Ascendants of Ancients Sovereign - By Phillip Jones Page 0,132

continued to relate the rest of the story of everything that had happened and then finished it off by saying, “...and then I landed on some guy named Jason. I had no idea touching the crystal would start a cosmic crisis.”

Kepler snarled. “Put your hands down, George! There’s no struggle between us. Have you not learned anything from your experience with Kroger? We may get angry with one another, but we don’t fight amongst ourselves.”

The giant cat shook his head, snorted and then continued, “I don’t believe you would make up such a ridiculous story, so I’ll accept your foolishness as fact.”

Annoyed, George lowered his hands. Rather than speak, he waited for the demon to continue.

“Alright ... so ... you fell through the floor, and the Crystal Moon disappeared. You have no idea where the people are, the ones you were with in the temple, and you have no idea where the piece is that was in your hand.

“Hmmm … you clearly have enough power to get past Bassorine’s hold on the Crystal Moon, but there are a few things that don’t make sense.”

“What things?” George said as he allowed himself to relax. “Maybe I can clear them up for you.”

Kepler secretly enjoyed the human’s anxiety. “You said you fell on a man named Jason. How long ago was this, and where did this happen?”

George thought back. “About 10 Peaks. It happened south of the Enchanted Forest near Lethwitch.”

The demon’s face was showed his disbelief. “You’re saying ... in 10 Peaks you’ve learned about the map, found out about the cave, learned there was a staff inside it, and then you went in to retrieve the power to turn things into stone. I would like to know how you did all this in such a short span of moments.”

George grinned. “Hold on a second. That’s not everything I’ve done. I also got threatened outside of Lethwitch, and later that night, I robbed the mercantile. I took the proprietor’s coin and used some of it to pay a smelly ass mage for the snare scroll I used on your Saber Lord.”

Kepler laughed for only a moment before he realized what George had said. A quizzical look consumed his expression. “What do you mean, you used a scroll on the Saber Lord?”

“Ah crap,” George blurted. “Damn it, I’ve said too much.” He strolled over to a nearby mound of dirt, plopped down on it and then started flicking ants with his middle finger. With these newly made statues flying toward the bank of the Cripple River, George decided it was best to level with the jaguar by telling the cat the truth.

“Well, big guy, it’s like this. I landed on Jason just like I told you. He was in pain, so I reached in his pack and gave him a liquid that made him talk ... and he talked a lot. Jason told me a secret. The map led me to the staff Kroger broke. He said it was filled with a liquid, and if I drank it, I’d receive the power to turn stuff to stone. Apparently, the staff was meant for some dwarves.”

“Dwarves?” Kepler responded, as if he didn’t know. “What dwarves?”

“Jason told me the dwarves were from a place called Trollcom. I have no clue where that is.”

Kepler pondered for a moment. “How did you know to use the snare scroll when you did? It’s not possible that you knew the Saber Lord was going to attack.”

“I really didn’t,” George admitted. “I got lucky. Before he attacked, I felt like something was watching me. I was creeped out enough that I decided to kneel and use the snare scroll to set the trap. It was just dumb luck the cat ended up where I wanted him.”

“And the way you tortured him?” Kepler inquired. “Why?”

George sighed. “I’m sorry about that, Kep. I was overcome with anger. It wasn’t until I drank the fluid inside the staff that I gained the power to keep you from killing me. I was bluffing you. I have no power other than the ability to turn your ass to stone.”

As George finished telling his side of the story, he flicked another ant statue toward the demon’s feet. “So ... how do you like me now?”

Kepler had to laugh. “You have stalked your prey skillfully, George. You surprise me. To think that after I saw you kill the saber, I feared you. I thought you were a powerful being.”

The jaguar stopped laughing. “I was angry when