Laura wasn't sure how long it would take for them to reach the castle, but at the moment she didn't mind. She was rather enjoying the journey. She never imagined she would be riding on the back of a giant spider or actually having a conversation with a squirrel. It was unbelievable, yet amazing. Along the way, got to know Orb and Sprylie some more. They told her all about how their spent their days having fun, exploring parts of Fauria, hanging in the treetops, catching bugs, eating etc.
"Oh! Oh! There was this one time, we tricked these bees into leaving their hive, so we could taste their sweet honey..." Sprylie started.
"And boy was it delicious." Orb added
"Mmmm It sure was!" Sprylie said rubbing her tummy. "Though unfortunately for us they returned a little quickly than we expected, and they were not happy."
"Oh dear." Laura responded.
"But luckily we managed to escape from them!"
"Yeah, but not before I got few stings" Orb said rubbing his rear-end.
"You should've shrunken out of their sight to begin with." Sprylie told him.
"Hey! You could outrun them better than me!" Orb debated.
The three of them ended up laughing and talking for the entire trip. Sprylie and Orb were unlike anyone Laura had ever met. They were a funny and fascinating duo. She found their friendship adorable and their abilities incredible.
"You're powers are amazing!" Laura said. "Can other creatures do what you do?"
"Well our abilities are unique. But every creature in Fauria, animal or plant, has their own special type of magic." Sprylie explained.
"Wow."
"But no creature has magic like the Great Golden eagle. His magic is outstanding and he uses it to protect the land. He's probably the most powerful creature in Fauria." Orb added.
"Amazing." Laura breathed. The Great Golden Eagle sounded like an amazing creature, she suddenly felt nervous about meeting him. But there was no way she was going to back out, she needed his help.

They soon approached the tall magnificent castle. Its pearly white stones were illuminated by the sun. "We're here." Orb announced as shrank down to Laura's size. She and Sprylie climbed off of him. "Wow." Laura breathed as she stared up at magnificent castle as it towered over her. Its structure was so strong and sturdy, it looked it has been around for years and yet, it didn't show any signs of aging or crumbling.
"Woah, this place looks even more amazing up close." Sprylie commented.
Orb looked just as amazed "Yeah, you said it Spry."
The trio looked to see some stone steps leading up to the large doors of the castle. "Come on." Laura encouraged as she started to walk up the steps. Sprylie and Orb glanced at each other briefly, before following her.
As they were approaching the top, they saw two small eagles wearing helmets standing on each side of the doors. Laura guessed they were royal guards.
Just as she stood onto the final step, the two eagle guards blocked her way with their wings. "Halt! Who goes there?" One of them said.
"Please state your business" The other one ordered.
"Oh! Um, hello." Laura greeted politely "I'm Laura Greengate and this is Orb and Sprylie." Sprylie and Orb shyly waved. "We've come to see the great golden eagle."
"We're terrible sorry, but his majesty is currently occupied."
Sprylie climbed up onto Laura's shoulder. "We told you he'd be too busy" she whispered into her ear.
"Please, I have to see him, it's really important that I do." Laura begged the guards.
"What is your reason?"
"I need his help to get me home. I don't know why I'm here, but I'm certain I got here with this." She pulled out the crystal and showed it to the eagle guards. The second they looked at it, their expressions changed from serious, to shocked.
"I...I don't believe it." One of them stuttered. "Is that what I think it is?"
"Errrm....."
"It's you! You're the one!"
"You've found the missing crystal!"
Laura wasn't quite sure how to respond.
"Inform his royal majesty at once!" One of the eagle's said before the other let out a loud eagle cry. A third guard flew up and went through a window of the castle. Sprylie climbed down from Laura's shoulder, just as the two guards at the door opened them up to reveal a majestic hallway. 

The trio's jaws dropped. "Let's go" Laura said. They admired the interior of the walls and the beautifully structured architecture. The walls were lined with red and gold, Laura saw pictures of eagles and other creatures embedded in the walls, along with stone statues to match them. The floors were made of sparking golden stone with red sun shapes in it. It reminded Laura of the castles she had read about in fairy-tale books, now she felt like she was actually in one of those books.

They soon came across another set of doors which lead to the throne room. They slowly opened and there he was, the great golden eagle stood in all his glory. His feathers were literally golden, they shimmered in the sunlight that shone through the glass windows behind him. It was as if his feathers had absorbed the light themselves. Upon his head rested a golden crown, with red jewels encrusted in it.

"Please, come forward." He spoke in a noble voice. Laura used her hand to gesture 'come on' to her friends and they silently followed her. Orb and Sprylie never thought they would be standing before the great golden eagle himself. This was a big moment for them as well as Laura. They all bowed before the magnificent bird. Laura suddenly felt very nervous. She swallowed, took a breath and spoke gently. "You're majesty, my name is Laura Greengate, I ask for your help. Please."
"Greetings Laura Greengate. I have been expecting you."
Laura looked up in surprize and confusion. "Y-You have?"
The eagle nodded. "You have come from another land, I believe?"
"How did you know that?"
"You were summoned here by the very crystal that you carry with you." Laura took the said crystal out of her pocket. "I sensed its magic the moment you came." The eagle told her.
"But why did it bring me here?" she questioned.
"Because you Laura Greengate...are the chosen one."
Laura blinked "What are you talking about?"
The eagle then raised both his wings up and before their eyes, a large ball of light formed above his head. They all stared in awe, then they saw different pictures forming in the light.

"Many years ago, there were seven crystals. Each one contained a special type of magic. When combined, these crystals create a power beyond anything you can imagine. They were used to help the land grow and develop. But my greatest enemy; the Bat Queen, wanted these crystals all to herself. With them, she wanted to use their power to amplify her dark magic in order to take over Fauria." The trio couldn't help but gasp in fear.
"I wouldn't let her have them. Our battle shook the skies. She almost succeeded in winning, but I managed to use my remaining power to scatter the crystals across the land and banish her and her minions to the dark outlands. I specifically sent one of these crystals to a place where a certain someone would be summoned here to unite the crystals and use their power to stop her once and for all."
"Wait what?!" Sprylie exclaimed "Are you saying that Laura here is some 'chosen hero' or something?"
"But I can't do that! I'm just a little girl." Laura contested.
"The crystal summoned you for a reason Laura. It would have not chosen you if it didn't see something in you." The eagle replied.
"But I wouldn't even know what to do!" She responded.
"You have to do this. It's the only way for you to return home. Also, now that you've brought the crystal back to this land, the bat queen might learn of it. She must not get a hold these crystals, you must travel across the land and gather them before she has the chance to. When the time is right, you will know what to do." 

Laura looked down in thought. This challenge sounded tough, but it would be the only way to get home. Plus, this sounded like a very special mission. If she was really the only one who could do it, then why would she even consider not doing it? She probably had a whole land counting on her, she couldn't let them down. Also, maybe this was the special something that she was hoping to happen to her.

"Okay I'll do it." She said determinedly.
"You're not gonna let her go by herself are you?" Orb asked.
"Of course not, I was going to suggest for you two to accompany her on this journey and make sure she is safe." The eagle answered.
"Wait, wait, hold up. You want 'US' to go with her? I mean it's not that we don't want to, but were not royal guards." Sprylie stated.
"Yeah, we're just a squirrel and a spider with no special purposes." Orb added "You sure you want us?"
"Wouldn't you want to take her? Or have one of your guards to go with her?" Sprylie asked.
"Unfortunately, my guards and I must stay in the kingdom. We must use our magic in order to keep her out of the land. Every day her dark magic gets harder to keep out. Besides I can see that you have already made a special connection with this girl and she has trusted you to help her to begin with. Also I believe your special skills would come in handy on this quest."
Orb and Sprylie couldn't believe it. The great golden eagle just asked them to go on an important mission and even said their skills were special! They were honoured, furthermore they had just made a new friend and didn't want anything to happen to her.

"In that case, we would be honoured your majesty."
The great golden eagle smiled as did Laura "Good. Then you must promise to protect her at all costs."
"We will."
"You can count on use. We won't let anything happen to her."
"But how will we know where to find these crystals? Didn't you say they were scattered across the Land?" Laura questioned.
"The crystals power will be connected to one another. In order to find them, you will use that crystals power to locate the others. You're the one who found the crystal so it can only tell 'you' where the others are."
Laura looked at the crystal. "But how exactly do I tell it to tell me?"
"Just close your eyes, clear your mind and ask it where to find the next crystal."

So Laura grasped the crystal with both hands, took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She whispered "Crystal, Where is the next crystal hidden?" Sprylie and Orb stared at her with anticipation. After a few seconds, nothing happened. Then all of a sudden, Laura eyes began to glow pure white. A vision appeared in her head, it looked like an open grassy field with large hills and plants. The vision disappeared and Laura's eyes returned to normal.

"What did you see?"
"I saw large hills and rocks with tall trees and lots of grass...."
"That would be the home of the earth giants." The Great Golden eagle clarified.
"Earth Giants?"
"Yes, But be careful the earth giants aren't the most welcoming of creatures."
"I'm sure I'll be able to converse with them. I'm sure we could talk giant to giant." Orb smirked as he grew a little larger.
"Maybe, but I would advise you to not use your abilities to begin with. The Earth giants can be cautious about magic other than their own." The eagle replied.
"Oh, Okay."
The eagle raised his wings again and a magic golden chain appeared and it floated over to Laura. "Here, keep the crystal on this. Once you find the others, link them with the rest." The purple crystal magically attached itself to the chain and Laura put it around her neck.
"Alright, I'm ready."
"Then you must begin at once. Good luck and take care."

Meanwhile, far away, on a must darker side of the land, an eerie black forest stood. Most of the trees were dead, the foul stench of decaying wood and fungus filled the air. Gloomy shadows were casted everywhere. The sounds of ravens and rustling of the wind echoed throughout it. It was enough to give any creature a chilling feeling down their spine.
In the centre of the wood was a huge cave like castle. It had an ominous appearance with pointed and jagged rocks sticking out of the top. Brambles and thorns surrounded the bottom of it.
Inside the castle, a colony of giant bats resided. They hung from the rough stone walls. The largest one of all; the bat queen, had her wings draped around her like big black curtains.
Two bats, slightly smaller than her, hurriedly flew up to her. One being more clumsy than the other. "You're Majesty!" One of them called.
She instantly opened her large purple eyes. "Who dares awaken me? Fang! Flap! How dare you disturb my precious beauty sleep?!"
"Forgive us your majesty but we noticed the crystal was glowing!" Fang replied.
"Yeah! Like really bright!" Flap added.
Her eyes immediately widened. "What? Could it be?!" She instantly unfolded her gigantic wings and flew over to a small area in the cave with Fang and flap in pursuit. In the centre was a pink crystal held by a stump of cave rock. It was blinking.
"See! We told you it was glowing! Isn't it pretty?" Flap commented only for fang to whack him in the head "OW!"
"Quiet Moron!" Fang hissed. "What does this mean my queen?" he asked the Queen
"If this crystal is glowing, that could mean only one thing! The missing crystal must have been found!" The Queen stated.
"Really?" Fang and Flap asked.
"I've waited so long for this to happen!"
She then moved closer to the crystal and raised her wings up in front of it. "Oh magic crystal, show me the finder!"
She summoned a black & purple ball of energy and a small light flew from the crystal and mixed with the energy ball. It swirled around for a bit, until an image of Laura, Orb and Sprylie appeared inside of it. They were starting to make their journey to the Earth Giants. The image zoomed in to see the crystal hanging around Laura's neck. "I was right! The crystal has returned! But wait, is that who brought it here? She is just a child!" She laughed.
Fang and Flap laughed too. "Not to mention little!"
"This might be easier than I thought!" She rejoiced.
"Should we attack now my queen?" One of her minions asked.
"No, it would be foolish to strike now. For now find this girl and watch over her, she can lead us to the other crystals. When the time is right, we will put our plan into action. Once I have all the crystals in my grasp and combine their power with mine. Not even the Great Golden Eagle will be able to stop me. And Fauria will be ours for the taking!" A wicked laugh escaped from her mouth. The other bats laughed along with her and flapped their wings with wicked glee.