The Vault of Kings

by Matt Taylor

  “Everyone hold it!”

  The room went quiet, and Sylas looked at his father. He had always respected and looked up to him, and at this moment, that trust and respect that he had for him overflowed to the point that it calmed his fears and bridled his anxiety.

  “I would like to say something.” He continued. “I agree with most of you that these kids all seem a little young to be taking on such a big and dangerous mission. I agree that they are not very experienced and that there are probably more qualified individuals that would be up to the task, but I have a feeling that this is the right thing to do. I, for one, believe in destiny, and I believe that it’s not by chance that they were the ones to find both the amulet and the Stone of Darkness when the entire Council of Light together searched the crypt for anything dangerous or evil and were not able to find it.”

  Uthren bowed his head in agreement and Thren continued, “Maelos has destroyed so much of what we love and hold dear, and he must be stopped. If our children are the ones to do it, then all the better I say. I’m willing to help in any way that I can, and I too think that they have been chosen by destiny to fulfill this cause.”

  Thren folded his arms and sat back in his chair, his expression a mix of courage, worry, and concern for his son.

  “Thank you, Thren.” Uthren continued. “I’ve decided that with the permission of all of you, myself and Geode will accompany the three of them and help them along their journey. We both have a good amount of experience in Elemental Magick, myself mostly with Light, and Geode mostly with Nature. We’ve seen our fair share of battles and will be committed to keeping your children safe, even at the cost of our own lives. If you all agree to let them go, then we will be their guides.”

  The group sat in silence for some time until finally, Sylas spoke up. “I think that Uthren is right. As scared as I am to say it when we were in the crypt, I felt something pulling me in the direction of the amulet. I also heard a voice calling my name. I saw… things that I don’t understand yet, but that I feel like I’ll have an important role to play in finding the rest of the stones. As much as I don’t want it to be me, I feel like It has to be. And I wouldn’t want to do it without my two very best friends.”

  He looked back at Samara and Torren, then back to Uthren. “I’m up to the challenge, Uthren!”

  Iriana looked at her son and then reached over and put her hand on top of his. She smiled, tears welling in her eyes, and then after looking at Thren, met Uthren’s gaze and said, “You have our permission to train Sylas and take him with you on your journey, Uthren.”

  “Thank you, Iriana,” Uthren responded with a kind smile. After some pondering, Samara and Torrens parents followed suit and gave Uthren permission to take them on the journey as well.

  “But!” Samara’s father added, “You have to give us your word that you will die before letting them perish.”

  “I give you my word.” Uthren said with sincerity, “I swear to you that I’ll do my very best to protect your children and to teach them the skills necessary for them to be able to take care of themselves. And I will die before I let anything happen to them.”

  Torrens parents also agreed that they would let Torren go, if Uthren promised to do his best to keep him safe.

  Uthren stood up and looked the group over once more. “Now, it’s time to make our preparations. We will leave for the city first thing tomorrow morning, early. We need to be on our way before any of this gets spread into the wrong ears. It seems as though no matter how well kept a secret is, the word always gets out. You will all need to put together some packs for the journey. Tomorrow, we head for Gelendor.

  chapter 4

  The Second Mind

  Sylas, Torren, and Samara met Uthren and Geode just outside of Uthren’s house about an hour before sunrise. Sylas yawned, He didn’t sleep well the night before, and it was much earlier than he was used to getting up. The cool crisp air felt good on his face though, he took in a deep breath and released it, watching the misty smoke of the warm air as it exited his mouth. He looked over at Torren and Samara and saw that they too looked tired. Uthren and Geode had told them to wait outside while they devised the rest of the plan for getting out of the town unnoticed.

  Torren gave another yawn and then spoke to Sylas with a tired tone, “So you think we have a shot at any of this Sylas? You know, finding the other stones, learning how to fight and use Magick, confronting Maelos, the whole deal?”

  Sylas looked back down at the ground and gave a shrug. “I have no idea, I know I’m not ready for any of that right now. I don’t know how to fight, use Magick, or anything… at least you two have a head start on some things, I don’t have anything…”

  Samara walked over to Sylas and grabbed his hand to comfort him. “Don’t worry, we’ll help each other out, and we have Uthren and Geode to help us. I’m sure that we are more capable of things than we give ourselves credit for.”

  Sylas looked into Samara’s beautiful, emerald green eyes. She smiled at him, and Sylas about melted, her smile and face radiating perfection. Sylas truly believed that he had never seen anything more beautiful in his life. Her perfect complexion and proportions begged his inner feelings to be released. He could have kissed her at that very moment. He desired it more than anything, to feel her lips against his…

  “Are you kids ready?” Uthren’s deep voice said behind him.

  Sylas jumped and let go of Samara’s hand, spinning around to meet Uthren’s gaze.

  “Don’t sneak up on me like that!” he exclaimed.

  Sylas felt his cheeks blushing and didn’t know whether it came from the embarrassment of being startled or that he was just one ounce of courage away from kissing Samara smack on the lips. It’s a good thing I didn’t get too brave. He thought to himself, Or I probably would have gotten a smack, and not on the lips either.

  “Well? Do you have everything you will need for our journey? Remember, it will take us several weeks to make the journey to Gelendor, so you will need to have everything you need to survive in the wilderness, as well as being prepared to hunt and gather the food we’ll need along the way,” Uthren continued.

  Sylas thought again about the items that he had packed, and the advice that his father had given him.

  “Remember, Sylas, trust your instincts. When you are faced with tough decisions, be sure to trust your mind and your heart. There are many dangerous things in this world and plenty of evil. But if you keep your heart and mind focused on what’s right, darkness won’t be able to overpower you.”

  Nodding Sylas responded back to Uthren, “Yeah, I think I’m all set.”

  “We are too,” Samara added.

  “Good,” Uthren said, giving a quick nod. “Then we should be off. If Geode is correct, we will have but a very short window to make our escape without being noticed. We cannot use Light Magick for fear of being seen when the pillar of light comes down to teleport us out of the town, it would give us away. Come now, we need to go to the East gate, but be careful not to be seen by any of the guards, we don’t want any of them getting suspicious.”

  The group began the walk towards the East side of the town, walking in between buildings and ducking behind carts, stacks of hay, and other things that would obstruct their view from the mass of patrolling guards.

  “Why are there so many guards out this morning?” Torren whispered to the others as they were crouched behind an old horse barn, waiting for some guards to move to a different post. “I’ve never seen it like this before, even when I’ve had to get up this early for chores. Do you think that somehow Maelos could know what we’re up to?”

  “We’ll have to hope that’s not the case, Torren.” Uthren responded, “but somehow, I feel that might very well be a good explanation of what might be going on. Maelos possesses a great deal of power and could very well be aware that the Stone of Darkness has been found. His greatest strength is that of Darkness, and though I do not understand how, he might be aware of the fact that
it’s no longer hidden.”

  “You would be surprised, my friend.” Another deep voice said. Sylas turned his head to look at Geode as he spoke, he hadn’t heard Geode talk much, he didn’t really seem like the talkative type. He was extremely muscular, which made him look more like a warrior than a mage. He had short brown hair, deep brown eyes, and a scar that came most likely from the heat of battle across his right cheek.

  “From what I’ve learned about Darkness Magick, there are several ways that Maelos could be directly connected to the stone. It wouldn’t surprise me if he were the one that told Aracorn to hide it in the crypt, and now that it’s no longer there can feel that it’s missing.”

  Sylas gulped and sheepishly asked, “Is the Stone of Darkness, evil then?”

  Uthren sighed, “It’s not inherently evil… but some elements are more naturally attuned towards evil or good than others. Light naturally wants to do things that are good and holy, while dark… generally wants to do things that are not always good. That doesn’t mean, however, that all practitioners of Darkness Magick are inherently evil, but it’s much easier to sway in that direction when using Darkness than that of any other element.”

  The group sat in silence for a moment longer until finally, the two guards that had been keeping their post in that particular part of the street that they needed to get through walked away. They headed towards one of the market buildings, most likely wanting to force the poor owner into selling them something for less than it was worth. The morning was drawing near, and people would start opening their shops soon.

  “Now, we must go now, or I fear our window of opportunity will be too short at the gate,” Geode said to the group, cautiously walking towards where the guards had been standing.

  They made their way through the streets and got behind a building near the East gate where two guards stood at the ready.

  “What’s this window of opportunity that you keep bringing up?” Sylas asked.

  “You have much to learn still Sylas.” Uthren responded, “We’ll teach you more as soon as we’re out of Shilvrst and into the wilderness, but if you need to know now, Geode is an exceptionally talented Nature Mage and possesses advanced knowledge of Divination because of it.”

  “Divination?” Samara said, an edge of confusion in her voice.

  “Yes, Samara,” Uthren continued, “I can teach you all more about it and other advanced Magick techniques later, but for now, let it suffice that divination is the ability to both transmogrify simple objects, as well as see tiny glimpses of the near future.”

  Samara’s mouth opened even wider at the thought of being able to see the future.

  “The future? So, what did he-”

  “Uthren, we must go now!” Geode’s deep voice cut in.

  “Hurry!” Uthren quickly replied. “Stay close behind me.”

  With that, Uthren dashed out from behind the horse barn with a speed that defied his age.

  Following closely behind him, Geode, Samara, Torren, and Sylas ran until they were behind an old rundown building. Peeking around the corner, Sylas could see one guard standing at the ready near the gate. Most of the town gates were large and had several guards near them, as well as a small building where the guards could relieve themselves or change posts, sleep, or do other mundane tasks. Several of the gates were smaller, however, and were installed in places where the town walls had been broken down during the time when Maelos made his attack. These gates still had the small building next to them, but usually only had one guard on post. Large lanterns hung on either side of the gate, swaying gently in the wind. Sylas pondered what this opportunity that Geode was talking about might be when all of a sudden, the guard put one hand on his stomach and used the other to wipe sweat from his brow. He’s sweating even though it’s cold outside?

  The guard then bent over and put both of his hands on his knees and began to breathe deeply. He did this for just a while longer then looked around to see if anyone was watching. Seeing no one, he grabbed one of the lanterns from the gate and ran to the small building and slammed the door behind him.

  “Now!” Geode said to the group and began to sprint towards the gate. Slightly startled, Sylas saw Samara, Torren, and Uthren run past him. Collecting himself, Sylas joined the race for the gate, still bewildered on how Geode could have possibly known that the guard was going to retreat to his little building at that exact moment.

  Geode reached the gate first, upon arriving, he slowed himself to a stop and began fiddling with the chain that was wrapped around the two doors of the gate. Trying to avoid the loud clanking of metal on metal as he unwrapped the chain, he carefully pulled the gate open. It made a loud creak as he swung the gate open and motioned with his hands for everyone to run through.

  As Sylas approached the gate, he turned to look at the guardhouse and saw through one of the windows the dim glow of the lantern the guard had taken, the guard still inside of the small building. He turned back towards the gate and slipped through past Geode. Geode then walked through and closed the gate behind him, wrapping the chain around the gate as it had been before, then motioned for the group to continue without him.

  “Keep going, I’ll catch up. Get far enough away so that if he comes back soon, you will be far enough away to not be seen.”

  Sylas followed Uthren, Samara, and Torren as they ran towards a small group of trees. Sylas felt the crunch of dry fallen leaves under his feet as he entered the grove. He turned around to see Geode not too far behind and crouched down, peering back at the gate to see if he could see the guard back at his post.

  Sylas looked towards the gate as well. It was too dark to tell, but he didn’t think that he saw any shadows near the gate, just the bouncing lights of the one lantern that remained. He sighed a breath of relief as Geode entered the grove.

  “Well done everyone, I think we were able to get through without him noticing us,” Uthren said in a relieved tone.

  “Why did he all of a sudden run into that guardhouse?” Samara asked, breathing heavy from the run.

  “It looked like he was about to puke,” Torren added in, not nearly as winded as the rest of them seemed.

  “That’s precisely what he was doing, Torren,” Geode responded. “Last night I sent one of the merchants that was headed home with some sweets that were, let’s just say, not too delightful, with the instruction to make sure that the guard at this gate got one of them as a gift…” He gave a wink and then a small chuckle.

  Torren laughed with Geode and then asked, “So… you were able to use divination to be able to know exactly when it would get to his stomach, and he would be sick enough to have to leave his post?”

  “More or less, yes, there’s much more to it than just that, but we’ll get into the finer details when you are more prepared to learn. For now, we need to be on our way. It would be better if we put some distance between us and Shilvrst before too long, just in case there’s any way that we were seen leaving the town.”

  Uthren spoke up and added, “Keep each other safe. If we run into any danger, then stick together, but don’t hesitate to leave Geode or me behind. We can handle ourselves, but you mustn't engage in anything until we’ve been able to train you on handling yourselves. I know that you are already quite good at fighting Torren, and I expect you to use that to protect your friends if they fall into any danger. Is that understood? Keep them safe, that’s your number one priority.”

  Torren nodded and said in a much more mature tone than Sylas was used to hearing, “I understand. I’ll keep them safe.”

  “Good.” Uthren continued. “Let’s be off then, we will head East until we reach the river, we can make camp there tonight.”

  The sun began to peek up over the mountains to the East, spreading a warm orange glow over Sylas. The birds were out now and were singing their songs and beginning their searches for food. It made Sylas hungry thinking about food. They had been walking in silence for some time now and hadn’t stopped for any breaks. Ponderi
ng about the reason for their travels to Gelendor, Sylas broke the silence and asked, “Uthren, why is it exactly that we’re headed for Gelendor? Is there an elemental stone there?”

  Uthren slowed his pace just slightly, “my apologies, I haven’t explained myself very well to you all yet. My mind has been deep in thought about the reasoning behind all of the guards back in Shilvrst. I fear that our mission may be known to Maelos… we’ll have to be sure to take extra precautions and always be watching for danger. To answer your question, yes. We are headed to Gelendor because it’s the city that was settled by Nymphara and her followers. Geode used to live there, and there are currently many Nature mages that live there who we believe will be able to help us find some clues as to the whereabouts of the Nature Stone. I wouldn’t be surprised if it were even in the city somewhere.”

  Samara increased her pace to put herself next to Sylas.

  “Uthren, If Maelos has any idea that we’re looking for the stones, then he must know that we found the amulet, right?”

  Uthren frowned. “There’s a good possibility, but it’s not certain. He may only be aware that the stone itself has been found and not anything else, which is what we must hope for. Either way, we need as much of a head start as we can get before he starts sending troops after us to intercept the stone for his own evil desires.”

  “What do the stones do exactly?” she asked.

  “The stones are an additional means of power for the user,” Uthren said, resuming his previous pace. When opening the second mind and connecting your will with the elements that you want to use, the stones provide the user with additional strength and focus, as well as more persuasion to bend the will of the elements towards what you desire. They are also essential for the amulet to work as the key to the Vault of Kings, as I had mentioned before.”