Norikai: Destiny Foretold

Chapter 5: Markone Palace

By the end of the next day, they had arrived at the Markone Palace. The place was made from solid white marble on the outside. There were towering pillars of stone on each side of the enormous doorway. Large steps led into the entrance and the roof high above was made from black stone. There were lit torches that lined the staircase.

"Should we go in?" Carlos asked while everyone admired the structure.

"It was built like a temple." Andrew said, "We should be on the lookout for traps meant to keep outsiders from getting in."

"You mean boobie-traps?" Jason snickered.

"Yes," Andrew sighed. "We'll split up into groups of two in order to explore quicker."

"I'm with Kendra!" Laura said.
"Me and you, Andrew." Jason walked to him.

"We're always a team." Karr and Conn said.

"That means I'm with Ava." Carlos seemed nervous.

"Yay!" Ava ran to him. "Let's go." They all entered into the palace. The first room was a large foyer with a large painting of a man with silver hair and a dragon behind him as a partner.

"The king's father." Conn told everyone as they looked. "He held both light and dark, and passed them on to his sons. Narius received light, as he was the elder son, and Darius gained darkness."

"He was a truly great king. He kept the peace for some 150 years." Karr said.

"How? He doesn't look that old." Laura asked.

"His father lived in an era of peace, but it took a great king like Archana to maintain the peace." Karr explained. "After his death, Narius was anointed king and tried to imitate his father but he was just a boy. He was only 10 years old."

"He's only been king for 5 years?" Laura asked.

"Yes, but his brother was his closest advisor until 3 years ago. That's when Darius grabbed the power of the throne and turned Narius into an outcast. The Sprite Mystics supported him and had the sanctuary built to protect those that also supported them." Conn told them, "Then a year later, you arrived and defeated Darius and restored order. Most people knew he was not the rightful king, they just did not want to fight him because they were afraid."

"Now, we have to stop the venceel from attacking the people of Norikai, right?" Carlos tried to sum it all up.
"Yes," Ava said, "This is the mission I have accepted." She smiled.

"Okay," Andrew spoke, "Now let's get going, we don't have all day." The party split up and searched the palace.

Jason and Andrew headed down one hallway. It seemed to be the lodging area. There were many rooms on each side of the hall each with a bed, a desk, and a small oil lamp. There were no windows. "That's kinda creepy." Andrew shuddered but they continued to walk. They eventually came to a large room with rows of benches surrounding the center. There was an enormous skylight above the middle of the room where the benches were facing. On the floor below, a strange mark was carved into the floor. It resembled the sun with many rays surrounding it. An orange orb glowed faintly under the floor.

"Woah," Jason was intrigued. "That looks awesome. Let's get it out."

"I'm not sure how we would." Andrew looked closely at the orb.

"Then allow me." A girl's voice called. Andrew and Jason looked at each other then looked up. They saw a girl about their age. She was shorter than the both of them. Her black hair reached down to her lower back with purple at the end. She wore blue jeans and a gray t-shirt. Over her shirt she had a black leather jacket that reached to her waist. Her leather boots reached almost up to her knees. Her green eyes were looking straight at both of them. Her face was covered with freckles.