10
Sougon
"Hey, Buhawk?" I asked my sword master. He replied with a short "Hm?"
"Why did the king seem so tired?"
"Because his wife Queen Emolin Dia is gravely ill, and the war isn't helping."
"What about Princess Yukini?"
"Well…her brothers do their best to keep her spirits up. Although she is very sad about her mother." We rode in silence for awhile. Each in our own thoughts. Dewdrop was asleep behind my neck. I thought about where Jin might be. The snow had put a blanket that covered everything the eye could see.
Meanwhile, in the other world. Minami Shimizu was worried sick about the two students that had vanished. They were students she had known, Takeshi and Jin. She went to the place they were last said to be. One of the other students had said that Takeshi told him about an old shrine he was going to show Jin. She found no one there though. She looked around the old empty shrine. She saw something on the floor. She gasped and leaned down to see. It was two schoolbags. The names on the tags were Takeshi and Jin. She kneeled down to inspect the area further. But she didn't get a chance for she was engulfed in blinding light.
We had traveled for so long now. I was glad to hear Mahura say that we were really close know. "Can you smell it?" she asked me.
"Smell what?"
"The ocean! Sougon lives by the ocean."
"Oh, now that you mention it…I do smell it!"
We were exited now. We put our horses in a gallop. Buhawk followed. When we came over the hill we saw it…The ocean. And what a magnificent thing it was. I'd seen oceans before of course but this one was different somehow, couldn't place it though. Seagulls and other birds I didn't know chirped in the distance.
"There! See over on the rise over there!" Mahura said excitedly, while pointing to the south. And there sat a little hut. When we reached it Mahura went to the door and knocked.
"What? Who is it?" someone said from inside.
"It's me Sougon, Mahura!"
"Oh!" he opened the door and hugged Mahura. He was an old elven man with a gray beard. He wore a indigo colored cloak with designs on it. He had a small design on his forehead.
"Mahura! What brings you here?"
"I was sent here by King Engelthor to see if you can help this young man get home."
"Hmm, a human? Well come on inside."
We followed him inside his hut. The floor was covered in books. The walls had symbols all over them. It looked like a wizard's room for sure. He cleared some spaces for us to sit. "So this boy is from the other world correct?"
He knows already? We hadn't even told him.
"Yes, and he really wants to get home. You're one of the few people that know about such things." Mahura seemed to know this man well. Buhawk looked awkward in the small space.
"Well…I do know something…" He started rummaging in all the books he had. I picked up one of the books it said 'The Physics of Alchemy' on it.
"Aha! Here it is." He sat down again with a big book in his hands. He started flipping through the pages. He ran his finger along the pages mumbling as he did so.
"Hmm…ah…I see, I see. I think I've found what may help you."
He put the book down in front of us. On the page was the same symbol from the shrine! I remembered it because it had been etched in my mind ever since that day. Sougon began to tell us what it was. "Now you see it is not easy getting to the other world. It's almost a one way path. More often something or someone will be sent here than sent back. The great warrior Ceatus sought a way back. But alas it is said he spent the rest of his days here. This symbol is the only way to make the portal appear on purpose, But it's not easy to use. Only certain shrines around the world hold the power to activate this symbol." I thought about what he was saying. This is gonna be harder than I'd hoped. I said "So where are these shrines?"
"There used to be many of them in ancient times. But past wars, natural disasters, and the passage of time, have made it so that only very few remain in good enough condition today." He said. I rested my head on my hands and said "How many are left?"
"Hmm…of the ones that have been recorded…five."
"Only five! Across the whole world!"
"As far as we know."
"Is there any near us?" Mahura asked calmly.
"I believe that the closest one lies in the 'Forest of Enigma' in the elven city Elotis."
"Well then, that is our next destination. Right Takeshi?"
"Ours? But you were only assigned to get me this far weren't you?"
"And what kind of an escort would I be if I ditched you now?"
She smiled at me and said with her eyes 'I ain't quitting now'.
Buhawk said "Well I'm not done training you either. So when do we leave?" I smiled at both of them then asked Dewdrop "What about you Dew weren't you just gonna take me to somewhere with people in the first place?" She poked her head out and replied with a smile "There's no way I'm quitting now I'm having to much fun!" An adventure awaited us I could feel it. "Then it's settled, to The Forest of Enigma we go!" Sougon cleared his throat and said "Would any of you mind if I tagged along? You might need a wizard like me. The spell for the symbol is not an easy one to cast." That would be useful, I thought. "Ok!" I said. We nodded at each other and decided to leave the day after tomorrow.