Chapter Eight
> If anything, if he didn’t pull out a spell and put on a show, they would not only think Gabriel was not fit to go questing, but they would probably suggest James stay home as well.
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> “No. Absolutely not,” Gabriel’s mother, Miss Lilliah said, shaking her head, one hand firmly on her wide hip, the other kneading floor with practiced efficiency. James and Gabriel had made good time reaching the Village. The sun was still soft and low in the sky. The dust, while still overpowering, hadn’t been as bad as during the middle of the day, morning dew drops stifling the dryness slightly.
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> The two of them were now sitting at Gabriel’s parents’ kitchen table.
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> “But, Mother, I would be aiding our high wizard on an essential quest for the kingdom. You and Dad know better than anyone how hard it’s been to farm and feed everyone without the nurturing the Queen of Life usually provides.”
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> “I fully support our new high wizard taking on this quest, but that doesn’t mean I want you to accompany him. He has a full arsenal of powerful spells at his command. Nothing could possibly threaten him. But you… son, you don’t even know how to properly hold a sword, much less use one in combat.”
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> James fervently hoped he wouldn’t be expected, or required, to have an arsenal of powerful spells in order to complete the quest. If so, he might let Miss Lilliah talk him out of this crazy journey too.
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> “But I carry the sword without rust, Mother. The very sword spoken of in the prophecy.”
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> “What prophecy?” Miss Lilliah said, pushing a stray lock of ebony-black hair out of her eyes as she continued working the flour in front of her into a loaf of bread. Most of her hair, which looked thick and rather coarse, was braided neatly behind her. Everything about the woman proclaimed efficiency and no-nonsense.
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> Gabriel must have been adopted, because it was clear he got his good looks from neither of his parents. Not that Miss Lilliah or Vernen were ugly people, but they looked the part of skilled farmers, while Gabriel looked like he belonged on a red carpet behind thirty frantically snapping cameras.
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> Oh well. Some people got all the luck. Or all the hassle. James would loath being the center of attention at anything. At least normally. Hiding behind his impressive beard, complete with full-length robes and a broad-rimmed, pointy hat made it much easier to act with more confidence than he actually felt.
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> “The prophecy Just James carries in his pack,” Gabriel said, glancing over at James, who reached into the bag sitting by his slippered feet and retrieved the scroll, which was sitting at the very top of the pack. James still didn’t know what the pack contained, besides what looked like an extra set of robes neatly folded under the scroll. Everything else was still a mystery.
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> He handed Gabriel the roll of paper, who then unfurled it to show to his mother. She peered at it over her mound of flour skeptically.
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> “How did you come across this sword?” she finally asked. “Did you find it lying around somewhere? Did you take it from someone?”
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> “Mother!” Gabriel looked affronted.
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> “I didn’t mean steal. But my question still stands,” she said firmly. “How did you find this sword?”
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> “There was yet another prophecy,” Gabriel said meekly. James would have probably delivered the same sentence haughtily, but Gabriel clearly had better manners.
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> “May I see it?” she asked, and James’ mind started to turn a little faster as he struggled to remember what he had written down in the first place. Most of it was hazy, but the last line, “whatever those are good for” rang through his head, and he blanched.
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> James’ dumb riddle would be the last way to convince Miss Lilliah to let Gabriel accompany him. And James really didn’t want to stomp through the wilderness without a young person to do the hard work.
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> “We left it behind,” James said quickly, giving Gabriel a death glare when he looked as though he were about to contradict the old man. “But I would be happy to share its contents with you. My wizardly mind is sharp, after all.”
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> She looked at him in complete earnestness, a sharp contrast from how she had just been looking at her son.
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> “Yes, High Wizard? I would be happy to hear what this other prophecy had to say.”
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> “Umm…”
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> Fantastic. James had been so worried Gabriel would pull out James’ ridiculous note that he hadn’t even started to consider what he would tell her now.
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> “The prophecy, High Wizard?” Miss Lilliah gently prompted him again after a few moments.
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> “I’m sorry, I have had a, umm, vision! Yes, a vision of the future! The fate of the entire Village will be at stake if young Gabriel is kept from his glorious quest to prune the garden of corruption with the shears of… justice. Yes.”
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> “Shears of justice?” Gabriel asked, looking just as puzzled as his mother.
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> James had never felt more relieved when Gabriel’s father suddenly burst through the door, anxiety written across his sharp features.
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> “Father?” Gabriel asked, just as his mother said, “What’s wrong, love? Are those weeds creeping back into the southern field again?”
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> “High Wizard,” Vernen ground out, gasping for air from his supposed run to reach the house, “the Village is in desperate need of your aid.” He ran a hand through his dark, thinning hair and took a deep breath before continuing.
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> “Bandits are attempting to steal our vegetables! And perhaps one or two of our plumpest cows. Could you banish them from our lands?” Vernen looked at him with hopeful, dark-brown eyes. His thin, tall frame almost made his head hit the ceiling of the humble dwelling.
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> “Oh… of course,” James said blankly. He looked over at Gabriel and inspiration struck. “But I will need the assistance of young Gabriel.”
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> “Anything. Just please act quickly. The bandits were spotted in the heart of town not moments ago.”
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> “How many?” James asked, fighting back a groan as he got back on his feet. His body had clearly wanted to remain sitting at the table for a while longer after enduring the trek out to the Village from the tower.
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> “Only ten. I know this will be trivial and perhaps boring to you, High Wizard, but it will mean everything to our humble town.”
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> “I’m sure I can think of ways to make it exciting…” James muttered, shuffling out of the house as fast as his joints would go.
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> ***
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> It was quite the feat, walking over to the Village square as fast as he could in an attempt to keep up with Gabriel’s long-legged strides while also trying to flip through the tome of mysteries still hanging at his side. James was frantically glancing through the pages, searching for anything that could help him get rid of the bandits. Even just one would have been too much for James to handle, but ten? He shivered just thinking about it. If bandits here were anywhere near as resilient as the homeless in New York were, James doubted even magic would be able to stop them from stealing the Village’s food and livestock.
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> It made sense for bandits to be stealing from the Village though. Judging from the dirt and parched land for as far as the eye could see, the attackers were probably starving and desperate for something to eat.
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> The tome of mysteries was an appropriate name for the terrible book. The spells mostly had long, complicated names that still managed to be vague, like “Transforming the solid stones of mist into the gentle rolls of the meandering stream through the application of heat and….”
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> And something. James hadn’t bothered to continue reading at that point.
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> Others sounded much more simple, but James still had no idea how they worked or if they worked. “Bridge of branches” for instance. What did that actually mean?
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> They were almost to the Village square now, and James was still at a complete loss. Maybe if he held up his walking stick and shouted gruffly at them, the bandits would be filled with paralyzing fear and leave the town in peace. After all, weren’t wizards powerful people to be feared? James certainly wasn’t powerful or fear-inducing, but no one else needed to know that.
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> But that wouldn’t convince Gabriel’s parents that their son should accompany James on a quest. If anything, if he didn’t pull out a spell and put on a show, they would not only think Gabriel was not fit to go questing, but they would probably suggest James stay home as well.
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> Which shouldn’t have bothered him. He loved staying at home. The best naps were taken there. But there was just something about this new world. It seemed magical, even if James hadn’t cast a single spell since arriving. It seemed like a chance to do something new, to tackle the frightening, exhilarating things James had been too cautious to do on Earth.
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> He hadn’t planned on using the tome of mysteries, hadn’t planned on even attempting to do something “magical,” but it was time.
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> Now, if he could only find a spell!
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> He continued rapidly flipping, skimming titles and almost falling on his face as he tripped over a stone in his way, catching himself on his walking stick, his beard waggling. Gabriel was polite enough to keep pace with the old man, even if that meant slowing down significantly.
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> Glancing up from the book, James could clearly make out the Village square now, could see a group of rough-looking men and women pulling carts out of the Village square. One of the men had two cows on ropes and was leading them out of town.
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> It was now or never.
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> Gabriel looked back at James expectantly, his blue eyes glancing at the spell book with awe and excitement.
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> “Gabriel, get their attention,” James murmured under his breath, still flipping through the pages, making better progress now that he wasn’t walking as fast as his aching body would let him.
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> “Bandits!” Gabriel called out, his voice loud and resonating through the square. All ten pairs of beady eyes jumped to the old man and his companion.
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> “I have gotten their attention,” Gabriel said with pride.
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> I guess that means I’m up. James had been hoping Gabriel would distract them for a while, maybe give a long, rambling speech about the evils of stealing and all the horrible things a powerful, skilled, wise wizard could do to them, but he supposed shouting “Bandits!” worked too.
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> And Gabriel was usually such a chatterbox….
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> He was flipping so frantically, he worried the book would sprout wings and fly away. There was nothing on bandits in the whole book! Nothing on robbery, nothing on police, nothing on petty theft, nothing on cows…
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> And they were getting away.
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> It was too late to make an intelligent, well-informed decision.
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> It was too late to make an intelligent, well-informed decision the moment Gabriel’s dad ran in, James thought ruefully. He should have at least glanced through the entire book before leaving the tower, before going on a “quest” of any kind.
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> “The juiciest, ripest, tastiest treats,
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> will make anyone eager for more.
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> They will not retreat,
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> but will collect all to store.
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> But vegetables, roots, tubers, and corn
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> will grow thrice their size in the blink of an eye,
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> leading to sadness and plenty of scorn,
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> when those who are hungry want thrice as much pie.”
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> James’ voice, which was usually completely average—not deep and commanding, not soft and wispy, just average—rang out like a clap of thunder, startling the bandits, one of whom dropped a particularly large melon, which rolled down the cobblestone square until it landed at Gabriel’s feet. The booming voice startled even James, who stumbled back and dropped the tomes of mysteries, which clattered shut and fell until it was caught by the loop attached to his belt, almost causing the old man to topple over.
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> James had no idea what he had just “cast.” Would the Village’s stores of food suddenly turn into pie? Had he just made the bandits more hungry? He wanted a nap.
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> Figuring he couldn’t make things worse by approaching the bandits, who likely couldn’t be bothered to beat up an old man when they already had their spoils, he shuffled into the Village square. The top of his broom handle was glowing slightly and letting off a magenta-colored puff of smoke that made James wonder if it was somehow on fire.
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> As he approached the bandits, he was confronted with strange sounds and sights. The would-be thieves were quite well-dressed and not the motley crew he’d been expecting. All of the men were clean shaven and seemed to still have all their natural teeth. The women were blocky and muscular like their male counterparts, but they also looked quite presentable, dressed in the same clean simple tunic and leggings as the male bandits. They all wore a simple bracelet on their right wrists made of leather with the symbol of a fish on it.
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> The strange sound seemed to be a loud rumbling, almost like the earth was about to part in two. James had never been through an earthquake during his seven decades of life, and he definitely didn’t plan on going through one now. But the ground seemed sturdy enough.
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> The strange sight was obvious to everyone present though, especially the fish bandits. The food they had pilfered had started to grow rapidly, and within moments the carts several of the bandits were pulling behind them broke as gargantuan tomatoes, ears of corn, bell peppers, and melons went from modest, to award-winning, to comical proportions in the blink of an eye.
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> Those carrying food were forced to quickly drop their stolen goods before the vegetables crushed them by the sheer weight alone. Gabriel, who was standing behind James at this point, huffed and puffed as he struggled to carry the melon that had rolled to his feet previously. It was now as big as a beach ball and seemed like it weighed over a hundred pounds. Maybe 200 pounds. A single bead of sweat had even broken out on Gabriel’s brow.
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> “What a… smart spell to cast… Just James. I… I don’t think the bandits will… will be able to run off with the Village’s food supply… now.” Gabriel very slowly lowered the massive melon until it sat at James’ feet.
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> The boy was right. If Gabriel was struggling to move a single melon, the bandits would maybe each get away with a few tomatoes, which the Village would likely recover from.
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> But what was the loud noise? He peered at the bandit closest to him, a blond man with green eyes and a skinny, pointy nose that seemed slightly upturned at all times.
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> He was studying the food now scattered around the courtyard with intensity, his eyes filled with undisguised greed, as if he were looking at millions of dollars and not some corn and eggplants. Part of the loud rumbling seemed to be coming from him.
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> Ahh. It appeared James’ spell had greatly increased the bandits’ appetites. A quick glance around the square showed each of the bandits staring at the food with wide, greedy eyes. They seemed torn between devouring everything in sight and avoiding the wrath of the strange robed man who had just ruined their easy heist. One of the female bandits was even staring down one of the cows they had stolen as though imagining it as a stack of delicious, double-decker hamburgers.
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> At that moment the mayor, Steele, jogged up to James, bowing deeply when he reached the old man.
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> “High Wizard, we cannot thank you enough for stopping the bandits. We….”
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> James held up a hand to silence the muscular man. “I don’t think I’ve stopped them completely. They seem to be extra… hungry right now.” Steele’s eyes wandered over to the bandits and his small eyes widened. “I’m not sure what to do about that…” James finished lamely.
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> “Just James, if I could interject?” Gabriel asked politely.
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> Please. Please interject!
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> “Yes, lad? What is it?” James said as calmly as he could muster.
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> “This spell you cast, it just tripled our pitiful supply of surplus food. The Village could easily spare enough for the bandits to have a decent meal.”
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> “I did triple their appetites,” James reminded the young man. Sure, the Village had more food now, but ten starving bandits with increased hunger… they might eat everything James had just accidentally magicked.
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> “Let me try reasoning with the leader,” Gabriel suggested, striding over to a woman with not one but two leather bracelets, one on each arm.
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> “Hello, miss. My name is Gabriel.”
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> The woman, who had flaming red, curly hair and dark brown eyes, studied him up and down for a moment. Her hands, which were clenched into fists, gradually relaxed, and after studying Gabriel’s angelic face for a moment, the woman actually smiled.
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> “How can the Fishmongers help you, handsome?” Some of the other women stole glances at Gabriel shyly, and one even giggled, which was at complete odds with her large, muscular frame and bulging biceps.
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> “The Village will not tolerate your thievery,” he said bluntly. James winced behind his beard, but the female leader didn’t seem fazed.
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> “I’m so sorry, sugar. We didn’t know this was your village! We’ll just be leaving…” she trailed off, looking at the food and turning slightly red as her stomach rumbled viciously.
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> “Maybe just a snack for the road?” she added weakly. “Your mighty wizard cast a powerful curse on us. I don’t remember ever having such a hankering for food before!”
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> “Does your group not eat fish or something?” James asked. With a name like “Fishmongers” he figured they would be avid fishermen—and women—and wouldn’t be bothered with stealing vegetables from neighboring towns.
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> “Never,” the woman hissed, paling when she saw she was addressing the “mighty wizard.”
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> “The fish is sacred to us,” she amended. “We would never eat it.”
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> “Have any of you tried your hand at farming?” Gabriel asked. The woman eagerly returned her gaze to the young man. “I know the Village could always use more hands, and each of you looks strong and healthy, fit for the task.”
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> “We have no land to farm,” the woman said. “We roam and search for new fish to admire and study. But lately with the strange drought cursing the land, we haven’t found much water, much less fish…”
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> “If you each had a few acres to your name and promised to donate a third of your produce to the Village, would you agree to stay and become farmers?”
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> “Could I get my plot of land next to yours?” the leader asked, batting large black eyelashes at the young man.
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> “Sure,” Gabriel said with a smile, clearly oblivious to his charm.
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> “Can we eat now though?” one of the women wined, and the men were quick to join up in a chorus of grumbles. “We’re starving!”
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> Steele, who had remained quiet during the interesting exchange, shrugged his massive shoulders and then grinned.
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> “We could use more able-bodied men and women working the land,” he agreed. “We’ll throw a feast!” he declared, “in honor of our mighty high wizard, James the Just!”
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> All the bandits cheered, although James saw one of the men in the back taking huge bites out of a massive tomato when he thought no one was looking.
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> “Give each of the bandits two tomatoes,” he suggested to Gabriel discreetly, and the young man was quick to follow through. Soon the rumbling had ceased, and frightened villagers started pouring into the square, crying out in shock and joy as they saw the massive “fruit” of James’ magical labors.
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> “All hail James the Just!” they cried.
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> James just shook his head and pushed Gabriel into the center of the square. “All hail Gabriel the… Great, for vanquishing the bandits!” he shouted, and the crowd soon joined in, clapping the young man on the back as men and women brought out large wooden tables and stools. Soon the villagers were hard at work, washing and cutting through the hulking produce. Several large fires were built in stone pits that ringed Harold’s fountain, and soon eggplant and other vegetables were being cooked while still others cut through loaves of bread, some brought out delicious-smelling pastries coated with sugared cream, and still others brought out large pitchers filled with clean well water.
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> The Fishmongers were quick to pitch in, even if James caught them stealing bites wherever they could. He had a feeling it would take several days for their appetites to be satiated.
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> Just as quickly as preparations began, James was showed to a chair at the head of one of the many tables littering the square. He made sure to invite Gabriel to follow him and gave the head spot to the young man, who instantly declined, insisting that only the high wizard was deigned worthy to sit in such a special seat.
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> The seat did look far more comfortable than the stools everyone else was using, so James shrugged and took his spot, Gabriel sitting on his right. When everyone was seated, including the Fishmongers, who were scattered among the villagers and doing their best to keep their mouths from watering, Burger Master Steele stood up from the table where James was sitting and boomed, “Let’s eat!”
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> James’ esteem for the large man grew. He couldn’t have asked for a better speech. Short, sweet, and to the point.
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> He was about to dig into the sugary pastry in front of him when a hand tapped him on the shoulder and he turned to see Miss Lilliah, admiration written plainly across her face.
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> “High Wizard, I am so sorry for doubting you. Someone like you will easily be able to protect and watch over our son as he accompanies you on this noble quest.”
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> Gabriel, who seemed anxious for the impromptu feast to end so he and James could be on their way, looked at his mother and said, “Do you mean it, Mother? I can go with Just James?”
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> Vernen, who had materialized behind his wife, nodded, a massive slice of melon in one of his hands and a smile on his face.
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> “Anyone this skilled with produce can be trusted with our son.”