Chapter 2
Down Time
A good way ahead of them, Ranger set a very brisk pace, and made it obvious that he didn't want to talk as he strode forward along the road to the small town of Dragorlin.
So, instead of trying to catch up with him, Diana fell into step beside Sheila and her brother, with Presto following behind. The unicorn trailed after them at the back, often casting long and anxious glances back to the clearing. Diana was pretty sure Uni wasn't worrying about the Cavalier, but about leaving the safety of the forest for another town; Kilan hadn't been a pleasant place.
Beside her, Sheila and Bobby were chatting, talking about the town ahead of them, and where Dungeonmaster might be, and deliberately avoiding any mention of the argument. Diana listened for a while but didn't join in, then found herself wondering how they'd managed to get themselves into this situation.
Somehow, the Acrobat had known this was going to happen: the tension had been building between those two for a number of weeks. Hank took being leader very seriously, she knew. The sly and not-so-subtle digs at his leadership skills weren't helping the Ranger's confidence, especially after the Darkling Incident. The only surprising thing was that it had taken so long!
Well, no. The other surprising thing was that it was Hank, not Eric that had done the storming.
She wondered about that for some time as they walked. Not only had Eric stayed behind (nothing new there!), but he'd stayed behind on his own. Considering all that had happened recently, she wouldn't have been so keen to stay on her own, if she'd been in his position.
She knew what he was doing; it had been obvious since the Guild in Kilan that he was trying desperately to keep control of an uncontrollable situation; and he reacted just like his father did in stressful circumstances, trying to bluster his way through with anger and bravado. But the Cavalier couldn't carry it off, and had just ended up putting them all in danger. That boy was a trouble magnet! There was no way in Hell he was gonna get any peace in the clearing!
Then again, perhaps his luck had changed; maybe he'd be bored. She gave a sudden grin at the thought of their Cavalier sitting quietly in on a rock, enjoying a good crossword.
Like THAT was gonna happen!
But they wouldn't be away for too long as, thanks to the Ranger's fast pace, it took them less than an hour to get to the town. There wasn't the same uncomfortable feeling in Dragorlin as there had been in Kilan; this was just a sleepy little place, and it looked like nothing much ever happened here. The gate wasn't guarded, the shops were small and homely, and the people all smiled at them as they passed. Even Uni was strutting along, and seemed to be enjoying the attention. Hank had slowed to let them catch up, and they walked through the streets together, going with the flow of people up the main street towards the Town Square.
It was much like any other town square they'd been too; wide, open space with people milling about and shops round the side. But here in Dragorlin, the centre was adorned with a beautiful Statue of a huge three-headed, blue Dragon, its legs extended out to grasp unknown prey below it, and the cobalt-blue wings swept back. The shadow of the Dragon's wings covered at least half of the Square.
They stopped to admire it, and Diana was struck by a vague feeling of oddness and familiarity. But she would have remembered meeting a Dragon like that before.
'Welcome, friends,' said a friendly voice beside them. 'And what can I get you, on this fine afternoon?'
They turned to see a short, round-bellied man, with a white apron and cap, smiling at them. He held out his hand.
'Hi,' said Hank, shaking it. 'We're just visiting for the day, and having a look around.'
'Thirsty work, looking,' said the man. 'You'll need refreshment. I can soon get five beers ready for you.'
He gestured towards one of the shops, where there were a few chairs out at the front.
Diana hoped the Ranger would agree, and they would get a chance to sit down and relax together, but Hank shook his head.
'We've only just arrived. We should really keep going.'
The man shrugged, and changed tactics.
'You like our Statue?' he asked.
Everyone nodded. Diana had to admit, it was a very beautiful Statue, one of the finest pieces of workmanship they'd seen in a long time, from the subtle glint in its eye all the way down to the shading of the scales.
'This is Apsu, the great King of the Dragons,' said the man, giving it a grand gesture.
Diana winked at Presto, and whispered:
'Not Queen Tiamat fans, then.'
She was rewarded with a shy smile from the Magician, but if the others heard, none reacted.
That wasn't right. There was something missing, and for just a second she couldn't put her finger on what it was. There was no come back, or put down, no more smart comments, no sarcastic observations. In short: no Eric.
The Acrobat shivered. This place was really starved of good company if she was actually missing Eric! Unnerved, she looked back at the Statue, examining at it more closely.
'Hey,' she said suddenly. 'There's nothing keeping it up!'
That was what was odd about it. There was a clear gap between the plinth and the Statue itself! It was just hanging in the air.
'But that's not possible!' said Hank in amazement. 'How does it stay up there?'
'Aesthetics,' said the man affably.
The Ranger seemed slightly confused by the answer and didn't reply.
'That's cool!' the Barbarian said, beaming round at the others. 'What's aesthetics?'
This time, everyone seemed to miss the scathing put-down that should have been there; Sheila glanced to the ground, Presto looked embarrassed, and both Bobby and Hank scowled.
The man was taken aback by their reaction, but quickly filled the awkward silence.
'You've picked a good day for visiting,' he told them. 'The market's on today.'
He pointed to one of the streets, filled with people and busy stalls 'Lots to see and buy. I can keep those beers cool for you, while you look.'
Diana gave a smile. This guy was good! Bobby stepped forward so he could see the stalls more clearly.
'I wanna look down there,' he said, pointing. 'Can I go? Please? I'll be careful. Pleeee-ase?'
Hank didn't seem inclined to let him go, but the town seemed placid enough; it was quiet and reminded her of the happy town of Helix. He had been content to let the others wander off on their own there. Why not here?
'C'mon Hank,' she said. 'Why not let us all relax?'
'Oh, OK,' he replied after a moments hesitation, making Bobby cheer. 'But we'll meet back here at the Statue in an hour.' The Ranger turned to the man. 'And we'll maybe need some beers then.'
The man gave a jovial smile, and headed back to his shop. Bobby didn't wait for more encouragement and he headed off, with the unicorn trotting beside him.
Diana noticed the looks Sheila was giving her, and tactfully suggested to Presto that they have a look at some of the stalls too. The Magician, though not in a good mood, must have seen Sheila's hints too, and agreed. So together they made their way down the road.
For an hour, she and Presto window-shopped, occasionally getting free samples of food to enjoy. Everything seemed normal, and the Magician was happy enough to talk. But there was no mention of either the Hat, or Eric. Diana was content to steer clear of those topics, knowing full well that if Presto wanted her opinion, he would ask.
Besides, she was feeling good, and didn't want to think about the Cavalier and his mood swings at the moment. Before the argument this morning she had still been worried about him, but her tolerance had worn pretty thin by the time they'd left. Maybe he had every right to be upset, but taking it out on his friends wasn't gonna help! They'd put up with a lot from Eric over the years, but they were still his friends, in spite of everything.
It was just that Eric didn't seem to know that anymore.
She took a covert glance at Presto as he walked beside her, looking at the stalls. Her gaze fell on the Hat, that dangerous and temperamental weapon. He'd hardly used it at all since Mindril, (no surprises there).
As if he could feel her gaze, he looked round suddenly and noticed her interest in the Hat. A dejected expression crossed his face, and he gave a sigh.
Time for a change of scene, she thought.
Fortunately, one of the shops nearby seemed unusual enough to be commented on.
'Hey,' she said, pointing, 'that place looks interesting. Let's take a look.'
As they moved closer, Diana realised it was a very odd shop. It was dark, and old, and had nothing in the window. Instead of a name above it, there was only one word: Supplies.
'What sorta supplies do you think it means?' asked Presto.
Diana shook her head.
'Camping?' she suggested with a grin.
Presto gave her that shy smile again.
'Well, c'mon,' she said brightly. 'Let's take a look.'
It wasn't what she'd expected. It was empty, but for a single counter and the heavy scent of burning wood. There was nothing else there, except a dull blue carpet and a door. She exchanged worried looks with Presto, knowing he was thinking the same as her: Lets get out of here!
But they were too slow, as the door opened and a tall, brown haired woman stepped out, dressed in Ranger-type clothes. She immediately noticed their weapons.
'Um, hi,' said Diana, after what seemed like hours of being stared at. 'I think we're in the wrong shop.'
The woman stepped slowly forward, her hand stretched out, but she stopped before touching the weapons.
'Dragon-made? Yes?' she asked. As Presto nodded, Diana noticed a slight twitch cross the woman's face. 'Then I don't think you're in the wrong shop at all.'
She looked at their startled faces.
'You are not here to sell them?'
Diana shook her head, and took a small step backwards. It was almost as if the woman had been expecting them. But that wasn't possible.
'Like I said, I think we're in the wrong shop.'
'But you would get a very high price for them.'
Diana scowled. She was so sick of the word "price"!
'No, we'd like to keep them.'
The following silence quickly became unbearable, and Diana took another step back, pulling the Magician along with her. The way the woman stared at them made her feel really uncomfortable.
'Sorry we disturbed you,' she muttered, heading out of the door.
The door swung shut, and they walked quickly off round the corner before Diana gave a quiet sigh of relief.
'That was real odd,' she said, glancing over her shoulder.
Presto nodded.
'Yeah, something wasn't right about that place. It was… creepy.'
She hadn't given much thought to Dungeonmaster's latest riddle: A test of strength, but a trial of weakness.
She had a funny feeling that this shop was somehow important.
'C'mon,' she said, taking Presto's arm. 'Let's find Hank and the others.'
Hank knew what Sheila was up to, and didn't feel like cooperating. So when the others left them alone, he deliberately walked off in the opposite direction, before she could say anything.
But he'd reckoned without her persistence. After only a few steps, she was back at his side. She didn't speak and they walked on in silence.
At first he was annoyed. He'd wanted some peace and a bit of space. Was that really too much to ask? She would only want him to "talk about it" and he didn't even want to think about it, let alone discuss it. He could feel her presence, and it grew more distracting with each step. So he eventually stopped walking, turned to her and said:
'Look, I know what you're thinking, Sheila. But I've had enough of him.'
She made no reply, but looked up at him in that endearing way of hers, her eyes so beguiling and green. He could stare into her eyes forever.
'Won't you talk to me,' she said. 'Please?'
He would rather have talked to Diana or even Presto; he didn't want to upset her, he cared about her far too much. But he couldn't say no.
'I'm sick of him,' he said at last. 'I'm sick of this place, I'm sick of sleeping on the ground and having nuts and berries for dinner, but most of all, I'm sick of him.'
They'd had this conversation before, a few weeks after they'd arrived in this terrible place after a particularly spectacular display of selfishness and cowardice from the Cavalier. His behaviour had slowly improved and, after the disaster with the Box of Balefire, Hank had believed that Eric might be growing up and taking more responsibility. But his behaviour over the past few weeks had just gotten worse and worse and this morning's petty argument was the last straw.
'He's got a few things on his mind,' said Sheila, glancing down at the ground. 'It's gotten nasty for him recently.'
Hank gave a humph. She was gonna defend him now? There was a sudden, uncomfortable feeling, one that he didn't like. He didn't like the thought of Sheila siding with Eric over him. She wasn't supposed to do that!
'It wasn't exactly fun in the Grotto, you know!'
'I know, Hank,' Sheila said. 'But Eric's usually the one to get into trouble. I think Kilan was the last straw.'
Hank snorted again.
'And what did he do there? Sulk… and pick fights!'
'Hank, that's not fair.'
He looked back at her. That was a pretty accurate description of the Cavalier's behaviour as far as he was concerned.
'He did nothing cause trouble,' snapped Hank.
She frowned at him.
'He didn't mean to! He doesn't do it on purpose!'
'But he does. It's been one catastrophe after another with him. He just never learns!'
'That's not fair either!'
'He goes blundering around causing trouble, and it's up to us to pick up the pieces. He's a liability!'
Sheila frowned more deeply, looking genuinely worried.
'What's gotten into you?' she asked. 'This isn't like you.'
That seemed vaguely insulting to him, as if disliking Eric wasn't allowed. A dark, resentful feeling crept into is heart. Why couldn't she just let this go?
'He is a liability,' Hank repeated firmly. 'I don't know why we came back for him!'
'Hank!'
'We came back when he was a Bogbeast, we left the portal in the Lightning Forest. We've saved his sorry ass more times than I can be bothered counting, we struggle every day, and he just carries on, as infuriating and thoughtless as usual!'
'You don't really think it's had no effect on him?' Her incredulous tone was instantly annoying. 'Of course it has!'
'Well, it doesn't look like that to me! He just as unlikeable now as he was back at school!'
'You don't mean that, Hank.'
'No, I don't,' he said. 'Eric's gotten worse! He's stepped over the line, he kil…'
Hank stopped abruptly. He didn't want to think about that. He didn't want to talk about it either.
'He… what?' asked Sheila, the motherly, concerned look on her face making him feel terrible. She reached out to touch his arm. 'Please, Hank. Tell me what you were gonna say.'
'He killed that Troglodyte,' said Hank softly. 'None of us have ever gone that far before. I know it was self defence, but… he killed it.'
But that wasn't what he was really thinking. It was my fault…I put him in that position… I did this to him…
He'd been the one who left Eric behind; he'd left Eric at the mercy of the Trogs when he knew perfectly well there was no way out. And he'd left Eric because he liked Presto better. You turned Eric into a killer.
'Oh, Hank! Of course he didn't!'
It took Hank a few moments to form a reply. She seemed so matter-of-fact, so sure.
She just thought he was too nice to behave like that. He'd been desperate, and alone, and it must have been his only option.
And I forced it on him! This is MY FAULT! What kind of leader am I?
Hank found he was shaking. He couldn't look Sheila in the eyes in case he showed his weakness.
'But Hank, he couldn't have,' she said. 'He could barely stand up, let alone lift a sword! There had been other slaves, one of them must have come to help.'
'He could still have…'
Sheila cut in.
'Didn't you see the look on his face when you suggested that? Come on, Hank! You don't really think he'd have been able to do that. Not really.'
Had he really misjudged the Cavalier so badly?
'We still haven't had a straight answer,' Hank told her. Sheila just looked at him. 'Well, we haven't!'
'It was stabbed in the back, you know,' she said eventually. 'So how did he manage that!'
'Um…'
'And the whole Lair was trashed. Not even Eric on a good day could have done that!'
'So do you think happened, then?' he asked, soundly more petulant than he'd meant to; something Sheila didn't appreciate, judging by the harsher tone as she answered.
'He couldn't have smashed the Lair; he couldn't have reached a sword. So someone had to help him. I'd guess Dwarves. Perhaps he helped them, and then they helped him back.'
A frown flicked across his face. They hadn't seen any Dwarves, true, but there were always Dwarf slaves in Troglodyte Lairs. All those smashed cells, the open Vault that Diana found, the key on the floor… Perhaps Sheila was right.
'You've obviously given this a lot of thought,' he said, trying to keep his emotions in check. But the dark, resentful feeling wasn't going away. He was jealous! Jealous of her concern for the Cavalier.
As she looked up at him, Hank felt just as angry as he had in the earlier argument with Eric. That boy couldn't help stirring things up, even when he wasn't even here! They shouldn't even be discussing this.
But that wasn't the end of it. He couldn't convince himself that was the end of it.
Eric was a convenient scapegoat, as always. That wasn't to say he didn't deserve it; he'd managed to get them into serious trouble any number of times. But not this time.
The dark, uncomfortable feeling wasn't just jealousy. It was guilt.
Sheila was watching him, with a tender expression on her face.
'You think… you think it was your fault. Don't you?'
Hank couldn't speak. What a dumb question! He was the leader, of course it was his fault.
'It was my decision,' he said at last. 'I'm the leader, and I left him behind.' Now he'd said it, he couldn't keep it all in any longer. 'I did this! I left him for the Trogs to torture. I left him behind and turned him into a killer. I left him behind… because… because I like Presto more.'
He'd said. It was out in the open now, and she knew that, for all his pretence at fairness and morality, he was just as shallow as the Cavalier himself.
'You had to choose and you did what you thought was right.'
'How could I have been right! Eric's…' he couldn't find the right word to describe the Cavalier. 'Eric's … '
'But it worked out,' she reminded him. 'They were both ok.'
Whether Eric could reasonably be classed as "ok" after what the Trogs had done to him was open to question, and Sheila realised it. 'Well, they are. Sort of.'
'But what about next time? What if I have to choose again? What if… next time, it's you?' She opened her mouth to reply but he kept on going. 'I could never leave you, I would come after you no matter what, even if it mean leaving everyone and everything else behind.' He loved her. He would do anything for her. They had agreed to wait; that sort of relationship was too dangerous in the Realm. But the feelings wouldn't go away, and seeing her every day and knowing they couldn't be together yet was making it worse. How could love cause this much trouble?
He took a slow breath.
'What kind of leader would do that?' he asked.
To his surprise, she smiled.
'We trust you, Hank. All of us. Even Eric.' Hank couldn't help looking incredulous. 'He led us against the Darkling to get you back, because you are our leader. And we need you.' There was a pause. 'I need you.'
She leaned across and kissed him full on the lips. He was too surprised to respond at first, but as she started to pull away, he held her close and kissed her back. He forgot about everything else except her, and they stood in the street kissing, oblivious to the rest of the world.
Slowly, he broke their kiss. Sheila spoke first.
'I love you too, you know,' she told him, a blush creeping across her face. They couldn't let this happen, they had both agreed. Neither of them wanted to move, and break this wonderful moment, but this couldn't happen. Regretfully, Sheila moved away.
'Um, I think I should go… and maybe find the others,' she said. It was obvious she didn't want to, but Hank didn't stop her. She gave him a warm smile. 'Don't worry about us Hank, we'll be fine. All of us.'
Eric waited alone all afternoon.
He was still uneasy, not have the others around, but he could cope. He'd been alone in the Warlock's castle. He'd been alone in the Trogs Lair. There was once a time when being alone in this dumb place had frightened him more than anything else.
But not anymore. One little clearing wasn't going to scare him, not today!
He wanted some peace, and he wanted some privacy, away from the others. He wanted to be alone for a while.
The last attempt to take more control hadn't been such a success; he had never been very good at picking fights and Kilan had been no exception. He would probably have been dog-food by now if the others hadn't intervened. But he'd been pleased with the way he'd engineered an argument with Hank, getting the Ranger to go off with out him.
But them more he thought about it, the more he realised that it was too easy. None of them liked him anymore. Anymore? They barely tolerated him at the best of times, but now they all seemed to hate him.
Eric had never been under any illusions about the others. Even back at home, they'd been way too nice to tell him to get lost, even though they must have wanted to on any number of occasions. And ever since they'd arrived in this crummy Realm, he'd been a liability. He'd sensed a change after the Grotto, but the gratitude and respect was short-lived.
None of them seemed unable to stand his company anymore, especially Hank. Mention the word Troglodyte around Hank, and the looks of disapproval could freeze lava! Diana kept her distance, Bobby still argued, even the normally tolerant Sheila was anxious around him.
And it had come as a nasty surprise to find the Magician so jealous. He realised what had happened, of course, he didn't see it at the time, but he'd had other stuff to think about. "His power will ALWAYS surpass yours!" Trust the stupid Wizard to deliberately stir things up. Eric didn't believe it, the only power he had was to create trouble. Yes, he'd been Dungeonmaster for a day, but Presto was the one with the Hat, even if it didn't always work.
In fact, there was only one thing recently that had come close to going right for him, but thinking about her just made him feel worse.
He missed her.
He'd counted up the hours; they'd spent a total of about thirty hours alone together. Not even two days. And he missed her. How dumb was that?
Worse, he'd gone and blurted it out to Presto. Sheila already knew, and Sheila would have had to tell Hank. Somehow, Uni could knew too, she had been giving him funny looks ever since that day. And in all likelihood Diana had guessed, she wasn't stupid. So they all knew! Well, except Bobby, and when HE found out life was going to be totally unbearable!
Annoyed at himself for brooding over some girl, he decided to make himself useful and gather more firewood for later, and whatever the others brought back from the town. Assuming they did bring something back for him.
He sighed.
Perhaps this hadn't been such a great idea after all.
The suns had moved behind the trees when he finally saw a movement in the forest.
'About time the others returned,' he murmured. 'Hope they brought some food.'
He stood, looking carefully. There was something odd going on. Shouldn't he be able to hear them too? But there were no voices.
This isn't right…There was a flash of shiny yellow then something hit him in the chest, knocking his breath out of his lungs. His Shield was trapped under his back and he was pinning to the ground by a large claw.
Unreasonable anger surged through him, taking no account of the danger. Goddamn it! This was just NOT fair! Why did the bad stuff ALWAYS happen to him?
There was an ear-splitting shriek from the creature above him.
'Da-da!'