Tales of Mancia, Book One: Beyond the Frozen Grove Options

[redsrock]

Tales of Mancia

Book One: "Beyond the Frozen Grove"


CHAPTER ONE

"I thought you said you didn't believe in magic, Verick? What happened to all that talk about magic being a myth and nothing else? Now all of a sudden you've changed your mind?"

"I know what I said, Arvus, just shut up for a second, alright? Damn, you can be annoying sometimes!"

Verick and Arvus Junson were freelance adventures as well as brothers, working for no one in particular. They simply hunted for treasure and sold it to their favorite merchants in the many large towns the country of Haven had to offer. Haven, ruled by King Leonard Fervine, is the "power region" in the world of Mancia, sort of the capital of the world in a way. Haven hosts Mancia's largest largest army, largest population, and richest country as well.

The two had been searching through a small cave when Verick had mistakingly kicked a tiny stone box hidden within the many rocks on the cold hard floor. Upon opening the box he found one green heavy stone. The gem itself seemed to glow with importance, though neither of the men recognized it; that is until the more intelligent of the two, that being Arvus, had whipped out his massive book of gems and stones. The two searched for what seemed like hours until on exactly the five hundredth page they came across what looked dead-up like the stone Verick had discovered by sheer luck.

The book claimed the stone (which had no "official" name) to have magical powers that held the key to a whole other dimension. Obviously no one had yet to discover such a stone, and the authors of the book heavily suggested that the story of the stone of was a hoax and nothing more. Now it appeared as if all of that was about to change.

"I mean...just look at it, Arvus," Verick said with a tone of extreme awe and waving his exited and shaking hands through his medium length set of black hair, and then across thinly-trimmed beard. The two brothers were the same age of twenty-nine, though they were not twins. Throughout their many adventures they had come across plenty of mystifying artifacts, but nothing could match the stone Verick had discovered.

"Okay, fine. We found a rock that looks quite similar to what the book describes," Arvus said with his arms folded and rolling eyes. The book of stones had been put back into his large leather pack. "But that doesn't mean the story is real, or if this stone really is what the book says it is. If anything I think it is a simple coincidence."

Verick threw his hands up in the air in frustration and then yelled, "Wow, how ironic this is! You've always been the one reading books about magic and all that crap, and now that we're face to face with something that could really actually have magical properties you want to dismiss it!"

"I read the material because it is interesting and entertaining, Verick," Arvus replied, his tone rising defensively. "That does not mean I think it is all real. True, I think there is some kind of basic magic out there in the world, but do I think a mere stone holds the key to a whole new dimension? Certainly not! Think about for a second, Verick, and then maybe you'll see how ridiculous all of this is. The 'gem' you speak of is probably nothing more than a simple rocked painted green, and planted here to make a fool of someone like you."

Verick was really getting angry now and at that moment he wanted nothing more than to strike his brother in his hairless chin with his fist. It certainly wouldn't have been the first time the two had fought. But when Verick eyed a tiny pond of water in the far corner of the cave he ran straight to it, motioning for Arvus to follow and forgetting about pounding his face in for a moment.

"Alright, Arvus, we'll have it your way." Verick then pulled a dirty piece of cloth from his pocket and raised it in the air for Arvus to see. "I will dip the stone into this puddle of water and scrub with the cloth. If the paint comes off and it really is only a stone, I will wash your boots with my tongue."

Arvus began laughing histarically, his long blonde hair moving irratically, but when he saw that his brother was actually telling the truth he tried his best to calm down, even if it was fairly difficult to do so. "But if I am right about this stone, and it does have magical powers, then you are going to tear that particular page out of your book and eat it right in front of me."

Arvus was no longer laughing, and was now looking rather offended but at the same time extremely confused. What in the world is he thinking? Does he really actually believe that rock holds the power to another world? He must be out of his mind... "Fine, I agree, Verick. However, I think you are making a big mistake," he replied towards Verick, again starting to laugh a bit from the silliness of the situation.

"We'll see," Verick whispered, just before sinking the stone entirely into the puddle of water. He began scrubbing it vigorously with the cloth, back and forth, back and forth. This went on for some five minutes until at last he brought the stone back up. What he said at first made him cringe, and Arvus laugh with amused joy.

"Look, you idiot, I told you it was paint! You sure hope you like the taste of-"

But then it was Verick who was jumping with joy and happiness, for he saw something that Arvus couldn't because of the fact that he was standing about ten feet away. It was true that the green-ness of the rock was something like paint and beyond the paint was regular stone, but carved into the stone was lines spelling out numerous words and phrases of a language Verick could not understand.

"Come here, look at this! There's some kind of scripture carved into the stone!"

Arvus quickly arrived at his brother's side and the two of them studied the stone closely, trying to figure out what kind of language it could be. Of course with Arvus being the intelligent one, Verick asked him if he recognized the carvings.

"No, none of this looks familiar to me at all," was his immediate response. "For a second it almost looks of the Tijion...or maybe even the Pantor...but no, that's not it. I..I don't have a clue what it says," he said perplexed and scratching his head in confusion.

With the stone in hand, Verick pumped his right fist high into the air and began to mock Arvus for not believing him. But Arvus quickly silence his brother with a raise of his hand and said, "But that doesn't mean the stone is magical, Verick. The book said nothing about a scripture of any kind."

"Did it speak of how to open the dimension?" Verick asked eagerly.

Arvus just rolled his eyes. "No, Verick, it said it was a hoax.....remember?"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. I think the book is wrong and I am right!"

"No, you are wrong, Verick," Arvus said, starting to get agitated once more. "Either way, at least we've found something of value. Let's go ahead and head back to Crestwood so we can ask the jeweler how much he thinks it's worth."

"ARE YOU NUTS?" Verick yelled at the top of his lungs, scaring the daylights out of Arvus. "We are NOT selling this thing, you idiot! This is our key to another world, brother! Can't you see? We will be famous!"

Arvus was now beyond agitation and instead almost to the point where he could no longer take his brother's ignorant immaturity. "Give me that!" He said to Verick while snatching the stone away and picking up its stone container from the floor, and placing the stone in the box. "We will-"

Suddenly his two hands began to shake violently and both he and Verick immediately noticed that the box was glowing with a bright green haze, almost of a bubble of sorts. Arvus dropped the box to the ground in fear, and the top broke off. Inside the stone was in the middle of the container, and it too was glowing a green haze. But now four rods from all four sides of the square container had somehow been stabbed into the stone, holding it in place.

"What in the name of-"

Before any of them could do anything the bright light first engulfed them, and then the entire room of the cave they were standing in. For a moment they were blinded by the light, until finally the brightness began to calm down. But something strange was happening. Arvus suddenly found himself suspended in mid air above the box, along with his brother right beside him. The strangest part was that when he looked down he could see his own body still standing next to the box with his hands shielding his eyes. His body looked like a frozen statue, and then he noticed that Verick's own body was doing the exact same thing. The 'suspended' Arvus looked at the 'suspended' Verick and the two of them were simply at a loss for words. The glowing of the stone again picked up and then the two found themselves swirling in a fast circle in the air, with green bubble also circling around them. The spun faster and faster, lower and lower, until the two of them were just inches away from smacking into one another mid-air.

But right before they could make contact everything went black, and neither of them felt anything but a rush of cold air.

[redsrock]

CHAPTER THREE


By the time he woke up Verick was apparently already outside of the cave, lying in what felt to be some type of hanging hammock he had used so many times at the beaches of northwestern Haven. Back then it was for pure joy, a place to escape the darkness of the caves and relish in the sun's many rays and the cool soothing sound of the rushing waves hitting the beaches.

Lying on the hammock-like bed Verick could almost hear the voices of children playing and sea birds splashing as they dove in to catch their fishy prey in the shallow waters. Verick remembered those days of paradise, that much was for sure. But when he finally opened his eyes he was reminded that his current situation was anything but that, and much rather some kind of nightmare that just happened to be a reality.

"Oh, my head..." he mumbled softly, but apparently loud enough to be heard by the fish-humans to his left about five yards away. All three of them were there, grinning from ear to ear. The one had an extended a hand back in the cave walked over and knelt beside Verick's position.

"How are you feeling?" he asked with sincerity.

"My head really, really hurts," Verick replied bluntly, closing his eyes and beginning to rub his forehead. That's when he felt a large bump, and then the fish-man reassured what Verick already assumed.

"I'm not surprised. When you passed out in the caverns you hit your head hard on the surface. Sorry for not catching you in time, but I really wasn't expecting you to pass out. At least your companion didn't suffer the same painful fate."

You try being chased by a ten foot monster and see if you don't pass out Verick thought to himself. The truth was that the fish-man probably had experienced that certain situation many times before, or at least that's what Verick gathered. Now that they were in the light of the day Verick go an excellent look at the fish-man. They had more scales than Verick had previously thought, in various random spots.

"He's my brother. Where is he?" Verick asked, forgetting about the fish-men for the time being. The one talking to Verick stood up and pointed behind Verick. Verick turned around and about forty yards away sat Arvus, on a large rock and staring into a small stream leading to a lake about one hundred yards to the west.

Without responding to the fish-man Verick stood up from the hammock, noticing that it really wasn't what he expected it to be. It was actually hovering above the ground, connected to no trees or anything else. Verick gave the fish-man a strange look, and then dismissed that thought as well. To be honest he really wasn't that surprised, only still a bit perplexed that all of this was really happening.

He walked over to his brother, who looked back and offered a, "How's the head? Hmm...it doesn't too bad anymore I suppose. At least the swelling has gone down."

"Yeah, well I guess that's a good thing," Verick replied, then sitting down right next to his brother, now both of them sitting and staring into the stream. That's when Verick looked around at the surroundings altogether. He saw the mountain and the cave in which had just came from, about forty or so yards behind them. The rest of the surrounding was vast plains and many tall plants resembling palm trees in a way. Except these trees held an item that looked to be some kind of fruit. It was red in color, and was about as big as an orange but a bit lumpier and also seemingly rougher. When Verick narrowed his eyes he saw that there were tiny hairs on the items as well.

"You see that city over there?" Arvus asked Verick, pointing straight in front of them. What looked like many miles away was a massive structure that looked to be some kind of castle, though it was nothing compared to what they had back in Haven. This structure was extremely tall, with plenty of towers and other decorative objects. Even from what seemed so far away Verick noted how pearly white the structure was, and very beautiful as well. Surrounding the castle-like structure were other buildings, some big and some little. But for the most part, aside from the large castle, everything else was somewhat a blur because they were so far away. To the left and right of the enormous city were more mountain ranges, and it appeared as if these mountains surrounded the entire area, for Verick looked all around and noticed that indeed there was almost a wall of mountains circling the vast area as if protecting it from whatever evils lurked on the other side. "According to him," Arvus continued while pointing back at the talking fish-man, "that is their home. And apparently this world we are in is called Mancia."

As Arvus said this and then continued to stare back out into the water. Verick could easily see that his brother's thoughts were drifting from one subject to another, the most obviously about how in the world they were going to get out of this Mancia.

"We almost died back there, Verick," he whispered just loud enough for the two of them two, but not looking directly at Verick. "I mean, I...I just still can't believe what's happening. I want to say it's alright and everything will be fine, but...I can't because it would be a lie. I really don't know what's going to happen, or if these...fish-people are hostile or not. Yeah, I know they saved us and whatnot, but that doesn't mean they're friendly for sure."

Verick looked at his brother and he could see tears beginning to form on his hair cheeks, though not yet dripping down his sweaty and dirty skin. He patted Arvus on the back and said, "Well, if it means anything at least we're not separated, you know? I'm just glad we weren't sent to two different places, or something worse..." he said, trailing off at the last bit.

This time Arvus did look at Verick and responded, "You are right about that," he said with a hint of a small smile. "But either it doesn't matter. We are here now, stuck in some strange land that wasn't even supposed to be real. What now?" He asked.

"I guess follow the fish-men to their home. Maybe they have a King as well who can point us in right direction home or something," Verick offered, though he really didn't believe in the idea. It appeared Arvus didn't either.

"Yeah, I don't think it's going be that easy," he said, this time clearly smiling. "Oh well, there's nothing else to do but follow them I suppose. Come, let's just hope for the best." He stood up and offered a hand to Verick. He pulled him up from the rock and then they both hopped off and walked back to the fish-man who had been talking with Verick.

"Are you finished?" The fish-man asked the two as they neared him. Verick didn't take too kindly to the tone, but of course he didn't know the fish-man didn't really mean any harm.

"Yeah sure, whatever," Verick responded. "But before we do anything or go anywhere, you are going to tell us what's going and where we are. Obviously you can tell that me and my brother aren't from this world."

"But of course," the fish-man replied with wide grin. "We knew that as soon as the fires had been lit."

"What fires?" Arvus asked.

The fish-man smiled even more and said, "Perhaps we should talk this over while taking a walk? I think that would be best."

So rather than argue with the thing Verick and Arvus simply nodded, and then the fish-man motioned for them to follow as he lead them down a dirt path, following the exact stream Verick and Arvus had been following just minutes earlier.

"We knew you had arrived in our world about two hours ago, maybe three, I really don't remember too clearly. We were all excited and not many could think clearly for the first minutes upon learning that you two had indeed finally arrived."

What do you mean 'finally'? You mean to say that you were expecting us?" Arvus asked. By now the walk was over, and all three were standing underneath one of the tall trees Verick had been studying before. Then the fish-man continued.

"First off, I think I need to introduce myself, and please forgive me for not doing so earlier," he said, grinning just as much as he had been the entire time. Verick was astonished that the creature's jaw muscles weren't aching. But then he once again remembered that he wasn't in Haven anymore, and the body of these fish-people were likely much different than that of a regular a regular Doman. "My name is Vaalvier, special courier and agent to the Ibis, Lord Rejai of Mancia."

Vaalvier was certainly proud of his rank, though of course neither Arvus nor Verick knew what he was talking about. "Ibis? What is that?" Verick asked.

"This Ibis is the title of our leader. Rejai has been commanding our army and leading our fine people for over five-hundred years, and she is only the third Ibis in our history. She is waiting for your arrival to Tagroth this moment."

"Tagroth?" Verick asked, and then Vaalvier pointed in front of them to the massive castle.

"Yes, Tagroth is the name of our grand city, and as you can tell it is certainly something of special delicacy to us. Our ancient ancestors did wonders in creating our magnificent city, and we now are doing our best to preserve what they gave to us."

"It is beautiful, but I am still confused," Arvus said. "What does this have to do with knowing that we were coming?"

Vaalvier actually laughed this time and said, "We didn't actually know it would be you two to appear, in fact we were only expecting one. That is why I am so excited right not because there are two of you. You, as soon as the Stone of Ibisarion teleported you here the Fires of Mancia, three gigantic balls of green fire situated in the Ibis's throne room, lit up in glorious fashion. That was the sign that at last the Savior of Mancia had arrived, except in this case I should say Saviors."

Arvus was more confused than ever now so he sat down on the ground and just looked at the running stream, thinking deeply about what Vaalvier just said. So Verick began asking the questions as his brother listened on while staring into the water.

"So what you're tryin' to say is that you think we are the Saviors of Mancia? And Mancia is the world we are in now, right? And what is an Ibisarion?"

"I think I should let the Ibis explain this to a more clearer extent," Vaalvier chuckled. "After all, she holds all the answers anyhow.However, WE are the Ibisarions. It is our race. Come with me and my men and I shall take you to Tagroth, where all of your questions can be quickly answered."

"Wait a second! What if I don't want to go with you? What if I want to go back to that cave and just get eaten by that monster and end all of this crazy nonsense?"

The smile had not been wiped away from Vaalvier's mouth, and rather it somehow seemed to have only enlarged. "I will not let you do that. My sole job now is to protect you until you have trained enough and have learned enough to fend for yourself. You can try to leave, but I can assure that you won't get very far."

Arvus stood up now, just mere inches away from Vaalvier's own set of wondrous eyes. Verick could easily see Arvus wanted to punch the fish-creature's face in, but of course that was probably impossible. The thing probably is trained in all kinds of fighting arts, plus I am sure they know magic. I mean...just look at the floating hammock Verick thought to himself.

Thankfully Arvus didn't do or say anything else, and rather backed off and went to stand next to his brother. "I'll admit...Vaalvier...you have me curious, but not in a good way. Let's just leave here so I can meet your Ibis. Maybe she will be able to tell us how to get home."

Vaalvier just chuckled again and then turned, walking away and leading Verick and Arvus back to where the other two Ibisarions were standing patiently. Verick could have sworn he heard Vaalvier whisper, "Too bad there's no going back, human."

When Vaalvier had escorted Verick and Arvus back to where the other two Ibisarions were standing, he made motions towards the hammock and suddenly the bed-like object spread open on its left and right. All of a sudden it was basically a big leather-like rectangle floating just inches from the ground. It was about five yards in width and about fifteen yards in length. "Hop aboard, this will take us to Tagroth," Vaalvier told Verick and Arvus without looking at them. Then he walked over to the two others and they began talking quietly with one another, low enough where neither Verick nor Arvus could hear.

Verick and Arvus both carefully climbed aboard the hammock and waited for the others to join them. "How do you think they make this float?" Verick asked out loud in astonishment, for the first time taking a long gander at the weird contraption.

"Who knows, but it certainly is interesting," Arvus responded, cooled down after almost having a heated exchange with Vaalvier. "I'm sure there will be many more wonders to see in Tagroth. But something tells me we won't like all of them."

Soon Vaalvier and the other two Ibisarions joined Arvus and Verick. Vaalvier took a seat beside Verick and Arvus in the middle, while the other two sat in the front, making motions with their hands in which the hammock rose even further from the ground, and then suddenly taking off at a fast speed towards Tagroth.

Arvus and Verick immediatly grasped for something to hold on to but of course their hands hit nothing but air. For a second the two thought they were going to fall off of the edge and down onto a tree or perhaps a lake, but they hit some kind of invisible barrier that acted as the hammocks wall. Vaalvier laughed loudly at this and yelled, "There's nothing to worry about, I assure you. The invisible barriers in which you just bumped into will keep you inside."

"Are you sure about that?" Arvus asked angrily, rubbing the left hand that had bumped forcefully into the magically-induced field.

"Do you want to try it again?" Vaalvier asked sarcastically, nodding towards Arvus's hurt hand. Arvus, being the non-confrontational person he was, shrugged off the sarcasm and just stared out to the side at the wavering trees down below. Although Arvus had not retaliated towards the sarcastic comment, Verick could see clear as day that Arvus had a pure hatred towards Vaalvier. He sensed it as soon as the two were within a few feet of each other. Verick himself didn't quite like the foreign creature too much, but it appeared as if for some reason Arvus was taking it to a higher level.

"I know there's a...Ibis...for Tagroth, but what about a king?" Verick asked Vaalvier, who in turn gave back a look of both curiousness and confusion.

"A What? A...keen?"

"No, no. A K-ing" Verick said, sounding out the word so Vaalvier could understand.

"A king? No, I do not even know what that is."

"Back where we come from a king is our leader. He is called a king because there is no other rank higher than him."

"You mean to tell me that a male rules your world?" Vaalvier asked with an extremely astonished look.

"Well, he doesn't exactly rule the entire world. He simply rules our own country of Haven. There are six other countries as well, all with their own leaders, whom all have different titles for the most part. And yes, he is a male. Does that surprise you or something?"

"Yes, it most certainly does. In Tagroth men are the warriors and workers. The women serve as our leaders, including the Ibis and her Council of Faala. Also, her daughter, Brina, serves as Tagroth's own Ibis-in-waiting. It is customary for the daughters to take the throne once their mothers are killed."

"And what if the Ibis doesn't have any daughters?" Arvus asked.

"There will never be such a problem. The Ibis simply mates until she has a daughter, and then she stops mating, unless of course the daughter is killed but thankfully that has yet to happen, thanks to our elite and protective Silver Arms. The Silver Arms is a group of the most dedicated and skilled soldiers. They serve as bodyguards for both the Ibis and her daughter."

Then Vaalvier looked in front of the flying hammock and exclaimed, "Ah, we're finally here."

Verick looked in front as well and he eye sight was met with a bright white stone of some kind. He looked up and realized it was an enormous gate leading into what looked to be the largest city Verick could ever have imagined. The walls easily reached one hundred yards into the air, and possibly even further than that.

"Shall we enter and meet the Ibis?" Vaalvier asked. Verick and Arvus just looked at each other in awe for a second, and then quickly followed, desperate on meeting the Ibis and perhaps getting a better answer to their many questions.