I looked at her head in my gasp, but jumped back and dropped it after it suddenly opened its eyes. Their entire eye glowed green, but they closed again once the head hit the ground. I realized that she wasn't still alive, and the reason her eyes opened was because her curse still worked. I hesitantly picked it back up and avoided looking at it as I made my way back to the entrance. A moment of silence passed as the only sounds that could be heard were my footsteps. Once the moment was over however, I stopped quickly to the sight of all the statues around me cracking. They shook, and once they cracked apart light shined brightly in the place of the pieces.
They all glowed white and once it faded, all of the statues became real and colorful again. Everyone broke free from their frozen positions and looked around in confusion. Suddenly the cave filled with murmurs, and I didn't know what to do until a familiar voice shouted behind me. "Dedrin!" As soon as I turned around I was met with May wrapping her arms around my neck with joy.
"You did it! You saved everyone! I knew you could do it!" I rolled my eyes and pushed her away by her face. "That was some teamwork, huh?" I said in a sarcastic tone. May's smile became a nervous one, and she rubbed the back of her head as she answered. "Yeah... Sorry. I need to work on putting my life before politeness." She then noticed the decapitated head in my other hand and jumped. "Ah! Why are you holding that?!"
I turned the head's face away from her before it opened its eyes again and faced it against my chestplate. "Don't look at it. It still works. I just thought it would be a smart idea to bring proof because I doubt this wizard will just take our word for it." Her horrified eyes didn't leave it as she forced out a response. "O-Okay... But, we might have to make a carrier for it to avoid turning anyone to stone again."
I nodded. "Fine. Now let's get out of here." May and I then left the cave and came back the way we came, leaving everyone who was freed without an explanation. We headed back to the beginning of the canyon and reassured Granite that we made it out okay; not my idea of course. He was genuinely shocked that I managed to kill her and hugged May again with gratitude for her safety. Once we left I was glad that I finally had some progress under my belt, and wondered when exactly I would meet this ancient wizard I was working for.
*
A dark figure sits on a metallic throne in a room of cobblestone. The only light appears from a tall window beside them, sending beams of sunlight falling to the floor a few feet away. They were wearing a dark blue cloak with golden accents and a hood so that their face was covered with shadow. Brown gloves were on their masculine hands as he touched the crystal plate in front of him.
The plate was held up by a thin golden rod that split to hold each side of the crystal, like the prongs of a diamond ring. It appeared to look like a small round table, but magic surrounded the crystal, and fell off the sides in the form of smoke. The figure peered at the center of it where the image of the eldest prince of Reinthoria sliding the head of Medusa into a bag made from leaves appeared.
The mysterious man laughed quietly as he watched the crystal, and stood up from his throne right after. "Finally. Someone worthy enough to play my game." He laughed again as he raised his hands, blue magic surrounding them and he quickly disappeared into the blue fire.
*
Once I finished putting Medusa's head into the carrier, May and I had lunch before we would set off again. May was enthusiastic as always as she talked about pointless things I didn't care about like how smooth the rocks she found were. Later we were making our way through a clear area of forest and the afternoon seemed like it would be uneventful again.
"It only took this morning to complete the first trial! I bet that we'll finish this quest in no time flat!" May said cheerfully. I sighed. "If I don't die of boredom, that's the plan." Suddenly, we both stopped at the sound of a loud roar in the distance. I looked at the clear blue sky and froze as I saw the most eye-opening thing I'd ever seen. A huge dragon with black scales, bright blue eyes, and a blue stomach was flying towards us.
It looked to be taller than any of the trees in the forest, and its wings were larger than its body. I had only read about dragons before this and even now it seemed like an impossibility that they existed. Once May saw it she gasped in surprise as well. "A dragon! It's so rare to see one outside of Dragon Valley! It's so beautiful!"
I didn't answer her from how caught up I was in the fantasy and soon realized as it got closer that there was someone riding on its back. That made my surprise multiply, and soon the dragon was close enough to land on the ground a short distance away from us. Leaves and dust rose up from the Earth as the dragon flapped his wings slower to land on the soil. I could feel the shake of the ground under me once it placed its feet on the terrain, and I looked up to the being who was riding it.
The man then stood up and jumped off of the dragon's back. He was wearing a dark blue cloak with gold edging that covered his face, and brown boots and gloves. He also wore a belt with a loose green shirt and black pants that were tucked into his boots. He was tall but not as tall as me, and he was a little thin despite his strong-looking body type. He walked towards us once he landed on his feet, and I had no idea what was happening as he stopped a few feet away.
There was amusement in his tone as he decided to speak first. "Congratulations on passing the first test, Dedrin, Prince of Reinthoria. What a pleasure it is to have you participate in my quest." It clicked in my head who this guy was and I raised an eyebrow as I gave my questioning response. "Are you, the ancient wizard?" He waved his hand and laughed. "Ancient? Don't flatter me. I may be a few centuries past my expiration date, but I wouldn't say ancient... Allow me to introduce myself. I am Theodius. Your host of this game."
He then pulled off his hood, and I was surprised to see a man still in his youth with short dark blue hair that fell over his forehead and behind his neck, pointed ears, and yellow eyes. I was caught off guard seeing that he wasn't human, then confused as I tried to figure out what he was. His ears were pointed but they weren't as long as May's were, and he also had no wings. "What are you?" I said directly. He gave me a smile that I found unsettling because of his yellow irises that pierced my soul. "Isn't it obvious? I'm an elf. Your map is literally written in Elfin transcript. Duh."