The heroes learn where to find the last crystal keeper, but have to rescue the other keepers from an icy spell at the Elf Grotto first. Only when they get there, there's more happening under the grotto than above it.
The heroes learn where to find the last crystal keeper, but have to rescue the other keepers from an icy spell at the Elf Grotto first. Only when they get there, there's more happening under the grotto than above it.
The Frozen Grotto
Once upon a time in the land of Atheria, there was a princess Nea and a princess Lulu and they went on the most amazing adventures. They had just helped a friend of Ellery’s save her wedding day only to realize that it was their old friend, Captain Rustin’s wedding. While they were saving the wedding from disaster, Phin and Coryn had learned more about the last crystal keeper.
“So what did Tuck say about the last Keeper? Did you see him?” Nea asked.
Phin nodded, “Yes, he says she’s bringing someone special to the Dwarf Mining Camp. We need to bring Darius there to meet her so they can restore the tranquil ruins.”
“And heal Scorch.” Nea reminded them all.
So the four of them - Nea, Lulu, Phin and Coryn set out with Darius to the west, towards the Dwarf Mining Camp, where they had hoped to meet not only the final crystal keeper, but also Coryn’s sister, Hazel, who had managed to take the black crystal away from an ogre who had been using it for his own good.
As they traveled west, they went through the north woods and passed just south of the Forest of Forevermore. There they heard a bunch of buzzing and whizzing going by.
Nea and Lulu had heard that sound before. Even though they couldn’t see anything, they knew there must be fairies nearby. Nea quickly pulled out the magic mask that their friend O’Lah had found up in a magic cave in the clouds. It was Rakta’s mask and allowed anyone who wore it the ability to see fairies and other magical creatures.
As soon as she put it on she watched a purple fairy fly by, then a green one, then a yellow one whom she knew quite well.
Flix!” Nea shouted.
Flix stopped mid-air and his trail of yellow sparkles cascaded to the ground.
“Princess Nea & Princess Lulu of Sparland?” he said flying over to the girls. “Boy am I glad to see you! Who are these two with you? Are they safe?”
Flix asked because it could be very dangerous for a fairy to reveal him or herself to a stranger. Sometimes people would capture fairies and try to use their magic for their own good. So Princess Nea introduced Phin and Coryn. She explained that they were two more keepers or power crystals. Another Keeper of a Blazian Crystal of a Tornadian Crystal.
Coryn and Phin bowed to the invisible fairy, not quite knowing where he was yet.
“Wait! You have a Blazian Crystal?” Flix said, putting a finger to his chin. “And you’re an elf!” he said, then pointing to Coryn, who was, in fact, an elf.
“I think it’s very fortunate we’ve all run into each other like this. How would you all like to help out the Elf Grotto!”
“What’s happening at the grotto?” asked Coryn, very interested now.
“It’s been frozen and a bunch Atherians are stuck behind a wall of ice.”
“Wait! Who’s been frozen?” Nea asked, realizing that any of their friends could be stuck there.”
“O’Lah is there, one of the giant protectors is there.”
“O’Lah is there! Where’s Prince Paul? Where’s Wahl?” Lulu asked.
“If that’s the other smart ogre with the map, then he’s there too.”
“And Nakisha?” Coryn asked.
Flix nodded and by now they all realized they needed to get to the Elf Grotto sooner, rather than later. It wasn’t long until they got there. By now, most everyone had cleared out of the Elf Grotto. It was but a fragment of it’s formal activity. No longer were elves walking through the streets, or hanging out at a small shop together. The whole city was quiet, with pillars of ice everywhere.
“We’ve not seen anything like this before,” Nea observed as they walked through the empty city.
When they made it to the palace, the amount of snow and ice and things frozen around them increased. And the whole palace was filled with an eerie quietness. The kind of echo-less sound that happens when you go outside with a foot of snow.
And when they got to the throne room, they saw Chief Eldim still there, turned into stone in the back, but the whole throne room was almost fully encased in ice and snow. They could see that inside the dome were a few Atherians huddling around and moving to keep warm. They tried calling out to them, but their voices were unable to penetrate the thick dome of ice.
“This ice must be a foot thick!” noticed Darius. Meanwhile Rose, put her giant bear paws on the ice wall and began licking water ice. It was very refreshing to her.
The entire party stood there, staring at the huge wall of ice. It was quite magnificent, really.
“Well, what are you waiting for?” Flix said, breaking the trance. “Don’t you have a Blazian Crystal?”
“Oh!? Yes!” said Phin, pulling out his crystal.
Princess Nea did the same and their two crystals began to dance and twist together igniting an orange and red flame between them. The flame began to expand and cover the huge dome of ice like a net. As the flaming consumed the dome, all the ice began to melt, starting at the top, and everyone could feel the temperature rise in the throne room.
Before long, the dome was melted and the Elf Chief’s son stepped towards the adventurers and gave them all his thanks. He was most honored though to see Coryn who he could already tell grown a lot through his many, many adventures.
When Nea and Lulu didn’t see O’Lah or Wahl, they asked the chief about it.
“There are a few of these ice domes. They came on so suddenly - out of no where. There were two that came in down in the lower gardens and one by the lagoon. Even our elf magic isn’t able to melt it.”
Coryn led the way and they headed down to the lower gardens first. When they found the ice dome, Nea and Phin used their crystals to melt that one too. Inside this one they rescued Nakisha who was with a dwarf and a few other elves.
“Princess Nea & Lulu of Sparland!” Nakisha said, as soon as she was freed. “Oh, how grateful I am to see you both here. And with Coryn! How I would love to catch up with all of you, but now is not the time. This is Bekah of Darmeda and we need to get her and this fairy to the Dwarf Mining Camp. She has crucial news about the attack that we need to get to Chief Ruby.”
“Of course, but first we need to find O’Lah, our ogre friend.” Nea replied.
And before Nakisha could respond, they dashed off to the lagoon. And as they traveled word was getting around to the entire elf grotto that there were Keepers in the city and that they were melting all the ice domes.
When they got to the lagoon, Nea and Phin, again pulled out their crystals and started melting the ice dome. When it was completely melted they found an ogre, but not the one they were looking for.
“Where’s O’Lah?!” Nea asked, looking at Wahl who was in the presence of a few more fairies and another elf and dwarf. “And where’s Paul!?”
“They went inside the cave.” Wahl explained, pointing to the cave behind them.
“Why in Atheria would they do that?” asked Phin.
“They were mining some Choalagtrite for Dwarf Mining Camp. We need more to make explosives.” Wahl said.
“Are they okay?” Asked Lulu.
“By my calculations they should be okay still. But they’re stuck down there. We don’t know if there’s any other way out.”
“This isn’t good.” Coryn jumped in. “Those caves are loaded with traps to keep everyone out of them. We better hurry and get down there. But not everyone, you all stay here and I’ll make sure they can get out.”
“Not on your own,” Nakisha interrupted. She motioned to her bow and arrow, which she still had slung around her back.
So the two elves darted down the cave and just as Coryn had suspected, Paul and O’Lah set off a trap and were stuck in a small cage. Most elves knew that a trigger for the cage would be located in one of the corners and looked like a small disc. The only way to release the cage was to shoot an arrow at the small disc up in the corner.
Both Coryn and Nakisha drew their bows at the same time and struck the disc with their arrows.
“Nice shot!” Nakisha said, patting Coryn on the back.
As soon as they were all back to the lagoon they agreed they needed to get Bekah and her fairy friend and the choalagtrite to the dwarf mining camp as soon as possible.
Bekah had heard that the ogres would be attacking the dwarfs at dawn the next day and if they wanted to be prepared, they were going to need to know what to expect. And the choalagtrite wouldn’t hurt either.
While Nea and Lulu were hoping to finally meet up with the last keeper, there was another important matter - protecting the Dwarf Mining Camp from King Bealock and an ogre invasion. But that story is for another time.
The end.