Book 8: The Holy Stone The Kid Emperor of Occultoria

Chapter 1 - A Holy Relic

Bandits' Road, Province of Magicka (Currently Independent, Succeeded from the Empire)

The wooden wheels of the wagon made fresh imprints into the soft dirt road as it traveled steadily ahead. It had rained the night before and while all of nature gleamed with the aftereffects of cleanliness, conditions were not ideal for traveling.

And yet, the driver, a short gnome with a large nose and a tangled mass of blond hair, whipped his Mesohippuses, early ancestors of the horse. They were extinct in the Natural World, but were abundant in the Supernatural World.

"Hurry up!" the gnome cried.

The Mesohippuses whinnied. They had short legs and three toes on each hoof, but they were quick and efficient, which was perfect for transporting precious goods.

The gnome sensed that someone was watching him, perhaps even waiting to steal his valuable cargo.

He was transporting a very valuable and sacred relic, the Holy Stone, said to have been one of the dozens of stones that had killed the Savior Lady Jolie.

He was taking it to the mighty Cathedral of Magicka, the biggest church in the province, where the Bishop was waiting very impatiently for it.

The gnome had to be very careful. He had to keep quiet about it. Such a major discovery would cause all churches in the entire Supernatural World to fight over it. If word ever got out, it was game over. He had signed a contract with the bishop agreeing that confidentiality was paramount.

Of course, since he was a lowly peon, he didn't know what it did, but he did know it was extremely valuable for some reason.

That was why the gnome was in such a hurry. His very livelihood was at stake. He had to keep quiet about its discovery and he also had to prevent anyone from getting their hands on it.

He felt a sense of extreme unease. Something was watching him. He just knew it.

As though to confirm his suspicions, there was a rustle in the woods.

The driver turned to his head to his right. The faint moonlight did a poor job of illuminating the clawing branches of the trees. He could see nothing but the ominous limbs.

They were traveling along the notorious Bandits' Road, famous for its namesake of bandits and robbers.

He was afraid his worst fear would come true and he'd be robbed.

He whipped his horses harder.

"Yee-hah!" he cried.

He was going to get out of there as soon as possible.

Not only were bandits common along Bandits' Road, but other more powerful creatures had also been seen: white bone demons, spider demons and even the occasion ghost.

The gnome decided he was not going to take any chances. He was going to be paid 100,000 gold coins for the quick and efficient transport of the Holy Stone and he desperately needed the money to pay off his gambling debts. He had no idea what it did or why it was so valuable, and he really didn't care.

There was no way he would lose this lucrative contract.

As the wagon picked up speed along Bandits' Road, something popped out of the ditch beside it.

It came out so suddenly that it spooked the Mesohippuses.

Whinnying and neighing, they came to an abrupt halt, throwing the gnome out of the driver's seat.

He landed onto the muddy road.

Until that point, the clouds had been obscuring the moon, but as though on cue, they parted.

The moonlight shone onto the intruder.

To the untrained eye, the creature looked like a gigantic black stone with arms and legs.

But the gnome had lived in the wilderness of Magicka long enough to know that the creature was not a harmless stone spirit.

Judging from the dark ebony of the creature, its white beard that reached the ground and its unyielding red eyes, the creature was the notorious Old Black Mountain Devil.

And of course, there was the smell.

The foul odor of rotting garbage flooded the gnome's nostrils.

He covered his nose with his hand, but he could still smell the putrid stench.

The Old Black Mountain Devil took a step forward, shaking the ground.

Fear struck the heart of the gnome.

The Old Black Mountain Devil was a malevolent mountain spirit said to devour the souls of all prey. It had a voracious appetite and constantly needed to replenish its yang energy by absorbing it from others.

Legend had it that he needed to feed eight times a day just to balance its yin energy with yang energy, which is way more than the usual one meal a day for most magical creatures. Too much of its own natural yin energy would overwhelm any magical creature, causing it to shut down and fall into a perpetual sleep, a kind of eternal hibernation.

He had killed so many citizens that the Provincial Police of Magicka had declared it an outlaw and offered a reward to those that can bring it in, dead or alive.

The Old Black Mountain Devil took another step forward.

"What do you want?" asked the gnome in his high-pitched voice.

"You...know...what...I...want...." replied the legendary creature in a gravelly voice.

Whinnying, the Mesohippuses struggled to break free of their reins. They knew what was coming towards them and they were desperate to avoid that fate.

The gnome sat rooted to the ground.

Soon, the Mesohippuses escaped, breaking into a trot along the ground.

Its driver still sat in the mud.

The Old Black Mountain Devil was now using its famous hypnotic eyes to paralyze its prey.

The gnome commanded his muscles to move, but they would not obey him.

The Old Black Mountain Devil opened its mouth.

He had no teeth. His mouth was just a black hole, because it didn't need to chew its prey.

His mouth began to emit a loud sucking sound.

There was a brilliant flash of light and then, it was over.

The gnome's soul had been eaten, sucked right out of his body.

Its corpse lay on the road.

Now full, the Old Black Mountain Devil then noticed the wagon and investigated it.

Inside was a box with a lock.

The creature used his super strength to pry the lock open clumsily.

A glowing jagged stone stained with traces of red sat inside, momentarily blinding the mountain spirit.

The Old Black Mountain Devil grunted.

He didn't know what it was, but if it was being transported in a locked box, then it must have been important.

He grabbed it and then began his long trek back up the scared Mount Jolie.