The Elderine Stone (29 page)

Noticing that the friends had a look of anxious expectation on their faces he continued “Mm yes, as you can quite imagine, there is some bad news and very sad news it is at that. Oh how we wish that it was not true.” the elf paused before looking at Devon’s father then back at the young friends, and sharply continued to inform them , like ripping a plaster off in one go “We believe that Master Talathin may have been using the guise of the New Order for alternative purposes. We have a strong belief that he is working in conjunction with darker bodies, possibly even leading them, in a hope to free The Lord of Darkness.”

Each of the friends
gasped in shock. That was everyone except Emily, who stood silently. She slowly arched her head towards the ground as if hanging in a shame that was not her own but that of her entire family.

“
Emily, I can know that this is terrible news for you to hear, especially after your joyous victory. I know you must feel crushed, we all know how much he was your luminary.” The elf continued.

“
No it is alright. Strangely in a way I knew.”

“
What do you mean Emily?” The king asked.

“
Before we destroyed the Dark Lady, we rested at my home for a while. I thought we would need some things for the journey and perhaps some magical aid would be of a great benefit. I thought that perhaps I could find something useful in my Grandfathers study, something that would help us defeat that beast in the north. I found nothing but a life of lies”

“
Emily I know that it hurts, but what was it that you found? It is of great importance.” The King asked as he slid of the table to kneel in front of the young wizard.

“
The room was filled with bones, and skulls. I was afraid, but I felt that there must be a valid reason for my grandfather to have such things, and then I saw it, sitting on his desk. It was strange I felt that it was calling to me.”

Lord Elindril nudged forward urging Emily to continue,

“
At first I thought it was a decorative mirror, probably something my family had uncovered in the past, but when I picked it up it had no reflection, I could not see myself. As I stirred into the murkiness of the mirror I felt fear, but still I felt an attraction to it. I felt called to look at it, and to never stop looking. I was going to touch, but Jason knocked on the door. It broke contact with me, and I left it.

“
Thank goodness for that.” Elindril said, “You are a very lucky young girl, very lucky indeed. At least now we can confirm our suspicions about your grandfather.”

“
Indeed.” The king said “You must excuse me, I have and urgent matter to attend to, Please Elindril explain to the young ones” smiling once again to the newly established heroes, the king took his leave this time through a more formal door that lead to a main corridor.

“
Well that leaves me little choice but to explain the origins of this mirror. We all know the story of Caleb and his beautiful sister Averin, well maybe not you Jason. So I shall have to make do with the much shortened version, after all we have little time as it is.”

“
Please don’t go out of your way on my part, I am sure I can find out anything I am missing afterwards.” Jason said trying to seem helpful

“
Your spirit is eager to help young one, but one can not help, unless they know how to, and at the time I do advise you to pay as much attention as possible. Now as I was saying, Caleb and Averin were sent to our world to bring the races closer to their creators. They were brother and sister, much alike in many ways but in others so very different. Caleb killed his sister out of anger and jealousy resulting in his people and of course himself being cursed for all eternity. His people became those that hunt the Lost City and Caleb the Lord of Darkness entrapped within the Elderine Stone. Averin as a last means of hope for her people cried a single tear creating the magical stones in our world, but Caleb did not leave this world without leaving his mark, or rather, a means of communicating with his followers who may have escaped their doomed fate. The Mirror of Connection. Caleb’s channel of communication to the world.”

“
Are you saying my grandfather is communicating with the Lord of Darkness?” Emily listened almost in tears.

“
It is hard to believe but I must say it is true. The king at this very moment is summoning for his arrest, and we can not have someone who may be communicating with the enemy in such a central position within the Order.”

Suddenly the king burst in through the doors, several fully armoured guards following in after him.

“
He has gone! The guards are searching the entire palace right this moment, but I don’t suspect we shall find him. We should prepare for the worst. I am deeply sorry Emily that you should have to witness this horrible turn of events unravel before your eyes. Your Grandfather was a great and most trusted friend, and I am sorry to say that he has been working against us for who knows how long”

“
But he only had the mirror
. That doesn’t mean that he was using it?” Emily questioned trying to fight a hopeless cause for her grandfather’s innocence.

“
We had thought that too, but when we considered past events we had no other option but to believe his work was against the good of Hasparia, Your parents had to leave urgently as we feared they too would be the next victims from RIER to vanish.” The King continued

“Vanish?” Jason questioned.

“
And most surprisingly so.” Elindril answered, “Miriwena Smudgels, a very notable researcher in RIER, disappeared first. Luckily she had expected it to happen and had made plans with myself if such an event should happen. We quickly traced her and now she is hidden conducting very important research. A group researching near Del Rosa vanished a month ago, leaving no explanation. Then recently we had a suspicion that Emily your parents would be the next targets, when we heard they were requested by the Order to research a mysterious but unnamed event in the Elderine Forest.”

“My parents? Are they…” Emily jumped in with fear for her parents’ safety

“
Oh they are quite alright and fully up-to-date on the situation. We had quickly stepped in and moved them into hiding along with Miriwena.”

The exchange was soon closed when a rather flushed looking guard ran into the room.

“Your highness, we have searched the entirety of the palace and its grounds”

“And?” asked the king

“
There was no sign of Master Talathin” With this, the guard stood to attention turned and walked out of the room.

“
This is most worrying. We can only expect that Talathin is aware of the situation, and aware of our position. It seems that the Dark Lady was only a cover up, a guise for the real operations of the Lord of Darkness” Elindril pondered for a moment as he passed over each thought before continuing. “We must find him before he finds a way to release Caleb, and soon”

“
We should speak with the RIER researchers, and more importantly Miriwena. Perhaps they can shed some more light on the situation.” the King stated. He walked over to the study table before sitting down, rubbing his hands as he looked over at the friends, who were each expressing varying emotions across the canvas’s of their faces. This was not the welcome they had expected, to be made heroes for a moment then thrown deeper into the mysteries of the Elderine Stone. “I would ask of you a favour, and it is most important that you keep this promise.” The king looked at each of them individually, silently questioning if they wished to stay to confirm the promise. Finally when he felt that he had the full attention of the group he continued. “The news of Talathin’s betrayal must not leave these walls, he has the power to influence and corrupt others, so that they too will follow him. We must be swift in our actions, so that we can find and apprehend him, before he enacts his intentions. You are all more than welcome to stay in the palace, especially you Jason you are more than welcome. My home is your home anytime. I must speak with my advisors concerning this most alarming situation, please excuse me again” The kings voice was almost beginning to give way as he finished what he had to say before he left the room. The four friends were now once again left with Lord Elindril. The room was once again silent, and for a moment their thoughts swirled.

For the first time in a long while the young ones wanted to be told what they should do next. They wanted someone to direct them or at least show them the path they should take. Although this was not to happen, and they all knew that no one was going to give them any clear message as to what they should be doing or could be doing in the future. However there was a familiar sensation, a feeling of knowing lingering on the air. They all knew that something lay before them, something that involved them, and something that they were now very much a part of.

THE END…