A Hero's Journey: Worthy

     “…really Sir Reynold’s son?”

     “Can he defeat Zombom?”

     “…a weakling if you ask me…”

     “…nothing like Sir Reynold…”

     “Who cares if you’re Sir Reynold’s son? Sure, you look like him – but you’re nothing like him!” The Yurble suddenly stopped laughing and glared right back. “You can’t beat Zombom, kid. Not like that.”

     “I defeated the Miner Foreman, in the mines north of Trestin,” the Blumaroo pressed, meeting the Yurble’s eyes with his own, full of determination. “I can face Zombom.”

     “Hyram, lay off,” a Blue Tonu grumbled from the counter, tapping the surface. “No one else has tried to take on Zombom since that old knight who passed through. Maybe, you should be grateful that Rohane is willing to give it a try and get our bridge back.”

     Hyram ignored the Tonu and scowled at Rohane. “The Miner Foreman was a ghost about to vanish anyway. Zombom is alive and real and magic. He won’t care that you’re the son of the great Sir Reynold. All he has to do is cast a spell and – “ Snapping his fingers, Hyram shrugged. “You should’ve stayed home. A Blumaroo like you is better off performing at the next fair.”

     “Father was a Blumaroo too, in case you forgot!” Rohane shouted, his hand brushing the hilt of his sword – weathered, worn, and older than him.

     “In case you forgot, I said you’re nothing like him,” Hyram retorted swiftly. He braced one hand on Rohane’s shoulder and pushed him aside before walking out of the tavern, leaving the White Blumaroo to stagger against the table and seethe in anger, trembling. His face burned as he felt several eyes on him.

     The Tonu sighed. “Ignore him. Still…are you sure about this? The way to Zombom is just as dangerous as he is. That knight I mentioned was spooked by all the skeletons and cave trolls wandering the cave, and who knows what else is in Zombom’s lair?”

     That gave Rohane pause, but not for long. He nodded defiantly.

     “I’m sure. I’m going to prove to Hyram, and everyone else here in White River, that I can beat Zombom.”

     A red Kyrii who had been snoring on a table suddenly woke up and groaned, shaking his head. “Tsk, all this yammering…can’t a guy get some sleep here?” He turned slowly and looked from the Tonu to Rohane. “You? The son of Sir Reynold? Everyone’s the son or daughter or whatever of whoever nowadays. I’ll believe it when I see it. Wake me up when Zombom’s gone.”

     As the Kyrii let his head drop back onto the table and not a few patrons nodded their agreement, Rohane dropped his voice and said, “Sir Reynold really is my father. I’m carrying his sword, Horxas. I’m not lying.”

     “I’m not saying you’re a liar,” Horxas replied. “But I meant it when I said you’re picking a dangerous mission. Why don’t you…give it some thought before you leave, eh?”

     * * *

     “That’s right!” the Blue Acara declared, pointing to herself and to Rohane as they sat on a bench that gave them a moderately good view of the snow outside. “He and I found Ramtor in his gross tower and taught him a lesson!” She brandished her wand, which caused the Blumaroo to instinctively lean away. “Whoosh! Swish! Bang!”

     The huge fire Grarrl whose head brushed the ceiling chuckled throatily. “Sounds like you did the heavy lifting, girl. After all, Ramtor was quite the wizard. I heard you’re one too.”

     “What’s that supposed to mean?” Rohane asked before the Acara could say anything.

     The Grarrl shrugged. “It means what it means. I’m sure you helped her carry her things up that tower – “

     “No, I didn’t!”

     “Well, you kind of did. For a while,” the Acara admitted sheepishly.

     “That’s not all I did, Mipsy, you know that!”

     “Of course I know that!” Mipsy cried. Then she turned back to the Grarrl. “Yeah, I was casting spells left and right, but Rohane always had my back with his sword!” She clutched her wand in both hands and started swinging it around – narrowly missing her companion’s nose. “Swish, swish, like that! And he nearly got Ramtor’s beard!”

     A Kacheek who had decided to listen to the conversation snorted. “Oh really? You sure he wasn’t practicing for some parlor trick?”

     “Hey!” Rohane stood up abruptly. “What, you think just because I’m a Blumaroo, I’m doing this for fun?”

     “No, I think because you’re a Blumaroo, you’ve got no business waving a sword around.”

     It was Mipsy’s turn to stand up, pushing Rohane aside before he could get to his feet. She stepped toward the Kacheek, jabbing toward his chest – though, thankfully, not with her wand – as she said, “And I think you should shut up, mister, ‘cause it’s his sword-waving that saved my life while we were fighting Ramtor!”

     “What’s going on?”

     When Rohane and Mipsy whipped around at the voice of a green Eyrie, the Kacheek and the fire Grarrl left, whispering to each other. A nearby Uni tapped her Mynci companion’s arm and pointed discreetly, laughing between themselves. Rohane glared daggers after them when he noticed that they were pointing in his direction.

     The glare and the laughing Neopians didn’t escape the Eyrie’s notice, and she sighed. “Oh.”

     “Don’t bother trying to listen to what they’re saying,” said Mipsy, reaching up to squeeze Rohane’s shoulder. “Who’s that with you, Talinia?”

     “Name’s Orsing,” the middle-aged green Moehog with the Eyrie answered. “So, you must be Mipsy, and you’re Rohane, the two heroes of Meridell.” Orsing stroked his chin thoughtfully as he scrutinized them from head to foot. “I used to be an adventurer like you lot, but these old bones of mine can’t stand these crazy blizzards anymore, let alone monsters.”

     “Wait,” said Rohane slowly, “you think I’m a hero?”

     Orsing chuckled. “’Course I do. That look in your eyes, the way you carry yourself and that sword…you’ve got the makings of a real warrior. You think I don’t believe you?”

     “We believe you, Rohane,” Talinia put in.

     “I was there!” Mipsy exclaimed.

     “It’s just…” Rohane sat back down onto the bench, resting his face in his hand as he glanced at Orsing. “You’d be surprised how many don’t.”

     “Does that matter, though?” Orsing wondered. “You know what you’re capable of, better than anyone. You know what you’ve done for Meridell, don’t you? And that should be enough.”

     Rohane stared up at him and shook his head.

     “It should.”

     * * *

     Amusement rippled through the Waset Village inn as everyone craned their necks and squinted to look at the hulking Electric Krawk looming over one of the tables, staring down a White Blumaroo who had just slowly set aside his cup to give his attention to the Krawk. Behind the Krawk were an Orange Aisha and a desert Ixi.

     “What do you want?” Rohane asked brusquely, almost wearily.

     “You the leader of this squad?” the Krawk asked.

     “Is there a problem with that?” Talinia cut in swiftly before Rohane could answer. Her cool expression barely changed as she met the Krawk’s eyes. “He led us when we found the Snowager in Terror Mountain before we arrived in the Lost Desert.”

     “And you? You’re okay with that?” the desert Ixi asked the red Techo in a long white robe. “You’re from the Lost Desert, aren’t you? You’re that healer that gets around. Velm, yeah?”

     Velm nodded and shrugged. “Does it really matter who’s our leader? Besides, that was never my style. If the girls trust Rohane enough to let him lead the charge, then I’ll go with it. Anyway, is that all you wanted from us, Kreydan?”

     “No,” Kreydan, the Electric Krawk, hissed. “It’s easy to say you saved Meridell or helped find the Snowager. I want to see what your leader’s capable of. Do you really trust him, or are you just saying that ‘cause you’re friends or something?” Behind him, the Aisha and the Ixi snickered.

     “We’re friends, but we also trust him!” Mipsy said. She motioned to stand up, but Talinia gripped her upper arm, and the Acara remained in her seat. “Lay off him!”

     “See, look at her, she’s a regular firecracker,” the Aisha remarked. “Velm is one of the best healers around the Lost Desert, and that Eyrie looks dangerous with a bow and arrow.” He then tilted his head toward Rohane mockingly. “So, why do you get to be the leader?”

     Rohane opened his mouth to finally answer but was cut off when the Ixi shoved him onto the floor with a crash, causing him to land painfully onto his tail with an unheroic yelp. Kreydan and his companions burst into peals of laughter which echoed throughout the inn.

     “Hah, you couldn’t even stop me from pushing you!” the Ixi roared. “Did you see that, Ellio?”

     “Is that what you like to do for fun?” the White Blumaroo asked, his voice shaking with barely controlled anger. “Pick on Neopians just because you can?”

     “The Lost Desert is a harsh land,” said Kreydan darkly. “Little Miss Firecracker – “

     “Don’t call me Little Miss Firecracker!” Mipsy yelled, brandishing her wand before Talinia pulled her back down into her chair.

     “Or Velm here, or the Eyrie, look like they could handle the desert,” the Krawk continued. He watched as Rohane stood back up before throwing a hard right, punching him in the face and laughing uproariously as the swordsman clutched his cheek and scowled through the pain. “So, what makes you so special that you’re the leader of this bunch? Maybe your friends just felt sor – “

     “Rohane, no!”

     What happened next was a blur.

     Talinia reached out to grab Rohane by the arm, but he pulled free of her grasp, drew back, and hit Kreydan in the jaw so hard that he was knocked off balance, tumbling against the Desert Ixi. The Desert Grarrl innkeeper at the counter dropped the glass he had been polishing, which shattered against the stone floor. A Royal Zafara under a blue mantle perked up from her table and immediately began scribbling into a notebook. Velm, Talinia and Mipsy all winced.

     “What were you saying?” the white Blumaroo snarled, clenching his fist as he approached Kreydan and the Ixi, completely ignoring his friends’ pleas to return to his seat and move on.

     “Tough guy, eh?” Ellio, the Orange Aisha, burst onto the scene and threw a chair at him. “Have at you, then!” Rohane dove aside, narrowly avoiding the chair as it crashed. But while he was on the floor, Kreydan and the Ixi were upon him, the latter pinning him down while Kreydan kicked at him. He kicked powerfully with both feet to dislodge the Ixi before pulling Kreydan down by the ankle. The two of them wrestled before Ellio and the Ixi reentered the fray.

     The Desert Grarrl ran out from behind his counter with a yelp when the Desert Ixi was thrown against his counter, prompting Ellio to run over to help the Ixi up while Rohane struck Kreydan’s head with a clenched fist, causing the Krawk to stagger.

     “Hit him harder!” a Pastel Ixi cheered from the sidelines.

     “No, don’t hit anyone!” Velm cried.

     Immediately the Desert Grarrl pulled both Ellio and the Desert Ixi away from where Kreydan and Rohane were still going at it. The Electric Krawk punched and slapped with all his might, forcing Rohane to shield his face and body with his arms, but he retaliated by kicking at Kreydan’s legs, grappling with him and then finally shoving him onto the floor, wrists pinned to his back before Talinia could pry them away from each other.

     “Do you want another demonstration?” Rohane hissed between deep breaths.

     “Well, well, so you do have the moves,” Kreydan answered, managing a crooked grin. “I’m impressed.”

     Staff in hand, Velm rose from the table, groaning as though he had also been in the scuffle. “All right, four orders of healing spells, coming right up. Did you really have to go this far?”

     “They started it,” Rohane retorted as he left Kreydan sprawled on the floor.

     Meanwhile, the Desert Grarrl approached Talinia and said, “Excuse me, ma’am, you’re with them, right?”

     “Oh, just with Rohane, Velm and Mipsy, if that’s what you mean…”

     “Yes, well, I’m afraid I’ll have to ask all of you…to leave my inn.”

     “What?” Mipsy complained. “We just paid for the only room in this inn!”

     “Wait, they’re heroes!” the Royal Zafara piped up, waving her notebook. “They’ve been to Meridell and Terror Mountain, and they’re here to stop the sandstorms – you can’t just kick them out!”

     The Pastel Ixi chimed in. “Yeah, besides, the other guys started it!”

     “I don’t care if you’re heroes. You’ve caused enough trouble in my inn,” the Grarrl growled, pointing to the exit. “No refunds.”

     Velm frowned. “Technically, it was only Rohane who – “

     “Out!”

     * * *

     Night fell over the Lost Desert, a black velvet blanket spread across the skies and dotted by stars here and there. Two tents had been set up on the rocky outskirts of the village, and a bonfire crackled merrily in front of them with some meat and vegetables skewered over it.

     “So much for Master Sobek’s teachings on moderation,” said Velm acidly as he sat on a rock outside one of the tents, resting his elbow on one knee and his cheek in his palm. “Something, something, conserving your energy and not overdoing it, eh? He’s going to hear about this by tomorrow morning and we had better be on our way before he gives you an earful.”

     “Velm, enough.” Talinia stood guard, facing the vast expanse of the desert that lay beyond their tents.

     “Not everyone listens to moderation,” Rohane grumbled, choosing to stare sullenly into the fire. He sighed and added, “Sorry I got all of you kicked out with me. It’s just…I’m tired of everyone thinking I can’t fight or save others, just because I’m a Blumaroo. And just when I think I’ve finally become stronger and proven myself…it all comes back. It hasn’t changed what they think of me.”

     Velm stood up, drawing his cloak more closely to himself as he sat down next to Rohane. “Maybe it doesn’t matter what they think of you. Maybe you can just let them think and say what they want, because it doesn’t change anything you’ve done.”

     “That’s what we keep telling you!” Mipsy interrupted as she took the skewers out of the fire. “Don’t let them get to you!”

     “Because when you let them get to you, we get kicked out of inns,” the red Techo pointed out. “Also, when I said I trusted you, I meant that. If it means anything.”

     “And, Kreydan and his friends may have insulted you, but you had a number of supporters at the inn,” said Talinia as she accepted a skewer from the Blue Acara. “The Pastel Ixi and the Royal Zafara were begging the innkeeper to let us stay. The number of Neopians who believe in you is growing, wherever we go. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but it does.”

     Rohane was silent, not even noticing the skewer being offered to him.

     “Besides, didn’t you go after Ramtor to finish what your dad started? You wanted to save the kingdom, not prove to everyone you met that you’re the strongest warrior they know.” Mipsy pressed the skewer into his hand. “And you’re still here because you want to help others!”

     “Mipsy’s right,” Talinia said. “Isn’t that what’s important? And to us, you’ve more than proven yourself a strong warrior and a capable leader.”

     “We’re still alive!” the Blue Acara exclaimed.

     The White Blumaroo looked at each of his companions and, grinning wryly, let out a breath.

     “Thanks. I just wish we didn’t have to get kicked out of the inn because I decided to give those jerks a dose of their own medicine. Still…that will teach them to pick on other Neopians.”

     “Well, there’s one good thing that’ll come out of this,” Velm remarked, gesturing with his skewer. “After that incident, I don’t think anyone is going to underestimate you again, at least for quite a while.”

     The End.