The Vault of Kings

by Matt Taylor

  “The knowledge of whatever is contained within the vault was lost when the last of the original Kings died. The stones were eventually hidden in safe places or lost due to the corruption of man and their lust for power. My mother told me all of what little information has been passed down in my family about what’s inside the vault. All I know is that whatever it is, it will give the wielder immense power, and a knowledge of something that the original Kings thought should not be known to the world.”

  Standing up from her throne, Nydria approached Sylas with an outstretched hand, “I was told that the

  Kings voted to give the key to the first mage, Zephyr and that he vowed to keep it secure so as to not allow it to fall into the hands of someone who would try to collect all of the stones and use whatever was inside to assert dominance over the land.”

  Sylas placed the amulet in her hand and watched as she examined it again, slowly turning it around in her hands and feeling the Stone of Darkness with her fingers.

  “Somehow, it must have been stolen or traded away and forgotten to end up in Aracorns possession. Over the years, its existence turned into a myth, which in my opinion is safer for the world anyway... I’m quite surprised to see it in person… So, is that enough information for you then? And if so, I would like to know what your intentions with this amulet are.”

  It was Uthren who spoke up this time as he slowly walked closer to Nydria and Sylas, “The reason we have come to you is for both guidance and help. As you know, Maelos has several cities under his strict rule, and they are each slowly dying. Only the greater cities such as this one were able to withstand his first wave of attacks ten years ago. I’m sure that he’s preparing for another attack as we speak, and this time he won’t stop until he gains control of everything.”

  “We have thwarted Maelos and his attempts at taking over our great city, and we will do it again. Have you seen any evidence of him preparing to attack?” She asked.

  “Not exactly, but we do have great reason to believe that he has plans to attack again. We also worry because we believe he has gained much more power since the last time he attacked. What do you know about Darkness Magick?” Uthren asked.

  Nydria handed the amulet back to Sylas and looked into Uthrens eyes. “I know that it’s evil, despite what others may say to try and defend it. I also know that it’s very powerful and resourceful, and can be very dangerous. You should think the same as I do Light mage, you know very well that Darkness is not an element that can be trusted.”

  “You should know then of some of the capabilities that it has when it’s used by a master as capable as Maelos,” Uthren responded. “Ever since Sylas found the stone and had his first vision, I was wary about what Maleos could be up to. I went to my home after helping him and his friends get back to Shilvrst, and I read out of a book that one of my instructors gave me long ago. It was a book on advanced Darkness techniques and theories as to what might be able to be accomplished if someone were to gain enough power. I needed to see more evidence to be sure, but it was made clear when several of these techniques were manifest in Sylas’s visions. Aaracorn worked with Maelos extensively on something very dark, and I believe that he succeeded before the rest of the Council of Light and I were able to kill him. One of those techniques I believe he mastered is called Living Darkness. It’s a way to take a part of your soul and bind it to an object, thus allowing you to, if your body dies, have someone remove your soul from that object into another body, and you will live once again in that new body. I believe that Maelos and Aracorn must have figured out how to do this, and a part of Maelos is bound to the Stone of Darkness. I also think that when Sylas touched the stone, something might have gone wrong, and a piece of him is also bound to the stone, making a strange connection between himself and Maelos. The other thing that troubles me is something that Sylas saw in one of his visions. I think that Maelos is building an army of skeletons brought back to life with Darkness Magick to once again try his hand at conquering the cities that he was not able to overthrow the first time.”

  Nydria walked back to her throne and sat down, She seemed troubled about the information that was presented to her by Uthren, but still showed a facade of confidence.

  “So, what’s your plan then? To try and stop him before his plans can be fulfilled? I hope you realize that I will not endorse a mission to retrieve all of the elemental stones and attempt to open the Vault of Kings. Was this part of your plan?

  Geode bowed his head slightly as he spoke, “My queen, you must realize that it’s only a matter of time before Maelos is able to enforce his rule over not only Gelendor but other strong cities as well. He will not stop until he’s the supreme ruler over everything. We can’t let him gain enough power to do that. He is hunting us down right this very moment because he knows that we have the Stone of Darkness in our possession, and he most likely knows that we are here in Gelendor. Somehow it seems that he doesn’t know that we have the amulet, so that can be to our advantage! Aracorn must have found it at some point and hid it away to one day use it as leverage against Maelos if he ever felt that he was not getting the recognition he felt he deserved. If he’s able to get the stone, it will be the edge that he needs to accomplish his goals. If he were able to obtain the amulet, I’m positive that he would stop at nothing to find the remainder of the stones and open the vault himself. We need something to give us the power to defeat him and rid the land of his presence before any of that can happen. Whatever is in that vault might be the key to ending this war.”

  “My ancestors and the rest of the Kings kept whatever is in the vault a secret to protect us.” She responded sharply. “They knew in their wisdom that it was not right for it to be known to the world, so they hid it away. I will not entertain this conversation any longer. However, you bring up a good point about not wanting the amulet or the stone to fall into his hands, so I will be taking that from you now.”

  Nydria reached her hand out towards Sylas and petitioned him to hand it over. Reluctantly, Sylas placed the amulet into her hand, which she promptly placed around her neck.

  “Rest assured, the amulet will be safe here with me. You are all welcome to stay in Gelendor until you feel it’s safe to leave, but I expect none of the conversation that we had today to be mentioned outside these walls. Is that understood?”

  Goede and Uthren looked at each other for a moment, then with a sad countenance, agreed to her demands.

  Nydria nodded and sat back in her throne. “Very good. Well then, if there’s nothing else, I will thank you for your concern, assure you that we are safe within the walls of our great city, and bid you a good day. Guards, will you please kindly escort our friends out of the Great Tree?”

  “Yes, my queen.” The guards both said in unison as they slipped their spears and bucklers onto their backs.

  The guards escorted them through the many tunnels and staircases of the Great Tree until they were at the large wooden door in front of the stone bridge. They then told them to enjoy their stay in Gelendor before opening the doors and ushering them out onto the bridge.

  Sylas and the others slowly walked across the bridge, their heads hanging lower than usual.

  “So, what now?” Torren finally said, breaking the silence. “Does this mean we just go home and back to our old lives?

  Uthren sighed. “I’m afraid so Torren, it looks as if our journey has been cut short. It’s good for us in that you won’t be exposed to more danger though, I’m sure that your parents will be happy with the way this ended. I fear, however, that without opening the vault, it’s just a matter of time until things go from bad to worse.”

  Uthren smiled, and changing his tone of voice slightly put his hand on Sylas’s shoulder.

  “But that doesn’t mean all hope is lost, nor does it mean that we have to go home empty-handed. We will stay here in the city for a while to try and get Maelos off our trail, and in the meantime, we should look for something to bring home to your families. The stone will be
in good hands here, and I don’t think there’s anything else we can do to change Nydria’s mind, so we might as well make the best of our stay in Gelendor.

  Sylas smiled, then remembering his conversation with Geode, asked, “Can we find someone to enchant something for me so that I can talk to Sky more easily? I’d really like to be able to do that before we return to Shilvrst.”

  “That sounds like an excellent idea,” Uthren replied. “We should try and find something for all of you to bring back. We worked hard to get here, and I think we deserve a bit of a break.”

  “Geode, do you know of any good places to eat around here? I’m starving!” Torren said, trying to help Uthren cheer up the rest of the group. The sound of a nice hot meal made Sylas’s stomach growl.

  “Yes! That’s what I vote we do first, too!” Samara said.

  “As a matter of fact, I do know of a place. Geode replied. “It’s also a place where we can stay for the night in a warm bed rather than on the ground. To the Flowing Treeline Tavern, it is!”

  The thought of sleeping in a bed almost sounded better than a hot meal to Sylas. He picked up the pace to keep up with the others who were now almost jogging to get across the bridge. Besides, he thought, now we can go home, and I won’t have to worry about getting killed at any given point in the day. I won’t have the weight of needing to find all of the stones on my shoulders anymore, and I’ll get to see my family again. It’s not all bad news. This is probably the way things needed to happen anyway.

  chapter 11

  Enchantments

  Sylas awoke with a smile on his face. It felt so good to just explore the incredible city of Gelendor, meet new and fantastic people, and just relax instead of running for his life every day. Yep, the past three days have been amazing, but today is going to be the most amazing of them all, he thought to himself.

  Climbing out of his bed, he grabbed one of his pillows and walked over to where Torren was sleeping, with a smile of deviousness he raised the pillow high above his head and brought it down hard on Torrens blanket-covered torso. Torren awoke with a Hoouf! The air he had been so peacefully breathing in all of a sudden being forced out of him.

  “Wake up, Torren! Today is the day that the enchanter is going to make that ring for me!”

  “That’s what you said yesterday, but do you have the ring he promised? Nope!” he sleepily replied, pulling the blankets over his head and curling himself into a ball.

  “That’s because he hadn’t finished with one of his other projects, but he assured me it would be done today,” Sylas said, ripping the blanket off of Torren and throwing it on the ground.

  “C’mon, plus that girl at the bakery next to his shop might be there again.”

  Torren opened his eyes, and unsuccessfully tried to suppress a smile. He then coolly sat up in his bed and stretched his arms, then brought his arms back into a flexing position and stared at his right bicep.

  “Yeah your right, we wouldn’t want her to miss out on anything.”

  Sylas just shook his head and proceeded to put his boots on. “I’ll meet you downstairs, his shop opens early, remember? So I want to get there as soon as we can so that I can figure out how the ring works and use it today with Sky.”

  He finished lacing up his boots then walked over to the small dresser that he and Torren shared. Geode had picked some long grass and flowers, and with Nature Magick weaved them together into a soft bed for Sky. She was still sleeping peacefully as Sylas approached her.

  “Soon, we’ll be able to talk to each other more easily, and I’ll really be able to get to know you.”

  He gently patted her on the head, then turning towards the door, reminded Torren to ‘hurry it up’ before heading down the stairs.

  The Flowing Treeline tavern was a nice place where you could have both a room and 2 hot meals a day for a price that Uthren called ‘agreeable’. They were lucky that Geode still had some wealth left in his old house here in the city and was able to cover their costs.

  Sylas wondered whether or not Goede had a family here too… but decided to let Geode bring that subject up in his own time. Reaching the bottom of the stairs, Sylas found a seat at an empty table and waited for Torren to meet him.

  “How ya doin’ hun? Can I get anything for you this morning?”

  “No thanks Rosalee, I had that pork roast of yours last night, and I’m still full.”

  Rosalee was a heavyset woman with a big heart and an even bigger attitude when someone did something disrespectful in her tavern. Like everyone else in Gelendor, she wore the signature green robes but her sleeves had been cut off near the top of her arm and she always wore a large white apron.

  “Well, I’m glad to hear you liked it. If you change your mind, then just let me know hun, you and your friends have been such good visitors, not causin’ trouble or makin’ a scene, it’s been nice havin’ you.”

  “It’s been nice being here! If my family could see this place… I think they would really like it here in Gelendor.”

  “You should bring them down sometime then, you would all be more than welcome to stay here at my tavern.”

  “I really appreciate that, if we do ever come down, your tavern will be the first place we visit. I think my father would really like your cooking.”

  “Honey, everyone likes my cookin’, because it’s the best cookin’ in town.” She said, sending him a wink.

  Sylas smiled and watched as she began to help others who were making their way from their rooms into the tavern’s mess hall. He sat waiting for Torren a while longer until he finally made his way down the stairs.

  “What took you so long? I’ve been waiting forever!”

  Torren ran a hand through his long hair and then shrugged, “You can’t rush beauty Sylas. It takes time for one to look this good.”

  He gave Sylas a toothy smile and raised one eyebrow, “I’m going to ask her what her name is today, so I thought I’d spend a couple of minutes to make sure I look my best, not that I really need it or anything.”

  Sylas laughed out loud and then stood up from his chair, “Whatever, let’s just go, his store is probably open by now.

  Sylas and Torren made their way through the streets until they came to a large tree that sat in the center of a circular roadway. Most of the buildings on the ground floor of the city were raised by Magick up from the earth, so the buildings were built using mostly stone. The majority had a wood finish on the outside and most of the time quite a bit of wood on the interior.

  The part that Sylas liked most about Gelendor, though, was that half of the city was high above the ground. He and Torren walked up the steps that were carved into the side of the massive tree in front of them until they reached what the people there called ‘the second level’. There were some houses on this level, if you could afford to build one on higher levels, but mostly everyone lived on the ground. The majority of general stores also were built on the ground, but the second level and other even higher levels amongst the trees were reserved for the luxurious houses, as well as specialty stores, fine dining, and other more rare marketplaces.

  Making their way across the several vine and wooden bridges, Sylas saw the building he was looking for, a medium-sized building nestled in between several of the larger branches of the tree with a large sign out front that read, ‘Fiskees Fabulous Enchantments’.

  Sylas heard a ‘ding, ding’ as the bell above his head rang upon entering the door to the establishment. He saw Fiskee rummaging around with some boxes near the front counter of the store, apparently looking for something.

  “Hey Fiskee, you looking for something?” Torren asked, shutting the door behind him.

  “Looking? No, I’m searching. Searching for my blasted spectacles, I know I left them around here somewhere, and I need to examine several gemstones before Lognor arrives, I told him I would have them inspected before he got here today and I can’t do that without those confounded spectacles!”

  Fiskee usually looked a bit
frazzled, the long unkempt white hair helped with that, but the short slender man looked even more frazzled than usual today.

  “I don’t know if I know what spectacles are… but could those be them on your head?” Sylas asked, pointing to an object sitting on the top of Fiskee’s head.

  “On my…” Fiskee looked at the ceiling as if to see the top of his own head, then reached his hands up and pulled the metal wire framed glass off of his head.

  “I say, boy, thank you! Sometimes I wonder if I’m going crazy! I would have looked for them all day if not for you. Mr. Rubybuster will get his gems inspected after all! Sylas, was it? Right, Sylas! I never forget a name. What can I do for you today? And how is that moon fox of yours, wait… don’t tell me, S… Skoo… Smmee… Sky! Sky, ha! You see? It’s all up here, all I have to do is dig it out! Don’t worry, I haven’t told anyone that you have a moon fox, although I’m still waiting for you to bring her in here so that I can meet her!”

  Sylas and Torren looked at each other with muffled grins. They liked Fiskee, even though they were sure he was just moments away from insanity, he was fun to be around.

  “Sky is doing great.” He responded. “She was sleeping when I left her this morning, or I would have brought her in. She seems to be getting lazy now that she doesn’t have to look for food every day.”

  “Animals will do that, you know, it’s not in their nature to not have to work hard to get their necessities every day. They turn into a pile of lazy bones once they are charmed by some mage wanting a companion. Why my cousin Rita charmed a tiger rabbit once and just a couple of years after she got it the silly thing got so fat and lazy he wouldn’t even get up to walk to his bowl of food, she had to carry it over to him! Can you believe that?”