Chap. 13
The group went camping the first night. They had traveled at least ten miles, which, according to Jason was bad. “Everyday, we need to travel at least twenty miles!” he had told the group. Everyone was startled by what Jason had told them, saying that if they did that, they would surly die. Shinku talked some sense into him after dinner, and, Jason came back and told everyone those ten miles on their first day was good.
Shinku had lighted a bright fire, as Esmera’s flame wasn’t too strong. The settled down and planned their next day. Serenity handed Jason the map and he began to study it. Soon after, Jason looked up and spoke, “Okay guys. The closest city from here is probably Erana. We can stop there tomorrow afternoon and get some useful supplies. After that, we have one more city, Cesitia—which is pretty small in size—before we move around the Kothari Mountains. Going through is a bad idea; that is the birthplace of Malks and there are snow storms almost every day.
“The best and shortest way is around it. That route will probably take us around five days to a week, depending on how far we travel each day. After that is smooth sailing to Mirthira. There are several dozen towns on the way and the weather is known to be fantastic during this time of year.”
Serenity nodded, trusting Jason and Shinku to lead them to Mirthira. Suddenly a thought came into Serenity’s mind. “What if we are attacked? I don’t want a rerun of what happened last time.”
Jason assured her nothing was going to happen. “Here,” he told her, giving her some proof, “Take these.” He handed Serenity a bow and arrow. Serenity took them, speechless. “I figured if we are attacked, you might as well have something to defend yourself with. I made this bow with wood from an old oak tree, as well as the arrows. The feathers on the arrows are goose feathers. But, I didn’t kill them to get them. I simply picked them from off the ground.”
“But if we are attacked, then what are you going to defend yourself with?” Serenity objected.
“Don’t worry, I have myself covered.” Jason then reached into his bag and pulled out a rusty colored sword. “Oh, I need to clean this soon.”
Serenity knew that sword, but from where? “Where have I seen that sword before?” she wondered to herself.
“On the table in that little room when we were first starting to explain to you about your past,” Jason explained while taking out a cloth and wiping the sword with it.
“Oh, yeah.” Serenity remembered now. The first day she had come to Alercaria, she had been inside a little room. Serenity’s mind flashed back to that time. Inside the room was a table with a sapphire tablecloth on it. On the table was a sword, coated with a rusty color and scent.
“So, is that your sword? And what was it doing on the table?”
“Actually, it wasn’t mine in the beginning. I just got it a few weeks ago, which is why it’s covered in blood. In fact, the original owner was Adgem.”
Serenity gasped. “But that was so long ago.”
“Well, it was just stolen from Rellark from someone that was a ‘defender’ and they gave it to Isabella who then gave it to me.”
“Who was the person that stole it?”
“I can’t tell you.”
“Why not?” Serenity demanded. This was important news. She might even track down this person and ask him or her to help her.
“I was sworn to secrecy. Once someone from the outside knows, they can’t tell in case word leaks back to Rellark. I’m not saying that I don’t trust you, Serenity, it’s just that Isabella thought it would be good for you to uncover them yourself.”
“Oh, that’s fine.”
Seeing that he had disappointed her, Jason quickly spoke up. “Hey, do you want to hear a story? It’s pretty long, but kind of exciting. It is a story of my life.”
This got Serenity excited. “Oh yes, please.”
Jason smiled, knowing that he had distracted her from their previous conversation. “Okay, make yourself comfortable because it’s pretty long.” Serenity nodded and settled against Esmera. She too, was interested to hear about Jason’s life.
Jason sat up straighter and started his story. “I was born a hundred years ago in a small city called Antica. It was small, but comfortable. My mom died soon after I was born. My dad, Cyred, was a soldier in King Gelmir’s army. Yes, that King Gelmir is the same King Gelmir that rules Mirthira to this day. Anyway, he served King Gelmir well, so well in fact, that he was promoted to general of his own soldiers.
“My dad fought long and brave, but he was defeated by Rellark when he came to Antica, looking for a girl. My dad loved that girl so much, that he was willing to sacrifice himself for her. I was so angry at Rellark for tearing my dad away from me. I had an older sister, but she ran off to try and kill Rellark herself. However, she miraculously survived. I’m not surprised. She was always the motivated one.
“So after my father’s death, I decided to roam the country to get stronger. After a while, I acquired Shinku under special circumstances, and he was my partner while we traveled together. After I got him, I met you and Esmera. From then on, everything seemed to look up.
“Boy was I wrong!” Jason’s tone turned hard there, but Serenity and Esmera were still intrigued. “Rellark began destroying our only hope of a great future. I watched from the sidelines while he slowly tried to kill the twenty people that were our only hope. But the good new was that he only managed to kill eighteen of them. I wanted to help. So I came up with a plan. I had wanted to find the Icestar myself, but I wanted another person to join me. So I talked to you, and you agreed.
“That’s when the most dreadful thing happened. You and I—along with Esmera and Shinku—were in the Kothari Mountains because I had a strong feeling that the Icestar was there. Everything was going along fine, until we were ambushed. When you disappeared, I didn’t believe you would return, and I knew that I was to blame, because I was the one who dragged you there in the first place. But then I acquired a little hope; I met up with Isabella and she allowed me to go and get you, and I did.”
When Jason had finished, Serenity sat back and thought about what he had just told. “It wasn’t your fault,” she finally spoke up. “All those things were supposed to happen, Jason. If I hadn’t disappeared, then odds are, Rellark would have found me and finished me off. I’m glad to hear of your past, Jason. Thanks for sharing.” After Serenity finished, she rolled around to Esmera’s side and dozed off, waiting for tomorrow.
When Serenity fell asleep, Shinku nosed Jason’s shoulder with his snout. Goodnight, Rivon. Hope you sleep well. Don’t forget what Isabella told you. But also, it was merely a suggestion, not an order. You don’t have to if you don’t want to.
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