A Hero's Journey: It Takes Two - Part 2

     Baron Cuthbert steepled his fingers on his garish desk, which was adorned with Cyodrakes on each corner and even had a small statuette of himself as a pen and inkwell holder alongside a fancy gilded tray with several papers. He also had a single packed bookshelf and another shelf with various expensive-looking knickknacks. The entire wall behind him was dominated by a painting of himself with a beautiful female Royal Bori. Seated in front of them in the portrait were a Faerie Kyrii, a Pink Bori, and a small Purple Bori.

     He sniffed, his expression unimpressed, as he scrutinized the two heroes standing in front of him, dressed in neat shirts, vests, trousers, and boots. Both Jeran and Rohane also wore the red, gold and blue badges of the Order of the Knights of Meridell.

     “Hmph. Nice to know you two can clean up nicely,” the Royal Kyrii said with a scoff. His expression softened, and he frowned with worry. “Anyway, the reason why I called you is because my son, Wilfrith, is missing.” He pointed up at the Purple Bori in the painting, who had an angelic little smile. “I brought him with me today to see his tutor, only to find out later that he managed to slip him a sleeping draught from Kayla’s potion shop before escaping through a window. I had the guards search the area around the castle; unfortunately, their search turned up nothing, which brings us here.” He spread his arms.

     Jeran cleared his throat. “With all due respect, Baron Cuthbert, I could mobilise a few squads from the Order – “

     Cuthbert cut him off with a wave of his hand and a deepened scowl. “No. I know how much it will cost to mobilise several of your numbers to find my Wilfrith. I don’t need so many knights stomping around Meridell and bleeding my wallet dry with each hour they’re on duty. You and Sir Rohane will search for him.”

     “What?” Rohane blurted out before he could control himself. Though Jeran shot him a look at first, the Blue Lupe also stared at Cuthbert in confusion.

     “You two are the most decorated knights on the Order, experienced in survival and battle.” Though this was a compliment, the Royal Kyrii made a face after saying it. “Which means you should be enough to track down Wilfrith and bring him back at the soonest possible time.”

     “Are you sure you don’t want to send a full squad?” Jeran asked, the last word carrying a pleading note. “I know several knights who are expert trackers – “

     “Who would be a big help to us,” Rohane added hastily.

     Cuthbert slammed his hands onto his desk and snarled, “Didn’t you blockheads hear me? I specifically asked for you! Are you telling me that finding a ten-year-old is beneath you? Or perhaps too much for you to handle?”

     “Of course not!” said Jeran, his tone even but mildly affronted. Beside him, Rohane had balled his hands into fists and was shaking ever so slightly with controlled anger.

     “Maybe I should raise this matter directly to King Skarl himself – “

     “No, no, that won’t be necessary,” said the Lupe steadily, as he reached out and gripped Rohane’s arm tightly. The Blumaroo relaxed, but not completely, and his annoyed expression was largely unchanged. Jeran took a deep breath and said as calmly as he could, “I was just confirming that only Sir Rohane and I will look for your son, Wilfred.”

     Rohane shook his head and stared at Jeran. “You mean Wilbert.”

     The older knight raised his eyebrows. “That’s what I said, isn’t it?”

     Cuthbert groaned and ran a hand through his mane in agitation. “Some heroes you two are! You really are just like the rest of them, lowborn blockheads and dullards and thugs.”

     “Did you just call us into your office to insult us?” Rohane snapped. He took one step toward the Royal Kyrii’s desk and would have taken another step, and another, if Jeran hadn’t stepped closer to him and discreetly blocked him with an outstretched arm. “We already said we were going to look for him!”

     Jeran paused before saying evenly, “Baron Cuthbert, you have our word that we’ll bring your son back, as members of the Honorable Order of the Knights of Meridell. If that’s all you need from us, we will take our leave and start searching for him.”

     “Good.” Cuthbert leaned back in his seat and clasped his fingers together. He glared from Rohane to Jeran. “Get out of my sight and don’t come back until you have Wilfrith with you. Shall I repeat my son’s name several more times until you can remember it?”

      “No, no, we’ll remember it. Wilfrith, correct?” the Blue Lupe repeated as he began ushering Rohane out of the study, grunting with mild effort. “We’ll get ready. Good day, sir.”

     The two of them remained silent until they were in the castle corridor, well out of Cuthbert’s earshot. Only then did Jeran finally let go of Rohane.

     “Why did you stop me? He looked at me like I was stupid, I’m not stupid!”

     “First of all, he’s not worth it,” Jeran answered, holding up a finger. Then he held up another. “Second, we would have a much bigger problem on our hands if you fought him. His family was one of the Order’s most generous funders during the wars.”

     “I wasn’t going to fight him!” Rohane argued. “I was just…going to give him a piece of my mind!”

     “Sounds like you were going to fight him.”

     “He can’t treat others like that!”

     Jeran rubbed his temples as they placed more distance between themselves and Cuthbert’s office. “Yeah, he can’t. Baron Cuthbert is a stuffy jerk, but we can’t say that to his face. We have to tread carefully around nobles like him.”

     The White Blumaroo sighed loudly. “So, we’re just going to let him walk all over everyone else. That’s your great strategy for jerk nobles?”

     “It’s our strategy for keeping everyone else out of trouble!” Jeran exclaimed. “I’ve been on the court for years, and that’s always been the best course of action. Talk less, smile more, and hope they leave you alone.”

     Rohane seethed but continued walking alongside Jeran.

     “You said he funded the Order during the wars. I don’t get it; he treats us like dung.”

     “You know how the war against Darigan turned out,” the Blue Lupe replied. “And the battle against Lord Kass and his army wasn’t easy either.” He seemed to age ten years when he mentioned the wars, a dark cloud settling over his features. “Baron Cuthbert’s family went bankrupt. We believe he blames the knights, even until now.”

     Rohane fell silent for a moment.

     “But I agree, he is a jerk,” Jeran admitted. “Maybe if this goes well and we find Wilbur, Baron Cuthbert won’t be such a pain to deal with.”

     * * *

     “This won’t go well,” said Danner, his tone filled with dread. “Jeran and Rohane on a mission together? Just the two of them? We all know what’ll happen next.”

     “They’ll rip each other apart before they even find the kid,” said Jaco, snickering as he leaned back and hoisted his feet onto the war room table, ignoring a mortified look from Danner. “They’ll be duelling before they’ve taken three steps into the woods. I can’t miss this.”

     “Too bad Baron Cuthbert insisted on just them looking for the young Lord Wilfrith,” a female Royal Blumaroo commented, looking up from where she was sitting primly with a book. She shook her head. “He hasn’t gotten over going bankrupt during the wars.”

     “If he had gotten over it, we wouldn’t be here figuring out what to do!” the Blue Wocky complained as he started shoving the Speckled Gelert’s boots off the table.

     Tuffold frowned thoughtfully. “Is there anything we can do? If we try to follow Jeran and Rohane, cranky Cuthbert is going to complain to Skarl about getting charged extra for each knight joining those two meatheads on the search.”

     “Cranky Cuthbert can’t complain about something he doesn’t know,” Jaco pointed out, tapping his temple and winking. “Send me, I want to see how long it’ll take for them to get into a scrap.”

     The Blumaroo frowned at him as she closed her book with a snap.

     “We are definitely not sending you, Jaco,” the Strawberry Pteri knight piped up from where she was polishing a long dagger.

     “You’re such a killjoy, Beryl.”

     “Guys, guys, I have the answer to all of our problems!” Oakley cried as he burst into the war room. He stepped aside to allow Mipsy, Talinia and Velm to tentatively enter the room after him. “Er, answers.”

     “Are you sure we’re allowed in here, Sir Oakley?” Talinia asked.

     The short Striped Kougra made a dismissive sound and flapped his hand. “You’ve got permission courtesy of me, Sir Oakley of Mulberry! I’m a knight, and I say you can enter the knights’ war room!”

     “Oakley, you know that’s not how permission to enter the war room works,” Danner pointed out.

     “Forget the rules on permission! We need Jeran and Rohane to not fight, right? And they could use the extra help! Ta-da!”

     Velm looked at Oakley before managing a flamboyant bow. Talinia merely shrugged, while Mipsy waved at all the knights in attendance. Danner, however, was not convinced.

     “But Baron Cuthbert – “

     “Only said he doesn’t want to pay for any more knights looking for his kid,” Tuffold finished. “They’re not knights. Cuthbert doesn’t have to take out another Neopoint.”

     “You three are doing it free of charge, right?” Jaco added.

     Velm opened his mouth, but Talinia cut him off. “Yes, we are. Normally Rohane keeps a cool head, but he also has a temperamental side.”

     “Especially around Jeran,” the Red Techo said, not without disapproval.

     “And we’ve already seen how…intense they get,” the Green Eyrie added.

     “You’re telling me,” Tuffold muttered, raising a hand to his ear.

     “It makes for great entertainment, though,” Jaco remarked.

     “Not when a little Bori’s life is in danger!” Danner chided him before turning to Mipsy, Talinia and Velm. “All right, can you follow Jeran and Rohane? Just…keep them out of trouble.”

     Velm chuckled. “Oh, I’ve had a lot of experience in that department.”

     “Leave it to us!” Mipsy crowed, pumping her fist into the air eagerly. Then she paused, lowering her arm. “So, uh, which way did they go?”

     To be continued…