40 The village of the valley

Astera circled the sky for a few minutes, not to look for prey like a normal raptor would, but to try to find and remember where Alden and Vikion had taken Naal. She was the only one who could remember this information, since by that time Arun was dead. Fortunately, he had resurected, and to think that, he still was surprised.

"I think it was in that direction... I remember those two mounds of dirt." Astera said, flapping her wings to propel herself in the right direction. The night was beginning to fall, but they had to keep their eyes open to the ground to try to spot the boy and his giant bird, which would without a doubt be much more easily visible.

"Don't worry, I can spot predators from a very long distance, and if I see anything unusual down there, I'll let you know." Said Shuu who had also leaned over the void, eyes down. He would use his talents to help the vet and hoped to be able to spot movement quickly.

But the minutes passed, and they had flew straight though they still saw no trace of the two culprits. Astera continued to fly at full speed but began to weaken too, unable to hold very long.

"Are you sure you took the right direction ?" Asked Arun who was starting to be afraid of their new desperate situation. If Alden and Vikion continued to fly during all this time, they could never catch up with them.

"I am sure of it." Yet beneath them, the scenery scrolled but did not change much. Some reliefs crept into the landscape and came to break the flat soil of the savannah, but everything was calm and dark.

The night was now well avanced, and the hopes of seeing someone with only the light of the moon diminished more and more. The raptor began to have a lot of trouble flying, and had lost a few meters of altitude compared to when they took off...

Fear was beginning to tie Arun's throat. What would they do if they did not find Naal ? He had promised Astera that he would bring her back safely, but in front of the immensity of nature... It was like looking for a needle in a haystack.

"Astera... We might be better off for the night, at this rate you're going to hurt yourself too much." Arun pronounced softly, putting his hand gently on the plumage of the black vulture.

"That's out of the question. I will not rest until I find Naal." The pet answered in a categorical tone, which did not really leave Arun the choice to protest. He was on her back, and could not get off as he wanted...

It was then that Shuu went back to the vet, looking all excited. The meerkat had settled on the claws of Astera to have a better panoramic view of the landscape, to hope to increase their chances of finding something.

"There's light ! it seems like daylight here..." Shuu pointed to a mound of earth that rose a little higher than the others, so that a kind of little valley had formed in its bosom, protected from the wind by the relief. Light seemed to emanate from this place, which at least indicated that there was someone there. Was it Alden ?

Without having to ask her, Astera changed direction and headed for the place where the light came from. She landed a little hurriedly, failing to fall to the ground, stirring her two passengers. Even though she had done her best to fly, the raptor was not sure she would have enough energy to take off again, so she hoped Naal would be here...

"Astera, don't move. Shuu and I are going to get to see if the source of light is Alden, it's better that you get some rest and then... It would be difficult to be discreet with a bird of your size." Arun quickly descended from the back of the black vulture, giving her these few instructions. He had kept with him the spear he had removed from the raptor's wing, and intended to use it to defend himself, even if the first time he had it in his hands, Alden did not had any problem taking it back anyway...

Astera dropped both of her wings on the ground, letting her friends come closer while nodding.

"I'm going first, I'm even smaller, so..." Shuu offered and then walked slowly. They had landed next to a rock wall that they had to walk along before they could see the source of the light. The meerkat continued its discreet course, camouflaged by the tall dry grass, and raised his head when he was in the right place.

"Wow... I... I never saw something like that. You can come Arun, there's no one !"

The vet approached, a little intrigued, and was in turn surprised to discover that the source of this light was not just a small campfire as he thought.

In the hollow of the valley, hidden by the mounds of land of the savannah, there was a whole village that was built. The architecture was certainly very sketchy, but the houses, built with wood and dirt, seemed rather solid. The stone walls of the mounds surrounded the whole village, forming a protective enclosure that did not let anyone in, and made the houses very difficult to see from the sky.

Moreover, there was no electricity or fire, and yet Arun and Shuu could see if they were during the day. Above their heads were large, glowing, shiny scales, planted in the walls that overlooked the dwellings. It looked like pieces of metal still hot.

While they were both ecstatic at such an atypical sight, a voice took them out of their contemplation. And given the tone it had, it was not to tell them they were welcome.

"Who are you ? No stranger is allowed to enter in our village." Looking up, Arun could see a young woman with tanned skin holding a bone spear, looking exactly like Alden's, the one the veterinarian had in his possession. She, too, seemed surprised to see the young man with such a weapon in his hand, and her expression became even more suspicious.

"Where did you find that ?"