"Yes, Juxta, I'm sure. Not all of it's food."
The cat got up on its hind legs and put its paws on Lisa's leg as if expecting some greeting. Lisa rubbed it behind the ears, and it started to knead her leg and purr loudly.
"Dangerous war cat, they said. Bred for killing and fighting, they said." Juxta pouted with a vicious frown and downcast eyes.
Lisa smiled. "He likes me."
Juxta growled at the kitten. "Come here, Boy." The cat complied, and Juxta fed it a strip of beef jerky.
"See how smart he is?"
"Yeah, he's smart all right. Let's ride. We're burning daylight."
They rode east towards Weslan.
Chapter 27
The druid must drive the crazed demi-god from the realms, in so doing, he will (unknown word) - Druid Book
Within a few days Robert reached Lynken's capital city. He went about the castle searching for Simon. He found Rollin first and asked him if he knew where to find Simon. Rollin didn't know exactly, but agreed to help him search. They started with his quarters, no luck. Rollin and Robert went to the pub where Simon met Heather. They found her, and she told them where to find Simon. Their house needed some repairs, a new chicken coup to be specific. Heather asked, "Your looking for him is the start of a new mission for him taking him away from me, isn't it?"
"I'm afraid so, mistress," Robert said.
Heather scowled. She grabbed a towel from around her waist and threw it on the bar. "I'm going with him!"
Rollin shook his head. "You can't be serious."
"We'll see what Simon says. Let's go talk to him."
They went to Heather's house. Simon looked up at the three of them and sighed deeply. He knew all three of them wouldn't be happy no matter what he did.
Heather and Rollin looked to Robert, as if asking him to go first. Robert noticed his cue. "We need to return to the Lost City, and you're the only one who can get us past the Tree Nymphs."
Heather asked, "Tree Nymphs?"
"Immortal protectors of the Weslan Forest which surrounds the Lost City," Simon said.
Heather's eyes narrowed into tiny slits. "And what do they need you for?"
Simon looked around, looking for a place to run and hide. "It's complicated, dear. They have no male of their species and through magic they can procreate with a pure blooded human."
Heather nodded. "And how many times did you do this magic with them?"
Rollin dived in to help. "Let's not dwell on numbers."
Heather stood firm with her back straight and her arms crossed in front of her. "You aren't going without me. You're supposed to be a captain. Assign a few squads to the mission and stay here."
"It would be a good idea to bring a squad or two, plus wagons," Simon said. "There's a room full of magic swords and one full of gold."
"See," Heather said, "they don't need you."
Robert glared at the woman and ethereal wisps of smoke poured out of his ears. "He's the only one we know is pure blood. He has to come along."
Simon said, "He's right."
"I'm coming with you." Heather poked Simon in the chest with her finger. "You're not leaving me right now."
Simon sighed. "It's not going to be fun."
"Waiting for you to return will be less fun!" She shouted.
"You win, pack. I'll go call upon my old squad and ready two wagons."
Rollin grinned wide. "So let it be done."
"We meet up with Juxta in Weslan's capital," Robert said. "I'll travel with you, Simon."
He went to the barracks to his old squad. He told the sergeant to gather up the men. Within a few minutes seven rangers and three cadets stood at attention. Simon explained the mission to them.
"I've been thinking of retirement for a while," the sergeant said. "I turned 35 last week. Count me out."
"The Dread Forest of Weslan? The Lost City?" Another ranger asked.
"There's no real threat," Simon said. "The only thing is the Tree Nymphs, and we'll pay their toll."
The next oldest stepped forward. "I'm old enough to retire."
"You can retire, of course. What of the rest of you? Are you men?"
They stepped forward one by one and nodded. One of them, a man named Johnathon, asked, "Who'll be the new sarge?"
Simon turned on him and grinned wide. "Do you want the job?"
Johnathon shook his head. "No. Hell no. But I hear there's a pay upgrade."
"Sergeants make a little more, yes."
Another, younger man stepped forward. He spoke in a quiet voice, "How much of a pay increase?"
"It's not much." Simon laughed. "The exact amount is a closely guarded secret of the Codex, so you won't find out until I turn in the new rank on the roster."
Johnathon raised his hand high. "I'm up for it!"
The younger man looked at Johnathon. "I'll wager I'd like to have a go for it, too."
"We'll find a druid before leaving Lynken," Simon said. "There's time."
He looked the men over. Heck, two of them were still boys. He pointed at the youngest cadet. "What of this one?"
The young man pointed at his chest, opened his eyes wide, and mouthed the word, "Me?"
Johnathon punched the young kid on the arm. "He's blooded. He's killed his fair share of ogres. He won't let you down."
Simon nodded. "We're taking two wagons, so we can spare a little space for niceties like tents. Be ready at dawn. We'll pick a new sergeant and then head out."
He went to William to tell him of the planned journey. William said, "You're taking wagons for the gold and swords? You know you have to secure them for the crown. You can't simply pocket these riches."
"Of course, my liege. They'll end up in the treasury and armory. You can count on me."
"Take my bane arrows with you," William said. "I doubt I'll have any need of them anytime soon."
"I'm sorry, my friend."
William smiled. "Life with Teresa isn't all bad, but I must admit I envy you."
"My squad looked at me like I was asking them to cross the very gates into hell," Simon said. "You should have seen their faces when I said, ‘Forest of Weslan.'"
William laughed.
Chapter 28
Lisa and Juxta made their first stop at a creek around midday. Lisa seemed to have acquired a permanent frown. "Must we ride so fast?"
"If we want to sleep at an inn tonight."
She shook her head fast enough to make her hair flash in the sun. "I brought a tent. I'd rather not run my horses into the ground."
"We'll slow down a bit."
They ate a lunch consisting of beef jerky and rye bread, and they set out for Weslan again. She rode directly next to Juxta, and they rode at such a slow place the clumping of the horse's hooves was just a faint echo. Lisa asked, "Are you a man of faith?"
Juxta's eyebrows raised as his face contorted into a grimace. "Where did that come from?"
"I figure we're traveling companions. We could get to know each other."
"OK."
"So?" Lisa asked.
"What?"
She smiled at him, a warm smile laced with honey and fruit. "Do you have faith?"
Juxta removed his eyes from her breasts and stared off into the distance. "That's not exactly what you asked me. My family was killed in a fire when I was ten. If there's a God, he's cruel."
"That's a no; I take it. Perhaps he worked to save you from the fire."
"I've seen no miracles or acts of God. The world is full of injustice. I don't think the priesthood has all the answers."
"The priesthood looks for questions not answers."
Juxta turned to face her. He glared. "Why does there need to be so much death in the world?"
She turned to him. She moved her hand as if planning to reach out and touch him, but the distance was too great. "That's an easy one. It's so we value life."
"Yeah, they tried to feed me that one when I was ten."
They rode quietly for a while. Lisa pestered him a
gain. "What about the afterlife? What do you believe?"
"I know parts of the Necronomicon are accurate in that respect. I want to believe there's a judgment day for us in the end."
They said nothing for a few moments.
"Do you sin?" She asked.
"Hmmm… I've killed quite a few on the battlefields, too many to count."
"That's still debated in the church, if it's a sin or not."
"I've had relations outside of marriage," Juxta added.
"The no sex before marriage is just a lie we tell children, Juxta, and I didn't think you were a virgin. Is she waiting somewhere for you?"
"No, she loves another."
Lisa nodded, and they rode in silence again. Soon the sun started to set, and they made camp. Lisa started putting up her tent. Juxta motioned at her with his hand to get her attention. "I'll put a dome ward around us to protect us from insects and rain, so you don't need a tent."
"I like it for privacy, too."
"OK. Cat, go hunt!" and the cat sprinted off. They collected deadwood for a small fire. The cat brought back a good sized rabbit and dropped it at Lisa's feet. She petted the cat and rubbed it behind the ears, and it purred and purred.
"You get to clean the rabbit," Juxta said. "When he brings me supper, I'll clean it."
"You're mad aren't you?" Lisa asked.
"He's supposed to be my cat!"
The cat immediately moved to Juxta's side and sat down. The cat puffed out his chest and stared up at his master. Juxta petted it, but no purring followed.
Lisa smiled. Juxta smiled in turn as he counted her dimples: one, two. She said, "He likes me is all. I grew up around cats and kittens. They need a lot of love and attention, if they're going to turn into good cats."
Juxta tackled the cat rolling around on the ground with it. He grabbed the cat by the sides of its face and stretched the mouth out to show the cat's teeth. Juxta tossed the animal off him, and he turned to Lisa. "He's to grow into a war cat! Not a friendly cat."
Lisa finished cleaning the rabbit. "The rabbit's ready. Are you going to cook it or shall I?"
"Why don't you cook it?"
Lisa brought forth a satchel from her draft horse. She withdrew jar after jar until she found the perfect two for rabbit. She rubbed spice into the meat before putting it on sticks. The result tasted extremely good. Juxta said, "You're a good cook."
"I had to get good. Have you ever eaten what priests prepare?"
"For a time, yes."
Lisa looked out on the horizon. "It's still light out. Tell me a story of one of your adventures…"
Juxta told her of returning the dragon's nesting stone. The travel through Tercia, the dragons, the theft of the Necronomicon… At the end of the story, Lisa simply said goodnight and retired to her tent. Juxta put up the dome ward and went to sleep.
They woke up at dawn and headed down the road. She asked him if he knew the seven laws of The One True God, and Juxta rattled them off from childhood lesson. They reached an inn that night. The next day they set out as usual, heading east. After a day's ride the sun started to set, and they started to watch for a good campsite, hopefully with a stream. They crested a hill, and a fire burned in the road with four figures around it. One of the figures shouted, "Hoy, there!"
Juxta and Lisa approached the fire. Juxta asked, "Is there a stream near here?"
Two of the figures drew swords, and the other two readied bows. One of them shouted, "Your money and horses, or your lives."
Juxta immediately painted triangles over them and cast lightning, enough to stun but not enough to kill. The lightning reflected off magic shields. The two with swords charged, and Juxta's cat charged as well. A sword bit into the cat's right shoulder. The animal leapt upward and tore out the brigand's throat in one vicious motion. The cat turned to face the other sword wielder.
Juxta projected pain into the thieves' minds. All three crumpled to the ground. One of them started shrieking.
Turning to look behind them, he caught two arrows in flight with imaginary force lines and cast them aside. Without hesitation, he projected pain into the bowmen's minds. He put up spherical shields around Lisa, himself, and the wounded cat. Lightning crashed down on them from an unknown source.
Juxta hopped off his horse and ran to the cat which bled profusely. He cast a Druidic healing spell on the cat's shoulder and whispered "stay" in its ear. As the lightning crashed down, the draft horse bucked, and Lisa let go of its tether. She shouted, "What should I do?"
Juxta's head jerked around to face her. "Stay there."
The lightning became a torrent on them. Juxta's shields held, but he couldn't see the other wizard. He could, however, see a huge power vortex taller than the trees. He thought about reaching for it, but without a bead on the other wizard, he wouldn't be able to kill, and he intended to kill. He feigned fatigue, leaning on the cat heavily and letting his staff fall. He curled up in a ball on the ground keeping a hand on the cat and keeping the shields on. The other mage turned up the lightning a notch. Enough magic to blast most masters. Juxta pondered the nature of this new enemy. He sensed no Hellsteed, and Rivek would have started gloating by then.
Juxta shouted, "Show yourself!"
A man, wearing a stiff, black cloak and steel plated boots, stepped out from the woods with four demons surrounding him. The demons had contorted faces, white horns growing out of their foreheads, and dead animal skins adorning their bodies. The mage shouted, "Give it up boy-mage! Maybe I'll give you a quick death!"
Juxta whispered again to the cat, "Stay." He picked up his staff and rose to his feet. He shouted, "Not today, Demon Master."
Juxta relied on his countless hours dueling in Weslan and with precision cast a huge lightning bolt down on the other mage. The mage cried out, "No!" After a few moments the lightning broke through the demonologist's shield and gave him a quick death. Juxta felt an odd feeling surge inside himself. It felt strangely good, like a new flood of power. He shrugged it off. The four demons, realizing they could flee, turned and started to run. Juxta looped lines of force around their ankles and hoisted them into the air upside down.
Juxta walked up to them and spoke calmly. "Give me your truenames."
One said, "Or what?"
"I'll send you back to hell with fire!" Juxta said.
The same one who had spoken said, "You wouldn't dare!"
One demon laughed. "He carries amethyst."
A third demon said, "The chosen one walks the Earth, finally."
Lisa said, "What are they talking about?"
"Apparently, I fit the bill of some ancient legend because I carry amethyst. Well, Robert carried an amethyst stone in his lifetime. It's not like I'm the only one ever to find the gemstone. It's just myth and nonsense." Juxta looked at the demons with hate in his eyes. "Give me your truenames!"
One of the demons sighed. "Ackron."
Juxta summoned power and shouted, "I banish thee, Ackron!"
The demon disappeared in a puff of red smoke. The dead animal skins and a leather belt plopped onto the ground where he was.
Lisa asked, "What are you doing?"
"We can't leave these creatures to roam free. They must be banished or destroyed."
Another Demon spoke, "Bindini."
Juxta banished him. "What about you two?"
The original demon to speak replied, "I'm Kromic."
Juxta banished him. Juxta turned on the last one. "Well?"
"You'll have too much power over me with my truename. I don't care if you're the chosen one. I won't be your slave. If you kill me by fire, I'll war against you forever from hell!"
Lisa asked, "Is there another way?"
The demon answered, "A blade through my heart!"
Juxta looked Lisa in the eyes. "They would have done unspeakable things to you." He turned to the demon and pointed with his index finger. "He'll be mine to command or suffer my wrath!"
The demon started to do a little dance and then spread his a
rms out wide. "We'll meet again, Human. Do your worst!"
Juxta threw green fire at the demon just to inflict pain, and it howled. Then Juxta threw blue fire, and finally a ball of red burning fire. The beast howled and cursed at Juxta. After about five minutes the beast stopped moving even though it sill burned.
"What are we going to do with the thieves?" Lisa asked. "They wounded our cat."
‘Our cat?' thought Juxta. He might have gotten angry, but he would share the world with Lisa. He could surely share the cat.
"The cat will live. You're the theologian. What should we do with the brigands?"
She paused for a moment. "We should take their armor and weapons and destroy them. Can you destroy swords? Like melt them?"
"Good idea." Juxta rubbed his chin. "I think I can melt their swords. Yes, I can melt their swords."
They stripped the thieves of their armor and weapons. The thieves writhed on the ground still in pain. One still screamed. Juxta melted the metal into piles of slag.
Lisa asked, "When will they be able to move again?"
"I don't know. Let's ride for a few more hours. I can light the way for the horses."
Lisa nodded.
"Do you have any parchment with you?" Juxta asked. "I want to write down those truenames."
"I have some parchment and ink. What are truenames?"
"Well, I hope to never need the help of a demon, but if I were to need the help of a demon, I'm better off knowing that demon's truename, otherwise demons expect some kind of payment. Although, Derick thought he was getting favors on credit."
"Derick?"
"Nork's Wizard. He fooled with summoning demons and fell under control of one. So, I have no intention of summoning any demons."
Juxta jotted down the demons' truenames, and they rode into the night. They camped under the stars. Juxta stayed awake. He started thinking of how to win Lisa's heart. The next day they stayed in an inn, and they started out again at dawn.
As they traveled, Juxta asked, "What of the afterlife? What's it like?"
Juxta, Magi Page 21