The Misadventures of Ka-Ron the Knight (25 page)

That was why she could not accept Kym's love.

Ka-Ron knew that Kym wanted to have children.

She knew that Kym wanted a family.

Ka-Ron, with all her bravery, honor, and love could never provide those things. She had been rendered unable to provide seed.

That was the knight's true fear. Her true shame.

She turned, slowly, with her back facing both Jatel and Keeth. She did not wish to allow them to see her face.

Ka-Ron was crying.

She was going to give life to a child.

She was going to have a family!

The sound started out as an innocent squeak, at first. Then, as the mileage was added onto the
Argo
, the noise became both loud and frightening. In fact, the ship started to shake and shimmy so much that Keeth, who had been knocked from his bunk, came running out onto the main deck in a panic.

The wizard had soon discovered that his vessel had suffered some damage while leaving Tork's body. There had been several planks and levers along the ship's side which were in dire need of repair.

They had to land.

"There is a village ahead, I remember, which will serve quite well as a resting post," the wizard stated, looking at some old navigational charts he had drawn while living in the sea dragon. "Nice people. They mind their own business."

Jatel looked over the shoulder of the wizard and studied the maps himself. A troubled look ran across his face, for he was not familiar with the territory in which they would land. He gazed out at the approaching land, appearing only now at their bow, and drew Keeth's attention towards it.

"Wizard, the maps say nothing about the lasting fog."

"Fog?"

Keeth folded up his charts following the squire's inquiring finger. As Jatel had claimed, the valley was covered with a thick gray fog. There was nothing of this revelation that foretold of danger or anything negative. It was just a fog.

"Strange that a fog would persist in this weather," was the wizard's only comment.

"Then, we land?"

Keeth shrugged his shoulders surrendering to the situation. "We have no choice in the matter, young squire. If we are to reach the ultimate destination of your master's quest, we must make repairs."

"Agreed." Jatel's voice rang with both caution and acceptance.

"Then man the wheel, Jatel," Keeth ordered, walking up to his mysterious levers and switches. "We shall land in the city of Cibola."

The wizard pulled up one lever and activated two more.

The
Argo
shook with another series of odd clicks. As both gears and locks were put into action, the ship's lines began to change once more.

All at once, there came the slow and steady sounds of escaping gas.

The four devices the wizard had called "engines" started to point their shiny noses towards the ground. The incredibly fast and spinning pieces of wood, which Keeth had stated were responsible for their ship's foothold in the air, hovered and spun upward above the
Argo.
Again, the great wooden ship amazed her passengers by once more defying the laws of the physical world.

The ship hovered above the town of Cibola like a self-contained island in the sky.

"Prepare for landing." the wizard shouted, flipping yet another switch.

From the keel of the ship, there extended four circular pods which resembled a horse's hoof. These, the wizard explained, were landing pods, which would allow the
Argo
a comfortable berth while being repaired on dry land.

Descending through the fog, the tiny wooden vessel's "engines" caused several animals and birds to flee in havoc. This was quite understandable by both Ka-Ron and Jatel, because the devices did create quite a sound when placed on full power by the wizard.

"Squire, look over the bow and instruct me on a final position."

"Right you are, sir." Jatel's feet sprang the young man to action. Upon reaching the bow, he turned, momentarily, to spot Ka-Ron projecting a smile in his direction. He responded in kind.

"Keep to your task, squire!" the wizard ordered harshly as he took the ship's wheel.

In ancient times, Cibola used to be a part of the Nown nation. Upon that race's sad demise, it suffered in the void for a long and unmeasured time. Now, after hundreds of seasons of being abandoned, there were people in her once more. Keeth had explained that the city was a mixture of dwarf, elf, and human. It was a hub for traders, hunters, and those seeking solitude in a world slowly shrinking by progress. Cibolans were a good and private people, worthy of respect.

As the
Argo
bumped and settled, the ship landed.

"Ah! We are here." Keeth said.

All that greeted the crew of the
Argo
was silence

There was much to call familiar about Cibola. In many ways, the skyline resembled that of Teal's. A simple hamlet, upon first glance. There did exist amongst its streets the glory of the Nowns. Keeth pointed about the city, instructing both knight and squire to pay attention to certain lanterns which hung about the corners. These, according to the wizard, were safety warnings, informing pedestrians when it was allowed to cross the street, not having to worry or look for advancing carriages and wagons.

The buildings themselves, at least the original ones, had need of no maintenance - they were built of unknown material that never chipped or decayed. The great plague which had extinguished this ancient and noble race left behind them both mystery and wonder.

"We shall start repairs after we sup," the wizard stated, licking his lips.

Jatel gave the village an uneasy glance.

This did not escape Keeth's attention.

"What worries you, squire?"

"Where are all the people?"

Keeth looked out into the fog. He was somewhat surprised that no village officials were there to welcome them, or, at the least, to protest their landing. The wizard was quite confident that it wasn't everyday that a vessel such as the
Argo
had come to visit.

"It is puzzling."

All three peered over the ship's starboard bow.

All that seemed to move was the fog.

There was an uncertainty that seemed silently to attack each of them as the wind softly shuffled past. It was like accidentally walking into a funeral, not knowing if one should accept fate and stay, or challenge happenstance and leave.

"Supper is what we need for now," the wizard suggested.

All three turned from the sleeping village.

The
Argo's
larder did not disappoint.

Ka-Ron no longer walked. She waddled.

Both Jatel and Keeth had lowered themselves down on rope benches, doing what they could to repair the
Argo
. There was a lot more damage than the wizard had first surmised. Several holes, one the size of a horse, were in dire need of patching. However, on the bright side, several of the sea dragon's scales were deposited in the hull, giving both knight and squire shields when needed in battle.

Jatel stopped his hammering when he heard his master's footfalls.

Ka-Ron had become...enormous!

The knight's belly had swollen much since breakfast, and was now so huge, that it became quite impossible for her clothing to contain her. Ka-Ron had to add cloth to both her bosom and her skirt. Her face was more round and her features engorged with motherhood, but there was an inner light which, at least in Jatel's eyes, made her more attractive to him.

She, on the other hand, felt quite different.

"I am no longer in the position to protect myself in war." the knight cried.

Jatel had to spend several cycles in bed, holding his master, trying his best to keep her from crying.

Now, hearing his master struggle on deck had caused the squire to bow his head in shame. There existed in Jatel's mind a guilt - he had caused all of her suffering. He was responsible.

Keeth did not fail to see all of this.

"What haunts you, squire?" The wizard looked up at Jatel, who was hanging several sticks in height above him, fighting several nails he had placed in his mouth.

"This was never meant to be."

"Of course, it was never meant to be, my son," Keeth grunted. "It's a curse. Curses seem to work that way."

"Be serious." the squire rebutted.

"I am nothing but, my son." Keeth paused, his features softening. "Do not torture yourself so. It would all be to folly if you tried to reason this whole affair out. There is no logic; there is only the reality of the now."

"Wizard, I am as ready to become a father as my master was to be a woman. I am trained for combat and service, not&diaper changing."

Keeth returned to his hammering. Given a cycle, the
Argo
would once more be ready for flight. He was quite aware of the fact that the young man beside him was frightened out of his mind. Then again, so was any new father.

"Jatel, sometimes life just&happens." The wizard paused, and then said, "Ka-Ron loves you. I have seen it in her eyes when she thinks nobody is looking. I realize that the two of you have been placed in a hell I could never understand, nor could anyone else if he were going through the same thing. But, son, cherish the love that has been built from this. Love is a precious and beautiful commodity - quite rare in the universe. Indeed, it's more powerful than any curse or spell cast by wizard or witch."

"And all that ends when my master is turned back to normal."

"Then, by all that's right and true, cherish it while you still can!" Keeth put his hammer away and rose to stand eye-level with the squire. "If you refuse yourself this, then you will regret it the rest of your life."

"But, I have sworn&"

"Do you know why most of us become wizards?" Keeth interrupted, frustration clearly ringing in his voice. "So that we can try to create that one moment of total clarity, while hoping above hope to know what you have already been given. I beg you...do not ignore it!"

Both men could hear Ka-Ron moving above, on deck, and decided to call their repairs off for the sun. Jatel shook his head in agreement with what the wizard had said, but his eyes and inner self seemed to betray the sage's advice. Keeth was well aware of the fact that Jatel still refused to give up his personal blame in this matter. The wizard chalked up the emotion connected with the foolishness and folly of being a young man.

Upon reaching the ship's deck, both men were soon greeted by a terribly worried Ka-Ron. Her gaze was concentrated on the nearby village. A village that still remained silent and quite alienated from their sudden and unexpected landing. There appeared to be no fires, no traffic, and no noise coming from Cibola.

That above everything else worried the knight.

"Ah, Ka-Ron, we were just discussing you." Keeth stated, brushing off his robes. "How are you faring?"

"I'm swelling up like a wine sack." Ka-Ron's hands rubbed her belly, which appeared well into its seventh luna.

Jatel took up the rope benches and remaining lines. The squire noticed his master's hard stare at the town.

"What bothers you, sire?"

"The town," Ka-Ron stated, leaning against the ship's railings. "Why have we not been visited? Surely a knight appointed to insure the safety of the people would have made inquires by now."

"Perhaps they are a calm, private people."

"Jatel, even I would have made inquires should this vessel had landed outside of Teal."

Jatel shook his head in agreement. Ka-Ron would have.

"Could this be a plague village?" Jatel asked Keeth.

The wizard shook his head and pointed towards a nearby field. "Not possible. See the flock of cattle nearby? If there had been a plague, they would have been the first to fall. Sickness works that way. First, it attacks the lower forms of life, and then works itself up to elf, dwarf, and man."

"Then why the silence?"

"Are there Xows nearby?" Keeth inquired.

Both Jatel and Ka-Ron shook their heads.

"This is not their territory," Ka-Ron answered.

"No," the squire agreed. "Xows do not travel this far north. They favor southern weather."

"Curious&" The wizard's eyes narrowed. He peered out toward the main gates of the city.

"Something?" Ka-Ron asked.

"Perhaps, brave knight," the wizard retorted. He took from his robes a spyglass, and peered through it. Both soon noticed that the wizard's hands were shaking.

"Keeth, something is there, is it not?" Ka-Ron's face reflected the wizard's worry.

Keeth slowly retracted his device and placed it back in his pocket. "It appears that we have guests."

From the dank levels of the fog, which still appeared to envelop the village and all that lay around it, there appeared two mysterious figures. One was taller than the other, but the other's short statue did not lessen the impression of both power and confidence. Both were dressed as forest folk. Both appeared to be heading toward the
Argo.

"Well, well, well&" Keeth stated excitedly.

"What?" Jatel and Ka-Ron had asked, almost in unison.

"An Elf with a Dwarf. Quite rare."

"Why is that?" Ka-Ron asked.

"Dwarfs have sworn a blood oath against the Elf Kingdoms, sire."

"Quite true, young squire." The Wizard was surprised. "You appear to know more than I give you credit for, son. I congratulate you!"

Jatel, not really knowing if the wizard was giving him a compliment, silently nodded. Ka-Ron, realizing Jatel's uneasiness, gently kissed him on the shoulder, hoping that her action bolstered his confidence.

"We appear to be the target of their inquiry," Keeth added.

The Elf and Dwarf got closer to the
Argo
, momentarily stopped by a flock of mountain horses that were running nearby. From the deck of their ship, the crew noticed the Dwarf pointing up towards them. The Elf, slow and cautious, as all Elfin folk were, nodded in agreement.

Both visitors took out weapons for protection. The dwarf had a simple ax; the Elf produced a device resembling a sling.