One afternoon, Grim and Ethan were out in the field practicing archery. They saw a merchant passing by. Grim noticed he had with him a beautiful bow, decorated with expensive crystals. Grim hailed the merchant, begging him to stop as he ran towards him Ethan following from behind. The merchant was a tall, dark, broody man with the looks of a pirate from the carribean's. " How much for the bow?" Grim asked. "five hundred pieces of gold" replied the merchant. "five hundred?"exclaimed Grim, "And why would a local merchant like you be selling a bow worth five hundred pieces?"asked Grim. "Who says I'm a local merchant?" asked the merchant. "I come from a far away Island, lost to the world after a great war happened there, I and many other merchants like me are just picking up what's left of the once beautiful city So we're more scavengers than merchants,you see". Grim and Ethan were both marvelled by this lost city.
"I wonder what else lies in this lost city " said Grim. "Well....there is an ancient gem lost in it. It belonged to the daughter of the king whom the king gifted on her 18th birthday. Sadly, she died a few years later and the king in his grief kept the gem in her temple directly above her corpse. The gem's value was priceless so it was guarded day and night by mythical beasts. No one has been able to retrieve it since and now the whole castle is destroyed and the beasts,probably dead too, it's still difficult to get it". Grim and Ethan's curiosities increased. Grim asked "Surely you know the way to this lost city?". "No I don't. But the man who delivers the goods to our station knows. He's one of the last remaining survivors of the war". "What his name and where can we find him?". "The man's name is El-pundero. No one knows his whereabouts but there's a rumor he stays at Ironsbane. I'd advise you both to not be so engrossed in this fairytale of mine, many have sought for this gem, none have succeeded. It's hopeless." They both watched the merchan leave with his cargo strapped to his horse. They watched him as he rode down the hill and up and down again till he faded into the forest. They didn't really take it serious though cos after all it was a fairytale.
They both got back to the village and told the others. Max didn't seem too excited about it, "They're just fairytales",he said, "Nothing more". Pyre was quite intrigued about the gem and was even thinking about getting it for Ellana or El as he often called her now. That would be a very nice way to get her to like him. He'd already made some progress with her the other day. Had a pretty funny, long conversation with her. He even got her friend, Bridal jealous because El was wasn't spending as much time with her anymore. They all laughed and joked about retrieving the gem until the day ended.
Few months passed, and the usual stuff that always happened in Valstock kept repeating itself. Villagers waking up to the bright sunny day and going out to trade, in order to survive. Children playing around with themselves and some animals too. Life in the castle was no different either. One of the reasons El hated being in the castle, at least the village was a little different. But all that was about to change. Grim's father's cancer had almost reached it's peak. His father suffered from a terrible variation of lung cancer. He managed it for a few years, marking off every single day that passed by until the day of his death. He taught Grim a lot of things. Things most kids his age don't know. His Mom was a trader, his Dad a farmer. They both struggled to put food on the table for the family but now that Dad's cancer had gotten worse, she had to be the sole bread winner. The Doctor said he can manage but he shouldn't be doing any more heavy work or any work at all, he should be allowed to rest so he can die a less painful death. When asked by Grim if truly there isn't any cure for his illness, the doctor hesitated to answer but eventually said "No". But Grim wasn't buying that, the doctor knew something. As he made his leave, Grim followed him " There's a cure, isn't there?". The Doctor paused in his steps, glanced above his shoulder for what felt like an eternity, then abruptly turned fully towards Grim and said "Even if there is, it's hopeless anyway". "What is the cure?". Sighing in disbelief the doctor replied "The Widow's Wail". "The Widow's Wail?" asked Grim. "Yes, Widow's Wail. It's a flower that grows in the Widow's Garden that grows in a cave . They're said to have the power to heal any ailment on the face of the earth. But it's impossible to get it. The flower is priceless and therefore must be exchanged with something priceless in this world". I'd advice you to spend the last few days you have with your father by his side ". And then doning on his hat he said "Good day". There was almost a hint of a smirk on Grim's face. The Doctor said it was the only priceless thing in the world and therefore could not be exchanged but that wasn't true, was it?.He remembered the gem.