Happy Friday everyone. It's time for another update. Let's see what's in stores for Lucas for this chapter. Enjoy. :)
Chapter 10: The Riddle
Three Years Later
It has been three years since I ran away from my father. My time with my uncle in the Underworld has given me what I always wanted as a ninja. Strength and training. With that training, I have become a true ninja. One that will destroy my father and students when he trains them.
My body has been changing since I found my new home for these past years. I look and sound different. I've been growing each and everyday. My uncle calls it puberty and it's natural for everyone. My voice has become deep than my old one. My short hair has grown to a thick shaggy style and I have to use a dagger to cut it so it wouldn't bother me. My body has grown with lean muscles on my shoulders and arms from training under my uncle. I even have a flat stomach and strong legs from running. I even have a thing what I like to call is hidden strength. Where I am able to lift or fight down something that is larger to fight. My uncle may be stronger than me, but I am able to flip him over my shoulders in sparring. Thanks to his training, my body has become well-trained and toned as a...well a ninja.
My life in the Underworld has grown used to. The skeletons ignore me as a surface dweller, but my uncle tells them to respect as I'm his apprentice. But I ignore it for I don't care for the courtesy. And the spiders, I still watch out and avoid them and they leave me alone. But the one queen named Sherra keeps eyeing me to be her prey. But she always ignores me when I have Kuzca escorting me back. And Kuzca, my friend in the Underworld, tells me interesting stories after training and I told him that I see him as a friend and he accepts it because he has no-one to talk to since his wife, Mylee, and son are gone. That and the skeletons see him as traitor from his past. I'm like the second son to him and I accept it.
My training here has been improving. And I even accept the fact as the grey ninja; Ninja of Water. My powers to control water in my hands is exhilirating. I can use it to create amazing things for offense and denfense. I still don't know how I'm able to control my elemental powers without my golden weapon. It confuses me and my uncle. My uncle has even hired me a private tutor, that was willingly to accept the offer, from a boarding school called Darkleys Boarding School for Bad Boys. I'm still fine with my academics of mathematics and english, but tend to struggle with history. But for training, the shurikens are no longer my favorite weapons of choice. I have chosen the sai's. Both good for offense and defense as my uncle once said. Even with my accurirate throws have made them deadly to my targets. And my Spinjitzu has become stronger since I mastered it at age ten.
Today is my birthday. August twenty-sixth. I have now turned thriteen and only recieved this journal from my uncle as a gift. But this is all I get. No other presents or a cake that my mother would make for me on them. But since I ran away, and my mother is gone, this is all I got. But I don't even care...
Knock-knock-knock.
I stabbed the tip of my ink pen in the ivory colored papers of my black leather bound journal as someone interrupted my train of thought. The black ink slowly bled in a pool on the page I was writing on. I took a deep breath to not become angry and placed the pen on my desk and closed my journal. Who could want me? Obviously my uncle no doubt, but training isn't until another hour. So who's knocking on my doors? "What?" I sighed and turned my head to my doors.
The door opened and Eye-patch poked his head in. As I lived here for three years, I found out that Eye-patch's real name is Nuckal and Kong's was Kruncha. I still call them by their nicknames behind their backs, but speak their proper names when in front of them as they are the generals to the Skulkin Army under Samukai. But what did this idiot want? "Lord Garmadon requests you in the throne room immediately." he informed me and left.
I sighed and stood up from my chair to stretch my arms and stifle a yawn. I surrounded myself in my Spinjitzu to change out of my black sweatpants and grey tee shirt to my grey ninja uniform, that I finally grew into, and stopped spinning. I slipped my right arm through the rope tassle with it around my abdomen with my emblem of the water ninja on my chest; a dragon's head in a water drop. I tied my grey belt snuggly around my waist and slipped my sai's into my belt along with my mask and left my room.
I ran down the halls of my uncle's fortress and looked over the railing to see Kruncha rounding up skeletons and giving orders with supplies in crates leaving the fortress. Something is gonna happen. But what? I ignored it and continued making my way to the throne room. Once I ran down the stairs to the lower levels and reached the doors, I knocked the doors and waited for my response. "Enter." my uncle's voice shouted.
I pushed the doors open and entered. I crossed the small bone bridge and waited in the center. I looked around for my uncle and spotted him staring deep into the Reflective Pool. Probably the same three people he told me once. He lifted his head and looked a bit upset on something, but I decided to not ask him why. Probably personal from one or three of the people to him. I bowed to him and waited. "You sent for me?" I asked.
Garmadon walked away from the stone basin with a small grin. "Yes I have." he replied and stood in front of me. I was expecting him to surprise me with an attack like he did twice when I was twelve, but he didn't attack one bit. So what does he need me for now? "I want you to get prepared." he said. "You'll be leaving with skeletons soon."
Prepared? Leaving with the skeletons soon? What is going on? "What for?" I asked him to know the reason.
"Why, my dear nephew, to retrieve your golden weapon of course." he answered with a small smile.
"Really?!" I shouted. I was excited. My father and uncle told me about my grandfather, master of all elements, created a golden weapon for each element. Fire, Earth, Ice, and Lightning. And now that I'm the water ninja there's bound to be one for me. But now I'm gonna get my weapon. What does it look like? I won't know for sure until I get it for it is hidden by my father after he bainshed my uncle.
"Yes." Garmadon nodded. "But you won't be able to use them just yet."
What? I felt my blood turn ice on his statment. What did he mean by that? "Why not?" I asked quietly. Hope I didn't sound like a whining baby.
"Because now isn't the time." he stated. "You'll get them when it's time to defeat my brother. But the reason why you're going along is so you'll know the location."
So that's the reason why. I'm going with them to know the way of my weapon. But where? "With all due respect, master, where did you discover my weapon's location?"
Garmadon reached into his kimono and pulled out a scroll and the end looked torn. Like it was in the middle of a fight before my uncle ran off with it. "This scroll used to be an entire map, but my hunger for power from the snake that once bit me to make me evil on the weapons made me fight for the weapons against my brother." He fought against my father to steal the weapons. All five? But that seems dangerous though. Even with four of them. My uncle said that no mere mortal can possess all weapons alone, but how would he possess all five? "But after I was banished, I managed to run off with little of this." he said while running his fingers across the weathered paper and looked at me. "It spoke to me in jibberish until I realized it was a riddle. I can't believe that I didn't see it. It was in front of me for three years."
Me? Clearly he meant me. I'm in front of him and been living here for three years. But why me? "What is the riddle?" I asked. My uncle stretched his arm out at me with the scroll in his hand, giving it to me. I looked at him confused and took it out of his grip. I kept giving him a raised eyebrow in confusion and slowly unrolled the scroll. I looked at the markings as they looked chicken scratch and I couldn't make it out. It was written in ancient time. Probably my grandfather written it. Wish I knew what he looked like. But still, why give it to me? I can't read this. And what did he mean it was in front of him for three years? He was banished when I was seven. So it would mean six years of researching.
Suddenly, the scroll began to glow brightly to make me shut my eyes. I peeked an eye to see what was happening and gasped to see the markings moving around the scroll and aligning into new sentences with the markings shifting into letters. Words that I can read. This is weird. It's not often you see a scroll light up and the chicken scratches change to actual words, right? But my next question is why did this happen to me and not my uncle?
The glow finally died and I looked at it confused. I looked at my uncle as he had a chesire grin on his face. It was creepy, but by his grin I can tell that we discovered something. "What does it say?" he breathed in amazement.
"How did you know it'll appear to me and not to you?" I quickly asked.
My uncle's grin disappeared. I upset him on the question. "I spent years trying to decipher the first part as it only said: Only the eyes of the sea could seek the location of his weapon." he answered and pointed at me. "You. The water ninja." His grin returned. "Now, what does it say?" he asked again.
I looked down at the scroll to read the words and read it in my mind mulitple times. It didn't make any sense at all. I didn't know how to say it to him. I reread the top part and realized everything was a riddle now. A riddle to my weapons location. I suddenly felt the urge to hum the riddle as it sounded like a song to hum the words. I soon began to hum the words and it sounded like an actual song.
"What are you doing?" Garmadon asked, utterly confused.
I ignored him and continued humming until I found the tempo to reveal the riddle.
Through the perilous fog lies the temple,
Through dungeons deep the gold is safe.
The guardian keeps it safe from those that seek power.
The temple is hidden in a forest,
Surrounded by fog that never leaves.
To search the temple you must cross the way,
The one of the element can seek the way,
When he sees through the fog he has found the way.
Cross through the water and you have seek the gold.
I finished the hum and riddle and looked at it confused. It didn't make sense to me. Was it a riddle or not? Unless. No, it couldn't be. But it sounded like a riddle to my weapon's location and a map to direct yourself to it. But where? I looked at my uncle, who looked to be in deep thought, and I gave him back the scroll to show him. "Master, do you know where my weapon could be?" I foolishly asked him. "Because I don't"
I watched Garmadon's crimson eyes move along the lines. And later found them growing wide as he finished reading. "Of course, it makes sense now." he said while rolling the scroll back up. "The Misty Forest."
"The what?" I asked dumbfolded. Never heard of it. Not even in geography.
Garmadon slipped the scroll back into his kimono and looked down at me. "The Misty Forest." he said again. "An ancient forest that is surrounded by fog that never leaves. Your father hid your weapon because of your element and made me think that I would never find it. Tell me, Lucas, how is fog created?"
I knew the answer. I learned this when I was eleven. Surprised that I still remember how. "It's where rain water presipitates in condense water droplets which are the result of the air being cooled to the dewpoint where it can no longer hold the all of the water vapor it contains and the cooling is the result of rising in the air, which cools and moistens in humid climates until fog is formed." I replied quizzically. I breathed in deeply to regain my voice. Wow what a mouthful? But I know how it makes sense. Fog is from humid water in the air. And water is my element. Very clever, Dad.
"Correct." Garmadon said. "And it's where your weapon will be. I'll inform Samukai the location while you head to the gates and tell Kuzca to unlock them."
I bowed to him. "As you wish, master." I said and ran out of the throne room. I ran up the steps, by two, and reached the main hall. I saw that most of the skeletons were already gone and Kruncha was still giving out commands to those that were behind. I ran past the general and skeletons and out of the doors. While I crossed the courtyard, I could see the skeletons getting their vehicles ready to leave for the Misty Forest with Nuckal getting Samukai's vehicle ready to leave while the others were using their motorbikes and attaching the crates to the back and tying them down with rope. I even kept an eye on Sherra as she kept eyeing me as her prey. Once I crossed through safely, I reached the gates and looked around for the blind skeleton. "Kuzca?" I asked for the gatekeeper.
I heard the familiar sound of a hollow staff echoing off the walls and turned to see the blind skeleton walking up. His tattered robes and looked more torn than before and even dustier. Possibly from age. I can see his jaw was clenching in a form of a smile as he was happy to see me as I was of him. I really changed his attitude when I started talking to him as friends. "What brings you to my gates, young one?" he asked while shifting his robes to reveal his one arm.
"My master has sent me to you to open the gates." I replied. "Samukai will be here soon." I shuttered on Kuzca's story and warning. I know to never disobey him, but his past scared me and I ignore Samukai.
"As he wishes." he grumbled and walked over to the stone gates. He inserted his right arm with the missing wrist and twisted it open. The stone wall's hieroglyphics began glowing a golden yellow and began grinding to open and move. After three years of being in the Underworld, you tend to get used to the sound of stone grinding. After the gates opened to the tunnel, I couldn't see through the dark void; like an endless night that has no escape to the light. The torches began to illuminate the tunnel in the purple hue of their fiery colors. One of these days I've got to ask why most of these flames are purple. Even when they're on my bedside table and desk in my room. Not the hearth though. Kuzca removed his arm free from the slot and turned to me. "I noticed that today is your birthday." he said while sitting himself on a rock.
I looked away from the tunnel to stare at the blind skeleton confused. And he would know I'm giving him a confused look because of his special hearing to create images in his skull based from soundwaves. Like a bat; echolocation. But still, how did he know it was my birthday today? "How did you know today was my birthday?" I asked, wanting to know curiously.
The blind skeleton chuckled. "Young man, a skeleton like me can learn a thing or two outside his position as a gatekeeper." he said. "My special hearing has not only allowed me to see, but I hear far away as an owl." He reached into his tattered robes and had something in his bony hand. "I have something for you as you remind me of my son and see me as your friend." and tossed it to me.
I caught it and heard something clank. I opened both of my hands to see it was a leather pouch that looked brand new. I untied the drawstrings and opened the pouch to see gold and silver coins inside and tied the bag shut. Was it really? Was he really giving me a birthday present? I looked at him confused.
"I had that pouch ever since I was alive and kept it ever since." he continued while shifting to seat himself. "The leather has never worn or aged and will remain new forever. The coins in there are yours as I have no use for them. You can do what ever you want with them. You can even use the pouch for anything. It's yours."
I looked into his empty eye sockets and then at the pouch in my hands. It was a birthday present. One from him, my friend. I smiled at him for the gift and took the two long sashes, that are connected to the pouch and are suppose to be tied to together, and looped them around my belt and tied it tight. I shifted my new pouch around to have it hang off by right leg and looked at Kuzca. "Thank you, Kuzca." I said to him and wrapped my arms around his bony frame.
Kuzca chuckled and wrapped his good arm around me to hug me back. "You are welcome, Lucas." he said back.
I heard the engines of Samukai's vehicles pulling up and I quickly pulled away and dusted myself off real quick. I looked up to see Samukai in the lead with Kruncha and Nuckal beside him with four of the motorbikes behind him. "Get up here, boy." Samukai grimaced at me. He really hates me. I can tell. "Or spend eternity with this scum's position."
I glared at him as Kuzca wasn't a scum, but a human before. I jumped onto his vehicle and took a seat in the back. I looked at Kuzca, who gave me a nod, and I smiled back to him while mouthing a thank you for the gift. The only person, beside my uncle, gave me a present. I grabbed my mask from my belt and threw it over my face as we began to descend into the tunnel: on my way, with the skeletons, to the Misty Forest to retrieve my golden weapon.
What could it be?
What could his weapon be? If you read my other stories, you know what they are then. But if not, you'll find out soon. Hope you enjoyed the chapter. And hoped you all had a fun and safe 4th of July yesterday. See you next week. Have a wonderful weekend. :)
