Sorry for the wait, I had to fix some things. Thank you Professor for the help, as always you're one of a kind. In this segment the group leaves the safety of Mermaid Lake to journey towards the castle to rescue Shea. I'm pretty sure the comments at the end will get a reaction from my readers. Please vote and comment – I can only get better with guidance, and as always; enjoy the journey.
The small group gathered their things and said goodbyes. Xena kept pushing to say goodbye to Larry in her own way, but he declined. Larry told her that when they got back he'd make time for her, maybe her friends too.
The mermaid who sucked off Feather walked up to Chad. "When you get back, maybe we can spend some time together. I'd really like to be with a human," she told him.
"I know everyone here likes sex. However, when I make it back, I'm going to have my wife with me. I don't think Princess Shea will like that I already had sex with your friend," Chad told her politely. He hoped she would understand about what happened already.
"I know Princess Shea won't mind. She was the one who helped me with my cherry when I was just forty three," the mermaid told him with a smile.
Chad smiled back. 'This place just gets weirder and weirder,' he thought.
The group was about to leave when they were stopped at the sound of someone screaming. Everyone turned to see what the matter was. Feather's mom came running out of the forest. Leonia stumbled just as she reached the clearing. One of the centaurs bolted for the exhausted elf.
Leonia got to her feet and wobbled forward. She had run most of the way to the lake during the night. The centaur reached out, swung the tired elf onto his back, and galloped towards the group. Leonia climbed down gingerly. Her hair, matted with sweat, clung to her skin. She was bleeding from cuts on her toned legs. Feather ran up to her and caught her before she collapsed.
"Mom! What the hell are you doing here? What happened to you?" Feather asked.
"I had to see... I had to hold you...just once...more," she Leonia replied breathlessly.
"What in the name of Artemis were you thinking Mom? You know better than anyone not to go through the forest at night anymore!" Feather exclaimed.
"I'll...be here when...when you get...back," Leonia told her.
Xena put an arm around Leonia's shoulders. Then, addressing Feather, she said, "Don't worry about your mother Feather. We'll take care of her and see to her injuries. You worry about getting the princess back."
Feather let her mother go. "When I get back --and I will be back--you and I are going to have a long talk about self-control," she said and then kissed Leonia goodbye.
The group turned to enter the forest. Malifin lead the way. Larry, Feather, and Chad followed close behind. Nugen was the last one, just incase something tried to sneak up on the group. Chad felt confident if they could make it to the castle, with the group intact, they stood a good chance of success.
"We should reach the castle just after night fall," Feather told Chad.
"You know the castle better than I do. You're going to have to find a way in," Chad responded.
"I already know how we get in. That's not what I'm worried about. It's what to do when we get in," she said.
"If Marrow is as bad as you say, he's going to have a small army waiting for us," Chad said. Just then, Malifin stopped and knelt on the ground studying something that was there.
The group gathered around to see what he found. There were two sets of large footprints. One set was facing the direction they were going. The other set was facing the direction from where they came. "Now we know what was watching us last night, a Boraro," Malifin told them.
"I'm sorry if I sound stupid. It looks like the tracks are backwards," Chad said.
"That's how we know it was a Boraro. The being looks like a human, but its feet point backwards. The name means, 'the white ones', because they have pale skin and hairy chests. The only good thing about them is that they're easy to take down," Feather said.
"What makes them so easy? Given the size of that print, it seems they're pretty big," Chad asked.
"They have no knees. If you can knock them down, you can defeat them." Larry informed him.
Feather looked up at Chad. "You're the one he was hunting. They hate humans and will track them through the forest, waiting for the right moment to attack."
"I don't think we will have to worry about this one. He probably left to tell Marrow that we're here. We won't see him again until we get there. On the down side, Marrow will probably send some trouble our way," Malifin told the group.
He stood up and faced the others. "From here on out, we watch each others' backs. There will be no unnecessary talking. Whatever we meet out there, we don't want to help them by making a lot of noise," the Wokulo said.
Malifin took his position again and lead the group deeper into the forest. Chad looked over to the Satyr. "Nugen, you follow Larry. Feather and I will take up rear guard," Chad said.
"As you wish, your majesty. Um. Forgive me...Chad," Nugen said politely.
"Are you up for this Chad? From here on, it will just get worse," Feather whispered to him.
Chad leaned over and kissed her lips, sliding his tongue into her mouth. Feather finally pulled away and caught her breath. "What was that for?" Feather asked in surprise.
"I thought I'd kiss you. I may not get a chance again," Chad said as he went to follow the others.
The forest was quiet, which only made Chad nervous. It had been a few hours and he was starting to feel it in his legs. A break would be nice. As they moved along, Chad heard the sound of water running. He knew one thing from hunting: Never pass up water when you can get it.
"Hey, Feather. Let's stop up here. I think I hear water running," he said, maybe a little too loudly.
The noise caught Malifin's attention. He turned to face Chad with his face full of anger. Feather signaled to the team to hold up at the nearby stream. Once they gathered around, they drank what they had left, and refilled the wooden jugs. Malifin moved over next to Chad, whispering quietly to the human.
"When I said no noise, that's what I meant. You're new here, so I'm going to give you a break. But until we get to the castle...shut up!" he said tersely through tight lips. Chad signaled that he understood the furry little man. He didn't know which he'd have to fight first, Marrow...or Malifin.
Larry looked over at Chad, giving him a glance that showed he wasn't pleased either. Feather moved over next to him and put her lips next to his ear. "Don't let them get to you Chad. They're just used to the forest and noise discipline," she said reassuringly. Chad didn't want to say anything, so he just patted her on the leg and stood up.
Chad motioned to the group to get started again. He felt a lot better now that he'd rested for a short while. About twenty minutes later, Malifin grabbed the handle of his sword and froze. This caused the whole team to follow suit. Chad's heart started to race. He remembered what Feather had said about Malifin. Danger was close by, but where?
Up above the trees, the Jaculus waited. The winged serpent-like creatures had a reputation for quick shooting attacks. When the prey was close, they would launch themselves from the trees and sink their large teeth and claws into their victims. Once the Jaculus attacked, very few creatures ever got away. They were just too fast. This one was still a good hundred yards off, but realized the group knew he was there. What stood out the most was the first creature. If the furry dwarf could sense him, he might lose the advantage.
Everyone in the group scanned the forest for the danger, but no one saw any signs. After a few minutes, Malifin started forward...slowly. Chad keep staring behind them to make sure the attack was not from behind. Just as he turned towards Malifin, that's when he saw it. It was almost as if time slowed down.
Shooting out of the trees was a large-winged serpent. Its wings were pulled back in what looked like a power dive. Malifin pulled his sword out and quickly crouched in preparation to defend against the Jaculus heading straight for him. Chad could see the puzzled look in the creature's expression. In the blink of an eye, Malifin had disappeared.
Since the Jaculus lost his intended victim, he turned his aim towards the next one in line. 'This stupid creature must be petrified. He's standing perfectly still,' the Jaculus thought.
Larry instinctively knew that when Malifin vanished, he was next. He allowed the creature to approach him. The Jaculus seemed so confident in his attack. While Larry was waiting for the Jaculus to hit him, Feather pulled out her bow. As she pulled an arrow back, preparing to fire, she realized it was too late. The Jaculus began to move its talons to the front, so he could hit the Tengu with claws and fangs at the same time.
Larry grabbed the two samurai swords at his sides. Larry laughed to himself, as the creature was within range. 'Stupid creature', he thought. To Chad, it was all a blur. He had never seen anything move that fast. Larry stepped to the side as he pulled the swords out, crossing his body. The Jaculus had no chance as the Tengu's swords removed its head cleanly. The creature never touched its intended target.
Chad, Feather, and Nugen all dove to the side, as the body of the Jaculus slid lifelessly across the forest floor. Larry gave the two swords a quick flick of his wrists, removing the blood from the razor sharp blades. As Chad pulled himself up, he could see that Feather was laughing and shaking her head in disbelief.
Larry approached the others to see if they were injured. "What do you find so amusing, Elf?" Larry asked.
"Well I've heard how fast the Tengu are, but I didn't think it was possible to be that fast," she told him. Chad moved over to the dead creature and looked at Larry.
"I was just wondering. Would anyone like to tell me what that used to be?" he asked. Feather put her bow away and looked at Chad.
