Fan Fiction ❯ The Stones of Laharia ❯ Seeing Circles and the Guards' Test ( Chapter 4 )

[ A - All Readers ]

The dragon roared. Out of its gigantic jaws came a tunnel of swirling light. The light exited its mouth, and folded itself into a circle. "Step through the portal." The dragon commanded.

Ian walked into it and came out on the other side. The landscape was completely and entirely different. There were flowers and hills dotted with houses every here and there. Everything was either pink, red, orange, yellow, lime green, blue, or periwinkle. There were gardens filled with all kinds of herbs and spices and beautiful wildflowers that gazed upward at the blazing sun.

"Dragon, you never told me your name." Ian said.

"You never asked." It answered.

"Okay then. Dragon, may I ask you your name?"

"Certainly. You may."

"Oh my god!!! Just tell me your name already!!"

"Katira." She replied. "You should have just asked me that at the beginning. It would have been much easier."

"Katira, then. Where are we?" Ian was starting to get frustrated.

"A place far away from where your journey first began. Very far away from Firrim, indeed. This place is called Shinnale. It is a rest haven, unlike Firrim, which was just a quest area. Here, in Shinnale, you may rest and buy items to your heart's content."

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"Marquis, where is that Ian boy? Open a seeing circle so I may monitor his progress. Whatever happens, he must suffer the same destiny as Fayt and I did." The dragon obeyed, for it almost feared its master. Although Marquis was larger in size, Lancer was much stronger in his dark sorcery than many people can hardly even imagine. The dragon was obedient, nonetheless, and opened a portal. Growling, it stirred the shining substance with one of its long, sharp claws.

A picture appeared, of Ian and Katira, strolling along the narrow road up the hill that held the small village of Shinnale.

"Not very interesting." Lancer commented. "Show me Fayt." Marquis once again used his claw to stir the circle of shimmering light. Another picture, this time only a girl, showed up. The girl had long, dark hair that fell across her face. She was sitting among the flowers in her garden in a place that was wonderfully colorful. She was digging a hole for some flowers that were patiently waiting by her side. There was fresh earth on her hands as she picked up a few flowers and delicately placed them in the hole and covered their roots with soil. She stood up and admired her work. She seemed quite pleased with herself. Then she looked up. She seemed to notice that someone was watching.

"Close the portal! We cannot risk her finding out that we are watching her. How did I fail? Why couldn't I get the stone of memory? She was my best friend. My only friend. I.........I failed her. She lost all memory of our friendship. She doesn't even remember me anymore. To her, I am just another face in the crowd....." Lancer tended to get like this whenever Fayt was mentioned. For he had been in love. To him, Fayt was more than a friend. She was everything to him.

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"Katira, are we there yet?"

"No, but we are close."

Ian and Katira walked in silence for a few moments. It was Ian that finally broke the silence once again.

"Are we there yet now?"

"No. But only a few miles to go."

"A few miles?!? Are you kidding me? Can't you just fly us there?"

"Little one, you do not know how much energy it takes for a dragon to open a portal, even for one as young as I. It is hard to retain any strength after completing that task. In the very near future, you will combine your own strength with mine, and we shall open them together from that point on. But I must teach you first. Who knows, maybe someday you will be able to do it yourself."

"Okay, okay. But are we there yet, now?"

"NO!!!!!" Katira growled. "From this point until we get to Shinnale, there is to be absolutely no talking! Not a word out of you, understand?"

The rest of the trip was completely silent. Ian didn't even dare to breathe loudly, for fear of the dragon's wrath. "See there." Katira said as she pointed at a great door. "Although this is a small village, it is heavily guarded to keep powerful dark sorcerers out. You must prove yourself worthy in the tasks that the guards have set. I'm not sure what it is anymore, but I am sure that the guards will explain everything once we get there. Oh, yes, and seeing as we still aren't there yet, NO TALKING!!!"

"Halt! Who goes there? Who stands before the mighty soldiers of Shinnale?" Came a voice from near the doors. These doors were familiar. The same doors that Ian, Jaymie, an Erin had stepped through together to gain entrance to this game. If you could even call it a game. More like a prison than a game.

"I am the Master of the Stones, and this is my dragon, Katira. Please let us pass."

"Don't make me laugh! You, Master of the Stones? A mere boy? Can you prove it?" Another guard said.

"Don't mock the Master of the Stones! For all you know, this boy may be your only ticket out of this game of enslavement. Or he may be your demise. It all depends. Let us pass." Katira was very persuasive; it is a wonder that the guards could withstand her.

"You must complete the tasks that we have set to gain entrance. First, to prove your strength, kill the faux-foes." Five paper animals popped up from slots in the ground. A dragon, a pixie, an evil magician, a tall giant, and an ogre. In a mindless slaughter, Ian slew them all with one swipe of his blade.

"Okay. They're all dead. Can I go in now?" Ian asked happily.

"No! You passed, but there is one more task you must complete. You must find the real bird while it is flying around with two other fake birds." He pulled out a live bird from his pocket and tied it to a string. Two paper birds were pulled out of another guard's pocket, and tied onto separate strings. Next, a machine with a wheel on top was brought out of the city. The other sides of the strings were tied to the wheel. Finally, the first guard took out a radio that was playing Jeopardy! music. They spun the wheel, and the real bird went CRAZY!!!

Time crept by as Ian looked at the birds going around, and around, and around, and around, and around, and around, and around. And around. The music went on and on and on. Do do do do. Do do do. Do do do do DO do do do do do...... on and on for eternity.

"Little one, choose a bird now! This music is going to drive me insane!" Katira growled.

Ian looked at the birds, thinking hard. One of the fake birds had come untied. The other fake fluttered to the ground with a faint swooshing sound. He looked at Katira. "That one? The one on the string? Do you think that's it?"

"Congratulations! You have passed all of our tests. Welcome to Shinnale!"