Chapter 11 (part 4)

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They handed Supreany a torch and began to follow her down the stairs through the corridor below. This corridor was best described as a tunnel and it looked much older, different from the structures above it.

Cecealye paused and gave the tunnel a good look. "I've seen this before."

Ean turned as the rest of the group paused. "What do you mean, you've seen this before?"

"Not here, but in El'Laissa. When I was a teenager, my professor took me down to the dungeon. He was giving me a history lesson on it. While we were down there, he took me down a long stair and showed me a tunnel. It looked just like this. He said he would tell me about it in a different lesson, but he never got the chance."

"Why's that?" Blaizen asked.

"My mother banished him shortly after my father died."

"Oh ... I see how that could present a problem."

With that, they pressed on. They had passed a few openings when finally, Supreany stopped at one. For some reason she could not tell, her heart was racing. She slowly stepped through the door; her torch illuminated the room. It was tall, and in it stood twelve pillars that reached to the ceiling, all circling a center pedestal.

Her companions had followed her into the room but were stopped by what they were seeing. There was a small stone sitting on the pedestal that had begun to shine so brightly it almost blinded them. But that was not the only stone that was ablaze with light. The stone Supreany had hanging from her neck also shoned. Standing there, it was as though Supreany was seeing something they could not. She dropped her torch and began to pace toward the other stone.

Stepping up to the pedestal she saw a male figure, bright and magnificent and it began to speak to her in a calm and smooth voice.

"Supreany, be not afraid, for you have been chosen. Two of the twelve stones are now with you. Go now and seek out the rest. The Nameless One will be your strength and your protector, delivering you from all that seek to harm you ... Do not fear." He then disappeared from her sight.

Picking up the stone from the pedestal, she held it close. Suddenly, the stone lifted out of her hand and the stone around her neck broke from its leather cage, meeting its counterpart in the air. The two stones fused together in a brilliant display of light. She reached up and grabbed the now-one stone, still shining bright, and she began to notice that she felt very weak. The light from the stone dissipated and a second later Supreany collapsed to the ground. Her companions rushed to her but she would not wake.

"I guess we'll have to carry her back out," Ean suggested.

"I'll do it." Blaizen volunteered. As Blaizen picked up the young woman, the stone fell out of her hand to the ground. Cecealye reached down to grab it when her hand was viciously smacked away by Orckle.

"Don't touch it," he commanded. "That could very well be the reason she is now unconscious." Grabbing a cloth from his garments, he reached down and carefully picked up the stone, placing it safely in Supreany's pocket. "I fear that none of us are meant to carry this."

They soon found their way to the surface and back to the camp. They wrapped Supreany in her bedding and decided it was time to eat. Sitting by the fire, Blaizen noticed a hard look on Orckle's face.

"Orckle, what's wrong?"

He shook his head. "I knew that we were seeking out a great power, but this ..."

"Do you know what it is?" Ean questioned.

"No ... but I know, I can feel it. The power that commands these stones is far greater than anything else I've ever encountered. Only the Nameless One could hold such a power. No wonder Laveana was searching for these stones."

A quietness fell over the group until Blaizen broke the silence. "There's something I've been wondering for some time. What's with this Laveana? I mean ... people are afraid of just the sound of the name."

Everyone looked around at one another. "I suppose I'll do the dirty work." Orckle sighed. "Laveana was a sorceress that lived about five-hundred years ago. Twisted and evil, she was probably the most powerful and most horrific sorceress ever to curse this world. The list of her terrible deeds is too long to tell, not to mention there were far more things she did that are not remembered." He paused. "It may not sound like much to you, but if you had lived then and seen what she did ... no words could truly do her justice."

'That's nice.' Blaizen thought.

"Anyway," Ean said to gather everyone's attention. "Once Supreany is awake, we'll be departing." He looked over at Cecealye. "Where do we need to go to meet up with this friend of yours?"

"My old professor, if he's still alive ... my informants believe he is to be found north of here, near the Marshlands."

"Did I miss something? Is that the same professor that was banished?" Blaizen queried.

"Yes, they are the same man. I never thought it was right that my mother banished him. Shortly after I became queen, I sent out a handful of men to search the continent to find him. After almost five years, they found a lead and brought me this news about a week before Ellizea was attacked."

"Why was he banished?"

"For teaching me things which are against the law to teach."

"Things that ought not to have been forgotten, but because of a foolish few who had power, they are now sparsely remembered," Orckle added.

Ean sat there a moment, thinking. "Blaizen and Orckle, are you two still up for going into Ellizea?"

They nodded yes.

"We probably should part ways here, then. It won't be safe for you all to use the condoras beyond Daninlei. No doubt the skies there are heavily watched. So it will take you longer to travel."

"Could we leave them with your half-brother at the capital?" Orckle asked.

"I imagine you could do that. I'll send a letter with you so there will be no misunderstandings. Then, after you two cross over the border and we find out what we can about the stone in Ellizea, we'll send you messages using the General's hawk."

"Didn't you say the skies would be well guarded, though?" Blaizen asked.

"Yes, but hawks are common in Ellizea. He should go relatively unnoticed ..."

"I've got a better idea." They all looked over at Supreany, who was now awake and sitting up.

"Supreany, are you feeling all right?" Cecealye asked, concerned.

"Still feeling weak, but I'm okay."

"What's your idea?" Ean questioned.

"Hawks are good, but angelos dragons are better." They all looked at one another, unsure of the idea. "When we were in Danin City, I noticed there was a man who had some for sale, along with hawks and other message-carrying animals. They'll be expensive, but worth it."

Cecealye shook her head. "But none of us know anything about angelos dragons."

"I do. Look, we need to restock anyway. Let's all go to Danin City. I'll pick out the dragons, and then we can go our separate ways. Trust me, if an angelos dragon can't successfully carry a message, there's not another animal in the world that can either. I'd stake my life on it."

Ean rolled the idea through his mind. Everyone waited to see what his decision would be. "Supreany says that they're the best, so I'm going to take her word on it. At dawn, we'll all depart for Danin City together."