Eye of the Wizard: A Fantasy Adventure
Page 24
"You don't stand a chance," said the peasant girl who first spotted them. Scruff noticed that she had a black eye, and that her skirt was burned and tattered.
"Why not?" he asked, bristling, offended that a teenage girl should doubt his strength.
The girl snorted. "You don't even have proper armor, just a cheap, dusty breastplate. Groups of fifty knights tried to kill the roc, but it killed them like a dog bites flees. What chance do you stand? You're just another group of ragtag, down-on-your luck muscles-for-hire. We know your type, and we know that you're useless."
Jamie drew her sword and pointed it at the peasant girl. Both girls were about the same age. "Watch your tongue, sweetheart," Jamie said. "See this blade? It's killed beasts before. I'm going to bring back this blade drenched in roc blood, dragging the beast's head behind me."
Scruff pushed down Jamie's sword. "Look," he said to the peasant girl, and to all the other peasants, "we're not promising anything other than that we'll try. We're good at killing things. We've killed monsters before. Granted, none as big as Vanderbeak, but some nasty ones. We might fail, but you have my word: We're going to give it our best shot. Most heroes just use swords, effective against human warriors; we use a combination of sword, mace, arrows, magic, and pitchfork. It might just do the trick."
The peasants seemed mollified, but not much more hopeful. They glanced at each other with wary eyes, sighing. An old man with a cane stepped forward and gave them a toothless smile. "Come stay at my shop," he said, voice crackly. "My name is Old Julian Glassblower. I'll give you bread and butter and pottage."
The young peasant girl rolled her eyes, "Oh, Grandpa, you give our food to every mercenary who wanders through."
The Bullies, however, were too hungry to turn down the offer. Their stomachs grumbling, they followed Old Julian. He led them down a road to a humble glass shop, its thatch roof burned, its walls blackened. At least the yard was spared Vanderbeak's wrath, and Scruff admired that yard with wide eyes. Countless glass figurines—unicorns, dwarves, fairies, and hundreds of other creatures—stood in the overgrown grass, sparkling in the sunlight.
"I devoted my life to this shop," Old Julian explained, wiping away a tear. "Vanderbeak smashed most of my work. I don't know how I'll save the business. If you don't kill that monster, we won't have a town left."
The Bullies sat in the yard amid the glass statuettes, glad to rest their feet. Romy found a statuette of a lion to hug, and Cobweb played with a few glass dancers. Even Neev couldn't resist touching a glass wizard the size of his finger. Scruff found a glass elephant and shook it before Jamie's face, saying, "This is an elephant, see? Not a rabbit. An elephant."
Julian brought them bread and bowls of pottage. Scruff tried to eat politely, but ended up bolting it down. After a day of barely any food, it tasted heavenly.
"If we kill the roc and win the reward," Scruff said to Old Julian, wiping crumbs off his face, "we'll pay you for the food."
Julian nodded sadly. "I wish I could join you. Forty years ago, I'd have gone with you to kill that beast." He shook his head, a tear in his eye.
Scruff ate another bread roll. "Do you know where Vanderbeak lives?"
Old Julian nodded. "Half a day's walk from here. You must take the road north until you reach the mountains. You'll see on the mountainside a face torn in anguish. Vanderbeak will be inside the mouth."
Scruff wanted to ask what Julian meant. A face in anguish upon the mountainside? But the old man seemed distraught, blinking back tears, and hobbled away, mumbling something about cooking more pottage.
Scruff cleared his throat. "Let's spend the night here in Greenford, then head out tomorrow morning. We could use the rest. Romy, are you listening?"
The demon was busy making two glass lions fight, supplying her own sound effects. She looked up, bit her lip, and nodded. "Got it, boss."
Scruff spent the afternoon polishing his armor with a sock (how dare the peasant girl call it dusty?) and thinking about tomorrow, the day he'd face Vanderbeak. He wasn't sure yet how they'd kill the beast, but imagined it would involve swinging Norman harder than ever before.
At night, the Bullies slept in Julian's yard under the stars. Scruff suffered a restless night, tossing and turning. You'd think I'd be used to sleeping outside by now, he thought. But still he had trouble sleeping on the ground and missed his old bed in Burrfield. Things had been so much simpler then.
He saw that Romy and Neev cuddled together as they slept, and he looked at Cobweb, aching for her. She slept on her side, head on her hands. Scruff shifted toward her, lay behind her, and tossed an arm around her. In her sleep, she placed her hands around his hand, and he lay with his nose buried in her hair. Her hair smelled like a meadow. Cobweb seemed to wake, kissed his fingertips, and fell asleep again.
Scruff lay, eyes open, thinking again about the love potion. Had Cobweb swallowed some of the potion, then looked at him as he burst into the room? Is that why she seemed to like him now? Or did she like him truly—without the aid of magic? Scruff had still not summoned the courage to ask. Finally he fell asleep with his nose in her hair, his arm tossed over her, his body pressed against her.
In the morning, the Bullies packed their things in silence. Scruff's stomach felt like a knot, and he was unable to swallow any of his breakfast, he was so nervous. As he donned his armor and pulled on his boots, Scruff looked over the other Bullies. How many would die today? I love all of them, Scruff realized. Even Romy. The death of any one would destroy him.
Neev was reciting some spells, eyes closed. Scruff remembered growing up with his brother. Neev was a year younger, always so much smarter than Scruff, but smaller and weaker. Scruff would protect him from bullies, while Neev helped Scruff learn to read and write and do numbers. I love you, brother, Scruff thought.
Next Scruff looked at his sister. Only fifteen, Jamie was still so small, a third of his size. Her black hair was growing out, but was still short. Scruff watched her swinging her sword around the yard, practicing those moves Scruff could never master. She acted so tough, but Scruff knew she was only a child, fragile on the inside. I love you, Jamie, even if you annoy the Hell out of me sometimes.
He turned his gaze to Romy. The demon stood, twirling a lock of her fiery hair. Her bat wings spread out behind her, and her claws glistened. Tongues of flame ran across her deep red body, and when she saw him looking at her, she smiled and waved. Scruff couldn't help but smile back. Romy, despite looking like a tempting she-devil of fire and sin, was an innocent, childlike and kind-hearted. Scruff couldn't help but love her. And he knew Romy made his brother happy. Neev often scolded her, rolled his eyes at her, and seemed annoyed with Romy to no end, but that couldn't fool Scruff. He could see the love in Neev's eyes when he looked upon the demon girl. Romy, Scruff thought, I love you too.
Finally Scruff turned to look at Cobweb. She was polishing her bow, humming a tune. Her white hair glowed, and her gossamer dress glistened over her slender, purple body. Scruff took a deep breath, walked up to her, and kissed her. She smiled and kissed him back. Cobweb, I love you like I never loved anyone, he thought.
He stepped back from her, took a deep breath, and announced, "Let's go kill that roc."
They headed out, the morning crisp, the sky veiled with gray clouds. In their backpacks they carried some bread, jam, and apples that Julian gave them. As they moved through Greenford, a few little girls ran up to hand them flowers. A beefy man, wearing a butcher's apron, raced up and handed them a string of sausages. A cheesemaker handed them a wheel of cheese, while a baker gave them each a muffin.
"Thanks, everyone," Scruff said, voice scratchy. "We appreciate it."
"Just don't screw it up," warned the peasant girl, the one who had scolded them yesterday. She glared at them, but then sighed, the fire gone from her eyes. "Please don't screw it up. You really are our last hope, as sad as that sounds."
Soon the Bullies exited Greenford, leaving the townsfolk to wave from their ruined town.
The grass rose high around the dirt road, and deer ran in the distance beneath skeins of geese. Scruff kept looking over his shoulder at Greenford, chewing his lip, watching the townsfolk wave. I can't let them down, he thought. I don't even care about the money anymore. I have to save these people.
Romy seemed to reach a similar conclusion. After walking in silence for a while, she burst out, "We have to save those glass statuettes!"
Scruff ahemed. "And, you know... all the people who live around here. Them too."
Romy tapped her cheek. "I haven't thought about that. I suppose that'll be a nice byproduct. But I really love those statuettes." She opened her palm to reveal a tiny glass lion. "Old Julian let me keep it."
They walked throughout the morning, blue mountains rising ahead from the mist. The land was burned for miles around, and Scruff saw smoke rising from distant farms. White boulders rose around the Bullies, and they reminded Scruff of great teeth. He shivered. I wonder if rocs have teeth to chew with, or if they swallow people whole.
The dirt road became more narrow, pebbly, and weedy as they walked, until it dwindled into little more than a hint through wild grass. As they moved closer to the mountains, their size made Scruff feel small. The mountains were the largest he'd seen, rising into the clouds, their tops too tall to see. They seemed to hold the sky. When they got close enough, Scruff saw what Old Julian had described. Upon the mountainside appeared an anguished face. A cave gaped open like a screaming mouth, while two cracks above it looked like eyes narrowed in pain.
"The mountain is hurt," Romy said and began sucking her thumb.
Neev snorted. "That's silly, Romy, mountains can't feel pain."
Cobweb took a step closer to the mountain, bow in hand, the breeze streaming her hair. Her dress of gossamer rustled. "No, she's wight," the spiderling said, voice soft, eyes somber. "Everyting in da natuwal wowld can feew p-p-pain, fwom the smawwest p-pebbwe to da gweatest m-mountain. And dis mountain is huwting, Neev." Her eyes were haunted.
Scruff shuddered, looking back at that anguished face.
"Creepy," Jamie said. Her new breastplate and helmet, which she bought at Queenpool, were already dusty and dented; the Bullies had no money to hire a blacksmith or even buy oil to properly polish their weapons and armor.
If they killed the roc, they'd never have to worry about money again, but Scruff didn't care about money today. If Vanderbeak truly works for Dry Bones, we have to kill him. Dry Bones was after Cobweb; Scruff would not let the skeleton kidnap her again. He looked at the spiderling, how her glowing hair moved in the wind, how golden freckles lay strewn across her lavender nose, how her body moved through the grass. The memory of Cobweb beaten and bruised in the dungeon flashed through Scruff's mind, and he clenched his fist around Norman.
As they walked, the anguished face grew larger, and soon it towered over them, several hundred yards up the mountainside, its mouth gaping. A cold wind blew from the cave, and it seemed like the face was moaning. Scruff shivered for the hundredth time that day. He stopped walking and turned to face the other Bullies. They stood before him, the wind ruffling their hair. Jamie stood with her sword drawn and glinting, Cobweb with her arrow nocked, Neev with his cloak fluttering, Romy with her pitchfork in hand. I couldn't ask for better friends, Scruff thought and had to swallow before addressing them.
"All my life," he said, "I was told I'm a failure. My swordmaster said I'll never be a knight. He said the same to Jamie when he learned she's a girl. Neev was kicked out of the Coven, told he could never be a warlock. Cobweb was banished, told she's a poor excuse for a spiderling, and even Romy is now in exile. I'm tired of being told we're losers. If we can't kill this roc, we'll always be losers. But if we can do this today, we won't just be bullies. We'll be heroes."
Jamie nodded and raised her sword. Scruff hefted his mace. Cobweb drew her bow, arrow ready to fire. Neev's lips moved silently, rehearsing the words of spells. Romy bared her fangs, letting them glint in the sunlight.
"Ready?" Scruff said.
"Ready," they all replied, and they began their climb to the cave, pebbles crackling beneath their feet.
Along the climb, Scruff saw signs of the roc—huge talon marks in the stone, discarded elephant tusks, stones caked with ash and blood, and several feathers as long as Scruff was tall. The place stank like a corpse. Soon Scruff reached the cave and stood before it. He gazed into the darkness but saw nothing. A cold wind blew from the cave, smelling like rotten meat. Scruff swallowed, tightened his grip around Norman, and stepped into the darkness.
Chapter Twenty-Three
I Wanna Roc
Scruff took slow paces into the cave, heart hammering, Norman heavy in his hands. Bats hung upside down around him, and bones—some of them human—littered the cave floor. Roc feathers lay around his feet, and a smell like rotting flesh filled the damp air, so heavy Scruff almost gagged. From ahead in the darkness, he heard distant, echoing grunts. Vanderbeak is home.
"Jamie, you behind me?" he whispered, not daring to look over his shoulder. The tunnel was wide above them, leaving room for a roc to fly, but only three feet wide near the ground. The Bullies had to walk single file.
Jamie whispered behind him. "I'm with you, brother, and so is my sword. Cobweb and Neev are right behind me."
"And I'm guarding the back!" came Romy's voice, as happy and loud as ever.
"Shhh!" Scruff whispered, cursing under his breath. "Be quiet, Romy."
"Ouchy, Jamie!" Romy cried. "Stop kicking me."
"Will you shut it!" Scruff hissed, grinding his teeth.
The grunting ahead, deep in the darkness, died. Damn. Did Vanderbeak hear Romy? Was their surprise ruined? He heard creaking from the depths of the cave. Vanderbeak was moving. Was he coming their way?
Scruff looked at the bones around his feet. Were these the bones of heroes come to slay the beast? Fear, cold and overwhelming, froze every muscle in Scruff's body. His head spun, and he wanted to turn around and run for his life, screaming. He swallowed, forcing down the fear, and it took all his strength to move one foot forward. His fingers trembled around Norman's grip. Just keep walking, he told himself. One step at a time. He forced himself to take another step into the darkness, ignoring the horror that seemed to tug him in the opposite direction. I have to do this. I have to kill that roc—for the people who live in this land, for Cobweb, for my sister and brother, for my mother and father. He took a third step.
The others seemed to suffer the same fear, but kept advancing with him, one step at a time, breathing heavily. After a few more paces, each more difficult than the last, Scruff saw firelight ahead. It danced against the cave walls, coming from somewhere in the depths. The grunting of the creature returned, loud and hoarse. It sounded hungry. Scruff took one more pace, the tunnel sloped down into a cavern, and there he saw him.
Scruff froze outside the cavern, cold sweat drenching him. God he's huge. The beast lay upon a nest of coins and jewels, fire in his nostrils, more fires burning around him in the craggy cavern. Vanderbeak did not seem to notice the Bullies, but was busy picking at an elephant carcass, pieces of flesh dangling from his beak. As Scruff watched, the roc sucked up the elephant's trunk like a man sucking up a noodle. It made a long slurping sound.
Scruff held up his hand, signaling the Bullies to freeze. Keeping one eye on the roc, he whispered from the corner of his mouth. "Guys, let's surprise him as he eats. Jamie and I will attack him from the front. Cobweb, you keep your distance and fire arrows. Neev, you attack from behind. Romy, you stay here to guard the tunnel; join us only if we're in trouble. Now let's surprise him before—"
A boom shook the cave, cutting off Scruff's words.
He looked around wildly, ears aching. The mountain seemed to tremble and stones fell from the ceiling. Scruff spun around and saw that the cave entrance, a hundred yards behind, was collapsing, raining boulders and dust. Boulders came rolling down the tunnel toward them.
"Damn it!" Scruff said. "It's a trap."
There goes our element of surprise, Scruff thought. "Attack!" he shouted and rushed forward with his mace.
Vanderbeak thrust his neck down toward him, and Scruff swung his mace, screaming. Norman crashed into Vanderbeak's head, sending rippling pain up Scruff's arms. Scruff screamed and fell. Vanderbeak raised his head to the ceiling and screeched, fire rising from his beak. The sound was so loud, Scruff had to drop his mace and cover his ears.
Get up! he told himself and leaped to his feet. He grabbed his mace and ran toward Vanderbeak. The roc screeched and blew fire toward him. Scruff raised his shield—the old wooden shield he had carried since Burrfield, all scratched and chipped, emblazoned with the Thistle emblem—and the flames flew around him. Scruff shut his eyes, feeling the heat singe his hair, his left arm, his feet. He was vaguely aware of the sounds of Jamie's swinging sword, Cobweb's whooshing arrows, and Neev's spells, but the sounds all seemed distant. The pain and fire drowned out everything.
The flames seemed to die. Maybe Vanderbeak was pausing for breath. Scruff opened his eyes and found his shield aflame. He tossed it aside and saw Vanderbeak screeching, bristly with Cobweb's arrows. Jamie was hacking at the great talons, her left arm bloody. Where were Romy and Neev? Scruff could not see them and had no time to look. Vanderbeak raised his talon and prepared to squash him.
Scruff rolled aside, and the talon, each claw like a sword, hit the ground beside him. Scruff brought down his mace hard, hitting Vanderbeak's foot. The roc screeched.
"Kill him!" he screamed and swung his mace again, hitting Vanderbeak's leg. He heard Neev cast a fireball somewhere behind and felt the heat of flames. He thought he saw Romy flying around the cavern, stabbing Vanderbeak with her pitchfork.