The morning proved to be fruitful in the ideas department. Tiberius had taken them to a warehouse where he stood next to a barrel, "I present to you our valiant steed to victory," Zinjo and Aurelia crossed their arms, and the guard captain's face fell.
"How is a barrel going to secure victory?" Zinjo asked in a dubious tone. He sniffed the barrel and balked, "This is worse than my stink bombs." He backed away from the barrel and hid behind Aurelia. "The stick proved to be an effective weapon, but I felt we could do better." He motioned them to the practice yard; he whistled and the men formed up around him. "Henshaw, a demonstration please." Henshaw drew back a curious arrow with a round bulbous tip. The sharp twinge of the bowstring drew everyone's attention to the target and the other end of the field. A loud band and the target were blown to the underworld. "We spent most of the niDawn came to the small Kingdom of Larylia. A lot is on the line today, the very future of the kingdom to be exact. Aurelia kissed the naked form of Zinjo awake, "It is too early to be awake, dark princess. Come back to bed, I have something more interesting than fighting monsters in mind." Aurelia giggled and straddled him, "I would love to stay in bed all day with you, but promises were made and as a ruler, you will be expected to keep your promises." She kissed him and reached for the lacy undergarments. "I suppose we should make an appearance," Zinjo said glumly as he pulled the loincloth over his treasured possession. The sight of it fueled Aurelia's imagination for a brief ten seconds. She shook her head and began to buckle the armor on. "Do you think we'll win?" Zinjo frowned and adjusted his shoulder guard. "I hope so. These people deserve a reprieve from the terr
After the last two adventures in the jungle, Aurelia was quite sick of the thick groups of plants that grew by the minute. Even with the map, it took forever just to make a little progress, or at least that is the way it seemed to Aurelia. Zinjo studied the paper and twirled it around, “I understand the usefulness of this paper but how does one read it?” He flipped it around a couple more times, and Aurelia giggled and turned it around to the correct position. “You see the arrows with letters, each one represents a direction. North is the guide,” Aurelia pointed to the map, “We were here next to the swamps yesterday, and it says here the order of the Gentle Tower wasn't too much farther away.” &nbs
As stated before the people of Larylia were known for their high fashion designs. In all the ruins Aurelia and Zinjo explored all they found were crates of perfectly preserved clothing. They found twenty crates and brought Gael to examine their find. He frowned and then looked in the crates held up a gown and ran his hand down the fabric. He smiled and threw his bandana in the air, “Larylian clothing is big with the royalty of the world. People still talk about the pageantry and the designer wars.” He paused and shot a shrewd look in their direction, “You need more time don't you?” “The mission has a complication,” Aurelia said in a weak tone. The cracked lips of Gael curved upward, “Do
The twisted humans formed a circle around the cage of the Al' Miraj, they shrieked and chittered around it with maniacal fervor. The man known as Isaac Harbinger pointed to Aurelia and ran his thumb across his throat. It spurned the grotesque assembly on. “Today I will fulfill the promise I made to you people all those years ago. Today we will become as we were meant to be. No longer will you have to live with your twisted limbs and half transformations. Today we will ascend, today our reign begins.” The familiar tickle of Zinjo's breath caused Aurelia to squirm, “What?” she asked in a testy tone. “I have a feeling this man is more sinister than we initially thought.” He massaged her shoulders, “He
As vicious as the Al' Miraj could be, a childlike innocence also presented itself once it was on the boat. It sniffed everything and everyone, it decided at first meeting who it liked and who it didn't like. It seemed to like Gael an awful lot. As soon as it saw the veteran sailor it refused to leave his side. “I have a ship to run. I don't have time to babysit a feral animal..gah” Gael started to speak until he turned and saw the Al' Miraj perched on his shoulder. “By the rolling waves of Lemuria, what is this creature's interest in me?” Zinjo paced around Gael and studied the Al' Miraj, “I think it is an omen we cannot ignore. Despite its animal appearance the Al' Miraj is a divine creature. Why it chose you I cannot say. Keep an eye on it, and never forget such creatures do
The prow of the nightingale cut through the small waves while the wind pushed it along the watery surface. Gael held fast to the ship's steering wheel with Al' Miraj asleep on his shoulder. The grizzled ship captain had grown used to the ball of fur, and no longer complained about its presence. Aurelia and Zinjo spent their days keeping peace among the crew. At night they would dine with Gael and talk about the next leg of the journey. Zinjo and Aurelia were anxious to get to Lemuria to find the runes required to make the witch trap bottles. That night it was vegetable stew, again. Zinjo blanched, "We need to hunt soon. I am not a caterpillar, I require something a little more substantial," he ate with a childish expression on his face. "You're acting like a cub," Aurelia observed. Fierce hunger clawed her stomach and begged for something bloody and tender. "Although Zinjo speaks correctly, I cou
The swish of gentle waves accompanied the rowboat to shore. Zinjo and Gael rowed in unison. Aurelia noted they were the only three in the leaky tub. She glared at the seagulls who screeched every time she tried to speak. The sun warmed the air, but not too unbearable levels, and a soft breeze kept her body at a nice temperature. Asleep on Gael's shoulder was the divine Al' Miraj, a bunny with an onyx horn on its head. The creature had to lead them to this place, but why? The same question played over and over in her mind. Aurelia did not know much about divine beings, but she suspected not all of them were good. "Gael, why are we the only people on this landing party?" She asked in a mild tone, underneath a patch of worry raged like an ocean storm. The seaman paused and wrung his bandana in his hands, "I am not a fool. Tess is depending on me, the men have orders to leave should they not hear back from us in
Zinjo gripped the partisan with a grim intensity as he saw the men race through the trees, and Gael put a pair of cestus over his knuckles and wore a wry grin. Aurelia moved her feet shoulder-width apart and sniffed the air. She smelled a lot of things human was not one of them. "They aren't human," Zinjo said before Aurelia could utter a word. "What should we do?" The Al' Miraj leaped off Gael's shoulder, and its horn started to glow, "Looks like the little guy knows something is up. If they are not human, what are they?" Zinjo stalked forward, "I have no idea, but we will not find out anything by standing around." He stuck to the hunting trail. The trees were more twisted and gnarled, "Is the land poisoned?" Aurelia picked up a skull-shaped pine cone. A fanged frog growled and vanished with a splash into a nearby pond. Gaels's eyes opened wide, "I think I know