Chapter 8 - Chapter 9 - Chapter 10 - Chapter 11 - Chapter 12 - Chapter 13
Chapter 14 - Chapter 15 - Chapter 16 - Chapter 17 - Chapter 18 - Chapter 19
Chapter 20 - Chapter 21
Chapter 14 - Chapter 15 - Chapter 16 - Chapter 17 - Chapter 18 - Chapter 19
Chapter 20 - Chapter 21
Terra and Blynn knelt on the other side of the spread,
gaping at the sword. “Are you serious?” Terra asked.
“No wonder they’re impervious to corrosion,” Hyren said. “And
I’m guessing the blades don’t dull, either.” He gave it a few test swings and
relished the singing of metal through air mingled with a faint hum of magic.
“Amazing. I’ve never seen one of these in the flesh before.”
“Then how do you know about ‘em?” Blynn asked. “Aren’t you
from space? Why do you know so much about Neopia?”
The commander paused after a stroke to look down at her.
“Just because I’ve never been here, doesn’t mean I’m ignorant about this
world,” he said. “Sloth has had scouts and spies combing this planet since far
before his first takeover attempt. And I make a point of never landing
somewhere unless I’ve done my research first.” He put the sword back in its
sheath and the blade made a satisfying sound against the hardened leather. He’d
found his compensation. He motioned to Terra and Blynn to head back out,
gripping the hilt of his newfound prize as he tried to figure out how to carry
the rest.
“I want one,” Terra said, staring down at the blades.
Hyren paused. “What?” he asked. “You’re not a fighter.”
She looked up at him and said, “You could teach me. Please?
I’ve always wanted to learn to use a sword.”
“I want one too!” Blynn said.
A panicked grimace flew over Hyren’s face, and he turned to
hover over the weapons protectively. “You’re not a battling pet!” he said.
“How come you get one and we don’t?!” the Zafara asked.
“That’s not fair!”
“Because I know how to use
one and you don’t!” Hyren said.
“So?! What does that have to do with it?!” Blynn said. “I’m
taking one.” She plunged a paw toward one of the swords.
“No!” Hyren said, lunging for her.
“Stop!” Terra said, putting a hand on each of their
shoulders. “Please stop fighting!” The owner looked up at Hyren and his
antennae lowered. “Why can’t we have weapons?” Terra asked. “What if Blynn and
I need to defend ourselves? We’ll be really good with them, we promise. We just
need you to teach us how to use them correctly.”
“I’ll defend you,”
Hyren said, jabbing a thumb onto his chestplate. “I’m not incompetent.”
“Says the guy who almost got caught in a cave-in,” Blynn
said.
“I know you can protect us,” Terra said. “But—it would be
nice to have something just in case. I mean… what if you needed protecting?”
Hyren wrinkled his noseless face. “Me? Need protecting?” he
asked. “I’m a better fighter than anything on this planet.”
“Better than cave-ins?” Blynn asked.
Hyren grimaced, and reached up and scratched the back of his
neck. “You know what I mean,” he muttered.
“We wouldn’t keep them forever,” Terra said. “We’d just use
them until we got somewhere safe, and then we’d give them back to you. I’ve
never gotten to wield a sword before. It would be nice to, just for a little
while.”
Hyren hated saying no to her, he found. And he did feel like
he owed her something, especially after she had saved his life more than once.
“Okay,” he sighed. “Okay. One weapon each. And I get to pick them,” he added as
Blynn moved for the sword again. “At least let the expert judge which one is
right for your size and personality.”
Kneeling on the floor again, Hyren placed his hands on his
knees and surveyed each of the weapons thoughtfully, rubbing his chin and
gently tugging on one antenna from time to time. This was another new and
interesting experience for him. His mind-controlled troops were all issued
identical standard armament—he’d never had to select custom weaponry for anyone
before. Thankfully, there was a wide range to choose from, and he happened to
be something of a weapon guru, both as part of his job and just for fun.
Finally, he picked up a shortsword and presented it to Terra.
“I think this one should do nicely for you, if you’re so keen on learning
swordplay,” he said. It was a beautiful weapon, probably crafted for a mid-size
pet like a Lupe or a Blumaroo, with intricate patterns on the crossguard and a
sturdy leather grip. It would have made a fine complement to his own claymore.
Which made Hyren more than a little hurt when Terra regarded
the blade with ill-disguised disappointment. She tried to force a smile up her
face as she took it from him, and held the scabbard in both hands with a
resigned sigh. “Thanks,” she said.
“What?” Hyren asked.
“Well…” Terra looked at his own blade and said, “I wanted a
big sword.”
Hyren chuckled. She really did have no experience with
weaponry. “Fine, then. Try out this one,” he said, handing her one of the
larger swords, “and let’s see you do a few practice swings with it.”
Terra placed the shortsword aside and eagerly accepted the
second offering. Her eyes bulged as she realised its full weight, and she
struggled just to lift it into her unlearned approximation of a ready position.
She somewhat hesitantly began a clumsy swing, her scrawny
arms working hard just to raise the blade. Letting it fall was easier, but she
botched the follow-through horribly and the tip clanged on the floor, making
her cringe. Puffing out her cheeks, she attempted to lift the sword again, but
her labors only lasted for a few seconds before she slumped and handed the hilt
back to the commander.
He took it and laid the sword back in its place like a
doting gardener planting a prized flower. “Now you see why I gave you a
shortsword,” he said. “The weapon has to fit the warrior. There’s no sense in
decking yourself out with the biggest, flashiest weapons if you can’t even use
them. The only way a weapon is ever
really effective is when it’s wielded by the right person.”
Part of Hyren couldn’t really believe he was doing this. Teaching
them was fun, he had to admit to himself. Why did just being around them make
him so happy? He couldn’t really take them to Sloth now, could he? Just
thinking about it gave Hyren a headache.
With a sigh, Terra picked up the shorter blade again and
pulled it out of its sheath. She turned it over in her hand, gauging its weight.
A look of satisfaction grew in her eyes, and she buckled the belt over her
shirt and showed it off proudly to Blynn. Hyren was quite pleased, himself,
that his judgement was sound. The blade fit her well.
“My turn, what about me?!” Blynn asked.
“For you… I’m thinking this,”
the commander said. He reached into the assortment of weapons and pulled out an
elegantly crafted slingshot, complete with its own holster and a matching belt.
“That’s not a sword,” the Zafara said.
“You never specifically asked for a sword,” Hyren said.
“I’ve seen how you fight. You’re quick and tricky, and prefer to keep your
distance from your opponents. I think you’d do better with a ranged weapon like
this.”
“Yeah, I think he’s right!” Terra said. “That seems perfect
for you!”
“Besides,” Hyren said, “it makes you a good counterpart to
Terra’s and my melee fighting.”
Blynn looked the slingshot over, tugging on the leather
pocket to test out the elasticity of the attached rubber strips. “I don’t get
what’s so special about it,” she said. “You and Terra get cool magic swords. I
could make something like this myself.”
“Look closer—it’s got faerie runes on it as well,” Hyren
said. “I think the fact that it’s survived in here for centuries with no
deterioration is testament to its being enchanted. It probably possesses other
properties that we have yet to discover.”
“Huh… I guess that’s pretty cool,” Blynn said, putting the
weapon in its holster and fastening it around her waist. “What’s this pouch on
the other side of the belt for?”
“Storing projectiles,” Hyren said. “Basically anything small
and round, like pebbles or acorns.”
“Or codestones,” Blynn said.
“Codestones aren’t that small!” Terra said, looking slightly
alarmed.
“I bet I could still use ‘em with this thing, though!” the
Zafara said.
Hyren let them debate the acceptability of various random
objects as projectiles, while he searched the room further and found a large
piece of cloth and a length of rope. He rolled the remaining weapons into the
cloth and tucked the ends tightly, and then used the rope to tie the bundle
across his back. These magical artefacts were possibly worth more than
everything in that throne room combined. It was the perfect apology present to
bring Dr. Sloth.
He turned back to the two youngsters and said, “I think we
should pack up and move on.”
“Okay, what about slushies, can I shoot slushies?” Blynn
asked Terra.
“Why in the world would you want to shoot slushies?!” Terra asked. She looked up
at Hyren with an exasperated smile. “Yeah. Let’s go.”
Moral dilemmas didn’t happen for Hyren often. It wasn’t
something he thought about much. He just followed orders, went with his gut
feeling, and resolved to discard any and all regrets. Right now, though, he
currently faced a dilemma that was eating him up inside. There was a pure
sincerity about his companions that he could not deny he enjoyed. Never had
orders conflicted with gut feeling like this, and never did he worry so much
about regrets.
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