by B. D. Suever
Graff frowned. “The Amulet? I thought that was lost to the world?”
“It is. However, the elders of Jasper have the means and knowledge to find it,” Vetick said. “Our time is coming. The rift to the Enderverse will rip apart and we will plunge the world into a darkness that will last forever.”
Graff looked at Vetick with a sinister grin. “Where do I find the elders?” he asked.
“The wheel of fate is in motion; go to the village of Gwantar. Find the elder there. Capture him and bring him back to the Underdwell,” Vetick commanded.
Graff bowed. “Yes, my lord. I will not fail you this time.”
Vetick held Graff’s gaze. “Fail me again and I will not be so kind next time. Speak with Krimm about your mission in Gwantar. He may be of help.” Vetick turned and walked away from Graff, continuing to peer into the initiates' rooms and observing their progression.
Graff walked off in the opposite direction. He descended a spiral staircase and came to a large entryway. Two huge undead knights stood guard at the doorway to the castle. Graff stopped in front of the guards, waiting for them to open the doors. The knights pulled open the doors to the castle courtyard. Outside, the rain poured down in torrents. Graff walked across the courtyard to a small building just outside the castle walls. As he entered, he saw two goblins and a small boy showing off their knife skills. “Krimm! You here?” Graff yelled.
A tall man approached him from the dark corner of the room. He let out a puff of smoke from his pipe. Graff could see the scar across his eye. It looked as if someone had cut his eye out. He was scowling. “What's with all the yelling? I'm not deaf.”
“Vetick asked me to pay you a visit and gather up men to help me capture a person of importance,” Graff explained.
Krimm glared at him. “Can't you see we are busy here? It's almost time for our bets. Care to join us?” He laughed.
Graff was confused. “Bets?”
Krimm threw coins on the table, and the goblins did the same. “The boy here has to hit all three marks at the same time. I'm betting he will—these here gobbie morons don't think he can do it. What's your bet?”
Graff let out an annoyed sigh. “I don't have time for games. Where is the rest of your group? I need one.”
“They won't be back for a week. Mortar is off burning down a little village that created a resistance group. Wraith is taking care of a troublesome diplomat who refuses to remove a bounty on our heads, and Jinx headed north to find an ancient weapon she read about,” Krimm said.
The small boy walked over to the wall of weapons and pulled three daggers off the wall. Before Krimm could turn to watch, the boy threw all three blades, piercing three stuffed animal heads hanging on the wall in the back of the room right between the eyes.
Krimm and Graff looked at the boy with wicked grins. “I love this kid,” Krimm said. He turned back to Graff. “My people might be away, but I can lend you a few gobbies for muscle. They are rowdy, but they know to follow directions and who is in charge.”
Graff thought about it for a moment. “Goblins should suffice. I'll bring along a couple of my undead knights.”
“You and those rotting corpses. Sometimes I think you prefer them over the living,” Krimm sneered.
Graff stopped at the door and turned back. “Sometimes I do. They may be mindless corpses but at least they don't say mindless and idiotic things like the living do.” He gave a grin.
Krimm tossed a small axe towards Graff, missing him. “Next time you insult me I'll hit my mark,” he growled.
Graff just laughed it off and closed the door behind him. He headed to the armory to gather up a group of goblins and prepare for his visit to Gwantar.
Ethan rubbed his eyes as the morning sun pierced through his eyelids. He threw his arms in the air as he stretched. “UUUUNNNGGGHHHH. What a crazy dream.” As his eyes focused, he looked around and realized he wasn't dreaming. He didn't recognize his surroundings and hunted for a clue. Then he heard a growling sound.
Grrrrrrrr, grumble, grumble.
Naveni was fast asleep next to Ethan. He stared at the white, striped bear, scared at first, but then remembered riding the bear the day before and that she was friendly. He laid his head back down, confused and missing home. How do I get back, he wondered?
Gurgle ... gurgle ... gurgle.
Ethan glanced up at Naveni; her stomach was grumbling. Ethan saw Naveni's little tail stick up and a pungent cloud of gas burst into his face. “Ewwww! GROSS!” He gagged and coughed. “I'm gonna throw up.” Ethan's face turned green from disgust and he felt like he would fall over sick.
“What's going on in here?” Nera asked as she burst into the room.
“Naveni farted in my face!” Ethan answered. “I'm gonna be sick.” He ran past Nera looking for water to throw on his face.
Nera laughed. “I told you not to have that last fish, Naveni.”
Naveni looked up at Nera, gave a little grunt and fell back asleep.
Ethan burst out the door to Nera’s home and made a mad dash for the well in the village square. He pushed past a group of farmers heading to the fields and caused a carriage full of grain and fruits to come to an abrupt halt, “Watch where you are going kid!” the driver yelled out. Ethan made it to the well and splashed water on his face in the middle of all the hustle and bustle. Many of the villagers stopped what they were doing to stare at him as if he were crazy, many of them whispering to one another.
“Such an odd boy,” one woman said.
“They say he comes from another land far away,” a man said to his kids.
“I heard the elder is eager to meet him,” said a man as he drank his ale.
Nera walked over to Ethan. “Ethan! You are causing a commotion. The entire village is staring at you.”
Ethan lifted his head out of the well, his face still green from disgust. He was panting, trying to catch his breath. “That was gross. What did she eat? It smelled like month old milk.” Ethan giggled at his joke. He looked at Nera and saw she was not amused. “Well, someone needs to find their sense of humor.”
Nera nudged Ethan toward her home. As they walked in the front door, she grabbed a small outfit made of leather and threw it at him. “You need to put this on.”
He stared at it. “Why?”
“Well, for starters your backside is still visible to everyone. I'm sure the whole village saw it as you drank from the well.” She chuckled. “Second, we are meeting with the village elder today, so you need to be in clothing that is not falling apart.”
Ethan went into the other room to change. “Hey, this is cool. This is like the leather armor my character has on Dark Torment.” Ethan poked his head out. “Have you played Dark Torment?”
Nera gave him an annoyed look. “For the last time, I do not know what this Dark Torment is.”
“It's a video game. Don't you have a video game system?”
Nera was confused. “Is this some wizard’s book?” she asked.
Ethan let out a sigh. “Never mind.” He came out from the room dressed in his new clothing. “How do I look? I bet I look like an awesome warrior.” He flexed and showed off his scrawny arms, imagining he had large muscles.
Nera shook her head. “You have it on backwards and upside down. The straps you have around your arms are meant to go around your thighs.” She showed Ethan another piece of armor that looked like his but bigger and showed him the proper way it should be worn. Ethan walked back into the other room to fix his mistake.
He came out once again, this time dressed properly. The leather outfit was a little big on him, but it would do for now. “Who did this belong to? It's a little roomy,” he asked.
“It belonged to my younger brother Rorick,” Nera answered.
“Oh cool. Do I get to meet him too?”
Nera had a somber look. “He is no longer with us.” She placed a bowl of oats down for Ethan to eat.
Ethan was hungry. He shoveled spoonfuls of oats in his mouth, smack, chom
p, smack. “Did he join the army or something?” he asked around a mouthful of food.
Nera turned her back to Ethan and looked up at the ceiling. She tried to hold her tears back. “He was attacked a few years ago and did not survive.”
Ethan stopped eating. He realized his mistake in asking his question. “I'm sorry. I didn't understand what you meant when you said he was no longer with you.”
Nera looked back with a little smile. “That's ok, Ethan. I wouldn't expect you to know. How could you?”
“I've never lost a family member that way,” Ethan said. “I bet you miss him.”
Nera sat down across from him. “I miss him. It was harder for my sister.”
“You have a sister too?”
“Yes. She left after our brother's death because she could not stand to remain here with everyone trying to comfort her. The last thing she said to me was she was leaving to find her place in this world.”
Ethan watched Nera as she talked about her family. “So you haven't seen her all this time? She doesn't come to visit?”
Nera shook her head as she ate her breakfast. She placed her bowl down on the floor next to the fire pit and stood. “We should get going. We don't want to be late to meet with the elder.” She helped Ethan to his feet and led him out the front door.
They walked through the village. “So where is this?” Ethan asked.
“I forgot that you fainted last night before we arrived here. This is the village of Jasper. Our ancestors chose this location and built the village into the mountainside. The mountain and waterfalls behind us offer a haven for all those in the village. They built our temple into the mountain and it is the only impenetrable temple in the southern lands.”
Ethan was impressed. “Oh wow! That's cool. So where are we going again?”
“As I told you earlier, we are going to meet with the village elder. I still do not know where you came from or what your purpose is for being here, but perhaps he can shed light on the strange occurrences from the past couple of days.”
“Oh yeah, that's right. Hey, look at that cool-looking bird over there.” Ethan pointed out a bright orange and green bird perched on a branch.
Nera glanced over at the bird and didn't respond. She had a lot on her mind and wanted answers.
“Helloooo? Are you listening?” Ethan asked, annoyed.
Nera halted, and Ethan bumped into her, falling backwards. “Hey! What's the big deal stopping like that? That hurt.”
Nera turned and glared at Ethan. “I have told you before to watch your tongue, child. Keep in mind that I do not have to help you at all. Your outbursts are rude and unnecessary.”
Ethan sat there thinking for a moment. “You're right. It's hard sometimes. I say the first thing that pops into my head. I'll try to do better.”
Nera held her hand out and pulled Ethan to his feet. They continued toward the temple. As they walked, Ethan was having difficulty with the pants he was wearing. After his fall, they had ridden up his backside and were sticking to the inside of his butt. He kept tugging at them trying to get them out. As he did this, he walked in a funny way. The villagers they passed saw him and giggled. Ethan didn't pay much attention to them since his focus was elsewhere. He eventually got his pants adjusted and hurried to catch up to Nera.
Ethan looked back at the village as they ascended the temple stairs. It looked small from where they were and very peaceful. As he watched the villagers moving around all he could think about was how much this looked like some of the games he played. As he lost focus on the steps in front of him, his foot caught the bottom of one of them and he tripped, falling forward. He threw his hands out in front of him and caught himself as he landed in front of a giant stone monument. Ethan stared at the monument for a moment and the symbol it bore. I know what this is. “I've seen this before,” he said to Nera.
A voice from behind him said, “Well, then that confirms my suspicions.”
Ethan turned around to see an old man dressed in dark brown robes. His robes bore the same symbol as the monument. A diamond with a jeweled eye in the middle.
The old man gave a warm smile. “Welcome, Avent. I am the elder.”
“Elder, you cannot be serious,” Nera said. “This boy? The Avent?”
Nera and the elder were walking around the temple courtyard.
The elder smiled. “Signs show that this boy is in fact the Avent. The events that led to his arrival, the odd nature of his clothing, his dialect and manner of speaking to others all point to a boy who has traveled here from a world with which we are not familiar.”
Nera was not convinced. She could not believe such an ill-mannered child could be the one to bring balance to the world. “This boy is clumsy, rude, disrespectful, and has the focus of a field gnat. I do not see him as being the bearer of light.”
The elder gave a chuckle. “I can see this boy has already irritated you, Nera. Keep in mind, however, that it was never written in the books of old that the Avent would be the most polite and well-mannered person. We must mold him and teach him.”
“We?” Nera asked, annoyed.
“The boy fell to you, Nera. You have been chosen as his protector,” the elder said. “Your paths are intertwined with one another.”
“HEY! Check it out!” Ethan yelled from across the courtyard. He had found a broadsword near the entrance. “This is cool. It reminds me of the sword I use in Dark Torment.”
“Ethan! Put that down! You are going to hurt someone,” Nera yelled back.
“It's fine. No one's around.” Ethan lifted the sword up and over his head, but he hadn't realized a sword like this would be so heavy. As it rose above his head, the weight of the sword caused him to start tipping backwards. The sword pulled Ethan over and he landed hard on his butt, dropping the sword. The blade came close to cutting his hand. “Wow, that's heavy.”
Nera walked over and picked up the sword as if it were as light as a feather. “I told you to drop it. This is not a toy and we are not playing games. You could injure yourself or someone else.”
Ethan looked at Nera holding the sword. “Wow, you're strong for a girl.”
“What's that supposed to mean?” she demanded. “There are many women hunters who are stronger than men.”
“I'm sorry, I didn't mean that rudely. I just didn't know how strong you were,” Ethan said.
Nera gazed at him. Huh ... he apologized. Perhaps there is more to this boy as the elder claims. She extended her hand to help Ethan to his feet. “Come. The elder would like to speak with you.”
Ethan and Nera approached the elder. “Hello, Ethan, I am sorry for making you wait. I needed to hear Nera's side of the story before you and I talked. My name is Joraya and I am the elder of this village.”
“It's nice to meet you,” Ethan said cautiously.
Joraya turned to Nera. “Thank you, Nera. Please wait for me by the fountain while Ethan and I talk.”
“Yes, Elder,” Nera responded.
Ethan watched Nera walk away. He felt a little nervous; he did not know what to expect.
“So, Ethan, I imagine you have many questions,” Joraya said. “Let's start with the obvious question. Where are you? Well, to put it simply, you are not in your own world.”
Ethan nodded. “After talking to Nera and seeing those two moons last night, I had a feeling I was someplace different. I don't know how or why I came here.”
Joraya smiled. “You have a sharp mind, Ethan. Your world and ours are known as parallels. They exist side by side without knowing the other is there. From time to time, relics from our world traverse into yours and some from your world fall into ours. It is through these relics that some can travel between worlds.” Joraya led Ethan into the temple as they talked. “Let me show you what I mean.”
He had Ethan stand in front of a pool of water in the middle of the temple. With a wave of Joraya's hands, the water churned and formed into two giant spheres. Once the spheres solidified, they showed two planets side by
side. Ethan recognized his world based on the globe he had in his room. When he looked at the other, he was astonished. The two were so different. He began to realize that he was nowhere near home.
“This is your world here, Ethan,” Joraya said, pointing at the planet on the left which depicted the Earth. “And this is Terah, which is where we are.”
“How are you doing this?” Ethan asked.
“Our worlds are very different. The rules of your world do not apply to ours. The elders in my group have studied the other world through the relics we get and through the visions some have had into your world,” Joraya explained. “Our world has magical properties, and some can harness that magic and bend the elements for their own needs. Some use it to help while others use it to destroy. Much like in your world, there are people with good intentions and those with evil in their hearts.”
Ethan was fascinated. It sounded like something straight out of his fantasy books. “What did you mean when you said you've studied visions into my world? Do you guys have like a TV that you watch?” he asked.
The elder chuckled. “I'm assuming a TV, as you call it, is a viewing device in your world. But no. We have nothing like that. Some people can project their minds to other places, such as the parallel world or even a place known as the Enderverse, where all forms of evil are being held at bay. These people are known as Seers,” he said.
“What is the Enderverse?” Ethan asked. “That sounds like a scary place.”
Joraya nodded. “The Enderverse is a place to which evil is banished. It is protected by a group of Seers who make sure the evil they have sent there remains there. It is a prison for the most evil and vilest of creatures. From time to time, a rift opens in our world and evil escapes, but that is a rare occurrence.”
“You called me 'Avent' earlier. What does that mean?” Ethan asked.
“Ahhh, the question I was waiting for you to ask,” Joraya said with a smile. “The Avent is said to bring light to the world when darkness rises. I have heard rumblings through the wind that the armies of darkness are on the rise and are growing in power with each passing day. I feel that your being here will play a pivotal role in stopping this army.”