Deathstalker 03 - Deathstalker War

sword and smiled tiredly.
    "Now that is what I call a miracle. I didn't know you could do that, Deathstalker."
    "Neither did I," said Giles. "And I don't think I'll be doing it again anytime soon." He looked at Julian, standing strong and sure before him. "What the hell happened to you?"
    "Damned if I know," Julian said cheerfully. "My best guess is that when we joined, I was able to draw on your power to heal myself. You're capable of a lot more than you realize, Deathstalker."
    "You look a lot better," said Finlay. "Hell, you look human again. How do you feel?"
    "Perfect in every detail," said Julian. "I'm back to how I was before the Empire found me. I'm cured, people. Feel free to shout Hallelujah!"
    "Keep the noise down," said the Sea Goat. "We didn't all make it through."

    He gestured to the other end of the deck, where Halloweenie was kneeling beside the scorched and blackened body of the Captain.
    "Damn," said Toby. "Now who's going to steer the ship?"
    They pressed on into the afternoon, leaving the war behind them. Down-River lay the Forest, and the Red Man, and even the dark necessities of battle couldn't push the warring toys any closer than they were. All that lay between the paddle steamer and its destination now was time, and the pondering of mysteries. The humans polished their swords. The toys huddled together, speaking in hushed tones. Halloweenie manned the wheel on the bridge, standing on a box. He watched the River, and had nothing to say. The humans had thrown what was left of the Captain into the River, the nearest they could get to a burial at sea. They never did find his parrot. The damaged Merry Mrs. Trusspot chugged steadily on, silent again, her great eyes wide-open and watchful.
    They saw the Forest long before they reached it. It appeared ahead of them like a huge dark stain on the horizon, into which the River was inevitably carrying them. The humans and the toys gathered together at the bow, eyes fixed on the end of their journey, old differences forgotten in the face of the unknown. The Forest was upon them with increasing speed, and soon they could all make out the first great trees of the boundary, and the narrow opening through which the River flowed. The paddle steamer slowed, as though offering one last chance to turn back, and then she sounded her whistle defiantly, chugged bravely forward into the narrow gap, and entered the Forest.
    It was a dark and primal place, with trees so huge they had to be hundreds of years old. They were tall and vast and threatening, a reminder of a time when Humanity lived by the Forest's grace and was just a part of its slow primordial
    pulse. The heavy branches were thick with foliage, interlocked together high overhead in a canopy that blocked out most of the sunlight. Heading into the Forest, the humans and the toys left the day behind, and became a part of the endless twilight.
    No one had ever been meant to play here. There was no comfort or security to be found in the great Forest. The place of the trees was wild and free and untamed, and man entered at his own risk. The tall trees stood close together, wide and wrinkled, their leaves a dark, bitter green. The air was thick with the scent of earth and sap and living things. The paddle steamer moved slowly, surely, down the River, branches occasionally trailing on the roof of the bridge. It was like moving through an endless evening, grey and solemn and eerily quiet, a vast living Cathedral of ancient wood.
    And so they passed out of the world of toys and into the great green dream of olden days, sailing down a dark River in search of a mystery and an enigma—the lost soul called the Red Man. And the army he had gathered around him for his own, unknown, purposes.
    They say he's crazy. They say he wants to destroy the world…
    Finlay and Giles had their disrupters in their hands, ready for use at a moment's notice. Julian and Evangeline stood together at the guardrail, feeling somehow small and insignificant in such a place of giants. Flynn was going crazy trying to get it all on film, but for once in his life Toby felt too intimidated by the dark glory around him to offer any commentary. Poogie, the Bear, and the Goat stood close together, drawing strength from each other. Alone on the bridge, Halloweenie stared into the gloom ahead like a bird hypnotized by a snake.
    The endless quiet had a strength of its own. No one felt like breaking it with
    idle chatter. There were no sounds of bird