The Disillusion Mountains

Chapter 26

The next morning the flood hadn't let up. Even though the Rangers would be looking for them in a few days they couldn't get to them. First of all, according to Grant they were far south of the path the Rangers were likely to take, and second their GPS units had been washed away to God knows where so the Rangers would be looking for them in the wrong place. Finally the flooded canyon meant the Rangers couldn't even access the area. They could see storm clouds over the forest were the river was and that rain was still feeding the flood even though it was no longer raining where they were.

Until the flood stopped they were stranded. Grant didn't know how to get back to civilization from this location and the map Caspian had didn't extend beyond their present location. They were in a rocky boulder field high up on a mountain. Thanks to Caspian's magic they wouldn't starve or die of thirst or freeze to death but dying of boredom might well be in the cards.

Jace took the revelation that magic was real better than expected. He and Grant watched as Caspian began Nimma's magical training which at the moment was just learning how to grow edible plants. It was after lunch that Nimma saw it. She'd been gathering what little plants there were to bring to Caspian to see if they had magical usage.

"Guys come here!" Nimma pointed at the boulders far out in the distance. "Do you see it?"

"What?" Jace asked squinting. "The rocks?"

"'Find the man of many stones–Pointing way to treasures home.' Stand here." They took turns standing in the spot. If you were in the right spot the stones looked like a man atop a horse shooting an arrow. That arrow pointed up at the very mountain they were on. "Somehow we ended up on the right mountain. The shadow cat I saw guided me to take the path that led us here. It was her shadow cat. It had to have been it was missing an ear and everything."

"How could it have been? Shadow cats don't live for hundreds of years," Jace said.

"It's possible if the shadow cat was her familiar." Caspian informed them. "Not every witch has one. I don't. They have to choose you."

"What's a familiar?" Grant asked.

"Familiars are magic given form of an animal. They pop up all the time. No one really knows how they're made but they're immortal and can serve as protectors of witches for the duration of a witches' life. It may even go on to protect the witches' descendants if the bond between them and their witch is strong enough."

"I'm in the mood to find some treasure. Are you guys coming?" Nimma started up the mountain.

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"This is it," Nimma told them. They'd only hiked for two hours but this was the right place. "'Mountain high with sparrow lake–Tip of wings my resting place–Go inside the carven room–Find where hope forever blooms,'" she recited.

It matched the description perfectly. High up the mountain in a sheltered valley they crossed into a paradise. The lake was shaped like a sparrow, green grass and a huge garden growing everything from roses to apples lay before them.

"She found the lake and created an oasis for herself. I can feel all the plant life was grown by magic and sustained by it still. It's beautiful and impressive," Caspian marveled.

"The poem says the treasure is at the tips of the wings. Let's go." The waters of the lake were so clear you could see straight to the bottom. Small fish scattered as their shadows moved over the water.

Grant crossed his arms and thought. "Alright we're at the top of the wings. There's not much space here to bury something the mountain continues up. What was the rest of the poem?"

"'Go inside the carven room–Find where hope forever blooms.' That sounds like a cave to me," Nimma said.

"What about hope blooming?" Jace asked. "What does that mean?"

Nimma thought about it and took out the journal. On the cover was a faded flower. It was a bit difficult to make out what type of flower it was. After staring for a minute she got it. "Dragonlilly," she whispered.

"Hmmm," Caspain said.

"The Dragonlilly. In Logosese culture the Dragonlilly is symbolic of hope. It even rhymes with the word hope in Logosese. We're looking for Dragonlillies." Nimma put the book back in its pouch and secured it in her pocket.

They poked around for bit and Nimma was the one to find it; a single Dragonlilly at the base of the mountain. Nimma touched its closed petals. It was daylight and these flowers only opened at night. Nimma ran her hand over the rock of the mountain. She felt a prick on her hand and the rock moved aside opening up to a cave.

The others were by her side quickly. The inside of the cave was dark but Caspian conjured a few fireballs and sent them in first. They illuminated a home. Everything was covered in dust. Her attention was drawn to the center of the room were a mound covered in flowers which were beginning to bloom under the light of the fireballs stood.

Nimma took one step into the cave and it lit up. A transparent image of a much older Regina appeared over the mound. Her once blue hair was gray, one of her eyes appeared to be blind and the shadow cat stood beside her though it was the large size of a normal one and not small.

"I'm not sure this will work." Nimma gasped upon hearing the woman speak. Her voice was clear and strong. She spoke in Myrasian though it was heavily accented. "My old friend Katherine told me of this new magic which will allow me to record a message. I have sequenced it so it will only play if someone of my bloodline enters here." The old woman sighed and then took a deep breath.

"Welcome. It's impossible for me to know how far in the future you are or the conditions of your world. I don't know what you know about me or how my actions in history are recorded. If the Towers still run Star City I can only imagine I don't come off in the best light. My daughter Rose tells me they already are trying to make my legacy appear an awful one. I've made many mistakes in my life. I'm far from perfect and have spent the majority of my life in solitude. I tried to right the wrongs I saw being committed but nothing I did was ever enough. I couldn't do it alone. I'm not cynical enough to believe that even the most evil people are incapable of change. Whether they will change is the question. Inside my home you will find much stolen loot of immense value that I took from the Towers family. I know that's why you're here. You've navigated the mountains and made it through traps one of which was of my own making. The treasure is yours to do with as you wish. I have one request. As I said I cannot know what your world is like and I don't know you. My last act on this earth will be to use magic to bury myself and my story will be over. My life has been a study in failure. I tried to defend my old home from its invaders and failed. When my new home was threatened by people who lived here for generations I also failed to stop them from spreading corruption."

The shadow cat put its head in Regina's lap. The old Regina smiled slightly and began to scratch the magic animal behind its ears. A loud contented purring came from the cat just it would a flesh and blood cat, whereas this one was a powerful magical being which felt odd to Nimma that it would behave so normally.

"I know people can change but if the Towers haven't," Regina continued her speech with a certain weariness. "I ask you use a portion of this wealth to try and stop them from further dominating Star City and its people. In my time it couldn't be done. People weren't willing to make a stand against so powerful and ruthless a threat. Perhaps by your time things are different. I want to leave you with a piece of knowledge that over the course of my life I have learned.

All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good people to do nothing."