Chapter 2: Nikolai

After we well-rested that night, the dawn was upon us. We packed the tents and moved toward the Forbidden Land as I was looking around the forest. It was gloomy and dark and I can sense there was a force of nature to be reckoned with inside them.

"Do you think we still could back away from here?" Jeremy asked before I snickered.

"And what? Let others find it first? No way. This is my father's discovery and I will make sure his name will be known for it," I said before I nudged my horse forward. I looked around the forest as the sunlight was shaded from the trees. I can sense there was something calling for me inside here and it wanted to be discovered.

I'm coming for you, baby.

I pointed to get to the center of the old Winton. It was where my father was last sighted before his death on the next day. I don't know what caused it. Some said that it was an accident with the bandits in the area but I did not believe it.

Not until I have the evidence in my hands to prove that my father was killed by the bandits.

I pulled on my rein before I was getting to the ground. I was looking around the area, listening to any discrepancy at that moment. Logan stood next to me as if he was thinking about the same thing. The others have stopped talking altogether.

"Do you feel that?" I asked him as I was drawing my arrow from the quiver. If Logan was afraid, he did not show it. But he was looking around as if he would be ambushed by something.

"I don't know but I don't like this feeling down my spine," he mumbled before I was wandering deeper into the forest.

"Kolya, do not go too far," Harold told me before I was nodding at him. I was walking quietly as I could before I was looking around with my trained eyes. Whenever my father was not doing his expedition, we would go hunting together.

All the things that I know about hunting, I have to give all my credits to him.

I looked over the bushes before I was looking at the deer that ran away when I was getting out of the bush. I sighed a relief before I put my arrow back into my quiver and turned to look at my crew. I shook my head.

"It was nothing, just some old deer," I said, wanted to walk back from the bushes until something was calling me to look to my right. I turned and I cannot believe what I was looking at right now.

"No, it cannot be," my whisper said before I was running back to my horse and opening my pack to take the map that my father produced.

"What is it? What's going on?" Logan asked me as he was looking at my quickness before I was dashing against the bushes.

"Damn it, Kolya!" he shouted before the horses were coming after me. I did not think about anything until I was looking at the ruins that were in front of me. The pillars stood enormously in front of me as I was looking at the runes that were running through them. I breathed out as I was gripping the map before I laughed.

My father was right all along!

My crew stumbled as they were looking at the ruins as well.

"Damn!"

"Holy shit!"

"What the hell?!"

"Impressive."

"Oh, my gods!"

Their reactions were everything that I could ever hope for. I turned to look at them as I was shaking the map in my hand, the map that my father created for his expedition and everything that I could ever hope for.

"Still don't believe that I was right all along?" I patted Logan's chest before I was taking everything from my horse to start with the ritual that would fire up the ruins and then, everything will follow,

The Dark Realm will be discovered and my father's work will not be wasted.\

*****

6 candles were situated at each edge of the pentagram that I had drawn on the ground. It was a triangle overlaid with another triangle inside a circle. I breathed out before I was lighting the candles up.

The fire was flared to life.

I turned to look at my friends who were looking at me warily. We were in the middle of The Old Winton and no one was here to find out what we're doing right now. If we're lucky, we would not end up like my father and his expedition crew as well.

"Are you sure this is safe? I don't want to be another dimension's meal," Harold said before the others were looking at me. I laughed before I stood up, brushing my breeches from the dust.

"Do not worry. My father has taken every precaution that he knew to make sure that everything will run smoothly. And I bet that my father cannot do this as well as I could," I said before I was opening his journal to get the incantation that we will be reading to open up the portal.

Ouvrir le porte de Domaine Noir.

That sounded easy enough. I told them about the incantation and asked them to practice before we do this thing for real when the sun was on the horizon. I went to get some sacrifice as instructed; 3 white rabbits, and 3 black ones. A stone from the creek and some soils from the ruins. Everything was set until the sun was down.

A few hours later, I asked each of my crew to stand at each edge and lit the candles. We took the sacrifices, soils, and stone and put them inside the pentagram that I drew. I took a deep breath before I was looking at them.

Harold.

Robin.

Jeremy.

Logan.

And Ronny.

Everyone that I had known since my first appearance at the gentleman's club and they have been the steady rock during my hardship when my father died. I smiled before I was nodding at them, a sign that we were ready to do this. Harold nodded first then the others echoed him.

"Here goes nothing," I said as I was opening the book and I cleared my throat before I read the passage.

"O, great Lord. We came here to be in your mercy and hope that you will let us through. Shine us your darkness through for we're mortals were summoning you," I said before the others were taking their cues and chanted the incantation without any mistakes.

"Ouvrir le porte de Domaine Noir."

"Ouvrir le porte de Domaine Noir."

"Ouvrir le porte de Domaine Noir."

"Ouvrir le porte de Domaine Noir."

"Ouvrir le porte de Domaine Noir!"

The ground shook before us. I was holding their hands together as I don't know what will come over from the other side. The ruins were shining, the runes were flared in gold liquid as I needed to shield my eyes from such light. Everyone was screaming but I held them tight.

"Do not break the chain. We cannot lose them now," I shouted as the winds were picking up and the ground was shaking. The birds were cawing in a distance and the trees were shedding their leaves as in a sign for us not to continue this expedition.

Then, everything was silent like a stone.

I was breathing hard before I was looking at my crew. They were breathing heavily. Disheveled but alive. I sighed before we let go of each other's hands. I don't see anything that was different from before when the candles were blown away, leaving a trail of smoke in their wake.

"Well," Logan said as he smirked at me, "I think this expedition was nothing but a sham," he said before I glared at him. The others were mumbling and whispering before I was shaking my head.

"You're right," I said as I was looking at the dusk that was coming upon us.

"It was a shame that my father died for nothing," I said before I turned away from the crew and started for the creek. I was my face and stared at my reflection before I looked up to the sky. It was starry night tonight before I sighed and went back to the crew.

"Well, that was…rather anti-climactic but we had fun, right?" I asked before the others chuckled. I looked at the stuff that we're sacrificed and thought better than eating them up.

"Come on, let's pack up and we can go to the nearest village in the south. I heard they have good stew there," I said, trying to lighten the mood as we moved to clean up our mess.

But this cannot be it. My father died because of something and I will find it out, whether it was with or without my crew.

We packed our stuff and mounted our horses. The winds picked up as we left the ruins, noticing the shivers that ran down my spine as I got out of that place and headed toward Miofea, the south village from The Old Winton of Chentersea.