The Articulum Part 6 By: Lance Holloway Turlon saw quietly in the room where the horses were. Peten and the others were taking care of Wilm. "If it weren't for me, Wilm would be ok now," Turlon said to himself. "Don't say that," Jamk said trotting over to where Turlon sat. "You are the Norrom. You have to complete this quest." Turlon looked up at the horse. "Have you looked at yourself lately, Jamk? You're a horse. You're a horse because of me!" "No, I'm a horse because Arna turned me into one. You didn't have anything to do with it." "Yes I did!" Turlon yelled. "You wouldn't have been complaining about riding her if we didn't go on this trip." "But, it's not all bad. I rather like being a horse. You should try it someday," Jamk whinnied. Turlon rolled his eyes. If only he knew what he would be changed into. Just then the door opened. Peten stepped in. "Wilm is ok. He's half seal, but he is ok," Peten announced. "That's great," Jamk said. "Not about the seal part, but that he is doing fine." "See, yet someone else affected by being associated with me," Turlon said. Peten sat down beside him. "Turlon, don't blame yourself. That wave didn't have anything to do with you." Turlon shook his head and buried his face in his hands. ---------------------- Swurg paced his throne room. He knew something was happening to the Norrom. Something was trying to stop him reaching his destination. And if the Norrom doesn't reach the Articulum, then Swurg couldn't take it from him. There was a knock at the door. "Enter," Swurg commanded. The same messenger walked in. His large elephant ears still looking ridiculous. "Master, the Norrom has been attacked again." "What! Is he still alive?" "Yes, Master. The Norrom was not affected by the attack," the servant said. "Good. What attacked him?" Swurg asked. "It was one of those wave tentacle things." Those wave things were the work of only a few people. But, who would want to stop the Norrom? "Maybe it's.... No, it couldn't be," Swurg said to himself." The servant stood near the door waiting for orders. His tail switching expectantly. "You my go. I have some thinking to do," Swurg ordered. "Yes, Master," the servant said leaving. Swurg paced some more. He forgot to change the servant this time. But, these attacks on the Norrom must stop. If only he know if he was correct about who was behind them. ------------------------ The next morning, fog had appeared. The sailboat drifted along the water, like a bowling ball wouldn't. Peten was helping Wilm with the boat. Wilm couldn't steer the boat very well with his flippers. Arna was in the cabin also to translate Wilm's barking. Peten wondered how she could understand what all that barking meant. He was giving lots of orders since none of them could really see through the thick fog. "Arna, do you think Rarguf could fly above the fog?," Peten asked. "I'm sure he could," Arna replied. "But, I'm not sure how helpful he would be. The fog might be too high to see anything." Wilm barked. "Rarguf is a friend of ours," Arna said. "He has been following us." Wilm barked some more. "He's been flying. He's a dragon," she said. "Peten, I'll take the wheel. You get Turlon and Ketta to help call Rarguf. I'm not sure how far away he is." Peten dashed out the door and found Turlon and Ketta on the deck. "Hey, you two. Help me call Rarguf." "Rarguf? Who's that?" Ketta asked. "He's a dragon friend of ours," Peten said. "You are a strange group," she said. The three of them yelled for Rarguf. Eventually the dragon appeared. He was just far enough away to not disrupt the sails, but he was in talking distance. Which meant that he was barely visible. "Isn't this fog dreadful?" the dragon said. "Rarguf, how far does this fog go to up?" Peten asked. "Not too far. I can fly above to navigate if that is what you are asking," Rarguf said. "Would you do that?" Peten asked. "Sure enough," the dragon said and flew higher. "Great timing, Peten. There's land in front of us right now." "Land! This soon? It must be Room," Ketta said. "Room?" Turlon asked. "It's an island that everybody avoids. Nobody has returned from that island," she said. "I'll go tell Wilm and Arna," Peten said heading for the main cabin. "Peten," Rarguf yelled before Peten reached the door to the cabin, "I'll land on the beach and make noise. If you want to dock, just aim for the noise." "Ok!" Peten yelled back and walked in the cabin. "We are heading for land. Ketta says it is the Island of Room." Wilm barked angrily. "We have to dock," Arna said. "We might find a way to cure you." "Just follow Rarguf's noise," Peten said. "He landed on the beach to guide us." He leaned out one of the windows. In the distance he heard Rarguf's yells. He was simply yelling and banging rocks together. The fog must have been thick. Rarguf's voice sounded muffled. Arna steered the boat carefully. Wilm was barking constantly. Peten couldn't tell if he was directing Arna or complaining. Then they ran aground. "Go help Rarguf tie the boat to something," Arna told Peten. He ran out. Ketta and Turlon helped lower the plank to the ground. Peten went down the plank and caught the end of the rope Ketta threw at him. It was amazing that he caught the rope. The fog was so thick he couldn't see anything, and his legs were wobbly. He never realized how hard it was to get use to walking on solid land after being on a boat for a day. He stumbled up the beach searching for something secure to tie the rope. "Rarguf, come help!" Peten yelled in the fog. "I need to find a place to tie the boat." "I'll be there," Rarguf yelled back. "It's hard to see in this fog." "No kidding," Peten said. He looked in the direction of Rarguf's voice. He finally could make out a figure coming toward him. But it wasn't a figure of a dragon. It was about human size, but not a human. "Peten, there's a large rock over here," the figure said with Rarguf's voice. "Who are you?" Peten asked. "Oh, I'm Rarguf. I guess you wouldn't recognize me this way," the figure said. "THIS way? What are you talking about?" The figure, Rarguf, came closer. The closer he got the more Peten could tell he looked like a kangaroo. No not a kangaroo, but a human-kangaroo. "Rarguf? Is that really you?" "Yes," the kangaroo man said. "Isn't it strange?" "What happened to you?" Peten asked. "I don't know," Rarguf said walking around Peten. "But, I see the same thing has happened to you." Rarguf held up a tail. Peten felt it. It was his tail! He had a tail! He looked at himself the best he could in the fog and saw that he was kangarooish also. He felt of his head with his paw-like hands, and sure enough there were kangaroo features. "Well, I'll tie the boat, while you admire yourself," Rarguf said taking the rope from Peten's new hands. Peten felt of his long ears and face. He saw why it was hard walking, because his legs were build differently. But, the tail was the biggest change. It sent new sensations to his brain. "The boat is tied!" Rarguf yelled. "Ok, we're coming down," Arna yelled back. Peten hopped to the plank. It was easier to hop than walk. Arna was the first to come down. As soon as she set foot on the ground, she became a kangaroo person, too. "Arna, what is going on?" Peten asked. Arna looked at herself and then Peten and Rarguf walking up. "I do not know," she said. "Apparently we are kangaroos." She stepped back on the ramp. When she did, she was her human self again. She stepped off and became the kangaroo. "This must be Room. Turlon, bring everyone off the boat, even the horses. Ketta was next. She was followed by Wilm. Both of them changed also. Wilm was looking at his hands/paws. "I have hands! And I can talk!" he yelled leaping for joy. Turlon came down leading Metty. The other horses followed. Jamk was the last. One by one they became kangaroo people as their hooves stood on the ground. The horses looked at themselves in confusion. "We have all been changed into kangaroo morphs," Arna said. "How is this possible?" "I don't know, but I rather like it," Metty said. "I kind of like being able to talk to you humans." "Well, I don't like it," Dabb said. "I was the perfect horse, and I want to stay the perfect horse." Everybody rolled their eyes. "Why did you bring us down here?" Dabb asked Arna. "Did you want us to all be kangaroo?" "Yes," she responded. "And if I may ask, why?" Dabb said. "For your safety," she said. As if on cue, about thirty kangaroo people leaped from the surrounding fog. Each of them had a spear pointed at the small group. One of the kangaroos lowered his spear and approached Arna. "Ah, fellow roomen," he said. The others lower their spears. "Forgive us if we scared you, but we don't like intruders on our island." "It's quite all right," Arna said. "We have journeyed across the sea." "Across the sea? Not many return from there. Let us take you to our village," he said leading Arna inland. "We have much to talk about." Arna followed the leader. Several of the other roomen hopped beside them. Peten and the others hopped in behind Arna. The rest of the roomen hopped behind them. Turlon caught up to Peten. "I hope she knows what she is doing," he said. "I hope so, too," Peten replied.