Acadia Restoration

Chapter 17

The group hiked along the river until they reached the outskirts of a town. A bridge across the river led into the town. They walked over the stone bridge and into a marketplace. The streets were paved and lanterns hung from posts. Every few feet sat a different shop or vendor's booth. Delectable scents wafted through the air. This place had a quaint beauty to it.

"Is this what Wolchnard used to look like?" Cristina asked.

"No, not Wolchnard," Laiko started, everyone gave him confused looks. "Tierkan,".

"Tierkan?" Jade asked. "Oh wait! I remember this being mentioned in the books. I remember being confused when it said magic practitioners lived in Tierkan instead of Wolchnard," Jade put the puzzle pieces together.

"Yeah, this kingdom was the mightiest magic stronghold in the world at the time, then there was the war," Laiko resumed.

"Oh, now it's all coming back to me," Luna interrupted. "I learned about this at some point in World History class,"

"If you're such an expert by all means break it down for us," Laiko rolled his eyes. Norah rubbed his arm and he gave her hand a squeeze.

"It was conquered then the name changed to Wolchnard," she said. Everyone waited for Luna to explain more. She crossed her arms in a satisfied manner and closed her eyes. She opened them when she noticed everyone waiting. "What? That's all they taught us!" She splayed her arms.

"Yeah, I barely remember being taught anything about this either," Norah chimed in.

"This war was totally blown over in history books. Not much is known about it," Laiko said. "Back to what I was originally saying," he shot Luna a glare. "The magic stealers conquered the Kingdom and that was the beginning of the fall of magic around the world. If we've indeed gone back one hundred years we have about two until the war starts,". Everyone's eyes went wide.

"A giant war is going to start in two days?!" Max questioned. Laiko nodded.

"We should probably change," Lily said. "We're attracting some attention,". Yes, some shopkeepers were giving them odd stares. Their business clothes were too modern. They slunk into a shop and got new clothes to blend into the village setting.

They managed to find a few empty tables outside a small cafe that they sat down at.

"So what's the plan?" Alex asked. Everyone's' eyes darted between each other.

"First thing's first," Cristina replied. "What's a meddu?".

"Good question," Kelp scratched the back of his neck.

"It's a deer-like creature with two curved horns on it's head," Luna replied.

"Next question, where do we find one?" Cristina continued. No response.

"If I'm remembering this correctly," Jade recalled facts from a book she had stumbled upon earlier. "The meddus were rounded up and brought into the castle grounds for protection," Jade explained. A server came over to their table and began to speak. Everyone's eyes widened when he spoke a different language. No one knew how to answer. The server repeated himself.

"He's asking for our drink orders," Serina said. Everyone gave her a shocked expression. "Well what do you guys want?" she rushed them. Everyone rattled off beverages and she ordered them in his language. She gave him an apologetic smile for the time they took.

"You understood that?" Max replied.

"No, I just went into his mind and deciphered his intent, then I searched his head for the words for your drink orders," she shrugged.