Mercenaries of Wresllo (AU,M/L,ADULT) COMPLETE - 3/11/11

[Shadowlynxbehr]

BANNER BY BEHRSGIRL77

Title: Mercenaries of Wresllo
Author: Shadowlynxbehr
Disclaimer: Don't own anything except for the clothes I'm wearing and my laptop! My cats own everything else .
Pairing: M/L, M/M, I/A AND K/T
Rating: ADULT, due to sexual nature and the way people lived before the convieniences of our modern world .
Summary: The adventures of a group of wandering mercenaries led by a knight and his right hand, a highly skilled woodland elf Max is a knight with a group of helpers, his right hand being Liz, a woodland elf. She is highly skilled in archery and woodland/earth magic. Michael is an ex-thief who is now partners with Maria, a skilled fighter (gymnast skilled with blades). Kyle is a hired hand skilled in hand to hand and heavy weaponry like axes. Tess is a white witch with magic focusing on the mind and sky. Alex is a warlock who turned from his evil 'master' and Isabel is an enchantress skilled with using touch and emotions as part of her spells.

Author's Note: I'm not sure where this idea came from. I think I once saw another anime series about a group of wanderers or maybe it was a story I once read. Either way the only thing I can think of that's not my original idea is the 'group of mercenaries' the rest of this story is all from my imagination Oh, and the word is pronounced: res as in reservation and yo as in YO!

Edited on 8/14/2010 to add this:
I found some information that has been a great help in fleshing out the powers and personalities of the magic users in this story, the source is http://www.angelfire.com/la/redwitch1/elements.html but here's my version of how my characters will be....

An earth magic person is patient, stable, strong and warm. She can call to animals and nature. She wears mostly greens, but also browns, blacks and purples. Has a pentacle or stone bowl somewhere on her person to help with her magic. When she’s a high earth person she’s practical, down to earth, a hard worker and stable with a little stubbornness thrown into the mix. When she is a low earth person she seems confused, insecure, alone, unable to feel wanted and her work may be affected. She can manipulate the earth and is strongly physical and aware of body language, plus she has good instincts. She tends to work mostly with herbs, plants, gems and crystals.

A water magic person is intuitive, insightful and beautiful. She can help with conception, pregnancy, fertility, health, and the sustaining of life. She wears mostly blues, but also light grays, sea greens and whites. Has a cup or chalice with colored or clear water to scry with. When she’s a high water person her slightest touch opens emotions but it can cause overemotional or overdramatic responses if she’s not careful. When she’s a low water person she appears cold, calculating, indifferent and unresponsive. She can manipulate liquids and emotions. She tends to work mostly with liquids, gems, stones and anything from the sea such as shells as well as the sea animals.

An air magic person is carefree, whimsical, quick/speedy and values freedom of expression/thoughts, friendship, and clarification. She can help using her knowledge, memory, intellect, persuasion and reason. She wears mostly yellows, but also white, light blues and greens. Has a wand, athame or smoke/incense for help with her magic. When she’s a high air person when she’s at ease in complex situations and can sit and think things through and carry through with decisions. When she’s a low air person she’s without direction and can’t reason out alternatives and objectives. She can manipulate weather/air and minds. She tends to work mostly with the weather and any object that gives a reflection, plus the inflection of verbal and nonverbal words add power to her spells.

A fire magic person is creative, passionate, confident, courageous, enthusiastic, intelligent, forceful and usually takes initiative. He can induce lust, desire, fertility, virility and rejuvenation with his magic. He wears mostly reds, but also oranges and gold. Has a staff, athame or sword to help with his magic. When he’s a high fire person he’s bold, dramatic and passionate. When he’s a low fire person he can be cold, slow to act and without enthusiasm for life or self as well as jealous, angry, aggressive and hard to control. He can manipulate fire and energy/spirit. He tends to work mostly with fire, herbs and candles plus he can harness the power of the sun if needed.

Now on with the story...

Part 1

The wind came up out of nowhere, or so he thought until he caught the blur of movement out of the corner of his eye. Then a second later, the flash of a sword slashed through one of the conjured warriors, making the two halves fall to the ground and begin to wither like old rotting vegetation.

He’d been about to tell the swordsman that these things couldn’t be killed until he’d seen the two halves begin to wither. After all, he’d just spent the last several moments trying to do just that with his axe.

Kyle Valenti had been hired by the small village of Markin to help them get rid of a group of men who were bullying the residents. These five men were all huge, boisterous, brawny men compared to the peaceful villagers. So, when Kyle came through the village and the people realized he was a traveling hired hand, they immediately asked him to deal with the group in exchange for a few hot meals, all the ale he could drink, and room and board.

Never one to turn down free meals or drink, he agreed to do it, especially since there were only five men. Unfortunately, no one had known that one of those men happened to carry some magic stones with him. Kyle had only been expecting to fight five human men since he was skilled in hand to hand combat and could wield most heavy pieces of weaponry that the metal smiths had invented.

In fact, he’d been using his favorite axe when he’d gone out to confront the five men only to have one of them pull out the stones from the pouch he carried. Kyle had only managed to bring down one of the five men before a few stones had been tossed on the ground and began to grow into what looked like more men.

Thinking all he had to do was plow through them with his axe, Kyle had done so to the first few men. Then he’d watched in growing dread as the halves of those men seemed to grow again until he was now facing twice as many as before.

As he began to berate himself for thinking with his stomach once again, he tried to force his way through the new army of men to get to the last remaining four of the original group. He figured if he could defeat those four, then this stone army would go away too.

That’s when he’d felt the wind suddenly begin to rise out of nowhere. As it grew stronger and stronger, whipping his hair into his eyes and sending grass and leaves into the air, he’d seen the swordsman come rushing by before he sliced through the stone army as if they were nothing.

Still, Kyle had already witnessed the magic of the army and had been about to tell his new helper about that when he realized that the two halves weren’t growing again. Instead, they writhed around the ground quickly withering into what looked like old rotting vegetation until they’d simply seemed to dissolve into the ground.

The swordsman hadn’t even stopped to watch that happen, instead he went right on slicing through the rest of the stone army as if he was used to this sort of thing. Seeing that he could do what he’d been hired to do, Kyle got his wits about him and rushed towards the remaining four men knowing that the swordsman would keep the army occupied.

The first one he went after was the one who’d been carrying the magic pouch. As he rushed the man, he tossed his axe towards the other two. They quickly scurried out of the whirling axe’s way while Kyle launched himself at his intended victim.

The man tried to scramble away from Kyle’s attack, only to stumble over a plant. That mistake allowed Kyle to grab him by the shoulders and toss him down to the ground where he made quick work of him. Leaving the body behind, Kyle jumped to his feet intending to run after the last two men, only to realize they were both not far away from him, seemingly entangled in a mess of vines and bushes.

The only thought that went through Kyle’s mind as he rushed the last two was where the heck those bushes and vines had come from. Then he was on one of the men as the last one continued to struggle with the plants. Kyle was amazed to see that the plants had receded from the man he was now fighting with as if the plants knew Kyle would take care of things now.

Quickly finishing off that man, he took the chance to glace back at the swordsman and the remaining stone army. What he saw, stopped him in his tracks.

There were only a handful of the army left, the rest had disappeared completely. And the swordsman was still quickly disposing of those that were left. But that wasn’t the thing that had made him pause. It was the woman who seemed to be hovering in the air not too far from where the swordsman was.

She had delicate pointed ears visible beneath the long flowing brown hair that seemed to float in the air around her and a fierce looking bow with a matching quiver of arrows was slung across her back. Dressed in various shades of browns and greens, with some black and purple accents she was obviously ready for anything. Unlike most females, she wore a simple jerkin and leggings with thigh high boots which was an outfit meant for active wear.

Her concentration seemed to be solely on the swordsman as her hands weaved patterns in the air in front of her chest and her mouth seemed to be moving as if she were chanting. Suddenly everything seemed to fall into place for Kyle. The woman was an elf and obviously one of the more powerful ones since she could do everything she was currently doing all at one time.

Kyle knew it was her magic that allowed the swordsman to cut down the army and make them all dissolve into the ground. He also knew she was the one who’d tripped the man with the magic stones and made those bushes and vines trap the last two so he could finish them off. And that wind that had come out of nowhere had to have been summoned by her. Clearly the two of them had taken on the stone army and allowed him to do the job he’d been originally hired to do.

The sounds of the last struggling man brought him out of his musings, making him turn his attention back to the job at hand. He whirled around and stalked towards the man as the plants began to fade away. Grabbing the man by the front of his shirt, he yanked him close and growled into his face.

“Want to tell me why you and your friends decided to bully the village of Markin?”

The man sneered at him. “Why not? They’n ripe for the pickin’s! T’ain’t nobody ‘round for miles to hear ‘em scream!”

Kyle narrowed his eyes. “They didn’t mention that you had killed anyone.”

He laughed. “Nay yet.”

“What?” hissed Kyle. “What were you waiting for then?”

He narrowed his own eyes at Kyle. “Dat’s for us to know an’ nobody else.”

Kyle shoved him back. “Yeah, well looks like you failed.”

The man righted himself and charged Kyle, yelling at him. “You gonna pay for dat! You as good as marked for death now!”

Kyle laughed. “Yeah, I’m so scared. You and how many men are gonna come for me now?”

The man roared as he launched himself at Kyle, but Kyle was quicker. Lifting his axe, he swung it out and stopped the man in mid-leap. Stunned, the man looked down at the axe now embedded in his chest right before he collapsed in a heap near Kyle’s feet.

Kyle grimaced as he leaned down and pulled the axe out of the dead man’s chest. Kneeling down, he wiped the blades on the cleanest portion of the man’s shirt before rising to his feet again. He inspected the blades of the axe for a few moments before turning to see how the swordsman and his elf helper were holding up.

The entire army was now nowhere in sight and the swordsman was busy with his horse which Kyle hadn’t noticed before. Blinking in disbelief, Kyle wondered where the horse had come from as he watched the swordsman mount the horse and lend a hand to the elf to swing her up behind him.

Shaking his head, he quickly jogged to their side, calling out to them.

“Hey there, good people! You can’t leave without letting me thank you for your help first!”

The swordsman turned to him with a grin and a nod. “You’re welcome, axe man.”

Kyle chuckled as he held out his hand towards the man. “Name’s Kyle Valenti, muscle for hire.”

The swordsman shook his offered hand. “Max Evans and this is the Lady Elizabeth Parker.”

The elf rolled her eyes as she too shook Kyle’s hand. “It’s Liz, not Lady Elizabeth. And his name is Sir Maxwell Evans.”

Kyle glanced back at Max to really take in his appearance. Sure enough, he had the markings of a knight of the land despite being in only a green shirt, light armor and worn pants. Granted, those markings weren’t obvious unless you were looking for them which told Kyle this knight was off duty. Still, he recognized the sword and scabbard he carried as well as the small tattoo of a sword entwined with holly leaves and a crown encircling the blade of the sword on the right wrist. Kyle had no doubt the rest of the knight’s uniform was tucked away in one of the packs the horse carried.

“Well, Sir Evans and Lady Liz, would you both be so kind as to allow me to treat you to a hot meal at the village tavern as payment for your help?”

The knight shook his head. “There’s no need to pay us. We didn’t help for monetary gain.”

Kyle raised an eyebrow. Spoken like a true knight. “Be that as it may, I’d still like to offer you a free meal. Even if it’s only for the company and the story of how a knight such as yourself came to be in the presence of one of the elusive ones.”

Max glanced over his shoulder at Liz for a few moments before turning to slowly nod at Kyle. “All right then.”

Kyle grinned. “Great, there’s a tavern in the village. The Hunted Stag. It has some of the best roasted meat this side of the mountains.”

************************************************************************

“So you’re retired then?” asked Kyle as he dug into the already half eaten meal on the table in front of him.

Max shrugged and took another swig of his ale. “You could say that.”

Liz huffed. “He’s not really as retired as you would think.”

Max turned to give the elf a look as if to say stop butting in, which made Kyle grin.

“You always fill in the blanks for him?” asked Kyle.

Liz nodded as if she were serious. “Yes. Since he always tells half truths, I tell the rest of it.”

Max frowned at her. “I don’t tell half truths! I just don’t go around telling my life story to every stranger I meet.”

Liz quirked her head to the side as she looked at him. “Yes, I know that, but Kyle is not an enemy.”

Max’s frown only deepened. “You know, how am I supposed to have the upper hand if you keep talking to everyone as if you’ve known them forever.”

Kyle listened to the way the two of them argued amongst themselves. It was clear they’d been working for a while together since they seemed to be so at ease with each other. Still, he could understand why Max wouldn’t be so quick to open up to strangers. In the world they lived in, you could get your throat slit while you slept by someone whom you had fought side by side with. While it wasn’t common, it could happen.

Since Max was a knight of the land, it was obvious he’d been trained as such. To always be on his guard, trust no one, and always to protect and serve the people. Liz on the other hand wasn’t human, which meant Kyle wasn’t quite familiar with the way she’d been taught about life. So far, it seemed she was a bit too naïve and too trusting of human beings.

Liz huffed again. “Go ahead, sit and brood in the corner if you want. I know what I see Max and Kyle is not going to betray us.”

Kyle blinked at her words. “H-how do you know that?”

Liz gave him a smile. “I’m a woodland elf. My powers lie in the use of earth magic and the reading the body language of almost anything. I have good instincts and my instincts are considered some of the best of my kind.”

Kyle’s eyes went wide. “Really?”

She nodded. “Um hm. And my instincts are telling me that you are earnest. You really want nothing more than a good meal and a good story.”

He grinned. “Yeah. Although I’ve been told I’m not all that complicated of a person to begin with.”

Liz chuckled. “Sometimes it’s the simple things in life that make it worthwhile.”

This time Kyle beamed as he turned to look at Max. “Wow, you sure you want to travel with him? I think I could use someone like you at my back.”

Liz turned to look at Max with a sigh. “Sorry, I can’t.”

Max rolled his eyes. “She’s free to make her own choices.”

Liz shook her head as she turned to look down at the table. “You know that’s not true,” she replied in a low voice.

Kyle looked from one to the other before looking back at Liz. “So, since you think I can be trusted, what’s the story then? How come you’re with him?”

Liz glanced at Max once more before turning to look at Kyle for a few moments. Then, she began to quietly tell the story of how a knight like Max had ended up with a woodland elf like Liz.

Max Evans had been raised on a farm with only his aging father and crippled older brother as family. His mother had died giving birth to his baby sister who had only lived two weeks past her mother’s death. He’d spent most of his young life working hard on the farm, helping his father since his older brother had lost his right leg in a foolish hunting accident.

Soon, even his father could no longer keep up with all the work on the farm and Max had to shoulder all of the burden at the age of fourteen. Four years later, he decided to enlist in the knight’s service despite the protests of his father. Max felt it was the only way to put food on the table for him and his family.

A hard worker and quick learner, Max soon began to make his way up the ranks of the knights and sent most of his pay back home to his father and brother. During his time as a knight, Max began to believe in the system of the knighthood. That they were there to serve and protect those who could not do so themselves.

He served for two years before he began to realize that what he believed in wasn’t as true as he’d once thought. The knights didn’t serve and protect all of those who couldn’t do it themselves. They only did so for those who lived on the official lands of the kingdom.

This truth came when he got word that the village near his father’s farm had been attacked and burned to the ground. Asking why no one was rallying to go find the attackers and help those survivors, he was told that the village was not part of the official kingdom. Afraid for his family, Max got permission to leave and returned to the farm, only to find his brother dead and his father dying of a festering wound in his side.

Max tried to care for his father, who told Max how proud he was of him. He also told Max not to mourn for him when he died because he hadn’t done anything worth remembering, but he knew Max would someday amount to something. He had always known Max was the one who would bring honor to the Evans name.

Max had quietly buried his father and brother next to each other a week after he’d returned to the farm. Then, retrieving the few things he wanted to keep from his birth home, he burned the rest of it to the ground so that there would be nothing left for scavengers.

Once he’d said his goodbyes, he returned to the knights and continued to work with them for a couple of more years. While he continued to rise in the ranks, becoming incredibly skilled with using most kinds of swords, those around him knew his heart was no longer in it. In time, he’d become one of the highest ranking knights in the kingdom with his sword skills and his quick, agile, athletic fighting abilities.

Knowing he could learn nothing more, he had retired from the service with their permission and decided to set out on his own to continue serving and protecting those who needed it. However, his services would be for all of those in need, not just those of the kingdom or those with the means to hire him. He served those in need without ever expecting anything in return.

For nearly three years Max had wandered from place to place with only the few possessions he kept in his packs and the horse he’d earned from his service with the knights. During those years he helped anyone who asked for it, even if it meant just helping them to build their new home or farm.

While he did it out of the goodness of his heart, he didn’t turn away free meals or a nice dry barn to sleep in when it was offered. Granted, he still had his earnings from being a knight, but it never hurt to accept small gifts in the form of food or shelter from time to time, but he never asked for it outright.

It was during this time when Max met a group of woodland elves. He’d made camp in a forest one night and had just gotten settled to sleep for the night when he’d heard what sounded like fighting deeper in the forest. Since it was not in his nature to just let others fight it out, he gathered up his sword and donned his armor before rushing into the forest to see if his help was needed.

He came upon a battle between a group of elves and trolls which made him pause and hide to observe before making his presence known. It soon became clear to him that the elves were defending their home which the trolls were intent on plundering and destroying.

Woodland elves valued the forests and all of nature while trolls generally liked to ravish anything they could get their hands on. Once they’d had their fill, they retreated back to their underground lairs to wait for the sun to go down again so they could go out and gleefully ravish things all over again.

Once Max was certain that the trolls were in the wrong and the elves were just trying to defend their homes, he stealthily made his way behind the trolls and began to attack them from behind while driving them into the elven fighters. He managed to hold them there until the archers arrived and helped him to trap the trolls between them and the fighters on the other side.

Soon the trolls began to flee for their lives and some of them managed to escape with just that, while others fell beneath the arrows and fighting skills of the elves as well as Max’s sword. Not wanting to offend the elves, Max bowed to them and tried to take his leave but was stopped by a few of them who asked him to follow them to their home.

Max was led even deeper into the forest and became one of the few humans to see the tree dwellings of the elves. There, he was taken up into one of the dwellings and introduced to the leader of that group of woodland elves. Feyjer Karpre thanked Max for helping his people out. Because of him, they were able to keep the trolls occupied until the archers could arrive and finish them off.

Max told Feyjer that he was only doing what he’d been trained to do, but upon further discussion with Max over an elven meal Feyjer realized just what kind of rare human Max really was. This was a selfless, kind, yet lonely man who believed his purpose was to help all of those in need. No matter if they be human or not, Max wasn’t judgmental at all.

After the meal, Feyjer had Max escorted to a room where Max’s things had been placed for his overnight stay. While they’d been eating, Feyjer had sent some of his people to retrieve Max’s belongings, while others had made a room ready for him. Max would stay the night in relative safety, then Feyjer would have some of his people escort Max back to the edge of the forest in the morning.

However, after Max woke, dressed, and went to join Feyjer for breakfast before leaving the elven community, Feyjer had one last gift to give Max. Albeit, a gift that would only be his for a short amount of time before she returned to her people.

Zilathebe Karpre was a rarity among the elves. Even at the young age of two hundred and twenty-three, she was highly skilled with using earth magic. She was also adept at reading body language, had near perfect instincts and could use a bow and arrow with the best of them.

Feyjer told Max that Zilathebe would be traveling with him for a time and would lend her skills to assist him when he needed them. Her assistance was the way the elves felt they owed Max for what he’d done to help them.

At first, Max tried to tell them that he didn’t need assistance and that they really didn’t need to send one of their people to accompany him. He thought her skills would be put to better use defending their home, but Feyjer had insisted and Max knew Zilathebe wasn’t going to disobey the leader of the elves. Most of all, he knew she was not about to disobey her father’s orders.

It didn’t take much at all for Max to realize that besides sharing a last name, they also looked similar with their long dark hair and brown eyes. There was also the sense of loyalty and honor that they shared too.

So, Max left that day with his new companion and a new horse since the one he’d earned from the knight’s service was getting on in years. Together, they’d traveled to a nearby town where Max had Zilathebe purchase some clothing that would help her blend in with the human population and where he’d also given his former horse to an elderly couple who needed a horse to get them to and fro.

Before setting out again, both he and Zilathebe decided that she would be called Elizabeth or Liz for short since the letters of her name could be shifted to spell just that. It was the same for her last name which could be shifted to spell Parker. Since then, it had been three more years of wandering from place to place, helping all of those in need.

Kyle whistled as he sat back in his seat. “Man, that was some tale. Wish mine was even half as interesting as that one.”

Max shrugged as he nursed his now warm ale. “It’s not all that exciting really. She’s just a good storyteller.”

Liz quirked an eyebrow at him. “Good? Just a fortnight ago you were telling me I told great stories!”

Max cracked the first smile he’d worn since Kyle had met him. “Can’t let it all go to your head now, can I?”

Liz could only return his smile before he turned back to Kyle. “Valenti huh? I take it you’re not from around here?”

Kyle chuckled. “Oh but I am. Born and bred in the village of Knotwing. My father was the foreigner though. Came from overseas on an exploring vessel and liked this land so much he stayed, met my mother, and settled down in her village. Soon, the family expanded to include James the second and Melissa. That’s my older brother and sister. Then came me and finally the youngest brother, Nicholas.”

Liz smiled. “You come from a large family then.”

He nodded. “Yep, it was getting so big that I just had to leave the village and strike out on my own. Dad gave me his blessings, so did my sibs, but my mom was a little hesitant to let me go. Then again, she’s like that with all of her kids. Likes keeping them close you know. Still, a man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do.”

“So you decided to see the world?” asked Liz.

“Well, you could say that. Mostly, I just wanted to get out of that village. It really didn’t matter where I went from there. I figured I could hire myself out as muscle for whatever jobs I could find. Having two brothers and a father that loved to tussle really paid off for me. If it wasn’t for constantly having to watch my back and the fact that dad made sure every one of us knew how to use an axe, I don’t think I could have gotten as far as I have.”

“It’s a good skill you have Kyle. There’s not many men who can wield an axe as effortlessly as you seem to do. Not even I can wield an axe like that. My skill lies with swords.”

Kyle couldn’t help but feel pride at the subtle praise that Max had just given him. “Well, you may not be able to wield an axe like me, but I’ll bet you could best me in a hand to hand fight. Plus you have the elusive ones on your side. How many humans can say that?”

Liz grinned as she patted Max’s arm. “Ooooh, he’s got you there!”

Max shook his head at Liz’s teasing, but smiled at them both. “Well Kyle, you now know the story of how I came to be in Liz’s company and we’ve heard your story too. But now, I think it’s time for Liz and I to be finding a place to rest for the night since we will more likely be heading out at first light.”

As he and Liz stood up, Max held his hand out to Kyle. “It was a pleasure meeting you Kyle Valenti.”

Kyle rose to his feet too and took Max’s hand. “Same here. Although, I think I can solve the resting place problem for you. See, I’ve been given use of the largest room in the tavern to sleep in for the night. And since it has lots of room, I can ask the owner if there be two extra pallets we can move into the room. I know he’d be more than willing to give us that since we got rid of those bullies for the town. What do you say Max? Share a room with me tonight and in the morning we can discuss maybe traveling together for a time?”

Max grinned. “As good as that sounds, I’m going to have to decline. You work for money Kyle. Liz and I have no need of that.”

Kyle nodded. “I know that. But I think we can actually benefit from each other. I could use someone to hone my skills with. Someone who is a professional fighter and has been around some. All I’m asking is that I can travel with you for just a fortnight or two. Just for a bit to brush up on some of my skills. If I take any jobs during that time, I’d be willing to share my earnings with you two, in exchange for whatever you could teach me. How ‘bout it, Max?”

Liz nudged Max’s shoulder with her own. “Oh come on Max. You said we’re here to help others. Kyle clearly wants our help. Having him travel with us for a while can’t hurt much. He’s obviously used to living on the go just like we are, aren’t you Kyle?”

He nodded vigorously. “Yes, I’m used to spending nights under the stars with nothing but stale bread and the local vegetation to fill my belly. It’s part of my job. Been doing it for years now.”

Max just stood there for a few minutes while both Kyle and Liz seemed to be giving him hopeful looks when he finally sighed in defeat. “Okay, fine. We’ll be glad to have you along Kyle.”

Kyle grinned as he shook Max’s hand once more. “Thanks, Max! I know you won’t regret it! You’ll see, this could be the beginning of something great!”

Liz laughed as she looped her arm through both Kyle and Max’s arms as they made their way towards the stairs that led to the rooms. “Kyle, I think you might just be right!”

TBC...

[Shadowlynxbehr]

Part 2

“I so bested that guy! I know I did! Did you see that Liz? I really knocked him flat!”

From her position on the horse behind Max, Liz grinned at Kyle. “Yes, it’s true. You bested him, just like we knew you would. Right Max?”

Max simply nodded as his eyes continued to scan the horizon. The three of them had been traveling together for a little more than five fortnights already, much longer than Max had originally intended. However, Kyle was still learning as much as he could from Max whenever they had the chance to spar or when Max would take the time to show Kyle some maneuvers.

So, one fortnight had turned into another and another and another. Liz had seemed to take it all in stride, enjoying the friendly company of Kyle when Max went into one of his quiet, serious moods. Having the chatty Kyle along broke the monotony of the long distances between villages.

The night before they had stopped in a village to see if they could trade for some supplies when a brawl had broken out between four men. Two of them had been arguing over ownership of a horse and each one had a friend who was backing them up. Soon they were fighting until Max stepped in and asked them to politely break it up.

Only three of the men had listened. The fourth one continued to brag and rub the others the wrong way. When the others walked away, he tried to attack the one he’d been arguing with in the first place. Luckily Kyle had seen him move and was able to intercept before he could succeed.

It was actually over quicker than one would think. In almost no time at all, Kyle had the guy flat on his back despite the fact that the guy was much taller and more built than he was. When the village law finally arrived, the man had been taken away and order had been restored to the village.

The three of them had managed to trade for a good amount of supplies and were soon on their way again. When they’d camped for the night in a sheltered wooded area, Kyle was still in good spirits about the way he’d managed to get the upper hand. That good mood continued on as they had woken the next day and continued their journey.

Kyle began whistling softly as they rode on and each of them were soon lost in their own thoughts. A few furlongs later they could see the rooftops of a village in the distance. Kyle chuckled as he watched the roofs getting closer.

“So, we gonna find a place to stay for the night or just stop in and continue on?”

Max glanced at Kyle. “Since when have I done anything different? You can stay if you’d like.”

Kyle shrugged nonchalantly as he turned to look at the road once more, not even a second later he frowned.

“Max? Looks like there’s trouble up ahead.”

Max looked in the direction Kyle had pointed to. There appeared to be six men and one woman in the distance. Five of those men stood to one side while the woman and another man stood to the other side. The man that was with the woman appeared to be arguing with the other five about something.

Max, Liz, and Kyle watched as what appeared to be the leader of the five took a swing at the other man. He ducked and avoided the swing, but instead of fighting back, he appeared to take on a defensive stand. Unfortunately, the other four decided to join in and ganged up on the other man.

Max frowned. “Whatever happened to honor?”

Kyle shrugged. “Dunno, but we should at least find out what is going on. Don’t you think?”

Max nodded and they prodded the horses into a faster gait. Somehow the one man managed to get out from under the five man attack, still seemingly just using defensive moves. As they got closer, Max realized the fighting style of the man seemed a bit foreign, especially since it was mostly defensive moves he made.

However, when one of the others pulled out a few knives, the man went into an offensive mode. As the first knife flew by his shoulder and missed, he pulled out his own weapons from inside his shirt and threw them back. Max’s eyes went wide as he realized what they were.

Throwing stars. And that proved that the man was indeed fighting with a foreign style. If a person had the right skill, those weapons could either knick, incapacitate, or kill the object it was after. Max couldn’t help but admire that the man was aiming to just warn the others off rather than kill.

A few seconds after the man had pulled out his own weapons, the woman suddenly launched herself into the fray. Max heard Kyle curse under his breath before he spurred his horse into a run.

“Kyle, wait!” called out Liz.

But Kyle wasn’t one to be deterred when a damsel was in distress. Max spurred his own horse into action so that he was right behind Kyle. The moment Kyle reached them, he scrambled off his horse, grabbed his axe, and threw himself in front of the woman and one of the men who was attacking her.

The woman didn’t seem to be aware that Kyle was protecting her since she was already fighting two others as was her partner. As Max approached, Liz gracefully slid off the back of the horse and stood to the side watching as Max leaped off the horse and slid his sword out of its scabbard. He motioned for Liz to go after one of the men fighting the other man while he went to help the woman with her attackers.

Liz lifted her hands and began to chant in her elven language and a few moments later, vines shot out of the ground to tangle around the ankles of the attackers. As soon as that happened, she pulled out her bow and notched an arrow, aiming it at one of the men.

She waited for any sign that her assistance was needed, yet everyone seemed to be able to handle their business. Kyle used the handle of his axe to knock his opponent unconscious before turning to one of the other men. Max was currently fighting one of the woman’s opponents who had brandished a knife also.

The woman had pulled out a knife of her own and was fighting in a way that had Kyle literally gaping at her. He’d never seen a woman who could move as quickly and gracefully as she could. The woman was able to move out of the way of any incoming object before it impacted and she could block anything with her own knives.

Besides her defensive moves, they quickly found out that she wasn’t afraid to use her weapons offensively either. Just like the man she was with she could throw those knives with amazing precision, managing to just injure a wrist or hand making sure the owner wasn’t able to fight with certain appendages, yet still quite alive.

It didn’t take long for the five men to be bested by the others and Max was grateful that Liz hadn’t needed to use her arrows for such a petty fight. He glanced around at the men all lying or standing in states of disarray. Some of them were clearly nursing injured body parts and moaning or grumbling about it. The man who had been with the woman sat on the ground holding a bloody arm close to his ribs while the woman herself had a thin trail of blood leaking from a small cut on her cheek.

Walking over to the man he’d assumed to be the leader, Max pushed his sword beneath the man’s chin and aimed it against his throat.

“Want to tell me what this was all about?” he asked.

The man glared up at him. “This wasn’t your fight! He owed us money!”

Max glanced at the other man who shook his head. “That’s a lie! I won it fair and square!”

“You cheated, you lying thief! You scammed us all out of our winnings!”

The woman stepped forward. “He did not! He won it fairly! You and your friends were the ones trying to cheat, but he caught you all before you could!”

She looked up at Max. “That’s the only reason why they’re so angry with my partner. They’re upset that Michael wasn’t fooled by the sneaky games they were playing on everyone else. Only Michael wasn’t fooled like the others were.”

The man growled. “Yeah once a thief, always a thief! So you told on us to get the money for yourself!”

Michael frowned. “I told on you so they wouldn’t lose the money you tried to steal from them! The money I have was the amount I won without cheating! I didn’t take anything other than that!”

Max looked at Michael for a moment more before turning back to the man. “I suggest that you and your friends get up and leave immediately.”

The man continued to glare at him. “I’m not going anywhere until I get what’s owed to me.”

A couple of the other men had already risen to their feet unsteadily. One of them muttered. “Oh give it up, Amos! He didn’t steal anything, your pride is just bruised.”

Amos clenched his jaw, but wisely didn’t do anything since Kyle had walked up to Max’s side with his axe at the ready. Finally reluctantly nodding, he slowly got to his feet and began walking away with the other four men. Max and Kyle remained where they were watching as the distance between them and the other group got wider.

When they were some distance away, Amos turned back to look at them. Even from that distance, Max didn’t miss the scowl Amos still wore on his face before he turned back around. Soon the five of them had disappeared from sight and the moment they were gone, Liz sprang into action.

“Come, let me see to those wounds.”

She reached out to Michael to help him up and Max moved to help them too. The woman quickly retrieved the throwing stars and knives that littered the ground with Kyle’s help before the two of them joined the others. Liz and Max were leading Michael towards a group of trees besides the road where they had him sit on the ground and lean against a tree trunk.

As soon as he was comfortable, Liz glanced up at him. “I’m going to lift your shirt up so I can see how bad it is, okay?”

Michael nodded and moved his arm out of the way so she could inspect his injury. Max sat down on a nearby exposed root of one of the trees and began cleaning his sword while Kyle leaned back against the trunk on the other side of Max. The woman knelt down on the other side of Michael and dropped the throwing stars she’d gathered on the ground next to them.

“Is it really bad?” she asked Liz.

Michael frowned at her. “Really Maria, you always act like I’m on my death bed!”

She returned his frown. “Well excuse me for caring about a friend!”

Liz finished examining his side and looked up at them both. “The ribs just appear to be bruised. I don’t think anything is broken. I can heal it a bit to take some of the pain away, if you’d like.”

Maria’s eyes went wide. “You can do that?”

Liz nodded. “Somewhat yes. While my powers are derived from the earth, I have a little bit of magical healing powers but I’m better when dealing with medicinal herbs and other things the earth provides. However, I do have a bit of magic to make it a little less painful.”

Michael gave her a smile. “I’d appreciate whatever you can do, my lady.”

Liz leaned in and placed her hands over his ribs without putting too much pressure on the injury. Closing her eyes, she began to softly chant in her elven language while the others watched. A few moments later, she opened her eyes and gave Michael an apologetic smile.

“There. That was the best I could do.”

Michael slowly sat up and tested his side by twisting a bit. He grinned at her. “Wow! It feels much better now! I can barely feel the pain. Thanks!”

Liz nodded as she indicated Maria’s cheek. “I can clean that up for you and apply some salve that will prevent infection and scarring.”

Maria nodded with a look of awe. “Sure.”

As Liz got up to rummage in her bag that hung on the side of Max’s horse, Michael turned to the others.

“By the way, I want to thank you for your help. I know it would have turned out a lot worse for Maria and I if you three hadn’t stepped in.”

Kyle chuckled. “Think nothing of it! We were more than happy to help the two of you out.”

Max turned a frown on Kyle. “While that may be true now, you knew better than to just throw yourself into a fight Kyle! Have you learned nothing from my teaching you?”

“It was five against two! How was I to know Maria could fight as well as she could? I wasn’t about to stand by and let a lady be beaten.”

“While I am very grateful that you came to help us, I have to agree with him Kyle. You should learn to look before you leap. Sometimes looks can be deceiving. And even a woman could have been on the wrong side.”

Maria nodded. “It’s true. There are women out there who give the rest of us a really, really bad name. Luckily for you, I wasn’t one of them.”

Liz returned to sit next to Maria and began to clean the blood from her cheek and neck before thoroughly cleaning the wound itself. As she worked, Max held his hand out to Michael.

“I’m Max Evans by the way.”

Michael shook his hand. “Michael Guerin. And this is my partner, Maria DeLuca.”

Without moving much, Maria gave him a smile and wave since Liz was still working on the cut.

“Nice to meet you both. That’s Liz Parker, my partner. And this green-behind-the-ears youngster is Kyle Valenti.”

Maria chuckled. “Si, you are from over the ocean too!”

Kyle shook his head sorrowfully. “Alas my lady, I am not. I was born here in this land after my father came from over the ocean and met my mother.”

Maria shrugged. “It’s okay. I was born over the ocean, but was a wee babe when my parents traveled to this land. That is why I don’t have the accent of my birth land.”

Liz pulled out a small container and dabbed her fingers into it. She began to spread the clear gel over Maria’s cheek which made the cut stop itching and burning. Maria could feel a sort of tingling in the wound as the salve began to heal the cut.

Liz resealed the container and gave Maria a smile. “There, it should heal up in no time.”

Maria returned her smile as she nodded. “Thank you.”

Liz beamed at her as she returned the container to the bag on the horse.

“Well, now that that is done, want to fill us in on what happened to make those men go after you?” asked Max.

“Yeah,” replied Kyle. “Was it true what one of them said? You’re a thief?”

Michael sighed as he leaned back against the tree and ran his fingers through his hair. “I’m a former thief.”

“I’ll vouch for that,” said Maria. “He amended his ways years before he met me. Otherwise I’d never be a partner of his.”

“So, what made you amend your ways?” asked Kyle.

Max, who had been looking to the skies, spoke before Michael could answer. “It’s going to be dark soon. I suggest we find a place to camp for the night.”

Liz looked at Michael and Maria. “You are more than welcome to camp with us for the night.”

Max glanced at Liz with a raised eyebrow, but didn’t argue with her as Michael and Maria decided to accept her invitation.

Soon the five of them were on the road once more in search of a good place to camp for the night. About a league away they managed to find a grove of trees that created a semicircle, giving them a bit of shelter from the elements if need be.

As soon as they had gotten settled and sat around a fire to enjoy the meal of venison and greens which Max and Liz had managed to scrounge up, they listened in as Michael told how he’d first become a thief then quit before he’d joined up with Maria.

Michael Guerin had never known his father. He and his mother moved from town to town wherever his mother could find a job for the time being. When things got too tight and she couldn’t find a job, she would have to spend a night or two with a strange man, leaving Michael to fend for himself.

When he was old enough to realize that his mother was trying her hardest to provide some form of life for him, he decided to lend a hand. At first, he took jobs such as running errands and the like until those jobs dried up too. Just when it was looking bad because his mother had suddenly been struck with a serious illness, he began to look for other ways of increasing their money.

It was while he was standing on a street corner begging for a few coins when a boy only a few years older than him came up to him and offered him a job. He followed the boy to an alleyway where the boy introduced him to a group made of both boys and men who told Michael that there was a way for him to make more money than he could dream of.

At first Michael wasn’t thrilled when he realized they were thieves, but after a while he realized he needed to do something because his mother’s health was failing. Once he went back to the group, they agreed to show him how to steal without getting caught.

It was in that group where he met a man who taught him the ancient arts of the eastern lands. Through him, Michael learned to use the throwing stars and to defend himself should he need to, rather than go looking for fights to get into.

It didn’t take long before Michael became good at what he did. Still, no matter how much money he made, he couldn’t make enough to make his mother better. The very next winter, her health took a turn for the worst and within a month she had succumbed to her illness.

Michael had been seventeen when that had happened. So, he buried his mother and gathered up the few belongings he had onto his back before striking out on his own. He wandered from place to place, stealing what he needed to survive and spending any extra coin on women and ale.

Then one day, he woke up in a strange bed that smelled of stale sex and ale with a strange woman and realized his life wasn’t turning out any better than his mother’s had been. By that time, he was in his early twenties and the thought that he was disappointing his mother seemed to haunt him at every turn.

It was from that moment on that he decided he was going to try to turn over a new leaf and see if he could find something respectable to do that would make his mother proud. He’d been traveling from place to place doing odd jobs in villages and farms for food and shelter for about two years when he’d run into Maria.

Maria had been from a family of traveling acrobats which had run across Michael camping in a forest they were going to camp in. Being the generous people they were, they invited him to stay the night with them and soon he was traveling with them as a sort of guard. While he wasn’t as agile as the rest of them, he could perform well with the throwing stars he’d picked up from his days as a thief so they incorporated that into their performance.

He and Maria had soon grown close, talking about what they wanted to do with their lives. She was the first person he’d ever told the complete story about his mother too and how he now wanted to do good in her name. After a while, the two of them decided to strike out on their own together with the blessings of Maria’s family.

In between performing a show that they’d created together, they began to provide security for those who offered a bit of coin in return. Sometimes instead of coin, they received payment in food or shelter. However, no matter where they went there always seemed to be something for the two of them to do together.

“So, you two had a job in the village when you ran into those guys?” asked Kyle.

Maria nodded. “Yeah, we had been allowed to put on shows in the center of the village for a couple of days. The village is marking the change of seasons with a weeklong celebration, so they allowed us to contribute to the celebration.”

Michael grinned. “We also did a few turns of security during some of the busiest times. Since I’m a reformed thief, I know when the best times it is to catch pickpockets and such during a huge celebration like that one.”

“Of course, we got lots of free food and a place to stay while we were there. And just before we left, the group that had organized the celebration paid us for our time there,” finished Maria.

“So, when did this confrontation with the others happen?” asked Liz.

“Yesterday afternoon,” replied Maria.

“We’d stopped by one of the taverns on our way out to have some lunch. While we ate, a couple of other security people came in to eat too and asked if we wanted to play a game or two with them.”

“I’m not good at games of chance, but Michael is so he decided to play a couple of games before we left.”

“Yeah and there were others who joined us too. Those guys being some of them. Anyway, it didn’t take long before I realized what they were up to. So, when I’d played a couple of games I told the others that we had to leave. But I couldn’t leave without warning them what those guys were doing. When Maria and I went to retrieve our things from the behind the bar, one of the security guys was there getting a drink and I told him what the others were doing.”

“Needless to say, as Michael and I left the others were confronted and the truth was right there to be seen.”

“So, if this happened yesterday…” Max started.

“They must have been trying to catch up with us when we left to get us back for telling on them,” said Michael.

Liz nodded. “Did you know they’d do that?”

Michael shrugged. “Not really, but even if I had I would still do it again. Those guys worked hard for their money. I got to know some of them since I worked with them for a few hours and they seem like honest hard working folk. A lot of them have families to feed and there was no way I was walking out of there without letting them know what was going on.”

Max inclined his head as he got up and stretched. “Well, you did the honorable thing Michael and I am glad to share the camp with you two tonight.”

Kyle grinned. “That’s his way of saying you’ve passed his test of people he can trust.”

Liz chuckled as she stood up and began to clear away the remains of their meal. Soon everyone was getting their pallets ready for a good nights sleep. As the others settled into their beds for the night, Max took up his usual position at the edge of camp.

Michael grinned at him in the near darkness. “Wake me in a few hours and I’ll take the second watch if that’s okay with you?”

Max gave him a nod. “Will do.”

TBC...

[Shadowlynxbehr]

Part 3
*A few months later*

He sat in the far corner of the tavern silently listening to the conversations around him. No one noticed him since he seemed to fade into the woodwork. Dressed in a hooded cloak, the darkness of that corner seemed to swallow him whole. It was there that he was able to listen to the conversations unfold.

“Yeah, it was a group of five. Five! And they obliterated the whole lot of the raiders.”

“You don’t say.”

“He’s telling the truth. Me kin saw them fighting off a group o’ riff raff that had a mage with ‘em. ‘Course the mage wasn’t one o’ those fancy ones, ya know? ‘Cause me kin said he was no match for the elusive one.”

“There’s really an elf that travels with them then?”

“Yeah, it’s just like the stories say. A former knight, a former thief, an axe man, a woman knife fighter, and an elf.”

“Must be hard for the woman to travel with four men then.”

“She’s not the only woman. Well, if elusive ones have such a thing as females that is. They say the elf is a woman too.”

“And she bested the mage?”

“She’s got great powers they say. And she’s skilled with a bow and arrow too.”

“Oh my lord, I hope I get to see these five mercenaries someday too.”

“Yeah, me too.”

There were others who added their hopes to the mix, but he’d heard enough. It was the same in nearly every tavern he’d stopped in for the last couple of months. While the stories seemed a little far fetched at times, the basic facts remained the same.

A group of five wandering mercenaries seemed to travel from place to place helping those in need. Sometimes they got paid in gold and jewels and other times they seemed to do it out of the kindness of their own heart. Sometimes they were brave and fearless, their abilities making them seem larger than life. Other times they seemed to just get by on lady luck.

Regardless of whether or not the rumors were true, he had to see it for himself. He had to see if the word that had been spreading about this group was really true. If there was really such a thing as a group of people who were there for the good of others and not for greed.

If he were honest with himself, he would say there was no such thing as someone who was inherently good. After all, his master had taught him that. No one could be so good that evil didn’t taint them in some way. No one. Not even him.

So, after hearing the story of the group, he’d set out to search for them himself. Determined to confront this group and find out the truth, he’d been wandering from village to village trying to track them down. Something told him he was getting closer to finding out if they were really as good as everyone claimed and he couldn’t wait to find out.

Without drawing any attention to himself, he rose from his seat and made his way through the room towards the door. Slipping out like a shadow, he continued to stay in the darkness as he drew his hooded cloak closer around him and set out down the road.

“Soon,” he whispered. “Soon I will see if they are as powerful as the stories say.”

************************************************************************

Kyle plopped down on the bench and leaned back against the wall with a sigh. “Man, that had to be one of the hardest jobs I’ve had to do yet!”

Michael sat down next to him with a little more grace, but fatigue could clearly been seen in the way his shoulders sagged. “The hardest yet huh? Ever try digging snow out of the way to make a path from your door to the nearest village just to see if you can get some food after going days without it?”

Kyle grimaced at Michael. “No, but I didn’t come up the same way you did. Believe me, every time I hear you tell stories about what it was like for you growing up, I count my blessings I had the family I had regardless of the bruises and headaches.”

Maria chuckled from her seat across from Michael. “I’ll bet your father and brothers called them love taps.”

Kyle winked at her. “You bet they did!”

Liz took a seat next to Maria as Max leaned in to speak to all of them. “Let’s eat and get some food to go. We’ll sleep on the road tonight.”

There were a few grumbles, but no one said anything as Max narrowed his eyes at them. He sat down next to Liz and hissed, “If any of you don’t want to go, feel free to stay here.”

Michael grinned as he stood up. “I’ll take the orders to the bar. We can order the food for the road when we’re almost done with our meal.”

Before he had a chance to walk to the bar, a few villagers came into the inn laden with plenty of food for a feast. They immediately spotted the five mercenaries and made their way to them. The woman in the lead gave Max a respectful nod as the others began setting the food on the table before all of them.

“We were wondering where you’d gone off to when one o’ the lantern lighters tol’ us you headed here. We thought you’d have this meal as a token of our gratitude for ridding our farms of the pests.”

Max nodded. “Thank you good wife, but it wasn’t really necessary.”

The woman nodded. “We know that. However, we knew you’d all be a bit weary after the taxing day. Those wolbeasts were mostly full grown and not easily rid of. We are all amazed you managed to get rid of all of them in one day.”

Liz smiled up at her. “It was indeed a hard battle, but thankfully it’s over now. They shouldn’t be bothering your farms again.”

“That is good to hear milady,” replied the woman.

“Thank you for the food, good wife. It looks wonderful,” said Maria.

“And smells wonderful too!” added Kyle.

“In that case, we will leave you to your dinner. But before I go, my husband and I would like to also offer our barn for the night. It has a loft area and a sectioned off area in the back of the barn for a bit more privacy between all of you. Plus, there is fresh hay and water for your horses.”

At that, the sounds of eating stopped as everyone at the table turned to look at Max expectantly. Even the woman had stopped to look at him in expectation. When he appeared to be hesitating, she added some more.

“I will have some ham and cheese and warm bread to break your fast come the morn and send you all off with a few morsels to eat come midday.”

Kyle was silently gesturing to Max with a pleading look which he ignored until Liz nudged his knee under the table. With a relenting sigh, Max nodded.

“Very well then good wife, we will humbly accept your offer of your barn for the night, but I must implore that you don’t go out of your way to feed us in the morn. If that food is better served for you and yours, we will find our own way.”

She grinned. “Oh, it’s no hardship at all. Thankfully we had much stored before those wolbeasts showed up, so there’s plenty to go around. I’ll go and tell my husband to ready the barn for you. It will be ready by the time you all are finished up here for the night. Enjoy your meal and good night.”

They all thanked the woman and the others who’d brought the food to them before going back to eating their dinner. Even Max gave in and enjoyed the bounty that had been laid before all five of them.

************************************************************************

A couple of hours later with bellies full of roast, honeyed bread, and lots of ale the five mercenaries made their way out of the inn. Gathering up their horses and supplies, they began to make their way down the road towards the farms, one of which belonged to the good wife and her husband.

As they leisurely made their way down the road, Michael eased his horse up to the side of Max’s. It was a while before he finally spoke to Max in a low voice.

“I know I’m not the only one who’s noticed we’re being followed.”

Max didn’t turn his head nor nod. He gave no indication at all that he’d even heard Michael except to whisper, “You aren’t.”

Liz leaned forward when Max tapped her hand. She watched as he moved his hand over the horses pommel, using a sort of elven sign language to communicate with her. In response, she pressed the fingers of her left hand against his side.

Before Michael could even figure out what was going to happen, all of them heard a strangled shout coming from behind them.

“What the devil!”

All of them came to a stop and twisted around to see a robed figure struggling with several limbs of the tree he’d been trying to hide behind. The figure was currently trying to fight off the limbs with what appeared to be an intricately carved staff with a dark red stone set into the top of it.

If Max didn’t know better he would have sworn the hooded man was a warlock, but he didn’t appear to be using any kind of magic. He glanced back at Liz who shrugged her shoulders before sliding off the horse gracefully and disappearing into the darkening surroundings.

Kyle frowned. “Who or what is that?”

Michael huffed. “That’s what I’ve been wondering for a while.”

Kyle’s head snapped to Michael. “Wait, you mean that’s been following us?”

Maria nodded. “Yep, I’d say since we left the village.”

Kyle gaped at her as Michael gave her a wink before turning a grin on him. “Well, well. Looks like you’ve still got some learning to do Valenti. Even Maria felt eyes on her back.”

Kyle sighed. “Geez, this is why I don’t think I’m traveling alone any time soon.”

Maria chuckled as she leaned over to clap Kyle on the shoulder. “Don’t sell yourself short, strong man. Just think of it this way, we each contribute something to the group. Even you, Valenti.”

Kyle gave her a grateful grin as she winked at him before he turned to watch the hooded figure still struggling with the tree limbs.

“So, why doesn’t he just use the staff he’s carrying?” asked Michael.

Max, who’d been silently watching the figure the whole time simply said, “We’ll find out soon enough if he’s even capable of using it.”

Again Kyle gaped at them. “A mage?”

“Warlock,” answered Max.

“Or else he stole the staff from one,” added Michael.

“Ooooh! Then he’s a very brave thief,” remarked Maria.

“Or a very, very foolish one!” finished Kyle.

As they watched, the tree limbs seemed to slowly remove themselves from the robes. But before the figure could make a move, dirt swirled around him seemingly freezing him in place.

The dirt knocked the hood off of him, revealing a thin, yet handsome face. There was a thin line of facial hair running about an inch from the bottom of one earlobe, all along his jaw line, and up to the other earlobe. It would have made him look wicked indeed if it wasn’t for the rather gentle eyes he had. The fact that his voice wasn’t very deep also added to the not so intimidating image he was now giving off.

He gritted his teeth as his staff suddenly seemed determined to free itself from his hand and he quickly used his other hand to hold on to the staff. Knowing he was about to lose it, he yelled through the dirt.

“Wait! I’m not trying to harm you all! I swear it! Please!”

Liz immediately appeared in front of him even though the dirt still whipped around him, keeping him trapped inside. “Why are you following us?”

“I was hoping to ask if I could join your group.”

Liz looked at Max, who’d brought his horse closer to the man. “Where’d you get that staff from?”

“It’s mine.”

Michael scoffed. “Yeah right and I’m a valkar.”

“It’s the truth! I made this staff myself.”

Max’s eyes narrowed. “You expect us to believe that is just an ordinary walking stick?”

“No! I’m a warlock.”

Liz stepped towards him. “Yet you do not wield it against my earth magic.”

“I have no wish to harm you elusive one, nor any of your companions.”

Once more she looked at Max who finally nodded his consent. Immediately the dirt dropped to the earth and Liz reached out to catch the warlock before he stumbled much.

As he straightened up, he lowered his staff and bowed his head. Placing his hand over his chest in a sign of gratitude, he looked up at Max.

“Thank you milord. I am called Alexander Whitman and I have been traveling for a few fortnights in the hopes that I would run into all of you.”

The others looked at each other as Max asked what they were all thinking. “Do you know who we are?”

He nodded. “Yes, the stories of the five wandering mercenaries who help others out of the goodness of their hearts has been spreading far and wide. There is the former knight of the land whose partner is an elusive one.”

He’d indicated Max then Liz with his hand before moving to the next one. “Then there’s the strong axe man. And of course the former thief with a heart of gold and his lady companion, the knife thrower.”

Michael chuckled. “Heart of gold? Are you sure you’re a warlock? You sound more like a bard to me.”

He gave Michael a smile. “Alas, I am no bard. And I am only an apprentice warlock at best. That is also part of the reason why I did not wield my staff. I had no wish to harm anyone should my magic go astray.”

“Still, you sound like you could tell a good story or two,” replied Maria. She turned to look at Max with a grin. “I vote we let him stay the night with us. I’d like to hear these stories he’s heard of us.”

Before Max could even protest about them not knowing a thing about him, Liz spoke up. “He’s telling the truth Max. I checked him out.”

Kyle laughed. “Well there you have it, Sir Evans. He’s in the clear. I second Maria’s request. I want to hear of our conquests too.”

Michael rolled his eyes. “I doubt they’re grand tales Kyle.”

“Oh, just wait til you’ve heard some of the stories I’ve heard,” replied Alexander. “Some of them seem rather far fetched indeed, but I’ll let you inform me if they’re true or not.”

Liz moved up to Max’s side and smiled at him. “Come on Max. He’s traveled far to find us.”

Max sighed before he shook his head in defeat. “Fine. Alexander, you are welcome to join us for the night at the barn we are bunking down in.”

He smiled at them all. “I’m grateful for your company and please, you must all call me Alex.”

As Max helped Liz onto the horse behind him and set off with Michael and Maria on their horse besides them, Kyle took up the rear. He lead his horse by the reins as he clapped Alex on the shoulder and walked besides him.

“So, tell me Alex. How did you manage to track us down?”

The others listened in as Alex answered Kyle. “I was still with my Master when I’d first heard about your group. It was one night after a long grueling day of trying to work magic. I’d headed to the local tavern to have a bit of ale when I’d heard the table next to mine talking about your group.

That very next day, I finally made up my mind to leave my Master and try to set out on my own despite not really knowing much. Every time I stopped, I stayed at a tavern and kept my ears open. Nearly every place I went, there was some kind of tale about you. Sometimes they were elaborate, sometimes just some folks grateful for your help.

After half a fortnight, I decided to actively seek you out. So, I listened to the stories more in hopes of some clues as to your whereabouts. Eventually I began hearing stories from people who claimed to have been helped by you, so I figured out the direction you were heading and hoped I was right.”

Kyle chuckled. “Well, I guess you were then.”

Alex shrugged. “Actually, the first direction I chose was wrong, but I was able to figure that out before I got too far off track. It took me another fortnight before any of the stories I heard led me to you.”

“So, why’d you leave your Master? Did you decide you didn’t want to be a warlock anymore?” asked Maria.

Alex shook his head. “Oh no, far from it. I still hope I will be able to wield magic someday, but the kind of magic I want to learn isn’t the same as what my Master wanted to teach me.”

Michael arched an eyebrow at him. “There’s more than one kind of magic?”

Alex nodded. “Yes. Magic is all around us and because of that, it can originate from different sources. Each of these sources are all unique into themselves.”

Liz agreed with him. “That is why no one mage can say he is more powerful than another since they only have a fraction of the magic that exists around us.”

Kyle whistled. “Gee, and here I was thinking in terms of two colors. Black and white.”

Alex chuckled. “That’s what most people think when they hear the term magic. But the truth is, there can be an elusive one who practices black magic and another one who practices white magic.”

Maria turned wide eyes on Liz. “Which one do you practice?”

Liz smiled at her. “Mine is earth magic and it is most definitely white.”

“So there’s black earth magic too?” asked Maria.

Alex chuckled. “Those are just words used to describe the difference between good and evil, it’s actually not as clear cut as that. You see, any person could learn to wield magic with the intention of doing good. In that sense, they are using white magic. However, magic is a tricky thing. It can eventually consume someone enough to make them greedy. If the wielder is not careful, the magic can eventually overpower them and make them do things they’d never intended to do in the first place.”

Liz nodded. “Magic is part of all of us. It lives and breathes like us, but it’s invisible like the wind. And like us, as it grows it begins to feel. Used in moderation and with care, it won’t get out of hand. However, use it carelessly and allow it free rein it can grow into something ugly.”

“Like a child who had no discipline growing up?” asked Maria.

Liz smiled. “Exactly. If it is given free rein, it can become unruly and actually cause more harm than good. Eventually it can become so powerful, it will destroy anything it touches.”

“And that’s when it becomes black magic,” finished Kyle.

Alex nodded. “That’s right.”

Michael frowned. “Well from what I’ve gathered. It sounds like your Master was leaning to the black magic side which led you to leaving.”

Alex gave Michael a look that said he was impressed with Michael’s reasoning. “Yes, I was beginning to see signs of corruption in many of the things he did. When I tried to voice my concern, he began to discipline me by giving me work that I knew wasn’t part of the training. Luckily, I began to hear about your group before he could pull me in too far where I wouldn’t have been able to get out.”

“Why didn’t you report him?” asked Maria.

Kyle widened his eyes. “Wait a minute. You can’t exactly report a warlock to anyone can you?”

Alex gave Kyle a nod. “Right. I could have gone to the local law enforcers and told them, but what could they do against a warlock who wields magic as easy as breathing?”

“They wouldn’t have had a chance,” replied Michael.

Alex nodded. “And besides that, my Master has done lots of favors for the local law of that village, so I know they would be hesitant to go against someone who’s been a huge benefactor of theirs.”

“Man, that’s tough,” Kyle responded.

Max spoke through gritted teeth. “You have no idea.”

They had finally reached the barn where they would be staying for the night. Upon entering, they discovered that it had already been set up for them. There were several blankets and pieces of cloth sewn together and stuffed with feathers for them to rest their heads upon.

As Max, Michael, and Kyle saw to the horses Liz, Maria, and Alex separated the bedding. All three horses were led into an empty stall of their own where there was fresh hay spread on the ground. Buckets of water and bits of fruit and grains were hung on the walls within reaching distance for the horses to dine from.

Liz and Maria hauled their bedding up the stairs to the loft after helping Alex haul the rest of the bedding into the back area of the barn which was partially secluded from the rest of the barn by a sliding partition. Luckily, there was more than enough bedding so that even Alex got his own place to sleep and keep warm.

Once the women had said their goodnights and gone upstairs, the men settled in to get their own rest. As the place seemed to quiet down a bit, Kyle’s voice drifted through the silence.

“So, you never said. What kind of magic do you do, Alex?”

Alex chuckled before he answered. “I want to be able to combine fire magic with other elements to create a chemistry that benefits all of us.”

They heard Liz’s gasp from upstairs. “Fire! You want to work with fire!”

“Not in the way you are thinking milady. I intend to use fire as a sort of fuel or a way to combine elements, not as something that consumes things.”

Michael tsked. “I take it fire warlocks generally go bad?”

“Yes,” replied Alex. “But I have never wanted to use fire the way it is generally used by warlocks. I want to use the heat of fire to create better things for the rest of us.”

“How do you intend to do that?” asked Liz.

“I have a few ideas, but they are still rudimentary.”

“Well then maybe it is a good thing you have come to us,” replied Max. “If anyone can help you out, I’m sure Liz can.”

“Yes and she can also keep an eye on me just in case something gets out of hand. I have yet to hear of any fire warlock besting an elusive one, no matter what kind of magic they have used.”

Even Liz could hear the respect Alex held for those of her kind. “For that Alex Whitman, I would be honored to help you in any way I can.”

“Thank you milady, but it is I who honors you.”

Michael shifted onto his side before speaking. “Well, as Kyle once said to Maria and I, welcome to the group of helpful wanderers Alex Whitman.”

“Thanks,” came Alex’s sleepy chuckle before the rest of them also bid him welcome and he responded in kind. Not long after that, they became quiet once more and soon the only sounds heard was the settling of the horses among the occasional snore.

TBC...

[Shadowlynxbehr]

Part 4

“Look, I said I was sorry!” grumbled Michael as he continued to sulk on his horse which trotted along behind Kyle’s horse.

Maria, who was sitting behind Kyle on his horse, continued to ignore Michael. Instead she leaned forward and seemingly tightened her hold around Kyle’s waist making Michael frown.

“Come on Maria, I was only kidding!” he pleaded.

Her head whipped around to glare at him. “Only kidding? Michael Guerin you meant every word you said!”

Kyle sighed. “As much as I hate to admit it, it sounded like you meant everything you said to her Michael.”

Michael glared at Kyle. “Stay out if it, axe man.”

Maria lifted her chin. “You leave him alone, you imbecile.”

“Imbecile am I? I’m not the one who was chewing my food…”

Kyle cleared his throat. “I wouldn’t go there Michael.”

“What the hell do you know?” growled Michael.

“Apparently more than you, you nitwit!” Maria growled back.

Alex moved his horse next to Michael’s and leaned in to talk to him. “Maybe you should just leave her alone for a while. Some women just need some time to calm down a bit.”

Maria glared at Alex. “Oh really? Shows what you know about women Mr. Whitman!”

Alex looked uncomfortable as Maria turned her ire on him. “Milady, I was only…”

“Only trying to interfere! This is none of your business!” she snapped.

As the four of them continued to argue amongst themselves, Liz leaned in to Max and whispered in his ear. “Max, don’t you think you should tell them to quiet down? They’re bound to attract attention.”

Max pursed his lips as he looked at Liz over his shoulder. “Don’t you think that’s been on my mind ever since we started out today?”

Liz arched an eyebrow. “Then do something about it!”

“What is it that I’m supposed to do exactly?”

“I don’t know. Tell them to stop it! They’ll listen to you Max.”

“What makes you think they will?”

“Because they always have before. You’re the leader Max. Everyone always listens to the leader.”

Max glanced at the others who were still arguing as he thought of what Liz said. It was true that over the last few fortnights they had somehow silently voted him as the unofficial leader of the traveling group. While Max hadn’t told them otherwise, he really didn’t feel like a leader despite the fact that all of them tended to respect whatever it was he said.

He’d chalked it up to him being the most experienced fighter of them all, but even Liz knew better. It wasn’t that, it was that Max had that quiet strong presence about him. He always seemed to remain calm and level-headed in the midst of chaos. Quick to assess any situation, the others would often look to him to tell them what to do.

So whether he wanted to or not, he’d been unanimously, albeit silently, voted the leader by his five traveling companions.

Liz nudged him in the side. “Max? They’re getting louder.”

Finally feeling exasperated, Max turned his horse around to face them and narrowed his eyes a bit. “I believe it is time to silence all this bickering.”

Every one of them went silent at the sound of his quiet, firm voice. Michael, Kyle, and Alex reared their horses in to a stop in front of Max’s as his gaze took all of them in.

“I know I’m not the only one who realizes just what your bickering is doing. You all know we are sitting ducks out on this open road. And the more you argue, the louder you get. You know as well as I do that all this noise is going to attract the attention of things better left alone! Exactly what kind of image are we trying to project if we have to announce our arrival with a huge bicker fest?”

The looks on their faces ranged from embarrassment to guilt as they all looked everywhere but at Max. They all knew what he was saying was true. All the arguing they were doing was indeed loud enough for anyone within a few leagues to hear.

With a nod, Max turned his horse back around to continue on. “Maria, I believe you are smart enough not to let such petty words come between the friendship you and Michael have had over the last few years. And Michael regardless of that, you owe her a sincere apology.”

Michael moved his horse up to Kyle’s and leaned over to offer his hand out to Maria. “He’s right. I’m sorry I even opened my mouth to begin with. The last thing I want to do is ruin what we have.”

Maria gave him a genuine smile as she took his hand in hers. “Thanks Michael. And I’m sorry for arguing with you over something so stupid.”

Kyle started to say something, but a warning look and shake of the head from Alex made him keep his mouth shut as they all continued down the road.

************************************************************************

The group had only been traveling in comfortable silence for a few leagues when Alex suddenly looked around with a frown. Liz sat up straight from her position behind Max as she too sensed the difference in their surroundings.

Max glanced at her over his shoulder. “Liz?”

“Something’s here,” she whispered.

“What is it?” he asked.

Alex pointed to an area up ahead. “There!”

They all looked in the direction he’d indicated and could just barely make out something moving near the side of the dirt road they were traveling on. As they got closer, it was Liz who first realized that it was a body covered in blood and grime.

Then Kyle let out a curse as he bolted from his horse and ran towards what they all now recognized as a badly injured woman in a torn pale green cloak and a light yellow dress. Maria grabbed the reins of Kyle’s horse to continue leading it to where Kyle was now kneeling next to the woman.

Max frowned at Liz. “That’s what you felt?”

Liz held up her hands as if feeling the air around them. “No, it’s surrounding her.”

Alex nodded as he brought his horse to a stop and slid down it to approach Kyle who bent over the barely conscious woman. “Something evil did this to her.”

Kyle glanced up at Alex. “Evil? As in black magic evil?”

Again Alex nodded as the others slid from their horses and approached them. Liz leaned over and stretched her arms out with palms facing down towards the woman. After a few moments, she looked up at Max.

“She’s badly hurt, Max. She’s going to need extra care if she’s to pull out of this. And it needs to be soon or her wounds will kill her.”

Kyle glanced at Max. “We can’t leave her here Max!”

Max nodded. “You’re right.” He turned to Liz. “Can she make it to the village? We can get a room at the inn where you can tend to her injuries.”

Liz nodded. “Let me just get her comfortable before you move her.”

They all watched as Liz closed her eyes and said a soft chant over the woman’s body. A soft glow seemed to surround the woman for a few moments before Liz opened her eyes and nodded.

“You can move her now.”

Michael moved to help lift her into Kyle’s arms as everyone else returned to their horses. Michael held the woman until Kyle had settled on his horse, then handed her up to him.

Turning around, he took the reins of his own horse from Maria and swung up into the saddle before offering his arm to help her up behind him. Once Maria was settled behind Michael, the group set off at a much faster pace than they usually did towards the nearest village.

************************************************************************

Kyle glanced towards the door once more as if expecting it to open. The moment they’d arrived at the village, Max had located an inn and quickly acquired a room so that the woman could be tended to.

Kyle had carried the woman into the room and laid her on the bed before Liz and Maria had shooed the men out so that they could tend to her. Michael went outside to care for their horses while Alex went to scrounge up some food for all of them.

Kyle and Max remained behind to guard the door since Alex and Liz’s words from earlier had left an impression on Max. He had a feeling that whatever had attacked the woman and left her for dead on that rarely traveled road would return to make sure the deed was done. Once they realized the body was gone, they probably had the means to track her down and Max refused to be caught with his guard down.

“She’ll be okay Kyle. Liz and Maria know what they are doing.”

Kyle nodded as he looked at Max. “What do you think happened to her?”

Max shrugged. “It could have been any number of things. The only thing I know for sure is that it involved magic.”

Kyle frowned as he looked back at the door. “Black magic.”

Max sighed. “Remember, Alex said it isn’t as simple as that. We won’t know exactly what happened until she wakes up and tells us.”

************************************************************************

Maria sat next to the woman holding the last of the bandages as Liz remained still with her hands poised over the woman’s chest. The two of them had managed to sponge bathe the woman before cleaning her wounds and applying the poultices that Liz had made. Then they’d bandaged all the serious wounds and now it was up to Liz to use her powers to heal the internal damage as best she could.

Several minutes later, Liz slumped back with a sigh. “That’s all I can do for her for now.”

Maria nodded as she leaned over and took the woman’s pulse. “Her heartbeat is steady now.”

Liz nodded as she moved to the chair next to the bed and slumped down in it. “She should be sleeping for a while. We’ll just have to wait and see.”

************************************************************************

Alex ambled up the stairs, his arms laden with food and a smile on his face. “Look what I managed to procure without spending much of our coin.”

Max arched an eyebrow. “Should I be afraid?”

Alex chuckled. “Relax Max. The meat I got from downstairs but the bread I got from the bakery down the road. Since it’s late in the day, the lady sold it for half price. And I got the vegetables from a farmer for helping him fix his wagon wheel.”

Kyle grinned at him. “Wow, seemed you were in the right places at the right time.”

Alex nodded. “Don’t I know it.”

Just as Michael walked up the stairs to join them, the door to the room opened to reveal a smiling Maria.

“She’s awake and coherent.”

It didn’t take long for all of them to move into the room. A now refreshed Liz sat on one side of the woman as Alex moved to sit on the other side as if indicating that both magic users needed to be closer to her just in case they needed to subdue her. Max remained by the door, as did Michael. Kyle stood slightly behind Liz as Maria moved around the room tidying up a bit.

Liz looked at the woman with a gentle smile. “Tess, these are my traveling companions. Alex Whitman, Michael Guerin, Max Evans, and Kyle Valenti. And you’ve already met Maria DeLuca.”

Each of them had given her a smile, wave, or simple nod as Liz had gestured to each of them in turn. Tess gave them all a weak smile from where she was propped up on the pillows against the headboard. “It’s nice to meet you all. I’m Tess Harding and I want to thank you all for saving me even though you knew nothing about me.”

Kyle smiled. “It was no problem really.”

Tess glanced at him before looking at Liz who nodded. She looked back up at Kyle with a smile of her own. “Thank you Kyle. I’m told it was you who didn’t hesitate to help me.”

Michael scoffed. “Yeah well you’re lucky you’re a woman otherwise he probably wouldn’t have stopped at all.”

Kyle gaped at him. “That’s not true!”

Max resisted the urge to roll his eyes as he spoke to Tess. “If you don’t mind my asking, how exactly did you end up where we found you?”

Tess sighed as she settled more into the pillows. “Honestly I don’t really know. The last thing I remember is leaving my house to go to this clearing in the woods just outside my village where I like to practice my magic. I’ve done this almost daily for as long as I’ve lived there and nothing like this has ever happened before. I mean, there’s a well worn path that I take into the woods so there was never any danger of being robbed or anything.”

Max frowned. “How can you feel safe if you keep going into the woods? You never know what is waiting for you in a place like that.”

Tess nodded. “I know, but I wasn’t attacked in the woods. I was attacked just as soon as I left the village. I put up a struggle and made as much noise as I could hoping someone would hear and come to investigate, but the next thing I knew someone had knocked me out.”

“Why didn’t you use your magic to try and fight them off?” asked Alex.

She looked at him with a frown. “Believe me, I tried. But something was preventing me from using my powers on them. I don’t think any of them had any powers since they used something blunt to knock me out, but I could be wrong.”

“Any idea why they attacked you?” asked Michael.

“When I came to later, I heard one of them saying that they had to get me to the one who’d hired them quickly or they’d pay for it. I didn’t wait to find out what they were talking about and quietly snuck out when they weren’t looking. I didn’t see their faces, but there were only two of them. I got out of the shack they were holding me in and just ran.

I was out of breath and running blind in the darkness when I felt something flutter by me. I couldn’t see what it was but I felt the wings brush against my skin. Everything happened so fast after that.

I was wrenched from the ground as it sank its claws into my shoulders and carried me away. I fought hard and it let me go. I tumbled to the ground but before I could run again, it slammed into me. After that all I can remember before blacking out is burning pain and loud screeching.”

Liz frowned. “You said you didn’t think they had any powers.”

Tess nodded. “Whatever this thing was, it wasn’t something one of them conjured up. It felt too evil, too dark to have come from one of them. And none of them felt that evil. I think whoever hired them to come after me sent that thing with them as back up.”

“Man, makes you wonder just what they wanted with you if they sent something like that along with the hired help,” muttered Kyle.

Tess shrugged. “I’m wondering the same thing. I don’t think I’m that powerful of a witch to warrant that much attention. So the only thing I can think of is that I angered someone, but then I’ve lived in my village since I was born and I don’t travel much so I really don’t know. As far as I know, there isn’t anyone in the village who practices dark magic like the one who sent that thing after me. I would have sensed it.”

“Maybe the one who sent it was hired by someone else,” said Liz.

Tess nodded. “Yeah, I thought about that too. If that’s the case, then I wonder just who in the village I angered enough to want to kill me.”

Max moved to the foot of the bed as he asked, “Did you use your magic to harm someone or play a prank on someone?”

Tess shook her head. “Not that I know of. I’ve never used my magic against another person. I mean yes, I’ve used my magic to help others, but it was never against another person.”

“What exactly is your magic?” asked Alex.

Tess turned to him as she answered. “My magic comes from the sky and as such, I can also use it in conjunction with any mind magic. The people of my village often called me The White Sky Witch of Saarland Village. Many of them often came to me when a change in weather was needed. You know, rain for crops that sort of thing.”

Liz asked, “What sort of things can you do with the mind magic?”

“The usual things one associates with mind magic which is why I rarely use it. I know how easy it would be for me to succumb to abusing those powers and the last thing I want is to let that power take over. So, I tend to stick to simple weather magic instead.”

Kyle looked at Liz. “What’s the usual things?”

Liz looked at him over her shoulder. “Manipulation of other’s minds. Mind control. Planting false thoughts. And that’s only some of it.”

Kyle blanched. “Okay, I get the picture.”

Tess gave him a sympathetic look. “You see why I don’t like to dabble with that part of my magic at all?”

Kyle nodded. “Yeah, I see it.”

Alex spoke up. “That may be why someone was after you. Maybe they know you have those powers and wanted to use it to their advantage.”

Tess frowned. “I’d like to know how they knew that then since I’ve never used it in front of anyone else nor have I mentioned it to anyone either.”

“How do you know you have these powers then?” asked Maria.

“I practiced them on some animals in the woods,” before Liz could protest Tess added, “I made sure they were never harmed during any of it. And since it was only a few times, I know those are the weakest of my powers. My strength obviously lies in the powers of the sky.”

Liz nodded. “I thank you on behalf of our fellow creatures for looking out for their welfare. And since you have said your powers are derived from the sky, mine are derived from the earth and I have knowledge of all the other elements too. However, Alex’s powers are focused on fire magic.”

As Tess appeared to suddenly perk up, Liz acknowledged what she’d been thinking. “Yes, your powers would compliment each others very well after a certain amount of practice. Even your mind powers would compliment his powers of the spirit if you chose to use them in conjunction with each other.”

Tess shook her head. “I don’t think I have the strength to prevent those powers from taking over though.”

Liz patted her hand. “Well for the time being, let’s just concentrate on getting you back on your feet. Then we’ll discuss the possibility of working with your sky and fire magic before we discuss anything else, okay?”

Tess gave her a grateful smile. “Okay.” She looked at the others once more as she whispered, “Thank you.”

TBC...

[Shadowlynxbehr]

Part 5

The seven cloaked figures moved through the shadows silently. They were making their way through a part of the village deemed as the seedy part. Forming a single file line, they all followed the one in the lead.

The one in the lead suddenly stopped in the shadows next to what looked like a makeshift tent and motioned to the others to join her. As the rest of the cloaked figures joined her, one of them leaned in and whispered.

“Why exactly are we sneaking around like thieves in this part of the village?” asked the male voice.

A soft snicker came from another one of the males. “Leave it to an ex-thief to make that kind of comment.”

The first one glared at the second one. “Stuff it, axe man.”

A third male cut in before they could get into it. “All right that’s enough.” He turned to look at the one who had led them there. “So, why are we here?”

“We are here to see a very close friend of mine.”

“In there?” came another female’s voice. As the first woman nodded, the second continued. “Geez, it looks worse than my uncle’s tent on my father’s side. Doesn’t it Michael?”

One of the cloaked figures nodded.

“Well, this is where she works and lives for the moment. Come on, let’s go inside.”

They waited as she made her way inside before following her. As the last one entered, Tess pushed her hood off her head and looked around the tent. The others followed suit and pushed their own hoods down to look at their surroundings.

In the center of the tent was a pile of pillows and blankets in shades of blues and greens as if they came from the sea and they were seemingly arranged in a pattern of sorts. Around the edges of that pile and along the sides of the tent were a myriad of candleholders with candles still burning in some of them. At the back of the tent was a gauzy partition which probably separated the living quarters from where Tess’ friend did her business.

Along with the pillows and candles, there were several low tables along the edges of the tent. These tables held various cups and containers with different colored liquids as well as sea shells, gems and what looked like sand. As the others looked around the room and took in not only the sights, but the smells of incense and other scents, Kyle took a few steps closer to the pillows.

“Hey! Wait a minute! I’ve been in one of these before! I know what it is your friend does!”

The others looked to him as he turned to look at Tess. Liz moved to investigate one of the tables as Tess gave him a smirk. “Yeah, well it’s not exactly what you think.”

“Oh really? Well, those pillows and the smell of candles says otherwise.”

Maria held up her hands. “Hold on there. Are you suggesting what I think you are?”

Michael and Alex looked curiously at her. “What is he suggesting?” they asked in unison.

Kyle grinned at them. “I’m not suggesting anything. What I am saying is that Tess’ friend is a…”

“Kyle!” came Max’s sharp command. “That’s enough.”

They all turned to look at him as Kyle frowned. “What did I say?”

Max shook his head. “It’s not important.” He glanced at Liz, who was still investigating the contents of a table, before he looked at Tess. “If you don’t mind, I think we should leave while you visit with your friend alone.”

“But, I brought you all here to meet her.”

Max frowned. “I don’t think it’s in our best interest to meet her.”

Tess lowered her head. “My lord, she’s not what you think. I can promise you that.”

Michael and Alex both looked at Max. “You know what she is?” asked Alex.

Max pursed his lips. “I have a hunch.”

Liz stopped her investigating and looked up at Tess. “She works with sea plants?”

Tess nodded before turning back to Max. “See? Please, wait and meet her.”

Max frowned, clearly not happy about it. However, Liz walked up to him and placed a hand on his arm. “She works with sea plants Max. I have never met a human who does this. Let’s wait and meet her.”

Once more the others could see that Max was still a little wary of Tess. Granted, she’d been with them for about a fortnight during which time her wounds had healed with the help of Liz’s magic. When Liz had deemed her well enough to travel, they had started out once more until Tess had asked them to stop in one of the villages nearby for her sake.

Max had wanted to send her in with one of the guys but Tess had asked them all to go with her because she said this was something that could benefit them all. At that point, Max’s warning bells had started going off and the wall he had created for dangerous situations went up immediately.

The only one to really notice the difference in Max was Liz, but that was mainly because she was good at reading certain body language. Still, she didn’t alert anyone else to the change in Max, but assured him in a way only he understood that so far she didn’t sense any danger in going with Tess.

So, they had donned their hooded cloaks and followed Tess into the seedy part of the village. Now that they were there, all Max wanted to do was get Liz out of there before she became tainted by the corruption around them.

“It’s not really sea plants that she works with.”

“Those are ingredients to mix into potions.”

“Those can be used for things other than potions, Liz.”

“Like?”

Max sighed. “It’s not important.” He looked to the others. “We’re leaving. Now.”

He took Liz’s arm and tried to gently guide her out of there, but she wasn’t having it. As they got closer to the entrance, the flap was shoved aside and a new figure entered. As the figure straightened up, they all took in the trousers, loose shirt, vest, and turban on his head.

They all stood there staring at each other before Tess grinned and rushed to take the newcomer in a hug. “Isabel!”

Kyle and Michael looked at each other in shock. “Isabel?”

Isabel returned Tess’ hug just as fiercely as she had given it. “Tess? Is it really you?”

“Yes! It’s so good to see you!”

“It’s good to see you too. Gosh, it’s been so long hasn’t it?”

Kyle gaped at the tall woman in a man’s clothing. It was clear from all of their faces that they had mistaken her for a man. “Are you saying this is your friend Tess?”

Tess nodded as she stood back to introduce them all. “Isabel, I’d like you to meet some very special people. This is Kyle Valenti, a very talented bodyguard and skilled with axes.”

Isabel gave him a nod and a smile. “Hello.”

“And this is Michael, an ex-thief who is also an excellent bodyguard skilled with the martial arts. His partner Maria, an agile acrobat with a talent for knives.”

“Hello, Michael. Maria.”

“Then we have Alex who is a budding warlock with an interest in fire magic.”

Isabel quirked an eyebrow at him. “Seriously?”

Alex bowed slightly. “Yes, milady but I can honestly say it is not as bad as you think.”

She gave him a knowing smile. “Let’s hope not.”

Tess chuckled as she motioned Isabel to the last two. “Isabel, this is Sir Max Evans.”

Isabel gave him a smile. “Oh, a knight huh?”

“Former knight. I am retired,” came Max’s stiff reply.

She eyed the sword he wore at his side. “Is that so?”

He nodded as Tess motioned to the woman at his side. “And this is his companion, Lady Elizabeth, an…”

“Elusive one,” whispered Isabel as she lowered her head and placed her hand over her heart. “It is an honor to be in your presence, lady of the land.”

Liz smiled at her as the others around them stared wide eyed. “You know of my kind then?”

Isabel straightened up to look at her. “Yes, my lady.”

“Please, I go by Liz here. Nothing more than that.”

Isabel nodded. “How is it that you come to be among us mortals?”

Liz looked to Max before answering. “Tell you what, you tell me how you use these plants in your potions and I’ll tell you the story of how I came to be traveling with Max.”

Max scowled. “She doesn’t make potions!”

Isabel turned a frown on him. “Actually, I do.”

Kyle’s eyes widened. “You do?”

She nodded. “Yes, I do.”

“But…” he motioned to the surroundings. “But I thought you were a…”

“Kyle!” growled Max in warning.

Isabel looked at Max as he seemed to look at Liz out of the corner of his eye. Her intuition told her why Max was keeping them from saying anything. Turning to Liz, she gave her a respectful nod.

“Pardon me Liz, but it seems as if your companion believes you to be as innocent as a newborn babe.”

Liz frowned at Max. “Why would she say that Max?”

“I have no idea,” he answered while turning his scowl on Isabel.

His scowl didn’t intimidate Isabel in the least. “It seems he thinks your ears are too pure to hear the words Lady of the Night.”

Max hissed as Kyle grinned and exclaimed, “I knew it! I knew that’s what you are!”

Liz scowled at Max. “Did you think I wouldn’t know what that was Max?”

He looked at her. “One such as you should never be soiled by the likes of things like that.”

Liz rolled her eyes before turning to look at Isabel. “Is that really what you are?”

Isabel shook her head. “Not in the way you all are thinking.”

Tess beamed. “See, I told you that!” She turned to look at Isabel with a grin. “I thought I’d bring them all here to meet you and convince you to join us.”

Max crossed his arms in front of his chest. “Now why would we want a Lady of the Night in our group?”

Maria folded her own arms over her chest. “Yeah, just what exactly is it that you do different than others who claim that profession?”

Isabel looked at each of them in turn. “Lady of the Night is just a cover for what I really do. I am an enchantress who just happens to have skills that are best served with the use of one’s emotions or rather, the heart.”

Maria frowned. “A seductress then.”

Isabel shook her head. “No, I don’t use emotions to seduce others. I use them to weave spells that deal with the physical or chemical parts of a person’s body.”

Tess nodded. “In other words, she performs a sort of healing therapy on others.”

“Yes. Sometimes I even use potions to help with the healing, usually giving it to my clients as something to take with them to continue the healing process I’ve started with my spell weaving.”

Alex grinned at her. “Interesting. So, you are good at mixing chemicals then?”

“Only the ones that help the body’s health.”

“I see and I hope to one day use fire as a way to combine certain elements to create something of use to all of us. It seems I could use your expertise of certain plants to help me out.”

Liz nodded. “He’s right Isabel. And I am certainly interested in learning what potions you know of and maybe I can even show you some ingredients from my people that may help in your healing powers.”

Tess took her hand in hers. “See Isabel. These are really good people.”

Isabel nodded even as her eyes moved from Liz to Alex and back again. “How is it that you know them?”

Tess sighed. “They found me nearly dead on the side of a road they happened to be traveling down.”

Her head snapped to face Tess. “What? How long ago was this?”

“Nearly a fortnight ago,” answered Kyle.

“We travel as a group of mercenaries, from village to village helping those who need it,” added Michael.

“It doesn’t matter what they need help with. It can be fixing a fence or rounding up town bullies,” said Alex.

“And we don’t ask for any payment in return. It’s all out of the need to help others for the sake of helping others,” replied Maria.

Liz nodded. “Although the villagers we help are usually kind enough to give us shelter for the night or a good meal as payment.”

“We help others who need it and if we get payment, we will take it but it is not a necessity. For the most part, we live off the land and so far everyone here has grown accustomed to it,” finished Max.

Isabel nodded, understanding what Max was trying to say. The life they led wasn’t an easy one. It was clearly full of danger and rough living, but then they didn’t know that she’d lived in worse places than where she was at the moment.

Tess on the other hand, knew that. “So, what do you think? Want to join the group?”

Isabel grinned at her. “I would love to.”

This time it was Max who widened eyes at her. Clearly he had believed a woman like her wouldn’t be interested in living like them.

Liz reached out to take her hand. “Well then Isabel, welcome to the group.”

Isabel chuckled. “Thank you. And as part of my thanks, I would like to invite you all to stay here for the night. I have food if you are hungry and can get breakfast for us in the morning, plus something to take with us when we leave.”

Kyle grinned. “Now that’s a deal. After all, there’s plenty of pillows and blankets for all of us here.”

************************************************************************

Max was still scowling as he finished packing his horse the following morning. The others were also packing their horses as the women remained inside of the tent getting rid of their breakfast and packing the foodstuff that Isabel had acquired for them to take.

The men began to saddle up as Liz, Maria, and Tess came out of the tent each carrying a sack of food. Liz and Maria tied their sacks to the horses they shared with Max and Michael respectively. Tess handed her sack to Kyle to tie to his horse as she went back inside to get Isabel.

Liz was already behind Max on his horse as Maria climbed up behind Michael when Kyle gaped at the entrance to the tent. “Whoa!”

They all turned to see what had caught his attention only to see a tall blonde, very curvy woman walk out of the tent besides Tess. Her golden hair shone in the morning sun even though it was swept up and held by a clip at the back of her head. Strands of her hair still flowed freely around her freshly scrubbed face.

She wore a pale gray halter top that fit her curves to perfection. And the matching floor length skirt also seemed to fit her curves, yet flowed as she walked. All of the men, with the exception of Max stared at her as she walked around to the back of her tent.

When she emerged with her own horse and quickly tied her sack of food and the other sparse belongings she was taking with her, even Maria was beginning to look at her in awe. Then all of them suddenly realized just how efficient Isabel really was when she swung up onto her horse. It was then that they all realized that her skirt was actually a pair of pants designed to look like a skirt when she walked.

“Amazing,” whispered Maria.

Isabel smiled at her as she wrapped a cloak around her shoulders effectively hiding her curves from the world. “Aren’t they? I could make you a pair if you’d like.”

Maria’s eyes widened. “You made them?”

Isabel nodded. “Yep, it’s a hobby of mine. Designing clothing to fit certain needs. Such as allowing women to ride horses, but still look good when getting off them.”

Maria laughed. “Okay. I regret the fact that I was a bit wary of you last night. I am now of a different opinion.”

Max rolled his eyes and glanced at Isabel’s horse. “You got everything?”

Isabel nodded. “Yep. Everything I need is in these four sacks.”

He quirked an eyebrow. “You sure? Because I don’t think we’re coming back for a long time.”

Isabel chuckled. “I don’t need anything else that’s in that tent. It doesn’t matter how long I’m gone Max. I can find most of what I need almost anywhere and not even that tent is going to still be here even if I come back two days from now.”

Max gave her a respectful nod. He was glad that she understood that she would never see any of the belongings she left behind again. He was also beginning to respect her for the way she had packed lightly and efficiently.

And as they began their journey out of the village, Max began to admire how well Isabel rode a horse and adapted to the others in what was now the complete group of what was to become known as the Mercenaries of Wresllo.

TBC...

[Shadowlynxbehr]

Part 6

Isabel nudged Kyle with her foot. “Get up, sleepy head.”

Kyle groaned as he opened one eye to look up at her. “Have mercy on me, O beautiful one!”

Isabel pursed her lips. “Knock it off, Kyle. It’s not my fault you decided to end last night deep in your cups. You knew better.”

“Yes, well no one informed me we would be sleeping on hard ground either. Had I known…”

“You would have still had too much to drink.” When Kyle gave her a sheepish look, she rolled her eyes. “Clearly foresight is not your forte. Nice try, but it’s time to get up. Everyone else is already packed and eating except you.”

With another groan, Kyle did as Isabel asked and got up to go wash up at the pan that had been set out for that purpose. Once he was done with that, Tess offered to pack his belongings while he went to eat. Soon they were all on the road once more traveling to the next village.

It had been less than a fortnight since Isabel had joined them and they had already helped out others with mostly minor jobs. There were a couple of jobs which involved them chasing off some nasty characters who seemed to be bullying the good village folk, but the majority of jobs usually called for a strong set of arms or the like.

Granted, Liz could use her powers to help lift or move heavy objects and Maria was good at figuring out how to put things together. Tess could use her powers for minor things as compared to Liz, but Isabel couldn’t really help unless someone was hurt. Since that was the case, she hadn’t really used her powers much in the time she’d been with them.

Still, no one minded since she was really good at making sure everyone was well fed and well rested. She was also great at keeping track of their supplies and had a knack for finding places that sold the supplies they were low on at bargain prices. Even Max had begun to defer to Isabel when it came to keeping track of everyone and everything in their group since she could be a real hard nose when it came to keeping things in line.

The sun was beginning its descent when they began to approach another village. As they continued their way down the dusty road, Max and Kyle, who rode at the head of the group could see a few people running towards them. As they drew nearer, they could see the look of terror on some of their faces and the way many of their appearances were in complete disarray.

One elderly man, who seemed to be their appointed leader, waved his arms frantically trying to get their attention as they came closer. Max held his hand up to signal the others to follow quietly and to be alert as they came to a stop before the small group of frightened villagers.

“Please, my lord!” exclaimed he elderly man. “You must help us! Our village is under attack! Please save our families!”

Max and Kyle exchanged glances before Max leaned forward slightly. “Who is attacking your village good sir?”

Before the elderly man had a chance to reply, a woman stepped forward with widened eyes. “We dinna know what it is, me lord! But it is big and it is terrifying! We dinna have any weapons to fight it, but pitchforks and rocks!”

“She has the right of it, my lord,” replied the elderly man. “Our village has no soldiers or their weaponry to fight this creature.”

“Creature?” asked Kyle.

The woman nodded. “Aye, me lord. We dinna know what else it be called.”

At that moment a tremendous roar rang out from the distance. It was so loud that the ground beneath them shook, spooking most of the horses. Max’s eyes narrowed in response to the sound as he tried to see something in the distance.

“Liz? Any idea what that was?” he asked.

She shook her head from where she sat behind him. “I’ve never heard anything like it. It could be any number of things.”

Another roar thundered across the land making those villagers with the group tremble in fear and when the distant screams reached them, some of them started crying. Max didn’t need any more explanation, his honor forbade him from not taking any action at all.

With a wave of his hand, he unsheathed his sword. “Whatever it is, it’s big and we have no choice but to rid the village of it. Let’s go!”

The others spurred their horses on except for Isabel, who remained behind for a few more moments to make sure the villagers found someplace safe to sit and wait until it was over. Once she saw to it that they were hidden in some foliage and as comfortable as they could be despite their fear for themselves and the families they left behind, she urged her horse on to catch up with the others.

************************************************************************

The seven mercenaries went galloping through the village as fast as they could. Every one of them had an eye out for any tell tale sign of a dangerous creature of some sort. The village appeared empty from the onset, but as they neared the other side of it they could see signs of devastation.

Several people were scrambling to safety while debris littered the entire area. Smoking ruins of what used to be homes and shops were now nothing more than piles of rubble. As the group continued to ride closer, they all saw the head rising above the ruins. Easily ten feet taller than the tallest building had been, the creature was finally visible to them. At first all they could see was the long snake-like neck covered in greenish-black scales on top of which sat a round leathery looking head the same shade of green as the neck was.

Three red eyes tinged in yellow formed a sort of inverted ‘v’ above two slits which appeared to be its nostrils. Below that was the huge mouth with rows of razor sharp teeth in both its upper and lower jaws. At either end of the mouth was a huge tusk which was twice the size of the average elephants. The tusks themselves were a shiny black as were the two horns at the top of its head.

It lowered its head and used its horns to smash through another building before using its tusks to burrow through the rubble looking for something. When it thought it had found something of use, it speared it with a tusk and tossed it into the air before opening its mouth and capturing it with its teeth. Growling in dissatisfaction, it let the rubble go making it obvious to the onlookers that it hadn’t found it edible.

There was no doubt in anyone’s mind just what kind of food it was looking for. Unfortunately for it, most of the villagers had already scrambled away to safety.

As it moved into a clearing, the group could see the rest of its body. Unlike its upper half, the body itself was covered in black fur and was a round shape that was actually in proportion to its head. It had two arms and two legs which were covered in the same greenish-black scales as its neck. At the end of each limb were only four digits, but each ended in wickedly sharp and shiny black claws.

As if the tusks, teeth, and claws weren’t enough the creature also had a long, thick tail covered in the same scales as the neck and limbs. At the end of the tail were three sharp points making it look like a pitchfork of sorts. The tail wasn’t that mobile, but was clear that it could be used like a club to destroy a building or wound something with its prongs.

Kyle made a face as the stench of the creature wafted their way. “Ah! What is that thing?”

“It’s a Zorar demon,” replied Alex.

“A what?” asked Maria.

It was Liz who answered. “A Zorar demon.” When all of them except Tess and Alex gave her blank looks, she explained. “It’s one of many demons that is controlled by the one who summoned it. It’s one of the lesser demons because it doesn’t have much intelligence.”

Alex nodded. “As you can see, it’s only good for destroying things and eating them.”

“What does it eat?” asked Michael.

“Humans,” came Max’s growled response. “Why else would it be unleashed against a village?”

Tess nodded. “He’s right. The Zorar only knows how to do two things. It destroys with its claws and tail then uses its tusks to spear humans and tears them apart with its teeth.”

Maria grimaced. “Thanks for that description Tess. I’m sure I won’t be sleeping any time soon.”

Tess gave her a droll look before shrugging as Isabel finally joined them. She wore a look of disgust as she stared at the demon.

“Is that what I think it is?”

Alex gave her a bemused smile. “What do you think it is?”

“Some kind of demon,” she replied.

Alex raised his eyebrow, clearly impressed. “How’d you know?”

Isabel indicated Tess with a nod. “When you’re best friends with a white witch, you tend to hear lots of stories about dangerous things that go bump in the night.”

Maria tsked. “Must have been fun growing up with her.”

Isabel winked at her. “You have no idea.”

Tess rolled her eyes. “It’s a Zorar, Izzy.”

Isabel wrinkled her nose. “Ew, that thing’s disgusting. But at least it’s dumb enough to kill.”

“Speaking of, exactly how do we kill it?” asked Michael.

Alex grinned at them. “We use our magic.”

Kyle stared at them. “Are you serious? That’s it?”

Liz nodded. “Yes. It has no defense against magic and it doesn’t even have magic powers of any kind.”

“Which begs the question of why anyone would summon such a clumsy, ineffective demon to destroy a village,” noted Maria.

“It’s effective enough against simple villagers, Maria. It stands to reason that whoever summoned it wasn’t expecting a group of magic users to happen upon the village just in time to keep it from destroying all of it,” answered Tess.

As the Zorar demon swung its tail out and roared once more, Max made a face. “Well, let’s get rid of it before it does any more damage.”

Liz nodded. “Right.” She looked at the other magic users before turning to Max. “Alex, Tess, and I will see what we can do to eliminate it. The rest of you can make sure it doesn’t try to escape or harm anyone else.”

“Got it. I’ll circle around to the other side of the village. Michael and Maria, you two take the north side and Kyle and Isabel take the south side. That’ll leave these three to work on this side.”

As soon as Max gave the orders, the rest of the group took off to their assigned destinations. Max simply nodded to the three left behind before spurring his horse into a flat out run. As he did, Liz closed her eyes and focused even as she murmured softly to the other two.

“As soon as Max reaches the other side, we’ll start in. So be thinking of what kind of magic you can do that could get rid of the demon.”

Tess and Alex watched the demon as it continued to rummage around in the rubble as if looking for food. Every now and then it would give another roar as if frustrated that it wasn’t finding anything. Several minutes went by before Liz opened her eyes and smiled.

“He’s on the other side. Let’s go.”

No one had to ask how she knew that since they knew Liz probably used her magic to keep track of Max’s progress. As soon as Liz gave the word, Alex cupped his hands together and said a quick command. A ball of fire appeared to hover over his hands for a moment before he lifted one hand and threw the fire ball towards the demon.

As the ball traveled, it grew in size until it finally struck the demon in the head. The fire seemed to cover its head and part of its neck as the demon roared in anger. Turning towards them, it lowered its head as if to charge them.

Alex frowned. “Okay, no one told me fire wouldn’t have any effect on it!”

Liz shook her head. “I didn’t know that one either!”

Tess gave them the answer. “The scales of the neck and leather of the head are tough. Keep burning it and it will eventually get through to tender skin beneath, but for faster results I’d aim for the furry body.”

Alex rolled his eyes as he conjured up another fireball. “Of course fur is easily combustible.”

Tess winked. “Of course.”

As Alex aimed for the body this time, Tess raised her hands above her head and began chanting. The moment the fireball hit the demon’s body, it instantly spread to almost engulf it. Roaring in rage, the demon began to charge the three of them.

However, it didn’t get very far as a strong wind began to whip around it, making it stumble slightly. The louder Tess chanted, the stronger the wind got turning it into something that resembled a small twister or wind tunnel. Liz began her own chanting. Leaves, twigs, and other larger pieces of the earth began to get caught up in the wind that was fast turning into a vortex with the demon at the center.

The debris that whirled in the wind only added fuel to the fire that was now burning out of control, but only on the demon’s body. As Liz and Tess worked at keeping the fire burning on the demon, Alex tried his best to keep the fire from spreading to anything else the demon bumped into.

Unfortunately, Alex wasn’t very good at containing the fires so Liz stepped in. As Tess made sure the fire consumed the demon, Liz called upon the earth to rise up and cover the small fires that broke out over the crumbling buildings.

The demon continued to screech its agony to the sky as it stumbled closer and closer to the three magicians. They backed up slowly even as Tess continued to keep her concentration solely on the demon. All of them could see that the fire was very effective inside the wind tunnel. Luckily for them, the demon’s body burned so that it turned into ash and floated away on the wind instead of making a mess.

Still, there was a burning stench in the air as if lots of oil was burning nearby. As the last of the demon’s body crumbled into ashes a few feet away from the three magicians, the dying wind carried away those ashes into the sky.

As Tess chanted for rain to wash away the stench, Liz asked the earth to help clean up the remains that were left behind. Small lights flitted here and there as if tiny fairies worked to move debris out of harms way. The ground itself shifted here and there, seeming to gather the fallen masonry into neat piles.

Within moments, the rain and lights faded away leaving nothing but a clean smell and small piles of rubble. As the sun returned, the others rejoined Tess, Alex, and Liz.

Maria grinned at them. “Well you weren’t kidding. That was relatively easy.”

Alex huffed. “Speak for yourself, my magic wasn’t as effective as I thought it would be.”

Tess patted his arm. “Not true, Alex. You got things started, Liz and I just helped things along the way.”

Alex gave her a grateful smile. “Thanks for the vote of confidence Tess, but even I know Liz could have gotten one of her earth elementals to bring fire to you two if I wasn’t around.”

“Yes, but this was quicker,” replied Liz.

Before anyone else could make any comments, cheers rang out behind them. The group turned to see the villagers returning, all with looks of gratitude on their faces. As the crowd surrounded the mercenaries, the elderly leader from before patted Max on the arm.

“We thank you all for saving our village! And as a token of our thanks, we’d like it if you all stayed for the night and sup with us. We have plenty of room for the lot of you if ye don’t mind splitting up in smaller groups.”

Max nodded. “I’m sure my group won’t mind having a meal for the evening, but if you don’t mind. I’d like to see our lodgings for the night before I say yea or nay.”

“Of course, my lord! If you will follow me, I’ll take you to see your lodgings while the folk prepare the meal.”

************************************************************************

Once Max was satisfied with the lodging for the eight of them, they were all led to the center of the village were a huge banquet had been set out for the entire village to enjoy. Tables had been hastily hauled out of houses, as well as bread, cheeses, and other bits of food which the villagers and their heroes could enjoy until the meats had been cooked.

As the eight mercenaries sat down at the table that the leader had led them to before going off to see to the food, Max leaned in to talk to them.

“Everyone okay with their lodgings?”

They all nodded in agreement. They were mostly being divided into threes with Isabel, Tess, and Kyle staying in the home of an elderly couple whose four children were already grown and gone. Isabel and Tess would be staying in one bedroom where two twin size beds still remained while Kyle would sleep in the other bedroom on a straw filled mattress let to them from another villager.

Maria, Michael, and Alex were staying with a woman whose husband was currently visiting family in another village. Maria would be sharing the bed with the woman while Michael and Alex made do with the living area.

Max chose to stay in the stable with their horses since he seemed to sleep better while on duty. They all knew Max liked to sleep with one eye open and no one had been able to convince him to sleep in a bed like normal people. For her part, Liz chose to remain outdoors too. They knew she would remain near Max and probably find a safe place to sleep where the earth would protect her.

“You sure you don’t want to come stay with us Liz? There’s room for one more,” said Kyle.

She shook her head. “No thanks. I’m more comfortable outdoors, you know that.”

Max nodded. “Okay then. We’ll stay for the night and leave a little after daybreak. One last thing before we break up to enjoy the celebration, I think we should find someplace private on the morrow to stop and allow the magicians in our group to practice.”

Liz agreed as she looked at Alex and Tess. “I think that’s a good idea. If we have a chance to really practice together, it’ll give us an idea about who works best with whom and if we should pair up next time.”

Tess nodded. “True, and we might even be able to work with everyone else too. I don’t think it should just be between the magic users, you know.”

“She’s right. There are things I can already think of that some of the non-magic users could have done to help you three today,” replied Isabel.

As they all murmured their agreement, Max grinned. “All right then, soon as we head out we’ll start looking for a place to stop for a day or two to practice. In the meantime enjoy yourselves, but with caution.”

“Will do Max. See you guys on the morrow,” replied Kyle as he and Alex got up to go in search of refreshment.

Little by little, the group went their own ways. Every now and then they’d drift off with someone else from the group. There were times when Michael and Kyle were sparring for onlookers. Alex would have drinking contests with Kyle and Maria. Tess and Liz would put on small magic tricks for the children. Isabel and Tess would constantly be hit on by drunken men, but their skills would often make them laughing stocks.

Eventually Max, Liz, Isabel, and Michael would sit together talking amongst themselves or with the villagers while Tess, Kyle, Alex, and Maria continued to drink and revel in the celebration until the night grew darker and the village began to drift off to their beds.

TBC...

[Shadowlynxbehr]

Part 7

Tess lifted her hand in the air, her wrist making small movements back and forth. Within moments a small funnel of wind formed in the open space in front of her. As she directed the funnel with her hand, Liz stood nearby and chanted silently.

Once the funnel reached the right velocity, leaves from the ground spun in an intricate dance inside the funnel. Faster and faster they moved until suddenly they began whipping out of the funnel. Like tiny darts they embedded themselves in the sack man that had been created for their target purposes.

The moment all the leaves were gone, the funnel instantly died down until all that was left was a breeze that stirred the dirt. Alex walked over to the sack and inspected it before giving a low whistle.

“That is some aim you got there Liz,” he said in an appreciative tone.

Isabel walked over to join him and laughed when she saw the leaves sticking out of the sack. He was right. A cluster of leaves stuck out from an area where the heart would have been.

“Were you picturing someone in particular?” she asked Liz with a grin.

Oblivious to Isabel’s question, she shrugged. “Not really.”

Alex shook his head in disbelief as he helped Isabel clean the sack while Liz and Tess went to set up some more training exercises for Alex. The other four were sparring not too far away from where the magic users were.

They had managed to find a great place that was far away from villages and well-traveled roads for their practice sessions. Just like Max had said, the group had set out at daybreak despite a few of them having had a little excess the night before. Still, Isabel had made sure that the slow moving ones were up and at it with very little effort.

Once they had gotten on the road, they had ventured far away from the village before Max took them off the main road onto a less traveled one. From there, Liz and Michael took turns scouting for a place where the group could spend some time practicing together.

It took about two more hours before Michael had found a place and Liz had gone to make sure it was ideal for them to practice in. When Liz agreed that the clearing at the edge of a wooded area was both spacious and protected enough for them, the group made their way there.

They had quickly gotten settled and began dividing up to do their practices. Taking the smaller area that was set apart from the larger clearing by thick, low rows of brush, the four non-magic users paired up to practice their fighting skills against each other.

Max and Michael were one pair that worked on techniques to fight against opponents who used weapons similar to the ones the two of them used. Since Michael had never fought against someone who used a sword, this was a great opportunity for him to learn. It was the same for Max who was learning about the eastern fighting style that Michael used.

Even as they learned how to fight against those who used different weapons, they also practiced some hand to hand combat. It was during that time that they realized the two of them were evenly matched in that aspect of fighting.

Kyle and Maria also worked together, showing each other how to use their weapons. Granted, Maria didn’t have the muscles to wield the heavy axe Kyle used, but at least she learned how to use one if she happened to be around a smaller version of one. She did teach Kyle the advantages of having hidden knives on him as well as teaching him a few gymnastic moves which were perfect for a man of his build.

Max and Michael had finished another practice round and were now watching as Maria and Kyle did some hand to hand combat. Max was impressed when Kyle seemed to have a chokehold on Maria but she managed to use his body as a springboard and his arm as a bar, enabling her to flip her body over his until she wound up behind him. At that point, she had pushed her feet into the backs of his knees making him lose his balance. Only his hands and arms kept him from falling face forward into the ground.

As she helped Kyle to his feet, Max glanced over at Michael who wore a grin on his face. Max had to agree with him. “She is good.”

Michael nodded. “She was trained well by her acrobat family. She’s even taught me a few things too. Heck, I’ll admit she’s even gotten the best of me a few times too.”

Max arched an eyebrow at that. He considered Michael the best hand to hand fighter next to him within the group. “Really?”

“Yep. Like I said, she was trained well. After all, acrobats mainly use their hands and they’re rather light on their feet.”

Max nodded as he looked back to Maria and Kyle who had launched into another round. Even he knew that there were always deferent factors that could gauge the outcome of a battle. It could be anything from experience to the physical aspects of a person. And if a fighter knew their strengths and what weaknesses to exploit in their opponent, then the fight could go in their favor.

Just like it seemed to be going for Maria today. She knew her quick, compact body was too much for Kyle to handle since he was mostly used to making heavy, lumbering movements. Once more, she had gotten the upper hand as Kyle ended up flat on his back with an ‘oomph’.

Michael shook his head and walked over to help Kyle to his feet. “Come on, I think it’s time you two took a break.”

Max agreed as he joined them. “Yes, take a break while we get some lunch rounded up. I’m sure the others are ready for a bite to eat also.”

They all looked over the brush to where Alex was learning to work with his fire magic with Liz’s help. She stood next to him, both directing and keeping a look out for him, while he controlled the magic he performed in the small circle the women had set up for him.

Tess and Isabel stood at a safe distance behind the pair watching the magical display in front of them. It was Isabel who happened to look in their direction, allowing Max to motion that they were going to break for lunch. She nodded her head before leaning in to relay the message to Tess.

Max knew they would wait until Alex’s session was done before interrupting them. Liz would need all of her concentration on Alex to make sure nothing went wrong and Tess was standing by just in case her expertise was also needed.

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Nearly two hours later, the group had eaten and rested for a bit before deciding to practice again. This time they partnered up with someone they had yet to work with.

Isabel and Liz got together to discuss potions and the ingredients that went into them. They sat near Max and Alex who were currently practicing with staffs. While Max was not an expert of it, he did know some things about using a staff as a weapon so Alex was eager to learn and practice with Max.

While the two of them sparred, Alex was half listening to Liz and Isabel since he was also interested in the chemical aspect of mixing potions. Max didn’t mind since he was also learning more about the strengths of each of them and whether he admitted it or not, the leader in him knew it was always good to know the strength of your fighters.

On the other side of the brush, Michael was showing Kyle some moves that would help him shift his body weight according to the balance he would need in certain fights. They were both hoping these lessons would allow Kyle to utilize something other than brute strength when fighting an opponent. Even Kyle knew that brute strength wasn’t always the way to win.

While they worked on that, Maria and Tess were working on ways to use Tess’ powers to move objects with wind the way Liz could move earthen objects. Tess had heard the story of the day the group had met Alex and how Liz had used dirt to trap him. Liz had showed Tess how she’d done it, prompting her to begin to try to manipulate the air likewise.

Maria had offered to help out since she had the knack of figuring out how to put things together. Both she and Tess hoped that ability could help Tess use her air powers on both animate and inanimate objects. It was through trial and error that the two of them were able to allow Tess to gain more control of her powers.

The late afternoon sessions turned out to be the most exhausting time in terms of strategizing and absorbing all the new information that cropped up. Even those, like Liz, whose sole purpose was to teach ended up learning new things to add to their already growing knowledge.

By the time dusk had settled, it was a tired group that gathered around the fire Max and Alex had started. Liz and Isabel had been the ones to forage for food since they’d already been scouting for potion ingredients. Dinner was nearly done when the others had made their way to the fire.

However, the respite and good food gave them a little energy to talk amongst themselves for a bit. It was decided that they would delay for another day there since there were plenty of new ideas several of them had come up with and were eager to try out on the morrow.

Liz wanted to work with Alex and his fire powers more, thinking they could also pair her arrows with his fire as another useful weapon. She also thought it would be good to get Alex and Isabel working together with potions and chemicals to see where that could go.

Max wanted a chance to spar with Maria since she seemed to be good at what she did, plus he thought Maria might be able to help the other girls learn some defense techniques if they couldn’t always rely on their magic. Plus, he’d seen what Michael had been teaching Kyle and thought another day under Michael’s tutelage could also benefit the axe man very well.

As they shared their ideas with the others, it encouraged them to add to the mix. All of them agreed that while those combinations could be beneficial, some just wanted to go up against those that were almost foreign to them. Michael was interested in learning from Liz how to track and identify differences in the environment. Kyle was interested in becoming more in tune with his body, which Isabel and Liz offered to help him do since they both were familiar with certain exercises he could do. And Alex wanted to work with Tess since she was a witch who could control water.

When the fire had begun to weaken and most of their ideas had been discussed, they decided it was time to prepare for sleep. Max and Michael walked around the area setting the perimeters and discussing who would be taking what watch during the night. As they did that, Liz and Isabel prepared the sleeping area along with Alex and Tess while Maria and Kyle searched for more kindling for the fire.

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As Max and Michael walked around the area, Michael glanced back in the direction of the others who were laying out the sleeping blankets. He smiled at the apparent friendship that was blossoming between Liz and Isabel, two people who seemed the least likely to be drawn to each other. At least that was true at first impression.

When he looked at Max and spotted him eyeing the pair of women, he knew he wasn’t the only one who thought so. However, he knew Max wasn’t as amused by the observation as he was since Max currently wore a serious look on his face. Grinning at the obvious interest Max had in Liz, he cleared his throat before speaking up.

“So, what’s the situation between you and Liz?”

Max turned a puzzled frown on Michael. “Situation?”

“Yeah, you seem to be very protective of her.”

Max shrugged. “She’s in my care until her father calls her back and I just don’t want anything to happen to her on my watch that’s all. Feyjer was kind enough to let her travel with me for a while, trusting me with his daughter’s life. If anything should happen to her while she’s here, I’d consider it an insult to them. Plus, this is the first time Liz has ever been in the human world and there are still many things that are foreign to her.”

Michael raised an eyebrow. “You sure about that?”

Max nodded as he glanced back to where Liz was laughing at something Isabel was telling her.

“Max, I think you’re underestimating Liz. I mean, you’re going about it wrong.”

He turned to stare at Michael. “How so?”

“You’re equating Liz’s limited knowledge of the human world with naiveté. She’s not an innocent, Max. There may be things in our world that she’s not familiar with, but Liz is a grown woman. For lack of a better word. I mean you and I don’t know everything about her world either, but who knows. There could be people there who do things similar to what we thought Isabel did. Heck, they could even have such a thing as criminals there, don’t you think?”

Max stopped walking and turned to face Michael. He appeared to be thinking on what Michael had just said despite the slight scowl on his face. After a few moments, he let out a sigh.

“I know that Michael. I know she’s an adult, but that still doesn’t mean I can’t protect her from certain things. Honor and duty were the two things instilled in me from birth and through the beginning of my knighthood. They are still the two things that mean the most to me today. Although I know Liz could flatten me out without so much as a blink of an eye, it doesn’t change the way I was brought up. Understand?”

Michael nodded. “Yeah, I understand. Just thought I’d remind you that’s all.”

Max suddenly grinned at him and clapped him on the shoulder. “Thanks, my friend. I guess it doesn’t hurt to be reminded of some things once in a while. Especially since I know I tend to get wound up about certain things without realizing it.”

Michael chuckled as he and Max began to walk again. “Oh, trust me Max. You’re not the only one to get wound up about certain things.”

This time Max turned the tables on Michael. “I see. So Michael….what’s the situation between you and Maria?”

A sheepish grin was his answer.

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Kyle shifted his bundle from one arm to the other as he waited for Maria to finish tying her bundle together. When she was done, she slung it over her shoulder and stood up to begin the trek back to the others.

He grinned at her ingenuity. “Where’d you learn to do that?”

She looked at him. “Do what?”

“Tie those twigs together like that without them falling apart? I swear every time I tried that, I left a trail behind me.”

Maria laughed. “This was actually a trick I learned from Michael.”

Kyle gaped at her. “Whoa! You telling me you learned something from Michael? From what he said, it’s always been the other way around.”

She tsked. “Don’t let him fool you. He’s just as inventive and useful as I am. I think that’s what makes us great partners. We both give and take from our partnership and we’re both willing to learn new things and keep an open mind.”

Kyle nodded. “Yeah, but I get the feeling what you two have goes beyond just being partners.”

Maria shrugged, but Kyle didn’t miss the look in her eyes. If he was any good at reading people, he’d think it looked like she was a little sad or longing for something more. “What can I say,” she replied, “I think it’s just that we’ve been traveling together for so long now that we’ve become as close as family. For a while there it was just the two of us which meant there was plenty of time when we only had each other to entertain ourselves. I guess it was only natural that we’ve gotten as close as we are.”

“Maybe. I suppose that is true for Max and Liz too.”

Maria perked up at that. Grinning, she added her thoughts. “Oh now that is an interesting pair, isn’t it?”

Kyle laughed. “Understatement!”

Maria joined in the laughter. “I mean, you remember the way Max acted when Tess took us to Isabel’s tent!”

“No kidding! You’d think Liz was a newborn babe the way he’s so protective of her sometimes.”

Maria snickered. “Yeah and we both know she could so kick his arse before he could even take one breath.”

“I’m surprised she didn’t do it at that time! Isabel looked like she was ready to though!”

The two of them erupted into gales of laughter over the past incident and over everything that had remained unsaid but had been completely obvious at the time. It was a few moments before they managed to control themselves enough to continue on back to the others.

As Maria wiped tears of mirth from her eyes, she couldn’t help but make one more comment. “I have to admit though. I am so looking forward to the day both of them finally get a clue about each other.”

Kyle winked at her. “Me too, my friend. Me too.”

TBC...

[Shadowlynxbehr]

Part 8

Two fortnights later, the group was still growing stronger and more compatible together. By the time they came upon the latest village that would need their help, they all had formed new friendships and new ways to combine their skills.

It was through some of the practices of fighting on horseback that had resulted in the way they now seemed to pair up or not on the horses as they journeyed from place to place. Since the woodland elves had given Liz to Max for a time, it was obvious that her place was always with him, so she continued to ride behind Max on his horse.

It worked out well because Max could steer his horse and fight one handed with his sword while Liz did her magic from her seat behind him. It was the same with Kyle and Tess who also shared a horse. Kyle had learned to handle his axe one handed while he controlled his horse with the reins in his other hand and Tess did her magic from her seat behind him.

As for Michael and Maria, they had switched places. Since Michael’s weapons required him to throw several of them often in quick succession, Maria had learned how to handle the horse so that he could be free to use all of his weapons should he need to. However, they had also managed to come up with new ways of fighting together on the horse even when it was in motion which was a product of them both having experience with agile-type fighting.

The only ones who had their own horses were Isabel and Alex. Isabel rode the horse she had joined the group with and it had quickly become obvious to the others just how trained the horse was to enable Isabel to fight and use what little magic she could use while on horseback. Most of that magic was all the potions inside the vials that hung from loops around the horses saddle.

As for Alex, it had been Isabel who had spent her time teaching him how to fight on his horse and remain in the saddle during the fight. Of all the magic users, Alex was the most uncoordinated one when it came to doing battle with anyone and anything. Liz had actually attributed his instability to the fact that his element was fire, which was known to create havoc unless you had tight control of it. Still, under Isabel’s guidance and her patience with training his horse, Alex had finally learned to ride his horse and use his staff to do his magic at the same time.

Now with the new skills everyone had learned or perfected, their work seemed to go more smoother and quicker than ever before. Of course, most of their opponents had been either each other on the practice field or unruly humans who thought they could bully others. Then there was the occasional fence or building they wrangled against whenever someone needed help putting these new items up on their land. Not since they had battled the Zorar had they come up against anything as challenging as it had been.

However, as they made their way towards the village of Merdesmire their newfound abilities were finally about to be tested.

It was the noise that reached them first. They could hear rumbling in the distance followed by screams and shouts. By the time the screams had reached them, the ground shook beneath them, spooking their horses.

Maria, righted her horse next to Max’s and grimaced towards the village. “I suppose that’s got to be something big.”

Max searched with his gaze before nodding. “I agree. Liz?”

Seated behind Max, Liz had her eyes closed as she did her magical search of the area. It was a few moments before she nodded. “I think so, but I can’t see anything as of yet.”

Isabel spoke up from behind them. “There seems to be quite a lot of fear coming from the village.”

Kyle was already prodding his horse towards the village. “Shall we go see what we can do to help?”

Max nodded as he spurred his own horse forward. The others followed after him as everyone silently began preparing themselves for anything possible. It didn’t take long for them to reach the outskirts of the village where they were sure they would meet people trying to run for their lives. However, they were all surprised to see the streets seemed deserted.

“What the…” started Michael as he and the others turned to Liz for answers.

Wearing a frown, Liz never opened her eyes as she spoke to them. “I still can’t see anything.”

Isabel shivered. “I can feel their fear, they are here somewhere.”

“But where?” whispered Maria as she continued to scan the village with Michael.

Liz opened her eyes and turned to look at Tess. “You’re the only one who can locate them.”

Tess gave a barely visible flinch from her seat behind Kyle. “Are you sure you can’t…”

Liz shook her head. “You know I can only see them through the eyes of creatures but there’s none around and Isabel can feel their emotions but not pin point where they are. But you can use your mind powers to connect to them and get an idea of where they are.”

Kyle, feeling the tenseness of Tess behind him, scanned the village again. “Strange that there’s not even a sound from whatever it was that made the ground tremble.”

“Maybe it already left,” answered Isabel.

Alex shook his head. “Something that big should still be making noise even if it was leaving the area. It shouldn’t have gone silent that quickly.”

Max nodded, “He’s right, it should be fading away if anything.”

Liz was still looking at Tess. She gave her a reassuring smile. “Just do it just like we practiced. I’m right here if you need me.”

Tess hesitated for a moment before a determined look came into her eyes. With a quick nod, she closed her eyes and began to concentrate. Using her mind powers, she reached out with them trying to connect with any thoughts from any of the villagers. It took her a few moments of intense concentration before she came into contact with the first stray thought.

Her eyes flew open with a gasp as she turned to look at Liz. “They’re all hiding in their homes as they were told by the village elders! The thing isn’t attacking them, they think it’s waiting for something.”

Several of the group wore the same puzzled scowl as Max. “Waiting for what?”

“And where is it?” added Isabel.

Tess shrugged before closing her eyes again. This time she was determined to get those answers, but before she could touch any of the villagers’ minds again the ground began to shake beneath them harder than before. Tess opened her eyes as everyone struggled to control and stay on their horses while looking around for whatever was making the ground shake.

Seconds later, the ground erupted in front of them as the head of what looked like a giant rooster emerged from the gaping hole it had made. In contrast to the rooster head, two scaly lizard-looking limbs with wicked claws on the tips of the toes grasped the edge of the hole as the thing pulled itself out of it.

Michael and Maria both let out the same colorful curse as everyone raised their weapons in preparation. But before anyone could engage the creature a long, forked snake-like tongue shot out of the rooster’s beak, knocked Kyle off his horse and proceeded to wrap itself around Tess as if the tongue was a Boa constrictor itself.

Tess cried out as the tongue began to squeeze tighter just like a Boa would do. Max was the first to react as he moved his horse closer and swung his sword hard against the tongue. As he did so, the creature curved its body slightly so that its agile tail swung forward to sweep Max’s horse off its feet.

Luckily Liz had seen it coming which made it possible for her to grab Max and leap backwards even as she used her powers to create a soft bed of foliage for the horse to land on. It simply bounced on the foliage before scrambling to its feet again. The moment Liz had put Max back on the ground, he ran back towards the tongue to continue hacking at it with his sword. At the same time, Michael was throwing his stars at the rooster’s head trying to divert it from squeezing the life out of Tess, who was doing her best to try to struggle out of the creature’s hold.

Max growled through his hacking. “It’s too tough! My sword isn’t piercing it!”

“Let me try,” shouted Kyle, who had shook himself off and risen to his feet with his axe held high.

Max backed away and kept his eye on the tail as Kyle swung his axe down against the tongue. He used just enough force that the tip of his axe sunk into the tongue causing blood to seep through. The creature gave a high-pitched screech and flung Tess away as it retracted its tongue and the loosened axe fell to the ground.

This time it was Kyle who cursed as everyone on horseback raced after Tess to catch her before she hit the ground. However, Tess had managed to maintain some sense even as she was thrown like a rag doll through the air. She simply concentrated on the air rushing around her body until a whirlwind formed around her. Controlling the whirlwind, she directed it lower to the ground where it allowed her body to slowly slide through the center of the whirling mass until she was standing on her own two feet. As soon as she stepped out of the whirlwind she directed it towards the creature, but it swung its tail at the whirling mass of air and successfully diverted it.

Tess quickly took control of the whirlwind once more and simply willed it to fade away until it was no more. The others had turned their horses back towards the creature as soon as they saw that Tess was safe but had remained out of the way of the whirlwind until it was gone. Now Michael was once more hurling throwing stars at its heads while Kyle retrieved his axe and horse and went to pick Tess up once he was in the saddle again.

Max had been trying to get close to the creature but the long tail was preventing him from doing so. That same tail would swing towards Michael and Maria’s horse, but Maria was doing a fairly good job of maneuvering the horse around it while Michael threw his stars at it.

As Kyle moved his horse to stand next to Isabel’s where she remained motionless with Alex on his horse on the other side of her, they all stared at the creature with similar frowns on their faces.

“Any one of you happen to know exactly what that thing is and how to kill it?” growled Kyle.

“No idea,” replied Isabel as Tess mumbled a ‘no’ from behind him.

Alex remained silent as he continued to stare at the creature before them. They watched as Michael continued to throw his weapons at the creature’s head while Maria directed their horse to avoid the agile tail. Even Max was still trying to find a way to get his sword to connect with some piece of the creature as Liz tried to trap any of its limbs with vines and any other piece of earth she could coax from the ground beneath the creature.

Despite all their efforts, the creature seemed too strong for anything to work on it. From the chest up, it appeared to be exactly like a rooster since it was covered in white feathers with brown tips. It had a red crest on top of its head and a golden brown beak for its mouth. The tongue that had wrapped itself around Tess, appeared to be tough even though it was flexible enough to wrap itself around things.

The tail was just as tough and flexible as the tongue, but not quite as long as the tongue seemed to be. And while the tongue was a purplish color, the tail matched the rest of the body from the chest downward. The body stood on all fours, low to the ground just like a typical lizard’s body. It was covered in tough, leathery skin which was a reddish, brown color and all four of its feet had black, wicked looking claws at the ends of the toes.

As the creature curved its body again to try to sweep the horses off their feet, Alex marveled at just how flexible the creature was. Not only could the tongue and tail curl as if there was very little rigid bones in them, but it seemed the creature had a spine as supple as any human’s. Just then enlightenment hit Alex.

“Tardres!” he exclaimed, making the others turn to look at him with curiosity. Unfortunately, his exclamation also got the attention of the creature.

It swung its head towards Alex and as its beady, black eyes found him a red light seemed to flare in them before it quickly disappeared. A flicker of recognition moved through Alex before his attention was taken by the long tongue which was now on its way towards him.

With an exclamation of surprise, Alex quickly turned his horse away from the approaching tongue and spurred it into a run. Kyle had flung his axe at the tongue once more and when it made contact, the creature screeched like before and retracted its tongue.

As Michael and Max re-engaged the creature, Kyle retrieved his axe and galloped to Alex’s side where Isabel had already joined him. As soon as they were close enough to hear, Isabel asked the question.

“What was that you said?”

“That’s what this demon is called, Tardres.”

Kyle grimaced as he looked back at the creature. “That thing is a demon?”

Alex nodded. “Yes, it’s a demon just like the Zorar was. And it’s supposed to be just as non-magical but a little better at diverting some forms of magic.”

Tess tsked. “Yes, I think we are seeing just what kinds of magic it can defend itself against.”

Isabel turned narrowed eyes towards the demon again. “Well, we know it seems to divert your air powers and Liz’s earth powers but we haven’t tried Alex’s fire and your mind powers.”

Tess shook her head. “My mind powers are only effective on humans, Isabel. Animals, demons and other non-human creatures are safe from my powers.”

Isabel scowled, “Well then that leaves you Alex.”

Alex was looking at the demon again. “Well, I’m positive fire won’t penetrate that tough, leathery hide but it might work on those feathers.”

Kyle nodded. “Alrighty then, work your magic Alex.”

Alex concentrated on the demon once more as he lifted his staff before him. Holding it perpendicular to the ground, he focused on the red stone set at the top of it until a bright light began to glow from the center of it.

“fyr blaese!” he whispered in a deep, crisp voice and a ball of fire engulfed the stone. He aimed the fiery stone towards the demon’s feathers and once more issued a command. “birnan!”

The ball of fire shot from the stone straight through the air until it hit the feathers on the demon’s neck. The demon let out a screech as the feathers ignited and the fire began to spread. But before the fire could travel too far, the demon swung its tail forward until it curled over its neck as if it was wiping the fire away.

Soon the tail had managed to extinguish the fire, leaving behind a few black and smoking feathers. As the demon turned beady eyes in Alex’s direction, Kyle muttered under his breath.

“Well, guess it has a defense against fire too.”

Alex lifted his reins in expectation of having to flee again as he answered with his own muttered, “yes!”

However, Tess had once more managed to snag the demon’s attention as she exclaimed, “I think I got it!”

The demon screeched and shot its tongue in the direction of Tess once more, but this time Kyle hacked away at it trying to keep the tongue from knocking him off the horse again and capturing Tess like before.

As the demon gave up the effort for the time being, Tess hastily continued with what she was going to say. “Its feathers can be burned and from the spots of blood Michael’s weapons are creating, that part of its body can be penetrated. We need to force something hot and sharp into its chest, preferably where we think the heart is.”

Isabel’s eyes widened. “Yes! That’s it! Alex you can heat metal right?”

He nodded as Tess added, “I can use my powers to project a sharp object into its chest!”

Alex turned towards Max and shouted, “Max, we need your sword!”

At his words the demon screeched again and tried to move towards Alex. Max and Maria managed to move their horses in front of the demon to keep it from going after Alex. It screeched and swung its tail at Max’s horse then dipped its beak towards Michael and Maria. Maria managed to duck the beak and get the horse out of the way before any damage was done, but now the tongue reached for them.

It knocked them both off the horse and tried to wrap itself around Maria as Max swiped at it with his sword. Maria gave a shout as the forked tongue seemed to graze her stomach before it retreated from Max’s sword. Michael had stumbled back to his feet and was running towards Maria as she grabbed the horse’s reins and pulled herself back into the saddle while gritting her teeth.

“Maria!” he shouted.

“I’m fine!” she shouted back as she rode the horse to his side to pick him up.

He quickly swung up behind her and they once more joined Max and Liz in battling the demon.

Having had enough of it, Kyle growled as he turned to offer Tess his arm. “Stay here and do what you have to do, I’ll help Michael and Maria keep the demon’s attention.”

He helped Tess onto the back of Isabel’s horse before charging off to take Max’s place so that he and Liz could join the others at a safe distance.

Once Max joined them, Alex and Tess quickly explained what they’d come up with. Max nodded his acceptance and held the sword away from his body. Alex pointed the red stone of his staff at the blade of the sword and whispered a command.

“haetu!” Immediately the blade turned red as if it were being heated in a forge.

When Alex nodded, Max aimed it towards the demon’s chest as Tess kept her eyes glued to the sword. Max waited a few moments to give Tess time to concentrate then he pulled his arm back and threw the sword towards the demon’s chest. Tess’ eyes continued to follow the sword as it flew faster and faster towards the demon. Using her powers, she made the air carry the sword straight and true to the demon’s chest until it embedded itself into the feathers.

As the demon let out an ear-piercing screech, Tess continued to use the air around the sword to force the blade further into the demon’s chest until only the hilt was showing. Suddenly the demon threw its head back and crowed. Moments later the body burst into glittering red light before it all faded away into nothing.

Everyone stared at the place where the demon had once been.

Kyle chuckled. “Well at least it died cleaner and less smelly than the Zorar.”

The others began to chuckle with him until Michael’s roar reached them. “Maria!”

Everyone turned in time to see Michael trying to keep hold of an unconscious Maria who had nearly fallen out of the saddle in front of him. Kyle was the first to reach their side and was lifting Maria back into Michael’s arms when the others joined him. As Michael leaned her body back against his, they all could see the bloody wound just above her right hip.

Michael lifted his hand that had just made contact with her wound, it was covered in her blood. He turned frightened eyes on the others. “She…she said she was fine!”

Isabel leaned over to place a comforting hand on Michael’s arm knowing her touch would help soothe his emotions. “Let’s get her someplace safe, where Liz and I can heal her.”

As they began to look at their surroundings, people were slowly emerging from their homes. A few of them approached the group until one of the tallest women there gave them a slight curtsy.

“Thank you for saving us, how can we repay you for what you did?”

Liz leaned down to give her a gentle smile. “Is there someplace we can rest? One of our group has been injured and we need to tend her wound.”

The woman nodded. “Of course, that is my house just over there. You are welcome to put her in the spare room. I can give you all the supplies you need to tend her wound.”

The villagers began to disperse as the group followed the woman to her home where she enlisted her daughter’s help. While her daughter showed Max, Kyle, Tess and Alex to the stable where they could feed and leave their horses, the woman escorted the others into the spare room of her home.

She motioned for Michael to place Maria on the bed that was there and asked Liz and Isabel what they needed her to fetch for their work. As soon as she was gone, Liz took a seat next to Maria and immediately began to use her magic to heal the wound while Michael sat on the other side of the bed and held Maria’s hand.

Isabel took the items from the woman when she returned before softly telling her they would be fine for now. Isabel quickly prepared the paste they would be putting over Maria’s wound which would help with infection and further healing. When Liz sat back with an exhausted sigh, Isabel took over with the healing.

Laying on the bed until her side barely touched Maria’s injured side, Isabel draped an arm over Maria’s waist and closed her eyes. Softly she began to sing a chant as if she were whispering it into Maria’s ear. She continued to sing for a few more moments until the chant seemed to fade away. As it did, Maria’s eyes fluttered open and Michael let out a gasp of surprise.

“Maria! Maria, you’re okay!”

She blinked up at Michael as Isabel slid off the bed and picked up the paste she had made. “I’m fine,” she whispered.

Michael brushed stray strands of hair from her face. “That’s what you said before! Why did you lie to me?”

Maria smiled up at him. “We were kind of busy at the time. I didn’t feel it until everything was over.”

Liz leaned over Maria with a smile. “You were still caught up in the rush of it all. Often when the body is working hard along with the brain, it takes a while before the brain realizes something is wrong. It wasn’t until the excitement of it all was over that everything caught up with your brain. At that point your body did what it had to in order to protect itself.”

As Michael and Maria gazed at her in awe, she shrugged. “I told you, my magic deals with knowing how a body works but Isabel’s magic helps sustain it until it’s healthy again.”

“Amazing,” whispered Maria.

Michael nodded his agreement.

Isabel held up the bowl of paste. “I’m going to spread this over your wound now, Maria. Liz and I did what we could to start the healing and to sustain it. It’s already closing well, but this paste will keep infection away and finish the rest of the healing. You’ll have to stay in bed for a couple of days until the wound completely closes okay?”

“Okay,” replied Maria.

Isabel began to apply the paste to Maria’s wound. When she gritted her teeth and gripped Michael’s hand harder, he turned a worried look to his partner. “Does it hurt?”

“No,” she hissed through her gritted teeth. “It’s just really cold!”

Liz chuckled from the chair she still sat in. “It will heat up in bit. That’s when you know it is working.”

When Isabel was done and she and Liz made sure Maria was comfortable, they left her alone with Michael. The two of them remained in silence for a while listening to the voices of the others outside of the room. It seemed the woman was now making food for the group to eat while offering them the common room and the loft in the stable as places for them to rest for as long as they needed. She also said Maria was more than welcome to stay in the bed until she was well enough to leave again.

As the voices quieted down, indicating that some had left the house and others were settling down, Michael leaned over Maria again. “I thought I’d never again feel as helpless as I felt when my mother died.”

Maria heard the shakiness of his voice and looked up to see how bright his eyes were with unshed tears. “Michael?”

He let out a shaky sigh as he held her hand to his chest and leaned over to brush his lips over her forehead. Leaning back, he gave her a lopsided smile. “Leave it to me to have my eyes opened only after nearly losing you. It just proves I’m not that smart, doesn’t it?”

Maria smiled at him. “Not true. If you weren’t smart, you wouldn’t have figured it out at all. You just needed a little push in the right direction.”

Michael’s smile grew wider for a few moments before it faded a little. “Maria…I may not be what you could want in a man, but…”

She lifted her hand to cover his mouth, stopping him from finishing his sentence. “You are everything I’ve ever wanted, Michael. I’ve wanted you ever since I met you.”

Michael’s eyes widened in disbelief. “That long?” he whispered.

Her eyes told him the truth. He closed his eyes as he pressed her hand to his cheek. “I am such a fool!”

Her fingers curled around his. “That may be, but I have always loved that fool.”

He opened his eyes and gazed down at her for a few moments. Then slowly, he lowered his lips to hers. It was a lingering kiss, enough to leave an impression on both. To let each other know just where they stood with the other.

When Michael finally pulled away, he smiled down at her. “I swear I won’t keep my feelings hidden from you anymore Maria. And I’ll do my best to keep my eyes open about us from now on. Promise me you’ll do the same.”

“Always,” she whispered.

His smile widened into a grin before he leaned over to kiss her again.

TBC...

[Shadowlynxbehr]

Warning: Sexual scene between Michael and Maria occurs in this part!

Part 9

*A fortnight later*

As the eight worn out mercenaries continued to stare at the disappearing Dregol demon’s remains, they could hear the cheers of the villagers from the distance. This demon had not been hard to kill since Tess had recognized it immediately and told them the only way to kill the orange gel-like demon was to freeze it, blow it to pieces, then burn the pieces until they had all evaporated into nothingness.

So Tess froze it after it had taken the bait and eaten the raw meat filled with explosive powder that Isabel and Alex had created during one of their practice sessions together. The moment it was frozen, Michael threw a long iron pole at the demon’s stomach which Alex had heated until it glowed.

Tess used her powers once more to force the pole further into the demon’s body and Alex coaxed the pole to heat up more until it ignited the powder in the demon’s stomach making it explode into millions of tiny pieces. At that point Liz, Tess and Alex used their powers to make sure the fires burned all the tiny pieces until one by one they evaporated away.

Yes, the Dregol was not hard to kill but it was messy and they had to make sure it was far enough away to not cause anymore damage. Luring the demon away from the village had been tedious because it had been too stubborn to want to stop its destructive path. Still they had used the raw meat as the lure and prayed the demon would swallow the powder-filled meat so that they could blow it up then heat the pieces to evaporation before it could unfreeze and try to merge back together.

Thankfully the three magic users were able to work quickly together and managed to completely destroy the Dregol demon before it could reanimate itself and cause more damage. As it was, nearly a third of the village was decimated even though most of the buildings were not private homes.

As the mercenaries remained motionless staring at the places where the demon’s remains had been, the relieved villagers began to surround them. The villagers offered pats on the backs as well as handshakes and more cheers. It was obvious that many of them were not overly concerned about the destruction left behind, but rather they were grateful that the demon had been defeated.

As the leader of the village came up to the group to invite them to a celebration held in their honor, Max tried to decline. He did tell the leader that he and his group would help with the clearing of the destruction and do any of the rebuilding that the village needed them to do. The leader told Max that the work could be set aside until the following day since it was mostly public places that had been damaged or destroyed. However, if the mercenaries celebrated their victory with the villagers that night and then let some of the people put them up for the night, they were welcome to join in the rebuilding process on the morrow.

Max finally agreed to allow the victory celebration to commence and told his group that they would be staying the night so that they could help with the rebuilding the following day. Everyone agreed that it was a good idea and in no time at all the entire village had managed to congregate in the Main Square where there were already tables upon tables loaded with all sorts of food and drink.

Despite the fact that piles of rubble and still crumbling buildings lay several yards away, the Main Square was filled with laughter and music that didn’t seem to die down even as the sun disappeared from the sky. With the arrival of the night, torches were lit so that the village and its heroes could continue to enjoy the feast that was still laid out on the tables.

Later in the night Kyle, Tess and Alex began to get involved in some drinking games with some of the villagers. It was all done in good fun because whenever someone won, the others cheered them on and raised their glasses with good grace. Isabel and Liz sat with their three friends and the other villagers involved in the games, but they didn’t partake of the drinking.

While they smiled, laughed and joked with the others, the two of them continued to drink the fruit juice that was available for those who didn’t want to imbibe. At another table not too far from them were Michael and Maria.

They too were enjoying the feast and talking to those around them. However, as the night wore on and the drinks flowed freely, the two of them began to become more uninhibited and openly flirted with each other. Before long, the others at the table had drifted off into other conversations leaving Michael and Maria alone enough for them to get deeper into each other.

Then, as they shared another scorching kiss, Michael murmured that maybe it was time for them to retire to bed. Maria agreed as she came up for breath and the two of them silently made their way out of the square and headed towards the barn where Michael, Alex and Kyle were going to be sleeping.

They knew the other two guys would be celebrating in the square until almost sunup, so they had time to be alone. Upon making it to the barn, Michael found the pile of bedding that had been left for them and grabbed a couple of blankets to use. Taking Maria’s hand, he leaned in for another kiss before grinning down at her.

“We’ll go up to the loft if that’s okay with you?”

Maria slid her free hand up his chest until it rested against his jaw and looked up at him through heavy-lidded eyes. “Lead the way, handsome.”

His grin widened as he turned to take the lead towards the ladder in the back of the barn. Upon reaching the ladder, he tested it first before indicating that she go up before him. Once she’d reached the top, she turned and caught the bedding Michael was tossing up to her.

They made short work of fixing up their bed, using the hay that was up there as padding for their bed. A few blankets then served as pillows while a couple more were spread over the hay so that they could lay down comfortably. The last two blankets were going to be used to cover themselves since they thought it would only be cold enough for two.

As soon as their bed was ready, Maria grabbed Michael’s waist and tugged him close to her. Reaching one hand behind his head, she tugged it down until his lips were covering hers once more. Their kiss soon deepened as she slid her free hand up his chest and the other one remained curled in his hair.

Michael had wrapped both arms around Maria’s waist and now let his hands wander up her back. When his tongue ventured into her mouth, she let out a low moan which turned into a whimper when his hands moved to her front to cup her breasts through her clothes.

Letting him know that she wanted more, she arched her back and pushed her breasts further into his hands. Michael growled and began to circle his thumbs over her nipples that were hardening through the cloth. She slid both hands down to his waist and began undoing the ties that held his shirt together.

Before she could get too far, Michael caught her wrists and with great effort, pulled his lips from hers. He looked down at her expression, which was a mixture of bewilderment and impatience.

“Are you sure about this?”

She arched an eyebrow at him. “Buona dolore! Michael if I wasn’t, do you think I’d be trying to get you out of your clothes?”

He couldn’t help but grin at the string of curses she said in her ancestor’s language even though it mostly served to make him want her more. He stopped those curses the only way he knew how.

Pulling her body flush with his, he began to devour her luscious mouth. She gave another moan before her hands went back to undoing the ties to his shirt. This time he didn’t stop her and when he was naked from the waist up, he leaned back at the slight nudge of her hand.

She stood there running her hands over his chest, enjoying the feel of his skin and the small scattering of hair he had on his chest. Her fingers moved to his dark nipples as she gazed curiously at them while her nails scraped over them. When Michael gave a gasp at the feel of her nails, she looked up into his eyes. Smiling at the way his eyes were darkening, she leaned over to run her tongue over one nipple. Liking the taste, she licked it again before nipping it with her teeth.

Michael groaned. “You’re killing me, Maria.”

She chuckled before moving to the other nipple and repeating her teasing.

Michael let her do so for another moment before he grabbed her by the shoulders and set her back from him. With his hungry eyes devouring her, he reached over and pulled her entire shirt over her head without undoing any of the ties. Letting it fall to the floor, he moved closer to her and removed the cloth that concealed her breasts from his view.

The moment her naked flesh came into view, he inhaled sharply and continued to gaze at her. Maria held her breath as his hand slowly moved up until his fingers grazed the side of her breast. He seemed mesmerized by the sight of her.

Just when Maria started feeling a little uncomfortable, Michael muttered a “beautiful” before leaning down to take her breast into his mouth. Maria closed her eyes and slid a hand into his hair as his mouth tugged at her sensitive flesh. The more his tongue and teeth teased her nipple, the more she felt her legs giving way.

Soon Michael was holding her completely in his arms and slowly lowered her to their makeshift bed. When she was lying down, he lifted himself onto his elbows to look down at her. His breath hitched at the way her lips were slightly parted and her eyes were hooded.

She reached up to caress his jaw as he lowered his head to feast on her other breast. As he did, her hands moved over his shoulders and back, feeling the muscles he’d developed from all of the work he’d done as a gypsy and from his style of fighting. When his mouth left her breasts to taste the rest of her skin, she slid her hands into his hair again.

Michael made his way down her chest to her navel where he began to undo the ties to her pants. When he had loosened them, he rose to his knees and began to slide the last of her clothing off of her. She lifted her hips to make it easier for him.

As he tossed her clothing to the side, she sat up and began to undo his pants. Looking up, she locked gazes with him until she was able to pull his pants down. Michael rose to his feet to allow her to take them the rest of the way off.

She then tossed them aside and lay back as Michael resumed his place over her naked body. The moment their flesh made contact with each other, both of them let out soft sighs. It lasted for a moment before they both chuckled.

Michael brushed some hair away from her face. “This has been a long time in coming hasn’t it?”

Maria nodded as she traced his jaw with her fingers. “Yes, a long time.”

Once more her fingers curled around his head and tugged him down to her lips. For a while the two of them reveled in the taste of each others mouths and the feel of their bodies sliding against each others. Soon, Michael’s groin connected with hers making them both moan in anticipation.

Maria lifted her hips to rub herself against his hardness. He shifted slightly so that he was now surrounded by her wet folds. She continued to rub against him, making him slick for his eventual penetration.

When Michael couldn’t take it anymore, he reached down to tug her legs around his waist and when she tightened them around him, he plunged inside of her. Maria arched off the ground with a gasp, but her slickness had made her more than ready for him.

Still, he waited a few moments for her to get used to him before he began to rock inside of her. As he began to slide against her walls, Maria joined him and thrust her hips up over and over again to meet his motions.

Again Michael shifted and heard Maria moan as her body tightened around him. He knew he’d just found a particularly good pleasure spot when her limbs suddenly squeezed him tight and her breathing became pants. He picked up his pace, thrusting deep and hard until she threw her head back and cried out his name.

Michael groaned at the feel of her walls pulsing around him as he lifted up to his hands and continued to thrust into her body. As her walls continued to milk him, he quickly found his own release as his body shuddered above hers.

Closing his eyes, he rolled over to his back and pulled Maria into his side. She settled against him with her head resting on his shoulder and an arm draped over his chest. Neither one of them said a word as they were both content to bask in the aftermath of their lovemaking.

************************************************************************

The night was winding down out in the Main Square as more and more people began to make for their beds. Liz shook her head as Alex’s head finally dropped to the table as he passed out from all his drinking. From the looks of it, Kyle wasn’t too far behind him, but Tess was still holding her own against the others who were still involved in the drinking games.

Liz glanced to her side to see Isabel rolling her eyes as she continued to look bored. She was simply there now to help carry whoever couldn’t make it to their bed on their own as was Liz. That was usually the way it was when the eight of them celebrated like this. Of course, Max also helped with the carrying since he never seemed to imbibe either.

Thinking of him, she looked around the square until she found him standing near the outskirts of the square where he stared at the rubble from the demon’s attack. He had his arms folded over his chest and appeared to be deep in thought as usual. Liz smiled at the sight of him and motioned to Isabel that she’d be right back before getting up and making her way over to him.

She was almost there when two women approached him, making her stop in her tracks. She watched as the women leaned in on either side of him and spoke to him in flattering tones. She was close enough to hear most of what they were saying.

“My lord, you look lonely standing here by yourself,” said the red-headed one who wore her chemise off her shoulders with a green bustier that seemed too small for one of her size. The green skirt she also wore seemed too tight and too short to be deemed decent.

“Why don’t you come with us, My lord. We will keep you company for the rest of the night,” added the other one who was a strawberry blonde and wore clothing very similar to the first woman but in the color of red.

Max looked down at the strawberry blonde who was now trailing one hand over his armor clad arm. “I’m fine, thank you.”

“But we are grateful for what you have done to save our village,” replied the redhead as she slid her arms around his other arm, “can we not show you just how much we appreciate all of the hard work you have done for us?”

Max turned to look down at her just when she pressed her chest closer to his arm, giving him a view of her ample cleavage while the strawberry blonde added her two cents.

“Yes, we can give you a nice rubdown in your bed to help relax those muscles you have strained from all that work. We can make sure you sleep well tonight, My lord.”

Liz frowned at the way the two women were making advances on Max. It was completely obvious from the way they kept touching him and presenting themselves to him, making sure he could see what they had to offer to him. It didn’t help that he seemed to be looking exactly where they wanted him to look too.

Still, Max politely slid his arms out of their holds and stepped away from them. “Thank you for your offer, but I must decline since I am not in any need of a massage nor am I planning on sleeping tonight.”

He nodded to each of them in turn. “If you will excuse me.”

He started to walk away from them, leaving them both pouting at his back. Liz continued to frown at the women who clearly looked like they wouldn’t take no for an answer, but before anyone could do anything else, Isabel’s voice called out to them.

“Liz. Max. It’s time to get these three to their beds!”

Max turned to see Liz looking in his direction with Isabel not too far behind her. He nodded his acknowledgement and made his way towards them. As he approached Liz, she stiffened and turned around, walking stiffly back towards the table where Kyle and Alex were both passed out and Tess was still drinking what was left.

No one said a word as they took Kyle and Alex to the barn and tucked them into their makeshift beds with the blankets they’d found waiting for them. Once the two of them were set, Isabel and Tess said goodnight to Max and Liz before making their way to the house that they would be staying the night in.

“You sure you don’t want to come with us, Liz?” asked Tess, who’d stopped halfway out of the barn.

Liz had intended on staying outside, not too far from where Max would be standing watch just like they usually did. However tonight, she wasn’t in the mood to be anywhere near her charge.

“I think I will tonight,” she answered before making her way to Tess who stood waiting for her with a smile.

“You should get some sleep in here tonight Max,” said Isabel, “I doubt anyone is going to attack after what happened today.”

Max shrugged. “Maybe I will.” He watched as the three of them walked out of the barn. “Goodnight ladies. Night Liz.”

The other two waved to him, but Liz continued walking out with her back stiff and chin up as if she were ignoring him. Max wondered at her demeanor for a few moments until they were out of sight before he walked out of the barn and went to find a place to keep watch for the rest of the night.

************************************************************************

The sun shone brightly the following morning as Isabel made her rounds to rouse the others so that they could begin helping with the rebuilding. Max was already out with the villagers while she roused Liz and Tess first then went to the barn to rouse the others.

It wasn’t long before they were all working around the rubble left by the demon from the day before. Granted, Kyle and Alex were the slowest of them because they were both suffering for the heavy drinking from the night before. Every loud sound made them grimace and they groaned when they made any moves that made their bodies protest.

Tess hadn’t suffered like they had and spent most of the time rubbing it in that they couldn’t hold their liquor the way she could. She was so busy teasing them and working at the same time that she wasn’t aware of the way Liz had been giving Max the cold shoulder since the night before.

None of them were aware of that fact since they all seemed to be too engrossed in whatever they were doing. Tess with her teasing, Kyle and Alex with their discomfort, Isabel with making sure they all were working, and Michael and Maria who were working while still basking in the afterglow of their night together.

The only one aware of Liz’s strange behavior was Max himself since she was ignoring him when she could. When she had no choice but to talk to him, her words were short and clipped as if she wanted to be anywhere else but where she was. Not knowing how to approach her, Max simply continued to work hoping that whatever was bothering her would soon go away.

However, by the end of the day when most of the rubble had been cleared away and a couple of buildings had begun to be repaired Liz was still acting the same way. Though they ate with the rest of the village that evening, they were on the road before nightfall declining the invitations to stay for another night.

As they made their way down the road through the darkening surroundings, they were a rather somber group. All of them were full, yet tired of the full day of work they’d had. Now they were looking forward to finding a place to sleep under the stars hoping that a good nights sleep was all they needed to feel refreshed again.

When Michael spotted a place for them, they quickly prepared for the night and arranged the order of the night watch before those who were not going to be the first one on watch settled into their beds for the night. It wasn’t long before everyone was asleep except for Alex who had volunteered to be the first to take watch.

Michael and Maria shared a blanket between themselves while Kyle slept nearby and Tess slept on the other side of the couple. Not too far from Tess was Isabel and Liz was next to her instead of her usual place near Max. He slept with his back against a tree with his sword close by like he usually did while Liz lay in her blankets nearly on the other side of the camp.

As usual, no one noticed the difference since they had all been too tired to focus on anything other than getting to bed while Alex took up his post of watching for the night. The only one who noticed was Max.

That was the reason why he sat with his eyes open and staring at the covered form of Liz long after she and everyone else had gone to sleep. For him, sleep would be a long time in coming.

TBC...

[Shadowlynxbehr]

SHOUT OUTS ON PREVIOUS PAGE

Part 10

Isabel stood in the center of the clearing, waiting for the creature to show itself. She wasn’t afraid of it even though she still didn’t know what it was. She knew Michael, Kyle and Maria were not too far behind her, hidden carefully among the shrubs and boulders in case of an attack. In the tower to her left which also had a sort of moat around it were Tess, Alex and Liz waiting to use their magic if needed and Max was with them since he was best at on-the-spot strategizing.

This was the plan they had decided on once the villagers had filled them in on the creature that had been attacking their village for several days already. These villagers had approached them while they had been getting supplies from a neighboring village. Upon seeing the eight mercenaries, they had gone to them and quickly explained what was happening to their village.

Most of the other villagers had managed to get out before the creature could catch them and they had all made for neighboring villages in hopes of finding someone who could help rid them of the creature. There were still people left in the defenseless village, but hope was high that they were still alive even though it had been several days of not finding anyone who could help them.

Once the mercenaries were told of the creature, they agreed to go in and take care of it. The villagers who had managed to get a good look at it told them it was like a giant snake with a long tongue and even two small forearms. They had no idea where it had come from, only that it suddenly appeared in their village without warning and they had been helpless to fight it.

So, with that very insufficient information, the eight mercenaries had ventured to the village with a couple of brave men who had pointed out to them the general direction the creature had been seen. Once they had done so, they had retreated back to safety to let the mercenaries do their job.

Quickly they had scoped out the place and Max had spotted the tower. He had then told the magic users that he wanted them in the tower so that they could be the first to see the creature and deal with it before it could cause any more harm. He said he’d pose as bait to lure the creature out, but Isabel said it was more likely to be lured by a helpless looking woman than a man with a sword. So he agreed to go up into the tower with the other three magic users so that he could issue orders based upon what they saw up there.

Michael, Maria and Kyle offered to stay on the ground close to Isabel just in case she needed help getting away from the creature which Max agreed was a good idea. They had then scoped out individual places for them to hide so that no matter where they were, one of them could get to Isabel quickly.

As soon as they were all in place and Max had given the word, Isabel sauntered out to take her place in full view of all of them. She walked out to the clearing and stood for a few moments just waiting. Then she had begun to softly hum a lighthearted tune as she pretended to be strolling through the sparse grass that was there. Occasionally she stopped to pick at a blade of grass or flower before resuming her stroll.

It was eerie how there was no sign of the creature as Isabel continued to move around as the bait. Not even the others in the tower or those hidden behind her could see any sign of the creature. Still, they were certain it would turn up again since they were in the general vicinity where the creature had attacked all the other times before.

Isabel had just stooped over to pick up another flower when she heard the bird call from the tower. Looking up, she let out a gasp at the sight of a gigantic serpent-like creature slithering towards her. Despite its size, it seemed to move silently. It wasn’t until it got much closer to her that she could hear the very soft hissing it seemed to be making.

The creature was greenish in color with the typical scaly pattern that common snakes had. Isabel could see the forked tongue dart in and out of its mouth as well as a thin crest that flowed from the top of its head to about halfway down the place where its neck would be.

Besides its huge size, the only other things that made it different than a normal snake was its red eyes and the two small limbs that served as arms. At the end of each limb were three curved claws that seemed perfect to grip things hard.

It was looking directly at her as it silently slithered towards her. She was amazed that a creature that huge could be so silent as it advanced. Even the rocks and debris it brushed against made no sound as it came closer and closer.

It wasn’t until she had taken a couple of steps back that she realized how it was so silent. The soft hissing she could faintly hear was done in a rhythmic way, almost as if it were a chant the creature was saying to silence its approach.

“It’s magic,” she muttered as she looked up at the creature’s face.

It’s tongue continued to dart in and out of its mouth as it lowered its head slightly to gaze down at her. The moment she looked into its red eyes, she knew she had made a grave mistake. Her body seemed to become paralyzed, frozen to the spot.

The creature kept advancing, the red eyes keeping her hypnotized.

“Isabel, run!” cried Kyle as Michael began throwing his stars at the creature.

When she didn’t react in any way, Kyle broke cover and ran for her. Michael’s weapons hit the tough scaly skin and bounced away harmlessly. Up in the tower, Tess began building a strong wind, forming it into a tornado to suck up the creature. However, the creature seemed to sense it since it turned its head and opened its mouth to suck the wind inside. Its momentary distraction allowed Kyle to grab a disoriented Isabel and drag her out of the way.

As the two of them scrambled for cover, Isabel seemed to regain her sense of self.

“What the gods is that?” she exclaimed.

Kyle gritted his teeth at the close call. “No idea, but it seems impervious to ordinary weapons and Tess’ magic.”

Isabel nodded. “I think it has its own magic too. I didn’t hear its approach because it is hissing a rhythmic chant to silence all sound. I could only hear the very faint hissing when it was almost on top of me. Also, if you look into its red eyes it hypnotizes you.”

“So that’s why we can’t really hear it even though we can see it!” exclaimed Maria in a hushed whisper as she watched the creature quickly slither away from the vegetation Liz was trying to wrap it up in.

Despite its huge size, the creature could move silently and quickly, too quickly. It avoided the vines and slid towards the tower where the others were hidden. It was half way there when it opened its mouth and shot out its tongue.

Isabel and Maria gasped as Kyle and Michael gaped at the length of the tongue that managed to reach the rest of the distance to the base of the tower where it proceeded to wrap itself around it then seemed as if it were a snake itself slithering up the rest of the tower. The more tongue that wrapped the tower, the tighter it got, crushing the brick as it did.

The tower began to crumble slowly and as it started to fall, Tess grabbed Alex and formed a wind funnel around them to lower them to the ground. Liz used her powers to form netting out of vines to catch her and Max as they jumped out.

The creature began retracting its tongue as it swung its flexible tail towards the four fleeing mercenaries. It missed Liz, but caught Max around his waist and tossed him up so one of the claws caught him in its grip. Max let out an anguished growl as Tess and Alex made it to the ground and turned immediately to lash out at the creature.

Alex aimed his staff at the creature’s head, uttered a command and a ball of fire shot out of the staff towards the head. Tess had sent another gust of wind at the creature as Liz landed on her feet not too far from them. The creature managed to stop the gust of wind just like it had before, but the fire caught on its head and managed to burn for a while, making it roar in fury even as it held Max in its claw.

Liz sent vines to grab the claw to pry each digit apart as Alex sent more fire at its head. Between the continuous fire balls Alex sent to its head and Liz’s vines prying at its claws, the creature couldn’t concentrate on both. Since the fire was the most dangerous, it finally let go of Max and tried to find out where the fire was coming from. Tess caught Max in a wind funnel to bring him safely to the ground before using her powers to help Alex spread his fire over the rest of the creature.

While the fire seemed to hurt it, it wasn’t really causing as much damage as they had all hoped. Still, Alex and Tess kept the fires burning on the creature as everyone else regrouped and tried to come up with a better way to defeat it. Michael also continued to toss his stars at the creature to keep it distracted enough from focusing on where the fire was coming from.

Isabel quickly told the others what she’d figured out about the creature’s hypnotic eyes and soft hiss for silence. Taking her cues and the fact that they could all see that it was quick to move and had effective weapons with its long tongue and tail, they knew that had to come up with stronger magic than the simple spells Tess and Alex were throwing at it.

“If nothing else, the first thing we should do is take out its eyes so none of us will be hypnotized,” Max suggested.

“Right,” said Liz as she drew her bow and notched an arrow.

“Alex, keep the fire away from its eyes. Liz needs a clear shot,” shouted Max.

As soon as Alex had begun aiming the fire elsewhere and the rest of the fire had moved from the creature’s eyes, Liz stared it down. She waited, reading its body language and then let an arrow fly. Before the arrow made contact, she already had another one notched for the next eye.

However she was still focusing for a good shot when the first arrow hit the left eye, effectively blinding it and making it even angrier. Before she could let the second arrow fly, the creature swung its tail at all of them, making them scramble and knocking several of them off their feet. Tess went flying into Liz and Max as Alex got knocked into Kyle and the tail swept through the other three, sending them for cover.

By the time they had scrambled to their feet, the creature had somehow disappeared.

“Oh, this is not good! Not good at all!” muttered Maria as all of them turned their backs towards each other and searched for any sign of the creature.

“How could it have disappeared that easily?” exclaimed Kyle.

“I don’t know,” said Alex, “but remember, it’s still got one good eye and that hissing silent chant.”

“Right,” replied Max. “And I’m certain it’s still hanging around somewhere waiting to strike.”

“So what do we do now?” asked Tess.

“We’ve got to find it,” replied Liz as she closed her eyes and held her hands out trying to see if her animal magic could detect where the creature went.

There were several long moments of tense silence before Liz shook her head in defeat. “Nothing, it’s too magical for my simple animal powers to find it.”

Michael gritted his teeth in frustration. “Well we can’t just stand here like sitting ducks!”

The others nodded as they continued to survey the area around them. Suddenly Max spoke up.

“Michael, Maria. Run for that building next to the tower. Tess, Liz and Alex be ready for anything. We’ll see if we can draw it out.”

All of them resifted in the circle so that no direction would be uncovered by one of them even as Michael and Maria readied themselves to run. When Max gave the word, they were off.

The three magic users watched the couple run when Isabel suddenly gasped a split second before anything happened. As she spun in the direction of the running couple, she saw the creature’s tongue already wrapped around both Michael and Maria as it dragged them out of sight.

Max let out a curse as he began to run in the direction of the tongue. Kyle and the three magic users followed behind him since they knew their magic couldn’t do anything to the tongue while Michael and Maria were in the way. Isabel ran behind them all and watched as Max ran around the corner after Michael and Maria with his sword drawn, only to come to a halt.

Alex was the next one behind Max. “Where did they go?” he exclaimed.

“It’s using its hissing to silence its approach and apparently silencing our voices once we’re in its grasp,” replied Liz.

“Well, that’s just great,” muttered Kyle, “How are we going to find them now?”

Tess jerked towards the other side of the building as her hand flew to her temple. “Over there! I can hear Michael’s voice in my mind. He’s trying to show me where they are!”

She ran in the direction Michael was showing her with the others following closely. Just as she reached the edge, she froze then ducked.

“Duck!” she screamed.

Michael had warned her in time, but the others behind her were a little too late as the tail came flying around and plowed into Max and Alex who were right behind her.

Max was thrown into the wall where his head hit the wooden siding with a sickening thud while Alex went sailing over Isabel’s head to land in an unmoving heap not too far away in a little clearing from the little group.

This time it was Kyle who started cursing as Liz went to check on Max, who had been knocked unconscious and Isabel went to check on Alex. Just as Isabel reached Alex, Michael and Maria were unceremoniously dumped on top of Tess as Kyle tried to go after the creature’s tail. He rounded the corner and growled.

“It’s gone again!” He snapped before he went to help Tess out from under the unconscious couple.

Isabel checked Alex’s pulse and a steady beat. She was just checking his breathing when instinct told her to look up. Rounding the building was the creature, making its way towards them. Quickly looking down at its body to keep from looking at the one good eye, she sent a wordless warning to Tess.

Tess immediately cried out as she got to her feet with Kyle’s help. “Liz! It’s going to Isabel!”

Liz rose from where she’d been trying to rouse Max and quickly notched an arrow. Together she and Tess silently made their way to the other corner again with Kyle right behind them. They waited out of sight until Liz could see the creature’s good eye lined up with her arrow. Sending a signal to Tess, who made a sound to distract the creature from Isabel, Liz waited until it turned towards them and let her arrow fly.

The arrow hit the bottom of the good eye, injuring it but not completely blinding it. Liz was notching another arrow as Tess made the wind rise to keep the creature distracted but its tail slammed into the building causing most of the wall right by them to fall on top of Tess, Liz and Kyle.

Isabel let out a gasp and looked around trying to find some way to stop the creature, knowing she was the only one left awake. As the creature turned to her, she knew she at least had to get it away from Alex, so she sprinted towards the remains of the tower. Just as she reached the edge of the moat to the tower, the tongue lashed out at her but she stumbled over a piece of rubble and tumbled into the water.

Landing on her bottom, she spun around to see the head of the creature coming towards her. With a scream, she raised her hands to shield herself and was suddenly aware of the sound of rushing water behind her. She peeked past her hands to see a wave of water arc over her head and slam into the creature’s head, knocking it off balance for a few seconds.

Those few seconds were all Isabel needed to realize she had been the one to summon the water. Quickly gathering her wits, she got to her feet and lifted her hands over her head hoping it still worked. When the creature turned towards her again, she threw her hands towards it and was elated to see more water slam into it.

Kyle had managed to dig himself and the two women out from under the rubble, his bulk had shielded them from getting too hurt, which enabled Tess and Liz to see what Isabel was doing.

“It doesn’t like water,” surmised Liz even as the three of them stared in awe of Isabel’s newly unleashed power.

“So we can drown it?” replied Kyle. “But there’s not enough water in the moat.”

Tess shook her head as inspiration hit. “No, but I think I have an idea.”

She sent a mental image to Isabel, who immediately raised her arms out to her sides and pushed them forward. As water drenched the creature from head to tail, Tess lifted her hands to the sky and called forth lightning.

Several bolts struck and sizzled along the creature’s body sending it into convulsions. Together Isabel and Tess threw water and lightning at the creature until the moat began to dry up. Tess quickly called for rain before the creature could collect itself and continued to send bolts at it. While she kept it occupied, Kyle ran to help Isabel drag a still unconscious Alex back to the wall where the others were.

They were setting Alex next to Max when the creature gave one last convulsion and went perfectly limp against the ground. Isabel pulled out her smelling salts to rouse Alex as Tess continued with the lightning and rain just in case the creature wasn’t dead.

“He’s awake,” exclaimed Isabel when Alex’s eyes fluttered open.

Tess made the rain stop and brought on wind to dry up the area as Liz asked the earth to draw the rest of the water away from the creature’s body.

“Alex? Can you understand me? We need your fire to incinerate the creature,” called Liz.

Alex shook the cobwebs from his head before nodding. “Yeah, okay.”

Kyle quickly helped him to his feet and to the side of Tess and Liz.

“Aim for its open mouth,” suggested Liz. “Get the fire inside and burn it from the inside out.”

“Got it,” replied Alex as he aimed the staff at its mouth and commanded a stream of fire to shoot into the open cavity.

Immediately there was a burning stench as Alex continued to direct the fire all through the creature’s body. Several long moments later the last remains of the creature fell to ashes and Tess called wind to scatter them.

With a sigh, Alex leaned against the building to rest while Liz went to administer to Max and Isabel and Kyle went to Michael and Maria’s prone bodies. Tess let the wind die down before looking at Alex. She rested a hand against his arm.

“Are you okay?” she asked in concern.

He nodded. “Yeah, thanks.”

She nodded and went to help the others. Alex walked over to where the creature’s body had been and surveyed the ground with a frown. His eyes caught something glinting in the returning sun which made him walk over to it and kneel down.

He brushed the dirt and left over ashes away to find a reddish-orange medallion-like object about the size of his thumbnail. Picking it up, he noticed the strange looking dagger etched in gold in the center of it and when he flipped it over, the word Serhyphis was etched in gold there. His frown deepened as he realized the medallion seemed familiar, but he didn’t know why. Pocketing it, he decided to keep it so that he could research it later before he told the others what he found.

Something told him it might help them all in the long run.

*********************************************************

Alex, Isabel, Liz, Tess and Kyle sat together with several villagers enjoying dinner set out as thanks for their help destroying the snake-like creature. The conversations were light and friendly amongst them all as they ate. None of them cared that Michael and Maria had declined to eat dinner with them and instead preferred to take their meal in privacy in the loft they had been offered for the night. They all even ignored the fact that Max had eaten his dinner in silence as usual and now sat brooding alone not too far from their chatty group.

Eventually people began to drift off into smaller groups as the night wore on. Alex was the first to go, declining the invitation to join Kyle and Tess in yet another drinking binge. With his earlier discovery and puzzlement over what it could mean still weighing heavily on his mind, he made his way to the stable he was sharing with Max and Kyle. Since he was the only one there, he simply made his bed and sat staring at the medallion for a very long time.

Back at the celebration, Isabel and Liz remained chatting softly with some of the villagers. Max had listened to the conversations around him in silence for the most part. Generally people left him alone since he didn’t seem to be encouraging conversation the way Isabel and Liz were. Not that he was being rude, he was actually polite to anyone who did stop and talk to him even if his answers were merely one or two words. Still, eventually even he called it a night not long after Alex did and made his way to the stable. By the time he settled into his own bed, Alex had already gone to sleep.

Soon Isabel and Liz decided to seek their own beds in a barn set up for the two of them and Tess. They had first checked on Kyle and Tess only to see that the two of them had not imbibed in drinking as they normally did. Secure in the knowledge that Kyle and Tess would be able to find their own ways to bed, Isabel and Liz had called it a night.

Little did the two women know that a good, deep conversation had actually started between Kyle and Tess when they had first set off to look for some drinks. Well, as deep as it could get for two souls who both seemed to be so lighthearted and carefree most of the time. It hadn’t been long before Tess realized just how much like her Kyle seemed.

She had listened to him talk about his family life and admired just how close he had been to them even though he had chosen to make his own way in the world. She also admired him for being brave enough to go it alone before he’d joined Max and Liz even though she knew a lot of it had to do with his friendly nature. No matter where he went, he seemed to make friends easily and always had a ready smile.

Another thing she liked about him was that despite his ability to be quite whimsical, he knew just how hard life could be. Granted, most people tended to take one look at him and judged him to be rather naïve and impulsive but she was starting to realize that was simply one face he showed to the world. As if that face were disguising the real man underneath. The one who knew the harsh realities of the world in all its complexities and how to deal with them without flinching.

Despite his knowing just how hard reality could be, he still woke up with a smile on his face and seemed to make it his duty to make sure everyone he came into contact with enjoyed life as much as he did. This was why she was drawn to him. She liked how he could not only enjoy talking to her but join her in the drinking games they did while still respecting her in the morning.

So, it was with that conversation that the beginning of their close relationship bloomed. Hours later, when dawn was just a few wings away, they finally made it to their respective beds albeit a little tipsy and still full of laughter.

TBC...