by Lan Dang
TRIAD OF THE ELDERS
BY
LAN DANG
Table of Contents
Chapter 1: Strange Dream
Chapter 2: Pink Notebook
Chapter 3: Burglary
Chapter 4: Friendly Discussion
Chapter 5: The News Article
Chapter 6: The Truth
Chapter 7: The Necklace
Chapter 8: Mr. Hayden
Chapter 9: Grand Entrance
Chapter 10: Guilden Kingdom
Chapter 11: Questors
Chapter 12: A Botched Escape
Chapter 13: House Visit
Chapter 14: Guilden Sword
Chapter 15: Another Exit
Chapter 16: The Graveyard
Chapter 17: The Great Sphinx
Chapter 18: The Return of the Elder
Chapter 1: Strange Dream
“Kick the ball. Kick it.”
Eric’s eyes were on the ball. He swiftly dodged the defender and ran towards the ball. He was running so fast that he didn’t seem to realize how slippery the freshly cut grass was. He could feel himself falling down but just as he felt himself losing control of his footing, there was a strange force that seemed to lift him back into an upright position. He heard the crowd gasp in suspense and immediately kicked the ball, hard and fast, right pass the goalie and between the goalposts, landing into the net. The crowd leapt up and cheered in response.
Eric glanced around and smiled. His team was surrounding him and patting him on the back. It felt like the perfect game to him but there was still two minutes left on the clock. Their coach blew his whistle to snap them out of their early celebration and focus back into the game. At last, the final seconds ended and the referee blew the whistle. The game was finally over. The Live Oak Comets had won, 3-2, against the Gray Avenue Panthers. For the most part, the game was close and it was tied 2-2 for most of the second half until the final last minutes when Eric kicked the winning goal.
Jonathan Kilmer, his teammate and best friend, came jogging over to congratulate him.
“Boy, were you lucky. I thought you were going to fall before you even got to the ball. I mean it was kind of amazing that you stopped yourself just in time. And you were also fast, the way you passed your defender, that was totally awesome.”
He gazed at his friend in admiration.
Eric smiled in turn and said, “Yeah, I don’t know what happened back there either. I mean maybe I was just lucky like you said.”
Jonathan laughed and replied, “Well, the important thing is we won and that’s what matters. Congrats on the victory. We sure taught those Panthers a thing or two.”
Their conversation was quickly interrupted by the joining of their other team members. They approached Eric, smiling, laughing, and slapping him on the back. Everyone was very ecstatic about the victory.
Eric’s stomach growled and he looked at his team members.
“So anyone up for some pizza? I’m starving.”
All the hands went up except for their goalie, Paul Sanders, nicknamed Porky with good reason. They all turned their heads to stare at Porky.
Porky blushed and sheepishly said, “I really want to go with you guys. Honestly, I do. But I’m kind of on a diet right now. I mean my mom is making me eat salads and fruits. No desserts, no pizza, no burgers, or any of the good fried stuff.”
Coach Wilkins winked at him and said, “Don’t worry. I promise I won’t tell your mom that you broke your diet.”
The team chuckled in unison.
Porky looked around, cheeks red from embarrassment.
“I guess it won’t hurt to eat just one slice of pizza, as long as I take off the toppings and cheese.”
Dave Messner, their left midfielder, nodded his head in encouragement.
“We can also order a vegetarian pizza so it’s healthy for you.”
Some of their team members groaned at the thought of a vegetarian pizza.
Porky sighed and looked at his pudgy arms and legs.
He said, “I wonder how long it will take me to lose this excess weight, especially if I keep hanging around you guys.”
Eric smiled and went over to him, patting him on the back.
He said, “It’s okay, Porky. We can go exercising after school or on the weekends. I’ll help you lose that weight. It’ll be fun.”
Porky smiled back and said, “Aw, thanks team captain. It means a lot to me, hearing you say that. It really does.”
The team proudly displayed their soccer uniforms as they paraded down Pennington Road. It seemed like everyone in Live Oaks were clapping their hands and cheering the team on. It felt nice to have everyone’s support. Even Coach Wilkins was smiling and waving to everyone. Eric watched him and smiled as he remembered their coach drilling them during practice. He was relentless and brutal as he set up vigorous practice sessions after school and on the weekends. Wilkins was always frowning and looking worried and although he was generally nice to the team, there were some heated moments when he swore and yelled at them when he lost his temper. But now looking at their coach, Eric felt the years melt right off him and the wrinkles vanish as he smiled.
He thought to himself, “All that practice was well worth it.” He grinned.
Coach Wilkins caught Eric staring in his direction and went over to him. He put his hand on his shoulder and looked at him.
He said, “We couldn’t have done this without you. Thank you.”
Eric knew it was difficult for him to make such a sentimental statement and he was deeply moved by this sincere comment but brushed it off saying, “It was nothing, Coach Wilkins. I mean anyone else on the team would have done the same thing. Besides, we won as a team. It doesn’t matter who gets the credit.”
Coach Wilkins smiled and before he could say anything in response, Porky loudly announced, “We’re here.”
The team stopped at their favorite small family-owned restaurant. Pizza Lovers was known for its tasty pizzas, made fresh upon order. It had once won the town’s blue ribbon for best display for a 5’ x 5’ pizza decorated with just pepperoni slices and bell peppers in the image of a beautiful floral garden. It had made a lasting impression on the judges and the proud owner, Tim Whittaker, had taken a photo of his masterpiece and displayed the framed photo on one of the side walls.
Porky licked his lips and took a deep breath, catching the whiff of fresh pizza being removed from the oven.
He grinned and said, “Yum. I can’t wait to start digging in.”
Tim Whittaker looked up from the counter and smiled upon seeing the entire Live Oak soccer team.
“Congratulations, guys. I heard you won the game. Of course, I was tempted to go but I’ve been busy with many orders.”
Coach Wilkins replied, “It’s okay. I’m pretty sure someone has videotaped the whole game. You can probably rent from them.”
Some of the team members laughed at his dry humor. Eric sighed because he knew his parents wouldn’t be one of the people who would be asked for the videotape.
Coach Wilkins glanced around at his team and asked, “So guys, what do you want? Don’t be shy because it’s my treat. You guys deserve only the best.” He winked at Tim.
The whole team said in unison, “Pepperoni Pizza.”
Tim smiled and said, “Pepperoni, it is.” He showed them to a table and everyone took a seat.
Drinks were passed out and Eric realized how thirsty he had been. He chugged glass after glass of soda until he looked up and almost choked on his soft drink.
It was Kathy Whittaker. She was the most popular girl in their middle scho
ol. She was absolutely gorgeous with long flowing dark brown hair and beautiful hazel eyes. Today, she was wearing a dark green pullover sweater and blue faded jeans. She smiled a dazzling smile which almost left Eric frozen in his tracks. She walked over to him and handed him his drink.
“Hey Eric, I heard you kicked the winning shot. Congratulations.”
Eric’s cheeks reddened. “Well, I couldn’t have done it without my team. But thanks.”
“So do you have any plans after this? I mean to celebrate or anything.”
Eric stared at the drink in his hand to avoid Kathy’s beautiful but penetrating eyes. He wished earnestly that she wouldn’t pester him, particularly in front of his entire soccer team.
He cleared his throat and replied, “Um, no, not really. My mom is probably still working late and she won’t come back home in time. Besides, I would just rather celebrate with the team here.”
“Oh I see.”
She gave Eric a sympathetic glance and Eric felt awkward. He was very timid around girls, especially beautiful girls. She smiled again and walked back into the kitchen to get more drinks.
As soon as she left, Jonathan leaned over and slapped Eric on the back.
“Hey what was that for?” Eric yelled in surprise.
“For being an idiot. She wants you to celebrate with her, you idiot.”
“What are you talking about? How do you know?”
“Because I have two sisters. I should know.”
Porky rolled his eyes and joined in their conversation. “Yeah, Eric, I think she likes you. You should ask her out sometime instead of being an idiot.”
“Would you two quit calling me idiots? This isn’t even your business.”
“Shush, you two. Kathy’s back.”
Eric glimpsed at Kathy as she came back with the drinks. His friends were probably right but still, he felt shy and awkward. Eric had difficulty meeting her hazel eyes. All he knew about her was that she worked here to help out Tim, her uncle. Her family used to live in New York in a fancy condominium until her dad lost his job as an accountant. Tim, who was not married and had a rather big house, offered them a place to stay. Kathy had been here less than a year but she was friendly and quickly became quite popular. Girls wanted to emulate her and boys wanted to date her but she didn’t seem to take an interest in anyone. Porky thought she was snobby but Eric felt there was something more to her than meets the eye. She seemed to be quite fond of Eric for a strange reason and he didn’t think it had to do with him being the soccer team captain either.
Jonathan glanced over at him and said, “Hey Eric, quit pigging out on the drinks. Have some pizza instead.”
He took Eric’s plate and stacked three slices of pizza, one on top of the other, and plopped it onto his plate.
Eric grinned and said, “Thanks.”
Jonathan handed his plate back to him and he started digging into the pizzas.
After the team finished eating five large pizzas, everyone agreed that they were all full and needed to return home. Fatigue was starting to settle in and even Eric felt tired and sleepy. Everyone parted ways and laughed and joked about next year when they would be freshmen in high school. Eric looked up at the sky and saw that it was getting dark. He hurriedly walked home and was several houses away from his house, when he ran into Janet Blakefields.
Janet was his neighbor, who lived just three houses across the street from his house. Although they had attended the same elementary and middle school, Eric was never friends with her or even made an attempt to get to know Janet. He mainly felt sorry for her because he knew people talked about her behind her back. Her parents were Hippies and believed in growing their own food and washing their clothes by hand. They were old-fashioned and did not believe in technology so it was only by necessity, that the Blakefields owned two cars, one for Mr. Blakefield to go to work and another for Mrs. Blakefield to run errands.
Janet, herself, claimed that all their clothes were hand-sewn and not purchased in the department stores, like everyone else, since she claimed that they hired sweat shot laborers. To prove her point, she was always wearing odd clothes that made her stand out and not in a good way either. Today, Janet was wearing a long flowered print dress and tight black stockings and her hair was tied back in a French braid. She had blonde hair and light green eyes and was actually quite attractive, had it not been for her eccentric personality, which caused people to avoid her.
“Hey Eric, wait up.” She ran towards him, huffing and puffing.
“Congratulations. I heard you guys won. I would have stayed after school to watch the game but my mom asked me to baby-sit Jerry.”
Jerry was her baby brother, only three months old. He had curly, blonde hair and brown eyes.
Eric smiled politely and said, “You didn’t miss much. The last half of the game was kind of boring actually because everyone was playing defense.”
She replied, “Oh really? I don’t know too much about soccer. I just wanted to watch you play to support the team. You know, for school spirit.”
Eric stared at her and saw her face turned a slight reddish color. He knew that she didn’t like sports, in fact, she tried to petition the school to make physical education an optional elective class. She probably didn’t even like watching sports.
She saw that it was getting dark and ended the conversation.
“I have to get back but congratulations on the victory. See you later.”
Eric smiled, glad that this uncomfortable conversation was ending.
“Sure. See you later.”
He was walking back home when she suddenly turned around and asked, “Can you give me an interview? For the school paper?”
Eric nodded his head and Janet smiled and said “Thanks” as she headed back to her house.
When he finally arrived home, it was completely dark. He knew his mom was still at work because her car was not in the driveway and the lights on the porch were still on. The lights were left on mainly because his mom was afraid someone would trip on the steps coming home in the dark. His mom was a nurse who worked at Live Oak Manor, a general hospital. She was taking various shifts because most of her coworkers were on vacation with their families. It was springtime and the perfect weather to be on vacation.
Eric bounded up the steps and proceeded to unlock the door with his key when to his astonishment, he tried turning the knob and the door was already open.
He muttered to himself. “That’s weird. Maybe Mom just forgot to lock the door when she left for work. A lot has been on her mind after all.”
He cautiously walked into the living room and turned on the lights. Nothing seemed out of place. The television, stereo, and his game console were still there. He walked into the kitchen and turned on the lights. Again, nothing seemed displaced. The glassware and everything in the cabinets and drawers seemed intact.
He breathed a sigh of relief. Luckily, nothing seemed stolen or ransacked. He walked up the stairs and looked in the bathroom and his mom’s bedroom. Again, nothing seemed out of the ordinary and Eric walked slowly into his own room. He turned on the lights and glanced around. The room seemed the same as when he left it this morning. The same, tousled blanket and his clothes were lying in a pile on the floor. His mom had been pestering him about cleaning his room but he told her he had been busy and would take care of it this weekend. He looked at his bed and felt suddenly very tired. A part of him just wanted to collapse on his bed and go to sleep but he knew his mom would have a fit if he didn’t take a shower first, especially after his game.
He sniffed his shirt and said, “Well, victory does come with a price.”
He grabbed his pajamas off his bed and brought them into the bathroom. He resolved to take a long, hot shower. It felt nice. He smiled as he recalled the final scoring goal. He got out of the shower and wiped the mirror. He stared at himself and saw his own refl
ection staring back at him.
His blue eyes and straight black hair was often embellished by Janet, who in one particular news article, described it as “icy, cold stare and raven dark hair.” These features were used to distinguish him from the rest of his team. Even Porky once commented, “So that’s why he gets all the girls.” Eric vaguely remembered how the team had chuckled at his expense but Eric was thoroughly embarrassed. He didn’t want any of the attention. He just wanted to play soccer. It was all that he could remember about his dad who had left approximately four months ago.
Eric still had a photo on his dresser taken from the moment he was five years old. It was a Christmas photo and he was dressed in an elf costume and sitting happily on his dad’s lap. He dad was chuckling as he tried to keep him still enough for the photo shoot. Eric smiled and thought about all the happy moments he had shared with his dad. His dad was the one who taught him how to play soccer, the one who took him to all the practice games and the one who supported him as he tried out for the team. He used to sit in the stands and cheer his son along, always shouting and clapping his hands, encouraging his son to play as hard as he could.
It came as a shock when just four months ago, his father just walked out on their family. Eric was torn inside and he was in denial for most of the time hoping his dad would come back home. There were times when Eric blamed himself for his dad’s departure and no matter how many times his mom told him it wasn’t his fault, he could never erase the guilty feelings. Eric didn’t understand why his dad would just leave like that, no warning or anything. He knew there were occasional squabbles and shouting matches between his two parents but he never knew it would come to that. Most parents would just go through divorces but the children still were able to see both of their parents, maybe not necessarily at the same time, but his own dad just deserted both him and his mom. All that his dad left was a note. In it, he wrote:
“Sorry son. I just have to take some time off. I don’t know when I would return. Just keep playing soccer the way I taught you and maybe, some day you will play in the World Cup.”
And so Eric played. He played as hard as he could in hopes that some day, he could look up in the stands and see his dad cheering him on.
Eric sighed and put his necklace back on. The only time he ever removed his necklace was when he took showers. The necklace was left along with his dad’s note and he always wore it no matter where he went. It kept him closer to his dad although he sometimes wondered where his dad was right now, wondering if he would ever return home. The necklace looked like a frail antique. It was silver but unpolished and dull with slight scratches on the surface. The pendant was permanently attached to the silver necklace. The pendant had three concentric rings and at the focal point where the three rings met, there was a scepter joining all three rings. It was an unusual necklace, one Eric had never seen anyone wear before or even sell. Eric visited many jewelry shops asking about the purchase of this necklace but all of the clerks shook their heads and denied ever seeing this necklace in their store. It made him wonder where his dad had purchased the store and from whom.
Eric walked out of the bathroom and into his bedroom. He stared at his untidy room and decided he had better clean it first thing this weekend before his mom threw a fit. She was the very opposite of Eric. Her bedroom was immaculate in comparison. She always lectured him. “Filth is a breeding ground for bacteria and that is why we must always keep everything as clean as possible.” He smirked, thinking about it but he agreed. It was better to keep things tidy so he could have room to walk in and not to mention, to find things he was looking for. He sighed and felt an extreme exhaustion overcome him. He turned off the lights and fell fast asleep.
“Help! You have to help me. Please. Help me!”
Someone was screaming in agony for help. Someone who wore a dark cloak, that masked much of his face, except for a pair of large, green eyes that seemed to glow in the dark. This masked prisoner was tied to a wooden chair with a long metal chain that wound tightly around his entire body, from his shoulder all the way to his arms and legs, much like a boa constrictor wrapping its prey. It looked like he couldn’t even breathe, much less move his body. He seemed tired and worn out but he continued to scream for help. The place was pitch black and Eric could not see much except for the light being given off by a cluster of faint green light lights that seemed to flit back and forth, never staying still. Eric peered closer and saw that they were actually fireflies that were attracted to this prisoner because they kept flying around him. They seemed to be moving together in a strange pattern. In the distance, he could hear a steady stream of water trickling by, which broke the silence in between his cries for help. The prisoner was very weak. The energy he had expended to make these cries seemed to take much effort. The screams faded away and the light being given off by the fireflies soon started to dim. Everything turned black and all he could hear was his own faint snores as he fell fast asleep.