It was nearly dawn of the third day after Jonah and his party had left the mountains, when they arrived at the Dragon Door to the Sanctum. Chloé had awoken J?kob with the charm that she was still wearing around her neck. J?kob went to meet the weary travelers who had been flying non stop since they opened a hole in the cave ceiling and soared through the skies toward the Sanctum. He greeted his dragon, Wi?dwyr?, when he entered the Hall of Dragons, and then J?kob opened the door with magic for the others to enter. After they had safely landed, Wi?dwyr? pushed the lever to close the door behind them.

  Jonah, nor the others had slept well on the back of Nagendra. They had ridden the dragon with no saddle and their legs and back sides had been rubbed raw and had started to bleed. They had laid their bed rolls across Nagendra’s back to try and stop the chafing, but the damage had already been done. They were weak from the lack of food for their journey and the flight to the Sanctum had taken most of their remaining strength to stay on the back of the dragon as she flew.

  Nìa entered the hall and ran towards them. Jonah smiled as he saw her running towards them. He had grown up in the same village as her, and he knew everything about her. He had always secretly loved her, but his friendship with her brother had made it difficult for him to approach her, but he had always hoped that she felt the same way about him. He climbed down from the back of Nagendra. Nìa ran to Ryan and embraced him with a hug and though he was covered with dirt, blood and sweat, she gave him a kiss.

  It was a kiss that reminded him of the one he had witnessed Jeremiah giving Chloé at the palace. His legs ached from the ride and from the battle with the giant wolf, but he stood there and returned her kiss. He had missed her. He had missed the smell of her hair. He missed the way her hand felt in his, and he missed how it made him feel when she stood on her toes to kiss him.

  Jonah’s heart sank as well as his strength, when he saw the girl that he loved run into the arms of another man. His legs were already numb from the long flight, and his strength left after suffering his heart break. His legs buckled and he was unable to support himself any longer. He fell to the floor, slamming his head into the marble that lay beneath his feet. The last thing that he saw before he fell unconscious was Nìa standing on her toes and kissing Ryan.

  He awoke several hours later in the healing ward. He recognized it from the many times that Petra had sent him there after his lessons. He felt that he had regained much of his strength, but his legs burned from the chaffing. In his dreams, Nìa ran to him and confessed her love for him. He was happier when he awoke, and he tried to get up from the bed that he was laying in. He yelled when the sores between his legs opened up and began bleeding again. He looked around the room and saw that he had woken Ryan and Chloé who were in the room with him.

  The healers tried to keep him from moving as they attempted to clean his wounds again and stop the bleeding. He didn’t want to be here, in this room, in this bed. He wanted to find Nìa and tell her how he felt. The time that he had spent away from her in the mountains had made him realize how much he cared for her. He would often dream of her while sleeping in the caves and when they were in danger, and when Chloé had died, he thought of what it might be like if he never saw her again. He didn’t want to feel that way anymore and he felt that it had given him the courage to fight and to complete their quest.

  The healers gave him a sedative to calm him down and help him to sleep. They were worried that if he kept moving around, his legs might become infected. As he slept, he dreamt of Nìa again. In his dream, Nìa had gone to the mountains instead of Chloé and he had managed to save Ryan and her from the beasts, and she fell madly in love with him after that. He awoke with a smile, but became disheartened when he opened his eyes.

  Nìa was seated next to Ryan, holding his hand while he slept. Jonah, remembering what had happened the last time he tried to get out of bed, slowly moved his legs over the side. It hurt, but he managed to get on his feet without tearing open the wounds again. Chloé was also awake and was telling Nìa about their journey. Though it hurt to walk, Jonah was careful not to make a sound. He didn’t want the healers to return.

  His head throbbed from hitting the marble and he had a bandage around his head that covered one one his eyes. Chloé managed to get him to stop leaving the room by saying, “They received word from Kara about the twins.” Jonah stopped and turned around. With the events of the last few days, and in his heartache state, he has almost forgotten that the twins had gone missing. “What news did she have?” asked Jonah.

  “You will have to ask Wilhelm. All I know is that they had entered the elven territory. They are safe, but unwilling to return here,” replied Nìa. “We will see about that. When did you receive this news?” asked Jonah accusingly. Nìa sensed the accusation and took offense that he felt that she was hiding something, but replied in defense, “We received word from Kara four days ago. We tried to relay the message to you, but received no response. Until we received Chloé's message this morning, we thought that there was no magic left in the charm that was with you.”

  Jonah left the room and went in search of Wilhelm. It was the time of the evening meal at the Sanctum and he found him in the dining hall. He slipped into the chair next to Wilhelm, trying hard not to reopen the wounds. Wilhelm and J?kob had been talking with Mrs. Clary who asked Jonah in a scolding manner, “What in the world are you doing out of bed?”

  “What news of my brother and sister do you have?” he asked, staring directly into the eyes of Wilhelm. “I will tell you what I know, but seriously, Caroline is right. You should not be out of bed. Are you hungry?” Jonah had eaten very little since they left the mountains. He was starving. He grabbed a plate of food and began eating while Wilhelm began to explain to him what he knew of the twins. Wilhelm told him what the twins had told Kara about how and why they had left the Sanctum and made their way to the elven border. How they had made a new friend that helped them to escape a hungry bear. He told them about the trap that they had fallen into across the border, and how she was unsuccessful in trying to get them to return to the Sanctum.

  Wilhelm also told him about the fears that Kara had about where she thought that they were heading. Jonah’s eyes widened and he nearly choked on the food he had in his mouth when Wilhelm told him that she suspected that they were on their way to the Isle of Doom, the home of the dragons, in search of Dreka-galdra, The Sister Amulets. “It’s too dangerous and they are far too young to attempt something like that,” said Jonah trying to catch his breath and after swallowing his food.

  Jonah tried to stand and go after them, but his head became dizzy and he had to sit back down. “Where are you going?” asked Wilhelm. Jonah placed his hands on his head to try and stop the dizziness. “After them, where do you think I’m going, old man?” “Not in your condition YOUNG MAN!” said Mrs. Clary, emphasizing the latter for effect, before continuing. “You need to rest so you can heal. You won’t be any good to your siblings if they need you.”

  His two elders escorted him back to the healers and helped back into bed. Jonah tried everything he could to try and get Wilhelm to aid him in getting to the elves in time to stop his siblings from doing something too dangerous. He begged him and pleaded with him, but Wilhelm and Mrs. Clary were set on not helping him now.

  The healers came in and gave him something to sleep. After he drifted off, Mrs. Clary and Nìa rubbed a special healing salve on his wounds so that he could heal faster. By morning his wounds still ached, but had healed considerably compared to the night before. When the healers came to change the dressings, they were shocked at his progress and allowed him to leave the healing ward. They brought him some fresh, clean clothes. He dressed himself and went to the dining hall.

  It was breakfast time in the hall and he found Wilhelm seated next to Nìa and Mrs. Clary, eating a plate of eggs and pork belly. “Chloé should be joining as well,” said Nìa. “The healers say that she is well enough to finish on her own.” “What of Thayne?” asked Jonah, softly laughing at his own joke. Nìa laughed a little and said, “Ryan is doing well, but he appears to have fractured some bones in his legs when the wolf landed on him. Had you not shot it in the eye, he surely would have been killed.” She leaned across the table and gave him a peck on the cheek to thank him.

  “How am I here today?” asked Jonah. “I saw my wounds last night and there is no way they healed that much on their own.” “That would be my doing,” said Mrs. Clary, with pride. “Nìa and I made a special healing salve that has been passed down through my family. I doubt those incompetent healers even know of it.” “We used some on you and Chloé after the healers left. It only works on wounds of the flesh, Ryan’s bones will have to heal on their own I’m afraid.”

  Jonah thanked the two of them as Chloé entered the hall to join them. He tried to stand before she sat down, but his legs still ached. He grimaced and quickly sat back down. “No need to get up on my account,” said Chloé, and then walked to his side and said, “I hear that I have you to thank for saving our lives.” She bent down and gave him a peck on the cheek before taking a seat at the table. Jonah blushed a little. He had not thought about it like that. To him he was doing what needed to be done to survive.

  “Master Wilhelm,” began Jonah. ‘Are you willing to help me get to my brother and sister. I am sorry for the way I acted last night, but I must get to them before it is too late.” “I still believe that you are in no shape to travel that far, but Caroline assures me that you will be fine by morning. She has agreed to send some of her salve with you, as long as you promise not to show it to anyone,” replied Wilhelm. “But for now, you must eat to get strong,” interjected Mrs. Clary.

  They spent the rest of the morning discussing his trip into the mountains. He and Chloé regaled them of their tale. They left out the boring things, but Chloé was sure to mention his liking for dwarven ale. Wilhelm became increasingly more interested when she mentioned that a spirit now resides inside her. He told her that he wished to speak with her about it more.

  After that, they left the dining hall. Jonah packed another sack to take with him and he met the others at the portal. Mrs. Clary, Wilhelm, J?kob, Chloé, and Nìa were waiting for him. Mrs. Clary handed him a small jar of her salve and placed a finger across her lips, signaling him to keep silent. He nodded his thanks and placed it in his pack.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

  Nìa and Chloé each gave him a hug and wished him luck. J?kob gave him a giant hug and said, with a lump in his throat, “I’m sorry. You trusted me to keep them out of trouble, and I failed you. I’m so sorry.” Jonah wiped the tear from J?kob's eye and said, “It’s not your fault, J?kob. You know the twins as well as I. When they get their minds on something, nothing can stop them from doing it.” J?kob sniffled a little and then Jonah said, “You did your best, and that is all I can ask of you.”

  Wilhelm opened the portal and said, “Good luck. Kara should be waiting to guide you to where you need to go. We will be waiting for your safe return. Kara has ways of contacting me, so if you need anything or run into trouble, tell me.” Jonah reached out a hand to shake Wilhelm’s.

  Wilhelm embraced him as if he were family and said, “I’ve watched you grow into a fine young man, Jonah. I wish that you didn’t have to do this on your own. You have only just returned to us and now you must go again.” Wilhelm released the hug and Jonah turned and faced the portal. He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and walked through it. He opened his eyes. The portal had closed behind him and standing in front of him was Kara. She seemed to radiate with an aura of light that surrounded her.

  *****

  Jeremiah and his men had made their way to join the rest of their forces, which were led by Prince Erík and Lieutenant Commander Jameson Truwood, through the Sentinel Tree. They had already begun preparing traps for the advancing enemy troops, by the time Jeremiah and his men had arrived. The commanders had taken the advice of Protector Bridgewater and dug trenches in the road.

  They had chosen a spot in the road that had large boulders on either side and began digging so that the catapults could not pass through easily. The first thing that Jeremiah ordered when they arrived was to send the prisoners to Oaken Meadow. Prince K?dú left a small contingent there to keep watch over those that his group had captured north of the city.

  His next order was to send four scouts out to keep watch for the enemy as they made their approach. They were not entirely sure when Claremont and his men had left Oaken Meadow, but they assumed that they could not travel fast enough to reach this point in the road for at least another three days, if they managed to flee the day after Jeremiah had escaped.

  The scouts were to ride for a full day and make camp. Then the next day, two of the riders were to ride another day and wait for the enemy. Once the enemy was spotted, they were to return to the first two, who would report back to the main force while the others rested. Two of the scouts reported back on the morning of the third day. They had ridden throughout the night to report that the enemy had been spotted.

  It was another full day before another scout returned to report that the enemy had made it to their location and made camp. It would take the enemy another two days before they would reach the ambush point. Early the next morning, the last scout had arrived with an arrow stuck in his saddle and another in his arm. He reported that the enemy scouts had found him and that they had chased him for most of the night. He had lost sight of them near dawn.

  Surrounding the place that the ambush was to take place were several high hills that overlooked the sight. The hills stretched out along the road leaving no room for anything other than a man on foot to go around. Jeremiah sent archers out in intervals spaced the distance an arrow could fly. Once the enemy reached their positions, they were to shoot an arrow towards the next archer in order to relay messages.

  He also posted archers watching over the trenches on either side of the road stretching out the length of a hundred men. Their orders were to wait until the enemy had begun entering the trenches before they were to fire upon them. By mid afternoon, the first volley of arrows came down the line, signaling that the enemy was near. Jeremiah and his men were on the front lines while Erík and Truwood lay in wait, half a day's ride from the ambush site.

  Jeremiah ordered his men behind the rocks and trees along the road. An arrow with a message tied to it flew in and landed next to him. The message read.

  Five-hundred men on foot.

  Two riders.

  No catapult.

  Jeremiah sent back a message that told them to shoot the two riders first on his signal. He waited behind his rock on the hillside. He could see the road clearly, even though it was nearing dusk. As the sun began to hasten to the horizon, he could hear the footfalls of the men marching in formation down the road towards his trap, and he could see the two riders following behind the rest.

  He and the rest of his men waited as the enemy neared the trenches. He watched as the men halted and waited for their leaders to approach the first trench. The two riders dismounted to inspect the ditches in the road. Jeremiah heard one of the riders shout out an order, "Sun's going down. Make camp!"

  Jeremiah waited until all of the men had broken formation and began setting up camp before he gave the order to fire. He watched as the first of the men that was leading his horse towards the rear of the camp fell with an arrow to the chest. Before anyone saw what had happened, the second one fell to his knees with an arrow in his forehead. Then he signaled a single volley of arrows to be launched into the camp.

  The men around the encampment began to panic and run around aimlessly, without any orders being given. Many tried to find anything to hide under as the arrows fell around them. Jeremiah signaled for the archers to hold. He and his men charged into the camp on foot. The enemy soldiers stopped when they saw the men coming towards them with swords drawn. Jeremiah knew that most of these men had wife's and families that they were fighting to protect. He didn't want to take any more lives of his fellow countrymen than he had to.

  Jeremiah halted his men and said, "Surrender now or we will strike, taking no prisoners." He then pointed to the surrounding hills to show the group of men the many bows that were pointed at them. The enemy soldiers, seeing their commanders slain, fell to their knees and began begging for mercy. Jeremiah sent his men to tie the prisoners up. The battle was over. Little blood was shed in this battle, but the main body of the enemy's forces were still hidden from them. He sent word to Prince Erík about the capture.

  At first light, Jeremiah sent several riders towards Oaken Meadow to be certain that the enemy had been dealt with. The riders returned four days later, reporting that the way to Oaken Meadow was free from all enemy troops. He then ordered a group of his men to return to the city with the prisoners to join K?dú's men. He made arrangements with members of the Council at the Sanctum and through them, King Arlos, to have food delivered for the prisoners.

  With this section of the road secured, Prince Erík and company, including Jeremiah and his men, withdrew and moved their forces to an area in the road that merged with another before leading on towards the capital city. It was a three day journey for them. The temperatures were beginning to get colder. Winter was nearly at hand. The day they arrived at the crossroads, there was a light dusting of snow on the ground.

  *****

  Ryan was still recovering from his wounds that he incurred under the mountains. Nìa had helped him to return to the Forbidden Room where he could continue his studies while he recuperated. His father, the king, had requested that he return to the palace in order to be looked after by the family physicians. Ryan declined and he spent the majority of his time studying in the Forbidden Room.

  He had been comparing the ancient maps that he had acquired from Dyrear-kóróna, the dwarven capital city of the Crescent Mountains with the new one that he had constructed that included the no longer lost and forgotten city of Tírar-f?r where he had received his injuries. He was staring at it, lost in thought as he made certain that he had copied everything precisely the way that it had been written.

  As he stood in front of the table, he leaned on a crutch as he compared the maps. He had focused his attention on what lay under the mountains before he was to begin copying everything else. Satisfied with what he had done, he stepped away from the maps and sat down in his chair to rest his leg. He heard the door open, so he looked up to see who was entering.

  Chloé and Nìa arrived, bringing him some food from the dining hall and to check on how he was doing. He was seated in front of the table with three maps stretched out for him to see. He had a very old map that he had gotten from the Sanctum that contained the entire eastern side of Tenroha that began at the Attikì Mountains and included nearly every city, town and hovel in the land.

  He had another that he obtained in the dwarven capital city that stretched from the Attikì but went eastward towards the sea, but stopped at the eleven borders and went no further. There were very few human cities marked on the map, and most of the names mentioned on the map were unfamiliar to him. The mountains and the forests, he could easily recognize, but the ancient names of cities' were lost on him.

  He took a bunch of grapes from the plate and began eating them as he looked over the ancient dwarven map. The areas in which most of the cities were, he knew them by their current names. There were many towns and such that he believed were no longer there, but others that he knew were much larger now, compared to what they were then.

  Nìa came up behind him and stared at the map. She saw the elegant script and the names that dotted the map. Her eyes were drawn to where the then, unnamed river flowed into the much larger unnamed river, where she knew that Oaken Meadow, and her brother Matáo, now lies. She saw that it was once called, ár-mót. "What does that mean?" she asked as she pointed out the word, ár-mót.

  "I believe that it is written in the ancient language. My knowledge of it is limited, but I believe that this part means 'meet," he said, pointing to a section of the word for on the map. Chloé followed his finger to where he had motioned and said, "Yes, but the whole phrase means, 'Where rivers meet.'

  Chloé looked at the area that surrounded Oaken Meadow and her eyes moved across to the other side of the river Quoe. She saw a river that flowed into it from the northern side of the river that lay a short ways upstream from Oaken Meadow. It appeared to be the same size as the Kilgor that was on the same side of the Quoe as Oaken Meadow, but Chloé was not familiar with this river. She only knew of a small creek that flows into the Quoe near there.

  She followed the line drawn on the map to a city that was situated between two mountains in the middle of a forest. It was called Tvier-gnípa. On the dwarven map, the city had an elegant faded crown that had been drawn around the spot marking the city nestled between the two mountains. "What is this?" she asked, as she pointed to the crowned city. "It says, Tvier-gnípa, or Twin Peaks."

  Ryan appeared to be confused by her question. He looked at the map and then he turned to the map that he had obtained at the Sanctum. He moved his fingers across the map until he arrived at the same spot that Chloé had asked about. On the more recent map, it was shown to be a large lake that sat between two mountains. There was no city on this map.

  He picked up his bound book that contained his research. He quickly flipped through the pages until he found what he was looking for. He quickly read what was on the pages. He sat the book down in front of him and said, "Bring Wilhelm to me at once. Please, I cannot go myself."