(Final7Darkness)
Chapter 1
Ren and his crew are within their ship, the Wraith, sailing out upon the twenty seas of Mer in search for the Thirteen Treasures of Rule and with these treasures they will be able to save the world from the deadly liquid known as Dark Water. The crew are following the blue beam of light that's emitting from the compass that Ren held with his right hand.
“Can't believe that we close to another treasure; it weren't so long ago since we found the last one” said Ioz as he was at the helm, guiding the Wraith to follow the beam of light. “I know what you mean Ioz remember how long it took us to find the Eighth Treasure of Rule. Who would have thought that it would be a living creature” said Tula as she was managing the sails.
“Don't forget that Jenna did say that the remaining treasures have changed shape due to the energy of the first seven. So keep in mind that it might take us longer as we still don't really don't know if they all become living beings” said Ren as he was still holding the compass. “Yeah, yeah. Hay Monkey Bird see anything yet?” shouted Ioz as he looked up and saw a red monkey with a bird like beak and red feathered wings.
“I'm starved! All this scouting is building me up an appetite” said Niddler as he was out of breath. “I'm not asking about your endless stomach Monkey Bird! I asking if you can seeing anything!” yelled Ioz as he was a bit annoyed with Niddler. “Ah calm down, calm down all I can see is a tree dead ahead” said Niddler as he pointed the direction the beam of the light is aiming towards.
“Say that again Niddler” asked Tula as she thought she missed heard him. “I'm saying that there's a tree in the ocean” answered Niddler as he looked down at everyone. “Sun must be messing with ya head Monkey Bird. There's no way there an tree in the ocean” said Ioz as he didn't believe him. “You calling me a fibber?” asked Niddler as he flew down next to Ioz.
“Give me one good reason to believe a gluttony Monkey Bird?” asked Ioz as he looked at him. “Oh yeah, how about all those times that I saved you” answered Niddler. “You cause more trouble than good Monkey Bird” said Ioz back as he leaned towards his face. “By the twin moons” said Ren as he lowered the compass which caused the beam of light to vanish.
“Niddler was telling the truth” said Tula as she covered her mouth as she looked out at sea. “Huh? What are you two babbling about?” asked Ioz as he slowly looked up and saw both Ren and Tula looked behind him. Ioz looked behind and saw something he couldn't believe, “Chongo-longo!” said Ioz as all he saw was a white glowing tree which was slowly growing as they were getting closer.
“See Ioz I was telling the truth” said Niddler as he pointed at the tree. “For once you telling the truth Monkey Bird” said Ioz. “That must be where the ninth treasure is” said Tula as she walked towards Ren. “Strange, I never heard of stories about a tree that grows out from sea water” said Ren as he was still looking at it.
“Well lets see what we got over there then shall we” said Tula as she pulled out a telescope and looked towards the tree. “I don't believe it...Ren look at it” said Tula as she handed the telescope over to him. Ren looked through it and saw that the tree was in fact flashing a white light like it was a pulse. He looked at the branches of the tree and saw that it has crystal looking leaves. “Its as if that tree is some sort of treasure like jewel” said Ren as he lowered the telescope.
“Jewel you say? Well then what are we waiting for?” asked Ioz as he was coming up with another idea of how to get rich. “Just like Ioz to get interested into strange things, mention something that can make him rich and he's all for it” said Tula as she laughed a little. “What you say woman?” asked Ioz as he looked towards her. “Oh nothing, nothing” said Tula as she was trying to stop laughing.
With that Ioz sailed the Wraith towards the tree and to them all they were shocked as too how big the tree was. The closer they got, the bigger it became as to them, they look like ants compared to the tree. “Chongo-longo! How are we suppose to find the ninth treasure if we can't get on it?” asked Ioz as he noticed that there was no way to climb on. “I don't know Ioz, Niddler fly around and see if there's anything we can climb on to” said Ren as he looked at the tree and then looked at Niddler.
“I hope you're going to give me Minga-Melons for this” said Niddler as he flew off the ship and headed upwards towards the tree. “Does that Monkey Bird ever think beside from his stomach” said Ioz as he looked at Niddler flying towards the top.
As soon as Niddler reached the top, he flew around the tree a few times till he spotted something on one of the branches of the tree. “Oh boy Minga-Melons” said Niddler as he saw that there was some of them growing on it. Niddler flew towards the branch and landed next to a Minga-Melon. “Oh wow, never thought I would see Minga-Melons on a tree like this” said Niddler to himself as he pluck as many Minga-Melons as he can.
“Hay Monkey Bird! See anything yet?” echoed Ioz's voice. “Erm...nothing yet. Nothing but Minga-Melons that is” answered Niddler as he had the sound of joy in his voice. “Uh ha...told you he only think about his stomach” said Ioz as he looked at Ren. “Here he comes” said Ren as he looked up and saw that Niddler was flying back to the Wraith with five Minga-Melons in hand.
Just then as soon as Niddler was close enough to the ship, Tula suddenly shook and said, “I sense danger” “Danger?” asked Ren as he looked at her. Before Ioz could comment, everyone noticed that the glow the tree was giving off was getting brighter and brighter till it engulfed the whole area they were in. As soon as the light faded away and everyone's eyesight came back, “Look out! Its raining Minga-Melons!” shouted Ioz as he saw five Minga-Melons falling from the sky.
As soon as they hit the floor of the ship, each one burst open. “Ah my Minga-Melons” said a weak voice that sounded like Niddler. “Niddler? Where are you?” asked Ren as he noticed that he was nowhere to be seen. “What are you talking about I'm here...?” asked Niddler still in a weak voice. Tula spotted a small something flying around her.
Tula started to flap her hands as she tried to get the flying thing away. “Hay Tula its me!” echoed Niddler's voice which came from the small fly thing. Tula stopped flapping and looked at the small thing and saw that it was all red as well as having the shape of a Monkey Bird. “Nid...Niddler” said Tula shocked at seeing Niddler small. He was small enough to fit palm of her hand.
“Noy Jitat!” said Ren as he looked at Niddler as he landed on Tula's open palms. “How ya so small Monkey Bird?” asked Ioz. “I don't know” answered Niddler as hang his head. “Hmm...could it have something to do with the Minga-Melons?” asked Ren as he was about looked at the burst opened melons scatted all over the floor.
As he looked at them, he saw that they were no longer look like Minga-Melons but looked like pure crystal shards. “What happened to the Minga-Melons?” asked Ioz as he walked to the crystal shards and bent down. As he was about to touch one, Tula shouted out, “Stop don't touch them!”
Ioz took his hand back and asked, “What ya mean woman?” “What if those crystal shards are what caused Niddler to shrink?” answered Tula. “Hmm, you may be onto something woman” said Ioz as he stood up. Before anyone could say anything else, they all saw that the crystal shards gave off a greenish glow. They all noticed this greenish glow as they saw it on all eight of the Treasures of Rule they found.
They looked at it and before one of them could grab hold of it, they saw the crystal shards melt away like ice leaving behind puddles. With the puddles it made, they saw that it was moving. “Noy Jitat! Its moving like Dark Water” said Ren as he knelt down to get a better look. “Careful Ren” said Ioz as he saw Ren moving closer to the moving puddles. As he was getting closer they all saw that the puddles was moving towards the bow of the Wraith.
As soon as the puddles reached the bow, they all saw the puddles climbing on it and then it stretched out to the tree. Once it connected to the tree, everyone saw the tree was giving off the same greenish glow the crystal shards had before. As soon as the glow faded away, they saw what looked like an entrance and that the stretched out puddles turned solid once again.
“Chongo-longo! Those shards act like a bridge” said Ioz as he couldn't believe what he saw. “By the twin moons...its like the tree is the treasure” said Tula whom still have Niddler in the palm of her hands. “Hay what are we going to about me?” asked Niddler as he looked up at everyone. They looked at Niddler and Ren said, “Hmm, chances are that the Ninth Treasure might have something to do with you being small” “So your saying that all we need to do is find the treasure and everything goes back to normal?” asked Ioz.
“I don't know, but with everything we seen so far; it might” said Ren as he walked towards the bow of the Wraith and climbed on the bridge. “Well since we're here we might as well go in” said Tula as she looked at Niddler as he flew off her hands. With that the four of them walked along the crystal bridge and headed towards the entrance.
As they walked through the entrance they found themselves walking through a corridor and found that its walls were made of crystals. “Wow...just look at theses” said Ioz as he touched the walls while walking. “Who would have thought that the inside would be made of crystals as well” said Tula as she found it amazing as she saw the crystals glitter with light.
As they were getting in deeper, Ren saw what he could tell was another entrance with shined off a bright light. He knew that the end was in sight, he looked back and said, “I see the end in sight” “Well what are we waiting for” said Ioz as he rushed towards the entrance. As soon as he reached the entrance, he was what he couldn't really believe what he saw.
“What is Ioz? What do you see?” asked Ren as he and Tula was a few feet away. “Chongo-longo!” was all Ioz said as he still looked out. As soon as Ren and Tula reached him, they looked at what he saw and the two of them said the same, “Noy Jitat”As soon as Niddler reached them, he rested on Tula's left shoulder and looked at what they saw.
There the four of them found themselves standing on an edge of a cliff which has a very narrow foot path which meant that they had to walk along side of it with their back against the wall. They looked out and saw that they were very high up, it was like they climbed up a mountain.
Chapter 2
“How is this possible? Aren't we inside the tree?” asked Ioz as he looked at the others with a confused look on his face. Ren looked over the edge of the cliff and saw that it was a long way down. He looked up and saw clouds. “Its like we've entered into another world,” said Ren as he looked at others and then back up.
Tula looked at the foot path that need to go on and saw that it curves. She then looked out as far as she can and saw that there was a wall on the other end. Tula noticed that the walls around them curved outwards like a circle. “Its like we're in a pen” said Tula. “Say what woman?” asked Ioz as he looked at her.
“Look at the walls,” answered Tula as she pointed at the walls; “can't you see that they all curved like a circle”
“Yeah...I can see why you say that” said Ioz. Ren took out the compass and held it high. A beam of blue light shined out of it and everyone saw that it shined downwards. “Guess we're going down” said Ioz as he leaned over the edge of the cliff. “I don't see anyway of climbing down...guess we have to follow that foot path” said Ren as he looked at the foot path that was displayed to them.
Ren lowered the compass, the beam vanished as he did so and put it away. “Hay Niddler” said Tula as she looked at him. “Yeah?” asked Niddler as he looked up at her. “Do you think you can see how deep this place is?” answered Tula. “But being this size will make it longer” said Niddler as he sounded sad. “If you do that then I will buy you a Minga-Melon” said Tula as she smiled at him. “Make it two and we have a deal” said Niddler as he flew up off Tula's shoulder and hovered in front of her face.
“Deal” said Tula as she held out her right index finger for Niddler to shake. Once shook, Niddler flew out a few feet away from the cliff and said, “Okay here goes” With that he flew downwards. “Hay what's Niddler doing?” asked Ren as he saw him flying down. “Just asking him to see how deep it is” answered Tula.
“To pass the time, why don't we see where the foot path leads us” said Ioz as he took the lead. He stood on the foot path with his back against the wall and began to walk sideways. The others followed. “I hope Niddler can find us” said Ren as they were making their way across the foot path.
Meanwhile with Niddler,
“Wow, this place sure is deep” said Niddler to himself as he was getting tired at flying. He had been doing this for five minutes. As he was still flying downwards, he spotted something down below him. All he could make out was that it shined a mix of black, dark blue and dark purple. He heard some strange growl like noise echoing around him.
“Oh this cannot be good” said Niddler as he stopped flying down and looked around him to see where the growl came from. Niddler then looked down and saw the mixed coloured shiny thing was moving around. “Huh what is that I wonder?” said Niddler as he flew in a bit closer. As he got closer he saw the thing was to be a thick looking liquid like substance.
“That's not what I think it is” said Niddler as he was getting scared at what it was. He looked down and saw the liquid was spouting upwards like it was stretching. At its tip, Niddler saw that it had sprouted what looked like tentacles. He saw that it was heading towards him. “Dark Water!” screamed Niddler as he heard its growl. Niddler tried as fast as he could to fly away but he got caught by the Dark Water and got swallowed up but it.
Back with the others,
Tula suddenly shook and said, “I sense danger” “Danger? What kind of danger?” asked Ren as he and Ioz reached the end of the foot path which lead them to the other side of the cliff they were just on. Tula looked down and saw something shiny with a mix colour of black, dark blue and dark purple climbing upwards upon the walls.
“By the twenty seas!” shouted Tula as she rushed herself off the foot path. “Chongo-longo!” said Ioz as he looked at what's below. “By my father's sword, its Dark Water!” shouted Ren as he saw the Dark Water getting closer. “Hurry” said Tula as she saw that there was a door behind the men. Ioz saw the door and rushed to open it. Once opened, the three of them entered through and then Ioz closed it and held onto the handle tightly.
Just then a very loud growl noise echoed from beyond the door. After a few moments the growl vanished. “Noy Jitat! Niddler!” shouted Ren as he just remembered that Niddler went flying downwards to see how deep it was. “Its too late Ren...Niddler...he's gone” said Ioz as he hung his head.
“No...it can't be” said Tula as she felt guilty as she was the one that asked him to go down. “Come on...Niddler didn't want us to moan in such a dangerous place” said Ioz. “You're...you're right, Ioz. Now is not the time” said Ren as he took out the compass. A blue beam of light went shinning from it. The three of them looked at the beam and saw that it aiming upwards instead of downwards.
“You...you don't think that the Ninth Treasure went with the Dark Water?” asked Ioz as he looked at the beam. Ren put the compass away and walked down the corridor. “Hay Ren; say something?” asked Ioz as he and Tula followed him. “What can I say...” said Ren as he had the sound of depression in his voice.
“Come on...lets just find the Ninth Treasure” said Ren as he carried on walking. With that Tula and Ioz followed him with out saying a word. As soon as they reached the end of the corridor, the three of them found themselves in what looked like a hallway of a palace. They all saw that everything inside the hallway was all shiny and glittery. They all saw that it was all made of see through crystals.
Just then, the three of them heard a weak voice echoing within the area. The voice sounded like Niddler. “Is that Niddler?” asked Ren as he looked at the others. “By the sea gods...look” said Ioz as he pointed upwards. Ren and Tula looked up and saw what looked like a see through crystal shaped pipe. On the pipe, they saw that there was crack which seemed to leak what they could tell was Dark Water.
With each drop of Dark Water, they saw that it fizzed up in a purple foam and then it faded away the moment that it touched the floor. Just then they heard the same voice again, they looked up and saw another drop of Dark Water and the moment that it touched the floor, it vanished in a purple foam; they all saw something small.
The three of them knelt down to get a better look and saw that it was Niddler. “Niddler! How, how did you survive?” asked Ren as Tula picked him up. “I don't know, last thing I saw was the Dark Water swallow me up and then here I am” answered Niddler as he looked at him. “Last I heard is that once Dark Water swallows a person then that person is pretty much dead” said Ioz.
“That's not true, remember when I fell into the Dark Water? I didn't die but instead got sent to the centrer of Mer where we first met the Darkdweller” said Tula as she looked at him. Niddler shook as he said, “I'm glad that I didn't go to see it the second time...just thinking about it gives me the chills” “Relax about that Niddler, the next time we meet it we shall have all thirteen treasurers” said Ren as he tried to cheer him up. “So Ren which way is the Ninth Treasure?” asked Ioz as he crossed his arms. “Only one way to find out” said Ren as he took out the compass and a beam of blue light aimed upwards; “guess we're going up”
The four of them looked at the hallway they were in and saw that there was a set of stairs that spiral upwards. They made their way towards it. As soon as Ren placed one foot of the step, they all noticed that the area was getting brighter and brighter. Suddenly everything was engulfed in white light and as soon as it dimmed down and everyone's eyesight came back; they saw that Ioz was missing.
“Noy Jitat! Ioz has vanished!” shouted Ren as he couldn't see him anywhere. Just then, Tula felt something tapping on her foot. Tula looked down and saw another small thing; “That not whom I think it is” said Tula as she knelt down to see what it is. There standing by her foot was a three inch tall Ioz.
“What happened?” asked Ioz as he looked at his surroundings. “It seems you have joined the club” answered Niddler as he flew next to Ioz. “I don't remember joining such a crummy club!” snapped Ioz as he leaned towards Niddler. “You didn't touch those crystal shards did you?” asked Tula as she picked Ioz up. “I did not do such thing woman” answered Ioz as he looked up. “Then you must have touched something to cause you to shrink” said Tula as she showed Ren the now shrunken Ioz.
“Well we all touched the crystal walls when we walking along that cliff” said Ren. “If that was the case; then shouldn't we all be small?” asked Tula. “Its just a theory...but perhaps it would be best if we should be careful with what we touch from now on” answered Ren.
With that Tula placed Ioz on her left shoulder, Niddler sat next to him. The two of them headed off upstairs where they hope that the Ninth Treasurer is location and they hopped that it would stay there.
Meanwhile outside,
Sailing towards the crystal tree was the deadly warship, the Maelstrom, whom is owned by the feared pirate; Bloth. “What do you mean you lost them!” shouted Bloth as he grabbed hold of one of his lackey, Konk. “Konk didn't mean to lose them...” pleaded Konk as he was trying to brake free from the ox size captain.
“Captain” spoke Bloth's second in command Mantus. “What do you want Mantus!” snapped Bloth as he threw Konk onto the floor. “I found them” said Mantus as he pointed out into the distance. Bloth looked out at where he was pointing towards and saw another ship with something latched onto it.
Chapter 3
“Perfect...Konk!” said Bloth as he knew he has just saw the Wrath. “Yes captain Bloth” said Konk as he stumble towards Bloth. “You go out there and see if Ren on board his ship” ordered Bloth as he looked at Konk. “Yes captain” said Konk as he rushed off towards where the Dagrons are kept on the Maelstrom.
As Konk on the Dagron was getting closer to the Wraith, something caught something at the corner of his eye. He looked over to see what it was and saw something shiny on the branches of the tree. “Konk want know what that is?” asked Konk to himself as he made the Dagron fly towards the branches.
As he got closer, he saw that on the branches where chests filled with gold coins. “Wha...Konk will be praised by captain” said Konk as he couldn't believe his eyes at how much treasurer there was. Konk took a look at the Wraith and saw that Ren and the others aren't there.
“No Ren...but plenty of gold to bring back” said Konk as he made the Dagron land on one of the branches and went towards one of the chests. It took a while for Konk to carry one of the chests over to the Dagron. Once he had the Dagron holding the chest, Konk made it fly back to the Maelstrom
“How long does it take to scout the area by air?” asked Bloth as he was getting fed up of waiting. “Konk must have got himself in trouble again” answered Mantus as he still looked out at the tree. “Ah at last!” snapped Bloth as he saw the Dagron that was carrying Konk was heading back.
“Hmm, interesting” said a strange looking man whom wore black robes, he is known as Morpho, as he looked at Konk flying back to the ship. “What's so interesting?” asked Bloth as he looked at him. “That there's a Noisulli. Fancy seeing one here away from Dark Water seas” answered Morpho as he turned around and headed towards the lower deck.
As he reached the steps, he stopped, looked over his left shoulder and said, “Just don't get fooled by its illusions” “Wonder what he means by that?” asked Mantus as he stood next to Bloth.
“Captain!” shouted Konk as he was close enough. Bloth looked out and asked, “Well what news you have then?” “Ren and others are no on Wraith” answered Konk as the Dagron was flying above the Maelstrom a few feet.
“What?” asked Bloth as he didn't believe what he heard. “Hmm, if they are not on the Wraith...then where could they be?” asked Mantus to himself. “Well, we know that they're not their ship so that only leaves the tree” answered Bloth.
“What makes you so sure?” asked Mantus as he looked at him. “Morpho said so himself that Noisullis only found in Dark Water infected seas,” answered Bloth as he looked at the tree, “Then it means that another Treasure of Rule lies somewhere in”
“Surly you don't think, he also said to not be fooled by the illusions that it can make” said Mantus. “Enough, let us go and find it before Ren does” ordered Bloth. Before anyone could follow his orders, the chest of gold coins fell from the sky.
“What's this?” asked one of the crewmen as a few of them walked towards the chest. “Konk found gold coins on the branches of crystal tree” answered Konk as he made the Dagron land on the ship. The crewmen that gathered round the chest and picked up handfuls of gold coins, letting the coins fall off their hands.
“I don't like this” said Bloth as he looked at the crewmen around the chest. “Yes...I don't like it as well” said Mantus as he looked at Konk hopping towards them. “Konk made captain happy yes?” asked Konk.
Bloth looked at him, grabbed him by the collar of the shirt he was wearing and shouted, “You stupid fool!” “What...what Konk do?” asked Konk as he was trying to break free. Before Bloth could answer, the light glowing from the tree shinned out bright and engulfed the whole area.
As the light dimmed down and everyone's sight came back, they all saw that the crewmen that was around the chest of coins were gone. Bloth looked at his fist and saw that Konk was no longer in his grasp. “Look” said Mantus as he pointed at where chest of gold coins should be.
Bloth looked and saw that the chest and its scattered coins were nothing more than crystals and shards. “Was this what Morpho warned about?” asked Bloth to himself. “Captain...your orders?” asked Mantus as he looked at him.
“This changes nothing” answered Bloth as he looked at him. Just then at that moment, Bloth heard Konk's voice. It was weak but Bloth could tell where it was coming from. Bloth looked at the closed fist he used to grab hold of Konk.
He slowly opened it and saw a three inch Konk standing at the palm of his hand.
Meanwhile back with Ren and the others,
“How long is this stairway?” asked Ioz as he noticed that they were climbing it for over an hour. “I don't want to hear that from you” answered Tula as she looked at Ioz. “Yeah, yeah I know but I mean come on” said Ioz as he looked up and still saw more spiral stairs for Ren and Tula to climb.
“Have faith Ioz, we shall reach the top and find the Ninth Treasurer of Rule” said Ren as he was taking the lead. With the compass in hand, the blue beam still aims upwards. “Yeah, yeah” said Ioz.
It took them a while but they finally reached the top of the stairs. Ren and Tula took a moment of rest and looked at the area they are in. “Chongo-longo” was all Ioz said as he looked at what was ahead of them.
The four of them looked out and saw that they were on a cliff and saw another set of stairs which seem to hang in mid-air. “How do we get across?” asked Niddler as he looked at Ren. “Well, from the distance from here to that set of stairs...you could have carried us over” answered Ren as he looked at the distance the stairs are.
“But due to me being small...I'm useless here” said Niddler as he hung his head. “Not true really” said Tula as she picked him up. “Huh...what do you mean?” asked Niddler as he looked up at her all confused. “I got this feeling that this cliff...isn't really what it seems” answered Tula.
“What are you on about woman?” asked Ioz as he looked at her. “What I mean is that Niddler...can you fly down below us please” answered Tula as she looked at Ioz and then looked at Niddler. “Oh no...I'm not going to do that again, not after what happened last time” said Niddler as he shook his head and waved his hands about.
“I buy you Minga-Melons if you do” said Tula as she smiled at him. “Grr...fine” said Niddler as he hung his head. With that, Niddler flew off Tula's palms and flew down the cliff but found himself smacking his face against something. Niddler on his kneels, looked up and shook his head. “What the?” asked Niddler as he looked back and saw that he didn't really flew down the cliff at all. He could see the others by the cliff straight ahead.
He slowly looked down and saw that he was in mid-air. They all noticed that there were ripples from underneath Niddler, making it as if he was on water.
“What was that?” asked Ioz as he just couldn't believe his eyes. “Just as I thought” said Tula as she stood up and placed her foot over the edge of the cliff. The moment she placed her foot down, ripples could be seen underfoot. Each ripple make it look like the reality underneath them blurs.
“How did you know?” asked Ren as he followed suit. Tula looked back and answered, “I don't know really...its just a feeling I had” “Well...I guess that's the power of an ecomancer for you” said Ren as he took out the compass again.
With its beam of blue light, it aimed upwards. “Up the stairs we go” said Tula as she took the lead.
Chapter 4
“Wow...this place looks...” said Tula as she and Ren finally made it to the top of the stairs. They all looked at the area they were in and saw they were what they could tell was outside but at night. The four of them could see stars twinkly down upon them. They even saw that some of the stars were shooting stars.
They looked at the ground they were standing on and saw that they were on a field of white flowers.
“It’s beautiful” said Tula as she took a few steps away from the steps. Ren looked back at the steps and saw that it was fading away. “Looks like we’re not returning were we come from” said Ren as he looked back over to Tula.
The two of them carried on walking through the field of flowers, with both Ioz and Niddler resting on Tula’s right shoulder. “Hay cheer up Ioz” said Niddler as he saw that Ioz had a grumpy look on his face. “Cheer up? How am I supposed to cheer up when I’m this small?” snapped Ioz as he looked at Niddler. “Like I said, cheer up. I’m sure that once we find the treasure, we be back to normal in no time” said Niddler as he slapped Ioz’s back.
The moment he did that, Niddler saw something shinny fell out of Ioz’s shirt. “Hay...what was that?” asked Niddler as he saw Ioz made hast to catch the shinny object.”Erm, it nothing Monkey Bird, nothing...keep that beak of yours out of my business” answered Ioz as he grabbed the object and stuffed it back in his shirt. “Hay...that looked like those crystals” said Niddler as he knew what the object was.
“Huh? What’s that?” asked Tula as she caught wind of what they were talking about. “Ioz, he took one of those crystal thingies” answered Niddler as he looked up to Tula while pointing towards Ioz. “What is this then?” asked Tula as she picked Ioz up by the collar. “Hay put me down woman!” shouted Ioz. “Ioz” said Tula in a serious tone of voice. “Okay fine, back at when we at the first crystal hallway...I saw what I thought at the time was a jewel so I took it” answered Ioz. Tula placed Ioz back on her shoulder and said, “I thought we made it clear that we’re not to anything here”
“Yeah, yeah woman” said Ioz to himself. “From the way things look, we might be stuck here” said Ren as he looked out into the distance. “I know what you mean” said Tula. “Why not let the compass shows us the way” suggested Ioz. “Might as well it’s worth a shot” said Ren as he took out the compass and a beam of blue light fired out from it. As he held the compass, the beam aimed south of where they were standing from.
“Guess we go that way” said Ren as he began to head off towards south. Tula with Ioz and Nibbler on her shoulders looked at Ren with confusion. After a few feet away from them, Ren saw something in the distance. He looked up at the blue beam and saw that it was aiming directly at the object. “Is that?” asked Ren to himself as he rushed towards it. As he got closer to the object, he saw that the beam was aimed mainly at it.
As he looked closer, he saw that the object was a diamond jewel that’s that size of his hand. He even saw that the diamond gave off the same greenish glow as the past Treasures of Rule.
“Yes...yes it is” answered Ren as he picked the diamond jewel up. He looked over to where Tula and saw that she was still standing at the same spot that they first entered the field. “Guys? What’s the matter?” asked Ren as he rushed towards them.
As soon as he reached them, Ren showed them the diamond jewel and said, “It’s the Ninth Treasure of Rule” Ren noticed that they didn’t have the look of joy; they just had the look of shock on their faces. “Guys?” asked Ren as he too was beginning to worry. “Erm Ren...that isn’t the Ninth Treasure” said Ioz.
“Huh? Guys what are you saying?” asked Ren as he looked at Ioz. “Ren, use the compass please” asked Tula. “Why? The treasure is in my hand right here” said Ren as he looked at her. “Please...trust me” said Tula.
Ren raised the compass in the air and to his surprise he saw that the blue beam was aiming towards north instead of the treasure in his hand. “What?” asked Ren as he lowered the compass. Before anyone could say anything, the whole area was beginning to shine off the same white light as before, blinding everyone.
As soon as the light dimmed down and everyone’s sight came back. Tula and the others saw that Ren was nowhere to be seen. “Noy Jitat!” shouted a familiar voice. Tula looked down and saw a three inch tall Ren looking up at her.
“Don’t worry Ren...you said so yourself,” said Tula as she knelt down, “We should be able to turn everyone back to normal when we find the true Ninth Treasure of Rule” she said as she picked him up. “Didn’t you see the compass point south?” asked Ren as he looked up at Tula as then looked at the others.
“No Ren...it pointed north since the beginning” answered Niddler. “Then this place must be showing us illusions of what we desire and then, once we touch it and the tree shinned out all white, we shrink down in size” said Ioz. “Oh you and those fancy words that goes out of your mouth” said Niddler as he slapped Ioz’s back.
“Shut up!” shouted Ioz as he whacked Niddler’s arm from him. Tula picked Ren up and placed her next to the others. “Well I think that Ioz speaks truth” said Ren as he raised the compass, which a blue beam fired north. “Thank you Ren” said Ioz. “But still,” said Ren as he slowly looked towards Ioz with a smile on his face, “It is strange to hear reason to the strange events coming from you”
This caused Tula to laugh, nearing causing the others to fall off. “Oh don’t you start woman!” snapped Ioz as he held on her clothing, while looking up at her. “Oh yes, yes, sorry about that” said Tula as she tried her hardest to stop laughing.
“If you think about it” said Ren as Tula began to head north. “Think what?” asked Niddler. “That the three of us seen what we desire the most” answered Ren as he looked at him. “Ah like how Monkey Bird’s endless stomach always craves Minga-Melons” said Ioz. “Or Ioz’s get rich quick ideas despite the same outcomes” said Tula as she thought back to all the times that Ioz tried to get rich but failed each time doing so.
“Ren’s desire is to find all Thirteen Treasures of Rule” said Niddler. “Don’t forget about Tula” Ren as he and the others looked up at her. “To see Andorus back to its former glory” answered Tula. “Ah I see where you’re going Ren” said Ioz. “Huh? I don’t get it” said Niddler as he was confused.
“Of course you wouldn’t get it Monkey Bird,” said Ioz as he rolled his eyes, “Think about it” “Oh I think I get it, the things that we desire for are objects that we can hold in our hands but what Tula desire is bigger” said Niddler.
“Because the thing that Tula desire for isn’t something that can be held within with her hands” said Ren. “So then...that means that I’m the only one that this tree cannot shrink by mere illusions” said Tula as she looked at the others.
Tula kept on walking through the field of white flowers till she suddenly stopped. “What is it? What’s wrong?” asked Ren as he looked up worried. Tula began to shake when she suddenly said, “I sense danger” “That can’t be good” said Ioz as he suddenly heard the sound of wind blowing, something which wasn’t there to being with.
The ground underneath Tula’s feet began to crumble and sink within. The others held onto her. Tula jumped out of the way when the crumbling ground sank even deeper. The four of them looked out and saw that cracks were spreading across the filed. They looked up and saw that the cracks were spreading across the starry night sky. “This is not good” said Ren as he was still raising the compass.
Just then, the sinking ground began to shine a greenish glow. “What is that?” asked Niddler as he was scared at what was going on. “Don’t know what it is but...” said Ren when suddenly they all saw the sinking ground burst out a pillar of light. This caused Tula to topple backwards, making the others full off her. They all looked back at the pillar and saw that it was still going strong with no sign of it dying out.
Everyone noticed that the pillar of light held the same greenish glow like colour from the past Treasures of Rule. Suddenly Ren rose out the compass and the blue beam from it aimed towards the pillar of light. “I have a feeling that beyond this pillar lays the Ninth Treasure” said Ren as he lowered the compass. “I was afraid you were going to say that” said Niddler. “If that’s true then what are we waiting for” said Tula as she climbed onto her feet.
“Yeah, the sooner we find the treasure, the sooner we can become big again” said Ioz as he and the others climbed onto their feet. With that Tula picked them all up then looked at the pillar of light. Then, Tula, with the guys in her hands ran and jumped into the pillar.
Meanwhile,
Outside the tree, Bloth and the rest of his crew looked on at the Tree of Crystals and saw the same pillar of light which engulfed the whole of the tree. “By great Neptune” said Bloth as he didn’t believe what he saw. “Look!” shouted Mantus as he pointed towards the pillar of light which was expanding. Within seconds the pillar of light engulfed the whole of the Maelstrom.
Chapter 5
The sound of waves and seagulls echoed through out. Sunlight shuns down upon Ren as he slowly regain his thoughts and slowly opened his eyes. All he saw was all blue. “Wha...” was all Ren could say as he slowly moved his head left to right and found himself laying on what he could tell was a beach.
He sat up and looked ahead and saw the sea. “Where am I? Wasn’t I within a field of flowers before?” asked Ren to himself as he slowly climbed up onto his feet. He checked to see if everything was okay with his body, so he shook his arms and legs a little to see if he could feel a slight pain. “No, everything seems to be okay” said Ren as looked at his hands as he moved his fingers and thumbs.
He then slowly put his hands onto his hips and asked out loud, “How did I end up here...and why am I alone?” Seeing as how he wasn’t going to get answers by staying on the beach, he turned his view away from the sea and looked a bit more in land. What he saw was what he could tell was a jungle.
With that Ren began to make his way into the jungle.
The moment that Ren entered the jungle, he heard up in the trees a male’s voice, “Wha? Ga! Why does my head hurt?” Ren stopped in his tracks and took a closer look and saw that there was a man tangled in vines hanging from branches.
“Ioz?” asked Ren. The man took note of the name that was spoken and looked at whom said it and saw Ren. “Ren! Help me will ya!” shouted Ioz as he tried his hardest to break free from the vines.
“Okay, okay hold on for sec” said Ren as he looked at the tree and tried to find the safest way of climbing it. Once he found the safest, he began to climb up. Once he reached the branches that Ioz was hanging from, he took out his father’s sword and began to cut the vines.
Once the last vine was cut, Ioz fell onto ground hard. “Ouch!” yelled Ioz as he slowly climbed onto his feet and rubbed his sore bits. “You could have made it softer for me to land on” said Ioz as he looked at Ren climbing back down.
“Sorry” was all Ren could say. “No biggy. Anyway...” said Ioz as he looked at Ren and then looked at the area they were in, “Where are we?” “Not sure myself, but I have this feeling that we’ve been here before” answered Ren. “You know I feel the same way” said Ioz as he looked back at him.
“What do you remember?” asked Ren. Ioz looked at him with a confused look on his face. “Before we got here” Ioz took a moment to think about it and then he answered, “The last thing I remember was that we’re were in a field of flowers then the ground sank in and a burst of green light”
“Hmm...” said Ren as he was trying to remember what Ioz said happened, “Noy Jitat! I remember that now....we’re still inside that Tree of Crystals but where are the others? Where’s Niddler and Tula?” “I haven’t seen them at all since we’ve got here” answered Ioz.
“And I haven’t seen them at the beach” said Ren. “Wait a minute there’s one thing I don’t get” said Ioz as the two of them began to wonder through the jungle. “Hmm, yeah there is also one thing that I don’t get” said Ren. “Didn’t we get shrunken down in size?” said the two of them at the same time.
“Yeah...we did get small but why on Mer does it appear as if we’ve normal size?” asked Ioz. “Don’t know but I think it might have something to do with the ninth treasure” answered Ren. “Hmm...If that’s so then point the direction of it, we might be able to find the others along the way” said Ioz.
“You make a good point, well now” said Ren as he took out the compass and a blue beam of light fired from it. The two of them looked and saw that it was aiming north of the jungle. “We must be closer now to the ninth treasure huh” said Ioz as the two of them followed the beam of light.
Meanwhile elsewhere,
“What was that?” asked Bloth as he rubbed his eyes. “I don’t know sir but we’re seem to be nowhere near the tree anymore” answered Mantus. “What you say!” snapped Bloth. “It’s as what I said, look if you don’t believe me” answered Mantus. Bloth stopped rubbing his eyes and looked out and saw that the Tree of Crystals were nowhere to be seen, all they could see was an island.
“Hmm, that island looks familiar” said Bloth. “Yes...I feel that we’ve been here before” said Mantus as he looked at him. “You all should feel familiarly towards it” spoke a voice behind them, Bloth and Mantus looked at who spoke and saw that it was Morpho. “Care to explain?” asked Bloth as he turned around and crossed his arms.
Morpho walked up in-between the two and looked out at the island and answered, “It seems that you all forgot my warning” “And what warning was that then?” asked Mantus. Morpho looked at him and answered, “Don’t fall for the illusions that Noisulli create” “Ah then this island isn’t real” said Bloth as he looked back over to the island.
“Then this illusion that we’re under, could it be caused by that pillar of light?” asked Mantus as he remembered the light that engulfed the Maelstrom. “Correct but keep in mind that this Noisulli is not real” answered Morpho as he turned round and took a few feet away from the two of them. “Explain by what you mean by that?” demanded Bloth.
“Noisullis don’t emit pillars of light outside its crystal crust” answered Morpho as he turned to look at them. “Really?” asked Mantus. “Yes, the sole purpose that Noisullis have is for people to harvest their crystals that will then act as a coat that can protect whomever its covers from Dark Water. You could say that it rivals even that of the skins of the Leviathans” answered Morpho.
“You speak truth?” asked Bloth. “Have I any reason to lie to a comrade?” answered Morpho as he looked at him. Bloth didn’t say anything. Morpho then looked out at island again and said, “Perhaps you all yet relished what this Noisulli truly is” “All I know is that this Noisulli holds the Ninth Treasure” snapped Bloth. “Hmm, so simple minded” said Morpho as he shook his head.
“What do you mean by that?” asked Bloth. “That the pillar of light that was emitted from the tree had the same glow as the past Treasures of Rule. Those crystal shards that Konk brought back also had the glow as the rest,” answered Morpho, as he looked back at Bloth, “Which means?”
“That the Noisulli is the Ninth Treasure” said Bloth. “Correct and right now we’re in the illusion of its core of the said treasure” said Morpho. “Very well then, Mantus send a crew of Dagrons to the island and find Ren and the others” ordered Bloth as he looked at him. “Of course but what are you going to do?” asked Mantus.
“What do you think that I’m going to do? I’m taking a few men with me on foot” snapped Bloth. With that the two of them headed off, Mantus gather a few Dagron riders and headed off towards the island. While Bloth gather a few men and headed towards the boats on the Maelstrom. Once the two parties are ready, they headed out towards the island, leaving behind Morpho on the ship. Morpho looked on with sly smile on his face.
Meanwhile back at the island,
“You know...I beginning to feel that we’re really been here before” said Ioz as he looked at the surroundings they were walking through. “Wait a minute” said Ren as he stopped in his tracks. Ioz looked at him confused. “We have been here before. We were here right after we fled the Maelstrom the first time. When Teron was with us” said Ren as he walked up to Ioz. “The old man? Wait a minute then you mean to say that we’re....” said Ioz when the area around them begins to shake.
“An earthquake?” asked Ren as the two of them were trying to keep safe as they saw the trees falling down. Ioz looked up and saw that objects were falling down upon them. “Look out! It’s raining Minga-Melons!” shouted Ioz as he was able to see that the objects were in fact Minga-Melons. The two of the dodged the Minga-Melons as they fell onto the ground, they each split open.
Just then the earthquake stopped. “What was that all about?” asked Ioz as he looked at the split Minga-Melons. “Don’t know but I have a good idea on who might” answered Ren as he looked up. Ioz looked at him and then slowly looked at what he was looking at. The two of them saw Niddler flying down towards them. They noticed that he was the same size as he was always was.
“No, my Minga-Melons” said Niddler as he landed on the ground and picked up a few of the split fruits. “I should have known that it was the Monkey Bird’s fault!” said Ioz. “What was my fault?” asked Niddler as he looked at Ioz as he began to eat the split fruit. “That we were almost gotten hit by those Minga-Melons. I bet that you were that caused that earthquake as well” answered Ioz.
“I may be the one that dropped the Minga-Melons but I wasn’t the one that caused the earthquake” said Niddler as he took another bite. “Oh yeah, if it’s not you then who did?” asked Ioz. “I believe that it was me” echoed a familiar voice that came from above them.
Ren and Ioz slowly looked up and what they saw was Tula towering over them. “Chongo-longo!” shouted Ioz as he fell backwards.
Chapter 6
“Wha! I...I thought we were back to normal?” asked Ioz as he looked at Ren as he helped him up. “Hay calm down Ioz,” answered Ren as he pulled him onto his feet, “chances are is that we’re the same height the moment that we entered that light”
“What?” asked Niddler. “Hmm, well that makes sense. Besides I feel as if we’ve really been here before” said Ioz. “Of course you all been here before” said Tula as she knelt down and placed her right hand out for them to climb on. “Really?” asked Ren as he and the others climbed onto her palm.
“Yes really,” answered Tula as she slowly stood up straight and looked at them, “This is Andorus” The others looked out at landscape from Tula’s height and saw the beauty that the island has to offer. “But this is Andorus before Dark Water came and infected it with its poison” said Tula as her face turned sad.
“Hay Tula, hay!” shouted Ioz as he saw Tula’s face. Tula looked down at him. “You do know that Andorus will be like this again one day right” said Ioz. Tula didn’t say anything as the others looked at him. “You know why it’s going to be like this? Cause we’re going to find every single Treasure of Rule and banish the Dark Water back to where it belongs. Once Dark Water is gone so will the damage that it’s done over the years” said Ioz.
Tula’s face turned from sad to happy; “If I didn’t know any better, Ioz, I would say that you’re trying to cheer me up” “Wow that’s a first” laughed Niddler as he patted him on the back. “What’s a first Monkey Bird!” snapped Ioz as he leaning against Niddler.
This cause Tula to laugh a little, “Thank Ioz” This caused Ioz to stop leaning against Niddler, “Whatever woman” he mumbled to himself. “What was that?” asked Niddler. “I said shut the heck up Monkey Bird!” snapped Ioz.
“Okay, lets leave the children to play,” said Tula as she slowly looked over to Ren, “Why don’t we try looking for the Ninth Treasure” Ren nodded his head as he took out the compass as a blue beam of light aimed towards north. From Tula’s height, Ren could see that the beam was aiming towards what he could tell was a mountain with a spiral looking tower.
“Strange, I don’t remember seeing that tower before” said Tula. Ren looked up and asked, “Really?” Tula looked down at him and answered, “Yes really, I really don’t remember seeing that tower before. It wasn’t there before Dark Water struck or after” Ren lowered the compass which caused the blue beam of light to fade away. “Then I guess we know we’re heading off to then” said Ren as he looked up at Tula and then looked at Ioz and Niddler.
With that Tula nodded her head and made her way towards the spiral tower that was located on the mountains.
Meanwhile,
Mantus’ Dagrons riding party was the first to reach to the island. “Alright men, you know what we must do!” shouted Mantus as he looked at the other men riding on Dagrons. “Find Ren and his crew!” ordered Mantus. He looked on and saw his men riding the Dagrons flying inland of the island. He looked down at the beach and saw a few boats headed towards its bay.
The moment he saw Bloth climbing off one of the boats, Mantus made the Dagron he was on to fly inland.
Bloth looked up and saw Mantus. Bloth then drew out his sword and looked at the men he gathered and shouted, “Come on sea dogs! Find Ren!” With that, his men drew out their swords and roared. They all then rushed inland towards the jungle.
Meanwhile back with the others,
Tula reached the mountain; she and the others looked at it and saw how easy it looks to climb as they saw a long set of stairs. They even saw that the stairs were huge, big enough only for Tula to climb easily. “You know...it almost look like this place want the ninth treasure to be found” said Ioz as he slowly looked away from the stairs and looked at the others.
“Hmm, we shouldn’t be fooled by how things look. This might look easy but for all we know it could just be another illusion” said Ren. “Well, only one way to find out” said Tula as she took a deep breath before she began to climb the stairway up the mountain that leads towards the spiral tower.
“Huh?” was all Ioz said. “What? What is it?” asked Ren. “Weren’t we just as the bottom of the mountain” answered Ioz as he looked at him. “Wait what?” asked Ren as he looked at where they are saw that they were half way up the mountain. “Yes I noticed it too, it really does seem as something wants us to reach the ninth as soon as possible” said Tula as she was still climbing up the stairway.
“Dagrons!” shouted Niddler as he pointed out towards the distance. “What you say?” asked Ioz as he looked at him and then looked at the direction that he was pointed towards. He and the others saw a swarm of Dagrons flying towards them.
“Not good” said Ren as he drew out his father’s sword as he saw that there were people riding on the creatures. “Wait a tick, aren’t they bigger than how I remember them to be?” asked Ioz. “Really not good” answered Ren as he saw that they were in deed bigger.
“There he is!” shouted one of the people within the swarm of Dagrons. Once his voice echoed away, the swarm dived towards them.
Before anyone could do anything, Ren and the others saw the mountain glow the same greenish glow that the Treasures of Rule give off. Within the glow of the mountain, it formed a series of what Ren could tell as cannons made out of rocks. Tula stopped climbing and looked at the rock cannons and saw they were aiming towards the Dagrons. The cannons fired at the Dagrons and within a flash, a bright light engulfed them.
The same light then soon engulfed the island. The moment the light dimmed down and everyone’s sight came back and they saw that Dagrons gone.
“Hay you don’t think?” asked Ioz as he looked at the empty space where the Dagrons were. “No...no, come we better hurry before Bloth reach us” answered Ren as he shook his head and looked up at Tula. “Yeah....I hate to see a giant Bloth” said Niddler.
With that Tula began to climb the stairway once more.
Within moments,
Tula reached the top of the stairway and saw the entrance to spiral tower was too small for her to enter. “Looks like you boys are going solo” said Tula as she looked at them as she lowered the guys to the floor. Once they climbed off, they looked up at her. “What about you?” asked Ren. Tula stood back up and answered, “Worry not about me, you guys get the Ninth Treasure of Rule while I try to keep Bloth and his men at bay”
“Very well, just be careful okay” said Ren as he looked at Tula then slowly looked at the others. Ioz and Niddler both nodded as they all turned to look at the entrance. They saw that it was the entrance was same looking entrance at the hallway when they first entered the Tree of Crystals.
Ioz and Ren walked up towards the entrance and pulled them opened. Once opened, the three of them rushed inside. Once inside, the entrance closed.
Tula looked down the stairway and saw Bloth and his men matching their way towards the mountain. “Best get to work” said Tula as she was about to use her Ecomancer powers. The whole mountain began to glow once more.
Within the spiral tower,
Ren, Ioz and Niddler were walking through the dark, not able to see anything.
“How are we supposed to see anything in the dark?” asked Niddler. “Hold on” said Ren as he drew out the compass and held it high. A beam of blue light shined out from the compass, allowing them to be able to see themselves and little of their surroundings. “Good thinking Ren” said Ioz. “Now then, let us follow the light” said Ren as the three of them began to follow the light.
As they were following the light, they heard the sound of footsteps echoing in front of them. This caused the three of to stop in their tracks. “This could be trouble” said Ioz as he held onto the hilt of his sword. The sound of the footsteps grew louder and louder till they were able to see a silhouette moving towards them.
“Who goes there?” asked Ren as Ioz drew out his sword. The silhouette didn’t say anything. It just moved closer and closer towards the light. The shadow on the silhouette went away and showed to them what it looked like.
The three of them were shocked at sight of the man that was standing in front of them.
“Morpho!” shouted Ren.
Chapter 7
Once Ren’s voice echoed through out the area, Morpho shook his head and clicked his fingers with his human hand. The darkness around them slowly faded away as light began to fill out the place. They looked around themselves and saw that they were in an empty dome, with its walls; floor and ceiling made of crystals, which gave off a pulse white glow.
“ I know you’re the leader of the Dark Disciples but there’s no way you would be able to light up this tower with a click of finger” said Ren as he lowered the compass.
“Hmm, fear not” said Morpho as he looked at Ioz. “Fear not to what?” asked Ioz as he wielded his sword, ready to attack. “As I said, fear not” said Morpho as he clicked his fingers again. Ioz’s sword began to give off a green glow same as before. Once the glow was gone, so was his sword. “What the?” asked Ioz as he looked at his hand and saw that they were empty.
“Fear not to what Morpho?” asked Ren as he was slowly reaching the hilt to his father’s sword. “Fear not of me for I’m not whom you call Morpho” answered Morpho. “What” was all the three of them could say. With another click of his fingers, they saw Morpho’s body give off the same greenish glow and that his form began to change shape.
Once the glow was gone, they saw that the person that was standing in front of them was not Morpho but Zoolie. “Zoolie? What’s going on here?” asked Ioz. They saw Zoolie clicked his finger again and glowed again. He changed his form once more. Once the glow faded away his formed looked like Solia. “Sis?” asked Ioz.
“I take it that you haven’t figured it out yet” said Solia as she pointed towards Ioz. “Get what?” asked Ioz. “That none of this is real” answered Ren. “Bingo” said Solia as she smiled at him. “So the Solia that’s standing here in front of us isn’t really my sister” said Ioz. “Ding, ding, ding, we got ourselves a winner” said Solia as she walked towards the three of them.
“Here you go Niddler” said Solia as a sphere of green light appeared in her hands. Once the light was gone a Minga-Melon appeared in her hands. “Wow thanks” said Niddler as he took the Minga-Melon from her. As Niddler was about to take a bite into it, the Minga-Melon vanished in the same light. “Hay what gives?” asked Niddler as he looked at Solia.
“And I thought you were the slow one” laughed Solia as she looked over at Ioz.
“Okay, okay. Enough of all this dilly dangling! What’s going here?” asked Ren. “Oh, okay then, let’s me tell you” said Solia as she clicked her fingers. Once again she glowed in a green light and changed her form once more.
Once the glow went away, she looked like Jenna. “Unless you haven’t really figured it out completely, then I suggest that you take out that compass of yours” said Jenna as she looked at Ren. Ren followed what she said and took out the compass and held it high. A beam of blue light fired out of it and aimed towards Jenna.
“Do you see now?” asked Jenna as she opened her arms out wide. Ren looked at Jenna as she stepped left to right, with the beam still aiming towards her. “You’re not saying that you’re” said Ioz as Ren lowered the compass, which cased the beam of blue light to vanish. “Correct, I am the Ninth Treasure” said Jenna as she lowered her arms.
“Wait a moment...” said Ren, as he saw Jenna clicked her fingers and once again shined in a green glow. They all saw that her form once again changed and once the glow faded away, she took the form of Primus, Ren’s father.
“How...how are you able to become so?” asked Ren. “Because of you,” said Primus as he walked towards Ren and placed his right hand onto his right shoulder, “When you brought seven of my siblings together to the lighthouse of Octopon, their energies not only restored half Octopon and changed the forms of the remains of my sibling, it also gave us thoughts of our own”
Primus turned around and walked away from Ren. “I think therefore I am,” as he turned to look at the others, “That’s what some philosophical state is proof of existence based on the fact that someone capable of thought is alive” said Primus.
“Then you’re saying that the remaining four Treasures of Rule have taken the form living creatures?” asked Ioz. “Correct, though what living aspects they become are what I sad to say is that, I do not know” answered Primus. “What’s with all this then about us shrinking then?” asked Niddler. “In your reality, you all have not shrunken down in height. It’s only in this reality that you all are as such” answered Primus.
“Then everything we’ve been through have been nothing but an illusion?” asked Ren. “Yes and no at the same time” answered Primus. “Care to explain?” asked Ioz. “Of course” said Primus as he clicked his fingers and once again glowed in green.
They all saw the crystals began to shun out a green light, which blinded them for only a moment.
When their sight came back, they saw that they were standing in the air, outside the Tree of Crystals and saw the Wraith. They noticed that there was no bridge connected to their ship and the tree. Suddenly they saw everything around them zoomed right up close to the Wraith, still standing a few feet in the air above the deck. They looked at the deck and saw four people lying on the floor with their eyes shut.
“Hay...isn’t that us?” asked Niddler as he looked the people and then looked at Ren and Ioz. “It sure looks like it” answered Ren as he was looked at the person that looks like him. “What is this huh? Another mind trick?” asked Ioz as he looked over at Primus. They all looked at him and saw him shook his head.
“No, this is not a simple mind trick,” said Primus as he looked at the people on the deck and pointed at them, “Those down there, on that very ship is where you all have been all along since the moment that Niddler cased the first flash” “We’ve been on the Wraith all this time?” asked Ren. “Yes, the real ones that is” answered Primus. “Then what are we now?” asked Niddler. “Let’s just say that you all right now are simply part of the minds that allows you all to dream” answered Primus.
“Wait I’m confused” said Ioz. “Best leave it as that, can’t simpler it anymore” said Primus. “So why did you shrink us then?” asked Ren. “Because this is the size of what I’m truly am, my true form to precise. Those that are at my size are able to enter my core” answered Primus. “So why haven’t you shrunk Tula then?” asked Ioz. “Because it’s hard to do so, having to show her something that she grasps within her hands” answered Primus.
“I thought as much, so that’s why you made your core to look like Tula’s home but kept it the size that looks like normal island to us” said Ren. “Yes, but I must warn you. Before I give you my true form, the four of you must be together if you wish to leave this reality first within the next thirty minutes” said Primus.
Ren looked out into the distance and saw the Maelstrom. “What happens if we don’t make it?” asked Ioz. “Then you all will be stuck here till this reality returns to yours” answered Primus as he looked at him.
“And...” said Ren as he looked back at Primus, “What will become of Bloth and his crew?” “If you all go now, it will take time for this reality to fade for Bloth and his men to return to Mer” answered Primus.
“That will give us room to breathe at least” said Ioz as he was happy to hear that. “But this is your world, do you really want your world to fade away into nothing?” asked Ren. “Please, I’m just a lonely thought within an empty tree. I rather be with my siblings. Now then” said Primus as he placed his hands onto his chest.
They all looked at him and saw that his hands went through his chest and saw him with his hands closed together as if he was holding something. They all saw green light piercing through his hands. Ren walked up to him and held his hands out. Primus placed his hands above Ren’s and opened them. Ren looked at the object that fell into his hands and saw that it was a seed, with a small green crystal that shaped like a bud growing from it.
“A tree...your true form is that of a tree” said Ren as he slowly looked up at Primus and saw that he was fading away. “Before the me that stand before you all fades away, I can sense my sibling to be within Dark Water seas, but I cannot tell which ones” said Primus as he was moments of disappearing. “Thanks for the clue” said Ren as he was still looking at where Primus was standing and saw that was completely gone.
The area around them began to fade away into darkness and the moment that light flooded the darkness, they were back outside the spiral tower.
“Okay remember what the Ninth said to us” said Ioz as he looked out to try and see if he find Tula. “There she is, hurry!” ordered Ren as he began to climb down the stairs. The others followed him. To their surprise, the moment that they climbed down on step, they found themselves at the bottom of the stairs. “Guess the Ninth wants us to get out of here as fast as possible” said Ren as he looked at the seed in hand.
The three of them made their way towards Tula, the moment they did they saw that she was wasn’t alone. There to them, miles away, saw a towering Bloth with his sword in hand. “We don’t have time for this” said Ren.
Chapter 8
Tula looked down and saw Ren and the others. “Did you guys find it?” asked Tula as she stepped back away from Bloth, whom in turn was walking towards her. “Yeah we got the Ninth Treasure, but we need to get out of here right now” answered Niddler. “Easy said then done” said Tula as she looked back at Bloth, whom was still walking towards her, making out that he haven’t seen Ren and the others.
“Wait I got an idea” said Ren as he looked up at Tula. “Well I’m all ears” said Tula as she opened her right hand for Ren to climb onto. Bloth looked on wondering what Tula was doing as she held her right hand close to her right ear.
Before he could ask, he saw her placed something on her shoulder and then threw something towards him. He looked quickly at the flying object and saw that it was the compass that can direct its bearer to the Treasures of Rule.
“Got the compass!” shouted Bloth as he held onto the compass high above him and laughed. “Don’t be so sure” said Ren as he stood on Tula’s shoulder and holding onto Tula’s hair for support. Bloth looked over to them and saw that Ren on Tula’s shoulder and saw that he was holding onto something in his free hand. “Looking for this?” asked Ren as he looked at Bloth with a grin on his face.
Bloth looked at the object that he was holding onto and he suddenly knew what was happening. “No!” shouted Bloth as he threw the compass away from him. “Nooooo!” screamed Bloth as he began to run away from them. Just then, the whole area began to be engulfed in white light and once the light dimmed down and when everyone’s sight came back, they saw that Bloth was nowhere to be seen.
Tula looked down and saw Bloth on his back, rubbing his eyes. Tula walked towards him and stopped only an inch towards him as Bloth stopped rubbing his eyes and looked at his surroundings.“You Naja dog!” shouted Bloth as he looked up at the now towering Tula. “No need for such language” said Tula as she looked down at Bloth with her hands on her hips.
Tula gave Bloth a sly smile as she raised her right foot above him. “You wouldn’t dare!” shouted Bloth as he climbed onto his feet. “Care to see how far this dare will take me?” asked Tula as she lowered her foot down a little. “You’re the same as Ren! He never had the guts to kill me!”shouted Bloth. “Guess what? I’m not Ren” said Tula as she lowered her foot even closer.
Bloth closed his eyes as he accepted his fate.
“Sigh...You took the fun away” said Tula as she moved her foot away from Bloth and placed it back where she stood. Bloth opened his eyes and began to laugh. “Ha! I knew it! You’re the same as Ren! You see that Ren! You can’t survive in Mer with your way of thinking that you find all Treasures of Rule if you’re not willing to kill your enemies!” shouted Bloth as he climbed onto his feet.
“If it weren’t for my way of thinking, you wouldn’t be here right here, right now” said Ren as he sat back down on Tula’s shoulder. “And that will be your downfall. Within time you and your crew will fall and I will defeat you all so keep on your toes, stay alert and watch your back!” laughed Bloth.
“Ah shut up!” snapped Tula as she used her Ecomancer powers to force the ground beneath Bloth to swallow him with only his head above ground. “Let’s go” said Ren as he climbed back onto his feet. “He won’t be going anywhere fast” said Tula as she looked at Ren and began to walk off. “More than you know it” said Ren as he looked Tula.
Bloth looked at Tula and saw that she picked up two more things and placed them on her shoulder along with Ren. He looked on and Tula and the others were slowly fading away as she was walking. “Where did they go?” asked Bloth to himself as he tries his hardest to free himself.
Elsewhere,
Back on Wraith,
Slowly one by one, Ren, Tula, Ioz and Niddler opened their eyes and found themselves on the deck of their ship. “Was...” said Tula as she sat up and looked at the others as they saw that they were sitting up, “I having a strange dream?” “That depends, what you remember?” asked Ioz.
“I dreamt that you guys shrunk down in height and...” answered Tula as she looked over at the Tree of Crystal. “Well that was not a dream woman, it really happen...in a way” said Ioz as he looked at the Tree of Crystal. “It’s kinder hard to explain” said Niddler as he looked at the Tree of Crystal. “But all that matters is that we got the Ninth Treasure of Rule” said Ren as he looked at the Tree of Crystals.
The four of them looked at the Tree of Crystals and saw that its pulse light was slowly fading away.
Ren held out the Ninth Treasure, looked at it and said, “Set course to Octopon” The others looked at the seed and Tula asked, “So are you guys going to tell me what happened?” “I explain along the way” answered Ren. With that they all set sail the Wraith and headed towards Octopon, explaining to Tula the best they could on what they learnt from the Ninth Treasure.
Within the Tree of Crystal,
“Hmm...I did warn those fools, oh well, I guess we’re here for a while” said Morpho as he looked at all of Bloth’s crewmen on the Maelstrom, small. Leaving him to be the only normal size. He looked up at the sky and saw that its blue colour was slowly fading to gray. Morpho shook his head as he headed to the lower decks.
A few of days have passed since the events of the Tree of Crystals,
“They have return” said Jenna as she saw the Wraith heading towards the docks of Octopon. Jenna walked towards the ship and saw Ren standing near the bow. “We have returned Jenna” said Ren as he walked right up close to the bow and leaned against it. “I see that” said Jenna as she saw the anchor being dropped and drawbridge drawn out.
She looked at the four of them and saw that they walking off the Wraith. “And that we’ve returned with the Ninth Treasure of Rule” said Ren as he walked up to the Jenna with the treasure in hand. Jenna looked at his hand and saw the seed.
Before she could say anything, they all saw the seed giving off a green glow. The seed hovered from his hand, high above them and they all saw it firing a green beam of light out at sea. The location that the beam hit was the cracks that allow the Dark Water to roam free as well as the entrance to the Darkdweller domain.
As the beam was hitting the cracks, it was sealing it up but not for long. The beam died out, leaving quarter of the cracks remaining. The seed then fired another beam towards the Octopon, giving the land more light to the land.
“Octopon is one step closer to its former glory” said Jenna as she smiled at the landscape. “And one step closer in ridding Dark Water once and for all” said Ren as he looked at the seed and saw it flying towards the lighthouse.
The Ninth Treasure joined with the other Treasures of Rule that resided within the lighthouse.
Ren and the others stayed in Octopon for the remainder of the day. They told Jenna everything they went through into obtaining the Ninth Treasure and on how the remaining four treasures are located somewhere within the Dark Water infected seas.
By morning,
“I wish you all a safe voyage towards the Dark water Seas” said Jenna as she was walking along side with Ren and the others. “Thanks Jenna” said Ren as they were at the drawbridge of the Wraith. “I believe that it’s best that once you find one of the remaining four treasures that you all should keep it on the ship. Return once you have all four” said Jenna as Ioz, Tula and Niddler boarded the ship. “Of course Jenna” said Ren as he hugged her. “Best get going” Jenna said as she looked at Ren as he let her go. She watched him boarded on the Wraith and saw the ship sailing out at sea.
“This will going be a very long voyage, I believe that we should stock up enough supplies that can last us on our trip to the infected seas” said Ioz as he was on helm. “I agree, who knows what we will find” said Tula as she was managed the sails. “Make sure that we get enough Minga-Melons” said Niddler. “Or course Niddler, of course” laughed Tula. “Don’t forget about our deal” said Niddler as he looked at her. “Oh and why would I forget that?” asked Tula. “Because whenever Ioz promise me Minga-Melons, he never gives me any” answered Niddler as he looked over to Ioz.
“I say that you need to cut back on those things so that we can buy real food, Monkey Bird” laughed Ioz as he looked over his shoulder. “Minga-Melons are real food!” yelled Niddler as he flew towards Ioz. “Relax Niddler, we will get plenty of Minga-Melons for you” said Ren as he was by the bow of the ship, looking out at sea. They all looked at him and saw Ren turning around to face them. “Set course for Janda-Town” ordered Ren with a smile on his face.
With that they set the Wraith on the course towards Janda-Town, where they will gather enough supplies so they can handle the voyage to the great unknown.
END