The LupeGelert Stone II: Part Three

by kirinki

The Spies

The group of Questers traveled through the cave, eating snacks that they picked from the trees. Nobody noticed that a pair of eyes were peering from behind a boulder. As the boulder disappeared into the soft earth, a metal boulder slid over it. Down, below the ground, chambers of metal were buried, connected by metal-lined tunnels. Autumn the Usul stepped out from the elevator that was cleverly disguised as a boulder.

"Report?" Summer asked her.

"A group of different species. Questers, I believe," Autumn replied.

"Questers? Send Winter up. She is the best at camouflage and spying. Tell her to bring supplies such as food, drinks, medicine and maps. I will talk with her." Summer sent Autumn off.

Autumn bounded through the endless passages. She punched in a code on a pad of designs and a beautifully decorated panel slid open. Winter sat on a sofa full of cushions and the room was seemingly bare, except for the sofa and a small bed. Winter took out a remote control and pushed a button. The bed folded up and slid into yet another panel and, from the same panel, another sofa emerged, a side table with it laden with drinks.

"Welcome. Please take a seat and have a drink." Winter's voice echoed onto the wildly painted walls. Autumn sat down and picked up a glass of Lupesoda. Winter had spied on the Lupes to find out this marvelous concoction.

"Summer wants you to go on a relatively short mission. Take a dozen bags of supplies and put them into this big bag and head out of our base. She will talk with you there." Autumn handed Winter a list of the supplies. Just as Autumn handed Winter the list, Summer and Spring arrived in the room.

"Here is what we will do..."The four Painted Female Usul Chiefs held a whispered conference.

***

Meanwhile in the country of Salamandastron, the Aishas took care of the Questers' pets, as Akkor had told them to by e-mail, while trying to contact their leader. Mariel, Akkor's sister, kept typing into her little Aisha handheld computer and sending e-mails to Akkor.

***

RedFlame was trying to work Akkor's little computer. There were over 10 messages, but he could not open them. They were having a little rest, eating some of Mystic's homemade Mossroom Soup. Mystic refused to tell anybody what she put into it for she was afraid they would not eat it. She cooked up a batch behind a boulder, throwing in one of each mushroom and handfuls of moss. Winter came out of the other side, padding out of her boulder/elevator. She blended in with her surroundings since she just used a Stone Paintbrush from her complete set. Winter waited until Mystic was busy cutting up HotShrooms before depositing a bag of supplies, maps and medicine beside Mystic.

When Mystic was finished making her soup (and when Winter was long gone), she let out a shout of surprise. " RedFlame, Walzak, Moonlight, Scorchio Patrol, come quick! I've found a bag of supplies and maps! Some kind soul must have left it here for us!" Mystic was dancing around her pot of soup. "Look, here's some writing. It says:

Underground is where we stay,
Made of metal is where we lay.
Do not guess, Usuls we are,
And you need not go too far,
An elevator you shall take,
A homemade dinner we shall make.
The elevator is made of rock,
So is this door, but it is locked.
Summer, Winter, Autumn, Spring,
Painted Usul chiefs make a ring.

"Wait. Underground is where we stay, made of metal is where we lay. I get it! They live underground in metal chambers." Moonlight grinned.

"Do not guess, Usuls we are, and you need not go too far. That must mean that they are Usuls and they are close to us." RedFlame pawed at the piece of paper.

"Trust those crazy Usuls, always making up riddles," Walzak snorted impatiently.

"An elevator you shall take...that means we have to take an elevator to get to them...A homemade dinner we shall make...that's the invitation to a feast." Moonlight eyes shone with the need for adventure.

"The elevator is made of rock, so is this door, but it is locked. The first line is pretty obvious...it's a rock elevator. So is this door, but it is locked...wait. What's that over there?" Mystic pointed to a big stone door. A gold padlock was firmly hanging on the knob. "That door must lead to the Usuls' home too, but someone has locked it."

"Summer, Autumn, Winter, Spring...those must be the names of the chiefs. Usul Chiefs make a ring..." Walzak had finally figured out something. He pointed at an intricately carved ring of stone that was hanging on a nearby boulder. Four names were carved onto it: Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter. "We must pull that ring."

The five friends and the rest of the Scorchio Patrol yanked hard on the ring. The boulder split in two, revealing a metal floor. Moonlight, RedFlame, Mystic and Walzak crammed into one corner as the rest of the Patrol crowded in. The elevator dropped calmly downwards, until it stopped and its doors opened, revealing a mass of chambers, tunnels and rooms all made out of welded metal.

"Welcome, my friends. Sit down and have feast while we get to know each other." Spring showed them to a gigantic feast room. A huge table was in the middle of the room, and the walls around it were decorated with tapestries showing the painted Usuls in battle. The Questers sat down at the end of the table.

"Kind sir, please pass the nut cake." A juvenile called Summer90 asked RedFlame.

"You see, the leaders have names with no numbers after. The others choose one of the four names and the leader whose name has been chosen, will add a number according to the rank. The higher the number, the lower the rank. A Usul with the number 1 after its name is the highest ranking officer, aside from the leader, who will probably be leader in the next generation." Autumn was explaining the Painted Usul Numbering system to Walzak who looked thoroughly confused.

"The key to camouflage is silence. Without silence, pets would know you were camouflaged......" Winter was talking about spying and camouflage to Moonlight.

CloudSkimmer said nothing as he piled food onto his plate, into his mouth and into his bag. The infants laughed merrily at CloudSkimmer who kept making comical faces as he shoveled food into his mouth. " Rook! Pudding wiv applesauce! " A little one named Spring200 jumped up toward the big trolley wheeling a pudding in.

After the feast was over, they were given their own chamber and told how to work the remote control. RedFlame was still trying to work Akkor's handheld computer when he drifted into sleep.

To be continued...