Chapter 21

They packed up, refuelled the truck and started moving again, only this time with Maximus at the wheel. It had been a while since he had driven anything and it took some time to get used to again. But he was still managing to slug along even though the bumpy, sand-filled path wasn't helping. Achilles was in the back now, taking a nap, and instead Hedger was in the side seat. And Rex was peeking in through the window behind them. "You're veering to the left again," Rex said. His back seat driving had started since Maximus took the wheel and it was starting to get on his nerves. But Maximus knew that Rex had been a pretty good driver back when he had both his arms. But now driving was just one more thing he couldn't do. So Maximus just let it go.

The sun had completely set now and the change in temperature was drastic. It had been hot enough to cook eggs just a while ago, but now it was so cold that it made Max's teeth quiver. The path was much harder to see now, especially since one of the truck's headlights had been damaged when the manticore thrashed it. Actually, the entire left side was pretty banged up and Maximus thought it was a miracle it made it this far. "We should be stopping soon, right? I mean, it's getting pretty dark now. Besides I'm starving," Hedger said after about two hours or so. He was right, even with the headlight in high beam they really couldn't see much further. Rex pointed outside and said "Look, let's stop at that huge pile of rocks over there and set up camp. The rocks should shield us from the winds. Maximus agreed with him and soon they were parked near the huge rock formation.

They got off and tried to set up camp, which was hard since they had absolutely nothing to make, even a tent. "I guess we all crash in the truck then," Rex said. "Yeah three of us in the back, one guy up front and the last guy has to stand watch anyway so he doesn't need to sleep," Hedger concluded. Maximus realized they still needed to eat something. "What we could do though, is built a fire to cook the rabbits we caught yesterday. Start looking around for dried twigs and stuff" he said.

"Those will be easy to find since we are in a desert," Hedger said sarcastically. "Stop complaining and start looking," Rex said, "and Max go and wake Achilles up he'll wanna know we stopped."

"Why do I have to do it?" Maximus protested.

"Well you're a human, he's a human. You know, birds of a feather," Rex said with a stupid grin. Maximus scowled at him and went into the truck's back to wake him. It was not something he was comfortable with, probably because the man slept with one hand around his sword, like he was ready to cut anything even in his sleep. Maximus just hoped that anything did not involve people trying to wake him up.

"Um...Achilles," he said, and barely touched his shoulder as the swordsman got up immediately. Luckily, he did not draw his sword. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"Nothing, just wanted to let you know that we stopped for the night." After that, they helped Daedalus out of the truck and went to where the other two were trying to make a fire.

When they reached the side of the rock where the wind was the least, they saw that Hedger was sitting on the ground in front of a very small pile of scrubs and twigs, banging two rocks together trying to produce a spark. Personally Maximus thought, he looked retarded. Rex was still walking around searching for scrubs. "You know I'm starting to think that this grinding rock to make fire theory is a lie. You guys were all soldiers right, didn't you get like, Boy Scout training, on stuff like this actually?"

Rex came back with some more scrubs and made the pile a bit bigger. "We did actually," Rex said, "and you need a special type of rock called flintstones to make it work."

"Well now, any of you wouldn't just happen to have some flintstones laying around in your pockets would you?" Hedger asked the group.

"No, but I have something better," Achilles said, then he pulled something out of his pocket. It was not a stone of any kind, but a lighter. He went ahead to light the pile with it and soon they had a fire burning, which just made Hedger look like an idiot with his rocks.

"Well that was easy wasn't it Hedge?" Rex said while patting his back. Hedger just grumbled and threw his rocks away.

They went ahead to start cooking the rabbits they had caught before, or at least Maximus did. But he was used to this. He was sort of the unofficial cook of the group. He didn't mind though, he liked cooking and more importantly, whenever the other two tried to help, whatever they were cooking usually turned to charcoal. The problem was he didn't have much to work with. But he still managed to add some flavour to the rabbits with the cherries Hedger had picked up. He even fried some mushrooms for the side. Soon they were all around their tiny camp fire eating their dinner.

"I thought you were against eating cute little rabbits?" Rex asked Hedger.

"You know once they're all cooked and fried they're not so cute anymore," he said taking a large bite from his rabbit leg. Achilles was enjoying the rabbit too. "You know Maximus, this is really good. I haven't had such a good meal for a while actually."

"That's our Max for you, great with a blade on the battlefield, even better with it in the kitchen," Hedger said. Even Achilles smiled at this. The only one not joining in the conversation was Daedalus, for obvious reasons. But still Maximus thought that the potion he made was something amazing. Because even though his mind was clearly not there, his body continued to do all the basic functions, like if you placed some food in his hands he would eat it on his own. It was like his body was on autopilot.

After that, everyone began to turn in for the night and Maximus decided to take first watch, even though the others had all taken naps before Maximus insisted on standing guard. The truth was that he dreaded going back to sleep. Something about an enigmatic voice speaking to him through his dreams was kind of appalling. He knew he would have to sleep sooner or later, but he just chose to do it later.

Hours had passed and Maximus was feeling pretty drowsy by now, and he really wanted to go to bed. But he still refused to go to sleep since he had taken the responsibility of keeping watch. The rocks shielded him from most of the wind, but it was still really cold. He had climbed on top of the truck now, since sand kept entering his pants when he sat on the ground. He sat there for a while staring at the sands. Achilles had told them that Vulcan city was just a day's drive away now and that they should be there by this time tomorrow. After a while he heard the truck door open and someone came out.

It was Achilles. Maximus came down to greet him. "Out for a quick smoke?" Maximus asked casually. Achilles shook his head, he said, "Actually, I came to relieve you from the watch I don't sleep well at night anyway. And I don't smoke."

"Oh I just assumed since you had that lighter with you and all," Maximus said. Achilles took out the lighter from his pocket, "This is not mine. It belonged to a friend of mine who died in the war. I just hold on to it as a keepsake."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Maximus said, and he regretted opening his mouth now.

"Don't be," Achilles said. "Soldiers are born to die in battle. And if you survive it doesn't make you great. It just means you were chosen to honour the memory of your fallen comrades." Maximus nodded silently to this.

After a few seconds of awkward silence Maximus asked, "So are you a part of Athena's Army then?" Achilles shook his head in response and said, "No, I haven't been part of any army since the fall of Troy. And I don't plan to join any either. I mostly just move around a lot now as a wanderer. But I do still work as a mercenary though, when I need money. Sadly the ten year Trojan War made fighting my only form of revenue."

Maximus could relate to this. When he was in the army, fighting and killing were all he knew. But luckily when he got out these skills were pretty useful for a scavenger. "So someone hired you as a mercenary to save Daedalus," he asked.

"No, this wasn't a job," Achilles said. "Daedalus and I go way back. And I owe him a great deal. When a friend of mine from Athens informed me that he had been kidnapped I began tracking him down immediately." Maximus nodded to the story, but he still didn't get up to go to sleep.

"You don't seem too eager to go to bed?" Achilles asked.

Maximus shifted uncomfortably, and said "It's just that I'm not used to getting visions and all."

"Yes those can be real annoying," Achilles said. Maximus looked at him with surprise. "Have you ever got any?"

Achilles nodded in agreement. "Even if you're not a prophet or oracle, visions can be given to you. Of course, there is some powerful sorcery involved. Back before technology had gotten so far they were one of the safest ways to give information, even if it is very annoying to the receiver. But these visions are only related to the past or present, you still need a prophet to tell you prophecies of the future." Maximus processed this new information. This meant that whoever the voice belonged to was trying to help him survive long enough for him to absorb energy into the blade. He wondered what it was for though. As for whom the voice belonged to he still had no clue. There were thousands of powerful sorcerers, and even though a prophet was much rarer there were still enough of them around, too. And almost all the gods had incredible amounts of magical energy as well. "Yeah well, I have to sleep sometime I guess," Maximus said with a weak smile.

He was about to go inside to sleep when an idea hit him. "Achilles, can I ask you something?" he said.

Achilles turned to show he was listening.

"Well, it's just that my new blade is an energy weapon. But I can't seem to make it work since the manticore fight. I was hoping maybe you had some advice in the matter." Maximus thought it was a good idea, who better to ask about a sword than one of the best swordsmen in the world.

"Your sword skills and footwork are actually pretty good. Though you could still improve a lot," Achilles said. "But when energy weapons are involved your will also comes into play. Unless you are able to channel your will into your blade it just won't work for you."

Maximus nodded, he kind of understood what he was talking about, but he didn't know what to do about it. Achilles looked at him for a while and said "Tell you what, once we reach Vulcan city and there's enough time, maybe I could give you some pointers."

"That...that would be great," Maximus said surprised. It was like a dream come true. After all, training lessons from Achilles was a once in a lifetime opportunity. He thanked Achilles and bid him "Goodnight" and finally went to bed.