Chapter 11

Adam tilts his head and raises an eyebrow. "Hah got your attention huh? Here follow me."

He leads him to the second floor and to a private room and guides him to a display case.

"This is the map of, well the world, supposedly they were the first to create a map of the world for us. That document next to it is all we have, it's not long, but it's my favorite, so many cliffhangers, when you're done, please feel free to look at others in the room."

"Thank you."

He turns and leaves him. Adam looks at the document, there's only a paragraph.

'The Tale of the Watchdog Elements.

When the world was created, Light and Dark, the gods, created men and women. They governed them for centuries but grew tired of their murdering and lying. So they created the Watchdog Elements, to lead them, and protect those that stood in need of protection and guide them all and fight for life and peace.'

He looks at the world map, admiring it for a few minutes, Adam snorts.

"That's it? Seriously? I kind of expected a favorite to be more. Though I suppose that is quite a cliff hanger."

He pushes off and turns and walks over to a bookcase and looks at the different stories. He spends two hours looking through the different books and stories that interest him, working out their riddles in his head. Then the stone catches his eye, he walks over to the glowing green, long, skinny crystal in the display case.

"Now that's curious, it doesn't even say what it is."

Then it flashes in his mind, he frowns and slowly looks to the map, he walks over to it and looks at the corners, oddly shaped, drawn crystals, one green, one red, one blue and one yellow.

But it doesn't look like they would fit together. He examines them closer, looking at it carefully.

He looks at the door and walks over to it, he quietly locks it and walks back, drawing his knife.

He sticks it in the screws and loosens them and pulls them out. He sets the glass container carefully on the ground and spins the map as he examines them for several minutes.

He was right! Each crystal connects to the one diagonal of it but it would only connect if they were on the bottom of the page together, rather than diagonal.

He looks at the crystal, it's the same exact shape. The green piece on the map is the same color as the actual rock.

Was this what he was talking about? Nah Adam doubts it, he would've mentioned it.

He unscrew the glass case on the crystal and takes the crystal to examine it closer.

He sits down and looks at the map in front of him. He reaches down and touches the green piece softly. He feels magic leave him, suddenly both begin glowing.

He looks at the crystal, holding it out and staring at it. But now, it looks like a liquid is inside the crystal.

He tips it and it spills out onto the map. "Oh crap!" he whispers sharply and straightens it,

He looks at the door quickly and back at the map. It glows now the spill has turned the spot black, but the orange ink has turned a grey color. Hesitantly, he pours it again and the glowing crystal drains with the liquid.

As the glowing liquid leaks out, the crystal turns a dull white color. By the time it drains, the map has turned completely black with grey ink. Glowing green words shine on the map at the bottom under the cutoff of the map as well as a small circle with an X in it painted on the ocean just off shore of the town Evermant.

He looks at the words, 'Where mermaids have a voice that daze, their eyes are hidden, sacred is this place, the pure are bidden to find and oppose raze.'

"What the heck? Holy crap, did I just find the answer to this?" Adam asks smiling at the map,

His eyes widen, "Oh crap, he's gonna be pissed."

He rolls up the map, whose paper has been renewed and strengthened by the liquid magic. He moves to the window and slides it open, he opens the map again and carefully folds it and puts it in his front pocket.

He climbs out the window and climbs down, dropping into the alleyway and cautiously but casually walks out and down the street.

Adam rehearses the riddle in his head over and over, but this legend....does all that mean this is real?

"Adam?"

He turns and smiles, "Roux! I was just coming to find you, you aren't going to believe what I just found."

He makes a confused look. Adam walks over, "But you might want this to be private."

He nods and they walk into an alleyway. "Okay I assume you've heard the legend of the Watchdog elements?"

He smiles, "Adam, you haven't started believing in that have you? My friend an educated guess is still a guess."

He grabs Roux's arm and pulls him around another corner in the alleyway. "Roux, this isn't an educated guess. I was in the library looking at the map and the crystal and I-"

He frowns, "What crystal?" he asks cutting me off,

"There was this glowing green crystal."

He straightens, "Did it look almost like energy was flowing through it?"

Adam nods, he eyes widen slightly, "Okay, you've peeked my interest Adam, continue."

"On the map there are four different colored crystals, but when the two on the top are turned ninety degrees to the right and the two on the bottom turn twenty or so to the left, then they can connect with the piece diagonal of them. Then the two pairs connect and they look exactly like the crystal."

Roux narrows his eyes, "Did you tear the pieces off to connect them?"

Adam snorts and shakes his head. "I worked it out in my mind. I...did take them though."

Roux's eyes widen, "Adam?!"

"Wait-wait, hear me out."

He rolls his eyes and scoffs, "You stole them. They are very important to this town Adam you have no idea. Hand them over."

"Hear me out first okay?"

He sighs and nods, "Fine, what else?"

"I accidentally activated my magic when I grabbed the crystal, and the...energy or whatever inside, turned into liquid. I started tipping it, to look at it and it drained out of the tip onto the map and, the map changed."

He frowns again, "What do you mean?"

"Promise me we won't take it back."

He looks at Adam frustrated, as if asking, 'Really?'

"Please Roux?"

".....Alright, I promise my friend, how did it change, you have them?"

"Yeah I have the map, so when the crystal drained it turned into this white rock, but the map turned into this."

He pulls out the map and opens it for Roux. His eyes widen as he stares at the grey lines and glowing blue ink.

"My word...."

Roux reaches out and takes it from him gently. "This is obviously something new right?"

"...New? Adam, you might have just proved this isn't some legend."

"We're going right?"

He looks back at Adam and at the map. "A-Adam, as much as I want to, we should leave it to professionals."

"Oh come on Roux! This is an adventure! We could discover it together! How cool would that be?!"

He looks at the map and smiles at Adam. "Okay, yes okay let's go explore this together. Here, since you are the one that found it, you might as well keep it safe." He says,

His smile makes Adam smile, he's never seen him grin so big before. "This is quite exciting, should we inform the ladies?"

Adam nods, "Yeah, you think they are both finding out who the mayor is?"