Unveiling

"Nice to see that you two could make it," Cole remarked as Zane and Lloyd entered the hut. "Done with your temper tantrum, prince?"

Lloyd dropped his boots next to the door and walked barefoot across the floor. "I don't need to answer that," he said flatly, casting a harsh glare in the Dark Knight's direction.

Cole took a sip of his drink and nodded. "You don't take bait easily," he remarked. Although Wu's home was definitely cooler than the world outside, he still found that sweat was sticking his shirt to his skin as his lowered his arm and set the cup on the floor beside his crossed legs. "That could mean one of two things: you're either a smart man, or a coward."

A sense of pleasure sifted through his mind as he noted the look of anger on the younger prince's face.

"That's enough," Wu said firmly. He leaned on his staff beside Jay, who was gathering the old bandages from Nya's wound and the ointment into a bag he as been carrying specifically for that purpose. "Jay, where are the maps? I'm assuming you're the one who's carrying them."

The thief neatly packed the remainder of his loose supplies into the satchel and shut the leather flap. "Right here," he said casually. He reached into his pocket and paused. His face took on a worried expression. "Ah..." He stuttered as he shoved his fist into the deep pocket and dug around. "Hold on," he mumbled, face flushing. "I know it's here somewhere."

"Jay," Lloyd moaned. "We need those maps, don't tell me you've lost them! We can't find the swords without-"

"I know, I know," Jay cut him off as he reached into another pocket. "Just...just calm yourselves. I didn't drop it..." He sighed. "...Maybe."

"Maybe?" Lloyd nearly squeaked- even at nineteen, his voice had not left the world of adolescence completely. "Where would you have dropped it?"

Jay growled his frustration as he reached for his satchel and jerked it open. "In the ocean, I'm sure," he said. "It's probably on the bottom of..." He paused and turned back to the panicked group with a wide grin. "Wait," he held up a finger and tapped his left sleeve. "I remember where I put it."

Before anyone could so much as blink, he flicked his wrist and held his hand out for presentation. "Is this it?" He asked. The ear-to-ear grin only made the situation look more absurd as he dropped the silver cylinder into Wu's palm. It was about as wide as his thumb and at least ten inches long.

The elder prince accepted the container with a nod. "This looks like one of Misako's watertight scroll keepers," he observed. "Thank you, Jay."

"Thank you?" Nya repeated incredulously. "Your majesty, he just tried to give us a heart attack. Are you not going to lecture him on when not to tease us with his acting and slight-of-hand tricks?"

"Why should I?" Wu asked as he unscrewed the tiny cap on the container. "He had quite a talent; I do not wish to discourage him."

"I agree," Cole said. "In fact, he should do it more often. The looks on all your faces were too entertaining to describe properly." He turned his head and nodded at Jay. "Hey, Walker. Do it again so I can properly catalogue their expressions."

"Stop!" Faster than anyone would imagine possible for an old man, Wu shot across the floor and smacked Cole's head with his staff.

Cole looked up at Wu, balled his fists on his lap, and bowed his head respectfully. "Y-yes, sir," he said in a voice consumed by tremors.

Zane observed this sudden change with interest. Fascinating, he thought. And very tragic, too. He must link all pain he feels to punishment, and is afraid of Wu because he has the authority to hurt him.

But Wu, for all of his wisdom and insight, did not seem to come to the same conclusion as the Nindroid. "Good," he said gruffly as he landed his staff on the floor. He turned to Zane and dropped a rolled sheet of parchment into his hands.

Zane unrolled the paper and looked it over carefully. It showed a large island surrounded by inked-in sepia waters. "The shape of this island," he said thoughtfully. "It is just like Ninjago, except reversed. The curved, hook-like point is facing north instead of south."

Lloyd got onto one knee beside Zane and looked at the map over his shoulder. "Yin," he said. "We live on the Eastern island of Yang. My dad talked about this a couple times."

It was then that the similarities clicked in Zane's head. "How interesting," he said. "I wonder why the islands are in this particular shape."

"They used to be one island," Wu explained. "My father split them many, many years ago for reasons I will explain later."

Zane turned back to the map and scanned it carefully. There were lines that crossed and intersected to create characters in careful, neat vertical rows over the ocean on the western side of the Yin. "What language is this written in?" He asked. "It's beautiful. Why don't we write like this anymore?"

Wu dropped the silver cylinder onto Cole's lap and sat down beside the Northern nobleman. "It is called kana," he explained. "We are not the first men to inhabit this land, you know. There were once many provinces on the combined islands of Keitorin and Ninjago. The remnants of those ancient races made these maps and prophesies for us to find."

Zane was mesmerized. How could someone call this a language? It was more like an art! "Kana," he repeated. "Can you read it?"

"I don't know," the prince replied. "Kana was used for many different languages before it finally fell into misuse around the beginning of the seventh millennium. Whether or not I can read it depends on which language the letters were written in."

"We are still in the seventh millennium," Zane said. "So it has not been dead for too terribly long. Is there anyone who can translate it?"

Wu smiled. "I can," he said. "I actually read it while Cole was teasing Jay about his slight-of-hand."

Zane blinked. "You read it that fast?" He asked, disbelieving. "I thought you just said you weren't sure that you could translate it."

"I know what I said," Wu's smile evolved into a light chuckle. "But I stand corrected. It turns out I can read it, after all."

Zane hesitated, blinking several times before exhaling. If there was anything he had learned from living with this eccentric old man, it was that he rarely made sense. It was best to not delve too deeply into the prince's head for fear of catching on to his insanity.

"So what does it say?" Nya asked. "Jay said something about the locations of four different blades, two on each island?"

"That is correct," Wu nodded. "This one says that the blades of Ice and Lightning are here, on Keitorin." He gestured to the map in Cole's hands. "The other one says that the blades of Fire and Earth are on Ninjago Island."

He read that one too? Zane asked himself. His logistical processors were starting to throb from the lack of sense and sanity spewing from the old man's mouth.

"Great," Cole said. He tossed the map aside as if it were rubbish. "A couple of swords names after four of the Six Elements. What we need is a plan to rescue Kai and escape this blasted Island of Darkness, not chase fairy tails."

"And we will rescue Kai," Wu said. "Those swords are the first step toward becoming, as you put it, a gurrah-kah. Now pick that map up before I hit you again."

Without waiting to see how the Dark Knight would respond, he turned back to Zane and continued. "Your map's instructions are simple. To quote it directly, 'You must go to the fatherland of the sweet Adam's ale.'"

There was silence for a few seconds as everyone pondered this. The sun was starting to go down; red streaks stained the horizon above the trees outside. Zane also noted that the temperature of the air was changing. A soft, cool eastern wind was blowing straight through door and into his face. It was a refreshing change from the heat that had plagued the air earlier.

"What is it talking about?" Nya asked. "What is Adam's ale?"

"Sounds like the name of a tavern to me," Jay said. "So we need to visit an alehouse?"

Cole snorted. "Weren't you listening, tin head?" He asked. "This map was written hundreds of years before Ninjago and Keitorin even existed. It's definitely not a tavern."

"Oh, right," Jay scoffed sarcastically. "Of course, my bad. 'Cuz you're the expert on all things even remotely related to alcohol, we're all supposed to trust your judgement."

"I never said that," Cole replied. "I am merely stating the fact that you should not be the one attempting to translate the-"

"Cole!" Wu raised his staff and hit the Dark Knight's head with another hollow thump. "Is it so difficult for you to learn the meaning of the word respect?"

Cole shied away with a hard, visible swallow, but said nothing.

"Your majesty," Zane cut in. "Is this really necessary? You and I both know that Cole suffers from..." He trailed off, wary of the steely glare he was receiving from the green-eyed man. "He hasn't had an easy life. You should try to be more gentle with him."

"Gentle?" Cole spat. "Know your place, undead creature of the Underworld. Shall I send your head rolling?"

Wu turned to Zane with an understanding nod. "There is a time to be gentle," he said. "But that time is not now. What you sorry men need is discipline." He looked back at Cole and lifted his staff. "He is a part of the team. An important, invaluable piece in an intricate puzzle our ancestors created in years long past."

Cole flinched as the staff gently touched his right shoulder. "You are no longer the Dark Knight," Wu said. "You are Sir Cole, the Black Knight. Master of the Earth Element, leader of the team."

"W...what?" Cole scooted backward to get away from the old man's staff. "I can't be the team leader," he said insistently. "I'm so...you know..."

"Weak?" Wu filled in. His staff hit the floor with a crack. "Yes, Cole. We are all weak. But as you draw the best from the heart of your team, they will also draw the best from you."

He looked into each of their eyes in turn. "Exhort each other," he said, staring into Jay's deep blue eyes. "Sir Jay, Blue Knight of Lightning.

He turned his gaze to Nya. "Don't be afraid to show weakness. Pride comes before the fall."

Looking at Zane's almost transparent blue oculars, Wu spoke again. "Support your fellow team members, White Knight. Don't let the past control the future. That's the present's job. And you, Cole." He paused, taking his time in forming his words. "Lead, and remember my advice. Encourage them; protect them. And remember that it's all right to fail every once and a while. Leadership isn't about perfection."

Cole was the first to break the gaze. He skimmed over the faces of all those watching him before speaking in a quiet but firm voice. "Then what is it about?" He asked. "A leader is nothing if not perfect...which is why I am the least qualified man for the job."

Wu blinked impassively. "If I told you what's leadership was about," he began, "then what would be the point of this journey? I want you to find out for yourself." He stroked his beard and sat down between Lloyd and Cole on the floor. "Now that we have that taken care of, I will go over the plan with you."

Jay gasped. "Whoa, guys," he said as he sat down next to Zane. "I don't believe it; we have a plan to follow!" He applauded sarcastically. "Good for us, it's about time-ow!" He cried out in pain as Wu smacked his head.

"The plan," Wu said. "Is to send all the men out to find the place the scroll describes. According to this map, both the Lightning and Ice blades are kept at the same location. After you're done with that, come back to my hut. I will assist you in breaking Kai out of the Overlord's prisons, then we can go back to Ninjago and find the Earth and Fire swords."

Nya frowned. "You said that the men are going," she said. "But what about me?"

"You're staying here," Wu answered. "While you are still injured, you are a liability. They will be faster without us."

"Excuse me?" The way Nya's face wrinkled reminded Zane of an angry cat.

"You heard me." Wu's fingers curled pointedly around his cane. "What did I say hardly two minutes ago? Don't be afraid to show weakness. You know that you cannot make it, so stop pretending that you can. It's one thing to cross the ocean while sitting in a contraption, pulling levers. It's another thing entirely to journey across an island filled with evil. Not to mention," he cleared his throat. "It would be one woman in a group of...unrelated...men. I want you to wait until your brother is found before I let you go out by yourself with them on overnight excursions."

Nya hesitated, looking over the four other men. "I guess," she said finally. "There's nothing I could do to help, anyway. Just promise not to leave me out of the part of the plan where we save my brother."

"Of course," Wu agreed. "I wouldn't dream of it."

Kai was led down a torchlit hall between two stone escorts. His blindfold and gag had been removed, but the warriors still maintained their notorious tender mercies by keeping his hands bound. The prison was dry and hot. It felt more like a furnace than a series of underground catacombs. Doors lined the left and right sides of the hall; wooden, simple, and most were dark as a cragling's mouth.

Kai was not going to lie. He was exhausted. Hours of pulling roots, running from stone warriors, and then being captured and dragged roughly to wherever they were now made his brain feel like glorified putty. His legs didn't feel much better, so he was more than grateful when the company finally came to a halt before a larger door made of stone. Perhaps he would be allowed to sit down once inside.

One of his guards reached out with a gauntleted hand and slammed it against the door. The sound that preceded this action was loud enough to make a dead man leap in fright, let alone a nervous prisoner that was, for now, very much alive.

Kai took a deep breath of the dry air, steeling himself to face the inevitable as the door began to open. I wonder what the Overlord looks like, he thought, not for the first time. Is he a spirit, floating through the air? One of those weird half animal, half human creatures that eats raw flesh? Or maybe... He cut himself short as the person opening the door became visible.

What he saw scared him even more than his imagination ever could. Not because of the fabled grotesque features he had envisioned, but because the normalcy.

The man who stood before him was short; Kai's best guess at his height would be just over five feet. Neatly trimmed black hair cascaded over the man's ears, stopping just before his broad shoulders. He was clean-shaven, except for a simple black mustache with hints of grey that rested above his thin, scowling lips.

But the part that sent shivers down Kai's spine was his eyes. They were green. Bright green. They seemed to glow as they bored into Kai's wide hazel irises, staring straight into his soul.This man, Kai thought. He looks like a slightly older version of Cole. Could it be his father?

The man's body looked human, but the way that his expressions twisted his face made him look like he just might be possessed. His tunic was a deep purple. Black trousers were tucked into high, black leather boots. A sadistic, evil grin toyed the man's lips as he spoke in a hoarse, whispery voice. "Hello, Kai," he said. "You may not have heard of me, but my name is Overlord."