Baskadia

BOOK ONE: FINDING THE GEM OF ALDERIA.

Once there was a bubbly family that lived down the suburban street of Never Little. The Lukes were the only ones that lived in an old cottage even when the rest of the community had moved on by building bigger houses. But the Lukes was a traditional family, and wanted to carry out the wishes of Grandmother Angie, the oldest member of the family who’d lived in the cottage for almost sixty three years.

“Wait a little children…grandchildren. This cottage means so much to me. One day, I’d be gone and you’d be free to live wherever you like.” Grandmother Angie had always said. Though her daughter, Kimby and her husband loved the idea, the kids always wished they could move to a bigger place.

The Luke boys were well respected and adored by the other children in their street and school; they had a special gift, a talent of wielding the ball in the field. The boys were very skilled in playing football, and they all wished to become super players one day. So they spent most of their time practicing and playing in their yard…

Once they’d finish for the day, they’d have story time around the fire hearth where grandmother would give them with sweet cookies she baked each day, and tell them stories about their family. The boys never believed it, but they never argued with grandmother, because telling the story seemed to make her happy and hopeful about life.

“You come from a bloodline of greatness. You see…our family was once at the top before we lost the box of Centura…a box containing ten sparkling gemstones that can lead anyone to greatness!”

The boys would murmur amongst themselves.

Tyrese who was the oldest would giggle, “Sounds like a good Sci-fi.”

Dominic who came second never paid attention to the weird stories, but enjoyed every bit of the delicious cookies, and sometimes muffins.

It was Shemar, the youngest Luke boy who paid full attention to grandmother and her

stories. His eyes would brighten from staring into the hearth’s fire while listening to grandma’s stories about the box of Centura and the missing gemstones.

“So grandma, when will we find this box and the stones again?” Shemar always asked.

Grandma would shrug and stare sadly at the faces of the boys.

“It’s been many years since we lost the gems. But my father was told by a great wizard that the gemstones find those that deserve it and not the other way round. So we’ll keep waiting…”

Tyrese scoffed, “Supposing we find them…what next?”

Grandma smiled and ruffled his wild black curls, “I know you have dreams my darling…but nothing beats finding the stones and travelling to Alderia…a world of many games.” She bit her lip and pulled away from Tyrese. She was saying too much, and that could confuse the kids.

She quickly stood up and made for her room before telling them what they thought was greatly strange.

“You see boys? There’s a world outside ours, beyond what we see. Your football game didn’t start in this world, but it began long time ago in a land of destiny. A few humans that could travel there saw the game, and thought it wise to bring it back to the earth…”

Before they could ask her more questions, she’d strolled far away from their reach.

The boys ate the cookies in silence, each pondering on grandmother’s words. But their fear was dispelled when mother showed up with steaming bowls of stew and cornbread, quickly calling them to the table for dinner. The dinner took longer because it would be Saturday the next day.

They were still talking about their football dreams, and how they’d play for the whole world to see when mother noticed how silent Shemar was.

“Are you alright Shemar?” She raised a brow. Shemar was bubbly, friendly and chatty. If Shemar was quiet, then something was bothering him.

Shemar pulled in a deep breath and quickly gulped down some water.

“Mommy? Daddy? Have you ever been to Alderia?”

The question left everyone in wonder, and they returned to the previous silence that hung in the air as no one had answers to Shemar’s question.

The morning was bright with golden rays from a smiling sun. It was the loud zapping of a tree feller chopping down some trees in the forest that woke everyone up. One after the other, the boys woke up and rushed towards the yard for an early morning game…

“Come on now…won’t you even help me with a little gardening?” Grandmother winced as they ignored her garden and rushed to play.

“We’ll join you in fifteen!” Tyrese rushed out with a grayish tough ball.

“Hours I guess!” Grandmother snorted.

“Minutes…and good morning to you!” Tyrese moved to her and planted a kiss on the white patches on her head.

“Yoo-hoo! It’s going to be a great day!” Dominic threw his hands into the air.

Shemar wore a frown, grumpily greeting everyone because he felt nobody could explain Alderia to him. In fact, he’d decided not to join his brothers in playing. So Shemar found a quiet spot and sat down, watching the exchange between his older brothers, Dominic and Tyrese.

Soon, a gentle wind started, then gradually grew stronger. Suddenly, the wind tossed the ball further from the yard, and stuck it in a hedge of tall grasses not too far from the cottage.

“Oh no!” Dominic grunted.

“I’ll get it!” Shemar offered, feeling better after watching his brothers play. Perhaps it was time to join them. He scurried towards the hedge of wild green plants. Without

thinking, Shemar burrowed through the uncomfortable stalks and weird smells. But there was a little problem…

There was no ball…but a rusty looking chest. Worse, his feet were stuck in mud, so he couldn’t move.

“Oops…” Shemar winced as he struggled to pull his legs out of the wet soil. But the more he tried, the deeper it seemed he was sinking into the mud. Without waste of time, Shemar gave a loud scream calling for his brothers to save him.

“Dominic! Tyrese!”

CHAPTER TWO

Though the Luke brothers all loved football more than any other thing, but when it came to caring for one another, they could abandon football for that. Immediately Tyrese and Dominic heard Shemar’s cry for help, they left their game and hurried towards the muddy soil to help him.

“One…two…three PULL!!!” Tyrese led the way, and with Dominic’s help, they both pulled Shemar out by holding his waist.

It was Dominic that first noticed the rusty chest that Shemar was pulling out of the mud.

“Where are you taking that? It stinks!” Dominic wrinkled his nose.

Tyrese giggled, “You were supposed to find the ball and not some ugly chest!” Tyrese said. He continued to look at the rusty square box.

Shemar ignored his brothers and held tightly to the box. He was curious about it. His older brothers ignored him and went further into the hedge of tall plants to find their ball.

Little Shemar knelt beside the rusty chest and adjusted his glasses. He ran his hands over the box and wondered what could be inside. Also, what was the box doing in such a hidden place anyway?

“What a fine box you are!” Shemar noticed some beautiful and flowery designs on its cover. Maybe his brothers were right. Maybe there was nothing special about this box.

Shemar was about to throw it back into the mud when a bright golden light appeared around the box.

“Huh?” Shemar raised a brow, wondering if his glasses were playing tricks on him.

So he took off his glasses and closed his eyes. Before opening them, Shemar carefully took a deep breath and rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand. But the golden light still surrounded the box!

“Tyrese! Dominic! Over here!” He called loudly for his brothers.

Just in time, the older Luke boys arrived and were equally shocked about the bright light that surrounded the rusty chest. Dominic was afraid, but Tyrese and Shemar were curious.

“What if…?” Dominic couldn’t bring himself to speak the words.

“What if it’s the box of Centura? The box that grandma told us about?” Tyrese asked.

The box of Centura contained ten gemstones that could lead the boys to another world, a realm of many games which they hoped to play. Soon, they began to think about grandma’s stories. What if they were all true?

“Does that mean that we’re travelling to Alderia?” Shemar loved to travel. He was excited about travelling to another world maybe in a spaceship so he could make friends with aliens.

“Let’s check the box out!” Tyrese said.

He shifted closer to the box and began to wipe the dirty and dried dust atop of it.

“I…I don’t think this is a great idea. We should show it to mom and dad and grandma!” Dominic suggested.

Suddenly, Tyrese stopped touching the box as the golden light had disappeared. The box began to shake on its own. It hopped upwards, then it put itself down. The boys

watched with awe as the box continued to shake itself.

“Maybe there’s an animal trapped inside…”Shemar said.

“How can any animal survive in a chest without a source of air?” Tyrese shrugged.

“You know what? I think we should return the chest to where you found it!” Dominic said.

But Shemar didn’t agree. He wanted to see and know what was inside the rusty chest. So he got on his feet and trapped the chest that’d been hopping from place to place.

“I wish you could show me what is inside!” Shemar whispered sadly, not wanting to give up the chest as his brother’s suggested.

In a swift moment, the lid of the chest opened, hitting Shemar’s forehead slightly.

“Ouch!” Shemar quickly threw the chest down while his brothers had a good laugh. But something made them curious. Why did the chest open after Shemar had made a wish to see what was inside?

They stopped laughing when they noticed a hand coming out of the chest. The boys came together and watched in wonder…

Slowly, a little girl came into full view. She was far smaller than the boys. Her name was Minstrel and she was as small as Shemar’s foot. Their mouths fell open as they stared at Minstrel in wonder.

She had on her head a purple hat which covered her silky yellow hair. She wore a dark brown trouser with pointy yellow boots and a green shirt with the letter A written on it.

“Shoo! Go away!” The tiny Minstrel fought with some bugs that had clung to her clothes while in the box for so many years.

“WHAAAAT are you?” The brothers blurted out.

Minstrel flashed a smile, “My name is Minstrel and that’s all that you must know now. We have to run as quickly as possible!” She announced to the boys.

“RUN?” They scoffed.

“Well you’re the last descendants of the best players that once lived in Alderia. Not everyone likes that. To win the Emperor’s football match, you’ll need to come with me to Alderia, but not everyone would love for you to come there because we know you’re very good at playing football!”

The brothers still were confused.

“What are you talking about?” Tyrese asked. At first it had felt like a dream, but standing close to this tiny person made him believe that his grandmother’s stories about the land of Alderia were true.

“The Crocashores! They’re coming for you, for all of us! Hurry!”

Minstrel led the way in running, and the boys wondered how she knew the way back to the house. As they all raced back, they had no idea of a pair of dark and evil green eyes staring at them from the skies.

The eldest Crocashore whispered to his warriors who’d flown to the earth on unicorns.

“Stay back! I’ll take them down myself and find the map that will lead me to the gemstones!”

CHAPTER THREE

“So who or what exactly are the Crocashores?” Tyrese managed to catch his breath as they hid behind a huge tree just a few minutes to the house. Minstrel had asked them to hide because those chasing after them were travelling through the clouds and could see everything on ground.

Minstrel took a deep breath and sat on a patch of wet grass.

“It’s a long story…”

In Alderia, the King was a kind and loving man, Emperor Jelhi while the Crocashore

family worked as his servants. But they wanted to take over the throne of Alderia, and had tried to steal the crown of the emperor. But they couldn’t take over the throne, so the King punished them by pushing them out of the beautiful Kingdom.

“So where do they stay now?” Shemar asked.

“The Crocashores roam around in empty clouds with unicorns, they have no place to stay…but if they are able to get into the football match which the king would organize…” Minstrel bit her lip, hoping the Crocashores wouldn’t get near Alderia again.

“Does that mean that if they win against other players that they get to return to the Kingdom?” Dominic asked.

Minstrel nodded, “Not just returning to the Kingdom. They get to rule over the earth and settle here…that wouldn’t be so nice because the Crocashores are mean.”

Little Shemar could see the sadness in Minstrel’s shiny blue eyes as she spoke of the Crocashores.

“Did they do something to you?” Shemar wondered.

Minstrel said, “They locked me inside that rusty chest because I used my last powers to save the king. I worked in the King’s palace as a palace pixie. But I didn’t join in their plan to fight the King because he is a good man.”

While she was talking, a loud thunder struck from the sky. Quickly, a fire started on the leaves of the tree that the boys had been leaning on.

“Oops! They are close! Let us run!!!” Minstrel announced.

At once, they boys began to run to the house. But Shemar noticed that Minstrel couldn’t run as fast as they could. She was sick and tired from staying in the rusty chest for many years before he found her.

“Let me help you Minstrel!” Shemar showed kindness by gently carrying the tiny Minstrel into his palms and running along with his brothers.

Back in the sky, the oldest Crocashore, Jill Crocashore gritted his teeth angrily.

“Oh no! We lost them again!”

“Sorry dad…but I have a better plan!” Louisa Crocashore said to her father.

Louisa was the princess of the Crocashore clan and she always had clever ideas. To get the map which would lead them to the ten gemstones, the best way was to become friends with the Luke boys.

“I’ll just travel to the earth and become close to them!”

“What if that doesn’t work? They have the pixie with them!” Someone cried.

Everyone knew how wise and powerful Minstrel was. Now that the boys had found her, she would lead them to the gemstones.

“I can make friends with her too!” Louisa winked.

Her father liked the idea.

Louisa smiled happily as she stared down at the earth. She and her family had always dreamt of taking over the beautiful lands and houses on earth, especially the town of Never Little. If they won the King’s football match, their reward would be to return fully to Alderia and take over the earth.

However, the rules of the game weren’t fair and that’s why all the players needed the ten gemstones.

“Goodbye Mother! Goodbye Father! Goodbye everyone!” Louisa waved at her family as she flew down to the earth on her pinkish unicorn.

Her assignment was to find the golden map of secrets-this would lead her to the location of the ten gemstones of Alderia.

One would wonder why the ten gemstones were so important to the game of the King.

Well, Minstrel had the answers to everything and would explain it to the boys.

Apart from owning a little mischief, the Crocashores were also gifted with the magical powers of making objects disappear and taking the appearance of others.

After arriving in the earth, Louisa quickly made her unicorn disappear with a wave of her hand.

“Bluba!” She whispered a magic word, and hundreds of greenish bubbles floated around her as the unicorn disappeared.

Now she had to find someone whose appearance she could take. It had to be someone that the boys would trust and listen to. Louisa quickly tiptoed towards the cottage of the Lukes. She’ll hide somewhere and listen to everything that went on in the house, and also watch everyone to know whose appearance that she was going to take.

CHAPTER FOUR

“Open up Mum!” Tyrese knocked at the front door.

The boys had tried to get into the house through the yard, but the door had been locked from inside. They knew it was Grandma Angie as she disliked keeping doors open.

“Dad?” Dominic called.

“Minstrel has fallen asleep!” Shemar announced to his brothers.

“Huh?” Dominic and Tyrese muttered as they stared at the smallish creature that’d fallen asleep in Shemar’s hands.

“Maybe she needs some tea to keep her warm.” Dominic said.

“Or a soft bed for a long sleep.” Tyrese said.

The boys felt sad that Minstrel had to go all through that pain all because she wouldn’t do bad to the king. They had to do what it took to save her from the Crocashores and to save the earth as well. That meant that they had to win.

“I still don’t understand why we need those gemstones when we have Minstrel. She can always take us to Alderia.” Shemar winked.

Just then, the door opened. It was their mother, Kimby and Angie. Daddy had to travel quickly out of Never Little for a business meeting.

“Tired of playing?” Their mum laughed.

It was grandma Angie that noticed the tiny pixie on Shemar’s palms.

“My goodness! I haven’t seen that in a long while! Who found the chest?” She asked.

Everyone including Kimby was surprised.

“How…how did you know we found her in a chest?” Shemar’s voice shook as he asked.

Grandma Angie sighed.

“Long time ago, a family of very mean Alderians came together and wanted to take over the throne. But a pixie saved the King’s life with the last of her magic. So this family locked her in a box…the chest of Alderia.”

“The Crocashores!” The boys said.

“Aha! I see you’re catching on.” Grandma grinned.

The boys wondered why mum didn’t look surprised to see the pixie. It only meant one thing.

“Mum? Did you know that Alderia was real?” Dominic raised a brow.

The boys had always thought that grandma’s stories were mere stories. But they now believed that there was another world outside Never Little.

Mum shrugged, “Alderia is real, but you would never have believed it. I was waiting for the right time to prove it to you…maybe before you turned twenty. But I am glad that the box found you…now we must find the ten gemstones before someone else gets to it!”

“Why are these stones so important?” Tyrese asked.

Grandma Angie chuckled, “You never believed that Alderia was real. But you now do! I will answer all of your questions. But we must make some sweet porridge for Minstrel and make for her a nice and warm bed.”

So everyone in the cottage got to work.

While Shemar gathered feathers from his huge pillow into his old baby cot, his older brothers helped Grandma Angie make a delicious sweet porridge meant for pixies. Mother busied herself with searching every old box in the attic as Angie had instructed her to. The key to finding the map, which would lead them to the gemstones was hidden in one of the boxes.

“What else do you need?” Dominic called to Grandma. But Grandma Angie didn’t reply. She continued to stare at the old recipe book for magical creatures that’d been given to her by her own mother.

“Garlic…carrots…sugar! Lots of sugar! Pixies love sugar!” Grandma said.

The boys laughed as they fetched sugar cubes from the sugar jar for grandmad who quickly dropped them into a pot of porridge that she was making.

Unknown to them, there were being watched by Louisa who was peeping from a window. Louisa Crocashore laughed happily, knowing that she’d soon get the map once they found it.

The boys truly loved Grandma Angie, and would listen to everything that she said to them.

“Now I know whose appearance that I will take!” She whispered to herself.

If she became Grandma, the boys wouldn’t know. No one would know!

“Aha! I have a plan!” Louisa said.

Minstrel couldn’t remember the last time that she’d slept so peacefully like a baby. She loved the smell of roses, and how soft her bed was. When she opened her eyes, Minstrel gave a loud scream that made everything in the house shake.

“RAHHH!!!” She shouted in surprise.

The doors shook. The cupboards shook. Even the wall clocks fell to the ground.

At once, everyone ran to Minstrel’s room.

“I’m sorry I didn’t mean that. I’m just surprised…” Minstrel apologized. She jumped off the bed.

“It’s fine Minstrel…now come along! Time to eat!” Shemar led her towards the dining table where they’d all have dinner for the night.

“Yummy!” Minstrel smacked her lips as she ate sweet porridge. She thanked Shemar and his family for taking good care of her.

“I feel stronger now. We must find the gemstones immediately before the Crocashores get to it. But first we need a map!” Minstrel said.

Tyrese thought that this was the best time to ask his questions.

“Pixie Minstrel?” He called.

“Yes…” Minstrel smiled.

“Why are the gemstones important? Why must we find them?”

Minstrel dropped her spoon and began to tell the boys why they had to find the ten gemstones of Alderia.

Two teams would be playing each day, until the best teams are selected for the final game.

“I believe the Crocashores would make it to the final football match because they have really great players. I also believe in you three…” She pointed at Shemar, Tyrese and Dominic.

The ten gemstones can only be found and used by one team.

“These gemstones come in five pairs, making it ten stones altogether. The Gemstones of Alderia are magical, and contain powers to help the players using them to win. No matter how hard you try, you could still lose this game without the help of the magical Gemstones.

This is why we must get to it before the Crocashores.”

“So if they get to the Gemstones first…we could lose even if we play hard because the magic in the gemstones would help them!” Dominic muttered.

The boys could no longer eat. They felt afraid of losing the game, and sad that the Crocashores could take over the earth, and the beautiful town of Never Little.

While they were still talking about the Gemstones, Mum suddenly showed up with a huge smile on her face.

“I think I know where the map is!” She said.

Mum had found a note in an old and dusty book which said: The way to Alderia is in the Never Little Library. It will show itself to you if you believe.”

She made everyone around the table read the note.

“I’m so proud of you!” Grandma Angie said, feeling proud of her daughter.

Just then, there was a loud knock on the kitchen door.

“That should be Betty!” Grandma Angie quickly stood up. Betty was her neighbor who’d promised to give her some carrots from her garden.

Once Grandma opened the door, she found Betty smiling.

“Come on in Betty!” Grandma said.

“Not yet Angie…” Betty smiled.

But it wasn’t Betty! Louisa Crocashore had stolen Betty’s appearance.

“Abluba!” She whispered a magic word and touched Grandma Angie on the shoulder.

A silvery light shone around both women as Louisa suddenly changed to Grandma Angie, while Grandma Angie changed into Louisa and fell down to the kitchen floor asleep.

“Goodnight grandma!” Louisa chuckled.

Now it was time to get to the map. And it would be tonight!

CHAPTER FIVE

The boys were still asking their mother questions about the gemstones when grandma Angie returned from the kitchen. Just then, their mum began to clear the plates as they’d finished dinner, but grandma stopped her.

“Oh no! You don’t have to take the plates to the kitchen right now. Let us talk about the gemstones. Where is the note you found?” Louisa asked. But the boys and their mother had no idea that Grandma Angie was fast asleep while the fake Louisa came to them as her.

Mother thought that this was a great idea, so she decided to share the note she’d found with grandma.

Louisa’s hands trembled excitedly as she took the note that would lead her to the exact book holding the map to the box containing the gemstones.

“Wow! I can’t believe we’ll soon get close to the gemstones…” Louisa whispered to herself. It was a matter of time before the Crocashores returned to Alderia to claim their place, and to rule over the earth once they’d won the football match of the Emperor.

Tyrese asked, “Tell us grandma…what magic do these gemstones have?”

Louisa acting as grandma explained that the ten gemstones of Alderia came in five

pairs.

The first pair was the yellow gemstones which would give all the players their jersey.

“Now this jersey protects the players from the bad magic or energy that may come from other players.”

The second pair was the blue gemstones which will give the players shoes with superspeed.

“So with the blue gemstones the players will run faster than their opponents?” Shemar was excited already.

“Of course!” Louisa smiled.

The third pair was the green gemstones which would give the players a special jar containing a greenish juice for superstrenght.

“With this, they can run all day long without being tired!” Tyrese said.

The fourth pair was the golden gemstones which would give the players a magic candy. With the magic candy, the wounds they’d have while playing would magically heal.

“WHOAA!!!” The boys exclaimed.

Lastly, the fifth pair was the black gemstones which would give the players enchanted socks to keep them warm on the field because Alderia was a very cold city.

“And what about the players that don’t have the enchanted socks?” Shemar wondered.

“Well…they would feel very cold and wouldn’t be able to run!” Louisa replied.

The boys were now in deep thought. It was clear that the team that could get to the gemstones would win.

“We can’t let the Crocashores get the gemstones. Let’s hurry to the library!” Tyrese said to his brothers as they were running out of time.

Just then, grandma pushed back her chair.

“Um…let me get a glass of water. I’ll be back.” Grandma said.

While grandma walked to the kitchen, the boys continued to talk about the key to finding the gemstones until they heard a loud bang of the kitchen door.

They all rushed to the kitchen to find Grandma Angie on the floor deeply asleep.

“What does this mean?” Shemar whispered. How was it possible for grandma to fall into such a deep sleep.

Just then Minstrel the pixie ran to the kitchen. She’d been staring outside the window when she’d seen Louisa changing from an old lady to her true form.

“I’m sorry guys! I think Louisa tricked everyone. She stole the appearance of your grandmother to get information from you.” Minstrel said.

At once, they all knew that Louisa would be heading towards the library to find the key to the map of Alderia. It was the map that held the secret of the gemstones.

“We have to stop her!” Dominic announced.

“Are you sure about that?” Minstrel rubbed her hat.

“Yes!” They all answered.

While mother took care of grandma, the boys scurried out of the house alongside Minstrel to the Never Little Library where they hoped to find the map.

“Hurry!” Minstrel screamed.

“We’re trying!” Dominic said.

When the boys arrived at the Library, they began to look around. But there was no sign of Louisa or anyone. All the doors were locked.

“Mum said the map would find anyone who believed…what does that mean?” Shemar reminded his brothers.

Minstrel placed her smallish hands on her waist and stared at the roof of the library. There, she saw a floating white paper…was that the map of Alderia or was it

something else?

When she turned back to tell the boys about the floating paper, she noticed they’d found an old ball and had started to play football.

“Hey guys! I think I may have seen the map…” she tried to stop them.

Little did she know that Louisa had been watching them from a hedge of wildflowers. It was Louisa Crocashore that created the ball with her magic to keep the boys distracted.

“Soon…you’ll be mine!” She whispered as she continued to stare at the floating paper.

Once Minstrel’s attention was to the boys, Louisa came out of her hiding place and collected the floating paper firmly. Her eyes grew wide with surprise at how small the map was. And there was something else stuck in the middle of the map of Alderia…an iron key that would open the box holding the gemstones.

“Wimsica…” That was the first city she’d to search for the box.

“Hey boys! I got the map, so you better forget all about the football game because the Crocashores are winning!” Louisa said.

Without waste of time, her unicorn appeared right behind her, and she sat upon it and flew away.

“Oh no! We have lost it!” Dominic cried.

But Minstrel wasn’t afraid, if the boys were truly ready for an adventure, she would help them find the gemstones with or without the map.

“There is another way to Alderia…” Minstrel said.