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The Mysterious Chef

While the King Avatara, his daughter, his son and his knights are on the way to the
mountain, PatanYali was asked to guard the castle and the city of Lorena.

He was told by undefined source of rumors about the possible threat of an unknown
powerful figure inside the castle. PatanYali is not certain who this threat is. Even if he
finds out, he has no power whatsoever against him or her.

In addition to the worrisome situation in the Kingdom of Rocky Fortress, he has

another thing on his mind: why on earth he was dumped in this Kingdom.

Is there something for him to figure out regarding to collect the pieces of the forgotten
and the lost map of the Garden of Jezera? Or is there someone that he should meet in
this Lorena city, who perhaps holds the lost pieces of the map? These questions are
constantly on his mind.

The Queen has still not recovered from her illness. But the Princess informed that she
is doing somewhat better. But she would not be completely healthy before Ligo, her
son is found.

Time passes and there is no news whatsoever from the King.

 Graphic: Unknown

Late one night, in the quiet of the darkness, PatanYali strolled around the city on his
stallion, after he made sure the guards were on their proper posts, protecting the
castle.

The night was alive with sound. The howling of wolves pierced the liquid night. Some
cats are fighting for the leftover food in the garbage at the corner of the street. He
noticed that most of the citizens of the Lorena city are now deep asleep. Only one or
two windows still have small lights on.

He is on the road towards the gate of the city, located on the foot of the hill. No one is
guarding this gate, since the whole surrounding area belongs to the Kingdom. And
there were practically no enemies from outside the castle and the city of
Lorena recorded in its history. The castle is mainly guarded from thieves, like horse
thieves and other petty criminals. Even that kind of crime is almost unheard of.

Outside the gate there are vast fields, forests and farms, inhabited by peasants.

Approaching the city gate, PatanYali notices a small shadow moving fast but
carefully behind the bushes, not far outside the gate. It came to a sudden stop.

Just as carefully, PatanYali got off his horse and moved about the bushes after tying
up the horse to a small tree.

"Is someone there…?" PatanYali asked quietly, not wanting to wake the sleeping
residents.

But after he took a few steps forward, something was thrown at him. Missing him, the
object fell on the road just ahead of him. He quickly ran to the bushes to find out who
tried to attack him. But the shadow moved fast and disappeared inside the thick forest.
He picked up the thing. It was a small rock wrapped in a small piece of leather, with a
short message. Tomorrow night is the night for the action of the beasts. Be calm,
pretend nothing happened. Follow the small light. Look to the East, now!

Signed by 'The Chef'

P.S. Guard this message with your life, no one must find out!

Who is this Chef? So far he had only heard of him in legend or myth. Does this
mysterious chef actually exist? If so, is it the castle chef or one from another kitchen
in Lorena city? PatanYali mumbled to himself.

PatanYali lifted up his face to the North and searching with the corner of his eyes in
the direction mentioned in the message, to the East. In the thick forest he noticed a
tiny blinking light. Just as quickly, the light disappeared.

Without moving his head PatanYali tried to ascertain no one was following him. He
noticed a small mist of breath behind a very huge tree to the right side behind him.
Enough for him to understand that someone has been following him. Without thinking
twice, he quickly run to the West and disappeared into the thick bushes.

He quietly crossed the field while hiding under rocks and bushes he found on the way.
Passing behind the houses of the deep sleeping peasants, circling the thick forest he
headed quietly but quickly to the small blinking light, no bigger and brighter than the
sparkling fireflies in the hot summer nights.

Well, it is the blinking of a single firefly, after all! What on e… Without finishing the
sentence in his head, he sensed some tiny, hushed movements around him.

The movements belonged to small dark creatures. Blending well into the dark night,
they appeared gradually from the branches of the huge trees, all around him.

The creatures reached only to his knee but moved incredibly fast and quietly. Without
realizing it, PatanYali was surrounded by these small dark creatures.

Every time he needed an answer, PatanYali used the mirror he always carries in his
pocket. A strange, small mirror that could communicate to him through its reflections.

It had shown him the reflection of a pair of monkeys talking to an unknown small and
ugly kind of creature with a series of numbers on the back of the neck. And there was
also an ugly goat that once took him to a strange place where a giant statue of a goat
was being vandalized. He even found blurry information that the numbers on the
unknown creature's neck was somehow connected with the vandalized giant statue of
the goat. However, all this information remains a puzzle to him.

Quickly PatanYali grabbed this small mirror to find out what he was dealing with,
right here and now.

"Don’t bother with that thing… "Suddenly a voice made itself heard in his head
without a sound being produced. PatanYali noticed that one of the small dark
creatures was coming closer to him. The kind of creature of the small mirror with a
series of numbers on the back of the neck Or are they?

"Long before you became the holder, we come from that thing…" The voice in his
head told him again. Seems like this voice belongs to the creature standing right in
front of him now.

Are they communicating telepathically? Before he could fully formulate this question
in his mind, he received an answer, 'you are not that stupid, after all…hikhik' the
voice answered with a giggling.

'Who are you …' PatanYali asked, again without raising a voice.

'The proper question is what we are… But there is no time to explain that now…
Follow us. You know how to climb a tree, right?"

"Yup! Stealing mangos from the neighbors was my specialty when I was a kid… "

PatanYali stopped. Did he actually ever experience childhood? When? Where? Who
were his parents?

Blank!

A giggle echoed in his head.

After awhile, he realizing his inconvenient history, he continues.

"Hmm… you said you came out from the mirror… So, do you know why I am here in
Lorena? Who was the keeper of this mirror, before me?"

"Hush, hush… Too many questions are not good for action. Specially climbing a huge
tree…" Within seconds these creatures were climbing the trees, separately. So quick,
smooth and quiet.

It wasn't that easy for PatanYali to match the speed of these small dark creatures
called the Malinians. He was having a hard time keeping up with them while
climbing.

The tree that PatanYali is climbing is huge and tall, just like the rest of the trees in this
forest. The higher he went, PatanYali felt the tree getting softer and smoother.

It felt like forever even just to reach the first branch. When he reached the first branch
there was an echo in PatanYali mind, "One!" Obviously this little dark creature was
counting.

The Malinians passed the first branch, followed by PatanYali.

After they passed a number of branches, and they could count 2210 branches, the
Malinians took one turn to the left of a very thin branch. They keep moving while also
keep counting the smaller thinner branches they were passing until they reached
number 108, finally facing huge, thick leaves.
The Malinians stopped for a brief moment to move a little branch that looked like
stick behind the thick leaves. PatanYali was amazed to see that after the stick was
touched somehow the leaves moved around as though blown by the strong wind.

When the leaves were completely rearranged here and there, they made a gate. Inside
the gate, branches spread out to form a stairway, like an entrance to the next
dimension or wherever it might be. PatanYali was so stunned he had to stick to the
tree.

After the stairway completely developed in seconds, the Malinians were on the move
again, climbing the stairway which circled around. Finally they come to a closed door.
One of the Malinian opened the door to a huge room full of Malinians hanging
around, drinking and eating.

PatanYali stepped into the enormous room. He could hear them talking to each other
without a single mouth opening or moving. Different looking, it seemed they did not
bother to glance at him at all.

"Well, at least I am the most handsome creature in this room…" PatanYali noted in
his mind, happily. He forgot they all communicating telepathically. Suddenly the
room burst out in laughter.

With a familiar giggle, the one who talked to him so far asked him to look at a mirror
hanging on the nearest wall. The mirror was so short that PatanYali need to kneel.

"You don’t have to kneel, just stand in front of it…By the way call me, Uno!"

PatanYali was terribly shocked when he stood in front of the mirror, he felt his body
sinking! Getting smaller and shorter, in the mirror he could see himself with long ears
and hair, dark and utterly funny looking. He simply looked like one of them!

"No!"

"Yeah, you can call me that for short…" Another burst of giggling.

"Why have you brought me here, look at me now… I have become a funny looking
creature."

"Relax buddy, there is nothing you can do now, or at least for the near future to stop
what is going to happen to Lorena city… So, be thankful to us, that we brought you
here."

"I am not going to let anything bad happen to that city and the family of King
Avatara. I will keep my word to the King. I am looking for information about the
possible threat to the Kingdom and the King's family, that’s why I came with you. For
information, not to hide, okay?"

"Follow me…" Uno's voice.

PatanYali followed Uno to a hall full of windows along the way, while the rest of
Malinians who came with him from the forest now joined their funny looking friends,
chatting, eating and drinking.

"Are we actually going to meet this Chef, who or whatever that is…?"

"Hush, hush… Too many questions are not good for action. Especially since you are
no longer climbing a tree, but you are …ehm… a part of the tree…" Giggling again.

"Huh?"

"Stick your head out of one of these windows…"

"No!..."

Again, PatanYali is terribly shocked, when he put his head through one of the nearest
windows to look outside. There is nothing but an empty, silent, luminescence from
early morning sun shining through the thick leaves of forest, and butterflies playing in
the sunshine, while a white rabbit, greeted him, saying 'morning…' and then run off to
play around. From his chest downwards, he blended perfectly with a huge tree.

He could even sense the lonely feeling of a single yellow leaf that was falling to the
ground.

"You really like calling me that, huh?" Again, giggling.

 .The Imaginary City of Pathzi is a collaborative writing organized by the Voyager
:Voyager was formed by four social network creators

 Cafeist : http://cafeist.ning.com
 Land of Fantasy : http://landoffantasy.ning.com
 Laugh Everyday : http://laugheverday.ning.com
 One Earth One Change : http://ladyab.ning.com

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