Chapter Two: The Cup of Wishes
Sunset descended on the port town of Gruberick, turning the water to gold and the sky to crimson. Shadows lengthened in the pubs and on the streets. The town quieted, and the sea murmured its hushed melody. Candles appeared in windows, ghostly reminders of the coming night. And still, Artea lingered at the table, waiting. Tonight was the last night, midsummer's eve, and still no one had arrived yet. He continued to stare languidly at the patterns of dust in the pub's windows, watching in vain for a boat or a traveler. Nothing. No one. The elf sighed and drained his tankard of cider.
Suddenly he was able to make out several figures walking the streets. He could tell immediately that they were not sailors. They were warriors by their swagger. And from the looks of things, they were arguing. Dekar and Guy, Artea guessed. His sharp ears caught the bell-tinkle of a warp spell. Lexus Shaia. The elf remained in the darkness. That made three of the four. Where was Tia? He wondered if there was some omen latent in the fact that Maxim's first traveling companion was the last to arrive. The door to the pub swung open and smashed into the wall. "Oops," Dekar said. He smirked at Guy, baiting the blonde warrior. "Heh heh. Don't know my own strength I guess."
"Artea!" Guy greeted him, choosing to ignore the brawny man. "How have you been? What have you been doing all this time?"
"You'll find out soon enough," Artea replied. The sun was sinking into the west. Was Tia going to come?
"I must say, you sure picked a quiet place to have a party. Maybe you should let me help you pick the city next time. I know lots of places where you can have a wild time!" Guy said.
Dekar rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I bet. You probably get tired at old ladies' knitting parties!"
"What?" Guy seethed. "Well, your hair looks like you have old ladies as your styling consultants!"
Dekar smoothed out his pineapple-shaped spikes of hair protectively. "At least I don't look like the Jack of cards turned farmer!"
Lexus rolled his eyes as he entered the pub. "I could hear them at the waterfront," he said to Artea.
"Just like old times," Artea said with a smile that felt forced. Suddenly he heard another crystalline chime, a warp spell. "Tia," he whispered. Sure enough, it was Tia, dressed in rose pink.
"Artea," Tia acknowledged him formally. The elf inclined his head to her. Plainly she felt uncomfortable. Nonetheless, he could waste no more time. Artea cleared his throat for silence. "I regret that I must be so brisk on what many of you may have perceived as an occasion for celebration. However, we are, as my people say, on the threshold of opportunity."
"Though we do not realize it," Guy muttered.
The other four companions seated themselves at the round table with Artea.
"After Doom Island fell, I began once again to wander the world. The nature of my journeys is unimportant. Suffice to say, I heard rumors from numerous treasure hunters of this town and the cave to the north of it."
"The Ancient Cave," Dekar whispered. "I have always wanted to explore it."
"In the cave," Artea continued, "is a treasure with power beyond any we here possess."
"That's saying a lot!" Guy interjected.
"What is it?" Tia asked.
Candlelight deepened the shadows and distorted shapes all about the pub. Though it was impossible, the dimness seemed to alter even Artea's voice. He sounded wearier, as if the burden of his years had at last come to rest on him. "It is called the Cup of Wishes. It is an ancient magical artifact that was itself legend when my people were young. Within it lies the magic of three wishes… But there is more… The power of the cup even transcends the chasm of the grave."
Silence fell, even over Guy and Dekar.
Finally Lexus spoke. "Artea… Don't your people disapprove of resurrection of the dead?"
"This is outside of their concern," Artea answered tersely, his jaw tight.
"I think Jeros has been without his parents for long enough," Guy murmured.
"They never did get to live in the world they saved," Artea said. "I intend to go after the cup and use it to restore their life. Will you come with me?"
"Sure thing," Guy said. "You're going to need someone strong to watch your back down there!"
"Count me in too!" Dekar sprang to his feet. "I've always wanted to test my mettle against that cave!"
"Betcha I'll last longer than you will!" Guy piped up.
"Will not!"
"Will too!"
"You'll need some brains on this expedition, Artea. I would be happy to come with you," Lexus said once Dekar and Guy ran out of breath.
Artea smiled at them. "Thank you, everyone. What about you, Tia? Will you undertake this task with us?"
Tia met the elf's eyes as coolly as she had when Maxim had tried to send her back to Elcid at the start of their journey. "You have three people to come with you already," she remarked. "If I come-"
"That won't be a problem," Artea interrupted. "Actually I had hoped to have two parties to enter the Cave."
"Why's that?" Guy asked, trying to free himself from Dekar's mock chokehold.
"Rumor has it that the cave changes shape. They have yet to figure out why." Artea said.
"How interesting," Lexus whispered to himself.
"If two parties go in, it's twice as likely that at least one of them will reach the bottom," Artea concluded.
"Wait a minute!" Dekar exclaimed, dropping Guy to the floor. "Why wouldn't a party reach the bottom?"
"A number of reasons, actually." Artea's eyes were cavernous as he listed the sinister possibilities. "The party could die in the cave. It's happened countless times before. Or, you could end up in one of those cave shapes that don't provide stairs to the very bottom level. Without Providence, you would have no hope of escaping."
"So what?" Dekar scoffed. "Climb the stairs back up, and beg them to let you out."
"Oh, did I forget to mention it?"
"Mention what?" Tia ventured hesitantly.
"There are usually stairs down in the Ancient Cave," Artea said. "However, there are never stairs up."
Dekar and Guy glanced at one another, both pale beneath their tans. Lexus scrawled furious notes on a pad of paper he had procured from his pocket. Tia shivered. What were they getting themselves into?