Juxta, Magi

by Porter, Geoffrey C

  William hailed back, "Hello!"

  The driver had black hair tied up in the back and wore a sword with a head of a cat carved in its hilt. A finely trimmed and manicured goatee adorned his chin, and he had a vicious scar above his left eye. "I see you wear ranger's leathers. Care to upgrade your sword? I carry blades from Weslan…"

  The prince smiled. "I'd care to give them a gander…"

  The merchant removed a blanket from his wagon to reveal a rack of swords. The prince looked to Juxta. "Are they truly enchanted?"

  Juxta chanted ‘true sight' and indeed the swords glistened with glowing auras.

  "The blue swords are blades of speed, the green are blades of carnage, and the white ones simply cast light on command," the merchant said.

  William smiled a wide smile rooted in the deepest reaches of his soul. "May I see one of the blades of speed?"

  The merchant handed William a blade, hilt first.

  He grabbed the blade and sliced the air. He slashed the weapon left and right. He held it in his hand and stared up and down the edge of the thing.

  The merchant said, "It's quite pricey of course, twenty gold pieces…"

  William slid it back to the merchant. Then he paused, doing a mental count. "Oh, sister…"

  "I'm not spending twenty gold pieces on a toy for you…" Rubie said.

  "It's not a toy!"

  "What does a blade of carnage do?" Teresa asked. "I think you want that one…"

  The merchant made a slashing motion with the edge of his right hand. "It causes jagged wounds that bleed profusely and are extremely painful."

  William opened his eyes wide and started batting his eyelashes. "Please, Rubie?"

  Rubie said, "Absolutely not."

  Juxta cleared his throat. "Hebron and I can enchant a blade for you. I don't know if we can make a blade of speed or carnage, but I know we can come up with something. I made a blade for the blacksmith."

  William's face began to smile a slow creeping smile again, and his head bobbed up and down with each word he spoke. "I'll hold you to your word on that, Juxta."

  The merchant said, "Good day to you, sirs and ladies!"

  *

  That evening as they traveled, Rubie spoke in a loud voice, "Teresa, Juxta, fall back a ways out of earshot. I want to talk to my brother.

  Once they were separated by a fair distance, Rubie said, "I saw Teresa's display this morning, and how you couldn't keep your eyes off her."

  William turned on his sister. "I was fishing."

  Rubie stared straight ahead. "I know how you felt about her before you spent six years with the rangers. I bet you dreamed of her."

  William nodded his head and spoke quietly. "Perhaps I did, little sister. We all dream of many things…"

  "I dreamed of marriage, at least when I was young. I expected a young prince to come along and romance me. Not to be pawned off to a middle aged military ally. Even though I do like Henry."

  William smiled. "Prince Henry may be romantic. You don't know."

  "Dear Brother, he wouldn't be unmarried at the age of thirty if he was a romantic."

  "Perhaps your beauty will sway him properly."

  Her eyes narrowed as she thought of striking her brother on the knee. "What's that supposed to mean?"

  "Just what I said." He pointed his finger at her. "What you really need is an uglier handmaiden. You'd realize how pretty you are."

  Rubie grinned. "Yeah, but I like Teresa."

  On that note, they simply paused in thought, nudging the horses forward. William and Rubie crested a hill and noticed a small fire burning in the middle of the road. Two figures huddled over the fire. They wore cloaks with hoods drawn. As William and Rubie approached them, they stood up and started walking towards the duo. One of them spoke even though his face was hidden. "We're lost, which way is Nork on this road?"

  William and Rubie pulled their horses to a stop. William said, "We're traveling in the direction of Nork."

  The two figures continued to approach. Once they were right in front of the pair, they casually grabbed the reins of the horses. They asked in unison, "Are you sure?"

  The prince moved his hand to the hilt of his sword. "Yes."

  Both figures lifted their hoods up, exposing their faces. They had round skulls with pug noses and overly long canine teeth. Their hair was matted and uncut. Their skin appeared more tan than naturally possible, and stubbles of coarse black hair grew here and there on their faces. William shouted, "Ogres, Rubie!"

  William drew his sword and plunged it through the first ogre's eye and into its brain. He jerked his sword back out. Rubie's horse bucked and kicked at the second ogre throwing Rubie off backward. One of her feet caught in her stirrup, and she flipped in midair and landed unladylike on her forehead. She lay still like the dead. William hacked downward on the second ogre's neck, slicing into the muscles, jugular, and throat. He hopped off his horse to see to his sister. He scanned the field for more ogres, for he knew there would be more than two.

  Two more creatures, easily seven feet tall, ran at him from his right with swords swinging down on him. He dodged their attacks and pierced upward with his blade. The point entered under the chin, through the mouth, and into the creature's brain. William jerked the sword free of the twitching body. He lunged, thrusting the sword into the chest of the second ogre, just to the right of its breast bone, aiming for the aorta artery. William pulled the sword free and blood jetted out.

  He spun around in time to block the swords of two more of the beasts. He sliced viciously at the midsection of the closer one, cutting through muscles and intestines. He kicked it away from him. The last ogre took another swing at him, but he sidestepped it and aimed his sword point low stabbing into the groin. The monster shrieked like an old woman caught in a giant mousetrap. William jerked his sword to the side as he pulled it out. The beast crumpled to the ground. William looked around. He was surrounded by more ogres, too many to count. He shouted, "Who's next?"

  One of the ogres said, "Slings!"

  On cue, the ogres sheathed their swords and pulled out either clubs or slingshots. William tried to cover the full circle of ogres, to watch them all. The first stone hit him on the temple. It both blinded him and knocked him down to one knee. The next stone caught him on the forehead above his right eye. The third stone hit him on the jaw. One of the ogres with a club approached him from behind and clubbed him on top of the head, hard enough that the club snapped in two.

  The lead ogre said, "They wear rings of the Royal Crest. Bag them quickly!"

  The ogres got out burlap sacks and put them over the prince and princess. Then they lifted them onto their shoulders. Hoof beats thundered in the distance.

  *

  Per the princess' request, Juxta and Teresa fell-back. They reached a good distance between the two groups.

  "Poor form to divide our forces like this, especially among these hills," Teresa said. "They'll be out of eyesight and earshot after each crest."

  "They're not children."

  "Can you spy on them from here, Wizard?"

  "I can, but I would be able to hear as well as see."

  Teresa reached over and put her hand on his leg. "Did you enjoy watching me swim today?"

  "Ummm…"

  She pulled her hand back. "Ha! Maybe they have men in Nork!"

  "Hey, I'm a man!"

  "You and the prince both act like boys."

  "We spend our time in study, not in chasing girls around!"

  A sound carried over the hills to them.

  Teresa asked, "Did you hear that?"

  Juxta kicked his horse into a gallop, and Teresa chased after. When they crested the hill, the troop of ogres was moving towards the tree line, with at least a half dozen dead in a pile around the prince's riderless horse. Teresa shouted, "Juxta! They have the Princess!"

  Juxta was one step ahead of her though, already summoning power and drawing a triangle over the ogres. He shouted the word of power and ligh
tning rained down on the ogres causing them to sprawl on the ground and twitch. Juxta never used the spell on a living creature, but knew it could both stun and kill. Juxta and Teresa rode up to the other's horses and dismounted. Teresa pulled a dagger and started dispatching stunned ogres. Juxta looked around for the prince and princess. He found William in a burlap sack, alive but unconscious.

  He looked for another burlap sack and found Rubie. A lump showed on her forehead. A slight calm overtook Juxta's mind. Power began to well in his fingertips until they twitched. Rage began to take over his heart in great stages like a massive machine slowly kicking to life. Power shot from his hands through his arms and began to pool in his heart.

  "Teresa, back away!" Juxta shouted.

  "They have to be killed!"

  "Get out of my way!"

  Teresa gave him a look of hatred, but she complied and moved to check on William and Rubie.

  The power started to bleed out of his fingertips in tiny black tendrils of smoke. Juxta whispered a word of power, and a fireball made of twisting red and orange flames flew out of his hand at the closest ogre. Juxta whispered the word of power over and over, throwing balls of fire at the stunned ogres. Each ogre he hit burst into flames and screamed in agony before dying. Still, Juxta's power did not wane but increased with every new fireball he sent.

  For once, he knew no fatigue.

  When he got to the last of the ogres, he began to fear his own power. It seemed to be pouring out of an endless well, and he couldn't quench it. His arms tingled and shook. He stood over the prince and princess, hoping more ogres would show themselves. The stench of burning flesh filled the air. Juxta tried to stand still as the forces within cascaded like waves through his body.

  Hoof beats thumped out from behind them, and Juxta turned to face the new threat. Before Juxta could send the fire, Teresa shouted at him, "It's a ranger!" Juxta sent a ball of fire, about the size of a small shed, upward into the sky instead to try and get some release.

  Simon hopped off his horse and approached the fallen prince.

  Teresa asked, "Simon? What are you doing here?"

  "Rollin had me follow your troop. I didn't want to. He threatened to make things go bad for me if I didn't go along with him." He knelt down to the princess. "Rollin gave me Juxta's sword. How are the prince and princess?"

  Teresa said, "Unconscious."

  Simon felt for a pulse on the princess and then the prince.

  "It's not my sword. I simply made it. I gave it to the blacksmith." Juxta grimaced as he tried to contain the turbulent powers boiling within him. He wanted to find more ogres, thinking to himself, there's got to be more of them around here.

  "They won't be able to travel for a few days. We should get them close to a stream and put cold rags or shirts on their bruises." Simon noticed Juxta's grimace of a stare. "Is Juxta alright?"

  Teresa looked at Juxta. "Are you alright?"

  Juxta paused. "I'm fine. Simon's right. We should find a stream."

  Juxta focused on letting the energy ebb out of him. After what seemed like forever, he started to feel some relief. He just stood there, quietly shaking, while the ogres still burned.

  Teresa produced some shirts out of her saddle bags which they tore into bandages, and she and Simon moved the injured off the road, but they couldn't be sure what to do about Juxta. Teresa approached him. "We're going to make camp here. Join us, instead of standing in the middle of the road."

  Simon and Teresa gathered firewood and found a stream for fresh water and cool wet bandages. When they returned to the campsite, Juxta sat cross legged staring at the prince and princess. They made a pile of wood for a fire. Teresa reached for her flint and steel then she stopped. "Juxta, can you light the fire?"

  Juxta found the proper symbol and whispered ‘pyro', and the wood burst into flames.

  "Thanks... Why have we been using flint and steel this whole trip?" Teresa asked.

  Juxta pondered the question. "I thought maybe you enjoyed using flint and steel."

  Teresa said, "Right…"

  Out of habit, Juxta threw up his campsite ward. Simon noticed it. "I think you did that wrong."

  Juxta looked around. The ward cast blazing white light up from the ground in a circle around them. He tried it again with less power. On his third try, it stopped casting light.

  Rubie woke up first with a bad headache. She asked about her brother. Simon said, "He hasn't woken up yet…"

  She sighed.

  After a few more hours they tried to give the prince a drink of water, and his eyes fluttered open. William asked, "What are you doing here, Simon? What happened to the ogres?"

  "Rollin wanted me to follow you in case there was trouble," Simon said. "Juxta happened to the ogres."

  "All dead?" William asked.

  Teresa said, "Yes."

  "Juxta, can you heal Rubie and me? I've a god-awful headache."

  "I haven't been taught healing spells yet…"

  "Hebron needs to remedy that, no pun intended," William said.

  "He has Druidic books on the subject." Juxta rubbed his chin. "I've actually read two of them, but I simply haven't mastered the various chants yet."

  Rubie stared at William. "The next time I have the chance to buy you an arcane blade, I will."

  William nodded.

  The power in Juxta still boiled. It raced through his veins like thriving poison that his body couldn't reject. He tried to release it, but it didn't seem to want to go away. The well of energy didn't leave Juxta even after a night's rest. He resigned himself to think he must have learned to cast from the heart. It was the only explanation he could think of.

  Chapter 6

  The Elder Gods Will Choose a Vessel (chosen one) To Recreate the Realms. Elder Scrolls.

  They crested a hill and stopped in awe of the sight before them. A seemingly endless plain stretched out with an ancient city made of stone in the center. The city stood encircled by three rings of moats with wooden bridges spanning them. Countless towers jetted into the sky from around the city. Rubie raised her voice. "It's said no manner of beast or man can approach within five miles without being seen. The moats are filled with flammable tar. The bridges are targets for our catapults, easily destroyed. The halls of Frothville have never been breached."

  William smiled. "Did you learn all this from Prince Henry, himself?"

  Rubie kicked her heels into the rump of her horse, leading the way. Within minutes they noticed a party on horseback leave Frothville headed in their direction. Rubie said, "Our welcoming committee."

  The squad from Frothville met them.

  William said, "We come from Lynken to see your king."

  The squad leader grunted. "We'll take you to him."

  On reaching Frothville, they noticed every building was made of stone or brick, yet they had passed numerous forests before reaching the great plain surrounding the city. William asked, "Why are there no wooden houses?"

  The squad leader pointed at rows of structures that looked like storehouses. "Some winters it gets colder than others, and man who builds wood house has been known to lose it for its timber."

  The castle guards readily admitted their entourage to see the king. His hall seemed to reach into the heavens. Fires burned in alcoves along the walls of the room. Dozens of crystal chandeliers hung from the ceiling with countless candles. Windows adorned the hall on all four sides. The king and queen sat atop stone thrones. The king wore a lion's coat across his chest and held a gold scepter in his hands. He had a long beard woven into tassels. The queen wore a long red dress. She had flowing red hair with grey etched in here and there. A scribe announced the party.

  Prince William bowed. Juxta and Simon both followed suit. The women curtseyed. A man, Prince Henry, wearing a purple vest and soft, tan pants smiled at Rubie. "You've come to visit at last."

  She blushed. "I've come for more than a visit."

  Prince Henry looked to the king and queen.

  "We'
ve come to form a military alliance," William said. "We must join forces against Tercia."

  King Henry looked Rubie up and down then glared at Prince Henry.

  "It must have been a long journey. Perhaps the ladies would like to retire to the guest quarters instead of squabbling over a treaty," Prince Henry said. "A scribe can provide for everything you should need. I just hope our humble accommodations are adequate for your highness."

  "Thank you. I'm sure everything will be fine." Rubie held out her hand to him. "Would you like to show me to the guest quarters? Perhaps a tour of the castle grounds?"

  Henry closed the distance between them and grabbed her hand. "I'll happily show you the guest quarters, the gardens, the libraries, and anything else your heart desires."

  Rubie, Prince Henry, and Teresa wandered off to parts unknown. Prince William looked to the king. "My liege, I was told to discuss the matter bluntly. Tercia is in arms, and we must have a show of force."

  "She's a pretty girl." The king waved in the direction Rubie went. "Henry told me this alliance was brewing some time ago. He and I have already discussed a force. I'm certain you won't be discouraged by our resilience in this matter. Tercia must be defeated."

  Prince William nodded.

  "Scribe! Inform the kitchens that we have guests," King Henry said. "Prepare a feast."

  "I was told to get a number, my liege," William said.

  The king's eyes narrowed. "Do they teach manners to boys in Lynken?"

  Prince William paused, not sure how to answer.

  Simon undid his bow from his back and stepped forward. "It's only bows and blades for boys of Lynken, my liege."

  King Henry let out a low, little bellow that could almost be called a chuckle. "I intend to send 10,000 men and my war general to Lynken to see if the Tercian dogs want to fight. How is that number, Prince?"

  William blinked his eyes a few times. "That number will do just fine. Thank you."

  A steward showed the party to the guest quarters, and they had a few hours before any feasting could take place. William and Simon wanted to find their chief man-at-arms and see their military training practices first hand. Juxta still mulled over his powers. He meditated on it when a knock rapped on the door. He opened it. An old man stood at the door, obviously a wizard, for he wore an old grayish cloak and carried a staff in his hand. He wore a necklace of gold and rubies. He was old, perhaps the oldest person Juxta ever met. "My name is Derick."