Chapter 2: The Forgotten King

'What just happened?' He thinks to himself. 'My heart felt like it was going to stop!' He flinches as he starts to regain his consciousness. His head is groggy, and his muscles are numb, but he isn't sure whether it's from being underground for so long or from being electrocuted. He awakens on the ground, face in the dirt. He feels like a mangled chew toy. He can't see, move, or feel anything besides the welcome warmth of the sun on his back. In the distance he can hear two voices shouting at each other, one man and one woman. Must be the two he saw underground. As his body starts to recover from the numbness, he realizes he still can't move his legs or his arms. He can sense them now so he should be able to move them. He shuffles in place a bit more before feeling something rub against his wrist. Those bastards! They tied me up after electrocuting me! He'd shout in protest, but he's been gagged with a rather large, and absolutely putrid, piece of cloth as well, not that he has the energy to do so.

It seems his movements are noticed by his captors, as their voices stopped while he was struggling on his own. He feels a pair of hands grab him by the arms and slowly lift him to his knees, before removing his blindfold. The sun blinds him for a bit before his vision adjusts. Ah, now that's a familiar sight.

He sees the beautiful amber sky, stretched as far as the eye can see, with massive clouds scattered throughout its splendour. The sunset blessing the skyline with an orange hue. The horizon is lined with snow-tipped mountains, with a great green ocean of flora spanning from there to cliffs he kneels atop of. In the distance, flying between the mountains, he sees a majestic sight. A dragon, circling one of the peaks. Must be hunting for griffins, he thinks to himself. The cool autumn breeze brushes his face as he takes it all in. He feels like he could look at this this sight forever, if it weren't for the two figures now blocking his vision.

They are young, incredibly young compared to the old man. Their light-brown skin glow in the sunlight. The boy is noticeably shorter compared to the girl, especially when considering his boots' soles are an inch thick. He wears a well-worn t-shirt with a picture of an old camera. He is also wearing navy blue jeans that's torn at the knee, both chosen knowing that it'll likely get dirty on his trip.

The girl, on the other hand, is wearing a pair of large, round glasses, framing her bright orange eyes perfectly. She wears a white jacket with an emblem on the breast pocket, an open book with the letters 'AHM' written on it. A seemingly poor decision as it is now covered in dirt and dust. Otherwise, she also came prepared, with a plain, ratty, red t-shirt accompanied by a pair of cargo shorts. Her long, black, hair is tied in a ponytail, as it waves softly in the mountain breeze.

The young man crouches down in front of the old man to inspect his face, bringing his blue eyes in full view. Or rather, one blue eye, "Dang, one of his eyes really is all white," The young lady smacks him at the back of the head, "Ow! What was that for!"

"C'mon, man!" She says in a hushed voice.

"Right, right." He turns back to the tied up old man before him, "Sorry about tasing you back then. I, uh, thought you were a zombie... Or a mummy..." The old man muffles something in return, they can tell that he is furious, but the gag repressed any protest. "Oh! Right, sorry, forgot about the gag."

When he removes the cloth, the old man spits and coughs before retorting, "If you were really sorry, then..." He looks like he's about to throw up. "Then why must you tie me up?" He starts coughing again, "What on earth did you put in my mouth?"

"My socks" The young man gestures to his mismatched footwear.

The old man's horrified expression isn't enough to show how disgusted he is at the reveal. He can feel himself passing out again.

"Hey!" The woman snaps her fingers in front of him. "Now that that's over with, I've got a lot of questions for you buddy, and you better answer 'em or you're gonna get a taste of these knuckles!" She waves her fist in front of him.

The old man shakes his head and stays silent, staring at the two rude younglings before closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. "Before I do," He looks back at the girl with a defiant look. "How about you give me your names first. Wouldn't be right to asking questions without introducing yourselves first, hmm?"

The boy scoffed at the old man, "Now why would we do that? For all we know, your spooky mummy magic could curse us as soon as you know our name!" He crosses his arms and gives a smug look. He's read plenty of books, he knows how these things go. "How about you give yours first, old-timer."

The girl on the other hand, is not amused. "My name is Doctor Valentina Menendez, just call me Val," she says proudly while puffing out her chest. "I am a junior researcher at the Arcanmir Heritage Museum." She shows him a lanyard with her credentials as proof. "The dumbass behind me is Alfonso, my brother." She points to her brother, who's staring at her in disbelief. "How's that? Good enough for ya?"

"Mmm..." The old man looks at the ID closely. So far, she speaks the truth, even noticing that the AHM on her jacket is the same emblem as the one on the card. He inspects the card further before pondering at the date on the bottom of the card. Suddenly, his eyes widen, he looks like he's seen a ghost. His eyes fixate on the number '2099'. How can this be? That can't be true! It barely even felt like a week!

Has he really been underground for that long?

"Uh... You alright over there?"

Silence. A painfully long five second later, he replies in a low and angry voice "What sort of jest is this?" He looks back at Valentina, his eyes filled with rage, "You think this is supposed to be funny?!"

"Huh?" Her eyebrows furrow in defiance, "That should be my line! Who the hell are you? And what the hell were you doing in that crypt?"

"I was buried in there!" He retorts with his own question, "What do you think you're doing with false credentials?"

Alfonso butts in, "Uh guys?" But his words were drowned out by their shouting. "Ah, this isn't gonna be good."

"False?!" Something in her snapped, "Listen here, buddy, I used a crap-ton of money in equipment, came all the way out in the middle of nowhere, dug a hole by the side of some mountain—,"

"Actually, Trevor dug it—,"

"Walked through a dark and filthy cave, lifted up metric buttload of limestone, just to uncover you!" She points a finger straight into the old man's face. "I was supposed to find an ancient king, instead I find some homeless guy using a crypt as a bed!" She catches her breath and calms herself down. "If anyone is a fake here, it's you."

Suddenly, a strange feeling starts to burn through the siblings' nerves. They've felt it before, it's the same feeling when they were underground.

"A fake king?" The old man chuckles, "Ah, Indeed? You were looking for a king?" He begins laughing, "Hah! Then you need not look any further!" A ripping noise can be heard as the rope binding his arms and legs tear apart and explode with great force. He reveals his arms, presenting the glowing tattoos to the dumbfounded youngsters. He hoists himself up with some difficulty, still aching since waking up, and glares at them with his pure white eye, "You wanted to know my name, yes? My name is King Einar Arcanmir, First High King of the Kingdom Arcanmir, Grand Mage of the Dragon's Tower, and you will bow down to—,"

A familiar whizzing noise cuts him off as two metal prongs embed themselves into his chest, and his muscles seize up. He's been tased, again.

Alfonso put his hands in the air, "It wasn't me this time!" Indeed, he turns around to see Valentina holding the taser. He points at her with an open palm to show his disdain at his sister's hypocrisy. "What was that?"

"He was getting on my nerves." Probably literally too, as she can't shake that strange feeling off of her. What was that about being Grand Mage? What is this strange feeling? His tattoos were glowing, does this mean he really is a magician? And does this mean he really is the king?

"Uh, ground control to Val, you read me?" He waves his hand in front of her, bringing her back from her stupor, "So what was that about being a king? Is he who you're looking for?"

Valentina takes a long look at the old man, who's fallen unconscious again. She doesn't want to believe it, but she can't help but think about everything she just witnessed. "Of course not, he's supposed to be dead."

"Val, you saw what he can do! He was floating! He was glowing! He blew apart the ropes tying him down like it was nothing, Val! That guy is clearly a—" Valentina shushes him with a hand wave of dismissal.

She admits, nothing that happened so far makes any kind of sense. Unless... Valentina takes out a small notebook filled with bookmarks from her sling bag, and rifles through them. She writes everything she knows about the old king in there, in the hopes that it might help her uncover his whereabouts, "There might be something here."

Alfonso looks over her shoulder, "What'cha lookin' for?"

She keeps flipping through the pages until she spots the word 'Obsession'. "Here..."

She takes her time reading, leaving Alfonso in the dark, "Hey, if there's something interesting, I wanna know too," But her face is buried too far into the notebook to hear him.

All of a sudden, Valentina starts to chuckle, "Ah, Alfie, I think we found something very, very interesting."

-----

A familiar feeling washes over him, as he awakens once more bound by the wrists, ankles, and mouth. He isn't blindfolded this time, which is better at least. He opens his aching eye to see that he's seated in the back some sort of small chariot. As the numbness subsides, he can feel that the interior is much warmer than the outside. In front of him he can see two chairs facing away from him, towards a glass window. Looking through it, his blurred vision can just barely make out a road, yet he can't see anything pulling the chariot, which is strange as he can feel it moving under him. Looking back at the chairs, he can see his two captors, the girl on the right and the boy on the left. The girl's hands are on what appears to be a circular object attached to a panel in front of her.

Even when their backs are turned, he doesn't try to struggle. In his current state, there's no way would he be able to break free. Instead, he'll bide his time, waiting for the perfect moment to—

"Oh god, he's awake," Alfonso wears a terrified look on his face, "You better be right about this." He turns back to his sister.

"Ah, don't worry too much" Valentina turns her head for a moment to confirm the man's awakening before focusing back on the road. "Mornin' old timer, you've probably got a lot of questions right now, huh?"

The old man tries to reply but his mouth is still gagged.

"Right, yeah, that stays on this time, don't want any curses placed on me." Alfonso says with a smug look on his face.

"Zip it." Valentina shuts him up before he could go on, "Let me get two things straight first before you try to kill us again." She turns the wheel in her hands clockwise and the carriage turns right in response, before finally stopping by the side of the road. She turns her body to face him, "First of all, I know who you are 'Your Highness'," She pulls out the notebook from her bag and opens it, "Assuming that you really are the old king, Einar Arcanmir, you were once known as a man with insatiable curiosity and possess high intellect for your time. So much so, that you were once called "The Grand Mage of Arcanmir". You've supposedly had extensive research on magics, the supernatural, and the arcane. One of the things you've researched was immortality." She closes the book and faces him once again. "Most say that you were obsessed with it." She shifts towards the old man and looks directly into his pure white eye. "I wonder if you managed to get what you were looking for".

After a painfully long stare off from the two, Alfonso chimes in, "Ahem, what about the second thing?"

"The second thing..." Valentina continues staring before backing away slightly, "Whether or not you're actually the old king, one thing's for sure; you were not something we expected to find at the bottom of a millennia old tomb. But we definitely can't just let you go, especially after what you showed off back at the mountain. So instead, I have a proposal, I'll let you go under one condition; you come back to the museum with me and answer every single question I have for you."

The old man, Einar Arcanmir, simply stares back in defiance. There's no way he's going to cooperate with them after what they've done to him.

"If you agree, then I'll get rid of the gag for you".

"Hey, who said you could do that?" Alfonso insists on keeping the man in bindings until they reach their destination, but Valentina isn't listening.

Yet, despite himself, the old man hesitates. He really doesn't want to do anything for these two, but on the other hand...

He nods.

Valentina gives a big grin before pulling down the gag from his mouth.

Einar coughs again, "That better not have been your undergarments again, boy."

"No, no, it's my handkerchief this time."

"You could have used that last time." The old man sighs, "Before we continue girl, I need to ask you something very important."

Valentina raises an eyebrow, "Go ahead."

"You say that you're researching me for the sake of your museum correct?" He takes a deep breath before continuing, "How many years has it been since I... Since 'The Old King' disappeared?"

"Ah," She opens her book again, "According to legend, it's said that the king vanished about fifty years after the supposed founding of the kingdom of Arcanmir so... About three-thousand and eighty-three years ago."

Einar slumps back into his seat, speechless. He stares at the floor of the carriage for a moment. "I... I see..." He hunches over with a pained expression on his face. It was even longer than he thought. "Of course, I should have seen this coming..."

The siblings look at each other in confusion, "You uh... You alright there?" Despite his paranoia, Alfonso can't help but notice how upset the old man seems.

But his concern falls on deaf ears, "It is none of your concern boy. Do with me what you will, and quick, so I can be rid of you." Despite his brief melancholy, his stern nature is quick to resurface.

Valentina shrugs, "If you say so old timer." She pushes a lever next to her and the vehicle starts moving once more.

-----

As Valentina brings the car back on the road, Alfonso leans over to Valentina and whispers, "What do you think is up with him?"

Valentina sighs. "Why do you think people nowadays don't want to be immortal if given the choice?"

Alfonso thinks for a moment before slumping into his seat, "Ah." The car is completely silent for a moment. Perhaps out of consideration for the ancient king, or perhaps simply there's nothing to talk about. The silent doesn't last, as Alfonso straightens his back once more, "Ahem, so where are we headed now? Straight to the museum I assume?"

"Huh? 'We'?" Valentina scoffs, "Don't you have a job to do, Alfie? Something about 'reporting back to your company about a massive discovery'?"

"Are you kidding me? With what evidence? Even you still think the old guy is some dude someone sent to mess with you." Alfonso leans over again, "Besides who knows what'll happen if I leave you alone with him."

"True." She takes her time to think before finally answering, "Alright fine, I'll bring you along." She tries her best to ignore the barely veiled giddiness on Alfonso's face.

She continues driving through the lush Scandinavian Forest. Since Einar's tomb is said to be hidden inside the mountains of Vittaheimr, Valentina had to drive through rough dirt roads and thick spruce forests to get to her destination. Worst of all, she had to use her parents' old, rust-bucket of a car, making the journey all the more tiresome. Lucky for her, the bright glow of the autumn sun kept any prospective researcher warm within the cold mountain winds. As she drives on, the roughness of the dirt road starts to take its toll on Valentina's morale. She switches the car's radio on to the car's station. The station that her parents loved to tune into whenever they drive the siblings around the countryside. It plays classical music, and to Valentina, it keeps the edge off from the long working days.

After a few minutes of violin strings and piano melodies, she can almost tolerate the bumpy ride, when suddenly she hears a voice behind her, "How is this possible?"

"Hmm?" Valentina stops the car in response. "What happened?" She looks back to see Einar looking at her in bewilderment.

"How is there music playing when nobody is around to play it?"

Alfonso turns to him, "Ah, right, you just woke up from a three-thousand-year sleep." A gives Einar a big grin. "You want me to tell ya about what we've been doing for the past few millennia?"

Einar hesitates, almost letting the boy's air of superiority get the better of him but calms down soon after. "... If you wipe that smug look off your face I just might."

"Hehehe..." Alfonso probably dreamed of having this kind of conversation ever since he read his first fantasy book. "Well, let's start with the invention of gunpowder..."

Valentina, upon realising that he'd be talking the whole drive home, wants to intervene but felt that she'd only waste her breath in trying. "Ah..." This is going to be a long drive home.