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THE ROOT OF DARKNESS BOOK TWO: JACK AND THE QUEEN OF GIANTS
JACK"Jack! Pass the ball here!"One of the other orphans shouts in my direction, over the noise of the market. The rattle and the din. The clomp of horse shoes and the cackle of chickens.I barely hear him, since the trader with the bulging belly to my left loudly haggles over the price of his bread with a customer.My eyes fall briefly on the round, soft rolls of bread lining the wooden stall, and I briefly wonder if I can borrow a fat loaf for Aunt back home. The thought distracts me for a second, but that's more than enough time for another kid to attempt to tackle the ragged ball from my foot.Years of playing kickball in the rowdy kingdom market makes my reflexes sharp, and I easily move away."Come on, Jack! Over here!"I kick the ball, and it barely missed a woman who promptly curses me out. I am grinning when a kid with prominent ribs and dirty skin catches the ball.However, that grin is immediately wiped off my face when yells erupt from an alley to the right. It can only b
THE ROOT OF DARKNESS TWENTY-EIGHT
The sounds of banging against the wooden door is what rouses me from my slumber. I blink the sleep from my eyes, and uncurl myself from my sleeping corner.Bang! Bang! Bang!"Open up in the name of his Majesty, the king!" A male voice yells outside.I let out a groan and stretch out my limbs, then brush the lint out of my dark hair. I cannot find the strip of cloth I always tie my shoulder-length hair back with, so I let it be and go ahead to yank the door open.The daylight filters in through the dank wood, and I pull the door open wider. Two guards stand in front of the cottage, menacing and rigid."We are the royal guards. Submit your taxes, you are far behind on your payments." One of the guards says stoically.I resist the urge to grimace at them. They always insist on introducing themselves each time they come for taxes, despite the fact that their attire definitely shows that they work for the king.I straighten up and tell them the same words I said during their last few visit
THE ROOT OF DARKNESS TWENTY NINE
I watch the knights going in pursuit of the man on my donkey, and rapidly realizes the situation. The strange, shifty man is a thief. He broke into the King's vault of magical items and stole some seeds.I glance down at the satchel again.These seeds.They are indeed magical, from the castle and even belongs to the King. If they be so precious, why did he steal them, only to give them to me in exchange for a donkey?I tie the satchel up and place it into my rougher satchel, along with the five copper pieces.I decide to keep them, for they have to be as priceless as the man claims if so many royal guards are in desperate pursuit. Then, I think about aunt, and the 30 copper pieces I have to deliver to her.The guards will return tomorrow for our debt, and we have nothing else to sell. Our cow is too useful to be put for sale just yet.Telling her such a story is sure to be disappointing and will paint me as a reckless, gullible young lad. But I have no choice. I have to repeat the man
THE ROOT OF DARKNESS THIRTY
Those odd seeds still linger in my dreams when I suddenly jolt awake.I am disoriented for a second, before I realized what had roused me from earlier than planned. It was because of the strange rumbling sounds filling my ears.There are strange vibrations from the floor of the cottage, to match the rumbling sounds. I frown, watching the door rattle in it's hinges as the vibrations grow in intensity.In alarm, I shoot up to my feet, feeling the floor shake slightly under me. For the life of me, I can not figure out what the cause of this could be, so I hurry to the door.Throwing the shaking door open, I step outside to see three guards atop three mighty horses, galloping towards our little cottage. The horses hooves strike the ground with such power, that I feel the vibrations where I stand.The rumbling sounds only come from the horses hooves and their galloping.I sigh to myself,"These darn guards could not even wait till we are properly awake before barging in on us."The guards
THE ROOT OF DARKNESS THIRTY ONE
My hands tremble after an hour of persistent climbing. The stalk seemed to have no end. The farther I climb, the farther the top seems to get. I could only see what I assume to be the top of the giant plant, piercing through a sea of clouds so far up above.A strong wind blows against me, rattling my ropes and causing my hair to whip behind me. I hold fast, digging my knife into the thick stalk. My shirt is paper thin against the harshness of the elements up here, but I can only grit my teeth and continue.Up here, the wind is unrestricted and strong enough to knock one off any footholds. I do not intend to let that happen, anyway.The wind eventually dies down, and I let out a tired breath, continuing the torturous and hazardous climb. My fingers are bright red and raw from gripping tightly at the knife and ropes. I have tied the knife tightly to my arm with the ropes, so it does not fall back down to the ground if my hold slips.My toes burned from gripping on to precarious grooves
THE ROOT OF DARKNESS THIRTY TWO
"That's enough for today. We covered great a distance. I would not suggest you look down, because we are at such an unbelievable height. I don't want anyone getting faint." Sir Victor announces.I ignore him and look down, but I can not even see much of what lay below because it is already nightfall. And again, we are so far up that our eyes can not simply take the strain of trying to identify anything on back in the ground.A ghoulish thought crosses my mind, wondering if one would be dead in the air before they even reach the ground should they fall from this height.The last of the light is rapidly vanishing from the sky, and I have to focus harder on where I place my foot to avoid slipping.Sir Berret glances around us, and draws our attention to a fork in the part of the stalk right above us. It branches out into a sturdy stem with giant, strong leaves that don't even move with the wind."We can spend the night there, lads. Move your arse up there, Jack, we are running out of twi
THE ROOT OF DARKNESS THIRTY THREE
Three days.Three days to break the thick sheet of clouds hovering around the top of the giant plant like a mist. We persist through the fog like mad men, losing the strength to even talk.Every breath is precious in the thin air, and every step higher, drains our strengths faster than our barely existent food supply can replenish. Despite our strict rationing of hard bread and stale water, there is nothing left in our satchels."Ah! I can barely feel my back anymore!"It is Sir Berret who exclaims, his voice hoarse with exhaustion.I glance sideways at him, barely seeing him through the fog. I croak back,"I can't feel mine either. Only the pain in my fingers guide me. I reckon if I take my gloves off and see the state of my fingers, I would definitely faint and lose my balance."Sir Victor let out an exhausted wheeze that he probably intends to be laughter."Look on the bright side, lads. We are about to break the clouds. Look up!"I look up and a relieved smile stretch my parched l
THE ROOT OF DARKNESS THIRTY FOUR
I am still lost in the formless world of dreams and drowsiness when a sudden series of shouts and yells barges into my ears.Jolting, my eyes fly open as a familiar course of adrenaline runs through me. It is a familiar feeling. I have felt that a hundred times during the climb up the beanstalk, when I startle awake in the dead of the night thinking I was falling to my doom.Each night on the giant beanstalk brought a different kind of fear. The fear of my ropes snapping. The fear of the strong winds blowing me off my perch. The fear of suffocating in the thin air. The fear of slipping on plant sap.The fear of losing my blade, the last thing I have of my father.It was a treacherous sensation.And that fear is exactly what I feel right now, as I scramble on the pile of leaves I was lying on, squinting up at the sight before me."Don't move, you slimy intruder!"A bark shoots in my direction, followed by the whiny ring of a steel sword pointed at me threateningly. My heart thunders as
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- THE ROOT OF DARKNESS
CHAPTER SIXTY-TWO
The urge to turn down Korn's invitation wad strong as I'd remembered Lord Nova's advise about Korn seeing me as a threat if he got to know about the power I wielded. But, I didn't have the boldness to do so. "The tale is bound to bore you, my king" "Trust me, Xagrel. This is a tale I'm well invested in no matter how boring it might appear to be" "If you say so, my king" A grin spreads across Korn's face."Then shall we?" I nod. Turning to face Xandos, I say. "Thank you for the clothes and for giving me a roof over my head. I'll be heading back with king Korn now" "Will you be back?" "I wil-" "He might not" Korn interjects. "I need my slave around me at all times if you get what I mean, Xandos" Xandos bows his head. "As you wish, my king. Do arrive safely back to the palace" "I will as always, Xandos" Korn extends his hands towards me. "Your hand; we're going on a very short ride" Placing my hands over Korn's, he teleports us to a strange and eerie place that re
- THE ROOT OF DARKNESS
CHAPTER SIXTY-ONE
"First we can't have you work on an empty stomach" Xandos states, leading us to the center of his living room. "So help yourself with breakfast" I glanced around the empty space buy see nothing. "There's nothing here" Xandos chuckles. "It seems like your sharp reflexes ended in the bedroom. You didn't notice it when you first walked in here last night so I assumed maybe it's because it was dark but that doesn't seem to be the case" Xandos points up at the ceiling. "Look up" Following his hand direction, I gaze up to see a well- rounded brown table suspended mid-air yet remains stable and secure. From where I stood, I couldn't see the top of the table but ethereal glowing moonlight hovered around it. The leg of the table was crafted to resemble curved wings with intricate carvings woven around it. The table almost seemed...alive. "Do you think you have what it takes to make it to the table top?" Xandos questions bringing me back to reality. I was determined to mak
- THE ROOT OF DARKNESS
CHAPTER SIXTY
His words made me feel warmth all over for some strange reason. "Why would you want to help someone like me?" "Because I can't have you messing with lives again" He replies as a matter of fact. "You said earlier you don't have a distrinct to stay in. Would you like to follow me home?" "Home?. You live alone?" "Of course I do" He responds. "I'm the last of my kind that's why immediately I felt the balance of time being messed with I knew it was an outsider doing such as there are no chrono mages in Eridoria yet" As he leads the way to his home, I inquired. "What is your name, by the way? I don't know how to address you" "You can call me Xandos" "Nice to meet you, Xandos. I'm Xagrel" Xandos gives me a disapproving look. "I hope you are more eager to train than you are to know my name" "We're here; home" Xandos announces as we stand infront of a swirling blue vortex. "Brace yourself up" He advised stepping into the vortex. I followed suite not knowing why Xandos had
- THE ROOT OF DARKNESS
CHAPTER FIFTY-NINE
"How did you do it?" The talking wall inquires in awe, staring at the now brightly lit room. "You didn't have any expectations of me, did you?" I shake my head. "Just like how I'd figured out a way to reach the magic book without lights, you should figure out how I'd managed to do this" Waving at the wall, I grinned wider. "See you around" Turning on the door knob, I stroll out of the door shaped shelf; re-entering the entrance of the book store. Still wearing the grin on my face, I walked over to the talking wall whom looked displeased. "I see you've outdone yourself" It commends. "You've proven me wrong" "You don't need to turn yourself into a stone" I assure. "I didn't intend to take on this challenge to get something out of it" "I know" It responds. "My brother and I are not just magical talking walls. We can read people's mind as well and so does magic" "People whom have pure desires and intentions just like you do tend to receive magic alot more faster than oth
- THE ROOT OF DARKNESS
CHAPTER FIFTY-EIGHT
The interior of the bookstore gave an eerie feeling as it was dimly lit with flickering candles. Walking down the aisle, the path leads to numerous bookshelves that were shaped like a door. Those bookshelves had no walls on them. "How can we help you?" A voice inquires, startling me. Turning sideways towards the direction of the voice, I come face to with a talking wall. Swallowing deep, I inquired. "Do you run this place?" "The store owner is out for some couple of days" The wall replies. "We don't know when she'll be back" "We?" The wall clears his throat, probably annoyed. "I take it that you are new then. What can I help you with?" "I'm looking for a book that can help me learn magic" There was silence before the wall lets out a deep hearty laughter. "Magic isn't just for anyone to learn, boy. If that were to be the case, I'd be a talking human not a talking wall" "You've come to the wrong place so see yourself out" The wall concludes. Anger coursed through
- THE ROOT OF DARKNESS
CHAPTER FIFTY-SEVEN
Do I want to take a look into my future?. What if it doesn't have Ophelia in it? Was I ready to face that kind of future?. "I would like to politely decline, Lord Nova" "Why? You're not brave enough?" Lord Nova closes his outstretched hands. "You need to work on your courage, Xagrel or else you are never going to grow even with the kind of power you wield" I furrow my brow, confused. "What sort of power do I weild, Lord Nova?" "That's for you to find out when you are ready to" Lord Nova alights from the bed. "Your leg is all healed up. You may leave now" Alighting from the bed, I bow my head at Lord Nova. "Thank you for your wise words" "Wise words without actions remains empty words, Xagrel. Choose wisely" Exiting the tent, I gazed around for Ryker but he was nowhere to be seen. I was a bit disappointed as I'd expected him to be waiting for me outside. I guess he meant it when he said we weren't 'close yet' Just then, I hear a loud scream coming not so faraway from wher
- THE ROOT OF DARKNESS
CHAPTER FIFTY-SIX
How did I know that my senses had been awakened?. That's because the light emitting from the strange artifact blinded my eyes so badly that the box had fallen from my hands. But just before the box could touch the ground; time stops and reverses settling the box back in my hands. "What the-" I say, bewildered. "M..o..v..e" came the giant's voice pushing me out of the way as they uproot a tree onto their shoulders. But do you know what was insane? The fact that I was pushed by a giant but wasn't moved from where I was standing. As if I suddenly had a strength par with a giant. I chuckled over my absurd thought. "That can't be right. Maybe the giant didn't push me hard enough" My gaze lingers at the giants as they go about uprooting more trees from their root as an idea creeps into mind. Placing the strange artifact back into it's box and tucking it into my pocket, I moved to stand infront of a tree exhaling deeply. "Here goes nothing" Placing my hands at either side
- THE ROOT OF DARKNESS
CHAPTER FIFTY-FIVE
Witch Lyrik smack the back of my head head. "It's king Korn to you" I was having a hard time wrapping my head around everything; this new world development, Korn as king, the witch similarity to my manager. If I was in a different world with the people here similar to those in my past life, if everyone truly upgraded one way or another; why was I still ranked as a slave?. The lowest of all lows. Tightening my fist, I apologize." I apologize for calling you with disrespect, my king" "Apology accepted but you will be punished for trying to flee from me" Korn declares. "The question here is; In what way?. How about I do so by turning your little sister to one of my concubines" My eyes widened at the mention of my my sister. How had I almost forgotten that if Korn could be in this world so could my sister, Ophelia. "Please.."I plead, rubbing my hands against one another. "Not my sister. I'll do anything" "You will do anything I want whether you like it or not" King Korn co
- THE ROOT OF DARKNESS
CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR
In a split second, my eyes flash before my eyes and I felt regretful. Regretful for having lived a life that had no meaning whatsoever, regretful for having allowed Korn bully me out of my workplace, regretful for having exchanged harsh words with my mother. If only I could have a second chance...but then, would I do things differently?. I wouldn't know until I get that chance. "Damn, my head" I wince in pain, rising up to my feet while placing my hands on my head. Then, I remember that I wasn't even supposed to be alive. "What is going on?" Taking a look around my surrounding, I find myself in a place that I couldn't recognize. Surrounding me were high mountains whose peak were hovered glistening light. Water falls freely down the side of the mountain into a river of clear sliver water that flowed into a riverbank. There were different species of flower dancing freely by the bottom of the mountain. "What in the world is this place?" I questioned, filled with amuse
