Quintaglio Ascension: Liar

[MetalAlimon]

Plot: All Quintaglios know that they cannot lie in the light of day. Their blue muzzles will automatically tell others they were untruthful. Nobody thinks of lying. But what if someone found a way to lie? And what if they got carried away?




Chapter 1:

Ena-Chato sat in the middle of her living room. She was situated in front of a slab of stone, sitting on a tall stool. Beside her was a small cup of black ink, a little dripping over the edge. To keep it from getting dirty, she removed her green and black sash on the floor. She extended a finger claw and dipped it in the ink. She pressed it against the paper laying in front of her and began writing. This was the only sound that could be heard in her home.

This wasn't the first time she wrote today. Beside her, on the left side of the slab, was a pile of many papers she spent time writing today. She had hardly taken a break. She wanted to get them done and sent out before the sun would set soon. This was the last letter she needed to write. She could feel her arm and hand aching from the continual writing.

Unlike most quintaglios, she was right-handed. This fact didn't really bother her that much. The only time she would feel awkward was if someone were watching her. Unless someone were watching her, there was no way they could tell she was right-handed, and the same applied to everyone else. Those who did know about this were generally stunned since right-handedness was extremely rare amongst her people. A few deeply religious folk did express their strong opinion about her, but she did her best not to pay attention.

She stopped only when she felt something on her shoulder. Her solid black eyes rolled over to see a small creature perched on her shoulder. She extended her arm, allowing the creature to crawl along it like it was a branch of a tree. The small animal was Peka, her pet. Peka was a small wingfinger with a lightly fuzzy body, a long tail, a short curved beak, and a sharply pointed crest on her head. She was dully-colored, sandy brown like the mountains, with the only brilliant color being a band of light red on her crest.

Peka chirped a few times, her light yellow eyes darting in all directions. Chato lowered her arm as far as it would go. Peka jumped off and began walking along the ground. This sight always made her happy. Peka was close to her. She considered her almost like a child of hers. She lowered her tail and, like always, Peka would climb on it and cling to it.

But she knew she couldn't focus too much on Peka today. She turned her attention back to the letter she was writing. These letters made her feel strange. They were unlike anything she had written before. She didn't even know if it would work. She was afraid of the answer. She may land herself in trouble either way, regardless if it worked or not. She refused to tell anyone about her intentions, not even...

There was a knock on her door. She stopped what she was doing and lifted her head towards the wooden door. A familiar voice called out to her. "Permission to enter your territory?"

Chato hesitated. It was a good friend of hers, Dar-Mebel. She looked nervously at her pile of papers. She couldn't keep him waiting. "Hahat dan..." She spoke, her voice soft yet loud enough for him to hear.

The door opened up and inside walked in Mebel. He was slightly younger than her, so his stature was somewhat smaller than her. His green skin harbored a few scars from battles he participates in. Even though she did really care for him, she didn't particularly like the fact that he was part of a small cult that had fights with small hornfaces. Many quintaglios had perished in such a foolish display of bravery. She worried he would be next.

"So..." Mebel asked, running a hand along the back of his scaly head. He kept a respectable distance from his friend. "What have you been up to? I haven't seen you in a while."

"Oh I..." Chato wasn't sure how she should continue. Like the rest of her kind, she couldn't speak a lie. Her muzzle would turn an obvious shade of blue if she did. Mebel would be able to easily figure out her secret because of this fact. She had to think of something else. Thinking fast, she said, "I was writing some letters that I would like to be delivered to the Capital City."

Mebel turned his head towards the pile of papers. If he hadn't done this, she wouldn't have known where he was looking thanks to their eyes, nothing more than solid black orbs in their heads. "Oh really? You could have just told me this was what you were doing." He eyed the stack up and down. "A lot of work here. A shame I couldn't have helped you."

"Yes. It's a real shame." Chato agreed. "If I do this, I just might consider having you help me."

"That would be an honor." Mebel said, lowering his head in her direction. "I enjoy working with you."

"And I enjoy working with you." Chato said. She finished up writing and went to work winding the paper and used a thin piece of flexible rubber to seal it. This was the same thing she did with the other papers. She piled them together and used a long rope to tie them all together. She looked up at Mebel. "Would you mind seeing that these are delivered?"

"I'll see to it that they are hand delivered to the emperor, Dy-Dybo, himself." Mebel said, rubbing his loose dewlap. "But I have to wonder. What did you write in these papers?"

Chato fell silent. This was the question she hoped he wouldn't ask. She searched her mind, trying to find some truthful answer that wouldn't make him suspicious. "I..."

"Oh you don't have to tell me." Mebel said. He clicked his teeth in good humor. "I will just take these and deliver them for you..." He grabbed the papers and started to carry them towards the door. His tail, dragging on the ground, caught on something sharp. Mebel winced and dropped the papers. He looked down at his tail. There was a piece of wood that was raised off the ground. "Wood shards. Heh, what can you do about them?"

Chato wanted to move forward to help, but she didn't want to risk sending them both into dagamant. This awful territorial frenzy was dominant among her people. It prevented them from getting very close to each other unless they were in mating season. She watched nervously as Mebel gathered up the papers. One of the papers popped loose and unfolded, its contents exposed. She reached out towards it, wishing she could grab it. She watched as Mebel picked up the paper and looked at it.

"This one came open. I'll just tie it up again." Mebel said, but then he paused. His black eyes slowly widened, his jaw hung open. He scanned the document in his hand, reading the words written on it. "My God..."

Chato got down from her stool, but did not get any closer. "Now Mebel..." When he looked over at her, she froze. She couldn't tell if he was upset with her or in shock by what she had written. "There's a logical reason for that."

"Save it." Mebel said, his voice firm. "The people must know about this. And here, I thought Tak-Saleed was an okay guy." He turned his head towards Chato. "I am glad to help you expose Saleed for the fraud that he was. I don't know how you figured it out, but that will be revealed in due time." With that, Mebel turned around and walked out of the door.

A piece of paper flew from his arms and landed beside Chato's three-toed feet. She knelt down and picked it up. She looked at the contents that she had written. The part that stood out the most was the first two sentences. It read: "I am very sorry to deliver this news, but Tak-Saleed, famed astrologist, has been exposed as a fake. New evidence has come to light that Saleed has faked all of his findings regarding the planets."

It was an outright lie. This had never happened. No one had really found any evidence that Saleed faked any of his findings. And yet her friend, Dar-Mebel, had believed every word of it. She lifted her head and watched Mebel walk down the street. If he could be fooled by the written word, she wondered who else could. She held the paper in her hands. An idea developed in her mind. She clicked her teeth amusingly as she reached out towards her door and shut it.

She looked down at Peka. "It worked, Peka. Now to that the experiment has proven to be plausible..." She went over to her slab and stool. She climbed back on and pulled out another paper. "...let me see how far I can take this." With that, she began writing again.

[MetalAlimon]

Chapter 2:

It had been a dekaday since Dar-Mebel had taken the letters to Emperor Dy-Dybo. Ena-Chato knew that wasn't enough time for the emperor to read the information she had forged. She didn't live in the Capital. She lived near the center of Kev'toolar. The Capital may be practically next door, but there was still hundreds of kilopaces to travel, over a thousand to reach the Capital City itself.

Chato was being careful not to allow her name to spread. She had managed to catch up with Mebel before he left and whispered to him not to reveal her name. He had asked her why she didn't want her name out in the open, and she said she was worried about the response she was going to get, which was true. Mebel respected her wish and promised that he wouldn't give out her name. Chato was happy, satisfied knowing that complete anonymity was ensured.

She walked up to a small window in her home. She peered outside. She lived in a partially isolated area. It wasn't barren, but it wasn't as crowded as other places there. Well crowded to a quintaglio that is. Unlike herds of shovelmouths, quintaglios couldn't stand staying close to each other for very long. Ena-Chato's dagamant was slightly less tolerant than other quintaglios, which was why she chose this less populated area to live in.

A few quintaglios were passing by her house, some riding on hornface-driven carts. Kev'toolar had a few places that were ideal for trading. She suspected these quintaglios had come from Chu'toolar, which was known for different crafts, particularly glass works. Or they could have come from as far as Fra'toolar, perhaps bringing in some rare fossils for trade or display.

Chato felt her stomach growl softly. She hadn't eaten for about ten daytenths. It wasn't unusual for quintaglios to go a couple days without eating. Their metabolism allowed them to go a few dekadays without eating. She decided she would find something to eat now. She turned away from the window and made her way towards the table she had pushed up into a corner.

On it was a thick glass object she had obtained from a trader. Inside it were a few small pieces of meat, obtained when she had inadvertently killed a wingfinger while defending her meal from it. She figured she wouldn't let the meat go to waste, so she stripped the meat off and placed it in the bowl. The meat wasn't very tasty, but it was no worse than fish, something she could handle but didn't enjoy thoroughly.

She reached towards the glass bowl and, using her fingerclaws, picked up a few pieces of meat and chucked them inside her mouth. She licked her jaws, then ate a few more pieces. She noted that the glass bowl was now empty. Her black eyes narrowed slightly. She would have to get more from the market nearby. No matter; she was going to go there today anyway. She needed more ink to write more letters.

She made her way towards the door. Suddenly, Peka had flown in front of her and landed on her muzzle. She was shocked and staggered back onto her tail. She was glad that quintaglios don't go into dagamant with other species, otherwise she would have ripped Peka apart with her jaws. The small wingfinger clung to her muzzle, chirping at her curiously.

Ena-Chato reached up and grabbed Peka gently in her right hand. "Peka, don't scare me like that." She reached over and gently stroked the back of the wingfinger's neck with an extended fingerclaw. She realized she had to get some food for Peka as well. "I'll let you come with me." She placed Peka on her shoulders. Making sure the wingfinger was holding on, she pushed open the door and walked outside.

She moved forward a little and looked down. Her house had an unusual feature and that was a few steps surrounding her house. Though only a few, it did annoy her. Quintaglios in general hated stares due to it being difficult to walk up and down without banging their tails. But this was the very reason she chose this house. Even before she was writing the letters, she had been a very private person, and the small stares discouraged many from visiting her.

She walked down the steps slowly. She raised her tail as high as it could go, trying to her best to ignore the uncomfortable feeling. Once she was on normal ground, she dropped her tail in a loud thud, relieved to feel it sliding across the ground. She walked down the stone pathway, Peka chirping and moving from shoulder to shoulder as she did so.

It didn't take Chato long to see the small market area in the distance, placed up against a small lake, Maagnar. While not as prestigious as Doognar from Arj'toolar, it was still a beautiful place. The water shimmered brightly when the sun shone overhead. The fish were plentiful for those who enjoyed that kind of meal. Many trees lined the lake, obviously feeding off the fresh water the lake provided. And it was big enough to hold annual large trading events.

But today, she wasn't interested in trading. She had nothing to trade with. Instead, she made her way to a small market area next to the main trading event. There were a series of tables laid out, with plenty of space placed between each one. On the tables were many different items, such as rope, candles, food, paper, and bowls.

Normally a single or a duo of quintaglios would overlook the tables to make sure no one would steal. But this was a freebie table, meaning a quintaglio need not trade or get permission to take anything. The items were either old and no longer desired, or weren't the most sought after material. The meat itself would be old and not taste very good, but it was still food nonetheless.

Ena-Chato made her way over to the first table and grabbed a bowl from it. She picked up several slabs of meat. The small was a little bad, but not anything she couldn't handle. She moved towards another table to grab a few bottles of ink. She then went to a table on the far left, which had a few leather bags full of wingfinger food. She grabbed a few and put it in her bowl. She paused for a moment to make sure she got everything. Once she was sure, she turned around to leave.

She didn't get too far. She let out a yelp when she nearly ran into an old friend of hers, Var-Gathgol. She quickly moved back a couple paces before dagamant could get a hold of her or Gathgol. She stared at him, surprised to see him there. The last she heard, Gathgol had been on a trip to the harsh Edz'toolar in order to clean up a body of a quintaglio that had fallen off a cliff. She had thought he wouldn't be back for a few more dekadays.

"Ah, Ena-Chato, I apologize sincerely." Gathgol said. He bowed in respect. "I hope I did not startle you too much. I should have been looking where I was going."

"It's all right. I should..." Chato noticed a few items on the grassy floor. "Oh I made you drop your stuff. I'm sorry!" She would have helped pick them up, but Gathgol was already doing this. He didn't seem to mind it. Within a few beats, he had everything picked up.

He clicked his teeth. "I see Peka is as curious as ever." The wingfinger had climbed onto Chato's arm and outstretched her body, her light yellow eyes looking at the items curiously.

She looked down at Peka. "Yeah. Sometimes she can be quite the handful." She turned her attention back to Gathgol. "So what are you doing back so early? I didn't expect you back until later." She paused for a moment. "Not that I am not happy to see you. I am. I'm just surprised is all."

Gathgol nodded his head. "I understand. I didn't think I'd be back this early either. But it didn't take me as long as I thought it would. Plus the runningbeast they lent me was exceptionally fast, which made the trip that much easier to complete. I have to say though, this was the first job I completed as an undertaker and it made me feel...weird."

Chato nodded her head sympathetically. This didn't come as a shock to her. Quintaglios may not mind finding and moving corpses of dead animals, but when it came to their own kind, there was a definite revulsion. It was considered a sin to eat the flesh of another quintaglio. While moving corpses wasn't the same as eating, many undertakers still felt filthy about it.

It was an important job. No one could deny that. Better to move the body then let it sit there and rot. Plus friends of that individual would want the body to be properly buried in the ground. But still, the job of an undertaker made many quintaglios sick to their stomach, even after kilodays of doing it. She knew she herself could never do it, and she was surprised that Gathgol had worked up the courage to take part in the task.

"I understand." She said simply. There was a silence between them. They looked into each other's eyes, and she knew they understood what the other was thinking. The loss of a quintaglio always left an uncomfortable feeling, particularly in the unfortunate undertaker.

Breaking the silence, Gathgol said, "How is Dar-Mebel doing? Does he like his new job as a newsrider?"

"He thinks it's okay. It's not as great as he thought it would be." Chato said, raising her head slightly. "But he still likes traveling across Land, seeing places he hasn't been before. Right now, he's on a trip to Capital City to deliver some letters. I expect he'll be back in about two dekadays, if weather and other factors permit it."

"Ah." He said. He rubbed his dewlap. "That reminds me. I had gotten word from another newsrider who had spoken with him. She had something very interesting to say."

"Oh?" Ena-Chato asked, starting to feel a little tense.

"Yeah. Apparently this news he's bringing to Emperor Dy-Dybo regards Tak-Saleed faking his finds about the planets." Var-Gathbol said. There was a tinge of disbelief in his voice. "I'm not sure if I consider this to be true or not. Tak-Saleed didn't seem to be the sort to make up stuff. Besides, how would he have pulled it off? He would have to be an..."

"Aug-ta-rot..." Ena-Chato completed for him. "A liar..a demon."

"Yes, that. Have you heard of the news?" He asked her.

She paused for a moment. She said, "...yes I have heard it." She hoped that Gathgol wouldn't ask her any further on where she heard the news. But she wasn't so lucky.

"And where did you hear it? From a newsrider?" He inquired.

Chato tried to think of how to respond. How could she word her answer without giving herself away? She couldn't allow herself to be figured out now. She wasn't yet done with her experiment. She thought of something to say, and hoped that it would be enough to satisfy Gathgol. "I heard it from a letter."

It worked. Gathgol nodded his head, looking satisfied with the answer. He pushed the items in his arms against his chest harder. "I better get going. I need to drop these off before Bar-Delplas wonders where I am."

Chato nodded her head. She had to get going as well. She wanted to get back to writing the letters before too much time had passed. She also wanted to feed Peka before she got too restless. "Well it was good seeing you. Goodbye."

"Goodbye to you too." With that, Var-Gathgol turned towards the west and started to walk away.

Ena-Chato watched him leave. She was happy to see him again, but also happy that he was leaving. She held nothing against him. But she didn't want him to get too close to what her plans were. She would have to limit chat with other quintaglios if she were to keep her plans secret. Gathgol had gotten uncomfortably close to finding out the truth. If he had asked the right question, she would be forced out in the open, and she knew the punishment for liars...

She shook the thought out of her head. She needn't worry about that for now. Her thoughts turned to what Gathgol had told her earlier. It would seem that a bit of her lie about Tak-Saleed had spread. She wasn't sure how many might know now, but that wouldn't matter. Soon many other quintaglios would know once Emperor Dy-Dybo received the messages she wrote.

She knew how things would play out. Many of her people would believe the letters. And news would spread rapidly to the other provinces. There wouldn't be many that would not believe the letters. Lying was almost unheard of, due to quintaglios not being able to lie to begin with. Only a demon could do that, and any quintaglio in the past accused of being a demon had been executed, with the exception of Sal-Afsan.

Thinking about him made Ena-Chato's stomach tie in a knot. He was going to be a huge obstacle to overcome if she were to continue her experimentation. He was the last student of Tak-Saleed before he had passed away. He knew him better than she did. Once word had gotten there, he would surely launch an investigation to defend his former mentor. If he played his cards right, he might end up discovering her as the liar. She would have to take care to make sure that would never happen.

A thought crossed her mind. She knew what she could do. Making her way back towards her house, she whispered to Peka, "I know how to keep the great Afsan busy..."