Fable: Retold Chapter 8

==Witchwood==
"Never been here before" Leo said as they arrived on the Witchwood Cullis Gate.
"According to Maze card the Archeologist was inspecting a magic door last time he was seen" Zane said.
"A Demon Door?" Ace asked.
"Maybe" Zane said.
"Rumor has it that somewhere in Witchwood is a sword that only a true hero can acquire" the Guild Master spoke.
"A sword huh?" Leo said.
"Sounds like something to look into" Zane said.
"There is a temple in Witchwood that is supposed to give you spiritual strength be warned some gods can be fickle."
"AH Great!" Ace yelled as it began to rain on them.
"A little rain never killed anyone" Zane said as Sparky shook his wet fur on them.
"Yeah but smelling like a wet dog won't help!" Ace said as they looked ahead as the ground shook and a Rock Troll rose from the ground with a roar.
"Troll!" Zane yelled drawing his weapon.
"Do we ever get a break?!" Leo growled.
"Let's just kill it!" Ace said pulling out his ax.
The Troll then roared throwing massive boulders at them as the three scattered.
Sparky then lunged and bite at the Troll leg. The Troll then kicked Sparky away and sent him hitting a tree with a yelp.
"Sparky! THAT'S IT! NO ONE HITS MY DOG!" Zane growled glowing with a Will aura, "BLADES" he yelled as five glowing magic swords appeared above the Troll and all stabbed into it as it roared and Leo jumped on it's back and began to stab a knife it the exposed part where it's neck was showing under its rock body.
"AH!" Ace yelled slicing his ax against its leg as it fell over dead and began to sink into the ground.
"That's how you take out a Troll" Leo said as Zane rushed over to their whimpering dog limping.
"Here boy" Zane said pulling out a jump from his bag and poured some Health potion in it as the dog began to drink.
"Guys...I think you might want to see this" Leo said heading down a trail.
"What?" Ace said as he Zane and Sparky followed to see up ahead was an identical Old Kingdom Artefact like the one from the Hobbe Cave.
"Another one?" Zane said looking at the strange blue glow surrounding the relic.
"How strange, wish I knew what the marking meant" Leo said.
"Aren't those Templar after some old relic?" Ace asked.
"Relics of Eden powerful artifact mankind shouldn't have this is no Relic of Eden...as far as I am aware" Leo said looking at the stone.
"Maybe that Archeologist know what they are?" Zane asked.
"Maybe" Leo said blowing on a whistle as a Hawk flew down and landed on a fence.
"You have a pet hawk?" Ace asked.
"We Assassin use them to send messages" Leo said attaching a letter to the hawk leg, "I am sending word of this strange artefact to my brothers and see if they may know what these strange relics are."
"Sounds like a plan" Zane said watching the hawk fly away.
"Come on let's leave this place" Ace said heading down the road to Witchwood Stones with the other heroes following.
"I'm soaked!" Leo growled as they ran through the pouring rain.
"So am I! Let's just find an Inn and dry off!" Zane said.
"Look up!" Leo said pointing to a temple in the distance.
"That's the Temple of Avo" Ace said.
"How do you know? I thought you never been here?" Zane said.
"I haven't" Ace said.
"So how do you know that is the Temple of Avo?" Zane said.
"With my pysic powers!" Ace smirked.
"There is a direction sign over there" Leo said pointing to it.
"Oh! Your so no fun!" Ace pouted.
"Come on, let's head there!" Zane said heading up a hill and found a group of men around a man trying to pull a sword stabbed through a rock and into the ground.
"What are you doing?" Zane asked.
"So. Have you heard the legend of this sword?" a man asked.
"Nope, enlighten us" Leo said.
"A knight of the Old Kingdom called Huw wielded a sword like no other. He was a giant. The sword cut through monsters, people and demons like parchment. It possessed power. Power that mortals could not control. Dying. Huw trust it into the living rock, from which it could never be removed. Legends says that only somebody as strong as Huw the Giant can remove it" the man said.
"Really?" Leo said examining the sword.
"Perhaps it's just an old wives' tale. Perhaps it's a fake."
"Let me see" Ace smirked grabbing the hilt and began to pull on it with a grunt while gritting his teeth, "GRRRR COME ON! BUDGE YOU STUPID SWORD!"
"Looks like he's weak" Leo chuckled as Ace slipped and fell back hard on the ground.
"OH! Okay that sword stuck" Ace grunted.
"I wanna try" Zane said stepping up.
"I doubt you can Zane that sword is really stuck in there" Ace said.
"Let's see" Zane said grabbing the hilt and pulled on it with a grunt as the sword slipped out of the rocks as Zane starred wide eyes at the Harbinger Legendary Sword like Ace and Leo as the other men clapped.
"Wow you're as strong a giant! Wait till the chief hears about this!" a man said.
"...I pulled it out" Zane said.
"What a strange glow this sword must be harmonized with your will power somehow" Leo said.
"Let's get out of the rain" Zane said attaching the sword to his back as they went down the hill and entered the temple.
"Finally! We can dry off!" Ace said rinsing his bandana.
"Welcome to the Temple of Avo" a hooded monk said.
"Morality awaits those who donate" a monk said.
"Oh sure" Zane said tossing dome money in.
"Ace" Leo said putting money in before heading outside.
"Oh fine!" Ace muttered putting money in.
"Guys I found the Demon Door location!" Leo said.
Later the three stood in the rain in front of the Demon Door.
"What do we have to do to get you to open up?" Zane asked.
"I only open to those who know my name. If you know it, find and hit the magic stones to spell it out. Only one person knows my name, but I doubt you'll find him. Even at the Temple of Avo" the Demon Door spoke.
"Magic stones?" Ace said as they went down the hill and approached the four stones with strange blue markings.
"Hmmm" Ace said hitting one with his sword.
"I" a voice spoke.
"Ngh!" Ace grunted hitting another.
"S" the voice spoke again.
"Ha!" Zane grunted hitting another stone.
"H."
"Hn!" Leo grunted throwing his knife into the last one.
"T."
"So those are the four letters we need to use I, S, H, T" Zane said as Leo took a stick and began to write in the mud.
"If we reargue the letters with H first followed by an and an S what do we get?" Leo smirked.
"Hits?" Ace said.
"You think that's his name?" Zane asked.
"One way to find out" Leo said hitting a stone.
"H."
"Ha!" Zane grunted hitting another.
"I."
"Yah!" Ace grunted hitting another.
"T."
"And" Leo said hitting the last.
"S."
"H-I-T-S Hits!" the voice spoke as the stones glowed and the three headed up the hill and approached the Demon Door.
"So you worked out my name. Big deal, in you go" he spoke opening up to the Witchwood Cavern letting the three in.
"A caravan?" Leo said spotting it then a man ahead of them.
"So you found me. That's just grand. If you can find me, so can they!" the Archeologist growled.
"They? You mean you hid here on purpose?" Leo asked.
"I should never have started studying the Focus Sites but how was I to know Jack was interested in them too!" the Archeologist said.
"You don't mean?" Ace asked wide eyes as Zane and Leo.
"Yes, Jack of Blades!"
"He's returned?!" Leo said.
"Look, I have no time to explain, you can read my journal if you want. I don't want it anymore! Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll be off. It's not safe for me here anymore. Thanks to you three!" the Archeologist said leaving.
"Hmm" Leo said picking up the journal.
"Well?" Ace asked.
"...he answered the question to what that Relic we saw here and in the Hobbe cave was" Leo said.
"What are they Leo? Why would Jack of Blades be interested in such a thing?" Zane asked.
"According to the Archeologist these 'Focus Sites' are scattered all around Albion that serve a purpose in a ritual of some sorts but that's the Archeologist stopped looking into them when Jack showed up" Leo said.
"So a ritual? Think that Nymph in the cave knew?" Ace asked.
"If she did too late to ask her now" Zane said.
"I hope my brothers will know more about this these Focus Sites have me a little weary" Leo said.
"Let's head back to Bowerstone whole lot of books here we can donate" Zane said taking some.
"Good idea" Ace said.
Later the three walked into the school.
"Ah hello again. Have you found any interesting reading material?" the Headmaster asked.
"Right here!" Zane said stacking the books on the teacher desk.
"Oh look! 'How to make Friend' just the thing to teach the children manners. Why don't you stay and listen Heroes it's never to later to learn!"
"Sure" Zane said leaning on a wall.
"Do we have to? I hated school as a kid too." Ace said taking a seat.
"Today lesson will be 'how to make friends' these fine heroes has just given us a good example of how to make friends by donating this book to the school. Helping people out and giving presents are both good ways to make friends. Can anybody tell me another way to make friends?"
Sir! Sir!" a blonde boy said holding up his hand.
"Yes?"
"Tell them you'll smash their teeth in if they won't be friends with you!" the boy said.
"I like that answer" Ace smirked as Leo smacked the back of his head.
"Stop poisoning children's minds" Leo said.
"No, Billy. Threatening people is not really a good way to make friend with them" Mr. Gout said.
"Works for Leo" Ace said as Leo knocked Ace on the floor.
"Oops" Leo smirked.
"I think we need to work on this some more..."
"Hey read this one" Ace said taking a book from the stack.
"What's this? 'The Pale Balverine'? I hope it doesn't give them nightmares" he said.
"Ace" Leo glared.
"Come on it's a good book" Ace shrugged as they went over to the story telling blanket with the kids.
"There was once a Lord who thought himself good with an arrow. Until people saw that his lies ran right through to his marrow. Many months in the cells of Bargate he spent, plotting his redemption and once he was free he hunted all evil, without exception. One day he met his match, a foul and mighty Balverine. He did not die from its bite, but his curse was obscene. He became one of those creatures, and pale as snow was his fur. To kill him came then a red-caped woman, a true connoisseur. Her silver arrow pierced his blackened heart and sent him to his grave and so he died in infamy, without the acceptance he craved" Mr. Gout said finishing the story.
"What a horrid story to read to children!" Leo said as the kids all clapped, "...kids these days lord help them in the future."
"You three have done our school such a great service, I don't know if we can ever adequately repay you."
"No need the children's futures are what is important and education is the best way" Zane said.
"I do have a little something and...well, I know it's not much, but the children think you'll love it. We used it in our production of 'The Mage's Apprentice'. But it was a little large for our particular actors" Mr. Gout said holding out a Bright Wizard Hat.
"Well thank you kids!" Zane said as they left the school.
"That was interesting, school when I was a child was nothing like that" Leo said.
"That was a nice thing we did" Ace said as Zane stopped and looked towards a tree.
"No way!" Zane said rushing over.
"Zane?" Leo said following as they saw Zane approached Thunder.
"Well, well look who it is" Thunder said.
"Hello Thunder" Zane said.
"Come to play with the other children, have you?" Thunder said.
"Maybe, I do like kids" Zane said patting a boy head.
"Shame Whisper has such a soft spot for you she should have taught you a lesson in Orchard Farm, but she'll learn" Thunder said.
"Who Whisper?" Ace whispered.
"Zane grew up with her at the Guild I guess she his rival" Leo whispered.
"I only hope you both end up in the Arena one day. Then we'll see who the greater Hero is but I wasted enough time talking. The Guildmaster needs me back at the Guild. He can't entrust important quests to novices like you" Thunder said.
"Why I ought to!" Ace growled as Leo held him back and Thunder disappeared using his seal.
"What a burro" Leo said.
"Thunder always been like that, novice, HA! He'll see! One day the three of us will be Albion greatest Heroes!" Zane said as Sparky growled, "oh sorry boy! I mean the four of us!"
"Let's go back to the Guild and see what quest are available" Leo said
"Yeah we need some cash" Ace said as Zane used is seal to take them to the Guild.