A Questionable Quest

Chapter 23... in which I miss important stuff because I bump my head

I hadn't prepared for our quest to end quite the way it did. In all honesty, I hadn't prepared for our quest to end at all. I was also quite determined that, quest or no quest, this wouldn't be the end of Van and my story.

I'd been wrong, apparently, on more than one account. Not only would this day -- this early morning, before the sun had even risen from behind the mountains -- mark the culmination of two weeks of adventure, but it was also very possibly the end of Van and me.

If there ever were a Van and me.

I should probably explain.

See what first happened was we walked up the stairs. That bit was boring. Neither of us talked much, and Van twirled his sword a lot in his hand. I stared at the steps, reciting every offensive spell I knew through my head.

We climbed and climbed and climbed -- it took way longer than was necessary or interesting -- until we reached the workshop at the top.

It was then that Van and I exchanged "are you ready?" glances and moved up into the workshop. The room was dimly-lit, unlike the well-torchlit stairwell, and all the windows were closed.

Dero sat, wide awake, next to the bookshelf. He squeaaaaaked with innocent delight when he saw us emerge from the floor. His tail flopped and his wings flapped happily. The chain collar around his neck clinked, and stopped him from moving towards us. Still, I could see it in his eyes that he was happy to see us.

That was the last thing I saw before everything went black.

The first thing I saw when I woke once more was Van holding his sword against an old man's neck.

Oh good, I thought. I haven't missed the action.

That was when I noticed the wizard's robes. They were ripped, torn, and burnt all in varying places. Both men were breathing heavily. And Felix stood behind Van, hand outstretched. Another sword floated at Avvenor's neck.

Avvenor's hand trembled violently as he reached out to Felix. His face was red, and a vein popped in his forehead.

He was a man who looked thoroughly beaten.

Dero gave another little squeak from beside to my right elbow.

Beside my right elbow? When had he gotten there? And when had I moved next to the... the bookshelf?

And had I really missed the final battle? Because if I had...

I pushed myself to my feet with a loud groaaan. All three men looked my way. Van's tensed features relaxed slightly. "You're okay."

"Never," I massaged the goose-egg now attached to the back of my skull, "been better." I looked at the three men. My gaze finally landed on Avvenor. He glared back. "If you knocked me out for the entire battle," I half-growled half-snarled, "you're going to seriously regret it."

Avvenor just sneered back at me. "Felix knocked you out. I just watched. Blissfully." He seemed to ignore the sword at his throat, and his voice dripped with outstanding levels of venom. "I was going to kill you after I killed your little boyfriend here."

(Seriously, someone needed to give this guy an award. The amount of sneer he managed to fit into his threats was downright impressive.)

I looked from Avvenor to Van, then to Felix. "So why is he on our side now?" The question was directed to no one in particular.

Van answered it with a clunking shrug. "He decided it was the smart move."

"Mhm." That didn't quite seem like everything. I looked to Felix.