No Good Deed

by Jerry Jackson

  “And it will be for the next 3 to 4 days,” Zarinthis added. “the ointments used only dulled the pain during the procedure. You’re going to have to heal on your own.”

  “I noticed my healing spell didn’t work,” Obidaan said a bit puzzled.

  “No healing spell will help. If anything, it will dull the pain for a second, nothing more. This must be done naturally, and over time.” Then, changing to a faux school girl voice, “now, before everyone bursts, let’s see the tattoo, turn around,” he made a spinning motion with his hand, “and please present your sword while you’re at it. We’re all giddy with excitement.”

  Obidaan laughed, the slowly turned around. On his back was a magnificent tattoo, from the middle of his neck, where the hilt started, across his shoulders, down to the small of his back, where the point of the sword was, was one of the most glorious tattoos known anywhere. It was beyond a work of art. It was an exact scaled replica, down to the colors of his sword. When he produced the sword, the tattoo glowed slightly, then Mystic appeared in his hand. To see the tattoo was to see the sword. Obidaan continued to turn until he was facing the group again, “Everyone, I’d like to introduce the newest member of our group, Mystic.” He raised the sword.

  Without missing a beat, the group yelled back “Hi Mystic!” and Obidaan, in a poor imitation of a ventriloquist said, “Hi everyone! I’m so glad to be here. It’s been such a soul wrenching experience. Let me tell you, I really love Obidaan, I’m just stuck on him.”

  Through the groans and laughs, the group applauded and sent up a round of cheers as Obidaan came to the table. Grabbing a plate, he loaded it down with food, wedged his way between Relina and Tomas, proceeded to give his wife the biggest kiss she had had in years, and then dug in like a mad man possessed.

  “So,” Alister asked, “what was the procedure like?”

  Obidaan finished what he had. “It was strange and extraordinarily painful. At first the pain was excruciating, then as time went by it got easier. They constantly tattooed me, day and night. The most I was allowed at any time was just a few sips of water.” Obidaan grabbed a mug of beer and downed all at once, then went through half of another mug before starting again, “A few times I felt like I was going to die, but I was able to hold on. I swear it felt at times like someone else was taking the hit for me, it was a strange, yet gratifying feeling. Finally, it was over and they unstrapped me. There I was with my tattoo and there sat the sword. They asked me to go pick it up. When I did, I felt it, not only in my hand, but also in my soul. It was like I was staring at a sentient part of myself. It was very strange, yet exciting and pleasurable. Then they asked that I put the sword away. I asked ‘how?’ and they replied, ‘just do it.’ So I thought about sheathing Mystic, and it disappeared. ‘Now recall it please.’ She asked. I thought of unsheathing it and it appeared in my hand. It was interesting. Later on, as I was coming up here, I just thought about it, and ‘boom’ there it was in my hand. Then I though away and it disappeared again. By the time I got here, I was able to recall and dismiss it as easily as moving my arm.”

  “Yes, it does not take much to summon a soul item. In essence, it is just another body part,” Zarinthis said.

  “So,” Obidaan asked, “what have y’all been up to?”

  The group spent the rest of the evening relating their experience and how they had sympathetic pains. They also told about how they each have weapons and how Don’s seems to have bonded with him. Obidaan was fascinated with the stories. He felt guilty about making them go through the pain and was about to apologize when Zarinthis stepped in, “Do not apologize for what happened. On the contrary, you should be honor by them. The fact that they have so much emotional attachment to you is a testament to the love you all share. By bearing their souls in such a way, it made the attachment of the weapon easier though I’m sure you would doubt me. Let me put it this way, because they shared your pain you were only in pain for two days. An army general once came here, with a regiment. Well, even though they ate as you did, they did not feel the same attachment, so he was in pain for four of the five days. He did go on to be a ruthless general after that, but that’s another story. Remember, the workers were cold and uncaring, and unaffected by your screams. Even I am touched, though not nearly to the extent as they were. That can’t be faked. It is an honor to be around such a group of people. They are rare. Treasure it.” He put a piece of bread in his mouth, which seemed to accentuate his point. They sat in happy silence for the rest of the meal.

  A couple of days passed and soon Obidaan was able to wear a shirt. It wasn’t until the fourth day that he was finally able to put his armor on. During that time, he practiced with his new weapon and even spared with a couple of the workers. To him, the sword was weightless; an extension of his hand. He could even throw it and recall it. It even warned him when people were trying to sneak up on him and it moved on it’s own to deflect a sure blow.

  Soon, it was time for them to leave. A party was thrown, much dancing was done, much wine was consumed and the finest foods were presented this time. Many hugs were exchanged and soon they were on their way back home.

  The Vanguard had left the gates and everyone was still outside when a servant spoke up “I will miss them. I can’t believe they tipped us” she held out a hand full of silver, “I tried to give it back but they would have nothing to do with it.”

  “Yes,” Zarinthis said with a cautious concerned smile, “such caring and love is rare in this world, I hope it is enough.”

  “Enough for what?”

  Zarinthis laughed, “You don’t know why we gave Obidaan that sword do you? Or why we let the group leave with those weapons?”

  “Generosity? I didn’t see anything unusual; we give away weapons all the time.”

  “Those?”

  “Mmmm, no those are the ones reserved for bonding.”

  “Exactly, and though they won’t be bonded, they do represent our finest weapons. Now, here’s the truth that the test didn’t reveal: Don was more correct than he realized. He was able to bond with the weapon because of his blood brother bonding with Obidaan. What they don’t realize is that when Obidaan passed, they ALL passed. Don’s monk abilities merely allowed him to be the first to notice the bonding. I knew that but couldn’t tell them. So I let the test results speak or rather not speak for us.”

  “In that case, why didn’t we bond the weapons to each of them?”

  “Because the invitation only went out to Obidaan,” he said matter—of—factly. “How would it look if word got out that 1 person in a group passed and everyone got a weapon?”

  “Like one big …”

  “Exactly. Besides, this is a very special group, the bonds between them are very strong. That’s what really allows the weapons to work. As long as they stick together, they’ll be fine. Hopefully, so will we.” They began walking back into the keep.

  “Are they in trouble?”

  “We all are. For them to do what must be done, they must feel they are unstoppable. That is the only way to stop it.”

  “Stop what?”

  “The coming darkness.” He was blunt in his words; the worker shuddered.

  “How do you know this?” She gulped as he asked.

  Walking back in, Zarinthis pulled out a chain with a holy symbol on it, “Let’s just say they’re not the only followers of The Seers, nor are they the only ones granted visions.”

  Half way back, they were sitting around the campfire, enjoying fresh caught rabbit. “So, about the third day,” Obidaan began out of the blue, “I was screaming and wishing for death, when I had a vision. It was Relina. She was coming to me in a beautiful silver shimmering dress. Her hair was up and she was wearing a tiara. She walked, well actually sashayed over to me,” everyone was still listening to him, “I walked toward her and began to embrace her, and she embraced me. We danced cheek to cheek for a while, to music we
heard off in the distance, finally I got up the nerve – why I had to in the first place I don’t know – to kiss her. Strange I thought. Here I am dancing with my wife and I have to get up the nerve to kiss her? Anyway I do and we have a deep passionate kiss. While I’m kissing her, she changes slightly, hair a bit longer, and deep red, and a slight change to her face and nose. Then she started to fade. With my eyes still closed – don’t ask me about how I knew about the changes, I was dreaming – I said ‘oh Relina’ and then the lady whispered back ‘Mystic’ and faded. It was moments after that that the pain went away.”

  “You had an affair with your sword?” Alister asked, almost laughing.

  “I’m shocked,” Relina said playfully, “I though I was the only one in your life, now you bring in this… this… hussy. I don’t know what I’m going to do?” she mocked crying in her arms.

  “Ah honey,” Obidaan said, “you know you’re the only girl for me.”

  Laughing, Obidaan and Relina ‘made up’ and began to hug each other. With her arms wrapped around him, she hugged him tight. Then she heard a voice in her head, almost ghostlike, all it said was “Hello, Relina.”

  Relina jumped back, startled. “You’re sword, it talked to me. I heard it while I hugged you.”

  “Yeah,” Obidaan said without flinching, “I asked it to. Neat, huh?”

  “Umm, yeah,” she was still clearly shaken, “just wish you had warned me, I wasn’t prepared for that.”

  “I’m sorry, won’t happen again, now come here.” He hugged her more passionately now.

  Soon they arrived back home. Everyone, even the gate guards knew what was going on, so eagerly one of them shouted to him. “How’d you do?” Obidaan proudly presented his sword. The other guard opened the gate slightly and yelled in, “He got it!”

  Within seconds the word a loud roar went up through town. The gates were opened and there was king and queen waiting to horseback to greet them. Behind them was a banner reading “Congratulations Obidaan and The Vanguard.” The people were out cheering and drinking and a band was playing in the background.

  They were overwhelmed by the sight. Everyone in town was here. Slowly, Obidaan proceeded forward. He met up with the king and queen. He put the sword away before shaking their hands and greeting them. “Congratulations, Obidaan,” the king said. “What you have done is an amazing thing. We have declared a day of celebration in your honor. There will be much rejoicing! Huzzah!” and the crowd responded with a thunderous “Huzzah!” of their own.

  “But what if I had failed?” Obidaan asked.

  The queen snapped her fingers and now the banner read “Better Luck Next Time! We Still Believe In You!”

  “Then, this would have been a pick up celebration, to lift your spirits and let you know how much you mean to this town.” She snapped her fingers, returning the banner to it’s original message.

  Obidaan laughed. In his laugh was also a release of tension, frustration, and doubt. For the first time in a long time, he was truly relaxed. “Well then, let us not keep these people waiting!”

  “One last thing, if you don’t mind,” said the king, “may I see your weapon again?”

  “Hold out your hands,” Obidaan said. The king did as instructed. A moment later Mystic appeared in his hands.

  “Amazing,” said the king, as he felt the sword. He looked deeply at it, studying it in every detail, “You’re going to have to show off your tattoo to the crowd.” He couldn’t keep his eyes off the sword. Deep down, well below everyone’s perception, including his own, a pang of jealously developed. Nothing he owned was as stunning beautiful as Mystic. Recovering, he gave back the sword. Rather than grab it, Obidaan simply made it disappear out of his hand. “This way”

  They followed them to a large table, in the town square. There was Mordechi and his son, several church elders and Martha from the orphanage. The group dismounted, Tomas ran to his mother and they all sat. “Dig in!” was all that was left to say and people began to eat of whole pigs and chickens, bushels of corn, pints of ale, buckets of fish, shrimp, and clams.

  The Vanguard sat at the head of the table as honored guests. People ate till they were stuffed. Later Alister told the story, much exaggerated. A few even cry when he told of the sympathetic pains. The highlight of the afternoon came when Obidaan removed his shirt and showed everyone the tattoo, and the sword. Silence filled the area as people marveled.

  Before the end of the night, Tomas showed off his knife to his mother. While concerned about him having a weapon, she was exceptionally proud of him, especially after hearing Aliste’s story. He kept the knife with him at all times; she knew it was more a trophy, a rite of passage, than a weapon.

  Before the happy crowd dispersed, a ritual spell was performed to clean the streets and put everything back where it belonged. That night, Obidaan slept deeper than he ever had since becoming a paladin. He woke refreshed and ready to take on the day.

  Several months passed and they enjoyed their down time, practicing, dating, and catching up on chores and visits to the parents.

  One lazy day, Obidaan got a mental summons. He stood up in the hammock.

  “Is everything ok, sweetheart?” Relina asked.

  “Yes, however, I do believe I’ve just been called away on a paladin task,” he got out of the hammock.

  “How will you know for sure?” she rolled out of the hammock and put her hands on his shoulders, resting her chin on his shoulder.

  “I have to answer the door,” he began walking. She let him go as he moved around to the front of the house. There on the porch was a sealed letter. He opened it. Before she could even inquire, “I have been summoned by Gheriballi Triton, Paladin of Justice, to participate in a Paladin Tribunal. The lands of Lost Peak and Far Gone have violated their non—aggression pact and have gone back into dispute over mining rights in a neutral zone. I am to meet him in Newgartland in two days. It’s a days journey to Newgartland. I should pack and get ready.”

  “I’ll fixing dinner,” Relina said. She was disappointed he was leaving but she knew what she was getting into when he got anointed, she just accepted it and did what she could.

  They didn’t talk much; Obidaan packed, and then sat down to an excellent dinner. They did make love that night, and the next morning he was off.

  Obidaan was concerned as he rode out. This was the first time he had ever been summoned for a Paladin Tribunal. He went over in his head what it meant. Seven paladins, three from each side, and the one who convened it. The six would act as judge and jury. The seventh’s job was two—fold. First, he would see if the guilty parties would immediately settle for justice. Second, if the defendant asked for a trial, his job was to prosecute. The remaining sat in judgment. If the vote was a tie, the defendant was freed.

  A Paladin Tribunal was not like other trials. Guilt has already been established. What the trial is for is to allow for extenuating circumstances, like possession, blackmail, or in rare cases, plain old ignorance. The purpose of the tribunal isn’t to determine IF you broke the law, but WHY. If your reason was valid enough, you can be set free and a new treaty will be drawn up. If not, penalties range anywhere from fines to death.

  All Paladin Tribunals are called because of broken treaties negotiated by paladins. The paladin whose treaty was broken summons the tribunal. When they start to break it, they will get an initial buzz in their head letting them know they are close. A snapping sound means it’s broken and the paladin their way. The paladin become aware of which treaty it is, who broke it, and when. They must ride out to the area to get the details.

  It’s known that these two countries have been at war for decades, the result of sibling rivalry. Originally called Gartland, named after, Felovish Gart. He had three children, two boys and a girl. The boys, Horash and Hondo are first born twins. They grew to dislike each other and always fought for their father’s attention. Thr
ee years later, their sister Hashi was born. She was the apple of her father’s eye because she didn’t fight like his sons. Upon his death though, he divided his kingdom into three equal parts and gave each to his children to rule over.

  The two sons were still jealous of each other and continued to covet what the other had. Hence, Horash named his Lost Peak, because his ‘favorite’ spot went to his brother. Conversely, Hondo named his land Far Gone because he lost the coastline, his ‘favorite’ part. The sister suggested they merely switch kingdoms, but their stubbornness would not allow it. Besides, had they, they would only have found something else the other one had to bicker about. As a tribute to her father, Hashi named her land Newgartland.

  People hoped they would settle down now that they didn’t have to be around each other and rule their respective kingdoms. All was ok, until a small dukedom to the north, touching each boarder, came under dispute. The duke died, leaving no heirs, no government — he was a dictator — and no one in charge. Unaware of the brother’s rivalry, the citizens of the land made a regrettable error. They went to Lost Peak and asked to be annexed by Horash. They offered to pay him taxes in return for protection. Upon the death of the duke the army disbanded and gutted the treasury. It was a land ripe for the taking and the citizens knew it.

  Spies in Lost Peak informed Hondo and he was incensed. He marched into the dukedom and demanded that they become part of Far Gone. Horash initially conceded, not wanting to protect a bunch of peasants anyway. Days later, before all the formalities were in place, minerals were discovered, gold, silver, diamonds. Now the land was worth something and Horash wanted to ‘protect’ the citizens again, but Hondo refused. As a result, the peasants broke off with both of them and formed a citizen government. With the newfound wealth, they were able to hire a mercenary army. This enraged both brothers and they declared war, on not only the dukedom but also each other.