Ch: 188 Holding Out For A Hero

Back home, the crew settled in for the night, with the shadow entity staked out in Gary’s little rope corral in the garden. It raged and battered at the ankle high barrier of string, trinkets and wooden pegs to no avail. Not even sound escaped the arcane barrier of the ‘Circle of Fifths’, despite the creature’s piteous, hungry wails.

“It’s an undead human revenant, but pretty far gone. Whatever’s been controlling it is definitely not anything human, or even close. Demon is my bet, something smart that enjoys what it does… I’ll get the details in the morning.”

“Dannyl, start carrying your weapon. That goes for all of us,” Khan said firmly. “Where there’s one spectral sneak there could be more. Gary, we’ll talk later…” The mustache was twitching in frustration at the wayward musician, the poor boy could feel a chewing out on the horizon, like a storm brewing…

Shai was only mildly annoyed at him, curling close and shooting dark looks at the prisoner behind the tiny string barricade.

They finally got the little ones to bed, just before Tony and a familiar priest of Healer arrived, following up on confused reports of a silent, bloodless battle raging through town…

Gary summoned an unremarkable stone garden shed with a heavy, sealed door over the awful little turd, with a satisfied smile.

Shai grumbled tiredly and added in some fake windows, with geraniums growing in little clay pots painted with bright shapes. “Huh, it’s a charming little crypt we make, lover.” The madman sighed happily.

“So why did you come here?” Gary asked innocently, while Tony and Patel put on slippers in the foyer.

“Shut up Gary.” Tony sighed in exhaustion. “My wife has been non stop since she got back… it’s even worse than your damn chocolate.” He grumbled. “She wants every detail of every conversation we’ve ever had… and I’m supposed to get a sample of your brain matter somehow. Mages…” The giant knight sighed.

“Oh, I could use a slice of his brain too…” Patel murmured over a cup of tea. “If he’s donating.”

“He’s not!” Gary and Shai sang in chorus.

“It’s late and I’m still not filling out my reports.” The knight complained. “It’s been a long strange few weeks and I’d like to get home before my wife decides to come looking for…”

“Thelonius, there you are!” Adele said from the foyer. “Gary, Shai, you look exhausted! Tell me everything!”

“We fought an undead shadow creature all through town and a mile across the fields… and then had to stay up late, waiting for the forces of law and order to come calling… for a slice of my brain.” Gary answered coldly.

“Tony, you were supposed to bring it up casually in conversation, not just blurt it out… gods, man.” She fumed.

“That’s a lot to unpack at like, twelfth bell, so we are going to bed. Good night.” Gary grumbled, tucking Shai into a half walking half leaning stumble.

“We’re sleeping in the grotto. Jules, Kermal, you can stay in our room if you’re sleeping over. Everybody else… figure it out for yourselves.”

“What about…” Jules asked unsubtly, glancing at the tiny mausoleum in the back garden.

“Xyll, please wake me if anybody tries to steal my prey.” He muttered into a particularly shadowy pear tree.

“Gary, you can’t keep that thing in town…” Tony began, trying for reasonable, first.

“Not in town, technically we’re across the bridge. Good night, busy day ahead.” Gary grumbled right back.

“This is a matter for the authorities, we can’t have common orphans keeping undead slaves…” Tony regretted that turn of phrase immediately. “What I meant was..”

Gary paused halfway through the door to glare at the big knight. “I’m only keeping it long enough to find out what it was after and who it was working for… Then it gets juiced through the devourer.” He snapped angrily.

“I don’t take, keep, or trade slaves. I’m just a common orphan of the town… So why did I have to fight your monster? Again…”

#

“You were pretty unreasonable with Adele and Tony…” Tawny murmured, lying beside Gary and Shai and Liam on a blanket, stargazing among the standing stones.

“Friends don’t try to collect pieces of their friend’s insides…” He grumbled, then he winked at her and smiled happily. “As a rule, you get a special exemption Tawny, cause you put all that stuff back in there… a lot.”

“You knew about my ‘samples’? You never said anything…” She muttered darkly.

“You never said anything, sister. I didn’t take any parts of you and tuck them in the freezer… We’re getting sidetracked.” Gary sighed, laying back on his cushions, among the wildflowers.

“Did he just complain about how we are getting diverted from our goal in some way?” Angie asked. “I could really use a list of these words.”

“Becky, you’re in charge of showing Newgirl the ropes…” Gary declared, arbitrarily and dismissively. He caught a pillow to the face, less than a second later.

“All right, Newgirl is up to speed.” He announced, catching two more pillows in the face.

“Really Gary, you are taking the last few days very well…” Thirp sang happily. “Tonight especially, you seem much more at peace with yourself.”

“True Thirp my dear, so true.” He sighed, nestling himself closer to Shai. He watched the little ones riding Eponna’s herd for a while. They finally joined the party on the blankets, relaxing into the soft grass and enjoying the springtime flowers.

“So what is it, did you have some epiphany or breakthrough?” Marduk asked from a nearby blanket, where he was enjoying a pina colada, with Eponna.

“Yeah, I finally got confirmation of something I’ve suspected since I got here.” He mumbled contentedly, laying his head on Shai’s bosom as she slept.

“And what was that great revelation? We’d all like to know…” Marduk asked very patiently.

“Hmm? Oh, that, it’s Liam.” Gary yawned, as his form began to fade. “He’s the Protagonist… I’m just the comic sidekick. It really takes the pressure off. It’s funny… how things work out sometimes…” He slipped away, into normal sleep, carrying Shai and the kids along with him. They vanished with the gentle sound of a sleeper rolling over.

Gary was down in the workshop when everyone else started waking, it was his favorite feeling, especially when a friend woke in his home for the first time.

#

Jules and Kermal had passed out in the big bed upstairs together, there was room for a few more too… Extravagant, pretty much was the vibe. When they peeled their eyes open and realized they really were in a fairytale forest glade indoors, they both giggled a little.

“Gods, this is too much… The baths are so vexing but this… it feels like it could be, should be possible without him…” Julius vanished into the bedding like a pearl diver in need of cash.

“I’m never leaving… I’m a duke, you can’t make me… there’s… a law, yeah! A law!”

“Oh, very well.” Kermal said softly. “I’ll give duchess Grace your regrets at breakfast… Mmm… it smells like cinnamon rolls.”

“In that case…” Jules murmured happily and began struggling to free himself from the bedding.

#

“How ever did I get by without you, Kermal?” Julius demanded loudly on their way downstairs. “It was very indolent to hide yourself away and shirk your duty for so many years.” He waved an imperious finger under his young cousin’s nose. “I’m very disappointed in you. Now shuffle off… I’ll discipline you for laziness later, I simply haven't the energy at the moment.”

“Shall I attend to it myself, your grace? I promise to be very strict… none of this soft, new fangled thinking. It’s the cane for me.” Kermal suggested in a saccharine tone.

“Be certain to add in a few strokes for being presumptuous.” The duke muttered, while taking his seat beside the smiling duchess.

“So forceful and commanding, Jules…” She giggled softly and gently tugged the cuff of his simple robe of linen. “Oh, is this lined with flannel? How cozy!” She took that ‘opportunity’ to run her soft, manicured hand inside the fold of his robe, caressing his bare chest very intimately.

Julius blushed furiously as she slowly, so very slowly, removed the visiting ducal envoy from his chest.

“The boy made that, didn’t he?” She asked quietly, fingering her own garment of midnight blue silk, embroidered with silver jasmine flower stars.

“He did the same for mine, see?” Duchess Sheng discreetly folded back the opening of her robe to display the lining of indigo flannel… and a tender expanse of snowy bosom, to the blushing lord.

This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

“We are going to be such fast friends…” She cooed, now that his soft underbelly was exposed… funny how things work out.

#

Kermal and Dannyl had breakfast at a nearby table with Becky and Angie, as they enjoyed the show. “It’s over for him…” Becky sighed. “She’s gonna pick her teeth with his bones. Poor lad never even saw it coming.”

“What are you talking about Becks?” Angie demanded. “That rascal is seducing her right there, poor duchess Sheng… She’s been alone since her husband died, now here comes this smooth, handsome rake… It’s like a bad romance story, penned by a hack writer who smokes too much herb…” The young woman looked concerned, glaring at Julius suspiciously.

“I can assure you, duke Rummel is no kind of lady's man. He’s never displayed interest in any romantic liaison before… It's a little scary.” Kermal muttered softly. “He spends most of his time riding with his guard, hunting monsters and dangerous beasts.”

The young squire settled in to watch the show with even more interest. “I really hope this works out, monsters are terrifying. I would like to see less of them. It’s funny how things work out.”

#

Tawny was sprawled all over him when he woke, Liam struggled to escape, without waking her, which proved simple, since she was out cold with a golden smile on her lips. He slipped into the shorts Tawny had peeled off of him last night and shook his head in wonder. That was odd behavior for her. “She’s been under so much stress…” Liam mumbled to himself as he did his morning warmup.

At the end of his squats, he stood and left his shorts behind, the waistband gripped in Tawny’s outflung hand.

That hand was attached to a very predatory smile.

“I have been under stress… any good suggestions for relieving it?” She purred, while he rearranged his trunks.

“Oh, let me help…” She mumbled, as she became very handsy. Once his downstairs was arranged how she liked it, he reached down and tucked his little brother back in his trunks.

“Awww… that was mean.” She pouted so fetchingly he knew it must be some devious trick of feminine wiles.

“Tawny, time and place… a maid could walk in at any moment!” He fussed, while her nimble, golden hands playfully tried to liberate the prisoner from his silken bondage.

“Liam, every maid in the palace knows and they have no doubt each found an excuse to creep in while we were sleeping over the last few nights. You are beautiful when you sleep…” She kissed him sweetly, while still invading his trunks like a squirrel determined to find his…

“Bollocks!” Liam scoffed. “I’d have awakened.”

“Yes dear, now get out of those trunks this instant, I want to show you something…” She whispered, licking her lips in anticipation.

#

Tawny wore one of Liam’s shirts, barely wrapped and hanging loosely, and those trunks, those delicious, intriguing, silken trunks. She did her own warmup, stretching and a bit of yoga. Liam sat on the bed, observing Tawny’s strict ‘no touching’ rule while she ‘worked out’.

The soft moans and whimpers coming from his lips said the slick, shining, tempting shorts were just as effective on him as her.

They got out of her chambers a little late, just in time to bump into Amicus, on his way to Gary’s inn. It’s funny how things work out.

#

Gary ambled up for breakfast, smiling and content. He embraced Shai and the kids, made chit chat about household business and had a quiet meal, while watching as Julius and Grace took turns seducing each other.

Finally it was too much for Adele. She shot Tony a sour look, stomped up to Gary’s table and demanded action. “What are you going to do with the creature in your shed?”

“I was going to crack that open later… This morning is family time. Right now I’m waiting for Liam and Tawny to arrive. Otho and Naiomi have been in the bath since dawn… I’d like to have the duke here… duke Belen that is… Crap, I know a lot of dukes.” She silenced his prattle by turning away and asking Shai.

“What is he going to do with that thing?” She demanded again.

“Fie, imprisoning an destroying uncanny beings be old hat fer me boy, dinnae fret so. An there were danger, he’d hae eaten that beastie an had done already.” Shai muttered crossly at the fretful woman. “Dinnae frighten me wee bairns.”

The ‘wee bairns’ were calmly eating cinnamon rolls and watching the proceedings with interest, rather than worry.

“I don’t like the new ghost. He’s mean.” Amy said firmly.

“He’s not a ghost sweetie, your friends are ghosts. He’s a revenant, that’s what’s left when you take a living person and steal the living part away... We shouldn’t be mean to him, because he’s a victim too. Remember what Thirp says…” The musician and his little family all chanted together in the same breath:

“Hurt-people, hurt people.”

They all came together for a hug before going back to breakfast. “What was that?” Adele asked Tony, when she resumed her seat, confused and shaken.

“That’s what you came to see…” Becky whispered quietly. “You want to know how he does what he does… it’s all right there. Shai and those kids are why he throws everything he has, at everything he faces…”

“Last night was a fine example, hurling himself at another unknown entity… it’ll end poorly.” Khan muttered darkly.

The brooding, mustachioed warrior only realized Gary had vanished, when he appeared directly beside him whispering softly:

“Happy endings are bullshit. Grab as much happy right now as you can get, Tomorrow is a problem for tomorrow us.” He grinned and waved to Tawny, Liam and Amicus, as they came in.

“Perfect.”

Gary stood up, clapped his hands and waved. “Super secret family meeting in the basement. Everybody downstairs for the secret meeting.”

When the Duchess Sheng and her party remained seated, Gary clapped again. “I said, ‘family meeting’. Angie, get your crew in line. Julius, help her out please.”

He huffed and puffed until the whole gang was downstairs. Mubarak was the last resistant member, dragged down by Jaspreet and Esperanza.

In the surprisingly spacious workshop, almost everything was gone, save plush furniture and a samovar surrounded by tea things.

When everyone was seated, Gary took the floor, pacing restlessly.

“Since I got here, it’s been almost all pressure, so much pressure… almost everyone has been pushing or pulling at me for one thing or another… I’m stretched too thin. As of now, I am resigning as group leader… I nominate Liam for group leader.” He nodded and sat down with finality.

Shai cuddled close and nodded in agreement. “Aye, tis too much fer thee, tis why Liam were always leader… remember, lad?” A general murmur of assent rose from the gathered crowd.

“Oh, yeah, totally Liam.” Julius agreed. “No doubt.”

“Unquestionably.” Grace agreed.

“I thought the big red haired woman was the leader…” Abed whispered.

“Her name is Shai, Mubsie… don’t be a prat.” Jaspreet whispered back.

“Well… That’s settled, thank you Gary…” Otho said firmly, hoping to end things there. No such luck.

“Hey, Otho, while I have you and Amicus… what do you think of this?” He handed Otho the compact and surprisingly hefty torc, with a bland smile.

Oh, lovely and it’s a Contract item too… I thought you didn’t…” He coughed and stifled that thought.

“I didn’t make that, an old friend gave it to me.” He murmured, nestled with Shai and the kids on a sofa.

Amicus took the thing when Otho offered it and examined the jewelry with interest. “This was once a common design, there is a lot of local folklore… old men’s stories…” He sighed. “Tales of heroes and their mighty arms and armor are for children, as are their silly prophecies.” The wizard passed it on to Mubarak and Jaspreet. From there it wandered the room, eliciting smiles at the intricate craftsmanship.

“These trinkets were common as betrothal gifts before I was born…” Otho said with a nostalgic smile. “It’s a tragically romantic tale…”

Otho spun the same legend, in the broad strokes. A mighty, heroic lord, his panoply and arms, legends of daring do and love found, lost, found again. Lands lost, reclaimed and lost again and finally a prophecy, as all fables must do.

“...and when the lost arms and armor of the last of the Forest Lords return to the hand of his true heir, mankind’s war with chaos will turn on its head. Demons and the dead will flee our realms, driven back by man and beastkin together… a beautiful dream.”

As the ancient priest spoke, the torc wandered from hand to hand, neck to neck, until finally winding up with Tawny. She toyed with it idly, while Liam pretended he wasn’t falling asleep.

On a lark, she reached out and slid it around his throat, as most of the crowd had done. Who wouldn’t try it on? She went back to listening to Otho’s vaguely familiar story.

Gary wandered over to them during the story and whispered softly. “Hey, Liam… slip into your armor for me, let me check the fit or something… of something.” Gary mumbled around his pipestem, with a wink at Shai.

The groggy warrior shrugged and complied. He wriggled out from under Tawny and quietly changed, using his version of Gary’s storage gift to shrug into his fearsome armor. “Helmet and mask too bro… Heck grab your spear while you’re at it. I’ll check your kit over while Otho blabs.”

“… His lion armor roared across the battlefield, striking fear into the foes of man. Behind his flashing spear, no warrior went hungry, for when it felled game, the meat was always enough to feed his army. Under his cloak of silver leaves, he rode wild horses as if he were a child on a favored pet pony, any horse was his steed to call…”

Otho’s warm familiar voice and Liam’s warm familiar Liamness soothed Tawny almost to sleep. The final straw was when Liam unconsciously draped the most remarkable blanket over her lap.

“No, Liam. We can’t fall asleep now! Where did you get this… cloak? It’s beautiful…” She murmured.

A hush had fallen over the intimate little gathering, not because of Otho’s boring, old man story. The crowd was staring at the loveseat, with Liam standing over Tawny, while she snuggled in against his armored hip.

From his snarling, feline helm and mask, to the clawed toes of his iron shod boots, the young warrior was the image of a dark brown hunting cat.

He held a spear that gleamed like a jeweled flame in the bright shop lights, under a shimmering cloak of ever falling silver oak leaves, each one tiny and perfect. The ephemeral leaves were darkest, almost black green on one side and gleaming, burnished silver on the other.

Delicate veins of one shade or the other marked each side of each leaf, if one looked quickly. They faded from reality a few moments after falling or being plucked from the magical garment.

“Why are you all looking at me like that? Really Gary… I feel… odd, like when your stupid spear kept trying to…” Liam slowly realized what was around his neck, barely feeling the weight of it. “Why does this feel so… right? Where did this come from?” He demanded, clutching at his throat, but not taking it off.

“That wight gave it to me. She got it as a gift from her beloved, before his indenture sale. They never reunited.” Gary mumbled through a cloud of sweet smelling smoke. “Andon Kinnis was probably your… something crazy great grandpa. His folks died and left him this, he gave it to someone he loved… now it comes home to you. You’re the Protagonist here, I’m just your comic relief.”

He sighed happily and puffed his pipe even more smugly.

“Gary, explain yourself.” Liam snapped, with a surprising command to it, he was still fingering that torc.

His mad just brother grinned.

“I’m Alan Adale to your Robin Hood, Slim Shady to your Dre, Costello to your Abbot… Let’s stick with the bandit of Locksley.”

He looked over to Tallum, who was staring at the figure of legend wearing his friend’s pants. “Hey, Littlejohn, bring maid Marion some coffee, she’s gonna need it.”

Gary puffed his pipe, sipped his tea and smiled. “We had legendary heroes where I come from too, one of them was a famous bandit. A wise nobleman and a noble man, cheated of his birthright and determined to win freedom for his people. He had a huge ginger friend, a handsome bard, a beautiful maiden and many other merry men and women roaming the forests with him as he tried to regain his lands…”

Gary smirked in the most outrageous way. “I hear your guy hung out with Dryads and expanded the lands of men, too…”

Several sets of eyes turned to the small group of dryads in the corner, chatting quietly. Solange felt the attention of the group and looked up. “What? Did we miss something?”

It took a few breathless minutes for Angie to get the ancient tree ladies up to speed.

“Oh, yes, human folklore and legends, we honestly don’t pay that much attention… to be fair, humans forget these things all the time.” Plumeria replied. “A friend of mine is very wise in human folklore and history. I sent Angie and Becky to her with questions about your world that I could not answer. She may know… we should ask Fig.”

“Don’t ask fig!” Becky and Angie both snapped together.

“What’s wrong with Fig?” Plumeria demanded. “She is a close friend and very wise!”

“Yeah, she is. She also likes to tell the story of a god who ‘sat’ on a fig branch. Even if it has nothing to do with what we were asking about.” Becky complained. “I can’t unhear it and her voice was so sweet…”

Amy, Rio and Wilf seemed excited at the prospect of meeting a new dryad… “We’ll have Gary and Shai meet Fig first, I’ll introduce you kids to Sequoia tonight. All her stories are about wrestling!” Becky decreed, settling the matter with her high priestess powers.

Gary sat on a stool and started strumming idly. “Now we just need to figure out how to avoid that inconvenient ‘being sold at auction’ problem.”

The nobles all fell silent, awkwardly so. Like someone pulled the stopper on the party and all the fun ran out.

“We are honor bound, we cannot discuss that matter with or around you or any other party to the matter.” Juilius said firmly, all business suddenly.

“Ok, Jules… in that case, I’m going to go shake the truth out of a talking skidmark…” He paused, taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly. “No anger… only compassion…” He whispered as if to convince himself, as he walked upstairs.

“I should go supervise that…” Becky mumbled. “Come on kids, Gary’s ghostbusting again. I’ll ask Starman to come play while we work ok?.”

“May we watch?” Grace and Jules asked, arm in arm. “I’ve heard that what he does with ghosts is beautiful and tender…”

#

“Ok buddy, you can answer me or I’m gonna pin up onto that clothesline and let you hang in the sun all day.” He snarled at the obstinate spirit.

“Either way I have your boss’ scent, I’ll track his ass down… does he have an ass? I don’t care, I’ll build him an ass and then I’ll kick it.” Once more the boy stopped, took yet another deep calming breath and let it out slowly. “The only things I can truly control are my own actions and reactions… External control is an illusion…” He sighed slowly, as the menacing clothesline evaporated.

“You tried to hurt my family, you tried to eat me. You failed miserably at both, I have no further need for you.” Gary reached into the little circle of string and snatched the speedy clot of shadow out into the morning sun. He quickly folded the ball of rags into a tiny packet and just as quickly, unfolded it into a flat sheet of shadow.

He made a few crisp folds and creases, creating a long, slim, abstract arrow of shadow stuff. He pinched the weird, triangular thing and pitched it at the blazing sun high above.

It spun in a lazy corkscrew, climbing higher and higher, until it vanished.

“That’s it.” He told his observers, who sat pale and shaking throughout the whole ordeal. The two beings had infuriated each other again and again, butting metaphorical heads over everything.

“It usually is a very tranquil process…” He murmured in embarrassment. “I shouldn’t have let him get to me like that.”

#