Kingdom Under Stone

By P. Edward Davis

Five high school students; Hex, Grant, Tia, Emmy and Oscar take on an ambitious project for a class assignment. Their plan; to explore the caverns of the native Atlan tribe. They, however, find more than they bargained for when they are transported to the land of Rone, a place where myth and legend are reality.

Now they must learn to trust their new friends, each other, and themselves if they are ever to escape and make it back home alive. But before they do that, they must survive the horrors that lurk in the abandoned home of the dwarves deep inside the mountain. Will their new friends and allies be enough to survive or will they end up joining the fallen?

This is the first book in The Forgotten World of Rone series.

• Language: English
• Publisher: P. Edward Davis
• Release date: Apr 11, 2015
• ISBN: 9781310646614

P. Edward Davis

P. Edward Davis currently lives in the U.S. with his wife and two children. He enjoys spending time with his family, writing, reading, and playing games online. He is currently working on writing full time.

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Kingdom Under Stone

Kingdom Under Stone

By P. Edward Davis

Copyright 2015

Smashwords Edition

The Forgotten World of Rone

Kingdom Under Stone

P. Edward Davis

Acknowledgments

For my Dad, who taught me to pay attention to the details, my Mom, who first gave me my love of Fantasy. For my Wife, who kept me believing that I could finish what I started. For my Daughter and Son, who will one day walk in the world of Rone, and continue the adventures that I started.

A special thanks for my brother, who created my cover art.

Chapter 1

Tia watched from her bed as her cousin Hex walked back and forth, wearing a long tread in her carpet. She had given up trying to talk to him over ten minutes ago. He was too focused on being angry at their missing partner to look at her so she could sign to him.

Sighing inwardly, she picked up her pillow and threw it at him on one of his trips away from her. He quickly spun back towards her, and rage flared through his eyes. It quickly subsided as he saw her flinch from him.

I'm sorry, he quickly apologized. "I don't know what's been getting into me lately.

It's okay, she replied back to him, letting her hands speak to him. You need to calm down Hex. Track practice probably ran over. You know how Coach Montgomery is with him.

Hex knew that she was right, but he wouldn't let her know. He continued his pacing, only stopping when he heard the sound of a car pull up to the house outside the window. Peeking through, he saw what use to be an old squad car, freshly washed as the owner of it always kept it. He watched as a tall, lean boy stepped out of it, flipped back his long ponytail and casually walked towards the house.

It's about time, Hex said as he walked out of the room, Tia staring after him. As he stepped out into the hallway, he caught sight of something scurrying across the floor in front of him. Just in time, he managed to catch the thing before it could slip into his Mom's room.

Oh no you don't, he said to it as he flipped it around to look it in the eyes. Remember what happened last time Mom found you in her room? The ferret just stared at him with its jet black eyes unblinking.

How do you keep getting out of the cage anyways? he asked as he went downstairs to answer the door. I should have named you Houdini instead of Brimstone, he told it as he draped him over the back of his neck like a scarf.

Hex pulled the front door open just as Grant was preparing to knock, smiling inwardly as surprise flashed quickly across the boy's face. It went away as quickly as it appeared. In its place was the ever present award winning smile that Grant used all the time. It made Hex sick.

Sorry I took so long, he said stepping forward before giving Hex a chance to let him in. Coach Montgomery wanted me to get in some extra practice before the meet next week. You know how he is.

Hex stared at him for a moment before replying. Yeah whatever, he said as he made his way to the stairs. Grant sighed, closing the door behind him, and followed quickly up and into Tia's room.

Hey Tia, he said and dropped his bag to the floor. Tia simply waved her hand and watched as he sat Indian style on her floor. Hex took a seat next to her on the bed crossing his arms and looking out the window. She smiled as she watched Brimstone give a huge yawn and close his eyes. Within seconds, he was asleep across her cousin's shoulders.

So any ideas for what to do for this project? he asked after five or ten minutes of silence.

Don't look at me, Hex said with his arms still crossed. This is your project. I'm just along for the ride.

You know, this is part of your grade too.

Fine, fine. Let's make a volcano or something.

That's a dumb idea, and you know it, Tia signed to him.

Fine. Then you think of something better, he signed back to her.

Grant did not understand anything that they were saying, but he could tell that they were arguing. He let them argue back and forth wondering how either of them could understand each other when their hands were moving that fast.

Deciding that it might be a good idea to step in before things got too ugly, he stood up. Hex, who had begun to speak with his signing, stopped abruptly. Now that Grant had their attention he did what he did to keep it.

I have, what I think is a pretty good idea.

Yeah of course you do, he heard Hex mutter under his breath. He ignored him.

You guys know about the part of the mountains on my family's land right? Tia nodded her head showing some interest while Hex looked at him. There are caves in the mountain that no one has been in for like three hundred years or more. What if we were to explore them and bring back and study samples from them?

Though she wasn't able to say anything, Grant could tell by the look in her eyes that Tia was excited about the idea. Hex on the other hand looked doubtful.

You want us to go trekking through caves? he asked with an even voice. You want us to go wandering through caves that no one has been in for three hundred years? How much climbing are we going to have to do? Have any of the tunnels collapsed? Or flooded? Not to mention that we don't even have the equipment to try something like this.

Grant leaned against the wall as he listened to Hex tick off the reasons why this was a bad idea and waited. He had gotten used to this in class and knew he just had to wait for him to run out of steam. When he finally finished, he straightened himself up and calmly stated, Don't worry about that. I have a plan. Then he picked up his bag and made for the door.

Hey, where are you going?

I've got an expedition to prepare for, he said over his shoulder as he thumped down the stairs. Don't worry, I'll show myself out.

Hex looked at his cousin with a look of confusion while she just shrugged. That was typical Grant she thought to herself. Always making decisions before anyone else got a chance to.

Now what do we do? she asked him.

Well I don't know about you, but I'm going to go and finish my book, he said grabbing a book sitting on the end of the bed. The cover had a picture of a dragon breathing fire on a knight holding a shield.

Is that one any good? From the grimace, she received she guessed the answer was no.

Not even close. Mom has no idea what makes a good fantasy. She really needs to stick to representing mystery writers.

Just go easy on her when you tell her, she managed to tell him before he could turn his back to her.

Not a chance, he called over his shoulder and disappeared into his room.

Tia silently sighed and shook her head. Before she had moved in almost a year ago, she hadn't realized how badly her cousin and aunt fought. It seemed like Hex was always trying to do something to antagonize her. She just couldn't understand why he couldn't get along with her.

'Maybe my opinions are just a little one-sided,' she thought to herself as she started flipping through her geology notes. 'After all, she did take me in after....' She stopped the thought abruptly as she felt her hand trailing across her neck. The thin scarf that carefully covered her neck effectively hid what was beneath, but her fingers could still feel it. She gently traced them across the puckered scar. Realizing what she had been doing, she quickly made sure the scarf was still in place and pulled her hands away.

Staring hard at her notes she forced herself to focus. Anything to stop the memories of that night from returning.

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By the next day, Grant had informed them that he had everything in place and that they would leave on Saturday morning.

Tia walked into Hex's room to find him scrambling around, frantically filling his pack for the trip. She smiled tauntingly at him as she remembered telling him to pack the night before, so he wouldn't be doing this.

Oh shut up, he said in reply as he jammed a rock hammer roughly around a school book.

The doorbell rang causing them both to freeze. Before either could make a move, they heard Hex's mom answer it. Oh great, they could see each other thinking. The plan had been that their parents weren't supposed to know that they were gone. As the two rushed to the stairs and looked down, they could see that Hex's mom was just as surprised to see Grant as Grant was to see her.

Um... hi. Are Hex and Tia here? Hex heard him ask as he rushed down the stairs taking them two at a time.

He was at her side before she had a chance to call them. I'm here, he said out of breath. Well, we'll see you later mom. He moved to push Grant back out the door.

Wait, where are you two going? I'm making breakfast.

We'll get something on the way mom.

Where are you going? she asked more forcefully, and he knew there was no leaving without some answer.

Grant seemed to realize this also and replied, We're working on a school project. It wasn't the exact truth while not too far from the truth.

Yeah. We're going for a... hike, he replied as he spotted Tia bringing their packs down. His Mom gave him the fish eye, showing her disbelief.

We're going to be rock collecting, Grant said. He sidestepped to allow Tia through the doorway, noting that she avoided eye contact with her aunt. She noticed it too.

Fine. You want to keep your secrets. Be back before dark. She looked most intently at Hex, who just rolled his eyes.

Don't worry Mrs. Stanz. I'll make sure that they get back. He flashed her his best award winning smile.

Yeah that's reassuring, she said as she closed the door behind them.

They all breathed a sigh of relief as they walked down the driveway. You idiot, Hex said staring daggers at Grant. Why didn't you call the house? We could have snuck out without her knowing.

Sorry. I didn't think.

That's obvious, Hex managed to say before receiving a hard punch to his shoulder. Turning his head, he was surprised to see an angry look on his cousin's face.

Be cool she signed, as she cautiously indicated behind her.

Out of the corner of his eye, Hex managed to see the curtain rustle, showing that his mom was watching the three of them. Come on, he said to the two of them. Let's get this crazy idea moving.

They followed Grant to the end of the driveway, and then were surprised when he made a right turn and continued down the block. Where in the world are we going?

I at least had enough sense not to park us at your house.

Us?

The boy stopped at a large red passenger van. Grabbing the side handle he slid the door open and inside sat two of their classmates, Oscar, and Emmy. Oscar stared out at the three, blinking in the bright light of the world outside the dim van. He shyly waved at them and went back to his magazine, while Emmy stared intently at the look of surprise on both Hex and Tia's faces.

I see you didn't tell them that we would be coming. She aimed the question heatedly at Grant, who ignored it, choosing instead to make his way to the front passenger seat.

In the driver seat sat an older man with a long ponytail, salt and peppered with age. Three feathers were strung together and held in place at the base of his neck. He looked surprisingly like Grant, Tia noticed, and as they turned to each other she realized that they must be related.

Alright you two, the man said in a reedy voice, "Get in and get comfortable. We have a long, long drive ahead of us.

The two of them stepped up into the van, pushing their packs in ahead of them so they could slide past Oscar's large frame. All buckled up back there? they heard from the front. Okay, here we go.

There was a rumble as the van started up, and then a strong shudder as it moved down the road. A worried look was passed between the four passengers in the back as another shudder rocked the van. They all secretly hoped that it would actually make the trip.

It was an hour and a half into the trip he had felt his pack start to move around. He was surprised at what he had found inside.

I can't believe you brought him with you! Hex read from his cousin. Her fingers signed furiously to him from the seat next to him. She quickly glanced up front to make sure that no one had overseen her, as she had often done while she could still talk. The others were engaged in their own conversations.

I didn't bring him! Hex signed back vehemently. He showed less care in hiding his end of the conversation. What did it matter when the only one who could understand them was Emmy? He must have climbed into my backpack and fallen asleep, he said while holding up the long and furry rodent between his two hands, making sure to keep him below the backs of the seats. The ferret looked across the seat at Tia as if to confirm the case, and released a large, body shaking yawn. This made her chuckle lightly.

The smile quickly faded from her face and was replaced with the gloomy frown that had become her for the past year. Selfconsciously, she reached up and adjusted the red silk scarf tied tightly around her neck. It was still secure.

Hex felt a pang of pity for her. It had been so long since she had truly looked happy. For a fleeting moment, she had looked like her old self again. That didn’t stop him from trying to bring that look back. Brimstone will be fine in here for the day, he told her after putting him back in the bag. I just need to find some food for him later.

How long do you think until we get to the caves? he asked her out loud, forgetting to sign to her. He quickly apologized and repeated his question properly. Tia had gotten used to the slips by now, but he tried to attend to her when he could.

It will be about another fifteen to twenty minutes, came a voice carrying clearly despite the distance and the noise from the engine and blasting air conditioner. They both looked up to see Grant's uncle looking at them from the rear view mirror. I figured you kids would be getting antsy after an hour and a half, he said with a dry chuckle. After getting no response back, he returned his attention to the highway.

Are you looking forward to the caves? Hex asked, restarting the conversation.

Her face brightened a little, as he knew it would. The only time she had seemed at all herself lately was when she was in Geology class. She had found a new love in those rocks and stones.

Of course I am. Did you know that the Burning Feather Caverns might be one of the oldest known caves in existence?

I did not know that, he replied. He felt another lecture coming on, and his eyes were already beginning to glaze over.

It's so old that they've found six unique dinosaur fossils that have never been seen in any other part of the world.

Actually, they found six full fossils and a partial skull imprint, Emmy said from the seat in front of Hex.

He rolled his eyes knowing what was about to come. Emmy was the top of the class in almost every class in school. In most subjects, the only one that came close to her was Grant, but in geology Tia stayed right on her heels. This usually just made her even more of a know it all then usual, and led to her looking for any opportunity to show that she knew more than her.

The partial imprint is usually discounted because of how unusual it is, she continued. I did some research when I found out where we were going.

What is it discounted? Oscar asked looking up from his music magazine.

Well. From the way it was pieced back together, the paleontologists named it the dragon skull, which immediately discredited it.

This perked Hex's interest. Dragon? Why would that discredit it?

Because dragons are fictional characters of make believe. They never existed, and they never will.

What you don't believe in magic?

Of course not. I believe in things that can be proven. Like science. Tia nodded her head in agreement, which annoyed her cousin.

Maybe one day someone, Hex held up a quarter between his fingers, will prove you wrong. He moved his fingers, and the coin disappeared from her sight.

Or, she said as she grabbed his hand, someone will prove to you once and for all that magic does not exist. Pulling the coin from between the fingers of his struggling hand, she then waved it in front of his nose before plopping it back into his hand.

Hex sat back in his seat with a sour look on his face and his arms crossed. Doesn't mean that dragons didn't exist, was barely heard muttered under his breath. He scowled at Oscar who at this point was laughing uncontrollably. Emmy prepared herself for a sharp reply when the van gave another hard shutter, followed by a loud 'klunk'. The van began to slow down and listed to the side as Grant's uncle struggled to keep control of it.

Hold on, he yelled to the back as he brought it to the side of the trail, bringing it to a sharp stop once he was clear of the road.

Chapter 2

I can't believe you got your father to agree to this Grant.

Come on Uncle Max. You more than anyone know, that the way go get my father to agree to something is to ask grandfather.

The two of them laughed aloud as they helped the others pull their gear off the bus.

Yeah, that is true. But this is a little extreme. Rock climbing? In the caves? The driver gave his nephew a questioning look. You know most of this place hasn’t been explored? And that most of the explored areas haven’t even been mapped out."

I don’t know what to tell you Uncle Max. Must have been my lucky day, he said

We're almost there. Just past that line of- Max began before the engine cut out. Grant managed to grab onto the support handle on his door while his uncle struggled with the wheel.

Hold on! he heard him yell as the van was jerked hard to the right and stopped with a shudder. Max held the wheel with a white-knuckled grip as he tried to control his breathing. Everybody okay? he asked while looking through the rear view mirror.

They all sounded off individually that they were fine, then they all got out to look at the smoking engine. The five of them looked on as Max flung open the hood, wincing in pain as his hands were singed. As the smoke cleared, they could see that the engine was a ruined mess.

What happened? Grant asked his uncle.

Kinda of obvious isn't it? piped in Hex voice dripping with sarcasm. The engine went boom!" They all looked at him in annoyance.

It looks like it blew a cylinder or three. Oscar took a closer look at the engine, with Max standing beside him. Yeah, that and a broken belt. When was the last time you had this looked at?

I've been meaning to have it looked at.

Uncle Max!

Well, I'm sorry. Either way we're going to need a tow, and that's going to take a few hours. So you guys go ahead and do your thing, and I'll call for the truck.

One by one, they gathered their packs out of the van. Grant looked around as he hoisted his pack onto his shoulders. Everyone else was ready too, and he couldn’t help but laugh inwardly as Hex teetered about under the weight of his pack. He’s going to slow us down in there, he thought to himself.

Oscar was the only one that seemed comfortable. He lifted the extra large sixty-five pound pack like it only weighed five. His muscular frame seemed at ease with its burden as he made his way up the hill to the cave’s entrance. In each person’s pack, they each carried their climbing gear, along with a change of clothes and a full day’s meal. Oscar carried those, plus extra gear and medical supplies, and a week’s worth of MRE’s for everybody, in case of an emergency. In his hand, he carried a hard metal case that they had recently discovered carried his eighty-year-old violin.

Emmy followed behind him, her close-cut hair blowing in the wind that was starting to kick up. Tia walked beside her and struck up a conversation with her while Hex walked slowly behind them.

I have a bad feeling about this day, Grant heard his uncle say behind him.

What do you mean? He turned around to see a troubled look on his uncle's face where he had only ever seen a smile. To see it gave him an uneasy feeling in his stomach.

"Last night I was troubled with dreams. The stories that father told me of our people. The fairy tales that my grandfather told me as a child... all came to life. But it was you five