Beginning to feel like she was heading into a fog with her mind, she focused solely on remembering those that were her enemies. She rode away with the army and the 200 men who had digging tools with them. Jay asked her if they would take on the growing army when she got the water stone and she said she would kill anyone in the way or turn them to gain more power. Jay knew there were still many days until the shadow stone woke up and believed they might have to fight before they found the water stone. Jay thought about when they had acquired the water stone they would set off the poison again to make everyone follow the queen.
Kemi said that after the shadow stone started to work again, she expected Jay to be ready with the arrows and injure the Domoro Land people with them so she could turn them again as her own. He nodded his head but kept quiet thinking about how he wished to kill rather than injure. She brought another high officer up to her and told him to take 500 soldiers to place around the top of the mountain. They would take down anyone coming into the mountain from the different entries. They walked through a different path towards the entrance of the mountain and had a village in front of them. There were several people still hiding but the soldiers quickly took out anyone trying to escape the eyes of Kemi.
Fourteen people that were in a good age to aid her in the digging of the mountain were brought with them. Six older people got brutally cut down by the soldiers and thrown in the water running past the village. When they finally arrived at the mountain, they wasted no time and moved towards the part of the mountain that had the big waterfall. After walking for a while, they were unable to find a way to get to the waterfall. Kemi figured there must be a cave or other open way where they might find a way through to the waterfall. She ordered the soldiers to spread out and search through the whole mountain then report back to her. The search went on for five days and nothing was discovered.
The mountain was enormous to search through and the path going through the mountain that connected the Domoro Land with the Shamo desert was the only way that was straight through with no obstacle. There were many harmful places in the mountain leading to various places and once in a while, people went missing. There were holes that dropped over 300 meters down and razor sharp rocks awaited whoever fell in certain holes as well. Kemi was getting frustrated and had started to force the men to dig through the mountain where the waterfall was. If she couldn’t find an entrance, she would create a new way to it but the mountain was hard and the speed was slow.
Several of the Domoro men died of exertion and they were given very little food. There were continuous reports of activity outside the mountain from people that assembled. They were running out of time and there were still many days until the shadow stone could be used again.
On the fifth day of searching the mountain, a high officer returned and told about a cave. They had found warning signs and when they brought down the barricade, they found many dead people inside. The bones were scattered across the floor of the cave and the clothes were from a different time. There was a warning in the old language that the first kings spoke so the cave must have been sealed off at the beginning of the Domoro Lands creation. The cave was hidden behind boulders that had been brought down by someone to cover the cave up for good. It was when they tried to move the boulders when they realised there was something behind it.
Kemi ordered an immediate departure towards the cave and every soldier that was in the mountain to come to that cave. They travelled for half a day and saw the cave being cleared of debris. She looked at the bones that had been thrown in a pile and saw that the clothes were, indeed, from a different time. She didn’t know why they would be in the cave but it mattered not since she had her thoughts on the water stone. She had brought with her half of the Domoro Land people and would have them go down first. The others were kept under surveillance by a few of her soldiers. There were still many of her dark soldiers scattered in the mountain but they were mostly just the regular people she had picked up during the trip from Grasoll. Her soldiers followed her and more came as Kemi was ready to enter through the cave.
The Domoro men brought with the tainted army from the big waterfall were relieved to be free from digging in the mountain. As soon as they entered, they realised how lucky the other people from the Domoro Land had been. One of the men that walked in the front suddenly got cut in half by a large blade that retracted up in the mountain ceiling. The men were afraid but the soldiers made them continue on or die. Kemi told the soldiers to follow and find where the mechanism for the trap was. They found it further in on the side after avoiding the blade that kept dropping. When Kemi looked at the blade that then fell straight down, she could see how very different it looked. The fact that the ancient people of Domoro could create such a thing was strange.
Having complex traps with the knowledge they had then was making her wonder if there was something she was missing. The road inside the mountain continued and there were several traps on the way. Each more complex than the previous and more advanced than what even they then would be able to construct. A couple of soldiers accidently caused some square boulders to fall down on them as they stepped wrong and Kemi ordered more light in to avoid the traps. She had no intention to work slowly and didn’t care about either the Domoro Land people or her soldiers being killed. She would be able to find new recruits very easy as soon as she found the water stone. She felt she had found the way to the water stone and then ordered every soldier that had come to enter the cave.
Many torches lit up the way and Jay was at the edge of the cave. He waited for the last of the soldiers to come but got information he didn’t want. Some of the soldiers from the entrance coming from the Shamo dessert said over 5,000 men on horses would soon enter the mountain. Jay knew they were vulnerable to an attack since the magical stone was far away from being activated again. He could not let his enchantresses’ army engage with them then and told one of the officers to collect anyone still in the mountain and draw them away from the cave. Jay then ordered the cave to be sealed off once more but even better this time. Before they left Grasoll, they brought the exploding gel in the jars and then put them all out. They explosion would set off a reaction of the mountain to bury the cave.
One of the soldiers was told to ride towards the Domoro Kingdom to hold the castle against anyone trying to take it back. They were to make sure the shadow stone was protected and removed from the castle if it got taken. He entered the cave and soon, the jars got blown up causing a loud noise that brought part of the mountain down. Jay rode on one of the horses that had been turned by the shadow stone and rode past the soldiers walking. There was something on his mind but he couldn’t seem to remember what. There was much in his head that seemed to not make any sense. The many voices from people he no longer recognised were mixed to one voice. He had less and less control over his thoughts but felt there was someone he was supposed to know. He didn’t see the face but a faint voice of a woman could be heard through the mixed noises. He believed the woman was someone he cared about but her voice became less all the time. He finally stopped listening and instead, caught up to Kemi who had her eyes forward.
After walking far, they came into an enormous cave that had much light from the many shining rocks all over it. The cave was leading towards the waterfall direction but the cave would take some time to clear. She told them to push on through and 3,000 infected soldiers headed off into the cave. They knew not what they expected to find but they all followed Kemi as she then took the lead of her cursed army.
Freeing Queen Lisaro
From a small lake filled with long grass, there were many eyes that were watching the castle. The eyes had been there for many days and had carefully been mapping out the steps made by the soldiers in the castle. When the darkness reached the land, the ones hiding in the lake came out. About thirty very fast and silent shadows moved through the land. They came to the side of the kingdom from one of the paths leading in to the land. When the clouds covered the sky, it made for an
even darker night. They came closer to the walls and made sure to utilise the darkness it created. They all jumped down to the water that surrounded the castle after making sure they were not spotted. They all swam down towards the bottom where there was an opening going in to the castle. There was a metal door in the way but one of them brought out a key that unlocked it and they opened it together.
The water made it extra hard but since there was water on the other side, they could move the door. The path went under the castle and soon, they were able to ascend up again. When the water finally seized, they were able to breathe again. Where they were was a room for where water was taken to give to the prisoners. After they all came out of the water, they moved slowly out the door. It was very quiet in the hallway that was opening up before them. They ran fast and came out where there were multiple paths. They seemed to know where to go because they headed straight for one of the directions. The path was leading them down to the dungeon and it was where some guards stood. The occupying soldiers were rarely getting water as they had been told by Kemi to starve the prisoners. It was her way to make them less likely to escape or make trouble. Some of the guards were spotted and one of the masked people made a sign that made four of them climb up the pillars. They brought out small knifes and threw them at the torches around the dungeon that made them go out.
The soldiers were slow to react and when they finally noticed the light was out, they hardly moved. The soldiers seemed to not care the slightest about the light and stood still in the darkness. They were not as intelligent anymore by themselves and were acting like they were in a fog. There were five soldiers that were inside the dungeon and they stared out in the darkness. With little light, those that wore masks could move much easier. Without any sight of them, the masked people were able to come behind each of the soldiers all at once and put a knife each through their heads. The soldiers died and the masked ones hurried to conceal the bodies in one of the cells.
With no guard in sight, they searched the cells for the queen. Some of the people in them had died and others were clinging to life by pure will. They found Queen Lisaro and told one of the masked people. The others opened the cells and gave the prisoners food and water. Queen Lisaro was still alive and looked at the masked person. She had trouble seeing in the faint light but then saw the colours of the scarf that covered the face. She suddenly started to get tears in her eyes because she knew well enough who now stood before her. She cried when she saw the face behind the mask as Nami removed it from the face. Queen Lisaro said, with a tired voice, ‘Thank you’.
Taking Back the Castle
Queen Lisaro was given food, clothes and was updated about the situation. Queen Lisaro wondered how they got in and how they planned to escape but Nami said they would first take back the castle from the soldiers. Lisaro wondered how they could save the kingdom from such evil that haunted her castle. Nami told her the twisted soldiers were many but they had become dull with their queen nowhere near. Queen Lisaro had lost her hopes for the kingdom but believed in Nami. She said the soldiers that were captured and the people of the city would fight if Nami could create chaos for the dead looking soldiers. She soon saw something that made her worry when Nami stood up.
Queen Lisaro put her hand on Nami’s stomach and asked how she felt. She could easily see that she was pregnant and wondered if Nami knew that her husband was in Kemi’s army. She almost did not dare to ask but got the courage to do so still. Nami turned around and told her aunt that regardless of him being in the former Grasoll kingdoms army, he was still her husband. She still loved him, Lisaro knew and felt it was not fair on Nami to be in such situation. Queen Lisaro asked whether he was gone and won’t came back from the darkness. Nami said if that was so then she would bless him with a quick death and walked out from the cell.
The others had helped many of those inside the cells and then stood ready for attack. Nami told her personal bodyguard, Soste, to take the others and clear out the castle. They would work room by room until every one of the sinful soldiers was taken care of. She could tell that the soldiers were not as agile without Kemi and told her aunt that they had met several soldiers in the mountain but had no problem killing them. At first, they thought the soldiers would die like any other person but when they stood up again to continue to fight, they attacked the heads. She and the others came out from the mountain fast to not have to fight anymore. She told her aunt that they had to leave the dungeon and move fast out. There was a room further away, Nami knew, where Kemi would have placed the remaining soldiers of the kingdom.
It was a hall that was very big and could hold over four thousand people. They put all the light sources out and cleared off some soldiers they found in the room before opening the then unlocked door leading in to the soldiers. When Nami entered the door, many soldiers rose up to see what was happening. She told them to be quiet and came with her. The soldiers all got ready to fight to get the kingdom back. Well outside, Nami was surprised by how many infected children there were just standing still. She knew they had come with the cursed army to eventually become its soldiers. The children and women were used to work more as slaves and didn’t say anything. Some women were brought in as soldiers and even children were used in the army to fight to take the first blow of force. The strong women and men could then take over and continue fighting.
Nami could see some of the children had cuts on their bodies and some of the others had deep scars. Nami had been told by some of the masked people she was with that followed Kemi at a distance about what happened. Kemi used the old and the children she captured during the way as shields. When the Kingdom of Ocenia fired the barrels that burned everyone, they hit mainly a lot of weaker soldiers and many were young as well as old. Nami wondered how she could have become so evil and she must die even if she was cured. They were able to steal many weapons that they gave to the soldiers that were freed. Many weapons and armour were brought to them to have in the fight.
Kemi left over 200 soldiers in the castle and around the kingdom city but Nami felt confident since the soldiers had become idle. They had been able to clear off many in the castle without any problem already. The regular soldiers, she could handle with no problem but not the children. With her being pregnant, she would never be able to kill any of the children and left, instead, a trained assassin named Obeli to free them from their curse. Obeli was someone that joined the Butado clan ten years earlier and was very effective to have in any mission. Her lack of conscience made her a great asset when she didn’t hold back and took down anyone in her way. They had brought enough weapons to the soldiers that had all assembled in the dungeon. They were ready to come out and had been told by Queen Lisaro that Nami was in charge during the time of the attack. They would wait for instructions and for the attack to finally begin.
There were still some soldiers around and when they watched them, it looked like they were constantly dying or were in pain. They walked slowly and some looked so dark in their skin. Nami was about to prepare for attack and was just about to give the signal to get the soldiers when she stopped and noticed a bunch of soldiers coming out from the throne room. There seemed to be a lot in there and she wondered what they were doing in there. She climbed out the window and out on a ledge and moved to the side of one of the windows at the throne room. She looked inside and nearly avoided detection as one soldier walked by the window. She could see many soldiers in the room and they looked much stronger and fitter than the others walking around the castle. Perhaps this was the elite of the soldiers, she thought and the others scattered around were the people of the Grasoll land’s kingdom.
The soldiers were guarding something but she couldn’t see what it was. The window was carefully opened and she could see a way in. She cut a rope off and a drape covered the window. No one noticed the drape had been pulled and she hid behind it. The drape went all the way towards the middle of the room against the wall and she could pull more ropes to keep her covered. When she got to the other
side of the room, she finally saw what it was that they were guarding. The plan then changed and she hurried back to the others. They all returned to the dungeon and Nami told Queen Lisaro that the soldiers were guarding the shadow stone in the throne room. The soldiers then knew Kemi must have left it to use against them and lied about setting them free when she got the water stone.
Nami only had limited information about the magical stones but knew the shadow stone would be very valuable as a trade or even if it were to vanish, it might change the way this war was going. The plan then was to take the magic stone at any cost and secure the castle. There were about thirty soldiers in the room and they looked very well-armed with several machines placed in the room to be used in case of anyone trying to get in. They would be able to acquire the shadow stone but would sustain heavy damages if they simply rushed in. ‘It might cost an unnecessary amount of life,’ Nami said. Queen Lisaro said the castle under the throne room was under repair and would be empty. Nami was surprised when Queen Lisaro told her to bring the powder that was used to fire the canons. She intended to blow the room up underneath to make the throne room cave in.
Queen Lisaro said she was furious about how she had been treated as well as her people had been killed. She felt highly insulted since she once offered Kemi their help in the attack on King Arobe. Nami told Soste to go and collect the powder with the others and bring it up to the room. The powder was down in the courtyard and it was very dangerous as there were more of the stronger Grasoll soldiers down there.
World of Taroo Page 55