Tales Of Earthem: P.O.T.S
Chapter 17

Verse 16- The Sparkling Ruined City Sᴇaʀᴄh thᴇ (F)indNƟvᴇl.ɴet website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

Jyro slowly awoke yet again to him seeing the sky above, but it was more different this time he opened his eyes to the sensation of moving. He slowly came to his senses and saw the sandy ground with rocks moving past him, “Johnny stop up there when we cross this hill” said Tristine who sat on the horse with Jyro on her lap. The kids arrived along the trail on the mountain and as they crossed the hill and entered level ground they decided to give the steads a break, since the encounter with Isis Jyro fell into a deep sleep and until now he hadn’t opened his eyes. The kids set there things down and tied up the steads to some loose rocks that lay on the path, “alright Johnathan judging from the map there’s a thin space that cuts through the middle of the mountain so will be able to cross halfway and….”explained Tristine, “yeah yeah I’ve already come up with the plan already Trish I got this trust me” Johnny said whilst Tristine looked at him with a look of uncertainty. The kids had a set camp along the mountains pass, it’s been a few hours since they encountered Isis Gates so all seemed well for now. Jyro finally rose up from his long slumber to the bluest sky he’s ever seen, maybe it was down to being atop the mountain that he felt closer to the sky, “ you’re finally up then sleeping beauty” Johnny remarked whilst he helped his friend up to his feet, “ where’s isis….” Jyro muttered“ don’t worry about her mate we’ve got a few hours ahead from her she won’t be catching us” Johnny reassured which came as settling news to Jyro. Tristine and Johnny took a step back and glanced at one another in uncertainty, “guys what’s the matter” Jyro stressed, when he slowly looked down at his right arm and saw his bandages removed. Jyros eyes filled with shock and fear and he quickly pulled his sleeves forcefully over his hand, “sorry mate we just thought you’d need a change of dressing then…. You know we saw that” Johnny worryingly explained ,the 3 kids stood in silence for a few moments trying to think of something to say, “ this is well how can I put this I’ve always had this and…” whilst Jyro begun explaining Johnny quickly cut him off short, “ sooo that’s what you were hiding under there then, blimey JY what is it” asked Johnny as his fear suddenly turned into fascination , Jyro was surprised by his friends sudden curiosity , “ (sigh) Jyro to think you’ve been keeping such a thing from your best friends….(humph) doesn’t seem quite honest now does it” added Tristine, Jyros heart suddenly relaxed and he smiled towards his two friends who tried to look beyond what they had just discovered , he wiped his teary eyes and said “ Thanks you guys your best” , Jyro begun to explain his cursed arm to his two friends and without them knowing it a few hours passed on by. “Alright you two were going to start making ground again once we cut through the mountain Keddesh is a few miles North-East, Jyro how are you feeling? Would you be able to ride Boanerges?” Tristine asked, “Yeah I’ll be ok and thank you guys for helping me back there” Johnny and Tristine smiled at Jyro in acceptance, “by the way Jyro what’s the deal with your arm?” Queried Johnny who couldn’t stop gazing curiously at the boys arm since the moment he saw it , Jyro instinctively shielded his arm away from Johnny’s prying eyes “ err I honestly don’t know myself I mean since I can remember I’ve always had this peculiar arm I didn’t know my birth parents so my foster parents told me they too don’t understand it” spoke Jyro who till Jack hasn’t shared his secret with anyone else Johnny scratched his head in confusion “ wow that’s err… that’s interesting I guess do you think it’s a ? you know” Johnny asked curiously, Tristine then gave him a little whack against his arm and shushed him from asking further any more questions “leave it alone Johnathan he’s clearly as shocked by it as we are” Tristine said angrily, “whoa now take it easy I mean don’t get me wrong I think it’s bloody cool believe me, you’re like half man half beast or whatever it’s like a super arm or something like that” Johnny spoke excitingly , Jyro laughed aloud, probably the first time he’s actually done so regarding his arm“ I guess your right “ Jyro said .

The kids slowly rode their horses along the mountains path slowly moving along whilst small rocks fell from beneath them, as they continued along the mountains edge they came across a pass situated in-between the mountain, “this must be the shortcut through the mountain it looks really narrow but it should be alright for the horses to move through, come on lets go” said Tristine who begun leading the group through the narrow pass. As they moved further down the pass the suns glimmer slowly faded as its light was blocked by the two mountain above, the air suddenly became colder and the blue interior from the mountain lit the path like an Icelandic glazier. “Whoa who would of thought the inside would be so pretty how you suppose this path was made Trish definitely not natural” Johnny said, “it could be down to a lot of things but I’m guessing this path was man made you can tell by how it’s the exact space needed for humans and horses to pass through plus the walls look like they’ve been cut through with something rather than being eroded by the weather, but just keep your eyes opened anything can happen at these type of places”. Before Jyro entered the pass he turned to look behind him and saw the horizon , from where he was standing he could see all of Canta and saw the huge walls that build around the city as well as the white castle that stood a far beyond the wall, the place where the queen lived. The mountains pass path continued to stretch down an endless end and as they all looked ahead all they could see was a dark area ahead of them nothing beyond it was known or seen, whilst Jyro proceeded down the path he noticed along the ground small multi coloured tiny animals were moving beneath him, they resembled lizards of some kind “what are those” he asked curiously, “they’re called Ascals their found living on places with high humidity, their skins changes colours every time they become stressed or feel threatened beautiful aren’t they” said Tristine, meanwhile Johnny’s attention was still on the height of the mountain that towered above them worrying that they’ll be caved in by the mountains rocks, whilst Johnnys attention was focused on his surroundings one of the small Ascals crawled up his leg and sat on his shoulders, the slimy dotted creature begun changing from grey to red to blue to green all in a colourful sequence, Johnny squealed in panic when he noticed the animal sitting on his shoulders, “ shhh keep your voice down we don’t want an avalanche happening now do we and relax it’s not going to hurt you look, they say they change colour frequently like that when their mating or in love” said Tristine , “ looks like you’ve got yourself a special one there mate” Jyro joked, whilst him and Tristine laughed at Johnnys predicament .

The 3 kids finally made it through the mountains pass. Upon exiting the pass the kids were greeted by the suns gaze beaming towards them and from where they stood atop the mountain their eyes could see everything in front of them for miles on end. Johnny took out his small telescope and peered through it , They could see the town of Keddesh that sat in the middle of the green meadow, its grey buildings towered high, not as high as Canta city’s but its structure was still a beautiful sight. “Wow, we’re finally here guys” said a spirited Jyro. The kids rode into the Keddesh village and the town’s people parted way at their arrival and stood aside gazing at them whilst they trotted in, the surrounding environment was rural so it came as no surprise that the residents all stared at the youths in awe upon their steads. “why you suppose there staring” asked a worried Johnny, “shhhh they might here you and of course they’d be staring I doubt they get outsiders coming by often especially in the type of manner we entered, the 3 kids tried to show they were harmless but it was quite a task considering Boanerges was huffing and grunting at the various towns people in his way. “Mm this looks like an inn …. Alright you two boys tie up the steads I’m going to see if there’s enough room for us here” the young girl quickly hurried inside much to the displeasure of Johnny who struggled to tie her horse to the posts. Jyro and Johnny eventually entered the inn which had a modern interior all inside, the walls and floorings were made from the same wooden material it was a very plain sight, the only decoration was a small picture of a white vase hung on the wall loosely, “what is this place a trip into the 1960s “ mocked Johnny moments later Tristine appeared with a set of keys, “ all sorted they got two available rooms upstairs so that’ll do us nicely here you go” she said whilst handing the boys their room key ,” wait we’re planning on staying here overnight but what about the task I mean we’re already in keddesh” queried a concerned Johnny,” don’t overthink things we’re already over schedule and we’ve been travelling all night and I guarantee you were going to need all the energy we can get for the task ahead, so rest up ok” she replied.

“125, this is my room you guys are right next door ill pop round once I’ve had a shower and everything, au revoir” said a departing Tristine, Johnny and Jyro entered their room, “ahh you gotta be kidding me only one bed” sighed Johnny,” the two boys looked at one another before quickly sprinting towards the only bed in the room, Johnny tripped over a loose flooring and Jyro quickly jumped onto the bed. When they settled in Tristine walked in wearing casual clothes with a wet set of hair, “ok before we do anything further I thought I’d show you guys this…… and why are you on the floor Johnathan” Tristine said whilst looking down at a dejected Johnny who was sulking after losing the race for the single bed ,she then handed the two of them a few sheets of paper, “ this is merlin albert’s manuscript that we got from Vincent I thought you’d both want to have a read”, Jyro took some of the sheets of paper and begun to read the script.

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Chapter VIX-

I write this part of my life to those who seek to know the truth, those who desire to uncover the hidden ways of the world and in time learn to deal with future aggressors: The cursed Mirror, the bottomless bag, the ring of death, the reef of luck , the band of wealth and the Eye of Uriel ,these items all belonged to the dark one the one they call the scarlet prince , he stole the items from the grasp of his brothers and now the dark 7 have become 6. All my findings and records I have set in these 4 short books, but I’m merely just on the surface of discovering the truth, in the wake that I should fall or perish continue my bidding and seek The Book of Magic and destroy it so humanity may have a chance at winning this war.

Merlin .W. Albert

Jyro finished reading the short script and became worried from what he had just read, “Tristine what is the book of Magic” he asked, “I asked myself the same thing Jy and I honestly don’t know but what worries me the most is that we’ve found one of the items that he mentioned the ‘bottomless bag’” Jyro and Johnny turned to one another and realised the pouch in their possession might be the bottomless bag, “what worries me the most is that if we found that bag then it must mean someone in Canta is trying to find the artefacts” Tristine voiced, “ arghh this is getting confusing now, why do I feel like we’ve got ourselves wrapped into something serious” exclaimed Johnny.

The kids had settled into the inn and decided to explore the village to see if they could find any clues on where the ruined castle mentioned in the task letter might be. “Tristine why are you here if you don’t mind me asking” asked Johnny, Tristine looked at the boy in confusion to what he was implying, “no no, I’m not saying it in a rude way but aren’t you participating in the event as well? Only one person can win it you know”, he added, “ Well if you must know Johnathan I haven’t the slightest interest in winning this thing, I’m simply offering my assistance to Jyro so there” stated Tristine , “ mmmm oh really ? Just Sounds like a reason to just be near him don’t you think so aye mate” remarked Johnny, Jyro was caught off guard by the question and didn’t really know what to say in response “n..no, b..b.but that’s not really….. Erg whatever” grunted Tristine who tried to avoid showing the blushes that formed on her cheeks. Whilst the kids strolled through the villages they went in and out of the shops that spread across the village asking questions and seeing if anyone had any idea where the ruined castle was, “we’re getting nowhere, everyone’s just giving us the same answer” said a frustrated Johnny, “come on we have to keep trying I’m sure there’s someone in this town who knows where it is” said Jyro. Whilst they walked down the villages road the sound of wheels moving along the ground were distantly heard, Jyro and Johnny immediately looked at one another “surely not” they said simultaneously before sprinting around the corner. Tristine tailed after them desperately trying to know why they ran off all of a sudden and when the kids made it around the corner the sound of the wheels stopped, “why hello there you two” said a voice, the two boys looked around them in disarray “haha I’m up here you two “they turned their heads up and saw their classmate Madison scarlet sitting on the edge of the roof. The high energetic girl leapt down from atop of the roof and landed in front of the two “well fancy meeting you two here… or should I say 3, why hello there my names Maddy I like your hair by the way is that natural “she asked whilst waving to an approaching Tristine who was panting from being short of breath from the run she just done, “Hi maddy did you just get here or….” Asked Jyro “nope I’ve been here for quite some time to be honest, you’re the second group I’ve run into from the academy “ she replied , “ huh who else have you seen” johnny asked,” oh that big tall guy, you know who carried that big sword on his back it’s a shock to see him now get cramps you know….. Err I think his name was Leo,”, “Leo Blackstorms here then”, “ yeah I ran into him not too long ago , I think he’s staying at a nearby inn if I remember correctly”, Jyro and Johnny looked to one another concerned . “great so we’re sharing an inn with that guy huh” said Johnny while scratching his head, “oh by the way Madison do you have any idea where the ruined castle might be” questioned Tristine, “mmmm not a slightest of clue, that’s why I’ve been here for so long I keep asking around but they all keep giving me the same reply, almost like someone paid them to give us little information as possible”, Tristine suddenly thought of an idea,” guys wait here I’ll be back in a second I need to check something,” Said Tristine who quickly scurried away down the village, “ well….. guess you might as well tag along with us maddy”, “yeahhhh that’ll be nice I’ve been ever so bored since I left the academy, I mean it only took me a few hours to get here but still…” the two boys gasped in shock, “TWO HOURS!.... how’s that even possible did you fly here” queried a curious Johnny who in return received giggling from the girl as a reply.

“So Madison how comes you didn’t bring a helper then” Jyro asked, “mmmm I did consider it but looking at the circumstances they’d only just get in my way more than be of help” replied Madison to the two boys who were gawking at her, “ oh look who it is…. HEY! Over here” shouted the girl who was calling out to someone on the other side of the road, the two boys looked over to see a tall broad shouldered male scowling towards them, “wait is that..” said Johnny “ yup it’s the other guy I said I met here first, Leo Blackstorm wasn’t it”. The tall boy heard the wails from the girl and reluctantly proceeded towards them, he held in his hands a net full of fish which he dragged along the ground, “errr….nice to meet you again Leo” muttered Johnny awkwardly, Leo glanced at the two boys sitting down and even more so at Jyro, he sighed to himself “ what do you want now” he asked “ hey that’s not very nice now we’re all friends here aren’t we” stated Madison who received awkward stares and silence from the group, “ humph, well you guys are all going to have to get along one way or another we’re gunna be working so …. “ wait wait what did you just say” the boys repeated, “ huh I said will ALLL be working together so I won’t be having any squabbling alright unless you want to make me upset now” the girl said ,Madison suddenly formed a devilish grin that put fear into the hearts of the 3 watching her, “ y…Y…yeah of course Maddy we wouldn’t wanna do that” muttered a worrisome Johnny.

Suddenly in came running an excited Tristine and said “you guys you guys guess what... oh hello there Leo “ , “argh seriously there’s more of you guys” growled Leo, “ as I was saying I’ve found out the location of the ruined castle” Said Tristine, “ What! Really and how did you manage that” Johnny asked “well, I went back to the inn keeper and just offered to pay him more money than he was being paid to not tell us anything”, “the rest of the group looked at one another in bewilderment, “how did you know they were being paid to hold off information” asked Jyro, “I didn’t but then when I thought about it every person gave us roughly the same response, almost like it was scripted and it sounds like something that idiot headmaster would do so I asked them a question he could answer and offered to pay him more, simple”, the group stood in awe at Tristines idea “ wow… I got to hand it to you Trish your pretty amazing at times” stated Johnny , “ oh I know Johnathan I know, so I suggest we get some rest for tonight then set out in the morning”. So the 4 kids hurried back to the inn where they’d spend the rest of the day.

The next day’s appearance felt to arrive quicker than expected, and the kids found it a big struggle to get out of bed at the required hour Tristine set, nevertheless they all begun their Journey once again to the ruin Castle located somewhere in Keddesh. “Judging from what the inn keeper said the ruins are just a few miles west from the main village, but he said there isn’t any direct footpath to get there so will have to cross the river stream” said Tristine, “ haha Hope you guys can swim then” replied Madison. As they all proceeded along down the rocky valley. They crossed the meadow that shone of bright greenery for acres on end, they also walked through a valley of Wheatfield’s that danced beautifully in the sunlight’s glow, the group of kids marvelled at the sights they passed along, more in particular Jyro who felt nostalgic at the scenery, it reminded him of his time living with Mr and Mrs Thomas and working on the farm which all seemed like a lifetime ago. After a few hours of walking through Keddesh they came across the stream that separated them from the land in front, the rivers current moved at a frightening pace and the kids knew attempting to swim through it would meant an imminent death. “Yikes how we going to get through all of that” yelped Johnny, “step aside small fry and watch carefully” said Leo whilst he nudged past Johnny and walked towards the river, he brought down his ridiculously long sword from his back and slowly placed it inside the river, “mmm so it’s that deep aye” he said, now along the river stream there lay rocks all scattered around Leo took note of all the rocks then suddenly leapt across and stood on one. “Is he crazy what’s he trying to do” yelled Johnny , “ aha I see so he’s going to use the rocks as foot stools to get across that’s clever” responded Madison, Leo then proceeded to jump to the next adjacent rock then the next and the next till he eventually made it to the other land. Once Leo stood on the other land he looked back at the group with a smug expression,” pfft show off” Johnny remarked, “me me me im going next” squealed Madison she then she ran down to the river, she took off her roller skates and tied the two laces with one another and skipped across the river effortlessly, “woooow” said the onlookers who watched in admiration. Next up was a determined Johnny who rolled up his sweater sleeves and slowly hopped over towards the stream, he slowly jumped onto the first rock looking uncertain as he struggled to maintain his balance, he centred his gravity lower and took a deep breath then hopped along towards the other rocks, bearing in mind he almost lost his footing a few times he eventually made it across. “See you on the other side Jyro” said Tristine before darting off to cross the river, “come on Jyro your up now, it’s not that bad” screamed Madison across the stream. Jyro slowly approached the river and peered down into the moving stream he saw tiny little fishes all swimming around quickly beneath “oi hurry up Jyro we aint got all day you know” voiced a loud Johnny, Jyro then leapt to the first rock although he looked shaky he managed to maintain his balance, when Jyro jumped to the next one he suddenly noticed the tiny fishes were jumping out of the water and when he looked closely they seemed to have what looked like wings on their sides, “ what in heavens are those” asked Johnny, “ flying fishes” responded Tristine ,” but this is the first time I’ve seen them before why would they even be in a river bank all the way here” she added. Jyro tried to move along the stepping stone rocks without hitting the fishes that were numerously darting out of the water, when suddenly the numbers begun to increase, and like missiles shooting out the fishes flew out of the river and over the boys head and with each step he took the more came flying over him. The scene looked like something out of a Fairy Tale as the fishes danced above Jyro almost like they were welcoming the boy, “what in the world…..” gasped a shocked Johnny who watched on in awe with the other the kids who to marvelled at the spectacle before them “haha bravo bravo look it’s like their making an arch over him to pass through” yelped an excited Madison, Tristine couldn’t believe her eyes as she simply stood in amazement and watched on as her scruffy blonde headed friend skipped below the flying fishes that formed an arch above him, “ you see it too don’t you” said Leo to Tristine, “ that boy has something special about him “ Tristine gazed towards Leo then smiled to herself “ yeah I’ve known it since the first time I met him” she said.

The day’s eve had arrived and the kids slowly grew restless as they made their way to the ruined castle, they continued heading towards west and found themselves walking through a darkened Garden, now the garden was peculiar because there wasn’t a sign of any plant or flower that grew there it was simply huge bushes neatly trimmed in different sizes and shapes all aligned across the garden, “whoa look how big they are it must take the gardener months to get all these cut “exclaimed Johnny. The group of kids slowly walked through the garden of bushes, making sure they stuck closely together, they made it to the end of the garden and were stunned by what they saw ahead. “This is it….. This is the ruined castle” muttered Jyro, “Castle? It’s more like a city” said Maddy, before them lay a number of huge crystal like boulders and fallen debris, the debris looked like a wasteland of crystal rocks all lodged into the earth, “ it’s beautiful” Tristine spoke. As the kids slowly proceeded into the glittering debris they all wondered around in awe marvelling at the pieces that lay in the earth, each piece of rock looked like it weight a ton, “to think that a castle once stood here” stated Jyro as he lay his hand out on the cold crystal liked pillar in front of him. Leo walked around the debris then slowly reached for the hilt of his sword and spoke, “we’re not alone”.

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