David Bishop and the Mystic of Creation T.C. Crawford (icecream ebook reader txt) 📖

From what he could see as he peered through the bars, his cell was apparently one of many and was located in a long, hall-like room with a small plain looking door at the middle leading to what David assumed was the exit.

His cell was located somewhere between the end and the middle of the hallway, from his best estimate.

“Hello?” he called into the hallway, hoping to figure out why he was captured and where he was being held.

“Eh, there’s no use boy” came a raspy voice from the cell to his right, “They won’t hear you. They only come here twice a day, if we’re lucky, and that’s to drop off the slop so we don’t die before our execution” he said, followed by a rough, wet sounding cough.

“What do you mean, execution? Where am I being held?” asked David, moving closer to the side of his cell that the voice came from.

The man just laughed until he was stopped by his ragged cough, then finally he responded.

“What, you don’t know where you’re at?” he mocked, “Surely, you’re innocent, then?” he asked, before breaking into another hysterical laugh.

David shook his head, realizing he wasn’t going to get any real answers out of the man to his right, and headed back to sit on his bed.

As he sat down, he heard another voice from the cell on his left. It was deeper and younger sounding.

“I saw them bring you in last night. You looked banged up pretty good” the voice said.

David rushed to the wall near the voice.

“Who brought me in, did you see who it was?” asked David.

“Oh yeah, it was Jakob Zander. You must have really rattled his feathers for him to bring you down here himself.” said the man, chuckling softly.

“I didn’t do anything to that lunatic!” replied David, “He was the one chasing me and my friends around the whole countryside!”

“Hmm…are you the one they’ve been talking about, then? The “Outsiders” they’ve been calling you.” said the voice, suddenly seeming more interested.

“Wait…are we in Brineport?” asked David, suddenly recalling where Jakob had said they were taking them before they had been attacked in the woods.

“That’s right, where did you think you were?” asked the man to his left.

“It doesn’t matter now, does it?” said David, discouraged.

He had spent over a week heading North to the Crystal Caverns, only to have been captured and taken back all the way to the Southern Kingdom. How would he ever get his powers back in time to stop the Defiant One now? He let the people of Ravenfell down, and more importantly, he let his friends down. He worried deeply for their safety, not knowing what was to become of them now that he was still so far from his goal of reaching the caverns and getting back his powers.

Feeling something was wrong with his new cellmate, the man decided to press the issue.

“So…what was Jakob so interested in you for, anyway?” he asked.

“He says we got his brother killed…but the truth is, it was his men who attacked us first. Apparently, since he failed to capture us, he was executed.” replied David, recalling the story Jakob had told them when they were ambushed.

“I see…and why were they after you in the first place?” asked the man.

“He said it was because we were outsiders. We’re from the Northern Kingdom, but we weren’t here to cause trouble – we were just passing through.” replied David quickly, remembering the hostility they faced in Ashmire when the locals figured out where they were from.

The man just chuckled gently to himself.

“You don’t have to worry about that here, boy. I’m no stranger to the wider world. I’ve been around in my days and come across all types of people. Seems to me that people are people, doesn’t matter where they’re from. Sometimes they are nice, other times they are scumbags like Jakob and his gang. What brought you and your friends to the Southern Kingdom anyhow?” he asked.

David sat silently for a moment, considering how he would answer. He couldn’t tell this man the truth about their mission, it would reveal that he was the bearer of the Orb and that would put his life in even more danger than he was already in. Instead, he made up a lie that he figured would be good enough for a prison-mate.

“We were traveling merchants, trying to reestablish the Southern Tunnel trading route that once thrived between our kingdoms.” said David.

It seemed to work.

“Oh yeah…I remember hearing about that route when I was a kid. It used to benefit both of our kingdoms. I remember most of our salt was sent that way and was traded for precious metals and gems from the Mystic Mountain region. Very valuable stuff if you got your hands in the market.” he said.

“So, what are you in here for?” asked David, curious to know why the man in the cell to his left was in a similarly precarious situation as he was.

“Me? Oh, well… I suppose I deserve to be here more than you do. I was a part of a rebellion trying to take out the current leadership – if you want to call it that. What we really are is patriots trying to take back our lands and our rights to live free.” he said. “My name’s Riyan, what’s yours?” he asked, holding out his hand through the bars. His skin was dark and rough like leather.

“David…David Bishop” replied David, reaching out and shaking the man’s hand.

“Good to meet you, David Bishop” said Riyan.

The door to the hallway opened and much to David’s surprise in walked a couple of wolves that closely resembled that of the Wolf Guard.

The cloth around their waist sported the emblem of the Southern Kingdom – a black raven in a blood red circle. The fabric was a tannish color and had frayed ends where the cloth was unwinding. David wondered if that indicated their class was a much lower