42: Needless Friend
Kaleb
"That isn't here.."
What did I ever do to possess such a cruel fate?
I gaped at the man in bewilderment. The Gideons didn't possess the leaf?
"What do you mean by that?" I needed to ask, since I still remained unsure of what to do. "I thought you were keepers of great treasures? Where can I find it then?"
"East garden. A swampy forest very far from here. You'd make it if you started journeying now."
I vexed.
"So to say I came here for nothing?"
"No. For knowle-" the said Gideon spoke, but was suddenly interrupted by the scattering noise of some piles of books, abruptly averting our attention.
I turned back to see only a swarthy looking boy clad in regular casual wear. He wasn't dressed like them and certainly did not behave like them either.
What was that?
"That's Jeremy." the intellectual man answered the unasked question, seemingly portraying mind reading skills. I knew he didn't have it though. The man seemed disappointed. "He is one of our mistaken dullards, infact, the only one here in existence in the Gideon halls. Jeremy, please come down from there."
The swarthy looking Jeremy came down from the high ladder, abruptly falling off again due to lack of balance. He was almost even reaching the ground already, so there was no need to fall. It showed lack of something I wouldn't spill out, because he was only an inch close to the ground he needn't fall.
"Hi, I'm Jeremy." an awkward aura wandered with an awkward smile on his face. I frowned. More and more books and scrolls kept on falling and Jeremy kept on gathering them up at the same time.
It went on and on and I unconsciously stared dazedly.
"Is he a Gideon?"
"Sadly," the brown man went on, "he is an unfortunate one. Jeremy, stop doing that! "
"I'll be on my way." I stormed out of the place with annoyance booming out my voice, because I had wasted my time without having the leaf.
I dragged out my sword from the gates immediately I reached out there and sauntered off. As I was leaving, I met a sudden gaze with the 'Jeremy' running towards me. The youngman frailed towards me in a speeding pace. The doors then got shut.
"Wait!" his breath got caught up in his lungs as he panted. While I glared, he busied himself with catching up his breath. "Can I follow you?"
"What? What do you mean and what for?" I took a glance at the boy and swayed off as I coldly said, "No."
He still followed me, making me feel lost. I was lost in bewilderment. I still tried ignoring him, but the dammed gentleman didn't leave!
"What do you want?!" my blood boiled, rushing to my face.
"Good question." Jeremy responded with a nervous breaking voice, scratching the back of his head. I shot him a tense glare from where I stood. "You see, I've been hoping to go on an adventure with someone someday, and boom…you just happened to burst in." he smiled, flippantly chucking.
"Point?" my glower worsened.
"A task sir. I need to accomplish a task. I've never left the Gideon halls before. I need a light to show me the way."
If this boy knew he spoke to darkness, he'd leave. He seemed strange, I'd say.
"Get out of my sight, Jeremy." I urged, still trying to maintain a tad amount of humanity.
"I will serve you master..." he persistently begged, making me feel awkward as I was confused. He was weird and uncanny.
I interjected, "I don't need a slave nor to be someone's master."
"But you need me sir, how do you think you're going to get that wisdom leaf, huh? I knew you never asked for the description and I'm sure you've never even seen it before too."
It was true. I hadn't seen it.
"I will take you to your leaf if only you promise I'll stand by you." Jeremy consistently pestered.
He was still weird and I would've have urged him to go if I hadn't thought, 'Maybe I could use him until the task had been accomplished. I needed to return home soon too.'
"Okay then, but you'll never call me master." I agreed to him.
"Okay sir," he disobeyed instantly again, "I'll serve you well master…I-I mean sir." He's awkward grin stuck.
His annoying tone kept on echoing in my head and I needed some skilled healer because I didn't feel alright there anymore.
We climbed on our horses and off to the great beyond- I called it because I was dying, we left.
..
"What do you think is better, pheasants or turkey?" the annoying, blood-boiling, exasperating Jeremy asked me again as we trotted. His questions never ended.
We were still on our horses and it seemed as though we meandered. I still kept in my anger, caged like a bird, as I needn't kill a powerless fool due to his mannerless [Anoda word for talking too much]
"I think pheasants may be better. Maybe the other." he answered himself.
The wind began blowing harshly and I suspected a stormy weather. Where were we even going? I looked up and observed the upcoming hindrance.
"Master, there are some berries behind where we came from, could we stop by there and have-?"
"Could you keep quiet?!" I stormed, ontop of my voice. "We will camp for the night."
I set off course to a noiseless site and there we camped.
"Master, what do you think we're gonna do if it rains? I'm feeling quite cold tonight."
I stared at him expressionlessly. He still talked words and I wanted to punch his mouth off his face. He was a grueling being- an exasperating one.
We stayed by the camp fire I set up. For a human that wanted to serve another, he sure did know how to lazy around.
"What shall we do now, master?" Jeremy disturbed. We lay on strewn sheets on the ground. I looked up to the moon, then away.
"How about Kaleb?" I slurred in annoyance. "How about you call me Kaleb?"
"Alright, master Kaleb." The more annoying it sounded and the most annoying mark permanently stamped uncleaned.
..
Inside the bushes, we blended in. Carefully, we observed our surroundings before we saw strong men emerge from nowhere.
"They're lord Tibith's men." Jeremy informed, spying on them. "They work for the head of this region…"
"What do we do?"
"We should lie low for a minute, and if they remain here, then that meant the Lord is coming himself."
That was stricking. The bushes we hunkered behind bore a resemblance to that of the wisdom leaf we seeked for, but we weren't very sure. We had to confirm from a tree that stood rooted in the ground if really it had a certain kind of spiral shape at the back and then we'd know.
That was the same tree these men happened to stand nigh.
I hissed under my breath but remained humbly patient. The tree spread across the forest and made smaller ones around it. It was a weird tree they said had mystical powers but I believed it was just mere superstitions and the tree leaves were herbs.
"Why don't we just take out these men?" I offered.
"At least not yet," Jeremy muttered.
We still waited and set eyes upon the men and unexpectedly, the Lord Tibith himself was revealed emerging out from within the carriage drapes. He was a fairly heighted young-looking fellow probably in his mid-forties, and was white bearded. He was clad in his royal robe.
Lord Tibith was obviously eating well as he didn't look thin and neither was he fat. He was just the right size- if one may say.
"You, one," a guard came running over. "When shall we have the invited guest and the crystal germ of Zahmahan?"
"Huh? Um...tommorow." a not so confident detail was given. It was rather a question asked back than a reply.
"Tommorow?!" Lord Tibith bellowed out. "What do you mean by tommorow when my bride will be coming tomorrow by dawn?! You needn't fail me guard one! We should have everything done by tomorrow! More slaves should be sent off to the meadow by dawn to work! We need to be perfect!"
"Y-yes my lord." the not-so confident guard one gulped down.
Clenching his jaw, Tibith tried breathing in air.
"Let's go." this time, he projected a less angry him. They marched to the carriage and carried the palaquin.
"So, that's him." I pronounced as I let myself out of the bushes.
"Yes, our all angry, arrogant fellow, Lord Tibith." Jeremy stood up and stretched forth his hands with raised feet to pluck the leaf of the said wisdom tree.
"This is it." Jeremy gave me.
"Are you sure? I cannot seem to find the circle behind the tree."
"I'm a Gideon, sir, believe me." he spoke with obvious bravado. "It's either the wisdom plant or the Ivy venom tree."
He broke out after I had squeezed it already in my palms.
"Ivy what?" my heart raced. "Then why does it seem to itch so much if it's the wisdom leaf?" I thought because my palm itched severely, turning into a reddish fruit. It felt as though a thousand ants bit me because that was how the leaf hurt me.
My heart did jump out of it's spot seemingly because this appeared more of the Ivy venom than of the wisdom plant.