(Cont. from part 10)

A minute later the guard calls for lights out and puts out the candle. With nothing to do but mull over the cryptic words, I lay down in the bed of moldy hay the policemen have so generously provided me. Why is all this happening?

And on my thirteenth birthday no less.

Today started with such promise. Though he'd tried to hide it, I caught a peek of the blueberry cake Uncle was making before he sent me to the market. And he always told me a person's thirteenth birthday was special; that was the day they recieved their Artifact. But instead, Unclr is dead, I'm stuck in jail, and all I have is two pieces of paper to keep me company.

Yeah, the day certainly could have gone better.
I'm pulled out of my thoughts by a strange sound. It's like stone grinding against stone, but barely audible. And it seems to be coming from below me.

After maybe a minute of this, the sound is replaced. Now I hear stone moving to my left. I turn to see one of the floorstones being moved from below. In the dim starlight seeping in from the barred window high above my head, I see a shadow. It looks a bit like the outline of a pumpkin, or maybe a very large turnip. Then again, to a turnip farmer, anything could look like a turnip.
The shadow moves and I see the light reflecting in a human eye. So it's probably (hopefully) not a turnip after all. "Are you the kid who got arrested today when his uncle died?" The shadow whispers.
After a few seconds of staring at the shadow's eye dumbfoundedly, I snap out of it and respond. "Yes. Who are you?"

"Someone who knows you're innocent."

"Who?"

"Hey, keep it down before the guard comes back. All you need to know is I'm the guy who's breaking you out of here. Follow me, but be quiet about it." The shadow disappears down the hole where the stone was. After making sure I still had Uncle's papers, I follow the shadow, putting the floorstone back in place as I enter the total darkness of the underground.

It's too dark to see anything, but I can feel the shadow next to me. I jump a little when it speaks. "Okay, listen kid. I can get us out of here, but you need to be very, very quiet. The police could hear us if we talk above this level." It whispers. "I know it's too dark to see. Don't worry, I still know the way. Just stay close and you'll be fine." It finishes and I hear the shadow take a step away. I follow after the mysterious figure as quietly as I can.
After maybe three minutes, or possibly thirty, it's hard to tell in the dark, the shadow stops. "Okay, we should be far enough from the jail now for a change of course." He says, and a faint light comes from ahead of me. The light is a deep green and shines to show our surroundings. Dirt. Who would've guessed. But then something strange starts to happen. The dirt to the left of the light shifts, and soln a new tunnel is formed. The light stops and I hear footsteps as the shadow heads down the new path. I follow after it in amazement.

My best guess is that the shadow is a person, probably not much older than me to fit through these tunnels. Based on the voice, I'd say it must be a guy. And that glow must have come from an Artifact, which is probably responsible for moving the dirt. As to why he's helping me escape, I still have no idea.

After another length of time, the shadow stops. "Strange. Seems like there is an underground cave to our left. Normally I'd pass by things like that, but I can feel something coming from it. Some kind of... power. Mind if we check this out?"

I shake my head no, then remember wherevwe are and respond verbally.

"Good. Problem is, I can't tell which stones are safe to move. If you don't want to be a pancake, I need light."

"What about the light from your Artifact?"

"It's not enough. You still have those papers?"

"Yes?" I respond, pulling them out confusedly.

"Good." He takes the papers and lights them on fire before I can react. Must've had a match or something. It's still too dark to see his face, but he mumbles, and his Artifact --a pendant-- glows again. The loose rocks ahead shift out of our way. A wave of cold air rushes out, putting out the flames. He hands me back the scorched papers.

Suddenly I remember how important the papers are. This guy didn't know, so there's no one to blame but me if Uncle's dying words are gone. Too bad it's too dark to tell.

"Ladies first." The shadow jokes, and I step through the new doorway. Immediately the stones fall back into place, sealing me seperate from the shadow. I try to move the stones, but remember what he said about being smashed and leave them be. Two torches I hadn't seen before ignite somehow. On the other side of the room is something that catches me off guard; a stone coffin, standing vertically on a small altar. Etched into the stone I see a skull with two red gems sitting in the eyesockets. Below that is a series of symbols I can't identify. Maybe they're a lost language. Cautiously, I approach the altar. The two fires seem to grow brighter the closer I get. When I'm at the foot of the altar, they make the gems shine as bright as the sun.

Something is going on here, some kind of magic. I just know it. And whatever it is, I bet the answer is inside the coffin.

Try as I might, I can't move the lid by force. After a few minutes of effort, I give up. The skull looks almost disapproving somehow, as if it can tell with its crystal eyes what I'm missing.
As I back away from the mysteripus altar, a sudden breeze moves by my ear, despite the air being still as could be. The wind almost sounds like a voice. A very faint voice, but I can still make out what it is saying. "Speak the words I blessed him with."

What words? I think back. Uncle said he heard a voice as he died, and he wrote down what it said. I pull out the two scraps of paper. While inspecting them, I notice something very strange. One of them is almost entirely burnt up, but the other doesn't even have scorch marks on it. I look at the burned one first; it's Unc:e's last words, explaning what happened. But only two words are left: beyond reach. Maybe these are the words?

"B...beyond reach?" I stutter, starting to realize how important this may be. The coffin doesn't move at all. The skull still looks like it thinks I can do better.
Maybe the other paper, then? I read off the mysteriously intact paper.

"The chosen ones shall rise
to prevent the world's demise.
Those who are cursed shall fall
and balance shall be found by all."

The fires burn brighter as I finish, and I hear a sharp crack. A moment later, I realize the coffin door is falling forward and move out of the way. The lid crushes the gems and breaks to rubble on impact. This oddly makes me think of something: how did the shadow know I had the papers? I never showed them to him, but he asked if I had them as if he'd always known. I clear the thoughts from my head. I'll figure it out later. As the dust clears, I risk a look inside the coffin, expecting the worst.

Inside, resting on a stone shelf, is a metal sword. The wind passes my ear again. "Take it."

I follow the instruction, cautiously going up to the altar. The swod is shining in the firelight, and I can see my panicked reflection. Slowly, I reach for the hilt, which is made of a duller, darker metal than the blade. After some hesitation, I pick it up.

As my fingers close around it, a sharp pain pulses through my temple. Both torches go out, plunging me into total darkness once again. "You have done well." Says a voice inside my head. The scary thing is, it's not my voice. I didn't think that.

"The time has come for you to fulfill your destiny." The unexplained voice says, and the ground above my head splits open with a sound like demonic laughter.

The stars of the sky shine down on me from the opening, putting my mind at ease. With freedom so close, I climb on top of the coffin using the shelf, then leap to the side of the opening and pull myself up, As soon as I'm above ground, the opening closes up again. Go figure.

With the sword in hand I lie down on the soft grass and stare up at the night sky. The stars shine like the skull's crystal eyes.
Fulfill my destiny?

With my entire world upside down, what do I have to lose?

But whatever my destiny is, I bet it's a bit more complicated than harvesting turnips.

**********

Thanks for reading! I'm glad I shared the beginning of this story with you, and I hope you are as excited as I am for the final, full version to be completed.
Any and all feedback is appreciated.

Really cool!

btw I am the fiftith follower!

good, good. I see many similarities between yours and my story

Ok, i don't think contact through colors will work. Instead, we should use something else. Ideas?

@fiercedeity
No idea. Colors is pretty much the only place I can be found online.