They all exited the room, and Juxta raised the ward. They made camp, and the Tree Nymphs showed up for Simon right on schedule.
"I know there's more than one god," Robert said with his arms crossed over his chest. "They created mankind. Our very calendar was based on the event. I was born in the year 703, the plague started in 2025."
Juxta started counting on his fingers, and his lips moved. "You were thirteen hundred years old and don't look a day over thirty!"
"So what? Have you ever heard of a human dying of old age?"
Teresa, Juxta, and William all said, "Yes!"
"Humans are lucky to reach their fifties, maybe even seventies," Teresa said. "Druids and wizards might see four centuries."
"Oh." Robert looked down at their feet. "We must surely have been forsaken by the gods.
A few minutes passed when nothing was said. Robert looked at Juxta with eyes bigger than coins. "Wizard, will you put my spirit to rest?"
"I'm only an apprentice. How would I do such a thing?" Juxta said.
"Frankly, I don't know," Robert said. "I just know you have to help me."
"I promise to try and find a way. I've never heard of a ghost outside of fairy tale."
Robert shrugged his shoulders. "I'm going to stretch my muscles. See what I can do in this form. Maybe I'll think of something." Then he floated off into the night.
Teresa said, "It's a sad thing. I hope he can find a way."
"Are we going to eat soon?" Juxta asked.
"Nobody is stopping you from eating."
Juxta pointed at William. "Yes, but our prince has the bow and that ward drained me dry. I don't feel like using any more magic today."
William smiled. "I'll go see what I can find."
Teresa poked Juxta hard on the stomach. "You're lazy, Juxta."
He whimpered. "I just want to eat and lay down."
She went to find some dead wood, and William hunted.
He bagged a deer, and they feasted.
Teresa and the prince stayed up for a while talking of many things. The next morning they broke camp as usual, and Simon rejoined them. Robert appeared. "Can I join you on your journey?"
They all looked at William. He paced a few steps to the left, turned, and walked back. "I think having you around would be really creepy, Robert. I'm sorry, but I'd rather you wait here until our return, after we figure out a way to put you to rest."
"I could be useful to you!"
"It's too weird," Teresa said. "You remind us too much of our own mortality."
The spirit turned on Juxta and smiled. "What say you, Juxta?"
"My prince has spoken. We'll find a way to put you to rest and return."
Robert started to cry and then disintegrated into mist that drifted away following the low curves of the ground.
Simon said, "It was the right choice."
William looked off in the distance. "It was hard to do…"
The Tree Nymphs led them out of the Lost City, and traveling through the forest became almost routine for them. After three days they finally reached the edge of it. They camped early, directly on the outskirts of the trees, so that Simon could pay for their passage to the last tribe to guide them. The next day they started out early following the remnants of an ancient highway. The day came and went, and they made camp at dusk. Simon produced a wooden pipe and proceeded to stuff it with a Lotus flower.
Juxta howled, "You can't be serious!"
Simon said, "What?"
"Lotus flowers are bad, Simon." Juxta shook his finger at Simon. "It'll take control of your mind. How much did they give you?"
Simon produced a leather satchel about the size of a grain bag. "Each tribe we visited contributed."
"If you smoke all that, you'll care for nothing and no-one, other than to get more Lotus flowers."
William said, "Juxta is likely right. Give us the bag."
Simon's eyes opened wide. "Juxta doesn't know for sure. He said the plant was extinct."
Teresa spit into the fire. "Give us the bag, Simon. No argument, no debate."
Simon threw down the bag. "Fine."
She picked up the bag and emptied it over the campfire. It smoked and smoked. Simon pulled a burning stick out of the fire and lit the pipe which he'd already filled. By nightfall of the next day, Simon started feeling sick. He couldn't eat, and a fever raced through his veins. He tried to sleep and couldn't. Just tossed and turned. He didn't think he could ride in the morning. William, Teresa, and Juxta coaxed him into trying.
After about two hours Simon got off his horse and puked on the side of the road. He lay down next to the bile and stared up at the sky merely breathing.
Teresa asked, "Juxta, is he going to be alright?"
"I believe so," Juxta said. "But the poison takes time to leave his body."
William asked, "Simon, can you ride?"
Simon whimpered. He focused his will. "Leave me here."
"I think not. I'll go hunt up some lunch. Make a fire."
He rode off into the countryside, and Teresa and Juxta gathered up firewood. William brought back two ducks pierced through the neck with arrows. Teresa cleaned the birds, and they rotisseried them. They tried to get Simon to eat, but he refused. After lunch he declared himself ready to ride. At sundown they camped again, and Simon simply collapsed in a heap on the ground and passed out. They ate jerky heated over a small fire. The next morning Simon ate vigorously, and he declared himself almost well.
Teresa smiled one of her more abusive smiles. "How do you feel about Tree Nymphs and Lotus flowers now?"
"I still like the Tree Nymphs." Simon rubbed his palms together with a mad quickness. "But I think I'll pass on the Lotus flowers next time. I may go back when I retire."
They rode hard that day. By nightfall they reached a traveled road and turned south.
Chapter 19
With each kill, stronger wielder becomes. - Blood Books I&II.
They encountered a Weslan border patrol, and for five gold pieces, acquired travel papers. William shook his head and whispered, "Extortion."
The border patrol captain laughed.
They rode hard through the days and stopped at inns or camped at nightfall. Within a hundred miles of the capital of Weslan, stone mile markers started to appear on the side of the road counting down, and William pushed their pace up. At fifty miles out, the road became paved, and there were farms on both sides. They stopped and traded for more grain for their horses. Soon enough, they were at the capital and made their way to the palace proper, easy enough to find, for its tower reached into the sky from the center of the city. William showed his royal seal to the guards at the palace gate, and a man wearing a simple white ensemble, with the crest of Weslan over his heart in purple, escorted them into the palace.
The man showed them to quarters and said the full council would review their plea and for them to wait. Simon saw to the horses. William changed from his ranger's leathers into his finest royal attire. Teresa donned her red silk shirt and smooth leather pants. Juxta asked to see Weslan's library, and another man wearing the same white ensemble led Juxta to two giant oak doors with symbols carved in rows on them. Juxta pushed the doors open and stared in awe.
The room was bigger than any Juxta had ever seen. Three levels ran along the interior with a walkway around the edge. In the center of the room, countless bookshelves stood in neat and tidy rows. The ceiling had sheets of glass in it, so sunlight shined bright. There were also crystalline orbs hanging from the ceiling that clearly served as some kind of arcane light source although currently dimmed. Tables and chairs dotted the spaces between book shelves, and private study nooks, with cushioned chairs and large desks, were spaced out ever so often along the walls.
Juxta just shook his head back and forth and gave up trying to count the rows of bookshelves or the tables and chairs. He never thought of Hebron's library as lacking, but he did now. Juxta approached the first bookshelf and grabbed the first book, A History of Lesser
Magic, by Malrick Two-feather. Juxta began to read. A man wearing the white clothes cleared his throat interrupting Juxta's train of thought. The man said, "It's time."
He led Juxta to a waiting room where William already sat on a bench against one wall. Teresa looked lovelier than ever, with a modest decoration of diamonds here and there. Simon still wore his leathers with traces of road dust on them. The man in white moved forward into the room and pushed two large ornate doors inward. They opened into a great hall. The four entered it with Prince William taking the lead followed by Teresa then Simon and lastly Juxta.
At the end of the great hall, a raised bench was centered along the wall. Behind the bench sat twelve men wearing various colors of cloaks. Each of them had a staff with a gemstone on its end. Some held their staves in hand, while others had them leaning against their chairs or against the back side of the bench in front of them. They had a strange similarity in the expressions on their faces, the neatness to which their hairs were groomed, and the uncanny lack of any blemishes on their faces or hands.
Prince William spoke loudly in an attempt to fill the hall with sound. "High Council of Weslan! I implore you! My country's in ruins! Besieged by the evil hordes of Tercia!"
They merely nodded at this.
Teresa stepped to William's right side and bowed. She spoke softer than William, but loudly enough to be sure the council heard. "We beg of you, Lords. Assist Lynken."
One of the council said, "We've been debating the matter since news reached us."
Simon stepped forward to William's left. He spoke with no crack of a boy's voice, but with the tone of a man, "Now is not the time for debate! It's the time for action!"
One of the council laughed. "Spoken like a true ranger."
William held out his hands palm up and gently shook his head a little back and forth. "They captured my father, and my mother is besieged in our castle. Will you not aid us?"
An elderly member of the council said, "It's not our fight, young prince."
Anger sparked in Juxta, and his amethyst gemstone lit up with power. He pushed his way in between Teresa and William. "In another generation, they'll be at your doorstep! The time to fight is now!"
The council took a look around at each other. They started murmuring to themselves. One of the council stood up. "What's your name, child?"
"Juxta."
The council man picked up his staff and a faint light began to spin in tiny weaves in the fist sized uncut diamond on its end. His brown hair flowed in waves. Grey lines in his beard showed his age. He had broad shoulders and a thin waist. "My name's Kirl. You carry an amethyst gem. Who's your master?"
Juxta's eyes squinted a bit as his gaze was caught up in the light playing in the uncut diamond. "Hebron was my master. He fell in the war."
Kirl nodded. "He didn't tell you of the legend of the Amethyst gem?"
Juxta broke his eyes away from the dancing light. "No."
"It speaks of a chosen one who can beat the council's best. Are you a more powerful magi than I am, young Juxta?" The council laughed at this. Juxta glared and was about to answer when Kirl said, "Where did you get the amethyst stone?"
"From the dragons, Kirl."
Kirl looked to his left and right down the row of council members. "Not only is he arrogant enough to carry amethyst. He lies about where he got it!"
Kirl smiled wide. Rage blinded Juxta. Power flooded up within him, and he put a triangle on Kirl and almost shouted out the word of command when Kirl said, "Hold off, young whelp. Tonight we'll duel. You'll get your chance to prove your mettle!"
"Let's do it now!"
Another member of the council slammed the butt end of his staff on the cold stone floor. "Not in these chambers. In the open, all the younger magi will want to watch, after dinner." He then clapped his hands together once, and all the council members rose to their feet. Juxta stood with clenched fists.
William said, "What of Lynken?"
The council left the hall.
Simon grabbed Juxta by the shoulder. "You'll get your chance to face him. You must win."
William wiped his eyes even though no tears flowed. "They cared more about some legend about a rock than my people's plight."
"Let's leave this hall," Teresa said. "I don't like the smell of this place."
They turned to go, yet rage still gripped Juxta. Teresa had to lead him by the hand to get him walking. They returned to their quarters. A scribe told them dinner would be brought to them. Juxta's rage died down to a cool ember, and he tried to sleep. The other three of his party held a conference while he rested.
"The last time Juxta dueled we had to stop him from killing," Teresa said. "Are we going to stop him this time?"
William said, "You're assuming he's going to win."
Teresa raised her right eyebrow and caught William's eyes with hers. "Well, aren't you?"
William frowned. "My country's future seems to depend on it."
"So it seems," Simon said.
William pushed himself up and started pacing. "It's good that Juxta is getting some rest. Let's not wake him until dinner gets here."
Teresa and Simon nodded.
A few hours later servants brought them roast chicken, vegetables, bread, and a mild wine. They woke Juxta, and all four dined. A scribe waited outside their door to take them to the dueling grounds. The arena reminded the four of the proving grounds for the rangers, except with larger spectator stands and two stone platforms about 100 feet apart from one another. At the center of the spectator stands, the high council sat together except Kirl. He stood wearing regal purple robes with his staff in his right hand. Juxta approached Kirl and the council, while William, Simon, and Teresa took front row seats in the stands.
Kirl looked at Juxta. "We meet again, child."
The eldest of the council pointed at Juxta. "Tradition dictates the duel ends when either of you calls for quarter. Do you understand?"
"Yes, I understand."
"I've done this a hundred times, child," Kirl said. "I'll be careful not to kill you."
"Call me child one more time, and I'll put you in your grave, Kirl!"
"You're surely no master, child."
Juxta shouted, "Let's start this show!"
He turned and walked towards one of the stone platforms. With every step, he gathered more and more power into himself. When he reached the stone platform, he summoned a sphere of protection around himself and took the center of the stones.
Kirl went on the offense, before Juxta even fully turned to face in the right direction, throwing a torrent of lightning and fire at him. Juxta watched as Kirl's power formed an ominous vortex of swirling tendrils surrounding him. Confusion etched at Juxta's mind as he poured all of his energy into his defense. Kirl stepped up the onslaught again and again. The weight of it pushed Juxta down on one knee. His nose started to bleed, and he noticed his blood thumping in his temples with each beat of his heart.
Kirl hollered over the din of magic, "He's but an apprentice. He's not even summoning a vortex! Cry for mercy, Juxta, and it'll be granted!"
Juxta tasted his own blood from the nosebleed, and a berserker rage filled him. Kirl's assaults tripled as Juxta started to lose focus. He thought back to his first days of summoning power, how new and bright the world seemed. He realized he was beaten, and he turned to look upon his friends. Simon stared as if caught in a trance. William clenched his fist out in front of him and nodded to Juxta. Kirl shouted, "Surely you've had enough!"
Juxta turned his gaze on Kirl and peered at the vortex of power he summoned. Juxta whispered, "I was a thief before I was a magi…"
Juxta reached out with his mind to touch Kirl's vortex. At first, the power burned him, and then it started to flow. Juxta let it well up in him revitalizing him. A single drop of blood fell from Juxta's nose to the stone platform, and Juxta stood against the weight of the Kirl's crushing assault. Juxta focused on draining Kirl's vortex. He placed a silver triangle with his mind over K
irl's form and whispered, "Shoc." Lightning crashed on Kirl splintering around his shield and blasting chunks of stone from the platform. Juxta threw lightning again and again.
Kirl's face started to bend and twist, where there was confidence before, a stark breath of fear began to show on its edges. The light boiling in the diamond fixed in his staff started to spin at an unholy pace before flickering and twinkling out. He crumpled to the ground. He shouted, "Quarter!"
Juxta smiled a wicked smile and threw yet another lightning bolt and another. Kirl lay motionless on the platform. Juxta started pulling in more power for the killing blow.
A member of the high council stood up and shouted, "Stop this!" and struck his staff on the ground.
The council member shouted, "Come brothers, we must protect Kirl!" The entire high council stood up and cast their united shield around Kirl. "We won't let you kill him!"
Juxta turned on the spectator stands, a hundred magi stood ready to fight him, each of them summoning their own vortexes of power. Juxta looked at them and smiled. He shouted so all of them could hear. "I expected more from Weslan's best!"
Teresa ran out onto the field and hugged Juxta, squeezing him tight. Simon and William approached him, smiling.
A servant approached them and offered to escort them to their quarters with the promise that the council would meet them in the morning.
When they got back to the guest quarters, Juxta asked the servant to bring them another meal.
William said, "Juxta, what is this chosen one legend?"
Juxta shook his head back and forth.
"They kind of implied it was a bad thing," Teresa said.
Simon said, "They did."
"Let's ask the council about it in the morning," William said. "Before we retire, Juxta, if you're not too tired, can you scry on my father to see if he lives? And the castle?"
"Yes, of course." Juxta still had power to burn from the duel and set about the task. After a long pause, Juxta said, "The king still lives, stashed away in the central mausoleum in Tercia." Juxta peered into the orb a second time. "The castle seems fine. Hmmm… There are fresh graves in the courtyard. At least fifty."
Juxta, Magi Page 14
