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Jasmine may think that she has explained everything, but Alex is just as bewildered as he was before. His hunger and fear drive his impatience, and he speaks with an intensity that he has rarely demonstrated before.

“What the FUCK does that mean?” he says, trying his best not to slam his fist into something. “I want some answers, not a children’s poem about fighting animals with a sword.”

“Patience, my boy,” says Roderick. “If you’re going to make it as a knight, you have to learn the value of legends. More often than not, they’re based on some grain of truth. The story of the Uilebheist and the legend of the Marbhadh Uilebheistean show up in almost every region of Mirantia. The poem the wee lass has recited has been around at least as long as the stories.”

“And you all think I’m this Marbhadh Uilebheistean?” Alex asks.

Kelly nods. “The lights that came from your body are the first visible sign of the Chosen One. You are, I assume, adopted?”

Alex nods. “I am… But what does—?”

Kelly continues. “And I know you were a virgin — at least, you were before you met Jasmine.”

Alex blushes. “Yeah, but I don’t see what that—“

Kelly recites the first lines of the prophesy: “The emerald lights mark the warrior foretold, the adopted son, whose innocence was sold.”

Alex blinks several times, still not catching on.

Kelly says, “The emerald lights — that much is obvious. And you’re an adopted son. And you paid to lose your viriginity.”

Alex’s eyes grow wide with understanding. “Now wait just a minute… I didn’t pay… I mean, it was Roderick’s money…”

Kelly shakes her head. “It matters not whose silver it was. Your innocence was sold for ten silver pieces. When that happened, the emerald lights revealed who you for the fabled warrior you were born to be.”

Alex lets her words sink in. He then tries to remember the rest of the prophesy. “But what does any of the rest of that mean? ‘Unleash the sword that makes Uilbheist fold, he must taste of two maidens: young and old’?”

Roderick intervenes. “The thing about prophesies, my boy, is that they are filled with symbolic language. The Uilbheist exercises control over the people by taking its virgins. You don’t think it wants virgins for dinner, do you? It’s a horny sex beastie, for sure. The warrior who takes it down is going to have to fight fire with fire, so to speak.”

Alex looks at Roderick blankly.

“The ‘sword’ likely doesn’t refer to an actual sword, in other words,” says the knight. “It’s referring to the weapon you wield in your britches.”

“My britches?” Alex looks down at his lap. Realization suddenly hits him. “Wait a minute! I’m supposed to fight some demon monster with my —“ He looks at the ladies, suddenly embarrassed.

“Your penis,” says Kelly, matter-of-factly. “It’s not like you’re going to scandalize Jasmine or me with such talk, young man. Consider where you are, after all. Besides, both of us have handled your ‘sword’ and it’s no small dagger by any means.”

Alex feels stupid for being concerned about the sensitivies of two prostitutes. Even so, he feels quite awkward about his penis being the subject of conversation.

Roderick says, “It’s unlikely you’ll be having a duel with the Uilbheist by waving your pecker at it like some swashbuckler. The prophesy probably refers to you gaining the magical power you need in advance of the battle. Your ‘sword’ may better be thought of as a ‘magic wand.’”

Alex squirms uncomfortably. “I wish everyone would stop talking about my manhood like it is some artifact in a curiosity shop,” he grumbles.

Roderick ignores his squire’s grumbling. “It sounds as if the first step in the process is to find yourself two maidens — a young one and an old one — and do a little ‘tasting.’”

Alex’s head is spinning. “Would you please use some plain language? I’m really getting quite the headache.”

The knight says, “What’s so confusing about that? You need to pop the cherry of a young virgin and a not-so-young virgin. That’s what’s going to ‘unleash’ the power of your sword/magic wand/pecker/thing-a-ma-bob, or whatever you want us to call the monster slayer you are packing between your legs.”

As understanding sinks in, Alex is dumbfounded. “Are you serious? Do I have to pay for them, too? What about Kelly and Jasmine? I was already — um — intimate with them both.”

Kelly laughs. “In the first place, as ‘intimate’ as you think you and I were, you never even got into my silken panties. In the second place, neither Jasmine nor I have qualified as ‘maidens’ for quite some time. You do know what we do for a living, right? And in the third place, I’ll pretend you didn’t just call me ‘old.’”

Roderick says, “One step at a time, my boy. I doubt we’ll find too many virgins hanging around this establishment. You were likely the first one they’ve seen in ages, and I doubt that you’d want to unleash your sword in someone like yourself, anyway. I think we have all the information we need. If perhaps Miss Kelly here could rustle us up a couple of sandwiches to take with us, we’ll be on our way. If you’re gonna be deflowering any virgins, we’ll need to go hunting. They’re more scarce than unicorns these days.”

They stand as Jasmine and Kelly leave the room. Alex rubs his temples, trying to get rid of his headache. “This is all just too much to take in, Roderick.”

The knight places a hand on his squire’s shoulder. “All in good time, my boy. I know it sounds overwhelming, but I’ll be with you every step. Besides, there are far worst ways to fulfill prophesies. You’ll be getting yourself some serious action between the sheets before this is through.”

The two men leave the office and reach the door that will lead them outside just as Kelly finishes wrapping up some food for their journey.