Rockville Pine Pine Hill Manor Meander Village Winter Valley Bastion Dam Cape Point Dark Core Headquarters Northern Mountain Range The Secret Stone Circle Goldenleaf Stables Cauldron Swamp Observatory Goldenhills Valley Goldenleaf Forest North Link Everwind Fields Cape West Fishing Village Scarecrow Hill Silverglade Manor Marley’s Farm Valedale Valedale Hollow Woods Will’s Mill Silverglade Village Silverglade Forgotten Fields Devil’s Gap Lisa’s house Jorvik Stables Jarlaheim Steve’s Farm Silverglade Castle Moorland Stables Greendale Mrs Holdsworth’s house Old Hillcrest Paddock Island Harvest Counties Fort Pinta Harald’s Vineyard Epona Shipwreck Shore New Hillcrest South Hoof Farm Fort Maria South Hoof Peninsula E Southwestern W N S 0 5 10 20 30 40 50 km
Rockville Pine Hill Forest Dam The Great Reservoir Crater of Jor Ashland Valley of the Hidden Dinosaur Range Valedale Village Valedale Northshire Central Jorvik Firgrove Village Firgrove Jorvik City South Link Mistfall Dundull Peninsula Southwestern Jorvik
1 There was a special spot in Lisa’s heart with room for just one thing the horse Starshine brave beautiful Starshine with his soft muzzle and perfect near-floating gallop Fearful young Lisa had had such a rough life so far and Starshine had gotten her back into the saddle again Now that she thought about it this spot had been filled for a long time so much longer than she would have suspected Ever since her childish preschool drawings of a gorgeous gorgeous white horse with an unusual blue-tinted mane this spot this place in her heart had tempted her beckoned to her with whispers of moonlit rides dizzying adventure and the kind of pure uncomplicated love that you can only feel for an animal This was the whisper that had brought her to Jorvik to Starshine Of course you can love people too Lisa knew that But somehow somehow loving people was always harder With people there were always always other considerations so many other complex considerations Conflicts arguments demands everyday life People wore on each other They were either misunderstood said the wrong thing or said something they might not be able to take back Loving a horse on the other hand was simple that was really just unconditional love And Lisa had learned that a person could grow and gain courage from this kind of love
But Starshine wasn’t here now He was gone kidnapped and it was up to her and her friends to find him She had cried so many tears of sorrow and fear panic and dread She didn’t have any tears left anymore All she had left was simply the knowledge that they needed to find him Which was how she came to find herself standing there outside of the Dark Core complex It towered over her like some sinister giant In the gentle wind a wilted yellowish brown piece of grass tumbled forlornly past A dry red leaf blew off a tree and landed on the cover of a well Otherwise it was completely and utterly quiet Almost too quiet But at the same time it felt as if a hundred pairs of eyes were staring at the back of her head as she snuck through the fence into the seemingly deserted industrial area Maybe it was more than a feeling She had not been here very long but she had seen enough to know that people could turn up from any direction at any time They might come off the frothy black ocean Or from any of the winding staircases and hallways Or from the copper piping that reminded her of large glistening snakes And then a few hours ago from the sky had come an enormous helicopter with him in it Mr Sands Just his name just the thought of him made her skin crawl When he stepped out of the helicopter he had stood there for a while beneath its swirling air currents with his inscrutable inscrutable black eyes focused on something above the helicopter pad Lisa knew that there was no way not from that far away but from her hiding spot on the water tower it felt like he was looking straight at her through her He must still be in there She hadn’t seen him come out again hadn’t seen anything at all since she came down from the water tower and onto the grounds But she knew that she had to be on her guard
