Gareth and th Lost Island by Patrick Mallard

erotic pictures of Chims from before
the Second Great Apocalypse. While he greatly appreciated the
beauty of the male and female Chims presented, he was more
intrigued by the grooming styles his ancient ancestors had
employed. Judging from the expressions on their faces, both sexes
were enjoying themselves tremendously. Henry looked up from the
book just in time to see Gareth, Tralnis, and a human female who
had hair even redder than his.
    Even from far away, Henry could see his childhood
friend was infatuated with the young woman. Gareth kept his eyes on
the young woman’s face. He nearly tripped when he didn’t see the
single step down to the path that led to where the wagons were
parked. Henry decided this was this was a golden opportunity to
tease Gareth. When they neared the wagon, Henry hopped out, and was
thankful his kilt hid the obvious signs of his enjoyment of the
book.
    “Izzy Morgana, I would like to introduce you to my
good friend, and Tralnis’ butler, Henry of the Woohaa Clan,” Gareth
said. Henry gave Izzy a deep bow, with an elaborate flourish of his
long arm.
    Izzy laughed at the display, and gave Henry a much
smaller bow. “Well met, Master Chim,” she stated. Henry waited for
Tralnis to climb onto the driver’s bench, and then offered his hand
to Izzy to assist her in climbing up. “Why thank you, good sir,”
she chuckled as she climbed on board.
    Knowing the driver’s bench could only seat three,
Henry swung himself up and onto the bench before Gareth could
react. He turned his head so that Izzy couldn’t see his face, and
winked at Gareth while making kissing noises with his lips. With a
jerk of his head, Henry indicated that Gareth should climb in the
back.
    Gareth glared at Henry, and then made his way to the
back of the wagon. He softly blew out his breath, snorted, and
growled so softly that only Henry could hear him. Henry laughed at
the playful insult, and shook the reins of the horses. The wagon
lurched forward before Gareth could find a seat.
    They approached the eight story high wall of the
airship port, and were stopped by a pair of guards dressed in the
blue and white of the Shipping Guild. Both guards had rifles slung
on their backs, and swords belted at their waists. The shorter of
the guards was balding, and had a slight paunch. He stepped
forward, carefully looking over each occupant of the wagon.
“Identification papers, please,” he asked politely.
    Izzy stood up for a moment, and dug her papers out of
the cargo pocket on her left shin before handing them to the guard.
He looked from the photo on the document, to Izzy, and back to the
document again. “I didn’t like how my hair looked in that
photograph, so I had it cut shorter right after it was taken,” Izzy
explained in a tone that said this wasn’t the first time a guard
had questioned the validity of her identification papers.
    The guard folded the paper back up, and handed it
back to Izzy with a curt, “Move along.” Izzy put her identification
back in her shin pocket, and sat down on the bench. The guard
nodded to his partner, who opened the swinging gate wide enough for
the wagon to enter the tunnel. The first guard turned around to
challenge the next group of people wanting to enter the airship
port.
    Everyone but Izzy was astonished at how thick the
walls were that surrounded the airship port. They could have fit
four of their wagons end to end in the tunnel with ease. Izzy
noticed their expressions, and decided to play tour guide on their
way to the Glorious Dawn. “Any of you lot ever flown by airship
before?” she inquired.
    Tralnis and Henry shook their heads no. “My clan
lives under the mountains near Dragonheart. I’ve never had the need
to leave this island,” Tralnis admitted.
    Henry hooted and snorted his reply.
    “He says that his parents were from Chimia, but he
was born here in the IRD,” Gareth translated.
    “How about you?” Izzy asked, looking at Gareth.
    “I’ve been on a few