“Everyone turn around so I can get dressed,” the princess declared. “Nobody should see me naked.”
“Ahhh, ouch!” Angst said as pins and needles woke him. “What is that?”
It felt as though his arm had fallen asleep. He sat up and grabbed his chest to find that it felt like his entire body had fallen asleep. A prickling numbness covered every inch of his skin. Everything hurt from the odd sensation, but he was awake, and alert.
“It worked!” Dallow declared, punching the air triumphantly.
“What worked?” Angst asked with concern. “What did you do?”
“I poisoned you,” Dallow said proudly.
“You what?” Victoria screeched, sounding much like her mother. She cleared her throat before continuing. “You told me it was medicine!”
“That was the only way to get you to shut...to calm you down,” Hector reassured her.
“I translated a book from Gressmore ruins,” Dallow continued excitedly, ignoring the princess. “It gave me the spell I needed to create the poison. You should be at almost full health after eating some food.”
“Why a poison?” Angst asked as he rubbed his arms and legs in an attempt to get his blood flowing.
“I poisoned Death, Angst,” Dallow said nervously. “You were so close to dead after what you did, and then carrying the prin...Tori all that way. We couldn’t revive you. I looked through everything I’d ever read, so it took me awhile. Poisoning Death was the only thing I could do to keep it away. One in a million chance it would work.”
Angst propped himself up on his elbows and looked at Hector and Tarness, who shrugged and shook their heads.
“Originally, I didn’t understand the old Acratic tome because I saw death as an equation,” Dallow said with a smile and raised eyebrows, obviously excited to give more in-depth details of his hypothesis.
“Of course you did,” Hector said wryly.
“I thought about how the five elements can take human form, and realized that life and death might as well,” Dallow pressed on, ignoring his friend. “If they are anything like the other five, they can be destroyed or injured.”
In spite of several distracting coughs and some curious looks, Dallow was so proud of his solution he continued.
“Angst was almost dead, and we’ve all heard the phrase ‘when death comes.’ I thought it was figurative, but what if it was true?” Dallow wiped his blond locks out of his face. “I went through the text again, thinking of Death as an entity, and then it made more sense that he could be stopped, or held off.
“When Death tried to take Angst, he must’ve gotten sick to his stomach! He couldn’t take you away, he probably couldn’t take anyone!” Dallow laughed aloud, sounding quite maniacal. “Don’t you see? It gave Angst enough time to heal, and I bet people around Ehrde stopped dying for hours!”
Everyone shared nervous glances, as if expecting greater ramifications from Dallow’s experiment. When he finally realized he was the only one laughing, Dallow looked slightly lost.
“Um, thanks, Dallow,” Angst said weakly, not knowing what else to say. “I’m sure you’re the only one who could have done that.”
“That’s the most unbelievable story I’ve ever heard,” Hector insisted.
“No, really, Hector,” Angst said defensively. “That’s exactly how I remembered it.”
“There is no way,” Hector said, “you had your back turned the entire time!”
“Very funny,” Angst said as everyone else laughed loudly, including Victoria.
“So, you were attacked by Water?” Hector asked.
“Not by Water,” Angst disagreed. “It was Earth! Those hands coming out of the pool were made of mud!”
“Angst, as far as you know it could have been Magic,” Dallow interjected.
“Does it really make a difference?” Victoria said loudly, trying to speak over everyone else. “Shouldn’t we get out of here?”
“What’s the point?” asked Tarness.
They all looked at the large man in surprise.
Tarness shrugged nonchalantly. “We’re talking about earth, right? Or water, or magic,” he said nodding at each of his friends. “Those elements are everywhere. We are just as safe here as we are ten miles down the road.”
“You’re right,” Hector said after a thoughtful pause. He looked at Dallow’s worried face and continued. “I want to catch up with Rose too, but if we push too much and Angst gets worse, we’ll just have to wait longer.”
“You’re right, of course,” Dallow said sadly. “But, we don’t even know—”
“Yes, we do,” Angst said. “Rose is alive, and she’s doing fine. I had a foci-dream about her, and she seems more or less healthy.”
“Why are you telling us this now?” asked Dallow. “Not to mention, I thought you didn’t remember your foci-dreams very well.”
Angst looked dumbfounded.
“He...well, he talked in his sleep all night,” Victoria said, blushing.
Everyone’s shoulders dropped. Hector rolled his eyes.
“It was loud. I’m surprised you didn’t hear it!” Victoria said defensively.
“It was raining pretty hard,” Tarness said to appease her.
“Angst, you also said we were headed in the right direction?” Victoria encouraged. “And something about us not being far behind?”
Angst was slow to pick up on her verbal queues until she pinched him, hard. This wasn’t information he had shared with her; it must’ve been something she had seen.
“Yes, that’s right.” Angst did his best to sound genuine. “Dallow, we are very close. I don’t know exactly where she is, but I could tell, because of Chryslaenor, that we are very close.”
The princess nodded fervently, and kept nodding until Angst nodded with her. Hector looked over at Tarness, and then Dallow, with squinted eyes that screamed suspicion, but Dallow didn’t notice. He seemed so relieved to have some news, no matter how sketchy, that they were suddenly all at ease.
“Good,” Dallow said. “That’s good, right?”
“Yes, Dallow,” Tarness said, patting his shoulder. “Your Majesty, would you be offended if I were to set up your tent?”
“Um,” Victoria said hesitantly, seeming extremely disappointed. “No, of course not. Thank you, Tarness.”
“It’s my pleasure,” he said with a wink.
Hector and Tarness’s hunt provided ample portions of meat for their dinner, and Angst could feel his strength return with every bite. It was the first night that everything seemed to fit. His friends were in good spirits, nobody was fighting and, in spite of their recent ordeal, he was completely relaxed. Victoria excitedly took a bottle from her satchel and handed it to Angst. He took a long draw of thick port and passed the bottle to Hector.
“So, what is this?” Victoria asked as she gave up on ceremony and ripped meat from a leg bone with her teeth. “It tastes amazing!”
“That one would be giant rat, Your Majesty,” Tarness said, winking at Hector.
“Really?” Victoria said, squinting unbelievingly.
Both men nodded as they watched her closely. Victoria grinned at their challenge and took another bite.
“Well, I think your rat is excellent,” she declared. “I shall make sure it is on the table when I am queen.”
Everyone laughed, and Hector handed the bottle of port to Victoria.
She took a long draw and winced. “I think I like the rat better,” she said with a cough. “What did I steal?”
“Port, Your Excellency,” Hector teased. “Freshly made too. Sure to grow hair on your chest!”
“Just what I wanted,” Tori said wryly before chugging several more gulps from the bottle. She hit her chest until she burped loudly. “So, what was Angst like...before I was born?”
Angst sighed, reaching for the port while everyone laughed at him.
“Your boyfriend and I grew up together,” Dallow said a bit drunkenly. “And you’d probably be surprised to k
now he used to be a flirt!”
“Boyfriend?” Victoria said, sticking her tongue out at Dallow. “No, I’m not surprised at all. But, really, you guys had to have...adventures...you know, before?”
“Well, there was this girl that sort of had a thing for Angst. What was her name?” Tarness asked. “Izzy?”
Everyone but Victoria laughed so loudly they didn’t notice her wide eyes or how she’d paled.
“I remember Izzy. She was sort of cute,” Angst said. “That was the same time the Wizard’s Retreat burned down. When we finally met Tarness.”
Tarness beamed with pride as Hector recounted the story in greater detail than he had ever done. Inspired by a new, and royal, audience, he thoroughly embellished the events leading up to the Wizard’s Retreat burning down three times until it was finally rebuilt by Angst and other friends to become the Wizard’s Revenge. Wrapping up the story with the reluctant kiss Angst had landed on Izzy before she’d run away forever, Hector was particularly inspired by Victoria’s continued looks of shock and surprise. When he finally finished, all eyes were on the stunned, wide-eyed, jaw-dropped princess.
“I...I don’t know what to say,” she stuttered.
“I’m sorry, Your Majesty,” Hector said in genuine concern and respect. “Did I offend?”
“I think Izzy is my mom!” she pronounced.
There was a moment of silent shock before the laughter began. They all laughed to tears. Whether it was the port, or the story, or the overwhelming stress of their situation, it lasted until their bellies were sore.
“You kissed the queen,” Tarness accused Angst with a pointed finger.
“You kissed my mom!” Victoria squealed, gripping her stomach. “No wonder she hates you.”
Angst looked defeated, bringing more laughter. Tori grabbed the bottle of port and pouted when she found it empty. Hector and Tarness stood.
“I’m glad you’re here, Tori,” Hector said respectfully with a polite bow. “Good night all.”
Hector and Tarness walked to their tents and crawled in.
“Well, I’m on first watch,” Dallow declared, running both hands through his blond hair and pulling it away from his eyes. He stood and poked at the campfire with a stick.
“Right,” Angst acknowledged. “Thanks, Dallow. Hopefully I’ll feel better soon and can help.”
Dallow merely nodded, walking over to the pile of wood to grab several more branches. Angst looked over at Victoria. She seemed sad, or worried. As they approached their tents, he leaned over.
“You okay?” Angst whispered.
“I don’t want to sleep alone,” Victoria blurted out, sounding embarrassed.
They were facing away from the campfire, and she looked around the dark woods surrounding them anxiously. She leaned against Angst and gazed at him with large, pleading eyes.
“No,” Angst said firmly. “We’ve put my friends through enough. Look, Tarness put your tent right next to mine. They’re practically touching. You’ll be fine, I promise.”
“But what about Rose?” she whispered hopefully. “What about our dream?”
“Tori, no,” Angst said as politely as he could. “Dreams are dreams. We’ll have them whether or not we share a tent. Goodnight.”
Angst gave Victoria a firm hug, which she barely returned. They crawled into their respective tents. Angst undressed and lay still for almost an entire minute. He couldn’t find a comfortable spot on the ground and finally gave up, deciding he was just restless from the day’s events. He could hear Victoria dressing, shuffling, moving in her own tent. It went on, and on, and on, well after he stopped.
“Tori,” Angst whispered. “Are you okay?”
“Please,” she pleaded. “Can’t I sleep in your tent again tonight?”
“For the last time, no,” he said firmly.
“But didn’t you like it?” Tori said in her most convincing voice. “You said you slept better with me there.”
“Of course I did,” Angst whispered loudly. “It’s just not appropriate”
“Since when did we need to start being appropriate?” she asked.
“Not to mention, it upsets Hector,” Angst reminded her.
“I can just beat him up again,” Tori suggested.
“I can hear you,” Hector said from the other side of the campfire.
“We can all hear you,” Tarness yelled in frustration. “These tents are made of cloth, not stone!”
“Please,” Tori pleaded in spite of the audience.
“Would you both just go to sleep?” Tarness pleaded. “You sound like a couple of teenagers.”
“But I am a teenager,” Tori said.
Everyone grumbled loudly.
23
The street that hosted the Wizard’s Revenge was a blemish. A sore thumb that stuck out amidst other, more traditional, buildings found in the busy heart of Unsel. The Revenge was in a monolithic structure neither large nor inviting. The bar and inn was a two story, stone block crammed between fat storefronts made from aged and weather-beaten wood. Dusty windows in one old boutique featured an even dustier “For Rent” sign. The other shop, providing massage services, seemed to have regular traffic at all hours in spite of its undesirable location.
Rook had promised Janda he would meet her at the bar before leaving for Heather’s, but he hesitated just outside the door. Angst always spoke so fondly of his favorite tavern, but Rook had yet to feel the love. From the silence his entrance caused, to the lonely corner where he would sit and wait, the few times Rook had visited he’d felt like an outsider. Was this what it was like for Angst, his friends, or even Janda in the castle? Is this how they felt outside of the Wizard’s Revenge? It was too cold to ponder, and he pushed his way through the heavy wooden door.
It took several moments for his eyes to adjust from the late morning sun. Even in that short time, Rook was certain the room had grown. It now appeared bigger inside than out, which made his brain wince, and he shivered a little at the unknown power behind such illusions—real or not.
He looked about and saw several familiar faces, all of whom nodded politely when he made eye contact before returning to their “breakfast,” but no Janda. The bosomtastic waitress sashayed her way toward him, forcing a hard swallow and glance around the room to make sure his date wasn’t waiting.
“Can I help you to a table, Mr. Rook?” she asked in a happy singsong voice.
“Um, sure,” he said, removing his cap to free his light curly hair, “if you don’t mind, that is. I’m waiting—”
“Everyone is welcome,” she said while guiding him to a nearby table. “And Janda should be here soon. She mentioned you were coming.”
Six mugs of ale floated in front of them, making Rook step aside unnecessarily. The waitress waved them off like gnats, setting them on a less direct path. She looked back with a full smile, as though attempting to let Rook know she would keep him safe from the foul floating mugs of eeeevil. She pulled out a chair for him to sit, which he did. He coughed with embarrassment as she leered at his broad shoulders.
“Did you want something while you wait?” she asked, leaning into the question.
“A mead would be great,” he said, making eye contact several times. “If you wouldn’t mind...delivering it by hand?”
She rested a hand on his arm and chuckled. “I would be happy to, doll.” She smiled again. “I’m Heidi. Just call if you need something.”
Rook watched as she sauntered away and, for a brief moment, felt welcome at this tavern of magic-wielders. There were twenty-odd people scattered about the room, though from Rook’s perspective they were actually all-odd. The nearest table hosted a card game played by two older men, a young man and a young woman, all of whom mostly ignored his wandering eyes. The oldest member of the party had long, dark gray hair and a twinkle in his eye as he focused on the deck of cards shuffling itself in mid-air.
Since the crisis, many magic-restricting laws had been lifted, and there were obvious signs
of this at several of the tables. Most noticeable was the ball of water that appeared above tables as food was delivered. Table-dwellers nonchalantly reached into their hovering globe then wiped their hands on a napkin before eating.
“I figured it’d be nice to keep the ragamuffins clean,” Graloon said with a grunt, setting Rook’s mead on the dark sticky table. “Dallow helped me work this out last week. Smart lad, that one.”
Graloon pulled a hand from a greasy apron pocket and rested it palm down on a small, round metal plate at the center of the table. A head-sized ball of water rose from the plate and hovered expectantly in front of Rook. His eyes grew wide at the sight, and his back arched instinctively.
“Go ahead, it won’t eat your hand,” Graloon said, reaching into the water then pulling his hand out. He wiggled his fingers, letting several drops of water fall to the table.
Rook didn’t want to be rude so, with a deep breath, he plunged his hand into the floating ball. The water was warm. He jerked his hand out, clenched a fist nervously then submerged both hands.
Graloon handed him a towel. “Heidi hasn’t been well for months. Normally, I don’t...clean. Dallow thought this might help,” Graloon said with a shrug. “Maybe it does. As you can see, she’s doing much better. I hate to see my niece falling ill.”
“Nice try, but Hector told me. She’s not your niece,” Rook said with a wry smile, grateful Graloon would be welcoming enough to tease.
“I’ll have to take that up with Hector when he gets back,” Graloon said with a grunt. “Have you heard anything from them yet? Or the princess?”
“You know about Her Majesty?” Rook asked with a whisper, peering at those around them cautiously.
“She’s gone off with Angst, right?” Graloon asked. “If that man does something foolish and hurts Heather in the process, I’ll show him where he can stick that sword.”
Rook didn’t know what to say, and quickly camouflaged his lack of response with several gulps of the sweet mead.
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