The Unknown Realm #4 (Waverly Stump and The 7 Realms)

XXXII

When Waverly woke, she instinctively glanced up and found Judson staring down at her. He did not appear to be as exhausted as he first was before. The dark lines under his eyes were fading, there was color in his face and every trace of discomfort had vanished completely from his expression, freeing his forehead from crinkles. In fact, he appeared wholly reinvigorated. He broke into a familiar warm smile and his forehead slumped against hers.

"Do you know what time of day it is?" She asked and shut her eyes again.

He exhaled softly. "I think it is almost nightfall."

Wriggling slightly from his grip, she sat up and straightened to look into his face, seeming deeply worried. "These people here, they have gotten into dangerous trouble because of me."

He frowned. "What kind of trouble?"

She went on to explain everything to him, including Lord Maru's most recent declaration. Judson looked horrified the most when she mentioned that the Gypsies were being forced to ignore their farmlands. He sat up and nervously placed a hand on his neck.

"So, how can we help them?"

Waverly sighed worriedly. "I do not know. The Outcasts have more warriors not too far from here and will outnumber us ten to one if we tried anything at all. The people are not fighters. They cannot defend themselves."

"Of course." Judson shrugged. "Their strength does not lie with the sword. It lies elsewhere, but they only fear to use it."

"What do you mean?" She asked, tilting her head with a curious frown on her face.

He turned to look at her and sat up, and she caught a strong whiff of his usual pleasant scent that had suddenly become stronger. It had always been a marvel how the fragrance never left him, but when she had asked once, he proclaimed he did not know as well.

"Do you remember what HalfHyde used to say to you during lessons?"

"Pa said over a million and one things to me during lessons." She stated with a half smile.

He nodded with a smile as well. "I agree, but there was one thing he would often say when teaching about facing the mightiest of creatures; about discovering the unlikely ways with which to defeat them."

Waverly's eyebrows lifted as she suddenly recalled. "What teeth cannot conquer. . ."

"The tongue might." Judson completed. He opened his palm for emphasis. "Since these people cannot wield a sword, they might as well make use of what their enemy would least expect."

Waverly placed a hand on his arm. "Magic."

He shrugged. "And maybe a little bit of swords too." He pointed to an open passage in the corner that was half draped by a brief purple curtain. "In there, there is a lot of smithwork. They are awfully old, but I suspect they are still useful."

Waverly glanced in the direction of the drapery and walked to it with him following behind. Truly, she found long lines of weaponry hanging from the walls of the oblong shaped room. It seemed to have once been an armory. The weapons were all covered in dust and thick cobwebs, and most had been overtaken by rust, but some were as sharp as newly forged blades.

Afterwards, Judson showed her his other discoveries. A different entrance that forked into the cavern, which was connected to a series of long, branching pathways within the rocks – pathways that would possibly lead to several places across the kingdom. There was another secret passageway that led straight on into a certain smithery in town.

"If we could quietly stage an assault," She mused excitedly. "We could overpower the Outcasts without alerting their brethren."

"It is a decent plan," Judson agreed then frowned. "But have you told these people of it yet?"