Chapter 2

JJ was disappointed when Mike opened his storage box. She had been expecting to see swords, a mace, a crossbow, and other weapons. Instead, there was a staff, a couple of knives, and some trail gear.

“I want a sword,” JJ said.

Mike said, “I don’t have a sword.”

“Can we get a sword?” JJ asked.

Mike reached to the small chest inside the storage box. He opened it and grabbed a handful of coins and jewels from it. He dropped half of them in her hand and said, “We’ll see what we can get you with that.”

“What will I carry it in?” JJ asked.

There was a piece of jewelry that she would love to take home. It was a small gold broach that held a beautiful blue stone the size of her fingernail. She couldn’t tell if it was a sapphire or not, but the color was absolutely splendid.

“Put that back in the box, Mike,” she said returning the broach to Mike.

“Why?”

“I want to keep it,” she answered.

“It has to stay here,” Mike said.

“Why?”

“That’s the rules. No metal can cross the portal,” Mike said.

“What about your ring?”

“It activates the portal,” Mike said.

“Maybe this will, also,” JJ said.

Mike shook his head and said, “I don’t know. Do you want to risk losing it?”

“No.”

“Then we won’t try to take it back with us.”

“Okay,” JJ said.

Having emptied the box except for the small chest, he closed the lid. The crack of the air rushing in to fill the vacuum created by the removal of the storage box startled JJ.

She said, “That’s wild. It just disappears.”

“That’s right,” Mike said.

“What now?” JJ asked eager to begin the adventure.

Mike said, “I guess we should see about getting some weapons.”

“On to the armorer!”

“Right,” Mike said getting a little tired of her enthusiasm.

“I can’t wait to get armed and start kicking some ass,” JJ said while rubbing her hands together gleefully.

Mike, who had been about to open the door, stopped in his tracks. He turned to JJ and glared at her.

With anger in his voice, he said, “Listen. We’re not here to kick ass!. We’re here to rescue a Damsel. Don’t forget that. Going around asking for trouble is likely to get us both killed.”

“I know, but...”

“No ‘buts!’”

“Okay,” JJ said.

“Now, let’s get some weapons and head off to rescue our Damsel.”

JJ said, “Okay.”

Mike opened the door and stepped out of the little room. JJ was right on his heels. They walked through the bank without anyone even noticing their presence. Everything was fine until they hit the front door.

JJ staggered back and swore, “What is that stench?”

“Welcome to the smelly past,” Mike said with a smile. He sniffed and said, “At least there isn’t a tannery anywhere around here.”

“It can smell worse than this?”

“A lot worse!” Mike said.

They headed down the street from the bank. Mike noticed a young man, maybe fifteen or sixteen years old, riding a horse down the middle of the street. The young man was wearing brown leather pants, a green shirt, and a brown leather vest. He had metal cap on his head that was polished so that the sun reflected off of it. On his wide belt, hung a sheath with a very nice looking sword, a pair of knives, and his coin purse. The saddle was of very fine quality with stirrups. The saddle blanket was green with yellow tassels. All of the young man’s finery paled in comparison to the horse on which he was riding.

After his stint at the stable, Mike had learned what to look for in a good horse. He remembered the simple summary – look for a horse that is proud to be a horse. If there was ever a horse that was proud to be a horse, then that young man was riding it. It carried itself as if it was the king of the world.

Mike said, “Look at that horse.”

“Nice,” JJ commented. “It’s hard to believe that a kid that young can own a horse like that.”

“I know,” Mike said taking a closer look at the young man on it.

The kid looked really young, but carried himself with a confidence befitting the horse on which he rode. He decided that the kid was the son of a very wealthy man and could ride without fear in the area or he was a very good fighter. Mike couldn’t tell which it was.

He looked across the street and noticed the blacksmith shop. He said, “Let’s see about getting some weapons.”

The pair crossed the street., and Mike paused to look at the display of goods. There wasn’t much of anything that he was interested in.

“Can I help you?”

Mike looked over at the man. He was broad shouldered with huge arms that came for working metal. There were burn marks up and down his forearms. His hands were powerful and calloused. He looked exactly like what he was: a blacksmith.

JJ was staring at the guy impressed by his sheer size. She didn’t think she had ever seen anyone who looked so strong. She was thinking about the gym rats who took steroids in an attempt to bulk up. They could pose with well defined muscles, but one look at this guy and you knew that he could bend horseshoes with his bare hands.

“I’m looking for a sword.”

“Go two buildings up the street. The guy inside deals with weapons,” the blacksmith said.

“Thank you.”

“Good luck. The owner is rather particular about who he sells weapons to,” the blacksmith said.

“Thanks for the warning,” Mike said.

With a grunt, the blacksmith returned to his work.

While walking up the street, JJ said, “Did you see the size of that guy?”

“Yes. He’s a blacksmith,” Mike said with a grin. “They are all that size.”

“That can’t be natural. Do they have steroids here?”

“Nope. He got that size working metal,” Mike replied.

“Amazing.”

They reached the shop and went inside. A small man with one leg sat on a stool at the far end of the room. He watched them enter.

Mike said, “The blacksmith told us you deal in weapons.”

“That’s right,” the man answered.

“I need a sword and a battle axe,” Mike said.

The man picked up a blunt old training sword and tossed it to Mike. Mike caught it and held it out. Although he had a few lessons with Professor Jackson, he didn’t have much skill with a sword yet. This one seemed particularly awkward.

“You don’t need a sword. Stick with that staff of yours,” the man said in disgust.

Mike tossed the sword over to JJ. She grabbed it out of the air and swung it around a little. She frowned and said, “This sucks even for a practice sword.”

“You can use a sword,” the man grunted in respect for her obvious skill.

“Not this one,” JJ said in disgust.

“Look at that one over by the mace,” the man said gesturing to a point along the wall.

JJ went over to the wall and picked up the sword.

“What about a battle axe?” Mike asked.

“I’ve got an old beat up one over on that wall over there,” the man said with another negligent gesture.

Mike went over and picked up the battle axe. The man watched how he handled the weapon with a disgusted look on his face. Mike ignored him. He held the axe across a finger looking at the balance. He pulled out a knife and started whittling on the handle.

“You’re going to buy that,” the man said getting angry.

Mike ignored him and fussed with the axe for another minute. The guy slowly reached for a sword that was on the co-unter beside his chair. Mike whittled a little more off of the handle.

“I said that you’re going to buy that.”

Mike threw the axe across the room. It stuck in the wall with a resounding thunk. Mike smiled and said, “It’ll do for now.”

The man looked at the axe and then over at Mike. He smiled and said, “Most folks like a longer handle for up close fighting.”

“I prefer the staff,” Mike replied. “A good throwing axe can keep it from being a close up fight. For a really close up fight, it always ends with a knife.”

“That’s true,” the man said nodding his head.

Mike went over to where the axe was stuck in the wall and pulled it out. He looked it over and said, “Let’s give it the final test.”

“What’s that?” the man asked.

Mike threw the axe down towards the floor at a point about five paces from where he stood. The head hit the floor, it spun, and then the handle hit the floor. The axe took off in an upwards direction. It stuck into the wall on the other end of the shop.

“Perfect,” Mike said.

“I’ve never seen anyone do that before,” the man said in amazement. “Where did you learn to do that?”

Mike said, “I fought along side of a guy back when I was doing some work for Uncle Sam. He had four axes that were a little different from this one, but similar enough. He’d get in a fight and throw them at the enemy. They’d hit the ground and bounce all over the place. It was damned near impossible to get out of their way because you didn’t know where it was going to go. I swear that he could hit a guy hiding in a hole. He taught me how to throw.”

“Interesting,” the man said.

“Where was that?” JJ asked.

“I can’t talk about it. We weren’t officially there,” Mike answered.

“I want this sword,” JJ said.

The man asked, “What was wrong with the other one?”

“It just doesn’t feel right in my hand,” JJ answered.

“That’s a good enough reason to pick one over the other,” the man said with grudging respect in his voice.

Mike went over and pulled the axe out of the wall. He stuck it in his belt, shifted it around until it felt right, and then tested drawing it out. Satisfied, he said, “We’ll take the axe and the sword.”

“I can see that the lady knows how to use a sword. Does she know what to do with one?” the man asked.

Irritated by the question, JJ looked at the man and said, “Yes, I know what to do with one.”

The man stood up on his good leg and grabbed a crutch. He walk-hopped towards JJ and said, “Lots of folks know how to use a sword. They can swing it all day long. They can spar with their buddies every day for years. Then when it comes time to actually use it, they freeze. There’s that split second before they lose their head when they realize that they don’t know what to do with it.”

He picked up a sword and held it up for them to see. He said, “This is a weapon. You use it to kill. It’s not a prop to make you look tough. It’s not a toy to play soldier with among your friends. It is a weapon. When you pull it out, you have to know that you or your opponent will die.

“You have to know that, and you have to accept it, before you step out of this store carrying it. I won’t sell it to you, otherwise.”

Mike looked over at JJ. She was pissed and looked like she was ready to gut the guy right there, although she agreed with the man.

Mike said, “You never know something like that, until that moment is upon you. You might think you do, but you don’t know for sure. After you survive the first time, you’ll know. JJ, I know that you won’t like what I’m about to say, but you don’t know if you’re really ready to stick that sword through someone and watch the light go out of his eyes. I promise you that.

“Mister, I’ve been around long enough to know that you can’t judge a person on their willingness to use a weapon in the manner it is intended until after they’ve been through the heat of battle. I’ve seen fearsome people freeze and I’ve seen little bitty guys turn into lions. You just never know.”

The man said, “You’re right, but I could tell by the fire in her eyes that she was ready to give it a go.”

“I’m going to have to work on that temper of hers,” Mike said.

The glare JJ was giving the storekeeper turned in Mike’s direction. He ignored her and that only made her angrier.

The storekeeper rapped the floor with his crutch to get her attention. When she glanced at him, he said, “I lost my leg because I was stupid. I let my anger get in the way of my better judgment. Listen to the man. He knows what he’s talking about.”