Disclaimer: Still not mine, still not expecting anything other than entertainment.
Thanks to everybody who read ad reviewed the first chapter. It gives me the confidence to keep going.
The City of Githyanki
Chapter 2: Not Knowing
"Yahrg!" Bobby screamed. He ran forward brandishing his club. "Hey, where'd the dragon go?"
"I did it. I did it!" Presto crowed. "Did you see that Eric? Eric?"
Presto looked around. Instead of the rocky canyon walls he saw stunted trees and brush in a landscape dotted with boulders. He and Bobby were in the foothills of a small mountain range. "Where is everybody?" he asked.
"You left them back there with the dragon!" Bobby accused.
"I didn't mean to!" Presto squeaked.
"Well, bring us back!" the Barbarian ordered.
"I, uh. I, um. I… don't know how."
"Great," Bobby said slumping to the ground.
"Fear not, Barbarian," said a kindly voice. "Your friends are safe from the dragon."
"Dungeon Master!" the two boys exclaimed together.
"That's great, Dungeon Master," Bobby said. "Now we just have to find them."
"Yeah," Presto added. "I think the canyons are back that way." He pointed toward a flat area below them where the ground sank. There was a small cloud of dust snaking up in the distance.
"I'm afraid it won't be that simple, Magician," their guide interrupted.
"Oh no," Presto dropped his head into his hands.
"Where are they?" Bobby pressed.
"The Thief and the Acrobat risk being drawn into an ancient war."
"War!" Bobby cried. "Sheila doesn't want to be in any war!"
"Indeed she does not, Barbarian," Dungeon Master agreed, "However, her nature may lead her to it. Trust is a precious ally, my children. Given to the right people it can brighten the future. Trust the wrong people and misfortune could come to all."
"What about Hank and Eric?" Presto raised.
"And Uni," Bobby put in.
"The Unicorn is safe with the Thief and the Acrobat at present, "the little man answered. A look of sadness crossed his features and he paused before continuing, "The Cavalier and the Ranger are out of my sight at this time."
"You can't see them?" echoed Presto. "They're Ok, aren't they? Dungeon Master?"
"You must go to the city of Varesh," the Dungeon Master told them, ignoring the Magician's question. "There you must seek the Voice Without Words."
The old man turned to walk toward the trees. Presto and Bobby followed him.
"The Voice Without Words?" Bobby asked. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"But how do we do that, Dungeon Master?" Presto asked.
"And what about Hank and Eric?" Bobby added.
Dungeon Master walked behind a stunted tree. "The road to your friends is marked with good intentions," he told them. "Open your ears. They will not disappoint you."
The two boys split up to follow their guide around either side. All they managed to do was to bump into one another.
"He's gone," Presto sighed.
"Presto?"
"Yeah, Bobby?"
"Do you think Hank and Eric are OK?"
Presto turned to look at the Barbarian. To the Magician's eyes the boy suddenly looked every inch the child he was. Presto fervently wished that one of the others were with him. Any one of them had a better idea of how to deal with Bobby. "Except maybe Eric," he thought.
The Magician swallowed hard at the thought of his friend but continued to waver under the stare of the other bow. He wavered between telling him exactly what he was thinking - that it wasn't a good sign that the Dungeon Master couldn't see them - or trying to give a sense of hope. Hank was always much better at being positive. Presto sighed.
"I don't know, Bobby."
"Why couldn't the Dungeon Master see them?"
"I don't know, Bobby."
"They're not dead. Are they?"
"I already said! I don't know! They might be. I thought Dungeon Master could see pretty much anything!" Presto yelled. His voice had cracked through much of that and he didn't feel any better now that he had let his fears loose.
Bobby looked at him with wide eyes. For a brief moment Presto worried that the boy might start to cry.
"Well, they're not!" Bobby said forcefully. "Eric's a total doofus, but nothing gets by his Shield. Hank was keeping the dragon on his toes when we left; he's probably still doing the same thing now. It's probably just anther of Dungeon Master's riddles."
Presto nodded slowly, "That could be Bobby."
"Right!" Bobby agreed.
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have yelled at you."
"Don't worry about it, Presto. I know you're just worried about the others. I shoulda known not to ask so many questions."
"I guess we should focus on what we do know," Presto started. "Dungeon Master told us to go to Varesh to find this Voice Without Words. I bet he can help us find the others!"
Bobby immediately brightened up, "Yeah! And we'll be able to warn them about this war thing that DM was talking about."
"Right," Presto smiled. "The girls probably have a better idea of what happened to Hank and Eric too."
"Good thinking, Presto!" Bobby enthused. "So… Which way to Varesh?"
"Um," Presto floundered. "That way I'd guess." There was a dusty path leading up into the foothills.
"Let's go!" Bobby said brightly.
Together the two boys trudged up the path as the suns began to slip behind the mountains before them. Below them, a tall, robed figure emerged from the shadow of a boulder. He leaned against the rock and watched the boys wind their way out of sight. A bright bird flew down out of a small tree and landed beside him. It took a few, tentative hops toward the figure and glanced in the same direction. The two stood silently for a few moments then the figure lunged toward the bird. Suddenly nothing remained but an iridescent blue feather fluttering to the ground.