Chapter 1, The Message

The Key
Chapter 1
The Message
Age 401

“Eli, what are we going to do today, I mean something we didn’t do yesterday.” Derew said. Eli seemed deep in thought. “Eli are you even listening to me?”

“Eh, what was that?” Eli seemed to come out of a daze.

“I knew you weren’t Listening.”

“Sorry, I was thinking…“ Eli’s voice trailed off.

“Obviously or you would have heard him.” Evile said coming out of the trees.

“What do you want Evile?” Derew did not like Skidolls[1] very much.

“Just to see what you guys were planning” Evile liked to tease the Dias. As he said this he was fiddling with his wooden square necklace.

“Anyways what were you saying?” Eli said trying to pay attention and ignore Evile at the same time.

“I was trying to—Ahhh!” Derew started to say but fell in a hole.

“Derew are you alright?” Eli called down the hole.

“Eli come look at this!” Derew called from the hole. Evile climbed down the hole first and then Eli came. Derew was holding a piece of parchment that read:

The Hole you are now in holds a treasure

It will make all the races fall before he that opens it

The passage will open with two necklaces/keys

The first is a wooden square

The second is a circle with rings and a ruby in the middle

“What language is this in?” Derew said “I can’t remember any language like this.”

“I can’t either,” Eli said “I’m thinking, is it Ovon? I think I see a little of Ovon.”

“No it is Skidoll.” Evile said from behind them.

“I’ve never seen Skidoll writing before.” Derew said admiring the penmanship[2]

“What does it say Evile?” Eli asked.

“I will tell you if you promise to teach me knife throwing[3].”

“Knife throwing! You already know how to use a sword because of the Ovons.”

“That is my condition.”

“Fine I‘ll teach you knife throwing, just read it.” Eli said.

“It says:” Evile cleared his throat,

“The Hole you are now in holds a treasure

It will make all the races fall before he that opens it

The passage will open with two necklaces/keys

The first is a wooden square

The second is a circle with rings and a ruby in the middle"

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Derew said. “It doesn’t even rhyme.”

“It does in Skidoll but to your first question…“ Evile was interrupted by Eli.

“Obviously, the person who does this stuff will rule the species,” Eli said

“Another condition has been added,” Evile said with a sinister smile “I will give you one of the keys if you let me rule and you can be second in command.”

“First things first,” Eli said with a deep thoughtful look on his face “the knife throwing.” What happened next, Derew could hardly tell, Eli pulled a knife out and Evile knocked it from his hand and pounced on Eli. Eli would have lost because of his size[4] but Derew threw Evile off of Eli’s back. Eli quickly pulled another knife out and threw it into Evile. It hit with a sickening thud. “It is true that he wanted the knife throwing, is it not?”

“Eli what are we going to do?” Derew was one of the more peaceful Dias and very angry at Eli. Then realized what Eli actually did. “Why did you do that?”

“Calm yourself,” Eli bent down and checked his pulse “he is definitely dead.” Eli stood up but then knelt back down, “Because of that I don’t think he will need this.” Eli ripped the necklace off.

“What are you doing?” Derew said “He’s dead, don’t take that!”

“You remember what he said this is one of the keys to opening the door.”

“What. You want to try that?”

“Why not,” Eli looked thoughtfully at the necklace in his hands “it should be as easy as getting this key.”

“You aren’t serious are you?” Derew was starting to feel sick from standing by a dead body.

“Why not, we could easily become the most powerful Dias and be ruling all the other species.”

“Eli, if we are going to discuss this, can we do it outside?”

“Fine, come on.” Eli crawled out of the hole first. “So where do we start?”

“Were do we start with what?”

“Finding the second key of course, have you been listening to anything I’ve been saying?”

“Well I hoped that you weren’t serious.”

“We can start by checking the Archives[5].”

“For what?” Derew’s mind was starting to clear.

“The second key of course, you haven’t been listening have you?”

“I have been listening, it just I’ve been thinking about how we might be able to cover up you killing Evile!” Derew was getting angry.

“Yes he would have been a worthy ally if he hadn’t jumped on me.”

“He jumped because you were going to kill him!” Derew was getting angrier with every second.

“He was going to jump on me, even if I hadn’t drawn my knife.”

“You are just lucky that I was with you.”

“I could have handled him I already knew how to take him out.”

“You know what? I should have left him on top of you and then ran so I wouldn’t have to be a part of this.”

“Oh come on Derew it’ll be an adventure.”

“That’s just it I don’t want anymore adventure.” Derew said with a sigh obviously cooling down. “But you have been my best friend so I will help you.”

“You just want the treasure that is at the end.”

“No, I refuse to be in that part I’m just helping you with the Archives then I’m leaving.”

[1] Skidolls were one of the species that lived in ordeer. They also had Ovons, Dias’s, and Ordeerians. The Ovons were large catlike humans the tallest Ovon ever recorded was 8, 3”. The Dias have small arms, and legs with big hands, and feet the tallest Dias was 5, 8”. The Skidoll (called Dions by the Ovons) the mixed breed which is why the Dias and Ovons have a dislike for them; they are cats with big feet and hands. The tallest Skidoll was 6. The Ordeerians were very solitary, it is unknown the tallest. Little is seen of them except for the fact that they are the Book Keepers.

[2] The only redeeming quality of the Skidoll/Dion (in the eyes of the Ovons and Dias [who have the honor of seeing it]) is their penmanship.

[3] The Dias were the knife throwers, the Ovons were the sword masters, and the Skidolls/Dions were little skilled in knife throwing and little skilled in the sword.

[4] Eli was known as the smallest Dias he was 4, 3”.

[5] The Archives were a list of anything bought sold or given so they could easily clear things up if there was any thievery or suspecting of thievery. It was thought up by and ran by the Ordeerians.