Flash Fiction, Obi Travalar, Chapter V

by Peter O'Keefe

CHAPTER FIVE :The Road Ahead

 

For what seemed like forever, Obi and Nancy toiled as they walked up the Uto Road, thinking at any moment that a Viking would leap out and kill them. The sky was dark by now, and a sense of dread seemed to hang in the air. The landscape also began to change. The grassy lands soon turned into corn fields, but the long stalks were more gray than anything else, and dark crows and ravens feasted on them, casting suspicious eyes at the travelers nearby. The dark skies made everything seem gray and old. The only word to describe the road was gloomy. 

       Obi heard a random sound from nearby. It sounded as if a rustling was coming from the corn stalks, getting closer every second. In a perfect world, Obi would have whipped out his sword and stood holding it with a deadly stare in his eyes, and Nancy would have held her shovel as if it were a lance, ready to throw. Instead, since the world was not perfect and the kids were no weapons experts, Obi scrambled to take the sword from his belt, and Nancy tried to swing her shovel into a fighting position, but in the process tripped, slapping it into Obi’s legs. Obi fell, dropping his sword, and during his fall he grabbed onto the nearby shovel to straighten himself. This did nothing more than then pull Nancy down with him, and she fell on top of him, her shovel skittering a few paces away.  Needless to say, this was not the ideal position to be in when facing a possible threat.  

       The corn stalks broke open. A wild, dark shape flew out of it. Obi could see that it was a dog, if that title could be given to the wretched beast that they beheld now. It was huge, black in color, with beady red eyes and a fierce snarl. Foam hissed from its mouth, as well as sharp, yellow teeth. The dog looked rabid, and hungry, staring at them with such intense anger that Obi was disgusted with the utter horribleness of this wretched creature.  

       Obi, petrified for only a second or two, reached for the weapon he had been given. He knew he couldn't do much good with it, but if the dog had seen the likes of it before, he wouldn't dare attack them. The beast yelped and growled, staring at them hungrily, calculating when it would be safest to strike. It obviously hadn't eaten in days, and was either rabid with hunger or just plain rabid. Either way, it didn't matter much now. 

       Nancy managed to come to her feet. She looked horrified to merely be in the presence of such a brute. That was when Obi remembered that she was scared of normal dogs to begin with. 

Well this was unfortunate. 

       The dog hadn't attacked yet. It was there for a minute, then two minutes, but it still just circled them, stamping its feet and yelping. This behavior was confusing to Obi. Why on earth was it not attacking? Mayhap it had seen a sword before. But then why was it still there? It should have been long gone by now if it knew a sword’s wrath.  

       “Maybe we should slowly start to leave,” Obi whispered to Nancy, after yet another full minute had gone by. Nancy nodded numbly. They began to slowly make their way up Uto Road, glancing back at the monster an average of ten times in twelve seconds. It was a nerve wracking business, and Nancy was particularly afraid to turn her back on the dog. At first, the beast took a few steps after them, then it stopped, and watched them leave. It didn't attack them, nor did it plan to. After they had walked several yards up the road, the dog turned and stalked back into the corn stalks.  

       “That was scary,” said Nancy shakily. Obi nodded. His heart was still pounding. He doubted he would be able to sleep for at least a week. Then he added on all that had happened to him that afternoon, and determined that he would not sleep for a year. 

       “Why do you think it was attacking us?”asked Nancy. He shrugged and said in reply, “It was probably just scared of us. I heard once that a snake is more scared of you than you are of it. The same probably goes for… deranged dogs.” 

       “I guess so. But we should be more careful now.” 

       “More careful of what? We weren't doing anything! It's not our fault a dumb dog decided it was dinner time!” 

       Nancy sighed, then said, “Well, what can we do to ensure that nothing like that happens again on this road?” 

       Obi considered this, then took it as a challenge. “We could just stop being so darn tasty!”        Nancy did not appreciate humor this late at night. And that was saying something; it couldn't have been much later than seven o'clock. 

       “Maybe we should get to sleep soon,” said Obi with a yawn. “After a day like this, I could use a rest.” 

       “Yeah,” agreed Nancy, hugging herself to keep warm, “but only once we get far enough away from that werewolf thing that attacked us.” 

       “‘That werewolf thing’ is commonly referred to as a dog.” 

       “I don't care what you call it, that wasn't a normal dog! It was like some demonic bear!”        Obi could tell that it had frightened her more than she was letting on. Oh well. She would have to get used to scarier things than dogs if she were to survive this. So would he, he realized.         They walked in silence for a few minutes. Then Nancy said, “When we were there with the dog, I dropped my shovel. I have no means to protect myself with. Maybe we should find a sharp stick or something.” 

       “Later,” said Obi. “Now, we should just keep moving.” 

       “Who made you boss?” 

       “Well, I am the one being hunted by crazy Vikings, and nobody told you to come along with me.” 

       “So you would rather be alone now? Please, you wouldn't have survived the dog attack if it weren't for me!” 

       “You did absolutely nothing to scare the dog!”protested Obi. Nancy shrugged and said, “Yeah, but there's safety in numbers. If a lone farm boy was sitting there with a blunt sword, that would've been easy prey.” 

       “Let's not forget that I would have been standing, not sitting, if you hadn't come. You're the one that tripped me with that clunky shovel of yours!” 

       “Look, I don't want to argue with you-” 

       “Like heck you don't want to argue! What have we been doing, then?” 

       They argued for a while longer. Eventually, a hostile silence filled the air. Obi realized that it would be most difficult traveling with somebody who wasn't speaking to him. He sighed and said, “I'm sorry. I'm just so confused now, and tired, and scared. I keep thinking that somebody might be following us, and we would never know in the dark. I'm becoming afraid of my own shadow, and it's making me on edge.” 

       “I understand,” said Nancy huskily. Obi noticed she kept glancing back at the road behind them. Why did he have to mention that part about someone following them? Now he had Nancy jumpy.  

       “Obi,” she said softly, a few minutes later. “What if that man… Cole Seb… what if he got overpowered by the Vikings? What if he doesn't know where we're headed? I'm just thinking… what if we're alone?” 

      The thought had occurred to Obi earlier on, but he had shoved it aside because he wasn't ready to confront it yet. But now he had to. What if he truly was alone in the world? He could no longer count on Mr. and Mrs. Travalar to help him. His best friend in the whole world, Aaron, was miles away by now; he was probably back in Coperna, making him even further away. Teff was an even longer distance, going to visit her family far away. The only people who could protect him now were people he barely knew, Cole and Raldin. Who said that they were trustworthy either? Who said that they were any better than Ru Gaffa? 

       Obi realized that she was still waiting for an answer. He thought another second, then said, “You're not alone. I'm still here to protect you; we're not alone until we're separated from each other.” 

       To Obi, this sounded kind of lame and cliché, but Nancy looked as if he had just spoken a prophetic incantation. She was quiet for a second, the said with a small giggle, “My dad is going to kill me when I come home.” 

       Obi hadn't even thought of that. That was true. She was leaving her family, her entire life, back at the festival. If she was hurt in any way during this journey, her parents would never forgive Obi. This thought gave Obi a new burst of courage. It was his job to protect his friend, and he would do it and do it well, even if it meant confronting the things he feared most. 

Responsibility had, in a sense, temporarily turned Obi from a boy to a man.  

        Obi and Nancy spent the next hour or so talking quietly, of good times and old memories. 

Obi spent more time bringing her up-to-date on the happenings of Teff Tekkler, Cole Seb, ‘Argen Malonaca’ and his parents, especially the parts about their mysterious conversations that had foretold his impending life alteration. Nancy told him about all the things that had been happening in recent politics, like about King Gerald Heimer and the viking-lord, a man she identified as Clig Capa.  

       It was at about eight-thirty at night when they both grew so tired, from all the walking and all the adventuring, and just had to settle down and get some sleep. They found a large bush not far from Uto Road, and they settled under it drowsily.  

       Nancy, yawning fiercely, asked, “You wouldn't happen to have anything to eat in that ginormous bag of yours, would you?” 

       “Um, no,” said Obi sheepishly. “I didn't know I would need any.” 

       “I thought you were in the habit of bringing snacks with you when you went to the festival!” 

       “I am! But I ate them on the way to Osêria. Sorry.” 

       If he hadn't been genuinely sorry, she would never have let it go at that. She'd had a long day of walking without stop. Her legs were sore, her feet were numb, and on top of that, now her stomach was hurting from hunger, and her mouth was incredibly dry. But she could tell Obi was very distressed he had nothing to give her, so she mumbled, “That's okay. Mr. Seb will bring something when he comes.” 

       She wrapped herself in her coat more tightly, and shoved herself deep into the depths of the bush. Obi dug through his bag, then said triumphantly, “Hey! I still have some water left!”       Nancy was up in a second. To their ultimate delight, the water was still cool, and they drank it all up quickly. With the taste of dust out of their throats, it felt like they were in heaven. They sighed contentedly, then began to settle down, shivering in the cold October air. 

       “What day is it?”asked Nancy a few minutes later, the air of sleep heavy in her voice. Obi, thinking a minute, said, “October 17th. The Feast of the Fiery Heavens. Only this morning, I was packing my things, excited for a delightful day at the festival. And instead I got this.” 

       Nancy smiled. “It's not that bad. At least there's no animals in this bush we're resting in.”        “That we know of.” 

       “Oh gosh! Can you not say things like that? Go to sleep!” 

       Obi chuckled a little. But pretty soon, they were both so worn out that sleep came naturally, whether they wished it to or not. And so ended the first day of their incredible adventure. The days ahead would bring things worse than today had, and much more of it. But for now, Obi Travalar and Nancy Nobel were safe. And even though they had formerly taken that for granted, it now meant the world to them. 

      Obi had strange dreams that night. It was, in fact, the same as the one he'd had on his birthday, only a little changed. It started with the candle from his birthday cake, spreading fire all over the world, igniting his life in flames. Then it flashed to the festival, in the arena during the great joust. Two men on horseback- he recognized them as Sir Darrow and and Lord Lathmore- running away from the fires. From up above, a booming, hideous laugh echoed throughout the stadium. Upon closer inspection, he discovered it was the man with horns. Or rather, Ru Gaffa.         The rest of the dream played out regularly. There was a man with fake horns (Obi still didn't know how he knew they were fake) being hanged with his belt, then stoned; a man with a hammer deciding his fate; and lastly, the Viking Ru Gaffa came forward, in the middle of a colossal thunderstorm, and was ready to kill him. Obi could see the glint in his eyes, the pure anger and triumph. He knew he was about to die. 

       Obi woke suddenly. It was just before dawn, gray light beginning to touch the lands. Color did not appear to exist in this dreary land of corn stalks and insane dogs. To the boy’s bigger surprise, he found that a hand was on his shoulder. 

       “Quiet down,” hissed Cole, a serious edge in his voice. He stood halfway in the bush, his pickaxe dangling from his belt dangerously. Nancy was also awake, staring at the newcomer sleepily, clearly not comprehending what was going on. Unlike Obi, who was wide awake, his heart pounding intolerably. 

       “We’d better get some food, then back on the road.”  

       “How did you find us?”asked Nancy, a yawn nearly making her words in a different language. Cole shrugged casually and said, “You know. A couple things. For one, you left clear tracks to follow on the road! For another, you're wearing colorful coats. It's easy to spot you.” 

       “What can I say?”asked Obi drearily. “It's cold!” 

       “Yeah, yeah, when we arrive at Lupa, we're going to buy some better suited clothing. You kids can't be walking around looking exactly the same as you did in the festival.” 

       “Ooh! Clothes shopping!”said Nancy. Cole gave her a stern look then said, “But we will not be spending wagon loads of money, okay? I only have so much on me.” 

       Obi noticed something. “Where is Raldin?” 

       “He had important business to attend to. He has a spy in the Viking government, and they needed to have an emergency meeting.” Then he added, “Oh, Nancy, will you go check the road to see if I left any tracks?” 

       “I'm on it,” yawned Nancy, stumbling away with a lazy salute. When she was gone, Cole said to Obi, “I thought I said to not bring her. Or Aaron Travalar. What happened?” 

       “Um… I didn't bring Aaron!”said Obi with an uneasy grin. He still received a stern look from Cole. Obi said, “Okay, she was already with me when we reached the exit. If I had sent her back, she would have been hurt by one of the Vikings! I couldn't leave her.” 

       “Fair enough. But what about Aaron?” 

       “W… What about him?” 

       “He could've been killed when the Viking chased him! He almost was! You should have taken better care of him!” 

      Obi’s heart filled with fear. “But wait, he was distracting the Viking so I could make good my escape! His effort would have been for nothing if I hadn't taken the chance!...he's alright isn't he?” 

       “He's fine. Healthy, not hurt too bad; just a couple scrapes. But when he ran and the Viking ran after him, you should have ran, too. For now, I'll put aside the fact that everything turned out alright and a lot is dependent on you. A noble man would've gone to help him. Seeing as how it all turned out to be for the better, we'll let it go this time. But by the end of our trip, I plan to make you the bravest and best you can be. I have confidence in myself to teach you the ways of chivalry.” 

       “I'm back!”said Nancy grandly, walking in on a personal conversation as if her presence had been long awaited. “Would you like me to start preparing the food?” She had only said this because she realized she had just interrupted a heart-to-heart talk. Cole gave her his bag and told her to not use up everything. Once she was gone, Cole only said one other thing, and it was this: “I fear we may be separated at some points in our journey. During that time, and also when I can not, I need you to protect your friend. Her parents were very distressed at her departure, and I will never be able to face them again if the girl gets as much as a scratch. Understood? Good. What's her name again?” 

       “Nancy Nobel.” 

       Cole nodded, and then went to help Nancy with breakfast. 

       But Obi stayed a moment to think. He couldn't help but feel an overwhelming sense of guilt. He had left his brother for dead, and not even thought about the consequences. How could he be any better than his enemies? The Orb, however, seemed to solve all his problems. It was there for him, and with it, he could probably defeat all of the Vikings in no time. But he knew in his heart that he couldn't use it. Ever. The very thought of a human being unable to behave as more than an animal was repulsive to him. The thought that somebody, evil sorcerer as they had been, would willingly create such an object, let alone use it, disgusted him. Up until now, he hadn't had a lot of contract with the darker side of human nature. I mean sure, the Copernans weren't the most pleasant folks to be around, and he had heard stories of terrible deeds done by storybook villains. But now, those very villains seemed to leap out of the pages at him. He was being confronted by these insane Vikings, and hearing of what a dark sorcerer had tried to accomplish. Before the end of this journey, he thought glumly, he would probably have a much different outlook on his fellow human beings. 

       Obi shook his head. No time to think now. Food was on the way. He would have plenty of downtime on the road to Lupa. 

       He settled down next to the others. They were sitting in a circle, with a plate filled with bread, water skins, some fruit and a bit of cold cheese. This was most of the food that Cole had brought. This would have to last them at least until they reached Lupa. And Obi had no idea how far away the town was. Maybe it was a good idea to ask Cole just that. 

       “How far is Lupa from here?”asked Obi. The man shrugged and said, “I don't know exact measurements. I measure how long a road is by time. I'd say we should get there by late afternoon.” 

        “Have you traveled this road before?”asked Nancy. Cole nodded. “Lots of times. This is an important road. The only reliable one that goes from Osêria to the southern parts of the country.”        “So, I was wondering,” interrupted Obi. “Just where, exactly, are you taking us to? What place is safe from the Vikings?” 

       “Oh, that's an easy one: the capital is. And that's exactly where we're going. I've got kin there, and his majesty doesn't let much happen in his walls that Milandria doesn't condone. He's a brave man, even if he isn't appreciated much in this part of the country.” 

       “I've always felt that way,” admitted Obi. “But why doesn't he do anything about the currency fraud?” 

       “What else can he do about it?”challenged Cole. “Seriously, the only way to extract the false money is to get rid of it, and none of the Copernians or anyone else has bothered to discard of it. Actually, a few years ago, King Gerald sent some agents down here to figure out the fraud thing. They never returned to him. Sounds scary, doesn't it? Well, I assure you it's not. They pretended they were killed so they didn't have to confront anyone. They were some of the most cowardly men I ever knew. But the king didn't select them. The vice general was given that task, and he only chose the folks he did to give them more experience. Oh well.” 

       “Oh, we need to tell you about what happened last night,” said Nancy. “We were attacked by a dog.” 

       She relayed the details to him, occasionally getting something corrected by Obi. At long last, she finished, and Ocle just stared at them for a minute. Then he said, “Um, I can't believe you two are so unfamiliar with farms! This is ridiculous!” 

       “What does this have to do with farms?”asked Obi suspiciously. 

       “The dog was protecting his farm from robbers. They trained him to be territorial, so he would scare off anyone who attempted to steal from the supply of food the farmer made. Anyone could have guessed that!” 

       Obi and Nancy gave each other sheepish grins. Now that he mentioned it, that did seem kind of obvious. Cole, glad that they understood the errors of their ways, set back to eating.        There was silence for a few minutes. They just ate their breakfast. Eventually, Nancy asked, 

“What happened at the festival? After we left? Did you manage to capture the Vikings?”        “Not all of them, no. We took two of them in custody, and drove the others up north. We should have a good head start, but I refuse to take any chances. Ru Gaffa is cunning, and much more dangerous than he is given credit for.” 

       “How do you know?”persisted the girl. “Have you fought him before?” 

       “At the festival yesterday, it wasn't a real fight. It was mostly me dodging the Viking’s blows. But yeah, I have faced him in combat before. It was not a pretty sight. He is far superior in fighting skills than I will ever be, that's for sure; but I keep thinking I will have to face him again.”        “Well… hopefully we can get to the capital before we encounter them again,” said Obi. Cole shook his head, but said nothing.  

       Obi realized that he knew nothing of this man. Before yesterday, he had not so much as spoke a word to the man. He realized that he didn't really look all that scary now. His tangled brown hair fitted him well, and a thin layer of beard coated his lower face, but that was probably just because he hadn't had time to shave recently. Despite his humble appearance, Obi realized that this man was probably accustomed to the ways of the upper class. For while his dark, red coat was old and used to rough weather, silver designs patterned the edges of it. And though his boots were old, they were clearly of the most solid material, and by the looks of them, expensive. The only thing that struck Obi as strange about this man was the seriousness in his eyes, a deadly tone that made him sound older, wiser, and more dangerous.  

       Obi realized he was staring at the man. Feeling awkward, he quickly set to eating his scarce food (it was taking them a while because they were savoring every bit of it, like a good traveler does). Then Nancy, who was desperate to start up a conversation, said, “Mr. Seb, I have a question.” 

       “No need for formality,” said the man. “Call me Cole. Whenever I hear Mr. Seb being said, I always think you're speaking of my dad.” 

       “Oh, well, okay. Well, I was wondering: at the festival, when you just jumped on that Viking” (Cole grinned fondly at the memory) “you took the weapons from him. Which means you didn't have any yourself. Did you not expect a fight?” 

       “I never like to carry around weapons, Nancy. Now I am forced to, for our own protection, but usually I refrain from carrying them. But to answer your real question, no, I didn't expect things to go as badly as they did, and for that I apologize.” 

       Obi and Nancy realized, with a shock, that he actually seemed to be apologizing to them. 

Obi quickly said, “How was that all your fault?” 

       “I should have done a better job protecting you, and I should not have underestimated the enemy. I doubted their cunning and speed, and as a result, you two nearly died. Were I a wiser man, I would have taken you to the capital weeks earlier, Obi, instead of waiting for the last possible second.” 

       The boy considered this a second, then asked, “But just to make it clear, how long were Teff and Herb in on it?” 

       “Hmm? Oh, well, since you moved to Coperna, I guess. We could never get the Travalars to cooperate, and speaking with them was so darn stressful, so we decided a few years back to talk to them through Herb. I know, a cowardly way, but we thought he could speak to them easily. So I guess Herb was only involved the last couple of years… but Ms. Tekkler was always involved. When you were relocated to Coperna at three years old, we recruited her to keep a closer watch over you. So yeah, she was there since she was seven years old. I couldn't keep a watch over you all the time, traveling to all over the place and what not, but that was not her main job, actually. Her job was to form your mind to the ideals of your father, Robert O’Brien. He was a noble man, and would have been crushed to hear that you were not given the same shot at being a virtuous person as he'd had. But you also had to freely choose to follow them, which you have done admirably.” 

       Obi was confused. “I don't ever remember agreeing to that.” 

       “You did it when you kept on visiting and talking with Ms. Tekkler, even when the Travalars told you not to.” 

       Nancy decided this had gone on too far. “You hypocrite!”she said. Cole gave her a stern glance, then said, “You can call me a fool, but I am not a hypocrite. What made you say that?”      

    “Well, I've known you for about twelve hours, maybe a little more, but you tell me to call you ‘Cole’ and not ‘Mr. Seb’. But you've known Teff for what, ten years, and you still call her ‘Ms. 

Tekkler’? You've lost me.” 

       Cole smiled at this. It was weird to see such a serious face being covered by such a nice smile. When he smiled, he seemed like a different person. But he answered, “I'm sorry, Ms. Nobel, I wasn't aware that was a thing of great importance. I will from now on call her Teff, okay?” 

       “That's fine,” said Nancy with a curt nod. The man got to his feet then, brushing some dirt off his pants. “We had better get moving,” he told them. “Uto Road will be filling up pretty soon, and 

I want to be way ahead of the traffic.” 

       “Why'll it be crowded?”asked Obi, who had finished up his food ages ago and had been getting bored.  

       “The people who went to the festival have to go home, don't they?” 

       Fair enough point. They grabbed their bags, slinging them across their shoulders. Obi was kind of surprised that they took such a short amount of time to pack up camp. When he had gone camping with his family one time, it had taken forever for anybody to get ready. Cole looked like he had done this thousands of times, which he probably had. They made sure not to leave any signs they had been there, and once Cole was absolutely certain, they went back on Uto 

Road and continued the slow journey to Lupa.  

      After a while, Obi’s already-sore legs began to feel worse. He found it sensible that the only way to alleviate his pain was to inflict it on everyone else. 

       “My legs hurt,” he complained. “Why couldn't we have horses? That would have been much faster.” 

       “First off, you can't ride a horse,” reminded the man, who seemed to be slightly irritated by the complaining. “Second, where on earth would I get the money for horses? And third, I originally did have some for this mission, but they were stolen two weeks ago. Besides, we're less likely to be mugged on the road if we look as poor as possible.” 

       Obi glanced critically at them. His bright red coat and Nancy’s exquisite purple fabric said anything but poor. He would have discarded of his coat, but it was too cold out for that. 

       Most of their journey was spent in silence. Walking was not either of the kids favorite thing to do. But as they walked, the landscape gradually began to change. It went from the corn fields to a greener land, a meadow filled with trees, flowers, and life. A small creek ran through it, and large, cold boulders decorated the meadow in random places. The sun had come out, and most of the wind had subsided, so it began to get almost unseasonably warm. Obi took off his jacket and stuffed it in his bag. It was such a nice day, and he was going to try and enjoy it. He was good at this, though; Teff had always taught him to see beauty in nature. 

       “Maybe traveling isn't so bad,” he said aloud. Nancy nodded and said blissfully, “Yeah, it just feels so amazing out today.” 

       “I wish we could stay here a while,” said Obi with a sigh. Cole said nothing. He knew there were good parts of travel, but they were mixed in with all the aches, pains, soaking wet rains, low food supplies and random but ferocious attacks by angered insects.  

       After a while, the road became thinner, until it was little more than a dirt trail. It weaved its way into a section of large boulders and trees beside the small river. It was really cool and airy in there, so Obi was forced to don his coat again. The area almost looked as if it were a tunnel, a path through thick trees and rocks on one side and the river on the other; the creek gradually changed into a small lake. Though this was a change from the original cheery atmosphere, it was a beautiful place to be in. Big mushrooms lined the bottoms of the trees, and exotic flowers dotted the bushes and trees. These trees had not yet changed colors, so it still had a very green, alive feeling to the whole place. In a weird way, this environment was even more amazing than the meadow. 

       By and by, they saw someone on the road up ahead. It was a merchant, though the title barely befitted him. He was an old man in a wooden booth that he himself had clearly fashioned. His little shop, if you would call it that, was awkwardly placed, to say the least. This was mostly because it was on an area of the road not well-trodden, so business could not have been very good. But his place certainly did look interesting enough. The booth was made of wood that looked straight from a tree, with no furnishing of any kind. But the items were most intriguing. It consisted of an assortment of objects, ones that looked ancient; this was undoubtedly an antique shop, but of the most mysterious kind. Near the edges of the glorious lake, and under the shadows of the dark trees, the old man possessed a certain magical quality. He was timeless. 

It was the weirdest feeling Obi’d ever had.  

       Cole was also interested in this shop, though not for the same reasons. He stepped a few feet off the path to get to the shop, and the kids, confused, followed after him. 

       The old man was even stranger up close. His skin was tanned and rough, but his clothing was rich. From his face protruded a large nose, and a pair of menacing eyes watched them suspiciously. Obi got the feeling that he expected to be robbed. 

       “Good morning, Javric Polo,” said Cole. The old man stared at him in surprise, taking a small step back. “How do you know my name?”he asked, a look of suspicion on his face. Cole shrugged and replied, “I was told who you are by Argen Malonaca. Allow me to introduce myself, my name is Cole Seb.” 

       The old man broke into a strange grin. He huddled a little closer and said, “Ah! Yes, I suppose your father told you about me! Yes, me and your father were close once, the best of friends!” 

       “I recall hearing about you,” acknowledged Cole. “You know why I am here. Where is it?” 

       Mr. Polo smiled darkly and asked, “Where is what?” 

       “You know what, fool!”cried Cole, slamming his fist on the side of the shop, making several of the items fall off and break. “Give me the Orb now or I will kill you!” 

       Cole sounded deadly serious. There was no smile on Mr. Polo’s face anymore, but neither was he afraid. Just angry.  

       Obi decided it was time to intervene. “Um, I actually have the Orb with me right now.” He took it out of his bag, holding it up for the men to see. Cole snatched it from his hand, and hurled it at the shelves of the shop with precision, breaking one of them, along with more antiques. Mr. 

Polo winced at this. He couldn't stand seeing all his valuables broken. 

       “That is not the real Orb!”hissed Cole violently. Even the kids were impressed by his outbursts. He grabbed the old man by the scruff of his coat and said vehemently, “This little brute stole it from Argen! He was hired by Ru Gaffa to do it! Argen found out about it yesterday, after he interrogated one of our captives. What we had was an exact copy of it, but it's worthless!” Then, directed towards Mr. Polo, he shouted, “Give me the Orb or you're a dead man!” 

       “I never stole it!”pleaded the man. Now he looked scared. “Please, I never stole anything!”       

      “Yeah, right! We knew you had contact with the Vikings anyway! What else would you have talked to them about?” 

       He was silent a minute. Then he said, “Mr. Seb, I was told to lay a trap for you when you came along. The trap is near that especially large batch of leaves on the road. But I swear, I did not steal anything! Please, don't kill me!” 

       Cole was silent a minute. Then he laughed. As he bent down to pick up the Orb, he said, “That's all I wanted to know. We knew you had contact with the Vikings, just not what it was about. This Orb is, in fact, the real one. Thanks for the information.” 

       Mr. Polo was confused for a minute, then pure rage filled his face. He clenched his fists and said, “Lying to receive enemy information makes you no better than the enemy.” 

       “Yeah? Well considering you are that enemy, I wouldn't go around preaching to people about right and wrong. The simple fact of the matter is that this boy,” he pointed to Obi, “must be kept safe at all costs. If I must be ruthless, then so be it. Good day, Javric. Have a lovely morning.” Cole grabbed Obi and Nancy by the arms and lead them quickly away from the infuriated salesman. Once out of earshot, Nancy asked, “Okay, what was that all about?” 

       “A friend of my father’s,” replied Cole, more relaxed than before. “As some might call it. Until my father discovered that he was head of a crime ring operating in the country.” 

       “How many people are involved in this?”asked Obi, clutching his head as he tried to process that one random old man had tried to kill them. What he was really asking was ‘could this happen again?’ And the answer was, yes, it could. 

      “There are many, but mostly behind the scenes,” said Cole. “The only reason I was given a big role is because I'm your guardian.” 

       “Given the role? Who's in charge of this operation?” 

       “Raldin the wizard, of course. Who else could lead such a delicate operation as this? Just think about it: if we can't stop one boy from being captured by a band of Vikings, our country is doomed. But don't worry. The Vikings will never get to you. They'll be too busy fighting their way past me.” 

       Obi nodded. He was a little startled by the seriousness of this whole matter. Nancy saw this, and decided to sway the subject. 

       “When you were with Mr. Polo,” she began, “you called Raldin ‘Argen Malonaca’. How come?” 

       “Oh, that's just because nobody else can know that Raldin himself is involved in this. If word got out that a wizard is interfering between two governments, there would be hell to pay. The wizard is supposed to remain neutral unless the circumstances are for the good of the world.”        “Where did you come up with that name, though?”the girl asked. Cole shrugged and said, “I'm not totally sure. It might be the name of a random man he knew thousands of years ago, it could be the name of someone who will live thousands of years in the future, or it could have been completely concocted from his imagination.” 

       Nancy nodded. Then she asked, “How long will it be ‘till we reach Lupa?” 

       “Maybe three or four hours. As soon as we get a good distance away from Polo, we can rest and have a bite to eat.” 

       And so, their slow journey on Uto Road continued much as it had, without any more creepy old men, death traps or anything of the kind. The world seemed to get larger and larger to Obi as time progressed. He had always know the world was huge, but if it took this long to walk from one town to another, how much larger the world must have been! 

       He hoped beyond hope that this journey would not claim his life. The more he heard, the more it became possible, to him, that it could do just that. This scared him. He had no idea what death was like, but it couldn't have been pleasant the way it was avoided. Obi had never been taught any religious beliefs from his parents, but at times like these, he wished there was someone more powerful to turn to. 

        To be continued... 

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