Alex & Bain: Book 1: The Philosopher Stone

*Chapter 18*

As me and rhino approached the door he grabbed a hold of my hand.

"Ready?" He asked as he pushed open the door.

We walked in and walked down a flight of stone stairs that met right at the entry door. It was pitch black and I couldn't see a thing.

"I can not see a thing" I replied sounding a little frustrated since I kept hitting ever rock that hung above our heads as we got lower into the stone hut.

"This might help" Rhion said as we stopped.

I could hear him breathing hard as we stood quiet in the darkness. Suddenly his body lit up. He was glowing a blue greenish color and so were his eyes.

Rhion was about 6ft tall probably 200 pounds by my guessing. He had no hair but was very handsome without it. He had tatooes that traveled down his spine all in his tribe language. And he wore two necklaces that stopped at his collar bone.

"Wow. That is seriously cool" I said as we continued to walk.  "Can all protectors do that."

"No only I can. Well that I know of."  Rhion replied.
"Why is that? Are you special?" I asked
"No all protectors have different powers just like alchemist. Bain hasn't showed you his?"

"No." I asked confused. Why wouldn't he show me his special power? I thought to myself. 

"Probably hasn't been a need for it" He said with a smirk as if he knew what I was thinking.

Did I say that out loud I thought to myself again?

"No" just another one of my special powers.
"Wow heard of privacy much" I said with a smirk.

"So Rhion besides your many talent tell me what or who you are"

"I come from the tribe that has existed for thousands of years but no one knows of us. We try and stay out of sight from mortals even the magic community"

"Magic community?" I asked.

"Yes. There are others besides yourself or alchemist. There are many different...species I guess is the word, that have magic and can do dangerous things."

"Why do you hide?"
"Thousands of years ago my tribe was known to be the strongest tribe ever to live. We had thousands of people all from different types of magical backgrounds. We once were thought to be more powerful than the Quandom. You know of them right?"

"Yes Bain has told me some."

"Well they didn't like hearing that so much so they took it upon themselves to challenge us. And let me just say that no one survives a challenge from the Quondam."

"So they killed off your tribe" I asked
"Yes. Well most of us. I and a few others were lucky to escape. I was the son of the chief. My father grabbed me and a few others and told us to run into the forest and not to look back. The battle was intense but I did what I was told. We hid in the trees until it was done. I never saw my father after that night. But ever since we have had a bounty on us by the Quandom to kill us. But Bain and his protector friends have always been good to us.

"Wow. And why would they do that?"

"The Quandom want to be in power and charge of everything. They control everything and everyone. If they see they are losing that power they will strike and get rid of it. So now we hide to heal and try and grow back to what we were"

"I'm sorry Rhion"

"It's okay Alex. Don't you worry about us." He said as he continued walking. "I'm sorry your brothers are trying to kill you" He laughed as we continued to walk we finally got to the end of the stairs when I realized where we were again. With our conversations I had forgotten where we were and what I was doing. 

Rhion held out his hand as little dots of red sprinkled from his hand down the dark empty space in front of us. They looked like fire flies dancing together in the dark as they began to accumulate together they formed a fireball that lit the entire space up.  There was a door at the end of the tunnel that was wooden with different carvings engraved on the edges of the door.

As we got closer to the door Rhion reached for the handle and instantly he was shocked.

"It's protected by magic"
"How are we supposed to open it"
"See that" Rhion said pointing to the middle of the door.

There were two different molds that were of hands. They were in the center of the door that had a saying surrounding them.

"It says for the one who posses both dark and light inside shall open" Rhion said.
"So now what?" I asked him.
"So now you put both your hands on there"
"Me?" I asked.
"Yes I know what you are, Bain told me that you are both light and dark" You are the one who can open this door" Rhion said

I stood in front of the door and placed my hands in the holds of the door. It began to light up with white and black outlining the cracks of the door and the door began to open. The door did not open inward or out it slide open into the rock arch that held it up.  As the door began to slide slowly I could see it. The city of Irkalla was there. We were standing at the ledge of a mountain and as I looked down there was houses made of rock and straw that led all the way up to the Kingdom of Irkalla.

"How do we get down there?" I asked.
"Like this" Rhion said grabbing my hand as we transported to the ground of Irkalla.
"Here we go" I said to Rhion looking straight at the kingdom.