Mira raised a finger and poked it at Lankko's shoulder. Slowly, Lankko dropped sidewards among the cushions. Satisfied, Mira rose determinedly and took Lankko's keys. She then ran out of the observation room and retraced her path through the corridors and doorways until she reached Lankko's laboratory. She unlocked the door and opened it, beholding once again the Pearl of Sorrelia. She looked around the room and wondered about the best way to reach the vessel in which the pearl was contained. Seeing no easy way across the tubes and glass vessels on the table leading to the pearl, she climbed the wall like a cat and went across the beams on the ceiling. When she was directly above the pearl, she grabbed the beam with her legs and reached downwards into the circular vessel. The lights that danced around the room were immediately extinguished when Mira took the pearl out of the water and she found herself looking through an almost inky darkness. She felt the pouch that hung around her neck and placed the pearl inside. She then waited for her eyes to adjust until she could just see the outlines of the beams and her footholds on the wall. Aided by her memory, she was able to climb down to the floor with the pearl still safely inside her pouch.
Stealthily as a cat, she went back to the observation room, making sure that no one saw her. She looked at Lankko and found him to be sound asleep with the empty glass of rum still on the floor. She had just grabbed the glass when there were three loud knocks on the door. She placed the glass on the table, loosened her hair, and wrinkled her dress a bit before opening the door. Two soldiers stood outside asking for Lankko.
"We're here for Lankko. We discovered a stranger at the marketplace whom Jad Enzir may want to question. Is Lankko inside?" asked one of the soldiers.
Mira opened the door wide and beckoned the soldiers to come in.
A few hours later, Mira stepped over the paralyzed body of Lankko and then she tried to revive the unconscious prisoner. She did not expect him to be so young, not much more than a boy. She felt a surge of panic through her when the prisoner once again lost consciousness. She appeared perturbed, very much unlike the resolute woman who was able to trick Lankko and take the Pearl of Sorrelia.
"What should I do? What if he dies?" she asked herself, close to tears.
"Calm down, Wen. Just finish what you need to do. Then, you can escape from this place," came Mira's confident voice in her head. "You need to ask Lankko what he's doing with the pearl. Don't worry, if what he said about those poor slugs he experimented on is right, you should be able to ask him anything and he won't remember what happened tonight."
Wen heard Mira's voice inside her head. She shared the same body with her twin sister, but somehow she did not feel Mira's strength and confidence. She rose unsteadily and walked towards the slumped figure of Lankko. She was unnerved when she saw Lankko's eyes wide open as if looking directly at her.
Mustering her courage, she asked him with a wavering voice, "C-can you hear me? What are you doing with the Pearl of Sorrelia?"
Lankko's answer was direct, almost a monotone. "I extract the pearl's power and use it to imbue living creatures with magic according to what Jad Enzir wants.
"What's so special about the pearl? How did it come to be here?" Wen continued with her questions, her face showing hesitation instead of the cold intensity that Mira could exude.
"I found the Pearl of Sorrelia to be an inexhaustible source of power. When the Emperor outlawed the use of magic and had all magical creatures hunted down, I could only use whatever magic-imbued objects I could get my hands on in order to continue my experiments. Jad Enzir knew that I needed magical objects to perform all the work that he wanted me to do. He chanced upon the group of healers on their way to their temple and found the pearl in their possession. It was he who stole the pearl from the Healer's Guild and placed the pearl here."
"Ask Lankko if he will remember anything that happened tonight, Wen," came Mira's voice.
"W-will you remember any of these? Will you remember me?" Wen asked Lankko, her voice wavering.
"I will have no recollection of what happened tonight and won't remember that you were ever here," answered Lankko.
There was a low groan coming from the prisoner and Wen turned to his direction. She heard Mira's voice inside her head. "You have to go quickly before you're discovered. Don't forget to lock the door."
Wen locked the door and ran back to the prisoner who seemed to be gaining consciousness. She took another glance at Lankko who still lay on the floor paralyzed. Then, she took out a small bag from her pocket and pulled out a small purple stone that reflected the little light that was coming from the torches. After replacing her small bag safely in her pocket, she held on to the prisoner and raised the purple stone high above them. The purple stone glowed brightly until the whole room was filled with violet light. Wen then slowly lowered her hand watching the purple stone remain floating in the air. The purple stone started to spin very quickly and the light it emitted pulsated brighter and brighter until it covered Mira and the prisoner.
After a while, the purple stone stopped spinning and dropped to the floor, where it turned to a coal black color. Later, when the locked door was finally forced open and soldiers looked around, finding no one except Lankko, the master's keeper of secrets still lying on the floor with a glowing psylug stuck on his forehead.
The director placed the back of his hand over his forehead and closed his eyes. He seemed that he was going to faint, but he quickly dropped his hand after a moment and stared at the scene before him. The star dancer was able to sit on the floor, but she was still crying and holding on to her ankle while the other dancers crowded over her. The singer was kneeling before the dancer with his hands clasped tightly together as if praying that everything would be alright.“Do you think you can dance tomorrow?” the director asked the dancer.The dancer tried to stand up with the help of her fellow dancers, but when she tried putting some weight on her injured leg, she gasped and fell on a heap. The dancers gasped and crowded over the injured dancer.“Obviously, not!” said the director. “Quickly get her to the healer and pray that her injuries would heal soon.” Then, to himself, “Or pray that you’d dance at least half as
It was early afternoon when the three men arrived in the center of Dagos. Gent held the reins up and the horses pulling the carriage stopped by the entrance of an imposing wooden building. The door of the carriage opened and a servant garbed in the green garments of local peasants came out. He bowed low while keeping the carriage door open for his master. After a few moments, a man in bright red and purple clothes descended from the carriage.Lankko appeared regal in his red shirt and crown of glorious blonde hair. The heavy gold chains around his neck as well as the sparkling jewels on his fingers completed his attire. He played the part of a wealthy merchant quite well and walked with his chin high, barely looking at the ground. At first, he made a slight tumble upon stubbing his foot on a protruding rock, but Enzir and Gent were quick to steady him.“Thank you,” said Lankko to his servants as he recovered his elegant pose. Then, he wiggled his arms to re
There was a coded knock on the door and Lankko peeked through a hidden peep hole before removing the latch. Lankko insisted on the additional precaution, knowing that it would be very dangerous for his master as well as himself should they be discovered by the Imperial soldiers hiding in the cabin.Lankko saw that it was Gent standing at the door and he was holding several woven baskets. He appeared to be alone. Lankko opened the door to let his cousin in and immediately closed it behind him.“Are you sure no one followed you,” asked Lankko as the metal latches clicked, effectively locking the door. Then, Lankko slipped a thick wooden bar across the door.Gent nodded at Lankko. He then walked towards the kitchen where he placed the woven baskets on the table. Then, he methodically removed the contents of the baskets one-by-one, revealing them to be different food items for Lankko and Enzir. Lankko followed his cousin to the kitchen and helped h
Enzir remembered the Imperial soldiers whom they fought at Remuel’s den. Those he hit with his energy bolts collapsed to the ground and turned into dust as smoke rose to the air. He also remembered how those whom he thought to have been stunned and lay unconscious would suddenly stand up when an Imperial officer held up a glowing necklace in his hand.Enzir was filled with concern as he realized the forces that he would be up to if he joined the resistance to topple down Terdu’s regime. “What can we do then, Lankko?”“I have to admit that I don’t know, Jad Enzir. Terdu has become too powerful that I don’t even know if it is too late to resist him,” answered Lankko.“You mentioned that the people could rise against him. Why don’t they?” asked Enzir.“As I said, Jad Enzir, people are afraid. They need a leader to rally them into action like Rodan did during the time of Sukram, however&n
“If those healing stones really do work, I think it’s bad that there aren’t many of them left,” remarked Enzir.Lankko nodded. “I don’t know if you still remember, Jad Enzir, but we used to have a lot of sun stones at the fortress. You place them under the sun during the day and they will shine at night when activated, replacing the need to burn candles or oil.” Lankko’s face brightened as he remembered how it was when the use of magical artifacts was ubiquitous.“I remember that. I had a lot of those in my bedroom,” said Enzir.“When Terdu banned the practice of magic, I think we lost a lot of our simple joys and freedoms,” said Lankko, hanging his head.“Why did he ban magic in the first place, Lankko?” asked Enzir.“You really don’t know, Jad Enzir?” asked Lankko, scratching his bald head. “I thought your teachers in magic history covered
After serving breakfast and washing the dishes, Lankko decided to go to work in extracting energy from an old healing stone that he was able to get his hands on. It was an old magical artifact that he got from his cousin who also managed to get it from an old friend. According to Gent, the stone worked by rubbing it vigorously between the user’s palms and placed over the painful area. The stone would produce enough heat to warm the area it was applied on and helped in the healing process. Lankko that there was not enough energy in the healing stone to extract but still went on the laborious process of finding out how it worked and develop a method for extracting its power. After several tries, Lankko was finally able to discover that the stone drew energy from the sun and placed it outside. He then directed several mirrors towards it before dropping the stone inside a glass vessel filled with a mixture of salts and minerals. Only then did the stone start to create bubbles that