The Legend of Elora: Book 1 A Queen's Quest

by K. M. Bonde

  Bruce nods. “Elora’s right,” he says. “So, which way will we go?”

  Elora looks between the two corridors, then steps toward Bruce. “My gut says we should go to the right.”

  Arddun frowns as she puts her hand over her nose and mouth. “The musty smell from whatever is living down here is a curse to my senses,” she grumbles. Elora brings a small cloth over her nose, trying to keep the stench out.

  Elof shrugs, casually swinging his axe in front of him. “It's not that bad, actually. I've smelled worse.”

  The tunnel bends to the left and continues down, an opening visible ahead thanks to Arddun’s continued light. At the end of the tunnel, the sewer water pours out into a larger room. Bruce looks around and finds a ladder on the side that they can use to climb down.

  Arddun sends light down to the room below; it’s a large room filled with water in the middle, several paths leading away from it. They slowly climb down. Aside from piles of rat poop, Elora notices that there is another drainage entry to this room from above, most likely the other path they didn’t take earlier.

  The sewer water pools in the middle of the room, and canals lead out to both sides and forming two new tunnels, smaller than the one they just came through. Elora watches as Ryan surveys the chamber, clearly disgusted by both the smell and sight. There is nothing to be excited about here.

  “Here,” says Eadric, pointing to a small tunnel leading away from the water. Further in the room is a path, a dry path or at least much dryer than the other, leading toward another dark but probably just as unpleasant place.

  “What about this?” asks Arddun. She points toward a second path.

  Elora halts them once again. “We need to mark where we’ve been so we don't get lost. With all the paths here, we need to be mindful of where we are.”

  Arddun nods, then burns a mark on the wall next to the ladders and on the wall next to the path Eadric found. Then, Eadric and Elof take the lead, the rest of the party following. Bruce and Ryan bring up the rear.

  The path goes up a slight incline, and soon it turns right. Soon, the group emerges in a small room. There’s a small table on the right side and a blanket on the floor on the left side. There is a window straight ahead with bars covering it.

  Elora walks up to the window, grips the bars, and peers outside. “There’s water flowing down,” she says.

  “Maybe we found one of the exit points for the drainage,” Bruce says.

  Arddun looks at some of the books in the corner, then picks up one and blows the dust off. She reads out loud to herself, “The Lonesome Wanderer. Great, another sad classic.” She puts the book back on top of the pile.

  “It looks like the room hasn’t been used in a while,” says Bruce. “But that blanket isn’t very dusty.”

  “And there’s no rat poop,” says Elof. “Thank goodness!”

  Bruce rolls his eyes and walks over to the blanket, lifting it up. There’s just a square rock, almost like a miniature brick. He picks it up and tosses it into the air. Elora grabs the rock before it hits the ground, peering at it closely. Up close, she can see the tiny grooves and cut-outs in the shape.

  Ryan comes up next to her. “Do you think...?”

  Elora nods. “Definitely looks like something that could be in a Tomb Raider movie. Seems silly, but the movies had to come from something, right?” Ryan nods at her, so she calls for everyone's attention. “Back in our old world there was something called adventure games and movies. A lot of times, they had puzzles to solve. This rock looks like it could be a key to a puzzle. Look for openings in the wall or anything that this rock could fit in.”

  “Elora, I don’t think this is a game,” Eadric says. “It is a rock in a sewer. There is nothing unusual about that.”

  Arddun shrugs and looks around. “She may be right, Eadric. Let me cast a spell to scan the room for irregularities.” But, she has no luck. “Guess we have to look the old-fashioned way,” she says, and the group begins scanning the walls.

  “Can we just move on now?” Elof asks after a while, knocking the wall with the back of his axe.

  Elora sighs and tosses the rock on the blanket. “I guess this world can’t be like the movies,” she says to Ryan.

  Elof walks ahead back the way they came, letting the back of his axe scrape the smooth tunnel wall. Soon, the axe bumps on something, and Elof looks at the wall. “Elora, please come and look at this.” He shows her a little hole in the wall.

  It looks just like the shape on the rock, she thinks, then runs back to the other room and grabs the rock. She slowly puts the rock in the hole and it fits. The wall opens with a dull creak, revealing the entrance to a new tunnel. “I knew it!” Elora says triumphantly.

  “I guess you were right,” Eadric says. “A puzzle, though? Maybe the bandits have been working down here.”

  They slowly make their way in the tunnel and soon emerge in another small room. There’s a chest on the floor and some swords and axes leaning against the wall.

  Elora and Ryan look at each other and grin.

  “A chest, just like in a video game!” Ryan exclaims.

  “Sometimes in the games and movies in our world,” Elora explains, “the adventurers find a chest with a reward in it.”

  “That’s all well and good, but this isn’t a game,” Bruce says. “Let me check things out first.” He holds them back, poking the chest with his sword.

  Elora rolls her eyes and pushes him back, throwing the top of the chest open. She frowns. Armor. There is only protective gear in the chest, and she steps away, confused.

  “This is better than the one I have,” Elof says, motioning to a piece on top. While Elof and Eadric pick through the chest, Arddun looks at the rest of the room. There’s a small shelf in the corner, and on it she finds some parchment, old documents, and a small brown bag. She opens it to find powder.

  Elora comes up behind her. “Ashes? Not much to be happy for in this room, I thought we would find something more looking like treasure.”

  Arddun turns around and smile. “We did find treasure. This bag contains Temegia powder.”

  Elora frowns. “What’s that?”

  “It is a powerful component in spells; it enhances the elements. It comes from the Temegia flower growing only in the highest regions of the mountains, and it’s very hard to find.” Arddun takes some powder between her fingertips. “Hold out your hand.” Elora holds out her hand, and Arddun drop sprinkles on Elora's hand. Almost instantly, an icicle beams up from Elora's hand and hits the ceiling. Everyone jumps, startled by the sudden sound.

  The ceiling is frozen, and the whole group stares at Elora.

  Arddun puts the bag away, attaching it to her belt. “Your power is growing Elora. Only a few wizards specializing in water can make a full icicle.”

  Elora smiles. She could feel the powder and the power left over from moments ago. First, it was a soft tingle, barely noticeable on her hand. Then... her hand absorbed the powder, and she felt a rush through her arm as the ice manifested itself. As scary as it was, it still felt good.

  “Well, I don’t think there’s anything else here,” Ryan says. “Should we go back?”

  “Let’s try the other dry path,” Bruce says.

  They walk out of the room and back to the main chamber. Arddun makes another mark on the wall near the other dry path. Slowly, they venture into the new tunnel. This tunnel is longer and eventually becomes much dryer than earlier tunnels. After a long trek, they arrive at a crossroads.

  There is a gate to the left, locked with no key. After a closer look at the lock, it looks completely broken and smashed, and no key would fit anyway.

  Arddun shines a light into the room beyond the gate. “There isn’t much there,” she says. “Some crates, cloth… maybe it was a storage room.”

  “That leaves the path forward or to the right,” Elora says. “Right worked the first time. Let’s try that again.”

  This path soon brings them down a few steps a
nd to a room like the one with the rock key. But, there’s nothing here. Elof sighs heavily, and Bruce pats him on the shoulder. They make it back to the other path and walk down the tunnel. This one leads to more steps as well, but this one has a lot more steps. The stairs spiral down until finally, the group reaches a wooden door.

  Bruce opens the door and enters a new area. It’s quiet, so they continue through.

  Further down the path on the other side of the door, Elora is about to open her mouth to ask if they should turn back when two goons emerge from the shadows. Their hoods obscure their faces, and both have swords and daggers attached to their belts. They look like a mix between pirates and assassins, Elora thinks as she stares at them. But why aren’t they attacking us?

  “Follow us,” one says. “We’ve been expecting you.”

  Elora glances at the other party members. Bruce and Eadric seems fine with these events, while the rest of the party shows more hesitation. Elora notices that Arddun focuses her hand and is ready to throw magic if needed. Elora does the same and prepares a protective ward.

  I hope I don't need this, she thinks.

  As they walk down the small hallway, the second pirate-assassin asks, “So, what took you so long?”

  Bruce squints at them. “Are you part of the guild?” They nod, and Bruce turns to Elora, “I guess we found the Thief's Guild.”

  Soon, they cross a small wooden bridge and enter a much larger room. It’s filled with water, and bridges crisscross around the whole room. There are more people here, chattering and yelling at each other.

  I liked the quiet better, Elora thinks, trying to drown out the noise of the thieves.

  The goons lead Elora’s party up some stairs and into a different room to the side. As they enter, they see a man sitting at a desk. His back is to them, and his head is covered with a large hood. “Welcome,” he says, greeting them without turning around.

  Elora rolls her eyes and looks around the room. It’s filled with many paintings and artwork, gold and silver items, chests and bags, nice carpets, and a small, round table with some wine in a carafe. Elora looks around and eventually sees something on the desk next to the mysterious man.

  Wait… she thinks, stepping forward to take a closer look. Yes, that’s my ring! She leans forward, snatches it, and quickly pulls back to the rest of her party.

  The man turns around, pulls his hood down, and stands up. “I knew you could not stay away from me,” he says, smiling. It’s Drake, the thief from the wishing well.

  Chapter 16: The Thief

  When Drake reveals himself, Elora feels the rage and power building inside of her. “You took my ring, bastard!” she shouts, stomping up to the desk to meet Drake eye-to-eye.

  “Calm down,” Drake says, chuckling. “You have it back now. I knew you would come for it.”

  I would come for it? she thinks, physically restraining her power so she doesn’t launch an icicle at his head. He has the audacity to think that I would come after him? Like some sort of lovestruck teenager?

  “Let me introduce myself properly. I am Drake, master thief and leader of this guild.” He bows to them and swings his arm forward as an old courtesy greeting. When he straightens, he flashes a grin at the party. “And these are Quick and Death, my best friends,” Drake says, showing them two shiny daggers and swinging them in his hands quickly before putting them back in his belt.

  He sits down again and takes on a more serious tone. “And, I have a problem. I need your help.”

  Elora glares at him. “Why would we help you?”

  Drake smiles at Elora and raises one eyebrow slightly. “Because I have what you want.” After holding eye contact for a few seconds, he points to a small chest in the corner. It’s closed, but green light shines around its edges. “It has been like that since you entered the sewers, shining like it was expecting something. I guess that gem inside belongs to you. I found it down here a long time ago in the tunnels below, before it started to get dangerous.”

  Arddun looks at the chest. “Elora, it is one of the stones. I can feel its power; it is the power of earth, a truly remarkable stone.”

  “I know, I felt it as soon as we entered the room,” Elora says, somewhat displeased with the turn of events.

  Bruce, who has been standing at the rear of the group, shoulders past the other five and approaches Drake’s desk. “Seramon never forgets,” he says, his voice low.

  Drake stands up, holds one dagger, and pats his chest twice. Then, he lowers his head and speaks. “Seramon nor kadin.” He puts his dagger away and hugs Bruce.

  Elora’s mouth nearly drops open at the scene in front of her. My dad knows him? She crosses her arms over her chest. “What’s going on?”

  “Through the ages, many people have sworn a blood oath to the Seramon to uphold the peace in these lands. Drake took such an oath as well.”

  “I owe Bruce my life,” Drake says. “He saved me during the war.”

  “Seramon are the knights and warriors that have protected the kingdom for thousands of years,” Bruce continues. “Cornelia created them a long time ago, around the same time as she created the Council.” Bruce looks at Drake, his face serious. “It is time to pay your debt.”

  Drake sits down again and sighs. “I will come with you and pay my debt as soon as you retrieve the item I am missing. A former colleague of mine stole a precious gold coin a while back and never returned from below.”

  “Why is a gold coin so important?” Ryan asks and motions around the room. “You must surely have more considering your profession.”

  Drake laughs. “Sure, I have plenty of gold coins, but this one is special. It is a bigger coin, and the owner of this coin is the leader of the guild. As you probably heard, there’s a little unrest down here, and I need to bring all my sheep in to the fold before I can participate in any other mission. For this, I need that coin.”

  Bruce nods. “I know about the story of the gold coin and understand why you need it before paying back your debt. We will venture down below to search for it. And when we get back, you must take my place in the party and help and obey Elora.”

  Drake scrunches up his face in confusion. “I thought you were the leader of this merry party. You put a girl in charge?”

  Elora steps up, still angry but more confident. You are powerful, she reminds herself. And you are not just a girl anymore. “I am sorry, but I don't believe we have been introduced,” she says, her voice serious and slightly condescending. “I am Queen Elora Lightheart, rightful ruler of these lands.”

  Drake looks at Bruce confused, Bruce nods to him, and Drake bows to Elora. “Sorry, my Queen, I did not know that the prophecy was true, that you have returned.” He stands up and looks at her, “I will follow you and fight to free these lands, my daggers are yours.”

  Elora hides her smile, though she’s secretly thrilled to see the thief bowing to her. “Don’t tell anyone else of who I am. Until the time is right, it’s better if no one knows.”

  “As you wish, my Queen. Come with me, I'll show you around,” Drake says, motioning for the group to follow him.

  They walk out of the room and continue up the walkway to enter a bigger, circular room. There is more commotion here, and even a merchant or two can be noted. Elof and Eadric excuse themselves and approach one merchant, trying to sell the extra equipment they don't need.

  Drake looks around and waves his arms as if he tries to embrace it all. “This is the hub for our guild.”

  Elora examines the market. There are some peddlers trying to act as merchants, a bard singing on a wooden stage, and many people hiding beneath the shadows of their hoods. She moves just slightly closer to Ryan.

  Soon, Elof and Eadric come back all happy and whisper to Elora, “We were able to sell all that junk we found for two gold coins.”

  Elora smiles. I guess our travel funds just got better. Having more resources would hopefully make the rest of the journey easier, or at least buy the more comfortable beds
at night.

  Near the water on the lower level, a door leads to a descending staircase. Drake points toward it. “That is it. Beyond the door and down the stairs are the tunnels of interest to me. Be careful and watch out for the beasts down there.”

  Rats do not seem to be the biggest problem here, Elora thinks as she glances at Arddun. She doesn’t seem worried at all.

  The party waves goodbye to Drake and walks down the stairs.

  “I'll wait for you here,” Drake calls as he watches them venture below.

  Chapter 17: The Quest

  Gripping her staff securely, Elora leads her party into the tunnel.

  “At least we just need to find the dagger and coin,” Elof says, “and not that damn stone, too.”

  “Coin or dagger first?” Elora asks no one in particular.

  “The coin will most likely be with the body of the person who took it,” says Bruce. “The dagger, on the other hand, will be trickier, as it could be guarded by foul beasts in the depths of these tunnels. Some beasts become obsessed with items of power, and I hope that we will be able to find the coin on our way to the dagger.”

  “I can try to meditate and locate the power if it is strong enough,” Arddun offers.

  Elora glances around the dark tunnel. “I fear that these tunnels might be several levels, so we should finish one floor at a time. Elof, please stay and guard Arddun while she meditates, the rest of us will explore this floor.”

  Arddun sits down on the stairs, and Elof takes up his post next to her. The rest of the party walks down the tunnel to the right.

  There is still light coming in from the shafts above, and water drips onto the floor. They move slowly, skipping a tunnel veering off to the left, only to find themselves at another dead end.

  The party begins to turn around, but Bruce calls out to them. “Hold on. There are some wooden planks here against the wall.” He moves them, revealing a hole. “We used to hide things this way, both before and during the war.” Bruce gets down on his hands and knees, and as he prepares to crawl in Ryan walks up to him.