Garinor looked at Tomli lying on the ground, unable to accept the twist of fate that made him the heir instead. In a moment of weakness, he let his disappointment overwhelm him and he chose his best friend.
“Take Tomli.”
“As you wish, Chosen One,” echoed the Voice one last time.
A change in the scepter caught Garinor’s attention. He glanced down in time to see the light fading from the sapphires. They dimmed and turned to a dull gray-black color. There was movement before him and he lifted his gaze, watching as the blue light drained away from Tomli and evaporated into the air, leaving behind only his best friend’s skeleton.
It was a sight that would haunt Garinor forever.
The scepter shook Garinor from his reverie as it released a deep rumble from within. It was a low note that was felt more than heard, but it grew until it was something that Garinor couldn’t stand to hear. The moonstones flashed with a glaring light that extended up and out of the scepter, passing through the ceiling of the cavern and presumably out into the sky beyond. Garinor watched in awe as that column of light widened rapidly, filling the entire area. He had the sense that the light was spreading across the land, announcing the death of the heir and the continued reign of the current monarch.
The artifact hummed for a while longer and then the scepter shattered in his hand like glass, scattering pieces everywhere. All the light in the room vanished except for the lonely torch on the wall.
The prince fell to his knees in shock. “How did you live?” he demanded.
“You were wrong. Tomli was the heir, not me.”
“And you let him die?” the prince asked, then he let out a malicious laugh. “Well done! I could not have asked for anything better myself.”
Garinor peered down at his friend’s remains and then walked toward the torch. “I’ve spared your life, but now you have to call off this terrible hunt and let the others like me go free.”
The prince eyed him shrewdly and then nodded his head at last. “Yes, very well. That is the least that I can do now that you have slain the heir and released me to rule when my father dies.”
“And you will release my father when we return to the camp.”
“You ask much. But very well. I agree. A kingdom in exchange for your father and the lives of children. Yes, it is a fair trade. Any other demands?”
Garinor couldn’t think of any. He turned with the torch and started down the cavern, the prince on his heels. He wasn’t exactly sure what he thought of his decision, but he didn’t know how Tomli could have taken over a kingdom that already had a ruler, and he wanted the chance to live out his own life. And with the prince on his side, he could help to ensure the safety of others.
At least that was what Garinor was thinking when the prince grabbed him and shoved the dagger into his back, piercing his heart and dropping him to the ground to bleed to death.
The prince went onward to great cheers from his guards outside the cave. Less than a year later, the king succumbed to a mysterious illness, after which the prince assumed the throne. No one dared question the jars of poison that were discovered in the prince’s room after he moved into the king’s suite, nor did anyone openly connect them to the king’s death.
It became a tyrannical rule, where people were stolen from their homes at random and set to work as slaves all across the country. With advice from his advisors, the new king started selling the slaves to other countries for great profit.
And though Garinor never knew any of those things as he lay dead in the cavern walkway, he would have realized that the Voice had been correct. Every choice had consequences.
You have come to the end of Garinor’s adventure, but there are other paths to explore. Start over and guide Garinor again along his journey.
The End…