The Last Battle

     Way to the west past the river, past the devilish canyons, past the hills of bandits, beyond the desolate plains Tyros, the crystal warrior stretched his massive arms unwrapping first a lady’s long dark hair, an arm, and another’s foot and leg so he could move. The two ladies closest to him moaned softly but did not awaken. He stretched his long body, the muscles in his legs rippling, smacked his lips and tried to move his tongue but it seemed a herd of camels trampled on it during the night. When he tried to set up his head felt that way as well. Within arms-reach was a half jug of wine which he gulped down spilling part of the contents down his chin and hairy chest. Fortunately the large tent was mostly dark. What light did seep under the tent opening was blindingly bright. He squinted and tried to remember where he was… and why?

     He arose gently so as not to let his head roll off, splashed some water on his face, and breathed deeply. The wine soon took effect, hair of the dog, and reason returned. Last night was his last night of civilization, such as it was here in the desert, for today he must seek a horse and strikeout across the plains for Crystal City. A general recall was out for all crystal warriors, no reasons why, and he must go. He walked about gathering up his clothes, found his travel pack, and stepped out into the bright sun. He found a food vendor, had some of the local strong coffee and got the name of a reliable local horse trader.

     Meanwhile elsewhere in the small desert town a tall, slender young man named Darian tucked his small semi-clear diamond crystal amulet into his shirt, stood up and used his dusty deep desert hat to slap the dust from his dun colored clothes. Great puffs of dust arose only to settle back in the same place, there was no breeze. Now he must find sustenance starting with some of the local dark, strong brew and find a horse. It was a long journey from the deep desert where only fools and those about to become fools dared venture, and there was still a long journey ahead of him to the crystal castle.

     He found his dark, strong coffee along with some flatbread, sauce, and eggs and directions to a reliable trader of horses and camels. Finding the trader he set his things down in the shade, talked to the trader for a moment, and went to inspect the sturdy Arabian stallion, the best horse the man currently had for sale. As he was checking the horse’s hooves the trader went to talk to someone else who came to his lot, a very big man in bright colors and long blond hair. After a few moments of animated discussion the big man strode over to the horse, grabbed the bridle and said, “Thank you, my man, for inspecting my horse. Very thoughtful of you.”

     Darian shook his long dark hair back and nonchalantly replied, “Oh, think nothing of it. I was glad to do it for the horse is mine.”

     “Oh, I think there’s been some mistake. As you can plainly see there is but one horse here, and I am the buyer. I have pressing business up north.”

     “One horse, yes. One buyer, yes, me, for I too have pressing business up north.” And so the banter went for several more minutes, each time the words becoming a little more heated.

The big gaudily dressed blonde man said, “Listen, you scruffy desert rat. We’ll settle this once and for all. Best two falls out of three!”

     Darian turned with his hands on his hips, cocked his head and slowly said, “You pompous peacock! The day I can’t take an overgrown blowhard like you is the day I’ll…” He left the sentence trail off, pointed to a freshly cleaned empty corral and said, “Over there!” They both strode to separate ends of the corral and began stripping, each was careful to hide his crystal amulet in the pile of clothing.

     The trader, being a clever businessmen, began hawking out front and selling a low priced admission to the promised event. Very clever in that by charging admission it promised something worth paying for and the amount was something everyone could afford. Already he, his younger brother, and two of his cousins were circulating taking bets.