They gasped in wonder. The walls were made up of shining diamonds and ornately carved sapphires. There was a huge shrine where they saw striking effigies made of pure gold. A giant gold statue of Lord Arcane stood there. They bowed in respect before the magnificent statue.
The Scavenger pointed to the statue’s head. “I see a Crown there. That must be the symbolic Crown of Magic. Maybe we should climb up there. We might find a clue. Matt…”
Matt raised his hands and wind lifted the group upwards.
In a few moments, they reached the head of the statue of Lord Arcane.
As soon as the Scavenger touched the crown, the air around them seemed to vibrate. The giant statue started to shrink. Matt lowered himself and his friends back onto the ground, and waited.
The statue finally shrunk, until it was reduced to the size of Archer’s palm. The statue slowly converted itself into a black door with a lock on it.
The Scavenger tried to snatch the lock, but it didn’t break.
The children tried their Elemental Powers on it, but it refused to come out of the door.
The Scavenger shook his head. “It’s no use. That’s powerful magic. I am guessing the piece is inside there. But how do we reach it?”
As everyone thought, James snapped his fingers. “Now I understand! The seventh piece, covered by a bait. This lock is the bait. To enter this door, we have to find the stone, then use the stone to find the wraith, then use that to find the key, and then finally use the key to open this door that will get us to the seventh piece!”
“So where do we find the stone?” Archer asked.
“Let’s explore the place,” Daniel suggested.
Everyone nodded. They went around and on the wall and then noticed a dimly lit tunnel lined with several frightening sculptures. They all entered the tunnel.
As Matt walked pass the statue of a dragon, he suddenly saw its eyes flicker. Matt stopped.
“What happened?” the Scavenger asked.
Matt pointed to the statue of a dragon. “I just saw its eyes blink.”
The Scavenger went closer to examine it. He spotted a quaint red spot on its tail, which he pressed instinctively.
The statue rotated as it sank into the ground. A moment later, a stone popped in its place, with something inscribed on it.
The Scavenger held it and read aloud, “SEEK THE BRONZE STATUE.”
“That’s easy,” Archer said. “We just need to find a brown statue.”
James shook his head. “Not necessarily. It could be coloured gold.”
As they walked past the various statues lined against the wall, they saw that each one of them were brown.
“That’s a problem,” Daniel said gloomily. “How do we figure out the bronze one?”
James smiled. “I know what to do. I will spray water over these statues. If the paint goes off, and if the colour of the statue is still brown, then it is that statue we need.”
The trick worked, and they found the bronze sculpture almost at once. The Scavenger pressed its head. It rotated, sank into the ground, and a wraith popped out along with a piece of paper.
The Scavenger read from the paper, “BESEECH THE GUARDIAN OF EDEN, TRUTHFULLY.”
“Who is the Guardian of Eden?” Matt asked.
The Scavenger shrugged. “No idea. Maybe we will find something ahead.”
Matt closely observed the statues, and among them, he spotted an angel. He pointed it out to everyone and they went towards it. After carefully examining the statue, they found the words ‘Guardian of Eden’ inscribed on the feet of the statue.
As soon as Matt touched it, a voice echoed, “I am the Guardian of Eden, the protector of the key. No one who has spoken any lie in his life can take the key. I will test you. You will hear a cry. If you have ever lied in your life, it will grow louder and louder – until you can bear it no more. But if you have always been truthful, it won’t hurt you. If any of you prove to be ever truthful, you will get the key.”
Daniel remembered the hundreds of small lies that he had told in his life.
Suddenly, there was a piercing cry that went deep down into his bones; it continued to get louder. He covered his ears and sank to his knees.
When the torturous shrill ceased, he fluttered his eyelids, only to find the Scavenger holding the key in his hand.
“You are truthful,” the guardian’s voice came. “You deserve the key.”
Daniel realized that the Scavenger had never lied in his life!
From seeing the faces of his friends, Daniel could make out that they all had heard the cry too. He was relieved to see that he was not the only one who had lied in his life.
The Scavenger pocketed the key. “Come on, let’s go. We are pretty close.”
They ran back to where the small statue converted to a door with a lock on it was waiting for them.
The Scavenger pulled out the key and held it. He carefully inserted it into the lock and turned. The lock opened immediately. The door suddenly expanded to about six feet height and opened. It appeared dark from outside. The Scavenger was the first to enter. The children followed.
They walked down a passage that was lit up with torches lined on the walls. It led them inside a chamber where they saw the seventh piece of the Crown kept on a platform.
A gruff voice resonated, “Not so fast. I am Shade, the guardian of the seventh piece. It’s plain stupid of you all to think of taking the seventh piece without engaging me.”
The guardian, Shade, was hovering in mid-air. He had two gigantic wings and carried two humongous swords.
The attacks began. The Scavenger and the children jumped at Shade with their swords.
Shade had the advantage of flying over them. He easily dodged their attacks.
He flew
