Alex greeted the creatures with caution. Simber remained skeptical. “Wherrre arrre yourrr enemies?” Simber asked. “Surrrely you have some.”
Talon smiled. “Our enemies are all dead except for one.”
Lhasa stepped around some delicate-looking plants and made her way toward the Artiméans. She hovered just above the sand nearby, content to observe.
“Dead?” Simber’s interest was piqued.
“We killed them,” Talon said matter-of-factly, as if he were describing what he ate for breakfast.
“I see,” Simber said. He rose from his crouched position and sat. “And the one?”
“You’ve met him. The eel. He eludes us. I’ve chopped his tail off twice, the slimy worm, but he simply grows it back. He’s caused quite a lot of grief for our sea creatures.”
“Then it seems we sharrre an enemy.”
“Indeed. Which is why we ought to be friends.”
Ever cautious, Simber kept his guard up. “Perrrhaps.”
Talon turned to Alex. “Issie and the squid were gone for many weeks. We feared the worst. But Issie tells me your group saved her.”
“Simber did, actually,” Alex said modestly. “And Spike, our whale friend.” He turned to look out to sea, feeling a bit uneasy. “Spike stabbed the eel, but it got away.”
“It nearly capsized our ship,” Florence said.
“Florence saved all of us that time,” Samheed said.
“I do not doubt it,” Talon said.
If Florence could blush, she most likely would have.
Lhasa the snow lion, rose to her feet. “We would like to thank you for rescuing our friends. Won’t you all come explore—your injured friends too?” She pointed to the ship, where Henry, Lani, Sky, Crow, and Copper all stood watching them. “We shall prepare a feast to celebrate the return of Issie and the squid.”
Alex looked at Simber. Simber raised an eyebrow at Florence. Florence nodded.
“We’d love that,” Alex said. “Thank you.”
» » « «
Within the hour, everyone except Ahab was either resting in the shade on the edge of the crustaceous island or preparing to explore the various paths. Ahab desired to remain with the ship, which was really better for everyone, Alex decided. Sean and Carina had finished working on the squid and were thrilled to catch their breath and enjoy a cool drink.
Lani, who was feeling quite good now, joined Samheed, and thankfully they refrained from arguing. They stood beside Alex and Simber in front of Talon and waited for instructions.
“If you reach Vido the golden rooster,” Talon said, “perched high in the tallest tree, you will know you are at the center of the island. Beware of dropbears when walking through the most forested parts of the island,” he told them. “They won’t hurt you, but they might frighten you. They like to play tricks.”
“Dropbears?” Lani asked under her breath. “Now I can’t wait. Let’s go!”
“What are dropbears?” Samheed whispered back.
“I have no idea, but they sound adorable. I bet they’re tiny little bears.”
“Drop-size?”
Lani smirked. “Exactly. Or at least I hope so.”
“If you see the hibagon, try not to stare or you might fall in love,” Talon said with a smile. “He’s about Lani’s height. Brown fur. Kind of . . . blurry.”
“Blurrry?” Simber asked.
“Not in focus,” Talon said. “You’ll see what I mean if he makes an appearance. It’s hard to describe. But for the most part he keeps to himself. You’ll smell him well before you see him.” Talon looked around. “Does anyone have any questions?”
They all did, but no one voiced them, preferring to find out the answers for themselves.
The Tale of Talon
While half the Artiméans explored the Island of Legends, the other half rested on the beach near the lagoon. Florence, who could see quite a bit of the island just by standing, opted to check in with Spike, who had been swimming around the lagoon chatting with Issie in a language Florence couldn’t understand.
“Any sign of the eel?” Florence asked.
“No. How did you come back to life?”
“What? Oh. I wasn’t dead. I was just pretending to be.”
“Oh. Why does Issie have legs and I do not have legs?”
Florence blinked. “You’ll have to ask Alex. But you do have a very lovely spike on your head.”
“I did not know that until I ran into the glass wall.”
“You can’t see it?”
The whale scrunched up her face, eyes crossing to get a look at the spike. “No, but I saw it in the glass after I hit it. Where is the Alex?”
“He’s exploring the island.”
“This island is alive, you know. It is named crab. It is much, much bigger than the squid.”
Florence smiled. “I noticed that.”
“The shiny man is behind you.”
“What?” Florence whirled around, hands in the air and ready to fight or cast any number of spells.
Talon held up his hands and took a step back in defense. “My humble apologies, Lady Florence,” he said. “I didn’t want to interrupt your conversation. The whale is very beautiful. I haven’t seen anything like it.”
“Thank you,” said Spike. She darted away.
Florence held her pose for a moment and lowered her fists. “Sorry.”