May Hawaii and the Dreamhunters

Don Gregorio had been the first to rise. While the greenish hues of the jungle shadows had yet to awaken to the brightness of the day in Oniria, the old onironaut took advantage of Ember’s beautiful garden to do tai chi. He was finishing his exercise routine when the redhead began making coffee. Shortly after, Rex went out to water the raptors. Don Gregorio joined him. The animals were very docile despite their primal appearance. In a way, they resembled Rex himself—strong body and calm soul. The dinosaur tamer was a man with gray hair that perhaps made him look older than he really was. His skin was weathered and tanned, giving him the appearance of a tough guy. But alongside Don Gregorio, they seemed like a pair of retirees sharing a hobby. When they finished cleaning and feeding the creatures, they found May and Marcus finishing their breakfast while arguing with their mouths full. Young Marcus, driven by youthful curiosity, had been asking all kinds of questions since they found him. Some of them were quite impertinent. When he saw Don Gregorio, he once again exercised his right to satisfy his curiosity.

“Old man! Is it true you’re over eighty years old?”

“Who told you that?” Marcus pointed at May, who rolled her eyes in annoyance.

“I’m not quite eighty yet, sorry to disappoint you.”

“Can I call you Gregor, like Rex?” May noticed that the old man’s jovial expression darkened for a moment. But it was so brief that she thought she might have imagined it.

“I prefer Gregor over ‘old man,’ that’s for sure.”

“Marcus, let Don Gregorio eat in peace.”

“Are you my mom now?”

“You know, you were unbearable even before you got younger. But now you’re reaching new heights.” With that, May stood up and started gathering her things.

“Come on, come on, calm down. Let’s find your other half as soon as possible so May doesn’t hang you from a palm tree.”

After everyone had breakfast, they saddled the raptors and set off for the first temple. Spending the night at Ember’s place had helped them relax. May felt that some of her aerena had returned. She couldn’t abuse it, but she could use it in an emergency. Minerva hadn’t picked up the phone—she had hung up. So May had sent her a message indicating where they were headed.

Like the day before, Rex led the way. His raptor was the largest of the pack, and the others seemed to follow his lead. This time, the pace was much more relaxed. Riding alongside Rex was Ember, who was giving some directions. Between the two of them, they acted as guides through Sombraverde. May approached Don Gregorio.

“I’m sorry I didn’t say anything earlier, but thank you for the help yesterday. If it weren’t for you and Rex, we might still be at the ziggurat figuring out how to get out.”

“I figured Rex wouldn’t abandon his raptors so easily. He loves them dearly.”

“Have you known him long?”

“When the Seekers first started exploring Junglaverde, before Sotopeña existed, I used to come for medicinal plants and exotic woods. It sounds like it was many cycles ago, but it really wasn’t that long. Back then, there were three of us. We split all the profits. But one of the group, Ezequiel Montenegro, betrayed us after we found an ambrosia palm.”

“I’ve heard of them. White-trunk palms that are worth a fortune in aerena.”

“Yes, exactly. The Escalerists pay very well for them. They’re very rare. Human greed got the best of Ezequiel, and he set a trap for us. He hoped we’d die, but I survived.”

“You never told me that.”

“I have lots of stories. If I told you all of them, you’d get bored of me.”

“And Rex?”

“Rex is the widower of Marga, the third member of the group, who died after Ezequiel’s betrayal.”

“Is the bark of a white palm really worth killing your companions?”

“Ezequiel is deranged. He calls himself ‘The Seer.’ I think he wanted to eliminate any witnesses to his evil act. A psychopathic personality. I wish we’d seen through him sooner.”

“And what happened to him?”

“He used his betrayal to found the Assembly of the Dark Eye.”

“What is that? Sounds like a name a fifteen-year-old would come up with.”

“It’s one of the dark guilds!” Marcus chimed in. “And the name is awesome.”

“Dark guilds really exist?”

“I’m afraid so…” said Don Gregorio.

At that moment, the guides stopped. They had arrived at a rocky highland pass. Around them, the jungle was so dense, or the drops so steep, that the only way forward was a ravine blocked by two creatures. The travelers dismounted.

“I think they’re multiforms,” Ember said, shading his eyes with his hand. “They’re not inherently violent, but they have extraordinary agility and strength.”

“Leave them to me,” said Don Gregorio, walking past Ember and Rex. Ember made a gesture to stop him, but Rex looked at him and shook his head.

“Gregor knows how to handle kabus, don’t worry.”

It took Don Gregorio a while to reach the multiforms. Each of them was a hairless mass of flesh from which sprouted legs and arms at odd angles, forming impossible and nightmarish joints. Their faces looked canine, but their ears were like those of bats. Each of them stood over two meters tall, making the Seeker seem like a dwarf next to them. One of them snapped its jaws at him, but Don Gregorio quickly jumped back and dodged. His smile didn’t fade.

“Come on, don’t make this hard for me,” he said. “I don’t want to look bad in front of my friends.”

The multiforms seemed to have some kind of intelligence that allowed them to understand Don Gregorio’s words. The one that had snapped wrinkled its face and stepped aside. It moved away quite a bit but kept watching. The other straightened up and let out a yell. Don Gregorio, unfazed, reached into the green kimono he was wearing and pulled out a piece of fruit he had picked that morning from Ember’s fruit trees. He offered it to the multiform. The creature rejected it with a swat. Don Gregorio shrugged.

“Alright, alright. Duel accepted. Just don’t complain later.”

Don Gregorio assumed a martial stance. The multiform swung one of its three-jointed arms, tracing an uncertain line through the air. The old man moved at the last moment and used the momentum of one of the elbows to redirect its path with a palm strike. In a continuous motion, his left leg drew a half-moon and struck the multiform’s point of support, causing it to fall to the ground like a lead weight. Marcus’s excited shouts could be heard, while the rest of the group—except Rex—watched with their mouths open.

The multiform got up and retreated along with the other. But before leaving, it picked up the fruit from the ground and handed it back to Don Gregorio.

“You can keep it. As payment for disturbing you.”

The old man turned back to the group and gestured for them to move forward.

“Old man! Do you know kung fu?”

“Well, a bit,” he lied.

“It’s like those things have intelligence.”

“Pawa and Tafo? Of course they do.”

“You know them?”

“Yes, though it’s been many cycles since I last sparred with them.”

“Since that time,” Rex said sadly.

“Since that time…” Don Gregorio replied melancholically.

May looked at Marcus. This time, he kept his mouth shut.