A Hero's Journey: It Takes Two - Part 6

     Meridell’s forest seemed to stretch out for miles before them, with the castle nowhere in sight and the sun beginning to set. Jeran and Rohane looked at Will, who was breathing hard and uncorking a skin of water as he sat down under a tree. The Purple Bori drank so deeply from the skin that it slackened in his claws when he was done, and immediately rummaged around in his pockets for more berries to eat.

     “We could keep walking,” Jeran said quietly, “but I don’t think we can make Will walk anymore. He hasn’t complained, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t tired.”

     “He’s trying to be brave,” Rohane agreed.

     “It doesn’t matter. We’ll be spending another day in the woods, but it’s better than Will collapsing in front of Baron Cuthbert when he gets back. I’ll take the heat from the baron if he decides to yell at us again.”

     “Are you kidding?” The White Blumaroo spread his arms. “I can’t let you do that. I’m just as responsible for him as you are.”

     Jeran grinned crookedly. “Thanks, Baron Cuthbert’s wrath is a lot more bearable with someone taking it with me.”

     “Very funny.”

     Will looked up from where he was still sitting, popping the last berry into his mouth. “Are we still going?”

     “No,” Jeran answered. “How would you like to camp for the night again? The weather seems nice enough this time.”

     * * *

     The remnants of their fire burned lower, reduced to glowing red embers in the middle of charred wood. A waning Kreludor shared its dark stage with multitudes of stars. Lying on their packs and tarp with a snoozing Will between them, Jeran and Rohane gazed up at the sky flaunting its jewels.

     “It’s beautiful,” the Blue Lupe breathed reverently. “And a huge improvement from that rainstorm. I’m sure you’ve gone stargazing like this a lot of times while you were on the road.”

     “We did,” Rohane confirmed. “Talinia and Velm are good at reading constellations. And of course, my family and I…”

     “Oh, right,” said Jeran. “Sir Reynold also enjoyed watching the stars. Whenever we were on a mission, he would tell me that back in Trestin, you, your brother and your mother would be watching them too.”

     Rohane smiled, adjusting his position and placing a hand on his injured side. “That’s what he would tell us before he left. ‘When you look up at the stars tonight, remember that I’ll be watching them with you, wherever I am.’”

     “Now, it’s the two of us watching them together.”

     “And hoping nothing else goes wrong on our way back to the castle.”

     Jeran couldn’t help but laugh. “We didn’t bring a map, got caught in a rainstorm, wrecked our lean-to, fell into a ditch, fought a squid monster that played Kass Basher with you…I think we’re overdue for our next disaster.”

     “Don’t jinx it.” Rohane sat up. “I’m feeling better, so I’ll be taking first watch.”

     “I don’t think so. You should be resting; you haven’t fully recovered yet.”

     “I feel fine.” The White Blumaroo reached out to touch the sheathed sword beside him. “I’m all right. Kayla’s potions are really something.”

     “Are you sure?” The Blue Lupe frowned, a fleeting glint of worry in his eyes. Then he glanced at his left, where Will was sleeping; the Purple Bori had clamped tightly onto his bushy tail as though it were a plushie. Jeran reached out, wanting to tug his tail free, only to let his hand slacken.

     Rohane grinned at the sight. “Yeah. I’m sure. Get some sleep, sir.”

     “Just promise to wake me when your watch is done. No double shifts for you tonight.” Jeran winked as he placed his arms behind his head.

     “Right.”

     Rohane drew his knees up to his chest and continued to gaze at the stars, searching for the various Altadorian constellations while their surroundings were mercifully quiet. He glanced at Jeran, who had closed his eyes and was likely trying to ignore Will snuggling into his tail. Rohane placed a hand on his sword again and tried to relax. The pain in his side had waned to a dull throb, but he was sure he could stand and fight if need be.

     The Blumaroo stood up experimentally, weapon in hand. The stars continued to twinkle, and he could see The Hunter. He took a few steps around their little camping ground, trying to follow the direction of the arrow etched in the constellation. As he did so, he accidentally trod upon a brittle twig on the ground. The cracking noise was almost deafening in the silence.

     Wait a minute, he thought, doubling back to where Jeran and Will were asleep. He frowned as he strapped his sword to his belt. Something’s not right. It’s quiet, but it’s too quiet. We haven’t seen a single Petpet since we got here.

     He felt a pang in his stomach that had absolutely nothing to do with his bandaged side and dropped down beside Jeran, shaking the Lupe awake.

     “Jeran. Jeran!”

     “Mmph… Rohane, what’s going on?”

     “We need to get out of here.”

     “What?” Jeran asked as he sat up – well, as much as he could with his tail trapped between Will’s claws. “Why?”

     “This isn’t right,” the Blumaroo answered urgently. “The clearing is too quiet. We haven’t heard any Crokabeks or Karren since we got here. You know what that means.”

     At first, the other knight stared at him in mild, groggy confusion. Then he finally pried his tail away from Will and gently tapped him on the shoulder.

     “Will, wake up. We have to go.”

     * * *

     The stars and the waning gibbous moon watched from the heavens as Jeran, Rohane and Will forged through the woods as quickly as they could after completely dousing their fire and packing up their things. Without a map, the sky and the landscape were their only guides.

     “You mean there could be bandits here? With us?” Will asked incredulously as he tried to stifle a huge yawn.

     “When all the Petpets are gone, that means someone else is here. Someone who scared them away. Maybe more than one someone,” Rohane explained in a low voice. “And sometimes, bandits prowl these woods, robbing anyone who’s foolish enough to pass through unarmed and unprepared at night.”

     The Bori swallowed, sticking close to his protectors as they crashed through the greenery. He nearly tripped but managed to keep up, clutching what few possessions and food he had brought with him into the woods close to his chest.

     Jeran cursed under his breath as he ran face-first into a huge low-lying bough. “Rohane, we haven’t run into anyone since we left our camp. Maybe we should stop for a while.” He growled as he shoved the branch and its leaves away.

     “There aren’t any Petpets here, either.”

     “What if they all just went to sleep, or hibernate, or found another place for food?” asked Jeran, gesticulating so wildly that he accidentally swatted a bush beside him, causing a cascade of leaves.

     “We can’t take any chances,” Rohane answered, shaking his head as he stopped to face the other knight. “Will is a noble child. He could be kidnapped.”

     “No, we can’t take the chance that we’ll get even more lost in these woods than we are now. Do you even know where we’re going?”

     “If you know better than I do, then tell me where we should be going!” The Blumaroo’s voice began to rise dangerously.

     “Back to our camp!” Jeran exploded. “Maybe all your adventuring has made you too jumpy.”

     Rohane stamped his foot. “I’m being careful, not jumpy!”

     “Uh…um, sirs?” Will piped up weakly, trying to place himself between them.

     “If you were really careful, you wouldn’t have forgotten the map!” Jeran shouted, completely drowning out Will.

     “Don’t try to pin this on me, you forgot the map too!”

     “Oh, so you’re admitting you forgot the map!”

     “You’re throwing this back at me after that time I saved you from that squid monster?”

     “You could have been killed! And because you got hurt, we lost half a day! How could you be so reckless!”

     “So, it’s my fault now?”

     “Yes, Rohane, it’s your fault!”

     The Purple Bori began to whimper. “Please, don’t fight.”

     “We’re not fighting!” Jeran and Rohane cried, realising only too late that they had shouted, and worse, they had just shouted at Will, who now looked like he was on the verge of tears.

     But before they could try to reassure him or do anything else, they heard a rustle in the bushes. Immediately both knights stepped closer to Will and drew their swords.

     “Did you hear that?” asked the Blue Lupe, remembering to lower his voice.

     “Loud and clea – duck!”

     An arrow whistled past Rohane’s ear, prompting him to duck and push Jeran and Will out of the way. Unfortunately, they ran right into a Camouflage Ogrin toting a long dagger, a Brown Cybunny wielding two shortswords, and a Pirate Elephante towering over them all. Up in the nearest tree, a Yellow Nimmo trained his bow on them.

     “Who knew Meridell’s attack Spardels would make so much noise?” the Ogrin said with a sneer as he swung his dagger, which collided with Jeran’s sword. Meanwhile, Rohane placed Will behind him as he tried to fend off the Cybunny and the Elephante at the same time. The Nimmo fired his bow again, prompting Jeran to dive aside, only to be tackled to the ground by a Green Tonu.

     “Hey, isn’t that the missing baron’s kid?” the Elephante asked as Rohane parried her club. “Can’t wait to exchange him for a ransom!” She laughed as she jabbed with her weapon, forcing the Blumaroo and the Bori back against a clump of bushes.

     Jeran and the Tonu wrestled in the grass before Jeran finally managed to throw him off and into the Cybunny. This momentarily distracted the Elephante and the Nimmo.

     “Will, run!” Jeran and Rohane yelled at the same time. Will blinked, stared one last time at his heroes, and plunged into the undergrowth.

     “The kid! Athala, the kid!”

     The Pirate Elephante just grunted and gave chase as the Tonu and Cybunny disentangled themselves from each other.

     “No!” But before Rohane could stop her, the Brown Cybunny lunged at him, forcing him to block the incoming shortsword swipes that would have torn his shirt further and ripped through to his injured side. The Yellow Nimmo continued firing arrow after arrow, and as Jeran sidestepped to avoid getting shot, the Camouflage Ogrin stuck out a foot and tripped him. While on his back, Jeran’s sword clashed with the Ogrin’s dagger until the Tonu grabbed him and threw him bodily into Rohane.

     “Oof!”

     “Jeran, get off me!”

     The two of them looked up in time to see all four of their opponents – minus the Pirate Elephante, of course – staring down at them with pointed weapons. Rather belatedly, a Woodland Jetsam hurried out from the nearest clump of trees with two long spears and a length of rope.

     “So, what did I miss?”

     The Ogrin groaned but kept his dagger trained toward Jeran’s throat. “Did you get lost again, Vannie?”

     “All woods start looking the same after a while!” the Jetsam complained.

     “Ironic, coming from a Woodland Jetsam,” Rohane commented, earning a slap to the face from the Cybunny.

     “Quiet, you!”

     “Easy, Mildred. Actually, Vannie, you’re just in time to wrap up our packages. They’ll fetch a much higher ransom than a noble boy.”

     The Jetsam grinned toothily as they all got to work binding their captives and trussing them on long spears.

     “Did we really have to be upside down?” Jeran complained.

     “It’s more fun this way,” the Ogrin responded with glee. “Just like taking a couple of Snorkles to market!”

     * * *

     As he ran through the woods, Will did not dare look back. He heard crashing footsteps and breaking branches behind him and knew that someone was on his trail. His heart thrummed so hard against his rib cage, and he could feel a stitch in his side, but pure adrenaline and fear kept him going. When a low-lying branch brushed his ears, he stepped on a nearby tree stump, grabbed the branch and pulled it back, waiting for the Pirate Elephante to follow the sounds he had made in his flight.

     “I can hear you, you little whelp – yeowch!”

     The Purple Bori let the branch go, and it swung right into her face. While she flailed and spat out leaves, he darted away, using his claws to obliterate the tracks he made in the ground, and rounded a corner into a tight bunch of trees. He slid his feet this way and that to make it look like he had been milling about before moving west and squeezed in between two trunks to hide in the hollow of a tree. Then Will waited, peering out through a hole that a Petpet likely bore through the bark some time ago.

     * * *

     “This is your fault,” grumbled Jeran from where he was tied upside down on a spear as the bandits marched jauntily through the woods. He gritted his teeth as he began to feel dizzy.

     “Oh, shut up,” said Rohane irritably, who was looking quite queasy himself with his ears hanging down completely. “Maybe if you hadn’t made so much noise…”

     “It was your idea to break camp!”

     “You still forgot the map! If we had the map…”

     “Why you – “

     The Camouflage Ogrin bopped both of them on their heads with the pommel of his dagger. “Why don’t you two shut up? Sheesh, we should’ve gagged them. I’m getting a headache listening to them fighting.”

     “Speak for yourself,” Rohane groaned.

     “I don’t know,” said the Woodland Jetsam, grinning and showing off his sharp, jagged teeth. “It’s great entertainment.”

     “Shut up, Vannie.” The Green Tonu shoved him so hard that he nearly tripped on the ground.

     * * *

     Will watched the Elephante lumber past his hiding place, and once she was gone, he stopped thinking about himself and started thinking about Jeran and Rohane.

     They’re in trouble, he thought to himself, not daring to speak. I know they told me to run, but I can’t leave them behind! I have to do something!

     A rustling sound made him hold his breath and freeze in his spot.

     “Ugh, where did you go?”

     Then he heard wood striking wood and remembered that the Elephante had been carrying her club. “Well, you can’t go far. These woods ain’t no place for kids like you.”

     Will bit his lip and remained as still as possible until her steps started to sound farther away. Then he slowly crawled out, looking around with only the light of Kreludor and the stars to guide him. From the corner of his eye, he could see the disappearing outline of the Elephante disturbing the foliage with her bulk and her club.

     After taking a deep breath, Will steeled himself and quietly followed her from a distance.

     The pursued became the pursuer.

      To be continued…