Timber walked along the gravel path, nodding his head. Thalleous and Senn looked up from his back. It was their 102nd day of journeying by Senn's count. Next to the path, a lonely sign stood, almost a beacon to travelers.
"Look Senn," said Thalleous, pointing at the sign. "We are approaching Oakendale."
"Oakendale?" Senn repeated. He has never been out of Sendaria. "Where's that?"
"We are in Conchord," explained his mentor. "The nearest kingdom to Sendaria."
The two continued downtown, passing the farming fields as they went. Brown men with orange markings on their skin looked up where they labored. Their eyes glowed a warm yellow.
"What are they?" Senn asked.
"Those are Magnorites." Thalleous explained. "Those creatures need lava to survive for they came from the depths of volcanos. They had very much the same temper as their origin." Thalleous half-mused, then cautioned, "Do not make eye contact, Senn." Senn turned his eyes downward.
Curiously, Senn sneaked a peek at a Magnorite sharpening his tool. The man gazed back. His yellow eyes seemed to pierce Senn with menace. But oddly, though, Senn thought they were much like Ardoni. Magnorites also had a rocky skin, and markings down their bodies.
They were now approaching the city center. Thalleous found a stable for Timber and the two Ardoni continued on foot. As they walked, Senn couldn't help glancing at all the people along the street. Noticing this, Thalleous spoke. "Stay close behind me. Even capital cities can be rough." Senn kept close, but his eyes still wandered from side to side.
They walked through the city's inner gate. Senn watched in awe as an Iron Golem three times his size stomped by. Fruits and vegetables he had never seen or tasted lined the small marketplace.
"Wait here, Senn." Thalleous instructed. He approached an official-looking stand. Senn took the chance to take everything in. Such a big world! So many people! So many new things! And oh, what splendor shining from the city square! If only Ria could be there, sharing this scene with him.
When the blue warrior came back, he held a piece of parchment, and announced, "We are cleared for travel to Crown Peak."
"Wait, so we're traveling further?" Senn said. "We must be at the end of the world by now." He wondered out loud.
Thalleous chuckled. "Senn, we have barely crossed a fifth of Ardonia. We have not even left the North."
He led him onto a stone-paved square. In the center was a glowing cube. It had a crystal glass shell and a diamond center. A beam of light issued from it and shot straight into the sky. It looked like what the books described as a beacon.
"What is this place?" Senn asked. "Thalleous, where are we going?"
"To the other side of the world, " he answered, which to him sounded like having breakfast, "beyond the Heart of Ardonia." That last description was a bit scary. Senn felt his stomach lurch.
He approached the cube and put the paper in. "Hold on Senn," He said, putting his hand on Senn's shoulder. "Things might get a little bright…" Thalleous hesitated. "and loud." He searched for more words to describe traveling by beacon. "Oh, you'll see."
The beacon charged up. It became brighter and brighter. Its core pulsed quicker and quicker. Suddenly, whoosh! Senn felt himself lifted into the air. Everything around him became brilliant white lines. He looked to his left. Thalleous was still there. He felt himself clinging to the blue warrior's arm.
Just when Senn's head is about to burst open at all the sights and light, his feet hit the ground. Everything settled down to solid matter, but they were on a different plaza, seeing a slightly different beacon. Where Oakendale's stone pillars and ground are all plain grey, here there were white quartz blocks embedded among the tiles, forming a checkerboard pattern. Beside them, people were appearing and disappearing as lines of light, just like what he just saw.
"Welcome to Crown Peak, Senn." Thalleous announced, waving his hand at the new city.
Senn gazed beyond the paved ground. Not far away, he could see a giant hill, It is a hill, because it is too small to be a mountain, but its peak soared high into the clouds. People bustled around them as they left the beacon platform and approached the city square,
Thalleous told the story of the city. "Back when the Enderknights used to rule Ardonia, Crown Peak was the Enderking's seat of power. But the last king, Rendor, split the world into six kingdoms after the people rebelled." He pointed to the six flagpoles that stood at the side of the square nearest the Peak.
The flags waved in the morning wind as they approached. Each was consisted of three differently colored stripes. White-brown-green, black-orange-white, sky blue-white-blue, white-cyan-grey, and lime-green-black. They strode atop the poles dignifying their kingdoms.
"Why is one flag missing?" asked Senn. The second pole from the left stood in solitude, bearing no flag on its top.
"That would be K'arthen." Thalleous explained. "Not so long ago, they attacked their neighboring kingdom, Cydonia, and withdrew from the union." He started leading away from the Peak. "I can tell you all about it later. Now keep up Senn, we are almost there."
They climbed atop another hill in the city. It was not as grand as the one on which the palace stood, but equally fabulous houses, mansions, by their size, lined the streets. Whoever lived here, Senn thought, must be immensely rich.
The travelers approached the largest and grandest house at the top. It loomed above them with gleaming flawless white marble walls and three stories of windows. At the landing, Thalleous rang the doorbell. After a while, a man opened the door. He had a ring of thin mustache around his mouth. Clean shaven, but with an air of authority. He wore red linen clothes and blue linen trousers.
"Thalleous Sendaris?" The man inquired when he saw the Ardoni.
"Sulliman." Thalleous nodded.
The door slammed shut. Clearly, Sulliman wanted nothing to do with them. Thalleous rang the door bell again. The door flew open and the man reappeared.
"What do you want Thalleous?" He drawled, exasperation sounded in his voice. This might not be the first time Thalleous has done this, Senn thought.
"That is a conversation best held in private." Thalleous said with an air of importance. Sulliman hesitated, then broke into a grin as if he's a naughty little kid planning his next mischief.
"Thalleous, what kind of trouble are you brewing my old friend?" He said gleefully. "Well quit standing around with a dumb look on your face and come on in." He beckoned the two inside. Senn thought, silently, "There's a look?"
Sulliman led them through his house. "The mines are running dry, the Undead have been increasing in numbers," They passed through his spacious living room. The sofa was draped with linen. A luscious bear carpet covered the floor. Golden objects and decorations covered every corner.
They were now mounting the grand staircase. "There is even word of a Necromancer group on the rise." Sulliman continued to Thalleous. "Out of all this madness, you're worried about an army that disappeared a hundred and fifty years ago?" He turned to face the blue Ardoni. They were standing before a giant window that stretched from the floor to the ceiling, commanding a view of the rooftops of Crown Peak.
Thalleous sighed. "Sulliman, if you fought the Voltaris as I once did, you would know that they are more dangerous than all these other threats combined."
Sulliman returned with a roll of the eyes. "Yeah yeah, the 'Great War.'" He waved his hands at the air as if to swat a bug. "The war's over Thalleous."
Just then, Senn noticed a eerie lime light coming from one of the rooms. The door stood ajar, so he approached. The light came from liquids in bottles. There was a warm draft coming from the chamber, almost as if there was a fire inside. "Potions?" thought Senn. He had read about them from the books, but never seen one in real life. The Ardoni were not great potion masters.
The door slammed shut in front of him. Sulliman had reached over and activated a lock on the wall. "Keep your nose out of trouble kid." He warned. Senn looked at him, confused. After a moment, he decided not to probe further, and returned to Thalleous.
They stepped out onto a giant deck. Where the window had commanded the view, this balcony ruled the sky. It was noon and the sun was directly overhead. The house bathed in the warm rays.
"This here is the greatest house in Crown Peak." Sulliman announced with pride. "Most expensive too." He added. "What a show-off." Senn muttered, but Thalleous shushed him. "Frankly I deserve it," Continued Sulliman, "considering all I've had to deal with keeping my business alive." He paused in his gloating. "Only thing is," he walked over to the edge. Senn noticed there weren't any bars or fences surrounding the area. "You gotta mind the drop." Sulliman peered over the edge. "25 meters straight down."
He walked over to one of the chairs on the deck. Leaning back, he put his feet on the table. "There was a time," He began. His tone took on the mythical quality of a poet retelling an epic of hero and strife. "When Enderknights ruled the land, and their dragons soared the skies. The Nether clashed in battles of unimaginable force. The Undead were a menacing threat to be feared, and even the Ardoni clans wielded great Songs of power." He paused.
"That time is over." Sulliman let the epic-ness drop out of his voice like a hand slapping his audience awake. Senn did not know whether he longed for that time or was glad it was over. Thalleous, who kept standing, took up the scene.
"I believe that time is coming again." The warrior said. Sulliman turned to look at him. In all the time they've known each other, including that time when Thalleous "helped" him, he has never seen the Sendaris like this.
"I need you to safeguard a Prime Song." Thalleous stated as he pulled out the golden cube. "Can you do that for me Sulliman?" With careful hands, Sulliman stretched out his hands and took the Song.
He looked at it carefully. "Is he figuring out how much gold he can exchange for it?" Senn wondered.
Then, he felt it again. The Song seemed to pulsate with his heart. They reached resonance. Senn had an urge to hold the Prime, to cherish it, and to never let go again.
"Can you safeguard this…" Thalleous's voice snapped Senn out of his daydream.
"Yes! Yes! I've got it." Sulliman interrupted. He's probably got his business to tend to in that room and being a boss, probably he doesn't like hearing things twice. "Will that be all Thalleous?" He asked.
"That will be all Sulliman," Thalleous replied. "Thank you for your help."
"Yes, that's," Sulliman sighed, "what I do." Sulliman sighed again. Another favor for this man was just what he needed on his agenda. The two Ardoni walked off the deck, through the living room sparkling with gold, and out of the house.
"I don't trust this guy, Thalleous, not one bit." As soon as the door closed behind them, Senn voiced out his concern to Thalleous.
"He may seem difficult," Thalleous agreed, "but he is good at what he does." Thalleous beckoned Senn to follow him. "Nearly all his life he has run a black-market potion business without being discovered, a skill which I am counting on." Senn thought back to that secret room, now he knew why Sulliman had shut the door.
"Come on Senn, we have another long journey back home." Said Thalleous, and the two returned to the stone plaza to beacon back.