Dead for as far as the eyes can see

Dirt, dust, and debri littered the air from the explosion. The hot breeze coming off of the ocean hundreds of miles away was barely felt though now could be seen as it moved the particles through the sky.

Silvyr moved his wand towards the open hatch clearing the rest of the debris out of the air that was hanging over the hatch . Where the old stone had just stood now was a crater-us hole 5 feet deep in the ground with a three foot wide hole going deep into the ground. He made his way down the side of the hole and looked into the hole trying to get an idea for how deep they would be going into the ground.

An old metal ladder was bolted to the side of the small hole large enough for only one person to go down at a time. Silvyr pointed his wand at Leah putting the same invisibility charm on her. "Stay and keep watch. If someone approaches give a signal." he said knowing that Leah understood every word. He doubted there was going to be a threat but the last thing he needed was someone spotting an Arctic wolf in the middle of the desert. They would return to the surface with an ambush waiting on them for sure if that scenario were to take place.

Silvyr stepped down onto the ladder descended into the hole at a slow pace. The air that had been trapped at the bottom of the hole was rushing up to the top bringing with it the stench of damp musk. It was almost intolerable for SIlvyr's sensitive nose but he pushed through. Soon he would become accustomed to the foul odor and disregard it completely. The deeper he went the brighter the air at the bottom of the hole beneath him seemed to be. He guessed that some sort of light charm had been placed on the well long ago. He had never run in to anything like it before which caused him to take note of the idea and begin figuring out how to recreate the spell. "A later date." he thought forcing himself to focus on the task at hand.

After five minutes of climbing down deeper and deeper into the hole Silvyr spotted the a dirt floor. Relieved he stepped off of the ladder relieving his tense back and leg muscles. He looked around which only took the turning of his head once. A single tunnel stretched out in front of them for twenty feet leading to an old wooden door at the end. Silvyr turned to Whight and motioned that he was moving on by nodding his head towards the direction of the door.

The air surrounding them lit the tunnel radiantly as if multiple torches were burning. Silvyr kept his wand in hand as he approached the old door ready for anything. Once he had neared an appropriate range he pointed his wand at the door, "Alohomora." he spoke filling his words with as much intent as possible. He gripped the handle turning it to see if it had unlocked. To his surprise the door easily moved with the push of his hand as if the room was welcoming them in.

Silvyr stepped inside moving into the room enough for Whight to get through the door without having to squeeze by him. The air illuminated the room in the same way as the tunnel shedding light on the bookshelves lining the eight walls of the room. It seemed as if at a time there had been order to the cause but that was long ago. Thick large old brown pieces of paper were scattered on the shelves and floor. The pages seemed to have fallen out of the old books for many were thrown about on the shelves or buried under stacks of the old papers covered with writing in old black ink. The penmanship ranged from parchment to parchment. Some readable others no more than chicken scratches. On the farthest wall of the room sat a chest on the bottom row of the book shelf that covered the wall. No books or papers were near it except for the few parchments on the floor that had fallen gently from the books above. Two large chains were secured around the old dark wooden chest in deep groves carved into it and were connected by a large steel lock with no opening for a key.

Silvyr began to walk through the room examining the parchment and books one by one. The writings all seemed to be different stories and legends of the story that surrounded the Kings Rings. No dates, facts, or, the thing they were their to find, a map to the ship could be found on any of the parchments scattered about the room. He looked to the chest sitting on the bottom shelf and knew that was where the map to their prize rested.

The decent into the well was much greater than Whight had thought. The old man had made it seems as if their desired treasure lay at the bottom of a hole in the ground. Whight soon learned that was not the case. He followed Silvyr down the torch lit tunnel fighting the horrid smell that embodied them. He held his composure and showed no sign of discomfort.

Whight placed his bag upon the small table in the middle of the room and looked around. It was obvious that this was once a personal study. It reminded Whight of his study back at home. Of course, the room looked like it lacked a few books in Whight's opinion. Still, Whight scanned the shelves taking note of a few books that caught his eye. He was going to be sure to make a few addition to his journal. Out of curiosity, he picked up a piece of parchment that had littered the floor. The hand writing was almost illegible and the language was one Whight was had never seen.

He dropped the nonsense back to the floor and noticed Silvyr staring to the back of the room. At the bottom of a shelf sat a chested chained to the wall. Cobwebs and overgrown rust covered the scene but Whight payed little attention to those facts. Instead ,as he leaned closer he became more interested in the lock that held their treasure in place . There was in fact no key hole, but there were five small holes in the center of the lock.

Whight had seen the lock before but he could not remember where. He pulled out his journal, placed his fingers on the index and thought of the subject. A list of books he had copied and read years ago appeared on the page. Books about lock picking to lock building were all in Whight's reach, but those were not the materials he was looking for. Instead he selected the book, 'Of Ancient Locksmith.' He flipped the pages rapidly looking for a picture of the lock sitting in front of him.

Moments later he found what he was looking for. Whight quickly reread the material and then realized what had to be done. He stood and looked to Silvyr. "I must return to the man's hut. We seemed to have left something behind. It will only take a moment," he said.

Whight apparated back into the small hut. All that remained on the man was a small pile of clothes. The potion he had given the man was one that dissolved anyone's skin entirely. He was thankful for Silvry otherwise he may not have been able to get what he was after. He looked around the floor until he had collected all five fingers Silvyr had removed from the man's hand. He wrapped them in a small cloth and returned below the city floor.

Whight walked back over to the lock. He carefully placed the correct finger into each hole. The lock was known as 'The Smith's Keys.' Whight read that only the lock's owner could open the lock. It had the ability to read fingerprint patterns.

Once each finger was in place, Whight held the fingers tightly with both hands and twisted. The lock and chains freed the chest. He moved the lock out of his way and wiped the blood from his hands on a piece of parchment he pick up from the floor. After a moment of taking in his success, he looked to Silvyr. Together they brought the chest to the table.

Silvyr watched Whight work his 'magic'. It was the only way he knew to describe the proficiency of Whight's mind. If there was living specimen for the phrase, "your brain is your strongest tool", Whight was it.

Silvyr's eyes scanned the book shelves above the old chest as he waited for Whight to return from where ever he had gone. The books looked to be the same as the others so he didn't waist his time going through them. Suddenly his friend appeared with a hand full of fingers. The ones Silvyr recognized as the same ones he had cut off of the old wizard up on the surface. He was glad that the unfortunate events for the foolish man had worked out in their favor. Besides, Silvyr couldn't deny that the process of taking them off had felt just as satisfying as this moment.

Whight maneuvered them into their place on the old lock that was keeping them from opening the chest. With a click the lock sprung from it's locked position and was now hanging open. Silvyr grabbed a side of the chest and tried hoisting with his legs. The old black chest was heavier than he had expected and his legs buckled allowing his side to slam to the ground on his first try. He caught eyes with Whight who was struggling beside him and counted to three; lifting with all his might. This attempt was much easier and they managed to get it over to the table in one exhausting effort.

Silvyr watched as Whight moved the lock out of place. He helped with the chain that was on his side and realized why the damn thing had been so heavy. Just one of the chains had to weigh a hundred pounds. Once the old rusted chain was off the chest looked much slimmer. Silvyr estimated that without the enormous chunks of metal sticking out of the grooves all over it had to be half the size it had been before. They lifted the lid together once again but one of their efforts would have been more than enough.

Lined inside the chest were ancient papers and books. Silvyr's curiosity wouldn't allow him to wait any longer forcing him to grab a stack of parchments and two books that had been stacked on his side. He began skimming through as fast as his eyes could read. The penmanship was unlike any of the others he had seen for it was elegant, beautiful, and perfect. His eyes moved over the words absorbing all the knowledge that the words contained. He was reading the first recorder, untampered, documents of the Kings Rings. From the way the person was writing the story was just starting due to it's mentioning of the Six Princes and their time spent in Durmstrang Institute in 1153. Only a century after the school had been founded in 1066.

As they opened the chest it became increasingly obvious that this was not going to be a small job of sorting paper work. Instead, they found a mass of books and records that now had to be placed into an interpretable timeline. SIlvyr dove right in to the work as Whight said, "We better make ourselves comfortable. This may take the rest of the night." Before Whight rummaged through the chest he first brought over a few candles. After he lit them with his wand, he pulled over a chair with a flick of the wrist; there was no since in wearing himself down by standing and studying all night.

Whight knew most of the story for what they were after. A great number a years ago a rarity occurred. The world, though small at that time, sought universal peace. The time of the princes was soon to come and the residing kings worked harder than ever to unite the world for their sons.

Through time a young charismatic prince of one of the more influential kingdoms found he had a special gift. With that gift five rings were forged. The prince noticed that the majority of their problems were because there was not a direct line of communication. Misinterpretations, interceptions and forgery were all matters that could easily uproar a kingdom and send them to battle. The prince foresaw this inevitable future and worked to prevent it. The idea was to send the other four princes whose kingdoms had entered a peace agreement, rings of communication known as the King's Rings. For the first time in history and direct line of communication would be set between all the great kingdoms.

After the creation of the rings the magic prince shipped off the other four rings to his fellow princes. Once the princes became kings the rings were to be worn. But as fate would have it, the rings never made it to their destinations. A great storm sank the ring bearing ship and it was never to be seen again until after the droughts.

Whight finally reached into the chest and removed the information he was after; the maps and the ship's manifest. It was clear that there had been a number of attempts to retrieve the rings. The manifest was warn and nearly unreadable. Whight guessed it was one of the few things the old man managed to retrieve. As Whight unrolled the parchment he found several X's and lines traced on the map. Deciphering the mess was going to take the majority of there time and Whight was not going to enter the desert at night. "We will use the manifest to find the direction the ship was headed by looking at the port it was leaving and the port at which it planned to arrive. Once we get a good judge of course, I believe this map will make much more sense," Whight said as he pointed here and there.

Silvyr's concentration had become completely focused on the beautiful penmanship that painted vivid pictures of the stories of the famous Kings pasts. He was brought back suddenly by Whight's voice. The candle and chair were new to Silvyr's attention which made him wonder how long he had been reading for. He nodded after Whight had finished speaking and sat the papers in his hands back on the table.

"We might as well stay here until sunrise then. We might not get the chance to rest again for a few days." Silvyr said. He knew that everything that they needed, in order to find the ship, was now in this room and it would be senseless to stay top side for the night in the unpredictable desert. He pointed his wand at himself and inaudibly turned himself invisible before apparating back to edge of the crater where the well once stood.

Motionless SIlvyr stood in the last rays of sunlight that were being thrown across the sand as he looked out at the sunset. He could feel the chill of the wind that had quickened over the past hour. The whistle that came from his lips inaudibly could be heard by Leah for over a mile signaling her to come find him. He turned to the hole that Whight had blown into the ground. Drawing his wand from his back pocket he began to place cloaking charms for anyone who might be still around. Even though it was highly unlikely that anyone would be living within a hundred miles of the abandoned city. Still, he knew that not leaving tracks would ease his peace of mind while trying to sleep in the knowledge filled pit. After finishing the last spell Silvyr turned back to the abandoned old shacks that were growing ominous in the shadows. With each minute he could feel the worried tension build in his chest until he finally saw his friends tracks rounding the corner. Leah must have been enjoying the ability to go completely unnoticed and Silvyr wondered how many animals she had undoubtedly slayed in the past hour. Once her familiar weight was resting on his leg he apparated back down to the room where Whight was still working.

Silvyr pointed his wand at Leah followed by himself making them visible once again. He looked to Whight who had only spared a quick glance at the two of them before returning to the maps. Leah circled the room multiple times sniffing every shelf while Silvyr unwrapped the cloth from around his head and rested it on the floor. He pointed his wand and transfigured it into a comfy chair and moved it closer to the table. He knew they would be there awhile and why be cramped up for hours sitting on a hard wooden chair. "I can do the same for that old wooden P.O.S. if you'd like." Silvyr said getting Whight's attention.

As Silvyr rummaged about Whight worked feverously on decoding the maps. After several hours of work he finally felt he had a good grasp on where they were heading in the morning. His attention was redirected at Silvyr's words. “I quite alright, thank you though,” he said. Whight had studied in far worse conditions but he appreciated the man’s gesture.

As the candles burned on and day turned to night Whight felt that he knew where the ship lay. It was going to be a long trek but one worth their while. Whight brought the map to Silvyr and gestured, “Here is our mark. According to the records, the ship was attempting to make port in this city. My guess is they wished to avoid the storm. Whatever their case, they were blow off course a few hundred miles or so. I can imagine they began to run off course to reach this destination and they could no long fight the storm.” Whight lifted his glasses to rub his eyes. “Our destination,” he continued, “is approximately 376 miles northwest of this city. The storm that struck them is probably beyond anything we can imagine.”

Whight took a seat. Exhaustion finally began to set in. His head had a slight ache from the constant reading and studying of new material. It felt good to finally relax. “I agree, leaving in the morning will be our best option. We should get some rest.”

At that Whight grabbed his bag and pulled a small bundle out from within. He tossed it to the floor and a small cot sprung from its folds. He dressed the cot and made himself comfortable for a night’s sleep.

The chair cushioned Silvyr's body and relaxation set in for the first time in hours. He pulled the notes on the story of the kings back to his attention. He couldn't believe the amount of knowledge the writer of the stories had on the ancient kings pasts. It was overwhelming to him. He felt as if he himself was there with the young princes hundreds of years ago. His awe forced him to think deeper on the reason for such knowledge and he soon came to only one conclusion. This writer had to have been one of the Legendary Wizard Kings.

He had known bits and pieces of their stories but with the completion of every parchment the blanks began to diminish in his mind. Even the back story leading up to how these young boys were put into power. The Governor Generals of five nations came together in a time of all out war. Thousands of lives were being lost weekly due to the constant fighting that was the end results of each nation's king's hatred for one another. For the sake of their people the five Generals swore an oath binding them to carry their action's of treason to the grave. Their pact was simple. Bring together the nations at all costs. The only way they knew to save the lives of their people was to eradicate the purpose of their problems. They had to assassinate the feuding King's. The feet of killing all five kings in the same night had never been thought of before. Only the men who were bound by the oath held the power. Each individual was so highly trusted by their king that they had access to him and any place in the kingdom twenty four seven.

On the night of the assassinations the men were also entrusted to make a visit to five wizarding families. The eldest male child from a powerful wizarding family, all known for their different skill of wizardry, in each kingdom were to be sent to a school far from their nations to learn and grow together. The bond of friendship and love was what the Generals knew had to be established to make for a better world. As the young boys grew of age and reached the age of adult hood the throne of their respected nation was passed down to them through tampering with the ancient scripts of bloodlines.

Silvyr's attention was broken by Whight's voice as he took his eyes from the parchment for the first time in hours. He stretched wildly while listening to his friends standings on the map. Silvyr nodded glad to hear that their journey was now ready to finally begin.

Silvyr watched his friend prepare his cot which only forced him to realize the feeling of exhaustion that had completely set in all over his body. He set the parchment down on the table and stood stretching his arms, back, and legs all together this time before transforming into his wolf form. He jumped up onto the chair and curled up into a ball ready to pass out. Not a second had passed since his head hit the pillow when he felt Leah jump up onto the chair as well and curl herself up next to him. Sleep came easy simultaneously with the closing of his eyes.

_________

Silvyr's internal alarm woke him from his slumber only a few hours later though he felt completely rested and ready for the day to come. He stood waking Leah with his movement and transformed back into his human form before stretching once again. He never felt that stretching in his wolf form targeted the muscles he used as a human even though he knew he would be in his wolf form for a few hours before going back to normal. After his stretch he nodded to Leah. She walked to his side and they apparated back to the surface.

The sunrise was still an hour or two off but he could see fine. He smelt the salt filled air. No scent hung in his nostrils and he was certain that no one had entered the city all night. He transformed once again and took off straight ahead with Leah by his side. They ran three miles away from the city before splitting and heading different directions. After an hour of running Silvyr saw Leah's body crest over the hill of sand that he was running towards as the finished making their perimeter check for the morning. Meeting once again in a full sprint they turned inwards toward the city returning to the heart where the well once was.

Silvyr transformed and with Leah by his side apparated back into the pit satisfied that no one was watching or following them. Whight sat where he had the night before catching Silvyr off guard even though he wasn't surprised by the sight. The candle on the table had seemingly not changed even though it had been burning all night casting light on the room. In front of Whight were now massive piles of books, parchments, scrolls, and other miscellaneous items Whight had brought with him. "I see you feel the same way we do about sleeping in." Silvyr said in a serous tone though jokingly.

Whight fell quickly to sleep and was anxious about the next day’s adventure. The night was filled with dreams that Whight would have rather not had. He saw his parents for the first time in many years. They looked well and were more than happy to see how their little boy had grown. The sweet dream quickly turned to nightmare when Whight could not get closer to the couple. No matter how long he ran, no distance seemed to be covered. He worked to use spells to stop the nightmare but to no avail. His parents continued to remain in the distance.

When Whight woke he felt that he had only been asleep for a few hours. That was all he needed; anxiety would allow no more. The wizard sat upright in his cot and noticed his companions were nowhere to be found. This did not bother him for he knew the two were more than likely out scouting the lands. Whight stood and with the flick of his wrist the cot and other belongings ‘popped’ back into his bag.

As he waited for the return of his friends, Whight felt it would be a good time to search the study they had found. Books of old and older lined the walls. Parchment protruded here and there while cobwebs and dead spider protected bookshelf corners. Whight slowly walked along the shelves eyeing each book carefully. Most of the books he had already read and others were of little interest to him. As Whight neared the end of the last bookshelf a brown leather bound book caught his eye.

He removed the book and whipped the dust from its spine. ‘The Living Darkness,’ it read. Whight roughly flipped through the pages and then walked to the table. He knew he had little time to read but he knew there should be time on the trip to read a chapter or two. Whight placed the book and his journal on the table and with the wave of his wand he made a copy.

Just as Whight had replaced the book and tucked away his journal, his companions reappeared. Whight gave a small smirk to his friend’s comment but did not address the subject. Instead he went on to say, “If everything looks clear I don’t see why we shouldn’t set off now. By the time we make it through the other end of the city we should have to first rays of light to guide us further.”

Whight began to pack the maps they would need and the instruments to assist them. “I can imagine your sense of direction is very good, but I believe we should use this as much as possible.” Whight held an old compass. “An inch off course with our maps could mean an extra day of ship seeking. We do not need to be in that desert any longer than we have to for obvious reasons.” Whight looked from the compass to Silvyr. “What do you think will be the best way to travel this great distance together?” he asked.

Silvyr listened to his friends wise words and nodded to the points he agreed on. He thought to himself for a few moments on the question posed to him and knew of only one answer. "We'll have to walk. We can't afford to get lost in the desert as you pointed out and if we become separated there is no guaranty that we will be able to find one another again. I say we do what we can to tread the distance day to day. There are no short cuts on this journey it seems." Silvyr said meaning every word.

Silvyr transfigured his chair back into the wrap that he had used the day before and replaced it on his head preparing to leave. When he was ready he looked over to Whight who was now just waiting on him. Silvyr nodded to his friend before Apparating back to the surface with Leah by his side. A sliver of the sun could be seen touching the mountains of sand that made up the horizon. A faint wind moved through his clothing caring with it the smell of salt just as the day before. The old abandoned huts were becoming visible once again all around him due to the glow of the orange light touching the world once again. He looked over to Whight waiting for him to lead the way.

Whight had hoped Silvyr had thought of a way of travel that he himself had over looked. It seemed as if they both knew better. "So be it," he said while taking the first step on the very long endeavor.

Whight quickly began to do math in his head. "It will take us 4 day to reach our destination, and that's if we don't stop to rest and eat. So my guess is that it will take us 5 or 6 days, should nothing happen."

As they left the city limits, Whight waited for Silvry to send Leah to do some quick scouting runs. Everything seemed clear as far as Whight could see. The sun was clearly going to be their biggest enemy. Whight's umbrella reappeared with the flick of his wrist. He soon popped it open to block the sun. A simple spell could have worked just as well, but he knew he would need conserve his energy.