Two 

Something shook Justin again and he sat up quickly. “Easy,” a low familiar voice said, pushing gently against his shoulder. He lay back again, his eyes slowly fluttering open. “I shouldn't have shaken you so hard, Warrior,” Lance said, his green eyes kind.

“Warrior?” Justin grumbled, sitting up once more. He looked at Lance, who wasn't Lance. It WAS Lance…he had Lance's pale skin and green eyes and low voice…but it wasn't Lance. This man had what could only be called a mullet, and wore a long grey robe. “Lance?”

“I think the blow to your head did more damage then I first assumed,” Lance said, his fingers tenderly feeling at the back of Justin's skull. “You never dared to call me by such a silly name before, Warrior.”

“Quit calling me that,” Justin snapped. “And what should I call you, if not Lance?”

Lance, or, Not-Lance, rose to his full height. He seemed ten feet tall. “You know my name, Warrior. And would you prefer not to be known as the thing that has made you so famous in all parts of our land?”

“Lance, a picture fell on my head. Humor me.”

Lance looked at him strangely. “A limb fell from that tree, striking you in the head as we walked to the meeting area. I used magic to heal the wound…but now I wonder…”

“Magic?” Justin gasped.

Lance looked offended. “I understand you have a slight bruising to your head, Timberlake, but I did not think it would make you forget my powers. A wizard always…”

“A wizard?” Justin began to laugh hysterically. “Let me guess…JC is Dorothy, Chris is Toto, and Joey is the Wicked Witch. Am I right? And if I click my ruby slippers together, I'll be home again.”

Lance looked down at Justin's shoes. “Well, if you wanted slippers of ruby, I'd give them to you, but slippers are no shoe for a warrior, and ruby really isn't very wise.” Justin followed Lance's gaze and gasped. He wore a pair of leather shoes, brown leggings, and a dark brown tunic. A heavy sword lay on the ground by a small pack.

Justin groaned and slowly stood up. He had been right. Lance WAS taller, taller even than Justin. “What a nightmare.”

“You're right, Timberlake. This is something very serious.” Lance's eyes seemed to glow. “If we can just convince everyone else…”

“My name…” Justin stopped and shook his head. If Lance wanted to call him Timberlake, he'd let him. “Everyone else? What's so serious?”

“The dragon, Warrior. The dragon and the evil power that controls it.” Lance's eyes glowed again. “If we can convince the others, we can start out today to find this evil and stop it.”

“Kinda like a search. A search to save our land?” Justin asked. Lance nodded. “Oh, God, Chris…I'm gonna kill him.”

“Save your killing for our enemy, Warrior,” Lance said. He began to walk way, and Justin had to run to keep up.

“Right now Chris IS my enemy, getting you guys to play this trick on me.”

Lance stopped walking and turned around to face him. “This is NOT a trick, Warrior Timberlake, and I ask you to please stop your joking. This is very serious.”

“Right,” Justin said, nodding and trying desperately to keep a straight face.

“Thank you. The others are in the clearing.” Lance held out his walking stick and motioned to a clearing within the trees. Justin saw maybe two dozen figures sitting and standing. When he approached with Lance, a few people walked forward.

“I was wondering what was taking so long,” someone said to Lance. “Lansten, I thought you had gotten lost.”

Lance smiled in amusement. “I may be old, but my sense of direction is not. I apologize for our delay.” He said nothing of Justin's injury. Justin looked around and gulped. It was almost as if he had fallen right into the fantasy world of Tolkein, but everything was slightly different. He saw no Hobbits, but the other creatures were NOT human. “Let us begin.” Justin stood with his mouth open until Lance grabbed his sleeve and slowly pulled him aside.

“I see no reason to go,” a creature said. He was short and hairy, but looked very strong. “We have held them off thus far.”

“Master Dwarf, I beg to differ,” Lance said politely. “They've been kind to us so far. It is only a matter of time.”

“We dwarves can go underground,” the dwarf continued. “We don't have to hide behind trees like the elves.”

A rumble of discontent stirred to Justin's left. He immediately recognized the delicate beauty of the elves. “Watch yourself, Dwarf,” said an elf. He seemed to be the President of the elves…or whatever an elf leader was called. “We did not ask to come here.”

“None of us did,” the dwarf snapped back. Lance walked into the circle and held up his hands.

“No matter how much we fight within ourselves, it will not solve a thing. This is coming. It is coming to every one of us. Even if we wizards pooled our powers together, it wouldn't be enough to fight and to win. If we go to the home of this evil…we can overcome it.”

“How can you be so sure?” The dwarf asked, and everyone nodded in agreement.

“I'm not,” Lance admitted. “I cannot see our failure OR our victory. But we MUST try.”

“What do you suggest?” The elf asked finally.

“I suggest the Warrior go on behalf of the humans.” Everyone turned to Justin. He gave a weak wave. No one smiled. He was quickly realizing that this was no joke of Chris'. No joke would have gone this far. “An elf, and a dwarf, and myself. The other tribes of our land cannot spare someone, at least not someone who would be a benefit.”

“Very well,” the elf said, and the dwarf leader nodded.

“I will go,” a voice said from the elves. They moved aside to let their volunteer walk through the group. Justin's mouth fell open. It was JC, but he was more beautiful than Justin had ever seen him. He wore grey leggings, a gorgeous grey and silver tunic, and had hair that hung past his elbows. Long, straight hair, with curling braids in the front.

“Guh,” a voice said, and Justin blushed as he recognized his own voice. Thankfully, no one had seemed to notice.

“I'll not let an elf get the best of me.” A small figure pushed his way through the dwarfs. “I'll go with you, Lansten.”

“Kirkpatrick,” Lance said, smiling with amusement. “So we meet again.”

“Aye,” Chris said, glaring at JC.

“Chris?” Justin squeaked quietly. His best friend seemed to have lost a foot of height. He stood firmly on thick legs encased in heavy leggings. He carried a shield and an evil-looking weapon that Justin hadn't seen before.

“Prepare yourselves,” Lance said to them. “We leave tomorrow at sunrise.”

The groups began to disperse. Lance went to talk to various people. Justin sat down on a tree stump, burying his head in his hands. This was unreal. Justin felt a gentle hand on his shoulder and he looked up. “Warrior.” JC's blue eyes were friendly, yet distant at the same time. “I am Chasez.”

“That even SOUNDS exotic and elfish,” Justin muttered. JC looked confused. Justin stood up. “Jus…I mean, Timberlake. My name is Timberlake.”

“Timberlake,” JC said, nodding. “I have heard much of you. I think between us and that dwarf, we may be able to win this battle.”

“A dragon? JC, c'mon. This is insane.” Justin shook his head. “I'm living a bad dream.”

“This is not the warrior I have heard about. The warrior I have heard stories of is NOT a coward.” JC seemed to ignore the fact that Justin had called him JC.

“I'm not a coward!” Justin snapped. “I just, oh, never mind.” He sighed. “This is not going to be easy.”

“No, it is not.” JC looked away, his eyes troubled. “I can see nothing but pain and heartache in it. But I trust Lansten. His powers are strong.” He looked back at Justin. “And I trust you.”

< The Quest >