A/N: Okay, guys. It's time for another chapter.
Chapter 2
"My name I refuse to give. For all intents and purposes, I am Amun. I've dedicated my life to the art of magic and swordplay as a member of the select few of men in my tribe of peaceful folk-"
"You mean..." Finn interrupted, hopeful, "There're more humans...?"
Amun sat down on one of the bleachers lining the throne room. He dropped as if a heavy burden were on his shoulders. "Were," he said, bitterly.
Finn and Phoebe sat on either side of him. Finn, who was at his left, rested a firm hand on the man's shoulder, "What happened?"
"To tell that story, I'll have to tell you a legend," he adjusted in his seat.
Amun groaned in annoyance before holding out his good hand. A soft, golden glowing orb formed, like a miniature sun. He held the glow above his injured arm and wisp-like bands danced around the exposed flesh and through the cloth-covered parts, much like streamers in the wind. The glow went on for a few seconds before dissipating. He sighed happily, "Sorry. That was getting to be very irritating. Now, where was I?"
"The legend," Flame Princess replied.
He slowly reached up and unsheathed his sword again, laying it across his lap. "Yeah," he stroked the runes gently, almost lovingly, "There were ascended beings, supernatural even to this world, yet could not scrape godhood. But, to some, they were gods. To men, each of these beings gave a single relic of great power. One was a lantern from the being, Anubis, which could resurrect the dead.
"The next was an amulet from the one known as Bastet. This granted the user with inhuman speed and reflexes. Nut (pronounced like newt) gave her shroud the power to make the wearer invisible. Next, both Sekhmet and Thoth gave their circlets to man, one that granted immense strength and agility, and the other would grant omniscience. But, to wear one, you must give up the other.
"In my possession, there is the sword that Isis gave to man. It's been passed down from generation to generation of warrior. And, I also have these," he gestured with his wrists, "These wrist bracers given by Sobek grant immunity to any fire."
Finn's eyes widened slightly and he eyed the bracers greedily. But, almost immediately, a feeling of horror swept over him. What am I doing?! He came for my help! Push it down, Finn... Amun continued, "The other two relics I've failed to mention have fallen into the possession of a chaotic, evil man known as Set.
"The legends say that gathering all nine of these relics will give the gatherer the power of Atum, the perfect being. This power is insurmountable in every way. Set carries the Wing of Ra, a spatha that can produce a blinding light to cripple the oppenent. Lastly, he has the Scepter of Horus, which manipulates the minds of all under its effects into obedience. That monster, Set; he destroyed my home.
"He came from nowhere, demanding our relics. We made the mistake of refusing," Amun faltered, voice trembling, "H-He killed everyone. Even women and children weren't spared."
He stopped, his eyes fogged over with tears. They ran from his eyes and into the cloth that covered his lower face. "M-My father-" his voice cracked, "My father had been a simple man. It was my mother who bore me into the warrior's life, Divine bless her. Papa had been one of the first to die.
"My mother fought back, being one of the guardians of the relics..." Amun trailed off, then breathed in and out, "I hadn't been there to help her. Mama, she- I-... When I returned, he turned to face me."
The man gripped the hilt of his sword in his lap. His speech slowed down, "He... gutted her. It-... There was a look of such horror on her face..."
Then, he clenched his eyes shut, snarling, "That day, I swore vengeance. I'll repay him what he paid me tenfold!"
Slowly, Finn stood, facing both Amun and Phoebe, "Look, I've never really been good at this junk, but, I'm sorry you lost your family. And, even if I've lost my parents, too, I never had to see them die. But, I swear, whatever you need, I'll be right there with you."
Flame Princess stood up, too, "Same goes for me. Whatever you need."
Finally, Amun stood and wiped his eyes with his free hand. "Thank you both, from the bottom of my heart," he said, then looked to the hero, "Finn, being human, you'll find equal use in one of these as I."
He removed one of the wristlets and placed it on Finn's right wrist, "Here. Only to begin to repay the debt I owe to you."
The blue aura around Finn immediately dissolved, leaving only the human. "Wow," he looked at his hands, "This is different from flame shield. I can't really explain it..."
"It's simple," Amun replied, "It doesn't really shield you, per se, it alters you. Your entire anatomy down to the cellular level is made to withstand the critical heat in this Kingdom and any form of fire. We could stand on the surface of the sun."
"Oh, wow," Finn smiled widely, "That's so math!"
Finn's enthusiasm caused a smile on the princess' face. "Now. Where do you want to go from here?" she asked, "Where do we start?"
Amun sheathed the relic, "We'll start with the Shroud of Nut. Finn, we will go to your home if you wish to prepare. This is gonna take a while."
The young hero nodded, "Alright, then. We'll all head there."
"Before we go, I'll need to..." she trailed off as she made her way to the unconscious Cinnamon Bun.
He groaned as she picked him up, "FP? Where's that creature?"
"Easy," she took him over to the nearest seat, which was her throne, and sat him there, "Finn killed it."
The knight's eyes widened, "Finn?"
Finn smiled and lifted a hand to wave, "Hey, CB. Sorry you got your noodle knocked."
"Cinnamon Bun," Phoebe started, "I'm gonna be going with Finn and our new ally, Amun here, to help with something really big."
"But, who will run the kingdom?"
She only smiled confidently at him. The look on his face was that of astonishment, "Please, I can't-"
"I believe in you, CB."
Finally, he nodded, "Very well."
The monarch beamed, "Thank you! Now then," she clapped and turned to the other two, "Lemme just get changed."
The enormous, rolling plains of the Grasslands never ceased to amaze the fiery young woman. Endless green all around her, perfectly still. Yet, a single gust of wind could animate the entire landscape. Bright green eyes scanned over every detail, soaking in the life surrounding her. Amun had opted to travel a bit behind them while she kept pace next to Finn.
They had been walking for at least half an hour, but neither had spoken. Finn mostly looked skyward, both hands cradling the back of his head, a small smile gracing his features. While she did enjoy peace and quiet, she'd never really known Finn to be quiet, "Um, I'm glad you showed up when you did. Why were in the Kingdom?"
He cast her a sidelong glance, "Hm? Oh, well, I figured I hadn't visited in a while."
With a soft 'oh' from the princess, they once again fell into silence. The awkwardness was palpable to Amun. He made a face akin to pity, mixed with an arched brow and dimpling one end of his mouth under the mask. "Your Highness?" he piped up.
"Yeah?" she looked back at him.
Amun motioned for her to come to him. Flame Princess slowed her pace to match the masked man's. He lowered his voice, "Are you two...?"
She waved her hands in front of herself defensively, "Oh, no, no, no. That ended a while ago. We're mutual friends."
To her, she only saw his brow furrow skeptically, "Right. You just remind me of... someone I knew."
"Really?" she asked, getting to be just a bit curious.
"Yeah," he drawled, his voice dying down.
Phoebe noticed his eyes soften and glaze over, leaving a forlorn air about him. However, before she could ask, Amun blinked and the feeling was gone, "But! I really can't fret over that until the relics are secured."
That made the young ruler frown in concern. Whoever this man was, there was more to his story than what he gave away. "But," he began again, "I am curious, Highness. Why total honesty?"
Flame Princess tensed at that. Of course, she wanted to lead by example and she didn't like lying, but Amun was still a stranger. She answered as carefully as possible, "Simple. Someone lied to me that I didn't think would lie to me."
"So, you imposed honesty on your people?" he replied calmly.
She didn't take too well to that, "With total honestly, I can avoid a good deal of pain."
"Life is pain, Highness. Anyone who tells you otherwise is selling something," he smirked under his mask.
"You don't understand anything," she huffed.
"I know what it's like to be in love. I also know what it's like to be lied to. Now, I wasn't lied to by anyone close to me, but I've been betrayed plenty in my travels," he explained, "Now, I know that as awkward as things may be, you and Finn won't work together well while... this is happening, whatever this may be."
"Listen here, Amun," Flame Princess flared up and pointed a finger in his face, "I don't know you, and you don't know me, no matter what you say. Don't tell me how to live my life or fix my problems!"
He glared back, "I'm trying to help you."
She crossed her arms and turned her head from him, "Well, I don't want it."
"You stubborn little...!"
"Well, here we are," Finn cut in happily, oblivious to the previous argument.
They entered the massive Treefort and the younger human called out, "Jake? I'm back."
Jake replied as he came from ladder, "Already? Was FP not there or som-"
The dog's gaze shifted between the monarch and the other human next to his brother, "Okay, did I eat something bad or is this real?"
"It's kinda hard to believe, I know," Finn gestured to the other human to his right, "This is Amun. He's human. I'm still a little confused about what we're doing, but I'll roll with it."
With that, Amun cleared his throat and began relaying everything that he'd told the others to Jake. When it was all said and done, he smiled, "Well, you're not weird like Susan, so, whateves. Do you need me along on this dungeon run?"
"Actually, Finn's only getting some stuff. In the Chambers of Nut, it's better to have fewer people to keep track of," he explained.
Jake seemed puzzled, "Why's that?"
Amun began explaining, "In the Chamber, it's black. There's no light at all and it goes underground for miles. I went in once with a few torches, but it went too far for them to last. That's partly why I went to Flame Princess. She's living light.
"Meeting Finn was completely coincidental. Sooner or later, though, I'd have asked for your help in this endeavor. Dealing with Set isn't going to be easy. But, for now, I think it needs to be just me, Finn, and her Highness."
The magical dog looked off to the side, deep in thought. Finally, he said, "Okay. Just... Keep my bro safe. I worry when he goes at stuff without me."
"I'll protect him with my life, Jake. Besides, he's proven himself quite capable," he replied, a soft look in his eyes.
Only then had they all noticed that Finn hadn't been there for most of the chat, as he had been gathering up stuff for the trip. He somersaulted through the ladder hole and landed on his feet with a quick "hup!" Finn grinned, "Y'all ready?"
Amun nodded and they headed out. Of course, the masked man led the way, leaving Finn and Phoebe to trail behind him. There was an awkward silence bearing down on them like a heavy storm cloud. Amun was acutely aware of this, sighing to himself. He mumbled, "There must be a way..."
Soon, they came to a massive gate. The two doors were framed by what looked like the profile of a woman contorting her body into an arch. She was completely painted to look like the night sky. Etched into the doors was a phrase, "Trust not your eyes, but your heart."
"Okay," Amun said loudly, "Stay close to me."
Okay! In the next chapter, the gang goes through the dungeon, and they begin to find out more about this mysterious Amun...
