"What took you guys so long?" I scowled at them.
"So sorry, but why did you ask us to meet you there and whose house was that?" Dinela asked with a thoughtful look.
"That was Mavery's house, I went to tell her that I'm going to go on the journey."
"What?!!", Alero yelped " Azyma are you for real right now or you are messing with us, please tell me you're just joking, you know...pulling our legs." She said with a nervous chuckle and a frown followed.
"Lower your voice and no I'm not pulling your legs neither am I joking, this is serious business, I'm for real."
"What!" Alero whisper-yell.
"Let her speak." Dinela said with a happy expression, she always loved going on adventures and trying new things.
"She told me everything I needed to know and gave me a few things that will help me on my journey." I told them motioning to the ancient looking handbag on my bed.
"Okay....." Dinela said, I'm sure she can't wait to hear what Mavery said.
Flashback
"Fine then.....come with me."
"Okay." I walked with her to what she said was the dining.
"To erase your name from the book of death you need three things which are, a key, and the sacred seal, that seal serves as an eraser, that's what you'll use to erase your name from the book."
"Okay."
"To get to the land of myth, you'll have to use this ring and say some words," she brought out a purple ring with white stripes and held it in front of me "shantra mana weig, which translates to, take me to the world unknown and unseen, after you say this words a purple mist will appear and transport you to the land of myth and to leave the land of myth you have to say the words backwards, giew anam artnash, it simply means the opposite of the first words."
"Okay...." She handed the ring to me.
"When you get to the land of myth, you must find the golden mountain, in there you'll find the book of death but before that you must pass a test that'll proof you're worthy of a second chance at life, if you pass the test then Asuka will give you the sacred seal and then you can proceed in erasing your name from the book of death."
"How do I do that? And who will I prove it to?"
"That is a question only you can answer and you'll prove it to the guardian of the mountain, Asuka."
"Err."
"Asuka is a spirit that lives in the golden mountain and protects the book of death, you'll face lots of difficulties as you get there and even more as you get closer to it," shit just got real "you must pass Aliva, Aliva is a village called the sea in the sky, there is where the most cunning of all creatures, you must be wary, and keep all your valuables well, never discuss or even mention you have any kind of artifact or powerful object with you if not they will steal it from you, if you're not careful they will steal even you and you won't know it until it is too late."
"Got it, why is it called the sea in the sky." I'm so scared right now.
"You'll know once you're there, be vigilant at all times, never let your guard down, let your brain do the thinking."
"Okay..."
"After you pass it, you must go through the valley of imagination."
"Why do they call it that?"
"Because once you step a feet into the valley, all your wildest imaginations will come to true, you will be part of your imagination, once you're part of it, you won't be out of it until the end."
"I don't understand what you mean."
"Figure it out yourself, I can't tell you everything, after you pass the valley of imagination, you must enter the fortress of the son of the Devil, the underworld, you must get the key that he beholds, a key that unlocks anything and any object, the key is what you'll use to open the book of death."
"You mean to say, I'll need to go to the underworld and snatch the key from the son of the devil."
"Indeed, he is the king of lust and desire." Why is she speaking like this? How am I going to understand her, I'm in so much trouble.
"After you have successfully passed the fortress of the Son of the Devil, you must go to the enchanted forest, there you will meet a fae that will guide you to the golden mountain, that's all I know and can tell you."
"What if she doesn't help me?"
"Just tell her that she should help you get there in exchange for whatever she wants."
"Once she tells you what she wants and you do it then she'll lead you to the golden mountain, you must beware, do not trust anyone, do not make friends with anyone, you must be cautious and careful, you must not draw attentions to yourselves."
"Why do they call it the golden mountain?"
"You'll know when you see it."
"Can't you just tell me?" I said tired of all these suspense.
"No, also you are a human, no human must entered the land unknown, so you must wear a disguise," she brought out what looked like cheese except its not cheese, it smells like mint, you must take a bite of this once you enter a new place, this will disguise you appropriately."
"Okay," She handed it to me "Anything else?"
"Do not ever wear the ring on your finger, if you ever find yourself in Celeta blend in, don't tell them your identity, once you find yourself there you're no longer a full human, lie if you must, learn their ways, learn how to fight like them, learn the elements, pretend until you can get out of there, trust no one, no matter how friendly or kind they are, the worst mistake you could ever make is trysting someone from the land of myth, Celeta is another realm, its not apart of the land of myth but don't take any chances.
"Noted."
"I'll give you some objects that will protect you," she rummaged through the drawer and brought out what looks like a mirror.......kind of "this is abuncha, once the surface it touches water it will take you to Celeta, do it only when you lose the ring."
"But how will I get it back, I need the ring to get back."
"If you loose the ring in the land if myth, getting it back is a death sentence, go to Celeta with this object blend it, there you have everything you need to create a new ring."
"How will I create a new ring?"
"Only they have an answer to your question, don't tell them your purpose of being there, they are extremely smart, also this bracelet," she brought out a white bracelet with golden touches and a kind of animal on it "with this you can summon a fryler, its the fastest creature in the whole of the other world, just in case you need a quick get away."
"Okay, what else?" I asked and she brought out a pouch.
"No matter what, no one must know you have these, especially the beings in Aliva, its gold coins, the kind used in the land of unknown, you can use it to get shelter and water, food too, one coin can buy food, water and shelter enough for three people so don't let them out smart you, also this is a potion I made myself," she brought it out and showed it to me, it looks like green slime and tastes like dirty sock, it can heal only the littlest injuries, but can't heal injuries like yours or bites, or claw marks, its for if you drink poison, or things like that, the person is meant to drink it."
"Oh OK."
"I have only one bottle which means you can only use it twice."
"Got it."
"Thank you."
"You're welcome, can put them inside this small bag." She said and brought out an ancient looking hand bag.
"Thank you so much."
"Its a pleasure, one more thing...."
"What?" I asked as I put all she gave me in the pouch.
"You can't do this alone, you won't be able to survive on your own there, I advice you ask your friends to accompany you."
"Oh...."
"Yes, and I don't mind watching that little girl of yours for you while you're gone."
"O my word!! Really? Thank you so much." I jumped up and down from happiness. At least something good came out of this, I'm do happy right now.
"Its nothing, there are only two times in a day the ring works, if you miss those two times you'll have to wait till the next day, the moment the sun is rising after dawn, the first sunrise, the first ray of sun in the morning must touch the ring, as soon as it touches it, the ring will turn completely purple and it will float in the air, if your friends agree to accompany you, you all must hold each others shoulder and make a circle around the ring and say the words, the other time is at sunset, the last ray of sun at sunset must touch the ring, once it does, the ring will turn completely white, you will place it on your left palm and your friends will place both of their right palm on the ring, one palm on top of the other, do you understand?"
"Yes, yes I do."
"Good, because I can not repeat myself."
"I'll bring her at dawn before sunrise."
"That's fine by me."
"Thank you so much, this means a lot."
"You're very welcome, take heed to all my warnings." After that I left and went back home.
End of flashback.
"You don't even need to ask, I'm going with you," Dinela said with a huge smile "sounds like its going to be a fun adventure."
"What about you Alero? Will you accompany me on this journey." I looked into her eyes, praying and hoping she'll agree, 'please say yes.'