Chapter 1: The Contest

"How come you always know what I'm thinking, but I don't ever know what you're really thinking anymore?" asked Flynn as he stumbled over a rock.

"I barred my real thoughts and put out false ones," answered Nitro, the slightly older dog.

Flynn was very upset. He was jumping around ecstatically, pleading with Nitro to explain to him how to do it. Finally, Nitro relented as they passed the old barn on the way to the town hall.

"First concentrate very hard on the thought you don't want read. Then think the word 'bar'. Whenever you think of that thought you should see the word 'barred' flashing in your mind. If you don't see the flashing word, do it again. Then just think up different thoughts, and think 'false'," said Nitro, quite coolly.

Flynn wagged his tail with excitement. He had been wondering how to do that forever. They finally got to the town hall, where the Council of Elders met. Recently the Council of Elders had put out a contest. Everyone who had entered the contest and came back talked about the prize and how wonderful it is, but wouldn't tell what it was. They tried to tell all about the contest but suddenly went mute when they started to talk about it. As soon as they changed the subject they could talk again. Obviously there was magic at work here.

"Where have you two been?" asked Derik, the council member.

The two young dogs quickly barred their thoughts. Flynn looked straight ahead concentrating hard on his newfound ability to bar his thoughts. They knew about the old council members. They all had the strange ability that the two young friends shared.

"We've been walking slowly," lied Nitro.

"I don't believe that Nitro. You're the quickest beast in Fargone," replied the old one.

Nitro and Flynn concentrated on reading the Elder's thoughts to no avail. He was an expert at barring them.

"Okay, all right. You caught us. I was late and Nitro forgot about it and so I passed by his house and reminded him. Then we trotted over here as fast as we could," answered Flynn.

"Very well. We'll begin the contest. You will work in pairs. The others are already here," said Derik.

He gestured toward a wall and suddenly there were many other dogs ready to begin.

"First, you must find me somewhere in the village. The first five teams that find me will go on to the next round. If you get bored, turn back," he said.

"But you're...," objected Flynn.

Abruptly Derik vanished and everyone was baffled.

"...right here," finished Flynn. But Derik wasn't.

"Let's go searching," Flynn sent a message to Nitro through his mind.

"All right, let's go," Nitro sent back.

They searched all over. In every barrel, corner, and tree. They looked through every house and shop. They even looked in every alley.

"Maybe there's a clue back in the town hall," suggested Nitro to the slightly smaller Flynn.

"Hey! That's a good idea," exclaimed Flynn.

"Quiet or the other dogs will hear and follow," whispered the cautious Nitro.

They made their way back to the town hall. Along the way they saw another group of dogs. They hid until the other dogs had passed. The other group might see them heading back to the town hall and think of the same idea. When they arrived they searched all over. On all the walls, under tables, and along the floor.

"What did he say before he vanished?" asked Nitro.

Flynn, who had an excellent memory replied, "He said 'First, you must find me somewhere in the village. The first five teams that find me will go on to the next round.'"

"That's all he said? I'm sure he said something else," exclaimed Nitro exasperated.

"Oh wait, he did say something else," said Flynn slowly.

"What did he say? What did he say?" asked Nitro excitedly.

"You know what, I can't really remember," whispered Flynn.

"You don't remember!? How could you do this to me? You don't remember!?" shouted Nitro.

"I didn't see you help much Mr. Big Shot," said Flynn evasively.

"Well, sorry! Who's the one who is supposed to have the big old memory? What about your photographic memory, huh?" said Nitro getting angry.

They erupt into a brawl on the floor of the town hall. Suddenly Nitro stops.

"You know what? I think I remember what he said," said Nitro.

"Alright hotshot, what did he say?" asked Flynn.

"He said something about bored and back," said Nitro slowly.

"That's right, 'If you get bored turn back'!" shouted Flynn.

"Wait, not bored, board," said Nitro slyly.

"What? Bored and bored. They are the same word. I don't get it," said Flynn, confused.

"Not b-o-r-e-d. B-o-a-r-d. Board," hinted Nitro.

They both did a double take.

"The old board by the door!" shouted Flynn.

Everyone had run right past him. They went over to the board, turned it over and found Derik.

"Took you long enough, you were the fifth team to find me. I started getting an ache in my back despite myself. Don't do that again," said Derik.

He snapped his fingers and all the teams were back in the town hall. They appeared to still be searching for Derik in the wide open room. Then, they were aware of their surroundings. They were all very confused.

"I have been found by five teams!" boomed Derik over the commotion. "If you are not one of them go home."

There was a disappointed murmur as several tails drooped down to go between legs. They walked off in shame

Some did not leave.

"I said go!" shouted Derik.

The stragglers scampered off as fast as they could go.

"There, that takes care of them. Now, once you have found me, you think that you have won. That is incorrect. Now is the hard part. You will go find the last four- paw that is running wild. The person who finds him and brings him back wins the prize. You will need these." Derik said, handing around collars and leashes.

A shudder went through the ten young dogs. These were what the Ancient Slavers used on the dogs of their days. The collars and leashes were a sign of evil because they were bonds that the Ancients could not break. When the Ancient Slavers mysteriously vanished, the Ancients had chewed through the bonds after those horrible years. Some of the Ancients had been set free by the Slavers. Others had been left in their small running pens. In school, they had to learn what the slavers would have called them. The Ancient Slavers would have called Flynn and Nitro, Labrador Retrievers. Derik was what the Slavers would have called a Dalmatian.

They set off looking for signs of the endangered four-paw. It was called a four- paw because when evolution took place they remained the same. They didn't get smart or start walking on two paws like the two-paws. They still walked on four paws. Nitro and Flynn had never seen a four-paw so they didn't know what to look for. They headed out towards the ruins. The Elders said that it used to be the slavers homes. They camped about half way between the village and the ruins. As they were getting ready for bed, Derik appeared out of the bushes.

"I know that you two pups have the powers of Elders, so I will train you in one of the Elders' arts, Silence, but before I train you, you forgot to bar one thought. You don't know what to look for. I will unbar one of my thoughts," he said.

Flynn and Nitro concentrated hard. They both gasped in astonishment. The last wild four-paw bore a striking resemblance to themselves.

"Now on to the art of Silence. First, get wrapped up in your mind like when you read others' minds. Then think up a thick bubble around yourself. Now you will not be able to be heard. When you are through with the art of Silence, imagine the bubble being popped. Then you will be able to be heard," said Derik.

He abruptly vanished. The young dogs tried out their newfound powers. It really worked. Even when they tried to talk they couldn't hear each other. It was great. In the morning they trekked onward. They saw a small duck waddling by. They both used the art of Silence and got very close to the duck. When they were about twenty paws away, Nitro pounced. He neatly hamstrung the animal and shared it with his friend.

"I think we're doing pretty good so far, don't you?" asked Flynn. There was no answer. "Nitro?" he asked confused.

He turned to where Nitro had been and he was still there. Why didn't he answer him?

"Oh, the Silence!" exclaimed Flynn.

He quickly imagined the bubbling popping. He asked Nitro again.

"I have a feeling that we still have a ways to go," answered Nitro.

They trekked on in silence, their bellies full. They passed many interesting objects on their way. A rock in the shape of a bell, a tree about to collapse, a natural spring, and a deep chasm. The deep chasm was hard to cross, but finally they decided to drag the collapsed tree over and use it as a bridge. They carried on.

"Look, Flynn," whispered Nitro suddenly very cautious.

There in front of them was one of the other groups. The other group had seen them coming and hid. Nitro's keen eyes had spotted them. The other group was planning on ambushing them. They walked up to about twenty h'ails away from where the two dogs were hiding. They saw the thin wire that was there to trip them and the telltale signs of a hasty pitfall being dug. They walked up feigning innocence. Then when they were five h'ails away Flynn grabbed a nearby stick and charged the surprised troublemakers. They fled off into the jungle leaving behind there makeshift weapons: a crude spear, and a bolas. The spear was made from a crooked branch and the bolas from a frayed cord with lopsided stones. Flynn took the spear while Nitro took the bolas.

They continued along cautiously. About two sc'ails down the road they saw a bear. It was ambling along at a leisurely pace. Flynn and Nitro got a little bit nervous, so they moved about half a sc'ail off the road. The bear came stumbling down the road. It was very near them now. They saw that it was bigger than they thought. And it was well known that the bigger the bear the better the eyesight, and this was the biggest bear they had ever seen. It could snap them up in one bite. It came to where they left the road and stopped. It looked all around, and looked as if it was about to go. Flynn slumped back in relief. The bear saw the slight motion and was now galloping towards them at a tremendous rate. It was now only a ten h'ails away. They could smell its fetid breath and hear its labored breathing. It let out a low loud growl that reeked of two-paw meat. Scared, Nitro decided to take action. He whipped out his bolas and swung it over his head. With a mighty cry, he slung it towards the bear. Instead of wrapping around the bear's paws and tripping it, it smacked the bear with all three stones right on the head. It fell into a senseless heap.

"I meant to do that," said Nitro somewhat sheepishly.

They ventured towards the bear. Flynn neatly dispatched the large threat with the spear. They retrieved their weapons and they searched the beast but found nothing of interest. They skinned it with their belt knives and hung it to air out. They set up camp right there, because it had taken them most the day to wait for the large, deadly beast.

They were just climbing into their sleeping furs when they heard something rattling the bushes. Flynn nodded towards Nitro indicating that they should use Silence. They pretended to be asleep, with their eyes only half shut. As soon as the creature got close, Flynn reached out and grabbed its ankle.

"Nur, Nur, lout mey goo!" said a young male voice. Judging by the muffled speech it was probably what the Slavers called a mutt.

"Oh, look, Nitro, a visitor," said Flynn after bursting his Silence.

"What do you think he's doing sneaking around our camp like this?" asked Nitro.

"I don't know. Do you think we should search his pockets to see if he took anything?"asked Flynn.

"I sure think we should!" exclaimed Nitro.

They searched through the little mutt's clothes and found one slice of bread. He hadn't stolen much.

"Why aren't you with your family, young one?" asked Flynn.

"Ee doa note harf o farmly," he replied in the slurred speech common to mutts.

"Well I suppose we had better take you in," said Nitro.

"Well I suppose we'd better before he steals anything else," said Flynn, wisely.

"Ee while note still arnytin frin yoi," the mutt said.

"What's your name, pup?" asked Flynn.

"Ee harf nur nime," replied the young dog.

"Well we'll call you Nurnur, because those are the first words you spake to us," said Nitro.

"Spoke, not spake!" criticized Flynn.

"I don't care!" exclaimed Nitro.

They carried on up the road with their new companion. Along the way Nurnur tripped several times. They looked down at his paw-coverings. They weren't tied.

"Don't you know how to tie those?" asked Flynn.

"Ee toald yoi dart Ee harf nur farmly. Nurburst cod teash mey arnytin. Ee stilled dee poe-cofferins!" exclaimed Nurnur.

"Well, we'll just harf... Aah. Now you're making me talk like you. As I was saying, we'll just have to teach you how," said Nitro.

"Cod yoi rully. Ee'd appruciate et," said Nurnur gratefully.

"Sure we could. First tie a regular knot like this," Flynn demonstrated. "Then, make two ears, then, tie them together."

"Ooa, tank yoi. Tank yoi berry mush," said Nurnur.

"The next thing you have to learn is how to speak like us," commented Nitro. "Say I, not Ee."

"Oi!" the little mutt exclaimed.

"Well, we'll have to work on that one,"

They hurried forward for they had wasted enough time already fighting the bear and getting acquainted with NurNur. They finally got to the ruins and searched them through. They found strange things. Large boxes that were hollow and had wheels. They were very heavy. They found skeletons of Slavers and four-paws with leashes and collars still connected. It was obvious that the Slaver skeletons were much older than the four- paw skeletons. The Slavers must have died all at the same time and the four-paws had been trapped. They found some leashes with chewed marks on them and broken at one end. The Ancients had probably chewed through them to gain freedom. But why didn't they just use a knife to cut through it? It would have been a lot faster.

They heard a noise. It sounded halfway between speech and grumbling. Then, they saw a fleeting shape. The last four-paw! They chased after it. It went straight into one of the crumbling structures. They didn't trust this. It could collapse at any moment, but their job was to bring back the last wild four-paw, and this was it. They chased into the building with Nurnur lagging behind a little bit. They saw its back paws turning at the strange contraption. It was weird. This thing looked like a mountainside, but it was even and soft. What had the Slavers called them? Oh, yes. Stairs. They charged up the stairs on all four paws because they were faster this way. They ran up and saw the four- paw fleeing quickly. They tracked it to the very top of the structure. Nurnur peered out a window.

"Et us berry hoi arp hurr," said Nurnur warningly.

They got to the top and saw the young four-paw laying down on a mattress. He was cowering in the corner. They went over to it and tried to make friends. The four- paw just whimpered. They had no choice except to put the collar on it and connect the leash.

They felt so bad. They had hated the Slavers for holding their ancestors captive, and now they were doing it themselves. This was their cousin. They were of similar ancestry. How could they chain this poor beast up and force it away from its home? But it was their destiny and they decided to grasp a hold on it while they still could. They started to go down the stairs when they heard an awful noise. Rocks crumbling. They ran for the stairs, but they were too late. The stairs had already crumbled and now the top floor was about to collapse and send them hurtling down to the ground below. They were all frozen in fear. Then suddenly without warning, Nurnur grabbed the four-paw up in his arms and jumped down to the floor below. He wasn't a poor dog after all. He was part of one of the other team.

"Traitor! Mush paws! We'll get you, you stupid mutt," screamed Nitro losing his temper.

They leaped down after Nurnur and pounded down the stairs skipping three with each step. They got out of the building and saw Nurnur standing at the edge of the forest. He had set the four-paw down and was just standing there. Was he on another team? Why was he just standing there. They pounded after him. Just then they heard a monstrous thud. They turned around and saw the whole building had just collapsed. They were lucky. They ran the rest of the way to Nurnur and he didn't run away.

"What do you think you were doing up there?!" Flynn exploded.

"Ee woss saivern dee furr-poe," Nurnur replied defiantly. "Yoi dugs woss joss stennin durr."

"Well, I guess that was good. Now your speech is really starting to bother me. Say I again," said Nitro.

"Ay," said Nurnur.

"Well you're getting better. That was a pretty brave thing you did up there. I'm sorry I yelled at you," said Flynn.

They took the little four©paw with them despising themselves all the way. About halfway between the ruins and the bear attack they saw a little squirrel. Their little four- paw wanted to go chase it like any sensible dog, but they couldn't let him. They felt even worse about putting this poor little four-paw on a leash and collar just like the Slavers. When they got back to where they had been drying the bear skin, they saw two cubs sniffing the skin. Oh, no! The ferocious bear had been a mother. Now, the cubs didn't have anyplace to go. They would just have to come with the small group. They picked up the bearskin. The cubs followed it. What were they going to do with two bear cubs?

"Let's hear you say I again, Nurnur," said Flynn, trying to change the subject.

"Oi, Ay, Aye, I, I, I," he tried.

"That's good. Those last three words were correct," exclaimed Nitro, excitedly.

"I I I I I," said Nurnur.

They trekked back to Fargone. They camped a couple times along the way but nothing eventful happened. When they got back to Fargone, they went straight to the town hall. There was a meeting between the Council of Elders going on.

"Oh, excuse us," exclaimed Flynn turning to leave.

"Oh, no, no. Stay. You are the reason we have assembled," said Butch, of the Slaver breed, Boxer.

"But, I don't understand. No one but the Council of Elders can be present during a meeting," argued Nitro.

"Yes, but you will be Elders. We know you have the powers. As for your friends, they're needed here," replied Doug, being wiser than his ancient ancestors called Sharpei.

"Okay. What do you want us to do?" asked Flynn.

"Just stand there for the present," said Derik.

"Ooa, woi geet pruzents?" asked Nurnur.

"No that's not what he meant. He meant stand here for now," whispered Flynn.

"Ooa, I doa note woant ta stennt hurr. I woant ta set," complained Nurnur.

"Oh, that's alright. The mutt can sit," said Butch.

"The reason we have assembled is that when we are together we can see destinies. We looked at all the group's destiny that had made it to the second round. Yours was the only one that was victorious. Then we looked farther past the contest. We saw a battle. You were in it. All of you including the cubs. They weren't cubs though, so we suspect that it is not in the near future. So, as prize for winning the contest, we give you these," Derik said.

He gestured to a table that they hadn't seen before. There on it were magical weapons. There was a magical chain, a longbow with magical arrows, and a magical sword. The chain could be swung over the head and held on to, to whack foes that are close, or could be thrown to reach distant foes, it always comes back to the owner. The arrows of the longbow will stick in and cannot be pulled out by anyone, but the person who shot it. The sword will grow or shrink according to the will of the owner. Nurnur took the chain, Nitro took the bow, and Flynn took the sword.

"We will keep the cubs and four-paw safe while you are gone. You will not need your former weapons," said Butch.

Their backpacks came open and the bolas and spear floated out and landed on the table. Their backpacks closed again.

"We have just received a vision. You will travel very deep into the Southern Jungle. You will stop when you reach a clearing. That is all I can tell you for now. Go through this door into the training ground. We will make the bear fur into armor for you. Practice with your new weapons, you will need to become warriors," commanded Derik. They obeyed filing out the small door. They had never been in the training ground. The door had always been locked. As children, they used to pretend that they picked the lock and were training to be warriors. Now their dream had come true. There was a target for Nitro to practice on. There were two dummies for Flynn and Nurnur to practice on. Nitro shot his first arrow. It soared about one h'ail to the left of the target board. Nitro tried to hide. Flynn took his first chop at the dummy. He was thinking 'really big' meaning the hole he wanted to make in the dummy, but instead the sword grew until it was too big to swing. Oops. Nurnur took his first

"While we're resting, let's work on your speech. Let's try to say no," suggested Flynn.

"Nur, nu, nue, noo," tried Nurnur.

"Close. No, not noo," explained Nitro.

"Noew, neo, nyo, nur, no," Nurnur tried again.

"That's it!" cried Flynn. "No. You said it."

"No no no no," said Nurnur. They all laughed.

"Now we'll have to call you Nono. Just kidding," joked Nitro.

Derik and Butch came out. They brought the young dogs back into the town hall.

"It's getting late. Rest up. In the morning you will leave on your quest. We will make a tent and armor out of your bear skin. We have already made Flynn's armor," said Derik.

He handed Flynn the armor. To Flynn's surprise, the fur was on the inside. It was tough on the skin side and soft on the fur side. They went to Flynn's house.

"It's better that my sire and dam don't see me. They think I'm still looking for Derik. They probably wouldn't let me go," said Nitro.

"Good thing my sire and dam are out of town on their second honeymoon. My dam would be so worried about me. It's good that we are the only ones here," said Flynn. They slept.

Flynn woke up as he heard something get close and start to lunge at him.

"No, get away from me!" Flynn screamed, jumping away.

Where were the others? Where was he? Why was he wondering these things instead of turning around and killing this monster? Why was there a monster in the village anyway? Flynn pondered these things, then turned around to face his opponent. It was definitely a two-paw, but it was twisted, tainted.

"You are my destroyer!" it screamed. "I will kill you now so you cannot hurt me in the future."

"Who are you?" asked Flynn.

"I am your worst enemy. I am the slaver," he bellowed. "I am the Foursome."

Just then he split into four small dogs. Then each dog split into four smaller dogs. Then all sixteen dogs split again. Now there were sixty-four rat-sized dogs. They were the size of his walking paw, but they were vicious. They swarmed all over him. They ripped out his eyeballs and pulled out his whiskers.

Chapter Two: The Quest