The Elderine Stone

by Lawson, Alan

  Emily pulled Jason away from the counter before he could say anything else. The patrons in this particular tavern didn’t look like the sort of people that anyone would like to get on the wrong side of.

  “Jason, we have to go, remember what the lady said we have to leave the city as soon as possible, we shouldn’t stick around.”

  “I guess you are right, if whoever that was wants to talk to us I guess she will find us again. We should leave”

  Everything returned to normal when they left the tavern, the music started, the Landlord wiped the sweat of his head and passed a short sigh of relief then started to clean some grubby looking mugs. The townsfolk started to talk and laugh as they enjoyed the custom of the taverns services.

  The side street was quiet. Jason felt slightly annoyed that he couldn’t talk to the robed Lady for longer. She seemed important. Maybe she had a role to play in whatever will happen in the future. He knew he had to stop thinking about her and carry on with his quest. It would be dark in a few hours and they had to make it to Emily’s House, which was no short journey.

  Jason reached his hand inside his pocket and felt the cold metal of the chain and its pendant. He wondered what it was for, taking it out of his pocket for closer inspection. It didn’t seem too unusual, but then he wasn’t sure what to consider unusual in these lands. The pendant was formed out of what looked like pure gold. It was made up of two hands that had been bound together at the wrists by a golden representation of cloth or rope, the hands were open and the fingers outstretched. Between the two hands lay the sky blue gem, it looked almost clear, but when Jason brought it closer to look at it again, it seemed to cloud over making it impossible to see through. He rubbed the pendant before placing it back in his pocket, remembering what the strange lady had said to him. That he had to discover its magic, a strange idea he thought, he knew nothing of magic himself, so where should he start looking. The pendant had attracted Jason’s attention long enough to attract Emily’s.

  “Jason you should keep that away while we are out in the streets. Who knows what it is, or what it could be. Besides in our current situation it could attract the eyes of those who would want to steal it.”

  “It’s just so beautiful. I want to uncover its hidden magic, but yes you are right it has a purpose and having it stolen won’t help matters in the slightest.”

  “Exactly! Well I walked to the end of this street while you were mesmerised and it does lead back onto the main road, and passes that crowd, so it looks like we haven’t far to go to the gate. Don’t get me wrong I love this city, but at this particular moment I can’t wait to get out”

  “So we go now” Sherbit said obviously anxious to get out of the city too.

  “Yeah the sooner the better, I cant wait to see your house Emily.”

  “It’s nothing much, but it is home, My parents work for the Royal Institute of Elderine Research, so when they aren’t out searching for lost treasures, they are at home examining their latest finds. Which can mean our house is a little messed up. Though I think they mentioned that they were heading to the Eastern Deserts before I left with my Grandfather.”

  “The Eastern Deserts?” Jason asked sounding slightly bemused, which was starting to become a more permanent state of mind for him.

  “Oh, they recently uncovered a series of ancient ruins, which royal architects think may date as far back to the times of Averin and Caleb. They aren’t really sure whether or not the ruins were an outpost for the followers of Averin, the Elderine Order or a settlement for Caleb’s followers. After all the deserts are very close to the border of where Caleb’s own region once lay. To any extent, the researchers and architects are hoping to find some artefacts that will enlighten us even more to our past, for better or worse.”

  “Oh the deserts are such hot and dry places, nasty places they are” Sherbit said speaking as if he had knowledge of almost everything bad in the lands.

  “Your right Sherbit, I for one would hate to be stuck out there, really. I hear there are some rather fierce beasts there too, those which have a taste especially for little imps” Emily said with a laugh as Sherbit jumped and ran to hide behind Jason’s legs.

  “Sherbit it’s ok, she’s only teasing you, and it’s not as if we have to head to these deserts, so you have nothing to worry about. Isn’t that right Emily?”

  “Right, we only have to trod all the way north to the Mingus Mountains” Emily said as she patted Sherbit on the head, bringing back some of his confidence, but not that much.

  The friends laughed a while trying to spook Sherbit out about the imp eating monsters. A few people looked over at them as they walked to the end of the side street.

  “Oh look we have passed the crowd, and there’s the gate” Jason exclaimed as he noticed how close they were to the exit of the city.

  “Finally, now all we have to do is walk to the plains and rest up at the Talathin abode, it shouldn’t take long” Emily said with a sweet smile.

  “Well let’s get a move on then. We want to get there before it gets dark”

  “You mean before super” Emily added with a cheekily.

  “Oh. I don’t like the dark, we should go now.” Sherbit said as he started to walk quickly towards the city gate leaving Emily and Jason standing behind laughing.

  Devon and Grimble had edged carefully along the side street just so they could keep up with the three friends, they didn’t want to be spotted, but Devon had to be within hearing distance. When he saw the three friends leave the city he relaxed slightly.

  “Grimble, do you know who that girl is?” Devon asked when they reached the main street again.

  “No sire who is she?”

  “I only realised now, she’s the granddaughter of Master Talathin, one of my fathers’ old friends”

  “The great mage?”

  “Not only that. I’ve overheard my father talking about The New Order, and that Master Talathin is the head.”

  “Which means?”

  “Which means if my father found out this could be a serious matter. This means that we should follow them and father won’t mind so much. At least we won’t need to stay so close now that we know where they are heading. I have visited the Talathin residence a few times for studies.”

  Devon bore a grin across his face as he pulled his hood up and walked towards the gates. The guards didn’t even recognise him. He laughed smugly as he walked out through the gate. He had managed to get out of the city undetected. Emily, Jason and Sherbit could be seen in the distance, but Devon didn’t need to worry about keeping a close eye on them now, just as long as they could keep to a similar pace all the way to the north. Then he would make himself known, and take the honour of destroying the Dark Lady.

  Not far from the Great Library, several cloaked figures walked down a shadowed spiral staircase that lay behind a wooden door at the back of an alley. The stones had yellowed with a mixture of moss, age and other fauna that thrived underground in dark damp passages. Each footstep echoed down the stone passage. At the bottom of the stairs lay a wooden door. The first of the cloaked figures pushed the door open and entered. Beyond lay a chamber, four torches lit both the left and the right sides of the room. A rectangular table sat in the centre with chairs around it, at the top of the room sat a long table raised on a higher platform. An old looking man sat on a much more ornate seat behind the raised table, his left hand running down the length of his grey beard, it was Master Talathin. A banner was draped from the wall. It depicted a stone sitting atop a pedestal, with a Shadow behind it.

  “Please take your seats, we have an issue to discuss which is of great importance” Master Talathin raised his head and watched as each of the cloaked figures sat down around the rectangular table in the centre of the room. The door closed and there was silence.

  “As many of you are aware, the prophecy has come true, the seal has been broken and the second has come.”

  Brief whispers passed over the cloaked figures, some shocked
, some already aware of what had happened. Emily’s grandfather raised his hand and there was silence again.

  “Yes, maybe it has come as a surprise to many, but we must be weary. We can not trust this Jason, the boy from the otherworld. We all know what happened the last time one of their type arrived. The minds were twisted and they caved into the evil and power that the Lord of Darkness had to offer.”

  The members of the New Order looked at each other in surprise, passing remarks on how they could stop this boy who seemed to be causing so much trouble for them.

  “We all know that only a descendent of the Order can defeat the darkness in the north, this boy will only make things worse. I have already attempted to hinder their progress.”

  “Master is it true that your granddaughter is with him?” one of the members boldly asked.

  “She is of no concern, she shall be stopped too. The survival of our beliefs is of far greater importance. If she does not conform to our ways she shall be destroyed along with that outsider she believes to be the hero.”

  A sense of shock passed across the room, but these followers of the new order, knew that what their master had said was true, they couldn’t let anything get in the way of their values, the beliefs of the New Order.

  “I do believe that the young prince has already begun to follow those who would steal his honour. He has been taught well and shall not fail in his quest.”

  “We have heard from the streets that there is someone helping the boy, Master, a lady who hid her identity”

  “We have nothing to worry about regarding her. She is of no concern. We must not let that boy defeat the Dark Lady, be watchful, of their progress.” Master Talathin stood up, lowered his head and vanished into a cloud of smoke, leaving the remaining members of the New Order, in a slight state of confusion.

  Master Talathin appeared in a small chamber, it was lined with books. A desk and a chair lay at one end of the room. There was a small stone embedded into the middle of the desks surface. It appeared that there was no door into the room, which made it secure, no one else could find a way in. The room had been protected by many runes and protection spells, only one person could get in and that was the person who knew the way; Master Talathin.

  The old wizard walked over to the table slowly sat down then placed his hands upon the stone. His eye lids flickered then closed. There was silence.

  It was an eerie silence, but it didn’t last for long. A voice, almost a whisper was heard in the room, it was a female voice, it sounded cold, and dark.

  Master Talathin knew it well. He had spoken with it often. He knew who the voice belonged to, he was there the day she came, and he was the one who led her north.

  “My Lady, he is coming north” Master Talathin said in a quiet whisper, he sounded possessed, but he was in complete control of his thoughts and words.

  “I have been waiting for him.” an icy response whispered throughout the room.

  “The king’s son is following close behind the boy too. I hope that he won’t be a problem to you?”

  “Neither of them shall cause any problem to me” The answers from the mysterious voice were short, but trailed off into the distance at the end of each response.

  “There are others with them. Together they could cause some problems.”

  “Then it is important that they are split”

  “You must keep them at bay, they can not find out the location of The Elderine Stone.”

  “They will be of no problem.”

  The voice slowly trailed off, and then the room was silent.

  Chapter Nine: The Talathin Tree

  A gentle breeze was blowing across Jason’s face as the three friends made their way through the surrounding farmland of Haspar towards the Talathin tree.

  “I can’t believe how bright and warm it is. It almost feels like midday, but surely it can’t be?” Jason mused as he walked alongside Emily. Farmers were still busy at their work refusing to give in to the approaching evening. From what he could see some were loading the last bundles of crops onto their sturdy wheelbarrows or gathering their harvesting tools, the working day was almost over.

  “Yes it is unusually warm. I guess something is finally tipping over to our side, for once. It would be a lot less comfortable to travel in the rain, the roads get awfully hard to walk on, after a heavy downpour and unimaginably impossible come winter. We should be thankful that it’s not dark yet.”

  “Thankful?” Sherbit muttered with a hiss, waving his hands up and down to try and cool himself off, “this heat will be the death of me, and…” He paused and waited a while to evaluate Jason’s and Emily’s mood before continuing “and I’m still hungry!”

  “Sherbit you are always hungry. You are always thinking about that stomach of yours. I’m really surprised you left that bakery back in Haspar. Luckily there is no reason for you to fret. When we get to my home there will be plenty of food to eat. My mother is an amazing cook. Well that is when she isn’t working on something important for the Royal Institute of Elderine Research”

  Emily was obviously very proud of what her mother and father did for a living. It wasn’t very often that people could get into this line of work. The study of anything to do with the Elderine Order was considered a very noble and respectful job. Not just anyone could take the position. Any person who wished to work in the service had to be well known by the Royal family. The Talathin’s had no problem with that, due to the fact that Master Talathin was one of the King’s current court advisors. His most trusted advisor. The other requirement, a little easier to fulfil was an oath of secrecy, probably one of the real reasons for the Talathin’s living so far away from the city boundaries.

  Relics of the Elderine order were considered precious artefacts of incredible importance. A lot of the Orders history had been lost through the ages, but anything that had been discovered was recorded with such fine detail that it may as well have been recorded in stone. The Order’s rules and guidelines made up the most part of the modern laws that governed Hasparia. The public figure head of the New Order was of course none other than the King and Queen. There would have been far too much suspicion surrounding the order if they did not at least appear to be the ones in control of its actions. They of course were two of the three remaining descendants of the Elderine Order. No one really knew where the idea of their son being the only one capable of destroying the Dark Lady came from. Many had the suspicion that it was made up, to protect the ideas of those who feared the coming of the true hero. If it was made up, it would explain why the Dark Lady hadn’t been defeated already. But of course like always the followers of this New Order believed that only when the descendant comes of age will he gain the power to destroy the evil in the north.

  Emily, Jason and Sherbit continued on their journey along the road through the surrounding farmland of Haspar to the Jelestin plains, a vast emerald green ocean where many grazing beasts slowly moved, tearing long blades of grass from the soil then slowly chewing.

  Emily began to tell the story of the Elderine Order marching north across these lands. With each step the Mingus Mountains seemed to grow in size and terror, becoming evermore present on the distant horizon. They loomed in front, a bluish colour with snow brushed peaks. They were still several days walk away, the mountainous monsters of the earth and rock, stood out above everything else. They made the Elderine Forest itself look to be cowering in fear.

  They continued walking until they saw a rather strange and large looking tree in the distance. It was much taller than any average tree. It could have been the width of a bus and as tall as Big Ben had Jason been given the time and tools to measure it. Had there been other trees surrounding it he would have found it much easier to determine it actual size. Jason was intrigued and greatly excited at the fact that they were heading directly towards this fascinating structure.

  Emily’s smile grew wide as she noticed the expression of amazement painted across Jason’s face. Jason suspected that one of
the buildings connected to the tree would surely be the place where master Talathin would conduct all of his research and potion creation. Jason could also see another building which looked like an empty barn. The Talathin family probably didn’t have much time to care for animals, as each member of the family had very busy lifestyles and hectic occupations in RIER or the Royal Courts.

  The large tree grew slightly to the side, and it curved in many directions. Branches grew at every angle, had it been a little smaller it would have been the prefect climbing tree, however the enormous scale of the lower trunk made that idea an impossible notion. The tree was covered in lush green leaves, creating a large circular shadow beneath the canopy. From what Jason could see there seemed to be small windows dotted all over it. The windows only went one third up the three, leaving much of the upper tree untouched. The tree was probably tall enough to hold several houses of this sort, leaving Jason with the thought of how anyone could actually manage to build a house within a tree, such as this in the first place. “But then again, anything could be possible when your Grandfather is a great wizard” he mused over the though. He had enough questions needing answers at the moment than enough.

  “It’s called an Accuro Terradea tree” Emily announced “many believe that Averin planted it herself when she first transformed into her worldly form. It was a sign of true love for the world. I think the name means Care from the Earth Goddess” Emily smiled.

  “It is truly amazing” Jason replied, looking on in awe.

  “Come on I’ll race you to the bottom!” Emily laughed as she started to speed towards the base of the tree, where a large door rested. She reached the base first and turned around to await her friends. When Jason and Sherbit finally caught up they realised that she was actually reading a note which had been left for her.

  “Is everything ok Emily?” Jason asked from over her shoulder trying to get a glimpse of the letters contents.

  “It’s a letter from my parents” She began to read it aloud: