by Lan Dang
Chapter 16: The Graveyard
As the weather started to worsen, Emmers decided it was time to return home and wished the best for his friend. Eric thanked him for his help and went back to his room. When he opened the door, he was pleasantly surprised to see Yulik, who was holding the Guilden Sword in both hands and staring in a fascinated manner as he hummed softly to himself. He was so focused on the sword that he never heard Eric walking into the room.
Eric smiled. It was odd how their roles seem reversed now. Before, he was the one holding the sword when Yulik interrupted his thoughts.
“Hey, Yulik.”
Yulik was so startled that he dropped the sword, which fell with a loud clanging sound, as it hit the floor. He immediately turned around to see Eric. His face was rather red with embarrassment and he looked guilty.
“Oh, Eric……I mean Zephler, it’s you. Sorry I didn’t mean to touch your belongings. I have never had a chance to see the sword up close before. I would have asked you for your permission first but you were absent when I came in.”
“It’s okay. Take your time.”
“No, no, I will put it back. Isn’t it odd though that if I had not seen you holding this very sword, I would never have known that it was the Guilden Sword. Many people have been fooled by this ordinary look.” He smiled as he bent down to pick up the sword and put it back on the table.
He continued, “And I wouldn’t have known who you were either. I would never have guessed your true identity. And of course, the Elders, would have kept it a secret this whole time to protect you.”
Eric sat on his bed and stared at the ceiling. “Do you know anything about the Elders? Like where they’re from exactly and why they’re here?”
He looked at Eric, who never stopped staring at the ceiling. “They’re a mystery to our people as well. I honestly don’t know too much about them. I just know that before, we didn’t even know of their existence. They were more like mythical creatures. People claimed to have seen them and talked to them but these stories all turned out false. It wasn’t until your dad’s time when things were so rough here, that they came, out of nowhere, and stayed to stabilize this kingdom.”
He smiled. “I take it people here have been telling you things about them, like how they want to get rid of them. I guess the Elders have overstayed their welcome and all the good deeds they did were outweighed by their strict rules.”
Eric nodded his head. “I mean I don’t understand why everyone’s so afraid of them. Why does no one dare to stand up to them?”
Yulik pointed at his chains. “Maybe because they know they can’t beat them. Why fight an enemy you have no chance of defeating, right?”
“Only if they truly are the enemy.”
He laughed. “I suppose so.”
“Have you ever thought of escaping before? I mean of getting out of those chains and getting your life back.”
“Of course, I have. It’s just…” He sighed. “It’s just that I tried many times before but I always got caught. I attempted to escape numerous times but they seem to know and I always get punished afterwards. As you can tell, I have given up hope.”
It was Eric’s turn to sigh.
Yulik stared at him and asked, “Don’t tell me you want to escape too? I’m warning you. Don’t do that. They know; they always do.”
He glanced around. “I seem to have lost track of time. I have to go now. Don’t do anything foolish, okay?”
Before Yulik left, he went over to Eric and said, “Where are my manners? I am so sorry. I should have done this earlier. You distracted me.”
He placed his hand on Eric’s face, the right side, which had been bruised by Rommus’ punch and Eric felt a nice, warm, comforting heat emanating from his hand. He could feel his skin start to heal. When he removed his hand, Eric could feel that the pain had completely disappeared. He didn’t need a mirror to know that his face was no longer bruised.
He smiled, gratefully, at him. “Thank you.”
Yulik shook his head in disapproval. “Be careful. Don’t hurt yourself again. You’re not as good a fighter as you think you are and I may not always be around. Stay out of harm’s way okay?”
Eric nodded his head while crossing his hands behind his back. He could hear Yulik mumbling something “about kids these days” as he walked out the door.
As he left, Eric glanced outside at the window. There was just some light left. It wasn’t too late. He decided to take his sword and make a run for it. Although he had no particular plan in mind, he was not going to be held a prisoner here against his will. He didn’t want to end up like Yulik or the Questors. He decided to make up his escape plan as he went along. He left his room and walked out of the castle, never looking back. He had no regrets. He went over to the stables. The horse that he was looking for seemed to sense his presence. It walked closely to the outside of the stall and stuck its head out to peer around. It stared at him and their eyes met.
“Hey there, Ebony. It’s just me. Ssh! Don’t make a sound okay? I need your help. I’m going to get out of here tonight.”
As if in acknowledgement, Ebony nodded his head several times and did not make a sound. Eric walked over to open the gate of the stall. The gate creaked and the noise caused some of the horses to stomp their hooves and shuffle in their own stalls, afraid that they would be next. Eric was afraid the noise would reach the ears of the people in the castle and he quickened his pace. He led Ebony out of his stall and took a deep breath as he got on top of the horse. The horse stood there, quietly and patiently, not making a sound.
Together, the two galloped beyond the pasture and then, the hill. When they reached the bottom of the hill, Ebony refused to move. He stood there, staring at the graveyard and refusing to go beyond the safety of the hill. Eric got off the horse and tried to pull him along but the horse would not budge. There seemed to be a look of intense fear in his eyes. Eric shook his head. In a way, he didn’t blame Ebony. The graveyard was gloomy and dark and there was a foggy mist covering the land. Rows of grey tombstones lined the flat, green land. It looked like a scene from a scary movie.
As he glanced around at the landscape, he had difficulty seeing through the foggy mist. He had no light with him. Suddenly, his necklace shot out of his shirt and cast a bright red light. It tugged for him to follow it much like when he had first entered the Guilden Kingdom. He had almost forgotten about this necklace. In all the time that he was here, he had forgotten that this necklace was the one who had led him here in the first place. Surely, it could be relied on to get him out.
He followed the bright red light which shone like a flashlight. As he walked through the foggy mist, he felt cold and clammy and his whole body shuddered as if he was in a cold room. As he walked through the mist, he thought he felt someone’s hand pulling on his shirt and another hand tugging on his pants. Then, it seemed like more hands were pulling him but when he looked down to see what was grabbing him, there was nothing.
He bit his lip and quietly whispered to himself, “This place is spooky.”
As he continued to walk through the graveyard, he thought he heard sounds. At first, it was just a whisper but then it grew louder and it was followed by more voices. He couldn’t make out what they were saying until the words became more distinct.
They were calling him by his first name. “Zephler! Zephler! Zephler!”
He shook his head. How could they possibly know who he was? No one but the Elders and Yulik knew his real identity. With determination, Eric blocked out the voices and just concentrated on the necklace. It had finally made a complete stop in front of a grey tombstone. As Eric took a closer look at the tombstone, he realized that the writing on it was very faint. He could barely make out the strange inscription but as he stared at it, the word seemed to become darker and more visible. The tombstone looked ancient. It was cover
ed with wild flowers and tall grasses.
Try hard as he might, he could not read the strange inscription. The written language was not familiar to him just like the writing on his necklace. He sighed in exasperation. But in contrast to all the other graves around him, this particular tombstone looked far more unkempt and somehow, much older than the rest. He felt sorry for the person whose body was buried beneath this grave. It seemed like none of the family, friends, or relatives of this person ever bothered to take care of the tombstone but maybe that was because they were not allowed inside this graveyard.
“That’s a sad way to be buried. I wouldn’t want to be completely forgotten by my loved ones.”
He sighed. “I wonder how this person died.”
All he remembered was how Emmers told him that only people who had sacrificed their lives to protect this kingdom can be buried here. Only heroes can ever be buried in this graveyard. He stood in front of the tombstone, not sure what to do next. He felt apologetic to disturb the grave but he had a feeling the door to the outside was very close. He stomped on the dirt below and put his ear to the ground. It sounded hollow.
He tried to move the tombstone but it did not budge, no matter how hard he tried. He tried to lift it up and he tried pushing it towards the right and then, the left. It did not move. He tried pulling it frontwards and backwards but again, it stood firmly. Finally, he stopped and sat on the ground, panting heavily from his physical exertion.
A familiar echo told him, “Tap the tombstone with your sword three times.”
He did as he was told. Suddenly, the tombstone started to tremble and it moved backwards, revealing a small door. As he opened the small door leading to the underground, it made a loud screeching noise that broke the silence. He cautiously peered inside but it was too dark to see anything. As he was looking around, he felt someone’s hand on his shoulder. Without a thought, he quickly jumped into the black space and fell down the stairs.
“Ooooow!”
He screamed in agony and finally landed on the bottom of the steps, which luckily for him, was very short. He rubbed his knees which had been hit hard by the ground and had not totally recovered from his fall earlier in the day. He groaned and moaned loudly. When he eventually stood up, he realized he was lost in total darkness. The only light he could see was the red glow of the necklace. It continued to tug him forward and he let it lead the way. The underground was like a maze. He made turns to the right and to the left multiple times until he was just running to keep up with it. Several times he fell and thought he could feel the gentle breeze of a bat’s wing fluttering overhead or hear the rattling tale of a snake just several feet away. He wasn’t sure if his imagination was working overtime but he was too scared to stay in one place to find out. He continued to follow the necklace through the winding maze until it made its last turn and stopped in front of a creature.
