The Deona Crystal
Chapter 4 – Arrival at Letion
The small group remained on the stone step which held the ruins of the gateway. They didn't speak; there was nothing to be said. How could anyone have stepped through the entrance and survived? It was a question they were all asking themselves, but could not answer. Could Sheila's cloak have somehow protected her? If by some miracle she was still alive, then where was she? It was a long time before any of them moved or spoke. Finally, Presto broke the silence.
"What do we do now?" he asked in a hushed voice.
Eric, Diana and Uni looked up at the Magician.
"I guess we head to Letion," Eric answered.
"What's the point?" Hank snapped; his voice cold and flat.
"There's nothing we can do here Hank," Diana replied, "and Sheila wouldn't want us to give up."
The Ranger glared at her, but she was not focusing on him. Instead, she was staring over his shoulder. Hank turned his head to see what she was looking at. Bobby hadn't moved. He appeared not to have heard what had just been said, in fact, he didn't seem to be aware of anything around him. Uni was gently nudging his arm, and still the Barbarian remained motionless.
Hank walked over to Bobby and gently lifted him to his feet.
"Let's go," he whispered.
The boy offered no resistance and allowed Hank to lead him as they resumed their journey.
The Cavalier took the lead. He kept his pace slow, and Diana spotted him glancing round every so often to make sure his friends were still following. Behind him, Hank was walking alongside Bobby, and at the rear of the group were Diana, Presto and Uni.
The Magician and the Acrobat were walking silently, arm in arm. Diana kept going over it again and again, trying to find some flaw, but she had seen the flames within the gateway; had felt the heat they had generated, she had seen the remains of Sheila's water pouch. There was no way she could have survived coming into contact with anything from inside that arch, which left only one awful conclusion - her best friend was dead.
She could feel Presto's arm against her own and took some small comfort from the contact. As they walked, she found herself remembering some of the things she and the Thief had shared. The two had formed and unlikely friendship when they had started high school. Diana, confident, popular and outgoing had seemed to be the complete opposite from the quiet, retiring redhead, but from the day they had met, they had become firm friends. Sheila had started to come out of her shell, and both girls had enjoyed having someone they could confide in, each telling the other their secrets without fear of them being told.
The Acrobat thought back to their last conversation. She had been teasing the Thief about her feelings for Hank. Oh, God, what must he be thinking, she wondered, and glanced at the Ranger. He would be devastated; the pain he must be feeling would be like the heartache she had felt when she had lost Kosar.
She suddenly stopped walking with a jolt and gasped.
"Diana, what is it?" Pesto asked with concern.
"I… I'm OK," she said, and began walking again.
In that moment, she had realised something, something that deep down she had always known. She thought that she had loved Kosar, she really did. It had hurt when he had gone, but did that mean that she had been in love with him? If she was being completely honest with herself, she had to say, no. She had been attracted to him, had enjoyed the attention he had given her, he had, after all, practically worshipped her, and she had liked that feeling, who wouldn't. She had loved the way he treated her, the way he had made her feel special, but that was all; she hadn't loved him. It was all so confusing, and the one person that she would normally talk to was not there anymore. Diana blinked away the tears that had started to form and focused her eyes on the Ranger and Barbarian in front of her.
Bobby looked so lost, so vulnerable, so alone. She turned her attention to Hank. He was still holding Bobby's shoulder in his left hand, and in his right he was gripping his bow so tightly, that his knuckles had turned white. Diana had known Hank the longest, since she had been in kindergarten. She knew his feelings for Sheila had been more that just friendship, even though he had never once said anything, and her heart went out to him. She gave a small sigh, turned to look at Presto and gave his arm a slight squeeze, a gesture he returned with a forlorn smile.
--X--
The last of the Realm's suns was beginning to set when they reached a stream crossing the road. Eric stopped and allowed the others to catch up. Crossing the water would not be a problem, it was not very wide, and even Uni could make the jump across without getting wet. Beyond the stream, they could see a collection of buildings, which appeared to be a mixture of barns and stables, and there was a variety of animals in the surrounding fields.
"That can't be Letion, can it?" Eric asked.
"It looks like it's just a farm to me," Presto said.
They continued walking, and as they drew level with the first building, a small, dark haired boy ran out from behind it.
"Who are you?" he asked, and then looking at Eric, added, "Oh, are you a knight?"
Before Eric, or any of the others could respond, the child continued.
"Is it fun being a knight? Do you get to fight lots of monsters? Do you? Do you?"
Eric stared at the child, not quite sure how to deal with him. Diana took pity on him, stepped forward, bent down and addressed the boy.
"Hi, I'm Diana." She pointed to the Cavalier, "and that's Eric."
"Hello, I'm Jayan," he replied.
He peered at the rest of the group. Uni trotted towards him and his eyes widened.
"Is that a Unicorn?" he gasped, "I've only ever seen them in pictures."
"Yes, her name's Uni," the Acrobat told him.
"Meah," the little unicorn bleated.
She approached the boy and then allowed Jayan to gently stroke her head. Diana pointed out Presto, Hank and Bobby in turn, but only the Magician and the Ranger acknowledged the introduction.
"Do you know somewhere we can stay the night, Jayan?" Diana asked him.
"Sure, you can stay with us," he cried excitedly.
To Eric's surprise, the boy grabbed his hand and pulled. When he didn't move, Jayan looked up at him.
"Come on, it's this way."
The Cavalier allowed the boy to lead him, and the others followed behind. It seemed that Jayan had taken a particular liking to Eric, and Diana could hear him chattering about being a knight and asking the Cavalier lots of questions about his armour and his shield. She shook her head slightly, and gave a small smile. Sheila would have liked him, she thought wistfully.
They soon reached a small, single storey house and Jayan pushed open the door.
"Dad!" he called, "Dad, come and meet my new friends."
A tall man; who appeared to be in his mid-thirties came forward to greet them. He bore a strong resemblance to his small son, with the same dark hair and facial structure, and only their eyes were different, Jayan's being a deep blue, where his fathers were brown.
"Good-evening, and welcome to Letion," he said.
"This is Letion!" Eric exclaimed.
"Yes, Letion Plains to be precise," he informed them. "Not what you were expecting?"
"I… I'm sorry," the Cavalier stammered, not sure what to say.
"We though Letion was the name of a town," Diana explained.
The man nodded, but gave them a warm, friendly smile and introduced himself as Kenton. Jayan then went on to proudly give the name of each member of the group in return. During this exchange, a woman, about the same height as Diana, entered the house. She wore a peach coloured summer dress, and her black hair was tied loosely at the nape of her neck.
Diana had noticed her arrival out of the corner of her eye, and watched as she scrutinised each of them in turn, beginning with Eric, then moving on to her. The Acrobat felt an odd sensation while being studied, as though the woman could see right to her very soul, and found herself holding her breath until she looked away to gaze at the Magician. Finally, the sapphire eyes came to rest on Bobby and Hank, and Diana saw them widen slightly and there was something else. If her expression was to be believed, it appeared that she was greatly concerned for them all, but especially for the Ranger and the Barbarian.
Jayan suddenly noticed her presence, and ran to greet her.
"What have you been getting up to today?" she asked the child as she swung him in her arms.
She was obviously the boy's mother, and it was clear that she adored her young son. The Acrobat looked at her intently. She looked vaguely familiar, and Diana had the distinct impression that she had seen someone like her before. She lowered her gaze as the woman turned her attention from her child back to her guests.
"I'm Karleena," she said with a smile, then went on to ask if they would be staying the night.
"Only if it's no trouble," Diana responded.
"No trouble at all, we would welcome the company." She glanced down at her son, who was stroking Uni's mane "and that includes you," she added, looking down kindly at the little unicorn.
Karleena lead them through a narrow corridor and into a small room. She opened a cupboard at one end and pulled out a large pile of blankets and cushions.
"Will you be alright in one room?" she asked, looking at Diana in particular.
"Sure," the Acrobat replied. She was about to say more, when Karleena continued.
"That's all settled then, now what about some supper?"
Eric, Diana and Presto looked at Hank and Bobby, then back at each other before the Cavalier responded.
"It's OK, we're not really hungry."
"You must eat something," Karleena insisted, "I'll make up some broth."
Hank met her eye and realised that she was not going to take no for an answer.
"Thanks," he muttered, "that would be good."
Karleena nodded and gave him a sympathetic smile.
"Can I sleep in here too?" Jayan asked, tugging on his mothers arm.
"I don't think that would be a good idea Jayan," she replied, glimpsing down at him.
"Aww, please," he beseeched.
"No Jayan," she said more firmly. "If you stay in here, then no one will get any sleep."
The group all looked relieved. It wasn't that they didn't like Jayan, and if circumstances had been different, then there would have been no problem; but the thought of sharing a room with a very over-excited little boy for the night, given their current mood, was not an appealing prospect.
Karleena continued, "Now say goodnight Jayan. You can see your new friends in the morning."
She steered the child from the room, then paused at the entrance.
"I'll just see to him and then get started on that broth."
They listened to the sound of Jayan's voice, still protesting about the sleeping arrangements, until a door closing somewhere cut him off.
"Well, they seem friendly enough," Presto said.
"We still need to be on our guard," Hank warned. "We can't take anything for granted, and we still have a crystal to find."
They all looked at him in surprise, they had forgotten all about the crystal. It was Diana who recovered first.
"Where do we start looking?" she asked.
"I… I don't know," Hank admitted.
"We could always ask Kenton and Karleena," she suggested, inclined to believe that the kindness the couple had shown them was genuine.
Hank hesitated.
"Not tonight," he finally said, "we'll decide what to do in the morning."
--X--
Karleena re-entered the room just as Presto was just placing the last cushion on what would be his bed for the night.
"Supper is nearly ready," she informed them. "We can all eat in the kitchen."
They followed her back along the corridor to the room where they had first entered the house. Kenton was already seated at the large table which was now set with seven places, and on the floor at one end there was a dish containing something that resembled grass for Uni.
"Where's Jayan," Eric asked.
"He's already had his supper," Karleena replied.
"And now he is in bed, though I doubt he is sleeping," Kenton continued.
"Your arrival, has been quite exciting for him," his mother explained, and then gesturing towards the table, she added, "please, take a seat."
"Can I help?" Presto asked.
Karleena nodded, and then smiled at the Magician as he moved over to assist her while the others sat at the table. She carefully tipped a thick broth into the bowls laid out on the side and Presto began handing them out. She picked up the last two portions, handed one to her husband, then sat beside him and they all began their supper. No one spoke, and after a while, the lack of conversation started to become uncomfortable. Everyone was relieved when Kenton broke the silence, even if they weren't sure how to answer him.
"So, what brings you to Letion?" he asked, then noticing their hesitation, continued. "We're a bit out of the way here, so don't get many visitors."
The Acrobat and the Magician looked at Hank for guidance. He had said not to mention the crystal, but they had to say something about their reason for being here. It was Eric who answered.
"We're looking for a way home."
"Home?" Karleena questioned. "So you are not from near here?"
"No," said Diana, with a wistful smile, "we're not from the Realm at all."
"We can here from Earth," Presto added. "We were all transported here from the amusement park."
"A muse-ment-park! What's that?" Kenton asked.
Diana smiled, but the smile did not reach her eyes. The Magician then went on to explain a little about their home-world, giving the couple a brief history of their unexpected arrival in the Realm, the weapons they now carried and the identities they had been given by Dungeonmaster. Kenton asked a few questions every so often, but his wife listened in silence.
Diana noticed that he spoke in a low voice as he told the story, and that the atmosphere in the room was still heavy, but she soon turned her attention away from the Magician to focus on Hank. She could see that he was listening to the conversation, but, like her, did not join in. It was a relief that they had avoided having to explain their presence in Letion, but she did not feel like talking; it was all she could do to swallow the food in front of her. She noticed the Ranger turn his head to check on Bobby. The Barbarian had a dazed expression, but at least he was eating. Suddenly, something Kenton said caught both her and Hank's attention.
"…and so suddenly the five of you found yourselves trapped here?"
"Not five, six," Hank corrected.
Everyone at the table turned to look at him.
"Six?" Kenton inquired.
"Her name was Sheila," Hank said quietly. He took a deep breath. "She was… She was killed as we left the valley on the way here."
Without uttering a sound, Bobby sprang up from the table and bolted back down the corridor to the room they had been given for the night. Hank closed his eyes for a few seconds, then excused himself and went after the Barbarian.
The others watched him go. They had thought about nothing else but Sheila's death since it had happened, but it was the first time any of them had actually said anything out loud. Somehow, telling someone about it made it real, she was dead; it was so final, so hopeless.
"I'm sorry for you loss," Karleena said. "Your friend Sheila and the boy were close?"
"His sister," Eric informed her with a sigh.
"I think we'll head for bed too," Presto muttered.
"Do you need any help clearing away?" Diana offered.
"No, I'll be fine. You all just try and get some rest," Karleena answered.
Diana nodded, and the three of them, followed by the baby unicorn left the kitchen.
--X--
Kenton waited until he heard the door to their room close before speaking.
"Karleena?"
She frowned, "nothing!"
"Nothing! Nothing at all?" he exclaimed.
She shook her head. "I knew something was wrong as soon as I met them, but a death! That can't be right."
"You think there weren't telling the truth?" he asked, uncertainly.
"Oh no, they aren't lying," she said with certainty. "The pain they feel is too real for that."
"But how could a girl have been killed in the plains without you knowing?" he asked.
"I don't know," she replied looking at him in bewilderment. "I just don't know!"
--X--
