The Articulum Part 16 By: Lance Holloway Peten followed behind Turlon who was following the bull creature. They were probably being lead into a trap. And if Mike decided to use that hefty ax of his against them, they didn't have much to defend themselves with. Arna didn't have her magic, and Turlon and his swords wouldn't hold up against that huge ax. Plus, it looked like the bull had many years experience toting that heavy thing around. Turlon seemed to trust the creature Especially after Mike told them about his past. He had said that he used to be human living on a farm close to the mountain. Then one day he was climbing the mountain, found this cave, and discovered the Articulum. Since he wasn't the Norrom and he was the first one to find the cave, once he set foot inside the dark entrance, he became a bullman. His mind was tinkered with to keep him in the cave guarding the Articulum until the Norrom arrived. "It's not too far now," Mike said. "Are you sure you know where it is?" Peten asked. "Listen, boy. I know these tunnels like the back of my hoof," Mike bellowed. "Peten, Mike knows where the Articulum is," Turlon said. "So, let's just follow him." He turn away and followed Mike around a corner. "Peten," Arna whispered placing her hand on his shoulder. "It's good to be cautious, but I think we can trust him." Peten looked back at her then turned away and followed Turlon and the bull. ----------------- Jamk pushed another rock over the ledge and watched as the lizard it hit tumbled backwards. His muzzle bled from all the rocks he had pushed. Metty's and Vulla's nose weren't better off. Hokmal continued changing lizards into camels, but even he seemed tired. Rarguf had landed on a ledge to the side of where Jamk was to rest his wings. It was also a good spot to roast any approaching lizards. Jamk pushed the new rock over and hit another of the attackers. ["Jamk,"] Metty whinnied, ["We've pushed all the rocks over."] Jamk turned around to face her, ["We are on a mountain. What do you mean, 'We pushed all the rocks over?'"] He looked around the ledge and saw that it was true. All the loose rocks, small and large were gone. Only the mountain side was left. He galloped over to the rocky side and hit the mountain with his hooves trying to break something off. Nothing happened. ["Now what are we going to do?"] he said to no one in particular. "Jamk, if you are worried about no more rocks, I can probably speed up the camel transformation," Hokmal said. Jamk whinnied an affirmative. "Hey, what's that in the distance?" Rarguf bellowed just after roasting a few lizards and camels. Jamk looked out where the dragon was pointing. Almost to the base of the mountain was a group of men. They way they were hopping around, they looked like roomen. The odd thing was what was with them. A huge metal thing rolled along with them. A long rod stuck out from the top pointing forward. Jamk had never seen anything like that in his life. ["What is that?"] Vulla asked. Jamk just shook his head. He watched as the metal thing stopped at the base of the mountain and the rod pointed up. With a huge explosion, something blasted out of the rod and crashed above the lizards but below the ledge the horses were on. Rocks tumbled over the unsuspecting lizards. Jamk regain his footing after the mountain shook. He looked down and saw a lot of the lizards falling. Unfortunately, most of the attackers were out of the way of the falling rocks and continued to climb. ["I hope they can do that again,"] Jamk said to no one in particular. ------------------- Turlon followed Mike through the maze of passages. Mike strode confidently through the twisting tunnels. Of course after living in the maze for eighteen years, anyone would be familiar with it. "We are almost there," Mike said not stopping at all. "Just a few more turns." Butterflies filled Turlon's stomach. He was quickly approaching his new life. A life that was forced upon him. He had mixed feelings about the whole thing. The thought about being in a different body didn't bother him as much, but the responsibilities that came with the job did. "Here we are," Mike said. He reached over and flipped a switch on the wall. Light flooded the large room which opened up in front of the group. They all switched off their portable lights and stared at the room in awe. One thing caught Turlon's eye. There was a raised platform near the far wall with a pedestal. On the pedestal was a small scepter glittered in the lights shining directly on it. "The Articulum," he said under his breath. Arna placed a hand on his shoulder snapping him from his trance. "Turlon, the Articulum awaits," she said with a smile. That surprised Turlon. He glanced at Peten who only smiled worriedly and nodded. Turning to face the Articulum again, Turlon walked toward the scepter. He slowly approached the sparkling artifact. He could feel the power flowing from it. He walked up the steps to the platform. He looked back at the others. Arna and Peten were standing halfway from the entrance to the room and the platform. Mike was near the entrance. Turlon turned around a paused slightly before continuing his short journey to the Articulum. There was a thump from behind him. Turlon swung around and saw Mike unconscious on the floor. Out of the darkness of the entrance walked a dark figure. "Greetings, Norrom," the man said. "I've been waiting for you to find the Articulum." "Swurg, why you...." Arna said but she cut off as Swurg vanished. He reappeared behind her and swung a large club knocking her in the head. She fell unconscious just as Mike had. Peten dashed for the man, but Swurg gracefully moved out of the way. Peten fell to the floor missing his target. Swurg waved his hands and Peten seemed to struggle. He couldn't get off the floor. Swurg peered at Turlon with an evil grin. "I have no need for you now, Norrom. All I need is the Articulum," he said strolling to the platform. Turlon dreaded picking up the Articulum and claiming his title as Norrom, but he had to do it before Swurg. He ran as fast as he could to the pedestal with Swurg racing right behind him. The sound of the other man's foot steps behind him increased his adrenaline. Turlon reached the pedestal and grabbed the scepter. He spun around and held it up before Swurg who came to a stop. "I am the Norrom!" Turlon shouted. Swurg stared at Turlon with fear in his eyes. Then the fear faded. The man grinned again. Then he began to snicker. The snicker turned into a chuckle, and the chuckle turned into a laugh. "You aren't the Norrom, fool," Swurg said between laughs. "If you were, you would have been changed by now." Turlon was confused. The Rigulor pointed him out as Norrom. Why was he not the Norrom? He had come all this way for nothing. --------------- Taking advantage of the confused state of the false Norrom, Swurg quickly grabbed the Articulum from the boy's hands. The boy snapped out of his trance and ran at Swurg to get the artifact back. "Get back, boy," Swurg said. "I want to test this out." He pointed the scepter at the boy and he began to change. "NO!" he shouted. "Noo.........." His voice faded as his vocal cords vanished along with his arms and legs. Where the boy once stood, slithered a giant slug. The slug squirmed around seeming terrified. "This is perfect!" Swurg shouted. "I can change ANYONE!" --------------- Peten struggled against the invisible chains that held him to the floor. The more he struggled, the more they held him tighter. He heard Turlon running and saw his friend take the scepter. However, nothing seemed to happen. Then Swurg grabbed the Articulum from Turlon and pointed at him. Turlon quickly, but apparently painfully, turned into a slug. Swurg began laughing again. Peten realized something while Swurg was busy gloating to himself. His chains were gone. Either the Articulum caused them to vanish or Swurg forgot about them. Either way, Peten quietly crawled to the edge of the platform and hid from Swurg's sight. The wizard turned and walked to the stairs of the platform. Peten jumped up from his hiding spot and knocked Swurg to the ground. Swurg fought with him, but Peten managed keep him on the ground. Swurg looked up in rage at him. "Let me go, boy, or you will end up like your friend." "You turn him back," Peten commanded. "And why should I? All I have to do is turn you into something like an ant," Swurg said with a sly grin. Peten noticed the Articulum moving. Swurg was trying to point it at him. "NO!" Peten yelled and grabbed the scepter. He felt strange. Power flowed through him. He saw brown fur growing from his body. Swurg was changing him. He looked down at the wizard. The grin was gone from Swurg's face and a fearful expression was in its place. Peten realized it wasn't Swurg's doing, but the Articulum's. Power continued to flow from the Articulum into Peten. His body changed to hold all the power. The energy swelled inside of him that it felt like he was going to burst. Peten stood on his new legs and bellowed in pain. A huge surge of energy released itself from him. He fell to the floor weak in spite of all the energy in his body. ---------------------- Swurg realized too late that the slug wasn't the Norrom, but that this boy was. The boy began to change without Swurg's influence. Brown fur covered his body as a huge rack of antlers erupted from his head. The moose-man stood and bellowed as a visible energy bubble expanded from him. That was not a good thing. As the bubble grew, Swurg was suddenly inside of it. His body began to change also. His hands became cloven hooves, and a rack of antlers grew from his head. He staggered to all fours and looked around. Why was he in a cave. Moose aren't supposed to be in caves. He began to look around the large cavern for water plants. -------------------- Turlon hated what he had become. He didn't like slugs when they were crawling around on the ground. And now he was one. Then suddenly he felt his body changing again. Legs sprouted from his slimy body and fur grew. He looked himself over after the change was complete and was rather relieved to be back in his moose body again. ------------------- Jamk and the other two horses were bracing themselves for the next impact of the roomen's weapon. Hokmal was peering over the edge to see how the battle was going. Rarguf continued flaming the lizardmen as the strange weapon blasted another group of lizards to the ground. Suddenly Jamk felt odd. A strange energy flowed through him. His hooves felt funny. When he looked at them, he saw they were cloven. Then he noticed he had brown fur. There was an odd weight to his head. He turned to ask Vulla what was happening, and he saw she wasn't a horse anymore, but a moose. She still looked beautiful as a moose. ["You're a moose,"] he said. He also noticed Metty was one also. So was Hokmal. ["Jamk, you have a great rack of antlers,"] Vulla said. ["But, I think I like you better as a horse."] ["Thanks, I like you better as a horse, too"] ["Man! Those lizardmen sure don't know how to stay on the side of a mountain as a camel or a moose,"] Hokmal said. ------------------- Gulm began his afternoon chores as usual. He loved his little farm next to the village. And the mountain created great scenery. He ventured into the barn. He grabbed his milking equipment and opened the stall to the cow. "Afternoon, Bessy," he said sitting down on the milking stool. "It's time for your milking." He had just begun to milk when he heard shouts coming from the village. He ran out of the barn and looked toward town. A strange thing happened. Villagers were running through town in the direction away from the mountain. But, one by one, they were changed into moose. Then the strangest thing happened. He felt his body changing. He fell to his hands, which were now hooves, and looked at himself. He had become a moose also. The villagers seemed to stay in panic, but Gulm didn't mind. He had always liked moose, but he never had seen one in this part of the world. He trotted back into the barn and saw Bessy was a moose, too. A good looking one at that. ["Hi, Bessy. Looks like everyone's a moose now,"] his said. ["Sure does,"] Bessy replied. ["I guess you aren't going to milk me anymore."] ------------------ Peten felt his strength returning to him. It was more strength than he had before, but now he could stand on his own two hooves. He looked himself over and felt of the strange weight on his head. He had become a moose man. He must be the Norrom. But, why? Turlon was the Norrom. The looked around for the slug, but found only three moose and Arna. She must have still been protected by her spell. One moose seemed to be confused. Another was watching Peten carefully. The last moose was lying on the floor near the entrance to the room. It must have been Mike. ["Peten, you all right?"] the moose watching him asked. The moose didn't actually talk, but he sort of felt the words. "Turlon, is that you?" Peten asked. He seemed to be able to speak Human and Moose at the same time. The moose nodded. "What happened?" Peten asked. ["You seem to be the Norrom,"] Turlon said. He seemed a little disappointed. "Turlon, I'm sorry. I didn't want to be...." ["Don't worry. I didn't either. I'm sure you will make a great one,"] Turlon replied. Peten heard a groan from behind him. Arna was waking up. So was the other moose who he thought was Mike. Both were startled with what they saw. Arna was more concerned about Peten, but Mike was more concerned about himself. Arna walked up to Peten, "Turlon, how does it feel to be the Norrom?" "I'm Peten, Arna," he said. "I was the Norrom all along." "Interesting," she said and walked to Turlon. "So, this is Turlon I take it." Turlon nodded. ["Who else would I be?"] Of course, Arna didn't understand Moose. "Then that's Swurg?" she asked pointing to the moose wandering around. "I think so," Peten said. "I haven't asked him." He walked over to the confused moose. The moose looked pleased to see him. ["Oh, Norrom,"] the moose said in Moose, ["I am hungry and I can't find any water plants around in here. We moose aren't meant to be in caves, you know."] Peten nodded and placed a hoof-like hand on the moose's back. "We will find some around here somewhere," he said. The moose gave a happy look and walked back with Peten to join the others. Mike was walking around by then. ["So, now I'm a moose."] he said. "Looks like a lot of people are," Peten said. ["What's wrong with being a moose?"] Turlon asked angrily. ["I've never had any problems with it."] Peten was about to tell Turlon that he hadn't been a moose before, but Arna shook her head. "How far do you think this has spread?" Peten asked her. "I don't know," Arna said. You seemed to have a powerful effect on those near you, though." ["So, is this the reason we are moose?"] came a voice from the entrance to the room. Peten turned and saw five moose walk in. Two of them were female. "Jamk?" Peten asked. The moose in the front nodded. ["Peten? I thought Turlon was the Norrom."] Peten just shrugged. ["I wish I didn't land on the mountain after everyone turned into moose,"] said the moose after Jamk. It must have been Rarguf. ["I hadn't changed until I touched the ground."] ["But, you did stop the attack,"] the moose that must have been Hokmal said. ["You turned every living thing that touched the ground into a moose, Peten. Even the roomen that came to help"] "I didn't mean to," Peten said. Suddenly there was a flash of light. Three older men appeared in the room. Peten recognized them as the Norrom Seekers that pointed Turlon out to be the Norrom. However, he didn't recognize them for long. As soon as they appeared, the changed into moose. ["I see we have another powerful Norrom on our hands,"] one of the old moose said. ["I see we also picked the wrong one,"] another said walking up to look at Peten. ["Well, at least he found the Articulum and stopped Swurg,"] the last old moose said glancing at the moose formerly known as Swurg. He was still looking for water plants. "Why am I the Norrom?" Peten asked. ["We don't know. We just find the Norrom,"] the first elder moose said. ["The Articulum must have had it's reasons."] ["You are the most powerful Norrom we have had since the first Norrom,"] the second elder moose said. ["Every animal in about a ten mile radius is now a moose."] ["The first Norrom only had a radius of about 7 miles,"] the third said. ["And his transformative power is still in effect. I'm sure you have heard of Room?"] "The roomen were the results of the Norrom?" Peten asked shocked. "But they have human qualities. Here, they are completely moose." ["Well, the first Norrom had appeared tens of thousands of years ago. I'm sure natural development and the magic origin of the roomen helped them develop their speech and hands,"] the first elder moose said. ["In time, the moose here will have more human qualities."] ["So, anyone who is in this ten mile radius will turn into a moose?"] Jamk asked. The three elder moose nodded. ["And what if we leave? Well we turn back to our previous forms?"] Jamk asked. ["Yes, you will,"] the third elder moose said. He glanced at Turlon and Swurg. ["Except for the ones that were extremely close to the Norrom when he emitted the transformative power."] ["That's good. We want to be horses again, don't we?"] Jamk asked Vulla. She nodded in response. ["Well, we better go and let you get on with your ruling,"] the first one said. The three gathered near each other and in a flash of light, they were gone. Arna walked up to Peten, "Well, it looks like you are ready to rule," she said. "I don't think I am," Peten responded. "Trust me. You are," she said and pointed behind him. He turned around and saw the pedestal which held the Articulum was now a grand throne. He looked at Arna. She gestured for him to sit in it. He slowly walked to the throne. He was slow partially because of his reluctance to be the Norrom, and partially because of his new digitigrade legs. The others watched him proudly. He reached the throne and turned to face the others. He then sat down trying to convey some authority. He hoped he pulled it off. The moose lowered their heads in a bow and Arna curtsied to their new Norrom. ---------------- The End