Chapter 32 - Investigation

Grandpa, Jules, Raven and Mana set out with a team of imperial guards to investigate the dormant volcano. With Physician Kale's directions and some old maps they found in the library, they were able to locate the volcano quite easily.

When they reached there, the first thing Grandpa did was to tear down the already damaged cloaking ward completely. He frowned at the torn talisman which floated into his hand when the ward was destroyed, and his amber eyes glowed angrily.

Mana guessed that he had recognised not only the spell, but also the caster…and she had her own suspicions about the latter.

The smell of sulphur became unbearably strong as soon as the cloaking ward was removed. Several guards coughed uncomfortably.

Raven quickly pulled out his handkerchief and tied it around Mana's nose and mouth like a makeshift mask. "You should go back to the summer palace," he urged her.

Mana shook her head stubbornly. How could she stay behind when her loved ones were walking headlong into danger? Instead, she took out her own handkerchief and tied it around Raven's face.

Seeing them, Jules quickly did the same and instructed the guards to do so as well. Grandpa also tied his handkerchief around his face.

With their noses and mouths covered, everyone felt better immediately.

The team slowly started making their way up the mountain. Grandpa instructed everyone to keep their eyes peeled for any signs of a magical array or a talisman.

For several hours, all of them searched and searched – finding nothing unusual at all. Every inch of the mountain – except the caldera on the summit – had been combed through, but they found absolutely nothing which indicated any magical interference. What they did feel was the violent magma pulsating under the surface, ready to burst out.

"It must be on the top," Raven murmured.

Grandpa agreed and led the team to the top of the mountain.

"How beautiful," Mana couldn't resist her appreciation for the scenic beauty of this old mountain. The caldera was filled with crystal clear water and the surrounding greenery made it look even lovelier.

"It is," Jules said, looking around. "It is hard to believe that this beautiful place could be so dangerous…"

Raven walked over to the edge of the lake and examined it carefully.

Grandpa, Jules and Mana walked over to him.

"Found something?" Grandpa asked.

Raven nodded. "This is a caldera, not a crater…even if this volcano erupts, it should collapse in on itself. At most, there would be landslides in the nearby regions…but nothing very severe." He swallowed nervously. "But the magma we felt running under the surface…that's too violent and unnatural for this type of a volcano. It will most definitely erupt outwards, and possibly destroy all of Verdant Hills unless we can stop it."

Jules frowned. "So…you mean to say that someone has definitely interfered with the mountain, and this is not a natural volcanic eruption…?"

Raven bit his lip and nodded.

Grandpa patted Raven's shoulder. "The boy is right," he said. "A volcano that has been lying dormant for hundreds of years wouldn't suddenly awaken by itself to conveniently get rid of two heirs to the throne of the Emerald Kingdom." He lowered his voice. "I recognised the cloaking ward. It is something from my old family in the Amber Kingdom. I daresay someone is collaborating with other kingdoms to achieve their evil goals…" He rubbed his temples and suddenly looked very old and tired.

"Grandpa, why don't you rest for a while?" Mana suggested quietly. "We'll keep looking and tell you the moment we find something."

Jules found a suitable rock and spread out a cloak on it for Grandpa to sit. Raven handed him a bottle of juice to drink.

Grandpa smiled at the three of them. "Such wonderful children," he murmured. "The three of you must always take care of each other and support each other in the future, all right?"

"Yes, Grandpa," the three children intoned obediently.

Leaving Grandpa to rest, Mana, Raven and Jules walked to the edge of the lake which Raven had just examined.

"Could there be something in the water?" Mana wondered out loud. Unfortunately, even the corrected book didn't mention any details about this incident – just that one paragraph. It made Mana quite annoyed that the real villains had gotten away cleanly with so many evil deeds…they had killed her Big Brother and Grandpa and Grandma, even! How dare they?! Mana wouldn't let them get away with it this time!

"I think so, too," Raven said.

"Then I'll swim down and take a look," Jules offered.

Raven caught his arm. "Wait, Big Brother," he said softly. "It might be dangerous!"

Jules shrugged nonchalantly. "You can't swim, and Mana nearly drowned in the imperial palace not so long ago – I'm not letting her into a potentially dangerous body of water again," he said firmly.

"We can check it first with our water magic," Mana pointed out, grabbing Jules's other arm. "You're our crown prince now, don't go recklessly throwing yourself into danger, stupid Big Brother!" she scolded.

Jules huffed, but his eyes were soft. "All right, then," he said. "You two check first."

Mana and Raven immediately reached out with their water magic and examined the large lake. At the very bottom of the lake, Mana found something, but when her magic tried to approach it, it repelled her violently.

Mana staggered back and Jules caught her before she could fall. She coughed, and Raven's handkerchief around her mouth was stained with blood.

"What's wrong?" Jules cried out in alarm.

"There's something at the bottom of the lake," Mana said weakly. "It repelled my magic." She coughed again, feeling very dizzy. "Keep an eye on Raven," she whispered.

Jules quickly cast a healing spell on Mana, and then called an imperial guard over and asked him to take Mana to Grandpa. Mana refused firmly and stayed where she was, fighting the grey mist swirling into her field of vision – thanks to her Big Brother's powerful healing magic, she knew she would recover really soon as long as she could hold on for a few moments. The imperial guard stood by her side, ready to support her as soon as she needed his assistance.

Jules hurried over to Raven's side. Raven's face was very pale by now, and his inky black hair was plastered to his head in sweaty curls. Mana's dainty handkerchief around his face, too, was stained red.

Raven wobbled, but didn't let go of his magic. Jules put a supporting arm around the smaller boy's waist and poured some healing magic into him. Raven's colour improved a bit and his body became steadier.

Mana fought off her dizziness successfully and approached them. She, too, put her arm around Raven and poured her own water magic into him, supplementing his.

Jules extended his arm so that he was touching Mana as well, and his healing magic flowed into both Raven and Mana.

A few minutes later, the water in the middle of the lake erupted like a fountain, and a complicated array with several talismans was thrown up in the air.

Grandpa immediately sprung up from the rock he was sitting on. "Ten-layer array locking net, right now!" he roared, and threw out his hands towards the array floating above the water.

A powerful wave of magic brushed past the three children.

All the imperial guards obeyed instantly, and powerful magic gushed through the air from all directions, capturing and locking the array in place. Then they slowly pulled the frozen array towards the lakeshore.

Grandpa ran to the three children huddled together. Raven was very pale and breathing heavily. Mana's appearance was only slightly better than his. Jules was holding up the two younger ones, exhaustion writ on his handsome face.

"Well done," Grandpa told them.

Raven shook his head. "There's another one underneath, near the heart of the mountain."

Grandpa frowned. "Would you be able to pinpoint the location, child?"

"We can pull it out," Raven said.

"Water, earth and fire?" Mana asked him.

Raven nodded.

"Big Brother and I will supplement your magic," Mana told him. "Let's do it."

Grandpa frowned. "You can't rest for a bit? Is it an absorption type?" he asked Raven.

The young boy nodded.

"What's that?" Mana asked.

Jules sighed. "It means that it's absorbing the energy from the elements around it and getting more powerful by the moment. We really do need to pull it out immediately."

Grandpa warned the imperial guards to be prepared with another locking net magic.

Mana and Jules poured all their magic into Raven, and Raven went to work.

The water the in the middle of the lake parted, and a column of hot lava shot up, sizzling as it touched the water. Another array, slightly bigger than the previous one, was pulled out from the rapidly cooling lava and hovered in the air.

At Grandpa's signal, the imperial guards cast an even more powerful locking net and captured the second array as well. The moment the array was captured, Raven let the water wash over the column of lava and it solidified, sticking out about twenty feet above the surface of the lake.

"We have an obelisk in the middle of the lake now," Mana murmured, smiling faintly.

Raven gave her a wan smile and Jules chuckled.

Then the three children crumpled to the ground, unconscious.