by Luka Petrov
The next book I read had information about an ancient castle that was cursed many moons ago. Those who went to this castle either went mad or they were trapped to roam the rooms of the castle forever. The cursed castle was named Calden Castle and was located on Barnard Island. Except, I had no idea where those places were located. Which was why we are needing the map.
Legend had it that the cursed castle sat on an island off the coast of the most southern edge of the forest and could been seen from the mainland only on a full moon's night. Amongst those several books is a book about unlocking the abilities of a journeyman magic-user. The Magi Staff and magic spell book were at the cursed castle, but before then, we needed to get a stone to use to unlock the Magi Staff.
“Did you read that?” I asked Agnes and Yves.
“Yes, it’s talking about the magic spell book, but we already have that,” answered Yves.
“Right. We just need the Magi Staff,” I confirmed.
“But before we could get the Magi Staff, we needed a stone,” Agnes iterated.
“Right,” I responded.
“And before we could get the stone, we need a map,” Yves chimed in.
“Correct, madam,” I confirmed.
We finished with the library and exited to the main chamber to head back to the trail that we were just on before we ran into this school. Something pulled me to stay here for a little longer. It must be my need to feel connected to learning magic. I was not prepared to wander back into the forest yet again. We explored Sleparth, School of Witchcraft further. We found classrooms, dueling squares, sleeping quarters. The students seemed to enjoy studying here, and rightfully so. The school was much more impressive than Draererth. The facilities were all state-of-the-art and there were skylights lighting up the entire building.
“I have this weird feeling like we are being followed,” I said to the group.
“There is no way anyone could have kept up with us,” Agnes tried to alleviate my suspicion.
“Being followed or not, I think we need to go to that castle after we find the Dragon’s Tomb. I have a hunch that the magi staff is probably in the castle,” Yves responded. Her intelligence was beginning both impress and annoy me.
On our way out, we stopped by Headmistress Windlebraugh’s office.
“Thank you for allowing us to use your library,” I said while I popped my head into her office. I noticed that she was writing at her desk.
“Of course, I was happy to help. So sorry again about Draererth. As you start to rebuild, let us know if there is anything we could help with,” Professor Windlebraugh replied.
“Sure thing, that was a generous offer. I’m sure Headmaster Wavernjack will be glad to hear that we can count on the help from your school,” I answered.
“Before you go, I want to give you something. You see, I had noticed that you are lugging around this exceptionally large book, and I also know where you got it from. I would not want this book to fall into the wrong hands, so I had another professor create for you a Bag of Holding while you were studying at the library,” explained Professor Windlebraugh.
I looked at the bag; it looked like a normal sack. Woven of the very nice canvas, it was brown and two feet wide. It had a drawstring where I could secure the top of it and had a strap so I could wear it across my shoulders. I suspected it would conceal the magic spell book I was carrying and not make it so awkward while we were hiking. “Uh, thanks!” I replied.
Professor Windlebraugh responded to me, as I hesitated sign of gratitude, “Based on your response, I can tell that you do not know what this is.”
“A bag so I can carry this big book?” I replied.
“Well, yes. It’s that, but so much more. You see, a Bag of Holding can carry objects larger than its own size. It opens into a nondimensionalize space, making the inside infinity larger than the outside. Whatever you put in it, it will always be the same size and weight.”
A smile came across my face. This item was actually fantastic, and here I thought it was a plain old sack, “That is fabulous! I can carry other items, and the size and weight of my objects will not burden me! Wow! This Bag of Holding is quite useful. Thank you!” I responded to Professor Windlebraugh as I hugged her. This would be the perfect place where I could conceal the Magi Staff before my confrontation with Lord Abraxas.
“Take care and do well. You have a long road ahead of you,” Professor Windlebraugh said it a predictive manner.
“Long road,” I replied. I thought we only had a few items to get, and then go and save Gilmore, and we knew where the items were. Well, at least roughly.
Professor Windlebraugh replied in a meditative state, “Yes, dear. You have a great journey ahead of you, filled with trials and tribulations. This journey is necessary to prepare you as you save one of your own.”
“One of our own?” I attempted to clarify the meaning.
“Get along dear, I’ve told you more than I have should. As witches, we try not to meddle in the forces of the future and effect it too much,” she replied as she ushered me out of her office. “Believe me, I cannot elaborate further. It is for your own good.”
I met Agnes and Yves in the foyer of her office, and we went the way we came, exiting the main building out into the courtyard. I took in the energy of everyone studying and working on their magic spells, chatting in the courtyard, gossiping about the professors one last time before we headed across the manicured lawns.
“I see you got a Bag of Holding,” Yves turned and said.
“How did you know what it was?” I asked.
“It’s in all the latest spell books,” she replied. Yves was getting annoying. Either that or I needed to stop relying on my innate bits of intelligence and to study more.
As we exited the Sleparth, School of Witchcraft, our eyes were met with black smoke. The smoke appeared to be coming from the north, which would mean that Gilmore was in the process of being burned to the ground. “Oh, no!” I screamed. “We have to hurry and find the map and Magi Staff. Not to mention, we are going to have to learn some spells very quickly from this book.”
“Gees, I hope your parents are all right, Ed,” Agnes attempted to comfort me.
“I hope so too,” I replied, feeling as I lost all hope.
Chapter Four
We prepared ourselves for a new day. Over the night, I had been working on the spells that I am supposed to learn, but I have not been able to master any of them. All they turn out in our plumes of smoke. Perhaps the Magi Staff will remedy this. I needed to master each of these spells so I could become a journeyman mage.
As we prepared for our journey, I went over what we had and what we yet had to get to defeat the Demon Lord. We now know the magical words to use to unlock the secrets of the ancients rune carved in the stone around the ancient primordial Dragon’s Tomb and know how to use it along with the word from the Spider Queen. I had the magic spell book that I keep in the Bag of Holding. We need a map to find the Magi Staff, get another stone to unlock the Magi Staff, and a map to find the stone.
We set out on our journey exactly at dawn. I carried the spell book in my Bag of Holding, while Yves led the way and Agnes followed in our line. We hiked for miles and miles. Thankfully, we had copied a decent map from Sleparth.
As we followed the path, the dirt-packed road soon turned into paving stones. Finding the correct path, we descended into a swampy area, with a path paved by cut stones led us to the Dragon Tomb. We traveled from a mountainous hill, traversing down onto ground that was covered in water.
The stony path allowed us easily traveling over the moistened, soft ground. A stench of rotting flesh filled my nostrils. As we descended on the stony path, an eerie feeling fell over the entire sky. The sky appeared as if a storm was emerging from the southern sky. Before we knew it, we were gathered at the entrance of the tomb.
The Dragon Tomb was a graveyard set inside a large stone wall. A rod-iron gate kept those who should not be inside the graveyard out. We wer
e not able to see what was beyond the wall, however; it appeared to be open-aired.
The stones were expertly placed, which appeared to be constructed by a master mason, as the stones that made up the wall were each of the same size, shape, and color. The stones were meticulously set with precision, as the wall was exactly straight for its thirty-foot height. The wall loomed over us as a reminder of the strength and power it holds within its depths.
Intricate amber runes inscribed on the wall, appeared to have been done by a master painter, as each glyph was expertly painted onto the wall. The runes covered the entire wall from the ground up to the top of the wall. I was not able to read these ancient relics, but I was certain that they carried a message of what the power the walls enclosed.
In the pit of my stomach, I knew this journey would be very dangerous. Goosebumps on my forearms raised, and I did not want to enter the tomb. However, I knew it was the only way to get the map, and then to find the magi staff.
With the directions we were able to obtain from Sleparth, we were to gather in a circle at the entrance of the tomb. The tomb’s entrance was cold, with stone walls outlining the perimeter. Clouds gathered around the outside burial ground. The low-level clouds were so thick, that I could barely make out Agnes or Yves as we held hands in the circle.
Grasping at both Agnes’ and Yves’ hands, I fell into a melodic meditation, where I became entranced by the surrounding spirits. I could not see them, but I could feel their presence. Under the impression, if we do not conduct this ritual in the correct manner, we risked the entire tomb collapsing on itself, and taking us down in its rubble. I became nervous at this notion. We had to have the utmost concentration as we began our chant.
Before entering the graveyard, holding hands, in unison, we sang, “Et Draco de luce lente.” As we chanted, the wind began to pick up and gathered pace. The ancient magic we awakened slowly coursing through the air, filling up our bodies with its force. The magical energy that we had stirred caused flickering of the amber runes.
We held our hands tightly together, not letting go as the ground began to rumble and shake as if we were on a boat and floating over rolling waves. If we broke apart, we would break the spell and have that giant, towering wall come crashing down on us.
The low clouds grew thicker, and all I could see was white in front of my face. Moments later, a crack of lightning struck the remains of the primordial dragon. All the ancient runes that are etched in stone start to light up, no longer flickering, and the area surrounding us was filled with unbearable energy.
The magic was getting stronger and stronger, coursing through the air around us as a continuous bolt of lightning struck the ground. The lightning ceased, and everything became calm.
After the ground stopped shaking, the rod-iron gate opened. “I suppose we should enter,” I said, judging by the sign of the open gate. “I assume we did the spell correctly because everything is still intact, and the gate opened. That is a promising sign.”
“I do not believe we have a choice,” Yves confirmed. “It’s obvious, we cannot stop this journey. If we don’t enter, we might as well surrender Ed to Lord Abraxas and prepare to live a life of turmoil. There is no turning back, as scared as I am, we have no choice.”
Agnes strengthened my confidence when she said, “You two are the most accomplished wizard apprentices I have ever witnessed. If anyone can do this, you two can.”
We entered through the open rod-iron gate and into the magnificent dragon tomb. Inside, the runes covered the entire inside of the wall. In the middle of the tomb, laid remains of a dragon.
Surrounding the dragon skeleton were hordes of other skeletal remains that popped out of the ground, unexpectedly.
“This appears to be the remains of a swamp dragon,” Yves stated. “As an undead creature, this beast hunts at night. It lives to find prey in an effort to regenerate itself.”
“How do you know?” I asked.
“Look at the horns that curl around its head like a ram. Not to mention the pungent acidic smell filling the air. If my hunch is correct, I would imagine that this is the dragon tomb and the dragon's lair is on the other side. Given the swampy environment, I believe this dragon’s family lives nearby.”
Agnes interrupted Yves, “It’s a construct. It’s not real. I think there might be a dragon’s lair nearby, but this is a construct to assist us on our journey.”
Yves did not paint a pretty picture as to the location of where we stood, even if this was just a construct. If we were close to a swamp dragon’s lair, this would be extremely dangerous for all of us.
Yves continued, “So, I guess we are supposed to chant again, in front of the remains, according to the book at Sleparth.”
“That’s right,” I replied. Yves seemed to have a good of a memory as I did.
We held hands once again and in unison, we sang, “Et Draco de luce lente.”
Once again, the ground rumbled and shook in rolling motions. As we concentrated with our eyes closed, we made sure not to let go of each other’s hands as the ground moved beneath our feet.
The ground ceased to shake, and we let go of hands and opened our eyes. We stood in the middle of the dragon tomb in front of the skeletal remains of a swamp dragon. I noticed the amber ruins glowing, blinking, and twinkling from inside the dragon tomb. It was an ethereal sight, watching each of the glyphs glow brighter and then darken again. Millions of glyphs alternated brightening their own essence. We were all taken aback at this glorious sight. The air felt heavy as I could sense the force fields inside the dragon tomb oscillating with power as the entire space that was encapsulated by walls of the dragon tomb vibrated.
As the twinkling glyphs mesmerized me, the skeletal dragon moved.
“What is going on?” I screamed. I prepared myself for a battle, as everything I had heard about a swamp dragon was not good at all, in fact, they taught me they were the most vicious dragons, exhaling an acidic breath and fermenting their prey before eating them.
Before I could comprehend what was occurring in front of me, I watch the skeletal bones of the dragon assemble themselves. Undead bones, joined each other at each joint, firmly attaching themselves. Where the skeletal remains were incomplete, the skeleton pulled bones from other undead creatures were in the graveyard.
The skeletal dragon raised itself from the ground, balancing itself on its bony legs. It stood about thirty feet high and had a large wingspan of thirty-five feet. It towered over us in its enormity.
The skull looked down at us with its fiery, dark red eyes, and the acidic stench emerging from its nostrils. “Who stirs me from my slumber?” crowed the skeleton.
“We do!” Yves shouted confidently from where she stood, looking like a flea next to this gargantuan beast.
“The treasure you seek is within your grasp, but first, you must complete three trials before then you will be awarded the map to the magi staff,” the skeletal dragon explained.
I was in sheer awe by being in the presence of the beast. I found myself trembling from the notion of the journey we were about to embark on.
“Are you ready to start the trials?” asked the dragon skeleton.
I had second thoughts about this, but I realized that we were no longer merely searching for answers, we had them and now we had to battle. While I was deep in my thoughts, Agnes replied, “We are ready!”
Before Agnes finished her sentence, the massive monster rose on its hind legs, extending its enormous boney wings constructed of large bones at the top, with smaller bones outlining where the wing flesh would have been. As it stood on its hind legs, I noticed the enormity of its long tail, each vertebra connected to the other as it extended through the graveyard, adjusting itself as it stood. The dragon skeleton continued, “Each trial will have a battle with a different beast. Each of these three trials will produce the proper energy to form the map you seek. Once you finish the final trial, I will give you the map. Many have attempted these trials, and none have survi
ved to acquire the map and the magi staff.” With a wave of the dragon skeleton’s wings, a rift opened under our feet and we were plummeted down, what must have felt like we had reached the center of this rocky planet. The only thing I could relate this feeling to would be from my previous life as if I was in an elevator that fell hundreds of stories being pulled by the gravitational force of the Earth.
We tumbled through the air and came crashing down on a bank of snow. I took a moment to emerge from the depth of the snowbank I went into upon impact. Yves, being the lightest among us only had been embedded half of foot. Agnes and I were at least two feet down into the bank.
"We must be in a magical dimension," Yves exclaimed as I emerged from the snowbank.
As I crawled and leveraged myself to the top of the bank to join Yves and Agnes, I took a moment to take in the surrounding area, but I could barely open my eyes. I held my hands over my eyes, shielding them from the ice particle that fell from the sky. I looked around, and all I saw was white from where I sat until the horizon. A heavy blizzard stormed around us, and hail, sleet, and snow fell on our heads.
"We must be in a magical dimension," Yves exclaimed as I moved my head from the snowbank.
"Wow! This place looks frightening," Agnes said, emerging to the top of the snowbank.
All three of us could slide down the bank and fell to the snow-covered ground.
"Look!" Yves shouted. "Over there, there looks like there is a maze."
Agnes steered my attention toward the horizon, where there was a mammoth-sized wall of ice. We sloshed through the snow-covered ground until we reached the maze. The ice wall encompassing the maze stood like a behemoth, towering over us as we walked over to the ice maze.
We approached the maze and turned the corner to find the entrance to it. There was a gap between two solid ice walls, that towered at least forty feet high above us.
"I suppose we enter here," I assumed.