THE SECRETS OF ASPHALDITE

by Udyan Sharma

  While having a lot of discussion on the topic of kings and queens, let us see, what our chubby Haluriet was doing.

  “Wake up! Halo, it’s been around 12:10 and you’re still snoozing,” David said while trying to wake up Halo. One could easily explain that he was binding dreams of wealth and richness but the stint could convert his dreams to the story of a well-known farmer with milk in an earthen pot.

  The tale is still well known; it was a short story with a moral of not to dream much instead of executing. The story evolved around the four dimensional world of a farmer, which was plot on a narrow pathway from a village to the town with few facilities.

  The farmer was going to the town but he had to cross a pathway which was covered with rocks, while a sandy bed being on the either sides of the path. Precipitously, he had a dream in which he thought that, from the milk he had with him, he would sell it, buy a hen and when she would lay eggs, moving further on the track, he would buy a cow from selling that hen and the eggs; and from the money earned by the selling of the cow and the milk, he would buy a buffalo but as he could think of buying an abode, a small rock hindered his way and while his feet got tangled with it, the earthen pot in his hands fell away and the milk got absorbed by the sandy bed encircling the path. All his dreams were ruined and now once again he had to beg for getting some liters of milk; same was the case with Haluriet.

  After endeavouring a lot, David finally deigned to hit Haluriet with a small rock lying somewhere in his room, which was rather covered with bars. It hit him just above his eyes and his reaction could only remark him, most favourite expression of all - dander.

  He shouted out in misery and as he saw David in wrath, started to offer him a bunch full of apologies.

  “Let’s go!” he said while keeping his hand over his brown coloured eyebrow. He took out the keys from the stand and unbolted the lock of David’s prison, while making him free.

  “Now that ring please,” he asked David in an expression full of voracity.

  “Why do you weep always?” asked David while taking out the ring from his hand and giving it over to Haluriet.

  “Wow! I always wondered how Platinum looked like,” said the chubby keeper of the keys.

  “Now, don’t you dare to dream, my fat Halo,” he said while scolding him.

  “Be quick, and don’t waste even a single second,” David requested Haluriet and while departing from that place, they reached the entrance of the prison, which was secured by two heft men with long pointed bayonets in their hands.

  “Stop Haluriet. You cannot go further than this,” one of the men revolted out heatedly, as they were doing that duty from four decades and around five decades were still left for their retirement.

  “I’ve received a confidential message from the king and if you don’t allow me, your head shall be butchered down right now,” said Haluriet in frustration, while his eyes being in the essence of red colour.

  “Sure! You may leave,” they allowed David and Haluriet to leave the prison, as they were obliged by the orders of the king.

  Their pursuit for the clandestine book of Asphaldite had begun but still, as David was completely new to the place and Haluriet being a slave, had not scrutinized Asphaldite, which could strain them apart.

  However, moving through forests, villages and towns, while defending themselves, they reached the tunnel but as they saw the spectacular prospect around them, they got dazed with terror. The tunnel was encircled by an immense array of robust men and obviously they did not want to be caught by the men, who could even squeeze them, if made to sit on them.

  “Hey Haluriet! What are you doing over ‘ere,” said one of those robust men while catching the sight of Haluriet, who was hiding with David, behind a thorny bush.

  “The king has sent me to have a look on you people,” he replied and as being missing from the fortress for more than a month, the men too had a tangy answer for him, “We are going to arrest you as the king has lodged a report against you and on finding you, he has said to immediately report to the court in the fortress.”

  “Well then he would have filed the report of an awkward prisoner having disappeared along with me too,” he said.

  “Yes that’s true,” the hefty man replied.

  “Then allow us to enter the tunnel as the king has told me to bring this foreigner to that library and he shall be coming soon,” said Haluriet in an agitated manner; “But if you want to get a confirmation, then the king can only address you. Our dear guest of Asphaldite, you can go and repose in the tent nearby,” Haluriet said to David while doing the finest acting all over the world.

  “No, it’s okay. I want to go to the king right now and report the misconduct of his men and as I’ve heard of him, I think he shall take away your voice from you. Let’s go Halo,” David too said in an infuriated way and he, along with Haluriet, started to walk on the opposite direction of the tunnel.

  “Did I act well?” David slowly asked him while moving away from there. Haluriet could not even reply as one of the robust men interrupted him, “Stop, you can’t go from here, our dearest guest. You are permitted to enter the tunnel and we shall supply any kind of refreshments, you entail”; “Open the door and be quick.”

  “Finally, you understood the plan of king,” Haluriet said to that men and took David to the entrance of that archive. He once again approached that place; one being in future while the other visit being in the past.

  A covert air message was sent to the king; he, being completely oblivious of the guest, took his horse, and hastily rushed towards the archive, whereas, David and Haluriet were endeavouring to open the gateway of that colossal archive.

  “Do you know how to open it?” Haluriet asked David and swinging his index finger four times round the emblem made on the gateway of that archive, he jumped into it but Haluriet was not able to do it and had to stay out until David returned.

  David hastily took out the consecrated book from its shelf, shivered for a jiffy but finally unbolted it.

  “Oh my god!” were the only words which could remark the guise on his face and lips.

  The book contained the information about the location of Scythe, the most dominant weapon of all times, David hastily noted the information in his diminutive address directory note pad.

  Before he could note all the points, the immense gateway started to open and when David saw through his right shoulder, he found that he was confronting the most influential ruler – King Zudite.

  “You foolish boy, you have endeavoured to challenge me. Have you even wondered what can I do? Look at the poor Haluriet. It is the result of disgracing me and now you want to hinder me,” said the bearer of a highly sharp pointed red coloured sword, especially imported from a faraway town.

  “I’m really sorry. But Haluriet brought me here and forced me. To find the Scythe and make him the immortal,” replied David in a frightened tone.

  “But how do I know you can locate Scythe?” King asked.

  “See, I’ve got this gadget in my hand. It can show us the way to the Scythe,” replied David.

  “What is this?” asked Zudite while taking David’s tablet in his hands.

  “It is a G.P.S locator. A sample of modern technology,” replied David.

  King Zudite took his sword, carved the emblem of Asphaldite on David’s hand, and took him to the fortress of Asphaldite.

  He ordered his legitimates not to disturb him while he was having a meeting with the revolutionized one. Zerine was included in the quest for Scythe too but Elice and the queens were excluded from the plan, as Zudite firmly believed that woman could betray, whereas girls could not.

  The meeting was being held in a chamber enclosed from all the sides. They all three were sitting round a table, facing each other. Zerine was sitting to the left of David, whereas, Zudite was sitting to the right of David.

  The meeting started as the king inhaled the smoke of coal through a device called Hookah, which eventually reached his lungs and
gave him a feeling of leisure.

  “By the way, you are not too brutal,” said David.

  “Me?” asked Zudite.

  “Yes, obviously,” replied David in a high pitch.

  Zerine was just quietly sitting, listening to the plan and inhaling her specially prepared Hookah. There was a long conversation between David and Zudite and they finally prepared a map for the speck where Scythe, was veiled. The conversation could not be explained better than as below.

  “This book states that the way to Scythe is underground,” said Zudite, while his mind being in a perplexed state.

  “That means we have to dig.”

  “Yes. We have to dig.”

  “No problem! Your servants are enough to do so.”

  “Sorry! No servants allowed.”

  “But why?” David said in a frazzled manner.

  “We can’t tell anyone that we’re searching for the Scythe because it if Zeus gets to know that we are searching for the Scythe, he might appear and slay us.”

  “Okay, no problem. I have some digging tools in my bag. Advanced and modernized ones; not like your hoary ones,” said David while showing his apparatuses to Zudite.

  “Well, is it better than this?” Zudite asked David while showing him a gigantic tool, which could be the finest for digging and in front of whom, the tools of David seemed to be small pets.

  “Then final. Tools decided”; ”Now what next?” asked David.

  “Nothing next! You’re preparing a map for me in the big box which you have in your hand but if you don’t do so. Then you very well know.”

  “Sorry to interrupt, but dad you can’t do anything to him. After all, he’s so cool,” interrupted Zerine when Zudite was trying to frighten David.

  “Okay my dearest Zerine. I shall take care that he doesn’t faces any difficulty,” said Zudite while closing the meeting and firmly told David to get a map ready in fifteen days, alongside giving him permission to search for his father and relish the city of Asphaldite with Zerine.

  “Zerine, I hope you’ll take our guest to a tour of Asphaldite,” Zudite asked Zerine and left the chamber.

  “Hey David would you like to come to my room. It’s already been midnight and I think so that you could accommodate yourself,” she formally asked him while her eye being pleased with love for him.

  David had to go to her room as it was too obscure for him to arrange for a room but as he entered the chamber of Zerine, he found something familiar. He found the qualities of Susan in her and only after two days fell in love with her.

  Their love story was too romantic as they used to meet in front of the garden of the fortress and always relished each other’s love by osculating each other, while touching their lips and exchanging fluids to remark their craze for each other; their lips being full of saliva and a kind of softness.

  Zudite was completely oblivious of their esteem for each other but sometime, he too suspected his daughter.

  On a fine optimistic day, while David and Zerine were talking to each other, David, being too nervous but perceptibly enough, he proposed her and said, “I love you Zerine,” while hugging her and putting his hands above her waist and back and while giving her a feeling of love which he had for her too.

  It was like a kick-start to their love story and it continued for a long time. Fifteen days had passed like the drizzling of clouds and Zudite was not able to chastise David as Zerine always saved him from the terror of Zudite.

  Finally, after heaping on his soul, for diurnals and nocturnals, David created a precise map for the location of the Scythe, but on the other hand, he being exultant enough with Zerine, dis remembered the fact that he had a father too.

  He presented that map in front of King Zudite. Zudite analyzed that map for a long time and on getting confirmation that the map was accurate, he had to value David’s forte and remunerate him with a grant.

  He asked David, “What do want? Today I’m so ecstatic that I shall lend you anything. Don’t hesitate. Just ask.”

  “Anything?” David confirmed once.

  “Yes anything,” replied Zudite.

  “Can you lend me your daughter’s hand,” asked David while leaving him in a Dilemma.

  “Are you serious?” Zudite made a horrific guise on his face.

  “Yes I am!”

  “Then what are you waiting for?” proclaimed Zudite which changing his expressions to a pleasant guise.

  “Yes!” David broke off in exhilaration, whereas, Zerine blushed a lot. It was completely normal for a girl to blush after hearing the report of her bridal with a stranger, more pertinent to say, a lover with whom she had relished a lot.

  “Wait a second!” Zudite bellowed and scared David; “I mean first let’s focus. Focus on the Scythe.”

  “Yeah let us focus; focus,” repeated David in ecstasy.

  Zerine, Zudite and David sallied for their quest of Scythe, which might be difficult for some other people, but as they had the map; it had become like a game of treasure hunt. Zudite knew that the Scythe was not far away from him and that too and on getting it, he would become the immortal of all; being completely oblivious that if Scythe was brought above the speck where Chronos was assassinated by Zeus, Chronos could rejuvenate himself by the clout of Scythe and only after ruining the future.

  Their trek began with a forest, rather apropos to say, a dense forest with huge bushes and wild plants. Zudite wanted to achieve his target and for doing so, he went through and through, cutting down each bush with the help of the sharpness of his sword.

  While they were walking, Zerine’s foot hit a piece of big stone and she was engulfed in a treacherous piece of quagmire. It had happened when they were crossing the moor to their next destination.

  David was determined and also, in love, without wasting any time, he endeavoured with his full might but he was not able to do so. Seeing this prospect, Zudite had decided that Zerine would only marry him and that too with a lot of festivities and merriments.

  Zudite saved her but after she had scrutinized David’s esteem for her, she was very much eager to marry him in front of whole Asphaldite and its public.

  They confronted many hitches in reaching the speck where the Scythe was veiled. It was not at all tranquil for anyone to locate it as Zeus, the God of skies, had veiled it and locating it meant deceiving the command of the immortal one, especially the most dominant one. King Zudite would not have been able to prepare, even the map for reaching Scythe if he would not have taken the succor.

  Finally, after they had provoked many intricacies, they reached the speck where Scythe was veiled under the crust of the hallowed land of Asphaldite.

  The Reimburse Of The Immortal

  “Sir, should we start quarrying this speck? I’m sure that there’s a cave underground which shrouds the most influential arm – the Scythe,” David asked Zudite and as getting an endorsement, he started quarrying that place with the assist of Zerine.

  It was a rigid piece of land and digging it, entailed a lot of potency. Their hands were scalded due to the direct rubbing with of hoary apparatuses used by them and finally Zudite had to remove them from that speck and endeavour to break that rock with the aid of his spiritual supremacy; after all, he, being an official of Zeus, had the clout to enchant the wind spirits and make them do his work but he forgot the most significant thing that the spirits were a part of Zeus’ soul and would not con him; he being the father of Gods and wind spirits.

  He began enchanting the spirits and only a few seconds could remark the clairvoyant change in the façade of sky.

  A blizzard of obscure clouds and many spirits encircled the sky, while being in the essence of evil, had been the cause of the gusty winds, which ruined the entire vegetation of Asphaldite; and the intact public perceived that panorama.

  Thousands of people died that night and it being the murkiest and a vile nocturnal, had been the wickedest episode in the antiquity of Asphaldite.

  Asphaldite; being an antedilu
vian site for David did not matter much but for the people, the public, and the soldiers as well, was their domicile, the estate conscientious for their nurture and along as well, being the land for their death too.

  His eyes being dazed with horror and having attained the ambition for the reason which he live; and having unearthed the Scythe, moved his sacred hands towards it.

  Far away, in the consecrated land of heaven, Zeus was contemplating for the future of humankind but on hearing the report from one of his wind spirits, had to invite his thunderbolt. Thunderbolt, weapon of Zeus, slightly less potent than Scythe, could slay down millions people in one go with a somewhat extremely hazardous tremor.

  Zeus took his ride, while having his army of wind spirits behind him, began his way from the heaven to Asphaldite. The atrocious spirits, which rattled humans, were now behind Zudite’s life.

  Zudite, being intensely exultant, picked up the Scythe in his hands and chanted aloud, “Oh, the spirits of this nasty world, your father has attained you once again. Wake up. Wake up for Chronos, the immortal that reinforced you. Let the person deserving, may have the enlivening pleasure of presiding this world.”

  The Scythe began to stimulate but something struck the king as the worst part of the situation and as he tested it on Zerine’s soul, he said while being scared, “Why isn’t it working? God dammed. If Zeus comes to know my plan, he would definitely butcher me down here and one of his wind spirits would dig a grave for me, making this sacred place a cemetery; while showing me way to Charon and at the end, Hades as well, where I shall be treated as a hooligan. Zerine please do something for me. Save my soul and not let the monster heap it.”

  “I was wrong dad. I always thought you to be an inspiration, aspiration and an ambition but you condemned and deceived me, leaving no other option for me. You will die tonight and I shall witness your death. How dare you endeavor to kill me with that Scythe?” she bawled in a furious way and while putting her head on David’s shoulder, she found it to be cozy enough to remove her misfortunes.