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a new territory has been found!
IP: 82.14.67.140
Posted on April 3, 2013 at 04:46:02 AM by georgia

The small expedition had left in the early hours of the morning, when they thought the royal guards were least likely to be patrolling the coast. The last thing they wanted was for Arthur to find out the incredible secret which had tempted the pirate elite off of the security of their island. The initial explorer who had aroused the interest of the nefarious community should have been exhausted after travelling such a distance with so little sleep, but the excitement of the discovery rejuvenated him. He led the way while the pirate-king and his chosen aide followed closely behind. Fortunately, their decision to travel at night had been a wise one, and the worst they encountered as they sailed silently over to the mainland was a sharp autumn frost. Their ship, Alya, had been carefully decorated to match the royal fleet and the crew had the nerve and cunning to dock it in the royal marine. Daybreak would herald Sunday, the day of rest, and unless there was an emergency there would be no official sailing that day from the mainland; the few who would be around the marine at all would not think to count the ships. Even so, most of the crew stayed on board with an assortment of weapons while the chosen three continued over land on horseback. Pushing the horses as hard as they could, it took three days of travel, as they were forced to stick to the quieter woodlands rather than follow the main paths. Beyond the reach of civilisation all paths ceased, and travel across the flatter plains was easier. Stealth was the key to this mission, not gold: on the few occasions when they came across other people, the trio hid or allowed them to pass. If this discovery was everything the explorer claimed it was, it would be worth more to them than a handful of doubloons or a pretty necklace. The further south they journeyed the hotter it became, and on the third day they were forced to stop and rest during the midday heat. Dusk was beginning to settle when they reached their destination. The golden-yellow cliffs, dulled by the evening shade, loomed on either side of them. A slim trickle of water which barely wet the shoes of the horses’ hooves indicated the presence of groundwater, but the ground was barren and devoid of any kind of vegetation. Rocks, sand and the occasional lizard were all that they untrained eye could see, but that wasn’t what interested Declan. Where they were standing, according to the explorer, was the sole entrance to the wadi. Beyond the cliffs was a sheer drop to unbroken ocean, preventing access that way, so as a territory it was highly defendable. Any meandering fools could easily be picked off by marksmen hidden at the top of the cliffs or in one of the many caves on the side of the cliff. Having a defendable, concealed and (as yet) unknown secondary base on the mainland would give them a safe place for spies to return to. The explorer gave his companions a moment to take it all in, but did not allow them to rest. He insisted on pressing on, deeper into the ravine, where they followed him down a smaller branch. The dead end was clearly visible, but the explorer stopped before they reached it and dismounted his horse. Their curiosity aroused by his adamant gestures, the other two dismounted and followed him up the steep side of the cliff. It was hot, and many of the rocks were unstable; the second time Declan misplaced his foot and nearly tumbled to his death, he was ready to demand an explanation from the explorer – who had vanished over a ledge. The other two followed him, and quickly found the source of the excitement. They were standing on a ledge which looked as if it had been artificially constructed, albeit somewhat crudely many, many years ago. Broken rock protrusions drawing a clean semi-circle against the cliff edge indicated that this was probably a cave originally, but the walls had long since been destroyed, presumably by an avalanche or earthquake. With the outer walls of the cave gone, clearly visible was what someone had built inside it: a square doorway, over the top of which a stone bird of prey crouched with its wings spread protectively. The doorframe had been decorated in what was recognisable as the ancient language, and there were even faint traces of paint which had probably been rubbed or chipped away when the outer wall collapsed. What interested the trio, though, was what was marked on the stone door itself. Twenty-five images had been carefully engraved and painted by someone who must have been a master stoneworker, since the pink granite was hard and difficult to work with. The paint was incomplete here too, but less so. Of the images, a handful were immediately recognisable and they made the function of the others easy to guess. Most prominent was the bright blue paint of the unbalanced scales, seated just above a fading yellow sun and a star which had lost its colour; below those were a white wolf, a grey bird and a bare, colourless tree. The divine symbols of Gwythr, Mallos, Aura, Rhaegar, Xephyr and Tsi, respectively. Whatever this place was, or had once been, it had been stamped with the mark of what appeared to be every original fairy who had ever lived. Long, long ago, perhaps even before the Council of Originals had been established, the deities of Shaman and Earth had considered this place so important that they marked it as their own. Declan reached out and gently traced the shape of Gwythr’s blue scales with his finger. He nodded. Precisely what they had found was still unclear, but one thing was for certain: this divine ground now belonged to the pirates.

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