It was sunset, and the travelers finally made it to the greatest city known as Berkshire. The marble streets were always a warm temperature, even at night. The stucco houses were for the richest of animals, and the decor of this city was very lush.
"I never knew such a city existed! It's beautiful here!" said Blacksmith with gleaming eyes. Kole said, "I was surprised when I saw it too!" Blaze laughed then said, "You actually lived in this town Kole. Well, when you were still Claudius. Everyone literally worshiped you, haha."
Kole let out a little chuckle, and then someone shouted, "Look! It's The Grand Five!" Then a huge crowd of animals surrounded the travelers, shouting and howling in excitement. "Great. Right when we were going to rest." Blaze grumbled. Then suddenly, someone screamed, "IT'S CLAUDIUS! CLAUDIUS HAS RETURNED!"
Then an even bigger crowd appeared, and there was another huge crowd filled with girls. The piercing screams from the women made Ice shout out, "OK, EVERYONE OUT OF THE WAY! The "Great Claudius" needs rest! So either show us the way to his house, or FACE MY ICY RATH!"
Everyone became silent, then a deep voice shouted, "What's the ruckus!? There shouldn't even- wait" Then a black panther appeared to confront the travelers, and said, "Is that who I think it is?" Blaze's ears lit on fire and he shouted, "Paul! You're late! We're suffocating!"
The panther chuckled and shouted, "Everyone! Leave this spot at once! We're going to have road repairs here!" Instantly, everyone rushed away, thinking that the road will be shinier. Kole whispered to Blaze, "Is he the mayor or something?"
Blaze nodded and said, "Paul, you're just the person we need. Take us to your estate!" Paul chuckled and said, "Consider it done. Follow me everyone!" Before anyone could take one step, an eagle swooped down and landed on Paul's head.
The eagle whispered into Paul's ear, and whatever it said surprised him. "Kuba. Go and tell Felix that the hunt is back on. We need to go through with this now!" The eagle nodded and flew east.
Paul turned to the travelers and said, "I apologize. You must join the Berkshire Pig Hunt." The air lingered with fear. Kole, Blacksmith and Ice didn't know what this "pig hunt" was, but everyone else did.
Kole looked back at Mr. Nafario and asked, "What is the Berkshire Pig Hunt?" Mr. Nafario's eyes showed pure fear, and he said, "It's a hunting game. A piranha chooses the pigs, and one of the pigs could be one of us. After the "pigs" are chosen and spread out in the forest, they get real hunters to hunt us down... to kill the "pigs"..."
It felt as Kole's confidence in this game shattered. Blacksmith sat down, dumbfounded, and Ice was shivering with fear. The rest of the group looked down, and Edward said, "Very well. We shall join this game of life and death."
Paul smiled sinisterly, and he said, "Alright. Follow me everyone." Everyone followed the suspicious panther to a park with three animals sitting above a tank. Kole asked Paul, "Do we really have to do this?"
Without looking back, Paul replied, "Yes you do. This is the first Pig Hunt in decades. And when travelers come to our town during a hunt, they must participate." Kole looked down at his paws while walking, and Blaze said, "Wait, Paul." Everyone stopped walking, and Paul looked at Blaze with a gaze that said "We don't have time for this".
Blaze didn't care, and he said, "Wouldn't there be too many participants if there were more than eight? It's part of the tradition that has been around for centuries. Are you willing to risk that?" Paul stared at Blaze for a while. Then he said, "Fine. Whoever doesn't want to do it will sit in the stands with the crowd."
Paul quickly turned foward and continued to walk towards the benches. Everyone continued followed him with gentle sighs of relief. When they got to the event, Blaze, Lark, and Forest sat on the tank. Paul announced, "We need one more contestant! Either someone volunteer, or I choose for you!"
The crowd in the stands were silent. The only sound that could be heard were uneasy whispers.
Paul grinned a toothy grin, and said, "Why don't you come up here... Claudius?" Everyone looked at Kole and cheered. Kole slowly walked away from the stands and joined the others onto the tank. Paul sat behind a pedestal and shouted, "Alright! The piranha will be released in five... four... three... two... one... now!"
A piranha quickly shot out from a tube that was entering the tank, and the piranha quickly went right under Blaze. "Pig number one is... Blaze! Please head out to the forest grounds!" Blaze scoffed and jumped off of the tank to go into the forest.
The piranha stood still for a couple of seconds before choosing the next pig. It rushed over to a wolf sitting next to Kole. Once again, Paul sent the game's pig to the forest to possibly die. The piranha instantly shot towards Forest and stayed there for a bit. Paul announced his name, and sent him into the forest.
Paul also added, "Alright! One more to choose from! Who will be our lucky winner?" It seemed like the piranha thought for a bit. Then it slowly swam under Kole. Paul shouted, "And it is Claudius! Give him a round of applause!" Without being ordered or pushed, Kole jumped off of the tank, and walked into the forest.
In the forest, Kole grouped up with the other "pigs". Blaze said, "Say Forest... you can just protect us with vines, can't you?" Forest looked at Blaze very sternly, then said, "If I do that, I won't be able to break them easily. If you burn the vines, it could cause a forest fire. Use your brain, you numbskull!"
Blaze said, "Ok, training session. Kole you're going have to learn to use Fire Blade." Forest flinched and shouted, "Are you mad!? He could kill us with that!" Blaze's paws got shaky, and he said, "Forest... he can control Magma Claw, and no fire user, even me, can handle that kind of power. I'm absolutely sure he can handle Fire Blade."
Forest became silent. He then slammed his paws on the ground and surrounded the group with a large vine dome. The wolf sat down and said, "Are you sure you want to completely surround us? I-I mean... we're going to be here for three days..." Forest looked at the ground, then said, "Hey Kole. Let's turn some of these rocks into crops, ok?" Kole's eyes turned green, and he said, "Will do!"