Chronicles of Moonlight

 

 

Rating: PG
Genre: Adventure
Setting: all over the place!
Main Characters: Eiko, Elco, Geno, Jet.

Note from the authoress: Next Part! Its been a while huh…. Anyways, this part probably defies all physics and stuff. Still, never mind! Enjoy!

 

Chronicle Five: The Ancient Ruins.

 

The ruins sprawled over the clearing in front of us. Creepers had climbed the crumbling walls, and seemed to be the only thing holding them up. The remains of a door fell at a lopsided angle onto the crumbling steps. What seemed to have once been a courtyard was overgrown. Carefully, I picked my way over the courtyard. Geno walked beside me, equally as careful. I looked at Jet. He seemed to just be ambling normally, the vegetation that cluttered the courtyard posing no problems. I felt a bit envious at this, as the vegetation tripped me. We crossed the courtyard, eventually standing in front of the ruins. I gazed up at them. Just inside the doorway, the stone of the ceiling had given way, blocking the passage, making entry impossible. Geno spoke.

 

“Looks like we gotta find another way in.” I continued to gaze at the Ruins.

 

“How many more entrances are there likely to be?” Geno shrugged, and Jet spoke.

 

“There’s only one other entrance. And, if the Elven lore is correct, it’s swarming with traps.”

 

“Great, just great.” I muttered.

 

“Reckon we can navigate our way through them?” Geno asked. Jet shook his head.

“I doubt it. These ruins are older than most living elves. The technology behind them will be from ancient times.” Geno gave a sigh.

 

“Then it’s a pity Elco isn’t here. He may have been able to fathom them out.” I jumped slightly.

 

“What about that orb you spoke of? Do you have one?” Geno looked at me, and his eyes showed a sudden understanding.

 

“Yes. Of course! We can contact him. I haven’t used it before; I didn’t know how long it would last.” He fumbled in his bag, before taking a small orb out. It was a dark red in colour, with strands of purple shimmering inside it. It was beautiful. Geno stared at it for a moment.

 

“What’s wrong?” I whispered. Geno shrugged again

 

“I was just trying to remember how it worked” he grinned. “I think…” He placed his hand on the top and spoke the name Elco. The orb suddenly shimmered, the purple taking over the red, and a pink weaved in circular motions inside the orb. After this happened for a little while, a voice spoke out from the orb.

 

“Geno? Is that you? Cool, you decided to use one of my inventions.” the voice sounded happy about this. Geno replied.

 

“yeah, yeah. Listen Elco, we’re at the ruins, but the roof’s fallen in. apparently there’s another entrance, but it’s riddled with traps. Any chance you know how we may be able to recognise these traps?” There was a silence. I found myself imagining Elco frowning, as he thought about this. Then his voice rang out again.

“Who’s this “we” Geno shook his head.

 

“I met some friends. They’re helping me out.” another silence.

 

“Oh. Well, my guess is that these traps will be rather primitive. Look out for oddly shaped tiles, and test them before stepping. Also, keep an eye out for trip strings, or beams of light that don’t seem to come from anywhere. Keep an eye on the walls for hidden traps as well. Just be careful and you’ll be fine.”  The orb glowed pink brightly, and then the colours faded back to purple, then red. Geno looked at me and tilted his head.

 

“You get all that?” I nodded.

 

“Yeah fine! Lead on Jet” The elf nodded and started to walk around the ruins, with myself and Geno walking just behind him.

 

 

The first part of our exploration was simple enough. It just involved hacking our way through some more dense under growth in order to uncover a heavy stone door. That was the easiest part. Moving the door aside, however, was nowhere near as easy. It lay in a slanted position, and I guessed that once we managed to move it there would most likely be steps leading downwards. But how we would move a door of solid stone was beyond me. I glanced at the other two. Jet stood a little back, arms folded, a look of concentration on his face, clearly trying to fathom a way to get in. Geno merely looked bewildered, rubbing his hair in confusion. I stifled a giggle as the static his hand caused made his hair go fluffy. Jet cleared his throat, a simple sound that earned him our undivided attention. The elf looked thoughtful for another moment before speaking.

 

“We need some sort of lever” Geno stared at Jet.

 

“What lever could possibly shift a stone block?” Jet glared at him. It was clear neither was particularly fond of the other.

 

“You tell me. You are the so called explorer!” Geno made an irritated sound in his throat. I spoke quickly, anxious to avoid any fighting. And, secretly, the pull of the bracelet we were searching for seemed to be getting stronger by the second.

 

“You have a rope, right Geno?” It was a simple comment, but enough to give Geno an idea. A small smile appeared on his face. He looked at a cluster of trees nearby, and tested some of the long vines trailing the courtyard, trying to break them. Satisfied, he stood, before issuing orders to us.

 

“Ok, rope won’t hold a stone that large securely, and we don’t want it to break and trap us inside. These vines, however, are incredibly strong. Eiko, can you cut up some long strands and plait them together. Jet, you try to find some sturdy branches so we can raise it enough to thread the vines around it.” Jet raised his eyebrows.

 

“Why would I want to go to all that trouble when I can just lift it enough with Elven magic?” Geno crossed his arms.

 

“Well, if you’re that good, why don’t you just move the stone with your magic?” Jet replied calmly.

 

“Because the amount of energy used doing that would probably kill me.” Geno was at a loss for words momentarily.

 

“Fine, well, um, you help Eiko and me plait these vines.”

 

 

After an hour of tedious work, two vine ropes were ready. Geno took the end of one, and I took the other end. I glanced at Jet, who was deep in concentration. He stood motionless, and I turned my attention to the stone. Slowly, it rose, about an inch from the base. Swiftly, me and Geno slipped the rope underneath. Equally as quickly, we took the other rope and put it underneath ninety degrees angled from the first.

 

Checking to make sure the ropes were still in place, we signalled to Jet that he could drop the stone. It fell heavily and Jet staggered sideways. I ran over to steady him. He recovered momentarily, and we put the final stage of the plan into action. Tying the two ropes securely together, the end was thrown over a sturdy branch of an oak tree. Taking a deep breath, the Elf and the man took a secure hold of the rope, before throwing all of their weight on it. With painful slowness the stone rose. They kept hauling on the rope, so the stone was dangling a good three metres above the hole. At this point, I took the end of the rope and tied it securely to the tree trunk. The guys let go of it, and the stone fell half a metre, before hanging securely in place. Exchanging smiles, we took our first steps into the ruins.

 

END OF PART 5