Chapter thirty three

"Okay then, now that we are done with the introductions and Kirnatus somehow managed to survive saying his first sentence to Morgana by some miracle, I think it is time we discussed what we should do from now on especially regarding Kirnatus and Naviel here."

Kirnatus looked a little lost when he heard that, "What do you mean? Can't we just follow you? Are we unwelcome?'

I frantically waved my hands in denial,"No no no, you got it all wrong. It's not a matter of being unwelcome. You do remember that we are not from around here right? We aren't going to stay in this territory for much longer. If you follow us, you are going to have to leave your friends, family and your people behind not to mention the fact that we will be going to some very dangerous places where there is a rather large chance that we will perish. Wouldn't you rather just stay here? If you are worried that the council will try to harm you because you helped us, I could arrange things with those idiots so that you can pretty much get whatever you want."

"I don't think I can live here anymore. Everything that I believed in, everything that I hold sacred is nothing but a joke to the people who are supposed to be leading us. I cannot stay here without raising my hammer against them and that would harm my people more than it would help them so my only choice is to leave, " Kirnatus turned towards Naviel who was perched comfortably on his shoulder and smiled a sad smile, "Naviel, you have long been able to defeat me in battle. You should dissolve our bond as mates and go back to your father."

Naviel didn't even blink or hesitate. Her response was immediate, smooth, and without any strong emotions as if she was just stating facts, "I have no father. My only family is you. As for defeating you in battle, I have no idea what you are talking about," her emotionless expression then melted like ice in the sun and she smiled tenderly towards Kirnatus, " and if you ever mention dissolving our bonds again, I will whip you so hard that you will not be able to sit on your big butt for at least a month, got it?"

I cleared my throat to get their attention because it looked like they had entered their own little world while staring at each other's eyes, "*ahem* , I think you have forgotten something. Didn't you hear me when I said that we are going to dangerous places where our doom is all but certain? I am not joking or exaggerating the dangers that we I'll face. There will be things that you could not even imagine let alone fight. I am your friend and as your friend the best advice I can give you is to go to one of the other Ameeran cities and settle down."

Kirnatus shrugged, almost dislodging Naviel,"Oh we don't mind danger."

"Do you mind unimaginable pain? Do you mind tortures that would not only shred your body but also your mind and soul? Do you mind being helpless and powerless against unfathomable creatures?"

"We don't mind."

The weird part was that Kirnatus was completely honest when he said that which confirmed once again that the Ameeran people were completely out of their minds.

"Alright then, welcome to the team. You can tag along with us until you've had enough. Now that that is settled, let us head south. Our next destination awaits."

Kirnatus was startled when he heard that. He even shuddered a little bit although it was such a tiny quiver that nobody else noticed, "South? You mean the southern frontier? You plan to go to the land of the mindless ones?"

I smiled what I knew was a very twisted sadistic smile, "Yup. Aren't you glad that you joined us?"

* * *

We left the Ammeran city and headed south through what looked suspiciously similar to the African Sarengeti with tall and dry yellow grass growing as tall as my waist. There were even animals similar to lions and antelopes around us but in a weird twist, the lion like creatures which were black and had hard shiny carapaces similar to an insect's exoskeleton were actually herbivores while the lithe and graceful looking antelopes were carnivorous. As we looked on, one antelope started to run at amazing speeds while approaching one of the herds of lions. It got faster and faster until it was nothing but a blur as it passed through the heard of lions which scattered in fear. Looking closer, we noticed three of the more unfortunate lions had been neatly bisected into two and their bodies were lying lifeless on the ground. The antelope had used its amazing speed and sharp horns to pass through the bodies of the lions, cutting them in half.

We passed the savanna and went through dense jungles,blistering deserts, freezing tundra and each one of these environments had weird and exotic creatures. The Ameeran territory was vast and filled with this different environments scattered around without rhyme or reason so we passed by more natural settings than were present back on earth.

As we traveled, Kirnatus tried to become closer to Morgana but she ignored any overtures he made towards her. Instead, she seemed to have become friends with Naviel. Neither of them would admit it and they barely said two words to each other but even when they were silent, they seemed to be silent together.

As for Kirnatus, the poor bloke attracted the attention of Jules. He was honest and naive which in Jules's books made him the perfect prey. She immediately ferreted out all of the embarrassing secrets about him and mercilessly made fun of the poor guy and the really tragic part was that most of her jokes didn't translate well into the Ameeran language so that he was unaware that she was making fun of him.

For example, when we were traveling through the jungle area, Kirnatus pointed towards a large bright red flower and said, "That is the Maranga flower. It has an intoxicating smell that lowers inhibitions and at it's center is a delicious fruit but if an animal tries to get to the fruit, it's petals close and the animal is eaten. It is a master baiter."

Jules approached him with a straight face and asked, "A master baiter you say? Hmmm....you seemed to be very knowledgeable about this area of expertise. Are you a master baiter by any chance?"

Kirnatus smiled bashfully, completely unaware of the dirty joke that Jules was playing, "I wouldn't call myself a master baiter,I would like to be one some day but I lack the patience. My teacher was a master baiter, I used to watch him all the time and his technique was truly amazing. If I become half as good as him in the future, I would truly be satisfied."

Jules still kept a serious expression on her face as she turned towards me,"You don't think you are a master baiter? Well, don't beat yourself up too much about it, I'm sure you do just fine. Don't you think Kirnatus is a master baiter John?"