by KJ Siirila
“Slothard go in there and check the room.” Helmog yelled.
Slothard didn’t like the tone of Helmog’s voice and turned to him. “Quit yelling at me like you’re my leader Helmog. I’m not sure who you think you are but you’re no better than us so quit treating us like we’re your myrmidons.”
Helmog walked closer to Slothard and put his face in his.
“Fine then Slothard, if you and Wagrim feel I control you too much we should just go back up the stairs and continue working out our plan to get into the witch’s castle. Obviously, there’s nobody here and we’re wasting valuable time.” Helmog turned and began walking away from the room. Slothard and Wagrim followed him after a short time. Olagh and Izasa knew that they had survived and had better stay where they were until they knew it was safe to keep searching the castle.
CHAPTER EIGHT
The Forest of Shadows was completely differnt than anything the Angelic Spirits had ever seen. It wasn’t as if it was beautiful but it had a strange aura around it. There wasn’t any happiness around them. The air seemed stale and dead. They had managed to pass through the swamps very quickly and were already in the desert moving north.
“I’m more than positive we will find the Mystagog where the desert ends my friends.” Mitral spoke positively reassuring Ademus and Aerifus.
“I only hope that when we find him that he tells us what we need to know Mitral.” Ademus smiled.
“I am worried about our friends. We have to move faster than normal and find the Mystagog.” Aerifus spoke calmly.
“I agree. We can’t waste anymore time we have to find the Mystagog, find our friends, and go back to the Valley of Illumination hopefully with the Book of Elandor in tow.” Mitral turned away and they all began moving very fast over the desert.
Grimelda, Magella and the Princess Fimella came to the end of a path in the Valley of Illumination and there before them stood at least one hundred trees with red leaves. Grimelda and Magella looked at each other then at the Princess with a disgusted look on their faces.
“Look at all of the trees with red leaves Marigold aren’t they beautiful?” Grimelda said cattily.
“Yes Gardenia have you ever seen something so amazing?” Magella grimaced.
“So what are we looking for exactly?” The Princess questioned.
“We’re looking for the most special tree with the red leaves. It has to be perfect Princess.” Grimelda smiled at her.
“Alright then let’s start looking shall we?” The Princess grinned.
All three of them walked up to the first tree. The Princess couldn’t wait to see what they would do next. Grimelda began banging on the bark of the tree, Magella kicked it as if they were waiting for something to fall out of it.
They looked at each other.
“This isn’t it.” Grimelda walked to the next one and Magella followed her.
“I have an idea Gardenia. Let’s split up and begin searching every tree it’ll be much faster.”
“Good idea Marigold you go that way and I’ll take the Princess and go this way.” Grimelda and Magella walked away from each other. The Princess sat on her shoulder choking back laughter. She knew they were looking for the Book of Elandor but she doubted they would find it here.
They continued to search every tree and found nothing. They were down to the last twenty trees and they decided to take a rest and sit down.
“We’re never going to find it I feel Gardenia.” Magella breathed heavily.
“Don’t worry we’ll find it, I know we will.” Grimelda laid back on the ground with the Princess still on her shoulder.
“I don’t want to be the bearer of bad news friends but this isn’t the only area where we’ll find these trees with the red leaves. There is another area of land not far from here and there must be at least three hundred more trees.” The Princess smiled.
“You mean this isn’t the only batch of trees for us to find in the Valley of Illumination?” Grimelda was getting angry now.
“No. There are many of these trees here.” The Princess flew off Grimelda’s shoulder and in between the two sisters.
“I will destroy him, that wretched creature on top of that mountain!” Grimelda stood up.
“He lied to us didn’t he?” Magella stood also. The Princess knew it was time for her to make her escape. While the sisters huffed and puffed between each other she managed to get away and begin flying off without them noticing her.
When they finally did realize she was gone they didn’t really care they were more angry with the Mystagog for lying to them.
“We must return to the Midnight Mountains as fast as we can. We will deal with the Mystagog later. We have to find the Book of Elandor and we have to do it before the others get to it.” Grimelda stormed off and down the path with Magella close behind her.
“We’ve wasted so much time Grimelda. The others are so far ahead of us. How will we ever make it up?” Magella asked.
“When we get back to the Forest of Shadows we’ll fly. We won’t waste time on our feet walking. We’ll fly quickly and should make it back to the castle in a matter of a day or so. Don’t worry Magella we won’t fail on our search for the Book of Elandor. We have just been delayed.”
They kept moving quickly. It wouldn’t take them too long to get through the Valley of Illumination and back to the Midnight Mountains. They had no idea what Crovis and Trovis were up to. They also had no idea that the ghouls were planning on getting into their castle. The search was only getting more interesting now.
The Princess Fimella flew very quickly back to the castle of the Angelic Spirits and flew through the main gate to the window of their sitting room. Once she got inside she noticed how quiet the castle was and she knew that they must not be there. She got nervous and realized they must have gone in search of the Shaman, Micael and her mother. She wasn’t sure if she should wait at the castle or go looking for them. She decided on the latter and flew out the window and headed towards the Forest of Shadows.
In the meantime, the Angelic Spirits had reached the end of the desert and didn’t understand why there was nothing else there but the desert.
“I’m not quite sure what is happening here but there should be more than sand in front of us. We’ve been traveling for a long time here.” Mitral was confused as were Ademus and Aerifus.
“Let’s close our eyes and try to sense the Mystagog Mitral.” Ademus took their hands in his and they stood in a circle. When they opened them the mountain range of the Mystagog lay before them. They all began to laugh knowing it had been nothing more than a mirage.
“Isn’t it funny that the Gods sent the most powerful creatures back to earth to find the Book of Elandor and here we are not even able to see something as easy as a mirage?” Mitral laughed again.
“I will assume that the largest mountain is the home of the Mystagog Mitral and we must find a fast way to get there.” Aerifus looked closely at the mountains now searching for an alternate entrance. “There!” He pointed to a small opening in the mountains.
They walked up to it and realized that it was a path.
“We are much closer to the Mystagog than you think.” Mitral squeezed through the opening with Ademus and Aerifus following him closely. Once inside, they knew it wouldn’t take them long to reach the largest mountain but they had to be careful because they had no idea what was inside of the mountain range awaiting them. They moved forward cautiously but quickly.
The darkness of the Midnight Mountains was sometimes irritating to the Shaman, Micael, Ovit and the Queen Armad. They were used to living in the light of the Valley of Illumination and the dismal gray of the Forest of Shadows.
“We must be very careful now friends the witch’s and warlock’s castle is very near. If you look closely through the fog you can see the lighted candles in the windows.” The Shaman spoke quietly.
“We should just sneak through the wooded area here until we pass it then Shaman.” Micael felt comfortable eno
ugh now to offer advice.
“I think that’d be a safe bet Micael. We mustn’t let on that we’re anywhere near their castle we don’t want to wake the hags.” The Shaman chuckled.
The Queen Armad flew down from above.
“We have to stop for a moment. The warlocks are on the rooftop of the castle. I’m not sure what they’re up to but I’m more than sure it’s not good. We should stop back here and wait for awhile I will fly high above where they can’t see me and keep an eye on them. When they’ve gone back inside I’ll let you know.” She flew off and the three of them seated themselves in a dark area surrounded by shrubbery.
At least an hour had gone by and the Queen Armad hadn’t returned yet.
“What could be taking her so long Shaman?” Micael asked.
“I’m not sure Micael I would’ve assumed the warlocks would’ve gone back inside by now.” The Shaman stood up.
They looked above them and saw no sign of the Queen Armad. Suddenly, a fireball shot through the sky above them and then exploded. The Shaman, Micael and Ovit ran as close to the edge of the woods as they could to see what had happened. They saw the warlocks on top of the castle laughing and drinking, then they disappeared back into the castle. The three of them waited for a moment for the Queen Armad to fly down but she never came.
The Shaman moved cautiously forward and looked around but didn’t see anything until he heard something, a moaning sound. It was very quiet. All three of them heard it now and began to look.
Micael was walking next to the Shaman when he looked down and saw the Queen Armad lying on the ground below him. He rushed over and picked her up and put her in his hand.
“Queen Armad! What’s happened to you?” Micael began to weep a bit. She looked at all of them and raised her head slowly.
“My friends, I am sorry I will not be continuing on the rest of the journey with you. My time has come and I must go now. Please tell my daughter I love her and that she will make a great ruler for the fairies. I will miss you all.” She then laid her head into Micael’s hand. Micael and Ovit began sobbing loudly, almost too loudly. The Shaman had to hush them although he didn’t want to.
“We must leave my friends, we have to get out of here before the witches or warlocks find us.” The Shaman began running and they followed. Micael held the Queen in his hand as they ran crying into the night sky.
Once they felt it was safe to stop they fell to the ground just staring at the lifeless body of the Queen Armad.
“I don’t understand Shaman. I don’t understand why she had to die. She never hurt anyone.” Micael cried.
“I don’t know Micael. I can’t explain why these things happen but they do. She was a strong creature. She knew this would be dangerous and she was willing to take that chance. Ultimately, it ended with her life. We have to go on my friends. We will have to mourn for the Queen when our journey has ended. We must stay focused now. She wouldn’t have wanted us to give up.” The Shaman said calmly.
“It’s just not fair Shaman that’s all I’m saying. We have to keep her body with us Shaman and give her a proper burial back in the Valley of Illumination. I refuse to leave her here in this awful land she deserved more.” He wept softly now.
The Shaman took the Queen Armads body wrapped it in a cloth and placed it into his bag.
“Don’t worry young Micael. We will give her the proper burial she deserves.” The sky seemed even darker to all three of them now. The Queen Armad was gone and there was nothing any Gods could do to help them now.
The witches had made it quickly into the Forest of Shadows and were flying back to the Midnight Mountains. They spoke to each other as they flew.
“So what will we do with the brothers when we return Grimelda?” Magella asked.
“As much as I want them dead we will keep them for now and use them in the search for the Book of Elandor. They’re idiots as you well know.” Grimelda laughed.
“How will we find the Book of Elandor Grimelda? We have no clue to where it is. The Mystagog, the fable teller, lied to us.”
“I know this sister. Don’t worry so much, we’ll find the book eventually and rule the world. Everything will go as planned.” Grimelda flew faster now into the sky with Magella not far behind.
Flying quickly on the other side of the Forest of Shadows to the north was the Princess Fimella in search of the Angelic Spirits who themselves were moving quickly up the path to the great mountain home of the Mystagog. She would go to the desert and then onto the mountains hoping to find them.
On the path in the mountains the Angelic Spirits came to the foot of the large mountain and realized they would have to climb it.
“No better time than the present my friends.” Mitral grinned and began climbing.
“What do you think this Mystagog will think Mitral? Do you think he’ll be afraid of us? Do you think he’ll tell us one of his riddles and send us on our way to find the Book of Elandor?” Aerifus smiled.
“I’m trying not to think what he’ll tell us Aerifus I just want to know where our friends have gone and hopefully he’ll tell us the same thing he told them.” Mitral kept climbing.
They reached the top of the mountain peak after a short time and saw the cave with the flickering light inside. All three of them walked into the cave and saw the old man sitting on the floor by the fire rocking back and forth.
“Excuse our intrusion Mystagog but we have come a long way from the Valley of Illumination in search of our friends who I’m sure you’ll remember.” Mitral walked closer. The Mystagog looked up at them.
“What can I do for you? You are the Angelic Spirits. Why would you need my help finding your friends you should already know where they’ve gone.” He grinned.
“Our powers are not the same anymore Mystagog you should know this. None of the creatures were given full use of their powers that’s why we’ve come to you to ask you to tell us where they’ve gone.” Mitral sat now face to face with the Mystagog.
“I told them where to find the Book of Elandor and for some strange reason they scurried off and down the mountain maybe I scared them off I’m not sure.” The Mystagog stood up now and walked outside.
The Angelic Spirits followed him closely. He turned around.
“I’m not going to tell you a riddle if that’s what you were hoping for. I will tell you this though. They have gone to the Midnight Mountains in search of the Book of Elandor. Now, leave me alone.” He walked past them and back into his cave.
The Angelic Spirits looked at each other.
“The Midnight Mountains?” Mitral said nervously.
“We must go now Mitral. We have to go back to the Valley of Illumination and wait for them, we have no choice. We can’t leave the Valley of Illumination unprotected. It’d be too dangerous for all of the creatures that live there.” Ademus was solid in his tone of voice.
“I agree Ademus we must go back to the Valley of Illumination and wait for any word from anyone.” Aerifus put his hand on Mitral’s shoulder.
“I know what we must do my friends as difficult as it is. I just hope that our friends are safe and come home in one piece.” Mitral moved slowly to the edge of the peak then began to climb down with Ademus and Aerifus close behind.
Crovis and Trovis were sitting in their sister’s altar room laughing and drinking and decided to have a look into their crystal ball once again. This time they decided to try and peer in on the ghouls.
“Let’s see what those ghastly ghosts are up Trovis.” Crovis laughed.
“Yes, let’s see what those invisible idiots are planning.” Trovis laughed loudly.
They looked into the fog of the ball and eventually were able to tune into the ghouls castle and overhear what they were planning. They listened closely.
“We will go to the witch’s castle tonight and find the crystal ball it’s the only way we’re going to get our hands on the Book of Elandor.” Helmog was still pacing the room something the other two had come accustomed to.<
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Upon hearing this, the brothers looked at each other in a state of confusion.
“What does he mean? Do those fools actually think the Book of Elandor is in this castle somewhere?” Crovis fell to his back laughing now. “Those idiots! They’re going to play right into our hands tonight.”
Trovis stood up. “We must come up with a potion to throw on them when they enter this room in search of the book. We will blow all of the candles out in the castle and make them believe that there is no one here. When they enter the altar room, we will throw the potion on them and turn them to dust and sweep them up and put them neatly into three little bottles, when the sisters arrive at the castle we’ll tell them we have a huge surprise for them and hand them the ghouls as a welcome home gift, earning their trust so that we can destroy them once the Book of Elandor is found.”
“You are getting so much wiser with age brother.” Crovis hugged him. “Let’s get busy we have a lot of work to do.”
The brothers opened Grimelda’s spell book and began making a potion that would surely turn the ghouls to dust. They worked for hours and finally came up with something that wouldn’t kill the ghouls but capture them.
They put the potion into three small bottles and hid in the room waiting for the ghouls to come.
At the bottom of the largest mountain in the Forest of Shadows the Angelic Spirits moved quickly up the path. They were about half way through when they heard the voices.
They looked around until they heard someone say, “You there.” The Angelic Spirits turned to the wall and finally saw the faces of the mountain. “Yes you, the angels.”
The three of them walked closer to the wall.
“You’re looking for your friends aren’t you?” The face said.
“Yes we are.” Mitral walked closer. “Have you seen them?”
“It’s been quite a while but yes we have. They were in quite a hurry when they left so we let them go through the shortcut. Would you like to go through the shortcut also?” The face smiled.
“Yes and thank you very much.” Mitral smiled. The mountain opened revealing the secret way out. The Angelic Spirits entered it and went through it very fast. They found the light at the end and also found the Princess Fimella flying above them.