A/N: 64 reviews and we're only 5 chapters in. You guys sure know how to cheer me up.
I made a huge breakthrough in my story structure, so things can really get moving along now. I admit I have been playing it safe with the progression and the details because things that occur later in the story haven't been fully fleshed out yet. For a long time, I knew where I wanted to go with this but the "how" was bothering me to no end. It's like I would have these plot points and character arcs but have no way of connecting them.
Hopefully, its smoother sailing for me.
The grains and fresh fruit were the only smells noticed as the soldiers rode through the great plains. As the green of the woods was getting closer and closer, the aromas of the fields grew fainter and fainter. Reinhart was now completely behind the equestrians and all that surrounded them was forest. An overwhelming bouquet of leaves and bark quickly filled their noses. They soon, also, became aware of the lack of sunlight overhead. The canopy of the great forest was so high and dense, like a sky unto itself; an emerald ceiling with snippets of daylight peeking through like little bright clouds.
You felt less like you were entering the woods and more like you took the first steps into another world altogether. They kept their wits about them, despite their numbers. Beckett knew that this would be their greatest strength for no rational man would dare enter these woods alone.
Victoria found the crunching of leaves beneath the horses' hooves almost hypnotic. It gave her neither serenity nor tension.
"Captain," a much younger man asked Beckett. "How do we know that we are going the right way?"
Beckett turned back and replied "See the brush?"
The boy looked down and noticed the broken twigs, stomped grass, and tattered leaves.
"This pathway was clearly disturbed and it seems to me that nobody is brazen enough to navigate these woods save for us and the enemy."
Far from the eyes and ears of the caravan, the soldiers were being watched with great interest by a woman. While several stone throws away, the woman possessed enough ability to see quite clearly as if she stood only a few feet away. She preferred to remain hidden, not trusting of anyone outside this forest which means of course any person.
She had seen the occasional traveler from a safe distance but nothing like this motley crew of armed men. The female raised an eyebrow at the rear of the march. One of the men stuck out to her. She could sense something about this one. A connection? A malignant energy field?
The witch, who called herself Geolia, could not decide if this particular man was benign or otherwise. But she decided to follow this horse-drawn band to investigate.
On the edge of the forest was the first peak of the Nessil Mountains, which was a range that stretched across Rosym to the great sea. Atop this monolith, was a deep cave. As quiet and unassuming as this place was, it was far from uninhabited.
A man lived there, but he was no ordinary man. He was a conjurer of sorts, able to manipulate the energy in the air and nearest objects. Some would call this energy magic. From this vantage, on a clear day, the sorcerer could see both Reinhart and Rosym. The former required a little strain to make out while the latter seemed close enough to grab in his hand.
When he manifested himself out of thin air, he was there just in time to see the black riders arrive. They left all their horses down below but one. The sorcerer used his magic and forged a path that went like a spiral from the top all the way down to the ground.
"Where is she?" the man cloaked in black queried.
"Here," replied one of the riders as he dismounted and picked up the still docile body of Princess Jadelyn.
"You may put her down there," the man pointed indicating a large, flat boulder. "Mind the girl."
The rider begrudgingly obeyed and gently placed the young lady on the slab, being most careful with the head.
"She is alive, as you requested" one of the other riders with a big brown mustache said.
The cloaked man unfurled his hood and smiled at the men he employed.
"Yes. Yes she is."
Suddenly the team of riders unsheathed their daggers.
"And now is the matter of payment," growled the red-bearded one.
"Indeed," the pale man nodded.
Quicker than a blinking eye, he made a motion with his hand and all of the riders went down with a collective thud. The man in the cloak regarded the pile of bodies, each fellow with a cut throat.
"And that is the end of that," he sighed.
He then walked over to a pitcher near a large bowl. Gripping the pitcher, he poured its clear contents into the bowl. He uttered an enchantment and the face of Geolia appeared in place of his reflection.
"Salutations, my lovely" the sorcerer sneered.
The woman's eyes narrowed. "What do you want this time, Noxymis?" Geolia scowled.
"Just wanted to hear your voice..."
"Your particular brand of manure continues to bore me." The dark-haired woman's patience was wearing thin. "Now I ask you once more; what do you want?"
"You know what I want, my dear" Noxymis spat back.
"And my answer remains the same."
The sorcerer cracks his neck defiantly.
"Are you..." he chuckled to himself. "Certain that there is nothing I can bargain with?"
"I have no need for riches. And despite what your twisted mind tells you; nobody is afraid of you. Least of all me. You have nothing I want because there is nothing in this world that I want!"
Noxymis cocked his head, "Is that so?"
"Yes, now kindly lay thyself before a hungry dragon."
And with that, the sorcerer's own reflection returned.
Noxymis grinned and walked over to Jadelyn and brushed back her onyx locks with his hand.
His mind began to wander about what is so close to his grip. After Jadelyn served her purpose as bait, and he got the crystal from Geolia, Noxymis would overthrow the king of Rosym. He had his eye on that land for some time and decided that throne suited him as the epicenter of his conquest of the world. Partially surrounded by a mountain range, Noxymis could easily foresee any threat.
Noxymis was already a formidable threat, despite Geolia's confidence. She only says such things because she would be the only one powerful enough to destroy him without a great deal of effort. But what she did not predict was that he had leverage.
And once he used it to acquire Geolia's most coveted gemstone, nothing could stop him. Spying on her over the years, Noxymis witnessed the little bright blue sphere in her hands. He had never seen anything like it before - his guess was she somehow forged it herself. But how? It was the only thing he could not figure out. In the old books, some say it is legend others history, that when a particularly powerful wizard or witch had garnered enough power and knowledge, they could encapsulate their magical energy into an object of their choosing.
It allowed a master of alchemy to pass on their legacy to another, much like leaving behind a valuable treasure. But Geolia had no one; that Noxymis was sure of. She lived alone, traveled alone, and only spoke to the trees and animals.
In his eyes, that glowing orb was his for the taking. Who would miss it? And who miss her for that matter?
With the crystal in his grasp, Rosym would fall and so would any other kingdom that stood in his way.
And what of the men from Reinhart? Those forces he set in motion because of his treachery? Noxymis figured they would make for amusing sport.
He bent down to whisper in Jadelyn's ear.
"So she says that she pines for nothing. But we know better."
Noxymis looked back at the dead men on his floor.
"Now what to do with this rubbish?" he though out loud. "I know; Attorenth must be hungry."