“Thank you, you’re such a dear.” She began flirting again.
“Anything for you.” He said.
Together, they put the side of beef on the wagon. Terry began to leave then all at once stopped the wagon.
“Is there something wrong?” he asked.
“Yes, you and I. Do you like me?” Her lack of social skills were beginning to show. One of the reasons she was a ranger, she liked being alone in the woods.
He was set aback slightly, “Um, yeah, I like you.”
“And I like you. Would you like to get a cup of coffee or something?”
“What?”
“Isn’t that what you say when you want to ask someone out without asking them out?” 320 years old, yet she was acting like a schoolgirl, “You say, ‘would you like to get a cup of coffee or something?’ Then you go to some little coffee shop, sit and talk.”
Mickey laughed.
“What’s so funny?”
“I’m sorry, but you are.”
“Why? Because I asked you out?”
“No, because of the way you did. I’m sorry; I had this idea, you being an elf and all, being over 150 years old, you’ve lived over three lifetimes compared to me. I figured you had all this dating and stuff down to a sophisticated science. Hell, I was afraid to ask you out because I thought you would think I was being some stupid jerk or you would see it as some schoolboy crush. I’m laughing because I’m relieved. I guess we’re all just as fallible.”
Terry jumped down from the wagon, and approached Mickey. She put her hand on his shoulder, “No, I would never think you a stupid jerk, ever.” They reached for each other and hugged. As they drew back, they’re eyes met, and then they kissed each other. It was a long slow kiss, one of lost time and lost opportunity; a kiss given and received not necessarily of love, but of want of love.
“Um,” Terry said, “you still want that coffee?”
“No, but I could go for a beer.”
“Sit, young monk.” Don was back with his order. He had been practicing there for several weeks, sharpening his skills and mind. He was with his sensei, whom he referred to only as Teacher.
“Yes, Teacher.”
“Today, we shall separate the mind and the body. You must learn this so they can work better together. Are you ready?”
“Yes, Teacher.”
“Good, begin.”
They both went into a deep meditation and soon their spirit forms appeared before each other on the Astral plane. Teacher began to talk, it was all thought.
“This is a thought exercise. Do not forget that. We shall spare as two spirits. I will show you that what you really see is a ball of energy, with no form and no mass. Because of that, it can take on any form it chooses. You are not that far yet, so the only form available is that of yourself. Let us begin.”
They began a mock battle, hands and feet went flying everywhere. Don’s kicks were met with blocks. Teacher held back, allowing Don to block his attacks. Then Teacher surprised him. He began a midair leap, only to stop half way. Don looked up.
“Come up here young one,” he said.
“How?”
“Ah, young one, there is no form, no gravity here. All is only what we want it to be. I wish to be here, so I am here. Now, come up here.”
Don took a couple of deep breaths, then jumped and turned. He got about halfway, he was looking at Teacher’s stomach.
“Not bad, but simply will yourself further. You have been doing it the entire fight; this is no different. The only reason you see it as different is because that is your perception. Your perception is wrong. Do not deal in perceptions; deal in reality. Now, join me. Do not breathe so hard this time. Your breath will not help you here. Separate your physical from your mental.”
Don moved himself up, pretending he was using a ladder.
“Better. With practice, such things will not be necessary. Now begin again.”
They spared a bit longer. Teacher began to push him more this time, changing angles and dimensions, using the full 3 dimensions of the space. Don began moving his body slightly, in an effort to keep up.
“Moving your body will not help you here. Your body movements will not affect what your mind does. Relax your body and let go. Use only your mind. Begin again.”
This time Don heeded his advice, he let go and let his mind wander while fighting. Finally, he felt a freedom, a rush, as if he had an epiphany. He began to sail over his teacher and fly rather than walk in the combat. His movements were more fluid and he continued to do things that could not be done in the real world. When Teacher exposed him and came in with a side kick, rather than take the hit, he simply separated at the waist, allowing the kick to pass between the disjoined parts.
At that point, Teacher stopped, faced him and bowed. “Congratulations, that is enough for today. This may be a mind experiment, but my body says it is dinnertime.”
“180 actually,” Terry said after taking a sip of her beer, “I’m 180 years old, not 150,” she enjoyed lying about her age.
“Well, you don’t look a day over 149,” he said laughing.
“Thank you.” she smiled at his joke, “the thing with elves are we breastfeed till we’re 4, we don’t walk till 3, we don’t hit puberty till 30, we mature around 60, but we’re full grown by 50. After that, it’s just a series of one thing after another. The problem is to humans, we always look young, since you compare us to yourselves. If you were to date an elf the exact same age as you, you’d be a child molester,” she laughed.
“I see. Well, I’m glad I’m not dating a child. It could ruin my reputation.”
They continued to talk and enjoy each other’s company. Later that afternoon, he found his bow and they went hunting. He knew he was outmatched by Terry, her ranger skills were at their peek and she could kill any game animal without much effort. Still, he did manage to bag an antelope. This would make for some fine meat back at his butcher shop and he knew he could get a premium price for it.
After putting away their toys, they got dress up and spent the rest of the evening together. The only thing they wondered was who was going to cook breakfast.
Alister walked over to Lucinda and sat down across from her.
“You have quite the way with the ladies.”
“So it seems. I guess you heard about my run in with Gunther.”
“Everyone heard about it. It’s all over town, and it only happened an hour ago. News travels fast around here.”
“Speaking of here, what does bring you here?”
“You have to ask?”
“No, but I just like hearing the answer.”
She leaned over and kissed him.
“I do like that answer,” Alister said.
“Let’s go someplace a bit cozier, it’s too crowded in here,” Lucinda replied. They got up and left the empty Inn.
While at the orphanage and playing with the children, Obidaan got a sudden shudder down his spine and got way too serious for a moment. He then looked over at the door. No one had knocked on it; there was no indication that there was even anyone at the door. Still Obidaan went to answer it.
The sudden quiet got to the ladies and they came out of the kitchen to see what was going on. There was Obidaan heading for the door as if to answer it.
“Is everything ok, dear?” Relina asked.
“Just fine,” Obidaan said, not taking his eyes off the door. It’s as if he was seeing past it.
He got to the door, waited, did a count down from five and at zero he opened the door. There stood a girl, a messenger. She was holding a letter. She did not seem at all surprised when Obidaan opened it. She smiled at him, handed him the letter, curtsied, and left; as if that’s the way it was supposed to happen.
Obidaan was still a bit confused. He looked down at the letter; it had his name on it.
He opened it. His eyes grew wide and a smile came across his face as he read it.
“Well, don’t keep us in suspense, what’s it say?” Marsha asked.
“It’s an invitation from the Historians they are inviting me to their castle to have a soul weapon bound to me. They feel that I would bring distinction to their weapon and only one as noteworthy as I am could wield one of their weapons. Bring whomever you feel and be prepared to face a challenge. If you pass it, you will be deemed worthy to wield one of our weapons. If you fail, you will find yourself on the road back to your home. Come whenever you are ready, we are ready for you at anytime, day or night.”
Over the next two weeks, everyone was excited for Obidaan. He was receiving congratulations from the king, Mordechi, and strangers. Finally, while hanging out at the bar Obidaan had to say something about all of the unwanted attention. He took the stage. “I thank you all for the congratulations and party offers I have received, but please, this is all a bit premature. I still have to pass their test before I am awarded the item.”
“You’re a paladin! If someone like Gunther can get one, you’re a shoe in.” Someone from the crowd shouted. The crowd cheered
“Thank you for your vote of confidence,” Obidaan hushed them, “however, let me point out a few facts. It’s a known fact that several paladins have failed this test. I have heard the stories, they were walking toward the castle and they hit a wooded glade surrounding it, next thing they knew they were on the road home with a feeling of failure. Also, Gunther went to a different group, the Order of the First, an equally reputable group for getting a weapon. The Historians were the ones who discovered the dangers of the soul item when their founder attempted to bind a second soul item to her body. The greatest historian ever was lost then, but her Order lives on. Because of this, they do not sell their items, they give them, only after a rigorous test. Please, let’s save the celebrations till I get back. I admit, I am quite nervous and do not want to disappoint anyone of you. ” The humility of his statement dripped off of him like honey, and the crowd found it just as sweet.
The crowd was silent for a moment, when the same person raised his glass and yelled, “We loved you before, we’ll love you when you get back, regardless of the outcome! No one in this town has been asked to go there, so let us celebrate that!”
“Huzzah!” screamed the crowd.
Obidaan laughed, smiled, and then raised his mug in the toast. “Huzzah!” and he drank deeply.
After packing provisions over the next few days, and saying goodbyes, they were off. Half way out of town, Obidaan stopped and yelled for the others to halt. They all looked at him confused.
“Oh my god, I can’t believe we forgot our most important member,” Obidaan shouted, slapping his forehead with his hand. “We may have to delay a day gang,” Obidaan turned around and began galloping at full speed. The others, still confused, followed him but not at full gallop. It didn’t take them long to realize where he was headed, the orphanage.
Obidaan pulled up just before he got there and slowed to a trot. This allowed the other to catch up with him. “Wait here,” he said, as he got to the door. He knocked.
Marsha opened the door, wiping her hands on her apron she gave Obidaan a hug and welcomed him in. “What brings you here?” she asked already knowing the answer.
“We are about to embark on our journey to the Historians, and I must confess, I almost forgot our most important member. I was wondering if Tomas could join us. It’s further than we’ve been before, but I don’t anticipate any real danger. Also, we can wait till he packs.”
She smiled at him “Tomas!” she yelled, “They’re here! No need to wait, he’s been packed since you announced you were going.”
Tomas came trotting out, backpack on his back, waterskin at his side, and a scroll case of parchment and paper, “See mom, I told you they were going to invite me along.”
“Yes you did, dear,” she rubbed his hair, then bent down, “give your mom a big old hug. I won’t be seeing you for a few weeks.”
“Ok mom,” He was looking at Obidaan, trying to be mature beyond his years. He gave her a ‘mature hug’ more like a pat on the back.
“Give your mom a real hug,” Obidaan stated playfully.
He gave her a huge hug and a kiss, then ran to the cart and jumped in the back with Relina, where he gave her a hug and kiss too.
Tears were beginning to well up in her eyes when she reached for Obidaan and gave him a huge, warm, all caring hug. He returned it, lifting her slightly off the ground. “You take good care of my boy, and yourself, you here? I don’t care if you come back with a weapon or not, you just all come back, safe, all of you,” she sniffed.
“Don’t you worry, Marsha, no harm will befall Tomas and we shall all return safely.”
They let go, she composed herself, waved, “I love you, Tomas.”
“I love you, too, mom,” he waved back.
Obidaan mounted his horse, and they were off. She continued to wave to them till they were out of sight, then she closed the door, went inside, dropped to her knees, “come here children,” she said and proceeded to give them a group hug.
It was a ten day journey to the Historian’s place, over mostly well traveled roads and established cities. They were able to stay in an inn almost every night, except one night when Terry insisted on spending the night in the woods. No one really wanted to set up watches, when it wasn’t necessary, so Terry volunteered to cover them all. How she managed to stand the entire watch, make breakfast, and stay alert the entire next day was a bit of a mystery, until she told them that she used the nocturnal animals to watch over them while she too had a full night sleep. She knew they wouldn’t approve, which is why she told them after the fact.
“In well wooded areas, we can sleep knowing the woods will protect us. It’s not something I do lightly, but it is a benefit of being a ranger, and I wanted to use it; since I get to use it so little. And it worked.”
“But you said you’d stand all the watches,” Obidaan began to protest. He had an ulterior motive for asking.
“No, I said I’d cover the watches, and I did, with animals.”
That explained why a lie wasn’t detected, “Nice play on words,” Obidaan thought to himself.
Soon they were at the glade. “This is it,” Obidaan said, “this is where the test begins.”
“What do we need to do?” Relina asked.
“Just enter the glade; all will be taken care of from there. If you make it to the door, you’ve passed. If you come out the way you came, you’ve failed. That’s what the message says,” Obidaan was reading it. “Let’s do it.”
They entered the glade. For about 2 minutes, nothing was out of the ordinary. Then all of a sudden, the air around Obidaan got dark. It was just him and his horse now. “Hello!” he called out.
“No need to shout, Obidaan. I can hear you just fine,” a voice said back. This unsettled Obidaan because it sounded just like his voice. He looked in front of him and there directly in front of him, stood himself. Actually, it was a mirror image, because this one had his sword set for a right—handed person instead of left. “Come on down. No need for the horse.”
Obidaan stood transfixed for a moment. “Who are you?”
“I’m you!” he replied, “Well, a manifestation of you and what you represent. I am your guide through this test. I am everything you are. I know everything you know, and I can do everything you can do. And you know I’m not lying.”
He was right. Not once did he ping. Obidaan stepped down off of his horse. Once he did, the horse disappeared. “Where’d he go?”
“Back to the real world, per se; we’re in a pocket. If you look to your right,” He pointed, “you will see the outside world.” He then made a circling motion with his hand and smiled, “See there’s your group and there you are, on your horse, wondering when the test
will start.”
Obidaan was still skeptical, but played along. “Is that really me?”
The reflection looked back at Obidaan, standing erect, hands on his hips, “Yes, and so are you, and so am I. However, I am not controlled by you, nor am I a clone, doppelganger, or duplicate.”
“You’re a manifestation,” Obidaan put his hand on his chin and scratched a bit.
“That’s the word I used, reflection is probably more accurate. We can sit here and chit—chat all day, or we can get along. It’s up to you,” he mirrored Obidaan’s gesture.
“I want to know some more,” Obidaan put his hands back on his hips.
“Sure! It’s up to you. Like I said, I’m just your guide.”
“What’s going on?”
“Well, in a nutshell, we’ve removed you from the real world into a pocket dimension. However, you still exist in the real world.”
“I don’t understand.”
“You’re not supposed to. That’s for us; those of us who live here. See, we decide when and if you make it to the castle. Until then you just wander around, unknowingly, in a circle. You pass the tests, you make it, you fail, you leave. Simple.”
“And we start whenever I’m ready.”
“You got it.”
“Any advice?”
“Be the Obidaan you are, not the one you think we want you to be.”
“I’m ready.”
“Excellent!” he clapped his hands once. “Your test is to get by me. Draw your weapon” At that, the darkness turned into an arena, behind the reflection is an open door. “Get in that door and you’ve passed the test. However, remember, I am a mirror reflection of you.” he has his sword and shield at the ready.
“So, I have to kick my own ass?” Obidaan too, had his sword and shield out. It was eerie to be staring at his reflection like this.
“You have to get past me. And I’m not going to make it easy.” He hunched down a bit, as if preparing for a charge.
“Here goes,” Obidaan rushed his reflection. They clashed for several minutes, it seems every hit Obidaan made on the reflection, was made on him. He tried to turn the reflection away from the door, but he wouldn’t take the bait. All manners were met with reflected fury. It was literally as if he were fighting a mirror. After 20 minutes of pointless and painful combat, Obidaan stopped.
No Good Deed Page 12
