The Enemies Meet

Chezim, Blonders, and Jess sat in the mid-afternoon shade - what little there was in the area.

"How many bluzzards does Huskus have?" Jess asked.

"Only four," Blonders answered.

Jess sighed in relief. Four were bad enough, but at least Huskus didn't have fifty or sixty of the heavily armed, nearly invincible aircraft. Three to one odds were much better, though still far from even. Drenched in gloom, Chezim read his mind, "You don't think you can beat him in an attack, do you? That would be insane."

Jess said, "I hope it doesn't come to violence." He knew in his heart, however, that it probably would.

"What brings you to our world anyway?" Blonders asked. "Are you just some Don Quixote who has delusion about saving the world from evil? Let me tell you, Jess the journeyer, you are in for major disappointment."

Jess paused. Why was he here anyway? He had followed a kidnapped girl he didn't really know into a world he'd never seen. He didn't know if he could explain his reasons for being there to himself much less Blonders.

"It's like swimming too far out into the ocean," he finally said. "Suddenly, a current sweeps you away and your only choices are to swim or drown."

"What's an ocean?" Chezim asked.

He started to explain, but the arrival of the dragerts spared him the effort. Oglethaine flew a respectful distance behind the three dragerts in front of him. They touched down gently. Jess could sense their seething, mixed emotions: anger, fear, joy, relief, and skepticism. Their emotions nearly overwhelmed him until he blocked them out of his mind.