Part I: Resurrection
Dave stares at his hand for several seconds, his face a mixture of surprise, guilt, and sadness. "Where did you get this?"
"It belongs to my Mother," the kid tells him.
"Diana?" Dave whispers.
The kid nods. Dave looks at him closely. "…Spencer?"
It was the kids turn to look shocked. "How do you know my name?"
"Because your Mother is my sister," Dave smiles. He looks up at the girl. "And you are…"
She grins. "Penelope Garcia." She curtsies at him. Dave eyes her warily.
"Penelope is my friend," Spencer explains. "She saved my life, and yours."
"Oh?" Dave looks back at Spencer then to Penelope again. "How so?"
"You blacked out and that guy was still beating on you," she says grimly. "I grabbed a mug from a nearby table and smashed it against the side of his skull. He fell like rock in a landslide."
"Together we carried you out of the tavern," Spencer continues. "No one else there was going to help."
Dave nods. He raises his hand and cups the side of Spencer's face. "Thank you."
Spencer flushes under his scrutiny.
"You look like your Mother," Dave muses. "Where the hell is she? Why are you here looking for me?"
"She disappeared," Spencer says glumly. He recounts the story of the women disappearing and of his thoughts, that dragons were to blame. "You probably think I'm crazy."
Dave slowly shakes his head. "No. I don't think you're crazy. I think you're right."
"You do?"
"Yes," Dave whispers. "It makes complete sense to me."
He looks between the two younger people and sees he has their undivided attention.
"Years ago, I was a Knight for King Gideon. I was the Captain of the Guard, his favorite and the strongest amongst all the knights. One night, there was a commotion at the castle. Someone had lit the roof and several huts on fire. While everyone was distracted putting out the fires, the King's sister, Erin, was kidnapped. King Gideon sent me to find her."
He stops for a moment and takes a moment to breathe. "I searched the lands high and low and could not find her or any trace of her. It was like she had disappeared in the darkness. After several months of searching, I gave up and returned to the castle; defeated. King Gideon was not happy with me. He stripped me of my title and banished me from the castle."
"I've spent the ensuing years hiding from my failure. Hoping to be released from this world," he sighs. He closes his eyes and takes another deep breath and releasing it slowly.
"Well, I for one am glad that you are still here," Spencer says quietly.
Dave opens his eyes and looks at him. "I don't know what you think I can do for you, Spencer. I have no idea where your Mother might be. I'm just as lost as Princess Erin was all those years ago."
Spencer shakes his head. "You have one thing now that you didn't back then."
"What's that?"
"Me."
Dave chuckles and shakes his head. "That's great, Spencer. But I'm not going to be able to do anything for a while. I'm pretty sure that behemoth in the bar broke a few ribs."
"I can fix that," Spencer frowns. "I didn't realize…"
He gets up and scrambles out of the wagon, causing it to rock from side to side. Dave moans as he rocks from side to side. Penelope kneels next to him. She puts a hand on his and wipes his brow with the other.
"He really can fix you," she tells Dave. "You've already healed so much."
He raises an eyebrow and peers at her skeptically. "Oh?"
"Your face was all swollen and discolored," she says. "Now you look more like the handsome man we first met. Almost perfect."
He decides to ignore the comment about being handsome. "In two days?!"
She nods. "Spencer is a healer."
"Like his Mother," Dave says absently. He thinks about his sister and how long it has been since he has seen her. Life had not been easy for Diana. She had always been an outcast because of her abilities, because of her beliefs. It was worse when she had become pregnant.
The man who had helped create Spencer had left before the child was born, leaving Diana completely alone. Dave had been off fighting for the King, but the two had stayed in touch through messages they had exchanged via a falcon. Dave had tracked down the man who had abandoned Diana and Spencer; he made sure the man would never do that again to another woman.
Years later, Dave had left on his journey to find Princess Erin and when he failed to find her, he decided not to find his sister again as well.
That was a mistake he truly regretted.
The wagon jostles once again as Spencer comes bounding in. He carries a steaming cup in his hands.
"Drink this," he orders as he thrusts the cup at Dave.
Dave balks at the odor coming off the cup. "What is that? It smells putrid."
"I know," Spencer agrees. "But trust me, you'll feel better in no time."
Dave grimaces. "Help me sit up," he grumbles.
Penelope slips closer to him and slides her arm behind his shoulder. Dave becomes distracted by her unique smell forgetting about his pain as she helps him sit up. Taking the cup from Spencer, he holds his breath as he takes a sip. It tastes as awful as it smells, but somehow he finds comfort in it.
"Did your Mother teach you how to make this?" Dave asks.
"Yes," Spencer nods.
"I think I've drank it before," Dave muses. He takes another drink and feels the pain in his side begin to fade away.
"Drink it all," Spencer says encouragingly.
Dave looks at the dregs in the bottom of the cup. "Even the crap at the bottom?"
"Especially that."
He swirls the cup, so the leaves are not all piled at the bottom then empties the cup nearly choking. Penelope rubs his back soothingly. Penelope helps him lay back down as he hands the cup to Spencer.
"That was disgusting," he growls as he falls asleep.
The next time Dave awakens, he sits up by himself. The pain in his ribs is completely gone. He throws the covers to the side and rises slowly to his feet. His legs are a little weak from the lack of activity. Grabbing the edge of a shelf, he steadies himself. It's light in the wagon and he has no idea how much time has passed.
He takes a moment to look around. The wagon is filled with food and cooking utensils, along with clothes, personal items, and an assortment of musical instruments. 'A minstrel,' he thought. 'That explains a lot.'
He makes his way to the door, opens it, and looks outside. The fire burns lowly; a pot sits over it with steam coming out from under the lid. Dave looks around but he appears to be alone. Slowly, he makes his way down the steps to the ground and crosses to the fire. He lowers himself to the log sitting close by.
"Welcome back," Penelope says from behind him.
Dave twists around to look at her. His eyes widen when he sees her companion. "Why does it not surprise me that you have a lion?"
She laughs as she joins him at the fire. She settles next to him on the log. "Am I that predictable?"
He watches the lion as it stops and sniffs at him before moving to the other side of the fire. Dave looks at her carefully. "You are unpredictably predictable."
"Thank you," she smiles. "Are you hungry?"
"Yes."
"I'd be surprised if you said no," she says. She gets up and moves to the wagon where she digs into a side box and pulls out a crude bowl and spoon. She returns and lifts the lid off the pot. "You've been asleep for another three days."
Dave sniffs the air. "It smells delicious." His stomach grumbles loudly.
"It's stew made with wild boar," she tells him. She hands him the steaming bowl of stew then settles next to him once more.
"Wild boar?! You got a wild boar by yourself?"
She bites her lip and shakes her head. "Kevin caught it and brought it here."
"Who's Kevin?" he frowns and looks around for this mystery man.
She laughs and points at the lion who lays across from them by the fire.
"You trained your lion to hunt for you? I'm impressed."
She shrugs.
"It didn't take much," she admits. "I think he was and is grateful not to be chained up anymore. Personally, I don't eat meat. But Spencer does and I figured you would at least need it to rebuild your strength."
"Speaking of Spencer, where is he?"
"To be honest… I'm not sure," she tells him. "He got up and left early this morning."
Dave swallows. "Do you think he left without us?"
She eyes him carefully. "Does this mean you're going with us?"
"Of course, I'm going. I've already let my sister down, I can't let Spencer down too," he says sadly. "Even if I'm useless."
She puts her hand on his shoulder then slides it down his back. "I don't think Spencer thinks you're useless. And neither do I."
It's almost dark when Spencer returns to camp. Kevin rises from the fire and meets him at the edge of the woods to escort him into camp.
"You okay?" Dave asks.
"Yes. Are you?"
Dave nods.
"I'd like to head out in the morning if you are ready to travel," Spencer announces.
"I can travel," Dave says. "However, I need to go to home first."
"Fine," Spencer agrees. "We'll leave at first light."
Spencer helps himself to the stew.
"Do you have any idea where we should go after that?" Penelope asks.
Spencer looks up from the pot, his face a mix of light and dark as the fire flickers below him. "We need to take the road to perdition to the valley of Gehenna."
"Well, that sounds pleasant," Dave snarks. "We should all get some sleep."
Early the next morning, Dave leads the little caravan around the town and up the side of a nearby mountain. The follow a seldom used path to small hut hidden among the trees and rocks.
"Stay here," Penelope tells Kevin as she follows the two men inside. Kevin lays near the horses, vigilantly watching the path from whence they came.
The interior of the hut is dark and shabby. A small cot in the corner, accompanies a table and single chair as the only furniture in the place. There are a few clothes and cooking utensils but other than that, the place is empty. Dave grabs a small axe leaning against the wall by the cold hearth.
"So, what exactly do you need?" Spencer asks as he looks around.
Dave deigns to answer. Instead, he pulls the cot away from the wall then swings the axe into the wood near the corner. As he chops through the wall Spencer and Penelope exchange perplexed looks. It takes Dave ten minutes to chop a hole in the wall large enough to fit a man through. Dave tosses the axe to the side and slips through the hole.
"Do you want us to follow?" Penelope asks as she moves to the hole and peers into the darkness.
"No," Dave replies his words echoing off the stone wall of the cave.
"Do you need some light?" Spencer asks as he peers over her shoulder.
The answer comes in the form of a grunt and the clang of metal on stone.
"What the hell is he doing?" Spencer asks quietly.
"Hell if I know," Penelope replies.
They hear a shuffling noise get louder, then suddenly a burlap sack comes through the hole, quickly followed by two more sacks. Spencer and Penelope grab the sacks and pull them out of the way. The tip of a sword pokes out of the hole, before either of them can move to grab it, it moves further through the hole. In seconds, Dave slips back through the hole holding the sword in his hand.
"If we're going to Gehenna to fight dragons, I'm going to be armed."