They had gone north for days, hopeful of finding the base that Collin had mentioned, but with him in his present condition, there was no way to tell where they were to go. All they could do was travel on and hope that Collin awakened soon.
It was the fifth day that they had been traveling. That evening they would try and find food and landmarks to go by, but none were very hopeful.
Collin slowly opened his eyes but did not move. Dying sunlight warmed his cheeks where he lay on the ground. Sitting up quietly Collin could see that he was alone. Well, almost alone.
“So your awake?” the wanderer asked from behind him.
“Where is everyone?” Collin asked.
“Out hunting for firewood, food, and any land marks.” she said, “You see, we’re a little lost.” Collin blinked and sat up the rest of the way, thinking of an answer.
“How long have I slept?”
“Nearly two days.”
“I see…” he chewed his lip thinking harder, “What direction have we been traveling in?”
“Due north... We think…” The wanderer said. Collin’s face clouded. They should have reached the Arean base by this time. Apparently she was thinking the same thing.
“So just how far inside the Iyokian border is this base?” she asked. Collin didn’t answer because at that moment he spotted the others wandering back towards them.
“Hey! Collin!” Will called. “Welcome back.”
“Are you feeling better?” Tella asked then added, “Because your tiresome to carry around.”
“Huh, its not like you every carried him.” Will commented. Tella glared at him in return. Demus merely smiled and offered Collin some food.
“Hey, by the way, I saw something kind of weird when I was out looking or food.” Tella said. “It was some kind of big stone ruin or something, looked really old.”
“A ruin?” Will asked.
“Do you know of it?” Tella asked.
“Well, I’m not exactly sure where in Iyokia we may be, but the Kal del Fin is in southwest Iyokia… If that’s it then we’re in land way to much…”
“What’s the Kal del Fin?” the wanderer asked.
“It’s an old ruin from ancient times. I think it was build in honor of the mind of our world, Minerva…” Will said. “They say it’s really impressive.”
“Well, the thing I saw wasn’t all that impressive, besides it being big and crumbly.” Tella said.
“Let’s go see this ruin. “ Demus said. “You do remember where it is, Tella?”
“Of course!” Tella said looking offended.
“Are you still tired Collin?” Demus asked. Collin shook his head.
“I’m fine.” He said. “I want to come too.”
“Alright.” Tella said getting up, “I’ll show you guys where it is.”
They walked about a mile before the trees thinned out enough to see the beginnings of the ruin. It was indeed crumbly as Tella had said but it was still rather impressive. The main structure was constructed of a beautiful white stone with veins of blue minerals running through it. Columns ran up the sides of the structure, broken as they were with piles of their former glory scattered all around them.
“This is defiantly Kal del Fin.” Will said staring at it.
“It is beautiful.” Demus said. The wanderer nodded and stooped down to examine a near by stone chunk. Collin wandered closer to the structure eyeing it. He walked into the center of the structure and glanced around the columns.
“Hey, be careful in there. It might come down on top of you.” Will called to him. Collin didn’t answer. He looked slightly startled by something and drew out his compass and laid it down on the ground.
“These columns match up with the directions on the compass exactly.” Collin said looking up. “Come see.” The group wandered over to where he was standing and looked down at the compass.
“Huh, they do, don’t they?” Will said looking around.
“But I didn’t think such technology existed back in the days when Kal de Fin was built.” Demus said.
“It didn’t.” Collin confirmed.
“Maybe they used the stars.” The wanderer suggested. “In my world there were many ancient temples that had thing like this, where they would match up to stars, or the corners would be exactly lined up with the compass. Most people think they used the stars to do it.”
“Huh, that doesn’t explain this.” Collin said walking over to one of the columns. He pulled out his measuring triangle he had been using to chart their position and held it up to the column and the floor. “It’s a perfect right angle. Now how did they pull that off? They couldn’t have had such advanced math principals to do that. This was build thousands of years ago, and such things have only come around in the last couple of hundred years. Not only that, but Iyokia was inhabited by savages and they knew nothing to things like this. Even today, Hailia and Betamy have almost no advanced technology compared to this.”
“We have a few things.” Tella muttered.
“Savages? Hmph.” Will said taking offense. “You’re just comparing their culture to yours. And just because you can’t understand their culture doesn’t mean they were savages.” Collin shrugged at this.
“What I want to know is where they got this stone from.” Demus said bending down to look at it.
“That’s always been a mystery.” Will said. “The stone around here is just plain sandstone, nothing like this. This is like marble…”
“There are mountains around here, aren’t there? Couldn’t the marble have come from there?” Tella asked. Will shook his head.
“The mountains are northward a couple of hundred miles. Even if there is marble in the mountains they would have had to mine it out and transport it across hundreds of miles of jungle.” He said. “And it took a lot of marble to build this thing.”
“Mm… It’s almost dark. Are we going to camp here?” the wanderer asked.
“I guess so. Although, I bet this ruin is really creepy at night. I wouldn’t object if we moved back a mile or so.” Tella said.
“Do we have to?” Collin asked. “I like it here.”
“Oh, your just tired and don’t want to walk.” Tella complained.
“No I’m not!” Collin said sticking his tongue out at her.
“Well I am tired of walking.” Will said.
“Me too.” The wanderer said, “Let’s just camp here.”
“You don’t think there are ghosts here do you Tella?” Demus said smiling.
“Oh shut up, all I said was it would be creepy around here at night.”
“Ah, I wouldn’t make light of the ghosts, they might hear.” Will said.
“I think we’re far enough into Iyokia that we can light a fire…” Will said, “That is if you want to… It’s a little hot now, but it gets kind of cool…”
“I wonder if Mahito is following us…” Tella said. “I wonder if he even knows where we went.”
“I doubt it.” Demus said. “Don’t you think he would have shown himself to us by now if he were?”
“I hope we never see him again…” Collin said sleepily.
“Collin, do you have any idea where the base is in relation to this ruin?” Demus asked. Collin shrugged.
“I saw the base on maps my master had.” Collin said. “from what I can remember it wasn’t far into Iyokians boarder but… we haven’t come to it yet…”
“Maybe the maps weren’t proportioned right.” Will said. “Iyokia is a strange country… Some say it likes to play with traveler's minds.”
“That’s foolish. Countries don’t have wills of their own.”
“But the deities that rule them do.” Will said glancing at him. Collin shrugged unwilling to argue.
“Ha, listen to Will, the expert on theology.” Tella laughed. Will grinned in response.
“Well, we have to find this base.’ The wanderer said. “Otherwise we’ll wander around Iyokia forever and it won’t take Mahito long to figure out where we’ve gone.
“That’s right.” Tella said.
“It seems to me that the base was surrounded by something…” Collin said. “But the map I was looking at was kind of weird and colored strangely…”
“What kind of map was it?” Tella asked. “If the colors were weird maybe it was someone’s interpretation of something…”
“It kind of looked like an island in the middle of the country... Like a lake? But it was near the boarder…”
“There is a large lake north west a long way off, but nothing like that near here.” Will said. “But… We do have islands… off the coast of the sea… And they aren’t too far form the Hailian border… Could this island in the middle of land really be an island in the middle of water?”
“Most islands are surrounded by water…” Tella muttered.
“Maybe… I’m sorry it was a long time ago… I was young and didn’t know much about reading maps…” Collin admitted.
“And we’ve been taking advice from you… So who is more foolish?” Tella asked.
“Well, the islands aren’t really all that far from Kal de Fin. We just need to travel south east a bit and we’ll be to the coast.” Will smiled. “You all might see where I lived once. My house is near the coast where we’ll come out.”
“Huh, so you actually lived in Iyokia once?” Tella asked. Will nodded.
“I lived with my mother in a little shack, but I can’t really remember much about it, except where it was. Uncle used to take me there to visit.”
“Does you mother still live there?” the wanderer asked. Will shook his head.
“She died when I was four and I moved in with Uncle on the boat.”
“That must have been around the time Iyokia collapsed.” Demus said. Will nodded.
“Well, I’m gong to sleep.” Tella announced.
“Me too.” The wanderer said. “We’ve been walking all day and the day before that and… Oohh, will we ever get there?”
“Some day.” Will said.
“Well, its not so bad.” Demus said. “I’d much rather it be like this, where we don’t meet any enemies.”
“Yeah.” Collin said. Will moved off a little ways into the darkness out of view before lying down.
“Why are you sleeping all the way over there?” Tella asked. Will shrugged.
“I’m gonna keep the ghosts away.” He said.
“Ok. Keep them over there.” Tella said and closed her eyes.
“I want to look at the ruin some more.” Collin said getting up.
“Do you mind if I come with you?” Demus asked. “I’d like to look at it myself.” Collin stiffed but nodded.
“Sure.” He said and moved away toward the ruins. Demus followed silently. Tella rolled over and pulled a map out of their pack.
“I wonder where we are?” she asked studying it.
“I thought you were tired.” The wanderer said opening her eyes.
“I am, but first I wanted to look at this. Hmm…” she sighed. “I wonder what the Areans want with us? I mean, if they wanted us all dead, then why didn’t Mahito kill you and Will? And he could have killed Collin with that remote thing, but he just knocked him out. What are they after?”
“I think Mahito wants my staff.” The wanderer said.
“Well, yes, it’s a talisman, but that still doesn’t explain it…”
“He might have killed Will, if Will hadn’t escaped…” the wanderer mused. Tella shrugged.
“I’m still not convinced. And me, he could have killed me back in that clearing when I met him with Collin… You’d think I’d be more valuable to the Areans dead.”
“Well, next time we meet Mahito you can ask him.” The wanderer said sleepily.
“I guess…”
“What do you want now?” Fairien asked as Will gazed him with big inquisitive eyes.
“Where does the stone come from, that they used to build Kal de Fin?” Will asked.
“You don’t need to know.” Fairien replied.
“Oh come on! Please tell me!”
“I didn’t think simple sailors tried to fathom the mysteries of the world.” Fairien teased. Will pouted indignantly.
“So what if I’m intrested? Hmm… Don’t I get any perks for carrying your spirit around inside me?”
“We’ll talk about perks later.” Fairien said folding his arms.
“Its not fair.” Will sighed.
“Your right… But that’s life.” Fairien said smiling at his companion.
“Demus…” Collin said as they walked toward the ruin. “I’ve been wanting to ask you… umm… That night, when I looked in the mirror, I can’t remember what I saw or anything really after that, but I do remember that you were there and that I talked to you… Ah, did I say anything about my master?” Demus paused silently contemplating how he should answer.
“Why do you wish to know?” he asked, already knowing the answer, just trying to buy some more time to think.
“I-I must have known then what happened to him… But I don’t remember… Please what did I say? I know I must have mentioned it. I must have. I can almost remember it…”
“I don’t think I should tell you Collin.” Demus said. Collin stared up at him, hurt and angry, “The knowledge was taken from you for a reason. If I were to restore it… No. I’m sorry.”
“You have to tell me!” Collin cried. “I must know! I must!” but Demus shook his head.
“I’m sorry.”
“I’ll find out eventually. It’s cruel to keep it from me like this.” Collin said.
“You sound as though you know already. What need of me do you have?”
“But you know! You do!” Collin cried out angrily. “They say ignorance is bliss… But it’s hell.” They had come to the ruin by now. It was dark and shady. Tella would not have liked all the dark corners and glinting eyes that shone from the darkness. Demus touched the sword that hung on the side of his waist and cast a light spell, creating a small globe of light to hover above them. Collin sat down and gazed remorsefully at Demus’s light spell.
“I can’t do that you know.” Collin said. “I can’t channel magic through an object. Everyone else has to, but I have to channel it through my hands. I don’t know if you’ve noticed.” Demus merely nodded.
“I’ve never heard of anyone who could do that.”
“I’m the only one… Except for one other….” Collin gritted his teeth painfully. “…Mahito. He can use magic without channeling, though I think he usually holds something so it won’t look so odd to others…”
“You don’t seem to like him.” Demus said.
“Mmmm…” Collin looked away. “Maybe I don’t.”
“Did he have a quarrel with your master?” Demus asked.
“… You could say that.” Collin answered. Demus frowned, picking up on something in Collin’s expression.
“I apologize. It is none of my business.” Demus said quietly.
“You’re right about that.” Collin said, but he didn’t really have any malice in his voice. Just weariness. The sat in silence a moment before Collin spoke again.
“The…The others told me that you were a prince of Hailia.” Collin said. Demus reluctantly nodded. “Basilicus the III…”
“Yes.” Demus was about to try and avoid the subject, but paused and looked down at Collin. He didn’t want to tell him anything, but the child needed something to distract him… And maybe he would benefit from the story…
“Are you curious about my past?” Demus asked. Collin was silent a moment, not quite sure how to answer.
“I-I guess… I mean, I’ve heard the stories of-”
“Demus the murderer?” Demus asked. Collin nodded.
“I’ll start before that.” Demus said. “…About… nine years ago I guess, Hailia was invaded by the Area army. Decorates, our chief city fell to them. Even though few were killed Hailia cried in outrage that such a thing could happen… and many sought revenge. I was one of them, the prince at the time, one of the few members of the royal family to avoid being assonated during that year. I gathered as many Hailians together as I could and I staged an attack on a small Arean village near the border. It wasn’t much, but we felt it was all we could to avenge our country.” Demus sighed, wondering how Collin would take this part of his story…
“We burned that village and killed all we could find. Only afterwards, while I watched my men, did I realize what a sick thing we had done. I was degusted with myself to the point of wanting to end my life. I knew that nothing I could do would ever make up for what I had done… not only had I killed those people, but I had wounded the souls of my companions, giving them the chance, firing them up, setting their minds to murder… I ran away from them. I hid in Hailia’s depths and changed my name to Demus…. my mind was not quite right then… As punishment to myself I killed any who came near me, even my own people… That is how I earned the name Demus, the murderer.”
“Ahh…” Collin said softly.
“After awhile, the insanity drained… And I became just a hermit in the woods….” Demus said sighing. “And then, I saw all of you in my woods.”
“I’m glad you didn’t kill us.”
“Well… I am too… I told you, I’d given up the habit by then anyway.” Collin smiled slightly at this and jumped down from the stone he had been perched on.
“Thank you for telling me about yourself.” He said politely. “I think I’ll go to sleep now.” Demus nodded.
“That’s probably a good idea. We’ve got a long way to go tomorrow…” Demus said. Collin nodded and walked back toward camp. The night darkened as Demus let his light spell die.
It seemed like Iyokia’s jungles would go on forever, and as they proceeded deeper in it grew hotter. Will promised they were going towards the coast and that it would get a little cooler as the cold air over the sea blew inland.
The air did get cooler and the trees thinned out until one day Will laughed and started running down the path ahead of them, intent on something. His companions followed, curious to his odd behavior. They came out of the trees and looked out across a clear open space where a shack stood on a hill overlooking the sea. Will stood in front of it looking in.
“Is this your house?” Tella asked. Will nodded.
“There are shacks like these all along the coast, but this is mine…” Will lingered a moment in silence then turned cheerfully to them and said,
“If I remember right, there is a boat down by the sea line. We can take that to the islands. They aren’t very far. And if this base is very big, then there are only a few islands that it could be on.”
“Do you know the names?” Collin asked. “I might could remember which one if I heard the names…”
“I know the Iyokian names, whatever map you saw was probably Arean, and they may have different names for them… But lets see… Theirs Del Sol, and… Isla Pescar and Chiko and Chika…” Collin frowned.
“Well… I wouldn’t say anything for sure, but what about Del Sol, is it very big?”
“Yeah, it’s the biggest. You all want to go there first?” he asked.
The descended down the steep eroded dune hills. Will showed them the boat house a shack in better repair than Will’s house but still a shack. Inside it held one boat, a rather old row boat, but it was at least large enough.
“Will this thing actually float?” Tella asked looking skeptically at the boat.
“Of course. The is the Kapino boat, and its seen worse than this.”
“… That’s not very reassuring.” Tella complained.
“It will get us there.” Will said. “We don’t have any plan of coming back anyway, right?”
“No. We find the base and transport into Area.” Tella said. “I just hope your right, Collin about it being on an island. So far your directions have left something to be desired…”
“I’m sorry.” Collin muttered just as annoyed with himself.
The set the boat out in the water, piled in and cast off.
“Is that it there?” Demus asked after they had been rowing a few minutes. Will nodded.
“I told you it wasn’t very far but…” he sniffed. “We’d better get there soon… I smell a storm.”
“you smell a storm?” Tella asked.
“what does a storm smell like?” the wanderer asked.
“Like… It’s sharp and wet… And… dark...” Will said.
“Dark?” Tella asked. “You’re just weird. Iyokians think they know everything about the world because they can smell a little better than some people…”
“Oh, your just miffed Betamians didn’t get anything special.” Collin said.
“Yeah, apparently the spirit of the planet didn’t think you guys needed anything special.” Will said laughing at her.
“Do you really think it will storm Will?” the wanderer asked. Will nodded.
“There aren’t any cloud but you give it about two minutes. Clouds come up quickly around here and when they do you better be off the sea.”
Will spoke truly for within a few minutes dark clouds had built above them, growing darker and more ominous by the moment. But they were close to the island now, and just as the boat hit the sand, the clouds broke and rain pelted down upon them. Will dragged the boat up onto the shore and turned it upside down under some trees.
“Come on, we’ll move further inland.” Will called.
“But we’ll be under trees.” The wanderer said anxiously, “what if the lightening strikes the tree we’re under?” Will shrugged and ran up a path into the woods.
“Funny,” he called, “I don’t remember this path.”
“The base might be here…” Collin said. “If so, we can get shelter there.”
“If no one is home…” Tella said. They ran up the path, their feet getting muddy and the rain drenching them, even with the cover of the trees. It was cold now, and they were shivering as they ran onward. As they came up a hill Collin called out to them to stop.
“See there?” he asked pointing to a tall light post. It was metal and the light at the top was off. “Bases use pole like that to tell if someone is present in the base. When the light is off, that means no one is there.”
“Alright.” The wanderer said. “So the base is near?”
“I believe its there.” Demus said pointing beyond the trees. “See it there, in all that foliage?”
“I’ll go first.” Collin said, “And make sure that there really isn’t anyone there.”
“Wait a minute,” Tella said, “What if your lying? What if the light out means they are there and your going to go tell them about us?” Collin glared at her.
“Come on Tella.” Demus said. “Not now.”
“It doesn’t matter.” Collin said angrily, his cheeks flushed, “It you all want to come with me and take the chance of being seen that’s fine. I was just trying to be helpful.” With that he set off for the base. Will glared at Tella and shook his head.
“Come on Tella, for once be civil to him.” He pleaded. “Have a little faith in people.”
“You can’t have faith in Areans.” Tella said glaring back at him. “Don’t be deceived by his cute little kid face. Collin wants to kill us. That’s why he’s following us you all seem to want to forget that.”
“Having faith in someone isn’t the worst thing you can do in the world.” Demus said.
“… Trusting people…” Tella said, “Even people you know very well, it can be dangerous and stupid.”
“So you don’t trust us?” Will asked.
“Shut up Will!” Tella shouted. “You don’t know anything about the world so just stay out of it. You shouldn’t even be here.” Will flinched and looked angrily back a Tella.
“There isn’t anyone here.” Collin called to them from the top of the hill.
“…I’m going to get out of the rain…” Demus said and headed toward the base. The wanderer glanced at Will and Tella and then silently followed Demus.