COTN House of Genoe Part 3

3. Secrets

Malech pulled himself up and walked to one side of the wall. It was opposite of the door which Medi opened earlier. He place his palm on the wall and chant a spell which reveal a doorway. Malech stepped in by the doorway and Medi followed without hesitation. She had drawn out her spear to her chest and was ready to strike on seeing any serpent, but she sees none. She see a tunnel made of misty material yet its solid to walked on. Its formed like a mist on all sides but beyond the mist in front, there is nothing there but darkness. She reached out with her hand to the side of the misty tunnel and feel nothing there like one touching smoke. She reached in and she can still feel nothing but once she removed her hand, the spot would be covered in seconds by the same misty cover.

Medi followed the older elf as he keep on walking without a pause. The older elf is in a hurry as he move fast without pausing in the steps. Then they came to a point when he stopped and then he pondered before he gestured his hand to the direction that the tunnel would take. The tunnel in front dissipate and a new tunnel formed in front on the new direction. Soon they came to a doorway which reveals itself in front of the duo.

"Medi, I need your help here. Here I am powerless but you are not without power. I have adorned the spear of yours and I hope you wield it well." Malech has opened the doorway and they stepped into a chamber filled with serpents. They are over the places and also hanging from the walls and ceiling.

"Jhitai warrior, do your task." Malech reached back and pulled Medi forward. Medi lunged forth and her instinct was to swing her spear as she being taught during training. She did exactly as trained and on her swing, the spear emits a flaming trail across the chamber. The serpents on contact with the flame extinguish like burnt items into a state of smoke. She swing more of the spear and more of the serpents withdraw or seek refuge by slithering into the holes they have created.

"Medi, to me. I need to get to the chest over there." Malech points to the large chest over there. Medi heard him as she moved towards there with the Malech in tow. Once they reached there, Malech looked at the chest. Its locked on the lid with a large padlock.

"Medi, place your spear in it and cracked it." Medi did as she was asked and the padlock broke opened.

Malech opened the chest and he came to face with a serpent that rear up with hooded up neck. Its a dark band serpent and its bite more deadly. Malech without hesitation thrust the Oracle into the jaw of the serpent. When the wand touched its jaw, it dropped dead as if its without a life.

"How did it get in there? The chest was locked." Medi exclaimed in surprise.

"Its a magical serpent placed there to appear when the chest lid is open. I do that too to my personal chest, but I normally used a dragon or a winged serpent." Malech reached in and move the contents till he found what he seek; a piece of rectangle metal bar of about a feet in length.

"The metal material. Its a rare metal that not many can find in this world. It believed to be extracted from the core of the earth with the assistance of some ground breaking serpents. They burrowed deep and when they hit some lost of cavers, they find more volunteers. They finally reached the core and took out the extract. Its soft and yet tough but it contain some strong magical properties." The elder sorcerer is still staring at the metal piece.

"Can we go now?" Medi is looking around for any serpents that may come forward regardless of the flame.

"Okay, now we need to leave." Malech ran to the earlier doorway he came in from and went through. Medi jumped in time to join Malech. She can see Malech going ahead and she followed close behind. She looked back and she can see nothing but serpents all around. It was like in the chamber but this is looking at the city structure strewn with serpents. If she understand the situation, they are walking on air above the city structures and they are moving from one structure to another without doors and windows.

Medi starts to scream and Malech had his hand over her mouth.

"You are a fool, Medi." Malech had grabbed her hand. " The Nothing Walk is a path to move always forward. You can pass through walls and forest without one knowing of you passing through unless you will it with a doorway. If you chanced a look back, you would find yourself lost forever into Nothing. I saved you from it but I cannot do it every time. So follow me close."

Medi looked back at him with a pale expression but she followed him ever closer for fear of falling behind. Their walk continued and soon another doorway was revealed.

"Medi, here I need you to get me across the chamber to another door. I would open the next door." Malech did not wait for an answer and they are in. This chamber does not have serpents, but it got one serpent there; a large one that thrice the size of Man and it has its head reared up. Besides that the room is empty of any items for the comfort of a person.  Now on seeing the intruders, the serpent reacted immediately but it also moved its tail forth; more like a stinging dark tail with a dark pincer claw at its end. This is no ordinary serpent that one encountered in a forest.

"Malech....." Medi tried to understand her predicament.

"That is a Black Double Stinger. Its fangs are poisonous and it has another stinger, a tail claw which is deadly as it move on its own with the same poison as the fangs. They are both equally deadly." The serpent did not hesitate or make known its intention. It just lunged at Medi without any hesitation. The two elves jumped aside but this time Medi was prepared for it. She swing out her spear and let the flame scorched the serpent. The serpent reeled back in pain but its tail came flinging at the warrior. She somersault in time and she landed on the back of its tail. It was not easy to stand on as it was slippery to her footing. She almost slipped so she thrust the spear into the serpent scales right into the flesh below. She twist the spear and thrust it deeper in feelings it tail bones. The serpent jerked its body and the head swing back to attacked her again.

Medi pulled the spear up and sprang up. In her mid stride, she thrust the spear at the oncoming serpent head. She pushed hard at the spear and then reached in her thoughts to call up the flame. The flame burned into the serpent head and Medi hurled the spear into the jaw. The spear struck into the jaw and the flame continued burning.

"Pushed in and then come back." Medi did not what sh did but she muttered those words as if she knew them well.

The spear thrust in deeper and exit at the back of the serpent' head. The spear swing back on its power and back into her hand.

She then noticed Malech is at the door and he is inserting the meal bar into the door' key slot. The metal bar turned inside the slot and then it stopped. Malech pulled out the metal bar but its no more a rectangle piece. Its now a ornamental piece with carvings and serrated edges.

"I got it now. Let us go." Malech ran back to the earlier doorway and exit the chamber. "Come fast, Medi."

Medi jumped in and she find herself in pursuit of the older elf. They walked for a distance before another doorway appeared. This time Malech insert in the metal piece into the key slot and he turned the lock. The door opened and Malech walked in.

"Finally, the room of secrets; the Last Chamber. Here is where they took all the secrets of every sorcerer or wizard and stored it here. The Council forbids me to come here as they fear what I may find." Malech turned his body to surveyed the scores of scrolls and artifacts in the chamber. "This is also what the six are assigned to guard. The serpents are just flowers to be trampled on in the garden. This room is the garden shed where the fertilizer are stored. This happened to be the prime fertilizer. I am here for those secrets." .

"I don't understand." Medi looked confused at what they are doing here.

"You don't need too. Just stand there." Malech raised his hands up and loudly called up some chants. The room seems to rotate and the scrolls are floating into midair. Then they unrolled .by themselves and the wordings seems to come out. They float and then they swirl over Malech' head. They then come down onto his fingers and disappeared into the body. The sorcerer screamed out in pain but he still has not move his posture. Later when the chamber stopped rotating, Malech fell down on the ground.

It took a while for Malech to recover.

"Help me, Medi. We need to get back to the Dome." Medi carried the older elf by the shoulder and they exit the same doorway. The sorcerer directed the walk and soon they are back at the Dome. Medi led the sorcerer to rest on the nearest bedding. The attacks came soon after that but they could not penetrate the magical barrier. Medi could not rest while the attacks are persistent outside. She held onto her spear and keep on watching the Dome barrier.

She watched the old sorcerer sleep and then she remember the blue bauble. She then spied the item on the table where its was placed by the father. She picked it up and looked into it.

A voice appeared in her head.

"Berhan, its Mama. Your father made this so we can talk to you. He told me you taken the task to guard the source. You also wanted me sing you the song. I know you well. Listen to my voice when you are alone or lonely." The bauble played a favorite theme that many Genoe kids like hear from their mother. Its was also Medi secret with her mother during bedtime. Medi cried on hearing it again.

Once our village were happy
With sounds of our children singing
But now dogs bark till the evening
the grounds empty and barren

Hush, hush, time to be sleeping
Hush, hush, dreams come a-creeping
Dreams of peace and of freedom
So smile in your sleep, my child

Don't plea or pray
Forever gone, gone all hope of staying
Hush, hush, its only the dog
Don't cry in your sleep, my child

( modified from an olde Irish lullaby )

"I have my own secret, Malech. One I will reveal when the time is right." Medi muttered to herself.