"Can we go already?" I ask Gwen, my best friend. She pushes back a strand of her wavy blonde hair.
"Just a minute. I have to find something." She responds. She is obsessed with the market and even though we grew up here, she can never get enough of it. We walk over to another stall.
We're here a lot because we're always trading and buying things for our families. Normally we trade treasure or other things we get from trips and adventures. Being an adventurer pays well. Gwen's parents have never been happy with her job choice but she always put food on the table. We learned how to survive.
"We have to meet up with the boys. It's almost six." I tell her while checking my satchel.
We quickly leave the market and walk to the square. The statue that is erected in the center can't be any more familiar. Harmony Blake, the person who founded Leytho; the town where nothing ever happens. Owen and Max are already waiting for us.
"Hey," Max says.
"Hey," I echo. "So, what did you find?"
"Oh yeah, we found a map of a cave. It's supposedly magical. Also, it's filled with gems and sarens." Owen explains.
Saren is the currency Leytho uses. Usually in coins but we have two paper bills. Fifty sarens and one hundred sarens, though you'll rarely see anyone using one let alone holding them. Owen smoothes back his messy red hair. He has freckles littered all over his face.
"So when are we going?" Gwen impatiently asks.
She taps her foot on the ground, bouncing. She's wearing an outfit meant for a rich person. But it doesn't seem out of place or wrong on her. It looks like it belongs on her. But not on me. Despite growing up just over poor, she's always had a rich type of aura to her. Not like there's anything wrong with that but all the other kids at school think she's pretentious and full of herself. If I hadn't grown up with her, I'd think the same. Not like I worship the air around her, no, I still think she's fallible but I'm not wishing for her downfall.
"Now," Max says. "Well, not now, we need supplies for the trip. We leave sundown."
"How about tomorrow?" I suggest.
"Why not today?" Gwen starts.
"It'll only take two minutes." Max coaxes.
"I doubt that," Owen says.
"Look, we leave tomorrow. That's it, that's all." I say.
"Fine," Max says.
"Whatever," Gwen says.
"Sure," Owen agrees.
"Fine, race you to the cliff." Gwen reluctantly agrees.
She runs off. She and Max have always dived in headfirst. Being level-headed isn't so easy. We follow her, trying to catch up. Warm fall air hits my face as I run after Gwen, laughing along with the birds. Flowers sit along the trees and squirrels relish in the fallen acorns.
The cliff that she just mentioned is where we all met. Gwen and I were looking for berries and the boys were goofing off. We were six. Unlike us, Owen and Max didn't need to work to support their families. Their parents always had enough to go around. Max had bumped into me while he was playing tag with Owen, sending berries everywhere. Owen profusely apologized. We've been inseparable ever since.
Gwen beat us there but I manage to get there second.
"You," I take a deep breath. "cheated." I get out, panting.
"No, I win." She corrects, smiling. The boys break through the foliage. "You excited? This will be the greatest adventure ever." She breaths.
"Yep!" I half-heartedly reply. The boys sit down with us, legs dangling off the edge. "What would happen if I jumped?" I ask as the silence has become a bit too suffocating. We all laugh, naming possibilities. We watch the sunset.
The next day, I hug my little sister and head out, carrying my heavy pack. Every- one else is waiting for me. Gwen is busy studying the map. She has also decided to wear white. For someone who's done this before, she should know not to wear white clothes but it's too late for her to change. Since I'm late, we can't afford to lose any more time so the second they notice me, we start immediately.
"Why did you pick the place that has the thickest jungle?" I complain.
"Two words for you: money and magic," Max says.
We stop to check the map as we reach a fork in the road. Neither side looks inviting but the left seems safer and right seems nightmare inducing. The map seems to favour the right as that's the fastest way to the cave. So we take a right despite the fact I think our souls are going to be stolen. It starts to rain. We should have checked the weather before we left. We stop and look for umbrellas. We have none since it's October so we continue walking.
"Watch out for mud," I warn.
"Nobody's going to slip in-" Gwen says. She gets cut off because she slips in, you guessed it, mud. "My shoes! My pants!" Gwen cries out. Told you.
I bend down to help her up and use leaves to wipe off some of the mud. I realize that we could use the reasonably large leaves as cover from the rain. We take some and use them as cover. They serve little use but they're better than nothing. We stop in front of a cave and walk in.
"Where are the gems?" Gwen asks as the cave is nearer than we thought.
"Let's keep walking," Owen suggests, unsure of himself. We step onto some cracked rock and fall through the floor. We all scream but it becomes quiet after seeing all the gold. The ground hurt like hex.
"The mud was worth it." Gwen resolves.
"Definitely," I say. We walk around, taking in all the gold, gems, and sarens. "This definitely feels magical but where's the actual magic?" I ask Max.
"I don't know. The map just showed us where the cave was." Max says.
"Guys!" Gwen yells. She was standing in front of a staff. It had a wood base with an unrecognizable gem.
"That looks cursed." Owen points out.
"Let's just stock up on saren and find a way out," Max suggests. Max is a daredevil so when he's scared of something, you know it's bad. We turn away but then a bright light bursts out and we all pass out.
A/N:
Thank you to everyone on YouTube who pushed me to publish this. I only hope you'll push through book one to get to book two. If you're not from YouTube then enjoy the ride!
I will publish every Monday and Thursday at around 2:45 EDT/ET
Quote of the Day:
Give me liberty or give me death! - Unknown
Sphinx <3
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Broken Promises
FantasyNever visit a magic cave! Gwen's learned her lesson. She and her best friends went to a magic cave. When she touched a cursed staff, she unknowingly set off a war. The staff was almost as powerful as Zeus himself, or rather Poseidon. When Gwen's lif...
