Chapter 6

“That would be both wise and unwise human girl,” said a bubbly voice from the waters edge.

Brena jumped back away from the water as a translucent figure made of water had risen up and now stood before her. Brena had never seen nor heard of anything living made of water before. This had her mind reeling in shock with more than a touch of fear. She took several more steps away from the pool before stopping to look at the being before her. “Human girl, don’t be afraid of me. I can do little to harm you.” The voice was cool sounding, almost like a cool spring of fresh water flowing down a rock face.

“Wha ... wha ... What are you,” she manage to squeak out, her fear making her voice sound weak in her ears. This annoyed her so she tried again. “What, or should I ask, who are you.” This time she sounded almost normal in her ears.

“Ah good, you work to overcome fear.” A ripple raced up and down the watery surface, almost like laughter in the way it moved. “I am water sprite child, a being of nature, the last of my kind on this world.” As it spoke, Brena could see the ripples the sound made in the water more clearly now. “I was once a minor guardian of this wood, but now I am alone and no longer serve she who once guarded us all.”

Brena didn’t understand this last part. “She who guarded us all? I don’t understand.”

“A question, at long last a question.” The water sprite seemed to settle lower into the pool, almost as if it sat down to rest. “Human child, I am of a race and time so long in the past, even my memory has grown dim. I was here before the great mage war that ravaged this world, stripping away almost all the power you call magic. I was here before the first tree raised a leaf to look at the sky. I was here when the world cooled from the molten stone that formed it all. I even recall a time I was something other than this form, but it was so long ago that even I have forgotten what it was that I was.”

“Can’t you leave this world them?” Brena asked.

The Sprite looked at the girl before her for a moment then a soul ripping sadness overtook her as she spoke. “No child. When the war came, it trapped all of my kind here. We could have fled at first, but none of us realized how deadly and final the destructive results would be.” Ripples ran up and down, side to side then completely around the figure, then spread out across the pool, making it slosh off the sides of the raised rim. “The one we served tried to save the world from total annihilation, and died in the effort. This world is fading slowly from reality, at least it was.”

“What stopped the fading of the world then?”

“An accident. A terrible, terrible accident.” The sprite looked at the sun high above for a minute before going on, lost in the memory of the terror that had gripped her then. “A being of darkness, a Vampire was fleeing a battle it had nearly been destroyed in. In an attempt to return to it’s home realm or world, those that pursued it corrupted the portal spell it was using. That act caused it and them to land here rather the true destination.” The water rippled again then settled, the Sprite went on. “They fought a terrible battle that cost the lives of many of those that came after it. The ones that were not human soon perished from the lack of what they called magic. It was needed for them to survive. The Evil being was imprisoned and put in a deep sleep that it was never to awaken from.” The sprite stood and went to the center of the pool then return and sat on the water again.

“If it’s coming here saved our world, why was it imprisoned,” asked Brena.

“Child, this creature could feed off the very life force of those around it. It fed on the blood of the living. It fed and killed. Some it would raise and they would serve it in battle. It was a monster from the darkest ages prior to the Mage wars. This creature was from so long ago, even the legends and myths of them have faded beyond living and written memory.” The water shivered as if in fear of the memory. “No child, it did not save our world, not in the least. It was what it carried with it that has kept the world alive in the mortal realms. It is a gemstone of terrible potential and power. Those that followed the gem to our world took it and broke it up, scattering it around the world. They hoped that the gem and what it represented would be forgotten and lost in the passage of time.” More ripples ran up and down it’s body and the Sprite almost seemed to start pacing around the pool as it spoke.

“One of the gems was found and the power was recognized for what it is capable of. The gem had been found by one that sought power to rule. She figured out what the gem was and started gathering the bits that were scattered across the other continent. This evil woman gathered all the shards and held them, used them, then passed them on to the current holder of the gems. Several of the shards are still here, in this part of the world as well. I know of two shards indirectly and hold a third as guardian.”

Brena felt the eyes on her, almost like they were boring into her very soul. “One was held by the descendents of an old family of the original party. They are lost now but another of that faint tribe has taken the duty.” A face seemed to rise up from the water. It was of a boy, but it was not clear enough to make out his features.

“Another is in a ring, kept in the Planes Guard Treasury vault. The power it contains has helped guard the City for many ages. The third was given to me to hide and protect. Those warriors knew I had to survive to one day pass on my knowledge to one that would one day save us from destruction.” The Sprite moved back to the central stone pillar that the water flowed from. It reached into the stone and withdrew a yellowish red stone from the heart of the pillar.

As it came free, the water stopped flowing from the small spire. The Sprite flowed back to Brena, holding the stone before it. “Child, you are the one I have waited over three thousand years for. You have the purist remaining blood of the ones that charged me with this duty.” As it spoke, it began losing it’s form. “This duty is to end only when one of the children of the travelers came to me to claim the stone. Take this and keep it safe Queen of Thieves. Remember, she wants this and will send many agents to find this part of the gem, for it is the largest single piece not yet in her possession. The Blood Queen will come, and when she does, only those of great skill and power will be able to defeat her.” The pool was shivering as if the ground around it had started to shake.

It held out the gem to Brena to take. Brena wasn’t sure at first but it suddenly sunk in that the stolen ring was the one that the Blood Queen was after and quickly decided that she should take this gem and protect it from discovery. The stolen ring was the one the Sprite mentioned, she owed this Blood Queen a serious ass kicking for the death of her family and friends. As she took the gem in her hands, the water in the pool started to darken and sink, the sprite sinking from sight with a quite sigh and a whispered, “Thank you child,” its long, lonely duty at last at an end. The water sank quickly and thickened as it grew ever darker. She could also smell it now, a smell of ancient rot and decay long held at bay. But now with the release, time began to do what it would to the ancient pool. Brena backed away from the rotting pool then turned towards the west, quickly walking across the suddenly rocky, moss covered surface. She sped up and soon was running as fast as she could manage over the unstable ground.

She dodged several times as a tree would sprout up in front of her and grow to old age in seconds. Time had been held at bay here for untold ages and now was racing to catch up. She made it to the wood line just as the entire area around where the pool had been was filled with tree’s. These tree’s were now massive and old to ruinous age. She watched as they died and fell, new saplings sprang up to take their places. Over and over this happened, then it stopped as the reality of the hill caught up with the world around it. A dark and forbidding wood now stood in place of the empty pool and hill. It felt old and ancient, not something to be found in the current world. Brena had a feeling that to remain would be courting further disaster. She turned again west and moved out quickly from the mysterious hill and Enchanted Pool that was no more.

It was almost an hour before Brena noticed that she still held the gem in her left hand. This brought her jog to a halt and she looked at it for the first time since the Sprite had given it to her. As she looked into it, she could see a pulsing glow from deep inside it. It almost looked like it was beating in the rhythm of a heart. She could feel the pounding of her own and it was not hers that made it pulse, the speed and pattern were not hers. As she stared at it, she began to hear a faint voice, a voice of command that was filled with malice and hate.

She didn’t drop the stone, but did un-strap her bags, letting them settle to the ground behind her. She had had lessons on how to handle gems that had been enchanted and had seen a silk pouch in the holding bag that would serve her current need. She called the silk pouch out and quickly placed the gem in the silk. When she pulled the draw string closed and placed it in the bag, the whisper was silence completely, and the creeping feeling of dread she had been feeling faded away. “Ok, whatever is at the other end of the stone’s connection is as bad as they come.” She said.

She picked up her bags and got everything back in order to continue her march west. “If it is the thing from another world, then I have to get it to a temple and hope they can deal with it. And this Blood Queen, this is the second time I have heard that name now. If she is coming and the stone is her reason, I have to do my best to see she never gets it.” Setting her resolve to make this happen, she picked up her pace.

Just before sunset, Brena came upon an open field that was well into the season and harvesting might begin soon. She could tell it was a grain of some sort. Not being a farmer meant her knowledge of farming was limited at best. She went around the northern edge of the field and soon was able so see a farm house. This house was not a hovel that seemed to be the standard further east, this was a three story House, with the capital H to make the point in her mind. Rather than there being one or two small out buildings, this farm had four very large barns and half a dozen silos for grain storage. The barns were three stories tall, the silo’s were even taller than that. She could see smaller buildings near the barns as she drew closer. She thought that one had to house chickens and another hogs. The fences and animals gave good clues as to their use.

Brena quickly decided that she didn’t want to alarm the residents so she turned back the way she had come and returned to the edge of the fields that appeared to belong to the farm. She just didn’t feel like trying to explain how she came to be on the far side of the fields were there aren’t any roads. She followed the field around until she came to a road. A wood and metal wire fence bordered the field and a deep drainage ditch acted as a moat to keep travelers away from the fields. The wire part of the fence had sharp metal barbs on it to make going over, under or through it a painful proposition. She walked along the fence since it was going in the direction she wanted to go, west. Looking at the sun ahead of her she guessed she had little more than an hours daylight left to get clear of the field she seemed to be trapped in. She needn’t have worried, in far less time than the hour, she found the road from the farm where it met the road she was following.