Chapter 29 - Powerful Psanit

James and Harold whistled together at the same time. They were standing somewhere in the woods.

Harold had the package he got from Quentin tightly clutched in his hand.

"That is loud enough for anyone to hear unless he is not here as he promised" James was tired of waiting. They were whistlng to alert Quentin to come out of hiding. They had previously agreed to meet here before the war.

Harold whistled again. There was nothing yet, no response, no movement, nothing.

"We should leave before we attract someone else" James tapped Harold's shoulder. He had already made up his mind to leave.

"Let us wait a second more" Harold whistled again.

"He is obviously not here, Harold" James urged him and turned to walk away.

"It is not like him not to keep his words" Harold said slowly. He joined James to walk away.

"I have been here all this while" Quentin laughed as he suddenly appeared in front of them. He turned around while laughing maniacally.

"This is not the time to play tricks or show us what you can do with your powers" Harold criticised him.

"I think you are wrong, young man. The war is tomorrow, you should be confident you can trust my power to see you through" he boasted.

"Let's get straight to what we are here to do" James was impatient with their unnecessary chatter. He took the package from Harold and gave it to Quentin.

"We still don't know how this is going to work" he complained.

"And you really need to know it or else you will keep fighting illusion for the next fifty years and I am very sure, your kingdom won't last that long in war" Quentin laughed. He tore away the wrapper on the package to reveal a weird root like that of a plant.

"This is the plant of Psanit. It grows in another realm. It is priceless" he dropped it while he was talking.

"Won't it break like that?" James bent downward to pick it up but Quentin stopped him.

"Leave it. It will bloom and turn shiny. As long as it is like that. Your soldiers will be fighting with all their strength" Quentin paused, he broke into laughter as the plant became bigger and started shining.

"Seriously?" James smiled at Harold. That seemed wonderful to him.

"That is not all, James" Quentin sang and held his ear. He obviously wanted James to listen and hear something.

"What is that?" James asked as he couldn't get anything.

"Listen patiently" Quentin urged him still holding on to his ear.

James did like him. He held one of his ears and leaned forward to listen. He couldn't hear anything. He shook his head.

"Wait!" Quentin yelled. The plant on the ground became more shining.

"Cries of war" James moaned as he could hear the voices of the soldiers at the south gate.

"The war will start at first light tomorrow" Quentin laughed. "Be ready to take your glory or throw your kingdom into an eternal war with illusions" he laughed harder and turned around like he was leaving.

"Wait!" James called him back quickly. "How am I going to end it,I mean stop this war" James asked.

"I thought you are not going to ask" Quentin picked up the plant. The illumination from the plant reduced until it went off finally.

"Just pick it up?" James was amazed.

"No,pick it up to give them break. Destroy it with anything metallic to put an end to them" he gave the plant back to James. "Make sure it is well covered" he advised.

"I should just drop it on the ground when the need arises" he took it from him.

"Yes, but let it be in an empty room where there is nothing else" he laughed like a maniac and was getting ready to leave once again.

"I should be in the war front when they will be destroyed. How am I going to destroy the plant by then?" James was confused, he couldn't be in two places at the same time.

"Are you really asking me that?" Quentin turned back furiously. "You just tell him to do it for you. It is that simple" he voiced frantically.

"Just tell him the time to do it and he will take anything be it a sword, an axe and destroy the doggone plant" Quentin fumed.

He disappeared before James could fully catch his words.

"That is not going to be a problem, James. You should start preparing for the war" Harold encouraged him.

"Where are we going to put this?" James asked.

"I have a place in mind, in the palace" Harold smiled.

*********************

James came into his chamber and pulled out a chest from a corner hurriedly. Julia was startled. She scurried to his side.

He cracked the chest open. Armor and sword were well packed in it. He brought it out and set to put it on.

"I thought the war is tomorrow morning?" Julia couldn't keep quiet. She said that mindlessly.

"It is already upon us, we have no choice but to face it now" he groaned as he put on his armor. He fastened it at the edges with some piece of leather belts.

He put the sword with the quiver on it on the side of the armor. He was finally set to move.

"We are in the night. Since I have been a kid. I have never seen soldiers preparing for a war like this" Julia smiled and traced her finger on the armor.

"There is no night in war. War can break out anytime and once it does the next thing is to pick up your sword" he smacked the quiver beside him.

This was not just an impromptu as he claimed. The armor and the chest in which he kept it show how prepared he was.

Julia was feeling bad for being taken aback with surprise. She didn't expect this turn of event. She was scouting for an opportunity to get what Michael had requested from her.

James moving out now only showed they were one step behind again.

"Fighting this war by yourself is not a healthy idea. You have bunches of soldiers who could just deal with the situation" Julia was trying to discourage him.

"Nobody can watch your kingdom better than you" he groaned in high spirit. He showed great preparedness.

"It isn't your kingdom yet" Julia spilled.

James stared at her. He was obviously annoyed by that but he maintained his silence.

"I mean it belongs to all of us and the soldiers are ready to lay down their lives for the kingdom" she said to dismiss the remnants of her first speech.

"A good leader lead by example. Being present there with them is going to boost their morale and yield a desirable and favorable outcome" he said slowly.

"How do you intend to fight this war?" she was still trying to get words out of him. "Is this the war you talked about, to seize the kingdom?" she asked sadly.

"I already told you that is not the case. I just don't know why you keep asking all these questions. Do you care for me that much?" it seemed he was getting suspicious of her.

"You promised to make me a queen. And that is only possible when you are the king. I want you to be safe" she exhorted an entirely different thing from her mindset.

"I am also promising you right now to come back alive and making you the Queen is the only reason I have kept you close" he seemed to be talking directly from his heart.

"I need to gather the men and move immediately" he hurried out of the chamber.

It was obvious he was not going into a real war. The happiness in him was noticeable. He surely had the feeling of triumph not the readiness to fight that he was supposed to have.

Julia thought she had failed. She was supposed to get more information from him before the war would start but she had nothing.

She remembered something. Harold was not supposed to be absent from his side during times like this. He would surely need him around.

Unless he was already carrying out his own parts. Michael was right, Harold was the one to keep watch on now.

Julia had to find him and discover what he was up to. That way she would have what they needed to know.

She walked out of the chamber. Her instincts told her he would be in the palace somewhere. She found him and James discussing quietly down the hallway.

She hid herself and waited till they concluded their meeting. Each of them headed in different directions. Harold had something wrapped in clothes. He held it carefully to his side.

Julia snuck behind Harold as he made his way down to the dungeons.

"Dungeons?" Julia muttered. She wondered what he was going there to do. She kept following him secretly until he stopped in front of one of the cells.

He looked around before venturing in.