Not Another Fantasy Trilogy 3

Meanwhile, back at the camp...

\"Look,\" the Paladin said exasperatedly, knowing he was losing the argument but not giving up the fight, \"I don\'t know why we couldn\'t go back and see if we could go on the quest for that grail. I mean, yes, it was a holy grail, and I would be the only one able to retrieve it,\" there was a collective eye-roll from the party as the Paladin reminded them all of his \'holiness\', \"but think of all the glory we\'d get! I mean, it\'s a quest from GOD!!\"

\"I think if God really wanted a cup Pally, He\'d get His own.\" Michael said.

\"Yeah.\" Lupus agreed, \"Besides, we\'d have to go back through Mogo-endor, and I don\'t think that would be such a good idea, if you know what I mean.\" There was a collective glare Nori\'s way.

\"Hey,\" Nori said, trying to defend himself, \"Freak accidents with vellum, ink, unicorn horns, blue sand, black candles, cigars, calico cats, and pink leather boots happen all the time!\"

\"Umm...\" Enron said, trying not to chuckle as he remembered the mess Nori had made, \"No they don\'t. You also forgot the cactus needles.\"

\"And the enchanted spaghetti.\" The Paladin chimed in.

\"And the floppy wizard\'s hat.\" Ragnarok said.

\"And the demented teddy bears.\" Kyriel said.

\"Yeah, well...\" Nori said, trying to sound innocent.

\"And the banana seeds.\" Lupus said.

\"And the ceramic ducks.\" Michael said.

\"Alright! Alright!\" Nori cried.

\"Anyways,\" Lupus said, trying to focus the attention back on to the meeting agenda, \"I\'m sorry Pally, but I just don\'t think anyone would want to read about people going after some crazy grail.\"

\"It\'s better than Sylthie\'s idea to take that ring and throw it in some fiery pit!\" the Paladin said poutingly.

\"You know she only suggested that because she thought that blue-eyed halfling was cute.\" Kyriel said, laughing as she remembered how smitten Sylthia was by that dashing halfling.

\"Well, Pally,\" Lupus said, once again trying to get the attention back on the meeting agenda, \"I can assure you no one would want to read anything about some halfling that threw some ring into a fiery pit.\"

\"Well, Mr. Let\'s-go-have-adventures-so-I-can-write-about-them,\" Nori said, in his ever mocking tone, \"what WOULD people want to read about?\"

\"Well,\" Lupus said, glaring at Nori, \"I\'m not sure, but I\'ll bet we can find a quest in the port town of Ahoy-Maytees that we\'re heading towards.\" Lupus then became aware that the forest around him had suddenly gotten very quiet. He paled a bit, as he knew what was going to happen next.

\"I KNOW you didn\'t start the party meeting without me Lupus!\" echoed through the forest. The whole party, excluding Lupus, smiled as Sylthia\'s voice bounced off one tree to another. Even the Paladin, who usually wasn\'t amused by Sylthia\'s antics, cracked a grin.

\"It\'s almost noon Sylthia! If we didn\'t start soon, we\'d be stuck here another night! And quit throwing your voice! Show yourself if you have a problem with it!\" he said, taunting her.

\"Well, if you insist!\" she replied, almost laughing the words out. In front of Lupus, the dust began to swirl around and Sylthia\'s form began to take shape. As she began to materialize, Lupus eyes widened in horror as he saw what she was holding in her hands.

Ragnarok, who was still thinking of Mogo-endor said, \"Weren\'t there a few hundred virgins involved too?\"

\"Yeah.\" Michael said, grinning a bit too big for Kyriel, who showed her displeasure by shooting him a glare.

\"I think there were a few fairy queens too weren\'t there?\" Enron said.

Lupus was still staring at what Sylthia held in her arms. Sylthia smiled as she followed Lupus\' stare down into her arms. She held a baby wolf, whose fur she lovingly caressed to keep it from whimpering. Sylthia raised an eyebrow as she held her smirk, and dared Lupus with her looks to speak.

\"I... I... I...\" Lupus stammered, \"That\'s an illusion! I know it is!\"

\"Oh, I don\'t know about that,\" Sylthia said, still smirking, \"Why don\'t we call Heart\'s Eye over here to inspect?\"

\"NO!\" Lupus squeaked. The last time Heart\'s Eye saw a baby pup, her motherly instincts kicked in, and she begged Lupus to give up the adventuring business so that they could settle down and have a litter. It took Lupus the good half of a month to convince her that they should do their adventuring while they still could, and promised half-heartedly that they could start a family after he had a few more quests to write about.

\"And who could forget the dwarf warriors?\" the Paladin said, getting into the spirit of the Mogo-endor incident.

\"Oh yeah!\" Ragnarok said, beaming as he thought of his fine dwarven brethren.

Lupus thought frantically, trying to find a flaw in Sylthia\'s threat. An idea hit him, and he threw down his trump card. \"But that\'s an illusion Sylthia! Heart\'s Eye would be able to tell it wasn\'t a real pup once it couldn\'t speak to her!\"

\"Ahh, but Lupus, I can speak Canine.\" She said, and then softly whimpered, \"Mommy? Mommy? Where are you Mommy?\"

Lupus gasped. He whimpered, \"How did you... I mean... humans shouldn\'t be able to... that\'s not possible...\" His whimpers turned into a low growl as he said, \"You wouldn\'t dare...\"

\"You know I would.\" Sylthia barked back. She growled as she said, \"Here\'s how it\'s gonna go. I\'m gonna consider this a fair warning. I won\'t show the puppy to Heart\'s Eye this time, but next time you start a meeting without me, Junior here meets mommy. Got it?\"

\"Umm...\" Nori said, \"I hate to interrupt all you guys reminiscing about Mogo-endor, but has anyone else noticed that Lupus and Sylthia are barking at each other?\"

Lupus caught Nori\'s comment, and realized he needed to finish the meeting so that they could all get on the road. He glared at Sylthia, who was smiling ever so innocently, and said with a sigh, \"Alright Sylthie. Point made. Won\'t happen again.\" With that, Sylthia\'s image dissolved into nothing and Lupus continued with the meeting. \"Anyhow, getting back to the meeting, the roads are clear from here to Ahoy-Maytees, and we should be able to find some kind of quest there. Any questions?\" Everyone shrugged their shoulders a bit for a collective no, and Lupus said, \"Good. Let\'s get our gear packed and head out.\"