Laugh of Destruction (Book 3 of the Death Incarnate Saga)

by Jr H. Lee Morgan

  In what would take the course of two months to fully germinate wheat took fifteen minutes. The head stood proudly alone with a healthy green stalk before browning and ripe for harvesting.

  When he felt that the process was over he turned around to say “That was easy, but it does take a fair amount of mana.”

  “Oh really?” Megdline’s lips quirked. “I sensed a few flaws in your process which made growth seem more difficult, but in the end it will be edible when ground up. The taste will also be off because of the errors. You must practice to get the proper feel of how to grow anything. Because you have much knowledge on how plants seem to work, the errors will become known to you soon. When you’ve perfected this skill you will be able to grow dozens of plants at a time. Stick with simple plants that produce food like wheat, corn, potatoes and so on. Do not start on trees just yet for they require vast amounts of mana and are slightly more complex. Now answer me two questions so I know you understand certain hazards. First, what did that plant require most of to grow so rapidly and secondly, why would it be fatal to grow a living animal in a similar way?”

  The warlock sat back to ponder the questions while reflecting over the whole process and experience. Cage eventually came to an understanding. “Water needs to be present, lots actually. It soaked up quite a bit to speed the absorbed minerals around the plant. To do more would need a well saturated ground… As for doing that to another creature would be deadly because the vascular system isn’t strong enough to speed blood that fast without creating disaster. Plus since plants don’t have a brain like an animal’s they won’t be harmed because of this.”

  “Very astute, Dimwit.” Megdline complimented.

  Frill opened his mouth to say “When the storm passes we’ll say farewells. Until then, practice growing food you’ll likely find. You’ll never go hungry again.”

  “Granny, Do you have other seeds I can try out?”

  “Why of course.” Megdline began stuffing an arm down the pocket of her bright yellow robe to begin extracting bag after bag of seeds she brought just to teach him. In a few minutes over sixty, size differing bags of seeds and spuds ready to plant were removed. She separated the seeds into fruits and vegetables to explain each individual color meant a specific plant. He let her explain, but after all his training in the covert military squad, survival skills and vegetarian habits, he could tell what each seed is by heart, but he was beyond surprised when he located a coffee bean bag and a cacao bag which would all go for great use for a hot cup of coffee and chocolate, but he’d need to refrain for those seeds grew on trees and would try once he became confident in growing less complicated plants.

  Those two comforts made his mouth water anyway.

  Cage tried corn to find it grew quite different than wheat and began to notice the minor errors because he bit into an ear of corn to find it didn’t taste quite right. It should have been sweet, but it was bland. He did six more plants before exhaustion overcame him. He woke Moril as promised and crawled back on the fur and beneath the robe. His presence was missed even asleep as both Brooke and Meeka’s arms pulled him close.

  The moment his head came to a rest, he was out like a light.

  Cage woke as soon as he felt Brooke and Meeka begin to stir and found himself smiling even before their eyes opened. Meeka blinked before understanding where they were and not needing to expect being locked behind bars. Brooke’s hand moved to rub Meeka’s taught belly from behind and gently kissed the side of her fair neck. Meeka exposed her neck, inviting more attention and received it. Cage also leaned forward to kiss the blonde bombshell on the forehead. “How are you feeling?” He asked.

  “Wooonderful.” Meeka groaned in a stretch before giving a quick kiss to her man and woman. She sat up to look outside at the continuing storm. “It must be early afternoon… Those plants weren’t there before.” She noted aloud.

  “Yeah… Granny taught me how to grow plants from seeds after you two fell asleep. I still have a lot of corrections to make before they turn out right, but I now have the tools to grow whatever we need so our tribe doesn’t starve the winter.”

  Brooke stared openly. “Amazing… So our people will not need to worry for food. Are any plants you made edible?”

  “Edible and tasty are two entirely different things.” He chuckled. “I have serious work to do to make the food taste right. At the moment, nothing does. Even if the flavor is off, it is edible and nourishing.”

  Brooke stood and suddenly ran out into the rain to retrieve a piece of corn and returned to find everyone awake besides Megdline and Frill. She approached with the prize and sat near the fire with everyone else as her mates knelt on either side of her. She husked the corn to reveal varying colors her people are accustomed to and grabbed an empty bowl of water to boil it quickly over the fire. Silence rained as they watched her test the food and when she felt it ready she pulled out the corn, let it cool and bit into it and grimaced. “Cage Love, you definitely need more practice for our hunting dogs would rather starve than eat this.”

  Cage chuckled as Meeka and Sean also asked for a bite to reveal revulsion and send others laughing.

  Megdline and Frill roused at the mirth and came over by the fire. She met Cage’s understanding gaze and allowed her to say “Everyone, I have something to say.” The others all turned to them, and Daku sat up to peer over the fire. “Frill and I will be leaving in a few minutes for home.” Megdline explained her reasoning and saw the tribal people understood just why it was necessary. “I apologize if this isn’t the right time since we are in enemy territory, but Cage and Daku here will be plenty strong so long as you do not wage another campaign against the empire. I will make it back in six days, hopefully.”

  “We have who we came for.” Brooke said while wrapping an arm around Meeka’s naked lower back. “We’re heading straight for our new home and reunite with our people. There is nothing keeping us here except the current storm.”

  Daku nodded. “It will take me four to five days of flying to reach the island. The storm will actually benefit me since the air currents will be changing course and give me a push. The wind in this area should act as it had though I haven’t flown this part of the world in eight hundred years or so. I will be waiting for the two of you in Kote so long as we aren’t spotted or attacked.”

  “Then I will leave without delay.” Her kind grey eyes scanned the group, finding fast friends in each of them. With but a focused thought her staff flew into her hand as she stood. “Farewell, Friends. I will see all of you soon.”

  “Wait a moment.” Megdline stopped and turned back around to find Meeka standing and walking quickly around the fire. Meeka spread her arms and tightly embraced the much shorter sorceress as she couldn’t hold back the tears. Megdline returned the hug gladly. “Megdline, thank you so much for guiding Cage and helping everyone come rescue me. If there is any way I could ever repay you, don’t hesitate to ask. Because of you, everyone survived.”

  “It was a group effort, but I’m glad it all succeeded just to see you smiling again.” Megdline watch the beauty smile deeply. “Child, I was glad to do what I could and don’t feel sad. I’ll be back soon, promise. Besides, Cage and I discussed growing a home for me to live there while I continue to teach him. You will be seeing a lot of me. Be with your new family.”

  “Give Gramps my best.” Cage called out.

  “Not before I give him my best.” Megdline winked mischievously before stepping away with Frill. A golden archway of light suddenly appeared and stood several inches taller and wider than the sorceress. Frill meowed his goodbye before stepping through the light and disappeared. Megdline gave a wave before turning around and get consumed in the flat arch of light.

  With a faint pop she and the light disappeared.

  “Chief, I’m in the mood to dance. Can you play us music?” Moril requested.

  Cage grinned and moved away to retrieve his ocarina. By the time he returned the others also stripped completely, even
Sean. Cage sat and placed his lips over the mouthpiece and ran his fingers over the holes to play an exciting tune he made up on the spot.

  Meeka suddenly joined and sang her heart out in a musical voice only a truly gifted person is born with and her perfect soprano pitch livened the song. Brooke began to dance with her people with an innate grace that few could match. She took Sean’s hand and taught him a tribal dance while laughing as he botched the moves.

  Then surprisingly, Daku began to dance in his own way and was poetry in motion as he moved fluidly whether he danced on the ground or flew around the cave. He let out a shrill roar of excitement which complemented the beat of music and dance. Back together, they partied while the storm continued.

  Chapter 2

  “The storm has finally passed!” Lanna said as she returned to the cave with residual rain clinging to her coppery flesh. “I can see the stars again with a few lingering clouds. The moon is almost full so I say it is safe to get going.”

  “Very well.” Daku said and dropped down from his shelf and half extended his wings to land lightly. “I’ve rested plenty and want the wind to carry me off the ground. Better do what you need to right now, I likely won’t land again till next nightfall. Sean, fill the canteens with the collected rainwater.” The boy nodded and hurried to comply.

  Before long the bags were bundled and the seed pouches were distributed between three packs and everyone did their business out in the woods. Daku’s size increased greatly to easily accommodate six adults, a child, their supplies and Cage insisted on bringing an eight inch deep pot he fashioned out of a stone and manipulated it by magic to carry healthy, wet soil.

  The large griffin jumped off a ledge drop-off and flew the group high above the ground and out to sea where the best winds were and the fewer eyes to spot their location. Cage erected another weak barrier to protect against the bitter cold of the higher atmosphere and wind. As Daku suspected, the wind current he located pushed in a southerly direction over the water and expedited their progress home so made it so he didn’t need to pump his wings so hard. The updrafts and strong tailwind made the flight smooth and more often to be able to glide. Lanna and Moril sat together with Zatal to keep warm like Cage did with his family.

  Sean sat with Meeka and had a long conversation while learning about each other. Brooke and Cage chose to just listen mostly to the two bond as mother and son. The dynamic relationship of multiple parents felt so natural compared to most cultures where it was a single or dual parents rule over their child. The different traits Cage had taught his son to be protective, Brooke instilled group ideals and Meeka expressed love. Cage knew that Sean would grow greatly because of this and couldn’t stop smiling as he had found a true family where he could belong.

  Cage closed his eyes, blocking everything else out and found what bound him to Daku, a chant that when spoken binds Summoner to Familiar, but below that is a difficult thread to follow which let him be able to speak regardless of distance, mind to mind. Only words could be passed, but that was sufficient and most of all private. “Daku, I’ve been wondering, you’ve been doing so much for me and my family… what pushes you to do so much for me? I feel I’m taking advantage of you, unable to truly return your generosity.”

  The great power of Daku’s mental words could be felt. “Because I can be where there is need, Partner. It has become a gift to be needed once again and my life has at last gained new meaning to it. Your power is still greatly limited, and I worry it will be our undoing but one day you will be able to understand me better. Partners should not ever lie to each other and that is our greatest strength. One day we will be one and our power will be difficult to contest. Just know that the life you had on Earth is gone forever. We will forever rely on each other. Here is where you belong so do not feel indebted to me. With me and your family.”

  “You are part of this family as well Daku.” Cage thought when he heard how his Familiar specifically worded the last part.

  A momentary pause made the power Cage felt from Daku seem to flare brighter with what he assumed was happiness. “That is a very kind thing to say.”

  Cage pulled out of the focused trance and found his friend smiling before turning to look ahead at the blackness.

  By morning Cage used a bit of magic to pull moisture from a nearby cloud and saturate the relatively dry soil of the pot for more tests and practiced growing food producing plants. Each time he failed he learned a little more and altered his process on growth. He found that different stages required different mana levels to different areas. He originally focused on equally distributing the flow, but discovered through trial and error that he had to split his mana in no less than four ways. The stems required far less than the roots which meant the leaves and fruit collected needed more to change the chlorophyll into fructose when dealing with blueberries. Success and failure always arrived at the critical taste test. None had so far gotten the correct taste, but each time everyone told him their opinion and it greatly improved progress. The intricacies of the harvest varied and each time he grew a plant, he made a small step closer.

  Due to the giant storm’s atmospheric disturbance it made collecting clouds easy since they built up all over the place. The water helped with growth, but with each failure meant the soil became less nourishing so Cage took the failed plants and had help shredding the matter and returned the pulp back into the soil and it seemed to greatly slow the nourishment loss.

  As promised Daku didn’t stop the flight till nightfall and that meant the men had to urinate where none would reach their guide’s coat and the women were forced to use a bowl and had Cage use magic to float the contents away to upend far away and wash it clean in a cloud.

  Instead of landing on the mainland, Daku located a small island that had sheer cliffs on all sides and would be impossible for anyone to call it home. It was suitable shelter for a few hours rest and in that time they broke out the last of the meat and tubers for another stew.

  Another attempt at growing a cranberry resulted in Cage staring down at a full green bush with bright red bulbs. He plucked one and blinked a few times as the juices exploded on the taste buds. He tried another and felt growing excitement. He picked up his pot and brought it over to the fire where Daku hadn’t shrunk and lifted his great head. The others also looked and groaned, knowing what he was about to say. Of course he didn’t disappoint “Tell me what you think?” and sat the potted plant down.

  Sean got up the nerve to test the latest result first. He plucked one and ate it. The surprise grew in his brown eyes. “Dad! This is good! What is this?!”

  “A cranberry. It is both sweet and tart.”

  “May I have a few more?” He asked excitedly.

  “Go ahead.”

  Sean grabbed his bowl and began picking till it was half full and in that time everyone else’s surprise was genuine. After so many failures he got one right and smiles grew around. Cage even picked a handful and placed it in the recess of Daku’s bottom beak. He couldn’t chew since he didn’t have teeth, but his strong tongue did the work. “This will not nourish me, but the taste is rather remarkable.” As a strict carnivore, Cage knew Daku couldn’t live off fruit. His beak was meant for tearing chunks of meat, not mashing produce.

  He attempted doing sweet corn, but the sixteenth try that night gained approval and filled stomachs.

  Before falling asleep for a few hours Moril commented “Chief, keep working on this skill. I will stomach whatever you make if it will feed our people.”

  “I’ll do my best, but each plant is so different.” He said while picking a few kernels to see if he can continue to produce more with each growth as what would naturally occur. “I need sleep. All this magic has worn me out.”

  “You’ve earned rest, Cage Love.” Brooke said while kissing him on the cheek.

  Three more days brought them well out of Laqura Empire territory as they’ve crossed the Jamma Ocean to follow Vlara’s coastline to their left all day. Seeing the land a
nd coast made each sigh since Laqura Empire’s hold was nonexistent here beyond some trading opportunities. Each one sighed at the relaxing land where Meeka pointed out different places and told stories. The Utala listened attentively since this land would be part of their life one day in the future. Meeka also recounted the stories of when she was first captured and Cage saved her then too and recounted their adventures to the point of becoming Utala. Her musical voice and ability to spin a story was impossible not to listen, even hearing it all over again.

  Then as evening began to approach with a few short hours remaining Daku’s body shifted uneasily and Cage stood as he’d been the only one to understand the slight twinge in the wing muscles. He walked over and stood on a shoulder when he saw the outline of his island as a small dot in the distance. “What’s the matter?”

  Daku remained silent and Cage watched those large blue eyes and the miniscule shifting to know he was seeing far beyond the range of human sight. In an irritated tone the griffin asked “I thought you said no one would be allowed to set so much as a foot on your island per the human king’s promise.”

  In a serious and calm tone Cage asked “Are you saying…?”

  “That humans are on the beach…? Yes.” Daku explained.

  Immediately Cage conjured a sight mirror and focused on an aerial view of his island and spotted smoke and that of a battleship anchored near the two skull pillars which would be the only point of access on or off the island due to the deadly reefs that surround it. He zoomed in and found a blue crow on the sail which was the standard of Vlara and that of King Tate. On the pristine white beach were two moored rowboats and a company of men walking around or sitting near a pair of campfires. A tent had been erected nearby and Cage sent a spell to seek any other humans on the island and the spell proved effective as a pair of robed mages stood at the top of the lone mountain on the island where everything could be seen.