“And who is that one to?” Ulana was getting bored of all of Lolo’s letter writing.

“Ulana, I promised the guys that I would write up reports on the Badger Tribe to all the other main tribe leaders, and then I still need to write to Fengli about training General Baatar and helping out in the Bear Tribe for a bit. If you’re bored, go find the boys! I’ll be fine here by myself, and then I will join you when I’m finished.”

“Are you sure?”

“Absolutely. All of your pacing is making me crazy anyway.”

Ulana playfully stuck her tongue out at Huo Lohse who returned in kind. “See you in a bit, then.”

“See ya!” Lolo replied as the door swung shut. She took a deep breath to brace herself as she returned to her writing.

***

To Bear Tribe Leader Philige Tragen, Bear Tribe, Leader’s Lodge

From Huo Lohse Lang, Phoenix Tribe, Palace, Guest Quarters

June 18

Philige,

I’ve been assigned the task of writing up the report on the Badger Tribe for you, my dad, and King Hospes. Strap in. This won’t be light reading. We found the entire Badger Tribe massacred. Everyone, Philige. Down to the last infant. Obviously, we suspect the Dragon Tribe is behind it. The exact method used to kill them is something of a mystery. Jadu’s theory, and, frankly, our only theory at this point, is that they were administered two different poisons.

The first poison put everyone to sleep and likely anesthetized the pain of the second poison. (No one appeared to have suffered any pain or fear before their death.) How the sleeping poison was administered is undetermined, but it must have happened fairly simultaneously across the tribe. We found bodies everywhere in positions and locations that suggest they fell as they were going about their daily business.

The second poison is what killed them, and after performing some autopsies, Jadu has more information about this poison and how it was administered. He believes that needles were used as a delivery method, and the poison affected various vital organs in the body, causing them to shut down, ultimately killing the victims. I know he took samples from the bodies to perform tests on, but I don’t think that he’s had the chance to run his tests yet.

King Ukhaan sent men this morning to investigate the other tribes whose leaders didn’t show up for the meeting: the Snake Tribe, Shark Tribe, Crocodile Tribe, and Komodo Tribe. They haven’t returned yet (it’s nearly nightfall as I’m writing this), so I’m afraid that, when they return, they will bring more bad news with them.

Philige, the rest of the small tribes need to be warned, and that refugee alliance may become necessary sooner than we anticipated. I know that I can entrust you with the task of sounding the warning. Thank you for all the work you put into creating the alliance, by the way. I’m really grateful to have a friend like you.

There is one more matter I need to inform you about. I hope Standig has told you about the mysterious events of last summer and of our intentions to seek out the Great Owl for some answers. It occurs to me that I don’t actually know what he has and hasn’t told you. For the purposes of this letter, suffice it to say that, with the Dragon Tribe becoming more aggressive, the urgency of our quest has increased. We leave the Phoenix Tribe tomorrow, and I will personally see to it that all of your questions are answered to the best of my ability once we return. (We being myself, Standig, Fortus, Ulana, and Jadu.)

I realize that I am borrowing your captain responsible for the Bear Tribe military training camp, so I am sending Fengli Daozi, a very capable military trainer from the Wolf Tribe, to you to help the Starkam brothers after Fengli finishes training the new Phoenix General. (Another long story that I’m not sure if you’ve heard or not. Basically, we need to catch up.) Begrent and Ernkit are both familiar with Fengli. I’d even hazard to say that they are friends. Tell them to expect Fengli in about two weeks.

I hope this quest is quick and that I will be able to report to you in person soon. Ulana has been tracking sightings of the Great Owl for a while now. Apparently, she was last seen in November near the Bear Tribe heading into the northeastern mountains. She’s either still there, or we will be chasing clues around for forever until we find her. Wish us luck!

Lolo

***

To Fengli Daozi, Wolf Tribe, Military Base, Training Camp

From Huo Lohse Lang, Phoenix Tribe, Palace, Guest Quarters

June 18

Fengli,

Please don’t hate me! I kind of volunteered you to finish training the new Phoenix General for me and then help Begrent and Ernkit out with the Bear Tribe training camp for a while. I’ve already approved everything with King Ukhaan and sent letters to my dad and Bear Tribe Leader Tragen. If you could leave at your earliest convenience, that would be fantastic.

You will be training General Baatar here in the Phoenix Tribe. He’s awesome. You’ll like him. He works hard, is a natural leader, and is exceptionally bright. I don’t think he will need you for more than a couple of weeks maximum. He’s already well accepted and established as the Phoenix General; he just needs some guidance as he figures out his new role and a solid collection of resources to draw from. If you have any books, philosophies, training schedules, and the like that you’d be willing to share, bring them with you!

Fengli, I owe you one! Sorry, and thank you!

Lolo

***

“Knock, knock,” Lolo said as she opened the door to Standig’s room.

“Done with your letters?!” Ulana’s cheery voice greeted her.

“Just sent them off,” she nodded. “Standig, I realized while I was writing to Philige that I wasn’t sure how much you’ve told him about last summer.”

“Uh. I didn’t tell him much. I gave him a brief summary of the coup and told him that we were planning on looking for the Great Owl later this summer,” Standig flushed a little.

“You didn’t tell him why or anything?!”

“It wasn’t necessary. Philige agreed to let me come.”

Lolo rolled her eyes. “I wish I could remember exactly what I told him in the letter I wrote just now. Oh well. We’ll explain everything to him later.”

“Well, since we’re all here now, who wants to play a game?!” Ulana asked in an effort to dispel the gloom lingering in the air from the last couple of days. All three boys found a variety of rather dull tasks most engrossing. “What do you say, Lolo?” Ulana appealed to the only other girl.

“Did you have a particular game in mind?”

“Hm. Oh! I know! Truth or dare. It will help us get to know each other better before our big trip.”

“I’ll play with you. I’m not so sure that the boys will want to though.”

“Their loss! If they play, they can ask us any question that they want or get us to do anything that they want, within appropriate limits, of course, and we have to be absolutely honest and compliant,” Ulana said loudly enough that she was sure the boys could hear her.

Lolo rolled her eyes and sank to the floor to sit cross-legged. “Who goes first?”

“Truth or dare, Lolo?”

“Um, truth.”

“Out of everyone here, who is your best penpal?”

“Standig. No contest.”

“Really?!” Ulana was genuinely surprised. “Interesting.”

“Your turn, Ulana. Truth or dare?”

“Dare!”

“You still haven’t shown me some of those aerials that you made up.”

Ulana grinned. “You got it. Standig, would you mind being bullied for a moment?”

Standig, who was pretending not to be listening along with the rest of the guys, had to work hard to appear casual. “Who me? I mean, sure, I guess.”

Ulana smirked. “Come over to the bed.”

Standig obeyed and Ulana stood up on the bed to make up some of their height difference. Using the full length of the bed, Ulana ran toward Standig and used his shoulders as a springboard to vault herself over his head, twisting in the air to catch his shoulders with the crooks of her knees on the way down and use her full weight and momentum to jerk him back. As he staggered, Ulana did an impressive sit-up that brought her body up above his head and further destabilized his balance. He fell over backwards, and Ulana simply rotated her body over one of his shoulders to land on her hands and toes. Standig hit the ground, and Ulana did a little somersault over his head to stand back up again.

Lolo was clapping with her mouth hanging open. “You took Standig down! Hard! Like... wow!” Even Standig couldn’t deny the impressiveness of the stunt. Ulana took a little bow and rejoined Lolo on the floor. “Anybody want to join us?” Lolo asked. “Standig?”

“Fine,” Standig grumbled.

“Fortus? It’s fun!” Lolo coaxed. Fortus rolled his eyes but decided to humor her. “Jadu, you’re the only one missing,” Lolo grinned. Jadu looked up from the book he was pretending to read and waved his hand dismissively. “Jadu, your book is upside down,” Lolo laughed. Caught, he flushed a little and surrendered. “So, Ulana, what are the rules with five people?”

“We go in a circle asking someone of our choice ‘truth or dare’. Standig, pick someone to ask,” Ulana grinned.

“Um,” Standig looked around the circle, “Jadu, truth or dare?”

“Truth.”

“Ok. What do you miss the most about Pahaad?”

Jadu had to think about it. “The mountain basin and my mature medicinal plants. Shanti had to plant from seeds when we moved.”

“Your turn, Fortus,” Ulana prompted.

“Standig, truth or dare?”

“Uh, dare.”

Fortus seemed disappointed by his choice and had to think about what to have Standig do. “Sing.”

“Sing?!” Standig blushed.

“Yeah. You can pick the song,” Fortus shrugged.

Standig had to search his memory to come up with a song. The one he found was an old lullaby with a simple melody in a minor key.

“The mother aspen with spades for leaves

Deep in the dirt her soul conspires.

Giving new life, creates her own tribe.

The trunk stands solitary, but roots bind.

What’s seen from above is not her core.

The heart of the aspen is never alone.”

“What song is that?” Ulana asked.

“I don’t know,” Standig shrugged. “It’s just the first one that popped into my head.”

“It’s beautiful,” Ulana smiled.

“Standig, I didn't know that you could sing. You have an incredible voice!” Lolo was delightfully flustered. “I’m learning so much about you today.”

Standig grinned bashfully.

“Well, erm, Jadu, you’re up,” Ulana reminded him.

“Oh. Lolo, truth or dare?”

“Truth.”

“What is one thing you wish you could do?”

“Like something fictitious or a skill that I currently suck at?”

“Uh, both.”

“I think it would be awesome to be able to fly! Can you imagine the freedom and the thrill?! But generally, I wish I were more artistic. I’m not musical at all, and I can’t draw to save my life!”

“I know,” Standig grinned. “You once tried to draw a picture of some kind of animal, I think, but I had no idea what I was supposed to be looking at.”

“But it cheered you up!” Lolo laughed.

“Yes. Yes it did.”

“Then mission accomplished!”

“I want to see you draw something,” Ulana stuck her bottom lip out in a goofy beg.

Lolo snorted. “It might blind you, but they’re your eyes to blind. Get me a paper and a pen!” Jadu was quick to procure the requested items. “What should I draw? Something simple….”

“How about a wolf?” Fortus suggested.

“Ok. Give me a minute,” Lolo tucked her knees up to hide her drawing from the group until she’d finished. She spent the next five minutes laughing hilariously at herself as she drew, causing the group to laugh with her. Finally, she put the pen down and clutched the paper to her chest. “Ok. You ready for the big reveal?! It’s truly, truly horrendous.” Everyone nodded eagerly. Lolo scrunched up her eyes in embarrassment, still laughing. “One, two, three!” She turned the paper around and everyone cocked their heads to one side or the other and squinted.

“Remind me again, that’s supposed to be a wolf right?” Ulana puzzled.

“Yeah,” Lolo squeaked out through her laughter. “See, here is the head and the nose and the ears. And then here is the body and the tail and four legs. Well, one, two, three…” she counted, “I thought I drew four legs.” The more things she pointed out, the harder she laughed and the more her friends laughed with her.

“You’re right, Lolo,” Fortus chuckled, “you really can’t draw to save your life.”

“I know!” Lolo was laughing so hard, she was crying. “So, who wants my masterpiece?”

“Oo! Pick me!” Ulana teased.

“Sold!” Lolo handed her the paper. “You’re up, Ulana.”

“Fortus, truth or dare?”

“Truth.”

“You spent the better part of this last year living with Lolo’s family. What is one thing you learned about her that you don’t think the rest of us know?”

“Hm.” Fortus had to think about it. “Oh, I know. She’s a snuggler.”

“I’m a what now?” Lolo asked.

“A snuggler,” Fortus laughed. “I don’t know what else to call it. When you’re sleeping, if someone even just barely touches you, you roll right into them to snuggle.”

“I do not!” Lolo protested.

“Oh, yes, you do!” Fortus laughed harder still. “I’ll prove it. We’re going to be camping out a lot this next week or longer. Just you wait!”

“Fortus, how did you find out that Lolo is a snuggler?” Ulana eyed him suspiciously.

“Uh…. we had a few late nights. Sometimes Lolo would fall asleep on me,” Fortus felt a little warmer around the collar.

“Uh-huh,” Ulana baited him.

“It was nothing like that,” Fortus tried to clarify.

“Sure it wasn’t,” Ulana teased.

Fortus cleared his throat uncomfortably and determined to change the subject. “Lolo, it’s your turn.”

“Right. Um, Jadu, truth or dare?”

“Truth.”

“What is one thing that you wish people knew about you?”

“I don’t say much, but it doesn’t mean I don’t like you.”

“Follow-up question, Jadu… assuming that’s allowed?” Lolo asked.

“Sure,” Jadu agreed.

“How do you feel about this group of people?”

Jadu grinned mildly. “It’s good. We don’t all know each other well, but I think we trust each other.”

“Aww,” Ulana balked a little at the sentimentality.

After a while, the game died in favor of some smaller conversations. “Fortus,” Lolo caught him alone, “I was just wondering, has your no-friends policy changed?”

“You want to know if I consider everyone else here to be my friends or not?”

“Yes and no. I mostly want to know if that rule managed to relax over the last year.”

Fortus smiled, “yes.”

“Really?!”

“Yes. It has relaxed a little.”

“And everyone else here?”

“I’m not ready to call them ‘my friends’ yet, but I can see that changing someday.”

“Do you trust them?”

“I think so. They’ve proven themselves many times over.”

Lolo thought for a moment. “Fortus, what is the difference between trust and friendship to you?”

“That’s a really good question, Lolo. I think it has something to do with an ability to comfortably be vulnerable with someone. I may trust that they are good people and won’t intentionally harm me or use me, but I’m not comfortable with them yet. That part will take time getting to know them better.”

Lolo nodded and coyly tugged on his sleeve. “So I’m a ‘snuggler’, huh?”

“Most definitely,” he flashed her his unnecessarily charming smile.

“Does that bother you?”

“Only when my arm falls asleep,” he teased.

“Oh good, because, even if it did, you’re just going to have to suck it up,” she laughed and hugged him.

From across the room, Ulana shouted, "Ugh, guys! Just get a room already!" causing all three of the boys to blush.

***

The steward had thought of everything. The horses were loaded up with saddle bags full of food for both humans and horses, flint and steel for starting a fire, basic hygiene, medical, and sewing kits, a practical change of clothes, a formal change of clothes, horse grooming tools, bedrolls, blankets for the horses, and small, concealed purses with enough coin to feed everyone for at least two months without the need to hunt or scavenge. Decked out from head to toe in fresh, new travel clothes, the group felt positively spoiled, and Huo Lohse was overwhelmed.

“I’ll be right back,” she told the group and turned to sprint back to the throne room to thank King Ukhaan.

She knocked on the great doors and was permitted entrance to see four captains reporting their findings from the small tribes they’d been sent to investigate. Captain Galod Khad, who had been sent with his men to investigate the Komodo Tribe, had returned injured.

“Princess Lang, I thought you’d left. What brings you here?” the Old Phoenix welcomed her graciously.

“I came to thank you before taking off,” Lolo said distractedly. “Captain Khad, what happened?”

Galod looked to the king for permission to speak, which was granted with a slight nod. “I just returned from the Komodo Tribe. We found everyone dead, but we also had a run in with some Dragon Tribe soldiers.”

“All dead? Are you alright? Have you seen a doctor? How are your men?” Her head was racing, and she’d gone pale again.

Galod and one of the other captains caught her as her knees buckled. “Lolo, erm, princess, are you ok?”

She shook some of the fog from her head and smiled weakly. “I’m alright. Sorry to cause a scene.” Back on her feet once more, she returned to the matter at hand. “Have you had that looked at?” she asked, pointing to an oozing wound on Galod’s shoulder.

“I’ll be fine. Don’t worry about me.”

“Only if you promise me that you’ll get that cleaned.” He nodded, and Lolo continued her fussing. “How are your men?”

“I lost four soldiers, and about a dozen or so, including myself, were injured. We were lucky this time, the dragons were more interested in retreating than fighting, which was fortunate because their numbers were greater than ours.”

Lolo turned to the other three captains. “What about the rest of you?”

“The tribes we investigated met the same fate as the Badger Tribe, but we didn’t see any Dragon Tribe soldiers,” a Captain Shudarga spoke for the rest. “We buried the bodies yesterday and returned this morning.”

Lolo nodded to acknowledge the report, but she was struggling to keep her emotions under control. Five small tribes just gone. That was almost more than she could handle. Without really thinking, she hugged each captain in turn to wish them well and say goodbye. While the captains were nonplussed by the sudden affection, they certainly didn’t mind it.

The Old Phoenix smiled indulgently at Huo Lohse. “Do I get a hug goodbye too?” he asked, earning a few surprised whispers and chuckles from around the room.

Huo Lohse didn’t hesitate to approach the throne with her arms wide, and King Ukhaan stood up to accept the embrace. “Thank you for everything, your majesty.”

“It is I that should be thanking you, princess Lang.” She pulled away, wiping tears on her sleeve. “Write me a note every once in a while to let me know your progress,” the king fussed.

Lolo nodded and smiled through her tears. “I will. Until we meet again.” She nodded at prince Surakh to acknowledge him as she turned to leave.

Once she’d left the room, King Ukhaan turned to look at his grandson and raised his eyebrows at him. “Surakh, that is a young woman that I would love to call my granddaughter.”

Surakh nodded with a small smile. “Are you thinking of adopting her?” he teased.

The Old Phoenix chuckled. “Unless you are otherwise involved, you might consider seeking princess Lang’s hand.”

“She is a little young for me, grandfather.”

“She won’t always be. She’s eighteen, you’re twenty-seven. That is less than ten years.”

Surakh chuckled. “By the time that ‘less than ten years’ is no longer an obstacle, I’m sure she’ll have been snatched up by someone else.”

“A ten year age gap is an obstacle in your head only,” King Ukhaan smiled. “Very well, I’ve said my piece, Surakh. Give it some thought, and you will hear about this from me no more.”

Lolo returned in a daze to where her friends were waiting for her. Fortus knew the instant that he saw her that something was horribly wrong and rushed to meet her half way with a hug.

“Lolo, what happened?”

“The captains that King Ukhaan sent to investigate the other tribes returned,” she looked up to meet Fortus’s gaze with tears threatening to spill down her cheeks.

“Same as the Badger Tribe?” She nodded, and Fortus pulled her closer. “Are you alright?”

“I will be,” she sniffed. “We should get going. We should try to at least reach the tournament grounds tonight.”

“Ok,” Fortus said, giving her a last squeeze. He helped her onto Choloo’s back before mounting Khuchad. “Let’s move out.”