The Secrets of Brymar (The Elitherian Fragments Book 1)

by James Coy-Dibley

  “What happened down there?” Max demanded as he turned to Adriana. “Adriana, why did you scream?” The siblings stared at each other with glassy eyes, unable to summon words. Neither of them knew the answer, Brian least of all. “Are you hurt?” Max followed up.

  “I don’t think so,” Brian muttered.

  “No, I mean you,” Max said directing it towards Adriana. “I’ve never heard you scream like that.”

  “Oh, I…yes, I’m fine,” she muttered. She offered a nod to confirm her answer, carefully moving her long blonde braided hair behind her shoulder. “I’m unhurt.”

  Brian sat in a trance, his eyes blindly staring into the distance as the image of the fiery figure burned into his mind. His body felt numb as he tried to process what he saw, the arrows that pierced the figure and the boots he’d seen before being yanked out. He’d definitely seen someone else down there, someone that saved his life and killed the other. With distant, widened eyes, he finally acknowledged the others around him. Adriana remained close beside him, a hand on his shoulder while they made eye contact.

  “Brian…”

  “I’m fine,” he interrupted in a whisper, trying to calm his sister.

  Adriana’s grasp tightened on his hand. “Brian, I thought that you…”

  “I know,” he said and returned the squeeze. “But I didn’t. I’m right in front of you, and I’m okay.”

  “Why did you scream?” Max asked Adriana again before turning to Brian. “What happened down there?”

  Brian shrugged. “A cloaked figure appeared in the doorway. It aimed at me with an arrow.”

  The others didn’t respond.

  “But a black arrow pierced the figure in the back, which caused it to miss me. I don’t know who, but someone saved me down there.”

  “A black arrow,” Max thought to himself, “but the enemy uses black arrows.”

  “This arrow had white feathers,” Brian added.

  “We saw a black-shafted arrow with white feathers earlier today,” Max said. “It killed a few of the enemies in the Crilover District.”

  “It seems someone else helps us,” Brian concluded. He paused and looked into Max’s eyes. “After another arrow passed into the creature’s throat,” he started, shuddering as he recalled the details, “raging blue flames engulfed the body as it died.”

  “Blue flames,” Max repeated as he thought to himself.

  “Yes.”

  “Do you think…” A thud from beneath the stone boulder startled them as someone or something tried to push through the exit; Max didn’t finish his thought. “Come, we should start the journey to Skee,” Max said, urging the others to begin walking. He walked up to Brian and extended his hand to him, pulling him up to his feet and patting his shoulder. “We can talk on the trip.”

  “The horses should be up ahead,” Aroden said and pointed to the patch of trees in front of them around the oasis.

  Brian attempted to remove the image in his head and took the lead. “We should be in Skee by sunrise.”

  “And Richard should be there, too.” Max added.

  “I would hope,” Aroden said, enquiringly glancing at Elizabeth. “You have a lot to explain.”

  “Yes. I will tell you everything I know.”

  Brian walked briskly at the front. “Let’s reach the horses quickly; the more distance we put between us and this place, the better.”

  William noticed Elizabeth pat her dress, panicking momentarily before her face relaxed. “What is it?” he asked her.

  “For a moment, I forgot that Victoria carries the stone.”

  “What stone?” Aroden asked as he walked beside her, clearly expecting his answers.

  “Victoria carries a small bag that contains a black stone,” Elizabeth started. “I stole it…” she hesitated, taking in the enormity of what she prepared to say, “to save this realm. I’m not sure about what it does, but my father was convinced by a man named Tolin to take it. We risked both our lives to retrieve it.” She looked to the ground, clearly fighting back tears and exhaustion.

  Aroden looked at the young woman. His features softened. “Where did you find this stone?”

  “I travelled into the Artelian Forest and took it from the enemy. During my escape, I ran into Richard, and he was caught up in the battle with my pursuers.”

  “That explains why my son went missing,” he muttered.

  “I healed him and found William and Max.”

  “And saved us,” William added again from behind.

  “We travelled to Victoria’s house in the Crilover District as the safe house in the Caisen District was compromised. Someone attempted to assassinate your sons.”

  “Do you know who we fight?” Aroden asked.

  “Invaders from another realm,” she said, “the Fortari and the Laskil Order. When I took the stone, I passed through a portal into another place. I don’t know where, exactly, but more portals stood along the halls of that dark palace.”

  Aroden shook his head. “This is troubling news.”

  Elizabeth nodded. “I must meet Tolin in Durk’helm.”

  “Durk’helm is far away,” Aroden said. He frowned. “These invaders…I assume they will search for the stone.”

  “Yes, their armies will scour these lands until they find it. Tolin warned these evil forces were already in place, hidden across the realm, and that they would never cease to search until they took back the stone.”

  Aroden sighed. “The coming days will be dangerous.”

  She nodded again.

  “Bringing that stone into the walls of Brymar will put us all at risk,” he said, “since the enemy searches for it.”

  “This is bigger than just you and the others. This involves our whole realm,” she said. “You cannot allow your people to die as mine did.”

  William interjected, seeing his father’s hesitation. “We all just survived assassination attempts,” he said, “and Orwell is swarming with creatures wielding swords and bows.” He paused. “Clearly something dire has happened, and that stone stands at the centre of it. Would it not be better to know where the stone is at all times?”

  “But bringing it into Brymar makes us a target.”

  “We are all targets, now,” Elizabeth said.

  Aroden sighed. “If you say they have armies and will attempt to destroy the kingdoms as they did yours, then you are going to need help that extends well beyond just us.”

  “Who?” Max asked.

  Aroden shrugged but Zed answered. “The southern kingdoms,” he suggested.

  “No,” Aroden countered. “No altruism exists between those kingdoms and the North. You of all people know that, Zed.”

  “Perhaps the prospect of the world ending will change that,” he argued, his expression inscrutable. “They answered the call all those centuries ago, when the northern borders fell to the savages in the mountains. They honoured the treaties back then, and they will honour them now.”

  “You refer to the old treaties from the Natavarn Wars?” Max asked, seeing that Zed nodded. “That was four centuries ago.”

  “It’s not an option,” Aroden concluded. “The Raldari Province would rather see us die than help. Nothing would change their minds on that. Were it not for the Vorshkir Kingdom threatening them back, they would’ve conquered us eons ago.”

  “What about my homeland?” Zed said. “Sumnersen lies beneath them.”

  “Turmoil,” Aroden answered. “The few reports I have received from our scouts say your century old civil war still rages on. If they can’t even control their own lands, how can we hope they’d answer our call for aid?”

  Elizabeth broke her silence. “The Vorshkir Kingdom will answer our call for aid. Their power would be an invaluable asset to us.”

  Aroden scoffed. “The Vorshkir Kingdom abandoned this world a long time ago. After the Natavarn Wars plunged this entire realm into chaos, they sealed the pathways into their lands. Not a word about them has emerged since, only rumours a
nd speculations, half of which make little to no sense. We wouldn’t even be able to contact them.”

  “I know the history of the Vorshkir Kingdom,” Elizabeth muttered under her breath. William recognised her frustration and glanced to Max to say something.

  “What of the Navarine Kingdom?” William asked to change the subject.

  Max chimed in. “They would have little choice as they border the Artelian Forest to the east of us. They’d be forced to fight any invaders, too.”

  “But we will not be strong enough without the rest,” Elizabeth said. “It took only two days to vanquish my people. This is no normal foe. The southern kingdoms will have to answer the call.”

  A cloud passed over the moon, plunging their surroundings into darkness. “These clouds will make the journey take longer,” Adriana commented. “Our horses will have to lead much of the way.”

  “Victoria and Richard hopefully passed through the caverns a long time ago,” William said. “They’ll be experiencing the same delay, perhaps even worse since they’re only riding one horse between them. It’s a good thing they had a head start.”

  “Tell me more about this friend of yours,” Aroden said.

  “Victoria?”

  “Yes.”

  Elizabeth slightly shook her head. “I’d prefer that Victoria introduce herself…”

  “My youngest son’s life currently depends on her,” Aroden interrupted, refusing to accept her reason a second time.

  Elizabeth slightly nodded. “I suppose I can tell you a bit about her.”

  Aroden waited for her to continue.

  “She’s a very capable person. I’ve known her for almost my entire life.”

  “How did you meet?”

  “She knew my father. Actually, she knew my grandfather and great grandfather, too.”

  “Wait,” William said. Her words perplexed him and the others. “But…she appears your age.”

  “Oh, no, not at all,” she brushed off. “She is far from my age.”

  “Then how old is she?” Max asked.

  “Victoria is an Eranite from the Vorshkir Kingdom, hence why I thought they might aid us in this fight.”

  “That’s incredible,” Aroden muttered. “I’ve met an Altoaran of the vanished Woodland Kingdom and will be meeting an Eranite from the mysterious Vorshkir Kingdom all in the same day.” He paused, glancing apologetically at Elizabeth. “I suppose the Vorshkir Kingdom hasn’t completely shut off all ties then. If I’d known you were keeping such company, I wouldn’t have thought that such a futile plan.”

  Elizabeth acknowledged his comment.

  “So how old is she?” Max pried, his curiosity peaking.

  Elizabeth shrugged. “Centuries, even she loses track these days.” She took note of their reactions. “And she’s quite young, too.”

  “She’s that old?” Aroden asked in astonishment. He shook his head. “I look forward to meeting her.” He paused, “and seeing my youngest safely with her.”

  “She also carries a map,” Max added, “a far more detailed map than any of us have seen before.”

  “It even has Brymar on it,” William added.

  “Remarkable,” Aroden said as he shook his head.

  Adriana broke her silence. “How do you even know Brymar exists?” she asked suspiciously.

  “I don’t,” Elizabeth shrugged. “It’s Victoria’s map from her father.”

  “It’s a magical map,” William said to the amusement of the others. “It shows all of the Southern Kingdoms on it, too. It will be very useful to us in the future.”

  They approached the oasis where their horses hid. Brian, who hadn’t muttered a word since the caverns, spoke up. “Everyone, find your horse. Skee is the next village on this road.”

  Chapter XIX

  Richard spotted dim rays of moonlight in the cave system ahead.

  Victoria led them directly towards it while he followed with the horse close beside him. As they came to the end of the long, inclined passage, he noticed the natural stone walls abruptly transition into manufactured, white stone. The ruins of an old limestone building surrounded them with a small opening at the end, where the moonlight pierced through, a scatter of rubble all around it. As they reached the end, Richard peeked through the opening, skipping a heartbeat as his eyes focused on the Artelian Forest in the near distance once again, the burning sensation in his nostrils returning from the putrid scent.

  Victoria noticed him flinch as he jumped backwards. She pushed a group of stones around the opening outwards, creating a larger hole in the wall and revealing a small set of stone steps leading down from the ledge they stood on. As she advanced forward, Richard hesitated as he stared at the looming trees in the distance. It brought back a sense of fear and his chest tightened as he thought about that battle on the edge of those ghastly trees. He eventually descended the broken steps with his horse into the small, ruined building, taking a moment to regain his balance without breaking his focus on the forest. Victoria saw his frozen stance and understood.

  “We’ll be away from the forest soon,” she assured and patted his shoulder. “You have nothing to worry about.”

  “This is where Elizabeth brought me on my horse,” he said. “I remember more of it now. This place looks familiar to me.”

  “Yes, I met Elizabeth here and replaced the stones to the entrance. I led her through the caverns to the house.”

  Richard’s gaze dropped to the ground, where he saw a small patch of dried red blood. “I suppose that’s mine, then,” he uttered to himself. After a deep breath, he pried his eyes from the spot on the ground and tried to refocus on the task at hand. “So which way do we go?”

  She led him out of the ruined structure and pointed down the road. “There’s Orwell,” she said. The city walls were barely visible in the distance, especially with the lack of lights within the ghostly city. “We will have to travel off of the roads to Skee.”

  “Isn’t that dangerous? How will we find our way?”

  “The map,” she answered. “But I need a brief moment to rest.”

  Richard didn’t argue with that. The two of them sat on a couple of rocks jutting from the ground while Richard’s horse stood beside them. Richard inspected the ruined building and the small group of trees surrounding it. “What is this place?”

  “I would guess it used to belong to the Woodland Kingdom.”

  “I wonder what the engravings say,” Richard said as he inspected them across the front of the building.

  “I can read some of them,” Victoria informed, “as they are in the language of the Woodland Kingdom.” She scrutinised each engraving. “This was a mining outpost,” she said, “but most of the markings are now too faded to read.”

  “Why would they have a building leading into the caverns?”

  “The caverns haven’t always been a dark and deserted place,” Victoria answered. “The Woodland Kingdom often used the tunnels for travel, among many other things, such as mining. They mined an ore called Iskarite, which they often used for their weapons and metallurgy. I’m sure if we travelled further into the caverns, we’d see a few more scattered remnants of their buildings.”

  “The caverns are vast enough to fit entire buildings in?” Richard asked.

  “Oh, yes,” she answered, “towns and cities even. The Lorken Kingdom to the south still resides in the caverns with great cities.” She sighed, admiring the engravings on the building once again. “These buildings were truly beautiful back in the days of the Woodland Kingdom.”

  “Wait, you saw them?”

  “Yes.”

  “But…how did you see them?” he asked. “I thought the kingdom vanished three centuries ago.”

  Victoria smiled. “I’m an Eranite, Richard.”

  “What’s that?”

  “It means I’m very old, even though I don’t look like it.”

  But Richard didn’t understand.

  “I’m almost five centuries old, four hundred and n
inety-five to be exact. I’ve had a lot of time to gather my knowledge.”

  He stared at first, contemplating whether he believed her. After fidgeting with his hands for a while, he laughed nervously. At this point, after the day he’d just had, it didn’t surprise him much. “Well, I guess that would explain why you know so much then,” he smiled.

  She nodded.

  He paced a bit, still focused on the forest. “I’m ready to leave when you are,” he muttered; the forest played tricks in his mind and haunted his thoughts. “I just want to be home, where it’s safe and creatures aren’t trying to kill me.”

  “I know you are unsettled, but we will reach Skee as soon as possible.” She paused. “The creatures, on the other hand, may be a problem we must face for some time to come.”

  She stood up and jumped onto the horse’s back, extending her hand down to Richard.

  “I have to sit in the back?” he queried with slight indignation as Victoria helped him up.

  “Do you have special magic powers that will keep us alive?”

  Richard thought for a moment on his riding skills but shook his head with a grin. “I’m fine with the back. It’s probably best if you’re the one steering my horse.”

  After he steadied himself behind Victoria, she led the horse past the few trees around the building. “We should be in Skee by sunrise,” she said as they trotted. But then she paused after looking at the ground, her gaze fixating on a small, decrepit weed growing beneath them. “One moment,” she said as she hopped off the horse and inspected the weed closer.

  Richard watched her as she bent to pick up a small red flower.

  “Perfect,” she said while searching for more of them. “I’m collecting Floricene; it’s a flower that will help mask the pain of a wound.”

  “You know alchemy?” he asked excitedly.

  “I do,” she replied, picking up a few more of the red flowers and storing them within her dark blue dress pocket. She slightly raised her dress on her left leg, revealing a shallow cut across her skin. “This must’ve happened in Orwell, but I didn’t notice it before we left.” She rubbed some of the Floricene against her wound, grimacing at first before the pain left. “This will work for now before Elizabeth can heal it.”