Not everything fades away

As a spy, Cool, felt the presence of the awake. It was wise for him to lay still and feigned snoring as Keira tossed restlessly and Vangz slept deeply…or appeared to be. If Cool was correct, it would’ve seemed that the wizard got up and tucked the extra cloth (from Keira) around her shivering body. If that was truly the case, Vangz wasn’t such a bad guy after all.

 

When he was about 98% sure that the wizard was sleeping, Cool swung his leg up a low branch and climbed to the top of the tree. His vision adjusted to the presence of the moon shining above him. He felt rustling of wings and half-expected the flying Cercatori to attack, but it was only an owl. He chuckled at his nervousness and heightened senses.

He closed his eyes and felt the cool wind caress his cheeks. If he – if all of them – were destined to die, what night would be better than this? The silhouette of the woods seemed like spikes rising from the earth. The mountains around were slain bodies of giants, his grandmother told him. Of course, this wasn’t true, but her words held meaning. Memories of a previous war, leaving thousands dead. Soon, another war would occur. He and the two people below would be in the centre of it.

The ground below him was like a grave. The bodies of Vangz and Keira lay, sleeping. But what of later that night? Or tomorrow?  The jester couldn’t shake of the feeling that something horrible would happen. They would inevitably be fertilizer for the spiky columns of hearth. No different from the mountain corpses of Lesallia.

They needed reinforcements. In time, the Cercatori would catch up with them. If they never make it out alive (heaven forbid), the next trio would be needed. He had picked them well, studied their profiles as thoroughly as he could. There was something he couldn’t place though. The third member. The jester figured he would be useful anyway.

“A paladin,” he scrawled on a piece of parchment. “A prodigy,” he wrote with flourish. “And…” he mumbled to himself. “Some mysterious guy.” He and Yaktu had discussed it in the past. Just in case things would go wrong. He gave her enough information for her to contact them when it was necessary. Now was the time.

He lit a match and burned the paper. “Appear at first light.” Yaktu always checked the small black chest of spy notes at dawn. His note would appear then. The jester prided himself of his ability with flame. That was one of the perks of being born from the fire clan.

Cool allowed himself to be swayed by the wind for hours while humming a lullaby his mother had sung to him. He felt the need to think back on his family. His sensed his time running out. If it wasn’t him, it was either Keira or Vangz. No, probably it was him. He was skilled, but not as lethal as the other two.

A few hours later, he decided to come down for much-needed rest. He would definitely have trouble waking in the morning. Slime crawled over his skin that night.

…

“Rahn-day-voo at Rottoundale,” Yaktu whispered.

“Rendevous,” clarified the paladin. “How do you know it would be at Rottoundale? Did the spy ever mention…”

“Ye, the lil’ bugger did. Course, no way he ain’t puttin’ it on paper. If ever ‘em notesies land in wrong mitt…”

“I assume we three would take their places if they…don’t make it,” the master sage’s voice was coated with unmistakable worry.

“Oh they’ll make it! Ye gotta believe in ‘em!” Yaktu patted the girl’s arm. “I wish ye got the chance to know ‘em.”

Reina pursed her lips and seemed to hold back something. Sir Radley frowned and added more sugar cubes to his drink.

The mysterious stranger sipped his ginger ale and grunted inaudibly. Yaktu turned to him and offered him her famous ale – the one her customers craved. He declined and presented a brief note: Disastrous.

“Oh ye got a weak tummy eh?” Yaktu chuckled and drank the pint herself. “Jes’ like me Vangz. Lil’ bugger spat out spells once. Stunned me customers.”

A small tear formed in the corner of her eye. She wiped it away instantly. The paladin and master sage humbly drank their tea, not wanting to talk about the endangered wizard and his companions. Yaktu brushed her thoughts on Vangz aside and continued with the plan.

“At Rotoundalle, ye’ll discuss the…siege on the fortress. There’ll be armies, ye all know. An’ Cercatori too, if the others ain’t able to kill ‘em. Ye can handle?”

The hooded figure pushed another scrawl in the middle of the table. His companions read it as: Leave army to me.

“Aight then…” Yaktu was unsure whether to press on for more information. She trusted the young spy’s judgement, so she said nothing more. “Ye take care of ‘em.”

“Six warriors are better than three,” Sir Radley smiled. “Let us pray they make it to Rottoundale safely. If not, at least alive. I can heal them.”

“That’ll be useful of ye,” Yaktu smiled and poured him more tea. “Ye magic folk are useful.”

The paladin cleared his throat. “I classify myself as a divine spell caster. After all, I work under the Order. Unlike the dark wizard, Vangz.”

Tension built up around their little round table. Reina gripped her tea cup, much like Keira did when distressed. The mysterious man shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

Yaktu smiled and looked into the paladin’s eyes. “Ah know me Vangz. He ain’t too bad if ye give ‘im a chance. Soon ye’ll meet an’ force yerselves to get along.”

“This is for Lesallia. For the future of our land,” Reina spoke sternly. “We will do what we can.”

“What about a plan to back this up?” Sir Radley inquired. He folded his gauntleted hands together and thought hard. “There could be many bumps ahead.”

They might be slain. The unnamed man wrote.

“There may be a traitor,” the paladin said.

“Ah assure ye, Cobra won’t let ‘em traitors infiltrate yer group,” Yaktu replied.

“Cobra? The top spy?!”

“Ye’ll never notice, but our jester ain’t jes’”

“But…” Reina said. “Cobra has been around for ages. I find it hard to believe a young jester would be Cobra. Unless…”

“Yer correct. Ye ain’t saying it yet, but I know yer bright to figure it out. The title Cobra has been handed down.”

Sir Radley chuckled. “To a jester. Hehe, who would’ve known?”

“Zactly. Even ‘em Cercatori won’t suspect.” Yaktu was immensely proud of the trio in the woods. A determined assassin, a goofy yet skilled spy, and a cunning wizard.

“By the way, ye gotta keep watch over the girl,” Yaktu ordered. “”Em Cercatori almost tore me tavern searchin’ for ‘er.”

The paladin bit off a hefty piece of bread. “Of course, she’s a valuable assassin and all.”

“That ain’t all she is,” Yaktu said. “Ah’ll fill ye in later, anyway, back to what ye lot are supposed to do.”

…

Blood poured out of the gargoyle-like creature in pools of black. Keira drove her blades deeper in the rough flesh and endured the ear-shattering screech it made. She pulled it out of its writhing body and allowed it to fade into dust.

“Cool! Vangz! You men all right down there?” She leaped from the top of the cave and landed gracefully on the ground.

Vangz, in pain as he was, managed to immobilize and slay a good number of Cercatori. Cool was in the midst of destroying one himself. He dodged and struck, dodged and struck.

“Jester, didn’t your mother ever tell you not to play with your food?” Vangz grinned and delivered a fatal blow to Cool’s weakened adversary.

“My mother told me many things, but I hardly listened,” Cool dropped to the ground in exhaustion and returned a grin. “Glad to see you’re back to normal…or almost.”

“Seneca, where’s the stone?” Vangz called to the assassin. She presented the blood-red crystal but it burned as she took it out of her pocket.

“It dislikes me as much as it does you,” Keira clucked disappointedly. Vangz’s heart beat faster and he fell on his knees. “K-keep it away from me…”

The assassin hurriedly tore a piece of her cloak and wrapped the powerful gem inside. She tossed it too Cool for safe-keeping. “Don’t lose it.”

“Would I ever?” he laughed and flopped next to shrubbery. “Oooooooooh! Lilyblossoms! Lily lily lily blossoms!”

“You seem to be getting weaker when you’re next to the stone,” Keira pointed out.

“Good. At least that’ll give me reason to stay away from Lilyblossom over there.”

“You know, I can’t believe the feared Cercatori were this easy to beat,” Keira polished her daggers and fit them snugly into her belt. “Leon could defeat them.”

“Yeah, and what a dramatic entrance they had huh!” Cool piped up, clutching a fistful of lilyblossoms. “Thunder and lighting and the swirling skies of grey! Hehe. All show. They’re not that good in battle.”

Vangz stroked his chin and frowned. “I’m sorry to burst your bubble…but I don’t think they were The Cercatori.”

“Damn! They were only minions,” Keira looked around, sensing more danger coming closer.

“They made us tired first,” Vangz said. “Then, the real ones come for us.”

The sky turned an overcast colour once again. Cool’s lilyblossoms got caught in the wind and eventually scattered and dropped to the ground. Fertilizer for the spikes of this earth.