Alternia Comics

"Was Goldtooth really that big?" asked the mole.

"According to my mother, he was twice the size," said Dahnni.

The next morning, the three awoke to the same hot sun. With the mole leading the way, they continued their journey north across the desert. Noontime came, and all three were sweating hard. An hour passed, and still it was very hot, but they had found something, at least.

There were dead beetles all over the place. They lay with shattered heads and torn limbs, their sides open and their gore spread across the battlefield. And there were bones, shattered and scattered and over the place.

"There was a great battle here," said the bird. He flew across the field.

Dahnni said to the mole, "It must have been the tiger. He came through here."

Just then, they heard the bird calling to them. "Dahnni! Mole! Come quickly." They hurried over to where the bird had called them, and saw plainly what it was. Tiger tracks in a circle where Dahnni's friend had fought hard were right next to those of a pair of men. Yes, he had gone this way, and so had Dahnni's brothers, but where to after here?

"We will go around the battlefield," said the mole. "Look for tracks leading away." Dahnni went alone and the bird went with the mole. They started at one place and went all round the edge of the dead beetles and scattered bones. Finally, Dahnni found some tracks, tracks for more than a hundred tigers, headed north by northeast. Looking in that direction, he saw the mountain the tiger had spoken of: the mountain where Balqirem the Bone Wizard ruled his desert kingdom. It stood a monolith in the otherwise unbroken horizon, and dark clouds whirled around it like angry vultures.

It took the three four days and nights to reach the mountain. Along the way they kept hidden from the beetles and skeletons that grew ever more frequent as they neared the mountain. But with the bird's sharp eyes and speed in flight, the mole's clever ideas and quick claws, and Dahnni's courage, intelligence, and equipment, they outsmarted the patrols every time. And all the while, the mountain loomed larger and larger in their view.

They finally reached the base of the mountain. It loomed higher than ever before, and seemed to stare down at them from on high. The black clouds swirled and raged with a storm, and Dahnni though he heard sinister laughter coming down to them on the air.

It was nearing nightfall, so they found a safe spot in a cave and camped for the night. As the bird watched the cave entrance, the mole went to the back of the cave with Dahnni to look it over. They found nothing but a cave in, but still, the mole wanted to look it over.

"Hm," he said. "Very clever, very clever indeed."

"What is it?" asked Dahnni, rolling over from his rest.

The mole padded around the cave in, tapping rocks and scraping dirt. "This cave in was made on purpose. They did it very cleverly, and I hardly noticed it, but the dirt in the cracks is wrong for a cave in." He turned to Dahnni. "Someone wants us to stay out of there."

Dahnni got up and walked over to the cave in. "Can we get inside?"

"Oh, no way through, I'm afraid, no way through," said the mole. "But plenty of ways around, aren't there?" He looked up at the boy and smiled, and his black little eyes scrunched up. "Perfect way to the top, isn't it? Through the insides."

The mole dove into the dirt, digging away and spraying the earth in every direction. Dahnni laughed as he was spattered with the dirt. The mole dug long and hard. Soon enough, morning came. The bird, who had been standing watch all night came swooping over to the hole.

"Patrol, patrol!" he chirruped. "Coming for the cave, hide quick!"

"Mole," Dahnni said into the hole, "there is a patrol coming. Hide the hole and wait in there." No sooner had he said this than a clump of dirt was pushed into the opening. Seeing the hole was well hidden, Dahnni and the bird hid themselves.

"How many of them are there?" whispered Dahnni.

"Three beetles, led by a skeleton," answered the bird. "See, here they are now."

Dahnni looked carefully from his hiding place and saw three of the giant beetles on leashes held by a single skeleton. It was not nearly so large as the one at the river, but still held a massive club. Taking his bow and arrows, Dahnni handed one to the bird. Leaping from his hiding place, Dahnni shot one of the beetles in the face.

"Ha HA," he shouted to the skeleton. "You cannot catch me, you slow moving pile of vulture food!"

Dahnni ran across the cave and jumped atop a rock. The bird flew out of his hiding place and dove into the face of another of the beetles. Oh, the sounds this one made! Shrieking and hollering and clattering. The bird clipped the leashes with his sharp little beak and flew at the last of the beetles. It snapped its mandibles and jumped at the bird on its clattery legs, but the bird was too fast.

He swooped and teased at the beetle, all the while leading it to the mole's hole. The beetle stepped right on it and fell, splat, right into it. The mole wasted no time, and quickly buried the beetle's legs so it could not get away. It squirmed at struggled, but the mole's work with dirt had been too good. He sat there in his hole, laughing away at the stuck beetle.

Dahnni met the charge of the skeleton. He stopped the swinging club with the handle of his axe, and with the head chopped off the other arm when it came at him from the other side. He ducked the next swing of the club and rolled off the rock and between the skeleton's legs. Before it could turn about, Dahnni had chopped its legs off, and when it fell, he smashed its skull and scattered the bones.

He then turned to the beetle, struggling where it was. He remembered one of the tiger's lessons, to always let the prey have its dignity. "Let it up, mole," he said.

The mole stopped his laughing. "What? Why?"

"Always let the prey have its dignity," said Dahnni. "Thank you for holding it down while we took care of the others. Let it up now, and I will finish it."

The mole knew Dahnni could, so he shrugged his little shoulders and let the beetle go. Straight away, it charged at Dahnni, who smashed its face with his axe. "There," he said. "Not so hard."

The bird chirruped and wheeled. "Another victory for the companions three!"

They all went through the hole that mole had made, and found themselves in a long tunnel behind the cave in. It was very dark, but Dahnni lit a torch with his flint and steel, and then they could see. The stone was as dark as the tunnel, and they could see the bones of men and animals in the walls. Once, they glowed an evil green, and that glow flowed like rushing water up the tunnel.

"Balqirem's evil magic," said the bird. "This is where he draws his power, from the bones of his enemies."

"Is it?" said the mole. "Well, we can do something about that." The mole dove into the wall, digging out the bones and landing them in a pile on the floor. "This will make him easier to beat, and the dead will appreciate not being used, anymore." Dahnni with his axe and knife, the mole with his claws, and the bird with his feet and his beak, all went to work on the wall, piling up the bones so that Balqirem could no longer use them.

Much later, they had cleared the tunnel walls, and stood at the end of the tunnel panting for the effort. Then they gathered the bones and piled them where the cave in was. The mole went to work and caused another quick cave in, burying the bones between the two. Then he closed off his little tunnel, and made a new one that led around the new grave. Dahnni, with the point of his knife, wrote in the hard stone wall:

Here lie the enemies of Balqirem the Bone Wizard

Who died in the struggle to end his rule

May these brave souls rest in peace, knowing that

Their efforts were not in vain

The moment Dahnni finished the "n" in "vain," a ghost appeared before him, then another to his left, and another and another, until the whole cave was full of ghosts. "Thank you," they said in eerie but kindly unison. "Thank you for freeing us from the Bone Wizard, young Dahnni. We will help you now, in your search, and in your fight, and when Balqirem is defeated, we may finally rest in the Kingdom of Bakthall."

Dahnni overcame his surprise and said, "It was my duty to you, who fought against the Bone Wizard and his armies. I thank you for your help."

One by one, the ghosts bowed to Dahnni and faded away, but he could still feel them near. He and his companions went up the tunnel to the end, and there they heard an awful scream.

"AAAAAAHHHHHHHH! My power! Someone has stolen my power!" They stopped and listened.

"I told you your rule would not last, Balqirem!" Dahnni nearly leapt for joy, and would have except that doing so would have cracked his head on the ceiling. It was the voice of the tiger, Striped Fire.

"Silence, Prince of Tigers! For you see, I rule your brood now." Dahnni's breath caught in his throat. "They are as willing as my beetles and as subservient as my skeletons, and five times as strong as either. They will be my vanguard when I conquer the rest of the land, beyond the border your grandfather made, and then across the sea. I no longer need my magic, for my armies are greater than any in the world!"

"Mole," said Dahnni to the mole, "how quickly can you get us through? We need to help the tiger."

"I am the mole, remember?" The mole went quickly to work digging a new tunnel, and soon Dahnni could see outside. They were two men's height above the ground, nestled in the middle of the short cliff of dull brown stone that surrounded a large area here at the top of the mountain. He could see across the way the way down, a narrow slit in the jagged cliff that led down the mountain. He saw that the storm still raged overhead, and he saw his friend the tiger, pacing in a round cage of giant rib bones. He also saw his brothers, stripped of their weapons and armor, in another cage. This one was part of the mountain, a cave bared with bones. He saw their weapons and armor lying near the door, but too far for them to reach.

"Mole," he said. Can you get to my brothers?" The mole nodded. He was tired, but this was the final battle, and he knew he could not falter now. "Help them out, get them to their weapons. We will free the tiger."

The mole disappeared into the earth in a quick cloud of dirt. Dahnni watched him go, then peeked out the hole. He was shocked by what he saw. More than a hundred tigers lined up, their heads drooped and their eyes blank as the dull white of a long dead skull. The sight of those magnificent creatures bound so brought tears to Dahnni's eyes. Then he remembered another of the tiger's lessons. When you are ready to cry, let the emotion fuel you, not fetter you.

With a growl that sounded like a tiger's Dahnni pushed away the tears, and let himself be outraged rather than cowed but the sight of the zombie tigers. He peeked out further and saw Balqirem the Bone Wizard for the first time. The man had no clothing other than bones. They hung, tied to every part of his body, covering all but the tiniest portions of skin here and there. They clattered as he moved, clacking against one another like a dead orchestra. In his hand was a thigh bone with a huge piece of black obsidian tied to the end. Atop his head was a hideous, horned, unnatural skull whose teeth covered the Bone Wizard's eyes. He laughed evilly and danced about in malicious glee.

"But it is nice to have the magic," he said in his cold, crackly voice. "I will see to it the bones are replaced." He pointed at the tiger with his black-topped wand. "With yours!"

"Courage is the key, courage is the key," said Dahnni to himself. "Do not let your fear control you."

The tiger growled. "The power in your bones will be greater than any I have had before." Balqirem moved toward the caged tiger and raised his deadly wand. "Good bye, Prince of Tigers!"

"Now, bird! Go!"

The little red bird chirruped his warcry and swooped down out of the hole. He grabbed the wand right out of Balqirem's hands and flew back to where Dahnni was already skipping down the cliff. He took the wand from the bird and ran at the cage.

"No!" shouted the Bone Wizard, who moved to get in Dahnni's way. Dahnni nearly stopped at the sight of the clattering Balqirem, but then heard the tiger.

"Courage is the key!"

Dahnni growled again and rolled between the Bone Wizard's legs. He came up and smashed two of the ribs in a single stroke. The tiger grinned at Dahnni. "Well done, manchild."

"No, NO!" howled the Bone Wizard. "Kill them!"

Dahnni and the tiger looked to see the zombie tigers coming out of their trance. They growled silently, their mouths open in horrid, twisted snarls. They charged the cage, and Dahnni though for sure they had lost.

"AAAAYYYYYAAAHAAAAAA!" Two young men yelled the warcry of Dahnni's homeland, and he saw his brothers, Sammen and Kreedek, armed and armored, meeting the charge. They smacked away at the tigers with the flats of their swords, holding them back. The bird chirruped his own warcry once again and flew into the fray, and more than once, Dahnni saw a tiger fall into the earth to a mole trap.

But they could not hold for long, and Dahnni could see that. So did the tiger. "Dahnni!" he said. "I must help them, you..." The tiger stopped and looked at the cave hole where Dahnni had come out. Dahnni looked too and saw the ghosts flying out of the hole and hitting the lines of zombie tigers, holding them back beside their living comrades.

Dahnni laughed for joy, and the tiger growled in triumph. Then they both looked at the Bone Wizard, without his magic, without his armies, without even his weapon, which Dahnni cast aside.

"Your reign is over, Balqirem," said the tiger. "And your time has come."

The tiger leapt upon the terrified Bone Wizard, rending with tooth and claw. Dahnni watched in awe at the power of his friend, and soon the mighty Balqirem was no more than a pile of flesh and bone. Striped Fire the Prince of Tigers stood triumphantly on the mountain, his mountain.

Dahnni heard the fighting stop behind him, and looked to see his brothers, the bird, and the mole helping the weary, confused tigers to their senses. The spirits came before Dahnni and Striped Fire and bowed.

"The Bone Wizard is defeated and our cause is finished. We shall see you in Bakthall's kingdom, Dahnni. Farewell."

One by one, the spirits bowed and vanished, and Dahnni could feel their presence leave for the rest they deserved.

"You have done magnificently, Dahnni," said the tiger. "My tigers and I fought hard in the desert, but Balqirem had set a trap. His magic took over the minds of my comrades, and they captured me. But now my kingdom is restored, and soon the forest will come again."

Dahnni bowed before the Prince of Tigers, and the Prince of Tigers bowed in return.

"Dahnni!" shouted his brothers. "You rescued us!" Sammen and Kreedek came and lifted their brother up into their arms and held him high. "How did you find us? We were captured at the battlefield, for we had forgotten that a journey needs more than swords, and had brought nothing else."

"I came prepared," said Dahnni, dropping his pack and showing them what was in it. "I had no sword, but I had these, and I had my friends."

The bird chirruped and wheeled in the air, doing turns and tricks in victory. "Fohaliwessance will sing of us to the heavens! All the birds will know of this our great victory!"

The mole danced a little jig as he said another rhyme.

"Big bad bone man wanted the world, but he could not have her.

The tiger, bird, men, and mole, they all got together.

Big bad bone man ran and screamed as he never had before

We all stomped him out, and he's not so big and bad no more."

The companions stayed there for nearly a week celebrating, but then it was time to go home. They all went off through the desert, and saw the beetles scurrying about, small as they should be once again. The skeletons fell over where they stood and turned to dust as they should have long ago. Even as they walked, they saw the forest returning. Trees and flowers and bushes shot up overnight, no longer held down by Balqirem's magic.

Dahnni and his brothers were greeted with hugs and tears when they got home, and Dahnni was scolded for leaving all alone, but not for very long. His parents knew the value of breaking the rules sometimes. They had learned it when they had met in Gobano's mansion.

And so, time passed, and the forest returned in full. Sometimes Striped Fire would come and see Dahnni, and sometimes Dahnni would take the bird, the mole, and his brothers and go see Striped Fire on his mountain, where now there were only white, friendly clouds, and never any storms.

And forevermore, Striped Fire and the tigers watched over the forest.

The End