Page 19 of Ruins of Magic
“What if we’re here longer than that?” Garron asked.
“Then you take a second dose,” the old man said as he shook his head. “Come, come. And whatever you do, do not let go of Arion. Once were inside the shield, if you let go, Arion too will be lost to you as the magic hiding the village will also hide him.”
“You mean even when we’re inside the walls of magic, we still wouldn’t be able to see anything?”
“That is correct. We would be able to see you, but you would be unaware of our presence.”
“Creepy,” Garron said.
As they reached the barrier, Arion stopped. He knew if he crossed it and it was a trap, the knights would never be able to find them or save Valaria. He turned to her. “I don’t think you should go in with us. Just in case.”
“What? I’m not leaving you, Arion,” she said, grasping his hand even tighter and wrapping her free arm around herself to hug his arm too.
Loving the feel of her next to him, he pushed down his personal feelings and consider what was best for her. Of course he wanted her by his side. Nothing made him feel more secure and strong than to have Valaria there, but it would be selfish of him to put her in needless danger.
He shook his head. “Garron, take her back to Taneth and Leeric. Promise me you’ll keep her safe.”
“Are you sure?” Garron asked. “I think we should stay together. If you’re having second thoughts about this place, then we should all return and forget it.”
“I cannot,” Arion said. “If there’s any chance this man really knows who I am, then it’s worth it to me. Maybe I’ll find my family here. I don’t believe all the stuff he says about me being some druid royalty. I don’t even believe I am druid, but I can’t just walk away knowing he might know something that could give me the past I’ve always wondered about.”
“I didn’t think of it like that. But you’re right. If there’s any chance he has the answers you seek, then we have to press on,” Valaria said, more committed than ever.
“You have to be in Chellgar in two days, three tops. Anything more than that and the entire kingdom will be out looking for you,” Arion pointed out.
She shrugged. “Wouldn’t be the first time. I’m not leaving you.”
Feeling how strongly she meant that he sadly nodded and turned back to the old man.
“I appreciate your offer, but we’re going to pass,” he told him.
“What?” all three of them said in unison.
By this point they had started to draw the attention of others and a small crowd was forming to see what was happening. All the druids could see for certain was that the old man was inside the barrier talking to a group that were not. That could only mean one thing: there was a strange new druid amongst the three new arrivals and that piqued the curiosity of everyone.
The druids were a communal group and it was rare for them to find someone new born of druid magic.
“What is it?” someone asked the old man.
He smiled proudly. “I have brought the long-lost High Prince home at last.”
The murmurs started softly at first, then the crowd began advancing on them for a closer look. Everyone wanted to know if it was true.
“I think it’s time we leave,” Arion said to his friends, before turning and preparing himself to run away as fast as they could.
“Wait,” the man said, raising his hands to quiet the group. “There is one way to prove who you are without a doubt to yourself and to us.”
Arion halted his descent and whipped around to face him. “Tell me.”
“Deep in the heart of Keptra there is a small idol of Ryze that sits in the sorcerer’s throne room even all these years later. It is filled with such magic that only the strongest amongst us could touch it. It will not be an easy journey, but a necessary one for your to truly discover and understand who you are.”
“We can’t go into Keptra,” Valaria said. “It is forbidden, with good reason. Nothing survives there. It is a charred territory said to still be encompassed by dark magic. It’s too dangerous.”
The man nodded. “Even for a druid it is a death journey, but the ancient prophecy says that one so pure of light magic will come just before the dark sorcerer rises again. One so powerful that even the imps of Keptra will bow before him. I believe that is you, Arion.”
He sighed fearing there was no way he was getting out of this, and secretly wanting it to be true. Zallon had been the closest thing to family he’d ever known. The High Keeper had been just and kind to him, but that hadn’t stopped Arion for wondering about his real family. Why had he been abandoned and made a ward of the king? Who was he? Did he have a bigger destiny than the lonely life of a High Keeper? All the questions he’d had for a lifetime were pressing down on him and he knew he had to find out if anything this man was saying was true.
“I’ll do it,” he said. “Tell more about the idol and where to find it.”
