Talisman Of El (Arcadia, Book 1)

Chapter Nine - Land of No Horizon

THREE HOURS HAD PASSED, and the gang had trekked many miles, travelling chiefly through forests. Suspended at the centre, the inner sun was always overhead wherever they went, giving off a softer and gentler light than the sun in the surface world. There appeared to be no horizon in Arcadia. The farther something was, the higher it appeared to be until it vanished into the atmosphere.

As they journeyed through a thick pine forest, using the now normal functioning compass to guide them, Charlie looked behind him and saw Derkein walking with his head down, his shoulders slumped. A mixture of gratification and remorse welled up inside him, the latter being the result of the former. Had it been Derkein's choice, the trio would not be in Arcadia, but for Charlie, the outcome could not have worked out any better. He had to be here. He had to find the tree that could grant him his deepest wish. Perhaps, he thought, this had been his mother's intention all along: for him to find the Garden of Eden and get the one thing he had wished for on every birthday for the past four years.

Having not eaten in hours and travelling in a place where the temperature was above twenty degrees Celsius, fatigue and hunger was wearing them down. Still, they pressed on, for they had five days – Arcadian time – to get to Eden, find the garden, and get back to the gateway before it closed for another three months.

Having studied the map, they knew Arcadia consisted of five continents: Ardenen, Sedona, Agorah, Ethidor and Koura. They knew Eden was in Koura; they just didn't know how they were going to get there, nor did they know where in Arcadia they were.

'I think we're safe now,' said Richmond. 'Can we stop? We've been walking for ages.'

'We should rest for a bit,' Derkein said.

Richmond plopped himself down on a rock, Alex sitting beside him.

Charlie turned to Derkein and saw him gazing up at the sky. Derkein was the only one without a coat, having left it back at the gateway entrance as a marker. 'You okay?' Charlie asked him.

'I feel' – Derkein paused for a moment – 'young.'

'You are young,' Alex pointed out.

'Yes, but I haven't felt this way in weeks. I almost feel like my old self. We've been walking for miles, and I'm in no pain.' Derkein's gaze drifted around the surroundings. 'I wish I had believed my father when he told me about this place.'

'Remember how we reacted when you first told us?' Alex said. 'Imagine going back and telling people where we've been. No one would believe us. They'd have us locked up.'

'But then we'd be famous,' Richmond said.

Charlie snickered. 'Yeah, we'd be the real-life Looney Tunes.'

The others laughed.

'We have to be careful who we trust,' Derkein said after a pause. 'We don't want something as big as this falling into the wrong hands. Who knows what these Arcadians would do if we tried to expose them.'

'So we say nothing?' Richmond asked. Derkein raised his eyebrows at him. 'Fine, I won't say anything.' He crossed his arms and stuck his bottom lip out.

Charlie took his bag off his shoulder and pulled out the map. 'Okay, so we're definitely, maybe in Ardenen –'

'Or Agorah,' Alex cut in, 'since there are lots of forests there too.'

'Okay, so we're either in the north or west of Arcadia,' Charlie said. 'Do we keep heading south?'

'If we go off course now, we'll only end up confusing ourselves even more,' Derkein responded. He stepped towards Charlie and glanced down at the map. 'Since it's the most wooded area on the map, let's just assume for a moment that we are in Ardenen. At some point, we're bound to hit one of these cities, which I hope will give us some indication of our whereabouts.'