Curse of Burnum by Michael Ross (top inspirational books .txt) 📕

The Curse of Burnum

Michael Ross

BLURB

It was a usual afternoon training when the 5 soldiers in training are given to save their town… With a lot of challenges faced on their way. Their group is tested with allot of challenges to face and overcome.

The Curse of Burnum

It was a cold morning in Burnum barracks as we started putting on our training armour and fight each other with wooden swords and wooden shields. I, Cassias, was the strongest fighter with a sword out of my four friends, all willing to become legionaries. We were about to finish our training when we heard the horn blow. We all knew that one blow meant Roman soldiers were coming in from patrolling the borders, while two blows meant we are under attack and have to get our weapons and run to the assembly point. Everyone in the town Burnum knew, since they were born, that two blows signal a barbarian attack. But we haven`t heard two blows for a long time, since Tiberius Septimus Axilla took command of the 8th legion based in Burnum. His own officers feared the cruel, temperless and unforgiving general Tiberius. Most of the vicious barbarians would not dare to risk their lives knowing that the general Tiberius and his legionaries will stand between them and the town.

But something was different today, the soldiers were sad and looked like they were trying to keep something away from everyone. Their heads were down, shock and disgrace were seen on their faces, their shields and armour were covered with ash and blood. General Tiberius met them near headquarters with a cruel smile on his lips. Silently he watched, like a snake stared at a mouse, as centurion commanded the soldiers to clean their armour and weapons.

We continued with our training and finished after several training fights where we had to attack in a single file locking our shields. Bruised and shattered after the long and brutal training we came back into the barracks. Slowly and quietly we took off our armour and head to the armoury when we overheard a conversation between two legionaries who came back from the patrol. They were sad and talked in short phrases about the last order they had to complete: the execution of the entire barbarian village at the border. General Tiberius ordered them to brutally kill everyone and burn the houses and temples in the village to punish the barbarians as they refused to pray to Roman Gods.

The next morning it unusually silent in the barracks. We rushed out to the assembly point where we usually meet everyone in the morning but no one was there. Only dead silence met us. At that moment we understood that something was terribly wrong. Rushing to the headquarters I noticed the guards lying motionless on the ground. Magnus checked one of the guards and was surprised to find that the guard was alive but still as a stone with no visible wounds on his body. His weapon and armour were clean and in order, nothing pointed that there was a fight.

Inside we found the general in his bed, looking like he is fast asleep but he was still as the guards we saw outside. Besides his bed was a crying Governor of the Burnum, who came earlier in the headquarters to discuss food supplies with the general. The Governor was surprised that we were alive but became very worried when we told him that all legionaries are in the same strange state like being frozen. Luckily the Governor did not panic. He suspected that a magic or a curse was the cause of this disaster. He suggested to seek some advice from Forba, an old witch living in the town’s dungeon.

Forba, an ugly old woman with a cracked up voice, met us at the entrance like if she was waiting for us to come. She cracked up a laugh. She told us that this is a curse which struck the legion because of the destruction they made in the village. The village had an old temple which would curse anyone who destroys it. Only those who are not legionaries were spared. The curse could be cured but the cure would require three ingredients: Purest Water, Hottest Fire and the Flower of Destiny. Purest Water could be found only in one cave which is protected by traps; the Hottest Fire is in the volcano Fire Nest; and The Flower of Destiny is growing in the Crack of Doom – the most feared place as no one came back from there.

The Governor commanded us to go as we were the most trained remaining in Burnum and we also felt that it was our duty to save the 8th legion. Time was running out as barbarians would attack Burnum as soon as they find out that the legion cannot fight. Immediately we packed the supplies we needed including ropes, torches, pots for we were going to collect and enough food and water for five days. As the supplies were loaded on the horses, we rode out of the town.

As the cave in the Black Forest was not too far away from Burnum we went straight there. By midday we came to the cave, not tired or hungry. At the entrance at least a hundred of skulls were piled up watching the trail with their hollow eyes. We tied horses to the trees, lit up the torches and slowly went into the gloomy darkness of the cave. The darkness was so thick that our torches provided barely enough light to see where to step. Suddenly a stone under my foot came down. Pressure plate! Whistling sound broke the silence of the cave prompting us to lock the shields exactly as in training. Arrows hopelessly bounced off the shields. We stepped forward in a single file protecting each other with our shields resembling tortoise - the famous and efficient formation of Romans legionaries. My eyes caught some movement on the side and at the same time Marcus jumped up swinging his sword. Two battle axes crashed through the floor with a thundering sound opening a huge pit full of spikes. Another trap! Luckily Roman shields are wide enough so being placed on the spikes they formed a bridge for us to cross the dangerous pit. We stopped for a moment to catch our breath and we heard sounds of dripping water echoing through the cave.

It wasn’t wise for Magnus to run to the water as the ground slowly started pulling him down. Quick sand! Magnus reacted quickly spreading his body flat in the attempt to hold on the surface. We got the rope out of the bag and threw one end to Magnus. He tied the rope around his chest and continued his way towards the water hole edge holding a pot in one hand. I quickly looked around. The water hole was in the middle of the cave and it was so pure that even in the dimming light of our torches it was glittering like a gemstone. Reaching the water Magnus filled in the pot and then tied it up to the rope. We pulled the rope to get the pot out and saw Magnus going slowly into the sand. Quickly we passed the rope to him and pulled him to the safety. We have collected one of the three ingredients the witch needed to cure the curse. Quickly we rode back to the town and put the pot with the precious water in the dungeon to keep it safe until we collect the remaining parts of the cure.

The next day we rode to the volcano. By the time sun touched tips of the mountains we arrived at the base of the volcano, where we set up a camp and left our horses. Climbing the steep slopes of the volcano carrying all these ropes and supplies along with weapons and armour was a challenge. When we reached the summit it was already dark and only the crater was lit up with the red lights from lava down its throat.

Marcus tied one torch to the rope and lowered it down the throat of the volcano. The torch made a loud cracking sound bursting into flames. Carefully we started to pull it up. The torch was nearly within our reach when Lucius shivered and suddenly moved making the torch hitting the side of the volcano’s throat and the torch fell into lava. We tried again and this time we got the torch up and started to descent down the slope toward our camp at the base of the volcano where we spent night before coming back to Burnum.

The last of the ingredients for the cure was the Flower of Destiny. The thoughts about the Crack of Doom did not let me sleep the night before we left Burnum. It was the longest of our journeys. Finally we made it to the crack. It was huge: it started in the valley between two mountains and lasted for as long as we could see, it was at least a league wide and so deep we barley could see the bottom.

Instead of just going right down the crack we decided to scout around and found a good vantage spot from where we spotted several barbarian dwellings at the bottom of the crack. At the back of one of the huts there was a bright golden light like a star in the night sky. Undoubtedly it was the Flower of Destiny.

We decided to tie all the ropes together and get down the crack at night time. The plan to overcome barbarians we could find down the crack was simple. Marcus was going to set up a trap in the narrow passage we spotted earlier by pushing boulders from above it. Magnus, Rufus and I will lure the barbarians into the trap. Lucius will use another rope to get into barbarian camp from the back and collect the flower.

I was the first to go down slowly and quietly. Magnus, Rufus and Marcus followed me. We hoped that Lucius was already on his position, ready to go down. Quiet as a mouse I went toward the camp through the tight passage where several huge boulders were hanging at the edge. Marcus should use them to block barbarians from killing us and distracting them from Lucius who will collect the flower. I sent Marcus to get the trap ready and soon enough we heard his signal that the trap was set up. Continuing with the plan we crept up towards two barbarians on a watch duty. We jumped out of the cover slashing our swords. Our attack was a surprise to the barbarians and one of them was quickly wounded while the other one raised his horn and blew two times exactly like in our town. The camp awakened. At least twenty barbarians all armed with battle axes ran after us into the tight passage. We were climbing up the rope when we heard boulders rushing down and blocking the narrow passage way. Everything was going according to our plan. We rushed to the place where we left our horses and were met by Lucius with the plant in his hands.

Back in Burnum we gave the last ingredient to the witch. As she started boiling the flower she said, to our great surprise, that the flower was not the last ingredient. The last ingredient was a true friendship, the friendship that helped us to survive the cave, the volcano and the crack. She ordered us to come close to the pot. Suddenly the mixture foamed and turned into a clear gold liquid. The cure was made in less than one hour every legionary was awaken.

The next day the entire