Chapter 4: Rites of Passage
Setting: Autumn 1992: The Realm of Dungeons & Dragons
Summary: Bobby's eighteenth birthday is a turning point in the young Barbarian's life. Happy Birthday, Bobby.
xxx
November 5, 1992
The group sat in a slight depression around a campfire in the early morning light of the four rising suns. They had set up at the edge of a large boulder field, having just left the lightly wooded land behind. The main group ate leftover rabbit stew while Uni and Terri ate something vegetarian Uni had prepared, leaning against Eric's side. Bobby sat on Terri's other side but did not lean on Eric, cautious of the Cavalier-turned-unicorn.
"Airk?" Uni pitched her voice low, only including Terri, Bobby, and Eric. Those across the campfire couldn't distinguish her words.
Eric turned his head, bobbing it lightly.
Uni looked up at him, lifting a hand to stroke under his chin. Soon they'd have to put him back in the barding and the saddle he hated so much, though the metallic-blue and silvery leather seemed pointless: even Uni hadn't dared ride him. The former unicorn smiled and said, "I should teach you unicorn things."
The unicorn drew his face out of her touch but remained where he was. He lifted his head and looked down on Uni in what could only be termed 'arrogance,' his body stiff, the look in his dark eyes haughty.
Bobby snickered. "You know, Eric, even though you're a lot quieter now, you're still the stuck up jerk we've always known. Hey!" The Barbarian whirled, stunned, as Eric swatted his raven-dark tail over Bobby's arm, as if hitting at a fly. "Jerk!" Bobby repeated, tempering his exasperation with humor for Eric's 'comeback.'
Terri giggled, drawing a smile from her boyfriend. Even if Eric was annoying, anything that could bring a smile to Terri's tired, pale face was okay by Bobby. He reached over and took the Dreamer's hand, squeezing gently. "Nice to see you smiling, Terr."
She smiled wide and leaned into him. "Today, I feel fine." The exhaustion and nausea had been non-existent that morning. She looked at him and lowered her voice to a private whisper, though Eric's sharp equine hearing could still pick it up. "I've been paranoid, Bobby, thinking Dara might have been trying to poison me."
Eric's ears flattened to his skull and he nickered, inadvertently drawing attention from the others across the fire pit.
Bobby frowned and made a show of standing and stretching then offering a hand up to Terri and Uni. "Time we got going. Let's get Eric dressed." He didn't like that Terri had started buying into Uni's hostility. It was weird. As a unicorn, Uni had always been right when it came to who they could trust. But now that she was an Elf, the Barbarian felt her senses were skewed - - especially by her odd attachment to Eric. Bobby couldn't figure that one out, even after two months: Uni and Eric? He just couldn't see it. They'd barely tolerated each other all those years ago and now - - now they seemed as inseparable as Uni and Bobby had been before. It was wrong - - on so many levels. Or was Bobby just jealous of the new closeness between the other two since Uni seemed so distant from him now?
Frowning, Bobby picked up Eric's head piece and began to carefully settle it over Eric's alicorn, wincing yet again at the unhealed claw rakes over the gold-flecked hide. At least Hank had healed fully in the last two months, despite the scars he bore from his encounter with the ghast, but nothing Dara tried seemed to work on Eric's vampiric injury. That was one more cure the group would be asking of Heart's Unity, whenever they found the woman.
Eric rose to his feet after Bobby fastened the head piece. He restlessly stepped back and forth a few paces then settled into a waiting stance, patient while the others placed saddle blanket, saddle, barding, and saddle bags on him. Presto joined them, helping Bobby and Uni as they worked steadily to arm Eric. Diana and Hank cleared up the camp and repacked their bags, while Terri and Sheila helped Dara gather plants for their future meals, the Dreamer especially careful to choose things that Uni had used for their own meals.
"Dance Rock now," Dara said, her voice light, tone friendly, as she stepped closer to Terri.
"So," Sheila smiled at Dara, though the strain of the past months showed on her pale freckled face. "Why is this place called Dance Rock?" The Thief had a feeling the answer was obvious but getting some conversation going might relieve the already mounting tension that morning.
Dara shrugged and nodded her head towards their path. "Move rocks. Not see. Say other." She shrugged again and closed the pack she had filled. She smiled at Diana as the Acrobat walked towards them with Hank.
"The rocks move?" Sheila echoed. "I hope they dance slowly so we can get around them," she added hopefully. When she didn't get an answer, the red-headed Thief looked up at the sky. "What are we going to do about Bobby's birthday this year?"
Terri laughed softly. "I know it'll be the first birthday we can celebrate all together but that's months away. We've got plenty of time." She sent a grin to the older woman.
Sheila shook her head, reaching back to braid her long red hair. "No we don't. Bobby's eighteen today." Her teal eyes followed Hank's approach as a soft smile played on her lips. She looked at peace.
Ignoring the bemused look, Terri reached over and gripped Sheila's arm, panic beginning in her normally husky voice. "What do you mean today? It can't have been two months already." Her own face had paled considerably.
Worried, Hank stopped and studied the pale brunette. She seemed healthier the last two weeks, but had lost all of that color now. "Why, Terri? . . . You were so sick the last couple of months, no wonder time flew for you."
She shook her head, long black ponytail swinging. "But two months? That's not possible. Maybe," she turned hopeful denim eyes on Hank, "Maybe Sheila's wrong. Maybe it's only been one month?"
Slowly, tones soothing, Hank said, "I'm afraid not, Terri. Sheila's always been able to keep track of time in the Realm. She's never been wrong before."
"I don't know how. I just know." Sheila added with a shrug, but she watched Terri with real concern. "Besides, the Dance Rocks are just there and Dara said it would take two months to get here. Again, that means Bobby's birthday."
"No," Terri shook her head and sank to the ground, eyes wide.
Diana, the closest, dropped to her knees to check on the younger woman. "Terri? Are you sick again?" She doubted it; something about Terri's words told of a different possibility, but the Acrobat didn't want to air the problem in front of everyone.
Dara didn't seem as inclined to protect Terri's privacy. "Not bleed Terri two moon."
The others looked at the guide and Sheila raised a hand to her mouth. Diana merely narrowed her eyes at Dara then turned to look at Terri. "Lots of exercise, stress, being sick, changes in diet . . . there are all kinds of reasons to skip a period, Terri." Besides, when would Terri have had time to . . . Diana stopped that thought and patted Terri's shoulder.
Terri shook her head. "No. I've always been regular. Even when I had appendicitis, I was regular. I've never skipped since the day I started." Her voice grew smaller with each word until she fell silent, tears beginning in her dark blue eyes.
With a shake of his head, Hank squatted down and looked the girl directly in the eyes, his own full of gentle understanding. "When did you last have sex, Terri?"
"Hank!" Sheila flushed bright red, and Diana cleared her throat. The conversation was not about the most comfortable subject, especially in mixed company.
He merely shook his head and looked up at Sheila. "It's the reason she's so scared, Sheila. And if Terri's pregnant, we're going to have to deal with it. We can hardly send her back to camp on her own." He turned back to Terri. Trying a slightly gentler approach, he said, "I had a foster sister named Tiffany who was pregnant at fifteen from a rape. Another one, named Mabel, was pregnant at seventeen but didn't know how to tell her boyfriend."
Realizing that of everyone in the group, Hank seemed the most understanding of her plight, Terri gulped and nodded. "The last night in camp. Bobby and . . ."
Sheila bit back a groan, whirling to pick out Bobby in the small group by the unicorn. She didn't know what to say, how to react, as she watched him break away from the group and turn towards them. Her baby brother might be a father before he was even nineteen?
Terri looked up at Sheila then back at Hank. "It just happened, Hank. We didn't plan it." She finally broke into a sob and Hank slid his arms around her, rocking her gently.
"It's going to be okay, Terri. I promise," he soothed. Somehow, when the age-old platitudes came from Hank, they sounded serious, like he really could make everything okay for an unwed pregnant teen on an arduous journey in a dangerous world. "Hey, we're all here for you, Terri. Never forget that."
She lifted her head, tears running down her face. "But . . . Bobby . . ."
"Bobby what?" asked the approaching Barbarian, club slung over his shoulder. At the sight of his girlfriend's tears, Bobby let out a soft growl and jumped to her side, ignoring Dara's look of shock. "Terri, what happened? Are you hurt?"
Hank retained control of the situation. He reached a hand over to grip the younger man's shoulder and said, "Terri might be pregnant, Bobby." True, it wasn't the gentlest reveal in the world, but they really had no time for gentle on this quest. Besides, they were in the Realm; Bobby would have to act like a man and make some decisions quickly.
"What?" Bobby looked blank then slowly went pale, his freckles standing out on his round face. "Terri?" He turned to the crying brunette and reached a hesitant hand to touch her shoulder. As she flung herself into his arms, Bobby's blue eyes widened and he fell backwards onto his butt, Terri tumbling with him and landing in his lap. "Pregnant?"
Diana nodded. "Look, guys, hate to push and all, but it's not the end of the world. Like Hank said, girls get pregnant every day. The main decision right now, Terri, is if you're going to get an abortion, because we don't know of a lot of doctors nearby to do it." Diana hated the idea of killing an unborn child, but this wasn't her call. It was Terri's life, interrupted at eighteen with an unwanted child.
"No way!" Anger surged through Bobby's voice and he turned a glare on Diana as he wrapped his arms more securely around Terri. "No abortion!"
Squatting, Diana looked him in the eyes. "You're not the one carrying the child, Bobby. That's Terri's call."
Terri sobbed again and Bobby shook his head emphatically. "I don't care. If Terri doesn't want the baby, I'll raise it. But no one's killing any kids."
Sheila whirled around, shocked at her brother's words. And he meant them . . . she could tell by his fierce expression. How much her baby brother had grown while they'd been apart. Softly, she said, "Terri, do you need a moment, honey?"
The girl lifted her face and shook her head, arms still securely around her boyfriend. "No killing," she muttered then buried her face back in Bobby's shoulder.
He turned a look of triumph on the others. Finally, he dropped his club to stroke a hand through Terri's ragged ponytail. "Hey, Terr, I'm drowning here." His voice shook, indicating the Barbarian wasn't as calm as he pretended about the entire episode. "We gotta get going, okay? Need us to go slow so you can catch your breath?"
Slowly, she lifted her face and studied his worried eyes. Softly, she asked, "Bobby, what are we going to do?" She let him pull her to her feet, his arm encircling her still.
Bobby grinned suddenly, though a flash of pure terror streaked through his eyes before he tamped it down. "We're gonna get married is what we're gonna do, Terr. But first let's get that Rosemary Tincture from Dara. We can bring it back to camp while the others go to Heart's Unity for the rest of the cures."
Another bout of crying broke from the Dreamer as she collapsed against Bobby. He looked desperately at the others and said "weirdest birthday I ever had." Terri hiccupped against his shoulder but didn't stop crying.
Sheila, Hank, and Diana exchanged worried looks, no one noticing the pure annoyance on Dara's face as the guide turned back to camp.
As Bobby quietly discussed things with Terri, the others rejoined Eric, Uni, and Presto. All three looked worried.
Knowing they couldn't keep this a secret, Hank sighed and ran a hand through his hair then held the hand up to attract their attention. In a steady voice he said, "Terri might be pregnant."
Eric dropped his head, the unicorn's expression particularly unreadable with his soulful dark eyes downcast. He stayed relatively still under Uni's hand, though he pawed the ground with his right front hoof. For her part, the former unicorn seemed unsurprised even though her back stiffened at the verbal acknowledgement.
"Whoa!" Presto shook his head. "Uh, is she going back to camp? That's a long trip and winter's coming on." He glanced towards the embracing pair then back at the group. Even after two months it was hard to believe their youngest members had grown up.
"I think so," Sheila said, trying for the same control Hank and Bobby had displayed. For a brief moment she wondered . . . then pushed away the thought and flushed. 'No way. I've had my cycle every month.' Relief washed over her followed by a low ache. She would love to have children . . . but this really was a bad time to even think about starting a family. Besides, she had no clue if Hank wanted a repeat of that night; she looked at Hank from under her lashes. Sheila flushed darker knowing she and Hank were just as guilty as the younger pair. Determinedly, she tried to bring her mind back to the subject at hand: Terri.
Diana broke into Sheila's thoughts by clearing her throat and asking, "So, Dara, there should be an eclipse soon right? How can we help with the Rosemary Tincture?" The change of subject was obvious, but everyone seemed to jump on it . . . except Presto, who glanced back at the still embracing couple, something undeterminable in his golden eyes.
With a wide smile, the blonde woman turned to Diana and said "gather herbs. Make. Sit. Wait."
"Right," Diana continued to smile, though the instructions made little sense to her. Medicine had never been her forte.
Keeping his eyes on Bobby and Terri, Presto softly asked "how long does it need to cure, Dara?"
The others turned surprised looks on the Magician. Even though they knew he was a genius, it still surprised them that he was able to follow practically any subject or conversation, no matter how obscure seeming. Dara seemed equally surprised but not in the least delighted.
She turned to look at Diana, as if the question had come from the Acrobat instead. "Mash herbs. Mix. Cook day night. Sit six moon. Sit more moon good."
"What!" Presto's voice rose louder, his head snapping around so he could stare at Dara. She jumped at the surprised anger in his tone then sidled to hide behind Diana, shooting a wary look at the suddenly agitated redhead. Ignoring her distrust, the Magician translated, "we have to gather the herbs, crush them and mix them together. Then we cook them for twenty-four hours. Once that's done, it has to cure for at least six months, longer if you want the medicine to be stronger." He didn't apologize for his increased hostility.
The others looked at Dara and she frowned at Presto, nodding in reluctant agreement.
"Six months?" Sheila looked dumbfounded. "For a jar of goop?"
Diana hugged herself suddenly. "And if we need at least a handful for every five inches of skin, that'd be . . ."
Crossing his arms, Presto said, "Yeah, a whole lot of goop. And we'd have to have it sealed and curing, presumably in a warm dry location, for at least the rest of our journey to the Singing Forest. We could make brick urns to hold the stuff, and even coax Eric into carrying it all over the place, but it's very impractical for a cure which Dara said probably wouldn't work on a demi-lich blast to begin with."
Dara seemed to shrink further behind the Acrobat, her blue eyes wide in her cherubic face. The enormity of the project suddenly became clearer to the travelers.
"Oh," Sheila ran a hand over her still healing cheek, tracing the tender scabbing there. "Why didn't we ask all this before we left? It would have been smarter to bring Dara to camp to make the tincture while we went on this quest."
"Yeah, I'm beginning to think that, too," Presto didn't take his golden eyes off the blonde woman. Finally, Dara seemed to gather her courage and she glared back at Presto in defiance; though, she never spoke as the Magician continued. "We can't change things now. And, there's real value in the tincture even if we can't use it for Dekkion." He reached out and absently stroked Eric, wondering why the unicorn hadn't protested the idea of carrying what promised to be extremely heavy urns of medicine. Probably, Eric had known Presto was being facetious.
Hank looked at Dara. "So, what now? It looks like the tincture isn't needed after all." He watched to see what their guide would do now that the group knew she was practically useless for Dekkion's cure.
Dara nodded. "Make. Use others." She smiled, her eyes almost pleading with the Ranger. "Guide Sing Forest. Heal sick. Cook." She held out both hands and turned her hopeful look on the others, none of whom seemed terribly receptive for once. The last two months had been increasingly stressful with the barely reacquainted Champions trying to dance around the hostilities between Dara and the men. Finally, as if making up her mind in a difficult situation, Dara turned beseechingly to Presto. It was as if she sensed that the Magician had all the power at the moment. "Fight. Strong. Fast. Smart. Hunt. Track. Know trees, ground, animals. Cure not-dead hurt." She hesitated at the implacable look in Presto's eyes then reached out and touched his arm with one trembling hand. "Dara help?"
All held their breath as the normally hostile woman actually touched the man she seemed to hate most. Presto looked down at her hand then slowly raised his eyes to meet hers, studying her face for something he didn't reveal. Finally, he said, "Okay. We could make the tincture, bury it here, and dig it up on our way back."
"And Dara?" Sheila asked, worrying her lip. To see the guide's almost desperation saddened the Thief. "What about Dara, Presto?"
Presto turned surprised eyes on the others but didn't pretend to misunderstand Sheila's question. "What about Dara? It's not my call to kick anyone out. She's been a great help so far, so just because we can't use the tincture yet doesn't mean we should tell her to get lost." He turned back to look at the hand on his sleeve then looked back at the suddenly smiling guide. "But, you've got to keep doing watch and hunting and everything. And if there's a fight, you better be as good as you say." He shrugged one shoulder, not dislodging her hand. "It's your life on the line same as us if we're attacked. We can't protect you." He didn't say they'd have enough trouble protecting Terri.
She nodded and slowly drew her hand from his arm, never looking away. She offered a last smile before withdrawing her hand completely. Once she'd let him go, Dara turned enthusiastically towards the boulder field close by. "Rosemary rocks." She strode confidently among the huge stones.
With a shudder, Presto wiped his free hand down his sleeve as if cleaning it off. Absently, he said, "she's creepy."
The others turned surprised looks on him and he seemed to notice at last that he was part of a crowd. Presto took off his glasses, holding them loosely in his last two fingers as he pinched the bridge of his nose between thumb and forefinger. He breathed deeply two . . . three times before finally putting them back on. Looking at the others he said "look, I know she's been a big help, guys, but I don't trust anyone who conquers her life-long animosity quickly enough to beg to stay in the group. And holding onto the thing she hates the most. I think she's up to something. I'm not sure what, but I say we keep an eye on her. If that means dragging her to the forest and back then so be it."
Uni smiled gently and touched his sleeve, right where Dara had before. "I think so, too, Presto," she said.
"Guys," Sheila began but Diana interrupted.
"No, I'm beginning to think they're right."
"Diana!"
"Sheila," Diana turned her chocolate eyes on her best friend. "I don't know if she's out to kill us, rob us, or desert us when we need her most, but something isn't right with that girl. I say we keep her close and watch her closer."
Hank rested a hand on Sheila's shoulder. "Forewarned is forearmed, Sheila." When the Thief turned her eyes up to the Ranger's, he added "she did an awful quick turn-around from hating Presto to practically begging him. It's possible she's been faking or is now." He sighed and glanced to where Bobby had one arm around Terri and led her towards them. "Let's not tell Terri. She's paranoid enough." He looked at the others. "I think Terri thinks Dara's been trying to poison her, and she may not yet realize it was only morning sickness." It always amazed the others how intuitive Hank was concerning his friends.
Sheila groaned softly. "Oh, Hank, what'll we do?"
He shrugged. "Sheila, they're adults now. We can't do anything but support and help them."
Presto frowned and looked towards the slowly advancing couple. "Would it be safer to bring them with us or send them back to camp?"
"Camp of course!" Sheila whirled on the auburn-haired man.
He shook his head. "I'm not so sure about that, Sheila. This quest has been the safest so far, which is odd in itself." When she opened her mouth to protest, he held up a hand, stopping her. "We were attacked in that swamp by will-o-wisps, and Dara said there was a lot of undead in the swamp, but we didn't see anything else. Since the war, anything that was our enemy will be out for revenge, and a lot of those guys came this way. So far, for whatever reason, they've left us alone. But if two break away from the pack, I don't think they'd be as fortunate." He pushed his glasses up his nose with his index finger then shrugged again. "I think, despite the pregnancy, Terri and Bobby would be safer with us. We can protect her with our weapons, for one. And I know about childbirth."
"What?" Diana and Sheila turned surprised looks on the man.
With a nod, Presto explained, "I told you I learned a lot from Ramoud and his people. One of the things I learned was how to deliver children. I worked extensively with the midwives and other physicians in fact. I know a lot about medicine now."
Eric's whicker sounded almost like a soft laugh and Presto smiled in return.
"Then we should tell them," Hank gestured towards Bobby and Terri, "before they set their hearts on going back to camp."
Sheila looked over at the couple and sighed. "Poor Terri. She stayed in the Realm for Bobby, but she hates it here."
Uni shook her head with a smile. "I have a feeling Terri doesn't hate it as much as she used to. You'll see. Now that she feels better, she will realize she has better control than she used to. She did fine when she traveled with me and Airk from the Dragons' Graveyard."
The group turned, silently, as Bobby and Terri came to a halt beside them.
Before anyone could pass on the group decision, Bobby said, "Terri and I are gonna come with you guys on the quest."
"You are?" Diana asked in amusement.
"Sure," Bobby added, his manner more confident than his voice. "She'll only be about seven months . . ." he paused and swallowed then tried again. "Seven months along when we get to Heart's Unity. From there, if we're gonna bring the lady back, we'll have a top notch healer with us to help. So, instead of going all the way back through that swamp and probably tons of retreating enemies, we'll go with you guys." He grinned and hefted his club. "Besides, I can protect her . . . and so can you guys . . . right?" He said the last with more hope than bravado.
Sheila threw her arms around the pair and grinned. "Sure we can, Bobby. We think it's the best idea, too." She turned to the pale brunette with the tear-streaked face. Reaching to her hip, Sheila pulled out her dagger and expertly spun it around in her hand, gripping the blade without cutting herself. "Here, Terri. You'll need a weapon to fight with, just in case." Surprise crossed everyone's faces. Sheila had been carrying the dagger their entire trip, but no one really thought about her ability to actually use it.
Terri's denim eyes turned to Sheila's teal ones. She cleared her throat, her voice still raspy from crying. "I . . . I don't know how to use one," she said.
With a nod, the Thief offered the blade again. "I'll teach you. Jaref taught me while I was with them."
Slowly, Terri reached out to grasp the handle and Sheila withdrew the blade with a shake of her head. "Confidence is the first step, Terri. If you pick up a weapon, know you're going to use it." Sheila offered the eleven inch blade to the Dreamer.
Terri looked at Bobby then back at Sheila. She reached out and took the hilt.
Sheila let go. "C'mon, Terri. Let's get cleaned up and . . ."
Presto interrupted "help me find the right kind of mud and straw so I can make those urns for the tincture. I need to bake them all night so they don't leak." He shaded his eyes and glanced towards the sky. "The quadruple solar eclipse will happen in two days, so we need to be ready by then to collect the rosemary."
"Quadruple solar eclipse," Diana chuckled sadly, voice catching. "I would love to show it to Dekkion. We always seemed to miss it in our travels."
Bobby nodded decisively. "Well, once we get him healed, you can show him the quadruple solar eclipse and the double lunar eclipse, too. Come on, gang. Let's get that mud."
No one bothered to tell Bobby or Terri that Dekkion's hopes now lay in Heart's Unity alone; Dara's cure was no longer their fall-back plan.
xxx
November 7, 1992
A low scraping noise reverberated through the air, vibrating down his spine and into the earth. Presto looked up, trying to spot the source of the disturbing sound. Before him lay a vast field of boulders on moist earth, the drag marks from some unknown event crossing and crisscrossing over the damp ground.
His gaze fell on the bent head of Terri, digging a tiny root from the ground near a precariously balanced twenty-foot boulder that had probably leaned in such a way for centuries. Further on, Eric and Uni walked side-by-side among the huge rocks, eyes on the ground, trying to spot even more of the valuable, rare herbs they needed for the cure. Who'd have guessed that some of the exotic herbs only grew on mud flats, making Dara's journey with them once again imperative, at least this far. Diana worked with Dara crushing and mixing a variety of leaves, twigs, and roots into a large cooking pot, the rosemary to be gathered and added last during the full eclipse. Sheila, out of sight on the other side of a series of boulders, called back and forth with Hank about yet more of the patches of rosemary they found. Bobby stood watch, carefully surveying the horizon in all directions.
With a sigh, Presto used his wrist to push his glasses back up his nose and turned back to the mud he mixed with straw and shaped into the final removable lid for the four huge urns they'd already made and cured over the low fire. The eclipse would happen soon and he wanted to get this lid in the baking fire so it would be ready. As he smoothed some more of the rough edges, the low humming scrape sounded again.
Presto's head shot up and he narrowed his eyes, studying the spot Terri worked in. The sound had come from beyond her, beyond even where Sheila and Hank worked. Frowning, the Magician rose to his feet, keeping his muddy hands away from his clothes as he approached Terri under the hanging boulder. Quietly, he said, "Terri? Can you hear that noise?"
She looked up and glanced above her first, quite aware of the precarious hanging rock. The low vibration sounded a third time and she turned to look at Presto. "It's from back there." Slowly, she stood, trying to stay quiet, unsure what might be on the other side of the large structure.
Just as carefully, Presto held out a hand palm outward and shook his head once. "I'll check it out."
Terri nodded but didn't retreat to the camp. Rather, she followed carefully behind the Magician, trying to stay quiet but close.
Presto cautiously walked through the slippery mud, hand hovering over the pocket containing his hat. He didn't want to grab it if he didn't need to, the mud clung to everything, but he mentally prepared to cast one of a variety of spells if needed. He made it to the far side of the boulder.
The redheaded Sheila squatted next to a patch of grasses, teal eyes wide as she looked further afield. She seemed uninjured but wary. The scraping reverberated again, and the Thief put a hand on the ground to steady herself, eyes widening even further and breath catching.
Bow gripped firmly in preparation, Hank spread both arms for balance as he waited out the vibrations. Glancing quickly towards Presto and Terri, he turned back to where the sound seemed to come from. When it stopped once more he took rapid, though careful, steps towards the next large boulder.
Eric and Uni appeared around yet another huge stone, Uni's hand securely gripping Eric's mane for support since he didn't wear the barding that day. She frowned as another scrape vibrated through the mud flats.
Eric's hooves sank to above the coronet in the mud. The unicorn concentrated as he lifted each hoof from the clinging mud, placing each on the sucking ground in turn. Fortunately, over two months Eric had gotten less precarious on his long legs.
Presto used the stillness between scrapes to narrow the distance between himself and Hank. He'd seen quite a bit in the Realm, from Know Trees to a Prison without Walls, a castle in the clouds to a fortress suspended over a lava vent, but he'd never seen rock formations dance, assuming what Dara had told them was true. Despite being in a truly magical world, Presto's logical brain told him something must be causing the movement of such heavy objects . . . mustn't it?
"Where're Diana and Dara?" Uni called softly to the others.
Hank raised his free hand and pointed off to the edge of the mudflats, back where their camp was situated, but Diana's voice interrupted in a low reply from closer in, "we're right here, Uni. Bobby's with us."
Dara's blue eyes seemed huge as she called out "dance rock." Her voice sounded nervous and one look at her pale features confirmed that she felt as frightened as the rest of them. She gripped her staff tightly in both hands as she made her careful way behind Diana across the mud.
Bobby, club raised and already glowing lightly, brought up the rear, eyes finding each party member before settling on the far distance where the noise sounded once more. He frowned as he tried to balance in the vibrating mud. "Earthquake maybe?"
"I don't think so, Bobby," Hank replied, "earthquakes didn't feel like this back in California." He made it to the next boulder and looked around it. Hank's hand shot out to forestall anyone following him to the other side. "Wait, guys." He didn't clarify why as they stopped. Hank stepped carefully around the boulder.
Shock coursed through the twenty-five year old as a massive chunk of rock, ten feet high, sailed right towards him over the mudflats. He jumped back, "Whoa! Duck!" Diving back around the boulder, Hank landed in the mud and curled his arms protectively over his head as the boulders collided right behind him. The crash echoed over the entire valley and chips of shattered rock flew in all directions, reigning down on the stunned group.
The rest of the group stumbled and slid backwards, away from the still rocking boulders. Hank pushed to his hands and knees, pulled his bow out of the sucking mud, and scrambled after the others. Some minutes passed before they arrived at the questionable safety of their camp near the still curing urns and the pot of mashed herbs.
"What the hell was that?" Bobby bent over as he tried to catch his breath.
"Everyone okay?" Hank asked over top of Bobby's question.
Sheila glanced around. "I think so, Hank."
"Dance rock?" said Dara, voice small and scared.
Presto shook his head, contradicting her out right. "Dancing my ass," he growled. "That was hurtling at a good seventy miles an hour or more!"
Dara shot him a thoughtful look, apparently her hatred of him gone since their debate two days before.
"Okay, so those rocks are really jazzing it up. What are we going to do about it, guys?" Diana looked over the group, mud splattered and heaving for breath from their arduous retreat. Hank fared the worst, covered with the sticky mess. The Acrobat added, "I mean, we can finish the tincture if those rocks don't come to camp, but we'll have to work on that curling sheet to gather the rosemary during full dark.
"Curling sheet?" Sheila looked at her friend, puzzled at the odd term.
Diana nodded. "Yeah, an ice rink used for the game of curling. How are we going to cross it?"
Hank shook his head. "As long as those boulders stay in their field today, let's get this tincture ready for the rosemary." He ran a muddy hand through his equally muddy hair and sighed. "We'll worry about dancing around moving rocks tomorrow." The Ranger headed towards the nearby stream which dug underground and seemed to feed the mudflats, keeping them slick and sloppy.
Presto sighed and squatted down, taking up his nearly shaped lid once more. "I think a more important question is 'why didn't those rocks do this the last two days'?" He looked at Dara. "Do you know?"
She blinked blue eyes then shook her head slowly. "Not know." With that, Dara turned towards the stream as well.
"Whoa!" Sheila jumped after the other woman, grabbing her by the sleeve. "Dara, Hank's going to be bathing."
Dara looked at Sheila and shrugged. "Dara bathe."
"Not at the same time, girl," Diana said, forcing a laugh. "Guys with guys. Girls with girls."
"Why?" Dara asked, frowning. "Hank attack?"
"No!" Sheila immediately flushed bright red and started to stammer, but Terri cut her off.
"That's the rules when traveling. We bathe with our own gender or not at all." The brunette moved to cross her arms, then seemed to change her mind as she realized her hands were caked with mud from her digging duties. "If you want to bathe, Dara, you can wait for us women."
Bobby nodded as Dara's frown increased. "Yeah. Presto, let Terri finish that lid. She rocked in arts and crafts back on Earth. Let's get cleaned up." He rifled through the packs, his hands clean since he'd been the sentry, and pulled out clothes for Hank, Presto, and himself. "Hey, Eric, wanna come and get washed up?"
Eric glanced at the group of watching women then turned to follow Bobby, Presto next to the unicorn, though he kept his muddy hands off the smooth hide. Eric would probably get annoyed if he got muddier than he already was.
xxx
November 8, 1992: Second Watch (Midnight to 2:00 AM)
The vibrating sounds of boulders skimming and the occasional crash had ended with sundown, giving relief to the exhausted group but adding to the questions. For the time being, Presto theorized that the combination of wet slippery mud and the sun's heat must have some sort of reaction on the boulders, but he couldn't figure out how: his geology and meteorology knowledge were limited to tenth grade. Finally, everyone went to bed, watch still standing. They hoped Presto's sun theory held and the rocks wouldn't dance the rest of the night.
In the growing quiet after midnight, Presto slipped quietly to the ground next to the banked fire, giving Diana a tired smile. When she smiled back, he took the heavy stick they'd been using to stir the coals. "Hey," he kept his voice soft in deference to the others sleeping nearby.
"Hey, back," she said then stood, stretching her back into a near-impossible arch only a top gymnast could appreciate. Sinking into a squat once more, the Acrobat looked at the Magician and smiled wider. "I think we've been too tired these past two months to really get to know one another again."
He nodded at her words and pushed his glasses up with his index finger. "That and we've been far too busy watching from opposite ends of camp to really get a conversation going. I'll bet all three other watches have been the same."
Diana looked over at the group of sleepers, Dara the closest and a little apart from the others, as usual. "I think Uni and Eric have had a lot easier chance of talking on their watch since it'd be telepathically, but they've been together the whole time. What's left to talk about?"
"Aside from thoughts, feelings, opinions, and how Eric needs to relearn everything?" Presto grinned at her. "All the normal friend things?"
She laughed and looked over the sleepers to the mudflats on the other side. "Well, tonight's rare. The enemies probably won't be going through that giant-sized marble ring." She glanced back towards the road and the hilly valley they sat at the edge of. "So only one field to guard makes it easier to talk."
Presto nodded and he watched Diana sink down to a sitting position. Emotions quickly raced over his face and flashed through his eyes before he opened with a soft, sad sounding sigh. "I miss . . ."
Understanding softened Diana's eyes. "Your caravan life? The people?" She scuttled over to him and slid her arm around his shoulders, pulling him close to her, the years apart falling away in that moment of mutual understanding.
Presto's golden eyes met her chocolate ones then he leaned into the embrace, burying his face in her shoulder for a heartbeat or two.
Lifting his head once more, he sighed softly "yeah," though the sound of melancholy threatened to overwhelm his voice for a moment. He cleared his throat and tamped the emotions down. "I miss everything and everyone . . . Ayesha . . . Ramoud . . ." He trailed off as he recalled the precarious condition they had left Ramoud in two months previously.
Diana cleared her own throat. "I've been wondering."
He looked up in curiosity, sensing a subject change.
"Well, Kelek cast that spell on Ramoud to make him continue to leak body fluids. Are . . ." Diana flushed, knowing the implications of what she asked, "are you able to cast spells like that, Presto?"
His quick intake of breath gave away his shock. After two deep breaths for control, the twenty-three year old Magician shrugged, his voice low and thoughtful. "Probably. I've gotten a lot more powerful over the years . . . a lot more control."
Recalling duty, he looked over their sleeping charges and towards the mudflats, but a jolt seemed to go through his body and his eyes snapped right back to the sleepers. Pushing out of Diana's embrace, Presto jumped to his feet and crossed his arms. "Hey, Dara, can't sleep?" His voice rang lower than normal, his tone carrying the feeling of hostility.
The guide rolled to a sitting position and shrugged, not denying the charge. "Not sleep." She sprang to her feet with an acrobat's grace and approached the pair of old friends by the glowing embers. Offering a smile to Diana, but no apology for eavesdropping, she sank to the ground next to the woman. "Travel life?"
A long moment passed before the two Champions realized the question had been addressed to Presto, despite Dara watching Diana.
"Uh, yeah," Presto answered, a bit taken aback. He'd only been openly disapproving of her for one day while she'd been hostile the entire two months. Now her attitude seemed to have shifted to one of trying to make peace; even after one day, it unnerved him.
"Travel long?" Another question said facing Diana but obviously meant for Presto.
He nodded, a soft frown forming on his face. "Yeah, all over the place." Before she could continue questioning him, he went on the offensive. "How about you? You've gone as far south as the Crystal Water, but what about other directions? Have you traveled much?"
"Not travel long." Dara looked to the stars. "Like home."
Diana jumped in. "What about your family? Where are they from?"
The guide shrugged and finally turned her blue gaze on the man nearby. She seemed genuinely interested in the conversation though not as interested in the Acrobat as she'd once been. "Dead." She leaned forward, never breaking eye contact with Presto. "Dead much moon."
Presto leaned forward as well but not far. Instead, he nonchalantly let the stick go and slid his hands to his knees, keeping their gazes locked. "And the guy who hurt you? Is he dead, too?"
"Presto!" Diana hissed in shock, unbelieving that her friend could be so callous. Neither acknowledged the dark-skinned woman beside them.
Dara merely shrugged and said "yes. Kill man."
"Well, that's something," Presto nodded and relaxed back, hands still on his knees. "You should really get some sleep, Dara. Tomorrow we've got to harvest the rosemary in complete sun dark while dodging boulders." His voice sounded light, no indication of the charged yet brief interrogation evident from his manner.
The guide shrugged and nodded, standing gracefully without the use of her hands. "Sleep."
She turned back towards her pallet but stopped when Presto called, "try not to listen in on private conversations. People might get defensive."
Without seeming to acknowledge the chastisement, Dara strode quickly to her camp bed and curled up in the single blanket, her back to the pair of sentries.
After a long silent moment, Diana turned to Presto. "How could you be so unfeeling, Presto, asking about her attacker?"
He shrugged and answered, his tone softer than before the interruption, "not to her, Diana. She doesn't take offense at displaying her skills. She revels in it."
Shaking her head, Diana frowned. "I don't get it."
"I already knew what she'd say. Look at her. She's fast, quiet, well attuned to her world. If she'd left the guy alive, I would have been surprised. Dara's been slipping information in about herself this entire time: her preferences, her knowledge. She's very possessive of her stuff and able to protect herself." He looked at the sky, studying the stars for a moment then looked at the guide, who'd turned over to face them, eyes closed. Softly, he said, "She's very determined to weasel her way into our group. Now she's making an effort to befriend me, because she realizes that I've got equal say in the group. She goofed when she blew me off before and now she's backtracking." Finally, Presto looked away from Dara's supposedly sleeping form and over at Diana. "She's not as smart as she seems."
Diana shook her head, a small smile crossing her lips. "From anyone else, that would be arrogance."
With a return grin, Presto shrugged. He changed the subject. "Diana, you said you never got to see the quadruple eclipse. I thought you were charting star patterns the last few years."
"I was," she allowed the change. "But those were at night. No solar eclipses during the night, genius." She grinned and bumped his shoulder with her own. "We've seen the lunar eclipses many times, but not the solar ones."
The pair fell silent though both kept a watchful eye around the camp. Again, Diana broke the encroaching stillness. "I miss him so much," her voice sounded so soft even Presto next to her barely heard.
He turned and pulled her into his arms, slipping a hand to the back of her head and pulling her face into his shoulder. Gently, he dropped a kiss onto the top of her head as he felt the strong woman in his arms give into the overwhelming emotions and begin to cry. He didn't give false platitudes, Presto wasn't one for lying and they knew Dekkion was too far gone for certainty. Instead, he merely held his friend and rocked her as she let loose two months of anguish and fear, his own tears running in silent sympathy combined with overwhelming worry for Ramoud, the man who had taught him so much.
Neither friend seemed aware of the once more silently watching woman nearby.
