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Chapter 28: Lankko Finds Shelter
The ground had become softer and wetter the more that Lankko walked on as he followed Mira's scent. Lankko took the lead while Enzir followed closely behind him. Soon, the landscape changed as more mangroves grew on the water and Enzir could see the moon mirrored on the watery surface of the swamp.
Lankko held the chicken that was the mankora on the crook of his arm. The chicken clucked and Lankko stroked its feathers until it calmed down and was able to sleep. He cooed at the chicken as if singing a lullaby. When Lankko lifted his head, he saw that Mira's trail was leading them westwards over the vast wetlands that bordered Alnoc forest. Lankko walked on wondering when the effects of the magic elixir were going to wear off and what they would do when it did. He only had one full bottle of magic elixir left in his pocket and knew that he would need to make more of it if they were to track Mira. The problem would be where he could get the magical artifacts from which he could
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Journey Through the Shadow Realms Chapter 29: Stories of Alanca
"The story of Alanca is as old as the temple ruins that lay across the vast swamplands to the north of Alnoc." Enzir remembered his father telling him the story when he was still a boy.There once was a king who ruled over the lands that included the Alnoc and extending northwards up to the Kanima Mountains. Alnoc fortress did not exist then and the king lived in a large stone palace that was built on a flat piece of land just across the swamp. Most of the king's subjects were fishermen who earned their living by fishing in the rough seas of the Corian. There were still no large merchant ships and the boats were a lot smaller and could only carry up to three fishermen and their catch.However, the kingdom became known for its beautiful stone sculptures that rivaled even the decorations in the palaces of Lazar. It was said that Alnoc's guild of sculptors became so skilled in their art that the master sculptors could create statues that could come to life. The king loved
Journey Through the Shadow Realms Chapter 30: Tale of the Peasant Girl
Enzir woke up with a start as he felt the warmth of the sun on his face and heard the different sounds of the jungle. He thought he was having a bad dream, but soon realized that he had been forced out of his castle fortress and the jungle might as well be his new home.He looked around him and remembered that he was within the temple ruins of Alanca. The lichen-covered walls of the temple were bathed in the morning sun, revealing more of the carvings that he saw the night before. Not far from him were two statues of ancient gods that may have guarded the entrance to the temple. One of the statues had been toppled to the ground by a large tree that had taken its place in the pedestal, but the other was intact and revealed the artistry of the ancient Alnoc sculptors. There were sounds of birds that were fleeting between the trees as well as the cackle of a hen which Enzir realized was coming from Kora who had made a corner of the temple her own comfortable space.Enzir's stomach grumble
Journey Through the Shadow Realms Chapter 31: The Dancer's Heart
Eldion woke up to the sound of birds and insects in the jungle and found that he was alone inside the cart. He was able to rest well after being exhausted with the events of the previous day such that he feared that he might have slept too long. He wondered where Wen had gone to and looked out of the covered cart."He's awake!" said Casser and beckoned for Eldion to join them. Beside him was Mira who smiled when she saw Eldion's head poke out of the cart. Eldion knew it was Mira from her confident posture and how she behaved around Casser."Come and have breakfast, Eldion," said Mira.Eldion got off the cart and joined his two companions who were having breakfast under a large tree. He was immediately given a plateful of rice, dried fish and vegetables by Mira and some water by Casser."Where are we?" asked Eldion as he ate his breakfast. "Are we still in Alnoc?""He really does not know, does he?" Casser asked Mira.Mira caressed Casser's a
Journey Through the Shadow Realms Chapter 32: Tale of the Stonecutter
The stonecutter's name was Shaan and he was in the service of the king of Alnoc. Every day, he would toil under the harsh sun or the torrents of rain. He would lift his mallet and hit his chisel to take out a portion of the mountain for use by the master sculptors of Alnoc. The work was hard and tedious, but the stonecutter devoted all of his time extracting the best stones for the king.One day, the rain poured in torrents and the wind blew hard on the mountain face that the lead stonecutter halted their work and they all looked for shelter. Shaan strayed from the others and came across a narrow cave on the mountain side that served to shelter him from the rain. As the rain poured outside, Shaan saw an image of a beautiful woman appear on the wall of the cave. Then, as abruptly as it appeared, the image vanished before the stonecutter’s eyes.The stonecutter wondered who the woman was and he was haunted by her beautiful image. She visited him constantly in his dreams, always smiling b
Journey Through the Shadow Realms Chapter 33: The Temple City
The three traveling companions followed the trail which led through the swampy forest. Tall reeds grew densely from each side, making it difficult to tell if there was any swamp creature waiting to pounce on them. Water rose past their ankles and they had to be careful with their steps should there be a deep hole or protruding rocks that could throw them off balance or make them twist their ankles.Casser took the lead, wading through the swamp water as fast as he could while Mira followed closely behind. Eldion took up the rear and wondered if he had made a mistake. With the stories about Alanca still fresh in his mind, Eldion was on edge and would jump at the slightest sound of reeds snapping underfoot. He looked constantly behind him to see if there was anything that could pounce on him from behind and tried to discern any movement from the reeds rising at his sides. Quite a few times, he was startled by what he thought was a swamp creature hiding behind the reeds, expecting a large
Journey Through the Shadow Realms Chapter 34: The Carvings on the Wall
It was almost noon, but the sky had darkened considerably with heavy clouds covering the sun. Eldion expected the rain to fall at any moment and hoped that they would be able to find good shelter within the ruins.The travelers passed remnants of what could have been a watch tower lying in ruins near the vine-covered walls. Through the leaves, Eldion saw the giant decapitated head of a stone guardian that could have adorned the tower. Its right eye peered at the trespassers who carefully treaded on the worn-out path.Eldion looked down at the stone floor and carefully avoided the large gaps through which his foot might slip through. The stone floor, like the ancient walls, were all covered with moss and lichen. In some areas, tall grass and shrubs had sprung which Eldion thought could hide large creatures that could be observing them and waiting the right time to attack.Casser led everyone towards the doorway and entered the ancient stone building. They found a long passage through wh
Journey Through the Shadow Realms Chapter 35: The Creature in the Jungle
There was a loud sound of thunder that came with flashes of lighting and rain started to pour heavily over the ancient city."Looks like we'll have to stay here for a while," said Mira, looking out of the window at the heavy downpour that hid most of the temple ruins and the encroaching jungle outside. Curtains of rain fell from the leaden sky and threatened to break the tiled roof over the room where the three travelers were staying. Mira thought how difficult it was going to be to find Noha and the creature within that complex of ancient ruins. It was fortunate that Casser was able to track the creature to the ancient temple, but they may have to search room by room to find Noha. Then, she wondered what they would do should they encounter Alanca, if it was indeed Alanca who took the carabao. Mira thought that they should prepare for the worst. She had not seen the snake creature before, but the tracks she made in the reeds was quite telling – the creature was enormous. How the creat
Journey Through the Shadow Realms Chapter 36: The Magic Elixir
Lankko listened as the patter of raindrops on the ground started to lessen. Visibility improved as the rain abated and the clouds allowed the sun to peer through. The wet leaves of the jungle glistened under the sun and the air felt cool and fresh. Earlier, Lankko had taken a sip from his bottle of magic elixir and instantly picked up Mira's scent. He had followed the scent with Enzir until the sky grew dark and they were forced to take shelter. Enzir grumbled at the worsening weather but could do nothing but wait. He found a rock to sit on and cleaned his sword as best as he could."Jad Enzir," called Lankko. "I think we can go now." He stepped out of the ancient ruins where they took shelter from the rain and looked up at the sky. He saw that the rain clouds had been blown westward, unblocking the sun.Enzir stood up and fastened his sword back to his side. "Where is the trail leading to?"Lankko found his powers waning and took another sip of the magic elixir. Immediately, his sense
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