Chapter Two of my little story. Enjoy.
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The morning stillness was broken by the sound of boots as they approached the Cameron household. The door opened without a knock and in walked Caine Blackburn.
"Morning Caine." Joel greeted him with a nod. Joel was busy preparing the morning meal and had enlisted the help of his youngest son.
"You always seem to be on time when there is food involved." Joel said.
He always enjoyed playing with Caine giving him a hard time. Caine knew that he was like a son to Joel and always was happy to play along with his adopted father.
"I am always ready to eat sir." Caine smiled. "Mmmm something smells good."
"That's father's special breakfast sausage." Jerret added while setting the table for breakfast. Before the lad was told by his father he placed another setting for Caine. "He only makes it when we have company." Jerret smiled.
"How did you know I was coming?" Caine asked him.
"You're not company Caine, you're family," he smiled big as Caine messed the boy's dark hair.
"We have a visitor. His name is Asahel Bloodstone."
"Yes, I have heard something about that." Caine said. "Where's Jason?"
"He's still asleep." Joel said. "See if you can get him out of bed."
"I'll try, but you know Jason." Caine laughed.
At that moment Asahel walked into the room. "Good morning," he said.
"Good morning Asahel. I trust that you slept well," said Joel
"Yes, thank you. The room was warm and the bed felt like a mothers arms as I slept."
Caine came up to the older man and made a slight bow. "Hello sir, my name is Caine Blackburn. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance.'
The old man looked at Caine, "You sure are a big one aren't you?"
Caine not knowing what to answer stood there. He struggled with how to respond.
The old man smiled, "Easy lad, I'm jesting."
Caine blushed. "I better go and see what's taking Jason."
"Try your best to wake my son." Joel added while Caine walked down the hall towards Jason's bedroom.
Caine opened the door slowly not wanting to disturb his friend. Jason was on his back under the blankets of his bed. Caine could see his friend's morning hardness as it tented his blankets. He stood there not making a sound. He wanted to just watch his lovely Jason as he slept. His soul yearned to crawl into bed with him and hold him. Caine often wondered if Jason had the same thoughts of love for him as he did for him.
Just then Jason's hand moved under the covers. His hand began to stroke his hardness.
"What is he dreaming about?" Caine wondered. Caine's own member began to stir and fill with blood as he watched Jason. All too soon Jason's hand left his cock. After waiting a moment to let his hardness go soft he made a noise loud enough to wake his friend.
Caine finally spoke.
"Jason Cameron you're lazier then a sow in a mud bath." Jumping on the bed, Caine started to tickle his best friend.
"Get off me." Jason tried to sound angry, but he loved it when Caine teased him.
"Then get up out of that bed. You`re father has made his special sausage for breakfast"
"Alright I'm up." Jason threw back the covers of his bed. He straightened his night shirt as he left the warmth of his bed behind for the coolness of his room. Caine had seen his friend's morning hardness many times as Jason didn't bother with modesty when it came to his friend.
Jason washed his face in the basin near his door and readied himself.
"Tell my father I'll be in soon." He said to Caine.
"Alright, but don't be too long. Caine said over his shoulder as he started to leave the room. Before he could leave the room Jason turned towards his friend.
"Caine, was last night a dream? Did I really tell you about Asahel Bloodstone?"
"Yes, you did and you're not dreaming. He's sitting at the table right now speaking with your father." Caine smiled, "Now, hurry up. You don't want to keep them waiting."
The wonderful smell of breakfast filled the family dining area. The steaming plates of eggs, sausage, biscuits, gravy, and wild rice were awaiting the hungry stomachs of the village men. The harvest that season had been plentiful and the little village of Egelsa had prospered.
With breakfast almost over Jason could no longer be patient. He spoke.
"Sir. Can you tell us now what has brought you to our village?"
"Jason please don't be rude." Joel Cameron gave him a stern look. "Excuse my impatient son Asahel. He sometimes can be a little annoying." he apologized.
Asahel chuckled.
"No worries Joel. We both were young once." Asahel turned to Jason. His face deep in thought. "I will tell you my story Jason. You may think I am an old fool once you have heard it.
"Why have you left your home and traveled so far?" Jason asked again.
"I know nothing but what I have been told." A look of anger and frustration was mounting on the old winkled face. "Let me try to explain what happened."
He sat up in his chair and cleared his throat, "I was working in my fields. I have many different fruit trees," he smiled with a look of pride on his face. "My land is near the white forest of Pavlia. As I was working I noticed a figure of a woman in the corner of my eye. When I turned to greet her, she was gone and no where did I find her." Shaking his head he continued. "I continued with my work. The sun was very hot that day and I thought my mind was playing tricks on me. I returned to my work. Once again I saw the women in the corner of my eye. This time as I turned toward her she did not vanish. She was a beautiful woman. She wore robes of crimson and a strange medallion around her neck. She had skin like porcelain and auburn hair that glistened in the sun's rays. She appeared to be a woman of great wisdom. She greeted me and told me her name was Ariana. I invited her to sup with me. After dinner is when she began explaining why she came to me. She told me a strange tale of a warlord that was on the verge of taking over the entire known world. She said that no place was safe from his army of dark creatures. At first I didn't know what to believe but Ariana assured me that everything she told me was the truth. She continued by saying that there is only one thing that stands in the way of the warlord's plans."
"What?" Jason asked. He leaned closer to the old man as he asked. His ears anxiously waiting to hear the old man`s reply.
Asahel took a deep breath and released it as he continued, "The prophets tell of a great warrior. A defender against the evil one. This "chosen one" or "champion" is destined to destroy this evil power now threatening our world. She also revealed to me that she had decided to use me as her instrument in finding this one who would defeat the evil one. She gave me a map and sent me on this almost endless journey."
The room grew quiet as Asahel ended his story. All eyes rested on the aged man. Finally Joel spoke.
"May I see this map?"
"Yes, it's in my bag. The bag is in my room."
Jason stood from the table, "I'll retrieve it father." His father nodded to his son.
Jason quickly retrieved the bag which was on a chair in the old man's room. It appeared weightless but when he picked it up he noticed that it was very heavy.
"Here is your bag sir," He said as he struggled to hand the hefty bag to him.
"Thank you," he said as he took the bag with ease. He pulled out a scroll from his bag and placed it on the table. He began to open the scroll revealing the map.
"This looks very old. Do you know where this Ariana acquired such a map as this?" Joel asked.
"No, I do not know where this map came from." he answered.
"Maybe it's from Fire Mountain. From the fortress which lies within the mountain!" Jason exclaimed.
"At this point of my journey I wouldn't be shocked at all if it did." The old man said with a nod of his head toward the map.
At that point the old man showed the men his journey from Torensia. He had traveled far without a companion. After an hour of sharing the tales of his journey the old man declared he was tired and retired to his room.
After hearing the tales from Asahel Jason began his daily chores. Caine left to return home saying he had his own cores to attend to. He said that he would see Jason after he had completed his work. Joel had put Jason in charge of his younger brother and expected him to supervise his work. As he worked Jason could not stop thinking about the old man's words. He wondered if the old man's tale was true and if it was, how much longer would he and his family be safe. He thought of Caine and his family. He would cease to live if anything had happened to his love. His mind was running with thoughts of destruction. Not only his little village but the entire world. He couldn't bare the thought.
Caine returned to the Cameron Inn to find Jason in the back of the inn. Jason had removed his tunic to chop wood; his upper body sleek with sweat. The sun reflected off Jason's shoulders as he swung the ax. Over time his upper body had filled out with muscle and it didn't go unnoticed by Caine. He looked and lusted after his friend's body. After a few minutes he regained his thoughts.
"How goes it?," he asked.
"It goes well. I'm almost done with the last of the wood," Jason answered as he struck the wood splitting the piece into two halves.
"And where is your new friend," he asked of Asahel.
"I'm not sure. I do want to talk to him more about what he's going to do next."
"Why do you want to know? It seems like this is a fool's journey. You should just tell him to leave and never come back. I don't think this fairytale has any truth to it."
Jason lay the ax against the stump he used as a table.
"You shouldn't be so quick to dismiss his story. What if it's true? What are we to do if our very livelihood is in danger? We can't just sit here idle and do nothing."
"Don't tell me you actually believe the old man. He may not be all together in his head." Caine placed a finger on his temple and tapped it a few times. "He may be leading you into believing a fool's tale." Caine crossed his arms. He always believed Jason was a little naïve and he didn't want him to fall into the old man's lies.
"I believe him. Why would he make up such a story? I don't think he's crazy," he stood his ground and in the back of his mind hoped he was right. He didn't want Caine to believe he was gullible for believing Asahel's story.
"Believe what you want. I'll not fall for this man's deceit." He shook his head. "Don't be so foolish, Jason." He looked into Jason's eyes and saw the hurt he had caused his friend. Immediately he wished he could take back his words.
Jason's eyes moistened after hearing the hurtful words from his friend. He willed the tears not to fall.
"Is that what you think? You think me a fool for believing him?"
"Jas, please..." Jason cut him off.
"No, I know now what you think. There is no more need for explanations."
Jason picked up his tunic and walked away from his friend. The hurt began to turn into anger and he didn't want to be around Caine. He walked into the coolness of the Inn and to his room leaving Caine outside.
Jason sat in his room cooling off from not only the heat of the day but also from his encounter with Caine. He knew that his friend meant well and didn't want him to be deceived by the stranger. He knew Caine cared for him yet his words still hurt. He only wished that Caine would not have such a cavalier attitude about the whole situation. He stood and washed the dirt and sweat from his face and upper body. He entered the kitchen to see his father busy cooking the evening meal.
"Do you need any help father?"
Joel turned to see his eldest son. "No son, I'm good thanks. I only need to put the pot on the fire and then wait for the food to finish cooking.
"Caine?"
"He was here a minute ago. Did you two have a disagreement?" Joel knew they had some kind of fight from the look on Caine's face and now seeing Jason he knew something was wrong.
Jason nodded his head without speaking. He couldn't trust his voice to answer his father. He feared it would show the emotions that were playing with his heart.
"You might want to check out back. I think I saw him headed in that direction."
Jason thanked his father and headed to the back of the inn. He found the back door opened and stepped out into the sunlight. He didn't see Caine anywhere but he did see Asahel.
The old man sat beneath an old juniper tree. Jason approached him. He observed the man looking at the old map.
"Hello sir," he said in almost a whisper.
"Greetings lad," he said with a sound of concern in his voice.
"Is something wrong?" Jason asked with wonder.
"I'm afraid I have failed at my mission. I don't know where this chosen champion is. I have but one more place to look. I have traveled so far without any results. I give up!" He threw the map away from him with disgust. It landed in a cloud of dust. Jason quickly retrieved the map and returned to the old man.
"You can't give up. You can't quit! What about the evil that threatens us? What will happen if the champion is not found? I will not allow you to quit. You must seek him until you find him. What of Ariana? She is depending on you."
Asahel shook his aged head, "But the journey has been long and hard and I am an old man. You don't know what I've been through. You have not been with me these many weeks. You have no idea of all the disappointment I have faced. I can't continue with a quest in which I have lost the desire to finish.
"Listen to him Jason."
Jason spun around to see Caine standing there.
He shook his head looking Caine in the eyes, "No, I will not!"
He turned back to Asahel. "You must continue."
Still holding the map in his hand Jason opened it and almost shoved it in the face of the old man.
"What will happen to all the people in these towns? Will you let them perish? How could you quit? Was Ariana mistaken when she chose you for this quest?
"What do you want of me? I have tired. I started this journey on faith. But now that faith seems dead. I have no hope to continue Jason. The two lands are doomed; doomed to perish. We are all doomed to be ruled by the evil warlord."
"No!" Jason was furious. "The warlord will not succeed!" He though for a moment. "There must be a way," he said out loud.
Suddenly an idea popped into his head. "Yes, that's it!" He turned toward Asahel. "All hope is not lost old man. Here's my idea. I will accompany you on your journey. Surely two of us searching is better than only you," Jason smiled at his own idea.
"No!" Now it was Caine who expressed his displeasure. "You can't be serious. That's not going to happen. I won't allow it." He crossed his arms in front of his chest in defiance.
"Don't you see, I must do this?" Jason tried to convey to Caine the importance of continuing the journey with Asahel.
"Don't be a fool Jason. Are you going to blindly follow this old man?
"STOP!" Jason shouted, his face red with anger. "Either you believe in me and support me or you can leave!"
Caine trying to hide the hurt in his voice spoke, "I will not be a part of this folly." He turned without another word and was gone.
Jason stood in place and focused his eyes where only moments before stood his friend.
"Are you sure you want to do this? Asahel asked. "What of your family? What of your life here in Egelsa?"
Jason turned toward Asahel, "There won't be any life in Egelsa or any other town if the warlord wins."
He helped the old man to his feet. He patted him on the back and brushed the dead leaves off of his cloak.
"We have much to discuss and many things to plan.
Asahel looked at Jason and shook his head. "This boy in no boy," he thought to himself.
So here is chapter two. I really didn't get a good response when I sent chapter one. If I don't get better feed back from chapter two I'll throw in the towel and stop this story. So, let me know if anyone is enjoying the story. Thanks! kavika66 at g mail dot com
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