SOJOURN

Interlude 1: Target of Opportunity

The boy lay crouched among the rubbish.

Nobody knew where the rubbish came from. It just appeared, piling up in great piles against the buildings of Melbourne Beneath, feeding the firepools and blowing with the winds like tumbleweeds. Some believed that the rubbish came from the Above World, but Ved didn't believe that.

Nor was it his place to ask where the rubbish came from. Tao would know. Tao knew everything.

The whiny of a horse bought Ved's attention back to the road. He was crouched in a pile of rubbish under a bridge along a road. In the Above World, the bridge was a part of the West Gate Freeway, while the road was Normandy Road. And his target as crossing across the carpark.

The carpark was empty, with the occasional empty skeleton of a car — paint stripped, tyres blown, windows smashed and graffiti covered — rubbish pile and firepool. The three crossing the car park were as out of place in the car park as Ved was.

All were on horseback, with a hyena the size of a large dog padding along side them like a hound. That was the only thing they all had in common. That, and Tao had decreed they must die a true death.

And Tao's word is.

The first of the three was an old man. He was wearing a grey robe, a grey pointed hat and curly shoes. A sword hung from his side and a staff was attached to his back. His face was old, but kind looking, with a long grey beard and sharp blue eyes. A classic storybook wizard.

The second was a young man, a boy really. He was dressed in a sleeveless leather jerkin, long beige breeches and brown boots that almost reached his knees. A band of gold set with rubies and emeralds adorned his brow. His face was youngish, with brown hair, solid eyebrows, brown eyes and the classic elfish features; pointed ears and non-existent cheekbones. A classic storybook prince.

The third was the largest of the three and Ved was hesitant to attack him. He was enormous compared to the other two. He was strongly built, but his face was hard to see, as his head was covered in a large metal helmet that looked like a post box. A beaten iron breast plate covered his chest and iron strips protected his upper arms. Under all that, he wore a hard working shirt, frayed working pants and worn boots. At his side were a pair of guns and a thin sword.

Seeing the third was almost enough to convince Ved not to do it. He knew who this one was and his reputation among the denizens of Melbourne Between was frightening. He was stronger then any mortal man and he hated the Chosen with a burning passion.

But Ved had been chosen for this. He'd been chosen. Not Marcus or Glenn. So Tao knew he must be able to do this.

Ved carefully reached through the rubbish for his verglas. In all contexts, the verglas resembled an African assagai, but the elm-leaflike blade was longer and thiner, more like that of a gum tree then that of an elm tree and there were lines of symbols, symbols that described fire, heat and burning.

Ved pointed it towards the group. Which one thought? Kill the wizard or the prince and he'd be powerless against the bushranger. Kill the bushranger (if he could) or the prince and he'd be at the wizard's mercy. Kill the prince and he'd be at both there mercy.

The wizard then.

The verglas made no sound as it fired. Nether did the wizard as he fell from his horse. His horse screamed and the boy cried out in pain and shock.

The boy drew his sword and the bushranger turned his head in Ved's direction. Ved couldn't see his expression, but he knew deep down that the bushranger could see him.

The hyena growled and ran. The bushranger turned to the prince and barked out something Ved couldn't hear.

The hyena observed the whole thing. Then it leapt behind a dumpster and disappeared.

Ved raised the verglas again 

He fired and the bushranger still stood there. 

He fired again and the bushranger fired and Ved burst apart in a shower of golden sparks.