CHAPTER 1
Bennett was a prince by birth, so his life would be one of wealth, leisure, and power. But even at the age of six, Bennett knew that someday he would prove himself to be a warrior, equal in skilled combat to the best of the king's knights. In the seven years since that time, the prince had practiced swordsmanship daily with his instructor. He became proficient in the use of bows and arrows and other weapons, but on orders from his mother and father, most of his days were spent learning reading, writing, mathematics, religion, and geography.
Bennett was very strong and fit compared to the young men whose fathers were members of the king's court. Those young men occupied themselves with activities that required a minimal amount of energy or activity, and they had servants who waited on them hand and foot. The prince, on the other hand, liked to do things for himself.
He was well tanned because he spent as much time as he could outdoors, away from the castle. He loved hiking, rowing, and wrestling, as well as working on his weapons and his combat skills. Standing five feet eleven inches tall, the prince was expected to grow a few more inches since he was only thirteen years old.
The court barber tended to the prince's light auburn hair every two weeks, so it was well kept. One of the servant girls washed and treated his hair with oils to keep it shiny and easy to comb. People described his dark brown eyes as expressive, but he was not sure what they meant.
Bennett's father, Matthew Kladivo II, was king of Ziemia, a peaceful country that had not had a war in nearly a half century. Wars were expensive undertakings. Consequently, since Ziemia had not gone to war like most of the other countries in the region, King Kladivo's subjects were happy and content. No other country in the region had people with more money, better homes, more to eat, and more happiness.
Bennett was not content with the easy life of royalty; he sought distractions. For as long as he could remember, he had hungered for adventure. When he was not being tutored or playing with the other children of the castle, he would go to the dining hall where the knights gathered. He would listen to their tales of grand adventures and wish that he were old enough to compete in tournaments, combat evil knights, capture outlaws, rescue kidnap victims, and help those in need of protection.
While he was in the dining hall listening to the knights' tales, he learned that the people of the Southern Mountains were having trouble with bandits and small groups of outlaw warriors. The attackers raided their communities, stealing cattle, pigs, grain, and money. The villagers of the Southern Mountains were usually able to drive off the raiders before they stole too much, but when raids on the villages became too frequent and the bands of attackers became too large, the villagers asked the king to send knights and archers to protect them.
The bandits were no match for the king's well-trained men, and it was not long before the outlaws were either captured or driven off. Those raiders who were able to escape stayed away from the Southern Mountain villages for a long time because they never knew if the king's soldiers had left the area or if they were camped nearby.
The mountain villagers were now facing an enemy they had never confronted before. The king of Lomar, a kingdom that bordered Ziemia, had died, and because he had no sons, the throne had been taken over by MoRew, one of the king's nephews. MoRew, the new king of Lomar, was evil and greedy.
The villagers of the Southern Mountains were now being harassed by large bands of invaders sent by King MoRew. The bandits from Lomar were not like the outlaws the villagers usually had to fight. The Lomar bandits were barbarians, ex-soldiers, and thugs who were not interested in making off with just a few sacks of grain or a stray farm animal or two. They wanted to take everything in the villages and were willing to kill anyone who tried to stop them. When King Kladivo received word that raiders from Lomar were attacking the villages of the Southern Mountains, he sent some of his best knights, foot soldiers, and archers to help get rid of the barbarians.
King MoRew offered the outlaws a safe haven in Lomar, for which he received one-fourth of the outlaws' loot. The barbarians, led by MoRew's soldiers, were skilled in warfare, but they did everything they could to avoid a fight with King Kladivo's knights, who were better trained and better equipped. When the king's men were in the area, the barbarians hid in the mountains or raided other villages. This gained the bandits and barbarians only a short amount of time because King Kladivo's fighting men pursued the outlaws until they retreated to Lomar.
In Cortus, the main village in the Southern Mountains, the townspeople were afraid of the barbarians and were very worried. They didn't know when King Kladivo's men would arrive, so a group of residents went to the mayor and demanded that he do something unthinkable. After conferring with the sheriff and other city officials, the mayor reluctantly agreed.
In the town square of Cortus was a large statue of a winged dragon, perched on top of a large stone base. Outsiders who viewed the statue were unaware that the base was hollow. In one side of the thick stone base was a cleverly concealed two-inch-thick stone door that opened outward. Behind the stone door was a four-inch-thick oak door that opened inward and required three keys to unlock it. In the middle of the chamber beneath the statue was a large stone. On top of it sat a cage with iron bars that had been anchored to the stone base. The door of the cage was secured with a large padlock.
The reason for all of the security was inside the iron cage. Standing thirteen inches high and four inches in diameter was an eight-sided, solid stone cylinder called the Zoldox. The cylinder, smooth as glass, was black with streaks of bright red running through it, making it appear as though fresh blood was trapped within the stone. Each of the eight sides had a column of strange letters and symbols. The tiny group of people that had touched the cylinder described it as feeling cold and wet even though it was as dry as a desert breeze.
The Zoldox, which had been created by a great wizard of the Orient, sat on a base of highly polished rose quartz. Although rose quartz was normally pink, this rose quartz was blood red. Together, the Zoldox and its base were beautiful. However, they had no monetary value since they were not constructed from precious gems or valuable metals. The value of the stone cylinder came from its magical properties: the power to keep the Edu from the region.
The Edu lived deep underground in caves and caverns in the mountains. The creatures had thick, tough, gray, almost bluish skin, which was sparsely covered with thick, dark gray bristles. Their fingers were long and thin, but their feet had short toes with bearlike claws. The heads of the Edu were lizard shaped, and they had large, catlike eyes. Unlike lizards, the Edu had ears similar to horses. The Edu could move one or both ears to determine where a sound was coming from, and they could turn both ears in that direction to hear better.
Bennett, the Prince of Ziemia, had seen drawings of the Edu in some of the books he studied, but he had never seen a real one. Not many people had ever seen an Edu because they lived underground during the day. Also, the Edu were kept away from Cortus and the other villages of the region by the magical power of the Zoldox, which had been given to the people of the region by the Purple Witch of Raven Mountain.
The Purple Witch of Raven Mountain had been poisoned by a jealous rival witch from a neighboring mountain. Unable to protect herself from the demons and evil creatures sent by the wicked witch, the Purple Witch sought help from the people of Cortus. The villagers feared witches, but they were good people who believed it was their duty to help anyone, good or bad, who needed assistance. They gave the Purple Witch, whose name was Rachael, a comfortable room at the inn, fed her, and nursed her back to health. The people of the Southern Mountains took turns guarding the Purple Witch's room just in case the cave-dwelling Edu, who could be controlled by the evil witches, discovered where she was hidden.
Under the care and protection of the people of Cortus, Rachael recovered from the poison and quickly regained her strength. As a reward for their help and kindness, and for the risk they took by concealing her, Rachael gave the people of the Southern Mountains the eight-sided column, which would protect them from the Edu.
When Prince Bennett learned that his father put his uncle, Prince Charles, in charge of the soldiers going to the Southern Mountains to drive away the bandits, Bennett asked if he could accompany him. The queen, Bennett's mother, said no as soon as he asked. His father thought about his son's request for a short time, and then he also told Bennett he could not go with his uncle.
Bennett respected the wishes of his mother and father, but he was not the kind of young man who gave up without trying to make a case for what he wanted. He reminded his father that the bandits never put up much of a fight, and most of the time, they ran and hid when they saw the king's soldiers coming. Some of the bandits hid among the rocks of the mountains, but most retreated to neighboring Lomar, where King MoRew granted them safe haven for a fee. The prince also pointed out that his personal guards would accompany him and his uncle would keep him away from any danger.
When Bennett saw that his father was rethinking his decision not to allow him to go, he reminded his father that as the future king of Ziemia, it was his duty to meet and learn about the people of the kingdom. He added that the people of the kingdom needed to know him as well.
Before he made his decision, King Matthew Kladivo talked it over with Bennett's uncle, who assured the king that Bennett would stay close to him and at no time be in any danger. Prince Charles also pointed out that it would be a great opportunity for Bennett to learn more about the people who lived in the Southern Mountains.
So it came to pass, in spite of the queen's reservations, that when the military expedition left the castle headed for the Southern Mountains, Prince Bennett rode near the front of the column, next to his uncle. Bennett had never been more than a few miles from the safety of the castle, and he was excited to be away from it.
The king and queen believed that because they had enemies, the prince would not be safe even if he had an armed escort. Yet the king allowed Prince Bennett to go this time because he would be accompanied by his uncle and be protected by soldiers. Neither bandits nor enemies of the king would dare attack a column of knights, foot soldiers, and archers.
When Bennett was preparing to leave on his journey, his bodyguards and his father insisted that Bennett's manservant pack only one set of his best attire, the clothes he wore when he was introduced to important people who had business with the king. The rest of the clothes would be those he wore when he was riding, hunting, or practicing his fighting skills. These were the same clothes he wore when he was playing with the other youths of the castle.
The reason for fewer fancy and showy clothes was to keep the prince from standing out. There were people who hated leaders. It didn't matter if their leaders were good or bad; these people had become convinced that their leaders were the cause of all their problems and therefore needed to be killed. If the prince were dressed more like the common people, he would be in less danger.
Another reason for dressing like the average person was because many villagers liked to be around important people. If Bennett were dressed in his fine clothes, it would be more likely that people would flock around him and become a nuisance. The more people who were hanging around the prince, the more determined someone who wanted to do him harm would become.
His bodyguards would make Bennett stand out, but there were many wealthy merchants and government officials who hired bodyguards for their family members, especially their sons. Sometimes they hired bodyguards because they had made enemies, but most of the time they did so as a way of flaunting their wealth and importance. To the common people, the presence of bodyguards was not a good indicator of someone's social status.
There was no doubt that the people would soon learn of Prince Bennett's arrival in their community, but his uncle and bodyguards hoped that because he didn't arrive in fancy clothes, with a great deal of pageantry and ceremony, the people would be less likely to make a big deal of his arrival and presence among them.
As the column of soldiers made their way through the countryside in the direction of the Southern Mountains, Prince Bennett became fascinated with the people and the villages they passed. The people were friendly, and the shops and outdoor stalls displayed many things that Prince Bennett had never seen before — things he wanted, things he thought he needed. Bennett's uncle said no to most of the things the young prince wanted, but Bennett did not give up. He kept asking, hoping that sooner or later his uncle would give in and let him buy some of the things he wanted, in spite of the wishes of the boy's parents.
Bennett had enough money with him to purchase nearly everything in the town square, but he had promised his parents that he would not spend his money on anything unless he had his uncle's approval. His parents did not believe Bennett should have everything he wanted just because he was a prince.
When they reached Briar Creek, the first village in the Southern Mountains, Prince Bennett persuaded his uncle to let him purchase two small items, on the condition his uncle would give his approval first. As they walked through the village toward an inn, where they could get a hot meal, Bennett hurried from one booth to the next looking for something he wanted but also something that he thought his uncle would allow him to buy.
Prince Bennett spotted a booth that sold wooden puzzles. He ran to the booth and looked over the different kinds of puzzles and saw several he liked. When his uncle caught up with him, Bennett asked if he could buy more than just two puzzles.
Prince Charles gave his nephew a stern look. "Bennett, Bennett, even a prince cannot have everything he wants. No person should have everything he wants. If a person desires something, he should think about how much he likes it, if he needs it, and how much it is worth to him. After thinking it over, if he still wants it, he should work to get it. Working to get something gives meaning to the thing you want. A person who has too much turns his attention to controlling other people.
"Even a king, who has too much of everything, will become cruel and tyrannical with no compassion for his subjects. People who have too much become oppressive and have contempt for anyone who cannot have everything they want because they have no understanding of wanting something and not being able to have it. They begin to consider people who do not have as much as they do as inferior.
"Bennett, you must learn that it is not things that make you happy but people that make you happy. Friends and family make people happy. Toys and trinkets are fun, but they don't make people happy. A child using his imagination can have as much fun playing with a rock or a stick as a child who is playing with an expensive, fancy toy."
Bennett did not argue with his uncle and was not sure that he believed much of what he said. From his observations, Bennett was pretty sure that adults made up excuses when they did want their children to have something or didn't want to spend too much money to buy them. Deciding to act grown up, Bennett quietly walked to the inn with his uncle and his bodyguards without complaining. He just hoped that he wouldn't have to listen to a lecture every time he wanted to purchase something.
CHAPTER 2
Shortly after Bennett, his uncle, and their bodyguards had seated themselves at a table, the wife of the innkeeper took their orders. After she returned to the kitchen, barely a minute passed before a girl about Bennett's age came from the kitchen carrying a metal pitcher and cups on a wooden tray. She set the tray down on the table next to Prince Bennett and began filling the cups from the copper pitcher. She then set a cup next to each person at the table.
Bennett was taken in by the young lady and wanted to say something, but his mind couldn't come up with any words that he thought a pretty girl would want to hear. The first thing Bennett had noticed about the young woman was the way she moved while approaching their table. She moved her hips the same way all the women he knew did, but she did not exaggerate the movement as many of the women of the castle did. What had impressed Bennett was how smoothly she moved between the tables. It almost appeared as though her feet were not touching the floor.
