Charter: Road to the Mines

"She will dance with the dead heir to the throne.

And a new dawn of hope will dawn".

As they passed through the Maplewood, the color of the forest changed to a golden hue, and there were orange fluorescent mushrooms everywhere, which Lan had advised against eating, because if a person ate even one, they would attract the attention of the unwanted creatures that guarded the mushrooms themselves.

Red maples were now rare in the area, as they had moved too far away from the settlement. In their place was a thick, bright grass, reminiscent of autumn. Together with the gray clouds looming overhead, it looked terrible. All nature needed was constant sunshine and fresh, unpolluted air.

– I almost forgot, here you go. – Lan approached Athena and offered her a bottle of maple syrup.

Athena took it and asked:

– What is it?

It's enchanted maple syrup, the shaman said it was for emergencies. – After Lan's words, she opened the bottle and sniffed the contents. The syrup smelled sweet and pleasant. She took a sip and felt a warmth spread through her body.

– Tasty! – She exclaimed: – Thanks Lan.

Dolan wanted to taste it too, but Athena had already slipped it into the side pocket of her red robe:– Lan, why did you agree to be our chaperone?

– Two suns from the Morsalia Mines, you won't get lost with me.

Francie grinned: – But that's not the only reason, you can tell us.

– At sunset we will reach a place, but I ask you to be respectful there, when we get there I will tell you...– The lan turned her cold back on them and walked on. The whole time they walked there was a dead silence, everyone was quiet and nobody liked this silence except Lan, but Dolan did not hold back and spoke:

– What is the Shaman's real name?

– Al-Orah. – Lan replied quickly.

– Are you afraid of something?

– No.

– How long do we have to walk?

– Not long.

– Where are we going?

– To the grave of the dead prince. – She turned so sharply towards the boy that even the white hood that covered her head fell, revealing only one pointed ear. Dolan saw that she was missing an ear and fell silent.

– Boys like you don't live long. – She turned back to face the street and quickly pulled back her white hood, covering her single ear.

– Sorry... – The boy apologized, then Stan patted Dolan on the shoulder to show that now was not the time.

– Dolan, if you want to talk and you don't like this silence, you can always talk to our group. – Everyone agreed with Stan.

The boys talked and chattered amicably while Lan showed her coldness. She was afraid to open up to them, thinking it was not worth it, especially since they only saw two suns and one star. She wanted to see the tomb and take the boys to the mines, then leave them to their own devices. She was not accommodating, but her heart told her that she should at least have a proper conversation with them, at least once.

Lan was known to be reserved and suspicious. She preferred to keep to herself and not share her thoughts and feelings with others. But this time she felt particularly lonely. She wanted to talk to someone with whom she could share her feelings. She looked at the boys and saw hope in them. They were young, full of energy and optimism, perhaps even believing in a better future and willing to fight for their lives. Lan wanted to be like them, but she couldn't. Dolan wanted to ask her what was wrong, but she didn't because she thought she'd be yelling at him again. Lan humbled herself and while the boys were talking, she said a sharp sentence:

– I went with your company.. to see the grave of an old friend who died protecting my life, who died thirty years ago. That's a long time for you, but for me it's literally thirty days ago. – She stopped suddenly to say this.

– You shouldn't have bothered.

– Yes, we know it's your own business and we didn't want to offend you. – Dolan and Francie supported Lan and came over to hug her too.

– Why... you're so thoughtless, what if I stabbed you now?

– Lan, I can see in your eyes that you wouldn't. – Athena whispered softly.

– You know we'll have to say goodbye when we get to the mines, don't you?

Athena let go of Lan and said with a smile of her own: – Well, there's another star and another sun until then, right?

– We understand the fact that you've been through a lot of bad things for your....

– Francie wanted to cheer Lan up, but she didn't know how old she was.

– Three thousand five hundred years...

– Yes, we know you've been through a lot of bad things in your three thousand five hundred years. – Francie patted her on the back.

– Yes, so don't worry. – Dolan encouraged her.

– All right, boys, you're too kind and you'll die too soon with your mood. – The boys saw her as a pessimistic elf whose glass was always half empty, but they understood her behavior.

By evening, the party had finally reached a dense grove of trees. The trees were tall and strong, their crowns forming a dense canopy through which the rays of the setting sun barely penetrated. But even in this semi-darkness it was possible to see the bright orange mushrooms growing on the trees, glowing with their color. Lan, Athena and the rest of the team walked in silence, lost in thought. They were tired after the long journey, but they knew it was dangerous to camp in the forest. So they kept walking, hoping to find a suitable place to camp.

Suddenly Athena noticed something unusual among the bushes and shrubs. She stopped and took a closer look. In the bushes she saw an old rusty cage with no front door. The cage was so old and dilapidated that it looked as if it might fall apart. There was a young tree growing out of it, which must have been the cause of the cage's collapse. Athena walked over to the cage and examined it. She was amazed at how long the cage had been in this condition. It seemed to have been there for a very long time. Athena tried to imagine who might have left it here and why. Could it have been an explorer who wanted to study the local plants or animals? Or was it just a traveler who decided to spend the night in this grove?

Whatever the case, the cell had long since lost its original function. Now that it had become part of this forest, Athena still didn't dare ask the elf about it.

– Lan, what is it? – Francie asked the dark elf.

Lan got goosebumps at the memory of this place, they walked a little further where there were many old abandoned tents and rusty cages overgrown with trees: – In the past there was a slave trade here....

– What!? – Athena screamed.

– What a horrible place...– Stan whispered as he passed one of the cages. Francie and Dolan were silent, uncomfortable with the place. Dolan also walked through the woods looking at the cages. He was so absorbed that he didn't look at his feet. Then he stumbled over something, heard only the sound of iron, and when he looked closely at what he had stumbled over, he saw an old, rusty suit of armor with two antlers sticking out of the helmet:

– What a horror! – Dolan got up quickly, shook himself and ran away from the knight's armor. The boy was astonished at this discovery. He had never seen anything like it. Athena approached Dolan and the company began to look at these marvelous horns, they were made of a strange material and did not match the structure of the armor, the material seemed both strong and fragile at the same time. There were strange symbols on the surface of the horns that Dolan could not make out.