The Duelist 6, page 1
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Chapter 1
“Last one?” Horus asked as he dropped the lumber we needed to fix the split rail fence surrounding the small hut-like structure.
“Yeah, last one,” I said, and I wiped the sweat off my brow as I surveyed the hut.
“So, what is that thing again?” the falcon-man asked and cocked his black-feathered head toward the dilapidated structure.
“It’s a coop, I think,” I said. “Or like an aerie for screechers. According to Zerr, the villagers of Snake Tree have passed down the domestication of screechers and squallers for generations for their meat and eggs.”
“Look at you, Ambassador Man Bigpants up-to-date with the locals,” Horus teased and tossed me a leather skein filled with water.
I chuckled but then scowled at him as I jabbed a finger in his face. “That’s ‘Mr.’ Ambassador Man Bigpants, peasant.”
“Have I ever told you how much I admire your humility,” he said like the shit he was.
“Anyway, you can’t give me shit anymore because you share the same pedestal as me, Asher Horus.” I flicked the clear Duelist Stone around the falcon-man’s neck.
“That’s right,” he said like he forgot, which he probably did. “Now, come. Let’s finish this task so we may be regaled by the peasants. Oh, I know why you like saying that word. The ‘puh’ sound is really poppy. P-easant.”
“Watch it with the spit,” I laughed and shoved him away. “Let’s finish up.”
The two of us then proceeded to complete the rest of the repairs to the fence with minimal roughhousing, however, going by the look Thas was giving us as he leaned up against the screecher coop, we weren’t as successful as we thought we were in acting serious.
“How’s it going, big man?” Horus asked, and the large bald man who reminded me a little of Drax from The Guardians of the Galaxy cocked his scaly eyebrows.
“Ambassador Brightwood.” Thas turned to me as he ignored the falcon-man’s antics. “Good work, here.”
“Thank you, friend,” I said as I brushed my hands off. “Where would you like us to stash all the tools?”
“Do not worry about those,” Thas said. “I came to get you because there is a need for your presence in the square.”
“Oh, really?” I arched my eyebrow.
“The hatchlings would like you to finish your epic Star Battles saga,” he replied. “They must find out what happens to young Luke after his very own father severed his fighting hand.”
“Oh, yes, I am very invested in that story myself,” Horus said with a mischievous twinkle in his eyes. “You said this was about a knight from your lands, Master Alex?”
I glared at the falcon-man. He knew full well I had only pulled the retelling of Star Wars out of my ass because all the cute little lizard children wanted to hear awesome Traveler stories. I couldn’t tell them about my boring life at Old Man Leary’s shop.
No way.
So, I started with A New Hope and just rolled with it from there even though I was vague on the details of how I actually knew Luke Skywalker. I wasn’t a natural storyteller, so when they asked about stuff I had to improvise on, it usually didn’t go well.
“Uh-- yes. Yep.” I nodded and pointedly started walking toward the square. “He was a knight of the Jedi Order. So, Thas, tell me about the… screechers.”
“The screechers?” he asked and glanced back at the coop with a curious expression. If he wondered about my change in subject, he didn’t comment. “What about them?”
“Well, I was under the impression the little ones were vermin,” I said.
“They are if they are allowed to breed out of control like in the Upper Echelon,” the dark scaled man scoffed. “Screechers will eat anything, and the more food they have, the more they populate. They are unable to regulate their numbers like the squallers do, and because of this, they are similar to a plague. The Up-ish always demand three-fourths of our crop yield because they refuse to control them enough for their own crops to grow.”
“I see,” I said and added that little tidbit of information to my growing mental file of all things Terr.
“Alex! Alex!” some of the kids from the village shouted when they spotted me, and they ran over so they could walk with us. “Are you going to tell us more Star Battle?”
“Only if you’re very good,” Horus said before I could answer.
“Aw, we are!” one of the smallest of the “hatchlings” said as he clutched an ugly doll-thing fashioned out of burlap material.
“I know you are,” I said and scooped the little one up so he could balance on my hip. “Don’t listen to Horus, he’s grumpy.”
“That’s right,” the falcon-man croaked and applied a hunch-backed posture. “It’s because I don’t eat my vegetables and because I didn’t listen to my mother. Blarhg!”
He half-growled like some weird disfigured creature, and the kids screamed when he lunged at them with clawed hands.
The kid in my arms squirmed like a caterpillar, so I put him back on his feet so he could run amok with the rest of the children.
Thas and I watched Horus chase the kids around the square for a while as he tried to keep up with at least two dozen of the rambunctious gaggle.
“Are you of a mind to rescue him?” Thas finally asked when the kids all piled on top of Horus with a no-prisoners sort of attitude.
“Yeah, in a minute,” I snorted as one of the little girls pulled on his black-feathered crest. “I’m enjoying this a little too much, I think.”
“I share your opinion.” Thas grinned, and the act from the normally stoic man was vaguely alarming.
“Okay, kids!” I finally said and clapped my hands together to get their attention. “Who wants to hear the rest of Star Wars?”
The children squealed and hollered, and they all went from jumping on Horus to circling up like innocent little lambs.
“Great Mercedes,” my best friend gasped as he pulled himself up to his feet.
“Want to join us, H?” I asked as I sat down on an overturned log that was shot through with neon swirls and lines.
“I think I remember how this one ends,” Horus said as he brushed his clothes free of dust and dirt. “But after you’re done, feel free to meet Zerr and me over at Fasha’s. We’re working on a prototype of some sort of ranged weapon for the Lowers.”
“That sounds awesome, and I expect a full report,” I said.
“Will do, chief.” The falcon-man grinned and headed off for the eccentric compy-woman’s cottage.
“Okay, who has their puppets ready?” I turned to the crowd of eager faces and smiled when several cobbled together Death Stars, TIE fighters, and X-wings were raised high on sticks.
“Wait!” the little kid on my knee with large yellow eyes said. “We need the Meleminum Falcon!”
“Oh, you’re right…” I murmured and glanced around for anything that would be a good stand-in for the iconic ship.
“Will this work?” Amaya’s sultry voice asked, and I craned my neck back to gaze at the gorgeous oryx-woman who stood there in her sexy Terran mini-skirt halter thing with stitching that glowed just like the rest of the strange backlit surroundings.
I smiled and then eyed the thing in her hands that looked like the collar off an ox yoke.
“That’s perfect,” I said as she held the yoke collar out sideways like she was going to throw a giant horseshoe. “Now… where did we leave off?”
The next twenty minutes or so was an entertaining hodgepodge as all the kids attempted to summarize the Story Thus Far all at the same time. As I listened, I didn’t know if I should be impressed with my storytelling skills after all, or impressed with how much these guys were into it because they remembered every detail.
“My goodness, they are eager,” Amaya snickered as she took her seat next to me.
“I better not keep them waiting,” I commented back.
“What happened to Luke’s friend?” one of the kids with something that looked like a makeshift Chewbacca clutched to his chest asked.
“Han Solo?” I asked, and the kid nodded frantically with tears in his eyes. “Oh, don’t you worry because Luke Skywalker is on his way to Tatooine so he can rescue his friend from the clutches of the evil gangster Jabba the Hutt. Meanwhile… the Galactic Empire has started construction on a new and even better Death Star…”
From there, it was an amalgamation of hand gestures and lightsaber noises, Chewie yells, R2-D2 and C-3PO bickering, and when I described the final battle between Luke and Darth Vader, I even had some of the adults eating out of the palm of my hand.
Then I wound down to the happy finale of the saga, and there was a raucous applause and even some music and dancing as a few of the people attempted to recreate the celebration until the whole square devolved into an impromptu party.
“Come on, Alex!” Amaya giggled and pulled me up to my feet so she could drag us into the fray. “Dance with me.”
I laughed and twirled her around and around, and then I reeled her in toward the curve of my body by her toned waist.
“Hey,” I breathed as I gazed into her rain-colored eyes.
“Hello,” she sighed and cupped my jaw. “You are a fantastic storyteller, and I would love to see this Star Wars through your eyes sometime.”
“Any time you want, baby,” I said and lowered my lips onto hers for a sweet kiss.
I could have kept kissing her like that probably for the rest of the day, but I was forced to stop when a high-pitched ringing pierced through my head and made me wince.
“Oh, my… Alex?” Amaya gasped as she cupped my face with both her hands. “Why didn’t you say it was getting worse?”
“It’s getting worse?” I asked even though I could barely hear my own voice through the thick din between my ears.
“Come on,” she mouthed at me, and I let her lead us out of the crowd with my eyes screwed tightly shut.
Bodies bumped me from side to side, and it was uncomfortable and nauseating, but the gentle and sure grip around my wrist gave me the anchor I needed.
“The Lower Terrans sure have a thing for drums, don’t they?” I joked even when I had one arm slung over her shoulders.
“Alex, there hasn’t been any drums for a while now,” the oryx-woman said, and I peeled open my eyes.
“Oh,” I said as I looked over my shoulder.
The villagers in the distance were settling in for one of their typical siestas, so that meant the throbbing beat I was hearing was my own impending migraine.
“Just follow me…” Amaya’s soothing voice sang and seemed to dull the sharp edges of pain burning through me. “We’re almost there.”
“Mercedes,” I sighed when the shade from the banana-type leaves blocked out what little light filtered down to this region, and the sound of rushing water drowned out the thumping. It was soothing, and I was able to participate in the walk a little more instead of just slouching all over Amaya.
“Just a little further, now,” she said and helped me over a patch of tangled vines that were Tic-Tac orange.
“Where are you taking me?” I asked as I trailed behind her lithe form.
“To this hidden place I found when I was out on one of my walks,” she informed me.
“Ah, yes, your infamous walks,” I mused as I glanced down at her narrow bare feet. “I still wish you would consider sandals or something. I would hate it if your pretty feet got damaged.”
“But if I cover up my feet, I would not be able to understand the world I walk upon,” the oryx-woman said in her dreamy sage-like voice. “Shoes are like a blindfold to me.”
I pulled her to a stop and brought her hand up to my own cheek. “Show me.”
“Really?” Amaya’s brow creased in a frown. “I don’t want to hurt you or cause you any more discomfort.”
“You won’t,” I said simply, and even though I couldn’t explain it, I knew it was true.
She must have seen the certainty on my face because the tension left her frame, and she smiled.
“Okay, close your eyes,” she whispered and caressed my cheek with her thumb. “This is what Terr has made Known to me.”
The drum beat in my head was coupled with something deep under the ground that reminded me of the steady pulse of blood. The second sound I heard was a deep whooshing in and out that immediately struck me as breathing.
“Is that Terr?” I asked in awe.
“Yes.” Amaya nodded. “She is a part of Aventoll. Younger, but still so ancient compared to us. Do you feel her heartbeat?”
“Yeah,” I breathed and nuzzled her warm palm. The gentle lub-dub I could feel through our connection somehow soothed the sharpness in my head as the beat aligned with my own heart.
“The ground itself wants to help you,” the oryx-woman murmured. “It’s like Terr feels sorry one of her children caused you harm.”
“What do you mean?” I asked and opened my eyes so I could stare at the unassuming ground.
Amaya simply smiled her mysterious little smile and resumed leading us in the direction of the rushing water.
“Woah,” I said when she moved a branch out of the way to reveal a small crystal-clear hot spring. “You just found this?”
“No, silly, we’ve been invited,” she giggled, and I watched transfixed as the clear pool lapped at her fine-boned ankles. She waded out near where a boulder was jutting out over the still water, and then she beckoned me over to sit on it.
I stripped down to my underwear, kicked off my boots, and walked into the warm water until I could sit on the rock in front of the oryx-woman.
“Terr wanted us to find this?” I glanced around and absorbed the gift of this secret glen for what it was.
“This mud has healing properties,” she murmured as she brought a palm full of the dark gray mud up to eye level. Then she dipped one finger in and began to paint silky lines all over my forehead and on my cheeks, but the best part was when she slathered some against the back of my neck.
“Holy shit,” I groaned when the pain dulled, and I could feel a cooling sensation take the place of the constant burning. “Wow, this stuff is amazing.”
“I know,” she sighed as she rubbed mud on the back of her own neck, and I paused to really get a good look at her.
She seemed fine, but if a person didn’t know where to look, they would have missed the fine lines that were pinched around her expressive eyes, and the little divot buckled between her eyebrows.
“Hey.” I took her muddy hand in mine. “How have you been feeling?”
“Oh…” she trailed off, but I ducked my head so she couldn’t look away from me, and she sighed. “I admit, the Lower part of Terr is strange and beautiful in so many ways, however, I do so miss the sun.”
“That’s an augur thing, isn’t it?” I asked as I took over with the mud, and I made her turn around between my legs so I could take over massaging her neck and shoulders. “I think I remember your sister saying something like that.”
“It’s true, it is healthier for an augur to be kept out of darkness for extended periods of time,” she explained as she lolled her head to the side, and I took the cue and massaged out a small knot I could feel. “It is because Mercedes’ Light echoes the Goddess herself, and being in Darkness is similar to hiding a blossom from the nourishment of the sun.”
“You really are my little sunflower, aren’t you?” I smiled softly and placed a kiss on her bare shoulder before I swiped some more mud over the exposed areas. “Don’t worry, we won’t be here for much longer if I can help it.”
“Do you have a plan?” she asked me.
“I’m working on it,” I said as I ran my thumbs up either side of her smooth neck. “Being an ambassador is hard, Ames, I’m not going to lie.”
“I can feel…” she trailed off, and then she slowly turned so she could look up into my face. Her hands came to rest on the tops of my thighs, and she flexed her fingers lightly.
“What do you feel?” I whispered.
“The task you think is insurmountable is daunting,” she began as her eyes shimmered their pearly sheen, and my skin tingled at her Knowing Touch. “But the purity of your cause will aid you.”
I shuddered as her pronouncement washed over me like a benediction. My very skin felt sensitized, and I groaned when she rolled up onto her toes and kissed me soundly on the lips.
“Mercedes be,” I said when we broke apart for air.
“Now, come,” she purred and then pulled me off the rock into the water.
“Ahh!” I hissed as the warmth soaked into my bones. It was such a thrilling contrast from the icy feeling of the drying mud, and when Amaya poured handfuls of scorching water down my arms and face, I couldn’t help but get hard under the surface.
“Oh?” she murmured and rubbed a firm hand up my rigid shaft through the undershorts I wore.
“Ohhh.” I nodded, and then I pressed her gently up against the rock I was just sitting on. Her legs wrapped easily around my waist, and I supported her lower back with my hands.
She smiled demurely and shook out her wet curls until the sparkling droplets coated us both like cold diamonds. I smiled back and leaned down to sip from her delectable mouth once more.
Her Touch sank into my skin at every point of contact, and those playful images fluttered through my head like butterflies…
A meadow of scarlet flowers raised their faces to the golden sunlight, and I thought of a similar field of sunflowers back on Earth. This thought combined with Amaya’s image and caused the meadow in our shared mentalscape to shimmer and change into a hybrid of the two blossoms until we’d both created a field of wildflowers of our own making.
