Immortality (Sequel to Apprentice)

Chapter 6: No time

Tia's POV

"What does this have to do with Mitch?" Liam asks rather sharply. I briskly turn to him, hovering in the air impatiently-everyone was taking far too long to catch up. "We'll have to see when we get there, won't we?" I reply, and begin to jog when I get to the edge of the forest. The cool breeze drifting off the waves blows softly on my face, the salty taste assaulting my tongue. The reassuring hiss of the ocean as it crashes onto the sand and begins bubbling and simmering as it is absorbed into the land is refreshing to my ears. 

Sure enough, the very spot where I turned to look at Ridge is a small stump of log, and on it rests a scroll wrapped with a thin red ribbin. I was wondering in the back of my mind why it hadn't been blown away but quickly dismiss the thought as I unwrap it. The group gathers round me as I read aloud the next clue.

Well done, you found the first clue without much difficulty, I expect? Anyway, I'm sure you are wondering why I brought you here. You were abducted from your home land. You don't remember anything before being dropped here on the boat, only that you were a vicious and violent passenger.

In truth, you were supposed to be taken to become a slave. But you were very...troublesome, as I can agree with, and you were soon ditched on this island. But what about your home land? Time for answers, I perhaps?

The land you were in was owned by me. It was part of Voxeltopia. You were born of a couple, whom shall remain anonymous for now. You grew up with a peaceful childhood and you were taught the basics of farming. However, I needed slaves oversees to work as spies. I personally picked you from the host of other young people. That's when I made you begin work to be an assassin, hense why you have always been curious as to why you were able to do certain things others couldn't, such as hide, and sneak. 

I then ordered my men to abduct you and take you away. You put up a fight. I left soon after that, giving you the name "Irene". It had a nice ring to it, and seemed to suit you better. However, the men on the ship made you work in the kitchens and you regularly brought them tea, hense why they shortened and twisted your name to make it Tia. You were fond of one of the women on the ship, she reminded you of your mother. She soon became your best friend until you were ditched. The men who were in charge of the ship were hanged soon after, and the woman? Well, that will become clear soon...

I was surprised to see you pop up after all these years. You loathed me even from a young age, hated the fact that your village was poorer just because I spent my money and time on bigger cities. You and Ridgedog were never meant to meet. He had met you once before when you were a child. He hadn't payed any attention to you. You'd given him a little charm, however, with a star on it. You wanted to show it off since it was the first good thing you'd made out of metal. He'd smiled at you and accepted it. He does not know that girl was you, yet he still has the charm.

Find the charm for the second clue.

I blinked as I read it over and over. Shutting my eyes, I think back. Think, think, think! And then my mind was a spiral as things began to flash into my mind...

The farm. A basic wheat farm. Pigs everywhere. Sat on a bench, talking to one of them. Grinning and giggling at nothing. Making a charm. Shyly handing to the stranger who had agreed to donate some money to the town. Watching him smile. Ridgedog. 

My mind snapped out of the trance as someone shakes my shoulder. "Tia? You OK?" Sky asks. I turn to face the group. "'M'fine." I mumble. Liam taps his foot impatiently on the ground. "Well? What are we waiting for? We need to find the second clue, c'mon!" he snaps. My expression sours and I turn to glare at him. Before I can bite back, Xephos steps in front and puts a hand on both of our chests, pushing us apart. "No fighting. There's no time for that. Come on, let's think. Where would the charm be?"

"In his room" I reply instantly. I take off into the air, and Deamon drops back a little. "What?" I snap, eager to get to the clue. "Just tired, that's all. Mexxy weakened the rest of my remaining powers" he pants. I nod absentmindedly. My mind was too focused on Ridgedog for anything else to fight it's way into my mind. Thankfully, Robin slipped a helping hand under Deamon and helped him. The rest of the group pant and run afterwards.

"Honestly, out of all the ways to spend a Friday night" I hear Simon mutter, and I can't help but smile lightly. 

Finally I reach the house. "You guys can stay down here, I'll go look for it and come back to you, ok?" I demand quickly and they nod. "I feel kinda pointless" Sky admits, sighing as he shuffles awkwardly. There's murmurs of agreement. "You aren't. You help me focus" I smile, before lifting up into the air towards Ridge's room. 

Deamon, Robin and Ryan follow. Liam joins us minutes later after expertly scaling the hill and sneaking in through the window-his ways as an assassin had improved. Rummaging through the endless amount of boxes in the room, I finally fish out a small star shaped charm. Running my thumb over it, the smooth metal worn with age, memories cloud my eyes again.

Still on the farm. Grooming a horse. Seeing a man walk down the path. Barely noticing me. Knocks on the old oak door. Raps on the crooked door knocker. Door opens. Goes inside. Glances at me.

Me sneaking inside. Peering from around someone. Them ushering me forward. Man looks at me briefly. Says something about money. People around me seem happy. I'm happy too. Leaving, I start to mold a star charm. Takes a few tries. It's difficult. Weld it to a chain. Man begins to leave. Shyly reaching out to tug his hand. He looks down in surprise. Smile at him. "Thank you mister!" I stammer and gush. He smiles at me. Hold the star charm up to his face. He takes it, and smiles at me. "Thank you" he replies in a smooth, velvety voice. Pats me on the head. Leaves.

Coming back from the flashback, I spot everyone looking at me worriedly. Well, Liam is glaring impatiently, trying to snatch the note. I grab it and tear my eyes from his glare to the note. 

The woman in the ship was actually a now close friend to mine called Anastatia. She too joined the ranks of the demigods.

Your father was a demigod and your mother was a mortal. You were meant to be a quart god, but your mother was a powerful sorceress and did not want you to live that life style. She sacrificed her mortality to give to you so that you would be mortal. Your father disappeared after that and disowned you. 

I can understand that Liam will probably be in this quest. So I want to play a game, so listen well to the rules. You and the Yogscast will seek the truth behind you and Ridgedog's past, whilst Liam and Team Crafted may seek the purpose of Jerome's involvement in the kidnapping of Mitch and why he is vital to this plot. 

The next clues will be riddles. To Liam, here is my riddle:

In iron bars I do sit
In a room badly lit
Once used a lot, but now does not need to be
To Mitch it meant a lot but not to me

For Tia:

The place the apprentice stood
Amongst the dying, amongst the blood
You stand and do nothing, not that you would act
To your master you did secure the pact

Tick tock.

The game has only just begun.

Note: Sorry about all this! Been SOOO busy lately, you don't even know! Accidently been caught in between school and new found fandoms, so been a bit confuzzled :p Finally managed to update this though! :D CAPS LOCK RULES