The Four Stones

Chapter 7

Chapter 7: The Seal is Broken

Wysteria and Jasmine have been living in Regenbogen for a few weeks now. They now had a routine that they followed without realizing it: get up, get dressed eat breakfast, meet up with Richard , separate to practice magic and swordsmanship, come back together for lunch,  relax for a while in the gardens,  separate and practice again, Richard  went home, the three of them would read in the library and talk a bit, then go to bed.

Wysteria, Jasmine, Jonathan, and Richard  were sitting by the pond talking when Malachi came running towards them.  He slowed down when he neared them.  H doubled over, hands on his knees gasping for air.

“The…. seal…. broken…. Cyrus…. free. ” Malachi panted, trying to regain his breath.

“Could you repeat that?” Richard  asked.  Malachi nodded.  He took a deep breath and tried again.

“Cyrus the dark wizard’s seal has broken.  He’s free.  If he finds where his powers are sealed we’ll all be in huge trouble. ” Malachi said.

“So his powers are sealed somewhere else?” Wysteria asked.

“Yes, to make sure if he ever managed to get free, I sealed his powers away in a magic chest sealed in a cave at the far end of the kingdom.” Malachi explained. “I need you four to go to each of the towers, retrieve the stones that sealed Cyrus’ body, and bring them to the cave.  If we combine our powers we can seal away Cyrus and his powers for good. ”

“But Jonathan and I aren’t wizards.” Jasmine pointed out.

“Everyone has power inside of them, but only a few can release it as magic. You and Jonathan use enchanted weapons. You may not be able to release your own energy, but you can use magic in your own way. Right now I’m counting on you to gather the stones. Can you do that?” Malachi asked urgently. The four nodded confidently

“We can.” They said together

Wysteria, Jasmine, and Jonathan ran back to the castle to quickly pack all the things they would need for a long journey.  Richard went back to his house and informed his father about what was going on, and to pack his things. Wysteria put on some jeans, a t-shirt, a pair of combat boots, and a turquoise cloak with a hood.  She packed all the necessities: food, clothes, a jacket, toothbrush, toothpaste, and a hair brush. She exited her room and found Jasmine waiting for her outside her door, dressed similarly.

“Ready?” asked Jasmine.

“As I’ll ever be.” Wysteria replied.

They headed down the stairs where they found Jonathan explaining everything to the king and queen. They looked very worried. Wysteria went to stand beside her brother.

“So, Cyrus has returned.” the king said gravely, his usual smile gone.

“Yes. Malachi has asked us to gather the stones that once sealed him and re-seal, but we have more wizards now so it will be for good this time. ” Jonathan explained.

“You may go, but please be careful. Look after your sister and Jasmine.” the king said.

“I will. I promise.” Jonathan said wrapping an arm around Wysteria protectively. Then the king and queen came forward and hugged the both of them.

“Please, stay safe.” the queen whispered.

“We will.” Wysteria replied. “Bye, Mom. Bye, Dad. ” She whispered and they turned to leave.

Richard  and Malachi were waiting for them by the fountain.  It looked like Malachi was explaining something to Richard  and vise versa. As the three approached Malachi turned toward them.

    “Are we all ready?” He asked.

    “Yes.” the four said simultaneously.

    “Alright, before we go I need to explain some things. First, I will be traveling with you to the first three towers, but on the third I will head to the cave where Cyrus’ powers are sealed. Second, you will have to retrieve the fourth stone without my help because I need to keep Cyrus from reaching his powers. Third, Cyrus is weak right now because of how long he was sealed and how much energy was needed to break the seal. He probably isn’t able to move around much yet, so we have time to gather the stones before he reaches the cave, but his strength will return to him and he will make a beeline for the chest with his powers. That’s why I need to get there first.  I will guard it while you four get the last stone. Is that understood?” Malachi asked.

    “Yes.” they all said again.

    “Good. Let’s go!” Malachi said and lead them toward the gates leading into the woods surrounding the kingdom.  

As soon as they stepped through Wysteria was bombarded with different feelings. They were all mixed together like: a sense of danger, love, happiness, dread, and the strongest of all was uncertainty.  

‘Here we go.’ Wysteria thought as she took her first steps into the unknown.