Amulet of Souls (The Sentinels of Wizgrad Book 1)

by Hampton, Pegs

  “For what reason on Wizgrad would he send us to find this nutcase,” Zelkith mumbled under his breath.

  “To train you of course!” Thorna said, “Follow me” she added and pulled on Iris’s arm.

  Chapter 3

  Thorna led Iris out of the field and back down the hallway and back to the central part of the stronghold. She then guided them past some armed guards into what appeared to be the armoury room. They went inside and she grabbed an enormous bag, easily twice the size of her.

  "That one'll do, and that one, oh maybe this one" Thorna said. She picked out weapons at random from along the racks and threw them into the bag. She carried on doing this for the entire length of the armoury and by the end, the bag was full of different weapons and shields.

  Thorna approached the now full bag and pulled the strings tightly on the top to securely seal it.

  "C'mon lets go" she blurted out with excitement. Iris looked at the bag full of armours and weapons, there was no way she would ever lift that bag. She stood directly in front of the bag and waved her hands upwards in a spiral motion. A gentle whirlpool appeared which captured the bag within it and transported it outside.

  "No gawping there's lots now where to go?" Thorna said and she walked out of the room. "Ah yes," she said and with another wave of her hand, the bag flowed away from them, back toward the large fields. Thorna turned around and started to walk the other way.

  They walked down a series of corridors into the Ogre sector which to Iris’s surprise was strangely quiet and clean. The Ogre area was mostly built on large open spaces with thick grey stone walls and pillars, with old style fire torches that lit the way. They walked further down and stopped at a massive door constructed from stone.

  There was a faint, constant bang that came from inside. Thorna let herself in and placed her hand on the rock, which moved aside in response. Inside a Kijiar was sat at a desk with piles of paperwork neatly stacked on either side. He was quite slim for a Kijiar and had plain, yellowy orange fur which covered his body and paws.

  Thorna stood there patiently for several seconds, which for her seemed like an eternity. "Ahem!" she coughed purposefully. The Kijiar casually licked its paw and looked up at the three of them.

  "What can I help you with Thorna?" replied the Kijiar.

  "We need to see Plode, we have a strange can you hurry up, please?" Thorna demanded.

  "He is busy at the moment Thorna, is it something I can he-".

  "NO! We must see him now, or do you want me to set my sister on you!" Thorna interrupted.

  The Kijiar raised his hands "Ok, ok..." the Kijiar said, "Let me go get him". Thorna just smiled to herself.

  Soon after an Ogre came through the door, who wore a large apron covered in soot, with burn holes all over. His skin looked bizarre, it was smooth and shiny almost like leather. His nose was much thinner and longer than other Ogre's, just like his ears, which looked like someone had just glued Elf ears on his head.

  “I’m sorry Plode, she insisted,” The Kijiar apologised.

  "Ah Thorna, what's the urgency?" Plode asked.

  "May we come in?" she said rudely.

  Plode held the door open and stepped aside. Iris and Zelkith hesitated but Thorna waltzed in happily and headed around the corner. Thorna peered her head from around the door. "Coming?" she asked.

  Iris and Zelkith went into the room to be hit by a wave of heat. Along one side was a line of furnaces, each with their own anvil. Beside each one was either an Ogre or a Greelong. It looked like they repaired broken armour and weapons, which would then be taken around the corner in large mining carts. Plode led them around the corner to a large alcove with nothing but a single large anvil.

  "So, what's the issue Thorna?" Plode asked.

  Thorna looked around the empty alcove.

  "I still don't understand how you can, there is this," Thorna said. She handed Plode a sealed letter. Plode ripped open the seal and skimmed through the contents and nodded as he did so.

  "This should be possible, tell him I should have them done in time," Plode said.

  Thorna just walked away and did not say anything at all and left Iris and Zelkith stood there in front of him.

  "Thank you, Plode," Zelkith said. He was not really sure if he should say anything or not.

  "Don't mention it," Plode said back. Plode turned around and started to read the letter thoroughly.

  Iris and Zelkith quickly caught up with Thorna, who had left the armoury and walked back down the corridor. She took them back to the grassy field where the huge sack of weapons was sat in the middle of the field.

  "Have you ever been in a battle before?" Thorna asked as she reached into the bag.

  "A little, but Zelkith was always there to protect me if things really got out of hand" replied Iris.

  "So it looks like I'll be starting from scratch with you" exclaimed Thorna.

  The world of Wizards and Witches is much more aggressive than the feuds Iris had experienced in her childhood, so it was important for her to learn how to defend herself.

  Thorna pulled out a series of weapons from long swords, bow and arrows, short swords, daggers; there was no end of different types. She handed them to Iris one at a time and then Thorna attacked her with a sword to judge how she blocked and attacked with each weapon.

  Thorna had a very strange ability to be able to judge people's best weapon and style; it was the reason why the Legion was one of the strongest powers in Wizgrad.

  By the end of the day, they had gone through over half of the bag. When Iris finally felt comfortable with a weapon Thorna said no and threw it aside to try another.

  Thorna sent Iris and Zelkith away, to return the next day. On the way out they bumped into Mireylon. He had no news about Efrundle, but had created some space in a spare room of his house and had made a bed for Iris. The Legion was too busy with other matters to build Iris her own place.

  The next morning Iris and Zelkith walked back down to the field, where Thorna waited for them. They got started straight away and they continued to go through the huge sack of weapons.

  For the next half a day they went through spears, halberds, sai, scimitars, swords and shields, yet nothing seemed to be good enough.

  "No no no this isn't right!" Thorna shouted in frustration. She threw aside the last weapon in the bag. "This hasn't happened since…what do I do now?!"

  "Hasn't happened since when?" Zelkith asked.

  Thorna stood deep in thought. She looked up in acknowledgement to indicate that she had remembered something. She held up her hand and ran off down the corridor and out of sight.

  "Do you really think she knows what she's doing...I mean...she seems a bit...Insane" Iris said to Zelkith.

  "She may be a little eccentric, but she knows exactly what she's doing," came a voice from the corridor. It was Mireylon who was stood at the entrance.

  "There are no real leads on Efrundle, but I have the best person looking… I'm sorry I couldn't bring any better news" stated Mireylon.

  "Thank you, Mireylon," Iris said. She could see that he really did everything he could to help Iris. He had made her food and brought her water and spent most of his time to try and find clues about Efrundle's whereabouts. Mireylon just smiled and walked back to his dormitory.

  Zelkith looked at Iris, who smiled as she watched Mireylon walk away.

  "You like him don't you?" Zelkith said.

  "Of Course not!... I mean...He has been helping us a lot though" Iris said shyly. Zelkith raised his eyebrows.

  "Ok...maybe a little..." confessed Iris.

  It wasn't long until Thorna had returned and she had something clutched in her hands. Thorna gave two items to Iris, which on a quick glance were two expensive sword handles, with no blades.

  "What use is…" Iris paused.

  Without hesitation, Thorna had grabbed a large two-handed sword and swung it at Iris.

  Iris's automatic reaction was to block as she had done in her training. Iri
s screamed and the blade rushed towards her.

  Thorna stopped the blade just in front of Iris's head.

  "What the hell did you do that for!?" Iris yelled angrily.

  "Well it worked though didn't it hahaha" Thorna laughed.

  "What worked!? What the hell is wrong with you!" Iris shouted. Iris scowled at Thorna but she just smiled back at her and made it worse.

  "Iris…Look" Zelkith said, he pointed his nose up to Iris's hands. Iris looked up to see a blue glowing sword and shield emanate from the two handles that Thorna had given to her. In the shock when Iris finally noticed what had happened, the sword and shield disappeared. Thorna withdrew her sword with a smug look on her face.

  Iris glanced down at the mysterious handles to take a good look at them. They felt almost weightless, yet they looked like they were made from expensive gold. Both handles were identical and had a golden snake around the hilt which ate its own tail to make a circle. At the very bottom of the handle was a large transparent crystal. On the leather grip of the handle, in gold the word ‘Limbo' was etched.

  Iris looked in awe at the handles, which she called Limbo after the name engraved on the handle. She handed them back to Thorna, who gently pushed Iris's hands back towards her.

  "These are yours to keep…on one condition!" Thorna said. “You must NOT let anyone see them, only when you are in imminent danger…and that includes in front of the Legion!" she said firmly. Iris was not sure how to react; she had never expected Thorna to respond in such a way.

  "Here," Thorna said. She handed Iris a black belt which had a loop either side. She told Iris to put it under her clothes and use it to store Limbo out of view.

  She then gave her another belt with two swords on either side. Thorna told Iris that she was to use these swords from now on. She then told Iris to come back the next day and to rest for now. Tomorrow Thorna would teach her how to use Limbo.

  Iris decided to spend the rest of the day looking around the stronghold. "I wonder if there is any information on Efrundle in the library," Iris said.

  Iris and Zelkith wandered the halls and tried to find the library. Eventually, after almost an hour they found a room stacked to the brim with books. It looked like a daunting task, how on earth she would find anything among all of those books.

  Iris decided to take a quick look in the hope that she would stumble on what she needed. Iris scrolled through the books not really sure what to look for.

  "Anyone in here?" said a voice from the entrance to the library. Iris and Zelkith stayed silent and peered around the corner to try to establish who it was.

  It was Dartis, the scrawny King of the Legion. Iris hid behind a large shelf of books. She could hear his footsteps walk inside the room and they were followed by another.

  Two chairs got pulled out from a small table in the centre of the library and two people sat themselves down. Iris and Zelkith kept as quiet as they could and listened attentively.

  "So what's the news?" said the other voice. Iris was sure it sounded just like Mireylon.

  "The scouts think she is a danger, we believe she now has possession of both items very recently" Dartis spoke urgently.

  Iris's heart throbbed deeply; did they mean Limbo, which she had in her possession just several feet away? She peered around again carefully to see that it was Mireylon sat with Dartis.

  "Now that does complicate things…how do you suggest we deal with it?" Mireylon said.

  "Well, if she does know its power, she must be dealt with accordingly...death and publicly" Dartis responded.

  "No!..." Mireylon protested. Dartis gave him a concerned look. "Not publicly, she should be dealt with quietly and off the books. If people find out that its location has been compromised it could spell disaster" Mireylon continued.

  "You do make a good point…and who do you suggest would do the task?" Dartis enquired.

  "I will…no one else must know about this," Mireylon said.

  Iris attempted to make a hole in a line of books to peep through the middle, but one of the books slumped down and fell off the shelf. The noise alerted Dartis and Mireylon, who looked over suspiciously. Mireylon slowly walked over with a wand in hand and headed towards Iris and Zelkith.

  "I know someone's there!" Mireylon said. He quickly put his head around the corner, but there was nothing. He headed towards the next corner where Iris and Zelkith were hidden. Iris covered their mouths to keep them quiet. Mireylon reached the edge of the bookcase; his hand gripped the edge ready to look around the corner.

  "Mireylon let us finish the matters at hand, I have things to do," Dartis said out loud. Mireylon moved his hands from the bookcase and walked back toward Dartis.

  "As you know, there was one thing that I did not mention in the meeting. Now that we have no way to recruit new members, Thorna's role is no more of any use to us, and you know what situation this puts me in" Dartis said.

  "Why are you mentioning this to me?" Mireylon retorted angered.

  "I know she is close to you Mireylon, but we cannot let her leave us with the knowledge she has," Dartis said.

  "You don't have to follow the rules word for word! She can still serve a purpose to us!" Mireylon argued.

  "My mind is made up, it will be swift and painless, we have already sent her to the cave outside of here and you cannot stop this," Dartis said with an arrogant smirk on his face.

  "You dirty snake!" Mireylon yelled. He slammed his hand onto the table.

  "Do not report back to me until your task is finished," Dartis said and he walked out of the library.Mireylon sat for a few moments alone.

  "You will pay for this, traitor!" He uttered under his breath and looked in the direction of where Iris and Zelkith were hidden. He then stood up and stormed out of the room.

  "Phew...That was close" Iris gasped a sigh of relief.

  "We've got to get out of here," Zelkith said, but even he knew it was a stupid idea. All the exits were guarded and no one would let them leave on their own.

  They left the library shortly afterwards and tried to find any exit that might be less guarded. They went down several hallways and sets of staircases and found nowhere they could escape at all. They both realised they were trapped here.

  "Ah Iris, Zelkith-What good timing!" came a voice, it was Mireylon who was behind them. "What are you even doing here anyway?" Mireylon questioned.

  "Erm, we were just…err…looking around" Iris said.

  "No matter. The King has given...us an important task and we must leave immediately" explained Mireylon.

  Mireylon made them follow him into the armoury where Thorna had previously taken them before. He closed the door behind them and walked up to a stone wall at the far end of the room. He brushed his hands along the walls and after a few seconds, he pushed one of the stones into the wall and a series of clunks came from under the room. He then walked over to the other side of the room and got down on his hands and knees and felt around on the floor for something else.

  He stopped at the weapon rack beside Iris and tapped on the floor beneath. He lifted open a trap door which led down into the ground.

  "This way and quiet" Mireylon whispered.

  They quietly crept through a small dark tunnel and after a short while they reached the other end, a set of stairs led up to another trap door. They climbed up the stairs and into a pitch-black room. Mireylon lit up the room with a wand he had in his hand. He had led them into a completely sealed stone room.

  "Hold this," Mireylon said and he gave the wand to Iris.

  Iris noticed Zelkith sniff the air.

  "What is it, Zell?"

  "Do you not smell it?" he responded.

  "Smell what?" Iris replied.

  It's like…blood.." Zelkith said concerned.

  "Oh no!" Mireylon panicked. He ran to the furthest wall and pressed his hands against it. “Ostendo!" he shouted. The stone wall started to turn into wood from around his hands. It soon spread until it eventually turned into a large studded
wooden door. He grabbed back his wand and pushed open the door without hesitation. A flood of sunlight rushed into the dark room and was accompanied by the foul smell of rotten flesh.

  Once their eyes had adjusted to the light, it was a grim sight to see. Directly outside were two men, their armour badly damaged. Both the men had a deep cut along their throats and had been left out to burn in the sun.

  "How could this happen?!" Mireylon screamed in anger. He ran over to another stone wall and held his palms up to the wall again.

  "Please be safe," he said and he cast the same spell as before to reveal another door. He pushed the door open slowly and stood back. Inside stood a golden-haired horse. It walked over to Mireylon and lowered its head.

  "Thank God you're safe," Mireylon said. "Iris, Zelkith, We must mo…" Mireylon began to speak but when he turned they had vanished. "Iris! Zelkith!" He yelled. He ran out of the stables and looked around in the distance. There was nothing to be seen but the empty wilderness and the nearby forest.

  "Dammit!" Mireylon shouted and stamped his foot.

  "That was close," Iris said. Iris and Zelkith had managed to escape while Mireylon was distracted. Iris had jumped onto Zelkith’s back and they ran into the nearby forest.

  "Did you see how quickly he cast that spell?" Iris said. It was rare to see any Witch or Wizard who could cast a spell without the aid of any wand at all, and it was usually the more powerful ones.

  "Yes…and that worries me, we shouldn't tarry for long," Zelkith said. They found a stream of fresh water and they drank before they made their way downstream. They followed the river downstream for a while longer but it began to get dark and their legs started to ache and their stomachs rumbled.

  "We should find somewhere to rest," Zelkith said. They continued to walk along in the dark.

  “There is a cave up there," Zelkith said and he led them up the mountainside to the cavern.

  "I can't see a thing in here," Iris said. Iris used her outstretched arms to try and feel what was around her but stumbled on the uneven ground.