"A guide might not be a bad idea, your highness," Simon said.
"No, we have the compass, and Juxta has the book of perils." William looked from the innkeeper to Simon. "We should be able to get through on our own."
"Ah, the folly of youth. Let me give you some advice, when you have to turn from patches of land, always turn north," the innkeeper said as he wiped down the bar with a towel. "It's not the best choice all the time, but it's the rule we use. There's no map of the swamp as the land masses seem to move, to sink, and to rise. You know of the perils and have a magi. You should make it through."
On that note, they retired to their rooms. None of them slept well, dreams of the unknown swamp haunted their sleep. In the morning, the innkeeper showed them to the docks and the flat-bottomed boat. It had one push-pole and two paddles. It seemed solid enough as they walked onto it and stowed their packs. Simon volunteered to work the push-pole first. Juxta and the prince both picked up paddles and started rowing. The innkeeper shouted after them. "Good luck, my young friends!"
The push-pole sunk into muck about two feet under water. Vegetation thrived: reeds, knolls of rough grass, and towering cypress trees. About midday they stopped and ate jerky and dried apples. They pushed themselves as much as possible to make good time. The flying insects seemed to prefer Teresa. Juxta wore robes, and the ranger's leathers protected Simon and William. Teresa put on her long sleeved shirt and long pants. She looked to Juxta. "Can't you do something about the bugs?"
"Not in the middle of a swamp, no." Juxta winked at her. "Good question though."
"We'll look for firewood tonight," William said. "If we can find some, maybe a fallen cypress tree, a fire would keep the insects at bay, probably."
He took over the push-pole, and Simon started rowing. Clumps of vegetation poked up through the stagnant water that Juxta identified as the kind Black Adders liked to nest in. A long black snake, presumably the aforementioned variety, swam past the boat on Juxta's side. He didn't disturb it with his paddle. They seemed to be in a region where that type of vegetation had taken over. Teresa sat at the front of the boat clutching her knees to her chest watching the water ahead. By dinnertime they made it through that section of swamp, and the vegetation became less prolific. They found a decent sized clump of dry land and pulled the boat partway onto it. They didn't find any firewood, and it started to rain. The bugs didn't seem to mind the rain and kept pestering Teresa.
Teresa turned to Juxta with a bloodletting glare in her eyes. "Wizard, when are you going to learn how to do something about these bugs and the rain?"
Juxta said, "There's no such spell, my lady."
"If I may," sounded with a low tone from behind them. They turned, and the spirit Robert was floating there.
William shouted, "You followed us this whole way!"
"I couldn't bear staying in that dead city," Robert said as he began to whimper. "All alone while you went on a great adventure. Juxta, you're truly powerful. I've not seen a mage battle like the one between you and Kirl."
"You can do something about the rain and bugs?" Teresa asked.
Robert's spectral figure bowed. "Yes, my lady."
"Explain," Juxta said.
"The perimeter spell you use to protect the camp at night. Use a dome shaped symbol instead of a circle and change the incantation like so," and he explained the changes to the incantation.
Juxta tried it. The rain immediately hit the dome and rolled down the side of it. Bugs could leave the dome, but none made it in.
Simon said, "You shouldn't have followed us."
Robert's shoulders slumped down low. "I said I would be useful! Have I not proven that? I can scout, too. I can move very quickly and choose to be visible or invisible. It's actually more comfortable to be invisible."
Teresa stood up and put her hands on her hips, ready to fight. "As far as I'm concerned, he can stay."
Robert smiled. "Thank you, my lady."
The men looked around at each other, and Juxta even whimpered a little bit. William said, "You can travel with us, but stay out of sight. We don't want you scaring any humans we encounter."
"Fair enough, your highness."
They set out again at dawn. They started to see giant spider webs larger than a man attached to cypress trees. They noticed a lot less flying insects. At midday they found a fallen tree. Simon and William used their enchanted blades to cut it into logs and loaded them onto the boat. That night, they camped on another land mass and built a fire, and the smoke cleared the insects out of the dome shield. By midmorning of the next day, Simon said, "We're being followed…" The others turned and looked. Eyes and a nose poked underneath the water. Eyes that were surrounded by tight leathery skin covered in green scales.
William looked to and fro. "How many of them are there?"
"I've spotted three different ones," Simon said.
William looked off in the distance. "Let's pick up the pace. Everybody keep your eyes open."
They rowed faster. After about fifteen minutes, Teresa said, "I can see two more ahead."
William said, "Another one on my side."
"One on my side, too," Simon said.
Juxta started working the push pole more vigorously. "Two or three behind us."
Only the creatures' nose and eyes would surface above the slime, and then they would pop underwater and disappear in the murkiness. The troop rowed on. Teresa said, "Let's stop at the next spot of land."
"Agreed." William nodded at Juxta. "Throw a fireball at the next one you see. Let's see how they react."
Juxta waited until he saw another pair of eyes surface, and he conjured a small fireball and threw it over the beast's head. It moved faster than Juxta would have imagined, and with a splash of water, they got a good look at the beast's body and long tail. They came upon a chunk of land and dragged the boat completely out of the water. Simon and William took out their bows and knocked arrows. They stood back to back, each facing a different direction, watching and waiting. The beasts started circling around the clump of land. Teresa asked, "How many of them are there?"
"Twenty at least, stand in the center, girl!" Simon shouted. "You can't guard a front."
Teresa shifted her position, and the three men stood with their backs to her. Juxta threw another fireball over their heads, and two of them splashed away. He threw another fireball. Again they splashed away. On the third fireball, all of the beasts went underwater and seemed to swim away.
"Let's get moving. I have a bad feeling they just went for reinforcements," Simon said.
They ran back to the boat, pushed it into the water, and started rowing like mad. William said, "Let's find a bigger chunk of land to camp on. Juxta, if we cut down a cypress tree, do you think you can make the wet wood burn?"
"Certainly."
They found a cypress tree first and cut it up with their blades, piling it onto the boat. Simon worked the push-pole. "They don't seem to be following us. Maybe we gave them the slip."
A few minutes later, Simon said, "I just saw one. It surfaced for just a second then went back under."
They found a large chunk of land in the swamp and made camp. They felled two cypress trees and started a raging fire. Night fell. Juxta cast a small fireball out over the water, and three of the beasts splashed away.
"Juxta, can't you make a light brighter than this fire?" Teresa asked.
He raised his staff high and summoned enough power to light the swamp for miles. "Look away from the staff." Then he let loose with the power. A brilliant purple light erupted from his amethyst stone. All around them, in the water, pairs of eyes stared back at them. Rows upon rows of eyes staring at them through the darkness. More than any of them could count.
Simon turned toward William. "My prince, from the Codex…"
William nodded and smiled. "By the numbers…"
They both dropped their bows and drew their swords in unison. William shouted, "For honor and glory!" They turned back to face the water. J
uxta summoned power. Teresa had her rapier out, and it burned.
Robert appeared over the fire and grabbed Juxta's arm. "Pray to the God of War! It's the only way!"
Juxta twisted his arm free of the ghost's grip. "No!"
One of the beasts stood on its hind legs and approached them. It had webbed hands held palm first in front of it, and it clicked and hissed as if in communication.
William asked, "What's it saying, Juxta?"
"I don't know. Let me ask it in Druidish." Juxta addressed the creature in Druidish, ‘What did you say?'
The beast answered in garbled Druidish, "Our king awaits you. Please come with us."
Juxta sighed. "Their king wants to see us. They bid us to go with them."
"Yeah, right," Teresa said.
"We're sorely outnumbered," William said. "A peaceful solution may be best. Juxta, tell them we'll accompany them."
Juxta complied. They gathered up their packs and returned to their boat. Two lizardmen started pulling the boat through the murky water. Simon said, "Juxta, give us some light, so we can see that they aren't taking us in harm's way." After an hour or so of travel, it was near midnight, and the lizard men steered them clear of any hazards. Juxta let his light dim out and die. The four went to sleep. They woke up at dawn, and the lizardmen still pulled the boat. They breakfasted. The lizardmen pulled the boat up to a land mass. "Must swim from here." They flipped their boat upside down over their packs to cover them.
"Juxta, how far of a swim is it?" William asked. "These lizardmen can hold their breath a long time. They may be overestimating how far we can swim."
"I'll cast a breathe water spell on us," Juxta said.
William paused. "Ok."
Juxta began a low chant to invoke the water breathing. He cast it on himself first, then Simon, then Teresa, then tried it on the prince, but it didn't work. He poured more power into the spell. Still, it didn't work. He summoned a great mass of power and channeled it through the Dragon's Fire ring and his amethyst staff, and finally it succeeded.
Juxta turned to the lizardmen. "We're ready. Lead the way."
The two lizardmen dove underwater and started swimming down into a natural cavern. Juxta dove in after them and lit a light in his amethyst gem. They swam downwards for hundreds of feet, then straight ahead for a few hundred more, all the way through a cave. Then they swam upward for about twenty feet into a huge cavern. They made it to the rocky shore and shook themselves as dry as they could. One of their guides said, "Come this way," and led them further into the open space.
A fire burned. A lone lizardman, wearing a golden crown, sat atop a stone throne. He spoke in common. "Welcome, my guests. You're long awaited."
Juxta murmured something under his breath about damn legends.
William stepped forward. "I'm Prince William of Lynken, and we're in haste. Why have you diverted us from our path?"
The lizard man king tilted his head to the side. "But, you're the crown-bearer. Weren't you planning to see me?"
"I carry my father's crown yes, but our journey is to Kergia."
The lizard man shook his head back and forth. "I was promised that a crown-bearer would come bearing the gift of a beautiful virgin to be my queen."
Both Simon and the Prince drew their blades in a flash. William shouted, "I think not!"
The lizardman king rapped his scepter on his throne and from out of nearby caves lizardmen started to pour into the cavern by the dozens. Juxta started summoning power.
Teresa said, "But, I'm not a virgin!"
Simon and William turned to look at her. Simon asked, "Since when?"
"Well, Juxta and I…"
Simon and William looked to Juxta with murder in their eyes, and Juxta pointed at Teresa's middle. "She held a knife to my throat!"
"He cast a spell on me!" Teresa said.
William asked, "How many times have you two…"
Teresa frowned. "Only once."
Simon very smoothly pointed the business end of his sword at his spell casting friend. "Juxta, you cast a spell on her?"
"No. If I knew a spell for that, we surely would have done it more than once!"
That's when they remembered the lizardmen surrounding them, brandishing spears. They looked around warily forming a triangle with the men's backs to Teresa. Simon and William leveled their swords at the closest opponents, and a purple fire raged inside the amethyst crystal on Juxta's staff. The lizardmen's King rapped his scepter twice on his throne, and the lizardmen horde retreated back into the caves from whence they came. The king said, "I'll not take by force that which is not freely given. You must not be the ones I await. I'm sorry for distracting you from your journey. I'll provide swimmers to hurry your boat through the water."
William sheathed his sword. "Thank you, your highness."
"May I see the crown you carry to see if it's a twin to my own?"
The prince pulled it out of his pack and held it up to the light for the king. He said, "The designs are very similar with similar cuts to the gemstones as well. My guess is the same magi constructed them. What power do you wield through it?"
William raised one eyebrow. "This crown isn't magical."
The king said, "Surely it is…"
William held the crown out in Juxta's direction. "You can test it can't you?"
"Yes, my lord."
Juxta started the incantation for ‘true sight' focusing power on the crown. He poured more and more power into the words. A dark light that only Juxta could see started to emanate from the crown, and it spread out to engulf the whole room. Juxta couldn't stop the chant, and he couldn't break free of the crown's power. The blackness engulfed everything, and Juxta couldn't see. He rubbed his eyes and focused on his amethyst gem. A purple light began to twinkle within the blackness. Juxta stayed focused on the purple light and willed himself to stop the incantation. The power flooded out of him. Juxta's face turned a ghostly white and stretched so far it looked as if the eyeballs would pop out.
William asked, "What is it?"
"It's a tool for dark magic, my liege. I don't think your line is supposed to have it…" Juxta said.
"We've had this crown for a thousand years. It's ours now."
"I've had this crown for 1,500 years, and I got it from its creator." The lizardmen king lifted the crown off his head and set it in his lap. "It grants me immortality, and it gives me control over my people. The lizardmen would be complete savages if it wasn't for this crown, but we can't evolve further until another crown bearer brings me a queen."
"Juxta, what else can you tell us of the crown?" Simon asked.
"I don't know. Rivek must quest for it because of its magic."
The lizard man sat on his throne smiling. "Will you young people dine with me? It's been a long time since I've had human company at dinner."
Teresa smiled. "You don't intend for us to be the main course do you?"
The lizardmen king laughed loud and bright. "No, we're having roast duck and boar. Will you join us?"
William said, "Yes, your highness. We'll join you."
They ate roast duck, wild boar, and a delectable tuber that grew in the marshy swampland. They slept in the cave after eating. When they woke, the lizardmen king bid them farewell, and lizardmen escorted them back to the water to swim to their boat.
They reached the edge of the water, and Juxta turned to William. "Try not to resist the casting this time. Try to just relax."
"I wasn't trying to resist last time!"
Juxta enchanted them with the water breathing spell, and it still took an inordinate amount of power to enchant the prince. Then they swam and swam like before with two lizardmen leading the way. They found their boat and packs intact, but a good sized poisonous spider had made a nest under one corner of the boat. One of the lizardmen spotted it and snatched it up in a webbed paw. He offered it to the humans. They gave it a disgusted look. He shrugged, ripped the spider in half, and gave half to his companion. They ate the spider-
halves with a crunch and a slurp. The troop climbed into the boat and used the compass to get their bearings.
The two lizardmen guides stepped into the water and began to pull the boat forward at a healthy pace in a mostly western direction. The swampland went on and on. Juxta and William rowed while Simon had his bow out, hoping to spot a deer or wild boar. The land masses became more frequent. He spotted a young buck and took it down. They built a fire out of cypress. Their lizardmen guides ate and ate picking the bones clean.
They set out again after their meal making good time. They camped on a sizable land mass that night.
Juxta asked their guides in Druidish, "How much longer will we be in this swamp?"
One of them answered, "Two more days."
Juxta relayed in common.
Simon said, "Thank God, I tire of this swamp."
"We all do," Teresa said.
The next two days passed uneventfully. The lizardmen swam their boat up to a dock at a small town and said goodbye in Druidish. Then they splashed off back towards swampland. Almost nightfall they tied the boat to the dock and looked for the telltale lights of an inn. In the town's center, they found one. They sat at a table and ordered beef stew and wine for dinner. They inquired about buying horses, and the innkeeper told them the closest horse farm was ten miles to the west. The troop decided to walk there in the morning. They slept in total comfort for the first time since crossing into the great swamp.
The next morning they ate plates of bacon and eggs. They started to the west following a simple road. When they reached the edge of town, two mounted riders approached from the distance, but they weren't sitting atop horses, instead giant cats. The riders wore armor made from woven loops of steel. They had swords on their waists, and crossbows rested in leather holsters across the cats' necks. The cats were huge, multi-colored beasts with long whiskers, big noses, and furry tails. The cats measured five feet tall at the shoulders, with paws as large as a man's face. One of the riders addressed them, "You came across The Great Swamp. What's your business in Kergia?"
Juxta, Magi Page 16