Fable 2 1/2: Part 6

Fable 1/2

Part Six:  Hammer and Garth meet again, and with that a few surprises part 1

    It took a while but Garth was able to make it out, and with only a sting or two, something he can handle. Still those three men were mad to try such a feat, he was mad to stay as long as he did. He wondered if they made it out all right, probably with a lot of stings, and a nagging feeling told him they did. After taking a few minutes of talking with the man he met yesterday, Garth took the horses and carriage and went his way to Bowers Lake. 

    It didn’t take him as long as it used to, not with the horses he had. Garth was so used to walking to the location he was needed, or wanted to go, once in a while using a Cullis Gate. The only times he rode in a carriage was with Lucien, and those were younger and friendlier days.  The sun was up by now over the blue clear lake with green highlights. A camp of gypsies were on one side of the lake, straight ahead was Bowerstone on the right of that was Old Thag’s, the bandit of the area during Garth’s time in the tower abandoned camp. Other than where he came from and those locations, there was nothing much but nature. And like Brightwood, he liked it, quiet, clear, beautiful, and full of history and unknown knowledge. In the middle if the lake was a very small island holding a very small door. He herd that Sparrow had gone that way to activate the Cullis Gate of Hero Hill that was close by.  Didn’t really care much a while ago to go swimming to enter there, but now he seemed to feel childlike, which is very unusual of him. “Might be the air.” Garth thought, springtime does that to people.  

    After a bit longer Garth stopped at the Gypsy Camp to let them take care of the horses. They welcomed him with open hands like another traveler, but with a bit more chatter, they knew about him from Sparrow’s stories. He found out she talks about him and the others all the time to the children and the defeat of Lucien to the adults and older kids. It took a bit longer to get out of the camp with all the hands shaking and hugging, once in a while a kiss, but he was successful. Thinking over the plans on which route to take, he thought the heck with it and swam to the island, he was very curios on what it looked like. Taking off everything but his pants and stuffing them into his bag, this luckily was water proof and started swimming. 

 
Hammer: 

    It took a few weeks and a couple of balverine organizations, but she did it. Thanks to Rubine, Hammer and she were able to get to the location in which the hero was needed, Bower Lake. It was beautiful and clear, just like the last time she saw it, other than its more green now then last time. She left here at fall. And now she is back and happy. Hammer looked at where she was, across the gypsy camp by the look of it and Thag’s camp on her right. She can see Bright Wood from where she was, and began thinking about Garth. She shook her head after a second and so and looked at Rubine.

    ”Thanks for the help back there, those bloody balverines are a pest.” Hemmer said and looked toward the woman on her right. 

    The red head smiled and responded with her clear voice,”No problem I am glad to get a bit of a stretch once in while, and it was fun to hang out with you the past few days”

    Hammer looked at the woman. She was something, the way she talk, the way she took down five balverinses with one dance move. Thats what it looked like to see Rubine fight, a dance.  She even looked different. Everything about her was so strange, but bloody amazing. Hammer smiles, then frowns.

    “I’m glad to have met you, but I guess this is were we part?” 

    Rubine understood what Hammer meant and frowned as well. She nods her head in response.

    Hammer didn’t say any thing, she couldn’t, it was hard for her to make friends and she had few, now including Rubine, she didn’t want the red headed woman to leave. But the hero smiled.

    “Don’t worry I see you around you can trust me on that, destiny will make sure of that, as well as some people of in this world.” And with that said from Rubine, the red head ran through some trees and disappeared. Hammer didn’t really know what she meant on that last part, but she had a feeling that they will meant again one day, she will make sure that happened.  And with that Hammer looked across the lake. 

    She could go around and get to the Guild by the Cullis Gate on Hero Hill. But thought that swimming was faster. Hammer never swam much, and doing it now was not on her top plan of things to do. But with a sigh and packed things together with her traveling bag she began, not gracefully, but successful. “If I had to be glad that I’m the Hero of Strength, it would be now.” She thought while she swam hard and strong, with a bag and a hammer that would take multiple men to caring if not to swim. After tugging and huffing and swimming for what seemed like forever, she got to the island in one piece. But when she did she found out she wasn’t the only one. 

Garth and Hammer: 

    It didn’t take as long as Garth thought, it’s looked far, but really it wasn’t. Of course it could also be that Garth tries to keep himself fit. Even though he’s a scholar he believed that health is also important, Lucien could also be an influence on that, for he was sick when Garth was around. It also helped him from looking his true age, Will helped at well, keeping most of his wrinkles away other then a few on his face.  Age is not something he liked all the time, he understood it was part of life, but still, he hated it sometimes, and being a stubborn scholar didn’t help. He wondered how Theresa does it, he knows she is older then she looks, but what age he doesn’t know. So with a sigh of a rare defeat he started taking his clothes out. Only then did he realize that someone else was on the island, he can feel it. Just as he looked up he sees a hammer coming straight at him, and with surprisingly grate speed he dodged, rolled and brought his Will to fight and swords of light eloped around him like a shield. 

    ”Blast, missed!” Said an angry voice that he could never forget and out of the corner, the other comes out, it was Hammer herself.

    ”Hammer?” Garth gasps. He almost got a heart attack.

    Hammer tried to sneak around the entrance of the tomb, not so sure who it could be. When she was at the corner she saw a shadow of something, or someone, and targeting, slammed her hammer at where she thought it, or they could be. Just before she could hit the they dodge with surprised speed and brought out a wall of light. Will user? And she went around the corner, looking at her opponent. A scared, very surprised Garth, and shirtless at that.

    She started blankly at him, surprised as well, and a bit sorry for almost killing the poor old eye wide frighten Garth. With a shocked voice Garth said again, “Hammer?” Yep its him, its his voice, poor chap. And did it...crack?

    Hammer puts her hammer down and she was a bit shaken as well. ”Garth?” He nodded, still wide eyed. She sighed.”Garth what the heck, don’t scare me like that. I thought you were someone else!”

    It was Garth turn to freak some more, with added cracks in his voice, “I scared you, you weren’t the one who almost became a meat pie! What about me, I thought you were someone else as well, but I didn’t bolt lightning at you, now did I?!” 

    Hammer shrugged, good point, “Yeah sorry about that.” Garth just started at her, she twitched. She never saw Garth shirtless, and now she did, he doesn’t look half bad for an old man, pretty fit for someone who likes to stuff their nose into old books. ”Sooo, did you swim here, or are you about to go tanning or something, because by the looks of it, you don’t need it.” Did she just say what she thought she said, STUPID!

    Garth just kept staring at her. Did she just complement on him being shirtless? And than just realized that he hasn’t put all his clothes on and quickly put on a shirt. With that he coughs and responded, somewhat his normal voice. “I, uh, swam here.” He skips the shirtless part, and Hammer was glad.

    “Right, why didn’t I think of that. A old guy swimming with all his books and papers. How did you manage that anyway?” Hammer asked.

    Garth holds up his bag. “Water proof and few spells.” Of course, why didn’t she think of that?

    “So what are you doing here? I thought you were at Samarkand or something like that.” What would bring  a man like him back?

    “I was, but business has called me back.”

    “Let me guess, Theresa.”  Garth nods and Hammer turns to face the door. “Of course.”

    With that Hammer walked over to the entrance, it was locked, but without hesitation she took out something. Garth tries to look at what it was, while Hammer puts it into a metal socket that blocked the door from opening. As she removed her hand Garth saw that it was a Guild Seal. Theresa gave each hero, even Reaver one so she can contact them anytime anywhere. And also so they can go to places that only heroes can go to. With that the Seal rests into the door to unlock it, and possibly even closing some magic traps so they won't hurt the heroes. The door opened and Hammer looked at Garth for only a few seconds, who is now wearing a shirt. With a bit of disappointment Hammer walked in. 

    Garth stared at Hammer as the door opened and moved towards the door. He thought that he might have herd a few sick click here and there. Magic traps possibly, hate to know what those are, yet can't stop being interested on what they could be. “Later,” he thought as he walked behind Hammer. 

    The entrance way a few feet long tunnel ending at a sink hole, ending many feet down into water. And the sides of the tunnel are statues and lighted with fire for light. How long and how they are able to do it,  no one really knows, probably magic. The two heroes walked over to the hole, Hammer, looked to her right and sees Garth and knows well what his expression said. 

    Garth looks up to his left looking at Hammer, sure enough she shared his feelings, great more water and this time a jump is needed and the water  many feet below, how exciting. So with a sigh of defeat by the both of them, they tried to decide on who should go first. With a fight that lasted eons it was ended with a push by Hammer into Garth's back who screams with a nice high voice and a satisfied splash. A minute or so later Garth yell was herd, and hoped that she would hopefully wont get hurt in the process, yelled with her own bit of high pitch and landed into the water with a bigger splash and a bigger satisfied that could be a few days break for the water.

    Hammer head bubbled up and took it a cold gulp of air, “Right remind me to bring a rope or something if we do take that route again.” Garth shivered in agreement, you would think that this water would be warm, of course you would think a lot of things that would end up not true. So now cold and even more wet, the two heroes swam to shore and began walking to the Guild site. The water they jump in open up to a somewhat small cave, parts of it you can see some of the Old Guild from hundred of years ago. But the rest not so much, the cave consumed most of it, leaving limes stalactites and stalagmites. There was some granite shining with the lime reflecting the fire lights that surrounded the cave. The heroes took a route that didn’t consist of two much danger, only a handful of annoying man eating beetles that hanged on the ceiling or buried themselves in the sand of the cave. Once in the while they would have to stop for Garth to get a book or two that were on the floor or a decomposed book selves that were spread in some cave rooms, that could have been a library or bedrooms that the heroes of old once studied or lived in. They also met two rooms that consisted of working with magical orbs that wanted certain fighting skills, but Sparrow dealt with those when she first went through those. Ten minutes later and no talking between the two of them they finally made it to the entrance of the new Guild. 

    A twenty or so foot long old stone bridge that now had many cracks upon it face. It didn't look promising with the deep down opening of darkness, of Avo knows what. But if Sparrow used this as much as she did, well why can't they? So walking carefully they made into the new Heroes' Guild. The new Guild was a dome room with a smaller stone bridge connecting to a circular small plantation, which connects to another small bridge that brought it self to an even smaller plantation that held a Cullis Gate that led to Heroes Hill. Underneath these bridges and plantations were more of the deep black crevice. On the dome wall was painted pictures of an old great hero and his life. In some of the painted pictures was a masked person wearing a red cloak. Its eyes cold gold with most of the face covered by mask and the red robe cloak. Hammer remember Theresa talking to her about the hero and this thing. The hero was called Goddard and the thing in the blood red cloak was an evil man called Jack of Blades. There was also other characters, two woman, surrounded by Jack’s presence. Theresa also said theses woman were the heroes mom and sister. Hammer and Garth both noticed, that if you look closely the sister looked a bit like Theresa, not to mention the bloody band was rapt around her eyes in a few other picture. But neither was sure that Theresa could be that deep into the heroes life.

    Walking in a one file line they got to the main plantation. In it was only a Guild Symbol on the floor, that opens a heroes power to fruition, a table with a map, notes, and some books. An old rickety chair was surrounded by more books, and nothing else.

    “Well, we’re here, so what happens now?” Asked Hammer.

    Garth just looked at the table surrounded by books, and walked over to it, picking up a note. On it in surprisingly good hand writing was the name of Theresa. 

    “Wow, is  there something that she can't do blind,” Hammer said walking over to Garth, “So what do we do with it, open it?”

    “Not quite.” It was Theresa's voice, the two heroes stared at each other. “What you do is to search for some people and give them this note. With it we should be able to win over their influence.” Garth and Hammer raises eye brows. “The leader of the group is a person named Angelic, it might be a bit hard to find him at first but he should be in Bowerstone.” Garth and Hammer both thought who would name a person Angelic, then again it was a good name. “When you do find him, don't let his looks, behavior or anything else fool you. He's strong, smart, and very dangerous, and we will NEED him.” The two signed, great this sounded fun, and before Theresa voice left, she added, with surprising light and not so helpful voice “Oh and he is a bit mad,in an insane sense, and so are some of his men, so do be careful.” 

    When Theresa was herd no more Hammer says in a sarcastic voice. “Aah, another psychopath just what we need, and dangerous too, how exciting!”

    Garth looked grim and thought. “Great another Lucien, just what I need right now.” And with that the two heroes left to the Cullis Gate to search for a mad dangerous psychopath named Angelic, and his gang.

Part 7:

Garth and Hammer and Surprise What Ever part 2