“The Emperor seems to be very popular here,” remarked Eldion as he looked at the poster on the wall.
“It looks like he is,” replied Mira. “But probably not to everyone.”Mira and Eldion walked away from the coin exchange stall and to the street. Two imperial soldiers marched close to them, but not without giving them a good look and the coin exchange where they came from.“Power to the Emperor!” shouted the two soldiers after seeing the poster of the Emperor on the wall. As they said this, they beat they breasts with their closed fists before extending their arm to the front as if punching the air.Eldion watched the two soldiers and then realized that they were looking back at them and observing their every move.“Don’t say anything, Eldion,” said Mira softly. “Just follow my lead.”Mira stepped away and Eldion was quick to follow her. Then, they heard one of the soldiers sho“Now that you know the meaning of the red paint splashed on my door, I would understand if you change your mind about staying,” said the innkeeper.“No, we don’t mind,” said Mira. “In fact, I’m paying you now.” Mira produced a gold coin and placed it on the counter.“A gold coin!” exclaimed the woman. “This is too much. I charge only two sterling coins a night!”“Take it. You need it more than we do,” said Mira.“Thank you!” said the woman, picking up the gold coin and placing it in her pocket. She then looked at Mira and Eldion and beckoned at them to walk with her to a corner of the inn. “I’m telling this to you because you have been good to me,” she said. She looked around her suspiciously, as if worried that there was somebody listening to her.“What is it?” asked Mira.“They know that you’re coming,”
Eldion saw the stone statue from afar and wondered who it was. He knew that it was bound to be of a famous character, quite likely a local hero celebrated by the locals. He would have wanted to ask Mira, but he maintained a short distance from her upon her instructions. Mira did not appear to be in a hurry as she walked and Eldion maintained a steady pace as well. When he saw that there were people nearby, he would pretend not to be following Mira and look somewhere else while keeping Mira within his sight.Soon, Eldion saw Mira go towards an open area bordered with wooden stalls. He recognized the look and smell of the stables at Alnoc and guessed that they had arrived to their destination. Like Alnoc’s stables, there was an assortment of wooden stalls that surrounded an open area. There were a number of merchants and caretakers who were cleaning their animals and their stables as well as fixing their carts. The smell of manure was in the air and the grunts of animals co
Mira looked at Casser in disbelief as the merchant approached her with a blank expression on his face. She felt like she was slapped in her face as Casser’s betrayal was revealed to her. She had been warned by Eldion and Wen about Casser, but she chose to trust him. How can the man whom she had trusted and depended on would betray her? After all their experiences and adventures together, why would he choose to betray her to Thunka?Mira felt frozen where she was standing and did not resist when Casser took the feather bag from her. He kept the bag out of sight as he turned his back to Mira. “Casser!” called Eldion, not quite believing what he was seeing. Casser turned to Eldion and stopped in front of him. He frisked Eldion and Eldion felt Casser insert something in his pocket. Afterwards, Casser walked back to Thunka, giving the old woman the bag he had retrieved.“Thank you, Casser,” said Thunka, smiling at the merchant as she received
Mira was silent as the cart where she found herself and Eldion was closed and guards posted outside the entrance. She wanted to understand what motivated Casser to betray them to Thunka, but she could not think of any strong reason that could make Casser do what he did. She blamed herself for what had befallen them, thinking how selfish she was that she ignored the warnings of Wen and Eldion. Now that she and Eldion were being transported back to Alnoc, she could only think of how all their efforts in the last several days had been put to waste.She heard Wen’s voice talk to her. “Don’t blame yourself, Mira. It’s Casser who betrayed us, not you. If there’s anyone to be blamed because of our capture, it is he.”Mira agreed with Wen, but she could still not totally absolve her. She felt that she was still not entirely blameless. She felt that she had failed Eldion and only brought him back to where she found him.“Eldion, I&rsqu
As the light dissipated, Eldion tried to see where they were. He had to stifle a scream when he saw where the pulko stone took them. He was seated with Mira inside a moving cart that had two long seats at the walls. Seated were Imperial soldiers, all of whom were dozing off as they were being transported.Mira placed a hand over Eldion’s mouth as they looked at the sleeping soldiers. Then, Mira looked at Eldion and placed a finger over her mouth. Eldion nodded and Mira removed her hand. Mira then raised her finger, demonstrating to Eldion that he needed to try using the pulko stones again.Eldion nodded at Mira to show that he understood and pulled out the bag of pulko stones from his pocket. He again slipped the bag’s contents on his open palm and looked at the discolored stones. He was about to pick one when Mira pointed to a stone that was darker than the rest. She then pointed to her head to say that Wen told her which stone to pick.Eldion pinched the
“What do we do now, Mira?” asked Eldion, his eyes almost pleading.“I don’t know, Eldion, but we need to think of something fast,” replied Mira. She placed a hand under her chin as she thought of what to do.“We can try using the pulko stones again,” suggested Eldion. Immediately, he pulled out his pouch of pulko stones and placed its contents on his palm. He showed the remaining stones to Mira.Mira examined the stones and frowned. She knew that the pulko stones of dubious quality could not be depended upon. It had brought them closer to danger twice already and those were the ones that she thought were of better quality than the rest.Mira shook her head and grimaced. “No, Eldion. I think those remaining stones would be more dangerous to use. We are already very high up. I can’t risk getting us to drop even higher from where we are.”Eldion closed his hand as he thought of what else that they coul
The vast lake of Dagos came into full view as the giant statue of Rodan walked towards the Kanima Pass. The deep blue of the lake was enticing and beautiful, but it was the least in Eldion’s mind as he became occupied with the dangers that awaited them at the pass. The troop of Imperial soldiers Eldion saw barring their way was just one of the many that dot the sides of the mountains. There were holes dugout of the towering cliffs and Eldion knew that there were bound to be Imperial soldiers in most of them.The Kanima Pass was the only passage towards Alnoc and the lands beyond and was adequately defended with garrisoned troops. The hard rock cliffs were dugout centuries ago by Rodan and his army to protect their lands from the invading forces of Sukram. When Rodan was able to assume leadership over Sukram, there was no longer need for the garrisons and they came into disrepair. Mira was surprised to see that the holes on the rock cliffs were once again being used
“Eldion!” cried Mira as she fell to the water. She saw Eldion block the arrows with his energy barrier before he went underwater. Mira was able to take a deep breath before she felt the water press around her. Everything seemed to move slowly as she saw the surface of the water and everything became murky. She tried to swim to where she last saw Eldion, but could not see any trace of him. As Mira searched for Eldion in the murky waters, she noticed a familiar blue glow within the folds of her dress. “Could it be?” she asked herself. She immediately placed a hand over her pocket and felt within the round shape which could only be the Pearl of Sorrelia. As soon as Mira touched the round shape of the pearl, blue sparks came out of the pearl and surrounded her. The water lit up and Mira was able to discern Eldion struggling under water. Then, his body became tense as he lost consciousness. Immediately, Mira swam towards Eldion, hoping to reach her friend before he drowne
The director placed the back of his hand over his forehead and closed his eyes. He seemed that he was going to faint, but he quickly dropped his hand after a moment and stared at the scene before him. The star dancer was able to sit on the floor, but she was still crying and holding on to her ankle while the other dancers crowded over her. The singer was kneeling before the dancer with his hands clasped tightly together as if praying that everything would be alright.“Do you think you can dance tomorrow?” the director asked the dancer.The dancer tried to stand up with the help of her fellow dancers, but when she tried putting some weight on her injured leg, she gasped and fell on a heap. The dancers gasped and crowded over the injured dancer.“Obviously, not!” said the director. “Quickly get her to the healer and pray that her injuries would heal soon.” Then, to himself, “Or pray that you’d dance at least half as
It was early afternoon when the three men arrived in the center of Dagos. Gent held the reins up and the horses pulling the carriage stopped by the entrance of an imposing wooden building. The door of the carriage opened and a servant garbed in the green garments of local peasants came out. He bowed low while keeping the carriage door open for his master. After a few moments, a man in bright red and purple clothes descended from the carriage.Lankko appeared regal in his red shirt and crown of glorious blonde hair. The heavy gold chains around his neck as well as the sparkling jewels on his fingers completed his attire. He played the part of a wealthy merchant quite well and walked with his chin high, barely looking at the ground. At first, he made a slight tumble upon stubbing his foot on a protruding rock, but Enzir and Gent were quick to steady him.“Thank you,” said Lankko to his servants as he recovered his elegant pose. Then, he wiggled his arms to re
There was a coded knock on the door and Lankko peeked through a hidden peep hole before removing the latch. Lankko insisted on the additional precaution, knowing that it would be very dangerous for his master as well as himself should they be discovered by the Imperial soldiers hiding in the cabin.Lankko saw that it was Gent standing at the door and he was holding several woven baskets. He appeared to be alone. Lankko opened the door to let his cousin in and immediately closed it behind him.“Are you sure no one followed you,” asked Lankko as the metal latches clicked, effectively locking the door. Then, Lankko slipped a thick wooden bar across the door.Gent nodded at Lankko. He then walked towards the kitchen where he placed the woven baskets on the table. Then, he methodically removed the contents of the baskets one-by-one, revealing them to be different food items for Lankko and Enzir. Lankko followed his cousin to the kitchen and helped h
Enzir remembered the Imperial soldiers whom they fought at Remuel’s den. Those he hit with his energy bolts collapsed to the ground and turned into dust as smoke rose to the air. He also remembered how those whom he thought to have been stunned and lay unconscious would suddenly stand up when an Imperial officer held up a glowing necklace in his hand.Enzir was filled with concern as he realized the forces that he would be up to if he joined the resistance to topple down Terdu’s regime. “What can we do then, Lankko?”“I have to admit that I don’t know, Jad Enzir. Terdu has become too powerful that I don’t even know if it is too late to resist him,” answered Lankko.“You mentioned that the people could rise against him. Why don’t they?” asked Enzir.“As I said, Jad Enzir, people are afraid. They need a leader to rally them into action like Rodan did during the time of Sukram, however&n
“If those healing stones really do work, I think it’s bad that there aren’t many of them left,” remarked Enzir.Lankko nodded. “I don’t know if you still remember, Jad Enzir, but we used to have a lot of sun stones at the fortress. You place them under the sun during the day and they will shine at night when activated, replacing the need to burn candles or oil.” Lankko’s face brightened as he remembered how it was when the use of magical artifacts was ubiquitous.“I remember that. I had a lot of those in my bedroom,” said Enzir.“When Terdu banned the practice of magic, I think we lost a lot of our simple joys and freedoms,” said Lankko, hanging his head.“Why did he ban magic in the first place, Lankko?” asked Enzir.“You really don’t know, Jad Enzir?” asked Lankko, scratching his bald head. “I thought your teachers in magic history covered
After serving breakfast and washing the dishes, Lankko decided to go to work in extracting energy from an old healing stone that he was able to get his hands on. It was an old magical artifact that he got from his cousin who also managed to get it from an old friend. According to Gent, the stone worked by rubbing it vigorously between the user’s palms and placed over the painful area. The stone would produce enough heat to warm the area it was applied on and helped in the healing process. Lankko that there was not enough energy in the healing stone to extract but still went on the laborious process of finding out how it worked and develop a method for extracting its power. After several tries, Lankko was finally able to discover that the stone drew energy from the sun and placed it outside. He then directed several mirrors towards it before dropping the stone inside a glass vessel filled with a mixture of salts and minerals. Only then did the stone start to create bubbles that
The following morning, Enzir woke up early with the sound of Kora’s nervous clucking. He looked out his window and found that the chicken was not without company. A rooster was walking around her excitedly and after flapping his wings, gave out a loud crow that could have woken even the heavy sleeper. Enzir smiled as he saw the two chickens eyeing each other and flapping their wings in some form of dance. Slowly, Enzir lowered his window to give the chickens some privacy.There was the sizzling sound of frying along with the delicious smell of garlic being fried. Enzir stretched out his arms and then got out of bed to see what Lankko was cooking. He walked to the kitchen and saw Lankko busily adding ingredients on a frying pan where there was already a steaming pile of rice.“Good morning, Jad Enzir!” said Lankko to his master after giving him a quick glance. “Did you sleep alright?”“Slept like a log,” replied Enzir. “W
Dinner with Lankko’s family was a rowdy affair, but Enzir did not mind. After all the chaos and not being able to eat at a proper table in the past few weeks, he realized that dining with other people on plentiful was really a luxury. He remembered the many times that he did not even recognize the efforts of his own cook who feisty as she was still made the most wonderful dishes that he had ever tasted. Lankko and Darla tried to control their children, especially the little ones who kept on arguing while trying to outdo each other in telling stories of their journey to Dagos. The children really do miss their father, thought Enzir. He had not really thought of Lankko’s family and failed to recognize that his Keeper of Secrets did have his personal life outside his work. Enzir did make Lankko work a lot, especially after he discovered that he could extract energy from the magic artifacts to make an elixir capable of infusing power to whoever drinks it. He had Lankko
“What are you saying, Lankko?” asked Enzir, his voice rising as he felt his blood rushing through his veins. “What do you mean my mother may still be alive?”Lankko suddenly felt warm. He felt sweat forming on his forehead and he wiped it off with his hand. He could not look at Enzir whose eyes seemed to drill into his own. “I have to apologize, Jad Enzir. Your father forbade everyone to speak to you about your mother and I had to obey his orders.”Enzir felt weak. He wanted to shout at Lankko and destroy everything he could have his hands on, but there was nothing to break, nothing to smash against the walls.“Aaahh!” cried Enzir. He finally managed to pick up a rock and threw it hard towards the lake. He felt his breathing quicken and he stood on the slope watching the rock he threw fly through the air and landing on the water.“Please, Jad Enzir,” pleaded Lankko. “Please don’t be angry wit