Aurora is an 18 year old young woman from New York, New York. She visits a store on 37th street and is given a book that sends her spiraling into the darkness. She never reads the book and it just drives her insane. She discovers that she has the ab...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
"Where do you think she's taking us?" "I don't know. Keep your eyes peeled." We glide through the air and comes to a stop. Below us is a brown hut. There is an opening on the roof of the hut. The cage hovers above the roof. We dangle for a few minutes. "What the hell?" Then the bottom of the cage opens and drops us in the hut. We fall into a dark room. We brush ourselves off and stand to our feet. Shelves a weird jars stand around us. There is this one shelf that is the most peculiar. It has rows of large jars filled with bright green goo. I have no clue what it is or how she got it. Different animals are locked inside cages around the room. To the left of us are a few canaries. To our right is z couple of frogs. A few snakes hiss above us. All are in cages thank God.
"Let's go into the room up ahead. And stay cool." Helena grabs my arm and silently says, "What if we're walking into a trap Cara?" "Well the only entrance is forward. We just got out of a cage, so I doubt it's another trap. She would've left us in the cage. Now, let's see what's going on." We slowly pace forward and opens the only door. It makes an "errrr" sound. The noise startles the animals. We walk through and Mordecai closes the door behind us. The room has giant brown bear skins everywhere. A black cauldron sits over the fireplace boiling and steaming. There's a Black Panther rug in the middle of the floor. A small circular table sits off to the side near a freshly lit fireplace. The front door opens slowly. The old woman walks in with her staff tapping the floor slowly. Her staff makes a "tuh tuh tuh" sound. Behind her is one of the monkeys that chased us earlier.
He screeches and gets aggressive. We lay our hands in front of us in order to let him know we come in peace. The woman says, "Oh hush you old monkey. Go keep watch and make yourself useful." She ends up standing in front of us. "Well don't just stand there. Sit down." We walk over to the table and sit down taking in our surroundings. She pulls a chair over to the fireplace. The chair is made out of what seems to be deer antlers. She takes a wooden spoon and begins stirring the mysterious contents of the cauldron. We all gaze at each other and she begins to speak.
"One of you asked me who am I. I am Viskah. I have lived here for quite some time. I haven't seen another soul in what seems like ages. You may wonder why someone would want to live here. Well three years ago, I lived in the kingdom of Valero. I wasn't quite fond of the king and queen: King John I and Queen Aphrotie. They weren't bad people, but I didn't like the kingdom. Anyways, one day I was walking down the street and a group of men and women approached me. They shouted, "You must go. You and your weird habits don't belong here. Leave. Leave you witch!" They convicted me of witchcraft. Anyone in Valero convicted of witchcraft was subject to hanging. My appearance gave them the wrong idea. I am no witch, I just happen to know certain things. I do certain things for certain reasons. People, they never learn to stay out of others businesses.
I decided to escape Valero and find somewhere to be alone. That when I stumbled across this house. Which brings me to the question of why you're here. I know that you seek someone. There is no other reason you'd come here. You came at a good time. At night, the real scary creatures come out. The forest is silent during the day, but comes alive at night." She looks over her shoulder again. "Now. I ask again, whom do you seek?" I look at Helena and Mordecai and place my hands on the table. "I'm looking for a woman named Amoura. I was sent by Queen Aurora to find her. Do you know of whom I speak?" She places the spoon in its holder, stands up, and creeps over to me hunched over.
She cocks her head side to side and asks, "Amoura? What does a queen want with Amoura? I sense that this queen is inhuman. Her name gives me chills for some reason. She has done the unthinkable I sense." "Queen Aurora is of the evil sorts. Before sending me on this quest, she locked me and her mother in the dungeons for months. She killed innocent people in front of the entire kingdom. I have no clue what she wants with Amoura. I do know that if I receive Amoura for her, I will gain my freedom. She walks close to me and talks so that I understand every word she says.
"I know that you are the root of the queen's pain. I don't to know exactly what you did child, but you have sparked something that darkens these lands. You are a determined individual. I can sense a want to redeem yourself. Deep down, you know that you are the cause of this. You have a kindred spirit child." I stand up and address her in a stern tone. "Listen. I know what I did. I can't take away her pain and I can't reverse what has been done. I have no interest in hearing about something I already know Viskah. So I'll only ask one more time. Do you know of Amoura? And if so, where is she?"
Viskah backs away and walks over to a small cupboard. Inside the cabinet are several old scrolls rolled up. She looks at me and grabs one from the bottom shelf. She paces over towards the table and lets the scroll roll out in front of us. Her overgrown nails pat down the sides to keep it down. It's clearly some type of map. The paper is cream colored and old. She lets her staff lean on the table and starts to speak. "I have met Amoura one time. She passed through here a few months ago. She was a very beautiful woman with red hair and red eyes to match. She was searching for somewhere to escape just as I. I gave her a scroll such as this one to send her on her way. Listen carefully. If you skip a step or go the wrong way, you will never find Amoura, because you'll be dead." We all look at each other with big eyes.
"You will first have to make your way to the Gap of Chabad. Go through the middle, not around. As you can see on the paper, once you head out of here, head straight. A chain of caves will appear. Each one vast and empty. Do not speak or make any noise while in the caves. You might attract the creatures that lurk in its shadows. The gap will be dark and narrow. I will give you candles to light the way. Use them wisely. They're the only things that will keep away the giant bugs that lurk in its shadows. If you run out of candles, you run out of time.
Your next task will be to cross the Bridge of Umar. This bridge is older than time itself. It was created by the Mongols. Many died building it. Too much weight will cause it to crumble underneath your very feet. You shall go across it one at a time, lightest to heaviest. The bridge is very long and will take time to cross. Be careful not to make any noise here either. For there is more than just empty dark crevices that are plenty. Your last place to travel is here." She slides her hands over the paper and lands her overgrown nails on a waterway. "This is the Land of the Dead." We all sit back and feel a sense of fright come over us. "The name means just what it sounds like. Bones covers the grounds. Do not step on them." She peers at each of us. "In the Land of the Dead lies a dragon. Its name is Veyon. He has been around since the age of Merlin. Move through carefully. If you wake the dragon, you will no longer walk as the living."
We look at her not saying a word. Viskah hands me the map. "Guard this with your life Cara. You will all leave at first light, that's the safest time to exit this place. You can sleep on the floors. That's all I can offer you." "Thank you Viskah." Mordecai and Helena nod their heads. Viskah murmurs and walks to the room we entered and closes the door."We have to finish this. I have to find Amoura and return to Denmar. We must succeed. I look at Helena and say with such confidence as I sit at the table, "I will return you back to Garrett in Avero. We will complete this mission. We will make it back."
