Reborn- Journeyman

by Luka Petrov

  The altar in the middle of the room had three stairs leading up to the limestone carved raised structured that was at least two meters wide and a meter high. On top of the altar laid a leather-bound book, that was enormous.

  As I approached the altar and climbed the stairs, the leather-bound book was closed shut. There was no title engraved on the front of the book, it was blank with symbols on the border of the cover. Next to the book was a letter, written in a language I could read. It seemed to be a note telling whoever found this chamber about the ancient dwarves and where their magic came from.

  I picked up the paper and read it. The letter explained the history of the ancient dwarves and how they came to create these chambers. I continued to read, and the letter seemed to allude to a prophecy and identified which spells I needed to learn in order to thwart the evil plans of the Demon Lord. Also, there was a referent of a map. They hid the map in the graveyard of a primordial dragon. Once I find this graveyard, I must recite the correct magical words to reveal the map. I was uncertain what the map was for, but the ancient dwarves seemed to think it was important that I find it.

  I picked up the spell book and examined it. They gilded the pages gold. I opened the book to flip through it. The thin pages were made from the thinnest rice paper and filled with words and symbols. It was clear that this book took multiple sages lifetimes to complete.

  No wonder Lord Abraxas was after this book. There were dozens of thousands of spells, and each one was inscribed with notes. Presumably from the last student of magic that used the spells from this book.

  I flicked my finger and the torch that the dwarves statue held lit up. With all three dwarves statue torches lit, the ground rumbled and shake. The sound of stone grinding on stone filled my ears, and fear and anxiety flooded my body. Frightened by the moving ground, I crouched down by the altar, hoping nothing would fall from the ceiling. I took the spell book and clutched it close to my chest. I did not want anything to separate me from this book. I also put in the note from the dwarves inside the front cover of the book. I would probably need to reference it again at some point.

  Soon, the shaking ground stopped, and I saw a door appear between the two coffins. The shaking ground must have been necessary to reveal a secret door. I entered the door and found myself inside a room with abnormally large cobwebs. I flicked my finger, and ignited each one, burning them to a crisp.

  Entering further into the room, I saw more cobwebs, large ones. These cobwebs were dense and thicker than the ones by the entrance of this chamber. As I looked closer, I saw that there were bodies wrapped inside of the webs. Observing the bodies wiggle and squirm as they heard my footsteps, it was apparent that they were still alive.

  It appears that this is a lair of a giant spider. Setting the book down, I began to untie one of the bodies from the web. Unwrapping the body like a mummy, I revealed the identity of the person. It was Agnes; I was excited to look into her blue eyes and feel her red hair as I quickly kept unraveling the silky thread that entwined her body.

  She looked at me pale with fright as she whispered, “Yves is in the web over there,” she pointed to another mummy-like body tangled in a cobweb. Agnes continued, “They captured us last night by the Spider Queen, this is her lair. Yves and I were setting up camp. We do not know what happened to Cecily.”

  I shouted, eager to see my friend once again, “And Walter?”

  “We are not sure, about Walter. We saw Cecily runoff in the opposite direction from us, and that was the last we saw her. Yves and I met after the spell wore off, both of us wandering in the enchanted forest. Then we were captured by the Spider Queen. This is her lair. Quick, we have to get Yves out before the Spider Queen returns with her new captures. We watch her eat a bounty hunter this morning. She caught him before us. Quick, you have to hurry,” Agnes explained.

  I nodded and went to assist Yves. She was tangled more tightly than Agnes. She was smaller and probably put up less of a fight than Agnes did. I untangled Yves. There was not a spell I could think of that would remove the spider web, but not injure Yves, so I kept unwinding.

  As I was halfway done with untangling Yves, from the opposite side of where I entered, the Spider Queen returned with her new victim. The victim was a bounty hunter, but not from the group we encountered.

  Agnes distracted the beast while I could finish unraveling Yves. Carefully, I could get her undone from the spider web, and now for the next challenge, we would have to defeat the Spider Queen, or at least subdue her enough to get away.

  I cast a firebolt to stun the beast. The hairy beast took damage but recovered quickly. Agnes cast another firebolt, this time the spider had no response. She must have defended it.

  Minutes went by as we fought with the last ounces of our energy. My energy was low from exploring the chambers, Agnes and Yves had low energy from being poisoned from the Spider Queen’s venom she used on them to tie them up.

  The Spider Queen was more powerful than I realized, and this fight, if we survived would take every ounce of our magical powers.

  We finally subdued the Spider Queen. As the Queen rolled over, dead, there was a stone attached to her belly. I approached the spider, hoping we completed the job, and this was not some trickery. I examined the arachnid beast; she appeared to be completely dead. I reached for the stone and grabbed it.

  Before leaving with Agnes and Yves out of the same entrance the Spider Queen returned, I grabbed the spell book before I forgot it. We ran, and I carried the stone and the book until we were certain that the Spider Queen wasn’t feeding a family that would return and feast on her conquests with her. The sky was turning dark as the daylight was vanishing and the mysteries of darkness emerged.

  After we stopped, now low on mana, I took a moment to examine the stone I lifted from the Spider Queen’s belly. Inscribed on the stone was Draco Interfectorem.

  “What does the stone say, Ed?” Agnes asked.

  “Draco Interfectorem. I’m not sure what it means or what it is used for.”

  “Interesting!” she replied. “Hopefully we can use it. I hope it places us ahead of the Demon Lord,” she continued.

  “Oh, you mean the book. I have it. I found it in the chamber just before I found you. We just need to learn the spells now from it before we battle Lord Abraxas,” I answered.

  “You found it! Really?” Yves chimed in, excitement filling her voice.

  “I did, and this weird letter from the ancient dwarves who made those chambers. I wonder if they kept the Spider Queen close to their chamber as a guard dog,” I answered Yves.

  “That would be clever. She was very powerful. She must get her power from the arachane,” Yves replied. It was nice for someone to make a poor joke other than me. Agnes and I both laughed at Yves’ attempt at humor.

  We continued to hike in the Enchanted Forest until we came across a cave. This was the perfect place to set up camp. It would allow us to have a proper shelter and hide us from the roaming bounty hunters, of which I was certain the forest was full of them. If we set up a fire, we could put it toward the back of the cave as to conceal our whereabouts from those pesky hunters who were seeking my return to Gilmore for a hefty bounty.

  “Let’s set up camp here,” I suggested as I pointed toward the cave and admiring the tranquility once again of the Enchanted Forest. The Enchanted Forest and I had a love—hate relationship. On one hand I enjoyed the peace and tranquility that I got from being in nature. Yet, on the other hand, the depths of the Enchanted Forest were beyond comprehension and I could not fathom the mere dangers that surrounded us.

  “Great idea!” Yves responded.

  Agnes went to gather firewood from the surrounding twigs and debris. When she returned, I cast a week firebolt at the pile to ignite the fire but do not make the twigs and branches into ash.

  As we sat around the fire, warming ourselves and recovering from our exhaustive magic usage, something was bothering me, “Hey guys, how did we end up at the same place, re
latively speaking. I mean the Enchanted Forest is very large, yet we were congregating in roughly the same location.”

  “That is a good question,” Yves replied.

  “I know how we all came to the same spot. I believe we were attracted to the power of the magic that the book holds. It drew us to it, innately,” I suggested.

  “That would make sense,” Agnes replied.

  “I say that, because that would mean that Cecily and presumably Walter would be close by,” I replied.

  “Why are you unsure of Walter?” Yves asked.

  “I was not certain when we all scattered, but he was closest to the bounty hunters, and they did believe that he was me, who they were looking for. I think they were able to grab him before they ran off,” I answered.

  “Could be,” Agnes replied.

  “In any case, let’s search for Cecily after daybreak and hopefully Walter, but my hopes are not high for Walter,” I suggested.

  “I realize that is a logical response to think the weakest of our group would be captured,” Agnes stated. “Yet, I have faith, I think he could have escaped like the rest of us. He was progressing along in his abilities and he could actually perform cantrips. I became impressed with his progress.”

  Yves frowned and replied, “I am certain Cecily is wandering close by. She has an incredible magic ability and was one for the first of us to dart off from the bounty hunters. I have no doubt that she would be drawn to the magic that the spell book was emitting. But I do not believe Walter was as perceptive. Walter was the closest to the bounty hunters, plus they thought he was you, Ed. He was being extremely honorable when he did that. I do not want him to be captured, but I do like to live in reality. Logic would suggest that they caught him. But on the chance, they did not, I find it improbable that he would be close to the Spider Queen.”

  Agnes relented, “Yves, I can’t argue with your logic. You make sense. I don’t want them to capture him, I want him here with us. He really won me over when he was willing to risk his life to save Ed.”

  I had to keep up optimistic even though I feared the worst, “We will search tomorrow. Not to mention, we have to read the letter from the dwarves more in-depth to determine our next move in the battle with the Demon Lord. He still wants me to be his eternal servant, provided that Walter hasn’t already filled the job.”

  Agnes and Yves both chuckled at my poor attempt at a joke. I was glad to lighten up the mood even a little given all that we had been through and what we still had to face.

  We warmed ourselves and fell asleep as the embers that remained after the fire died down glowed subtly amber.

  As I fell asleep, I realized that I was going to have another one of those life-like dreams. Drifting off into a deep sleep, I was transported to a meeting held by King Harold and his consultants and trusted advisors. They sat in the throne room of the castle; the king has always been an honorable and just man and often took counsel from his advisors. One of the advisors said, “You need to find that boy now and you need to surrender him over to the Demon Lord, Harold.”

  The king put his head down and said, “I can’t give over an innocent boy to a Demon Lord. What will happen to him? I’d rather surrender myself than have this on my conscience.”

  “I realized that, Harold. I know you are one of the most lawfully good people who ever lived. But we must sacrifice one for the greater good,” the advisor argued.

  “I understand that,” King Harold affirmed.

  “If you fight the attack, you will lose everything and more. The Demon Lord has an army that will send this village into oblivion. We cannot risk an attack under any circumstance,” explained the advisor.

  “I see your point. However, you are missing a crucial piece to all of this,” King Harold argued.

  “And what is that?” the advisor asked.

  “The boy and his friends escaped last night. I have had bounty hunters looking for them, but they have vanished into thin air,” explained the king.

  “I see. Well you need to find them,” advised the advisor.

  “No shit!” King Harold sassed.

  “Well, the Demon Lord is not going to like this when he finds out,” the advisor said. “You need to find them. The Demon Lord wants this boy and no matter how mighty your army is, you do not have the power to thwart the mightier army of the Demon Lord. You must find this boy and his friends. How did they escape anyway?”

  “I have an idea, but I don’t want to discuss it now. We have more pressing issues than that,” responded King Harold.

  King Harold appeared to be worried that those bounty hunters would never find me. He furled his brow and appeared to be concerned that they haven't shown up yet. Something must be drastically wrong. He paced in the throne room at the meeting with his trusted advisors. In my dream, I watched like a fly on the wall, and I was not visible to them. As he paced, he shouted, “This is not like Aragon the Wise. He is a brilliant tracker and would have caught any other fugitive by now. He is one of the most reliable people I know, despite he’s a bounty hunter.” King Harold slammed his fist on the table where all of the advisors sat. King Harold continued, “My villagers are in grave danger. We do not have much time before Lord Abraxas’ army descends onto our village and rapes and pillages all of our inhabitants. I must act fast or suffer the consequences.”

  King Harold stopped his pacing and appeared to be in deep thought. Then he ordered, “Guards! Attention! Search every corner of the forest and to find Edward MacAra and his four friends. The reward will be extremely handsome—I will ensure you. I need Edward MacAra brought to me alive! Do not even think about harming a hair on his precious head. I need him complete and whole to deliver to the Demon Lord.” King Harold smeared as he finished his sentence.

  One of his trusted advisors said, “That is a fabulous decision, Harold. You need to have every able-bodied man out there looking for this boy. Time is running out and we have only tonight left before the Demon Lord will return to Gilmore and flatten our village to dust. I know you do not want the death of your towns people on your conscious. The death of your wife I am sure is enough.” The old advisor stopped himself when he noticed that he had upset King Harold.

  “I appreciate your consult, Vladimir. But I’m going to need some time be myself, excuse me,” King Harold said as he walked to his chambers. I followed behind him. He found a seat in his chambers and gazed out of the window looking over Gilmore. He appeared to be deep in thought.

  As I watched him, I empathized for him. Even though he ordered my capture and ultimate surrender to the Demon Lord, I felt bad for him. As I watched him tear up looking at his village he shouted, “Stop it! Stop it!”

  What in the world was going on? No one was in the chamber room with him. He kept yelling, “Stop it! I’ve had enough! This decision is final!”

  It appeared he was showing signs of madness. Voices in his head? Perhaps a guilty conscience? A guilty conscience slowly eating away at a lawful man. I continued to watch as it was evident that his well-being was deteriorating. King Harold spoke again, “How else can I prevent all of this destruction and unnecessary death?” He appeared to be talking to the window.

  Vladimir, one of his trusted advisors joined him in the chamber. He padded him on the shoulder as they both gazed out of the window. “Harold, during this dark time, you must keep the townsfolk calm, you still have a kingdom to lead after all. You cannot show any sign of weakness. If you did, the town would lose all faith in you, not only their king but as a man of everything that is good and lawful.”

  As I listened, I felt even more compassion for King Harold. He had tremendous pressure, and it all stemmed from me and my escape. I grew up revering the king because what my dad told me about him. He was an upstanding individual and demonstrated immense character.

  The trusted advisor continued, “I have not seen you like this since your wife passed away from that grave illness that consumed her. I remember we found healers far and wide to come to her aid. N
ot even white magic could cure her of her ailment. I knew you felt so guilty that you failed your job as not only a husband but as a man of good nature. You must be thinking; how could you save your own kingdom if you couldn’t save your wife?”

  King Harold nodded in agreement as he stared at Vladimir. The advisor continued, “Harold, if we do not find the boy, you must prepare your men for what will come. You are aware that the attack will come from the north where Abraxas is station?”

  “That’s what I am anticipating,” King Harold replied.

  “You will need an army to ride out once the sun is down and circle around to attack the Demon Lord’s minions from the opposite side. This will have them between our defense and our offense,” Vladimir explained.

  “Sounds like as good of plan as any, I will inform the new general of the attack plan,” stated King Harold in a monotone voice as he got up to inform a squire to relay the message to the new general.

  Vladimir appeared to notice that King Harold was acting like a robot and going through the motions as if he was already accepting defeat, “Harold, you can beat the Demon Lord. You cannot give up this easily,”

  “Vlad, you saw how ill-prepared my army was yesterday. I expected to be beaten, but not demolished,” the king replied. “I do not see how we will stand a chance. It is not feasible. I was promised to the Demon Lord. I accepted this ever since I was young. I would lay down my life for any of those villagers that I am given the privilege to lead. But now the Demon Lord wants wonder boy, and I am using all of my resources to find him and we are running out of time,” King Harold explained.

  “Well, Harold. You could offer yourself once again. The Demon Lord didn’t bite last time because he had his eyes set on magic boy, who couldn’t even beat Balfomeir in the barracks yesterday. I’m sure you heard that report as well,” Vladimir laughed.