Beyonders: A World Without Heroes or Heroines (ON HOLD)

Chapter 10-Titan Crabs?

Disclaimer: I own nothing except Alexis and her backstory. Everything else belongs to Brandon Mull, the author.

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My feet barely touched the rocky bottom of the river. I was stunned momentarily from the shock before I started to swim up to the surface. My head broke the surface and I gasped for breath. A huge wave crashed over my head. It forced me under the water as I took a large gulp of air. I broke the surface again and I began swimming breaststroke towards the base of the cliff where I barely made out a hole in the rock.

I used the momentum of the waves to push me into the mouth of the cave as I swam. I grasped onto a rock jutting out of the wall of the cave. I held onto the rock as the wave withdrew from the mouth of the cave.

I let go of the rock and swam fiercely down the cave tunnel. The cave tunnel had dark mossy walls lined with seaweed and large cracks. I avoided sharp rocks that stuck up out of the water that waited for some unsuspecting swimmer to impale themselves on the sharp jagged edges.

The water levels seemed to slowly decrease the farther I swam. Soon I reached a point where I didn't even have to swim anymore. I just waded through the water. I looked up to see a ledge that is about ten feet above sea level which meant I had to climb.

I grabbed onto wall where there were small rocks jutting out of the wall like handholds. I grabbed on and began to climb up. I tried not to loose my grip in the semi-dark tunnel. Finally I made it to the top. At first glance, I thought there's no one here but then I noticed a man sitting cross legged with his back to the cave wall.

'He's either asleep or dead'

I saw that the man's chest moved up and down. I sighed in relief. I didn't want to have to deal with another dead body. I realized the man was actually awake and was actually staring right at me.

'Nope. Not dead. Definitely not dead'

The cave light is a pale green and made the cave look a lot creepier than it actually was. It actually kind of reminded me of how the Slytherin common room is described in the Harry Potter books.

I stepped forward and immediately feeling awkward. "Um, hello." The man said nothing. It seemed like we have a bit of a staring contest. I lost. I wasn't much of a fan of not blinking. I looked down at the floor before I looked back up at the man with a greying beard. "I need help finding the word." I stated.

The man nodded silently. "My name is Jugard." The man introduced himself as. "I was sent by Galloran." The man's eyes widened in recognition so I added. "He said you helped him before."

"Yes. A long time ago."

"So can you help me find the Word to destroy Maldor?" I asked yet again.

Jugard didn't reply. In fact he didn't say anything at all. Jugard just stared at me in silence. I sat down on the ground across from Jugard Indian style. I closed my eyes and thought of anything that might help me get the rest of my memory back. I just got the feeling that I do dangerous stuff like cliff diving all the time. Maybe I liked anything fast and crazy until the point where it was just downright stupid.

Some time later, I didn't know how long, Jugard spoke up. "Most cannot withstand the silence. Silence reveals much. For your silence I will give you the next syllable. The fourth is 'en'. The next syllable lies in Trensicourt with a man named Nicholas."

I nodded. "Thank you. Uh, quick question. How do I get back on top of the cliffs?" I looked around the room for a way out or a staircase or something. I found nothing.