Ascendants of Ancients Sovereign (Worlds of the Crystal Moon, Book 1) (36 page)

Once they arrived at Helga’s school, Shalee was anxious to get started. She was amazed at the healing properties of the mud that had been used under her bandages. Even though she had broken her arm only the night before, she could already tell that the moments necessary to move past the injury would be minimal.

Helga removed a few of the mattresses from the center of the padded room and replaced them with four, large buckets of water. Turning to Shalee, she said, “This exercise is similar to last night’s, but during this series of moments, I want you to manipulate water in different ways, but don’t even bother asking to combine words, Child.”

Shalee smiled. She looked at the four buckets, and after a bit, she queried, “What’s the Elven word for water?”

The older sorceress answered, figuring it was an expected request, but Shalee had other ideas. Her pride shone through as she raised her staff and shouted, “Precious,
nem coa
!”

Helga looked at her student and then quickly threw up a wall of force to protect them. Shalee had fooled her teacher by combining the elven word for “life,”
coa
, with the word for “water,”
nem
. All Helga could do was wait for the outcome and hope for the best.

Apprehensively, the duo watched as the water lifted into the air and transformed into a shimmering image of a falcon. The detail the command retrieved from Shalee’s mind when creating the bird was spectacular. The falcon had been her favorite bird of prey ever since she had first seen it on the nature channel. It looked like a piece of crystal, except for its graceful movements in flight. After a while, it made sweeping passes above their heads as the magic responded to Shalee’s changing thoughts.

Eventually, Shalee grew tired and could feel her power beginning to fade. She decided to end the command by flying the bird above Helga’s barrier of protection. The command further instructed the falcon to stop above the older woman’s head. Shalee allowed the image to fall on top of Helga, drenching her.

The young sorceress-in-training would have laughed at the sight, but the success of the command demanded her attention. She lay down and allowed the rush to consume her. After a long series of moments filled with immense pleasure, Shalee fell asleep, and she was not able to be awakened for the rest of the Peak.

Sam was summoned to the school to carry Shalee back to the inn. Helga followed and tucked the covers around her student after Sam laid her on the bed. It had taken the older sorceress almost 10 seasons to accomplish what Shalee had in two Peaks. Wiping the sweat from her student’s brow, the teacher smiled inside. She wished she could give her new friend another high-five.

The Pool of Sorrow

The next day, the giant beast-man hurried, responding to Kepler’s summons. Kroger, an oversized ogre, emerged from his home deep within the Dark Forest and crossed the boulders spanning the outlet.

George heard the thunderous footsteps of the ogre as he approached. He watched in amazement as the massive beast-of-a-man dwarfed the rocks of the crossing where he had killed the 2,500 pound Saber Lord.

As the ogre drew closer, Kepler explained that Kroger was cursed at birth with gigantism, and the ogre’s mother had passed while giving birth. Though it was not Kroger’s fault, his father had blamed him and abandoned the newborn in the Dark Forest.

Kroger ended up being raised by the most unlikely of families—a group of Dread Gorillas. They had taken him in as their own, and no one could explain why. The Dread Gorillas were fierce, so fierce that they ate their young if a weakness was found. Perhaps they saw the ogre as powerful and respected his differences enough to let him live.

The ogre was easily 50 feet tall, which equalled nearly 18 paces, and he wore furs to cover his mid-section. His feet were bare, toughened from many seasons of exposure to the elements, and he carried a massive club that had spikes on its end. A large strap ran up, across his chest and over his shoulder to support a huge backpack that George figured was large enough to hold a small car. The pack had something inside it, but George could only see the bump the object made.

Kroger was not a handsome creature. Scars covered his body from many seasons of wrestling with his gorilla family in play. He could see the giant was a happy person. The ogre was singing as he walked across the stones of the crossing. Even from where he stood, George could tell from the sound of Kroger’s voice that he did not possess the highest of IQs, and he even looked a little bit like he had Down’s Syndrome.

With dusk approaching, George quickly manipulated the situation. He introduced himself to Kroger, treating the giant with respect, and after a few moments of idle conversation, he excused himself for two purposes. The first was to give Kepler the moments to instill fear in the giant about George’s perceived power. And the second was to empty his bladder on yet another unsuspecting tree.

Once George rejoined the group, he asked Kroger to remove every stone that was sitting at the base of various trees near the outlet. Eventually, the proper stone was removed.

The giant lifted the rock with ease. As George watched Kroger playfully toss it up and down, the manipulator figured it had to weigh around two tons, his estimation being based on some similar boulders that had been delivered to his apartment complex for landscaping.

George watched in awe as the ogre threw the rock off the edge of the embankment into the torrent waters below the outlet. “Wow! You’re a strong guy, aren’t you, Kroger? You’d make a great bodyguard.”

Kroger’s response sounded like an overgrown child’s, and he spoke of himself in third person. “Kroger strong. Kroger throw rock far, George. Kroger take care of George.”

George smiled. “Awww, thanks, big guy. You stay here, I’ve got something to do.”

“Okay, George.”

The human smiled as he jumped into the hole left behind by the boulder.

Kepler stepped toward the edge. “What are you doing?”

As George moved the dirt around, he replied, “I’ll show you in a minute ... I hope.”

It took a few moments, but George finally uncovered the map. He did not understand how the paper could look so new, but said nothing. The weight of the stone should have destroyed it, yet the paper had not been damaged nor had it absorbed the moisture from under the rock. It was as if the map had been drawn that morning. Rather than dwell on this fact, George chalked it up to yet another mystery, and like everything else in this world, it was just one more messed up thing.

Kepler and Kroger were curious. They tried to position themselves to see what was on the parchment, but George pulled the map back to keep prying eyes from seeing. “Take it easy, my powerful friends,” he said. “There’s going to be something in this for all of us.”

Kepler responded. “Why won’t you let us see for ourselves? If we are to dominate territories together, we should share knowledge.”

George nodded. “And we will, but first, I ask that you let me figure out a plan. This map is the bomb, trust me.”

Kepler jumped back from the hole. “Bomb? We must flee!”

“No, no, no, no, no! It’s not that kind of bomb. We’re not in danger.”

The demon-jaguar’s furry face showed his confusion. “Explain.”

George grinned. “When I said bomb, I meant the map is good. It will help us gain a tremendous amount of power.”

Distracted, Kepler looked up at Kroger. The ogre was picking his nose. He rolled the bugger between his fingertips and then flicked the wad into the trees. As it hit one of the branches, it formed around it and did not fall to the ground.

Disgusted, the jaguar shook his head and then redirected his gaze. “Why call the map a bomb if it isn’t one?”

“You can’t be serious?” George replied. “It was just an expression. Just relax. This map is going to give us everything we want.”

Kepler desperately wanted to look at the parchment, but he was learning that George was not stupid. If the human said the map was going to help them gain power, then the jaguar could only trust that George knew what he was talking about.

Night was coming, and George wanted to study the map for as long as he could. He quickly ordered the ogre to gather some wood, and it was not long before the trio was sitting around a Kroger-sized fire. Kepler stared at George, his eyes glowing burgundy-red while the human memorized the details on the parchment.

George was shocked at how easy the map was to understand. The location of the staff was clearly marked. It was resting behind a hidden door that was guarding it. The markings suggested that this door was not too far away from the entrance of the cave. However, once he was inside, there were only two ways out. The first was to make his way through the cave and find an exit called Sorrow’s Release, but that was an 8 Peak walk according to Jason and the mage. The second option was to leave the way the traveler entered, but that way of exiting required the traveler to risk a deadly confrontation with the beast. At the bottom of the map, the parchment clearly stated the beast had to be killed in order to release his control over the entrance.

George remembered what Jason told him. He said the beast was a hideous creature who used visions of sadness to drive those who entered the cave insane. The prospect of dealing with the creature was of little concern since Kepler believed he was immune to its visions. Apparently, sadness was an emotion the jaguar was unaffected by—or so the demon thought.

With George’s mind working overtime, it was not long before he developed a plan. “Listen up, guys. We have a job to do, but first, I’m hungry.” George patted his belly. “What do you guys say we get something to eat?”

“Food!” Kroger shouted in a booming voice. “Kroger like to eat.” The ogre reached into his gigantic backpack and pulled out the first of two dead corgans. He ripped the cow-like animal apart and offered it up to the group.

George was blown away. Even though he was staring at Kroger’s pack, he could not that believe any backpack was large enough to hold two cows.
The damn things have got to weigh at least 1,000 pounds each,
he thought.

George had a look of awe on his face as he thanked Kroger for the meal, and then he watched as his companions ate their supper raw. Eventually, he broke a limb off a nearby tree, stripped it of its leaves and then used the stick to roast his portion of the corgan above the flame.

After everyone was full, George explained his plan. Once the look of understanding appeared on Kroger’s face, he put the scroll in his bag and suggested they all get some sleep. He placed the bag under his head to keep curious minds out and eventually drifted off to sleep
.

THE NEXT MORNING,
George, Kepler and Kroger are up and on their way through the Pass of Tears, traveling toward the Cave of Sorrow. They plan to camp a safe distance from the entrance of the cave once they arrive. George wants to avoid any unexpected encounters with the beast, Maldwin. They will review George’s plan before entering.

SAM, MOSLEY
and
BJ
are on their way to Angels Arena. BJ wants to give Sam a sense of what to expect before his first fight. The fight is scheduled as the last one of the evening. Sam, however, is not sure the idea to put him in the arena this early in his training is practical. The trainer wants Sam to familiarize himself with the sandy surface of the arena floor.