Party, oh yes, it became filled with non-stop activity. Music boomed in exotic rhythms with encouraging dance. And yes, dancers with most of them being males while everyone is encouraged to dance. Erotic, playful, and teasing as the drums, horns and stringed instruments roar into the night.
Then there are the foods of various primitive decadence. Spiced meats, mixed meats, roasted eggs, fruits, vegetables and herds until fullness. All of it is displayed in the grandness of beautiful artistic designs and appealing to all senses. Some of it is so delectable that addiction exists at first tasting.
Accompanying that there are many types of drinks. And, the drink that gives a whooping impression is called Piqued Creme. It tastes like a spiced rum liqueur that is mixed with the sweetest heavy cream. It wafts and simmers of rich allspice, passionate cinnamon, wild nutmeg and teasingly of cloves. It creates hot sensations all over. It inspires giddiness and dancing. And yes, the Goddess parties. She talks, laughs, dances with anyone, and playfully teases while dawn swiftly approaches.
As dawn enters to create another day a tiredness seeps in. The bio-gen sleep is on its way. So Augusta stops to excuse herself to do personal things. In doing so she enters an outbuilding that is used for such. But once inside, Augusta transforms into pure air just before the bio-gen sleep overtakes. Then in less than a second, she materializes at the Breaze`s cave to slump against the back wall.
An hour, just that amount of time and she instantly stands to teleport back to the place of the party. Most of the attendees are now sleeping. Clean-up is being done by groups of male Felidiea. All of them seem busy preparing for another party during the coming evening. That brings the understanding that the celebration is a festival and not a one-nighter sort of event.
Augusta walks around the area to discover she is not missed. She is pleased that no one mentions that she vanished for an hour. Not even Cyrus does as he strolls over to kneel in front of her saying, “ I am to entertain you until her highness Regalia awakens in several hours. If you wish I will take you to the location where Sir Berous died. But you possibly prefer to see where I saw the glowing green, pink and black gemstone. ”
He glances up at her to note that the idea catches her attention. So he smilingly conveys, “ It was broad like that bench and twice as high. Thick like a dining table. It glowed those colours.”
“ Yes, please, take me there. And, afterward, we will visit the Berous grave. ” Augusta replies while adding. “ If you supply exact directions I can teleport us there. ”
Cyrus owns a puzzled expression on his calico face at the mention of teleportation. That has Augusta giggle in realizing he has experienced it but he also has no idea what it’s called. So she chuckles a bit more before saying, ” The instant travel magic from one place to another that we did yesterday.”
“ Oh yes, much enjoyed. I am now more famous because I magic travelled with you. Yes, would like to do more. ” Cyrus excitedly shares while leaping up into anxious about travelling again.
” Directly over that third distant hill and a half day travel, ” His voice is no longer low within being humble as joy overpowers him.
Happiness zips out and around him. ” On the far north face of the forest. The forested acreage of tall red trees just beyond the hills. An open pasture of many miles of white rock graveyard at the base of Errors` Mountain. Yes, yes, yes, please, let us go there. ”
Augusta instantly feels like a big kid having a younger buddy tag along on an adventure that has been said to be impossible. Yet, she has had that very adventure for countless years. This simplistic mode of travel, via universe energy manipulation, no longer excited her. It lost that joy as she has made it a common way of travel. But, today, Cyrus reminds her of how unique it is. Especially for a Mortal to experience. In that thought, she stands next to him to lay a hand on his shoulder. Swiftly the flash of universe energy gathers them. In less than a breath, another flash of energy allows them to appear at the base of a singular mountain. A mountain connected to a small valley of white rocks.
“Ah, love it,” Cyrus exclaims of the pleasure involved in teleportation as he continues talking. “ Here… yes, here and in the center of that up cropping of pillar stones gathered in a circle. That is where the glowing multi-coloured slab of gemstone rose out of the ground. ”
He walks toward the area of archaic stone pillars that possess a large hole in the center. Looking down at it Cyrus’s voice holds sadness as he announces, “ The same day Lord Averous died I saw this hole bring that glowing stone. Four hooded ones of your kind held strange rods to magic it out of the ground. A fifth hooded stranger stood watching them before making the gem fly fast into the high sky. Then the sky flashed to swallow the slab of gemstone. ”
“ The same day? ” Questioningly puzzles Augusta for she thinks it odd to have two such events occur on the same day.
“ Yes, after the five of them vanished I immediately turned to go home. I was mere minutes from here when a messenger from a hunting party stopped me. He told about his group discovering Lord Averous dead. “ Convey Cyrus with sadness while walking over to peer into the hole between the pillars.
“ It is the same.” Comes mentioned as Cyrus continues, “ We plan to fill it in so no one falls in it. But so busy lately. Much destruction of these smaller Lios alters and then the death of our Lord Averous.”
Augusta watches him inspect the hole with her asking, “ Is the place of death close by? ”
“ Yes, a short distance from here. He was found in the Griffs’ sacred river, the Cyanus River. ” Shares Cyrus in stepping away from the hole to further convey, “ We, Felidea, are honoured that the Griffs asked us to move him to the grave lands. ”
“ A sacred river? Why sacred? ” Augusta queries needing to fully understand the details of the murder.
“ The place where the Griff emperor prays. They bathe there before flying into the skies to screech the prayers to you. ” Cyrus looks into the distance as he begins to walk toward the area to the left of them.
Augusta’s eyes widen in shock. She realizes that Averous died while undertaking prayers to serve her. A grimace arrives on her lips in understanding it is possibly partially her fault that Breaze`s friend is dead. It forms dread for she needs to tell that to him. But that is later and currently, Cyrus continues telling information while walking away from where they abide.
“ His head was found drenched in water. But he did not seem to die of drowning but the death of no breaths. No water in the lungs. The beak clamped shut. We hear no water when moving the body. ” Cyrus looks over his shoulder toward Augusta with encouragement, “ Come to see. It is over that little hill in front of us. We will easily see the river, come. ”
Easily, indeed as they stand atop the hill. Eyes notice that the river is within a quarter-mile distance. Then walking onward to the river has the surrounding air whispering of recent death. Her element proclaims sorrow embedded in the clay and water. The air tells of sudden death and the air being guilty. Her air element is guilty of not allowing breaths to a Griff.
Hurt owns. Hard emotions embrace. Pain in knowing that an entity used air as a predatory thing. Air as predator. Death by air. It is not used as a form of justice or as a tool in defence. That truth makes Augusta ghostly white before falling to her knees in being overcome with emotion. The soul screams a sorry as lips sorrowfully whisper, ” Sorry, sorry…sorry. ”
WindWhisperer 