Chronicles of Kings and Knights/7

Chapter 28
Leaving the men behind to do their business, Anita and Marin decided to go explore the city. They wandered down the many streets, taking a bit of time to look here and there, inspecting the variety of items for sale. But to Marin, it seemed that Anita was looking for something...else, something which would not be so easy to find. Indeed, by nightfall, though they had wandered through over a hundred stores, their purse was as laden with money as when they had started.

"I guess we'll just have to admit that we failed to find anything of interest, and search some more tomorrow," said Anita to Marin, who was still a bit confused as to what Anita was doing here anyway. They had now gone a long way from the gates where Drindell probably still was...

"What are you looking for, exactly?"

"I don't really know," Anita replied, as if mesmerized by the variety of things out for sale along the commercial avenues and not looking at Marin at all. "But, I will know when I see one." With this said, they turned around to begin the long journey back home, and came face to face with an envoy of guards, the captain of which was facing them with an angry face.

"Outsiders!" he shouted in his guttural voice, "what have you to explain?"

Anita merely pointed to the jewel she wore around her neck, and Marin did the same. Yet the captain's anger did not dissolve, it merely hardened. "So, someone has been a traitor to High Jyptia and allowed you two rascals into our land? Men!"

"Sir!" was the shout from about two dozen subordinates, each wielding a weapon.

"Get them!" Then the captain walked backward while his men surged forward with their weapons out.

Marin drew her sword with a szzzzinggg! and brandished it as if her life depended on it, ready to strike, and Anita took out her giant green fan, waiting for the optimal moment to strike. The forces clashed, and all around them were the screams of the denizens rushing away from the battle and all possible danger. Though vastly outnumbered, Marin had the advantage of position--she could not be surrounded--allowing her to clash again and again with the two nearest soldiers.

The metallic clanging of blades was interrupted by a falling crate of oranges, the round fruits rolling around on the ground and tripping the nearest soldiers, who struggled and collapsed in a heap, allowing Marin to point the sharp end of her sword at the four soldiers beneath her, ready to slice their heads off. She smiled with pleasure as the other soldiers backed away from the walk-in market stall. "Well? Have you four anything to say?" Marin asked the four soldiers sprawled on the ground.

"You're screwed," was the reply of one. Marin was about to chop his head off when suddenly a dozen more soldiers appeared at the entrance of the market stall and aimed their bows and arrows at them. In desperation, Marin looked from side to side but saw no escape route.

Then an idea hit her. She ducked to the ground, lying flat on the earth like the four soldiers, and as if on cue, Anita let loose the fury of her fan, generating a twister which spun outward from the stall, ripping apart the roof and picking up a variety of fruits. The archers fired their arrows, several of them being knocked aside from the winds but the others finding their mark. Anita gasped as the iron-headed arrows bit into her tender flesh, and soon collapsed from the excruciating pain, while her life blood drained away. The twister meanwhile sped at the soldiers rapidly, picking them up with remarkable ease while the astonished captain ran away as fast as he could. Nearly all the soldiers flailed around helplessly in the air as the twister ascended the clouds, taking them along with it.

Marin looked at the shallow-breathing Anita and knew that she would have to find help as soon as possible. She struggled to bring Anita into an upright position so that she could bring her along, away from the market stall. She saw a few civilians nearby, and shouted to them, "she's gravely injured and needs assistance now!" Several of them rushed to where she could only hope were doctors or wizards of some sort...

Just then, Drindell and Zanzoo stumbled out into the marketplace, Zanzoo nearly dropping the crystal orb he held in his hands. "There!" shouted Drindell, and rushed over to Anita's side before taking a potion of red liquid from out of his sash and dabbing Anita's wounds with it. "She'll be okay," he said to the worried Marin right next to her.

"What has happened?" asked Zanzoo as he too rushed up.

"We got ambushed by two dozen xenophobic soldiers," replied Marin.

"Well, where are they now?"

"Anita's whirlwind carried them all away into the firmament." Looking back at Anita, Marin noticed that the red liquid had disappeared, and along with it, the wounds. The arrows were being steadily pushed outward, and one by one they collapsed onto the ground.

"Don't worry, Anita is now made whole again," said Drindell. "Another reason why I advocate the path of a wizard rather than that of a sorceress." He retrieved a pink-purple potion from his sash, and uncapped it underneath Anita's nose, causing her to awaken.

"You feeling better?" asked Drindell. Anita nodded, then realizing that she was no longer injured, joyfully smiled with evident relief.

"How'd you know that we were here?"

"When I saw that you had left, we knew you were bound to get yourself in trouble, so I looked into my crystal ball and used it to track you two," said Zanzoo.

"And now, it's time we get back, before they come again," said Drindell, while Zanzoo retrieved a scroll and threw it into the air. In its place was a bluish, planar portal whose edges were shrouded in mist. Marin looked at the portal with surprise. "This really works???" she said, astonished.

"Yes. Now that I have had my stock of Jyptia portals refilled, we can return to the city walls at any time."

Once past the portal, they found themselves in the barracks where the weary travellers would be staying for the night. "Oh yes, what were you doing wandering the streets?" Zanzoo asked Anita.

Anita shrugged, a bit embarassed that she had caused the two wizards so much trouble. "Just an artifact."

Zanzoo laughed. "Oh, newcomers! Never know the differences between Jyptia and the rest of the world, do they? Look here, Anita. You won't be finding artifacts randomly in the market stalls. Jyptia has a lot more magic folk than elsewhere, so any and all magical items have been found. Now, if you would like, I'll give you my crystal ball," Zanzoo offered.

Anita smiled. "Oh, how can I accept? I ought to get one on my own..."

"Now now now, if that's troubling you, I can instead offer to let you borrow it, and if you use it to good effect, I'll let you keep it, how's that sound?"

Anita smiled again. "Thank you so much, Zanzoo," she said, holding the orb with one hand and hugging the wizard with the other. Drindell and the others looked on with joy.

"The army has been prepared. Soon we shall be ready to face the Ruivocan enemies. We depart early tomorrow, so get a good night's sleep, y'hear?" said Drindell as he walked into the hallway.