Happy! Good smells. Pretty faerie!
“Cinders, you’re a gem!”
Jus hefted his rawhide armor into place and jerked the fastenings tight. His suspicious eye glared at the little faerie as he said, “Where did you get an ermine skin?”
“Mrs. Baron lent it to me.” Escalla sat up naked in bed andstretched luxuriously. “It’s her best coat.”
“‘Lent’?”
“In a sense. It was only for a night!” Escalla shook out herclothes and began getting dressed. “Faerie dust adds luster, man. Everyone knowsthat!”
The Justicar deliberately busied himself with his back turned to Escalla as the faerie wriggled into her skirt. Tying herself in, Escalla flitted through the air to hang above her friend’s shoulder, looking down at thedocuments he had spread out across the tabletop.
“So partner, where’s this map?”
“Here. It’s a long march.” Jus pointed to the painted linesscrawled all over his map. “River, canyon, here’s the volcano-easy to spot, hasa permanent steam cloud above it.”
“Do we know what the labyrinth is like?”
“No maps of it.” Jus folded the map and stuffed it carelesslyinto his backpack. “Maybe in Greyhawk, but we don’t have the time.”
“Hey, I’m game!” Escalla flew over to the door and struggledwith the latch, laboring to swing the portal open. “When in doubt, we send apriest down each corridor first. We’ll find this trident and hammer, stop thecivil war, kick the librarian’s ass-simple!” The girl hovered happily,fluttering her wings.
“Come on,” the Justicar growled, “let’s eat.”
Jus carried his backpack outside while Escalla followed her nose past the garrison kitchens and out into the officer’s mess. Someone hadthoughtfully laid out a breakfast of kippers, bacon, scrambled eggs, and strawberry tart for the baron. Escalla whistled happily as she cast a floating disk spell and absconded with the entire meal, plates and all, not forgetting the salt.
She found Jus sitting by a little flowerbed behind the stables. Escalla spread breakfast upon an old horse rug and settled herself down to a double helping of tart.
“A farewell breakfast, compliments of the baron. Dig in!”
Sniffing in puzzlement at the food, Jus sat down, over-salted his eggs, and began to eat. Escalla made herself comfortable on his knee and helped herself to anything and everything edible in sight. Cinders sucked on a kipper’s tail, his red eyes gleaming above his eternal manic grin.
Thoughtfully breaking a piece of crisp bacon, Jus looked down at the faerie and said, “So you just found this?”
“Hey! No one said not to take it!”
The big man glowered. “I despair about you.”
“Hey, we’re partners.” Escalla passed the man a large sliceof tart. “Now eat up, and keep your eyes open.”
Dawn stole across the castle yard. In the stables, Polk could be heard loudly advising a priest on how to say his morning prayers. A tall man armored in silver plate came out of the castle to stand beside an archer and a sorcerer, who were loitering around the stables. Watching the gathering of their new allies, both Jus and Escalla laid aside their meal and shared identical thoughts.
Jus settled his sword and said, “I’ll watch your back.”
“Same back at you.” The girl flicked her wings and driftedoff the ground. “Are we ready?”
“We’re ready.”
Ready!
The faerie heaved a sigh, headed out into the dawn, and said, “All right. Well, we’re on the road to fame and glory.”
“You see, son, determination-that’s the mark of a realhero. Grit! Stick-to-it-ness! The ability to look like you mean business!”Sitting happily atop his wagon, Polk left the driving to an assistant wagoner. Now that he was an official guide, he liked to leave himself free to talk and advise. “Presence is the first impact you make on an enemy. So one thingwe have to work on is your image!”
Marching grimly beside the lead wagon, the Justicar gritted his teeth and tried to ignore Polk’s constant monologue. Cinders failed to helpmatters. The hell hound kept his ears pricked up and his tail wagging, perfectly happy with the sights and smells of the road.
Sitting above his companions and behaving like a lord of creation, Polk took a drag from a stone jug full of whiskey. On the wagons behind him were arrayed two priests with their tents, baggage, portable altars, and relics; a lordly paladin encased in solid silver armor; and a close-mouthed pair of men from the baron’s garrison. Three large wagons were rumbling along aruined, broken roadway behind them, each carrying enough supplies to see an army through a thirty years’ war.
Even this close to Trigol, the land still showed ghosts of battle. The skeletal shapes of farmhouses and villages jutted through the weeds, and wild grasses still followed the boundaries of long-forgotten fields. Only the bones were missing. The slaughtered had found no rest. Even now, their corpses toiled in the armies of Iuz, preparing for yet another war. Wind moaned through the wild oats beside a broken well.
Oblivious to the grim surroundings, Polk dragged in a breath of fresh morning air and gave a happy sigh. “Image, son! A hero has to haveimage.” Polk corked his jug. “A clear-cut presence! A blazing eye! You ask thefaerie, she’ll back me!”
The faerie in question was lounging on the back of one of the great, hairy cart horses. No one could ever accuse Escalla of having a lack of personality. She reclined on her back eating wild strawberries taken from the fields, her toes wriggling happily inside her boots as she enjoyed the day. She rolled to watch Jus and gave the man a knowing smile.
“Hey, Jus! Bearing up?”
“The wagons are too slow.” Jus seethed with annoyance atbeing made to cater to so much useless baggage. “Tomorrow we start to lose theroads.”
“Yeah, well, enjoy it while we can.” Escalla dippedstrawberries in a little bowl of sugar crystals. “The muckity-mucks aren’t goingto give up their beds and bangles until they have to.”
The two priests kept to their own wagons-watching oneanother, watching the road, and trying to prevent each other from speaking to the other party members. The baron’s sorcerer carefully spied on the archer, andthe archer kept a cold watch over the paladin. A whole day of march had passed without introductions, without chatter. Polk and Escalla filled the vacuum with a will. Casting an appraising gaze over her fellow travelers, Escalla sat up and hunted for the last few sugar crystals in her bowl.
“Well, this crew is just a laugh an hour!” Escalla tossed astrawberry up to Polk, who gave her a salute. “Polk’s really hoopy, though!Where did you find him?”
Jus felt himself bristling like an angry hound. “I didn’t.There’s just no getting rid of him.”
With his head up in the sun and his tail trailing in the breeze, Cinders gave a dry, sniggering little laugh. Polk-man funny!
Jus gave an irritated sigh then looked back along the caravan. Three full wagons-tons of supplies-and none of it could possibly betaken into the wilds. He felt a delicious surge of malice as he anticipated a future full of wails and cries.
Escalla flew up from her perch on the cart horse, whirring between the big animal’s ears. She looped up and hovered, staring back along theline of wagons. Jus joined her, standing to watch the heavy vehicles rock and rumble slowly past them.
The Geshtai had sent a priestess on the expedition-a fat,powerful woman with cold eyes and a wealth of chins. Beneath her fish-patterned robes, bangles, and vestments of the river god, there came the gleam of metal armor, weapons, and charms. The big priestess sat in a nest of cushions and religious paraphernalia, spending her entire day keeping the Bleredd priest under surveillance.
Small, sharp-featured, and strangely weasel-like, the Bleredd priest wove subtle little spells to spy upon his rival-spells instantlycountered by the Geshtai. The contest had kept them occupied in deadly earnest ever since the journey began at dawn.