Story of the Dead Children 1

[Silent Wizard]

The Story of the Dead Children

Prologue

You have all probably seen this House in Elderine. It has No doors and no windows, none at all.

Well, in the olden Times when Elderine and Roumen were still alive That House was used by an Evil Being, This evil Being was called IchigoHollow. At night when all the children were sleeping it would search the streets of Elderine and Roumen and take children, one from each house until he had collected 13 children. The being would then return the house with no doors and no windows to lock the children away inside. Once all the children were there the evil being IchigoHollow sealed the House so they could not escape. As the years passed, many people heard the children screaming to be let out but there was no way in. The screams became fewer and fewer as time went on till all was quiet again.
It was when the house was quiet that it was most dangerous. It could be a few years or many before IchigoHollow would return to take another 13 children in horrific and unspeakable ways.

And even today, if you listen carefully, you can still hear them scream.

Written by BlackDragonEX, Doylen, Lady Loki, Freeze Machine, Laifun, Spirit, and Jennifer6262

Many years went by, Elderine and Roumen had passed on and most citizens forgot the horrors of that dark time when IchigoHollow haunted the once peaceful streets of Elderine. Parents stopped telling their children of the tragic happenings for fear of causing nightmares and insecurity. Children stopped avoiding the house and stopped crossing to the other side as they passed.

Oh, every now and then someone would mention it, but the horrors benefited from so many urban legends being passed around that for the most part the stories were discounted and just another urban legend, all but one child, the beautiful adventurous young Loki. Loki knew there was something about that house. Something sinister, she could never quite put her finger on it, but it was there. Oh, definitely there. She felt its presence every time she flew her hobby horse past that house with no doors and no windows. Loki felt it so strongly that she did cross to the other side of the street as she went past it.

She didn’t know what it was or why it was but she felt as if the house was watching her. But how, How can a house watch you? Could it be that walls have eyes?? Oh yes, those walls were watching like a cats slanted eyes. Sitting so still and waiting for its prey. She knew there was no logical explanation but she knew it was. She felt the cold pass through her bones like an arctic wind, cold, sharp, and heartless. She felt the hairs on her neck stand up. She felt a sense of foreboding. But even as she scurried past as fast as her hobby would fly her adventuresome spirit wondered what was actually in that house. That house in Elderine with no doors and no windows. But that house had eyes! Shuttered they may look, but they saw. And she knew; she knew as well as she knew Captain Shutain would refuse her the Gold Bug 3 reward, that one day she would know.

Well, Loki did get the Gold Bug 3 reward. And one day, many years later on her way to turn in her quest to Captain Shutain her daughter Spirit did the same. While on the way there she heard a Voice. "H...HH...H Help M...Me" She turned around, It was then she noticed that Elderine was practically empty. Spirit followed the voice and arrived at the House that sparked her curiosity whenever she saw it. "Hello?" She called out, there was no reply. "I must be hearing things" She muttered. And Spirit walked to the Captain to turn in the quest. The next morning spirit went to her Mother Loki. After having a sleepless night full of nightmares, she told her Mother what had happened.

Loki's eyes widened in Horror, "What’s wrong Mom? It was probably my Imagination anyway." Spirit Asked. "Well," Loki Started "I didn’t want to tell you this but, Children have started to Disappear again." Spirit stumbled back in Fright.

IchigoHollow.... Was Back.

In the darkness of the unlit room, the blood-red hair of IchigoHollow Glistened as he watched the child sleep, Ichigo’s Blue eyes glared at the boy, the floor started to disintegrate, or at least that’s what it looked like. The small child slowly sank into the floor, when he woke up he would be in a gloomy dark house surrounded by the rotting corpses of those there before him. It seems that after many uneventful years this child would be the first of many to be sent there. Then one by one, they would die.

In a quaint little house not too far away a shocked and scared Spirit stared wide-eyed at Lady Loki. Words formed in her head but her mouth was unable to form them. Lady Loki had always had a deep sense of anxiety about that odd house down the way. She always feared there was more truth to the tales from long ago than most of the village would admit to. And she always feared the worst was yet to come. Knowing Spirit fully understood what Lady Loki herself feared she pulled young Spirit close and tried to reassure her that she would do everything in her powers to protect her young daughter. She did not realize how much she would eventually come to rely on Spirit in their time of crisis. For now all she could do was hug Spirit and hope her own fear was not so strong that it overwhelmed Spirit or their lives. But at the same time she knew that they would have to be very cautious as they traveled through the lands of Isya farming and fighting to provide their income and needs.

As the weeks passed rumors started spreading through Elderine. Rumors that Lady Loki and Spirit felt deep within their hearts were true, all too true. Many in the village would wave the villagers away when the subject came up. Many who shared the rumors were subjected to ridicule and had to endure many attempts to disgrace them. On several occasions Lady Loki and Spirit would try to intervene, but many times the crowds gathered were too large and they would simply slip away to the safety of their home. There was only so much they could do and becoming outcasts themselves would simply undermine any efforts they made to save the children, and knowing this they had no choice but to back away at times.




No one knew the very existence of Ichigo. Where he was from, what he was before. No one seems to know. Was he a rich NPC who was robbed and killed by kids and now seeking vengeance? Was he a dark WizMage who feeds on small kids for power? Or was he just bored and enjoys killing children. The streets were full and the town prosperous. Every now and then, you can hear women screaming they lost their kid, some wept for days, one even killed herself by Bashing her head with her late husband's Heaven's Hammer.

But one day, one day... a young boy came from the mists and everyone in town was so scared, they ran to their houses, closed their doors and windows, hoping he would not harm their little ones. He was all bruised and pale. Scurrying through the streets, he knocked on doors asking for some food, but to no avail. Everyone sealed their doors, all except for one, Father Freeze. He welcomed the young boy like as if he was his own, gave him a hot bath, some warm clothes and made him dinner. That little boy was known as Kid Woz. Father Freeze asked of his origins, how he ended up in Elderine and on what purpose was his intentions here.

He was from the Forest of Mists, and it is only now that Father realized Woz was a RUNNER, a runner from IchigoHollow. He had escaped from the grasp one night when he tried to kidnap him. IchigoHollow was the one that kidnapped the children and locking them in the house. “But how did you escape such a sly and cunning beast?” Father Freeze asked. Woz replied, “I can’t quite remember Father. I woke up shocked to see myself held on the waist by a huge beast, then all of a sudden my body shook and then I fell to the floor and when I looked up, the beast just froze and I could see orange and red stars on top of his head. I must’ve stunned him when I was so shocked. So I quickly ran through the forests and ended up in Elderine”. Father Freeze sat beside him and hugged him and said, “You are a brave boy Woz. For now, what I worry for is that foul beast’s next move.”

That foul beast’s next move did not take long, quickly now, as the days passed by, children began to disappear from the now seemingly deserted town of Elderine. IchigoHollow was truly back. History became legend, Legend to myth, and myth to reality.

Elderine grew weary and desperate time went by, with many shop owners deserting their mushrooms in fear of the horror that was to befall them and their precious children. Chief Guard Shutian had posted guards around the city led by Guard Nuss at each town gate and sent a messenger to Roumen to notify them of the dire situation.

Spirit, being the carefree and curious child as she was, continued her life in Elderine with the intent to put and end to this horror. Every morning, she would wake from her deep slumber in her Blue mushie house and wonder to that house on her hobbie. She would sit outside and peer at the walls to try catching a glimpse of what lurked inside. She would tread quietly around the house and whisper through its many crevices to the lost children that were trapped and silently screaming inside. Day by day, she went to check on the house and yet, nothing but the creaking sounds of the old house answered her whispers.

And then it all unfolded. Sprit was speeding back home from school where she was studying potion making one windy Wednesday night on her new black hobbie when she heard the voice again as she passed an empty alley by the Smith.

"Help me.. Please" the voice whispered to her in the wind.

[Silent Wizard]

She quickly turned around to see a shadow sink quietly into the darkness. Her heart was jumping out of her chest. She felt its presence watching her as she peered around the darkness engulfing her when suddenly there was a loud bang!

Spirit hit the lamp post in front of her and was knocked off her hobby with a loud thud. Everything before her began to fade to a blacker black as her eyes slowly shut. As she lay motionless on the floor with her broken hobby at her side, the dark shadow loomed over her with an impending sense of fear. The last thing Spirit saw as she fell into a deep unconsciousness were the two red slits of a pair of eyes glaring down at her.

Spirit wakes up, from being unconscious. Her eyes slowly went blur to clear. The lights Dim from dark to darker. Spirit thought she saw IchigoHollow but it must have been a mirage. Spirit rolled over her hobby. “Oh no!” She said. Spirit, luckily, had an emergency fix Hobby kit, just in case. That case was now. She fixed it and he was ready to be fed. She fed Hobby. Spirit felt a little thump in her backpack. She checked her backpack to see what it was. All she saw was a stick .She also found a scroll book, some potions, some kind of weird glasses, a feather and 3 keys. Spirit looked at them curiously, wondering how they had put in there. Spirit zipped her backpack. She decided to go down the basement of the house.

She went below, to the bottom of the steps and everything was dark. There was no door and her eyes felt weird. She unzipped her backpack and put on her new and mysterious glasses. It turns out, she could see everything! Even in the dark, and her eyes didn't feel funny anymore. She saw a keyhole and tried a key which opened a door. Inside she saw corpses and dead bodies, and she saw 1 child hanging in chains and another chained on the ground. The child moved her legs a little bit and she seemed in pain. "Are you alright?”Spirit asked. The child responded "No", she wondered what the 3 keys were for and she tried the first one to unlock the chains. It actually worked! The child thanked her and the child granted her powers, powers that she has not known yet.

The child faded from Spirit's eyes. She knew that it was a ghost released from Humanity and into Heaven. A sound of soft twinkles appeared behind her, so she turned around. It was a ray of light shining from the ceiling. It felt warm from a distance; Spirit liked it so she stepped into the light. The feather turned to wings. Spirit thought it was cleric powers...She found a wand in her hand...she guessed she had mage powers too...A shield popped into her hand with a leather strap to her arm...so she guessed she had a warriors power too. She gained speed and evasion and courage and a Jade Arrow and a bow...it must be archer's power....she thought about it. Spirit knew in her studies that the jade arrow is the most deadly arrow of all, able to destroy any mortal and spirit, and anything.

Spirit ran upstairs with creaky sounds as she stepped onto the wooden steps to the upper level of the house. She was back at the door less entrance again. She went into the kitchen and found typical kitchen stuff...that looked 13th century like. There was a chair there with old spider webs. She sat in it, and the chair moved. Spirit was so scared from the chair that she quickly moved away. The chair smashed into the kitchen wall. Spirit sighed from being in almost a death tragedy. She saw in the corner of her eye in the other room a red velvet table with an almost new-like chair.

Spirit came into the room and she saw like a ruby ball on a wooden holder with spirits engraved on it. The ruby ball fogged a little bit and a ray of light shined on her then teleported into Ancient Eleven Woods. There were many people there and she tried to contact the person who was among the short people...they looked about her age. Apparently her hand tapping a random kid’s shoulder went ghostlike and the kid felt nothing. Spirit listened over the kids talking...."Hahahahaha noooob!!!!!","Lol sucky equips", "Psh you can't even P lvl a noob!", "lol no one wants you in a guild". IchigoHollow cried miserably and ran away from the children.

He ran and sat near a cliff that was very unpopulated and watched the sunset. He sighed miserably wondering..."Why me?" As he sat, feeling sorry for him self, 13 Elf Knights spawned near IchigoHollow and attacked killing him. The 13 Elf Knights pushed the dead body down the cliff to hide the evidence. The loot from IchigoHollow was 13 Elderine scrolls that IchigoHollow just bought his Jaded Arrow, scroll book, a magic wand, shield, feather, and his keys. The very things Spirit had just found in her bag! They all used the Elderine scrolls and teleported. There they became 13 Elf Knight Bosses. The 13 Elf Knight Bosses went to IchigoHollow’s home and using his keys found the door and went inside.

When IchigoHollow re-spawned in Elderine and discovered his home occupied he was very despondent. He shouted for help and then he roared. Spirit could see in the ruby ball that all he got was more taunts and stupid remarks. One remark from someone called Dakkon was especially rude. Dakkon, Spirit seemed to remember that name. There was some scandal, he was disgraced and forced to leave Isya.

Spirit wondered to herself,” So that's why IchigoHollow is bad to children...but doesn't he hate Elf Knights too?" The ray of light shined her again and she teleported back to where she was sitting. "Whoa, "Spirit said. Spirit continued to explore the door less house. She went upstairs to the bedrooms. Both of them have corpses in them. There were 5 in the bedrooms and she saw 8 downstairs...so she knew it was the 13 Elf Knights. IchigoHollow had had his revenge on them and was looking for more.

The bathroom had a door beneath it. She checked it out...but somehow there was this colored white substance covered the whole area. She felt a breeze in it...could it be...snow? The snow looked harmless kind of like with food covering. She figured it couldn't be THAT harmless. She wanted to test it, so she got her feather wing and pulled one piece of frond from it .She put it on the green colored snow and there were big...huge moths eating it! Spirit gasped and pulled away kicking the rug that tripped her on the green snow. Spirit jumped and brushed the snow off of herself and she saved her backpack. The scroll book fell out but she saved it just in time. The book opened and Spirit read one of the scrolls .She didn't recognize this poem. "The colored snow only lies atop of the white. Even the weakest boots can k......"The corner of the page was ripped. "K...."She said, "K.....kick?”She decided to try it. She slowly kicked the green snow off the white and it worked! It disappeared for a bit....temporarily...

She decided to do it over again, this time quickly. She sprinted to the door that was in the bathroom. An Undead German Sheppard appeared at the bathroom entrance. Spirit got the stick from the backpack and she threw it at the dog. The dog happily chased after it, and disappeared while the stick returned to her. Spirit found a peephole in the door. She looked in the peephole and she saw a ghostlike man. Spirit couldn't see what it was though, so she tried to open the lock that was beneath her feet with her key in her backpack.

The door opened and suddenly Spirit got a cold, heartless chill. Spirit dropped down with a sore in her arm. She healed herself. I knew I should've taken the ladder, she thought. The ghost revealed himself....as Ichigo! Spirit, Spirit stood frozen still by the shock of IchigoHollow. He brassily said...."You...."Spirit breathed and thought to herself...RUN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"Spirit did so.

[Silent Wizard]

Kenton, a young man in Elderin for the first time was born in the Forest of Tides to a poor family of mushroom farmers. Orphaned as a child when mushroom fighters attacked the farm he was now an adventure. His parents had insisted that he go to school and he was away when the attack came. He hated school and studying, preferring to hunt and kill the many pests that inhabited the county side. When he returned home that terrible day all was gone, the house destroyed. All he found was his father’s hammer which he carries to this day.

While adventuring in the Sea of Greed one morning he happened upon a ghost ship just washed ashore. None would go near it, fearing plague or worse aboard. An adventure with no money and no skills Kenton had nothing to lose and boarded the ship. There he found a treasure chest filled with jewels.

Kenton had come to Elderin to sell his jewels but found all the merchant stores closed or deserted. With a treasure chest full of jewels but no money for a room and no money for food he thought to himself “If I had a store I would always be open!”

While wandering the back streets of Elderin looking for a nook or cranny where he could spend the night he saw a young woman, hardly more than a child really, burst from a house and fall down. She tried to stand and fell again. He crossed over the street to help her. As he helped her to her feet he could see that she was weak and her face was ashen. There was nothing Kenton could do for her but to carry her home.

Once at home Spirit was able to calm down and tell her story. On hearing it her mother, the Lady Loki, insisted that Kenton stay for dinner and the night. After dinner Spirit showed Kenton the jaded arrow she had found. This gave Kenton an idea. “I will help you” he said and went to sleep in the barn.

The following morning after a hearty and delicious breakfast prepared for him by Spirit who had risen early for that very reason, the likes of which Kenton had not seen for many years he was ready to go to town. For his kindness Spirit reached into her bag and gave to him the feathers wings with power of healing she had found. Once in town instead of selling his jewels as he had planned Kenton took them to Smith Karl and asked “can you forge these jewels into this hammer?” “Hmmm” was the reply, “why would you want to do that?” “I have my reasons, can you do it or not?’ said Kenton. “Well, maybe” Karl said. “But I might damage it, might even destroy it”. Kenton hesitated; this was his father’s hammer, the very hammer that had been used to build the mushroom farm. It was the only thing he had of his family. “Do it” he said…….

Spirit was excited; her mother had just told her that both her father and her older brother were coming home. Her father, Sir Brom was an intelligent and educated man. While doing field research in the Forest of Slumber he had come across a Giant Elvin Tree that had been struck and split by lighting exposing the heart wood. He had collected the heart wood and had been at the university in Uruga doing post graduate work studying the unusual properties of the heart wood and trying to find a way in which they could be composed or decomposed. For several months he was there working the problem with little success and now he was coming home.

Her brother Marty, whom she loved dearly, was in the Army and coming home on leave. He had decided to make a career of it and was to attend the Officer Cadet School. He had 30 days leave before he had to report to OCS.

Her dad got home first. He knew of Spirits problems from the letters he and Loki had been exchanging. He wanted to see the things Spirit had found. When he saw the stick and wand in the bag his eyes got large. “I know what to do with these!” he said. “I must return to the university right away!” “You just got here!” Loki cried. “I have missed you and Marty will be home soon. Don’t you want to see him?” “Of course I do, and I have missed you also. I will stay” said Sir Brom.

When Marty got home a few days later they discovered that he had been injured. Spirit had given her healing power to Kenton and could not help so she went to find him. Kenton, meanwhile, was still waiting for the safe (hopefully) return of his hammer. He had gotten a job in a merchant shop stocking shelves and cleaning up. He watched as the merchant would buy low and sell high and thought “this is not so bad, I could do that.”

Spirit found him and said “you must come and help my brother, he has been injured!” Kenton had not yet used his healing power and was unsure of himself but wanted to help Spirit so he came along.

Kenton went to Spirits home and met Marty. He could see that Marty’s injuries were bad but not life threatening. He asked Marty “how did this happen?” Marty told him “I got nailed by a Sand Mushroom in the Goblin Camp. I wish I had a shield to protect me.” Well, Kenton had a particular dislike for any kind of mushroom monster and told Marty how he had lost his family. Kenton brought out his healing power and tried it for the first time. He was surprised at how well it worked. Spirit was pleased and kissed Kenton on the cheek which caused him to blush red. She also drew from her bag the shield had found and gave it to her brother. “Use this next time dummy!” she said.

Spirit then took Kenton to meet her father. Sir Brom, having stayed in Elderin was busy in his workshop trying to compose the stick into the heartwood he had collected. Spirit came in and said “daddy, there is someone I would like you to meet.” “Meet someone!” he said, “no, no, I am much to busy to meet someone.” “Daddy” said Spirit, “this is Kenton.” Sir Brom stood up, “Kenton! Oh, I want to thank you for helping my daughter!” Kenton was uncomfortable; having lost his own father when he was very young he did not know how to relate with Sir Brom. This was a highly educated man while Kenton had almost no education at all. Sir Brom, a true gentleman, sensed this and put Kenton at ease right away by telling jokes. He said “I’m not as smart as I look Kenton. Tell me, why does a smart person cross the road?” Kenton was perplexed and said “I have no answer Sir.” Sir Brom then said “to get to the other side, just like everyone else!” Everybody laughed and Kenton felt much better.

[Silent Wizard]

A few days later Kenton got word from Smith Karl that his hammer was ready. He went to the smith. Karl said “you must be one lucky boy or those jewels you gave me were blessed because it worked!” He then brought out the hammer. “It sure is shiny” Karl said, “Would you like to sell it, I will give you a good price.” Kenton’s answer was terse, “no” he said.

A week passed, Kenton found that he actually enjoyed working at the merchant shop. Marty came into the store and to their mutual surprise they saw one another. It seems the Spirit’s birthday was coming up and Marty was looking for a nice present. He was planning a surprise party for her. He found nothing that he liked but he invited Kenton to come with him to the local tavern. Since his shift at work was just ending Kenton accepted the offer and they went to the tavern. There they drank grog and swapped stories of their adventures. Before long they were fast friends and Kenton showed Marty his shiny hammer. Marty, a professional soldier, knew the value of such things and asked “how did you do that?” Kenton told him about the jewels he had found and how the smith had forged them into the hammer. Marty wanted the same for his sword and offered to buy the remaining jewels. Kenton, also wanting to buy Spirit a birthday present sold some of his jewels to Marty. Marty also invited Kenton to Spirit’s surprise birthday party.

Marty took the jewels to the smith and by paying extra got the jewels forged into his sword while he waited. The smith, having some experience now was able to do the job quickly.

On the day of the party all of Spirit’s friends and family were waiting at home for her but she did not arrive home at the expected time….

The Lady Loki was worried, “it’s not like Spirit to be late” she said. Marty, always suspecting foul play drew his shiny sword and said “we must do something!” Sir Brom saw the shiny sword and asked his son about it. Marty told him about Kenton’s jewels. Sir Brom turned to Kenton and asked “have you any more of those jewels Kenton?” “Yes Sir” Kenton replied. “May I have them?” asked Sir Brom. This was the last of Kenton’s treasure but without hesitation Kenton replied “of course Sir!” Sir Brom took the jewels to his workshop where he quickly attached them to the staff he had made from the Eleven heartwood and stick. He returned with the staff and said “let’s go find her.”

Spirit was late. Farming for the herbs she needed in her potion making class had taken longer than expected. She knew all about the party her brother had arranged but planned to act surprised anyway so as not to disappoint him. The town had been quite of late so she decided to take a short cut home, passing near the mysterious house. As she came near the house she felt her heart turn cold and dropped her bag.

Sir Brom, Marty, the Lady Loki, and Kenton searched the town for Spirit. They could not find her. Kenton then remembered where he had first met Spirit. He led Sir Brom and Marty to the mysterious house. There they found her bag and tried to get into the house. They went around the house twice looking for a way in but the house had no doors and no windows. Frustrated, Kenton began bashing at the wall with his hammer. Marty joined in slashing with his sword but they were making little headway. Sir Brom, meanwhile, picked up Spirit’s bag and looked inside. There he found Spirit’s bow and jaded arrow. He also found the glasses and the three keys. He put on the glasses and could see a keyhole in the wall. He tried one of the keys but it did nothing so he tried another. A doorway appeared and opened.

Marty rushed in first with Kenton right on his heels. The house appeared empty, there was nothing there. Sir Brom then entered still wearing the glasses. He could see the decaying bodies of many children, Then he saw Spirit, almost gone, He told Kenton were she was and Kenton began casting his healing power on her. It took several heals to revive her. As she got to her feet IchigoHollow appeared in the center of the room where all could see. He was very angry at Kenton for healing Spirit. Marty put on his magical shield and discovered that it not only protected him but also gave him extra strength and dexterity. Marty ran to attack IchigoHollow while Kenton continued to heal Spirit. Once Spirit was fully healed he too attacked IchigoHollow. IchigoHollow was so angry at Kenton that he ignored Marty’s attack and focused his rage on Kenton. Sir Brom ran to Spirit and gave her the bow and jaded arrow from her bag.

Kenton was being badly injured and had to use his healing power on himself to remain alive. This only made IchigoHollow angrier at him. Marty, an experienced and clever fighter continued his attack doing great damage while taking little. Spirit joined the attack and began shooting her jaded arrow at IchigoHollow.

Suddenly, more monsters began spawning in the room. They were some kind of new mushroom! IchigoHollow had been using the bodies of dead children and the Elf Knights to grow a mushroom army! While Kenton and Marty continued their attack on IchigoHollow Spirit turned her attack to the mushroom minions. Sir Brom also began attacking the minions. Being older than the others he knew he could not take much damage but with his powerful staff he could take out a minion with a single blow.

The Lady Loki began reading from the book of scrolls and casting spells that allowed the others to concentrate on the task at hand. Spirit passed out potions for strength and quickness to the others before applying then to her self. As each minion was killed the child within was released. Loki gathered the bewildered and confused children together and took them to a safe spot.

The battle went on for what seemed like hours. As IchigoHollow’s mushroom minions were destroyed more children and more minions would appear. Kenton and Marty were holding their own against IchigoHollow and making progress. Spirit and Sir Brom helped by keeping IchigoHollow’s mushroom minions off Kenton and Marty. Some times a mushroom minion would reach Spirit or Sir Brom. When this happen to one of them the other would turn their attack to help. Kenton would break off his attack on IchigoHollow to heal them while Marty continued slashing.

Finally, it was over. The five of them had destroyed IchigoHollow and all his mushroom minions. Marty turned to Kenton and shook his hand. They were now brothers in battle and there is no closer kind. Sir Brom hugged them both. Spirit came to him with a full kiss on this mouth. This time Kenton did not blush, this was no child, this was a woman and he returned the kiss. Loki brought the many orphaned and bewildered children to them. Spirit then reached into her bag and gave Kenton the third key. It was the key to his heart and he knew that he once again had a family.