Werrin's Voice: Dancing Fire

The Journey Begins

The next morning, Max unblocked the cave and released the king. He walked back to Azure, and was met by a search party halfway there. They tried to get him to tell them where Max and Sam were, but he wouldn't talk. Meanwhile, Max and Sam took to the woods. They headed in the direction of Remapal's temple. As they walked through the trees, they talked about their plan.
"So, are we heading straight to the temple?" Sam asked.
"No. We wouldn't stand a chance. We need more help, and I need more time to figure out my powers. I was thinking we'd head to Tackka, that other kingdom. Its independent, so we won't have to worry about being arrested or anything. I was thinking we could arm ourselves there, get some weapons and supplies," Max said.
Sam nodded approvingly. "Sounds good. I have a friend who's a blacksmith. She can help us."
The pair continued walking through the woods. Finally, after about twenty minutes of awkward silence, Max spoke up.
"So, what's your story?"
"Well," Sam said. "I was born and raised in Azure. My father was part of the Guard, my mother stayed home. I grew up admiring my father, and when I was sixteen I joined the Guard. During a Triclops raid, the Captain was killed while we were outside the gates. I took the survivors to the woods, since they couldn't let us in without risking letting some of the Triclops inside. I set a trap, and I had some of them lure the Triclops over to it. We killed most of them and when we got back inside, I was promoted to Captain. Four years later, here I am, with you, on the run."
Max nodded. "Sounds... adventurous."
"You could say that. How about you?"
Max chuckled. "Not nearly as eventful as yours. I've grown up in Earna, a small little village a few miles from Azure. Nothing ever happened there, except the one time Remapal showed up to kill some rebels. Other than that, things stayed quiet up until a few nights ago when I killed Kynar and his Jackals."
"Well, I mean, most heroes come from modest backgrounds," Sam said.
"Maybe they do."
"You know," Sam said. "I really am surprised at how well you're taking this. Most people would crack under the pressure of being Werrin's Voice. I sure as hell would."
Max sighed. "Yeah, I try not to let it show. The more I just pretend it's normal and that I've known all along, the less nervous and anxious I am about it."
Sam patted Max on the back. "I get it. I'm sure most people would hate the pressure of being the one and only person who could take the land back."
Max was about to respond, when they heard a woman yelling. They looked up, and saw a small clearing with a house. A girl, about their age- nineteen-, was yelling at a group of Jackals.
"Let's see what this is about," Max said. The pair snuck up to a bush and crouched behind it.
"I haven't seen your guys! Now, leave my house!" the woman screamed.
"Tell us where they are and we will leave," one of the Jackals said in its high-pitched hiss of a voice.
The girl sighed in frustration. "How many times must I say it, I haven't seen the boy! The more you ask me, the less and less cooperative I'm going to get, so I suggest you leave before I get really angry."
The Jackals laughed. "We serve Remapal himself. You know nothing of power."
"I know enough about it to know that in a minute here, I'm going to shove your 'power' where the sun doesn't shine."
As the Jackals began closing in on her, she raised her hand. Suddenly, green mist came from her palm and surrounded the Jackals.
"Witch!" one of them yelled. As it screeched the warning, it's head exploded as the green mist squeezed it.
The others tried to lunge at her, but she tossed her other hand and a red mist came. This one formed a barrier between them.
"Let's help," Max said. Sam nodded. They jumped over the bush, and Max yelled, "Hey, ugly!"
The Jackals and the Witch turned to see the newcomers, which almost made Sam chuckle. Sam drew his sword and Max raised his hands, fireballs sitting in his palms. "Come get some."
Of the seven remaining Jackals, two charged Sam, two more came at Max, and the other three remained with the Witch.
Max raised his hands, and as the Jackals charged, Max fired bursts of fire at them. They dodged the fire, but as Max focused, a boulder came soaring from the trees and smashed one of the two, not stopping until it had smashed through a dozen or so trees in the other side of the clearing. The remaining Jackal opened its mouth and screeched. Suddenly, there was a returning noise- a roar that shook the earth.
Max looked to Sam, who was fighting the Jackals off with his sword. He turned back to his Jackal, then just as fast, he heard Sam scream, "Dragon!"
Max looked up and saw a red beast flying low over the trees. It opened its mouth, and as he noticed the wisp of smoke rose from its throat, Max summoned water, which domed over all three of the humans. The fire boiled the water and burned the ground. The wooden house caught fire, and the grass of the clearing began to blaze.
As the water dropped, Max summoned a pillar of rock, which launched him upwards. He controlled the air, keeping himself aloft as the dragon shot towards him. Then, as it was about to bulldoze him out of existence, he front flipped and landed on the beast's back.
The dragon, stunned and confused, writhed to get rid of the unwelcome guest. Max grabbed ahold of a pair of scales that was scarred and sticking up. The dragon dived to the surface, pulling up at the last moment and landing.
Max jumped off the beast, shooting a stream of fire at the dragon's face as he did so. He landed in a roll and turned back to see the dragon readying to breath fire.
He summoned the boulder from earlier, which slammed into the dragon's side and caused it to stumble, but the rock shattered as it hit, reducing the damage it did. Max summoned water, which whipped the animal a few times before wrapping around its feet, keeping it in place. The dragon opened its mouth and shot flames at Max, who ran parallel to the beast as flames sizzled behind him. He turned to face the dragon, and a gust of strong wind turned the flames on the dragon, scalding its face. For a moment, Max thought he might have killed the monster, but it quickly rebounded, rage giving it strength it hadn't had before. It ripped free of its watery bonds and slowly stalked towards Max, it's body low like a tiger hunting prey.
The beast's mouth lunged and snapped at Max, but he jumped back and forced a few stones from the surrounding ground down its neck. It choked, then, after coughing up a dozen rocks, charged quickly at Max.
Max didn't even have time to react before he was in the dragon's grasps. He felt the beast squeezing him tight enough to break bones- he felt a snap in his chest, and knew from the ensuing pain that he'd broken a rib.
As the world began to grow dark, Max felt the grip loosen. He opened his eyes and saw green mist wrapping around the dragon's body, up towards his head. The dragon struggled to break free, and in its struggle dropped Max. As he landed, he turned and shot fire from both hands at the beast. It roared with pain, and it's tail smacked Max in the side, launching him into the trees.
The mist fell away and the dragon took off, flying towards Remapal's temple.
Max tried to get up, but fell back down. Sam came rushing over and helped him to his feet, and a minute later the Witch came over.
"That was eventful," she said. "Are you okay?"
Max nodded. He was having trouble drawing in breath. He felt his side- he flinched as his hand grazed his broken rib.
"You don't look okay. I can help," she said.
Max sat down, giving up on walking. The girl kneeled next to him.
"My name is Maria."
Max managed, "Max."
"Oh, I know who you two are. You caused quite the stir once people found out about Azure. There were riots at Kiwo, Tackka declared allegiance to you. Those Jackals were here looking for you."
Sam nodded. "We know. That's why we stepped in and helped- we couldn't let you have all the fun on our behalf."
"Yeah, right," Maria said. She touched her hand gently to Max's side. He sucked in a breath as pain spread over his entire body. Then, suddenly, it was gone. He exhaled, expecting the pain to overwhelm him. Nothing.
"There you go," Maria said.
"What'd you do?" Max asked her.
"I repaired your broken ribs. Your bruises will still be there, and it might be sensitive to the touch, but it's not broken."
Max stood up, and felt fine.
He held out his hand. "Pleasure to meet you," he said as she shook his hand.
"Well then," she said. "Where are you two headed?"
"Tackka," Max told her.
Sam smacked him on the arm. "How can you know she won't just tell the Jackals next time they come knocking?"
"Because she just helped kill eight of them. If they came knocking again, they'd probably torture and kill her before she was able to speak a word. She's just as wanted as us now."
Sam glared at Maria, but didn't say anything else.
"I'm sorry. We're headed to Tackka. Sam here has a friend who can help us out. Tackka is one of the only places where they don't want our heads on a pike."
"I see. I suppose I should go somewhere else, too. I can't stay here anymore, considering my home is in ruins," Maria said.
Sam piped in again. "She's not coming with us, is she?"
Max considered the idea. Having a Witch might be a big help in their journey to dethrone Remapal.
"Does she want to?" Max asked.
She looked at Max, then at Sam, who was both angry and begging silently for her not to come.
"I suppose I will," she said finally.
"Dammit!" Sam shouted.
"Quiet down, or you'll wake up a Triclops," Max said sarcastically.
Sam huffed and stomped to the woods to calm down.
"He seems happy," Maria said.
"You can't blame him. I kind of dragged him away from his home in Azure. He's been pretty good about it so far, but I can't blame him for being a little grumpy," Max said.
Maria looked at him. Sam was tossing stones around, kicking dirt, and huffing angrily.
"I can just go on my own," Maria suggested.
"No. You helped me, now it's my turn to get even. We can take you to Tackka. If you want, they'll even let you stay. They have a Colony inside the walls, and they are independent," Max said.
"We'll see. Maybe he'll warm up to me," she said.
"Maybe," Max said.
They walked over to Sam and told him the situation. Then, they went on their way. It was a long way to Tackka.