Chapter Eight

The next morning me and Loreli left our room and headed down the stairs towards the bar. K was nowhere to be seen. I pushed open the door and to my surprise it was still full of the amazing creatures I had seen the day before. The Barman rushed over to me and ushered us back out of the room.
         “K is in his room. You can go up if you like.”
         “Okay, thank you.”
         We went up to K’s room and I knocked. He opened the door and beckoned us inward. There, hung on the ancient wardrobe were two sets of robes (presumably white, I couldn’t tell because of the sunlight creeping in through the window) and sandals.
         “What are they?”
         “Your new clothes.”
         “I’m not wearing them!”
         “Then you will die.”
         I thought about it for a moment and realised that I couldn’t possibly continue in my bright blue jeans, polo shirt and my Nike trainers.
         “But what about my hair?”
         “What about it? You think wizards don’t have hair? Arumag was old, we don’t all have grey hair, and I am none too young either, we aren’t all bald, and your father… he didn’t go around in this kingdom, so he needed to wear clothes similar to what you are wearing now. Wear these and you will not stand out, even with that shaggy black hair of yours.”
         I forced a smile but I didn’t find it funny. I couldn’t find it funny. The realisation of the danger of the journey had just struck me; as if sword to flesh. This journey was going to be extremely difficult. The whole world was out to get us. Most people had already joined forces with Daemon, and those who hadn’t were simply too scared to act against him. No, this journey was going to be tough, and it was going to be made even more difficult by the fact that we were alone and vulnerable with no means of protecting ourselves.
         “I will give you some money, there will be more than enough to see you throughout your journey, but do spend it wisely. Which reminds me, I have one last gift for each of you. Something which I believe will come in handy.
         K threw each of us an empty leather belt which he told us to wear. He then instructed us to close our eyes. I could hear him rustling around in his wardrobe and then, the noise stopped. I suddenly felt something heavy slide into the belt and I instantly opened my eyes. In my belt was a sheathed sword. I took it out of its hold and held it up into the air so that the red sun rays from the window could reflect upon it and show me its true elegance. The handle in itself was beautiful, encrusted with rubies, but the hilt was smooth, as if the rubies were not there. I felt powerful with this magnificent weapon in my hand. On the blade was an engraving.
         ‘Treat me as your child, and your protector I will be.’
         ‘Treat me as your servant, and that is all you shall see.’
         K could see the puzzled expression on my face.
         “This is not just any sword; she is a sword so powerful that even the powers of Arumag do not amount to it. Within that blade lie the souls of the great God’s of War, Love and Rage. Look after her and she will serve you well, neglect her and she will ignore your danger, the metal will be once again no more than a sword. Take this.”
         K threw me a satchel, some polish, and a golden cloth.
         “Like I said; look after her and she will look after you.”
         K threw the same equipment to Loreli. She looked confused.
         “But how can my sword contain the same souls as James’?”
         “It doesn’t, your sword contains the souls of the great God’s of Peace, Hope and Destiny. The message however, is the same. Look after him, and he will guide you; his goal will be nothing more or less than to protect you. Neglect him, and the result would be the same as James’, you will once again be alone with nothing to protect you from magic. I must stress the importance of keeping the swords with you until the very end of your journey and perhaps beyond.”
         Inside the satchel were a lot of gold coins; Calina. Loreli picked up her robes and entered the bathroom to change. I sat there in silence admiring the beauty of the blade, and when she emerged I picked up my robes and entered the bathroom, quickly changed and then we were ready to leave. We went back downstairs and the Barman, his wife, and K were waiting for us.
         “Thank you all.” I said. “You have shown us more kindness than we could ever have hoped for. My only regret is that we have no way of thanking you.”
         “The fact that you have the bravery to set out on you dangerous quest is thanks enough, not only to us, but to the whole world.” Replied the barman.
         K looked at me and smiled.
         “You’ve grown up to be the boy I imagined. You will make us all proud, I am sure of it. I only regret that your father is not here to see you as I see you now.”
         “Oh but he is.” I replied. I pointed to my heart and said: “He will always be with me, in here.”
         K looked at me and once again he gave me that sad but knowing smile.
         “You truly are a brave boy James. Good luck. I hope to see you again one day.”
         “Oh, you will.”
         And for the first time, I felt sure of it. I felt sure that whatever was thrown at us, me and Loreli would pull through. I knew that dark times were coming, and that the journey would be long and dangerous, but I also knew that Arumag was counting on me, and I was not about to fail him.

**********************************************************************

         The five mile walk to the outskirts of Haruna took us about two hours, with a fifteen minute rest about half way there. The landscape was pretty much the same as before, however as we approached the last couple of miles there was less sand and more mud, and in the last mile or so there was no sand, but grass and a narrow pathway. Our new clothes were generally okay comfort-wise, but I couldn’t help but think how immensely stupid I must look.
         Within the last half a mile I could see a large wall with an even larger gate in the middle. As we approached the gate I could see that it was guarded heavily by an army of around thirty men. We stood merely ten metres from the crowd when one of them (presumably their leader) stepped forward to greet us. He bowed his head and then began looking at us intently, apparently deciding if we were criminals or not.
         “State your names, and your business in this part of the kingdom.”
         “James and Loreli. We mean to see Filia, the priest of the nearby village of Haruna.”
         “Do you have papers?”
         “Papers?”
         “To get through the gate and to the old part of the kingdom.”
         “No.”
         “Then you shall not pass.”
         “But…”
         “Do not argue with me boy! Or feel my wrath!”
         The army stirred behind him, as of waking from a deep, dreamless sleep. Their eyes became firmly fixed on us.
         “Please sir.” Said Loreli. “We are on a very important mission to…”
         The gatekeepers face contorted with rage. He raised his hand and clenched his fist tightly. Loreli could not breathe. I instantly knew that this man too had turned to Daemon for the power it would bring him. I unsheathed my sword and looked upon it. I begged the power within it silently, to help us.
         “Put her down!” I demanded.
         The gatekeeper laughed.
         “Oooh, look at the pretty boy with his sword. He probably doesn’t even know how to use it! Do you really think that’s going to stop me, and them?”
         I was so sure of the power inside the sword that I didn’t even stop to think about what would happen if I couldn’t call upon it.
         “Yes, I know she will.”
         It seemed I had done enough. The sword glowed bright blue and the man turned his gaze upon it. Loreli fell to the floor.
         “Very well boy. If a fight is what you want, a fight is what you will get!”
         Each of the men behind him unsheathed their own swords, and moved towards me as a unit. I suddenly noticed Loreli standing firmly beside me, sword drawn. Hers too was glowing bright blue. Suddenly as if possessed I ran forward towards the oncoming soldiers. Loreli did so too. I struck the sword towards one man and instead of making contact, the sword let out a streak of sky blue lightning that was unaffected by the red sun. It instantly swallowed three of the soldiers, and they fell to the floor stunned. Within thirty seconds the whole battalion were unconscious all bar the gatekeeper. It was clear that the power of the swords was immense. They had the ability to render thirty men unconscious within thirty seconds, and depending on the wielders temperament, possibly kill, too. Loreli had taken the polish out of her bag and had already begun to shine her sword.
         “On your knees.” I demanded.
         “I would rather die!”
         “On your knees!”
         I placed the sword above his head and moved the sword downwards, his body obeyed.
         “Where did you get that thing?”
         “This sword is not a thing. Where can I get papers? I don’t want a repeat of this.”
         “Do you plan to re-cross the wall?”
         “If I need to get to the great mountain of Litmunami will I need to?”
         “No.”
         “Very well then. You should really think about where your path lies. I know you are not an evil man.”
         He looked away in shame. I took the polish from my bag and also began to shine the sword. Loreli had finished. I walked past the kneeling gatekeeper and stepped onto the bridge before he began calling my name.
         “My men; are they dead?”
         “No.”
         I turned away and followed the path that led to the village. There were children on the streets playing. All dressed as we were. We didn’t look out of place. It was easy to see where the priest would be. At the end of the street was a building much larger than the others.
         When I looked around the street I was shocked at the lack of ‘modern buildings.’ Each building looked to be made out of white stone; much like the buildings I always imagined when being taught about Jerusalem when Jesus was alive. I didn’t believe any of that. To begin with I did, but after going to high school and learning about contrasting scientific theories I believed they disproved the Bible and its teachings. Now I had seen this hidden world however, I believed anything was possible.
         Our presence had not halted the children playing; it seemed nothing would, if the sun being red didn’t scare them, perhaps they were on Daemon’s side. Perhaps the inhabitants of this village were too, like the gatekeeper. Nonetheless we carried on towards the larger building at the end of the street. There was an old wooden door with a metal knocker. I knocked and waited patiently. There was no answer. I lifted my hand to knock again when the door creaked open. A man’s head appeared around the door.
         “What do you want?” He muttered angrily.
         “We’re here to see the priest.”
         “The priest you say? No, no, no he has gone.”
         The man shut the door. Surely he could have given us more information than that. I knocked again, this time harder and faster. The man’s head appeared once again.
         “What?” He hissed.
         “Do you have any idea where he may have gone?”
         “No. What do you want him for?”
         “K sent us to find him.”
         “K? My dear children please excuse my rudeness! Please come in.”
         We entered and the man bowed before us.
         “I am the priest. You must forgive me, these are dark and dangerous times for a man of my beliefs, the street is full of the dark one’s followers. K did warn me of your coming, but I daresay it slipped my mind. How can I help you?”
         “We journey to the mountain of Litmunami to restore our master to his body as the great God once did. We do so in the hope of restoring power to the good side of the world, in order for me to fulfil my debateable destiny.”
         “Ah, so it is you. I must say that I did not believe K when he first told me. So what has all of this to do with me?”
         “K said you know something about the talisman that I need.”
         “Ah, yes. Know about it I do, but know where to find it, I do not. You see, there were two talismans created for the very same cause, by the great God himself, so that his brother could be restored to his body on Earth. Of course it is a myth, I do not believe in it. It is told that one said talisman was buried beneath the holy ground upon which the true son of God could call home. It is also said that the talisman that was used to resurrect Litmunami was hidden deep within a cave that would only be found when the need was great. If I were to believe in the myth, I would concentrate on the cave, as the place where Jesus could call home was the whole world, so the talisman could be buried anywhere.”
         “What if Jesus isn’t the true son of God?”
         “I believe he is.”
         I decided not to push the matter further.
         “If I find the talisman, what will I have to do with it?”
         “I believe K gave each of you a sword. In these swords the souls of the six Gods that now live in another dimension are contained. I do not believe this theory, however I shall explain it to you. It is said that the Gods of Love, Rage, Hope, Destiny, War and Peace each placed their souls in one of the two swords. They have the combined power to bring back the dead, however one God felt superior to the rest, so placed his soul in two parts in two identical talismans. The God that did this was the God of Eternal Life. Therefore only a God can come back from the dead, as they are immortal and it can only be done by combining all of the God’s power together. These powers combined will allow you to summon Arumag to the gates of hell and when the swords and talisman touch at the place where the portal between life and death is weakest, they will call Arumag’s spirit back to Earth, and back to his body, therefore restoring all power that was taken. My guess is that Arumag will then appear before you. This however is a myth, and a bit far-fetched. If I were you, I would face up to the fact that Arumag is dead and there is no way of bringing him back, it is up to you to prove me wrong.”
         “I intend to. That makes things a little clearer. Thank you!”
         “Knowing this quest will be long and hard for you, I feel compelled to give you something that will be of great use for you. My only possession of value is this.”
         Felia began scrambling in his drawer and pulled out a compass. He passed it to me and the needle span several times round to point to my left. I turned to my left and it pointed forwards.
         “What does it do?”
         “It shows the direction of the holder’s heart’s deepest desire.”
         “So at the moment it shows me the direction to the cave!”
         Felia laughed.
         “At the moment it is pointing towards your lady friend.”
         I turned away in embarrassment. I couldn’t believe that at the moment I wanted Loreli more than I wanted to find Arumag, perhaps I did love her…
         “Anyway, thanks for your help. I guess we need to get going now.”
         “Good luck.”
         It was then that there was a bang at the door.
         “Priest, we know you are in there! One of Daemons messengers would like to speak with you!”
         The priest was terrified.
         “Oh no! I know too much! They’ll force it out of me!”
         “You could always come with us.”
         “No, I’m too old and slow. Go! Save yourselves!”
         I looked around and saw a door with a window that was seeping red light. I recognised it as the back door. I grabbed Loreli’s hand and ran for it. My hand was on the handle when I turned back and saw the priest lying on the floor in a pool of blood. He had killed himself. Another person had died to protect me. I couldn’t think about that. I opened the door and we ran, ran until we were well away from all of the houses, and when we looked back we saw we had not been followed. We sat down to rest.
         Loreli looked at me with a sad expression on her face.
         “Why did he do it? What did he know?”
         “He died to save us, because he knew about the talisman.”
         “Was it true? About the compass?”
         “I don’t know. Maybe.”
         “Of course you know.”
         “Yeah, but it’s difficult. I’ve not known you for very long, but it feels like I’ve known you forever; like I’ve loved you forever.”
         “I know, I feel it too. Maybe we were made for each other? Maybe it was fate that you came to the hospital that day. There’s one thing I know: I walk with you till the day that I die, whenever that may be.”
         She leant over and kissed me, and I kissed her back. We were sitting there with our arms around each other, in perfect peace, but my mind – unlike my body – was restless. What if she did die? What if she died to save me? How many more people were going to die for me? So many questions, needing so many answers that only time could tell. I needed that compass to help me find the cave, but how could I do that when my only desire was to keep Loreli safe? I couldn’t see a way around it, other than to leave Loreli somewhere safe, until I had found the talisman, but I knew she wouldn’t. Maybe if I found a way of making us both temporarily safe, then I could use the compass to find the cave. Either way it was going to be hard. I loved Loreli, maybe my heart wasn’t lying after all…

**********************************************************************

We had journeyed for two days through deserted towns before we finally came to a place where there were obvious signs of life. However those signs of life didn’t look too pleasing.
         When we reached the edge of the town it became apparent that something was wrong. The town was still on fire, hence the thick black smoke, however that was nothing of a shock compared to the screams of fright and obvious pain. Me and Loreli took steps into the town and a woman came running towards us. She looked down upon on our swords and tried to smile.
         “Please, Warriors! HELP US!”
         The last words were a scream. She ran off into the distance behind us, and several woman and children followed. There were however, no men. I looked at Loreli and her firm nod of the head meant that we should go onwards.
         Around the corner, there was a crowd of black hooded and robed figures surrounding what looked like at least fifty men. The men were screaming in agony and the figures were laughing. It seemed that these men had magical powers so were obviously devoted to Daemon. I unsheathed my sword and started forwards. Loreli put her hand on my shoulder.
         “We have no business here, remember what Arumag said: A greater purpose. We have to move on.”
         ““No! I won’t condemn them to death! Arumag can wait!”
         I burst free of her grip and ran forward to the men.
         “Leave these people be!”
         One man came striding toward me, each of the men had turned and the victims’ squeals had stopped.
         “And a pathetic little boy, like you, is going to stop me. You think that?”
         “Yes. I know so!”
         I lifted the sword above my head and it glowed blood red. It connected with the man’s head and a gash appeared strangely in the place where his heart would have been. I knew instantly that I had struck the blow that ultimately killed this man. The other followers ran forward with their hands raised and I sensed that Loreli had too unsheathed her sword and once again risked her life in order to help me in battle.
The men were too quick and strong even for us and we were forced to the ground without the men even touching us and they threw away our swords effortlessly. It seemed the power of these men was strong. We were alone and vulnerable with no means of escape.
“Well, well, well. What do we have here? You’ve killed our friend. How about we return the favour? Or, shall I reward my friends and let them have her? Choices, choices.” The man looked for a while imitating thinking. “I’ve made up my mind. Let’s go, and bring the girl!”
One of the men picked Loreli up and within a second they were gone. I was distraught; I couldn’t believe what had happened. And what was more, it was all my fault. If I hadn’t insisted that we help the men, Loreli would still be here and I would still be en-route to the cave and mountain. I took the compass from my pocket, it’s needle was pointing towards me. That meant I had to go south to find Loreli. I could go onwards to the mountain, or I could go back and find Loreli. What should I do? I stood thinking for a second, tears raging in my eyes. The men I had saved came running over to me and fell at my feet.
“Thank you!” They gasped.
Tears trickled down my cheek.
“Don’t mention it.”
I had decided that I had no choice but to find Loreli. I couldn’t find the cave without finding her, and I had no idea where the mountain was. I walked over to the swords and sheathed Loreli’s. I held mine out in front of me and sighed.
“Even you can’t help me this time.”
“Oh but I can.” Came a voice from… where was it coming from?
“What? How can you help me?”
“Do you question the ability of the ‘Great Goddess of War’?”
“No, of course not.”
“Then I will help you.”
“How?”
“In more ways than you think.”
“I’m so confused. If I may say so, can you please explain.”
“Yes dear boy. I will escort an army to the place where they have taken the girl, and I will take her somewhere safe, and somewhere that lies on your path.”
“Where?”
“That is of no concern. You must remember this James. Loreli is safe, you must concentrate on the cave!”
“The cave. So it does exist?”
“Of course it exists. You know in your very heart that it exists. It is your destiny! I trust that now you know Loreli will be safe, your compass will lead you directly to the cave?”
“Yes.”
“Then my work here is done.”
“Wait!”
“Yes?”
“Why are you helping me?”
“I do not wish to lie to you. Yet you are still far too young. I tell you a half truth. The reason I am helping you is because of the greater good.”
And with that she was gone.
And what then? What should I do then? I knew now that I should never take risks, and think only of the job in hand, however I was now alone, and more scared than I had felt since being in the presence of Daemon, which seemed like years ago. There was nothing left for me to do, other than to check the compass and leave the village, traipsing over more sand and rubble, heading west, to where I assumed the cave would be.