Pandora's Box: Land of Strife: Pandora's Box Series, Book 1

by S. Y. Lee

  She wasn’t sure why Alister was insisting she set the cottage ablaze with him so near to it, but she had to act fast before she was spotted or Clera had regained control over the situation. Taking aim at one of the rods that held up the steaming pot, Caitlin fired off an arrow that set off a chain reaction.

  Her precision was amazing as the arrow struck the rod, toppling the pot and causing the flame burning below it to spread. The grass around the cooking area must have been dry, because it caught fire instantly and soon reached the pile of firewood. Then the cottage caught fire. Curiously, instead of ducking out of the cottage, Alister wrapped the brown pelt around his lanky body, the one Caitlin had sold him for an obscene amount of gold, and jumped inside. Soon, the cottage was engulfed in flames. Caitlin was speechless as she watched the building burn with Alister inside it, but there was no time to pause to ponder his strange actions.

  Everyone was surprised by the fire and before members of the Dark Flame could react, Jen was calling out to her father and the other residents of the valley. They recognized the opportunity and darted towards the little girl and the path that led to freedom. A few members of the Dark Flame were quick enough to react and grabbed several of the innocent residents, but they let go when Caitlin send arrows flying down, hitting them in their shoulders and legs. She was careful not to deliver a fatal shot to anyone, even if they had intended to massacre an entire community. She wasn’t one of them, regardless of the uniform she was wearing.

  As the residents fled, Caitlin’s arrows had given away her position but there was nothing the Dark Flame could do about it. Clera was pointing and screaming orders, but none of those under her command knew what to do. They dared not give chase to the people for fear of Caitlin’s lethal accuracy with the bow. After all, Clera was the one who had commanded a show of her skill and they had been witnesses to it.

  Caitlin pointed her bow downward, daring anyone to step forth. From time to time, someone would make an attempt to scale the hill or run down the path, and she would put an arrow in them and notch her next one before anyone else could act. The fire had started to spread rapidly around the valley, scaring the horses, so now many of the Dark Flame were delegated to firefighting and horse wrangling duties. She wasn’t sure how long she could maintain this stalemate, but Caitlin waited until Jen and the valley community were long gone before she stood up and fired one of her last two arrows at the ground next to the left foot of Clera.

  The commander looked up in anger but the message had been received. She would have been dead but not for Caitlin’s mercy. Gathering her last arrow, Caitlin flashed a grin at her former travel companions and ran to her horse.

  Chapter 71

  It took forever for Themba to turn the cart around and he had agonized over every second of it. He was torn between hanging on to his cart or abandoning it and continuing the rest of his journey on foot. Seeing the fell trees and boulders that blocked the path, he felt boxed in and worried that bandits might jump out from behind the shadows at any time to ambush him. It was an irrational thought, that anyone would set up such an elaborate trap for him, but he knew better than to keep his hopes up. He had faced one misfortune after another since coming to this world.

  Eventually, he made his way back around to the giant tree and again he marveled at the sight of it. The luscious tree stood proudly in its ashen surroundings. To Themba, it emblemized an underlying principle he had come to understand growing up in South Africa. Life prevails. No matter how bad things were or how dark it became, hope never goes away. The end of a famine starts with a single sprout. A faint light in the dark shines the way. Here, a tree that once was encircled with life and community still stood. Themba had no doubt that one day, the ashes would be swept away and a new, vibrant community would occupy this place around the tree. People always found a way to survive. He had.

  Still, the road ahead was blocked and Themba knew of no other route towards Thelmont. He could go up into the hills to circumvent the road block, but he wasn’t familiar with the terrain and he fretted over the prospect of having to leave his cart and donkey behind. That meant having to carry as much of his supplies with him, back to sleeping under trees, and walking for long distances. His other option was to head back to Thermine and find a different way to his destination, but he was afraid he might lose more time. Elin and Eva had a substantial head start and he wasn’t sure how long they would stay in Thelmont if nobody showed up.

  He was still lost in his thoughts when he heard a rustle nearby. It was coming from one of the cottages that had been almost entirely burnt to the ground, and all Themba would see was a pile of indistinguishable ashes and dirt. He thought it was perhaps the wind, until a mound of ash moved and Themba heard coughs emanating from it.

  Themba’s heart skipped a beat. He wanted to urge his donkey to run away as fast as possible, but he knew it was incapable of being a getaway vehicle. He wished then that he had purchased a weapon of some sort back in Thermine. He might not be able to use one, but at least he would feel safer and could possibly scare off evildoers if they thought he was capable of defending himself.

  The hacking increased in volume and frequency until the mound rose slowly in the shape of an oblong figure. In the days since he was whisked away from Johannesburg, Themba had come across elves and dwarves, and other unknown creatures and races, but nothing scared him like what he was seeing presently. Was it a ghost? Were ghosts real here, and did they rise from the ashes?

  The figure shook itself while continuing to clear its lungs. Whatever it was, it sounded like a man. The more it shook, the more the ashes began to fall off it until Themba saw that it was a man who had been hidden underneath all this time with a dark brown fur cape pulled over his head. As the man unwrapped the cape draped over him, Themba didn’t have to see his face to recognize him. The ebullient colors of his clothes and his skinny physique were unmistakable.

  Somehow, life prevails.

  Chapter 72

  The road to Thelmont after crossing the Shining Bridge had been straightforward and safe. They encountered no difficulties along the way, and there had been plenty of inns or farms where they could lay in a soft bed for a price. That availed plenty of time for Elin to teach Eva in the ways of magic, and her skills, though still quite unpolished, were coming along at a tremendous rate.

  Eva was enjoying the new abilities she had acquired, which she could have never thought possible previously. If this was indeed a different world instead of a dream, she was beginning to wonder if it was that bad. It wasn’t that she didn’t have a good life back home in Chicago or that there was a reason to leave, but the sheer wonder and joy of doing magic fascinated her.

  Along the way, she finally came clean to Elin about her true intentions and her predicament. The wizard had listened intently as Eva described her home in Chicago and what she knew about Leo. The only times she stopped Eva to ask questions, was whenever she brought up the wooden box that had seemingly brought them here. In the end, Elin said she hadn’t heard of anything similar to the account Eva had told her, but she wouldn’t say if she believed it. When pressed about how Eva could find her way home, the wizard fell silent and shook her head. That was the last they spoke about the topic.

  Two weeks after leaving the giant tree in the forest where they had first met, Eva and Elin arrived at Thelmont. For all the expectations that the wizard had set and the stories she had told about the city, Eva still couldn’t keep her jaw from falling open when she saw the grand settlement. Silverbrick had looked respectable from what Eva had seen in her short time there, but Thelmont was on a wholly different level. It was like comparing a small town like Springfield, the capital of Illinois, to New York City. Even as they approached it in the daylight, it looked like the grand city was glowing. The walls were tall and white, without a sign of any weather or wear, as though they were scrubbed clean every night.

  She could even see a castle from afar, located in the center of the city, and its spires stretc
hed up into the sky, so far up that clouds nestled on the top of the highest point of the majestic structure. It was the only building tall enough to be seen from outside, and the gates to the city were heavily guarded. There was a line to get in, and it appeared that most people were being turned away.

  Elin left Eva in line and sought to find out more information from those travelers that had been denied entry into the city. When she returned shortly after, she had learned that the guards were under strict orders to screen the visitors and only permit citizens of the city or people deemed to have important business with the city to enter. Apart from that, the guards had been tight-lipped on why they were turning people away from what Elin had described as the “busiest city in all the land.” The wizard was undeterred and they waited patiently in line. When they were near, Elin recognized one of the guards and called out to him.

  “Cohl!” she called out, greeting the man with a hug. The guards’ uniforms were white and adorned with different patches, which Eva surmised were similar to boy scout badges to symbolize some sort of skill or accomplishment. Elin’s friend was older than the other guards, most of whom were around Eva’s age. His uniform was well-decorated and a blue lion sewn on his sleeve seemed to be a sign of his status and rank, which none of the other guards possessed.

  “Elin! I haven’t seen you in ages!” the bearded man exclaimed jovially. His hair and beard were silver-white, which didn’t quite match his age, though he bore a sense of weariness about himself. Elin introduced Eva as her apprentice, before the two old acquaintances started to chat about old times, jumping from one piece of gossip to the next. They were still behind three people in line, and neither Elin nor Cohl seemed to be in a rush to discuss entry into the city.

  All three people in front of them were turned down one after the other, and when they got to the front of the line, one of the guards stepped up to question Elin. Eva had thought that Cohl would have just waved them in, considering his friendship with the wizard and his superior rank, but he strode aside to allow the young guard to do his job.

  “Good day, my lady,” the guard nodded his head courteously, “Are you a citizen of Thelmont?”

  Elin shook her head.

  “Then, what business do you have in the city that is vital to the crown?”

  “I need to go to the library.”

  “Outsiders are not permitted in the library. I’m afraid I’ll have to—”

  “Nonsense! I’ve been to the library many times, more times than you have years in your life! Cohl, what is the meaning of this? What has happened to Thelmont? Why are its gates closed to the world?” Elin raised her voice. Eva took a step away from her out of an abundance of caution, knowing that if the situation escalated any further, there would soon be fire bursting from the wizard’s hands. Cohl, likely knew the same, and he already had his hands on her shoulders, as he tried to assuage her fury.

  “Elin, please. I can explain,” he begged her. “Please, for me.”

  The wizard glared at the young guard, who had no idea who she was or what she was capable of, until he looked away sheepishly. Satisfied with her small victory, Elin turned back to Cohl and crossed her arms, waiting for his explanation.

  “Thelmont has been under attack for a while. As you’re aware, the forces of Gormore have been growing in numbers for years, and someone has recently sat on the Blood Throne,” Cohl said. “There has yet to be an all-out assault on Thelmont, but they’ve been testing our defenses. Sometimes they strike from the east, sometimes from the north. Giants, orcs, befouled beings with tainted souls. We’ve seen them all, and the attacks have gotten more frequent and farther away from our walls. Our forces are being stretched thin.”

  “Silverbrick has fallen,” Elin added solemnly, nodding at Eva. “She is the heir of Lord Bannor.”

  “We’ve heard. I’m so sorry for your loss, my lady.” Cohl bowed to Eva before resuming his story. “The king has ordered the gates closed and a strict limit on visitors into the city. Citizens are allowed in, but for the others, unless they’re here to prepare to fight or bring food and other resources, the king has ordered them to be turned away. Elin, you understand that Thelmont cannot fall. There is no hope without it.”

  “Fight? What else are you doing other than defending the city? Is the king planning to march on Gormore? That would be foolishness,” Elin scoffed.

  Cohl paused, choosing his words carefully as he spoke. “We’re preparing for the worse, but it looks like war is inevitable. The Blood King has sent emissaries all across the land, making it clear that he intends to conquer everything and everyone that stands in his way. Many have pledged allegiances to Gormore, including Freewall, the Ice Cliffs, and Arkdane. I heard Thermine might have as well. We sent someone there to find out days ago, but he hasn’t returned. I fear the worst.”

  Eva’s heart sank when Cohl mentioned Thermine. That was where Leo and the others had been headed, not knowing that they were entering the lion’s den. But the information had come too late and there was nothing she could do about it now except hope that they were lucky enough to avoid any harm. She was glad the experienced elf was with them, and took solace in that knowledge.

  “The Blood King, is that what they’re calling him? Do we know who he is?” Elin asked. Her questions irritated Eva to no end. It was always difficult to predict what detail would draw her attention in a conversation. Instead of asking about Thermine and Eva’s friends, the wizard chose instead to inquire about the origin of the so-called Blood King.

  “It’s what he’s calling himself. I’ve heard many stories, many too farfetched, but I don’t know for sure. There was a prisoner we captured a few days ago from one of their raids on a farm nearby. He was… corrupted, deranged, whatever you’d call it. He said the Blood King’s name is Kyle Lipinski,” Cohl explained.

  “What?!” Eva exclaimed. She couldn’t suppress her surprise at the name. Since waking up in this land, she had heard many strange names of people and places, but Kyle Lipinski sounded distinctly like a name from her world.

  The wizard and the guard looked at her quizzically. “Do you know him?” Elin asked.

  “No, but it’s a…”

  “It’s a strange name. Lipinski, hmm…” The wizard rubbed her chin, trying to think of all the places she had been and the people she had met.

  “Elin, my name,” Eva suddenly realized, “my name here is Eva Bannor.”

  “And?” The wizard shot her a look and shook her head subtly, warning Eva to be careful of what she was about to say.

  “And… my name somewhere else is Eva Lynch.”

  “So, you’re saying this Kyle Lipinski may be from somewhere else?” Elin looked troubled as she spoke. Cohl, on the other hand, was scratching his fine silver hair as he stood there, unsure of what to make of their conversation.

  Elin sighed and turned to her friend. “Cohl, I need to speak to this prisoner.”

  “He died two days ago. Wouldn’t eat, wouldn’t drink. At night, he would scream and scream until it drove the guards crazy. One of them finally snapped and drove a sword through his throat. I was only present for a while the first night the prisoner was there. I don’t blame the guard. The poor child was driven mad by him.”

  “Fine. We still need to go to the library. It might be the only place that could provide us with the information to defeat Gormore and the Blood King. And I need to see the council and the king, before it’s too late.”

  “Elin, I can’t do that—” Cohl started to say, and as Eva had expected, with a flick of the wrist, the wizard had a tall flame rising up from her palm and nearly burned off her friend’s eyebrows. The guards backed away and drew their swords, while people behind Eva in the line dispersed and ran away.

  “Captain Cohl Tylen, I am a wizard and friend of this city. I have fought and defended this land more times than you can even remember. And I will enter this city, whether you try to stop me or not,” Elin said. The flame in her hand burned bright and strong, and fr
om her lessons, Eva knew that this was just a preamble to Elin’s powers. Had she not known, Eva might have felt afraid or the need to prepare for a fight and the first application of her magic in a practical situation, but she was confident in her mentor’s ability to coax the proper response from these guards.

  “Well, men, what are you waiting for? Open the gates!” Cohl bellowed as the guards scurried to push levers and crank wheels, as tiny bells that lined the wall all the way to the top rang. Eva couldn’t see what was going on behind the gates, but she could hear gears grinding and ropes being pulled, as the gates slowly crept open until there was a gap wide enough to allow them passage.

  Elin started to walk in with Eva right behind her, when Cohl stopped her and whispered, “Go to the library first and find what you need. Only then should you head to the castle. The king has shut himself in and hasn’t been seen in a long time. Exercise caution. It will not be as easy as this.”

  Elin nodded and mouthed a silent “thank you” to her friend, before motioning for Eva to follow her. As Eva passed Cohl, she could have sworn she saw him smile as they entered the city.

  *

  Inside the city, the buildings were almost as tall as the walls that protected them from the outside, and it was a marvel to behold. Eva hadn’t thought that buildings in this place with no electricity or modern technology could be taller than a two-story house, but it appeared she had underestimated the utility of stairs and the appeal of high-rise buildings. Regardless of how the city’s guards were turning away visitors, Thelmont was still a bustling metropolis and Eva found herself struggling to keep up with Elin as they hustled through the crowded streets.