Chapter 8 #2
That is news to me, and I’m guessing is the source of Callum’s secrecy of all this.
“Where’s the Prince? His father is potentially dying and he’s doing what, exactly?”
The Prince of Ashven has been mysterious for as long as I could remember, being a usual source of gossip amongst people passing through the Traps.
According to the rumors, he was rarely seen by the public and most people didn’t seem to remember his name, nevermind what he looked like.
There were a lot of conspiracies behind it, but as far as I heard, no one knew the truth.
Callum probably does know the truth based on his high ranking position, but it’s clearly something he is not willing to share.
“Ah…the prince is…not here,” he finishes.
If the King died, the Prince would be next to rule Ashven. If he wasn’t capable of doing so…
“So you don’t want the kingdom falling to the deadbeat prince?” I guess.
“Something like that.” Callum pulls his chair out to sit and props his legs on the table. “Any other questions, Siren?”
He had called me that nickname last night, too. I don’t want to linger on how the nickname makes me feel warm inside, or what it might mean, so I ignore the sentiment for now.
“Where are you in the search? Do you have any leads?”
I’ll be the first to admit that I am a bit skeptical of this whole Eternity Stone thing. My parents always tried to find different relics that did this and that, and they never found any. This could turn out to be another crazy adventure, just with someone else.
“Not many. The King stole that journal from Guilmond when he was there visiting and had it translated. But it doesn’t reveal much besides what powers the relic holds.”
Guilmond is the kingdom directly north of Ashven, neither allies nor enemies to us. The two kingdoms are always in a precarious state with one another, never managing to make an alliance but never managing to break out in war, either.
Callum continues. “We always thought that the Stone was connected to Guilmond somehow. We’ve tried to trace it back through journals and other periodicals but there’s nothing concrete. That book mentions the burial of it, leading to the Golden Hunt, but obviously that led to nothing.
“A year or so after the Hunt ended, we started hearing rumors that Guilmond had actually lost the Stone decades ago. Having no other leads and with the failure of the Hunt and with the death of the Queen, our trail went cold. It wasn’t until a couple years ago when the Battle at Rantiff happened that we started to consider the idea that the Stone was found and back in play. ”
I have a vague sense of recognition and I rack my brain trying to see if I had heard anything of the Battle of Rantiff while I was at the camp. If there was one thing that people loved to do in the camp, it was to gossip and spread news.
“That was the battle in Auros? Where Guilmond showed up on their shores and declared war for no reason?”
Auros is an island kingdom in the middle of the Lentia Ocean.
They are known for being neutral in all political affairs and liked to be left alone.
I remember the sailor who showed up at the camp for a week who was telling the story of Guilmond invading Auros, but I didn’t give it much thought at the time.
“Exactly. It was an odd strategic move for Guilmond to attack Auros out of nowhere. We were waiting to hear that Auros fell – it’s a much smaller kingdom than Guilmond and without having alliances there was no one coming to help them.
They also didn’t trade or visit with the mainland, so it was also widely known that Auros had very few relics as not many Ancients lived there. ”
My brows furrow as Callum explains further. “Most great kingdoms have hundreds if not thousands of relics, using them to maintain their wealth and power in different ways. Without having many, Auros’ defeat was almost inevitable.”
He licks his lips, and takes a sip of water from his mug on the table.
I have to tear my eyes away when he opens his mouth again to continue.
“But Auros didn’t fall. In fact, they defeated Guilmond’s army, causing them to retreat.
But no one knew what happened. There were stories that Guilmond thought better of the attack and called it off.
Stories that Auros had thousands more soldiers than expected. ” He places his feet back on the floor.
“What does this have to do with the Stone?”
“I’m getting to that.”
“Very slowly,” I grumble, sliding lower in my chair.
“One day, after finding nothing else about the Stone, I started thinking back to that battle. It never made sense to me how Auros had won, and I had this hunch that somehow the Stone was connected. We – Ginna, Hanson and I – started studying the battle more. We discreetly interviewed Guilmond soldiers, sailors, and anyone who would have been in the vicinity of the fight.”
Callum shuffles some papers in front of him, eventually landing on one.
“Most people didn’t offer much or told us the same rumors we had been hearing.
But there was one soldier we met in a tavern, and after some strong drinks, he opened up to us.
He told us that Auros had an undefeatable army of the Ancients.
When we asked what he meant by that, he admitted that their soldiers could not be injured.
Cuts were healing before their eyes. Stab wounds closing.
Endless stamina. Guilmond soldiers were frightened and called off after endless fighting that had only weakened themselves.
We knew that the Ancients didn’t exist anymore, obviously, so the only other conclusion we could land on was that Auros possessed the Stone. ”
“If you know where it is, why did you come ask for my help?” I’m still missing a piece in this story. “Let’s go to Auros, steal the Stone, and I can be on my way.”
Callum offers me a sheepish expression. “It’s not in Auros anymore. Long story short, the trail is cold again, we became desperate, and here you are.”
I press my face into my hands and groan. “I’m starting to believe that this might be an impossible task. Have you considered that the soldier was lying or mistaken? That Auros won because they were better, and it actually had nothing to do with the Stone?”
“Like I mentioned, I’m desperate.” Callum throws me a crooked grin, and I take a second to examine his face more closely.
He has bags under his eyes, like he hasn’t had a good night’s sleep ever, and although he seems composed at first glance, his hands are constantly moving and fidgeting.
A bandage peaks out of his collar, and I wonder if I missed that over the last couple days or if it’s new.
He looks at me as if I’m his last hope, and I’m starting to believe that I am. That this is his last chance at trying to cure the King and save his kingdom from falling to the Prince’s hands. I can see Callum’s bleeding heart through his chest, and my decision is easy.