15. Tricked

"All right." said Harold. "Start talking."

"No." said Robert Isling pointing to Maria. "I want to talk to her."

They all looked at Maria.

"All right." she said. "We can talk, as soon as you let him go."

"Promise me you will hear me out, and not just blindly take me in." he said. "I know It came to you, saying I took the sword. But you have to let me tell my side of the story."

"Fine." said Maria. "Just let him go and I promise you we will talk."

He seemed to think about it, and slowly he withdrew the knife from Warren's neck, put it away, and stepped back from him. Warren moved to join the rest of his companions.

"Now that that has been taken care of, I would normally ask for an introduction." said Maria. "But it seems that you already know about me and maybe you even came here because of me, and as you have probably guessed, we know who you are. So the first question I have is, how do you know me?"

Robert smiled.

"It talks about you." he said "It finds you fascinating. While I was there, he would mention you every once in a while. I learnt who you were and so when this problem started I figured the only person who might have any chance to help me against It would be you. So I headed here as fast as I could, but It followed me, and contacted you first."

"So you waited and made sure that you would be seen knowing that we would be looking for you." said Maria.

"Exactly." replied Robert.

"So I believe the next question would be, did you take the sword?"

"No. I'm innocent." he replied.

"I figured you would say that." she said. "So now, how do I know you are telling the truth?"

"Because I know who really took the sword and why he did it." he replied. "And I know that you are in as much danger from him as I am from you know who." He looked around quickly, as if even talking about It would make it appear.

"Why would I be in danger?" asked Maria.

"Because of that sword you carry around with you." he answered.

Everyone looked at the sword that sat at Maria's left hip.

"Why would this," she said pointing to it, "pose a danger for me?"

"Because the same person that stole the first sword is also in need of yours. And he will stop at nothing to get it."

"I think we need to here the story from the beginning." said Maria.

They all settled down in the grove and looked to Robert to start talking. He pulled out a water skin and said, "Just let me take a drink. I have traveled far and before I do anymore talking I need this." He took a big gulp and wiped his mouth with his sleeve. He then passed it around, offering it to the others. They found that they were thirsty, probably from the tense moment, and so each took a drink, before handing I back.

"Ok." Began Robert. "It seems that your sword and the missing sword were created a long time ago by the same being. Not our mutual acquaintance that used to possess one of them, but a creature of earth. They are called the old ones by some."

They nodded their heads. They had all heard of these creatures in tales told by the fire. Some said that they were just myths and others truly believed in them.

He continued, "This creature was renowned for his smithing. Everything he made was perfect. No one knew his secret to his perfection, but everyone wanted to know. Especially those interested in warfare. It became so unbearable for the creature that it decided to leave forever. But before it did, it locked up it secrets and created a key that was then split into two swords. One of which was the one that was stolen and the other rests on your hip."

"So you are saying that the person that stole the sword is now after me?"

"Exactly."

"Who is this person and what will he gain from it."

"His name is Orson Picker. Though no one knows if that is his real name. He deals in all matters that are done in small dark rooms and back alleys. He will just sell the secrets to the highest bidder of course. If he gets his hands on it, every warlord and warlord wannabe will clamber over themselves and each other to give him the best offer. He will be rich beyond his wildest dreams and you know that some people will go to great lengths for money."

"So he will be coming after me next, and you decided to come and warn me." Maria did not sound too convinced.

"That and I figured you would help me get It to see reason." he said sheepishly.

"The problem as I see it is that we only have your word that this happened." said Maria. She blinked a few times. She was having trouble focusing on Robert. She looked around the others seemed to be experiencing the same problem. She continued, "How can we believe you?"

"I have proof."

"Where is this proof?" Her vision was getting worse, and everything was beginning to swim in front of her.

"You’ll have it very shortly." he said, but it sounded far away to Maria.

"Damn," she thought, "it must have been the water, but he drank from it first." She had little time to figure out what he had done, when everything went black.

She woke up sometime later. The sun had set and the moon was shining through the trees. But as her eyes focused she could see that this was not the same place they had lost consciousness in. She stood up and the world began to spin. She leaned into the tree nearest her.

"Funny." she thought, "It must be the drug, but I could swear that this tree changed shape to conform to me."

The others were with her. They slowly shook themselves awake, and began to stand up.

"Well, that was some proof." said Jenny. "Remind me to kick his ass, the next time we see him."

"I doubt we will." said Harold. "He has what he came to get." He pointed to Maria’s side where there was a distinct absence of a sword.

"Damn. I really am sorry." she said to Harold and Jenny. "You brought this all the way from your village to finally give it to me and I loose it before the year is out."

"Don’t worry about that." said Jenny. "I am not planning on giving up on it just yet. First things first, we have to get out of here, wherever here is."

"I don’t suppose you can just open one of those portals of yours and get us back home?" asked Paul.

Maria looked embarrassed. "Sorry, no can do. When I received this gift, there were some restrictions. The main one being that I can only move myself and no other humans. I can travel with magical creatures but if you aren’t magical, I can’t affect you. We will have to find another way home."

"Too bad." said Paul. "That would have saved us some time."

As they sat pondering their situation, Maria heard a howl that sounded disturbingly familiar, and sent shivers down her body.

She looked up at the moon.

It was full.