The Buried Symbol (The Ruins of Issalia Book 1) (31 page)

He heard Varius
’
voice from the doorway.
“
She apparently took too much yellow sky. It
’
s been years since I
’
ve seen the drug here at all, let alone an overdose.
”

“
Yellow sky?
”
he asked.
“
That doesn
’
t make sense. She was to meet me tonight. We were to work on something important to her. Why would she do that?
”

“
I
’
m not sure, Brock. Perhaps she didn
’
t mean to take so much,
”
Varius replied.
“
While this appears to be an accident, we do need to investigate. That means I must ask you to leave. Again, I
’
m sorry for your loss.
”

Feeling numb, Brock stood and stumbled from the room.

CHAPTER 50

A cloud of depression hovered over Brock. He attended his classes and did the work assigned, but his heart wasn
’
t in it. If asked, he couldn
’
t tell you what lessons were taught during that time. His friends tried to console him but to no avail. He just had to work through it himself.

On the ninth day after Amber
’
s death, Brock woke to a bird singing outside his window. He sat at the edge of his bed and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. Reaching over the desk, he pulled the curtain back to see an orange starfetch serenading the breaking dawn. He stared at the little bird who had interrupted his sleep. The bird looked so happy, singing without a care in the world. He envied the bird.

But why
? To not have a care, you first had to have nothing to care about. He realized that he would rather lose someone he cared about than never care at all. Suddenly, everything seemed better. He was still sad about Amber
’
s death, but he no longer felt it should affect his own life.

He opened the wardrobe, dressed, and was out the door before Cameron even woke. When he stepped into the hallway, he noticed a soft blue glow coming from the lounge. Peeking in, he saw Benny sprawled on a sofa with a book on his chest. The fading light of the glowlamp meant it had not been activated in hours. Brock chuckled as a loud snore came from Benny.

Walking over, he gave a light tap on Benny
’
s shoulder.

“
What?
”
Benny sat up, spectacles askew.
“
What
’
s that? Oh, Brock. I must
’
ve fallen asleep.
”
He straightened his eyewear.
“
What time is it?
”

Brock smiled at his confused friend.
“
The sun
’
s about to rise. Were you here all night?
”

“
Um
…
yeah. I guess. I was working on our research late last night, and I must
’
ve dozed off.
”
Benny set the book next to the fading glowlamp.

Brock had left the research to Benny while he worked through the loss of Amber. He now felt guilty for not helping his friend. The poor guy apparently stayed up late working on it alone.

“
Sorry that I haven
’
t been much help. I
’
ll do better now, I promise,
”
Brock said sincerely.

Benny looked at him, concerned at first and then a smile bloomed.
“
You
’
re feeling better then?
”

“
Yeah.
”
Brock nodded.
“
What have you found so far?
”

Benny
’
s smile faded, replaced by frustration.
“
Basically, nothing. They refer to it as the Wailing War, but nothing tells me why. The details on the war are vague at best as are any references to the Banished Horde. It
’
s as if they don
’
t want anyone to know anything about the Horde.
”

Brock
’
s brow furrowed.
“
Strange. How many of the books have you gone through?
”

Benny tapped the book.
“
This is the last one.
”

Brock stared at the book.
“
It guess we better make another trip to the library.
”

Benny stood and nodded.
“
That
’
s what I was thinking. But right now, I need to get changed and then get some breakfast.
”

Brock grabbed the glowlamp.
“
We can go to the library tomorrow then.
”

“
What about tonight?
”
Benny asked as he walked toward his room.

“
Since we have tomorrow off, I thought you and Cam might want to join me for a little fun.
”

Benny smiled, his head bobbing up and down.
“
That sounds awesome. Where are we going?
”

Brock flashed a smile.
“
We
’
re going to visit an inn in Fallbrandt. We will leave tonight after class and should make it in time for dinner. The food is amazing. You
’
re going to love it.
”

CHAPTER 51

Brock was in good spirits as he strolled down the road toward Fallbrandt. It was a beautiful late-summer day. The sporadic strips of clouds overhead were glowing orange in the evening sun. A cool mountain breeze was sweeping away the heat of the day, making it perfect weather for travel. He was animated, waving his arms around as he relayed events from Paladin training to Benny.

“…
and then as Cam stood over Lars, staring down at his bloody face, Budakis steps in and shouts down at Lars,
You
’
re not supposed to use your face to hit him you buffoon! You
’
re supposed to use your fists!
”

Benny squealed in laughter and reached up to slap Cam on the shoulder. Cam grinned sheepishly.

After a moment, Benny calmed enough to speak.
“
That must have been a sight. I bet nobody ever knocked big ol
’
Lars on his rump before.
”

Brock looked up at Cameron, still smiling.
“
I bet he never faced anyone like Cam before. He
’
s downright scary, and we don
’
t even have weapons yet.
”

Cameron shrugged.
“
I
’
m just doing my best to learn what I can to be a paladin. If Budakis wants me to fight, that
’
s what I do.
”

Brock looked at Cam again, serious this time.
“
You
’
ll be a frighteningly awesome paladin, Cam. I can
’
t believe someone your size can move that fast. It
’
s not fair.
”

“
It doesn
’
t have to be fair, does it?
”
Cameron asked.

Brock laughed.
“
No. No it doesn
’
t.
”

Benny jumped in front, walking backward to face them.
“
Okay, now let
’
s talk about the Catapult Challenge.
”
He grinned, rocking his shoulders side to side in his awkward way.
“
Nindlerod said that we
’
ll soon need to have a team of five for the contest. You guys will help me, right? I mean, I couldn
’
t do it without you.
”

Brock glanced at Cameron, who nodded, and then back at Benny.
“
Of course, Benny. Neither of us has the faintest idea how to build a catapult, but we
’
re happy to help.
”

A grin split Benny
’
s face, his eyes alight in excitement.
“
I
’
m telling you that we
’
re going to build the best catapult ever!
”
The smile slid from Benny
’
s face, and his eyes unfocused.
“
Most of all, I plan to beat that Karl Jarlish. He thinks he
’
s so special because his father invented the steam engine.
”

Brock had not seen this side of Benny before. There was some fight in the quirky guy.

“
Don
’
t we need two more in order to have a team, Benny?
”
Cameron asked.

As Benny glanced up at Cam, he stumbled over his own feet and almost fell before recovering. He turned to walk forward before responding.

“
Yeah,
”
Benny said before his expression brightened.
“
Hey, maybe Parker will join us.
”

Brock was a little surprised at the suggestion.
“
Benny, I get the feeling your roommate doesn
’
t like us much. He hangs around with Corbin and the other jerks from Sol Polis. Corbin certainly doesn
’
t like us, and he leads that group of cronies.
”

“
Oh, Parker
’
s okay,
”
Benny said.
“
You just have to get to know him. He
’
s not bad when he
’
s not around Corbin.
”

“
If you say so,
”
Brock replied.

The forest around them opened to reveal buildings clustered along the shore of a large lake. They walked past the buildings at the edge of town. A smile broke across Brock
’
s face as familiar sites were replaced by one with sentimental meaning.

“
There she is.
”
Brock pointed as he walked.
“
The Quiet Woman. You guys are going to love her.
”

When they entered, Brock stepped aside and watched their reaction upon seeing a dining room filled with women. He wasn
’
t disappointed.

Their dropped jaws soon transformed to smiles and nods.

“
This was unexpected,
”
Benny said over the loud buzz of conversation in the room.

“
Brock!
”
A woman
’
s voice shouted over the noise.

He turned to see Dory weaving her way between tables, her arms open in greeting. When she reached Brock, she gave him a hug.

“
I
’
m glad you came back. I know it has only been two weeks, but the ladies miss you. I miss you.
”
She turned her attention toward Cam and Benny.
“
And who are these two young gentlemen?
”

“
Dory, this is Benny.
”
Brock introduced them.
“
The mountain standing beside me is Cam. They
’
re my friends from the Academy.
”

Dory smiled and greeted the two new boys.
“
Welcome to The Quiet Woman. Any friends of Brock are friends of mine.
”
She clapped her hands and shouted out.
“
Tipper!
”

A mop of blonde hair popped up near the bar. Tipper looked toward the doorway, noticing Brock. He rushed over and gave his friend a hug and a friendly thump on the back.

“
I
’
m glad you came back, Brock,
”
Tipper said as he released his hug.
“
How
’
s life at the Academy?
”

Brock was smiling, happy to see his friend.
“
It
’
s good to see you too, Tip. Things are good at the school. I
’
ve made a couple friends and decided to introduce them to my friends here at the inn. Tipper, please say hello to Benny and to my roommate, Cam.
”