Blue Diamond

episode 8

Arthur picked up the book that he accidentally knocked off his desk, when he decided to scroll through only to realized that it was full of real magic. Arthur opened the book and found blank pages. He thought to himself that Liam had given him a blank book. This baffled his mind, he began to think why would Liam give him a blank book. Maybe this was supposed to be a journal as he continued thinking to himself.

He closed the book and the thought of writing something came about so he decided to reopen the book. Arthur couldn't believe what he was watching. All words appear in front of him like magic. A small yet shallow spark created the words as it burns in black ink filling the blank pages of this historical book. Arthur couldn't believe what he was reading. He found mysterious languages and writing, things that he didn't think existed.

While reading through the book a page happened to cut him. He gently sucked on his finger to stop the blood but unknowingly something else happened; the blood activated the curse upon a magician. He continued to read. The book spoke of five black metallic ancient cards of mythical power and beauty. Something Arthur would find interesting. He kept on reading and realized that his grandfather was in search of these mythical cards. Arthur then recollected his first vision and began to wonder what if these cards had something to do with his visions and nightmares?.

Arthur felt as though something was hidden in these books and it itched him to find the truth. Arthur spent the entire day putting all of his grandfather's research together and found many things, one of which he was looking to find. Arthur's grandfather was trying to put the blue diamond back to its original form but by trying to find the cards, sadly the journey brought him to his very death.

Arthur was saddened to know this fact but he was eager to find them. He figured he had enough knowledge, that he needed to start but he couldn't do this alone. Meanwhile, Kate and Damon missed Arthur at breakfast. Even at rehearsals, he wasn't at the theater, they both went home only to find Arthur energized and excited about something.

Arthur brought the insane idea to Damon and Kate but they were only interested in getting him better. The way Arthur spoke he scared the living daylight out of them.

They had assumed Arthur was going crazy. Kate cut the conversation and told Arthur that he needed some rest.

"All of this sounds great but you need to rest ok come I'll take you to bed."

Arthur went calmly to bed that night. Damon however thought that Arthur sounded crazy but what if he was right?. He decided to have look through Arthur's discovery and to his surprise he found it to be mysterious. Damon felt it deep within his bones that Arthur was right. Everything he said made complete sense. He had never seen things like this but was interested to know about it. The next morning, there were no screaming or nightmares.

They both stood in the door way of Arthur's room looking at him sleep peacefully as they wondered to themselves if he really was ok.

Damon and Kate were very clueless as to how great Arthur felt and how his spirit had lifted. The decision was clear. This trip was the answer to all of their questions excited and thrilled; as they organized themselves for a moment they wouldn't forget. Unfortunately this trip was going to change their lives around. Arthur packed his maps and other things he found necessary for the trip, while Kate decided on what shoes would be best, Damon on the other hand decided it would be best if they had someone in the medical field in case of any accidents, so he decided to ask Akira to join them.

She was indeed happy to join in since Damon was very convincing. Once they were set and ready to go it was just smooth sailing from there, at least its what they had in mind. Further down the road they picked up Akira and shortly after Damon introduced her to Arthur and his sister Kate.

The roads seemed long and narrow, it appeared to be never ending. Arthur felt as though Damon was going the wrong way, so he suggested he drove. Once they switched places, Arthur saw a short cut which would lead them exactly where they needed to go. Uncertain if the place had existed, Arthur took the short cut anyway. He drove through the old dirt road and came upon an open iron gate. There was a huge sign with a warning

"BEWARE of the JOKER!"

Confused and afraid Damon told Arthur to be careful it looked as if it was dangerous, yet it didn't seem strange to Arthur, he felt as though he had visited this place before.

They slowly drove down the narrow dirt road entering the gate, where they met with a small town. This was something they couldn't imagine or ever believed existed. It wasn't a lively neighbourhood nor the did the buildings looked welcoming. Everything seemed dull and colourless. The town's people looked sadistic and hungry as if poverty had stuck their lives. The tragic sight was very heart-breaking. They couldn't believe such places existed.

Once they were out of the car, they decided to stretch their legs after the long drive. Arthur and Kate went into a bar, as Damon and Akira visited a gift shop near by. In the bar, it appeared to have a lot of the town's historical facts written on the walls that surrounded the bar. Arthur was looking for anything that might lead him to the first card. He looked around the bar and wasn't pleased with its current state.

The people were rude and of course dirty. One person did caught Arthur's attention, he appeared to have lost someone very dear to him. Arthur went over to the man's table. He was about to have a shot of cheap booze. He looked at Arthur and said

"what do you outsiders think you're doing here?"

Arthur realised that the people here knew nothing about the modern civilization and he tried to explain but the man's agnostic speech was enough to see that he wanted to be alone.

"You should leave people like you don't belong here."

While Arthur was trying to explain the reason of his visit, another strange character approached him. The man goes by the name of Duke Jackson. Some of the town's people would call him a thief or traitor. His reputation wasn't liked very much. Everyone in the town would keep their distance, for they had also thought he was dangerous. Arthur found him to be interesting and he seemed as though he knew a lot about the town.

Duke got Arthur's attention inside the bar and he took both Arthur and Kate to the sidewalk. He mentioned an old, wrinkled man, whose laugh was scary and his eyes were filled with the flames of pure fire. His hands carried the power of a hundred men. He also mentioned where this mysterious character lived.

" Behind the old oak trees, deep into the woods you would find this man!"

Duke's voice sounded as if he spoke a lie but Arthur's curiosity got the best of him. After giving Arthur the information he needed, he demanded a price. Arthur thought it's only fair. He asked

"what's your price?"

Duke didn't hesitate to ask for medicine and medical treatment for his sick daughter. Arthur was surprised for he didn't ask for money but for an ailment for his daughter. This was something by mere coincidence that Damon brought Akira along but it was a deal, which must kept.

To be continued......