The Other King

Crow - Pylah's Hair

I looked down at her, trying to fix my face but I couldn’t hide my expression. She was holding a foot long white stick radiating the same glow as the coin, it looked thick with electricity. On the base held the same symbol as we saw on both sides of the coin and on the foreheads of the wicked creatures. “You’ve found the magic wand.” I slowly speak.
    “You were too late. The wand radiated too much energy and blasted this whole side of the forest.” I glance up seeing burned trees and ground caving into a dark pit. “It was underground, once we held the object it collapsed from under us. Pylah got the worst of it, she got blasted.” I looked down, her pupils were dilated in shock and terror. I heard you see the nightmares of your ancestors and monsters you’ve never dreamed of come true when you get hit with a huge amount of magic at once. Luckily this was light magic because of the glow, according to Autumn. But it can kill someone or in this case change a physical appearance. For Pylah her hair was dyed pure white versus the black like her brother.
    He kneels beside her. “You have to help her!” He screamed at Devanar.
    “We need to take her back to the hut, Crow. Autumn, you go with her, take Mykren and go. Crow and I will get the other two objects. Do you have the other object? I heard your message.” I told him the story of what happened on our end. He nodded.
    “You can’t be serious! Help her Devanar!” Autumn desperately cried out in anger.
    “She’s in shock. I’ve given her treatment but for now she needs rest. She’s not eligible to stay for the other two objects. Especially when it has a demon and witch involved.” He tried to explain.
    “He’s right. Help your sister get home safely. Tharama will take care of her and so will you. Her mental state needs to solidify, the phase will pass.” Autumn stares at us with disbelief, grabbing Pylah and the wand. I give him all his supplies back before he mounts Mykren. He gives me a stare of no expression. I turn back to Devanar as they leave into the skies. “Tell me exactly what happened. What the hell was that?”
    He grips his ax, taking a seat against the tree as if it’s going to be a long story. I bet it is. I moved to join him, lowering myself on my good arm. He sighed before starting his story. “We took off right when we separated. We were far more south than here the past night, taking shelter in some hut. There were two keepers we took care of. There were food and supplies that we stole on our journey. I didn’t expect to get the object so soon, I felt the energy late last night. I went out to search for it, the door to the underground wasn’t there when we arrived, it was like someone moved it there. It’s like how the energy just suddenly showed up.
    “Anyway, I went down by myself to check it out and there were a whole bunch of doors like a maze. But one of them glowed like a whole sun was behind it. I sensed an object like my skin crawled and I was filled with adrenaline. I heard a whole bunch of voices behind it, like it was calling to me. I decided until morning to check it out further so I hunted for Pylah and I. Once she ate we moved to the door. Behind it was this giant platform with this eye-blinding light. I couldn’t see it at first but I didn’t have time to check since these fucking angels came down from above. I don’t know why they were underground but that glow must’ve been powerful. I knew it had some sort of guards but those angels were filled with powerful light magic, they were strong. I almost blew up the fucking room.
    “By the time we defeated them I was about to grab the wand, thinking it had little magic like the ones in The Other, just then realizing what it was. But Pylah must’ve sensed it was dangerous and grabbed it first. She was electrocuted, Crow. I watched as the energy from the wand almost killed her. I knew it was dangerous but I didn’t know how deadly it was. I held her in my arms, she was shaking as I carried her up here. We had to hurry though, the moment she touched it the walls started crumbling.” Devanar rubbed his shaved head, dropping it as he looked down. I can tell he was angry, mad about this quest just as I am.
    I shifted his eyes to mine, rolled them. “Don’t pity me, Crow. Anyway, how’s your arm?”
    “That ghoul took a big bite, I guess I really am just as delicious as I taste.” He laughed, I couldn’t help but smile. “It hurts but we took some of those pallets. The pain stopped and slowly healed but it might take awhile. Any cuts on you?” He nodded pointing to his leg.
    “Angel stabbed me. Those fucking demons. Speaking of which, what other two objects do we need? Witches Bottle and Demons Pearl?” I nod. “We better be ready, those fights are going to be tough.” He stands up, stretching his limbs. I can tell he’s pretty shaken about Pylah but he knows he has to keep moving forward. He’s strong, a fighter. Even though he’s older, he follows me. He’s actually the oldest one here. He follows me with respect and I respect him all the same. We’ve known each other almost all our lives, he’s my closest friend and vise versa.
    “Let’s keep moving north. We can take it on foot. From the skies I saw a kingdom that way,” I pointed. “The next object might be close.” He nodded, gripping his ax. “Did you find any information about it? What does each crystal mean?”
    “The purple one you used obviously took in abilities but I tried against my light magic and Pylah’s dark magic and it didn’t have an effect. Seems only to work against bornfull abilities, like it can’t work on Autumn's shadow traveling or Pylah’s Zero. The red one can copy abilities once in contact. I used my fire and it blew out from the top when I swung. And the yellow one, I haven’t tried it out yet. But everytime I use the crystals the soft glow in the middle slowly dims. They only have enough energy for so long until I’ll need more. That’s why I took them out. Usually my light magic helps generate more power but the core’s for them are already too worn out.” I nod as I duck a small branch.
    “Did Pylah use her magic? For her ability I mean,” He shook his head.
    “Didn’t need to, she didn’t even use her dark magic. Why, did Autumn?” I shook my head as well. “As expected. He only travels for us as a group, never singled and especially with his least favorite member.”
    “I don’t get it, Pylah doesn’t seem to have a problem with me so why him?” I walk slowly beside him, keeping his pace. Because he radiates healer magic his leg is probably already healed. My arm seems to quicken it’s healing process as well.
    “Beats me, it’s like how Tharama doesn’t like him.”
    “But Tharama is scared of Autumn. Autumn can’t be scared of me-” I stop thinking about it. Wait. Is he scared of me? Devanar seemed to catch on that I’m in my thoughts, staying quiet as we walk. For some reason it makes sense. Why didn't he want to be alone with me, always giving me attitude? He's like a scared little puppy.
    “What are you smiling about?” Devanar asks with a smirk.
    “Aw nothing, man. Just thinking.” He rolls his eyes with an enthusiastic nod. The sky started to get darker. I didn’t realize how long today went by. “We should take shelter. The cave we stayed at is behind us and I’m guessing the shelter is as well?”
    “No no, it’s up this way.” I follow him, seeing a small little hut covered behind the trees up ahead. I’m impressed they could find a spot like this in the middle of nowhere. I closed the door behind me, surprised I couldn’t smell the dead bodies. He must’ve guessed what I was thinking. “They’re far from here, I had Mykren dump them somewhere.'' I nod with understanding. I call dibs on the bed to the left, dropping all my bags and supplies to the side. Sleeping on the rocky ground is not as comfortable as it sounds.
    “Are you cooking? I can go hunt.” I suggest but he waves me off, taking out a furry squirrel and rabbit. I’m impressed. He starts skinning them, heating up his hands with small flames when ready. “Tomorrow’s going to be tough incase we find another object. We need to prepare mentally and physically for this.” He nods.
    “We can’t worry about the others. I have pallets and healing supplies at the hut they can use. Tharama will help them if they need it. Let’s just finish this task quickly so we can go back home.” I agree. After what happened today, I’m not sure how long we’re gonna take to do another task. I might close off offers until we’re ready.
    Devanar throws me one of the cooked animals. My stomach growls impatiently but I want to savor the taste. “Today was a long day.” I start. I can see him nod, feasting on his meal as well. The candles he lit shifted with the wind. I finish; eyeing the bones. “Should we keep them?” He shrugs saying it’s up to me. We could get some bread out of it but we’d have to hold onto it. “Nah, just throw them out.” I said before tossing the small pieces out the slightly opened window. I get up to change. Devanar decides to do the same. His muscular frame is lined with scars on his back.  I think he was a slave before he found me again. Probably a healer for an owner, not even surprised at how much trauma he’s experienced. I always wondered if he could heal his scars but never got the chance to ask. I never asked about it, not wanting to offend him and he never offered information on it either.
    He leaves his shirt off to sleep, his leather necklace showing against his collar bone. A small amulet sat on the base of his neck, resting through the leather. The relic was in the shape of a golden ball with a red spark in the middle, small but so it can’t be broken easily.  On his left ribs shows his Spirit symbol of flame inside a circle. It’s small but matching on Myrkren somewhere along his body. He tightens the waistband of his loose linen pants. They were tinted brown but in the dark they look almost black like his skin. He glances up at me with amusement in his eyes. “Like what you see?” He smirkes.
    “Shut up,” I mumble with a grin. The blankets aren’t thick but they're enough to warm me up against the cold. I closed my eyes after Devanar volunteered to take the first watch. His eyes staring above at the ceiling as he lay in the bed across the room.
    My sleep wasn’t the worst but I didn’t get any rest. My eyes felt like they were open the whole time and I felt alert all night. By the time Devanar woke me up to switch, I wasn’t tired or anything. I watched outside, only hearing howls and noises far away. When I heard it close it was only small rodents.
    I woke Devanar up when the sun did. Since we already ate, my stomach was at ease. I wish we could stay here for a while but I know we have to keep moving. “Keep your mask on, we’ll be close to the walls. Did anyone notice you?”
    “We took care of it.” He said, pulling on his belt to hold up his possessions and sword. “You?”
    “A ghoul but same here.” I start to pack up my stuff like I usually do starting with the vest that I tie around. “Do you think we’ll need anything?” I ask while my eyes scan around the small room. If we bring the food it might attract others, but there are some knives that caught my interest. I move over to the counter. Picking up the knife there were three. A gold bottom with a silver point. “Devanar.. Who did you say was in the hut when you found it?”
    “I don’t know, some old couple that weren't that important.” He shrugs, coming over to me without a care in the world. “Why does it matter?”
    “This has a royal symbol for the Raziel Kingdom. They are the most powerful of the Four Kingdoms with their numbers and minds. I think you just killed one of them.” I told him. He gave me an odd face as if asking why it mattered. “If they find out we killed them, they might go to war with The Other.”
    “Why should we care? The Other can care for itself.” He tsked and walked out still shirtless. I notice Mykren’s shared symbol lay flat on the center of his back. Spirits and their masters both have a symbol pair. I feel the paranoia of the burn on my lower back. I rolled my eyes, going out after him. He stared up at the sky with wide eyes. I wanted to ask what he was looking at until I met his eyes. Sat on the clouds, this massive sky-island stood there. I could see small islands around it and high up over the clouds. I didn’t realize how close we were to the kingdom. From the ride on Mykren I couldn’t see it because it was too dark. “Shit..” He mumbled. We couldn’t see the kingdom walls on the ground because that’s the Raziel Kingdom of Wind and Air.
    I’ve read about Queen Elora, leader of all the Four Kingdoms and closest to The Other. DarkWood should be east of here, thinking about it makes me nauseous. “I don’t think there’s an object here, we should get going.” I quickly said, pulling my mask over my face. Devanar did the same.
    “I told Mykren to scout the area, if he senses a heavy energy source he’ll notify me. We should stick around until we know for sure.” I nod. Glancing back up at the Kingdom I regained my composure. There’s no reason to freight, if Devanar isn’t scared I shouldn’t be either. I’m the leader, I should act like it.
    “Let’s search the walls, if the magic wand doesn't count then it has to be closer.” I took the lead, having him follow behind me. I unsheathed my black sword, staying clear of any monsters or unwanted individuals. I heard voices up ahead, raising my hand up to notify him that I'm slowing down our walking pace.
I tried to listen in but the horses they were riding on galloped away. “Did Myrken say anything?” I ask him, keeping an eye out for any more people.
“No, nothing picked up around here. We should try the Kingdoms up North but they might take a few days on foot. I’ll call my dragon.” I couldn't protest, the faster we get done the better. I take this time to take off the wrap on my arm, seeing the pills have already healed it completely. I toss it away, glancing at Devenar’s leg where it was stabbed, seeing a small mark instead of a deep wound.
It wasn’t a long wait. When I heard the wings I immediately thought it was a Spirit from Raviel, but when I saw the red scales I felt relieved. Devanar grinned at the creature as if they haven’t seen each other in forever. “He says they made it back safely and Tharama’s taking care of the both of them.” He runs up to his Spirit, Grabbing his nuzzle as the dragon leans down. Devanar presses his forehead against him, breathing in the fiery scent.
I follow behind, “Thank you for bringing me here.” I said to the dragon, forgetting I haven’t thanked him yet. I climbed up his side, waiting. Devanar came up after, taking a seat right on the base of his neck. I sheath my sword, he just gripped his harder. The wind knocks me but I stay on, grabbing the spike just like before. He guides us into the clouds away from the Kingdom, I’m not surprised if we see any sky creatures. I do see faint wind spirits, females gliding in the wind. Hard to see but can barely make out.
“Have you ever fallen in love?” I ask him from behind. I’m not sure what led to the conversation but seeing the females make me wonder.
“That was sudden.” He laughs. He turns around to get a glimpse of my face. I turned to him as well. “With one of them?” He gestures. “Their nymphs, I’m sure everyone has.” I’m not sure what he meant but I didn’t ask about it again. I’ve seen nymphs before, nature ones from DarkWood. I’m sure every Kingdom has one but The Other. We just have the undead and free-roamed skullers that can’t shift. “Why, have you?” I didn’t even hear him.
“No.” I spoke through the wind. “It’s too dangerous.” I smiled. He shook his head with a grin. I’m guessing we’ll be here for a while in the skies. Every Kingdom is spaced out. The No-Lands is a massive place between each of the walls. My eyes started to tire but I needed to stay up.
“Sleep, it’s going to be a long journey.” I wanted to fight it but I only sighed and leaned against the spike, hugging it so I wouldn't fall off. I listen to his suggestion, closing my eyes and dozing off to the slumber zone.
The dragon’s heated skin warmed me up against the cold wind. I was still tired when I woke up. I yawned and eyed my surroundings, it’s been a while since I was this far in. “Do you know what part we’re in?”
“That lake looks like Wallow Stream. There’s a lot of game here to hunt, tonight hunting should be fun.” It’s good to look forward to tonight. I lean over the side, the trees moving to make room for the huge creatures hidden under the leaves. I look around from the height I’m sitting at. All the way in the distance from here, the plants started turning white, covered with frost like a barrier. The clouds were snowing all around it. The mountains stood tall and carried past the kingdom for who knows how long. I knew it was the Ivery Kingdom from the castle rising up between two mountain peaks. It’s already been half the day, only so much time before the sun sets again.
“We should land,” I suggested. He didn’t say anything but the creature willed to my suggestion, going straight for the ground. I held my breath never getting used to it and the fact I’ve been on this dragon twice so soon already, amazes me.
As Mykren bows down to the floor, the leaves crunch under my feet as I jump down. My sword is already in my hand as I wait for Devanar to follow. Once he hits the ground, Mykren’s wings spread and he’s off. “So much for backup.” I mumble.
He scoffs. “You’ll be strong, big boy. I’m here if you're scared.” I roll my eyes, relaxing against the dark. The leaves hid us from the sun, but my body can make out different areas of mass. The trees also whisper in my ears, warning me. The deeper I’m into the forest the more nature calls.
“Wallow Stream is that way, correct?” I pointed right. He nodded with an eyebrow raised. “The next two objects are a witch's bottle and a demon's pearl. Pearls come from water, we should follow the stream as close as it can get towards the castle and see if it has a magical power to it. The last two objects both had light magic to them so we should expect the same. The protector’s all had dark magic though so it might be a dangerous fight.”
“So we should be careful.” He concluded.
I start walking to where the water should be, I could feel the dirt from under me softening as we continue walking. “We should be close.” The sound of soft drops of water in a pool makes me quicken my pace. I start running, feeling the same thing I felt back in the cave, some source of magnitude trying to pull me in.
“Slow down!” Devanar called out, I hadn't even realized I was sprinting. I stopped at the shore line, rocks on either side with black sand touching the water. Standing on top of the see-through liquid was a transparent man in a cloak-like dress. The sleeves were long and his hair was braided down his back with loose strands on either side of his face. He turned to face us, he was beautiful. Devanar caught up to me, eyes searching. “What are you staring at?” He asked me.
“You don’t see the man?” I asked. He shook his head. I turned back to the spirit but he was gone. I stared down into the water, a bulb of light sinking down into the deep. “That way, that’s where the pearl is.” I pointed.
“You think I can hold my breath that far? And I thought we were going to walk closer to the palace.” I shook my head. I just know that it’s down there. The water started shifting. On the surface it started going crazy, splashing against each other. Suddenly it formed a huge wave, speeding North.
“Hurry! We have to follow it!” I shouted, after sheathing my sword my feet worked on their own. I didn’t look back to see if he was following, I just know that the pearl is where it’s leading us. The energy I felt is being dragged away. “Don’t you feel it?” I asked when I saw him next to me, matching my pace.
“You must be right about this.” He said, trying to focus on not tripping. I jumped over a boulder, trying not to lose the water. I lost my breath half-way through and my legs were giving out. Devanar probably felt the same, I could hear his breathing quicken. I was about to slow down until the warm water surrounded me and scooped me down into its mouth from the land. I tried to hold my breath but when I opened my eyes I saw an air bubble over my head from my neck up. I turned through the water, Devanar was near me as confused as I was. The wave on top still traveled North, bringing us with it. The spirit I saw flew in and out of my vision, my naked eye couldn’t keep up with him but he always gave me the same warm smile. I finally couldn’t take it anymore, so I took a giant inhale. I was surprised when I found out I could breathe.
“What’s happening?” I called out to Devanar. He tried shouting back but his voice was covered. He was trying to swim to me but the water prevented him from doing so, only flipping him from the current. “Don’t fight it.” I tried calling out to him once more. I made out a little of what he was saying when he shouted louder than before.
‘Favor Spirit!’ I thought I heard. But don’t those spirits come with a price? Before I had time to think about it we were hurled downward. It was worse than riding Mykren, my stomach started coming up my neck, I had to hold my mouth to not throw up in my little bubble. The rock walls on my right came dangerously close to me. Devanar was dragged toward me, nearly knocking me over. That’s when I noticed something. “Your ax!” I shouted with my eyebrows raised from concern.
He immediately looked down to his hand before looking back up to the surface trying to find it but we were being dragged further down. I could tell he longed for the ax, but he still had the crystals. If we can get another, then we can still use the magic just like we did with that one.
The light from the sun couldn’t reach this far down, instead these neon plants were the only source. But the energy was getting greater and greater. The pearl has to be here. My stomach finally went to ease when the floor hit the bottom of my feet. I glanced up and the current slowly fades into normalness. It was like My feet weighed more than they were because I lifted my foot and it seemed heavy. It was easy though but it’s probably so I can walk. I walked toward Devanar, the bubbles around our heads were still there.
“You can use your sword,” I pointed to it.
“The stupid water.” He mumbled. For some reason I heard it perfectly. The huge mass of water probably had something to do with the sound of our voices but now that it’s gone we can hear each other. “I can’t use my fire down here and you probably can’t use your earth.”
“We can still fight. We’re not entirely hopeless.” He scoffs, unsheathing his sword. I do the same. I turn back around. “The energy feels strongest there.” I point ahead. I can feel an evil substance nearby but at the same time it feels all around us. I take a breath and start my way over there.
“What creature guards a pearl in the books?” He asks knowing damn well my nose is always stuffed in the pages when I’m alone.
“Water serpents. And usually pearls are either the size of a pebble to the size of a mini boulder. The dragon usually keeps it in it’s mouth or hugs it to it’s chest while it’s tail is wrapped around. The creature’s are also followed by mermaids and mermen as protectors so this should be a fun experience if it’s true.” I say sarcastically.
“Sounds fun.” He adds on. I grin.
As we get closer I can feel the dark magic from outside. The rock walls create a trench in front of us. Seaweed swayed from the current, and no other live present. The only way in is here, at the entrance.
“After you.” He says, poking me gently with the tip of his sword.
“Ow.” I said with an annoyed facial expression. He puts his hands up with a smirk. I roll my eyes and let the coldness of the water surround me. Soon we were deep into the trench, the soft neon blue glow dimmed because the plants decreased or closed when we approached. I’m not sure how much oxygen is in these bubbles but I’m hoping there’s enough.
I heard a soft rumble up ahead. I glanced at Devanar but he was already looking at me with the same face I had. As we got closer the rumbling got louder and the pull got stronger. Soon we heard weird animal-like noises, they were high pitched and unnatural. I looked up seeing a group of sharks but as my eyes adjusted they weren’t sharks.
Their skin was dark grey, hardened and rigid to match the walls of the trench. The neon blue were designed down their fins and arms. One spotted me, calling out to the others. Her hair was long, moving with the water. She had webbed hands, cat-like eyes and scales along her skin.
I cursed under my breath, they had spears in their hands that they threw like javalines. I couldn’t swim with one free hand but I had to try before getting impaled. I snapped the sticks with my sword, cutting them in half but the sea creatures didn’t seem worried. One came up from right above me, trying to stab me with her tail but I slashed her with my blade.
The others kept coming, Devanar was pushed back against the wall, slicing everyone that got close. Eventually I was the same way, the wind got knocked out of me as I was slapped to the wall. The spear landed next to my head, I used it to kick me off and swing my blade right into the last mermaid. The sweat I was releasing was mixed into the freshwater around me. And they say freshwater creatures are safer than the seawater ones. Glad I don’t have to meet those devils.
I let my weight sink me down, gaining my composure once more. I have a few slash marks, watching the blood trail upward. The bleeding should stop soon. For some reason they targeted Devanar more than me, he had deeper cuts than me. But his relic was already healing him.
“What was that? A warm-up? Where’s the real fight?” He said annoyed as he walked by my side.
“Don’t get your hopes up. There’s probably a lot more mermaids than we think. That was such a small group, imagine a big one.” He nibbles his bottom lip as he looks around. In the distance the two walls connected into a dead end. Sat at the base looked like a fifty foot long snake with long flabby scales down it’s back to its tail. It’s scales were shimmery against the plants all along the wall behind it. I could tell it was sleeping, but I couldn’t see the pearl. It must be underneath. I kicked off the floor, swimming upward to see if I could find it.
“Be careful!” Devanar tells me, I wave him off as I continue to swim. The creature was wrapped around like a snake, it’s head was like a dragons with a crown of webbed spikes. It’s mouth has an extra set of skin after it’s mouth ends so it can open it even wider. The wall behind it had small openings and I realized those weren’t the plants. The whole family of fish people were there sleeping along with the serpent.
I quickly swam down to Devanar telling him what I saw. He cursed. “How are we gonna get the fucking pearl without getting ourselves killed?” He sighs trying to come up with a plan in his head.
“A distraction? I can try to see if there’s any other huge creatures living in the stream and try to bring them here?” I suggested, my feet touching the floor once again.
“Yea let’s see a giant eel and serpent fight while we try not to get killed by a whole army of mermaids.” He said sarcastically.
“Hey, you might be onto something. Maybe I can find that favor spirit and-” The moment I said I was going to look for him his face appeared in the water next to me. I flinched when my eyes adjusted.
“Now that he’s here, why don’t we ask him for the pearl?” Devanar said, but the spirit shook his head. “Too big of a task, huh? Damn. Well call over an eel to beat the hell out of the serpent and we’ll do the rest, how about that.”
I turned back to the man and his hand was pointing somewhere on me. I looked down and saw where he was pointing. The three knives from the hut we stayed at last night. I took one out, trading it for the eel. Once he took hold of it, it faded with him slowly disappearing.
“Let’s get closer. We don’t want to swim that far when the eel comes.” He nodded following me as we hid behind a crevasse in the wall. It wasn’t long til we heard high-pitched rapid clicking noises from the entrance of the trench. The walls shook as if the creature was running into them, the noise echoed in waves. I glance at Devanar before turning back to the darkness. The light from the mermaids let us see the huge and scary looking face of the eel. It was a lot bigger than I thought. It’s mouth could eat half of the serpents face off.
The scream of the serpent was more ear-bleeding. It was a roar-like call. It’s body wrapped around itself, protecting the object under it. The mermaids woke to the noise, not taking a second to comprehend as they started throwing their spears at the eel, going after it. They were too busy to see us, my eyes were locked on to the area under the serpent, trying to find the glow of the pearl.
I heard a crash when the eel bit onto the serpent's neck, trying to drag it away. I snapped my eyes to the light, the pearl wasn’t as big as I’d thought but it was a decent size. It sat on a bowled rock, the serpent trying its hardest to stay on top of it.
“Bingo,” I heard Devanar say next to me. I was about to swim over the crevasse but the serpent got free and covered the pearl once again. I heard him groan out of annoyance. “Next time we see the thing, we swim as hard as we can, got it?” I nod, sheathing my sword so I can swim faster, he did the same.
The serpent lunged at the eel, finally realizing it didn't want the pearl and just to kill him. We took that chance, kicking off the wall and swimming as fast as we could to the pearl. One of the mermaids saw us and made an animal-like noise but it was too late, my arms wrapped around the object hugging it to my chest. It was the size of a shot-put in the Kingdom festival’s games, a little bigger than my hand and heavy. The glow dimmed but it was still pretty strong, and the energy was still trying to pull me to it even though it’s resting in my arms.
Like the other two objects, the walls started caving in, giant cracks appeared and they started crumbling. We were at the bottom so I started panicking. The serpent and eel were too preoccupied and the mermaids and mermen were swimming away leaving us with the pearl about to get crushed to our deaths.
“C’mon!” I said to Devanar. I didn’t see them at first but there are these air bubbles on the ground. They shot up occasionally and the push was strong. The moment we went on top it shot up from under us. The air bubble around my head popped and I had to close my eyes and hold my breath against the water. I’m guessing his did too but I couldn’t see. The wave from the impact of the walls also helped us speed toward the surface. We broke into the air, flying above the trees. I quickly willed the nearest branch to grab up as we get dragged to the tree itself. I made sure to hold the pearl but I coughed out the water from my lungs.
I could almost hear the roar of the serpent as it realized we stole its most prized possession. I breathed heavily, wiping my eyes, my dark brown hair that turned black from the water, covered them partially. I’m wet and cold as hell.
Devanar’s golden brown eyes were tired and I could tell. He looked at the pearl, reaching for it. I gave it to him as he looked around it. “This god damn pearl. Why did those trolls ask for such dangerous objects? It makes me wonder what they're going to use them for.”
“And it’s none of our business.” I said, leaning up against the bark of the tree. As he held the object I could see the soft symbol.
“Still. We risked our lives for these things. Pylah’s hair and sanity, my ax, we can at least know a little.” He said, copying my position next to me. He was out of breath too but was annoyed so he talked fast.
“We’re not done yet. We still need the witch's bottle.” I closed my eyes, trying to gain my strength back.
“If there are four objects with the symbol, imagine how many more there are.” He said quietly. I don’t know why he’s so interested in the objects, and why the trolls need them. To me it’s just for the money I don’t really need. It’s so that we can get out here and see the world we missed.
“We’re too close to the wall.” I said, just noticing I could see the barrier from here. The stream slowly turned to ice up ahead. “We should get going.” I concluded as I climbed down the tree. I held my arms out as he tossed the pearl to me, I caught it and waited for him to climb down as well. We crossed the stream on a rock walkway south from where we were. Ivory and Lylerkry are the most North of the Four Kingdoms. We shouldn’t go any further North than this.
We start heading East, hoping to find shelter. It was hours until we found a small house between some trees. It looked abandoned so I waved him over. Our swords were in our hands at the same time, I went first, slamming the door open and checking the rooms. It was just like I thought, the whole place was dusty and not a single sign of life. I stripped myself in one of the rooms. Everything I carried was soaked. I checked the cabinets of the room, finding old clothing and old swords. I actually found a staff, probably someone's relic before they passed. But the staff looks broken, no wonder no one uses things like those anymore.
I put on some new clothes, setting my other ones in the sun by the window. I head outside of the room, going to the main one. I hear the door open from next to me. Devanar comes out with his usual no shirt and pants. I think I’m the only one who's seen his backside aside from Pylah. I was gonna ask him if he was hungry until the main door opened and our masks were off.