The Honor of Light #2 (Waverly Stump and The 7 Realms)

Chapter Six

As the trio traveled, Waverly discovered she had taken a quick liking to Brijjet

He knew everything.

He was brilliant, strong, full of courage and very hyperactive. He could not stay at a spot for long because he claimed he got bored quickly, and the best thing yet about him was his ability to navigate the roads and forest paths no matter where they ended up. He had once urged them to travel on while he went off to search for their horses a second time. They found him way ahead of them waiting at a curved road with the animals. He could tell exactly where they were. It was like he had a map in his head and because of him, Waverly made no use of her own map that HalfHyde had given to her.

As they crossed the bridge of Bridge, he demonstrated to Waverly a strange dance he called "tap dancing". His boots made funny clicking sounds as his feet touched the ground in light, calculated steps. It sounded like the beat of drums to Waverly but much, much lighter and with less resonance.

Judson warned that he would alert the Epeiras but Brijjet did not care. He told Judson that if they did come, he would snap their legs like twigs and Waverly believed him even though he had laughed when he said it. Thankfully, the Epeiras did not show themselves. It was either they were busy or they valued their legs too much.

Brijjet refused to take off his mask when Judson asked, his first claim being that he did not want to because he was uglier than the ugliest ogre. Then he further claimed he had bad breath. He laughed both ideas off later on and told Waverly that he was trying to imitate his uncle then said no more. He also confessed that he hated walking since he was a fast runner but had chosen to stick with the pair since they made walking seem quite fun. Waverly accepted his company and allowed him to tag along even though Judson was not happy with it. She felt she owed Brijjet a great debt for saving her life and he was much too interesting to leave behind.

Judson kept quiet for the next few days as Brijjet did most of the talking. One of the few times he had spoken was when he revealed to Waverly that Brijjet had healed her with a strange sort of magic and that it was not good magic which was why it had worked so fast. Afterwards, he ceased to speak or even make gestures again.

They finally came to the edge of the Bridge that sloped down into Arwen.

"The horses cannot go down this way. Come over here." Brijjet instructed. He turned and began to walk a different way. Right in the arm of the bridge was a wide but hidden road. It was cobbled, smeared with thousands of muddy footprints and grass but arched gracefully to the ground.

"How did we not see that the last time we came here?" Waverly whispered to Judson but he only shrugged in reply. They followed Brijjet who leisurely strolled down the road like it was a part of his domain.

The horses clip-clopped as they walked on the path and the sound of it made Waverly grin. She remembered the last time she had heard the same sounds in the King's court. She had badly wanted a horse of her own. Now, she rode one and even though they were quite difficult to take care of being so large, she loved the animals. They were very devoted creatures and were more than willing to carry things - heavy or not - without complaints

"Do you have your seal of permission?" Brijjet asked when they had reached the ground.

Waverly hurriedly provided the scroll and handed it to him. He unrolled it and raised it to face the forest.

"What are you doing?" She asked.

"Edsel sees everything here so i'm sure he's looking at us now. He'll see the seal and let us through without any trouble." Brijjet explained without looking back.

"Okay." Waverly muttered. Then in a flash, the bronze seal blazed in the air like a reflection on glass. It shimmered and disappeared then the forest groaned and a wide path opened before them.