The Purple Jade Palace: The Hummingbird's Plan

The Lost Seas' Saga

"The ocean on the edge of our Empire is rich with resources, of food, of plants and undiscovered lands. It poses great difficulties however. The forests are thick and full of beasts that can bring men down within seconds with only a single bite."

Teal's mind jumped straight to the captain's as if he was standing right there beside him, and he was all but lost within the words.

"As an explorer and adventurer, a pirate and a gold hunter, I was filled with excitement as to what these lands could hold and the people we might find. We traveled to island after island. To my dismay, we found no one.

"Even the little islands that dot the coast were empty of intelligent life, completely deserted. After several weeks though, we found a large island that promised the chance of fresh water. My crew and I disembarked using the small rowboat and trudged through the knee-deep water to reach a beach so pristine and white, it blinded my eyes. We separated into two groups and headed into a jungle full of plants that I had never seen before. There was a large mountain on the island, and I was sure if we explored long enough, there would have to be a river or creek of some sort."

Teal paused and took a mouthful of water before continuing.

"We were to be disappointed at first. There were four of us in our small group, and we trekked for hours searching and listening for any signs of running water. We did not hear from the other group once we split on the beach. It wasn't until we had wandered down into a valley that we found a river, not very wide but running fair enough that we were brave to taste it. We filled our waterskins and took stock of our bearings to help us find the valley again to stock up our ship supplies. It was then that we fell into trouble."

Teal paused, conflicted. He was petrified to move forward, of what the captain might reveal, but at the same time, he only wanted to keep reading to have some insight of something possibly related to the Lombock.

"Keep going," the Emperor told him firmly. Teal glanced at Jale who nodded encouragingly despite the frown on his face.

Teal took a deep breath and continued, "It was the kind of trouble where even the most hardened pirates become afraid and don't like to mention to make themselves appear weak. It was at this time, deep in the valley that one of my men began to feel as if we were being watched. We laughed it off, but a heavy uneasiness fell on our shoulders. One by one we started to look over our shoulders scouring the surrounding vegetation. The presence was real, yet we couldn't put our fingers on it to find its source. I tried to laugh it off and tell them they were hardened pirates, even though I couldn't shake off the sense of doom that had fallen around us.

"With our waterskins filled, I encouraged my men to start heading back, telling them that we needed to make up time so we could get our rowboats supplied and filled with water before we could pull anchor. Not one man looked like he wanted to return to get more."

Teal turned the page and didn't dare to look up.

"We turned and headed towards where we had climbed down the side of the valley. The man at the front of our group, gave a yell. He had found something that had been hidden by the shrubs as we had climbed down. I pushed forward and there before us, a pillar of stone rose from the ground and stopped at waist height. It was round and smooth, far smoother than I had ever seen stone before, and on its surface, on its flat top, there was the outline of a hand.

"I didn't know what to make of it. There was nothing else in the forest like it from what I could see, and I have not seen anything like it since. I glanced at my men knowing they would see my worry, especially when I told them we should make haste. I knew even then that something was not right and we could be in imminent danger.