Windborough Venturers Volume 1 Astral-Touched

Sketch 11 The Cancer Gem

Arista's POV

I feel like I may have done something wrong. But..I shouldn't be. I was just being honest. Besides, I have my own mission to accomplish. Though, I never would've expected to be face to face with a Lycaon with a sour look on his face.

"What," I spoke up in an angry tone. "Just say what you have to say. It won't change anything."

"Actually..it will," Lucius countered, trying to remain calm. "Please come with me."

"Ugh. Fine. Whatever."

I reluctantly followed him to a large, two-floor house. There were two sets of windows, one in each side, on both the top and bottom of the building. And what threw me off is the fact that it's made out of andesite and spruce wood. Talk about old fashioned. When he brought me inside, I looked around to see the interior filled various plants and herbs. There was an animal pelt of some kind, I couldn't tell what it was. Probably a bear or something.

But there was a really nice set of furniture. They were all made of polished spruce wood. But there was a cute silver colored tablecloth laying on the table in the dining room with a bunch of white roses in a vase glowing in the moonlight. They must've been transferred from Ashcrest.

Lucius finally spoke up, bringing me back to my senses. "Arista, for someone who is from Librarium, you don't seem like the type of person to analyze your current situation."

"What the bullseye does that mean?" I shouted, demanding answers.

Lucius however remained firm and calm while continuing. "We have many rules here on Moonshade. However, there is one specific rule that EVERY Lycaon follows, whether if they're living here or elsewhere; We respect ALL members of our pack.

"You see, our ancestors were taught this rule by our moon goddess, Amaya one hundred and fifty years ago. Back then, our tribe acted like nothing but beasts. We hunted and killed to survive. However, over time we've learned to hunt like normal Aerobians and we felt as if our humanity was slowly returning to us.

"As a way to thank her, we promised to protect her gem until the time came for her to mark someone as her warrior. That is why we chose a new Chief every 20 years. To guard the Cancer Gem."

When I heard "Cancer Gem", my eyes glistened with excitement. I had to get my hands on it. It'll be worth a fortune!

We finally arrived at some sort of basement floor and took me to a dark brown wooden door. When he opened it, it led to a small room filled with only a couple of bookshelves of books and scrolls and at least six huge barrels. Standing in the very middle of this room was a big low table made of polished oak wood. And sitting on top of that is a small wooden chest with a silver lock.

Lucius went over to it, took out a silver key with a few blue rhinestones and unlocked it. He then turned and showed me a pearl colored gemstone with the Cancer symbol, two lines with a circle on opposite ends of each other, in a beautiful coral color. That is the Cancer Gem!

"Give me that," I finally pressured. "It's worth a huge amount of money!"

Lucius didn't do it though. Instead, he closed and locked the chest back up before he set it back down on the table.

"Hey!" I shouted. But he turned and gave me a suspicious look that pierced through my soul. "Why would you want to sell it? Especially since Noir Galaxy X is after this."

"Who?"

He finally sighed. "Noir Galaxy X. They are an evil organization that use corrupted Estella magic. They want to get their hands on all twelve Zodiac Gems for their own evil purpose, to bring about another war against and take over all of Windborough. No matter what, we Lycaons cannot let this Gem fall into their grasp."

Hearing all of this has left me in a shocked state. To think that those gems are that powerful and special that this organization would be after them.. I took out my own Virgo Gem and just stared at it with worry.

As I glimpsed at my reflection inside the amethyst colored abyss beneath the navy blue Virgo symbol, I began to doubt myself for my greed for money and for saying that pretty awful thing to Sora. I actually felt the need to actually apologize to her.

Suddenly, we heard screams from outside and hurried out to see through the window a large dragon made of bronze metal and silver gears! Its eyes were the color of a ruby and its roar was loud and almost robotic.

When I took a closer look, I realized that there was a man riding on its back. He had dark lime green hair ties in a ponytail, eyes as red as fire and he had jagged teeth. There's no doubt about it. He must be after the Cancer Gem!

Leaving this one on a cliffhanger but I'm having so much fun writing this. I can't wait to see how this battle will turn out.

Blackxinfinity