Charles gently stroked the side of Ellie’s head. She’d finally fallen asleep. Her fragile form lay hidden under a large pile of well-worn blankets inside the old man’s cart. During the morning, he’d taken a turn at the reins and quickly decided that engines were far less temperamental.
Maze looked pleased to have another driver for once and had a short rest himself. Within a few hours, they had passed through the outer gate of the Sorina province. Maze had told him it was called the Bran Wall, and it stretched far into the north, eventually connecting with the massive outer walls of Brancourt city.
Within the boundary of the Bran wall, nestled a land of shallow hills and fertile farmland. The high stone walls kept out the scavengers of the wilderness, protecting the produce that fed the city.
The further they moved through the farmland, the smoother the road became and after an hour, the cartwheels turned effortlessly down the narrow road. To either side lay dense fields of wheat and what looked like oversized vegetables Charles had never seen. Sporadically, small paddocks with grazing livestock had appeared between the green field, here and there throughout the day.
Charles felt the cold bite of apprehension when he saw the animals. The bovine creatures looked unfamiliar and had broad sleek coats that hid most of their size. He shook that thought temporarily out of his mind and smiled down at Ellie as she slept. Her fingers still clutched the stone.
After a time, Maze momentarily rested the horse and allowed themselves a short break to stretch their legs. Charles didn’t have the heart to wake Ellie when he saw her curled up in the back of the cart. He was thankful that she was able to sleep for a few hours and had been anxious when he heard her murmured in her sleep.
With a caring hand, he drew his finger down the line of blood that had dried on Ellie's neck. He could not contain the flood of worry he felt. He gently withdrew his hand and crept away.
Maze was kneeling next to the front axle, inspecting a belt that held a few wooden cases under the driver's seat.
"She finally settling down?" Maze whispered while carefully unclasping a smaller belt.
"Yeah. She’s still in a bit of pain, I think."
"Sorry lad." Maze sighed. "I wish there’s something I could do to help, but I simply don’t know what’s wrong with her."
Charles nodded. "That's what I'm worried about."
"How’re her ears?"
Charles frowned and shook his head. "Not good," he answered, paused, and leaned on the wheel. "I just hope it’s not permanent. She’s been through enough, and now this."
"Let's both cross our fingers, then."
Charles nodded. "How far till we reach town?"
"Far. At least three times the distance from where I picked you up to here, I'm afraid." With a groan, Maze stood up. He scratched his grey beard and leaned to swipe a small box from the driver's seat.
"Maze," Charles said warily. "I need to ask you something."
"I know." Maze smiled at Charles's confusion. "Honestly, I thought you would be approaching me a lot sooner," he continued, pulling an ornate pair of clippers from his jacket and retrieving a small, dried plant from the box. He produced a flat wooden board that connected to a small cup and began to dice the contents.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean to say... You are obviously from another place entirely from this land. And you wish to know about the where's and why's of your predicament. Yes?" His fingers travelled effortlessly with perfect precision until the plant dissolved into a fine powder. With a quick flick, the cup dislodged from the board and was filled with a citrus scented liquid.
"Tell me did you happen to cross anything unusual before you appeared before me? Has anything come into your possession?"
Charles watched the man critically. "Thank you for helping us, but I'm not sure you’d believe me."
"Sometimes telling someone can help even if the truth’s hard to hear. I'm sure I’d be able to help further if you. Would only ask."
Charles sighed. "Well. Before we came to this place, we lived in a different,” Charles paused, answering carefully, “country. We somehow were in a house and then in a large stone ruin. I've seen this kind of thing before. Only in movies. I’ve never seen the creatures and plants we passed. Ever! If I had to make a guess, I would say that we’d travelled,” Charles hesitated once more in disbelief.
“Well, I haven't figured that part out yet, but I know one thing. This all started when my friend opened that book and then everything…"
"Book?" Maze interrupted. The old man's voice trembled with understanding.
Charles eyed Maze suspiciously. "Do you know something?"
He gave Charles a gentle smile. "I believe I do. You’re indeed much more intriguing than I’d originally thought." With a whirl of his finger, he stirred the concoction, glanced down and guzzled it down in one gulp. His hands then immediately shot up and released the cup skyward. It snapped and cracked open in a flash of blue light. Hundreds of sheets of parchment rippled from within, turning into a book before falling back into his expectant hands.
Charles felt a familiar shiver slide down the curve of his spine as his jaw dropped.
"Another one!" Charles gasped as he backed away.
Maze nodded with a grin. "This one has been in my possession for a very long time. The only pure magic in this world now days come from the Dread Ink held within the pages of event books. Now, please. Tell me what happened from the beginning."
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With apprehension, Charles began retelling the tale of his friends and the terrible monsters that had ravaged his homeland. He told Maze how everyone panicked, and the world fell apart. He spoke fondly of his best friend Karn and how the three of them stuck together and barely survived day by day.
Maze grew more interested the more Charles spoke. Especially when he mentioned his friend Karn and the name Theo.
When Charles continued his story of the old house and the attack from the creatures, his voice croaked. Finally, he told Maze about the finding of Karn’s book. When he started to describe the deep red colour of its covers and its metallic spine, Charles distinctly noticed Maze's features tense.
Somehow, the colour of the book unsettled the old man. He continued to tell the Maze about the sudden force and the odd feeling of sinking as the room fell into darkness. Maze sat quietly for a time, tapping a long finger on the spine of the blue book in his hands. Charles' attention fell from him as he too became lost in thought.
"Indeed." Maze broke the silence. "I believe I may know what has happened to you and your friend."
Charles looked at him expectantly. How could this old man even begin to understand? Maze's smile widened as he continued.
"Your beautiful friend back there has been touched by something in that book and the corruption has damaged her ears. I believe a summoning event has further caused her wounds to worsen.”
"Summoning event?"
“These books have the ability to replicate past events, so we refer all actions of the books as such. A Summoning event’s an ability to transport something or someone to the originator. Or the creator of the event. Since neither of the two of you are dead, I can make two easy presumptions. One is that your friend Karn is also alive although who knows for how long and the second is that the ladies hearing at least partially has been taken because of the corrupted event.”
"Will she be able to hear again?"
"I’m not certain, and it may depend on your friend's red book. If we can use it, we may be able to return her lost sense. But know this. If I'm right in both regards, then the man who cast the original event may not have received his intended prize. At least you three are alive. Just thank your lucky stars that you didn’t open the book..."
"Karn opened it."
Maze shot him another shocked look more intense than before, but no matter how he tried Charles could not decipher its meaning.
"He closed it and everything. That's when we ended up here."
"You two are absolutely fascinating and your friend, Karn, you say. He’s extraordinary. There are volumes you know. In fact, volumes of volumes of scripture written on the subject of that very book. I mean to say if your description is accurate. They all say the same thing. The book has been rumoured to cure any ailments and one touch of its covers can even heal the most grievous curses. However, to open the book with the blood red cover and metallic spine is to invite death upon the user. The power burns bright and incinerates the holder. Only one man has been known to be able to open it."
"Who has?"
"The King of old. King BalDrakkus." Maze spoke with an edge of regret in his voice.
"So, when we find Karn we should find this King fellow?"
Maze chuckled. "BalDrakkus is no longer with us.”
“Oh, I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. That was long ago. Though I must warn you, do not venture to meet the current King. That is, if you don’t want to die."
"Ok. Well, no thanks." Charles grimaced. "But wait, if no-one can use the book who will help us? Does that mean we can't help Ellie?"
Maze shook his head. "If indeed that is the right book, she would only need to touch the cover to make the events corruption be neutralised. Well, that’s the theory."
Charles let out a sigh of relief. "That's great."
"The only thing is you’ll need to find him." Maze patted Charles on the shoulder. "And I may help with that."
"You can?" Asked Charles.
"Well. Let's see!" Maze opened his own book and flipped through the pages. Charles peered down at the old paper but to his astonishment saw nothing written on it. That didn't stop Maze as he flipped page after page in quiet contemplation.
"What are you looking at?"
Maze didn't seem to hear Charles and continued to flip a few more pages then froze with a finger centred on yet another blank page.
"Ah here!" Maze spoke, grabbing Charles' idle arm and placing his outstretched hand where he had pointed. The skin of his fingers brushed the page and with a jolt the page was immediately filled with a dark pulsating ink.
"It’s Dread Ink Charles. You need to touch the page to see it." Maze smiled. “Read this."
He pushed the book towards Charles, encouraging him to hold it for himself.
Maze watched intently as Charles held the book and touched the page. Instantly, the parchment came to life. Moving letters and symbols appeared before him, revealing the secrets held within the bindings. A look of respect flashed over the old man’s face for the briefest of moments before Charles focused on the page.
"Connecting events?" Charles read. "To see a lifeline of the event and its historical path, speak of the event in words and thoughts, through the path of one of the participant's energy line. What does that mean?"
"It means press two fingers on the circle under the text here." Maze leaned over the cover and dragged Charles’ fingers down the page. "And picture the original event in your mind and speak your friend Karn's name."
Charles gave Maze an odd look. "Seriously?"
Maze nodded and let go of the page.
"So it’s a magical tracking system? That’s a neat trick." Charles asked, ignoring Maze's look of confusion.
His finger lightly brushed the page as his thoughts transported him back to the old house. He pictured Karn and the old book he’d found.
"Karn." Charles spoke clearly.
Fine strands of radiant light emanated from the book's pages, extending out into the distance. One beam shot off to his right, vanishing amidst the dense foliage of the trees. Two others ran parallel, stretching along the road they were currently traversing. A shiver of awe coursed through his body as he beheld the mesmerizing display of magic unfolding before him. The sheer power within his grasp left him spellbound.
Maze, placed his finger on the page, carefully examining the lines of light with a surprised look on his face.
"What do these mean?" Charles asked.
"Well," Maze said, then paused for a moment in thought. "That one," he pointed to the line of light that disappeared into the distant trees, "I would presume it leads to the one who originally cast the event. Most likely the King himself or one of his puppet event casters. And these two," he gestured towards the lines stretching towards their friend and the book, "would indicate the directions of your friend and the book. One line for each."
Charles's face lit up with excitement. "Awesome! So, we can find Karn?"
Maze nodded. "Yes, we can," he confirmed. “Say have you ever done something like this before?”
Charles couldn't contain his joy as a broad grin spread across his face. “No, why?
Maze shot him an apologetic shrug. “I was half expecting you to take at least a few tries before you managed to do anything, yet you instantly replicated the event perfectly.”
Charles shifted uncomfortably under the old man's praise. “It’s great that I know where Karn is,” he said, angling the subject away from himself.
Maze chuckled warmly, appreciating Charles's enthusiasm. "In fact, I am travelling in that same direction myself, and I would be more than willing to offer my help if you're willing to accept it."
Charles's gaze shifted between the enchanting lines of light and the book from which they emanated. The sheer power pulsating within them fascinated him, but he couldn't ignore the potential danger that they held.
Charles couldn't help but wonder what kind of person Maze was, willing to extend his magical abilities and aid to complete strangers so readily. It was a question that lingered in his mind as he observed the kind and weathered features on Maze's face.
Contemplating their situation, Charles realised that they had limited options. Reluctantly, he acknowledged that accepting Maze's help might be their only hope.