In the Wrong Hands
Deep within a jagged canyon, hidden behind boulders, streams, and various other natural obstacles, there lay a most peculiar object. Its shape could be described an circular but it held no apparent function, for its boundaries did not exceed the second dimension. At first glance one would imagine a mirror, hanging as if suspended by an unseen force, suspended in midair, beckoning for any curious mortal to examine its mysterious properties.
If a being were to touch it, they would find their hand slips right through the planar object, disappearing into some void or other that no one could fathom or even guess existed. Such far off powers were unfortunately, very frightening to the people of the land, who tended to shun the ominous might of unknown magical items.
However, for the group that suddenly emerged from the silent portal, there had been nothing on their minds but discovering and pillaging whatever treasures may have lain within the environment on the other side. A small band, under a dozen strong, proceeded to step onto the rocky earth from which they hailed, abandoning the world inside the anomalous rift that swirled behind them.
There was no leadership among them, based on their gathering, as so they simply stood as a collective unit, preparing their next move. The group stood tall, dressed in heavy armor that covered nearly every inch of their forms, along with massive shields and quite menacing broadswords tucked within a scabbard on their waists. These men clanked as they walked; tapping and scratching their plates together while moving.
One of the party held what appeared to be quite the ancient text, with great signs of degradation and wearing. Upon its cover lay illustrations of a skull, a bird, a vine of fruit, and a large sword in the middle. Its name was very difficult for any of the men to pronounce, they had only grabbed it due to its promising visuals and age, which they believed guaranteed some otherworldly wisdom or knowledge.
In another's hands was held a far less dubious item. A golden crown with three crimson gems adorning its surface, one on either side and a glorious large third set in the middle. Other than that, it appeared as any other royal headpiece. Of course, they were humans, one of the greediest creatures to inhabit the planet. As such, they would gladly deprive a place of its riches in the seeking of glory and wealth.
One of the metal-clad knights stepped forward, addressing his fellow warriors.
"Is this all? For the great sacrifice of so many of our noble brothers the best we could come up with is a single piece of gold and an old book?"
One of the others, the one holding the text, defended the gains.
"But you must understand, the knowledge held within this item may pay us back ten-fold. Who knows what ancient secrets could be uncovered. We may even find other locations to sack, earning back the efforts we have already put forth."
The first shook his head.
"I see no reason to dwell with that old thing. Unless it can revive the dead, I say we dispose of it. At least with the crown we may yet walk away with a hefty prize."
He took the item from his fellow fighter and examined it carefully.
"It is fit for any king, surly a treasure that will fetch handsomely."
The others agreed as the one with the text frowned sadly, picking at the sword on the book's cover. Before he knew it, it turned a little. He was intrigued and continued spinning the tiny switch until it clicked, stopping once it was horizontal. Suddenly, the circle portion of the cover popped open, revealing a ring of colorful gems within.
The man did his best to contain his astonishment. However, it was unnecessary; his fellow knights were too busy discussing the crown. Carefully, he crept away from the group and examined the jewels. Each one was shining in a unique shade of color, clearly having a great value. One slot was empty, suggesting that the book had been stolen before. He frowned, realizing the moment that his fellows saw the book's secret they would immediately want the precious stones all to themselves.
The knight closed the hidden compartment and slid the sword back to its place. Afterward, he placed the text against his chest and closed his eyes, sighing.
I wish there was some way to get rid of these gems.
Before he knew it, the text glowed slightly along with a weak vibration. Curious as to what had just transpired, he gently cracked open to the page that was shining moments ago. Shock filled his face. The writings upon the page were explicit instructions as to how to scatter the multitude of jewels across the land.
"Hey! What are you doing Rowan?"
The leader of the knights stepped through the crowd and glared at the one holding the text.
"What is in that book? Answer, now!"
The one called Rowan stood valiantly against his superior.
"This isn't right Gavin; we should've never attacked those strange beings. What right did we have to assault their home? What ever happened to chivalry, to being heroic?"
Everyone stared nervously as the leader approached his subordinate and pulled out his broadsword, laying the blade near the man's neck. His eyes were filled with vile cruelty and general anger.
"Chivalry? That blasphemy! There is nothing gained by being righteous, no rewards for being honorable, we take what we want and that is all there is to it!"
Gavin slammed Rowan's helmet with the hilt of his weapon, causing the man to stagger and fall to the right. He dropped the book, which slid over and bounced against a rock wall. The impact knocked open the compartment containing the gems, catching the eyes of every knight around. The leader scowled down at the fallen subordinate, giving him a kick in the ribs, causing Rowan to shout out in pain.
"You dare hide this from me! I'll have your head!"
With one last kick to the side of the helpless knight, Gavin walked over to the text and greedily picked it up, gazing in lust at the glimmering jewels. He reached in, planning to rip the gorgeous stones form their slots. Before he could lay a finger on them however, Rowan suddenly got to his feet and produced a chant in a strange language.
"Disperge claves portarum!"
Instantly, the book began to shudder wildly in Gavin's hands, forcing him to drop it and stand back in astonishment. A few seconds later, each and every gem flew out of its place as if it were a firework. Streaks of magnificent color zoomed through the sky as the magical jewels flew in all directions, making it impossible to track even one without difficulty.
Gavin looked down at the now empty book, his pupils slowly dilating from the building rage within him. A moment later, he threw the book to the side and brought up his sword, turning angrily at Rowan. The less experienced knight struggled to draw his own weapon to defend himself. The deranged leader charged at his weakened opponent, determined to strike down the insubordinate warrior.
Out of nowhere however, the blow from Gavin's broadsword was halted, clanging against the blades of the rest of the group. The leader stared in disbelief at his comrades. Finally, he found the sense to back away and point his weapon at the band of knights protecting Rowan.
"Traitors! You will all pay for standing against my judgment!"
One of the men stepped forward.
"You've become more and more insane with each journey. The raid of the temple was the last straw. We watched with horror at how you mercilessly cut down that being that stood in your way. He was just doing his duty but you had to go ahead and determine that all of the fortress's treasures belong to you! We won't stand for it!"
The protective line raised their swords, prepared to remove their leader who had fallen to a low matched only by the cruelest of tyrants. Gavin's eye twitched as he bared his teeth at his honor-bound men. He raised his own sword along with the golden crown he still possessed. The knight then brought the object to his temple as his blade pointed to the sky.
"You don't get it fools! I am the king here! All will bow to my strength!"
As the royal headpiece rested upon his head, a massive blue hue of energy erupted form it. Everyone backed away as Gavin's eyes were engulfed in a blue glow and he opened his mouth to scream in pain. The man's hair exploded from his helmet, now a snowy white. The sword, still pointed at the sky, unleashed a second blast of energy, sending it straight into the heart of a dark storm cloud that had formed overhead.
Lightning cracked as high winds began to strike everything on the earth below, forcing the knights to kneel down or be swept away by the powerful gusts. Snowfall soon followed the gale, beginning to bury the ground in a freezing white blanket. The knights managed to use their shields to block most of the pouring frost.
Meanwhile, Gavin had dropped his sword and was pressing his hands to his head, continuing to shout in utter despair while he began lifting off the ground. The leader's men watched in shock as the darkened man released unstable bolts of ice from his body, insta-freezing anything it hit.
One of the knights shouted to his comrade through the howling wind.
"Cassius, get that thing off of him!"
The man equipped with a bow and arrow nodded and brought out his weapon, taking careful aim at the floating Gavin. The shot was difficult through the blasting snow but the team's archer was among the best in the land. With a few seconds of counterbalancing the shot, Cassius let loose a arrow, which cut elegantly through the snow and hit its mark, knocking the golden crown off of Gavin's head.
Immediately, the storm began to dissipate and the ruthless leader fell to the ground. The hit sounded quite painful, especially with the armor he was wearing. By the time the others reached his form, the man was passed out. Rowan walked over and picked up the book while one of his allies took hold of the crown, careful not to drop it.
The knights looked with concern at each other before gazing at the objects in their hands. The one holding the crown spoke up.
"This…thing. It's clearly too dangerous to leave in mortal hands. We must ensure it is never used again."
The others nodded solemnly. Rowan walked up to the man and offered the text. His expression was determined.
"Cedric, please, allow me to watch over the crown. I will give my life to protect and keep it out of the greedy reaches of those who would seek it."
The older knight was astonished by the declaration.
"But, Rowan, you're the youngest of us all. There's much for you to live for!"
The holder of the text shook his head.
"No, I wish to carry our mistakes, so that you all don't have to. Go on, take this book, and learn from it, for it will teach you everything you need to become great heroes."
Cedric carefully swapped items with Rowan, now examining the ancient text with great wonder. He looked back at the young knight.
"Where will you go?"
Rowan pulled out a long cloak from his satchel, dawning it and tucking the crown into his bag.
"North, as far as I can muster. This thing will be well hidden among the snowy mountains. I may perish, but I'll make sure that no one will find it ever again."
The man's determination brought sorrow to all the others, who each offered him a final handshake and wished him luck. Cedric took extra time to say goodbye. He placed a hand on the young man's shoulder.
"You truly are a brave knight Rowan; we will be honored to learn how to be a great warrior like you. Good luck, my friend."
With a last nod, Rowan set off in the direction he declared, leaving his faithful brethren to watch the lone knight make his way up the canyon and disappear over the edge at the top.
(modern times)
A small bell rung as the door to the drugstore opened, announcing the arrival of a customer to the shop's humble owner. The grizzly haired man behind the counter gave a warm smile to his guest, as he was a regular. The much smaller individual walked up to the front table and grinned at the towering shopkeeper.
"Morning Elias, savage weather isn't it?"
The man bellowed a laugh.
"Ha! Indeed Albert."
The visiting man brought out a pound and laid it on the counter. Its jingling revealed its contents to be coins. Albert carefully poured out the money and began to sort it for the store owner. He counted out equal piles then slowly looked up at Elias, a nervous look upon his face.
"Will…this be enough?"
The towering man gazed with concern as he counted the coin, trying to determine if the amount was satisfactory. Regrettably, Elias closed his eyes and shook his head.
"I'm sorry my friend, but the medicine is a fair bit out of reach."
Albert stared in despair at the grizzly man's face.
"But, Elias, my daughter. She'll never make it past this freeze. Can't you please understand?"
The shopkeeper sighed.
"I cannot Albert; my own family needs the money to prepare for my wife's coming child. We can't risk anything going wrong. I am truly sorry."
The customer lowered his head sadly.
"I see. You're doing what's right for your loved ones. I must respect that."
Elias reached over and placed a hand on Albert's shoulder.
"If you can get the rest of the payment, I'll be sure to have it for you. You can't give up."
Albert took a moment to recollect himself before nodding.
"You're right. I mustn't lose my dear little one."
The man gave a farewell to Elias and dashed out of the drugstore, promising to return soon. As Albert made his way back to the docks, he thought to himself on how to make the extra money for the medicine. Work wouldn't be enough, by the time he would've made enough for the difference; the freezing cold would likely already claim his daughter's weakened body. There had to be another way.
As the man neared the docks, he heard his supervisor call out through the light snowfall.
"Hey Albert! Where had you been, we could use some help with this rigging!"
The humble father rushed to aid his fellow dockworkers, intent on making up the money in any way he could.
"Sorry, was on break sir."
The shift leader shook his head.
"You've got to be on your toes, we've got a busy haul today. Some big-shot scientist or whatever had a delicate load for us to take care of. We have to finish getting his cargo onboard before he gets back, understood?"
Albert answered back an affirmation and began pulling at various ropes to raise up a large crate that his coworkers had already begun lifting. Soon enough, a crane took over once the cargo was at a certain height. The machine proceeded to hoist the crate up and over the railing of the only ship currently moored to the dock.
After a few more hours or so, the rest of the items had been carefully tucked onto the deck of the freighter, ready and safe for transport. Albert admired the work and went over to take a hot cocoa break with his fellow laborers. The weather had calmed down, now barely letting any flakes fall from the heavens. It was a pleasant stop from the manual duties of the dockworkers, as they now swapped stories and cracked jokes while waiting for another ship to pull in for them to unload.
A few minutes later however, a crane suddenly stared behaving erratically. Several workers stood up to observe the event. A couple worried murmurs were heard as an operator was spotted in the machine. The supervisor held up his radio and called to the worker inside.
"Bosse, what the heck is going on?!"
A response crackled in a few moments later.
"I'm not sure sir! The controls just started malfunctioning!"
The boss watched as the crane began swinging around violently, still holding a large crate that was being relocated.
"Watch it! You've got free-swinging cargo!"
"I know!"
The other workers observed in horror as the crane suddenly shifted its load toward the nearby ice cliff, which hung close to the edge of the docks. With a loud smash, the crate slammed harshly into the wall of frozen material. For the first few moments, nothing happened, then however, a low rumbling ensued, followed by the sight of rapidly faltering support on the icy cliff.
A moment later, chunks of ice cascaded off the wall, plunging into the freezing waters below and creating enormous splashes that soaked several workers still near the edge of the dock. Everyone backed away frantically as an entire section of the wall came crashing down, forming a wave that violently smashed into the side of the freighter. Luckily, the ship was unharmed, as was its precious cargo.
After a brief minute of chaos, the populous of the docks regained their composure and began sifting through the slushy ice water that now covered the area. The supervisor walked over to Albert, an irritated look on his face.
"Damn it, that's gonna put us back a bit. Albert, we had a crucial mooring hook attached to that wall, see if you can find it in the wreckage and detach it from the line feeding into the ship, otherwise she won't be able to leave port."
The man nodded and grabbed his gear, putting on a flashlight helmet and grappling rope along with his pack. He made his way to the edge of the dock and scanned the collapsed ice for a stable section. Eventually, a mark was found and Albert began swinging his grapple. A moment later, he released the twirling rope claw and sent it flying at a spike of frozen water that was sticking out of the wall.
The hook reached its target and wrapped the rope around several times before allowing the claw to sink into the frosty surface. With a few tugs, Albert was satisfied with the stability and took a few steps back. With a quick run, he vaulted over the freezing waters and came to a bumpy landing inside a small crevice in the destroyed wall.
After a few minutes of careful search, the man found his assignment. The mooring clamp lay crumpled between two sections of ice. With some determined flexibility and unrelenting work with a metal cutting knife, Albert was able to severe the line connected to the ship, watching as the steel cable fell to the water below with a splash.
He was about to head back the way he came before noticing somewhat of a cave hidden behind a nearby chunk of the fallen wall. Curious, the man turned on his headlamp and made his way over to the entrance. It was obvious that the space had not been revealed until the small avalanche the crane had caused.
Going deeper inside, Albert began to see a glimmering in the distance. As he came closer, he found the source of the shine. It stunned him. At the end of the cave, lying upright against the frozen wall, was a suit of armor. Clutched within one hand of the metal protection was an elegant broadsword, stuck deep into the ice and having had the gauntlet frozen to the hilt of the blade.
In the other arm's grasp was a golden crown, adorned with three red jewels. Albert eyed the discovery with wonder as he got closer. Once he reached the suit, he kneeled down and took a good look at it. It was clearly from medieval times, evidenced by the crest across the armor's chest. Slowly, Albert lifted the visor of the helmet. He popped back a bit after discovering that there was a skull within the metal headgear, its hollow sockets staring back at him.
Regaining his composure, Albert glanced again at the crown, admiring its splendid gems. A thought came to him. This, scientist person visiting the port, perhaps he was a wealthy man, perhaps he would find interest in an artifact of such nature. Surly the jewels alone would cover the costs of the medicine that Albert's daughter needed.
Not taking another second, the dockworker carefully pried the royal headpiece out of the skeleton's grasp, causing the head to slump down and the arm to fall to its side. Taking one last look at the poor knight, Albert high-tailed it back outside, leaving the long gone guardian to himself.
Slipping the crown in his pack, the short man made his way to the rope that was still connected to his grapple, having tied it down so he could get it later. With a few steps back, Albert charged back across the ice to swing all the way to the docks once more. Several coworkers greeted him.
"Did you have fun out there Albert?" they joked while patting him on the back.
He joined them in a chuckle while walking back to the supervisor. Stopping at attention, Albert cleared his throat to catch the boss's attention.
"The line is free sir."
The boss nodded.
"Well done, take five. If you'd like, you can go say hello to Mr. Petrikov, he'll be departing soon with his collection."
Albert raised an eyebrow. His supervisor sighed.
"The archeologist, or whatever."
The dockworker's eyes lit up.
"Oh! Yes, of course, I'm sure he has some interesting stories."
As Albert ran toward the entrance ramp of the ship, his boss called back.
"Keep it short! We've got another haul coming in fast!"
With great enthusiasm, Albert made it up the freighter's side and reached the deck. After a moment of looking around, he spotted two men in heavy winter coats examining the crates. One of them had glasses on while the other appeared to be an associate. Albert waited patiently for the second man to move on before approaching the spectacled individual.
"Um, excuse me; are you the, archeologist, or something like that?"
The man turned to fully face his visitor, holding a look of confusion for a second before cracking into a grin. He then chuckled a bit as he took a step toward the dockworker.
"Hoho! Well hello there my friend. I'm afraid the word you're looking for is antiquarian."
He held out his hand, which Albert grasped.
"Simon Petrikov, collector of unique artifacts. Who might you be?"
The worker eagerly shook the hand.
"Albert sir. If you wouldn't mind Mr. Petrikov, could I have a moment of your time?"
The spectacled man gave a jolly smile.
"Of course, go right ahead."
The native man cleared his throat.
"Would you by chance be interested in anything I could come up with?"
Simon tilted his head, intrigued.
"Hm, well if it's an ancient item I'd definitely like to have a look."
Albert grew more confidence as he reached into his pack and took out the crown, presenting it to the antiquarian. Simon accepted the object with great interest, immediately taking out a small magnifying glass from his coat and studying the relic.
"I must say, I'm baffled! I can't even determine a period of origin. Could you tell me where you found this?"
Albert decided not to complicate the man's voyage with additional treasures.
"Up in the mountains a few days ago. I was actually meaning to see if I could get it to someone for some much needed money."
Simon looked curiously at the worker.
"Oh? An what would that be for?"
Albert gazed sadly at the deck.
"My daughter. She has fallen quite ill and needs medicine. However, my current standings will not allow me to get the help she needs. Winter has only just begun and her condition is worsening. I don't know wh-"
He was interrupted by a hefty sack being held up to his chest. Looking up, Albert saw Mr. Petrikov smiling warmly.
"If you'd like to give up this curious artifact then here, I'm sure this is more than enough to get what you need."
The worker took the bag with astonishment. There was more inside than he could make in a month! Albert looked to the antiquarian.
"But sir! I surly don't need this much!"
Simon waved him off, still holding his smile.
"Nonsense my friend! You'll need it a lot more than me. The weather here in Scandinavia is a great deal harsher than back home. I know I'm doing the right thing."
Eventually, Albert accepted the sack and gave a firm shake to the man's hand.
"I can't thank you enough Mr. Petrikov. I wish there was some way to repay you."
The spectacled man chuckled again.
"Oh it's quite a big help giving me such a cryptic item. I'll enjoy studying it more back home."
With final goodbyes, Albert waved back to Simon as he headed back down the ramp and returned to work, eager to finish his shift and claim the life-saving medicine his little girl needed. Meanwhile, Simon walked to his quarters below deck as the freighter sounded its horn, preparing to leave port. The antiquarian smiled intriguingly at his newly acquired artifact.
I bet Betty will get a kick out of this one.
Well, this is the last planned Archive. Unless I get a request for more background info for COT this is it. Just so you know, Astrum, Solara, and the Citadel itself will all have their full pasts revealed in the actual story.
I believe I achieved my goal of providing fillings for your curiosity with these one-shots. Thank you for all the support and readings! Later.