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

explored different pathways, but they only got deeper into the cave.

“Noooooo!” wailed James, breaking down and sobbing. “What do we do now?”

Even Matt, who was the bravest one, was terrified.

“Stop crying,” said Daniel, looking around. “It’s not going to help us.”

They followed a meandering passage, tried different routes, but they could not find a familiar spot or person.

“Lost, aren’t you?” came a voice from behind.

The children jumped with shock. They turned and saw an aged man.

His hair and his eyebrows were white. He had crooked features, and his eyes glowed green in the dark.

“Wh-h-h-o are yo-o-o-u?” James stammered.

The man tilted his head. “Most call me the Shadow Warrior, though I am also the Protector of Light, the Harbinger of Storms and the Wasp.”

“What do you want from us?” Matt demanded. He sounded firm, which was impressive, considering the situation.

“Don’t worry,” the aged man said. “I will not harm you. I am here not to take, but to give.” The man closed his eyes and joined his hands in prayer.

Nothing happened.

Suddenly, the ground rumbled and a box surfaced from below. The aged man lifted it and handed it to the children. He said, “Take this. Now, listen carefully. You are the chosen…”

The sound of sirens blared somewhere close.

“Archer, James, Daniel and Matt, don’t be afraid. Your parents are looking for you. Just stay where you are,” boomed a voice from the speakers overhead. More sirens boomed.

The aged man snapped his fingers and disappeared into thin air, leaving the children with no time to comprehend anything.

The children stood where they were.

Several torchlights started appearing. Someone came close to them. To their utter relief, it was Matt’s father, and next to him stood Matt’s mother and the guide along with some guards.

Matt’s father appeared relieved but Matt’s mother was hysterical, of course.

“WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?! ARE YOU NUTS!? WHO TOLD YOU TO WANDER AWAY?” eyes brimming with tears, she shrieked.

Matt’s father tried to calm her down. Matt smartly hid the box given by the old man in his pocket. The children nodded to each other signalling that they should not mention anything about the old man and the box to their parents.

On reaching the hotel, the children quickly excused themselves and went to their room while Matt’s parents sat sipping their tea in the sunshine in the garden.

“Where can we find a hammer?” Daniel asked as Matt placed the box on a table in their room

“I don’t think we need a hammer to break the lock,” James said.

“What?” Archer asked.

“Yes. It looks ancient. A powerful kick at the lock, and I am sure it will break.”

Matt backed away to the wall, ran, jumped, and gave a kick at it, but the lock did not break. Several more attempts of kicking went in vain.

“Now what?” Daniel asked.

They found a hammer over the ice bucket and tried it out, but even that proved to be useless.

“This lock is too powerful,” Matt said. “I don’t think we can break it.”

“Do you think we should take help from our parents?” Daniel asked.

“Certainly not! Are you crazy?” Archer exclaimed. “They’ll think we stole it. Let’s leave this for now and enjoy our trip.”

They hid the box inside Matt’s bag and got busy exploring other attractions.

The two weeks flew by and they returned to London. They never saw the strange, aged man again during the trip.

Next day…

They all met at Archer’s house to discuss and unveil the secret of the ‘locked box’.

Archer sat on his bed with a serious look on his face. “Okay,” he began. “We are here to decide what to do with the box we found…” Suddenly, James gestured to them to wait for a minute and walked away. A minute later, he returned with a notepad that was lying on a table in the room.

“What’s that for?”

“For writing down notes, of course,” James said. “You see, I tend to be quite organized.”

“Okay,” Archer began. “Let’s plan step by step. First, let’s -”

Archer stopped, and a peculiar expression formed on his face.

He almost cried with astonishment, “Youuuuu… what are you doing here?”

The other three followed his gaze and almost fell off the bed.

Outside the window, clinging to it, was the aged man they had seen on their holiday to the caves.

He signalled them to open the window.

They were frozen in shock and did not move. Matt jerked into action. After checking carefully, Matt opened the window, letting the aged man in.

The man rubbed his hands and brushed his clothes. “Weird walls,” he grumbled. “Made of brick. Brick is terrible for climbing. It is hard, no grip and…”

Then he noticed the children, their mouths agape.

“Well, don’t you want to see what’s in the box?” the old man asked.

“It won’t open,” Daniel said. “We tried.”

“Oh, don’t worry. It will now,” the man said. “But first, I must tell you a story. A story of another World...”

With a faraway look, he began, “Centuries ago, there was…

The man told them all about the Dark World, the Crown of Magic, Lord Arcane and his son Mascae. He narrated all about the Death Lord, the potion of immortality, Lord Arcane’s dreams, the four prophesied children, the seven hidden pieces of the Crown, the trusted servant called the Scavenger and the task assigned to him.

Sighing heavily, he concluded, “The time has come. You are the prophesied children, and you have to go into the Dark World to find all the pieces and combine them to make the crown before the Death Lord does. You have to defeat him and rescue both the Dark World and Earth, from the evil.”

When the aged man finished, the children stared at him in disbelief.

“You are a crazy old man,” Archer said. “There is no such thing as magic.”

“That’s what you have been brought up to believe,” the old man said. “But magic exists. The Dark World exists. And you are the four children of the prophecy.”

There was a confounded silence for a while. Then James spoke up.

“How do you know this story?” he demanded. “What is your