Part VII - Getting Flighty and Helping Dite
Grumble.
Shift.
Wriggle.
Snort.
Shift.
Wriggle.
Sigh.
Joxer cracked open his left eye, hoping that he at least could roll over and go back to sleep. But the first creeping light of dawn was starting to dissolve the indigo of the night sky. He'd promised himself that he wouldn't dawdle today. Plus, there was a stick that seemed to keep migrating under his back during the night, determined to remind him how utterly rotten it was sleeping on the ground. Especially after having spend the past few nights in an actual bed with actual sheets and an actual pillow in an actual building.
Yeah, on Actual Olympus.
Joxer snickered to himself. If anyone had told him he'd be the gods' own personal go-to-guy this week, he'd have looked at them like they'd lost their last marble. And yet� Maybe he was a marble short lately. Maybe it was all a nice little dream and he'd wake up getting his nose tweaked or something. Maybe�
The pouch still hung on his belt from the tree limb above him, dangling from where he'd slung it. It had only made sense, really. He wasn't going to keep that near him when wild animals could happen by at any given moment, take a sniff and then decide to root around for the thing. Besides, it gave him the creeps. He'd be glad to deliver it to Eris� err, Discord when he got to her temple in the next town. The village he'd been 'working' in had very little in the way of worshipping opportunities and he really wasn't sure how things worked. Could you go to any temple and call a god? It really wasn't praying, just letting her know that the job was done and he had her (ick) proof. He supposed if the temple was a friendly one, belonging to a god or goddess that got along with Discord, then they could pass the message along or get her or whatever. And that brought another question to mind - who got along with Discord? Ares for sure, and maybe Strife, but there was a decided lack of war-type-god ashrams in Nanylos so that left Joxer kind of short. He didn't want to keep Discord waiting, mostly on principle but there was a little 'not-wanting-to-be-gutted' mixed in, and he didn't want to jump in the middle of any family problems, either.
He sighed, straightening himself up a little, retrieving twigs and pebbles and the odd bug from places they didn't belong and dusting himself off. Not bad for a night on the ground. Maybe there�d be a bed waiting for him tonight. That�d be sweet. I could get used to that whole �indoor sleep� thing.
A few jumps and he retrieved the pouch that swung overhead, as pungent and nasty as it had been at dusk. More so, probably. He had to shake a couple of scavenger beetles loose, kicking them off into the brush. "Sorry guys, no poaching. This one�s been promised." A quick check to his boot� yep, still there. Discord wouldn�t be the only one benefiting from this little trip. That foreign guy, Daedelus, had really skittered around for a few steps before dropping to the ground like a stone. The dagger he�d had hidden on him had skipped across the floor and Joxer had scooped it up nice and easy. It wasn�t much to look at, in fact the blade was pretty crusty. What did foreign ambassadors know about the care and cleaning of weapons? He shrugged. The balance was good and once he cleaned it up, it�d be a nice addition to his arsenal. His brown eyes rolled. You mean the �arsenal� Strife turned into confetti?OK. So once he cleaned it up, it�d be a nice starter piece for his arsenal.
Everything checked and ready, Joxer retook the road, heading at a good pace for Discord�s temple. The sooner the better, anyway. He got three steps down the road before the hairs prickled on his neck. Over the past few days, he�d come to know exactly what that meant. A golden flash appeared before him and a slender guy in a toga that was riding up quickly appeared. A quick yank brought it back where it belonged and sparkly blue-gold eyes peered out from under a helm. With wings on it. And matching ones on the heels of his long-laced sandals. The god didn�t land, hovering right in front of Joxer with a tiny hum, like those little birds that always seemed to think Joxer�s ear smelled like a hibiscus or something.
