The Pentacle King

It was fortunate for me that I had seen many strange things in this world; and although, I had a difficult time to believe what I saw in the realm of the gnomes, I regarded it as yet another feature. The path we walked along was cobbled and the ceiling was a perfectly carved stone tunnel—nothing too unusual, but mildly strange compared to the other realms. No, the strangest thing was the amount of green I saw underground. There were trees planted along the path, forming a boulevard. All kinds of trees, too. Arbutus, fir, cypress, oak, pine, alder, birch, hemlock, and ash. Trellises were set up between the trees from which grapevines hung and used as bridges to spread to nearby trees. At the foot of every tree was a small ground lantern, illuminating the walkway.

“How do the trees grow when they’re underground?”

“What do you mean?” Marisa asked back.

“I mean, how do they grow without water and sunlight? They seem pretty healthy despite lacking all the basics trees need.”

“The soil is rich in nutrients, and Duke Otto is known to have spared no cost in gathering rare breeds of trees.”

“But why would he do all this?”

“You can ask him yourself. We are here.”

A stone archway lorded over our heads as we passed under it. We entered a square-shaped garden. Rose bushes kept watch from the edges while leaving a wide open grass field in the middle. There was a floral smell in the air and the area was warmer than I expected. It reminded me of being in a greenhouse. Next to the stone archway was a golden bell with a pentacle engraved on it. Luna rang it.

Several gnomes began to pop out of the ground. The gnomes formed two columns in the centre of the field and waited. A throne emerged from the depths of the earth and stood at the head of the two columns. Atop the throne sat a dark-robed lord. Motifs of grapes, bulls, and goats adorned the robe. The duke held a golden sceptre in his right hand. His head was wrapped in a red cloth, held in place by a crown.

“Yo! You rang? Whaddya want?” said the duke.

“Duke Otto, I am Marisa, High Priestess of the undines and these are my travelling companions, Luna and Ferdinand. I believe his Highness has told you of our coming.”

“Ah! So you’re Marisa? That would make... ugh, I don’t know how you can stand that stuffy guy you call your father.”

“Uh, well, you see, he... he follows a stern law of our creed.”

“Blegh, no thanks. That life ain’t for me. Anyway, yeah, Eulerich came flying in here a few weeks ago, told me to expect visitors who’d be taking the divine trial. Guess he was talking about you guys.”

“Yes, it is as you say. Ferdinand will undergo the trial and we will help him.”

I stepped forward and gave a polite bow to Duke Otto. He looked me over with his green eyes. Our eyes met and he held eye contact for several eternal seconds.

“Ah, so you’re the infamous barrier-buster. I’ll spare you the lecture—you know the deal. Lucky for you, I haven’t heard of any gnomes going crazy. But dwarves on the other hand, well, I can’t say the same for them. Then again, monstra have always been a bit different.”

His manner of speech was quite brusque, like the gnome we met at the entrance. In a way, it reminded me of Lord Arvid.

“The sooner we can get this over with the better, I’d say.”

“Couldn’t agree more. Right, so, the trial: it’s located in a mountain down the road. Unfortunately for you, the dwarf king Laurin controls that mountain. Well, I gave it to him, but that's beside the point. We’ve never seen eye-to-eye ever since we had a falling out, so he won’t listen to me if I tell him to let you guys take the trial.”

“I guess we’ve got no choice but to let our fists do the negotiating then.”

“Hahaha! I like this guy. Where’d you find him? Marisa, make sure you invite me to your guys’ wedding.”

She stammered while trying to think of a response, turning bright red for the second time in a few days. She then kicked me and said, “Stop saying such unearthly things to Duke Otto! It is not proper! Not proper!”

Otto roared with laughter. “You guys are a riot. Listen, I’ll let you take one of my minecarts to reach the mountain where Laurin is.”

Ahem “Wonderful. We thank you for the kindness, Duke Otto.”

“Don’t mention it. Since time is of the essence...” He stood up from his throne, faced right, clapped his hands and touched the ground. The right-side of the garden wall retracted to reveal a tunnel and a minecart on a primitive rail system.

We walked over to the minecart and Duke Otto pointed to a control lever. “Push this forward to go, pull it back to stop. Simple. Any questions? No? Good. Good luck, brave adventurers and may the glory of success be yours!”

“Actually, I do have one question. Do you know anything about the trial?”

“Sorry, kid, I don’t. Never bothered to look after the tower it was located in anyway. I don’t even know what kinda divine object you’ll find in there. But you'll find someting. Well, good luck.”

He went back to his throne and then disappeared underground. I looked the minecart over and wondered how we were all going to fit inside it. For the sake of making the trip the least uncomfortable, I suggested that Marisa sits in the back, Luna in the middle, and I in the front.

It was a tight fit but we managed to do it. I pushed the lever and the minecart rolled forward. It was really moving. I pushed and pulled the lever slightly, seeing if I could control the speed but the minecart only had one speed. I hoped the ride wouldn’t take to long and my knees would survive the cramped quarters. At least the rushing air felt cool against my face.