Charter: Road to the Mines

– Who is he and why is there a young glowing tree growing out of his back? – Lan walked over to the skeleton and knelt down.

– This is the same Prince...–Francie whispered with her deduction and reluctantly decided to do the same as Lan out of respect. The whole company decided to sit on their knees in silence for a few minutes, when the dark elf suddenly spoke:

– My mentor introduced us when the prince was ten years old by human standards...–She began to recount her memories.

TWENTY YEARS AGO: Lan

When Morsalia gave birth to the first-born child the people had been waiting for, the King dared not show him for another ten years. When the prince came of age, the King finally let the world see him and brought him to a tribal gathering where the elders of Morsalia where to sign a treaty with King Francisk Morsalia, a sort of declaration of the kingdom. I went with him as my master's confidant, and that's when I met Prince Adam, the future heir to Morsalia.

– Lan, would you like to play with Prince Adam?I don't know. I wouldn't want to involve him in the negotiations. -King Francisk asked. Adam, with his little antlers, looked at me with his blue eyes like the most incredible creature in the world.

– Okay, King Francisk, it would be an honor to watch the heir to the throne. – I replied.

We spent a lot of time together and he even managed to become friends with me. After that we parted company and didn't see each other for ten years, but during that time we exchanged letters. In his letters, Adam told me about his adventures, how he was learning to run a government, and what books he was reading. I told him about my life, my research and my travels. We became real pen pals.

And after ten years we met again. Adam was a grown man, strong and confident. His soul was ready to become King and lead the nation to prosperity. When we met, we embraced like old friends. We were both glad to see each other:

– How glad I am to see you, Lan! – Adam said: – You have no idea how much I've missed you all these years!

– I missed you too, Adam. -I said: -But I always knew we'd meet again.

We talked for a long time after that. Adam talked about what had happened in those ten years, and I told him about my discoveries and achievements. We laughed and reminisced about how I used to scold him when he was little. It was a wonderful meeting. I was happy to have a friend like Adam. And I always knew that he would be there for me, no matter what.

THREE YEARS AGO:

I received a letter from Prince Adam saying that the king had been deposed.

Prince was in the doldrums and would not reveal his whereabouts, but he told me about the slave traders in the grove and his plan. Since the grove was closest to me, I decided to deal with it without his help and got caught. I entered their camp under cover of night and decided to open all the cages, but as I approached one that was open, one of the bandits spotted me and pushed me into the cage and locked it:

– You filthy creature! Serves you right, I'll report you to Valafar in the morning! – The man with the scar on his forehead laughed, melted the lock with his torch so I couldn't get out and went to sleep. Meanwhile I tried to open the cage, but the lock was very hard to open and I waited in the cage until morning. The bandits were beating defenseless dwarves and dark elfes, starving them and watching them die of bleeding wounds and pustules, begging the Founder God of Morsalia for salvation and for the death of as many bandits as I wanted. The creature that everyone feared and still fears to this day, the Nightmare Claw, a being that has human consciousness and can see into other people's fears, its usual phase is a large two meter tall dark owl with a bare skull and storm clouds instead of eyes, for a moment the creature spoke to me:

– ... You are-e-e the one Va-a-alafar sent me for...

It looked like a bird, but the creature's bass voice did not reassure me:

– Look into-o-o my eyes... – Al-Orah told me about these creatures, they are somewhat similar to the entity that took over your disappeared friend's body. But the Nightmare Claw are a rank lower and cannot freely detach their body and soul, the biggest mistake is to look them in the eye.

– Lo-o-ok at my eyes! – All the slave traders laughed at me and said that a brave dark elf was afraid to look a simple bird in the eye. I felt the creature's claws touching my face and would not let go until I opened my eyes. I had already resigned myself to my fate as I heard the galloping feet of a horse and a familiar voice.It was Prince Adam who slaughtered the slave traders who were tyrannizing the other races as quickly as he could:

– I have written clearly, do not act without me! – He stopped his horse abruptly, and Prince Adam himself appeared before the slave cages, radiating the hope and answer of the Founder God of Morsalia. The nightmare claw saw the prince and flew high into the sky to strike the prince, but as the creature flew he deftly slashed all the locks from the cages with his sword:

– Everyone run as far away as you can! - Adam let me out of the cage, but didn't notice the nightmare coming towards him at high speed. I quickly threw him off the horse so he wouldn't get hurt, but in the end my ear got caught and I lost a lot of blood, and the horse was crushed and quickly eaten by Nightmare Claw.

He was standing next to me and we started to see what was going to happen next, I closed my eyes but Adam must have looked into his eyes because the next thing he knew he was throwing me away, saying:

– You're damaged and you don't have to fight him!

Eventually the Nightmare Claw reincarnated in total darkness and I heard them wounding each other, the bird retreated and I didn't realize what was happening as I blacked out from the wounds and blood loss. When I awoke it was night, as it is now, and Prince Adam was dead with a hole in his back.

NOW

– A sad story... and how did his father take the Prince's death? – Dolan asked.

– He had been in a dungeon for many years, he might have fallen into a deep depression, for if he couldn't produce another heir, then the new King of Morsalia might be someone from the three tribes. – Lan watered the glowing tree growing out of her armor.

– What kind of tree is that? – Athena looked at the plant with great interest.