Two days later, River Verlice sat infront of Alistair brothers to present his findings.He laid the golden rods and a roll of parchment on table.
River yawned and rubbed his reddened eyes. Last two nights he had hardly slept. Nightmares plagued him and he woke up several times ,panting and drenched in cold sweat. Paranoia and trepidation held him in iron clutches at all times. His appetite had plummeted , making him feel profoundly unwell.
"You look like shit" Raven commented.
Gee,thanks.
"I inspected these thoroughly " River started, completely ignoring Raven. "I think we can use these to track what we are looking for"
"Proceed" Aithan encouraged.
"There are mainly three ways an object can be cursed. First is when one is obsessed with something and they die,without being able to let go of that deep attachment. After death they refuse to move on and possess these objects, bringing ruin to those who get involved with that object or place.
Second is when living beings tie evil spirits to objects. This is commonly done to get rid of such spirits. By burying them , the spirits and their resentment is temporarily put to rest. As long as they remain unbothered , the problem is solved"
"So you are telling," Raven interrupted . " That I woke up some fucking demon entity ?"
"That's what I thought at first too" River pointed at the rods "but that doesn't explain six thousand gold rods"
He gave the men infront of him a look " Have My Lords heard about 'Valley of Fallen Heroes?"
Raven turned to Aithan "that shitty place in West? "
"The West and East is seperated by this barren land , isnt it? " Aithan asked.
"A thousand years ago West and East plunged in to a war" River drew lines on the table top ,trying to depict the East -West boarder. "They were trying to establish margins which eventually grew in to a bloody war that went on for ten years.
"It was not only men who fought , women and children as young as 15 was drafted too. Valley of Fallen Heroes is the mass grave they buried all the casualties in .
These people died a violent death,in fear , mourning the life that was taken from them. They were buried in an unmarked grave , together with thousands and thousands of such souls.
By the time war ended , soil turned damp and red from all the blood spilled .If one was to dig for ten minutes they could unearth a corpse.
Generation after generation, people tried to cultivate this land, with no avail. Villages in the vicinity constantly suffered from plagues and paranomal activities "
"What does the valley has to do with anything?" Raven questioned.
"East and West both suffered because of this. When Shculz and Wedigos prayed both gods gave about same solution . Which is to cover the soil in a layer of pure gold dust and to turn the soil over"
Aithan and Raven wore matching confused expressions. They also seemed to be connecting dots together.
"That completely solved the problem. Plagues stopped in the villages . Although it wasnt still suitable for crops to grow on other shrubs and little vegetation started growing .
Valley of Fallen Heroes is the third case study. That's when a place or an object, usually weapons ,are continuously subjected to violence,death and bloodbath. This type of a curse is specially strong and very hard to manage "
River pointed a finger at the gold rods.
"Gold is the element of Vorine. It has the ability to absorb and purify negative energy. They suffer almost zero corrosion, even after a long period of time .
But look at these rods . According to My Lord's description they were planted on to the ground, forming some kind of an arrangement"
"But the inches above the ground is discolored " Aithan said thoughfully.
"Exactly, I hope My Lords can imagine the magnitude of the curse we are dealing with here"
Raven picked up a rod and turned it over "what are these ant sized letters?"
"That I cannot say without further research" River said "To sum everything up, those scraps were actually being contained within a golden tomb , hoping it would neutralize them. It required this much gold, and they ended up corroding too"
An omnious silence fell among them.
"Do My lords know how much gold it took to purify that entire land ?"
Two brothers shook their heads slowly.
"Three chests worth of gold coins" River pointed "This is roughly about hundred times more than that"
"Why the fuck God wants these cursed ass pieces of junk?" Raven wandered " and how on earth did they got so cursed? "
"I do not know ,My Lords "
"So how do you suggest we utilize your findings ?" Aithan turned to River.
"There are three paths we can take"
"One is we wait. Disaster will follow these metals. I cant say for sure what would happen, but something will happen "
"But it had been almost three months since they were misplaced" Aithan reminded "nothing happened "
"Which is indeed peculiar"River nodded in agreement " which made me doubt if they are really misplaced "
"Stop talking like the sky daddy and fucking get to the point ,kid" Raven rolled his eyes.
"This is completely an assumption on my part, but I think they fell in to the hands of someone or a group of people that can contain its curse " River stated.
"That would explain lack of trouble" Aithan said "but you dont think they can hold its power for long, hence the suggestion to wait?"
"Correct"
"That sounds fucking risky !" Raven exclaimed " what if that shit randomly blows the entire nation up?"
"Then there's second method" River pushed the rolled parchment towards Aithan.
Aithan gave him a what is this? glance and opened it . Raven leaned back on his seat and peeped over his brother's shoulder to see.
"This is?"
River handed one of the rods to Aithan " hold this Lord Aithan "
Aithan gingerly held the the rod up. River picked up the remaining rod and brought it slowly closer to the one in Aithan's hand. He then took it away and slowly brought it closer again . River repeated this few more times.
"Does my lord feel that?" River's asked in unmasked excitement .
Aithan's usually passive amber eyes widened and he nodded in bewilderment .
Raven looked between them. " WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU TWO DOING ?"
What kind of filth are you thinking?
Aithan handed over the rod to Raven and they repeated the same series of movements.
"What the actual fuck?" Raven dropped the rod in shock.
"They attract" River said " They have stood and absorbed large quantities of cursed and evil energy for a long time, probably centuries. So they naturally try to follow that energy"
River pointed to the rolled parchment in Aithan's hands .
"I designed a compass of sorts" he told " I assume the gold rod's attraction to original sourse of evil energy would be about ten folds stronger than their attraction to each other. Based on that principle, I designed that"
Aithan inspected the blueprint. When he looked up ,he seemef impressed.
"Its very detailed"
"I cant understand shit" Raven scratched his chin.
That's because you are dumb.
"Cant you create this ? " Aithan asked.
"Technically , I can Lord Aithan. But it requires tools and a workroom. I will need to melt down these rods too. Given all that, in about a week I can make it"
Raven whistled shrilly "Damn ,Missy "
"What are these books listed?" Aithan asked.
"Books that I need to take a look at to understand more about the situation . It would be immensely helpful if they can be provided "
"It can be arranged " Aithan rolled the blueprint "You have worked hard"
River felt a small smile tugging at his face.
"What the fuck ! He smiled !" Raven cried dramatically "Thats fucking creepy"
"What is the third method?"
"Dangle me up on a rope and trek through four kingdoms " River said nonchalantly "I can physically feel its presence"
Aithan and Raven both regarded him with narrowed eyes . It was hard to tell what was behind those gazes , doubt ?unease? concern?
"So thats why you have been looking like you have eaten a wet sock " Raven stated "are you going be ok?"
"Your majesty is the most considerate" River tried hard not to sound sarcastic " Ill be quite alright"
Aithan stood and walked to the door "Ill see to the arrangements " he held up the rods "Ill hold on to these meanwhile. You get some rest"
"One more thing , My lord" River stopped him " I suggest you mix about four parts normal gold, preferably blessed by the High Priestress ,when you molten the remaining gold and turn them to coins . Just in case "
Aithan nodded " Understood"
He left with that. As soon as he took the rods with him River felt all his exhaustion crashing down on him. He dropped to a chair and put his head on the table .
"You know quite a lot for someone who had never been out and around " Raven commented.
"Books exist my lord,quite a lot of them " River mumbled groggily.
"Is that tone im hearing?"
Soft snores answered him .
"And he's out "
Breez flew in through the window and brought the saltiness of the sea with it. Sunlight fell in warming up two men in the room.
Author has something to say
The chapter was longer. There was lot to cover !
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Today's mini theatre- Gods on afternoon tea
Southern god-
My child is so unruly and ill-mannered. So stupid ! I cant believe he is my child! Such a disgrace !
Northern god-
*sips tea* He will come around.
Southern god-
I have the perfect idea! Your son is so well behaved , smart as well. Lets arrange them a play date! Im sure he will be a good influence !
Northern god-
Valour,the couraged one is indeed a golden child. But he is hardly a child anymore. Got married. Has a child now.
Southern god -
Not him , your other child .
Northern god-
*chokes violently * I HAVE ANOTHER CHILD?!
Raven Alistair