24 - To Leonidas

“I… Ok, sure. Where is this place? Is Cerise still there? Can you take me?”

He grew uncertain. “I’m sorry. I do not know if she is still there.” He hesitated. “I owe you a great debt for saving my life, sir. But…” He wrung his clawed hands. “Please do not make me go back there. For the crime of escaping, they will throw me in the pits. Or the coliseum. It would be a death sentence.”

“You don’t have to go inside. Just, can you show me where this Leonidas place is?”

He eased with relief. “Yes. I can do that.”

Impulsively, I hugged him, surprising both of us. “Thank you.”

The camoose let out a low bleat.

When horses break a leg, they have to be put down. There’s no way to keep them off their hooves long enough for the leg to heal. Even if it does, the healed fracture remains weak. But with magic?

I pulled the ringtail with me toward the camoose. “Give me a hand.”

The ringtail and genie exchanged a look, but the former followed.

I didn’t want the animal to die. Not without trying to save it. Hopefully, this would work better this time. Not wanting to get my head smashed in, the two of us managed to pull the camoose’s healthy front leg back so that it was bent tight, then tied it into place so the animal couldn’t kick with it. We used the rope that had been used to bind the ringtail.

The animal was in pain and frightened, eyes white and rolling. It tried to lash out with its wide, moose-like antlers. While the ringtail ineffectually tried to keep the antlers away, I knelt and pulled the broken leg into a straight position. It made the camoose bleat and thrash, but I had to get the bone into a better position before healing this time. That done, I finally cast, “[Heal Wounds].”

Flesh and bone mended. The transition was painful, as I well knew. I got bashed in the head by the camoose’s antlers that got me dizzy. I had to cast a second time, but after that, I felt the bone under the camoose’s thin skin. “It feels healed.” The camoose sure seemed to think so. It made a powerful attempt to roll to its feet, throwing us both off. I hastily undid the rope on its leg and then backed away.

The camoose awkwardly got its large bulk over its legs and stood. A few tentative paces seemed to confirm that the leg was stable. It stood there and looked at us.

I smiled, a bit of happiness cutting through the ugliness inside. “Maybe he’ll be all right.”

The ringtail clapped and said, “A wonderful thing. Truly, you are a great person.”

My smile drooped. “Not so great.”

I cast heal on the beast a third time, just to make sure the leg was ok. Then the ringtail and I mounted up and rode back toward the oasis. Along the way, we collected the other two camoose, which meant we didn’t have to share and overburden our steeds. Not that the ringtail seemed to weigh much at all. We conversed on the way, and the more I studied him, the more cat or lemur-like he appeared in his mannerisms. It was fascinating to see people who weren’t human.

He introduced himself as Yellip, and said he came from a place many days’ walk to the north, a mix of badlands, thorn trees, and cactus fields on plateaus above the desert sands. His people harvested the latter and were skilled craftsfolk, making many things from the cacti and something that sounded like tumbleweeds. Cacti also produced fruits, and it seemed they were very proud of the drinks and dishes made from them. But seeing as how he regaled me with recipes filled with bats, locusts, spiders, mice, and other critters, I figured I’d probably stick to a vegetarian diet if I ever visited. I didn’t tell him about my skill, [Chef’s Kiss: Fried Arachnid], lest he ask me to use it.

The genie floated along but remained quiet. At least she’d taken a break from trying to kill me. That was nice.

According to Yellip, this Leonidas place was only a two-day ride. Thanks to the mounts and supplies taken from the raiders, I now had waterskins with some kind of magical filter on them. For the first time in this world, I was able to drink clean water.

I guzzled from the skin, greedy for the pure water. It tasted far better than any I’d ever had. I let the whole skin pour over my face and chest, relishing the feeling. “It doesn’t taste like sand and disease. Thank goodness!”

Yellip gave me an odd look. He was able to drink from the oasis without worry. Apparently, ringtails had a stronger constitution. He was also quite happy to eat fried scorpions. The raiders had some kind of food in their saddlebags, travel rations shaped into bars, but it smelled like unwashed feet and had a lot of insect parts inside some kind of paste. I passed. Yellip wouldn’t taste it either.

With water and some extra fried scorpions, I mounted my camoose and got ready to ride out of there, hopefully to save my wife. A scuffling and whining sound halted me.

The mimic, still in huge treasure chest form, had formed tiny legs again and was painfully trying to haul itself after me. The lid opened, and the long tongue flicked out. It whined again.

Yellip, seeing the mimic move for the first time, yelped and kicked his camoose into a walk to get away. “What is that thing?”

I opened my mouth, unsure what to say or do. Then I caught the genie watching me. She said nothing. I looked back down at the mimic. It was still gravely injured. I cursed myself. As if I wasn’t feeling guilty enough already. I dismounted. I marched over to the mimic. “Dammit. Sorry. I forgot all about y—”

The tongue curled around me and pulled me into the mimic’s mouth.

I dangled half in, half out of the mouth, legs in the air. “Hey! You want another fireball, buddy?”

Instead of spitting me out, the mimic gently removed me and put me on the ground.

I sat there, half covered in disgusting saliva. Again. I glared. “I was going to try to heal you!”

The mimic almost looked sheepish.

Grumbling, I continued to glare, put my hands on the mimic, and threw my willpower through the skill and into him. Not much changed, so I cast again. Then again. I felt myself growing low on mana. I tried one more time. Some of the discoloration on the mimic seemed to have improved. I stepped back. “Sorry. That’s all I’ve got right now.” I turned away, intending to go back to the camoose.

The mimic tried to shuffle after me.

I looked back, confused. “You…want to come with us?” This was probably an ancient being, and without the wounds, it might have been powerful, or at least able to look after itself. But in its current condition, maybe it would struggle to survive out here alone. Also, there was no telling whether I’d ever come back this way. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t be able to try healing it again.

The lid creaked open. Large, oval eyes looked at me.

“Ok.” I scratched my head. “Do you know how to ride a camoose?”

It took both Yellip and I a while to heave the mimic onto the back of the third camoose, which scared the turds out of the camoose. The mimic tried to help, morphing itself to pull itself up and then kind of melted into the saddle so it would stay in place. I tethered the reins of that camoose to the back of my own to form a train.

As we rode out of the oasis, the genie floated up next to me. She spoke without looking at me, “Thank you for your kindness.”

I regarded her with surprise. “Well, I don’t want it to die out here.” Was this a positive turning point in our relationship?

She nodded slowly in agreement. “Yes. I’m sure dragging the mimic to a hostile city of slavers and pit fighting against monsters will offer much more interesting and painful ways to suffer and die.”

I soured. So much for that.

“Also, you forgot the lamp.”

“Huh?”

“I’m bound to the lamp. I go where the lamp goes.”

“Oh, for—” I sighed.

After turning around, retrieving the lamp from where the priceless treasure had just been baking in the sand, we left the oasis at last.

We rode until well into the night, camping in the lee of a sharp dune. We were then up at dawn and soon back on our way. Late that afternoon, we approached our destination.

Yellip cautioned me, “If we approach in daylight, we will be spotted. We should wait until night to get closer.”

We rested until an hour or more after sunset, then rode closer, side by side.

In the dark, Leonides was only a broken line of darker black on the horizon, spotted with lights.

Yellip turned to me. “I must leave you. I cannot go closer.”

I smiled at him. “It’s ok. Thank you for this. You have no idea how grateful I am.”

He waved me off. “No no. It is I who am grateful. You saved my life. This is only a tiny part of what I owe.”

I cut him off, “Yellip, friends don’t owe each other like that.”

He did that thing where your mouth silently opens and closes like a fish’s does. “Friend? But—”

I held out a hand. “Friends. Promise.”

Gingerly, he reached out and clasped my hand back.

“Ow!”

“Ah. Sorry. Claws.”

“Yeah, I should have thought of that. Here. Fist bump.” I had regained some mana, cast [Heal Wounds] on myself, then taught him how to fist bump.

He began to dismount. “I will take my leave now and return to my people’s home.”

I protested, “What are you doing?”

He looked up in confusion. “Getting off the camoose.” I’d taught him my word for the beast earlier, which had amused him, and the name had stuck.

“Why?”

He tilted his head to the side. “Why?”

I waved at him and the animal. “Just take the camoose. Ride home. You don’t have to walk the whole way.”

“But these camoose are yours.”

“No, they’re not.”

“You captured them fairly.”

“Just take it. Please. It’s yours. Those lizard slavers owe you than and far more after…you know.” Murdering his parents.

Yellip seemed surprised and mulled it over. “Are you sure?”

“Take it!”

He remounted. Then he gave me a serious look.

I spoke before he could. “Don’t even think about saying you owe me more. The camoose is yours, fair and square. It’s not a kindness, it’s just what’s right. Ok?”

His feline mouth split into a smile. “As you wish.” With a word of goodbye and a wave, he was on his way again, riding off into the night.

I sat on my camoose, watching him go.

The genie drifted over. Usually, she glowed with some internal light. But now that we were in sight of the city, she’d turned that effect off, probably so she wouldn’t be visible from the city. “So. You truly did free him.”

I was tired from the journey and the day’s heat. Too tired to spar. “Of course.”

“Let’s hope you make a habit of it.”

My gaze changed to encompass the city. I was exhausted but also anxious to get there. “No offence, but I don’t want to get caught up in anything else. I just want to find Cerise.”

“Of course you do. Why would anyone else’s life matter?”

I just shook my head, not wanting another argument. Instead, I considered my next course of action. “I think you’re right about taking the mimic into the city. It could be dangerous. They might consider it a monster or try to capture it. And it’s hurt. It won’t be able to defend itself. The mimic should stay out here. You too.”

She gave me a flat look. “Are you an idiot?”

“If I go in there and trouble happens, someone could get their hands on the lamp.”

“You can’t make a wish without me there.”

“I’m not going to wish for anything. I won’t be party to the situation you’re in.”

She huffed. “I’ve heard that before.”

“Well, I mean it.”

“And when your life is on the line? Or what if your wife is in there and an army of felids is between you and her, and there’s no other way to get her except wish for it?”

“Better I leave you and the lamp out here then, isn’t it? Then I won’t be tempted.” I shook my head. “I don’t get you. You seem really intent on getting me to wish for something. Why? I tried to wish you free. More than once. I’ll do it again. Because it’s the only wish I’ll make. Genie, I wish you to be free of your bonds and the lamp.”

The genie’s eyes went to the bracers on her forearms. She seemed to hold her breath, not that genies needed to breathe. But nothing happened.

I muttered, “Sorry. I honestly would like you to be free. I don’t agree with what they did to you.”

The genie stared at her bonds. One eye twitched a few times. A bolt of lightning crackled between her hands.

That…probably wasn’t a good sign.

However, she calmed herself. Taking her eyes off her bonds, she looked over at the city again. “Fine. We will remain hidden. If you want to get yourself killed, that’s up to you.” She crossed her arms and faked being bored. “She’ll eventually starve out here, and the lamp will get buried under the sand where no one will ever find it, and I’ll stay locked up inside for eternity.”

I stared at her.

A fat black beetle thing about a meter long skittered into view, paused, then skittered out of view.

I stared at her.

She idly drifted over to where the mimic sat, drooped over the camoose it was on. She gave it a sympathetic petting. “There, there.”

It whined.

I snapped. “Oh, for— Fine! We’ll all go in.” It annoyed me that she was right.

She touched her fingers to her mouth, which made a pretty O-shape.

“Oh, stuff it. But given the way Yellip reacted to you, you might want to stay invisible. Your choice though. What about the mimic though. If I ride up with a giant treasure chest, they’re going to want to open it or take it. And if they see it’s a mimic, try to kill it.”

“Then she’ll just have to try really hard to be less interesting. Won’t you?” She threw me a pointed look. “Which would be easier if someone healed you.”

I tried not to sigh. “Yeah. I know. Got it.” I dismounted, glad to be off the camoose and able to stretch because riding hurt after a while. Walking over, I cast [Heal Wounds] until my mana was low. I’d been doing it since we’d left the oasis. Progress was slow, but the mimic had visibly improved.

The genie pursed her lips in thought, then decided, “How about a rolled-up tent? Something old and worn. They’ll probably not bother trying to steal that.” She patted the mimic on the lid.

I watched as the mimic very, very slowly changed. “Uh, how long does this usually take?”

“Minutes. Seconds. Depends on how complex the change. She’s very mature for her kind. But those injuries have really hurt her.”

“So, like, an hour?”

“She’ll be done by morning.”

I looked over my shoulder at the city. Cerise was in there somewhere. So close. I was anxious to get in and look for her as soon as possible. But not at the cost of anyone’s lives. Even a treasure mimic. “Ok. Let’s find a place to make camp. But we’re moving out at first light.” A wave of giddy excitement washed over me. My wife, love of my life, was alive. And tomorrow, I’d see her again.