finished out their ensembles. Tralnis finished the
inspection by smearing soot under Gareth’s eyes.
“Where’s Henry?” Tralnis asked, realizing his butler
(and the instigator for the night’s adventure) was absent.
“He said he would meet us in the park near the Sea
Labs,” Gareth replied.
Tralnis held up a long black trench coat that would
cover Henry from his shoulders to his ankles. “I bought this for
him. I know he hates pants and it was the only thing I could think
of that would cover his orange fur,” he stated.
Gareth started to chuckle when he realized that Henry
never had the opportunity to demonstrate to Tralnis the skills that
had been passed down in his family for generations. Growing up with
the Chim as his best friend, Gareth had seen what Henry was capable
of. “Leave it. I promise you’ll be impressed,” he assured
Tralnis.
Tralnis gave Gareth a very skeptical look, but put
the trench coat down on the table. “I hope you’re right,” he
muttered as they made their way out the front door and down the
street that led to the park where they were to meet Henry.
The sun had gone down, and the park was apparently
empty except for Gareth and Tralnis. Seeing no sign of Henry,
Tralnis huffed in annoyance. “You would think that with the watch I
got him for his last birthday, the blasted Chim could show up on
time,” he groused. Looking up at Gareth, he saw his son biting his
lip in an attempt not to laugh. “Just let it out, Gareth. You’ll
probably rupture something if you don’t,” Tralnis warned, rolling
his eyes. Gareth let out a guffaw, and pointed to a large tree a
few yards away.
At first, Tralnis couldn’t make out what Gareth was
pointing at, but as he crept closer, he saw that part of the tree
was moving. A few steps more, and he was able to distinguish a
shape shaking rhythmically in the branches. When Tralnis was right
next to the tree, he could make out a shape that looked
disturbingly like a Chim’s backside covered in mud and leaves
shaking in his direction. “What is that?” he asked.
“That would be a Chim’s ass. I thought as a doctor
you would be able to identify one when you saw it,” Gareth
joked.
The muddy monster jumped out of the tree, and landed
in front of Tralnis. The only things not covered in mud and leaves
were two intelligent brown eyes, and a wide smile full of sharp
teeth. Henry made kissing noises, and then snorted to greet his
employer. Tralnis admitted to himself that he really was impressed,
and looked to Gareth for some sort of explanation.
“For as long as they can remember, Henry’s family
were the hunters of their Clan. They were responsible for feeding a
whole village. Over the centuries, his family learned that
ambushing their prey was much easier than chasing after it. Even
after they immigrated to the IRD, Henry’s parents taught him how to
camouflage himself in case he needed to do something without being
seen,” Gareth said, filling in some of the empty blanks in Tralnis’
knowledge of the Chimmian Woohaa Clan. Gareth gestured towards the
hazy outline of the Sea Labs in the distance. “Gentlemen, we have
some thievery to get to,” he announced.
The three would be burglars made their way to the
southernmost edge of the University Arcanum where it met the warm
waters of the Narrow Sea. The School of Nautical Sciences was
surrounded on three sides by a seven foot high stone wall left over
from when the buildings had been an outpost for the IRD Navy. Two
large guns that had been silent for decades overlooked the sea,
protecting the tiny harbor from nautical threats.
Gareth had visited the School of Nautical Sciences on
several occasions. Professor Rand had made him get certified in the
various diving equipment used by the University for the rare
occasion when they worked on a site that was underwater. He chose a
place along the wall that he knew was close to the outbuilding
where the equipment was stored.
Carefully looking
inspection by smearing soot under Gareth’s eyes.
“Where’s Henry?” Tralnis asked, realizing his butler
(and the instigator for the night’s adventure) was absent.
“He said he would meet us in the park near the Sea
Labs,” Gareth replied.
Tralnis held up a long black trench coat that would
cover Henry from his shoulders to his ankles. “I bought this for
him. I know he hates pants and it was the only thing I could think
of that would cover his orange fur,” he stated.
Gareth started to chuckle when he realized that Henry
never had the opportunity to demonstrate to Tralnis the skills that
had been passed down in his family for generations. Growing up with
the Chim as his best friend, Gareth had seen what Henry was capable
of. “Leave it. I promise you’ll be impressed,” he assured
Tralnis.
Tralnis gave Gareth a very skeptical look, but put
the trench coat down on the table. “I hope you’re right,” he
muttered as they made their way out the front door and down the
street that led to the park where they were to meet Henry.
The sun had gone down, and the park was apparently
empty except for Gareth and Tralnis. Seeing no sign of Henry,
Tralnis huffed in annoyance. “You would think that with the watch I
got him for his last birthday, the blasted Chim could show up on
time,” he groused. Looking up at Gareth, he saw his son biting his
lip in an attempt not to laugh. “Just let it out, Gareth. You’ll
probably rupture something if you don’t,” Tralnis warned, rolling
his eyes. Gareth let out a guffaw, and pointed to a large tree a
few yards away.
At first, Tralnis couldn’t make out what Gareth was
pointing at, but as he crept closer, he saw that part of the tree
was moving. A few steps more, and he was able to distinguish a
shape shaking rhythmically in the branches. When Tralnis was right
next to the tree, he could make out a shape that looked
disturbingly like a Chim’s backside covered in mud and leaves
shaking in his direction. “What is that?” he asked.
“That would be a Chim’s ass. I thought as a doctor
you would be able to identify one when you saw it,” Gareth
joked.
The muddy monster jumped out of the tree, and landed
in front of Tralnis. The only things not covered in mud and leaves
were two intelligent brown eyes, and a wide smile full of sharp
teeth. Henry made kissing noises, and then snorted to greet his
employer. Tralnis admitted to himself that he really was impressed,
and looked to Gareth for some sort of explanation.
“For as long as they can remember, Henry’s family
were the hunters of their Clan. They were responsible for feeding a
whole village. Over the centuries, his family learned that
ambushing their prey was much easier than chasing after it. Even
after they immigrated to the IRD, Henry’s parents taught him how to
camouflage himself in case he needed to do something without being
seen,” Gareth said, filling in some of the empty blanks in Tralnis’
knowledge of the Chimmian Woohaa Clan. Gareth gestured towards the
hazy outline of the Sea Labs in the distance. “Gentlemen, we have
some thievery to get to,” he announced.
The three would be burglars made their way to the
southernmost edge of the University Arcanum where it met the warm
waters of the Narrow Sea. The School of Nautical Sciences was
surrounded on three sides by a seven foot high stone wall left over
from when the buildings had been an outpost for the IRD Navy. Two
large guns that had been silent for decades overlooked the sea,
protecting the tiny harbor from nautical threats.
Gareth had visited the School of Nautical Sciences on
several occasions. Professor Rand had made him get certified in the
various diving equipment used by the University for the rare
occasion when they worked on a site that was underwater. He chose a
place along the wall that he knew was close to the outbuilding
where the equipment was stored.
Carefully looking
Similar Books
