“You found it, Leo!” Kazu praised in amazement.

“How did you know it was here?” Baffled Celine.

“The rock was a clue,” he stated, gesturing at the stone. “My dad must’ve put it there as an arrow.”

His friends both groaned in disappointment for not seeing it themselves. Laughing at that, Leo went over to Ariel, feeling excitement course through his veins. Kazu and Celine followed his example, letting their friend take lead down the path. The three trotted down the newfound path, taking sight of the town right across from them. But before they had even reached the exit, a man suddenly came running at their direction.

“Hey guys!” He greeted loudly. “Long time no see!”

Leo and his friends were confused as the three of them stopped riding. Some man had shown up out of nowhere, acting as though he were an old friend. Although, the magic wielders could not recall ever meeting with him in Sanctum. However, when Celine took a closer look at him, a smile grew upon his face.

“Big Brother!”

Her shriek caused Leo and Kazu to cover their ears from sudden pain. She teleported off her horse and reappeared dangling happily around the man’s neck. Of course, he hugged her back, sharing the same amount of enthusiasm as she had.

“Hey there, baby sister!” He chimed. “I can’t believe how big you’ve gotten.”

Hearing him refer to Celine as “baby sister” brought some clarification. The stranger was Thomas Roy, Celine’s older brother, and Chief Roy’s first-born. Like his father, Tom grew abnormally big and strong, but only a bit taller than Akira. Everybody in Sanctum saw him as the future chief after Theodore decided to step down. The children of Sanctum even thought of him as their big brother, including Leo and Kazu. But that role later fell onto the young sorcerer after Tom had announced his sendoff. The boys climbed off their horses, then raced themselves over to the man before them.

“Hi Tom!” Leo greeted. “How did you know we were here?”

“Yeah, we thought you were living in the deserts of Aiden,” assumed Kazu.

“I was, but things had gotten out of hand since then,” he stated. “Now, I run a horse stable business outside of Stone Cross.”

Tom pointed to where it was on the other side of the town’s main road. The trio spotted a large, wooden home over a wide field, along with several horse stables. A few riders were seen as well, placing their mounts inside before they head into town. Leo also saw some stables left unfinished, which led him to wonder on something…

“Wait a minute,” the sorcerer paused, then asked, “Is this where my dad delivers all the materials from Sanctum?”

“Not all of them,” answered Tom. “Anything left over gets sold to some of the merchants in town.”

After answering, Tom realized that Celine was still clinging onto him. He helped her back down and made his way over to the other field.

“Come on,” he gestured at the trio. “You guys can leave your horses in the stables and I’ll show you inside.”

They all complied and eagerly followed Tom as he led the way. The trio guided their horses out of the passage, taking in the scenery that is Stone Cross. But just as they walked away, Leo realized he had forgotten something important.

“Wait!” He yelled, making everyone stop. “Tom, do you know how my dad closed the passageway?”

“Oh yeah, that,” recalled Tom. “I’d see him hold his hands up to it and yell ‘shroud’ after coming through.”

Sounding simple enough, Leo rushed back to the still exposed passage. Following Tom’s instructions, he stood with his hands out, letting the magic flow out. Then afterwards, a bright gray energy blanket over the forest life like a blazing fire.

“Here goes nothing,” the sorcerer said, then yelled, “Shroud!”

And at the sound of his spell, the passage to Sanctum was no longer in sight. It’d been replaced by trees, bushes, and grass planted right from the ground. Satisfied by the result, Leo hurried back to the others, following Tom to the stables.

“So, how are things back in Sanctum?” Asked Celine’s brother.

“Same as it’s always been,” Kazu replied. “Everybody living their happy lives and never want to leave.”

“I can’t say I’m surprised,” he stated. “I’ve seen many people wanting to live someplace else to get away from the conflict.”

Their conversation came at an abrupt end after what the older man said. Everyone in Savína forcing themselves to leave their homes in the hope to find sanctity. It brought a feeling of doubt for the trio in their exploration through Stone Cross. Leo tried not to let any of that phase him, however, it proved to be rather difficult. Especially knowing his parents had gone through a similar situation before he was born. Fortunately, the sorcerer came out of his thoughts in time when the group stopped walking.

“Well, here we are!” Tom announced, breaking the silence. “I’ll go and head inside, while you guys take that empty stable.”

“Thanks, Tom!” Said the trio in unison.

Celine’s brother ran to his house as the others entered the empty stable. It surprised them to see so many horses occupying the ones already taken. Each housed up to about two or three steeds, grazing on hay left scattered around. Leo began removing the saddle and reigns from his stallion, while Kazu and Celine did the same.

“I cannot believe we ran into Tom of all people!” Blurted Kazu in surprise.

“I know!” Celine excitedly agreed. “I mean this entire time; my big brother was living this far away from Sanctum!”

Those two went on talking, while Leo hung up Ariel’s reigns and saddle. He was first to leave the stable but left the gate open for his friends inside. The sun was still rising in the sky, emitting enough light to cast shadows from the trees. Yet, the sorcerer became focused on matters he’d been pondering on since he woke up. He needed to tell Kazu and Celine about his dream before they returned home to Sanctum. But the more he thought on it, the more Leo wanted to curse the being who plagued his mind.

“Damn you, Morphos,” he sighed.

“Who’s Morphos?” 

To be continued...