The Return of the Fifth Stone

by Vincent Todarello

  The others had drawn their swords as well, but we were outnumbered. I could see glowing eyes flickering in the distance as far back as the woods allowed us to see. There was no way to escape death, I thought. But upon seeing the beast disappear into ash with one swing of my sword, the other worg beasts let out a howl, turned and ran off in the opposite direction.

  Peitus marveled at my blade. “What on Haaret did Kalvis give you?”

  “I haven’t a clue, except that the blade is forged from a mineral found in Uhaaretu.”

  “That is illuminite,” Patreus responded. “Some call it the solid flame. I’ve never seen it before, only heard of it. Curious. I wonder how old Kalvis got his hands on such a rare mineral.”

  “Whatever it is, I like it!” Peitus added.

  “Let’s use it to light our way. We need to find a way out of this labyrinth,” said Fiama.

  We pressed on at a hurried pace, moving as fast as we could without tiring ourselves. Up ahead we saw a break in the darkness, and we heard the distant undulating sound of a shoreline. Light was coming into the woods between the trees in the distance. As we neared, we realized it was the northeast end of the Hem’l Canopy. Hem'l stood along a cliff’s edge. We had gone the wrong way somehow, having been disoriented and turned around in the dark.

  As we walked onto a ledge, we looked out across a vast sea. Waves rolled in, booming and crashing against the rocks below. A salty mist hung in the air and coated our skin as a strong northern breeze blew in from the water. We caught a chill in the shade of the canopy. It was wet, windy and cold.

  To the east a calm circular shaped gulf pushed its way into the land, and a massive stairway was carved into the rocks, climbing upward from a small patch of beach along the face of the cliff. The stairs seemed to ascend to a distant ruin. Organized stone buildings rose up and then stopped, strangled by haphazard vines and overgrown brush. A city once bustling, but now forgotten. Based on our positioning from looking at the map, I assumed it was the Junction of the Four Realms; the ancient marketplace where Gareth battled the corrupt. Beyond that, I saw the smoky rise of Blood Mountain far in the distance, looming like a grey specter over the countryside.

  To the west, the rocky cliffs stretched outward a long way, and then curled backward, south, rounding off the northwest corner of Ahaareta. As breathtaking as it all was to see, it was a dead end.

  “Damn!” Peitus became frustrated. “Now what?”

  “There is nothing to the east. Nothing but mountains and ruins. We must push west, or back south. We’ve been heading in the wrong direction, having lost our bearings.” Focused, Patreus somehow kept his head.

  I looked westward under the canopy, a few strides from the cliff’s edge. A faint blue-green glow seemed to outline a path up ahead.

  “Look!” I called out. “It’s some sort of path.” We moved toward it.

  We soon came upon an area where all the moss and fungus on the ground seemed to glow blue and green, illuminating a path in the woods. Each mushroom cap sparkled with blue radiance, lining the sides of the path. The moss in the center of the path pulsated in a bright green color and covered the ground like bedding.

  As fascinating as it was, Fiama had not even paused to study the curious glowing fungi. She was determined to find help for her son. We followed the glowing path and soon I noticed something on the tree up ahead of us. It looked like a door or archway of some kind, but carved into the bark.

  "Is that a door?" I asked, pointing to the massive tree.

  A doorway was built into the tree, seemingly hidden as it was made out of the tree itself. There were no handles or knobs on it; it was just an outline of a door.

  "Look around for a latch of some kind," Patreus said.

  "Are you sure this is a good time for exploration, father?" asked Peitus, concerned for his brother's well being.

  "No, it is not, but the ancient texts speak of hidden passages from the Hem'l Canopy to Alapis. The danger in going back could be greater than the danger in going forward. The Lapisians, even though they do not trust us, are pure. Going back takes us to our enemy, and we are already lost, fighting against time. Perhaps the Lapisians could help us," he explained.

  We searched all around the tree, high and low, but found nothing.

  "What if the latch is too high up for us, who have no wings?" I suggested. For all we knew, the latch could have been elevated up high so that only the winged Lapisians could easily open and close the door.

  "The passages were made specifically for the groundsmen to access Alapis during the ancient times when there was still an alliance between the races. You see, they were trade routes of sorts, to bring items to and from the sky lands to the Junction of the Four Realms at the sea cliff's edge," Patreus explained.

  "Here on the ground," Fiama said. "A lever of some kind!"

  An old rusted iron lever stuck up from the ground a few paces from the tree around the back of the door. Patreus carefully placed Deius on the ground and we all pushed and pulled on the lever until it slowly began to move.

  There was a series of deep, heavy, grinding clicks, and then one final clunk that echoed inside the tree. The lever was fully extended and the door popped open slightly with a slow creaking sound; a woody whiff of stale and damp air, dank and moldy with age, escaped from within.

  The massive tree was hollowed out, and the inside walls of the tree had a spiraling staircase carved into it. Strange glowing stones were embedded into the walls to light the path upward. The stairs stretched up over our heads as far as the eye could see.

  Up in the distance there was what looked like a speck of light, but it was unclear if it was daylight or a convergence of the glowing stones along the tree wall.

  On the ground was a system of metal gears that attached to the heavy wooden door and acted as the locking mechanism. I studied it as Patreus carried Deius inside. Peitus closed the door behind us, and we began our climb up the seemingly endless stairway. Our steps and grunts echoed within the tree as we continued upward.

  We rested whenever possible during our ascension, while still keeping a fast pace for the sake of Deius. It seemed we were climbing for days. Our legs became weak and sore. I could not imagine how painful it was for Patreus, who was carrying Deius the whole way. His will to help his son kept his spirits above the pain, I suspected.

  During one resting period, I inquired about the man I saw who was forced to drink the forbidden waters when we were attacked at the festival.

  "I saw a man who was held down during the attack. The impure tried to force him to drink the forbidden waters but the liquid would not enter his mouth. Something invisible blocked it from going in," I explained. "How could that be?"

  "It is said that if one is pure enough at heart that he can become truly pure, as the Haareti were in the ancient times. And it is said that the truly pure could not be forced into impurity. Corruption could only be chosen through free will," Patreus explained. "Perhaps what you saw was a Haareti so pure at heart that he became truly pure, in which case impurity could not be forced upon him."

  I could tell he was amazed at what I had seen, but he was distant. His thoughts were elsewhere; with his son. I thought about Patreus' purity, and that maybe his strength and will to help Deius was fortified by his purity, as if he too were truly pure.

  As we continued up the stairs they became narrow and less elegantly carved. The stairway then seemed to be made from thick tree branches that were organized just right to form natural and rugged steps. The light up above us became brighter and seemed to be daylight and not the glow of the mysterious stones embedded in the walls. It seemed we were out of the trunk part of the tree and now climbing within a thick canopy of branches that were the size of normal tree trunks.

  As we ascended the tree limbs, I felt like we were climbing up from underground, out of a burrowed tunnel. I could see what looked like dried leaves and soil embedded between the branches, which started to resemble the roots of a tree rather than the
canopy. Then a crude ladder of sorts appeared, fashioned from tree limbs and twine. Looking upward revealed a bright purple and yellow sky peeking through from above.

  We climbed, helping Patreus carry Deius up the steep incline, and suddenly we were standing on firm ground. The canopy was so dense that it made solid ground, and the massive tree trunks of the Hem’l Canopy acted as giant support columns holding up an entire countryside.

  Rolling green hills stretched out as far as the eye could see, and we were standing on a peninsula that stuck out into the sky, above the clouds.

  Instinctively we all sat down to catch our breath. All but Patreus. He paced, eager to press onward and find help for Deius, as we regained our strength. There were conflicting urges to explore this new land and to rush to find help, turning a blind eye to the wonders before us.

  “This is Alapis,” Fiama said.

  CHAPTER 14

  “We must move on.” Patreus grew impatient. “Deius’ condition is dire. I know you are all tired but our faith will keep us strong.”

  Peitus scowled up at him with confusion. “How can our hearts do what our bodies cannot?” He asked with sincerity.

  “The same way you gain skill in the fighting arts, and the same way the pure can gain extraordinary powers. ‘Strength of heart and resolve in mind provides one with the power of purity in kind,’” he quoted.

  I understood, as I had seen those pure men below in the attacks. Even I had gained skills and powers beyond my normal abilities.

  I rustled the map from my pack and looked at it to try to see where we were. Just then I heard something. A distant buzz or whistle from above that seemed to be getting closer, growing louder. I looked all around, up in the air. “Do you hear that?” I asked.

  “Hear what?” Lunaris responded. A moment later she exclaimed, “Yes, I hear it!” Whatever it was drew nearer at a fast pace. Then we all saw what it was; a flaming arrow soaring through the sky like a shooting star, burning with a bright blue flame and heading right for us!

  “A warning shot,” Patreus said as our nerves calmed. It was fixed to land far beyond us. It continued soaring over our heads and stuck into the ground past us. “We’ve been spotted by the Lapisians.”

  “What should we do?” asked Lunaris as Patreus began to wave his arms and look all around.

  “We need their help. Let’s try to get them to come to us,” he said, still waving his arms.

  In the distance I saw movement along the hills. When I fixed my eyes upon it, I noticed that it was a figure covered in foliage in an effort to blend in with the hillside.

  “Look,” I said as I pointed, “over there.”

  Then more figures emerged. I counted a dozen. They fanned out, peeled off their camouflage and approached us with their bows ready to fire. They rarely, if ever, had seen visitors from the lower realms of Haaret, and were worrisome of intruders.

  As they drew near I could see with more definition the body and form of the Lapisians. Like my mother, their countenance was proud, with upright posture. They were lean and pale skinned, with almond shaped eyes and petite body features. They were elegant and appeared tall because the arch of their wings perked up from their shoulders and over their heads. The arches of the wing, when folded, were hook shaped and pronounced, much like the horn of a stag or vacsteer, but were anatomically similar to that of an elbow or a knee. My mother did not have such pronounced wings, possibly because she was not a full Lapisian, or possibly because female Lapisians’ bodies were different than males.

  When they were less than twenty paces away, nine of the wingmen trotted and jumped, and with a few flaps of their majestic grey-feathered wings, they were airborne. They hovered at that distance, at about the height of three men. The slow rhythmic beating of their wings rustled the dry leaves and grasses below. They held their bows at the ready, aimed right at us, while the other three on the ground relaxed their armaments and approached us.

  Immediately one of them, who appeared to be the leader of this security force, took notice of Deius.

  “Is he injured?” he spoke calmly, monotone.

  “Yes. He was wounded by a sword when the impure attacked the feast of Di’Veridae.” Patreus urgently responded.

  “But you are all impure,” one of the others remarked to the dismay of their leader, who quickly silenced him with a nod.

  “Yes,” said Patreus, “but we are among those who strive to be otherwise.”

  “We understand,” said the leader. “My name is Bantas.”

  He spoke in a strange but eloquent accent, emphasizing different parts of words than what I considered to be normal.

  “It’s a pleasure and an honor to make your acquaintance,” responded Patreus.

  “Let us get your boy a remedy.” He motioned back toward the Lapisians who were flying, calling them over with a whistle. He uttered something to them in a different language, and suddenly the remaining three, including Bantas, took to the air. They swooped down and took us all under the arms, two Lapisians carrying each of us through the air swiftly away from the end of the peninsula and into the distant hills.

  Something seemed odd as we soared toward the hills. A strange sense came over me and I felt that something was not as it seemed. I squirmed, and one of the Lapisians carrying me said “this one knows.”

  “What do I know?” I asked.

  “How do you understand me?” he replied. “I am not speaking your language. How is it you came to understand Lapisian?”

  “I don’t know,” I said as we looked strangely upon one another.

  Suddenly a strange fog seemed to roll in over us and then lift, revealing a palatial city nestled among the hills.

  “Is that what you felt?” one of them asked me in my tongue.

  “Yes. My uneasiness lifted with the fog.”

  “We use a form of deception to hide the city. It creates an illusion, a barrier to those who would intrude on our lands. The fog can drive one mad if they are lost in it, but those who are gifted with the powers of magic can sense it and avoid it,” he explained.

  “Bantas must trust you if he is allowing you behind the veil,” the other one added. “Either that, or this is a one way trip.” He spoke jokingly, but a menacing chuckle followed.

  Suddenly it dawned on me that this was the first time we met strangers who did not know who I was. It was as if they were beyond our problems, not concerned with our beliefs; not in an arrogant way, and not even in an ignorant way. They were simply isolated from our world. Detached.

  I looked out upon the city from the air. Even the tallest trees near our homes could not offer such a view. I had never witnessed life from such a vantage point, let alone had I ever laid my eyes on such a marvel of the Haareti. The city sprawled out in what looked like four slices of pie from a central hub.

  Four large ornate stone columns rose up from the city center at the point of each quadrant. They reached far up into the sky. Between the columns, at ground level, was a dome made of hundreds of panels of reflective glass.

  The city extended outward in concentric circles from the center, with the innermost circles being what looked like stately palaces and meeting halls made of glass. Beyond that were rings of shops and businesses, craftsmen and tradesmen. Finally beyond that were residences and homes.

  It was all so foreign looking. Sleek. Minimal. Advanced. Cold, but hospitable. There were trees with stone white leaves, vibrant amber and cobalt trunks, and red vines of ivy crawling high up some of the buildings.

  A radiant glow emanated from the city as we drew near. There were glowing platinum spheres floating all around, as if they were lightning flies that always stayed illuminated, moving ever so slowly and gently; soothing to watch.

  We sailed past the city center and past the shops, out toward the residences in one of the quadrants. Lapisian homes were very unique. They rose up from the ground on sturdy columns and perched atop them like birds' nests in a tree. They were more humble looking than the architectu
ral masterpieces in the city center. The houses were rounded sphere shapes carved out of solid stone, with windows made of ornate stained glass. Some had one large sphere, others had several smaller spheres, and the windows were all circular in shape.

  We seemed to be headed toward one particular building; a palace on the outskirts of the city; the only one in this residential area. My body became cold, being exposed to the air at such heights and flying rapidly. My shoulders and back were beginning to get sore from clenching my muscles in exhilaration. I looked forward to landing, despite the overall comfort and peace I felt as we soared.

  We landed on the high ledge of a tower. It was some sort of entrance platform that, to us groundsmen, would be the equivalent of a majestic foyer or entrance to a castle. We were greeted by two other guards with crossbows, but I could not imagine what all the security was for. Due to the magical fog, no one could see this place even if they had somehow found a way up from Ahaareta.

  Bantas whispered something into one of the guard’s ears, and the guard rushed hurriedly off into the palace. Bantas turned to us.

  “Bring your son this way. We will treat him with our magic and try to make him well again.” His words were soft, almost distant and quiet, even though he was speaking audibly.

  “What sort of magic?” Patreus asked cautiously.

  “Good magic. Not corrupted magic like that used below.”

  Patreus was slightly calmed, but still skeptical. His desire to see his son well again outweighed his other concerns.

  We followed Bantas through a complicated series of arched hallways and into a large atrium with a domed glass ceiling, much like those in the city center, only smaller. A stone table sat in the middle of the room, and beside it stood an elderly Lapisian who wore a flowing eggshell white robe that covered his wings and head.