Ethan Wright and the Alchemist's Order, (Book 2) (11 page)

Suddenly, the breeze picked up. The smell of moisture rode the air and Ethan knew they were close to the lake. They reached the edge of the forest and broke through a final row of thick underbrush. The lake was almost perfectly round from what Ethan could see. The dark, murky-looking water only stirred a bit in the breeze.

Happy to be out of the woods, the three alchemists and the chubby feline took a left and followed the shoreline north. They came to a well-traveled path that Abbey turned onto. “Here, I think,” she said. She paused, spotting something up ahead. “But what do we have up here now?”

Auren looked ahead and saw a small boy standing on the shore. He appeared to be fishing in the leaden waters. As they drew closer, Ethan got an eerie feeling from the spectral sight of the boy. He had a strange blue tint encompassing him. Everything about him had the same tinge, yet retained the underlying color — like he was wearing a membrane. Abbey was about to greet the boy when Auren jumped in front of her, covering her mouth with his hand.

“Don’t say a word!” exclaimed Auren in a panic. He pushed Abbey to face the opposite direction of the fisherboy, and quickly did the same to Ethan.

“What in the world are you doing?!” exclaimed Abbey loudly, wondering if the Faryndon boy was always this rude.

“Yeah, Auren — what’s going on?” added Ethan.

Abbey started to turn and face the fisherboy, but Auren pushed her back again. “Do not even
look
at him! Rules!” he exclaimed quietly. He dug in his pack and quickly pulled out the Losalfarian legendary creature book entitled
‘The Seven Legendary Creatures, Their Historical Significance and Their Known Attributes,’
which he had received from the Losalfarian library earlier that year.

“Hey there!” yelled the fisherboy, noticing the three alchemists with their back to him. “I was wondering, can you help me for a second?”

Ethan started to turn and face the boy, but Auren pushed him back toward the book. “Look,” whispered Auren urgently as he flipped through the pages. He found the one he wanted to reference and jabbed a finger at the page. “The Lake Hunter —
‘…known by its unmistakable blue-tinted tongue, which appears to its prey as a helpless boy. Potential victims have been known to get a few feet away from the boy and, as long as the boy goes ignored, the Lake Hunter will not attack.’
”

“Oh, don’t be silly,” giggled Abbey. She started to turn but Ethan leaned forward and stopped her progress.

“Wait a second … look here,” added Ethan. “
‘The Lake Hunter was last seen hunting in Black Lake. It abides by a set of rules. As long as you ignore the boy’s plea for help, you should be safe, as the Lake Hunter prefers to attack trusting souls.’
” Ethan looked over at Auren. “You think that
fisherboy
is the Lake Hunter?”

“Didn’t you notice something strange about him? The blue tint — I mean … looks weird, doesn’t it?”

Abbey giggled and snorted. “You boys and your stories.”

“No, Abbey, Auren knows his stuff — he’s been reading this book inside and out — surprised he hasn’t memorized it by now.”

“I’m lost!” yelled the fisherboy. “I’ve been lost for days and can’t find my parents. Can you help me?” begged the boy. “Please, I’m scared!”

Ethan was conflicted; the pleas from the boy pulled at his conscience. “Can’t just leave him though, Auren … I mean, can we?”

“Have to,” replied Auren insistently.

“We’re not leaving anyone — we’ll bring him back to Tirguard with us,” stated Abbey.

“No,” argued Auren, who was getting visibly upset. “The book clearly states—”

“Where did you get that
book
anyways?” snipped Abbey, starting to lose patience as her portly face turned red.

“The Library of Truth,” said both Ethan and Auren.

“From Losalfar,” added Auren. “We know anything that is in this book is true — you have to trust me,” he pleaded.

A surprised look came over Abbey. “Oh my,” she snorted. “You two get around, don’t you now. Although I don’t feel right in leaving the boy here, the fact that you’ve been to Losalfar, to the Library of Truth — I trust in your judgment, Auren. It may be difficult, but given our current need to replace Odin quickly, we’ll ignore the boy.”

The three continued to walk past the fisherboy, ignoring his pleas for help. Ivy instinctively ignored blue-hued boy and followed the trio.

“I don’t know if I can do this, Auren,” whispered Ethan, leaning into Auren’s ear.

“I know … trust me, Ethan. This is a trap, and if we talk to that boy we’ll be in danger — I know it,” whispered Auren.

“We can’t avoid
every
boy that asks for help though,” replied Ethan.

“No, just every boy that’s fishing with bluish skin,” chuckled Auren.

Ethan agreed and kept walking, even though the guilt weighed down on him with every plea from the fisherboy.

“Hey! Wait! I really need help — I’ve been lost for days. I’m so hungry … won’t you please help me?!” pleaded the boy. “Why won’t you stop? I miss my parents! Please!” He followed them down the shoreline for a while, crying, but finally stopped when they veered away from the lake.

The comments lingered in the back of Ethan’s mind. They made him think of his own parents and how he missed them. He wiped at his eyes as he walked away from the distressed fisherboy. “Is he out of view yet?” asked Ethan somberly.

“Dunno,” replied Auren. “I don’t really want to turn around if I don’t have to … for more than one reason — feel bad and stuff.”

“Me too … aaaghhhhh,” complained Ethan as he grabbed his stomach again. He hunched over in pain. The Orobori swallowed and tasted something odd in the back of his throat. He felt around his mouth with his fingers. As he pulled them out, his heart skipped a beat when he saw black on his fingertips.

Auren freaked out. “WHAT IS THAT? Ethan — you okay? What’s that on your fingers?”

Abbey stopped walking and quickly grabbed Ethan’s hand, licking the black substance on his fingers. Both Ethan and Auren gave her a strange look, which did not sway Abbey in the slightest. She rolled the goop around her mouth and spat on the ground.

“Poison,” she stated.

“Poison?!” exclaimed Ethan. “From where? I mean … how?”

“Must be from that torture arrow — seems it’s setting in slow though, so I think we have plenty of time. We need to get you to Wegnel … er…” After realizing what she had just said, a sad look came over her. “We need to get you to Wegnel’s hut — I have a few tricks up my sleeve — may be able to get a medical alchemist friend of mine, Nurse Helga, to help take a look.”

“Will he be okay? I mean—”

“He’ll be okay, Auren.” She looked directly at Ethan and put her hands on his shoulders. “You’ll be okay.”

Ethan was worried, but nodded with confidence at the words of Wegnel’s eventual replacement.

With Black Lake now behind them, Abbey began to slow her pace. She was looking deep into the forest as they walked down the path. Soon, she spotted what she was looking for and headed into the woods. Ethan was tired of trudging through dense forest and moaned as he entered the thick brush. After struggling for a time, he looked up and saw they were entering a clearing with a great white tree just ahead. Abbey touched the tree for good luck and continued to walk past. They forged ahead through more forest and then came to another, smaller, clearing.

There in front of them was the entrance to a cave. The opening stood several feet higher than Ethan was tall. Looking into the opening, the cave descended rather deep rather quick. Steps were carved into the stone as far down as the eye could see. Torches were lit every so often down the staircase.

“What is it?” asked Auren in wonder.

“
This
is the shortcut — runs straight inside Tirguard’s walls,” said Abbey. She snorted, adjusted her pack and walked over to a stone carving etched into one of the pillars that flanked the entrance.

“But … it can’t … I mean … the Aegis can just walk in then, can’t they?” exclaimed Ethan.

“If they could see it, then … yes. There are alchemical properties created by the Stone Sanctuary alchemists — the entrance is invisible to non-humans. Not only that, but you must be accompanied by, or be, an alchemist to enter. See…,” Abbey spit on her hand and put it on the stone carving. The symbols flashed and she walked through the entrance, “…if you were to try and enter without knowing how to do a simple reaction, you would find yourself blasted through the woods.” She pointed straight back, where they had just walked through. Several branches had been broken, as if a rough path was carved into the shallows of the forest.

“Is that from…?”

“
That
… is probably from an alchemist who had a bit too much ale and forgot to create a reaction on the pillar here — oh dear, that must have hurt,” snorted Abbey with a giggle. “Once we get in we will be quite safe. I’ve passed through here many times — haven’t even seen another person, alchemist or anything else down there … not once,” she added. “Got me wondering if anyone even uses the thing anymore….”

They headed down into the deep. Ethan wondered how far down the tunnel went. The passage was rather narrow but the ceiling stretched high. Every so often they would pass another torch. They looked like an old-fashioned version of the miracle torches that Wegnel had given them — but larger, and instead of being a portable device, they were permanent fixtures attached to the sheer walls. After what seemed like hours, they reached the bottom of the staircase. Ethan breathed a sigh of relief and then immediately panted for air. He felt weak and his legs ached. He turned around and looked back up the passage to the entrance. It was a very small dot of light, which he could easily cover with his thumb, from his perspective. It made him feel dizzy to look up all those stairs, so he looked down at his boots instead. The feeling did not pass and Ethan knew why. He stepped onto the landing and there was nowhere to go except to the right. He followed Abbey, Auren and Ivy around the corner. Ethan groaned as he saw another, equally deep, stairwell in front of him. They delved further into the deep, and the one thing burning in Ethan’s mind was the poison that was setting in.

The walls were dank and dimly lit. The air was stale except for a peculiar musty odor that wafted about. The smell became stronger the deeper they traveled. Ethan gave a sigh of relief as he stepped down to the second landing; there were no more stairs. Instead, this landing had a left turn that led them into a cavernous room. A double row of pillars marched across the length of the room, stretching to a great height which was lost in darkness. Strange symbols were etched onto every visible surface of the pillars. Ethan recognized them to be of alchemical origin. Three unique doors lined both sides of the room, along with one unadorned stone door at the opposite end, for a total of seven singular doors.

“What
is
this place?” mumbled Ethan as he passed by a door with crooked, gnarly branches reaching across the front. He examined the symbols on the nearby pillar as he passed another door that sparkled with gold specks.

“Some believe it’s a place of power for a group of alchemists — much like the Stone Sanctuary or my origin, Red Oak. I’m not sure how it was built; only that it’s always empty. I don’t think alchemy is as popular as it once was — not since the Curse,” replied Abbey. “I’d like to study this place more — seems like whenever I go this way I’m always in a hurry — next time I guess….”

The group hurried across the room. Abbey spit on her hand and placed it on the plain stone door. She whispered something to the door and a flash of light shone through the room, and with a
crack
the door slowly shifted open. They walked through the entrance to a long and wide hallway. It was made from pristinely carved stone — it was apparent that a master stone builder had made the hall, as the dimensions and angles were all perfect.

Ethan was exhausted. The hallway seemed to go on and on. Even with the poor lighting coming from the torches, it was easy to tell he was getting weak. Auren could see Ethan’s veins through his sickly pale skin. “Are we almost there, Abbey? Ethan’s not looking so good,” pestered Auren, now assisting Ethan who had beads of sweat rolling down his face. He looked sick, and felt sicker. Too weak to carry on, his knees buckled. Auren quickly halted and shifted his grip to support all the Orobori’s weight.

“Can you carry him, Auren?” asked Abbey, rushing over to the boys. “We’re almost there, Ethan — hang on….”

Her voice echoed in Ethan’s head as if she were getting further away. He blinked and was no longer in the hallway, but going up a stairwell with very large, deep steps.

“Hang on … just a moment longer….” He blinked again and the sun flashed in his eyes. He was outside.

“Just hold on, Ethan.” The voice may have been miles away now, lost in the distance. Not recognizing his surroundings any longer, he lost any train of thought and drifted out of consciousness.

Chapter 10
The Summer Sword

CRACK!
A sharp echo rang through the seats and up to the walls of the Stadion. The great High Perch loomed over the crowd, where the Castellan entertained King Basileus. The local authority fidgeted with his tunic as the King observed the match below.

“I do think that the Tanbe girl should be the favorite in this … Summer Sword?” queried the King.

“Yes Sire, the Summer Sword, one of our most prestigious events for students. It narrows down the field of … how should I say … winners,” replied the Castellan with a smirk. “I would point out that the Tanbe girl is an alchemist, not a member of the Guard,” he added. “More of an underdog in a match of strength and skill — I should say that any student entered by Heinrich would be the favorite in this contest.”

The King played with his signet ring as he pondered the Castellan’s comments. “Well, the Tanbe line is a trade family historically. They have passed down a very effective method of swordplay from generation to generation, all originating from the protection of tradable goods. I would not underestimate any daughter of the Tanbe family.” The King chuckled and leaned forward in his chair as Availia took the field.