The Elderine Stone (24 page)

The lights continued to flicker, as if the winds were blowing on giant torches in the ruined temple to the north. The five friends grew quiet, all asleep. The night remained still and hushed.

The five companions were awoken early in the morning by a sharp and bitter cold wind that blew over them. The campfire had long since died down, and was now smoking gently. The air was clear, the sky was sparse with clouds, and the sun was slowly rising. The woods behind them still lay quiet, as if they were in an eternal slumber, waiting for the evil to be washed away from their feet. There was no sound of morning birds or any creature at all.

It seemed that they were the only living things for miles around. Each one took a glance at what lay before them, the Mingus Mountains. They could clearly see their peaks now. Three peaks each capped with snow, the sight amazed anyone who stared up at their beauty, though they were not a welcoming place, not while evil called those mountains home.

Jason looked frantically for the temple. It was still there, sitting amongst the rocks of the Mingus Mountains, waiting for him. He had had a nightmare that night. They had reached the temple, and confronted the Dark Lady, all was going well until it was Jason’s turn to destroy her once and for all, but he couldn’t. Something inside him wouldn’t let him, and as a result he had to watch his friends die, then he too died. He had woken up after that, everyone was still there, asleep.

Emily was getting ready to set off again, stamping on the campfire to put out any smouldering flames. Ever the environmentalist Emily worried that if they had left the fire with even the smallest of glow, a gentle wind could blow one of the embers onto dry wood close to the Elderine Forest.

Once she was happy that the fire had no chance of recovery, she gathered the few items that she brought with her tucking some of the left over pieces of food into her pocket and picked up her staff.

As the group was now larger in number she decided that the best course of action would be to now take control of the group and their quest north herself. she thought this might help Jason think about what lay ahead, after all it wasn’t fair on him to have to worry about leading the group further north, he needed time to think, and to do it alone.

“
Ok let’s get a move on.” Emily ordered sounding very stern, she had a personality that would change faster than any tide, but she was a lovable character. “The temple lies ahead. We should reach it by nightfall”

Devon grumbled a bit as he pulled himself up, muttering something about taking orders from Emily. He himself thought that he would be the best choice to lead the group. After all he was the Kings son. The problem was that Emily nor Jason knew this, and this was the way Devon wanted to keep it, for now at least.

Being the king’s son would only show one thing, that he was supposed to be a strong believer in the laws of the New Order which in turn should mean that he like his father and the rest of his family should belief that only a descendant of the Order can destroy the Dark Lady, and that descendant was him. Devon’s faith in the belief of the New Order was slowly slipping away. To him Jason seemed different, he wasn’t quite sure how yet, but he felt something. Jason was the boy from another world; could he really be the one who would defeat the Dark Lady? The thoughts and questions cascaded through his mind. He had another worry, Emily might never trust him if she knew the truth about who he was, she surely knew the beliefs of the New Order like any other. For now Devon decided to follow along, and help as much as he could.

Jason was being particularly quiet. He walked slightly behind Emily who was now leading the way. Devon, Grimble and Sherbit were walking further behind, Sherbit was running around Grimble’s legs confusing him, it was a pay back for the threats Grimble had shown yesterday when he wanted to set his teeth into Sherbit.

Jason was still deep in thought; he had been confused about the whole quest from the beginning, but now with these dreams he was having, he was feeling more uneasy with every step closer to the temple. He felt as if he was being called forward, his name upon the air, being called toward the temple.

Emily noticed Jason’s state, and slowed down to walk with him.

“
Jason, are you okay? You look tired.” she asked putting one arm around his shoulder.

“
I think so, I’m not tired. It’s just this place seems so weird, I almost feel like I’m connected to it, I feel like I’m being called to the temple.”

“
It’s a strange place Jason, so empty. Don’t let it affect you. The Dark Lady probably knows we are coming so she is trying to corrupt your mind before we even reach her.”

“
I’m trying, I really am.”

“
Jason, I know this is really hard for you, but you are the hero, you are the only hope.” Emily rubbed Jason’s back, reassuring him of who they all felt he was.

“
T
hanks Emily, I know I can do this, I’m sure something will come to be when the time comes just like that lady said in that alley.”

When the time comes he hoped for the sake of his friends he did know what to do, he wished he had the strength and faith that Emily had, she didn’t doubt him, she knew that Jason wouldn’t fail, she was the rock in this crusade to destroy evil.

“
Don’t worry Jason, like I said last night, we will all be there to help you, you won’t be alone.”

“
We will do it Emily” Jason smiled, he felt encouraged, he could no longer hear the voices in the air calling his name, for a brief moment he felt pure peace.

The foot of the Mingus Mountains now lay in front, they towered up into the sky, and clouds had started to gather around each of the snow capped peaks, restricting the friends from seeing the very tips of the giant rock monsters. But they could see more than enough, they could see the ruined temple further up the mountain, its large torches still glowing from within. Flickering like beacons calling all evil towards it.

They were almost at the mountains, the forest could be seen in the distance behind them, what lay in front however was only that what could be described as a scene from a nightmare, a vast plain of dead earth, dead trees and what looked like ruined buildings were plotted every so often across the earth, and a light fog covered the ground giving it a strange and unwelcoming appearance. The five friends had to cross this land to reach the foot of the mountain.

“The Dead Forest” Devon whispered, the fear was evident in his voice.

“It doesn’t look much like a forest” Jason replied, he didn’t seem so afraid, but then he didn’t know the story behind this strange scene that lay before him.

“
It was the northern part of the Elderine forest long ago” Emily said “It’s borders touched the outer sections of the Temple City, it once used to be a beautiful place, the Averinites would come and feed the creatures of the forest, meditate, or stroll through the trees. But when Caleb attacked the Temple city and destroyed Lady Averin, he also destroyed a part of the forest. The Elderine forest has a life of its own and it did not want to touch or be so close to such an evil creation such as Caleb. The outer forest slowly died off after the attack, leaving behind the Dead Forests.”

“And what about the people that lived in the houses close to the forests edge?” Jason enquired.

“
They felt the power of the forest the most, and when Caleb’s forces marched in and slaughtered them, their souls remained attached to the forest, but not only that, any of Caleb’s forces that died here remained too, to haunt these lands.”

“
They are the undead” Devon said looking about for any signs of movement from within the fogged land.

“
This is an evil place Jason. A lot of innocent people were killed here by the Lord of Darkness, before he was imprisoned within the stone, these people never passed on. They neither hate nor love anyone, they only feel the loss of the forest, and that feeling drives them to a state that no person or creature that approaches is safe. We have to pass through quickly, if we are lucky we won’t awake those who sleep.”

Emily led the way down over the bank leaving the living forest behind. The living trees at the edge of the Elderine Forest lent inwards almost as if they were trying to flee from the scene as they looked on in fear towards the ruined city, and the dead lands that lay below. The Dead Forests were still covered in a thick, dark strangely purple fog that was almost choking.

The friends followed in single file, being careful where they placed each foot, and trying to avoid anything that looked dangerous in any shape or form. Even Sherbit was cautious as he walked, making sure to tread as quietly as he could possibly manage, which surprisingly was relatively quiet indeed. Holding tightly onto the back of Devon’s cloak, forgetting any grudge that he may have had towards the young boy, especially now as the fog was above his head, and seeing anything in front was almost impossible.

Every now and then they would pass a ruined structure that perhaps once was a place of life, a place of colour, and of happiness, buildings that accommodated trade, and entertainment, homes, shops, and academic learning, they were all lost, much like those who lived here. Age and the elements had eaten away at the masonry, wood had long since rotten away, leaving many of the haunted structures roofless and empty.

Each of the friends tried to imagine what the city was like, tried to imagine families, old and young walking the streets, talking to each other, continuing with their daily lives, not knowing what would happen to them in the future, their future that would be unending, the denial of eternal rest.

A nauseating wind blew past, carrying the smell of ancient dead, the friends stopped to let the wind pass before carrying on. The wind continued to blow, fear now held them rooted to the ground as they witnessed the sights before them, the fog began to dissipate, clearing the empty streets of the ruined city, the darkness left, slowly the friends could see the city in full light as if it had never been destroyed.

They huddled together, Emily knew what was happening.

“
They have awoken” Emily cried as she huddled closer into the group “We won’t be able to out run them!”

Jason watched on, he didn’t know who they were, but he would soon find out. Ghostly figures from the past appeared throughout the city, children laughing as they ran along the streets playing games, busy shoppers looking into shops that now filled with ghostly images of items to buy. The city was coming to life with the dead, carrying on with their lives as if they were unaware of their eternal doom.

Moments later the city dwellers stopped, they looked torn, distressed, hurt and alarmed; one by one they turned to face the group who were now standing motionless.

“
Here they come.” Emily whispered the fear ever evident in her voice.

The ghostly figures slowly faded to the ground crying out in help, and then sounds of evil laughter came, as dark figures appeared from behind ruined buildings, skeletal figures draped in black cloth.

“
The undead have awakened, we have to get passed them” Devon cried as he watched several undead beings circle them.

“
There are too many, we can’t fight them, more will come.” Emily shouted.

Evil laughter filled the air. The skeletal figures seemed to hover across the ground slowly towards the group. Some had large swords, which they trailed behind them. The sound of the scrapping metal against the cobbled streets sent chills down Jason’s back causing him to shiver, as he watched the frightening sight before him. Other undead creatures trailed their arms along their sides, their bony arms showing whilst the rest of their bodies remained hidden somewhere behind the torn black cloth.

“
We will have to run.” Emily whispered to the group looking for a direction to make their escape.

The tormented creatures of death slowly marched towards them, seeking to claim more to join their numbers.

“
Wouldn’t this be a good time to cast a distraction spell Emily?” Jason asked trying to think any plan of action up that would save them.

“
These things won’t take notice of any distraction. They aren’t as dumb as those trolls in the forest. We have to run, and quickly. Hurry, follow me!”

Emily led the way along a street past the creatures of death, some tried to swing at the friends as they ran past, almost catching a hold of a length of cloak, but it wasn’t enough. They managed to escape their doom, but they weren’t out of the city yet, they still had a long way to go, and the undead beings wouldn’t stop now, not now that they had been awoken, now that there was life amongst them.

They ran passed more buildings, every street and alley they passed saw more creatures of death marching towards them, it seemed like the whole city had awoken. They were getting closer to the base of the mountain. The Temple of Elderine was in sight. But the closer they got to the mountain base the more they realised that they weren’t going to reach it without having to face these monsters, they were slowly being closed in. The undead seemed to be controlled by one mind, one thought behind their very movement, behind their actions, someone or something was controlling them, using a strategy to close the friends off and trap them with in the city of the dead.