The Four Stones

Chapter 8:

Chapter 8:  The Journey Begins

“The journey to the first tower is about two or three days walk from here” Malachi informed as the five of them walked on the narrow wooded pathway.

“Are there any other villages or towns between the towers?” Jasmine asked, obviously not fond of the idea of camping every night.

“Yes, but very few.  And there are none between here and the first tower, so we’ll have to camp for a couple of nights. ” Malachi answered, looking at map of the area.

    “No problem.  Camping is fun, right, Jonathan?” Richard  asked

    “Yep!” Jonathan replied, smiling.

    “I’ve never been camping before. ” Wysteria said quietly.

    “NEVER?!” the two boys asked incredulously, mouths agape.  

    “Nope, never. ” Wysteria replied, giggling at the faces the boys were making.

    “It’s lots of fun, Wysteria.  I’m sure you’ll like it. ” Jonathan encouraged.  

    “Okay, if you like it, I’m sure I will. ” Wysteria said smiling.  

    The five of them continued walking for a while in silence.  The only sounds were their breathing and the forest creatures calling to each other and moving about.

    “Malachi. . . is Cyrus really this dangerous? i mean isn’t he a wizard like us?” Wysteria asked.  This question had been bugging her for some time now.

    “Yes, he is very dangerous.  His body isn’t very strong, but his magic is what makes him dangerous. ” Malachi said.

    “What kind of magic does he use?” Wysteria continued.

    There was a short pause before Malachi answered “He uses Necromancy or death magic.  With is comes the power to control people who have died and to place death curses on people.  If he gets his powers back…. no one will be safe from him. ”

    “That’s awful!” Wysteria exclaimed.  Malachi only nodded in response.  The others cringed at the thought.  

    “I need to prepare you three to face Cyrus, should I fail to get to the cave before he does.  We’ll set aside some time each day for training.  You four are already skilled at fighting, but I want to make sure you are ready for anything. ” Malachi said, looking back at the four of them.

    “Right. ” they all said.

    They continued walking late into the afternoon.  The sun was resting on the horizon line, it’s color a deep orange.  They started to make camp in a small clearing.

    “Alright, Wysteria and Jasmine, can you take this bucket and get some water from the nearby river.  It should be just beyond those trees. ” He pointed at a clump of trees to the right of the clearing.   Wysteria and Jasmine nodded and scampered off to find the river.

   

“Richard  and Jonathan can you go find some firewood?” Malachi asked the boys.  They nodded and split up to go look for some.  Malachi went to look for rocks to put around the fire pit.

The girls returned fairly quickly with the water.  Malachi had already set up a ring with some small rocks.  The boys returned soon after with arms full of lumber.  They set it up into a triangle shape in the middle of the rocks.  Then Richard  lit the fire with his magic.

“Good.  Now let’s eat. ” Malachi said pulling some dried meat and bread from his backpack and handing some to each of them.

After they ate they took turns telling stories, some scary some funny.  Malachi told some about when he was growing up and his first magical mistakes, like turning his friend into a tree.  Richard  told stories about the hunting trips he and Jonathan went on.  Jasmine and Wysteria told stories about their old home and school.

“If anyone so much as lays a hand on my sister again, I’ll rip their head off!” Jonathan exclaimed after hearing that Wysteria used to be bullied at school.

“Jasmine almost did that to Jason. ” Wysteria pointed out, laughing at her brother’s reaction.

“GOOD!” Jonathan replied, causing Wysteria to laugh even harder.

“Alright, i think we should get some sleep. ” Malachi said.  He looked amused at how protective Jonathan was acting.

The group nodded and began setting up sleeping bags.  Jasmine and Wysteria laid on side of the fire pit, and Jonathan and Richard  on the other.  Malachi was in the middle keeping watch for the first couple of hours.  

The next morning, Wysteria was the first one awake.  She quietly started pulling some food from her backpack and began separating it into five portions. She heard rustling coming from the boys’ side of the camp, so she looked over her shoulder and met the eyes of her twin. He looked a little groggy because he was looking right at her, but not really seeing her.

“Good morning, Jonathan.” Wysteria said smiling.

“G’morning.” He yawned back, rubbing his eyes.

“Hungry?” Wysteria asked, handing him a portion of the food. He nodded sleepily and accepted the food.

The others roused soon after, and they ate together. After breakfast Malachi began teaching Richard  and Wysteria different magic techniques while Jonathan and Jasmine sparred. Then Richard  took a break from magic and sparred with Jonathan while Jasmine practised her aim with her bow. Wysteria was quickly mastering water magic and becoming better at ice and mist magic. Malachi also taught her some healing spells she could perform with her water magic.

After two or three hours of practising the group decided to get moving again. They made better time than expected, so by they time they camped for the second night, they could see the first tower on the horizon.

“Tomorrow we enter the tower of the fire ruby.” Malachi informed them.