Quest for the Arcane Crown by Yajat Sharma (good inspirational books TXT) 📕

dark, evil voice. He was happy to see fear in the Goblin’s face.

The Goblin stammered out, “Oh, I will be honoured… but what will I get in return?”

Goblins were greedy creatures, something the Death Lord knew. Anything that you want.

“Maybe all the red gold you have…”

The Death Lord smiled inwardly. He could promise anything to the Goblin. How did that matter? Once he won the war, he would just kill the Goblin and get his gold back.

You will have it. That’s my word, said the Death Lord.

The Goblin bowed to him. “What is it that I have to do?”

I want you to summon all the evil forces in the Dark World and assemble them at the Moor of Death. Tell everyone that I have called. I want all of them to be present here in one day.

“What? In one day! That is impossible! How will I be able to do it so fast?”

I don’t care! Call other Goblins to assist you. I want all of them prepared and ready to fight for me. If you can’t commit, that’s okay. I will find many other takers for the red gold. The Death Lord laughed.

The Goblin muttered something under his breath and then disappeared.

Next day at dawn, the Death Lord stood in the balcony of his room in the Palace, glancing at the barren land in front of him. He was impatient waiting for the Goblin to return.

Then he spotted, far away in the horizon, something flying towards him, something small and fat...

The Goblin landed in front of him. Grinning, he said, “I fulfilled my promise.” He pointed behind to the thousands of warriors marching in unison towards them, as the ground shook, armours clanked, and weapons clinked. In a few hours, the evil army stood before the Death Lord.

The Death Lord addressed the evil army. Warriors! You all have chosen to support me. You will not regret this decision.

The warriors cheered in reply.

Raising one fist in the air, he shouted, We will win!

The evil army roared.

We will wait here. I am sure that our enemies will be arriving soon. We will intercept them here at the Moor of Death!

Suddenly, there was a commotion.

“A spy,” someone shouted. “Unicorn!”

The warriors at the extreme back of the army started falling and tripping. Soon, the place was in chaos.

Stop! The Death Lord’s harsh voice shook the warriors to the bone. They stopped. The Unicorn has a white flag. Allow him to come to me.

The Unicorn greeted the Death Lord and stated the purpose of his visit. The Death Lord replied to him, Come over for the meeting, three days from now.

The Unicorn left. The army dispersed and got busy putting up camps. While retreating to his Palace, the Death Lord was angry. The Unicorn now knew about the size of his army and, thus, the surprise he was planning was now lost. The enemy had outwitted him once again.

The Death Lord clenched his fists in anger, his heart burning with thoughts of vengeance.

***

Archer blinked as the Scavenger woke them up. It was not dawn yet. It was the day for the meeting at the Death Lord’s Palace.

They began to put on their armour, but the Scavenger ordered them not to take any weapons or armour.

“Why?” Archer asked, shocked.

“The rules of war are clear in the Dark World,” the Scavenger said grimly. “Since we are going for the meeting to frame rules of war, we cannot carry any weapons or protection. It is a rule, and I don’t break the rules.”

“But the Death Lord can seize this opportunity and kill us at first sight,” James said.

The Scavenger shook his head. “Don’t worry, he won’t. I am sure he won’t even show himself. We have the five pieces – don’t forget that. He can’t afford to kill us. And even if he tries, I have a spell ready. I will apply it and we will disappear in seconds.”

Archer shrugged. “As you say.”

The Scavenger looked at the rising sun in the sky. “I think we should leave.”

“Wait!” Daniel said. “You forgot to wake up Matt!”

The Scavenger shook his head. “No. I did it intentionally. Matt had fooled the Death Lord and, plus, the Death Lord suspects him to be the One. If at all he chooses to betray us, he would target Matt first. We can’t take the risk of taking him along. Don’t worry, I have briefed him yesterday and he is okay with the decision.”

The Scavenger led the children to a glorious chariot, carrying a white flag hoisted high that fluttered with the wind.

“Good luck, Lord,” the Unicorn King said as he bowed to the Scavenger.

“Pray for our success,” the Scavenger said and took off, directing the chariot through their camps and tents. They headed straight to the Moor of Death.

The horses ran fast. The Death Lord had constructed a war base with a makeshift palace at the Moor of Death. The palace appeared dark and sinister, the sky above the palace murky. Indigo clouds hovered over it and occasional tendrils of energy spiked. The guards saw the white flag and allowed the chariot in.

A brute looking guard, who had two horns, walked up to them. “The Lord is waiting for you. Follow me,” he croaked in a deep booming voice and turned around, walking briskly.

The Scavenger and the children followed.

They entered a hall where a man dressed in black armour was waiting for them. The Scavenger saw him and hissed under his breath, “A Black Sorcerer!”

The Sorcerer seemed to radiate darkness. “Welcome. Follow me.” With that, the Sorcerer turned and left the hall. The Scavenger and the children followed him closely.

The interior of the makeshift palace was equally frightening. The pictures hanging above the black marble floor felt alive. There were occasional bursts of dark energy, as if a dragon was spewing fire. The place smelt of death and destruction. The Black Sorcerer stopped in front of a large door.

“The Death Lord will meet us here,” he said hesitantly. A voice echoed, Who is here?

Everyone