For an hour and forty-seven minutes they walked through the forest before coming to a place filled with nothing but flowers which was divided into two by a broad road and the Knight's horses were well hidden in a small stable at the boundary between the forest and the flower land. The door swung open and every knight jumped onto his horse, Ashley ad her group had to use the horses of the 6 fallen knights, all except Janet and Denzel who decided to ride one together while the Worféghart who was now part of the team was cloaked in a black attire was given a horse to ride and they headed towards the city gates which was miles away. They rode for a long time, past hills and streams before from afar a golden gate car into view.
"Is that the place?" Ashley asked in amazement.
"Yes, it is...the golden city of Almerath" Anuliath said proudly.
"Wow!" Amelia exclaims "I wish Nick's here to see this" she added feeling sad.
"Don't worry...we'll find him" Daniel said trying to cheer her up.
"Yeah" Amelia sighs.
"Treasure say something. You've been mute since we left the woods, come on say something" Daniel said as he gave her a light punch on her arm.
"I can't... I'm not in the mood for chatting" she replied face down and pale, she was sad that her one and only, her lover was kidnapped and no one could do much about it. At the watch tower above the city gate a Knight scanned the area for signs of enemy troops or unknown company, from afar he caught sight of Anuliath and his Knights with some strange figures with him.
"Open the gate! Open the gate!" the Knight screamed and in a matter of seconds 4 men ran out to push a wheel connected to a chai which raised the gate before the draw bridge was dropped. The group rode on into the city, past many buildings and market, it seems that Ashley and her group caught the attention of the citizens with their attire for nothing like it has been seen in Almerath since it's creation. They rode on to the center of the city where the castle was located and they stopped before the long stairs.
"Greetings Sir Anuliath!" a servant greeted as he came out of the castle. "How was your hunt? Who are these strangers and what happened to your men?" he added with curiosity as he admired the garments of Ashley and her group.
"You ask too many questions Gòldrîn son of Mìdrîn, but those questions I will answer later, I will tell you everything my good friend, just meet me at our usually and you will hear it all but for now...where is the King?" Anuliath asked.
"Inside. In the hall" Gòldrîn answered as he tends to the horses.
"Follow me" Anuliath said signaling Ashley and her group with a wave of his hand and as they went in the citizens and Knights watched them and talked amongst each other as the door closes.
Inside Ashley and her group walked through different hallways and corridors before stopping in front of a huge brown door.
"Wait here please" Anuliath said before turning to the door and two guards with crossed spears life's them for him to pass and he went in.
"Men! Reaching this point was like walking through a maze...I could get lost in here let alone the city" Daniel said as they looked around the corridor then looked out of the window, they could see as far as the flower field stretched and disappeared into the horizon. They could see lots of houses, busy streets and what looked like a market, lovely people and before they could admire more of it the door swung open and Anuliath came out.
"The king awaits your presence" he said before leading them into the hall. Inside the hall was magnificent and catchy to the eyes, everything in gold, the pillars standing high and proud showing off the real meaning of great craftsmanship and beside a well-crafted chair stood a man tall and fair, in his early 50s, jet black hair that flowed to his back stopping on his shoulders. Well-designed dress that made him look splendid, young and his eyes radiated with joy as the group came in.
"Greetings friends of Middle Earth! I am Amarthon, King of Almerath." Amarthon said as the group came closer.
"Sir Anuliath spoke high and mighty of you my Lord" Ashley said as the took a bow in respect to the King "It's an honor to finally meet you my Lord "
"The honor is mine for he spoke well of you too...and to have the saviors of prophecy in my era is a blessing beyond my wildest dreams.... with no doubt I feel less important of a King now with your presence" Amarthon said and they all laughed "Anuliath told me about you and all that happened in the forest, I am so sorry" he added
"It's OK my lord, I pray we find him soon" Ashley said a bit sad.
"Well right now you need rest and food" Amarthon said before clapping his hands twice and a servant ran in from a corner. "Prepare the rooms for our guests and tell the cook to make his best, we will hold a feast to their arrival" he added before the servants disappeared to perform their task. "Well if you will excuse me, I have other pressing matters to attend to which i will like to discuss with you later, meanwhile you can pass the time by walking round the city...i take my leave" Amarthon said before leaving the room.
"Ok people, outside then" Daniel said and the group left the hall, walked through corridors and finally came outside the citadel.
"Oh! Yes! That fresh breeze, this is richer than that of New York" Janet said as she stretched out.
"That's because there are no factories to destroy them yet" Denzel replied.
"You guys should come see this!" Amelia said calling their attention and they all ran to her.
"What's up Amy?" Ashley asked as they got to her.
"Doesn't this tree look familiar to you?" Amelia said as she pointed at a tree in front of them with flowers surrounding its base with a stone beside it.
"It looks like a regular everyday tree to me" Treasure said.
"Yeah, I totally agree" Daniel added.
"Nothing familiar to you?" Amelia asked.
"Amy what are we looking at?" Denzel asked still confused.
"Well! This happens to be the same tree as the one in our garden".
"You're freaking kidding, right?" Daniel asked in extreme surprise.
"Bloody hell it's the exact same tree!" Ashley exclaimed in surprise "Look closely at the tree you will notice the resemblance" she added pointing towards the root of the tree.
"Janey sweetie! Do you happen to have your phone with you?" Denzel asked still looking at the tree in disbelief.
"I think so. Hope it didn't crash during our time travel mumbo jumbo" Janet replied as she reached for it in her pocket.
"You still the picture of the garden, right?" Denzel asked.
"Yeah, I do, let me get to it"
"No freaking way! It's the exact same tree. The same flowers, the same stone placement. The only thing is that the stone in our garden is half buried in dirt". Janet said as she opened the picture and made her comparison.
"Dude no freaking way" Daniel exclaimed.
"Speaking of the stone, I think something is written on it" Treasure said as she examined the stone.
"That's an ancient language…we should just ask someone to translate it for us later" Daniel said as they gathered to look at the stone.
"It says that the tree is as old as the earth itself and it was the first tree to be created… The eternal tree with the fruits of youth" Amelia said "I can't believe that this is the same tree as the one in our garden" she added.
"So, what you're saying is that this is New York in the past and besides how did you translate that?" Denzel asked in surprise.
"I guess it's one of her abilities" Janet replied
"Come on guys are we viewing the city or not or do you wanna spend the whole day admiring a tree you have seen for years?" Ashley asked leaving the group behind in order to see as much as possible of the city.
"Hey! Wait for us!" They all chorused chasing after her.
At the other side, on the way to Mondûl, the Worféghart's were still on the move with Nicholas still unconscious.
"Let's us take a break before we complete the journey… I am getting tired" The first Worféghart said as he sat down by a tree to rest.
"You fool! We are to deliver him without delay to Lord Borgallad and there is no room for rest you pig" The second Worféghart replied in anger.
"Then go without me… I cannot continue like this" the first one said while sitting and resting his back on a tree.
"Alright! We have a duel. Whoever wins will have his opinion considered and done." the second Worféghart suggested.
"You know I kind of agree with him" came a voice from behind.
"Who said that?" the second Worféghart said as he turned to see who was speaking but saw no one "Quick! Grab the prisoner and move!" he added
"He is gone! The prisoner is gone!" the first Worféghart said in surprise.
"Over here" came the voice and the Worfégharts turned towards the direction of the voice. High on a tree Nicholas stood watching them [Let's call him Zach from here on for this is a different consciousness].
"Get him!" the second Worféghart said and before they could move, Zach was already on the ground heading towards them. As he advanced towards them, they drew their swords ready to attack. Just few steps away from them, they started swinging their swords in the air hoping to get a successful hit that will send him to his knees but to Zach they seem to be spending so much time if not hours to make a swing. The first swinging of their swords went both over his head and close to his chest at the same moment he sent a critical blow to the second Worféghart with his elbow while robbing him of his sword which he used to defend himself from a second stroke coming from the first Worféghart.
"Litte gardan flarmóus!" Zach chanted and the second Worféghart went ablaze, the same instant he turned around and pointed the blade at the first Worféghart neck as he raised his sword over his head.
"Send this message to your master. I, Zach DragonHeart is coming for him and will have his head as justice for all the innocent lives he took." he said before leaving the worfeghart to run away.
"Haaah! Camp fire. Too bad I don't have a place to rest my head for the night….tomorrow I will…yes the swords, I almost forgot, I have to find them but first I need a change of clothes, some food and a place to rest my head, I am exhausted" Zach said as he sat by the burning Worféghart for warmth then as the fire died he stood and decided to leave the forest, with no destination in mind he walked up to 2km before dropping to the ground unconscious under the bright light of the night stars.