The Heartstone Journey

Book 3 | Ch. 10 - Love & Destiny

The entryway was pitch-black with no light getting the opportunity to seep inside. The hairs on his arms stood getting a gist of what dangers lied ahead. He didn't hesitate and continued walking before the darkness swallowed him inside the clutches of the cottage. The next thing he realized was the fact that the place was structurally different including its size being much larger. Much much denser and bigger he muttered. The intense hysteria and dread all dissipated once he entered the home with no lingering effects, it was quite, far quieter than Hunter standards would accept. No sounds emanated from the halls of the place, air was still with no breeze around and only the sound of his own foot steps creaking the floorboard were heard. There were paintings hung around the walls of the place with only greenery portrayed on them. Wooden pillars kept the cottage from collapsing from the inside looking like they needed to be refurbished with the flooring desperately asking for a clean up. Everything was old, dusty and seemed to be abandoned for a long time now. Hunter's senses could tell there was no one awaiting his arrival or for that matter there was no one in general within the vicinity. There was no trap, nothing to cause harm, just him inside the abandoned soundless cottage.

"This place is not suiting my taste so far."

He stated the honest truth not holding back on whoever built this horrid design.

Walking around the house as if he owned it he observed and touched many of the items that piqued his interest. Nothing was worth his time after catching on that they were nothing but normal items. Beginning to ignore all the accessories that came his way he turned a corner and found a long hallway that definitely would not fit within the regular cottage outside and went with the flow moving down it. There were portraits planted to the walls displaying achievements but were all blank. He went along the wall glancing over each portrait before an item caught the eyes of Hunter. It was placed right at the end on a pedestal laid there to gather dust yet it shined radiantly with a vibrant, warm glow around it. His pupils opened widely despite the shine from the item, he powerwalked down the hallway faster than before passing through several pillars of higher quality reaching to the pedestal. The further he went the more pristine and clean the area became with the shine coming from the item floating atop the pedestal growing stronger. A rug spawned from beneath the soles of his feet comforting his sudden arrival. It was a mythical item that radiated holy light. He stood before it, taking a stretched out version of a glance at its appearance before raising both hands at it and gently molding his hands to the shape of a bowl. The item itself was no bigger than a rock, no littler than a butterfly. It shined like a star glimmering how the rest would beyond, its colors resembled a rainbow always changing but never out of sync. It resembled closest to a crystal that hasn't yet been refined with an euphoric sensation to those near it. Suddenly a droplet of salty water fell to the wooden floorboard.

"Huh~? I'm crying? W-why?"

He asked himself knowing no one else knew the answer but himself.

Taking a gander at the crystal witnessing its light he decided to put it away safely into his pocket for later to see what was up with it. Unexpectedly his senses were firing away, alarms in his head were ringing off, his body could sense another life force nearby within the cottage itself.

"How?! Did whatever make it in here find the boys? Are they alright?! Shit- Shit! I have to go!"

He shouted nervously for the boys making a break for the door.

His spine curled, back tightened, muscles clenching now feeling as if he was being watched from right beside him. He snapped his head to the right spotting nothing, snapped to the left finding nothing in sight either. He cautiously advanced holding his weapons up to his chest height, obviously his fist. He managed to make his way to the front door without any confrontation keeping him on guard as to what was peering over him. He reached for the knob attached to the doorway before pausing everything, in a stand still his face was frozen filled with a blank yet afraid expression.