"How could anyone forget that?" asked Nemeth. "I've never seen something like that before. It was like a bad night turned into a beautiful day for just a moment."
"Get used to seeing that bright flash of light," replied Jaida. "The bright flash of light is a result of when I cast one of my magical spells called the Sunburst Lullaby. For most creatures, once they are hit by the spell, they are unable to move for about 15 seconds. They also become invulnerable to any damage when they are feeling the effects of the spell. That gave us just enough time to run out of the Serend Lake area away from the Black Orb and Terazhul. Terazhul is the Keeper of the Forest and thus his magic thrives on anything related to the forest. There were far too many trees in that area, so I wanted us to head out into an open field. Out in the open field, Terazhul's powers are much more limited. We're lucky that we weren't followed because I'm sure that Vulpes would have been able to outrun us. Also, it didn't look like you were carrying any weapons. You didn't stand a chance against Terazhul. I just got assigned to you as your Guardian Spirit. I refuse to have you die on my watch."
"This is starting to make more sense now," replied Nemeth. "Terazhul is the troll who must be decimated. Check! Vulpes is the giant wolf who must be slaughtered. Check! The Black Orb is the source of the corruption and needs to be crushed into oblivion. Check! But why did you want to bring me all the way back here to my dorm? We were so close to the main gate which was smashed in already. We could have escaped through there. Oh hey wait, couldn't we just go to the Black Orb now and destroy it?"
"Allow me to explain master," said Jaida. "I wish it were that easy to destroy the Black Orb. Even if you managed to get back to Serend Lake without being entangled by some sort of plant life like the others, you would still have to swim across the lake. Serend Lake is probably filled with monsters now. Now, even if you managed to reach the Black Orb, you still wouldn't be able to destroy it. You must first destroy Terazhul since he created the Black Orb with his magic. Finally, the Black Orb can only be destroyed by a weapon that is forged from Estrellium, a rare and precious metal that came to this planet from the stars above. You were ranked number one so I figured the academy provided you with the finest weapons that we'll be able to use to defeat Terazhul and destroy the Black Orb. I'm sure you have them stored here in your room. Please show me your weapons master."
Nemeth gave out a big sigh and then pointed to the wooden sword on his wall. He then pointed to a small wooden shield that was peeking out from under his bed. Jaida floated over to the sword on the wall to examine it.
"This is not what I expected," said Jaida with a disappointed tone. "I was expecting you to already have a weapon forged out of Estrellium. It will be difficult to kill any of the monsters that we are going to encounter with a wooden sword. As Keeper of the Forest, Terazhul can also easily control or destroy existing objects made out of wood, so we will need to find a metallic weapon that you can use to defeat him. Bring both the wooden sword and wooden shield with you for now. It's better for you to have these with you than nothing at all."
"There are several shops located around the academy," replied Nemeth. "I'm sure they are abandoned now and we can just take whatever we need. Hopefully we will find a weapon made out of Estrellium."
"Master, remember that the Forestial Corruption spell continues to spread in all directions," replied Jaida. "It would not be wise to head back toward Serend Lake. I believe the only safe places in the academy are the areas protected by the Spiro Crystals such as the dormitories. I also sense that Terazhul has begun retreating back to his home at the Great Temple of the Forest."
"We should just smash open every door in this dormitory!" said Nemeth excitedly. "We can search every kid's room! We're bound to find enough weapons that are powerful enough to take on Terazhul! Someone must have a weapon made of Estrellium! But how can we tell if the weapon is made from Estrellium though?"
"Master, we do not have the time necessary to do such things," replied Jaida. "Also, you would get in much trouble taking such a drastic approach. Estrellium isn't needed to kill Terazhul, only to destroy the Black Orb. After Terazhul is defeated, the Forestial Corruption spell's effects will quickly start to fade. The Black Orb must be destroyed in order to make sure the Forestial Corruption spell does not get reactivated again. I can detect whether or not something is made from Estrellium. It is rumored that there is at least one weapon made of Estrellium in the Great Temple of the Forest."
"You just ruined my fun little plan," said Nemeth with disappointment. "We need to get out of the academy and visit some of the shops outside. If they aren't abandoned though, we're going to need money. We don't get to keep much money here at the academy. You would think that I would have some silver but I don't have any. The same thing goes for gold. Oh, and you can forget about me having any diamonds! I have no money whatsoever!"
"Master, there is a lot of money to be found outside of the academy," replied Jaida. "I will help you get the money you need. That should be the least of our problems. Other than the main gate that was destroyed by Terazhul, do you know of any other way to get out of the academy?"
"As a matter of fact yes I do!" said Nemeth excitedly. "If we leave this dorm and head to the northeast corner of the academy, we'll come to a secret tunnel that leads outside of the gates. It was something that many students created years ago in order to come in and out of the academy. We called it the Freedom Tunnel. Unfortunately, the professors found out about it and it is now sealed by a large rock. The professors thought it would be funny to call it Freedom Rock. Archers were posted up around the area too to make sure that nobody could move Freedom Rock and get into the Freedom Tunnel ever again. But if you say it's not safe to head out at the main gate, then that's going to be our best option of escaping. I just hope I'm powerful enough to move Freedom Rock out of the way. Oh and let's just say if there are any remaining archers, they better be cooperative."
"Please gather your things master," replied Jaida. "Lead the way to Freedom Rock so we can get out of the academy and go after Terazhul."
Nemeth get out of bed and looked around the room. He grabbed his wooden sword off of the wall. He then proceeded to grab a sheath for his sword from his closet. He fit the sheath over his uniform nicely and placed the sword inside it using his left hand. He opened a drawer in his desk and retrieved a small flask of water and placed it in his pocket. He then fetched his small wooden shield from under his bed and flung its straps over his right shoulder onto his back. He took one last look around the room. There were so many things left behind but he knew he could not carry them all with him.
"I've hated this place for such a long time," said Nemeth. "I thought I would feel rage inside and want to burn this dormitory to the ground. But I don't feel that at all. For some reason I feel sad now that I'm leaving. I think maybe it's because whenever I was feeling miserable or hopeless, I knew I could retreat back into this room and find peace. This will probably be the last time I set foot in this room. Goodbye."
"There is no need to say goodbye," replied Jaida. "You will be back here soon enough. Once you defeat Terazhul, you must come back and destroy the Black Orb. There will be plenty of people that need healing afterwards. You will have to make a second escape attempt with your friends once they are rescued and healed."
"You're so certain that I'm going to come out of this victorious aren't you?" asked Nemeth. "I know the room doesn't have ears, but I just had to say goodbye though. I think it was necessary. You're a Guardian Spirit and while I'm sure you have even more amazing abilities other than the Sunburst Lullaby, you're not a fortune teller. You cannot foresee the future Jaida."
Jaida remained silent. Nemeth opened the door to his dorm room and then slammed it shut. He headed downstairs to the first floor. He proceeded to the center of the main hallway and took a small lantern from the wall.
"Outside its pitch black, so I have a feeling that we're going to need this," said Nemeth. "It looks like it was recently filled with lanter
n oil so it should work for quite some time."
"Master, that is a great item to have in your possession," replied Jaida. "Not only will it help us outside in the dark, but it will help us inside the Great Temple of the Forest."
"I've never heard of any Keeper of the Forest nor anything about a Great Temple of The Forest before," said Nemeth. "I'm ready to hear more information whenever you get the chance. Let's get going!"
Nemeth dashed out the main gate of Justile Dormitory and through the turquoise light with Jaida following him closely. Nemeth stopped and took a look around. He raised the lantern in front of him and began to scan left to right. It appeared that there were dozens of dead creatures scattered about. Most of what he saw seemed to resemble the bloodied remains of Blood Wolves and Amber Bats shot down by the Spiro Crystal.
"Look at the damage that was done!" exclaimed Nemeth. "I've never seen Blood Wolves or Amber Bats inside of the academy's gates before. Hey, I just thought of something Jaida. Why couldn't we just have lured Terazhul to one of the dormitories that was closer to Serend Lake? I could just see it now. The Spiro Crystal would have killed Vulpes first. Terazhul would have been devastated that he lost his pet. I would have felt such joy to see him in pain. Then seconds later, the Spiro Crystal would have obliterated Terazhul. Then I would have been completed elated. The spell would have reversed itself like you said it does and then all we would have had to do was find a weapon made of Estrellium to destroy the Black Orb."
"Master, I wish it were that easy," replied Jaida. "Terazhul is an intelligent creature, not like these Blood Wolves and Amber Bats. He knows not to come within the range of the Spiro Crystals. He saw that you weren't afraid to face him even without a weapon. He felt the effects of my Sunburst Lullaby spell. He knows that as long as we work together we pose a threat to him, so that is why I believe he retreated back to his temple so quickly."
"I wanted to knock him off the back of Vulpes," said Nemeth. "I came so close too. If only I didn't lose my balance on that tree branch…"
"We can't change the past," replied Jaida. "Promise me you won't beat yourself up over what happened. It wasn't your fault."
Nemeth nodded his head in agreement. He then proceeded to run northeast through the darkness in search of Freedom Rock. The lantern barely provided any light. Eventually he ran face first into part of the outer wall that surrounded Lord Dragomir's Academy and crashed to the ground with a loud thud.
"Ok, well at least I've found the wall," said Nemeth. "I don't think I've broken any bones. No need to worry about me."
"How can the fate of this land be put into the hands of such a clumsy little boy?" asked Jaida.
Nemeth got back up to his feet and looked at Jaida.
"Listen up you!" exclaimed Nemeth. "Sure, I'll admit that I'm a bit clumsy at times. But I'm still your only option at this point! Now can you make yourself useful and do two things for me? First, I need you to fly up ahead and see how many paces Freedom Rock is from where I'm standing. Second, while you're flying around up there, I need you to see if there are still archers posted there."
"Yes master," replied Jaida. "I'll fly up there and see what I can find and then report my findings to you."
Jaida floated to the top of the academy's outer wall and began to head east. Nemeth waited patiently while Jaida scouted. Jaida returned a few minutes later.
"I have some good news to report," said Jaida. "I did not see any archers or monsters or anything that would harm us. I did see a large rock which I presume to be Freedom Rock. It is about 60 paces east of here."
"Thanks Jaida," replied Nemeth.
Nemeth sidled up against the wall at a moderate pace with his left arm reaching outward hoping he would be able to feel Freedom Rock. After a few minutes, he finally bumped into something. He shined his lantern on the object he bumped into and indeed it was Freedom Rock.
"Ok, this is it!" said Nemeth excitedly. "Hopefully I'll be able to move Freedom Rock. I'll start out by pushing it and see where that takes us."
Nemeth began to push as hard as he could on Freedom Rock, but it was barely budging.
"Well that was embarrassing," said Nemeth. "It's not budging at all. Apparently Freedom Rock needs some freeing of its own."
"Your lack of confidence is what is causing you to be unable to move the rock," replied Jaida. "Find your inner strength."
"Alright, time to unleash my inner strength…" said Nemeth.
Nemeth started to run backwards about 15 paces. He then began to charge at the rock at full speed and delivered a dropkick to the rock. Once again, the rock didn't budge at all.
"So yeah, that was even more embarrassing…" said Nemeth.
"Master, are you still going to be able to walk after that?" asked Jaida with great concern. "That looked like it was more painful than embarrassing…"
"I'm used to kicking people all the time when I fight," replied Nemeth. "I didn't break my feet or my legs or anything luckily."
"Well that's good to hear," said Jaida. "Now what do you have planned?"
"The plan is to use a little bit of magic. One Knockback spell coming right up! Ademan Movimiento!"
Nemeth's hands began to glow bright blue. He moved a few feet away from Freedom Rock. He placed his hands together into a V shape and thrust them outward. A small bright blue orb fired from his hands and collided with Freedom Rock. Freedom Rock rolled out of the way revealing the Freedom Tunnel. Nemeth's hands returned back to their original color.
"I did it!" exclaimed Nemeth. "I have given freedom back to Freedom Rock! Alright, here's the entrance to the tunnel. It'll only take us a couple of minutes to crawl in there and out to the other side."
"Well now that you mention that..." replied Jaida. "Now is a good time to tell you more about my abilities. Guardian Spirits can pass through most solid objects, so I'll just pass through this wall and wait for you on the other side. Oh and master, I'm bound to you within a 100 foot radius. If you need my help, just call for me and I'll enter the tunnel. Any questions before you head in the tunnel?"
"I wish I could pass through solid objects…" said Nemeth. "Hey what's this about being bound to me within a 100 foot radius? Does that mean no matter how much we annoy each other we can't escape one another?"
"That's right," replied Jaida. "The furthest I can move away from you is only 100 feet. I'm sure we'll get along just fine though. If not, you can always request a new Guardian Spirit from Darunda."
"So I can trade you in for a new Guardian Spirit?" asked Nemeth. "I didn't think that was an option."
"It's not," replied Jaida. "I was just joking around…"
"Oh come on!" exclaimed Nemeth. "Alright, no more questions for now. It's time for me to crawl into the tunnel."
Nemeth began to crawl through Freedom Tunnel with his lantern in front of him. There were quite a lot of dead insects in the tunnel which made Nemeth a bit squeamish, but no real danger. After a few minutes, he reached the end of the passage. He expected to push up a carpet that they used to cover the hole last time. However, he was surprised to find that there was a second rock blocking his way out of the tunnel.
"Oh come on!" yelled Nemeth. "This isn't a carpet! What the hell is this anyhow…Freedom Rock number two!!!???"
Nemeth tried to lift the second rock by using his strength alone. As was the case with the first rock, he was unable to move it even one inch.
"I have no choice other than to queue up another Knockback spell!" exclaimed Nemeth. "Ademan Movimiento!"
Nemeth's hands once again began to glow bright blue. He positioned himself under the center of the rock with his arms at a 45 degree angle. He placed his hands together into a V shape and thrust them outward. A small bright blue orb was unleashed from his hands and smashed into the rock above. The second rock rolled out of the way revealing the exit to the tunnel. Nemeth's hands returned back to their original color. The spell had successfully worked again.
Nemeth climbed his way out of the tunnel exit and made his
way out of Lord Dragomir's Academy. Jaida quickly floated her way over to Nemeth.
"FREEDOM!" yelled Nemeth. "It seems like an eternity since I've been outside the walls of this corrupt academy. Oh this feels great to be on the other side of the academy walls!"
"What you did to move those rocks was quite impressive master!" exclaimed Jaida. "You didn't even need me to intervene. Was there any trouble at all?"
"Well there are a lot of things you have to learn about me," replied Nemeth with a cocky tone. "First, I totally HATE insects and there were a ton of dead ones in the tunnel. But other than the fact that I wanted to vomit at the sight of the dead insects, there were no problems in the tunnel. But hey, you need to know something about my past. When I first arrived at Lord Dragomir's Academy, I was chosen by the professors to train more in the ways of the warrior instead of the ways of magic. You'll see that I'm very well-rounded though. I still have magical spells available for me to use. It's just a personal preference that I use my speed, agility and intelligence when fighting. The Knockback spell wasn't something I wanted to use on either of the rocks, mainly because I do not have a lot of mana. Also, my mana recovery is still very slow compared to most practitioners of magic. Hopefully the shops will have Mana Potions available."
"I have no doubt that we'll find Mana Potions," replied Jaida. "I am sure we will find many other items that will be of use to you as well."
"So where exactly should we head off to now?" questioned Nemeth.
"I believe that the best course of action would be for us to head east towards the town of Norfall," replied Jaida. "That is the closest town where we can get supplies."
"Are you forgetting my money problems?" questioned Nemeth.
"Usually when you defeat monsters, they will drop some form of treasure," said Jaida. "I can also sense when there is any treasure that is nearby. This includes treasure that is buried beneath the ground. So again, there is no need to worry about money. Please take your sword out and get ready to head for Norfall."
The Orphan Wars (Book One) Page 7