The Treasures of Shamarkand: Wanderers to Shamarkand

By K.R. Columbus

A long time ago, after helping create the nations of The Copper Seas, the folk of Shamarkand vanished, leaving behind their ark; filled with treasures and wonders beyond imagination. No one knows where Shamarkand is hidden, and so, its secret stays, legendary.
Mimico; a young wooly puppy from the lands of Arabim, who grew listening to tales about Shamarkand, dreaming about its wonders, and the promise that whoever finds it will be granted a wish. He sets out on an adventure throughout The Copper Seas, in search of Shamarkand. Setting out won't be easy, many dangers are waiting, challenges he won't be able to face alone.
Mimico will never give up his dreams, after all; we are nothing without them.

• Language: English
• Publisher: K.R. Columbus
• Release date: May 17, 2011
• ISBN: 9781465996251

K.R. Columbus

Born August 4, 1982 in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico, K.R.Columbus [Kemuel Ríos Colón] is a prolific Puerto Rican Science Fiction and Fantasy author, with more than twenty novels, and young adult books sold all around the world. With novels that have reached the top 50 charts in England and Australia. Before becoming a writer, he trained to be a sumo wrestler for four years. Currently lives in Puerto Rico reading good books, drinking coffee, enjoying rare music, and obscure Cinema. To contact the author – [e-mail]

Book preview

The Treasures of Shamarkand 1 – Wanderers to Shamarkand

Copyright 2011 K.R.Columbus

Smashwords Edition

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

-Other Young Adult books by K.R.Columbus-

-The Treasures of Shamarkand Series-

Wanderers to Shamarkand

Daughter of the Gods

Carnival of Shadows

The Mechanical Labyrinth

The Mirror Tower (Coming Soon)

-Totemic Haven Series-

Totemic Haven

WildChild

Brother Sun, Sister Moon (Coming Soon)

Ps – To avoid confusion, character thoughts, important words, songs and messages are in ITALICS.

"How happy are those with dreams? How happy are those that fill their empty spaces with visions of tomorrow? Go! Pursue those dreams before they eclipse away, find them, before they lose all luster and light. In the end, those dreams only belong to you, and if you can’t make them a reality, no one will."

Chapter 1

-Only the Brave Runaway-

Even if Mimico was thirteen sheddings old, he still loved to hear his father Micosh tell him stories before going to bed. After all, there wasn’t much to do other than counting stars, or help his mother Mimi in the kitchen. So Mimico the pup sat next to his father every night, and listened to his stories as words gave way to slumber.

A long time ago, before towns had palaces, and when towns were nothing more than people around fires, the founders of Shamarkand constructed their great Ark. No one knows what wooly race they were, for they weren’t dogs, they certainly weren’t cats, or foxes, and I'm sure they were no wolves, or bears. No one knows about them, not even the astute deer clan, or the elusive rams of the high mountains beyond The Deserts of Bronze. We do know, that when all woolykind was in its infancy, the woolyfolk of Shamarkand created their great Ark beyond the sea, beyond desert and mountain, and filled it with wonders from all corners of The Copper Seas. For millennia, the Holy Ark of Shamarkand was nothing more than a dream, something unattainable, a dream of sailors and pirates.

But we got there. Mimico laughed.

Yes Mimico, we did reach Shamarkand. The first group of wooly to visit Shamarkand returned with the knowledge and power to create the thousand and one cities of The Copper Seas. This was thousands of years ago, but now all that stands beyond the seas, deserts and mountains is nothing more than the memory of the glory of the great Shamarkand.

Why is that papa? Mimico waged his tale.

Micosh patted his son’s furry head. Because no one that lives remembers where Shamarkand is, and those that have seen it with their own eyes, stay silent.

Treasure! There’s treasure inside! Mimico almost peed himself with excitement.

Legend tells, that even if the folk of Shamarkand are no more, the Ark still stands, a lonely fortress filled with wonders, and a thousand traps guarding them. Treasures so amazing and beyond value, that legend tells any wish can come true. To this day, innumerable adventurers have set forth across sea and land, looking for the city’s location. Some say it’s only a legend invented by old woolyfolk with idle paws. Even still, hundreds have stood before the glory of Shamarkand, without entering. When asked they don’t want to reveal the secret, or the reason why they couldn’t enter. They just stay bitter and silent as they tell their yarn. The great wonders are still there, inside the white walls of the great Ark of Shamarkand.

But dad, what happened to the woolyfolk of Shamarkand?

No one knows Mimico. One day they just vanished. Leaving behind their legend, their city, and its wonders. Micosh hugged Mimico before licking his ears.

When I’m older I’ll become a sailor, and I’ll sail the seas and explore the sands. I will find Shamarkand. Becoming a living legend.

Micosh grew somber, observing the wonder in Mimico’s eyes. Mimico, many have died in search of Shamarkand. You’re my only puppy. I don’t want to lose you. Your mother’s heart would break if you run away. Not to mention your unborn brother. You want to play with him don’t you? Mimico tilted his head in approval. This year, you’ll be thirteen sheddings, a strong number, but you aren’t a grown dog yet. You’re still my puppy.

Don’t say that papa. It’s embarrassing. Mimico covered his eyes with both paws. I won’t run away. I love you and mom too much. There’s work to be done at the workshop. But someday I’ll go. When I’ve my own ship, I'll sail the seas with a band of my best friends, until we find Shamarkand, and when we do, all of our dreams will come true, and we’ll be happy forever more.

………….

A few weeks later…

Mimico was big and fairly chunky, but he was nimble and very agile. By the time Mimico treaded his fourteenth mile of wilderness, he was dying for a drink of water. His golden brown fur shone in the late afternoon sunlight. He was dressed in loose white pants, a wine colored fez, and a vest with thirteen hidden pockets his mother had sewn for him. He had a leather satchel with a bottle of water, an ornate scimitar-like knife, flat bread, a few tallow candles, and a very small piece of goat cheese. He had no crescents to buy more food, and if he wants to leave the barrens before nightfall, he has to keep walking. The situation was tough.

[The Crescent. Crescent-sun shaped coins of different metals. The Crescent is the universal currency used in the lands of The Copper Seas, modeled after rare artifacts called the Shamarkand Eclipse crescents. Kushindi mints moonsilver crescents in the shape of crescent-moons. The most common crescent is the copper crescent. Ten copper crescents make a bronze crescent. Four bronze crescents make a gold crescent. Ten golden crescents make a moonsilver crescent. Ten moonsilver crescents make a diamond crescent. One million golden crescents make a Shamarkand Eclipse crescent. These are only used by kings, sultans and caliphates to exchange currency between banks. They have to be handled with special gloves, because they glow with a strange greenish glow, which causes vomiting, and eventually death.]

I spent the whole day walking. I’m too tired to go on, but I know that I must keep going. I can’t stop now. I must find Shamarkand, but first, I must become a sailor and buy a small dinghy from where to start. Dinghy? What dinghy? First, I must find food at all cost.

Mimico and his family lived in the desert, far away from The City of Agrest. He has always been happy in the desert. The barrens between his house and The City of Agrest were fertile once, but the surrounding lands changed after the old caliph died, and his son proclaimed himself sultan, under the protection of The Northern-Cross Regime. Places that once had bore fruit, and grain, now were nothing more than a vast wilderness full of rocks, scorpions, and sand bandits.

Mimico passed by a few run-down farms, and remembered that wooly folk still lived in these lands when he was a small pup. Only rocks and vultures inhabit them now.

I’ll have to stay in one of the ruins tonight. He looked for a suitable place where to spend the night.

The Copper Seas are warm lands bathed by the ever crescent sun. This makes the days hot and the nights especially cold. Finding shelter and water are the most important things when you’re out in the wild. Even if Mimico fancies himself an adventurer, the truth of it is very simple, he had never left his house except for wandering the desert, and wastes near his house. He has never seen The City of Agrest, or the reflective halls of the coralline palace on the shores of The Sea of Sands. Out of the seven seas that form The Copper Seas, the only one he has seen from afar, is The Sea of Sands.

My papa told me, that many woolyfolk from the thousand and one cities think that our sea is a desert because of its name, but the name comes from the fact that you can sail The Sea of Sands surrounding the Island of Agrest without fear, because there are no rocks or corral reefs in its depths, there’s only sand. Tomorrow I’ll reach the sea, and I’ll bathe in it for the first time. I want to taste its salt, and with it, adventure, and the essence of a thousand and one new lands never seen entirely by any woolyfolk that ever lived.

…………

Mimico’s tongue hung from the left side of his maw. He couldn’t help sniff the contents of his satchel. He really couldn’t help himself, because he was very hungry and thirsty. The smell of flat bread and goat cheese was driving him insane. Night was falling, and he had to be indoors before the crescent moon rises. Nights are dangerous for inexperienced travelers. Micosh told him that there’re monsters that snatch pups in the middle of the night. No one knows why, but for years, orphans, slaves, and sometimes regular wooly pups have been disappearing without leaving a trace.

What’s that?

Mimico saw the ruined remains of a goat farm in the distance. The stable and the house were still standing, right beside a well, and a big boulder with a dried date palm on top. The main house was constructed from baked mud bricks, and fashioned in the shape of a dome surrounded by three smaller rooms.

A vulture was looking at him, perched on the roof on top of the door. Mimico was afraid at first, but on closer inspection, he realized that the bird had a broken wing. The bird just stayed there, looking at him with yearning eyes.

If it doesn’t heal, it’ll die in a few days. It's like a desert traveler with no water. Time is of no importance because death is already there, waiting to come closer. I can’t be thinking of death, I must think of adventure, of the sea, and the endless horizon that brings each dawn. I must never think of death. I must never think of sad things. I must not be afraid. The only fears I’ll keep, are those that I'll need. You need to feel fear in order to be truly brave.

It was a very cold and endless night. Outside the ruins,