Of Jesters and Kings

Part 12- The Empty City

The crashing of water could be heard as the Jester pushed through a thicket. He hacked at the gnarled vines that reached out in front of him. It would be nice to wash himself. God knows how bad he stunk. His blood crusted face was smeared with dry patches of mud and dirt.

As he stepped into the small clearing surrounding the waterfall, the Horse Jester Prince could vaguely hear an eerie soft melodic sound that drifted through the woods around him. It sounded like a xylophone. Everyone knew Angel's Cup was slightly enchanted, which allowed the water to emit music. But the Other World's version was slightly off. The melodies sounded a bit sad and wispy.

The Prince lowered himself down slowly toward the water's edge, and sat on a half submerged boulder. He slipped of his Jester boots and dipped his feet into the water. A pleasant chill spread through his toes.

He took the time to observe the Angel. The water flowed down from her shut eyes and through the gaps of her hands, which were placed gingerly on he cheeks. Small colonies of moss were scattered here and there. A patch of river grass underneath the Cup slowly waved it's slender green blades with the current.

Cupping some water in his hands, the young man scrubbed away the grim on his face. The water stung the gashes and cuts, but George scrubbed thoroughly in order to remove any loose particles of dirt. He shook his head a couple times after splashing him self, water droplets flew from his black hair. The note book's pointer was right on the dot labeled Angel's Cup. George took a drink from his canister of fresh water. He squinted and looked back at the map. Was he getting delusional? He placed his finger on the yellowing pages of the notebook, and traced the dotted line that led from his pointer back down to where he started.

Several other pointers had appeared in the empty city.

***

"Alice, catch!" Tomus tossed an amulet.

Alison caught it mid-flight and rammed it into her pocket. She uttered a few words of power and her eyes started to glow a bright green, as did the rest of the riders and their horses. The small band of Calvary had come across an abandoned mage hut along the coast of the river. It had been deserted for some time and inside was a variety of small trinkets and charms. Including this amulet.

Yes it was a night vision amulet. What a coincidence. Thank the Gods too. They could cover more ground now. Resting would mean being left behind by the nymph's magical current. Though by the looks of it, the amulet was quite worn and Alison guessed it probably had a couple uses left before it became dormant.

"Hey! Check this out!"

One of the riders next to Tomus shone his glowing eyes onto a nearby tree and made a shadow puppet. A poor representation of a dog. Tomus glanced over at Alison; she rolled her eyes. The twins needed to focus. Philp and Macoy. Pretty skilled riders, but rather poor in the disciplinary aspect of the job.

"Buffoons." She flung a pebble at Macoy's hand and he recoiled his dog puppet.

"Bro, why you so Hostile." Philp glanced over at their captain.

"Because "Bro" we have a job to do." Alison turned her horse forward and started to advance further along the bank.

"Yo, your sister is mad crusty." Macoy rode next to Tomus and rubbed his hand.

Tomus snickered and the trio sped forward to catch up with Alice.

***

"Wot, Wot. Where's the others?" Remmy scratched the back of his long ears.

"Musta landed some where else, in here city." Amber said as she twirled her dagger expertly, shifting the spinning hilt through each of her fingers.