really
understood the concept.  Until now.  Time had stopped, and the
world
fell away.  No sound entered her ears except for his breathing
and her
own heart beat.

She couldn't register any smells, save for the bittersweet smell
of his
sweat mixed with a fabric softener.  All that she could feel was
the
effortless strength with which he held her, and the gentle hands
that
protected her from the harsh bite of the pavement.

Her hands played with the delicate silk of his shirt, and she
felt his
corded muscles shift slightly.  A lump formed in her throat,
impeding
any rational requests to be set down.  Not that she was currently
coherent enough to make such a entreaty.

A smile brightened his face, like the dawn after a long and
dreadful
nightmare.  Relief flooded his eyes, and his perfect lips opened
to speak.
It took him two or three attempts before an intelligible sound
could be
formed.

"A. . .Aka. . .Akane?"  Hope beyond hope filled his voice.  Ami
blushed
as the whispered words touched her, and lowered her hand to her
lap.
She shook her head slightly, and answered breathlessly the best
she
could.

"A. . .A. . .Ami."  The logic centers of her brain began
pummeling the
libido in the hopes of rescuing the situation.  She was losing
control, and
at that moment she could have cared less.

Unfortunately, her answer shattered the moment.  The young man's
hope shattered and his beautiful smile vanished, slowly wiped
away as if
it had never been.  His beautiful eyes clouded over, taking on an
emptiness that shattered Ami's heart.  There was a palpable sense
of
loss as the world came to life around them.  Much to Ami's
regret, the
young man set her gently down again.

He knelt before her and began picking up her scattered
belongings.

"Sorry about bumping into you like that."  His cold, distant,
voice broke
through her daze, and she bent down to help him.

"No harm done." She said quietly with a smile.  Out of the corner
of her
eye she noticed his smile come back for an instant, only to be
beaten
down again by an overwhelming sadness.

She winced internally and collected her book on Descartes.  They
stood
in perfect unison, and stared at each other for a moment longer
before
the boy handed her things over. She collected them and bowed to
him
shyly.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome."  He bowed politely, which Ami returned.  A
false
cheerfulness entered his eyes and voice, all for her sake she
knew.  "Uh.
Um.  Look you ain't hurt or nothin' are you?"  His rough speech
was
endearing, and the way his hand scratched the back of his head
made
him look even cuter.

"No.  I'm fine.  Thank you."  She bowed again to Ranma.  He
smiled
and sighed.

"That's good ta know."  He began scanning the crowd, until his
eyes lit
up with recognition.  "Excuse me.  But I see my mom over there,
waitin'
for me."  Ami followed his gaze and saw her own mother speaking
with
a striking woman dressed in a navy blue kimono.  He started to
leave
when a new crowd began boarding the next train.

Ranma attempted to push his way through the congestion, but found
himself rudely cut off time and again by the throng.  Trapped and
feeling mildly claustrophobic he cursed under his breath, as the
people
poured around them.  He heard Ami say something and point.  The
crowd was really starting to annoy him.  He leaned in closer to
hear
what she said as she repeated herself, but a passing train robbed
stole the
sounds away.

Ranma growled in frustration and popped his head above the crowd
once again.  His eyes cast about once more, until he finally
found what
he sought.  He leaned over and scooped Ami up into his arms.  She
stared up at him shocked, and he smiled confidently.

"Just hang on."  He mouthed, causing her to hesitantly wrap her
arms
around his neck.  Seeing that she was settled, he bunched his
legs and
jumped.

********

Ami couldn't believe it when the boy's arms scooped her up.  The
casual strength that he demonstrated was nice, but a little too
forward
for her.  He looked at her disarmingly, like a rouge from one of
Minako's pirate movies, and mouthed for her to hold on to him.
She
complied, a little too eagerly for her logic centers, causing
another
internal battle to begin.

Her libido began to debate furiously with the stuffy, sticks in
the mud,
saying that it was okay because he asked her to.  The Logic
centers
countered with accusations of perversion, saying that the whole
situation
was highly improper.  The Libido made to offer a rebuttal.  That'
s when
the world fell out beneath both of them.

********

Dr. Yuriko Mizuno descended from the train and began looking for
her
daughter.  The medical conference in Kobe had been long and drawn
out, and she was exhausted.  All that she wanted was to go home,
slip
into a hot bath, and sleep until tomorrow.  In order to make good
on that
goal, she'd first have to find Ami.

She felt a light touch on her shoulder and turned expecting to
see her
daughter, but to her surprise found someone totally unexpected.

"No-chan?"  Nodoka Kawabata, or rather, Nodoka Saotome stood
before her.

"Yuri-chan!"  The other squealed in a very girlish way.  "I knew
it had
to be you!"  The two gathered each other in a warm hug.  They
separated
and began inspecting each other critically.

"I haven't seen you in ages No-chan.  You're looking wonderful."

"Thank you Yuri-chan.  You are looking wonderful too."  A moment
of
happy silence lingered between the two old friends.  Nodoka
noticed the
light suitcase, draped over her friend's arm.  "Are you coming or
going?"

A tired sigh escaped Yuri's lips, eliciting a small chuckle from
her
companion.

"Coming thankfully.  Ami-chan was supposed to meet me, but I
haven't
seen her yet."  Yuri looked out into the thick crowd of people,
trying to
catch a glimpse of her daughter.

"Oh my! I haven't seen Ami-chan for years!  How is she doing?"

"Growing up to be a beautiful woman, just like her Mommy."  Both
women laughed lightly.

"I see that your ego remains intact, Yuri-chan."

"Ego?"  Yuri's face assumes a look of mock pain. "No-chan, you
wound
me."  A mischievous wink summoned another round of chuckling.
"How about you?  What brings you here today?"

Nodoka's eyes lit up. "Ranma is coming home."  A look of
surprised
wonder passed over Yuri's face, only to be replaced by an intense
joy.

"No-chan that's wonderful!"  Yuri wrapped her in another warm
hug,
and then held her at arm's length.  "Have you seen him yet?  Is
he
everything you were promised he would be?"  Yuri could see the
fierce
pride swell in her friend, and had her answer even before Nodoka
spoke.

"Everything and more."  The look of pride slowly exchanged itself
for
one of intense worry.  The emotion was not lost to Yuri.

"But. . . ."  Yuri encouraged her friend.

Nodoka hesitated, but then  plunged forward.  "Ranma's fiancée
was involved in a fatal accident last month.  He's been taking it
very hard."

"Oh, Nodoka.  I'm so sorry.  Did you know her very well?"  Nodoka
nodded sadly.  Yuri's arm wrapped around her friend's shoulder.

"It was an arranged marriage, but she was a good girl.  And
though she
never admitted it, I know that she loved Ranma very much."  A
tear
snaked its way down Nodoka's cheek, before she could stop it.
"My
poor Ranma held her in his arms as she died.  It's all but
destroyed
him."  She sighed dejectedly.

"Death is a traumatic experience in any event."  Dr. Mizuno was
no
stranger to death.  Life in the Emergency Room had taught her to
respect
the great equalizer. Yuri shook her head sadly.  "The poor boy."
A
cloud of melancholia descended over the two friends.  After a few
awkward moments, Nodoka wiped her cheek and sniffled.  A brave
smile drove the pain away.

"Ranma's a strong man.  He'll work through it."  Her confidence
in her
son was supreme.  After the hell that her husband subjected their
son to,
Ranma could do anything that he put his mind to.

Yuri felt the conversation switch, and happily followed her
friend's
example. "So tell me about him.  What's he like?"  Eagerness
painted
her face.

Nodoka smiled and started to answer, but her response was cut off
by a
red blur shooting out of the crowd followed closely by a feminine
scream.  Her smile brightened as she tracked her son's jump.  He
was
going to land near them.  She pointed up to the red speck that
was
rapidly descending.

"See for yourself."

Yuri's jaw hung open in amazement.

********

Ranma felt the rush of the ascension, and then Ami's grip
tightened as
she hugged him close.  It reminded him of how Akane used to feel
in his
arms.  The memory didn't last very long as Ranma's brain pummeled
it
into a dark corner of his subconscious.  Ami screamed in surprise
causing Ranma to jerk and look around for danger.  He berated
himself
for being so stupid.

**Idiot.  You just jumped fifty feet in the air with a girl who
probably
hates heights.  Stupid.** His mental tongue lashing continued for
the
entire descent.  He never saw the look of wild pleasure that was
on
Ami's face as she watched the ground come up to meet them.

********

Yuri watched the boy touch down ten feet away, with Ami cradled
protectively in his arms.  He was powerfully built and stunningly
handsome. She watched as he gently placed Ami on her feet, and
when
she wobbled he reached out to steady her.

**A perfect gentleman.** An impish gleam filled her eye, as plans
began to form.

The two walked over.  Well, Ami walked.  Yuri wasn't sure how to
categorize the way Ranma moved.  He glided, or rather, stalked
over.
He reminded her of a tiger she had once seen in the wilds of
India; he
was poised for action.

The planning began anew, but at a much more rapid pace.  Ami
would
thank her for it in the end.  She was too shy to take the
initiative, so it
would be only natural for Mommy to "help" her out.  She missed
Nodoka's shocked gasp entirely.

*******

Nodoka watched with pride as the people around her stared at her
manly
son.  He was the vision of masculinity.  Tall, powerfully built
and
graceful.  Why he even had a young woman in his arms, and she
looked
very content, nestled there.  There was something vaguely
familiar about
the girl too.

Nodoka gasped, paralyzed at who Ranma was gently setting on the
ground.  Her purse dropped from her nerveless fingers, spilling
its
contents at her feet.

********

Ami saw her mother's look and immediately wanted to run for
cover.
But the gasp from the other woman drew her attention.  She
watched, as
for the second time that day, the color bleed from someone's face
at her
appearance.  The woman dropped her purse, spilling its contents
at her
feet unnoticed.

A questioning glance was thrown to her mother, that was
subsequently
ignored.  Another was directed to Ranma whose face was a mask of
worry, hiding an inevitable sense of pain.  Suddenly, Ami felt
herself
caught up in a back breaking embrace.  The woman before her was
weeping and mumbling incoherently.  She could feel the air being
driven from her lungs and tried to wiggle free.

She couldn't find sufficient leverage to break the woman's
unnaturally
strong hold on her and started to panic.  She heard Ranma say
something, apologizing for his mother. And then she could breath
again.
The emotional woman looked from Ami to Ranma and back again.

"Akane-chan?"  She asked desperately.  Before Ami could correct
her,
Ranma stepped in on her behalf.

"No Mom."  Ranma's mother wilted noticeably, before Ranma
continued.  The reaction that crossed Nodoka's face would have
been
comical, if it hadn't been so embarrassing.

Shame and horror radiated from the poor woman.  Ami bowed to
Ranma's mother hoping to smooth over the situation.  Nodoka
returned
the gesture numbly, and then smiled warmly at the girl as
recognition
dawned on her face.  Ami watched Ranma bend down and begin to
collect his mother's forgotten belongings.

"It is good to see you again Ami-chan."  Ami was drawn from her
admiration of Ranma by Nodoka's familiar address.

"I'm sorry?  Have we met before?"  Nodoka smiled and nodded
faintly.

"You used to come over to my house in the afternoons to eat my
cookies, while your mother was at school."  Recognition dawned on
Ami's face, and she cried out happily drowning the woman in a
warm
embrace.

"Auntie Nodoka!"  Ranma winced visibly as he stood up again.

As he righted himself, he came eye to eye with a very predatory
woman.
Her smile made Ranma want to run and hide for some reason.

She sketched a slight bow that took Ranma off guard. "I want to
thank
you for your gallantry young man."

Ranma looked at her, genuinely confused. "Huh?"  He said
intelligently.

"You saved my daughter from the crowd.  I'm in your debt.  Why
don't
you come over for dinner?  Say. . . ."  Ami's squawk caused her
mother
to stop short and raise an eye brow.

"Mother!"  She hissed.  There is a look that all mothers love to
extract
from their daughters.  It is the look of extreme discomfort and
embarrassment.  Dr. Mizuno was well practiced in achieving this
and
Ami Mizuno hated it.  "Leave him alone!"  Nodoka chuckled at Yuri
's
mock display of astonishment.

"'Daughter?'" Ranma looked at Ami with dread. **On, no.**

**She's defending him.  This is a good sign.**  Yuri nodded her
head in
silent appreciation.  Ami cringed.  There was no stopping her
mother
once she was on a roll.  "I'm impressed young man.  Usually Ami's
a
stuttering wreck at the mere sight of a good-looking man such as
yourself."

Ami ground her teeth in frustration, beneath the heat of her
mortification.

Ranma's hand reached up to scratch the back of his head in a
gesture
that all three women found utterly adorable.  Ami made it a point
not to
let this fact be known.  Nodoka laughed at her son's discomfort
and
looped her arm in his.  The women formally introduced their
children,
much to Ranma and Ami's discomfort.

Yuri insisted that Ranma escort Ami home, at which Nodoka
heartily
agreed.  Small talk was exchanged and more acts of embarrassment
were attempted.  Upon reaching the Mizuno home, the mothers left
Ranma and Ami alone in the kitchen, to "get to know each other
better."

"I'm sorry Saotome-san."  Ami said in an exasperated voice.

"Don't be.  I'm used to it.  Your mom's tame when it comes to my
dad."
Ranma chuckled.  Ami clearly didn't believe him.  "By the way,
just call
me 'Ranma'."  Ami's smile wounded him.

"Alright Ranma-san."  She nodded and opened the refrigerator.

"Just 'Ranma', please."

She smiled again and opened the wound deeper. She turned her back
to
him and reached in to retrieve a pitcher.  She moved gracefully
to get a
pair of glasses from the cupboard.  The movements made Ranma's
heart
ache even more.  She was nothing like Akane when she moved, but
it
reminded him of how he wished she had been.

"Okay Ranma.  Can I get you some water -" Ranma's eyes bulged.
"- or some juice perhaps?"

"Uh . . . , juice is fine.  Thanks."  Ami brought down two
glasses in one
hand, and a pitcher in the other.  She didn't notice Ranma's pack
under
foot, until after she had tripped over it.  Ami toppled badly,
shattering a
glass in her hand.

Ranma caught the other glass as he shot out to help Ami,
unknowingly
placing himself in the line of fire.  The pitcher arced slowly,
and
unerringly dumped itself over Ranma's head.

Ami's eyes widened as the change took place.  Ranma cursed under
his
breath.

********

"I tell you No-chan it's perfect!"

"I don't know Yuri-chan.  This sounds an awful lot like something
Genma would do."  Nodoka looked at her friend with skepticism,
and
more than a little apprehension.

"Oh, please!  Don't compare me to him!"  Yuri looked slightly
offended.  "I'm not trying to marry them for goodness sakes!
Ranma
needs someone to help him work through his pain, and Ami needs to
socialize more."  Ami's mother fell into a chair across from her
friend
"Marriage would only be an added bonus."  She added quietly to
herself.

"But, Ami-chan could have been Akane's twin Yuri. . . ."  Yuri
cut off
her further protests with the wave of a hand.

"All the better for Ranma in the long run.  He'll be forced to
face his
pain rather than burying it."

"But," Yuri's hand waved her down again.

"Trust me, No-chan."  Nodoka nodded.

A crash came from the kitchen a moment later, followed closely by
the
sounds of liquid hitting the floor.  Nodoka winced as Yuri got up
to
investigate.  As she passed, Nodoka reached out and grabbed her
arm.

Yuri looked down at her quizzically.

"Yuri-chan, can you keep a secret?"

*******

Banyankala Mountain Range, China.


Salt watched as a man descended from the Ho Min pass and into
the valley of the Musk amidst the unnatural storm.  The omen
itself was
lost on the towering giant, but he could see that any man that
braved a
tempest of such magnitude, and do so without any clothes on, had
to be
dangerous.  He looked down at his smaller companion, Cayenne, the
anxiety plain on his face.

Salt came from a distinguished line that had the mark of the
panda in
their lineage, and his black and white hair made him a handsome
figure.

Unfortunately he had very little in the way of common sense.
Cayenne
on the other hand was Salt's opposite.  No one would ever mistake
him
for being attractive, but his intellect made him more than a
match for
any man. His reddish hair and dark eyes easily marked him as
descended
from a wily fox.

Cayenne and Salt had honed their skills to near perfection as a
fighting team.  Alone they could be bested within minutes, but
together
they had given even the almighty Herb a run for his money.

Cayenne relayed a complex battle strategy to his large companion
with a
few deft hand signals, and then returned his attention to the
naked man
advancing on their position.  The way his gut knotted painfully
told him
that this would be his last battle.  He simply prayed that he
could sell his
life dearly.

The innumerable shadowy figures that rose up behind the man
dashed
that pretense against the sharp rocks of reality.  They couldn't
outrun the
oncoming horde, they couldn't warn their master in time to be of
any
help, and there was no way that they could make a dent in the
army that
was backing this lone figure.  There were no options.

Well, there was one option.  But he would die before he took the
coward's way out. Treason was for fools and Amazons.  He looked
up at
Salt's white face, and tapped his broad thigh to get his
attention.  The
fear in the man's eyes twisted the knot in his own stomach more.

He shook his head to clear his thoughts.  With one distinct slash
of his
hand, he changed their plans.  It was a risky play, but if they
could pull it
off, hopefully Lord Herb would have some warning and even some
time
to prepare.

Salt nodded and lifted his partner onto his shoulders, and
together they
began to absorb the essence of the earth beneath their feet.
Their flesh
took on the hardness of stone, and their blood ran molten, like
the
molten core of the Earth itself.  This was a suicide maneuver,
developed
against the chance that they would one day face a foe that they
could not
defeat by any other means.

The naked man stopped his advance, and watched in admiration as
the
fighting pair gathered their energies.  He smiled knowingly and
then
raised his hands.  The shadowy army melted away as if it had
never
existed, leaving the man alone and surrounded by a blood red
aura.

Cayenne's eyes flashed bronze in the night, and then the ground
erupted
beneath their feet.  Lava exploded around them burning away their
bodies even before they had completed their arc.  In the team's
place a
miniature volcano blasted the blood of the Earth high into the
sky,
igniting the surrounding forest and making the pass secure.  At
least for
a time.

*******

Many leagues away, in the mighty palace of the Musk Dynasty, Herb
listened to one of his lieutenant's report on the death of Salt
and
Cayenne.

He had already dispatched the call to arms upon hearing of their
demise,
but somehow he knew that it was too late.  He began to make plans
to
call upon the people of Mount Phoenix for aid, but a second
lieutenant
reporting the demise of another pair of sentries made it evident
that any
aid would come too late.  When the third aide reported the fall
of the
third post, a few minutes later, Herb was already calling for a
strategic
evacuation.

End Chapter 2