TBC: Chapter Twenty-Seven

Jalena and Lorcan drove through the streets of Solara, southwest of the Celestine Temple.

Master Lorcan, I want to keep an eye out for anything unusual that has happened along the river, so we should find a trail that is nearest the bank, Jalena said.

Okay.

The two soon passed into the eastern region of Grey Forest and continued toward the Sprite River, moving west along a wide, clear forest trail. Midway to their destination, they slowed their bikes to a stop.

"It looks like the trail ends before we reach the river," Lorcan said as he gazed at the disappearing path in the distance. "We may have to cut south before reaching the bank."

Jalena looked around at the dense brush that covered most of the ground, making it difficult to find an open pathway for the bikes. "Let's take the trail until the end. Then follow my lead. I'll use Relasu to scan the area and find the easiest path. I think the bikes will be able to handle it."

"Sounds good."

Jalena, seeing an opening, sped up near the end of the trail. Lorcan mimicked her action.

Let's jump the log where the trail ends, she said. It looks like there was a stream that washed out the path, but the brush and debris are sparse on the other side.

Mud spewed from the spin of the bike tires and splattered the warriors' cloaks as they sped down the path. The bikes skidded on the landing, but both easily steadied out their ride. The ground smoothed again as the two neared the bank of the river and turned south. After riding for over an hour in silence, Jalena abruptly brought her lumray to a halt.

"What is it?" Lorcan asked as he stopped beside her.

Jalena got off the bike and walked cautiously to the edge of the river. She pointed to a large rock that stuck out from the bank. The edge of a dark cloak was floating against the rock, tangled in large tree branches jutting out over the rushing waters.

"I can't see if there is a body or if it is just a garment from this distance," said Jalena.

"I can jump there," Lorcan offered.

She scrutinized the area for several moments. "Okay, but make sure not to overestimate your landing. It's better to fall short because you will have more of a chance to land on a boulder closer to the bank. I don't see any safe landing on the other side of the rock where the cloak is. Use Relasu so you can see further into the water."

Lorcan gave her a nod and moved to the edge of the bank. His eyes lit up briefly as he gathered energy at his feet, then he bounded into the air.

Jalena stood watchful at the edge of the bank as Lorcan landed safely on a large boulder near the cloak.

He peered at the cloak from his new vantage point. Empty, he said. There's not a body.

Jalena sighed. Okay.

Lorcan landed safely back at Jalena's side, and the two retrieved their lumrays.

"Wait," Lorcan said as he peered further south. "There—along the bank." He pointed ahead of him and began jogging toward a group of trees and rocks near the edge of the river.

Jalena matched his pace. She gasped and broke into a run as they caught sight of a large, dark-haired man lying face down on the ground. The two cautiously slowed their pace as they drew closer to the man.

Jalena put a finger to her lips. Search the trees, Jalena said as she invoked Relasu. Do you sense any danger?

Lorcan shook his head. No.He sighed as he knelt next to the body. He is dead…If he died in a struggle, whoever killed him is probably sporting injuries. He is larger than Master Brogan.

With effort, Lorcan used both of his hands to turn the man over.

He is only a boy!Jalena stated as she noted the boy's facial features. She knelt next to Lorcan, and the two examined the boy further. His death was not that long ago, either.

There are no marks anywhere, Lorcan said. Strange.

It could be magic,Jalena responded. She furrowed her forehead in thought. He reminds me of someone… She stood and looked further south. The Cinder Cliffs are not too far from here. There are no villages along this side of the river until Santhia. Let's move on. Keep a lookout for anything else unusual. We do not have the means to transport him, but we will report his death in Santhia in case people are searching for him there.

Jalena retrieved a diamond-shaped, transparent stone from the compartment under the seat of her lumray and returned to where the boy lay. She squeezed the sides of the stone gently as she held the stone above him. Thin rays of blue light emerged from the stone and spread out around the boy, forming a protective casing. The bottom half of the stone, the light, and the boy's body faded from view as the blue light beams transformed into a reflective shield.

"This will keep anything from finding him until we return," Jalena said. She retrieved the blue, blinking upper portion of the stone from the top of the invisible case. The piece of the stone became transparent again. "This has a tracking mechanism in it. It will begin blinking again when we near the case."

The two returned to the bikes and drove on cautiously. The river widened and the ground next to the riverbank turned darker as black pieces of rock riddled their path, indicating their proximity to the Cinder Cliffs. They slowed to a stop once they approached the black rock edge of the Cinder Falls and surveyed miles of dense forest trees in the lower terrain beneath them. The rush of water from a nearby waterfall masked all other sounds of nature.

We'll have to cut back east some, Lorcan said.

Jalena nodded. You can't see it from here, but the trees will thin just before we reach Santhia.

After journeying further for a short while, loud voices protruded from the forest trees ahead of them. Jalena indicated for Lorcan to pull over behind several thick nearby bushes to remain out of sight. Both pulled the hood of their cloaks over their head. After several minutes, a group of people carrying spears, rods, and lanterns came into view.

"Sadule!" A thick-statured woman carrying a lantern called out.

Several other members of the group joined her call. "Sadule!"

Jalena nodded to Lorcan and the two stepped out from their hiding space.

The entire group halted.

"We wish you no harm," Jalena stated as she and Lorcan lowered the hood of their robes.

"Who are you?" demanded a large, bulky-armed man from the front of the group.

A brown-haired, freckled-face small girl stepped out from the back of the group.

"Stay back, Charna," the woman holding the lantern stated.

"They won't hurt us," Charna replied. She walked without fear toward Jalena and Lorcan.

The large man took a step toward Charna, but the woman grabbed his arm and shook her head. "She can tell if they're dangerous."

"It's okay," said Charna. "They're light warriors. You can tell from their eyes too."

Relief washed over the expressions in the group.

"She has an unusual ability to read into others somehow, which is why she's not afraid of you," the large man explained.

"I am Master Jalena, and this is Master Lorcan."

They bowed to the group.

"Hello, Masters," replied Charna as she mimicked their bow. She stared up into Jalena's face with interest. "We are looking for Sadule."

"Is he a boy that is the size of a man?" Lorcan asked.

The woman stepped forward hurriedly as the rest of the group moved closer to the warriors.

"Yes—" the woman said.

"Have you seen him—?" another man asked.

"He has been missing for two days."

"He is my son—my adopted son. I took him in as a child," the large man stated. "My name is Foss, and this is my wife, Masia."

The woman holding the lantern nodded in greeting.

"You have met our daughter, Charna," he added.

"We found him near the river, north of the Cinder Cliffs," Jalena said.

"Is he alive?" Masia asked.

Jalena shook her head. "I'm sorry."

The woman gasped and turned to bury her face in Foss's chest. She began to sob.

Lorcan dropped to his knees as Charna's breath caught and tears began dropping heavily from her eyes. He placed glowing hands on Charna's back as she threw herself against him.

"He was my—my friend," she whispered. She took a deep breath and looked up at Lorcan with wide eyes as the calming power of his hands took effect.

Jalena approached Foss and placed one glowing hand on his shoulder and the other on the shoulder of his wife. "We will take you to him."

Foss took several deep breaths and nodded.

Jalena and Lorcan guided the lumrays out of the brush and joined the party heading back north.

Are we to continue to Santhia after this? Lorcan asked Jalena.

We should try to get more information from this group about anything unusual in Santhia before we decide.

The group moved slowly, a sad and heavy fatigue settling in now that the puzzle of Sadule's disappearance had been solved. Each walked in silence until they reached the cliffs.

"You are from Santhia?" Lorcan asked Masia and Foss.

Masia nodded.

"We do not wish to bother you, but can you tell us if there has been any other unusual activity in or around the city?"

Foss shook his head. "No. We have been preparing the town against any surprise attacks from Mordán, as the Solara Protective Unit warned us to do. We have been on alert ever since the Celestine Temple was attacked."

"Tell us of Sadule then. Did he meet anyone unusual in the past week?" Jalena asked.

"Not that I know of," replied Masia. "He was always going into the forest though, so it could have been that he met someone, and I just did not know yet."

"The reason I wonder," Jalena responded, "is because there is no sign of a struggle. There are no marks or scrapes on him."

"Did he drown?" Foss asked.

Jalena shook her head. "Magic may have been involved."

"We have heard rumors of a star witch that roams Gawl Forest in Kraundor, but we thought that was just made up to scare away trespassers."

"The rumor is true," stated Jalena. "Even so, if this was the star witch, Akila's, doing, I do not understand why she would only go after your son. You stated that he was adopted?"

"Yes…informally," Foss said. "I found him eight years ago when I ventured into the northern areas of Uthar in search of a rare rock I needed to make specific tools for my carpentry business. Sadule came to me hungry and in ragged clothing. He had witnessed me searching through the forest and after learning of what I was looking for, led me to an abundance of the rock near a village. He kept following me after that time and eventually, I discerned that he had no family."

"He spoke your language?"

"Only broken. I could not understand many of his words, but he taught Charna to speak to him some in his language."

"Charna, can you tell me a phrase that Sadule taught you?" Jalena asked softly.

"Condan art, wast dran nord," Charna said in a loud voice. "Now, we shall eat food."

Jalena looked up sharply. "That is Pandian."

"I thought he may have Pandian blood," said Foss, "but, I could not know for sure as there was none other like him around."

"It would explain his size," said Lorcan.

As the group approached the area where Sadule's body was hidden, Jalena retrieved the top piece of the transparent stone from her lumray. "He is over here," she told the group. "We have hidden his body for protection." The blue light in the stone blinked rapidly as she approached the reflective case. She held the stone out before her, and it soared through the air and attached itself to the tip of the case. The case transformed into the same beams of blue light that first surrounded Sadule's body.

Masia placed a hand on her mouth. More tears were shed as Sadule's body came into view. Foss put his arm around her shoulders and drew her closer to him, blinking away tears of his own.

Jalena pushed the tip of the stone and the casing of light disappeared. The stone dropped into her palm.

Charna ran and knelt at Sadule's side.

We must return to Solara immediately, Master Lorcan, Jalena said. I will explain on the way.

He nodded.

Jalena approached Foss and Masia. "It is here that we must leave you. Do you have some way to return Sadule with you to Santhia? If not, we can send the Solara Healing Unit to you."

Foss shook his head sadly. "It is no bother. I will make a slate that will hold him."

"We are sorry for your loss," Lorcan said.

Masia grasped Lorcan's and Jalena's hands. "Thank you for your help."

The two warriors bowed to the group. As soon as Jalena reached the lumray, she placed her hand over a rectangular transmitting device just below the handlebars. The device lit up with a red light as a male voice came through. "This is Sholan from headquarters."

"Sholan. It's Jalena. Can you contact the Solara Protective Unit and send someone to Adventus's home at the eastern edge of Solara? He may be in danger."

"Certainly. We will send your request and respond back to confirm."

"Thank you."

Several minutes later, Sholan's voice came through the speaker on the lumray. "Master Jalena, Protective headquarters state that all units are unavailable due to the increased alert and are out patrolling the outskirts of Solara, but they are in contact with the Maveik. Sir Gyasi Tomé is already on his way to Adventus's home."

"As are we," Jalena stated.

"I will send word," Sholan replied.

Jalena nodded at Lorcan to indicate it was time to leave. Do you remember Adventus? She asked him as they started their return journey once again along the riverbank.

Yes—the giant Pandian man throwing flaming rocks at us in Sir Gyasi's simulation room—hard to forget.

I believe that Akila had something to do with Sadule's death and that it was for a specific reason. The only other Pandian that we know alive is Adventus. We must find out if she has tried to reach him.

Lorcan and Jalena did not slow the bikes until they reached the outskirts of Solara.

Do you know where he lives, specifically? Lorcan asked as they continued through the streets of the city.

Yes. In an old home at the edge of Jeweli forest.

She increased her speed again once the two reached the east side of Solara. As the houses thinned out, Jalena and Lorcan followed the curve of the forest trees until turning directly east down a dirt pathway. The path winded through the trees for a mile before Adventus's large home came into view. The two slowed their bikes, and Jalena motioned to Lorcan to park behind a gathering of thick trees, south of the house.

The two hurried to the house but slowed immediately when they noted that the front door of Adventus's home stood ajar. They pulled their gladaés from their cloaks. Seconds later, a soft crash sounded from inside the house.

Come in the back way on my signal, Jalena said. I'll go in the front.

Lorcan nodded and made his way through the trees aligning the side of the house as Jalena slowly crept closer to the front door. She paused beside a black hovercad—a hovering two-passenger vehicle. She placed a hand on the vehicle near the engine to gauge its warmth and then slipped quietly inside the home, her gladaé casting a violet glow off the walls.

Master Jalena, the back door is broken. A wounded Vaznaun is lying beneath the door rubble,Lorcan said. He is unconscious.

Watch him, Jalena replied. I'm inside now. She looked around cautiously at the overturned furniture and destruction to the inside of the house. She quickly turned to the back rooms as a shuffle was heard. Someone is here. I think it is Gyasi, but I want to be sure. She slipped into the room quietly and immediately lowered her sword as she took in the scene before her.

"Gyasi," she said quietly.

A tall, dark-haired man in a jewel-hemmed black cloak stood quickly from where he knelt next to Adventus. Adventus's enormous form was lying motionless on the floor—a deep gash from a dagger down one side of his face.

"Master Jalena! I couldn't—I didn't get here in time!" he said in devastation as he raised both hands to his head. "He was," Gyasi swallowed hard, "my oldest friend." He knelt back down over Adventus as Jalena placed a glowing hand on his shoulder.

Come in, Master Lorcan. It's clear, she said.

Lorcan appeared in the doorway. "What happened?"

Gyasi took a deep breath and ran a hand through his dark hair. "There were rumors of a cloaked woman in black roaming Jeweli Forest. I took it upon myself to investigate the situation after the Order informed me of Akila's existence. I and the other Maveik have been combing this edge of the forest regularly.

"The witch was spotted early this morning around here again but disappeared quickly. It was too late to alert the Order. I suspected she might want something with Adventus. I was already on my way when Solara's Protective Unit notified me of your inquiry, but I didn't make it in time."

"We just found another child with Pandian blood dead near the banks of Sprite River on our way to Santhia," Jalena informed him.

"What is it she wanted from them?" Gyasi asked.

"Let's find out," Lorcan said. He turned and went through the kitchen area that led to the back of the house.

Jalena and Gyasi followed to where the Vaznaun lay unconscious.

Gyasi's expression went from alarm to rage as he saw the Vaznaun. He quickly knelt in front of the Vaznaun and backhanded him hard across the face.

The Vaznaun did not wake.

Jalena started. "Gyasi," she said with warning.

"With all due respect, Master Jalena, I am not a warrior. Your ethics of honor do not apply to me. Even so, he just helped Akila kill my best friend." Gyasi drew back his fist to hit the Vaznaun again.

The Vaznaun stirred and slowly opened an orange eye. He immediately touched the side of his face and scrambled to get away as he took in the party that surrounded him. His back slammed against the side of Adventus's house. Fragmented pieces of wood from the smashed door behind him fell over his shoulders and onto the ground.

Gyasi grabbed the neck of the Vaznaun and leaned in close. "Don't even think about going anywhere," he whispered venomously. "Akila left you. You're all alone."

The Vaznaun stared hard into Gyasi's eyes and then slowly moved his gaze to the two glowing gladaés in the hands of the warriors.

"Now tell me what she wanted with Adventus." Gyasi's voice was ice.

The Vaznaun smiled and quickly reached for a broken sharp piece of wood lying nearby on the ground.

Lorcan reacted before the Vaznaun reached Gyasi.

The Vaznaun yelled in pain as his arm smashed into Lorcan's blade rather than Gyasi's neck, Lorcan having jammed his blade into the ground next to Gyasi to block the Vaznaun's attack.

The Vaznaun dropped the piece of wood and grabbed the inside of his bleeding arm with his other hand. He spit at Lorcan. "Warrior filth," he said in a harsh, deep accent.

Gyasi responded by slamming his fist into the Vaznaun's jaw. "You're going to talk, or I'm going to make you talk."

Jalena knelt beside Gyasi. "What was Akila after?" she asked the Vaznaun calmly.

The Vaznaun stared at Jalena for several moments before speaking. "She wants the Pandian's blood. She is using it in a potion to make the men in the armies stronger."

Jalena glanced up at Lorcan. We must report this immediately.

"Go," Gyasi said to Jalena as if to read her mind. "I will take care of him. Members of my team are already on their way."

"Will you release him?" Jalena asked.

"Not for a while," responded Gyasi as he glared at the Vaznaun. "I think he can stay in the cells at the Protective Unit headquarters before we release him back into the outskirts of Gawl Forest. If he shows up too soon in Kraundor, Mordán won't suspect he has leaked any information to us. But, if he stays, Mordán will have his memory probed by Akila after he returns."

The Vaznaun's eyes widened in fear.

"He won't be too eager to go home and join his team by that time," Gyasi continued. "Any other information we get out of him will be delivered to the Order."

Jalena nodded and pulled a silver strip of alneil from a pouch strapped to her thigh.

The Vaznaun winced in pain as Gyasi brought him roughly to his feet, turned him around, and pushed him hard against the side of the house. Jalena placed the strap around the prisoner's wrists. The ends of the strip wove themselves together and locked into place.

Jalena and Lorcan nodded their farewell to Gyasi.

"I am sorry for your loss, Gyasi," Lorcan said.

Gyasi nodded his gratitude, and the two hurried to the lumrays.

"We will return to the ship and report what we have found," Jalena said.

"Isn't the information transcribed through the Libran?" Lorcan asked.

"Yes, significant finds will be," replied Jalena. "But, our report will ensure that all within the Order receive the information. The transmissions will be waiting through a recording in the other ships, so the others on assignment can be informed immediately."

Lorcan nodded.

Jalena stared into the forest trees for several moments in silence. "I am sensing we should check in with the team traveling south into the Lundar Mountains."

"I feel it also."

"Then we will head south. I do not know of Akila's progress with her formula for the soldiers or if she has even created it, but if she has successfully delivered her potion to the army, then the other teams may be in more danger than they realize."

***