The Segacorn's Jewel: Part 8

Written by: Twizzler0171

They all squinted as the entered the bright tunnel. Jewels hung from the cavern’s ceilings and walls, reflecting the light from the Segacorn’s Jewel into their faces. All but the Old One, Cloran, and Arron paused in surprise as they spotted a granite table sitting in the middle of the room, covered in a variety of bland-looking rocks and stones that seemed odd compared the bright and shiny gems that surrounded them.

“Is…is that where the Jewel is?” Breanna asked hesitantly as she looked at the table. She glanced uncertainly over at Cloran and the Old One as she awaited her answer. She saw them give curt nods in answer, and then she frowned lightly. “Hmm, I would have thought it would have been a little more extravagant with all the fuss you’ve been making about it.”

“It may be covered by the stones, girl. But it may not be, as well. I personally cannot remember what the Jewel looks like: it was stolen by a dragon only a few centuries after I received my stone. I was still very young then—just a filly—and my memory of it is not as clear as it could be,” Nikarin said.

“So, that’s what the Jewel does? Give Segacorns their stones?” Breanna asked the Segacorn.

“Yes, when we gain our flight. They help determine what class you are put in; however, we now have many classless Segacorns because they could not receive their stones. Grandmother said that this dilemma could be solved only when—” Nikarin’s reply was interrupted by a sharp bark.

“Prince! He’s here!” Breanna exclaimed. She poised herself to run towards the direction the bark had seemed to originate from. Karina grabbed Breanna’s shirt to prevent her from leaving, her posture tense and her face alert.

“Wait, I heard something. Let him come to us,” the Elf said softly.

Prince leapt onto the table, scattering most of the stones. Breanna called to him and he paused, ears perked forward. He looked towards the group and barked once more; then yelped as two small, black creatures jumped upon him and began attacking.

“Imps!” Cloran hissed in disgust, kneeling to retrieve a knife that had been hidden in one of her boots. As soon as she had it in a comfortable position, she went to aid the dog.

Karina glanced around her, looking for something she could help with, because she did not have any weapons on her. As she looked around, she spotted the Old One giving her an expectant look and realized what she had to do. “Nikarin, make sure the Imps don’t get near me! I’m going to look for the Jewel.”

The Elf dropped to her knees and began searching through the scattered stones, testing each one in a variety of ways to see if it was the Segacorn’s Jewel. All she knew about what it looked like was that it was giving off a flash every once in awhile in response to the Segacorns, but that didn’t tell her anything about the actual appearance of the Jewel; just the extent of power that it contained. However…perhaps she could use the flash to her advantage. She just needed to watch for it.

As she took up each stone, she held it for a few moments, watching to see what it did. If it did nothing, she threw it into a pile and picked up another, keeping an eye on the rocks she had tested before. She was working as quickly as she could, but there were many stones and the ones that had been scattered were far away from each other.

“Karina! Watch out!” Breanna called as Karina picked up another stone. Karina glanced upwards to see an Imp break through Nikarin’s defenses. Startled, she froze in her tracks as the Imp neared. Then Arron was there; his horn lowered as he blocked the Imp. The demon hissed in annoyance, crouching and preparing attack the golden Segacorn. But then it squealed in pain as the rock Karina held flashed, and both the Imps fled to avoid the bright light.

Everyone who had participated in the battle paused to catch their breath. The Old One walked over to Arron and began speaking to him.

Breanna peered over Karina’s shoulder to get a glimpse at the Jewel. “Oh, I know what that is!” Breanna exclaimed, startled. “It’s an Alexandrite, my birthstone. It changes colors in different lights—see, watch.” Sure enough, as Karina moved her hands, the rock changed color.

Nikarin and Arron trotted up, Arron looking slightly confused but not as much as he had when the events first began. “It’s the Segacorn’s Jewel,” Arron commented as he looked at the stone. “I remember being told it changed color to reflect different personalities. Nikarin and the Old One have told me what happened before the Jewel was found. Breanna, I am pleased to meet you.”

After Breanna had muttered her greeting, Nikarin glanced at them. “I think that we should return home now. We’ve bothered Cloran and the Old One long enough and they have given us each a teleportation stone so we can return to Aranth quickly—and Breanna where she comes from.”

“They are multi-use, so you may visit whenever you wish. I personally would like to get to know Arron better—gold suits him far better than black does. I am glad my theory that once the Jewel was found he would be able to see the inhabitants of Ambar as well as his surroundings was correct, he seems like a fine Segacorn,” the Old One said. “We would have used the stones to return the Jewel, but you have to have been to a place or know someone from there to use them.”

Whispers surrounded them as they entered the Council building. The Segacorns already in the building moved to let the Council members through. “Why have you returned so quickly, and with the Elf, Nikarin? Have you not learned your lesson?”

“I have retrieved the Segacorn’s Jewel. Actually, you have the Elf to thank for that. She was the one who found it.” Nikarin responded hesitantly, uncertain of what would happen next.

Nikarin’s grandmother nodded her head in approval. “Welcome back, Nikarin. I am proud of you. Arron, I thank you for watching over her—it must have been rather confusing to take place in a prophecy you had no original part in, and that only Nikarin and I knew of; that an Elf by the name of Karina would travel through the clouds with one of our own to retrieve something lost to us. Karina, if you would place the stone on the pedestal over there, please?”

Karina stepped forward and obediently placed the Segacorn’s Jewel in its rightful place. It emitted another flash of light.

After it faded, Karina turned around to head home.