It's kind of funny how we keep meeting like this. We're going to have to be careful, your significant other might catch on. But in the meantime we can continue our illustrious affair. This is obvious chapter three of the story. It's coming along nicely. I should know that, mostly because I'm working on chapter six. Like I've said before this story is going to be shorter then either Saga or Harbingers. The reason? Less characters. I don't have the number of people to stretch the story over. So this one will read more like a half-hour film rather then the epic novel. (I know I have a tendency to get longwinded). I hope you guys enjoy it.
Thanks to everyone that's e-mailed me. Kenitra, Shade, Aeoros, Mirage, Dax, Gavelin (I've got the spelling wrong don't I?) and Neo are some people I have to thank. Also Apples (mustn't forget you). And David, thanks for all your help. There are others of course, but I can't think of their names off the top of my head. If you want to drop me a line (and I'd love to hear from you), you can send anything you want to Mist_dark@hotmail.com or Mist_dark@yahoo.ca I check both and will read just about anything that comes into my mailbox. Though I do find it slightly irritating when I receive the chain letters that some people find so entertaining.
We all pretty much know the drill by now, but because I've been asked to do it, I'll put in the disclaimer here. This story isn't supposed to reflect anything about the members of the group Nsync. If you are too young, or it's illegal in you area to read this, please leave (or just don't get caught). If homosexual themes offend you, I'd leave as well. They're not very strong in this particular story, but they do crop up now and again. Consider this fair warning. Parts of this story are based off the RPG Rifts. All trademarks belong to Kevin Siembieda and Palladium books.
And now I'll let you read the story. Why do you ask? Because the sooner you read it, the sooner I might, just possibly, get an e-mail from you. I'd really like one.
Until next time, Rune
CHAPTER THREE
The third day of traveling with Sandy turned out to be a little bit tougher then Joey had originally thought. The boy was constantly doing things to annoy him, which he was sure were done on purpose. It was almost as if Sandy was trying to make him go away. What surprised him was that Sandy knew almost nothing about the jungle. Joey knew that the boy had grown up in it, or at the very least spent several years here, but he didn't seem to have any knowledge of the layout of the land.
They walked along in silence for the most part. Joey constantly scanned the area mentally to see if there were any `surprises' waiting for them around the next bend. They'd lucked out so far. The Summoner hadn't appeared, and neither had any of his minions. Joey hoped that it would stay that way. He was sure that he could deal with one or two creatures like the gargoyle, but if more then that showed up he'd be screwed. Sandy wouldn't be much help in a fight and would probably only get hurt.
On one such mental sweep Joey caught the minds of a group of people. He didn't investigate any further then to find out what type of creature they were. A village of some sort seemed near by. Not very large, but entirely populated by humans. That was probably a good sign. They'd be able to help them at least. Give some directions and possibly even some food and shelter.
"There's a village up ahead," Joey told Sandy. "They might be able to help us."
"How do you know that?" Sandy asked.
"Call it a hunch," Joey smiled.
Sandy shrugged. "If you say so. What makes you think they'll help us?"
"I don't," Joey admitted. "But we won't know for sure unless we ask."
They walked the rest of the way to the village without saying anything. Joey didn't mind too much. It left him time to think. Normally he loved to talk to his companions, but it just didn't seem right at this point. He wondered about Sandy. He was only a ten-year-old boy and yet had gone through so much in such a short period of time. And he was taking it so well, or at least he appeared to be. Joey knew better. The boy was stifling his emotions. He suspected it was because Sandy wanted to kill the Summoner, and wouldn't rest until the mage was dead, or he was. Either way the Summoner was what was keeping Sandy from grieving. At least at this point in time. Joey hoped that he could help the boy get rid of the idea that he could kill the Summoner. The blood on someone on your hands was a horrible thing to live with.
The village wasn't exactly what Joey was expecting. It was a lot neater. The streets were clean of any sort of debris and the buildings were well kept. Most of them were simply homes, but a few of them doubled as something else. He couldn't find the town hall, but he could locate a large building that appeared to be the inn.
The villagers weren't what he was expecting either. Not only did they not seemed surprised to see strangers, they seemed terrified. The moment anyone of them noticed him and Sandy they moved away. A woman slipped through a door and Joey heard it lock behind her. Curtains were closed and blinds pulled down. Within moments of them entering the village the streets were deserted. If he hadn't seen people Joey would have assumed the place was deserted.
"That's odd," he commented to himself. "Stay here."
Joey left Sandy in the town square and walked toward the nearest house. It was a simple home with a sturdy wooden door and a thatch roof. He knocked firmly on the door. No one answered it. He knew someone was in the house because he'd seen a man enter.
The response was the same at all the other homes he knocked on. Anger started to build in the psychic. He didn't want to hurt anything these people owned, or themselves, but he was going to get some answers. He knocked angrily on the inn door. When no one answered he knocked again, more forcefully this time.
"I know you're there," Joey said calmly. He didn't feel calm right now. "And I'm going to knock again. The polite thing to do would be to answer the door. If you don't I'm opening it myself."
He knocked again. The door opened a creak. A short bald man stuck peaked through the crack.
"Go away," he said. "We can't help you."
"I just want some directions," Joey said. "Maybe a map."
"We don't have a map." The man tried to shut the door but Joey stuck his foot out to prevent it from closing. "I told you we can't help you."
"Why not?" Joey asked. "Why can't you help us?"
A small sob of fear caught his attention. From behind the man Joey could see a middle-aged woman holding two frighten children. The children had their faces buried in her dress.
"Go away," the woman cried. "He'll kill us if he finds out we talked to you. Please just go away."
Joey withdrew his foot from the door and let the man close it. he opened himself to the emotions that lay in the village. A wave of fear washed over him. These people were truly afraid for their lives.
"I guess they can't help us," he told Sandy when he got back to the boy.
"Why not?"
"They wouldn't say," Joey said. "They're just afraid of something."
"The Summoner," The boy spat.
"Not necessarily," Joey said. "It could be just about anything."
"Actually the boy's right," a voice rasped . "The Summoner is completely behind their fear."
The two of them looked up to see where the voice had come from. Perched neatly on the edge of a roof was a man dressed in leather pants and boots. He chest was bare and his head was shaved. A spider was tattooed on his chest and was his only form of body decoration. A medium sized leather bag lay across his chest to hang at his waist.
"Who are you?" Sandy demanded.
"Nathaniel," the man said. "But a simple priest of Tark, come to aid you because my goddess wishes it." The man climbed down the building headfirst. He clung to the wall and didn't find it remotely odd that he was climbing that way. The instant he feet touched the ground a spider the size of a man's palm race out of the shadows and climbed up his leg to rest on his shoulder. Nathaniel didn't seem phased by the spider's presence. He actually nuzzled the creature. The spider made a sound that Joey could only assume was akin to a cat's purr.
"Why should we trust you?" Sandy asked.
"Because you need my help," the priest said. "I realize the situation isn't ideal, but if I leave now my goddess will be very angry. And you will probably meet a horrible death."
"We can take care of ourselves," Sandy said defiantly. "We've killed the Summoner's creatures before." Joey noted that the boy said we' rather then him', he let it go though. He was going to have a talk with Sandy about boasting.
"Of course you can child," Nathaniel assured him. "But I am not talking about the Summoner's creatures. My goddesses has been asked to perform a favour. The Summoner has to be dealt with and her priests are to help in that regard. They were to find two people and help them in whatever way they could. Since I have found you the second stage of Tark's assistance has been activated. You won't be able to do this by yourself."
"Exactly what is Tark going to do?" Joey asked.
"She has begun to call her people to her. They will scour this land to find the Summoner's home and then prevent any but those with her priests from entering."
"She's got a bunch of priests searching for a hideout and then they're going to prevent us from entering unless you're with us?" Joey asked. "I find that a bit hard to believe."
"Not priests," Nathaniel said. "Spiders. The jungle is alive with them. Thousands of spiders will prevent you from entering. There are spiders that can kill a man with a single bite. I will be able to get you past them."
"I see," Joey said. The man was telling the truth. Joey had used a light telepathic wave on him while conversing. Everything the man said was true, he hadn't lied once. "That does change things a bit."
"I guess we'd better get going then," Joey said. "I don't want to get these villagers in trouble."
"I don't like spiders that much," Sandy said, eyeing the spider sitting on Nathaniel's shoulder. "It's not going to crawl on me in the night is it?"
Joey was glad to see that the boy hadn't argued with him over Nathaniel's presence. He didn't want to have to show the boy that the man was telling the truth. That and he was happy that Sandy seemed to trust him in this regard. It wasn't much, but it was something.
"Phixt won't hurt you unless I want her to," the priest assured Sandy. "And she doesn't crawl on people unless they like her. Unless of course I want her to. And I don't want to make you uncomfortable." He whispered something to the spider and it crawled down his chest into the sack that hung at his waist. "Is that better?"
"She won't mind being in there?" Sandy asked.
"Not really," he said. "Just as long as I let her out in a little while. She likes it in there."
Nathaniel turned out to be a great cook. The meal he prepared that evening was amazing. He had gone off into the jungle to find some food while Joey and Sandy set up camp for the night. He'd returned with his sack full of roots and a medium-sized rabbit. While he prepared the meal he sent Phixt off to find a few more additions to the meal.
By the time an hour had passed a very pleasant smell was wafting from the cooking pot. At first Nathaniel had thought they wouldn't be able to cook much, but then Joey had pulled some cooking utensils from his small sack. After that the food preparation had gone smoothly.
"This is really good," Joey commented as the three of them sat around the fire eating the stew that Nathaniel had made. "How did you catch the rabbit?" The second he asked the question he knew he was going to regret the answer.
"Phixt caught it actually," Nathaniel said. "That's why I put in a few of the plants I did. I'm immune to her venom, but I don't think you two are. And I was going to risk it."
"Remind me never to ask you that question again," Joey said as he continued to eat the stew. "I was probably better off not knowing."
"How come you're not worried about her biting you?" Sandy asked.
"She won't bite me," Nathaniel said. "I raised her from the moment she hatched. I've raised a lot of spiders, but she's always been my favourite."
"Can I get one?" Sandy asked Joey suddenly.
"What?"
"Can I get a spider?"
"I thought you said you didn't really like spiders," Joey said. He was completely surprised that Sandy had asked him at all.
"I can get used to them though," the boy said. "And if it's like Phixt I'd get along with it great."
"Let me think about it for a bit," Joey said. He still had no idea how to respond to this one.
Nathaniel hadn't said anything while Sandy and Joey were talking. "Would you like to see if you can take a spider?" He smiled when Sandy nodded enthusiastically. The priest whispered something to his pet and the spider scuttled off his leg and over to Sandy.
When it reached the boy it stopped and seemed to waiting for something. Tentatively Sandy put his hand down near the spider. The spider slowly moved forward onto his hand. It hunched down a bit when Sandy raised his hand, but immediately crawled up his arm and sat on his shoulder when it got used to the movement of a new person.
"She likes you," Nathaniel said.
"Really?"
"Yes. A priest's pet rarely accepts others so quickly."
"Well I think we should think about going to sleep," Joey said. "But we should clean up after ourselves first."
The three of them quickly cleaned up after the meal. Phixt stayed attached to Sandy the entire time. The boy seemed a lot more comfortable with the spider then he'd been earlier. Now and again he saw Nathaniel watch the boy with a look of satisfaction. When everything was stowed away Joey sent Sandy to bed.
"I'll be there in a little bit," Joey assured him. "I just want to talk to Nathaniel for a minute."
"K," Sandy said. "Can I take Phixt with me?"
"You can try," Nathaniel said. "She might not be with you when you wake up though."
"Thanks." Sandy disappeared into the tent that Joey and he would be sharing. Joey had offered to expand it for three people, but the priest had refused. He apparently preferred to sleep in the open.
"What did you want to talk to me about?" Nathaniel asked.
"Just a second." Joey closed his eyes and nudged Sandy to sleep. He wait until the boy was asleep before continuing. "The Summoner actually."
"What did you want to know?"
"Why he's got those people so scared and how he got so powerful without people stopping him."
"The first is easy. If you oppose the Summoner you are taken away and never seen again. People have theories, but no one's sure exactly what happens. Most believe that you're eaten by the creatures he summons. Some think that you're used as a sacrifice." The man shrugged. "No one knows for sure. The villagers don't want to get him mad and have him take them away."
"What about the second one?"
"That one's a bit harder. I guess he's been here for a few years." Nathaniel scratched the back of his head. "I don't think anyone noticed him at first. He probably had himself established before we realized he was there. Once a Summoner gets established it's really hard to take him out."
"Why does that not make me feel any better?" Joey asked. "Why are you staying with us? I know that your god wants you to, but besides that. There's something more."
"There is something more Joey," the priest said. "But now isn't the time to discuss it. Perhaps if we all get through this I'll tell you."
"I won't push," Joey told him. He stood and moved toward the tent. "Good night Nathaniel." He opened the tent flap and Phixt scuttled out. "Guess she doesn't want to spend the night with Sandy."
The priest smiled as he scooped up the spider. "She usually doesn't like to spend too much time away from me. But I haven't seen her take to any other creature like she has Sandy. Well other then cats that is. She loves playing with cats."
"Apparently not," Joey said. "Sleep well."
Sandy woke from the nightmare drenched in a cold sweat. He had been dreaming of his parents' death. Not surprising, considering how recently it had happened. It bothered him a lot, but he wasn't going to let Joey know that. The older man already worried too much about him. And though Sandy liked him a lot, he was trying to make Joey leave. It would be better that way. If Joey wasn't with him the Summoner couldn't hurt him.
Taking a deep breath Sandy got out of his blankets and crawled out of the tent. He was careful not to touch Joey, if he had Joey would have woken up for sure. The cool of the jungle night wrapped itself around him the moment he was outside the tent. It wasn't very cold, but it was much cooler then the days were.
Nathaniel was curled up next to the fire with Phixt resting by his head. The spider turned to face Sandy, but didn't move toward him. Instead she scuttled closer to her master. The boy was glad that no one else was awake. He didn't want to have to explain the nightmare to anyone else. It was easier that way.
"Alexander."
At first Sandy thought he was hearing things. He continued to stare up at the night sky. He couldn't see much of it because of the trees, but he could catch a glimpse of it.
"Alexander."
Shaking himself back into the real world Sandy looked around the camp to see if anyone had spoken to him. He didn't see anyone.
"Alexander," the voice came again. It was soft and almost musical. "I wish to talk to you.'
Spinning around Sandy saw who was talking to him. At the point where the camp met the jungle was a man. At least he thought it was a man. He was dressed in flowing white robes and a pair of angelic wings sprouted from his back. Sandy couldn't clearly make out his facial features because of the soft nimbus of light that surrounded him.
"Who are you?" The boy whispered in awe. "Are you an angel?"
"Something like that child," the man said. His voice radiated gentleness. "I wish to talk to you, will you walk with me?"
"I don't know," Sandy said. "Joey might get mad if he finds out I've gone into the jungle without him, and there are a lot of animals out there."
The man's lips moved into a soft smile. Sandy could barely make out the movement through the nimbus of light. He waved his hand over his head in a sweeping gesture. The jungle fell silent around them. Even the chirping insects were silenced. "They will sleep until were return. No one will wake. Now will you walk with me?"
"I guess so," Sandy said doubtfully. "Joey won't wake up will he?"
"No. He will wake up at the normal time," the man assured him. "This way is nice."
"It is," Sandy told him. "We came this way yesterday."
The two walked in silence for a short while until they came to a small stream with a fallen log next to it. The man sat on the log and motioned for Sandy to do the same. When the boy was sitting down he continued.
"Do you like Joey?"
"Yeah, he's a great guy." Sandy paused for a minute and a look of curiosity crossed his face. "How do you know our names?"
The man laughed quietly. "I know many things Alexander. But suffice it to say that I know the name of any creature I look at. Does that answer your question?"
"I guess so."
"Good, then you can tell me why you keep trying to push Joey away."
"What?" Sandy gapped.
"You know you are doing it child. I know why you are doing it, but do you?"
Sandy hung his head. "Yeah. I don't want him to get hurt. If he's with me he's going to. That's why my parents died too."
"You're wrong," the man told him. "Your parents were killed because of the greed of one man. A lust for power." He looked Sandy in the eye and seemed to look into the boy's soul. "You want revenge, don't you?"
"Why shouldn't I?" Sandy asked sharply. The anger dropped from his features the moment he said that, but it remained in his eyes.
"Be careful of revenge," the man cautioned. "It can consume you so quickly, and you can lose everything you hold dear."
"I've lost everything already," Sandy said. "What else can I lose?"
"Have you truly lost everything? What about Joey?"
"I'm already trying to get him to leave," Sandy told him. "That way he won't get hurt."
"Joey is a good man and he is very capable of taking care of himself. Trust him, he will take care of you."
"But why? Why does he want to help me?"
"Kindness begets kindness," the man said cryptically. "Joey was help by a stranger because the stranger could help. Because of that help he survived to be the man he is today. Perhaps he is trying to return the favour"
"But I can't do anything for him," Sandy said. "I'm nothing but a burden."
"He didn't have anything to offer the woman that helped him either, and she still helped. You don't help someone to gain something Alexander. You help because you can." He stood and looked at the sky. "It is getting late, you should get some sleep."
The trip back to the camp was far quicker then the trip to the stream had been. Sandy wasn't sure exactly how, but it was. The first trip took about ten minutes, the second one was almost over in an instant.
"I have two things to leave you with Alexander," the man said when they'd returned to the camp. He pulled a folded piece of paper out of his robes. It was sealed with a strange symbol. "Give this to Joey for me. The second is a piece of advice. Stop trying to push Joey away. You need him."
Sandy took the letter and nodded. "I guess I should. It was nice meeting you.." He left it trailing off to get the man's name.
"Lance," he said. He waved his hand in a reverse of the motioned he'd done early. The jungle woke to life again. The silence was removed by the normal sounds of the night. Lance started to fade away. When he'd completely disappeared Sandy turned to crawl back into the tent.
"Good night Alexander," Lance's voice whispered to him.
TBC
And what did you think? Like's, dislikes? Let me know.
Rune