|
The noon sun beat down without mercy. The camel and two riders were headed north through the desert toward Shangri-llama, when a dust plume appeared on the horizon far ahead of them. Cubesteak shielded his eyes from the sun, and squinted ahead. Whats that?
Ribeyes eyesight was restored and sharper than ever, but he couldnt make out the distant shapes. Dunno. Hey Bonefoot, how come youre movin so slow all of a sudden? Ya tired buddy?
The camel gulped. Uh no I-Im o-okay.
Whats the matter? asked Cubesteak.
Yeah, somethin eating ya?
W-well its just that I know what that is up ahead
What?
Bonefoot hung his head. A caravan.
Ribeye shrugged. So?
Cubesteak leaned forward and patted the camels neck. I get it. Those are some of your fellow camels from Shangri-llama, huh?
Y-yeah.
Ribeye shrugged again. So whats the problem? Go say hello. And step on it. The sooner were outta this overgrown sandbox, the better.
Cmon big bro. Cant you see this is a sensitive matter for Bonefoot?
The camel sighed. Its just that well you know. The other camels have teased me all my life cause Im so useless. Theyre always out crossing the desert, earning their keep. His head drooped. But me? I cant even hold a job selling Cactus Cream Pops.
Bonefoots newfound confidence seemed to drain into the sand under-hoof. Painful memories crushed down; they were a far greater burden to carry than any physical weight could ever be. His gait slowed to a defeated snails pace.
Ribeye spoke up: Hey Bonefoot, I got a smoke-signal for ya
Big bro, please
No, no. Seriously. Hear me out.
Im all ears, the camel said weakly.
Look around. Where are ya?
He glanced around. I-In the middle of the desert.
Thats right, in the desert. Ya crossed it once already. Plus ya took a detour through that Valley of Skulls place. Yave been to the Lost City that few have ever seen. Now youre on the way back again. And what are ya doin out here? Youre helpin us. Heck, ya even helped save my hide from certain doom!
Bonefoot perked up a little. Y-yeah, I guess I did, huh?
Fact is, no one can call ya useless without it being a fib. Cause youre not useless. In fact, youre downright invaluable.
Cubesteak grinned and patted Bonefoots neck. Ill second that!
A wide smile swept over the camel. Not only did he pick up the pace, he added an extra bounce to his step. You guys are right! Im an adventurer now too! Im a mean, lean, desert-crossin machine!
Now youre talkin!
Attaboy Bonefoot!
The caravan was a train fifteen camels long, each carrying a hefty load of packages and bundles on their backs. The bundles contained spices, silk, food of all sorts, artifacts, jewelry, clothing and a host of other goods from the far-off cities along the trade route. The last camel in line looked back and did a double take in reaction to a skinny camel approaching rapidly. Huh? I must be seeing things! Is that..? No, it cant be! Bonefoot?
Ahoy there! Yep, its me!
I dont believe it! Check it out! Its that runt Bonefoot!
The other camels were shocked to see their scrawny comrade hoofing past them at a far faster clip than they could maintain and carrying two Bullbarians on his back to boot!
What are you doing out here in the desert Bonefoot?
What about your feet?
Bonefoot grinned. Camel shoes! Nifty huh?
The lineup of jaws dropped, and a steady flow of flabbergasted comments issued forth: W-wow
H-how do those feel on your feet?
Thats ingenious!
My feet are killing me!
Where can I get some of those?
No wonder he can walk so fast out here on this hot sand!
Hear that Bonefoot? asked Cubesteak. You werent alone in the sensitive foot department!
Ribeye laughed. Seems yer friends have some of the same worries you have Boney! Magine that!
Wow! I never knew!
As Bonefoot took the lead, Ribeye yelled back to the others: Hey slowpokes! Youre lookin at a real desert-going camel right here! Built lean and mean for speed! Well be sure to smoke-signal when we get to Shangri-llama long before ya!
Bonefoot chuckled merrily. Imagine it! For the first time in his entire life he was sharing in a joke that he wasnt the butt of.
Gears turned in Cubesteaks ever-busy young mind. Humm theres a good business venture in this camel shoe stuff!
There ya go with the civvie ideas, chided Ribeye.
Cubesteak grinned. It was so great to have Ribeye back to his same old grumpy self. He wanted to turn around and give his brother a huge bull-hug.
Before long, the camel train was once again a distant dust plume on the horizon but this time far behind them.
Bonefoot was ecstatic. He took a deep breath, and with his best soprano voice, began singing:
Onward!
Tis the direction we will go!
Onward!
The only path that heroes know!
Fearlessly forward, straight into the fray,
Through the black of darkest night, or heat of brightest day!
Neither defeat nor dread can ever live within our hearts
And so it is we march!
On-ward!
He belted out several more verses then called out: Come on! Sing it with me guys!
Cubesteak grinned and joined in.
Ohhh Ribeye? I cant heaaar yoooou! chided the camel. Come on, you know this one!
Awww... nuts!
Finally Ribeye gave in, and all three voices rang out across the desert:
Onward!
Straight as an arrow from the bow,
Onward!
The only way that heroes go!
Ever toward the goals we know are right,
Through the roar of battle, smashing evils might!
Neither retreat nor loss can ever dwell within our hearts
And so it is we march!
On-ward!
The three adventurers kept singing as Bonefoots camel-shoe prints trailed off over the sand dunes to the far distant horizon.
|