Amaranth: A Maerith Kingdom Novel - Chapter 4

Amaranth sat at her desk with Valora laying next to the book she was trying to read. She thought to herself, I guess I will start with this one. It looks like mother’s journal. Although with no date, I have no idea when she wrote it.

The first page had in large calligraphy in the middle of it, “Zaleria”. She turned the page and began to read about a portion of her mother’s life. This is what was written.

The days are getting shorter, so winter is coming soon. With winter, colder weather as well. Crumazz is doing such a fine job of keeping the dragons and goblins inline. He is so much like his father. Although, Qrizor was so much more resourceful. This one is not very creative. He is leaving the thinking and creativity up to me.

In this book I am going to write down all my spells, stories, thoughts, and ideas. I just hope that it does not land in the wrong hands. Crumazz probably will not be able to figure these out on his own. My only hope is that Amaranth will be able to follow and pick up with wherever I leave off. I do not trust Qrizor to return. He has been gone way too long.

Let’s catch up on what has been going on in the kingdom before moving forward. Qrizor went to take over a new castle for the kingdom. He went to Miserth. This is on the opposite side of the Calegan Forest from Rissingshire. We want this castle so that we have both sides of the forest covered. The Crystal Crypt is a great hideaway, but we need something that will give us more room and ability to take over the entire Maerith Kingdom.

Crumazz was going to go with Qrizor, but he did not because we wanted to make sure that there was at least one of them left behind to help me take over. I’m not sure that Crumazz totally agreed with this. It appears that he felt slighted. I have felt a strange aura about him ever since his father left.

This is why I am writing this all down. I have a feeling that if Qrizor does not come back soon I will not be around much longer.

Amaranth, if you are reading this, and I am no longer around, please be careful with Crumazz. DO NOT TRUST HIM!

She paused and thought to herself, Wow! She did not trust him. I wonder what happened to her? Continuing on reading what Zaleria wrote to her.

As you read through these pages, remember that some of this is written so that only you will know what it says. This is for a reason and that reason is Crumazz. Now, if Qrizor has returned, you can rest assured that he knew what our plans were and how to include you in them.

The first thing that you are going to need to do is to organize all my herbs, crystals, and potions. There should be nothing in my cauldron, if there is, dump it out outside. I will draw you a diagram of how I have my table setup. This will help you to maximize your time and be able to follow my spells easier.

She turned the page and there’s the diagram. Amaranth held up the book and looked at the cauldron and table. The two did not match up. She shook her head.

Crumazz appeared in the doorway, “Hey, do you have it figured out yet?”

“No, I am only a few pages in. This is going to take a few days or longer just to get things set up the way I need them.”

“You better hurry it up. We have things to do and a kingdom to take over.”

“I am reading as fast as I can. The more you interrupt me, the longer it is going to take. Plus, this isn’t the best room. Do you know if she had some place else that she was going to set these up at?”

“You mean, like a castle? Well, we have to take over Rissingshire first.”

Amaranth did not answer but turned around, put the book down, and started to organize the herbs. Crumazz shook his head and left.

She thought to herself, He obviously has no clue what is going on with the other castle. Either that or he is trying to see what I will tell him. I will listen to my mother and not trust him. Although, it’s not like she was the nicest person either.

Hours went by and all was quiet. She was enjoying the solitude. Although, she did miss some of the hustle and bustle of the castle. Suddenly there was a lot of commotion outside. She went to see what was going on.

The dragons were circling outside the crypt and making all kinds of noise. As she got closer to the entrance she could hear other creatures. It sounded like owls and something that she couldn’t quite figure out what it was.

The owls were flying amongst the dragons. She could see that it was Ash and Oldirrim. They were making it difficult for the dragons to catch them. She watched them and then yelled out, “Ash. Oldirrim. Go away!”

Crumazz appeared outside. “Isn’t this nice? They have come to check on you,” he said sarcastically.

“Oh shut up Crumazz. Just because no one would miss you if you disappeared.” She turned and walked back inside.

Crumazz let out a loud evil laugh and then tried to throw lightning bolts at the owls. He didn’t have very good aim, and they flew off back into the forest.

Returning to her mother’s book, she continued reading.

I will assume that you took the time to organize everything according to the chart before moving forward. It is actually very important to be organized. You want to make sure that you don’t mess anything up.

Amaranth rolled her eyes and went back to the diagram and tried to figure out if she could get everything organized. Mother always knew that I would try to take a shortcut.

Valora sat on the desk and watched her put things together. She walked up and moved a few things with her paw. Seriously, this cat knows where everything goes? She thought to herself.

She opened an armoire cabinet and it was filled with candles: black, red, and white. Some were new, others were well-used and very short. I have never seen this many candles. This is crazy. I hope she explains why she has so many. Amaranth thought to herself. She grabbed a few and put them on the desk.

The cat had jumped down off the desk and was walking around the room when Frally flew in and startled Amaranth. “What the hell?” She spun around. “Who are you?”

“I am Frally. What do you need?”

“I really don’t need any help. I just need time to get things together.”

“I think you need help. You need to get things moving. You are wasting time. We need to get things back on track.”

“So, you were helping my mother and Qrizor?”

“Yes, you need to get reading her journal. There is so much that you don’t know.”

Frally flew away just as quickly as she came in. Amaranth sat down to the desk and started reading.

Have you met Frally? I hope so. She will help you with being able to know and hear things that you won’t be able to without her. She can be places that you cannot. Frally is a mini dragon that will be invaluable. You be sure to treat her right. You can trust her.

Next you need to know what all is in the Maerith Kingdom and what we were planning on adding to the Maerith Kingdom. You will now be against Odulore and Trodus. I know that you spent too much time with them They are not your friends anymore. You will be over them.

She thinks to herself, Wait, she doesn’t know that Trodus was killed by a dragon. How does she not know this? Who really killed him? I was told that she sent the dragon to kill him. This does not appear to be so.

Amaranth went back to reading.

The first thing you need to do is to take over the Crystal Crypt. Yes, it means what you think it means. You will need to get the dragons all on your side first. This may not be easy. Gairrulit is his favorite and the feeling is mutual. The other dragons will be easier to get on your side. I do not think that the goblins like him, so that won’t be a problem.

Your first potion will be Philter of Immobilizing.

To brew, gather the following ingredients and follow the steps closely and with great attention to detail.

- 5 teaspoons of Sour Basil

- 3 teaspoons of Mountain Garlic

- 1 sprinkle of Fire Quassia

- 2 heaps of Water Petal

- 4 bits of Dream Parsley

Squeeze the Sour Basil by summoning Puggaald and having him do the work for you and put the result in a cup. Add some ice, let it melt to turn it into a smooth emulsion, then add the Mountain Garlic, a quarter first, then a half and then a third of it.

Fill a pan with unsalted seawater, add the mixture and let it steep while you make friends with the dragons, then come back and bring it to a boil. Let it simmer and steep while you take a power nap before adding the Fire Quassia and Water Petal, a half at a time, alternating between the two.

Bring everything back to a boil, turn off the heat, mix in the Dream Parsley and let everything rest over night.

Stir the mixture a final time, if it sticks you know it’s right. Your potion is ready to be used.

How do you get him to drink it? This is where you get Puggaald to add it to his next meal. However, he has to be careful with it and make sure that only Crumazz gets it.

Now go get Puggaald and have him help you. Come back to read more once you have this taken care of.

Amaranth left her room to go find Puggaald. The tunnels were confusing her. She continued walking until coming upon him. “Puggaald, I have something I need you to do.”

“Let me guess, you were reading your mother’s journal.”

“Yes, of course, I am. I had to figure out why I am here.”

“Ok, let’s go to your room and work on what needs to be worked on.”

Continue Reading - Chapter 5