Alea and I trod through a bright green forest of densely packed trees, stepping over logs and fallen branches and keeping an eye out for animal droppings. I pushed a branch out of my face and kept walking, and only then I noticed a third person was trailing behind us, walking slowly and jumped behind trees as he went.
I slowed down a few paces and allowed Alea to catch up to me and we continued along side-by-side. We walked in silence, but we could both tell the other was also aware of the peeper following us, but neither of us dared risk saying anything out loud. As cautious as I tend to be, I can't deny myself when my curiosity takes over, especially when someone is trying their absolute best to remain inconspicuous.
As we continued to walk, the trees started getting farther and farther apart, but a beaten dirt path was beginning to form as we walked; this path was used frequently, but by who?
Glowing beams of light penetrated the thick canopy and shone brightly on the ground, illuminating a heap of glittering silver rocks. We could see the trees up ahead began to close in again, forming a barrier in a tight circle.
"Wait a minute," I thought to myself, "Trees don't grow like that naturally, someone must have planted those"
As we approached the artificial patch of forest, I felt the hairs on the back of my neck tingle and singe. Alea was no longer by my side but was engaging whoever was following us in a tight battle. Sharp gusts of wind sliced branches right off the tree and leaves were flying chaotically around the air, but I got the impression that Alea was in control, or at least she thought she did.
The concealed person weaved between trees and elegantly dodged Alea's attacks, taking momentary swipes at her with a long steel sword protruding out of their cloak. Alea was careful to evade all the attacks, but I could see from this far away that the fatigue was getting to her, and she was beginning to slow down and get sloppy.
I tried to take a step forward to help Alea, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't move a muscle; I was completely paralyzed. I tried to open my mouth to scream, but I couldn't even do that. I tried making any noise at all, but the only thing that escaped the back of my throat was a deafening silence.
My eyes were forced to watch as Alea fought alone and was losing. Before I even saw what had happened, a bright orange flashed exploded from where they were standing and expanded outward until it consumed everything, including me.
I shot upwards, panting heavily and a cold sweat beading on my forehead. I pulled my legs up to my chest and hugged them tightly while rocking myself slowly.
"Just a dream" I assured myself, but it had an air of finality that I couldn't seem to shake.
I looked around the room and orange light was peering through the curtain and casting a long beam across the floor of my bland bedroom. I took a deep breath before opening up and getting to my feet where I looked out the window. Far off on the horizon was a slowly dipping ball of fire surrounded by an aura of deep reds, sharp oranges and rosy pinks all blended seamlessly.
I caught myself staring at the amalgamation of warm colours and remembered what I told myself before I unknowingly passed out. I grabbed the jacket hanging off the back of the door and pulled my arms through quickly while opening and running through the door to the rest of the house. I jogged past the living room when I noticed that the elusive brown notebook sat on the end of the table, begging to be opened and have its secrets revealed. As tempting as the prospect of seeing into my father's mind was, I had other things to worry about; things like persuading Alea and her parents to let us go on a scavenger hunt to join what very likely could be some cult.
"If that is still there by the time that I get back, then I will read it," I told myself. As I walked out the door, I found myself hoping that it would still be there so I could get a peek.
I have always been astonished by how fast the sun sets and rises; it always felt like a blink and you'll miss it type of event. Walking the streets of Velglow at night was one of my favourite things to do, especially when I have something on my mind. The usually busy streets were now almost void of life, and the houses and stores that lined the streets were illuminated by a warm orange glow. Velglow took on a different appearance at night, going from a bustling city where anything can happen to a secluded community away from your daily struggles. Plus the air didn't smell like horse poop as much, so that was nice.
I reached Alea's door and raised my fist to knock, but I really didn't want to talk to Alea's parents today. I walked away from the door and around the house to a window on the ground floor. I saw Alea sitting on her bed reading and I knocked three times, easily grabbing her attention. I know that doing something like this might be seen as creepy, but we've been doing it to each other for so long now that we don't find it weird anymore.
She got off her bed and walked over to the window, casually pushing it open and allowing me to crawl inside. She used her wind to help push me up and I slid into her room with relative ease.
"What's up?" She asked casually as she got back into her bed and picked her book back up.
"Have you heard about that man who was killed in the square? The one who preached about some secret organization of Wielders, blah blah blah"
She looked up from her book and looked up at me skeptically. "Yes… the news spread around the city like wildfire. You think the news about a wielder advocacy group wouldn't make it to the ears of all the elves in the city?"
"Why do you have to be so condescending all the time, I was just making sure we were on the same page" I scowl. She made a face and went back to her book, but I ignored it. "Anyways, he said that we were to decode a puzzle to be able to find and join this secret order"
"Mhm," She said, barely paying attention to me. "Yeah sounds good"
I had at least hoped she was paying some attention, but she seemed to be more engrossed in whatever book she was reading than whatever else I had to say. I looked around her room and my eyes caught the glass of water on her bedside table, waiting patiently below her lamp. Normally I would've tried to conceal my movements, but I knew she was too oblivious to notice so I didn't even bother.
I raised my right hand slowly into the air in a fluid motion and the water followed the motion of my wrist. With a gentle nudge of my fingers, I moved the floating ball of water to just above her head where it stopped and waited for further command.
I waited for a second and tried giving her a second chance, but when she muttered "yeah" for the third time and I wasn't even talking, she unknowingly doomed herself. I relinquished control of the ball of water and it fell, landing on the top of her head and splashing everywhere. Her hair, bed and book were all soaked and when she looked up at me, I could see murder in her eyes.
"That's what you get," I say, shrugging my shoulders and leaning back in my chair.
"YOU BITCH!" She shouted and she whipped her book right at my head.
I raised my arms just in time and blocked it and the red book fell to the floor and opened to a random page. I bent down to pick up the book and I accidentally read a few words while picking it up. My whole face went hot and I looked up from the book and into Alea's eyes. She looked at me then down at the book, then back at me and I could see her connecting the dots in her head.
She lunged across the bed and tried to snatch the book out of my hands, but I pulled away just in time and ran to the other side of her room.
"They sat together, panting in unison" I read aloud, "He presses his throbbing member to her-"
"SORIAN!" She shouted and the book was swiped out of my hand by a current of air.
She held the book close to her chest and refused to make eye contact with me. She growled and then quickly put the book into the top drawer of her nightstand. Alea sat there fuming, a single tear forming in her eye and rolling down her dark skin. She took off her glasses and put them on top of her book in the drawer.
"So…" I say trying to break the tension. I scratch the back of my head and decide to retell the story and pretend like nothing happened, "So back to what I was saying, will you listen this time? It's important"
"Hmph"
"I'll take that as an irritated yes," I say and she crossed her arms in protest, "Ok so, you said you've heard about the preacher and that he was preaching for a magical advocacy group right?"
"Yes I have"
"When he was making his speech, he had these flyers in his hand that he claimed were puzzle pieces to finding this secret order thing. He said that if someone were to collect all the missing pieces and decode the location, they would have access to the order and their headquarters"
"And what is your point?"
I walked back to her bed and sat down on the other end of it, resting my back against her footboard. "I have the first piece and I want you to come with me to find the other pieces," I say. I had no intention of beating around the bush.
I pulled the sheet of paper out of the back of my waistband and held the folded page up to Alea's face. At the same time, a small bird flew through the open window and landed gently on the top of Alea's head, chirping softly as if it knew it shouldn't be here. Alea didn't seem to notice the small yellow bird at all.
"Sorian, you do realize that he could have just been a crazy fanatic right?" She said and she uncrossed her arms. "What would this advocacy group even be like?"
"I don't know, but if they have an entrance test that's this complex, then they have to be legit, that or it's a very detailed fake. Either way, I think the potential outweighs the risk".
"How do you figure, we don't even know where to find the other pieces, what if it's super dangerous and we don't even find anything at the end?"
"Think of it this way- If we go and find this order, then we win and it was worth it. If we go and don't find this order, we come back home and nothing changes. Even if it's a scam, we can always just come back and continue with our lives"
"I don't know. This all just seems really shady". She was being cautious, which was totally understandable, if rather annoying for my plan.
I scratched my forehead and something popped into my mind. "I remember one of the guards saying something along the lines of 'We've handled other members of your organization before, and it didn't end well'. Doesn't that mean that other people have preached about the same thing, and if they have met similar fates, they are being sent by someone and aren't acting alone, right?"
"I suppose that's true. Did the guard say anything about where the other preachers were?"
"He didn't, but he said 'we've', not 'I've'. That tells me that the guard, in general, have dealt with other members, not just him, so I think it's safe to assume they have appeared elsewhere"
"I suppose that's true, but even if I agree, which I haven't, what about our families? Are we supposed to just leave them behind for an undetermined amount of time while we hunt down a group that probably doesn't exist?" She asked.
This was a good point. I had no qualms with leaving my father at any time, it was something that I had thought about doing frequently. But it was a little more complicated for Alea; she has two loving parents that would be devastated if Alea just disappeared in the middle of the night.
"Then we just have to convince them to let us leave, but you need to be fully on board with this. If they sense any hesitation in your voice, they will use that against us"
She rubbed her eyes before speaking. "Sorian, I don't know if I want to go anyways. I can see that you really want this, but it just doesn't seem safe"
I got off of the bed and walked toward the window with the puzzle in hand. "I understand. If you won't come, then I'll just go by myself. It'll be safer that way anyways"
I felt awful about trying to guilt-trip her, but I knew that I wouldn't be able to do this without her help.
An exasperated sigh came from her corner of the room and I heard her nightside table drawer open again. I heard a wooden grind and I knew that she had pulled the book out of her drawer and that she was going to let me go all on my own until she spoke up.
"Bring me the page, let's see if I can figure it out," She said.
I turned around and she was wearing her reading glasses and I realized that's why she opened her drawer. I literally squealed and ran over to her bed and sat down beside her with the page. She took it out of my hand and began to read.
'Where the east is actually the west, the south tip points. A place where only coconuts inhabit and tall trees sway. A box awaits your arrival and tells you where to seek'
Both of us were quiet while we pondered over the words.
"What the fuck" Alea said after rereading it for the third time. "Vilios give me strength"
She reached into her bottom drawer and pulled out a long beaded pendant with an owl-shaped pendant. She put it on and gave it another read, but to no avail.
She flipped it over and took a look at the incomplete map on the backside, but was unable to figure it out for obvious reasons.
We both became aware of the sound of chirping crickets outside and we realized that it was very late already.
"Leave this with me tonight and I will try my best to decode it. Come back to my house at noon tomorrow and we can try to figure it out tomorrow" She said and pushed me off the bed.
"Thank you so much Alea, you don't know how much this means to me," I say, raising my hands in a prayer formation.
"Yeah yeah, now get out, I need quiet"
She flicked her hand up and I felt myself begin to rise off the ground. I took advantage of the momentum and climbed back out of Alea's window and outside, gently closing her window before I left. I began to walk away when I heard a tapping sound and thinking it was Alea, I spun back around and was met with the yellow bird. I looked blankly at the bird before opening the window a crack and letting the bird fly out and back into nature.
I walked around the side of the house and into the empty street. I walked in the dark, all the lights illuminating the windows have long since been extinguished. I quickly reached my house and carefully pushed the door open, peering inside before walking in. I couldn't help but notice that the notebook was missing, but my Father was nowhere to be found which I found peculiar.
I tiptoed through the house and into my room where I closed the door and flopped onto my bed. Even though I basically slept the day away, I was absolutely exhausted. I thought back to Alea's room and how she had actually agreed to at least try to decipher the clue.
I knew that there was no chance that her parents would say yes if we didn't have any kind of plan, but a part of me really thought that Alea would say no and I would have to leave her behind. This is why she's so amazing; I can count on her no matter what the situation calls for. She is the best.