Chapter 3

After five months of questing, the King finally returned to Bowerstone Castle much stronger than he was. He had improved his strength and control of his Will abilities and now felt ready to take on his first challenge. In his absence, Bowerstone Castle had fallen into a state of upheaval. With the King suddenly taking quests and regaining his strength, there was no longer any way to keep the attack a secret. He had to address the people.

As he entered the map room to prepare his speech he found Kalin there waiting for him.

"Your majesty. I have come to give aid in this time of need. Your royal guards notified me of the creature's return, and I have come to tell you that my people are ready to fight. After tasting freedom, we are not ready to be enslaved by him again. I have set my top warriors in charge of the city, and they have prepared the city for an attack. We will know of any attack days before the Crawler can reach these shores."

"Kalin! It is great to see you again!" The King crossed the room and embraced her. The Auroran way of life was much more conservative than the way people behaved in Albion. She obviously felt awkward about this hug, but as she was in is castle she dealt with it.

"Well this is great!" The King seemed so excited. "But how come you are not in your own city? Why choose Bowerstone over your own people."

"My people have already survived an attack by the Crawler. We have much more experience with the creature. My knowledge can be put to better use here. Bowerstone has only dealt with one attack and they were rescued before the darkness could claim your land. So I will stay and help where I can."

"If you must." The King had a feeling that he might be abandoning the people of Aurora by taking their leader during such a hectic time, but he knew that he needed the help. Her knowledge was a powerful tool that they could use. "Kalin, I must tell the people of Bowerstone of the danger that threatens us. The seer gave me no hint at when the Crawler will attack and my people must know before he arrives."

"Then I must agree with you. We must warn the people."

When the King announced that he was going to make a speech to his people, the castle and it's grounds were always crowded with the people of Bowerstone. Many times citizens from far off regions showed up as well. When the King announced this speech to be most important he knew the mob would be enormous. As he stepped out of the large wooden doors into the court yard of Bowerstone Castle he saw that he was correct. The crowd filled the court yard, and he could see that it stretched down around the corner and past his field of vision. He could only imagine how far back the crowd had gathered.

"People of Albion! We live in an era of peace and understanding. The world as we know it has become a virtual utopia. However, a threat has come up on us once again. The darkness is spreading across the land, and the creature called the Crawler is preparing another attack on our Kingdom. The time has come again to fight for our land. Preparing for the upcoming battle will be torturous, but I will not abandon my people or my kingdom. I ask that you now do the same. If you have experience in battle please come forward. We need all the help we can get and yours would be much appreciated. It is, of course, understandable to stay with your families. Flee the land if you must; go into hiding. Whatever you do, stay alive! Keep the kingdom of Albion alive!"

The King stood in front of his people for a moment before turning on his heel and walking back into the castle. Slowly a feeling of panic rose up in the crowd. As the people made their way out of the courtyard and back into the city they all seemed in a daze, shocked by the news they were just given.

As the King entered the castle, Logan approached him. "King, I have gone through our study, read through all of father's journals and have discovered the location of Wraithmarsh. Unfortunately, you cannot just walk there. You must take a ship.

"That will take far too long! The creature could be here any moment. Isn't there any other way I could get there?"

"Well, father's journals did speak of a cullis gate made by the powerful mage, Garth, that helped him defeat Lucien. The journals say that this is the only cullis gate that can take us to Wraithmarsh."

"But how are we supposed to find it! That was over fifty years ago. It could be long gone by now."

"The cullis gate was in Garth's home, noted as Brightwood Tower. Brightwood once stood where Silverpines now is. I believe that is where we can find the tower we are looking for." The king looked unsure, but knew that this was the only lead they had so far.

"Ok, we will go to Silverpines and search for Brightwood Tower."

The next morning, the King, Logan, and a battalion of royal guards made their way out of Bowerstone and toward Silverpines. When they finally arrived, they knew of only one building old enough to be the one they were searching for. When they arrived however, they found a large wrought iron gate blocking their path. Entangled in the gate was a large chain, held shut by a padlock.

"What now?" Logan seemed about ready to give up. Both the King and Logan knew that they possessed no weapons strong enough to cut through either the chain or the gate.

"S-Sir…" One of the royal guards stuttered nervously staring at the ground. "Use your Will." The King raised his hands, staring at his palms as they emitted a faint glow.

"It might work." Logan agreed. Nodding, the King closed his eyes in concentration and raised his hands to the chain. Slowly, the blue glow of his hands began fading to an orange glow and small flames appeared in his palms. As he concentrated harder the flames grew, engulfing his hands in white hot flames. As they began making their way up to his wrists he let out a scream and the flames quickly charged from his hands, slamming into the chain holding the gate shut. Logan withdrew his sword from its sheathe and gave the chain a sharp blow as it glowed red hot. There was a large clink and the chain dropped to the floor allowing the gate to loudly squeak open.

They began walking up the trail leading through the gates and up to the old tower. As they approached the building they noticed that time had worn on it. Cracks now made their way from the foundation up to the roof, and moss and plants had begun growing along the outer walls of the structure. They climbed several crumbling staircases before they finally made it up to the building, finding an old wooden door standing slightly ajar.

The King, peeking through the small opening, noticed movement in the room on the other side of the door. He pushed the door open shedding light into the room. There seemed to be movement in the shadows, as if the darkness was moving with a mind of its own.

He paused and turned, "Guards, stay here and guard the entrance. Logan, come with me." He then proceeded through the door. Out of the corner of his eye, the King glimpsed pinholes in the darkness; eyes it seemed like, watching them. Along the walls there were shelves filled with books, all covered in dust and cobwebs. Other shelves contained jars and glass containers filled with odd potions and fluids. From the look of it, it seemed as if no one had inhabited the tower for decades. Assuming it was safe, Logan and the King ascended the next staircase and continued deeper into the building. As the stairs climbed up around a corner there were rays of light. As they stepped into the light and reached the top of the stairs they saw a large outdoor platform and beyond, a walkway that led to another door leading into the second story of the tower. In the middle of this path stood a raised platform with symbols in the center.

"Well, there's our cullis gate. But how do we get it started?" Logan asked.

"From what I remember, cullis gates take a blast of Will to be activated." The King raised his hands and the glow of his hands became a deep blue and grew extremely bright. As he clenched his eyes shut, he flung his arms towards the cullis gate and a shock of bright blue lightning began flowing from his hands into the cullis gate. After a few moments the platform took on its own fluorescent glow.

"Good job, brother!"

"Logan, I will need you to take the thrown while I am away. How long I will be gone I do not know but if I succeed we will be one step closer to defeating the Crawler. I know I can trust you."

"Yes your highness. I will do my best to keep the peace in your absence." With a nod from Logan, the King stepped onto the cullis gate and began to focus his Will into it. He stood on the platform for several minutes, attempting to activate the gate with his Will. As he stood there, the glow of the gate flickered and suddenly it died out. Logan looked at the King with a puzzled look on his face.

"What happened?"

"I'm not sure!" The King looked just as surprised as his brother. There was a sound and both Logan and the King's eyes shot to the entrance to the second floor of the tower.

"Did you hear that?"

"I did." It was faint, but both men heard a rustling from beyond the door. The king stepped off of the platform and began walking slowly towards the sound. Gently, he grabbed the handle, pulling the door open as silently as possible. Just as before, the King noticed the darkness moving and shifting as the light entered the room. Walking into the room the King saw a figure huddled in the corner covered in darkness. He would not have seen the figure had it not been covered in bright blue tracks running along its body.

"Who are you?" The King announced. "I am the King of Albion and I order you to make yourself known!" The figure stood, rising up into the light. His eyes were glowing and his face was colorless, as if he were a zombie.

"Who are you!" The King repeated himself. Out of nowhere a voice rang out in the silence.

"This is Garth, the mage who once lived in this tower." The King turned quickly, his hand flying to the hilt of his sword, preparing to attack. The voice was Theresa. How she arrived he did not know but he was glad to finally see her.

"Seer! I am so happy you are here. I have discovered the path to Wraithmarsh, but do not know how to access it. I tried to activate the cullis gate outside but it died out. Then we heard a noise from in here and found him."

"Yes. He has been missing for quite some time. My powers allow me to see many worlds, as well as the past and future. But Garth's whereabouts have been unknown to me since an incident between him and Reaver in Samarkand." She now turned from Garth to the King. "I am sorry for my absence. While away, I was searching for a way for you to expel the darkness from Wraithmarsh, and I do believe that I have found it. To complete your quest, you must destroy the Shadow Court. Their Will is what is keeping the light out of that region. Destroy them, and you will be successful in your quest."

"But how am I supposed to get to Wraithmarsh if I cannot even activate the cullis gate?"

"I believe I can help you with that." They all now turned back to Garth, whose voice was low and strained. His appearance had changed drastically. His eyes were no longer glowing and the color had returned to his face. "Only a very powerful master can activate this cullis gate, and so far I have been the only one successful in this task." The mage calmly walked out of the room and out into the open air. Stopping directly in front of the raised platform, he closed his eyes and raised his hands straight out at his sides. His hands began to glow, but much brighter than the King had ever seen. As Garth concentrated his Will, webs of electricity began to build their way up his arms to his shoulders. With great force, he slammed his hands together and the web of electricity shot down his arms and blasted the cullis gate with such power that the entire building shook, knocking small pieces of the weak ancient tower to the ground. Garth began to scream as the web of electricity turned into a beam of streaming of white hot power, as if it was pure Will that was shooting from him. Finally, after several minutes, the gate began to glow again, this time much brighter than before.

Slowly the stream of power began to dim, and Garth separated his hands and stood straight. "That should do it." Garth stepped back from the platform and looked towards the King. "Be prepared for what you may encounter over there. Shadow warriors you have fought, but there are far worse creatures in the mists of Wraithmarsh. You will find treachery there that no man should encounter."

The King looked at Garth with a sense of hopelessness, but he knew what his mission was. This is what all the past months of preparation had been for. Hesitantly he stepped onto the platform. This time he could feel the energy from the gate as he made contact with it. He closed his eyes and focused. He got a chill as if a rush of cold air blew straight through him, and in an instant the scene around him became blindingly bright. Logan, Theresa, Garth; they all disappeared in a flash of light.

Theresa now turned towards Garth. "Kalin, the leader of Aurora, has taken up residency in Bowerstone Castle as she hopes to lend a helpful hand when the time comes. Garth, will you please join Logan and return to the castle. When the attack comes, we will need all the help we can get if we hope to defeat the Crawler. Will you stay and fight once more?"

"Do I have a choice?"

"You will always have a choice. But we will desperately need your help if we are to win this battle."

"Oh alright, I will stay and fight if I must!" And with that Logan Garth descended the Tower. Logan turned to Theresa.

"Can we trust him? He seemed pretty out of it when we found him."

"Who knows the tortures he has been through. To be honest, I thought he had died years ago in Samarkand. I believe he will do fine in battle though." And with that, Theresa disappeared in a swirl of light. Logan sensed a feeling of distrust in Theresa's voice towards Garth even though her words seemed reassuring. He followed Garth down the tower and accompanied the royal guard back to Bowerstone Castle.