Quietly, Quiggly stepped into the darkness as he stealthily approached and steeled himself for the fight ahead. Once he reached the tunnel's exit he peered out of the passage and saw several people—most notably, a man in dark robes carrying a staff, walking his canine companion down the nearby street.
"The same man I saw in Mith'ras!" he whispered to himself.
"Who are you?" asked the man in the dark robe, noticing the large cat now staring at him. "And what are you doing out here?"
"I was just looking for a place to take a nap," Quiggly said, rubbing his eyes. "And I thought this was a nice spot."
"No doubt," the man replied. "But this is the Temple of Mith'ras. Perhaps you should be more mindful of your location while you're roaming around."
"Oh, I am. I'm just practicing my stealth skill," said Quiggly. "You know, a wise fighter doesn't let his enemies know where he is. And how better to find an enemy than to approach them directly?"
"Very well. Let's say you're right," said the man. "But your presence is most ill-advised. I assume you would not begrudge me from killing you. Now get out of here and tell the others of your folly."
"Who are you, to order me around?" replied Quiggly. "And what gives you the authority to give me orders?"
"I am Zafary'il," said the man, tapping his staff. "Zafary'il, the God of Hidden Things, is my name. I rule the hidden places of the multiverse. This city, the city of Mith'ras, is one of the places I rule over. And I will decide what is good and what is bad. And right now I don't like you. Therefore, I order you to be quiet and do nothing to get me into trouble."
"I am a god and I am invisible to you?" Quiggly whispered to Zafary'il. "You mean to say you're really just some old man with a staff that wears robes?"
Zafary'il shook his staff at the cat. "You want to have a word with the council? Fine. I'll give you the chance. But if I so much as hear your name being spoken by others, I will come down and tear you apart limb from limb."
"Well, if you're so tough, then why don't you come down and try me?" countered Quiggly.
"Are you mocking me?" snapped Zafary'il. "I might give you one chance to talk to me and then I will kill you. And if you tell others of me, then I will tear you apart, limb by limb."
"And if I don't speak of you?" said Quiggly.
"Then I'll tear you apart anyway," answered Zafary'il.
"And if I don't tell others of you?" said Quiggly.
"Then I'll tear you apart anyway," repeated Zafary'il.
"And if you don't tell me what you want me to do?"
"Then I'll tear you apart anyway," replied Zafary'il.
Quiggly pondered the situation for a moment before saying, "Well, since you're such a man of action, I will tell you to tell the others to stay out of the Temple of Mith'ras."
Zafary'il frowned. "You won't tell anyone of me?"
"I will tell you to tell the others to stay out of the Temple of Mith'ras," said Quiggly. "I'll send a message to the others in my mind, if you like."
"No need," Zafary'il said, smiling. "I am not your enemy. You will find no harm comes to you."
"So why do you need the council to stay out of this temple?" asked Quiggly.
"Because the council represents this realm. In other words, they represent our land. And because I told them to stay out, they are bound to listen to me," answered Zafary'il.
"And what about me? Am I bound to listen to you as well?"
"Yes," said Zafary'il. "Your free will, however, does not extend to your actions in this realm. In this place you are my puppet. If I wish you to leave this place, you will leave."
"What? You just told me that I was your puppet and now you tell me that you wish me to leave?" asked Quiggly. "I don't think that's very fair. Why don't I think you should leave, too?"
"Oh, now you question my authority?" demanded Zafary'il. "Hmph. Very well. I will tell you to leave. But as you leave you will fall and never rise again."
"What?" exclaimed Quiggly. "You can't do that!"
"Watch me," said Zafary'il.
Zafary'il lifted his staff to the sky and uttered an incantation. A deep rumble sounded and a tremendous force shot into the sky and toward Quiggly.
"No! No! You don't understand!" Quiggly cried out, scrambling to the center of the street. "This isn't fair! This isn't fair!"
At that moment, the ground shook as the magical energy struck the cat, hurling him into the sky. When Quiggly's body hit the edge of the city, the impact forced him through the dome of the sky and sent him hurtling through the multiverse.
Quiggly landed in a river. After getting to his feet, he looked up at the starry night sky, searching for the magical force that made him fall. When he didn't see any signs of Zafary'il, he stepped out of the water and looked toward the Temple of Mith'ras, just a few hundred feet ahead.
"Well, I'll be... I'm going the right way!" he said to himself, taking off toward the temple. "If I can just convince the other cats to follow me, then we can kill that old man!"
When Quiggly reached the temple, he looked inside and saw a statue of Zafary'il with his head inside his cloak.
"He must not be here," he muttered to himself. "And I'm sure I'd hear if he was. Now, where did I put that bag of meat I caught earlier?"
The young cat searched around the altar for several minutes, but couldn't find the bag. Finally he asked himself where the most likely hiding places would be, and after mulling it over a few times, he decided to look for the bag near the altar.
"That seems the most likely place," he said.
As he approached the altar, he realized that it wasn't long after sunset anymore, and that he would soon be completely exposed to the world. He couldn't wait until morning.
Quickly, he began dragging the bag of meat behind him toward the back of the temple. After putting the bag in a corner and dragging it behind him to disguise its weight, he rushed out the back and ran into the darkness.
As soon as Quiggly stepped out of the temple and onto the street, he remembered that he should be careful of whom he told about his encounter with Zafary'il.
"I'm just going to keep it to myself," he said. "No need to worry anyone else about it."
At that moment, Quiggly's attention was diverted by the sound of a crowd gathering in the street, so he didn't realize that a dozen men wearing dark robes and bearing sticks had emerged from a nearby alley.
Quiggly tried to run from them but was caught by one man and was struck by another.
"Stop that cat!" screamed one of the men, knocking the cat off his feet and pointing a stick at his stomach.
"Who are you, and what are you doing with him?" asked a man in a robe.
"He is attacking us! He is a monster!" yelled a third man.
A fourth man picked up the cat and threw him in the air. "You'll pay for that, feline brute," the man said.
Quiggly was tossed about a dozen times until he lay dead on the street.
When the men were done, they left the corpse and went back into the darkness.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
The council has decided to put Quiggly's fate to a vote. The cats in the council know he needs our help but, in an effort to avoid a battle, have voted to let the council decide what to do with the cat. It is their nature, so the result is expected to be in line with Quiggly's actions.
THE STORY OF TAL'TIN
There is a man I know who has served the council for a very long time. His name is Tal'Tin. Tal'Tin is a man of many talents and has many adventures, some of which I have only heard about. Some of his adventures include visiting the Temple of E
