Chapter 38: The Ruins, found…. (Bruin)

  "Rhein. Good to lay eyes upon you." The lord clan in golden garbs stands with his son as they disembark the ship. Accompanying the Bruin main line males are the full assembly of wise men of the court from Dol, including Euron, his top sage. They have traveled from Dol to the island of Jali at the behest of Rhein Bolden who had lain siege to the native communities along the coast prior and established a beachhead operation to work further into the sparely visited interior, a land few have ever dared to visit. With high mountains and volcanos, making it nearly impossible for aerial surveillance to be used, the island had proven for some time to be quite the trouble for the army under Rhein to explore. The locals had also provided nearly no valuable assistance as they either died during the invasion or remained silent as to any information as to what was beyond the coastline.

  "A pleasure Lord Bruin. Please follow me to my villa study." The men walked from the rudimentary port that was clearly used for only the most minimal of reasons prior to the Bruin invasion. The villages on the coast were clearly used for simple fishing and basic civilization. The villa they arrived at was nothing of note to the castles on the mainland, nothing more than an elaborate banana shack with a couple of rooms and hewn doors thrown together. "Please forgive the amenities Lord Bruin this land is no place of wealth and luxury."

  "None required Rhein." The main portion of the party waited outside while Vespasian, Euron, and Chile followed the Bolden man and all took seated places in the main room of the largest building in the village. "I heard there was trouble with the expedition force you sent further south."

  "Yes, Lord Bruin. The force of brutes I sent under Walt….None have returned. And we sent a follow-up ship to search the coordinates where the ship they were on was sent. There was no ship there, which could mean anything. The search party did see that island but dared not drop anchor."

  "They made the right call, we shall go explore that island if need be," Chile replied. "Besides I think the power we seek lies on this island."

  "What makes you so sure?" Rhein questioned. Euron leaned forward to provide information.

  "We have been reading in the archives of all the libraries that we have captured. The libraries of Lowell, Tripe, Burm. Those families in charge were pathetic fighters but great scholars. In examining things we found some information of the world of Wiera before the War of the Twins."

  Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

  "You mean before the battles between Iagus and Kaya?" Rhein asked. "I thought that was legend?"

  "Legend is merely history with a slight embellishment attached to it. We have reason to think there are two places on Wiera that have significant power in channeling forth the twins. One is in Archana, which has ties to Kaya, and the other we believe to be here on Jali which has ties to Iagus. We have come with our scholars and court assembly of wise men to discover this place if it exists and then….well….we have plans." Euron laughed at the end of this explanation.

  "Rhein you are to take your best men with us as we go into the heart of the land on this expedition. We don't know what we will find but the goal is to discover it and then set up a basecamp and pathway back here to the coast. This is our top priority. Our war back on the mainland is waning and our control is sifting quickly, this is our top priority. The only way we can turn the tide back into our favor." Lord Bruin spoke with truth in his voice. This news and revelation shocked Rhein. He was not sure what the purpose of this journey would yield and yet he understood the value and responsibility on his shoulders along with the others in the company.

  "When do we leave Lord Bruin?"

  "Tomorrow Morning. We will follow a journal we found in the halls of Burm, the Morningsong House had an ancestor who kept a journal during the war. We will be following his notes." Euron opened a small journal, that had been clearly transcribed several times over the years to preserve the text inside. He pointed to a particular passage.

  The efforts of the goddess have proven grand as her bestowing of power upon her guardians Scythe and Reto have allowed us the edge to best most of what her brother can muster on the mainland. Their power is no longer at a level I can match, even with all the wondrous spells goddess Kaya has granted me knowledge of. I am still in their party though, as we alongside her grace have traveled to the island of Jali, a land I was unaware existed to the South of the Continent we call Wiera. Our party has been met with resistance from those still loyal to the Dark Lord, though Scythe and Reto no longer see them as opposition and merely as brush to be ripped through like a machete to a forest. Our journey toward the center leads to a Volcano covered in black and according to her grace holds ruins and temples made of black obsidian, the same as her halls on the mainland. I tread softly, they tread as a Bull unleashed.

  -Tertull Morningsong entre 131

  "So we find this Volcano and then we'll….."

  "Perhaps find something greater than we ever have imagined in power." Euron smiled as if he knew more than he let on. This did not bother Chile Bruin as he and Euron knew the same amount on this subject. Rhein was unsettled by this information but ultimately knew his place as a hired hand to be of service to the lord. He bowed to his lord and explained that he would round up the escort party for the journey ahead.