Chapter 12

Valkron looked up. His face bore no change in expression.

'Hello, Sagna,' he said dully.

The rest of the Raulus party stared. The knight standing opposite them had chestnut brown hair and was wearing a simple bone helmet. A flower protruded cheekily from his lips, as if daring the watchers to defy him.

'Nice to see you around here,' he said, flicking a few locks of hair away from his eyes. 'I thought this was our guild territory.'

The party behind him sniggered. Emeth took note of the members - a rogue, a huntress and a monk - and took a step back, away from Valkron.

The white-haired knight thought for a while. 'Ah, yes. The Odyssey, am I right?'

'Damn right you are,' said the rogue.

'So?' Valkron indicated his party behind him. 'We're not a guild, and we're passing through anyway.'

'Well, I see that you've taken our reserved rooms,' said the knight called Sagna. 'Think you were strong enough to do it?'

'The manager cancelled your bookings, Sagna,' said Valkron, adjusting his visor. 'So we were given them. Not our fault. Go and yell at the Endless Time manager, not us.'

'Like I'd believe you.' Sagna had a triumphant look on his face. 'Which gives me good reason to fight with you.'

'Ah. Again?' A hint of a smile appeared on Valkron's face. 'I still remember the last time you tried to do me in.'

Sagna looked sour for a moment, and then let the triumphant sneer return to his face. 'Well, this time I'm taking you on, one on one. No help from your party members there.'

'None from yours either.' Valkron patted the hilt of his sword. 'If I see your rogue missing our priest will deal with it. Right, Samaroh?'

Emeth elbowed the priest, who came to his senses. 'Definitely.'

'Good.' Valkron looked around. People were starting to gather around them. Not far away someone shouted, 'There's going to be a fight!'

'Hmm, I think we should move.' Valkron looked back at Sagna. 'Too many people here. Someone might get hurt.'

'What, and not show your face to the crowd when you lose?' said Sagna. 'Afraid of losing your face, Valkron? Or afraid of losing your reputation?'

Valkron shrugged. 'Neither. I never really cared for both anyway. Stand back,' he added to the party behind him. 'And Emeth, I think you should look out for the rogue. Samaroh, try to shield the passers-by, will you? I don't want to get into legal trouble.'

'Uh...if you say so,' said the priest, looking doubtful.

Valkron drew his sword. As one man the crowd drew back at the sight of his notched, plain two-handed sword. It looked too dull to be impressive, but the sun had chosen to emerge from the mist. The light ran along the blade. The people could [ihear[/i the sharpness of the sword.

Sagna looked back at his party. The monk threw him a long, heavy spear and he caught it neatly. 'I wonder,' he said, aiming the spear at Valkron, 'why you chose to use the sword when you were trained with the spear.'

'I feel happier with a sword,' said Valkron, smiling slightly. Sagna scowled and charged straight on, spearhead gleaming. The Raulus party backed off in shock and Eni's hands flew up to her mouth as Valkron whirled aside, the spearhead barely missing his face by inches.

Sagna quickly jerked back his spear and held it at the ready. He began to circle around Valkron, who watched him without moving, poised to strike at any moment. Emeth had an apprehensive look on his face.

Without any apparent stage in between Sagna attacked again. This time Valkron hit the spear away with a clang and turned to face the younger knight. For a few moments both of them contemplated each other, and then suddenly moved forward. There was a series of clangs accompanied with flashes of light before they two broke away and circled like wolves.

It seemed that the spectators were holding their breath. The two knights evidently felt it. Sagna lunged forward. Valkron jerked back to avoid the spearhead and responded to the move by hitting it away again. The younger knight grinned and swung it back.

Valkron ducked and threw himself to the side. Before Sagna realised anything he had grabbed the haft of the spear and yanked it so hard the brown-haired knight was pulled towards him. Laughter filled the air as Valkron gave him a smart rap with the flat of his blade on his helmet before releasing the spear.

Sagna growled audibly and charged. Valkron stepped neatly aside and stuck out his foot as Sagna went past. Once again people laughed, including the Raulus party. It was either that or watch in nervousness.

The younger knight got to his feet, turned and charged. Valkron threw his sword into the air and turned around just as the spear went past his back. He hooked his elbows around the haft, caught his sword and jerked the spear out of Sagna's hands. There was a cheer.

'What kind of skill is this, Sagna?' said Valkron, taking the spear in one hand and his sword in the other. 'I thought every knight was trained to wield the spear with skill. And I can't believe you thought you could defeat me with such poor accuracy. Things will have come to a pretty pass when I can't spot that out. Some knight you are.'

He threw the spear on the ground at Sagna's feet and turned to go, but the younger knight was evidently too enraged to let this pass. In one single movement he scooped up the spear and charged again. Valkron sighed, turned, caught the spear and tugged it towards him. Sagna came along with it as well. When he was close enough Valkron looked momentarily at his sword and then gave Sagna a ringing tap with the flat on his helmet. This time the younger knight yelped in pain.

'Forget it, Sagna.' Valkron released his grip on the spear. 'That's three times I held your spear, and one wasn't even with my hands. Here's a tip - go back to the Pronteran Chivalry and for once pay attention to your teachers. Maybe you'll understand the fundamentals of spear holding before you get to the fighting bit.'

The crowd erupted into cheers as he casually sauntered back to his party. Eni had her mouth open in disbelief, but the others joined the crowd in cheering him. Even Iruna gave him a good-natured slap on the back, which he answered with a choke. Being hit by a crusader was like getting hit by a plank of teak.

'Nice moves there, Valkron,' said Khan, as they made their way out of the cheering crowd. 'I'm impressed. But the part where you threw your sword into the air - maybe that was a bit too stylish for the likes of you.'

'Yeah, well, I used to do it a lot when I was training as a swordsman,' said the knight dismissively.

'Whatever for?'

'As a speed-based knight you tend towards accuracy and getting things right.' Valkron made his way towards the Clock Tower. 'My life, really. Now, are we going back to the tavern or are we going to look for the portal?'

'It's not here,' said Emeth from behind.

'How'd you know?'

'If I knew, I'd tell you as soon as possible.' Emeth jerked his head at Samaroh. 'He's not saying anything either.'

'I don't usually incline towards being a detector for old magic, but the way you say it sounds like I do,' said the priest.

Nocturne said, 'That's because you sound like you always do it.'

Samaroh spun around and opened his mouth to tell the hunter off. Instead he received a look that dared him to say anything more. Very slowly the priest closed his mouth. It was clear Nocturne had found one of Samaroh's weaknesses. Everyone else felt elated - it was rare to see Samaroh get told off.

Valkron put a hand to his forehead. 'Back to the Endless Time then. And Nocturne, Samaroh, I don't want any more arguments from now onwards unless it's necessary. Got it? Good. Let's go.'

The Raulus party left Al de Baran the next morning. There was nothing for them there. If they had happened to look back, they would have seen Sagna simmering at them from the gates. But they didn't, so no one knew.

After two days of journeying Valkron was forced to stop. The terrain was far too harsh, and the monsters were progressively getting more aggressive as they went inside. They halted their party near a large crevice in the rocks of the mountainside they were passing and set up camp.

While Valkron surveyed their surroundings atop a small mound Nocturne and Amaru went to fetch what firewood could be found, while Eni and Iruna went to get water from a nearby stream. Samaroh and Khan stayed on the lookout.

Emeth noticed Valkron standing alone and evidently in deep thought. He went over to the mound and stood next to it. Even on the mound Valkron was only up to his jaw.

'Got a second plan in mind?' he said from the corner of his mouth.

'In the works.'

The wizard sighed. 'You know, maybe we shouldn't have started north first. There are so many interesting cities in the south and we had to go through this godforsaken land.'

'Most likely we won't be doing so,' said Valkron, staring straight ahead.

'What do you mean?'

'I mean we won't be travelling through the terrain.' The knight shrugged vaguely as the wizard continued to stare at him. 'For once I'll have to ask Samaroh to teleport us there. I dislike talking to him, but this is the only way I can see.'

'That's what a party's for,' said Emeth, turning his head to watch Valkron as the knight stepped off the mound. 'Though I agree with you on Samaroh. He seems so...obnoxious.'

'Obnoxious probably isn't half of it.' Valkron unbuckled his sword girdle and leaned it against a rock. 'But we don't have a choice. The world is full of people like Samaroh, and sooner or later you can't avoid contact with one.'

'Yeah, but this is sooner.'

Khan, who was arriving at the camp, did not show any indication that he had heard anything except for an amused look on his face, insofar as anyone could tell with the mask covering half of it. Samaroh entered a little later, nose buried in a book.

It did not take long for the others to return. Nocturne dropped his bundle of potential firewood and watched in satisfaction as Amaru emptied his cart of more. Emeth looked annoyed at the mess, but he flicked a finger at the scattered lot and they flew together into a decent pile. He snapped his fingers and the pile burst into flames.

At the same time Iruna and Eni came back with water skins full and dripping. Eni was generally in charge of the water, since Amaru was already laden with the food. They were soon sitting around the fire to eat.

Once they had finished and were relaxing, Valkron looked over to where Samaroh was sitting. The priest seemed to be deeply engrossed in whatever he was reading. Valkron leaned to his right and nudged Emeth, who was staring at the night sky.

'Tell me,' he said, 'is it all right if I disturb a priest from his reading?'

'Why do you ask?' said Emeth in surprise.

'Let's just say I've had bad experiences with disturbing wizards from their study.'

'Wizards are different from priests in the sense that we don't like being bothered,' said Emeth. 'Priests are supposed to help people. Wizzies aren't. It's mage slang for wizards,' he added, seeing Valkron's expression.

'So it'll be perfectly fine to talk to him while he's busy? I don't want to warrant a silencing effect or twice as much damage, you know.'

'Go on, don't worry about it. Besides, if I'm not wrong priests are trained to stay patient with others.'

'Does he look like he does?' said Valkron.

'Uh...come to think of it, maybe not.' Emeth gave him a bright smile. 'But I suggest you go for it, since it's our only plan at hand.'

Valkron looked up to the sky and muttered something on the lines of, 'Odin, why am I here?' before getting up and walking over to the priest. He went down on one knee and waited for Samaroh to realise he was there.

After a while the priest, without taking his eyes off his book, said, 'Yes?'

'I'd like to ask a favour from you, Samaroh,' said Valkron, feeling everybody's eyes on the back of his neck. 'Just a bit of help concerning the main situation here.'

Samaroh lowered his book. His eyebrows were raised. 'Really? Do tell.'

Valkron disliked the way Samaroh had said it, but he plunged on anyway. 'Is it possible for you to teleport us to Juno? I don't think we'll make it there fast enough and none of us are willing to trek through this place just to get to the city in the sky.'

Samaroh considered this for a while. Valkron took note of his grass green eyes that seemed to remain blank most of the time. He waited patiently, occasionally looking at the others in annoyance.

Finally the priest said, 'All right, I'll do it. It'll take a bit of time, mind you, but since we're stuck out here I guess there's no other choice we have.'

'You're doing it just because we're stuck here?' said Nocturne. 'I'm amazed. Where's your sense of duty?'

'Nocturne, remember what I said back at Al de Baran,' warned Valkron, looking over his shoulder. He turned back to Samaroh. 'Thanks. We'll go for it in the morning.'

'Suits me,' replied the priest, returning to his book.

Valkron stared a little too long at the back of the book, fervently wishing that Samaroh would burn into ashes with his glare. Since this wasn't happening, he gave up and got to his feet, flicking his cloak to get rid of the dust. The others watched him in silence as he went over to the wall of rock nearby and leaned against it. He was sitting just outside the ring of light the fire threw out.

Gradually, one by one the party members went off in different directions to secure a sleeping place. Valkron watched them through half-closed eyes. Tonight it was Khan's turn to be on the lookout. He was already sitting some way above the knight, gazing out into the landscape spread out before him. Valkron glanced momentarily at him before turning over and taking off his visor as he tried to get comfortable. If he got the timing right, he'd be asleep just about now...

'Valkron! Get up!'

The knight stirred, but he was barely awake when someone kicked him on the shin and swore.

'Serves you right,' said Valkron sleepily, as Khan hopped around on one foot and cursing mildly at the plate armour.

'This isn't the time to be sarcastic, Valkron - oh, why am I doing this?' The assassin put his foot back down on the ground and grabbed Valkron by the shoulders. Judging by the fact that knights were the heaviest of the lot due to their armour and weaponry (crusaders didn't count at this point) it was quite surprising that he could actually get Valkron to his feet. Right after that the knight received a ringing slap across the face. It had a very good effect.

'What do you want, Khan?' said Valkron, massaging his cheek reproachfully.

'We've got visitors.' Khan rolled his eyes. 'The knight from yesterday.'

At this Valkron was fully awake. He had been suspecting it since they had left Al de Baran. Sagna was not the kind of person who held a grudge for long, even though he could be a little overconfident at times. Valkron wasn't sure if anyone else saw, but he had looked straight into Sagna's eyes and he was sure that they were not the same as before. He knew Sagna well - after all, he'd been the younger knight's tutor once.

To his disgust there was a thick fog surrounding the two of them. Even Emeth was barely visible - if it hadn't been for his dark red mop of hair Valkron would have never guessed the wizard had been sleeping right next to him. They could barely see a thing.

'Confound this blasted fog,' he muttered, and held up his hand. Fire burst into life along his arm and licked playfully at his fingers without burning his clothes or flesh. The heat helped to clear the fog a little, but it was still not enough.

'Khan,' said Valkron in a whisper, 'you've got better senses than me. Where is he?'

'I'm not too sure about that,' replied the assassin in a low voice. 'Why are we whispering?'

'Because if he's really looking for us I don't want him to know where we are.'

Khan gave Valkron a look. 'Samaroh's near the gap in the trees where we entered this clearing.'

The knight mentally swore. That dumb priest had positioned himself where anyone would find him first, if they found the party. Samaroh would not put it out of his mind not to shout, either. More or less they were extremely vulnerable.

'Go and get him out of the way,' he said to Khan. 'I don't care how you do it - drag him if you have to. Just get him out of the way.'

'If I can find him,' said Khan, but he went forth. Valkron watched his back disappear into the fog, now wishing he hadn't said that. It had been better standing in a fog with someone you could trust and see rather than standing in the fog alone.

For a while there was no sound at all except for the soft moaning in the trees. Valkron used his fire skills again, but they did nothing apart from creating a burnt smell. He quickly waved it off and waited, sword drawn.

Then an arm hooked itself around his throat and pulled hard. Valkron choked, his hand releasing its grip on his sword as he tried to stop his unseen assailant. After a bit of struggling the knight kicked backwards and the arm released him. He stumbled forward but recovered quickly and snatched his sword from the ground.

A silhouette appeared out of the mist. It was Sagna, with a grin that Valkron could only describe as creepy. His eyes were shimmering.

'Nice to see you again, Valkron,' he said. 'But you're blocking our way. We won't let you find the portal.'