Fated Volition (#Wattys2015)

Chapter Twenty One

She flipped it over and looked at it closely. At first glance, it did not appear to be any different, but then she noticed a strange pattern engraved in the stone. It had four arms that swirled outward from the center. In the middle of the arms was a small figure that looped twice. She was about to ask Evangeline if she had ever seen anything like it, when Gail snatched the stone from her hand.

"Heavens child, do you know what this is?" Gail asked.

"No actually, I was just about to ask if anyone did." Lillian replied.

Ryhan picked up the other stone and studied it carefully before she asked, "Did we do this?"

"We must have, they were just normal stones before we practiced our magic." Evangeline said.

"Oh goodness, but do you know what you've created?" Gail asked enthused.

"Why don't you tell us Gail?" Ryhan snapped.

"It's a jogard." Gail said, as if that explained everything.

They must have looked confused as ever because Gail went on, "A jogard. An item that you store power in. It could be anything really, a book or a weapon, they are very rare and very difficult to make. The elves used them mostly, in amulets and such, for protection. This is a very valuable item you got yourselves here."

Lillian took the stone back from Gail. She studied it closely again, running her thumb over the simple pattern etched in it. It did feel somewhat electric in her hand and heavier than it should be. Gail stared at the stone in her hand, and Lillian found herself wondering what kind of woman Gail was beneath the surface. It was obvious that she was more than a simple tavern owner.

"I don't understand. If there are jogards out there in the world, why are there not more people using them? I've never even heard of one before." Lillian said.

"Well they can only be used by the person who created them, or a person to whom they are given willingly. There are not many magic users in the world anymore, with time the jogards became forgotten or useless. If you were to find one you wouldn't even know, it would just seem like a normal object." Gail explained.

Gail left them alone again and the three of them passed the stones back and forth contemplating what advantage it might give them in the future. Regardless, they had pressing matters to consider, Lillian reminded herself.

"So now what do we do? Sneak away? Leave Victoria behind?" Lillian asked sullenly.

"We can't leave her, we are stronger with her, and we need her." Evangeline said.

Ryhan asked, "Then how do we get her to leave with Stallia being so adamant that she's staying?"

"I think we might have a solution to that." Alex chimed in.

Lillian glanced toward the back door. Victoria was standing next to Alex and she greeted them with a small smirk. They followed Victoria through town and Lillian thought they were heading back up to the dragon's keep. However, they walked past the entrance to it.

Victoria led them to the edge of the town. They reached a dead end and with nowhere left for them to go, Lillian glanced at the others in confusion. Victoria found a small opening between the stone walls and motioned for them to follow her. Lillian did not mind the tight squeeze, but she could tell it made Ryhan nervous from her rapid breathing. The sides of the path got smaller before getting bigger again and at times they were moving sideways with their front's and backs touching stone.

Finally, they emptied into a small round clearing with a steep stone staircase that ran up the rest of the peak. Moving as quickly as they could manage, they all stopped and caught their breath when they reached the top. When she felt relatively normal again, Lillian took in her surroundings. There was not much to see other than a woven basket that was large enough for all of them to stand in, and some sort of cloth on the ground next to it.