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Book 1, Chapter 8 - The Emerald Master

  Arc gazed around the opening of the cave as he walked, marvelling at the hundreds of glistening emeralds that caught the streams of sunlight. They were objects of beauty, but he felt something otherworldly radiating from them as though they had great untapped power dwelling within their shimmering cores.

  “How could these possibly be here naturally?” Julie wondered aloud.

  “I don’t think they are,” said Arc, tearing his gaze from the emeralds and looking deeper into the cave. “That bullet didn’t create the cave, it uncovered it. That tank was pointed this way on purpose…but why was no shot ever taken?”

  “Do we want to find out the answer to that question?” asked Jack trepidatiously.

  “Of all times to not be curious, it’s now?” asked Arc. “Considering you were the one playing in a tank, that ship has failed my friend.”

  “I’m cautious because of the tank, Arc,” said Jack, the frustration in his voice evident. “It was much more dangerous than I’d even imagined and now we’re walking into…well, I don’t know what we’re walking into.”

  “And a little bit of exploration is how we find out,” said Arc, spinning his revolver around his finger and marching ahead.

  The gems of the tunnel continued to twinkle their brilliant green as the trio walked along. Julie was especially captivated and leaned in close to gaze into their depths before running to catch back up to Arc, all the while Jack wouldn’t leave her side, fearful that something would go wrong. The young man didn’t know what it was that would go wrong, but he knew it would be something. Something always went wrong. The peaceful streak that had admittedly lasted less than a day was well and truly over.

  “There’s light up ahead,” Arc said quietly over his shoulder.

  True enough, from around a bend came a flickering green light upon the stone floor of the tunnel. It danced around as though excited to have guests in its humble home, hidden far away from what remained of civilisation.

  “Green light,” said Jack, throwing up his arms. “Green light is never good.”

  “Why?” asked Julie.

  “Do I really need to explain that? Normal light is white, yellow…or orange! You don’t see green lightbulbs for good reason.”

  “Son of a…” muttered Arc, upon rounding the bend. His eyes were wide and his mouth hung open as he trailed off.

  Before him lay a large bridge of dusty sandstone that stretched out over a dark chasm descending into the abyssal nothing. As the bricks of the bridge crossed the chasm, they slowly turned into a small set of steps of no more than a dozen before going flat again at the doorway of a temple built into the wall of the cavern.

  The front of the temple bore pillars on either side of the door and two further pillars where the front face of the temple ended and turned back into rough and rocky wall. Nestled between the pairs of pillars were four alcoves, two upper and two lower, that held braziers containing uncountable amounts of small emeralds that were casting the green light throughout the chamber.

  Unlike the previous emeralds that used the sunlight from outside to shine, these emeralds were glowing from within. Whatever magic flowed through them, Arc couldn’t guess, but he hoped that it was merely some sort of light-emitting enchantment rather than anything more sinister.

  “Jackie Boy, what have you stumbled upon?” asked the spellslinger, starting to laugh quietly.

  “I…don’t know…” said Jack, his eyes taken in by the mysterious temple before him.

  “Are you curious yet?” Julie asked him breathlessly.

  “Yes,” he admitted. “But I still think we should turn tail and flee across the sands.”

  Julie moved to step forward onto the bridge, but Arc held up a hand to stop her.

  “If we’re going to do this, we go cautiously,” he said, passing her his guns.

  “What are you doing?” she asked.

  “Making sure that I don’t get you two caught up in something too dangerous again.”

  “Too dangerous?” asked Jack.

  “A little danger is fine.”

  Arc placed one foot on the bridge and tapped it across several bricks. Once satisfied, he took another step and let his weight fall upon the bridge. He did a small hop and was assured that the bridge was stable. The spellslinger walked over to the edge and looked over the waist-high wall that would protect only the smallest of people from falling over in the event of an accident. He gazed into the black below and let out a high-pitched whistle that echoed throughout the cavern.

  “Anything?” asked Jack.

  “Nothing,” said Arc, taking a couple of steps back. “Let’s keep to the middle of the bridge.”

  He held out his hand and the twins walked up to him. Julie handed him his guns back and he stashed his spellcaster in its holster while keeping his revolver in hand.

  “I’ll lead the way,” said Arc. “Any word of trouble, the pair of you do as Jack said; turn tail and run. You grab your kit from under the tree and forget about me, alright?”

  Julie made to protest, but Jack spoke first. “Alright,” he said. “You’re the boss, after all.”

  “I’m glad that’s clear.”

  Arc slowly walked across the bridge, looking all around the cavern in case any dark creatures were hiding in the crevices in the ceiling or lurking just out of sight at the edge of the pit. For all he knew, there was a nasty troll holding onto the underside of the bridge, keeping it in place. He chuckled to himself at the image, attracting nervous looks from the twins.

  Upon slowly ascending the steps, Arc peered into the dark doorway. Up close, it wasn’t as lightless as he first thought. From somewhere inside, came more green light that was shining faintly a short way ahead, but the light was not enough to illuminate much of the corridor. Arc took a small leap and landed in the lower left alcove where the brazier of glowing emeralds lay. He grabbed a small handful of them and shook them lightly, letting them clink together in the palm of his hand.

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  “This’ll do,” he murmured, shoving a couple of handfuls of them in his pocket and then taking another fistful.

  He leapt back over to the steps and passed a couple of the radiating gems to each of the children before walking through the doorway. Before going far, he looked over at them.

  “Keep close,” he warned them, unable to hide the look of excited intrigue on his face.

  Arc led the way through the musty corridor with his left hand held high and open to light the way as best as he could. There were chambers littered throughout the temple, but he couldn’t see into them well and opted to continue down the straight corridor, thinking he would start with the room furthest away and explore his way back to the entrance.

  He crept towards the green light that grew brighter with every step. He knew now that it was another emerald, but this one appeared larger than the rest. Yet, it was not only the size that was different. The light this one emitted was sparser, as though being blocked by a large obstacle, yet there was nothing standing in front of it.

  Upon reaching the door to the large chamber where the emerald rested, Arc had to hold back a gasp while the twins both yelped in shock. There was nothing blocking the emerald from the outside, however, there was something dense dwelling inside; something shaped remarkably like a human.

  “I don’t believe it,” said Arc, sweeping his hand around in an arc and scattering the small emeralds around the room.

  He walked up to the large emerald that stood taller than he did. It must have been at least eight feet tall and appeared as solid as any other. There was no doubt that the figure inside was a human; a man, in fact.

  He was tall and broad with a thick beard and long hair that ran to his shoulders. It was kept out of his eyes by a purple headband. He wore a white tunic and baggy grey trousers along with a pair of lightweight shoes that Arc couldn’t discern whether they were green or yellow. What stood out most about the man was the amulet he wore around his neck that bore another crystal—no doubt an emerald—which was surrounded by swirling silver rings.

  The spellslinger carefully circled the crystal, looking for a way that someone could climb inside. He chuckled as he made his third lap of the man and started shaking his head.

  “What’s so funny?” asked Jack.

  “This is one of the most bizarre things I’ve seen, and I’ve seen some weird stuff, Jack.”

  “How long do you think he’s been trapped in there?” asked Julie.

  “I don’t know,” said Arc, ceasing his circling and standing to face the man. “I don’t even know if he’s trapped. Perhaps, he’s put himself in some sort of stasis. Look at his face.”

  Jack and Julie walked closer and examined the man’s expression. He looked calm; almost resolute. He didn’t bear the look of someone who had been trapped in the emerald against his will.

  “Can you break him out?” asked Jack, lightly tapping his fist on Arc’s holstered spellcaster.

  “Firstly, never touch that without permission,” Arc scolded him. “Secondly, why would I want to? With this guy locked up here, anything we find is ours for the taking.”

  There was a sudden flash of the intensely bright light from the grand emerald and the trio scurried backwards as it began to audibly crack. Arc kept his revolver pointed at the man within while shielding his eyes from the blinding light.

  As the remnants of the crystal encasing the man clinked to the ground and faded away, a voice spoke out. “You would steal from me, would you?”

  “Damn,” muttered Arc before raising his voice and lowering his gun. “That was an error in judgement on my part, I’m afraid.”

  “Is that so?” came the man’s gruff voice as the light faded and he became clearly visible to the three.

  “That is so.”

  “Might I ask you, regretful thief, why it is that you’re trespassing in my temple?”

  “My name’s Arc,” said the spellslinger, holstering his revolver and holding up his hands. “There’ll be no need for hostilities, emerald man, this is all a simple misunderstanding.”

  “This temple should not be known to anyone on the outside. And it certainly shouldn’t be accessible by walking through the non-existent door.”

  “Well, there was a bit of a mishap with a tank. You see—”

  “That tank?” barked the man. “That blasted tank should no longer be operational. What year is it?”

  “45-AA,” answered Arc.

  “Curses! I’ve only been sealed for three years and you go and wake me, you bum.”

  “Bum?” asked Arc in bemusement. “What’s your name, emerald man?”

  “Minator,” said the man, scratching his chin and frowning.

  “Minotaur?” asked Jack, taken aback.

  “Do you see any horns, you little runt? Minator, not minotaur. Do not compare me to those beasts. My name is a grand name passed down through generations of my family.”

  “What is your name, boy?”

  “Jack.”

  “Bah! The name of an urchin, not one of a man destined for greatness. And you had the nerve to mispronounce my name.”

  “Please excuse him,” said Arc, walking forward and holding out his hand. “I feel like we got off on the wrong foot and I don’t want any bad blood.”

  “You’re only saying that because I’m awake,” said Minator with a sneer. “You were perfectly happy to rob me while I slept. Weren’t you, Arc?”

  “Guilty,” said Arc, retracting his outstretched hand and rubbing the back of his neck. “Truth be told, I wasn’t even sure if you were alive.”

  “Looting then, eh?”

  Arc held up his hands. “Alright, alright. I’m sorry. Not sure what else I can say, Minator. You come across a ruin buried in the desert and you hope you might find something worth a damn inside that can pay for your next meal. There’ll be no looting, thieving or robbing, I assure you.”

  “Fine,” grunted Minator, holding out his hand.

  A relieved Arc accepted the handshake and the twins dared to approach.

  “What were you doing inside that crystal?” asked Julie.

  “I thought that was obvious by now,” said Minator. “I was sleeping.”

  “I realised that, but…why?”

  “Is the world still the ravaged hellhole that it was after the Arcanaclysm?”

  “More or less,” shrugged Arc.

  “There’s your answer,” said Minator. “I’m waiting for the world to fix itself. It may take a century, it may take a millennium, but I don’t much fancy wandering the wastelands looking for things to steal for my next meal.”

  “It’s not all bad,” said Arc. “Hell, the three of us weren’t alive in the old world. The world as it is today is all we know so we might as well make it a better place in the time that we have.”

  Minator scoffed. “Your futures were stolen from you by the disaster. The fact that it doesn’t bother you bothers me. I would appreciate it if you would let me return to my sleep and I request you keep this temple’s location to yourselves.”

  “Are you a mage?” asked Jack.

  “Hardly,” said Minator, tapping the emerald pendant on his neck, “but this gives me two very specific powers that keep me safe while the world rebuilds itself.”

  “Emerald armour and…?”

  “Throw those emeralds in your hand on the ground, Jack. In fact, all of you throw your emeralds onto the floor.”

  Jack and Julie did as they were asked while Arc took the three handfuls of the tiny glowing gemstones from his pocket and then turned his pocket inside out to remove the lingering ones he missed. Minator gestured for them to step back and they did so.

  The man from the emerald clasped his hands together and breathed in deeply before holding them out. The second he did that, the emeralds all across the floor rose up and shot towards him before swirling around in a circle by his feet. One by one and quicker than the trio’s eyes could keep up with, the emeralds fused together seamlessly.

  They formed a small humanoid creature, no more than six inches tall. It walked towards Arc and then turned its head up to look at him with its eyeless face as the spellslinger stared at the creature in awe.

  “This is one of my minions,” said Minator, picking up the miniature golem. “And I can make as many of these creatures as I want using the emeralds in this cavern. In fact, I can make them as big as I want too. Follow me.”

  Minator led the way back through the corridor and Arc, Jack, and Julie silently followed him. The four walked down the steps and stood upon the bridge, turning to face the braziers. Minator tossed his emerald golem onto the ground in front of him and it climbed to its feet, standing patiently by. It cared not that it had been thrown, for it was bound to the will of its master.

  As before, Minator clasped his hands together and then held them out. All of the glowing emeralds from the braziers arose and flew towards the golem as though carried by a strong wind. They swirled around the small creature like a hurricane, joining with it one by one. Within seconds, it had grown from the size of a show to a nine-foot-tall hulking brute that could have snapped any of the four humans with its emerald hands.

  “It would have been a bad idea to steal from me, Arc,” said Minator coldly. “Wouldn’t it?”

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