Eldion woke up to the sound of birds and insects in the jungle and found that he was alone inside the cart. He was able to rest well after being exhausted with the events of the previous day such that he feared that he might have slept too long. He wondered where Wen had gone to and looked out of the covered cart."He's awake!" said Casser and beckoned for Eldion to join them. Beside him was Mira who smiled when she saw Eldion's head poke out of the cart. Eldion knew it was Mira from her confident posture and how she behaved around Casser."Come and have breakfast, Eldion," said Mira.Eldion got off the cart and joined his two companions who were having breakfast under a large tree. He was immediately given a plateful of rice, dried fish and vegetables by Mira and some water by Casser."Where are we?" asked Eldion as he ate his breakfast. "Are we still in Alnoc?""He really does not know, does he?" Casser asked Mira.Mira caressed Casser's a
The stonecutter's name was Shaan and he was in the service of the king of Alnoc. Every day, he would toil under the harsh sun or the torrents of rain. He would lift his mallet and hit his chisel to take out a portion of the mountain for use by the master sculptors of Alnoc. The work was hard and tedious, but the stonecutter devoted all of his time extracting the best stones for the king.One day, the rain poured in torrents and the wind blew hard on the mountain face that the lead stonecutter halted their work and they all looked for shelter. Shaan strayed from the others and came across a narrow cave on the mountain side that served to shelter him from the rain. As the rain poured outside, Shaan saw an image of a beautiful woman appear on the wall of the cave. Then, as abruptly as it appeared, the image vanished before the stonecutter’s eyes.The stonecutter wondered who the woman was and he was haunted by her beautiful image. She visited him constantly in his dreams, always smiling b
The three traveling companions followed the trail which led through the swampy forest. Tall reeds grew densely from each side, making it difficult to tell if there was any swamp creature waiting to pounce on them. Water rose past their ankles and they had to be careful with their steps should there be a deep hole or protruding rocks that could throw them off balance or make them twist their ankles.Casser took the lead, wading through the swamp water as fast as he could while Mira followed closely behind. Eldion took up the rear and wondered if he had made a mistake. With the stories about Alanca still fresh in his mind, Eldion was on edge and would jump at the slightest sound of reeds snapping underfoot. He looked constantly behind him to see if there was anything that could pounce on him from behind and tried to discern any movement from the reeds rising at his sides. Quite a few times, he was startled by what he thought was a swamp creature hiding behind the reeds, expecting a large
It was almost noon, but the sky had darkened considerably with heavy clouds covering the sun. Eldion expected the rain to fall at any moment and hoped that they would be able to find good shelter within the ruins.The travelers passed remnants of what could have been a watch tower lying in ruins near the vine-covered walls. Through the leaves, Eldion saw the giant decapitated head of a stone guardian that could have adorned the tower. Its right eye peered at the trespassers who carefully treaded on the worn-out path.Eldion looked down at the stone floor and carefully avoided the large gaps through which his foot might slip through. The stone floor, like the ancient walls, were all covered with moss and lichen. In some areas, tall grass and shrubs had sprung which Eldion thought could hide large creatures that could be observing them and waiting the right time to attack.Casser led everyone towards the doorway and entered the ancient stone building. They found a long passage through wh
There was a loud sound of thunder that came with flashes of lighting and rain started to pour heavily over the ancient city."Looks like we'll have to stay here for a while," said Mira, looking out of the window at the heavy downpour that hid most of the temple ruins and the encroaching jungle outside. Curtains of rain fell from the leaden sky and threatened to break the tiled roof over the room where the three travelers were staying. Mira thought how difficult it was going to be to find Noha and the creature within that complex of ancient ruins. It was fortunate that Casser was able to track the creature to the ancient temple, but they may have to search room by room to find Noha. Then, she wondered what they would do should they encounter Alanca, if it was indeed Alanca who took the carabao. Mira thought that they should prepare for the worst. She had not seen the snake creature before, but the tracks she made in the reeds was quite telling – the creature was enormous. How the creat
Lankko listened as the patter of raindrops on the ground started to lessen. Visibility improved as the rain abated and the clouds allowed the sun to peer through. The wet leaves of the jungle glistened under the sun and the air felt cool and fresh. Earlier, Lankko had taken a sip from his bottle of magic elixir and instantly picked up Mira's scent. He had followed the scent with Enzir until the sky grew dark and they were forced to take shelter. Enzir grumbled at the worsening weather but could do nothing but wait. He found a rock to sit on and cleaned his sword as best as he could."Jad Enzir," called Lankko. "I think we can go now." He stepped out of the ancient ruins where they took shelter from the rain and looked up at the sky. He saw that the rain clouds had been blown westward, unblocking the sun.Enzir stood up and fastened his sword back to his side. "Where is the trail leading to?"Lankko found his powers waning and took another sip of the magic elixir. Immediately, his sense
Enzir was pushed backwards as Alanca landed between him and Lankko. It seemed that Alanca wanted to separate the two men and pushed Enzir away with her tail. Lankko was caught by surprise and dropped both Kora and the bottle of elixir that he was about to open. With his remaining power, he confronted Alanca.Alanca glared at Lankko who remained standing in front of her. She hissed and revealed her fangs as she prepared to attack. Then, with amazing speed, she lunged at Lankko, aiming for his neck. Lankko was quick to react and jumped high to the air. Alanca missed Lankko and quickly turned around to look where her opponent went. Lankko landed a short distance away but he turned in the air such that he faced Alanca when he landed. Alanca held out her hands and made another lunge at Lankko. The keeper of secrets was quick to react and was able to hold Alanca's wrists. Alanca tried to wrest her hands away, but found Lankko's grip to be too strong. She pushed forward to try and sink her fa
Eldion could only watch from one of the surrounding towers of the ancient temple where he was brought by Alanca as two intruders suddenly appeared in the courtyard and fought the snake creature. Alanca probably sensed the intruders coming and left Eldion and his companions hidden in the tower while she fought the intruders. There were gaps in the crumbling stone walls below the large windows of the tower and Eldion could clearly see what was going on from where he sat with his back propped against the walls. Eldion was amazed by the two intruders’ display of strength and speed as well as how they were able to fight Alanca without the use of any weapons. Even Alanca's venom did not seem to have any effect on the two men. Eldion remembered how he himself had lost his ability to move his body just moments after Alanca injected him with venom.Earlier, Eldion was examining the intricate carvings on the walls and tried to make sense of the panels showing the story of Alanca and Shaan. Eldi
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