by B. D. Suever
“Keep yer dress on, Vetick,” Krimm said, coming down the stairs. “Can't a man pee in peace?”
Vetick ignored Krimm's quip. “I need one of your men. This is extremely important.”
Krimm walked over to his table and picked up his pipe. He lit it and looked over at Vetick. “What do I get in return?” he asked smugly.
Vetick grunted angrily. “I've no time to bargain with you, Krimm. We have the location of the Amulet of Light and I need to leave immediately.”
Krimm gave him an angry look. He hated being ordered around. “Very well. Mortar is back from his assignment, so you can have him. He's unpredictable but that's your problem, not mine. We will discuss my fee when you return.”
“Fine,” Vetick said. “Have him meet me at the castle gates in an hour. I need to prepare my men.” Vetick turned and headed back to the castle.
Krimm walked up and slammed the door shut in Veticks face.
Vetick walked back to the pits. As he made his way to the lower level, he was approached by one of the slavers. “What can I do for you, Lord Vetick?” the slaver asked.
“Where do you keep the dead?” Vetick asked.
The slaver hooked his thumb over his shoulder. “We pile them in the back. We have a fresh group back there that we haven't burnt yet.”
Vetick nodded in satisfaction. “Excellent. This time I will take my men. I won't let those brainless goblins muck things up.” He walked towards the back of the pits and saw a mound of bodies in one room. He circled the pile and guessed there had to be about twelve bodies there; there was also a mound of bones and rotting flesh on the floor. “This will do nicely,” he said with a sinister grin. He placed his hand on the floor. “Nienmar Dua Avakqua.”
A green and purple light bloomed in the room. A pulse ran through the ground and surrounded the corpses. The eyes of all the dead opened and there was a purple glow to them. At the same time, many of the scattered bones and flesh began to come together and take shape. When all was complete, Vetick circled his troops. “Magnificent. I think twenty-two undead will suffice,” he said. “All of you, head up to the armory and get prepared.”
The group of undead turned and headed out of the pits. Vetick followed behind them. As he reached the top level of the pits, a man with spiked red hair and wild red eyes was standing there waiting for him. “You Vetick?” he said.
“Mortar, I presume,” Vetick responded.
“That be me. Arsonist, bomb expert and pyromaniac extraordinaire,” Mortar said with a grin.
Vetick looked into Mortar's eyes and could tell he was dealing with a crazy person. “I think you might be perfect for this mission,” he said.
“So, where we headin'?” Mortar asked.
“We are headed to the Temple of Janikar. There is an item of great importance that we need to retrieve.”
Mortar pulled an apple from his pouch and began to eat it. “North, huh? I set my fair share of fires up there. Sounds like fun. Any chance of some action there?”
“There may be a troublesome group that we need to deal with,” Vetick said. “That's where you and my minions come into play.”
Mortar gazed at the undead soldiers. “This all you're bringin' with you?”
“I think this should be plenty to handle a group of four, don't you?” Vetick said. “Take them out with whatever means necessary. One thing though. There is a small boy with them—he is to be taken alive.”
“Boy lives, kill the rest. Sounds simple enough.” Mortar nodded. “I'll grab my gear.”
Mortar threw the rest of his apple in the pits and walked off to gather his supplies, while Vetick walked towards the castle to check on his men and gather his own supplies for the journey north.
When he was done, Vetick walked his troops to the front gates, where Mortar was waiting for him. “How we passing the northern border?” Mortar asked.
“We won't be using the northern border,” Vetick explained. “We are going to take the Ishtariya Pass north of here. It will cut the trip down by a day, so we should arrive just in time to take what is rightfully mine.”
Two horses were led out and presented to Vetick and Mortar. They were as black as night and had blood-red eyes. Both men mounted. Vetick gave his undead minions the command to move forward and they headed north to the Temple of Janikar.
The mid-morning sunlight pierced through the leaves of the overhanging trees.
“We should be getting close,” Nera said. The group walked further into the forest. Suddenly, Ethan saw what looked like a building behind some trees. “I think I see it,” he said.
Nera motioned for everyone to stay quiet. “I'm going to scout ahead and make sure it's safe. Stay hidden until I give you the signal.”
Nera leapt up into the trees above. Ethan watched her walk along the branches with ease. How does she do that so easy? he thought. He watched her until he lost sight of her. Then he heard her whistling. “Is that the signal?” he asked Trixxie.
“I'm gonna go with yes,” she answered.
They all headed towards the temple. There was no one around. The temple looked like it hadn't been touched in many years. Vines had overgrown all around the temple walls. Nera hopped down from the trees. “There's no one here. I figured someone would be watching over this place.” She frowned uneasily.
Ethan looked up at the temple. “It's bigger than I thought it would be.”
The entrance to the temple was lined with four large pillars. The large wooden double doors had etchings on them showing the town of Janikar with the previous Avent standing in the middle. He was surrounded by the people of the town and was bathed in light.
“It looks like he was worshipped like a God by these people,” Nera said. “It's funny he was treated this way when he was the cause of the balance shifting in the world.”
“People are sheep, dear sister,” Trixxie observed.
Nera ignored that. “Shall we head inside and see what we can find?”
Ethan and Trixxie nodded.
They all headed into the temple. The doors creaked open and dust fell from their tops. Spiderwebs covered the walls and furniture inside.
“This place has not been entered in many years,” Nera said.
Trixxie lit a torch as they continued further in. The silence throughout the temple was beginning to creep Ethan out. He wanted to talk just to break the silence but wasn't sure what to say.
ACCCCHHHHOOOOOOO!
The sound of the sneeze caused Ethan to jump and scream. He looked back and saw Naveni rubbing her nose. She had a spiderweb stuck to it and it was causing a sneezing fit. She sneezed a few more times before finally getting the web off. Nera and Trixxie laughed at her.
“That wasn't funny, you know,” Ethan said. “That really scared me.”
Trixxie gave him an innocent, wide-eyed look. “Come on, Ethan. That was pretty funny.”
Ethan was a little annoyed, but at the same time happy that the silence had been broken.
They all continued further into the temple. As they reached the back, they noticed there were no stairs leading down. It was simply a giant room filled with benches and a statue in the middle showing a family; probably a family from the old town or something representing that, Ethan thought.
“So now what?” Trixxie asked.
Ethan walked along the back wall. “The book Quinn and I looked at said someone felt a breeze coming from somewhere in the temple. If we can find that area, we might be able to find a cave entrance,” he explained.
They split up, trying to find any section of the temple where they could feel a breeze coming through. Naveni circled the statue of the family. She had picked up a scent but couldn't figure out what it was. Nera watched Naveni for a moment and then she saw it. As Naveni was breathing, she was kicking up dirt. “I think Naveni found it,” she yelled.
They all rushed over to the statue. Nera knelt and ran her hand across the dirt. “Look,” she said as she lifted her hand up to show the others. “This is d
irt. It's not dust. Something is under the statue.”
Ethan looked up at the statue. “This thing has to weigh a ton. How are we supposed to move it?”
Nera tried pushing it, but it didn't even budge. She had Naveni help her, but still nothing. It was too heavy for any of them to push.
“I think I might know how to move this big boy,” Trixxie said. She ran up to the front of the temple and came back with a pitcher. “There's still a little water in here so this might work.”
Trixxie poured the contents of the pitcher out on the base of the statue. The water ran around the front until it found a small hole that led below. “Ready?” Trixxie asked with a giggle. “Oh, and everyone stand back.” She waved her hands in the air. BOOM! Trixxie suddenly created a block of ice out of the water she had poured on the ground, which lifted the statue up on one side, pushing it over.
Ethan ran over to the hole underneath the statue. “Quinn was right!” he yelled, excited. “The shrine might still be intact down there.”
“Ethan, be careful,” Nera warned. “The last thing we need is for you to fall down a hole when we are this close.” She ran over to the hole to see how far a drop it was. “Trix, can you grab me another torch?”
Trixxie brought a torch over. “You going down first?” she asked.
Nera grabbed the torch. “Not yet. I want to see how deep it is.” She tossed the torch into the hole and watched until it hit the bottom. “Not too far down.” She stood up and grabbed a large rope from the bag on Naveni's back. She tied one end of it to the giant statue so it could hold everyone's weight. The other end she threw down the hole. “Naveni, you stay here. We will be back soon,” she said as she scratched behind Naveni's ear.
Nera was the first to descend into the hole, followed by Ethan and then Trixxie. “Looks like it goes further down,” Ethan said as he pointed to a cave in front of them.
Nera picked up the torch she had thrown in the hole and led the group further into the cave. Ethan could hear the screeching of bats deep in the cave. Dirt fell from the rocks above. As they moved deeper into the cave they came across a skeleton buried under a rock.
“I wonder if this one was trying to find a way out and was crushed under the rubble?” Nera said.
“What's that?” Trixxie asked. She was pointing further into the cave. It looked as if there was a faint light coming through from somewhere.
They all walked towards the light. As they emerged out of the cave they came to a small clearing. There was rubble all around. Old houses lay crushed under rock, the skeletons of the villagers were littered all over the place, and in the center of the clearing was the shrine to the Avent—in ruins. Ethan ran over to the ruins immediately.
Nera walked over to the bodies on the floor. “I hope you found peace in the afterlife,” she said with a somber look on her face.
Trixxie looked up and saw there was a tiny hole above that allowed a sliver of light through. “So that's what I saw,” she said.
Nera and Trixxie approached the ruins of the shrine. There they found Ethan moving stones, trying to find where the villagers had placed the Avent. As he moved more stone he could see a doorway behind the rubble. “I think it's in here,” he said.
Nera rushed over to help Ethan move the stone from the door. They moved enough for them to crawl in.
“I think I'll stay here. Me and dirt just don't mix,” Trixxie said.
Nera and Ethan entered the shrine. Ethan started searching around for any clue as to where the Avent was buried. Nera was looking along the wall at the artwork depicting the life of the previous Avent. As she walked along the wall, she kicked something hard. She glanced down and saw what looked like the skeleton of a dead hunter, based on the cloak and gear the corpse had worn. She knelt and lifted the cloak off. It's so light, yet extremely durable, she thought. She wrapped the cloak around her body then sifted through the gear. She found a dagger. It had been buried this long and yet it was still as sharp as ever. It showed no rust or wear and tear. The metal on the blade is unique. I've never seen anything like this, she thought. She took the dagger for herself and placed it on her belt. Next to the body were two bows lying against the wall. “Drake scale bows?” she said, shocked. “I've read about these but have never seen one.” She picked up both bows. “Ethan, come here.”
Ethan walked over. “Did you find something?”
“Here,” Nera said, handing the bow to Ethan.
“Oh wow!” he said. “It's so light.”
Nera nodded. “It's very light and it's made of the hardest material on Terah.”
Ethan took his old bow and threw it on the ground. He wrapped the new bow around his back. “How do I look?” he asked with a grin.
“Like a true hunter,” Nera answered. “Let's keep searching.”
Ethan and Nera walked along opposite walls of the small room. There was nothing to indicate the body of the Avent was ever here. Ethan began to feel discouraged. As he finished searching the back wall, he sat down on a couple of steps and began to sulk. “All this for nothing,” he said. “I'm never going to get home.”
Nera sat next to Ethan. “I promised you I would get you home, Ethan, and I intend on keeping that promise. We just have to keep searching,” she said. “Maybe there's something more at the library that we missed. We can head back and look.”
Ethan wiped the tears from his eyes and nodded. As he went to stand up, his hand ran across something that felt like metal. “What's this?” He felt the piece of metal. It was a circular shape. “It feels like a button.”
Nera helped Ethan to his feet. “Stand back a moment.” She placed her foot on the metal piece and stepped down. There was a loud click and the floor in front of Ethan opened. A stone coffin slowly rose up from underneath.
“Wh ... wha ... what is this?” Nera asked.
Ethan and Nera studied the coffin. The artwork on it was just like the drawings along the inner wall of the shrine. There was a painted symbol on the top of the coffin. “What do you think this is?” Ethan asked.
Nera ran her hands across the top of the coffin. “It means 'Safe Passage'. The people of the town were probably hoping they could restore balance by ushering his spirit to the other world.” She looked sad. “I guess it didn't work.”
They pushed the top to the coffin off. As the dust settled, Ethan saw it. “The Amulet of Light,” he said. “It's just like the symbol I saw on the book.” He reached down and lifted it up carefully. It was smaller than he thought it would be. He gently placed it around his neck and felt a small vibration as it hit his chest.
Both Nera and Ethan stared at the body of the previous Avent. “So he is why the balance of the world hasn't been restored,” Nera said.
“His armor looks really cool. Too bad it's too big for me. I'd really look like a guy from Dark Tor-” Ethan stopped himself. He remembered that the topic annoyed Nera.
Nera laughed. “It's ok, Ethan. I'm not annoyed. I know stuff like this excites you.” She smiled. “Well, we got what we came here for. Now we have to get you home.”
They both exited the shrine and met up with Trixxie, who was wiping the dust off her boots. “Did you guys find it?” she asked.
With a smile of accomplishment, Ethan held the amulet up to show Trixxie.
“Huh. The power to shape the world in such a small object. Who would've known,” she said.
“Let's get out of this cave before something comes crashing down on us,” Nera said.
They all headed for the cave and made their way up to the top. The rope was still dangling down from the temple above. “Naveni, we are coming up,” Nera yelled. She was the first to start climbing. As she got to the top, she saw that Naveni was nowhere to be seen. “Damn bear went off after food or is asleep under a tree,” she said.
Trixxie made her way up next. As she made it to the top, they both could hear Ethan struggling to climb the rope. “You need help, Ethan?” Trixxie asked.
“No. I got it,” Ethan said,
trying his hardest to climb the rope. “Feels like I'm back in gym class. This is annoying! I think I need help,” he finally admitted.
“Wrap the rope around your waist and hold on tight,” Nera said.
Ethan listened and wrapped the rope around him. Nera and Trixxie began to pull him up out of the hole. As he reached the top, Nera grabbed his arm and hoisted him out. She untied the other end of the rope and rolled it up. “Let's find Naveni and get you home,” she said.
Ethan, Trixxie and Nera rushed to the exit of the temple. As they made their way outside Trixxie stopped suddenly, causing Ethan and Nera to bump into her. “Uhh, we aren't alone, guys,” she said.
Ethan and Nera peered around Trixxie and saw a horde of undead in front of them. Nera saw Naveni tied up in a rope net behind them, struggling to get free. “Naveni!” she cried.
A man nudged his horse forward to confront the companions. “Ah ah ah. No one moves, or the bear is the first to die,” he said as he approached them. “Now hand over the Amulet of Light.”
Nera, Trixxie and Ethan stood surrounded by the undead. Ethan was terrified at the sight of the army in front of him. He had seen stuff like this in movies and comics, but this was scary on a whole other level.
Nera stared at the man confronting them. “Who are you and what do you want?” she said.
The man shrugged. “Who I am is no concern of yours. What do I want? Well, I'm sure it's quite obvious what I want.” He glanced over to Ethan. “I know you have it and I know who you are, so let's make this easy. You just come with me and your friends go free.”
Ethan gave a snort of laughter. “That rhymed. You're a poet and you didn't know it,” he said sarcastically.
Nera hissed at him. “Ethan, now's not the time for that.”
The man hopped off his horse. “So, the Avent's name is Ethan and he has jokes,” he said, approaching Ethan. “Joke's on you, boy. I win, you lose.”