"Take this with you." Cassandra gave me a Talisman with a cross on it. "Head North towards the Sarawan Falls. Than go East through the forest of Nefarious Vines. You shall reach a small village called Kithen. Look for Brandon and show him this locket. He shall lead you to the temple."
"Who is this Brandon?" I asked.
"He is my grand father's old friend." Cassandra said. "One of the few who know the wereabouts of the temple. You can trust him."
"Very well." I answered.
I placed the Talisman in my cloak's pocket. As I was about to leave, Jade confronted me.
"Let me go with you. If that warlock is already there, you will need all the help you can find." Jade said.
I agreed to Jade's request. Jade and I prepared for the Journey and headed North at dawn. The rough terrain made the journey quite arduous. It took us a whole day to reach the Sarawan falls, we camped in the woods and spent the night close to the falls. The next morning we headed East. We finally came across, what seemed like the forest of Nefarious vines. The whole pathway was covered in thick vines, there wasn't any room for lighr and forest was pitch black. Jade took out two torches from his bag and lighted them torches using magic. He gave me one and we rode through the forest. While we were moving, I had a feeling as if someone was watching us. I remained vigilant. Suddenly, Schneider's legs were caught by vines. I immediately dismounted and saw that the forest of alive.
I took out my crossbow however before I could make a move, I was attacked from behind and I lost it. The vines twisted around me and lifted me in the air. I could barely move. I heard Jade's cries of struggle but I could not do anything. As the vines lifted me, they brought me close to a huge plant. Suddenly the plant opened it's leaves revealing huge teeth and sticky mucus dripping from the leaves. Before the plant devoured me, I somehow managed to take out a lump of Zefrin from my cloak's pocket and dropped it in the plant's mouth. The plant closed it's leaves and started to swing me. Zefrin is a very powerful poison. I normally use it on my arrows. The vine's hold loosened around me and somehow I managed to drop down. However, more vines approached me. I found my crossbow on the ground. I immediately grabbed it and shot at the vines that attacked.
I than looked around for Jade. As I was searching for him, I heard a huge explosion nearby. I immediately turned and saw that the vines were burned to ashes. From the ashes Jade rose. He dusted the the soot from his clothes. We freed our horses from the vines, and immediately rode away. As we travelled Jade used his magic to protect us from the incoming vines. Finally we saw light and escaped the cursed forest.
Jade and I were tired. We rested for a while and then continued our Journey. Finally we came across a small village. As we entered, the inhabitants of the village looked at us with hostile eyes. We were stopped by a small group of men carrying axes, clubs and scythes. Than a man came forward.
" Who are you? Why are you here?" He asked.
The man was not so tall but quite massive in size. He looked young, probably my age. Had grey eyes and black hair. He held an axe in his hands, gripping it tight.
"My name is Case. I am a hunter and I came here for help. I am looking for Brandon." I said.
"Who sent you?" The man asked raising his axe.
"Cassandra Miller of Bolville." I answered. I showed Cassandra's talisman to the man. He took it from me and looked at it for a while. He returned the Talisman to me and signalled the other men to relax.
"I am Russell." The man said. You can give your horses to my friend here and follow me on foot.,"
Jade and I did as we were told. Russell led us to a small house in the outskirts of the village. He knocked the door and after a while, an old man answered.
"Russell? What is it lad?" The man asked.
"Master Brandon there are some men who wish to see you. They have Cassandra's Talisman." Russell said.
Brandon looked at us. I showed him the Talisman and he welcomed us to his home. Jade and I went inside, while Russell left. The house was quite small and made out of wood. There were sliding doors. No furniture whatsoever, only two rooms. The room where Jade and I were sitting was large, had a couple of mats, a small table and a shelf with a Christian Cross on it, along with a bible. Brandon served us tea and than started interrogating us. I told him the whole story and he was flabbergasted by it. Especially from the news of the head priest's death.
"I can take you through the temple." Bradon said.
"However, as we go to the centre, there is a maze and even I don't know how to get past that. Only the right path leads us to the Greystone. The rest of the paths will trap us in that maze for forever. If we stay in the maze for long, the Fieres rhat guard the Greystone, will come after us."
Fieres are nasty demons that can rip a humam apart in a matter of seconds. They are pretty hard to kill and they hunt in a pack, which makes them even harder to kill.
"We have no choice. We must go through. Anthony cannot have the book." I said.
"The temple has numerous traps and it is also guarded by Pirons." Brandon said.
Pirons are magical beings that can take any physical form. Humans can form contracts with them. They either serve as guards or slaves to their masters.
"From what you have told me about Anthony, I doubt the traps or the Pirons can hold him for long. We must head to the temple immediately." Brandon said.
Brandon packed a bag, grabbed his cane and we left his house. We headed further away from the village and stopped infront of a huge stone after walking for a while. Brandon raised his cane in the air and shouted "Drakera". The huge rock shifted and the ground beneath started to sink. As the ground sank, a stairway was revealed. Brandon gestured at us to follow him. Jade and I walked behind him as he led us through the underground passage. The passage was lit by torches, it was quite narrow and even the roof was low. Jade and I followed Brandon until we reached a dead end.
Brandon started rubbing his hand against the wall, as if looking for something. He than pushed a couple of bricks inside and the wall slid revealing another stairway. However this time the passage in front was really wide. We followed Brandon through the passageway. After a while, we came across another doorway. Brandon stopped and faced us.
"The path ahead is a trap." Brandon said.
"One wrong step and we will have poison darts fired at us. Follow my steps and move with caution."
Brandon moved slowly while Jade and I followed him. We tried our best to mimic each of his steps, however Jade took a wrong step and the trap was activated. Suddenly, hundreds of datts were fired at us. Brandon and I crouched. Jade on the other hand raised his right hand in the air and the darts halted in their tracks. Each of the darts fell on the floor. None of us was hit.
Brandon thanked Jade and we continued to move forward. As we progressed we encountered many traps, however Brandon's guidance helped us to get through them easily. Finally after an hour of walking we came across the maze. There were four pathways in front of us.
"This is it gentlemen." Brandon said. "Now from here, I am afraid I cannot guide you. You must figure this out yourselves."
Before Jade and I could come up with any solution, the walls of the temple quivered. I could feel a huge surge of energy. That was a sign that Anthony was here, and it won't take him long to find the maze. We had to get to the Greystone fast.