Kingsley and the Sword of Leistung
Years have passed since Kingsley Fox defeated the evil wizard/cook Bad Custard. The fox cub single handedly stopped him from destroying the kingdom. The magic book he stole out of revenge, from Queen Angelica was returned by Kingsley himself. Due to his valiant efforts to not just save the Carrot Kingdom but the world, King Marius and Queen Angelica dubbed him honorary True Knight.
Kingsley humbly accepted the honor and continued to train to become an even better knight than he already was. The Carrot Kingdom remained peaceful for a long time and most of the residents forgot about Bad Custard and his ill gotten revenge. Kingsley seemed to be the only one who kept the occurrence fresh in his mind. To him, the whole thing made him to have a drive to protect the kingdom he held so dear.
Now he was the leader of the Carrot Kingdom's True Knights. Under Kingsley's teachings, Carrot Kingdom's defenses were never stronger. Neither bandits nor rival countries were able to ever breech the castle walls. No single threat ever returned after their original defeat. Even though all threats were neutralized by the True Knights, The King and Queen still took their precautions.
Queen Angelica's magic book was locked in the royal safe were it could not fall into the wrong hands again. With no problems ever entering the minds of the people, peace was ultimately obtained. But things did change; Kingsley was no longer a cub but a man. He stood at an average height and medium build; a bit taller than he was. Through his rigorous training, he retained his speed and swiftness.
The other knight marvel at his abilities, but he is always humble about it. One day while he was training, a castle servant approached him. Kingsley took a breath and wiped his brow.
The King and Queen request your audience…" the servant said than turning and walking away.
He thought to himself what they wanted; it's been a long time since he was requested to appear before them. Even though they were his adopted parents, he was rarely "requested" to have to be spoken to. He thought maybe it was another invasion from one of the outside countries or maybe some bandits were trying to steal the kingdom's treasures. By the time he ran out of possibilities, he stood before the King and Queen.
He bent to one knee and bowed before his Highness'.
"Ah good, you've come my lad," King Marius said.
"Why have you requested for me father?" Kingsley asked.
"I have a job for you," The King said.
"What kind of job?" Kingsley said.
"Treasure hunting," The King said.
"Treasure hunting? You are asking the kingdom's best knight to go treasure hunting?" Kingsley said disappointed.
"Technically you'll be escorting the treasure hunters. You and a few of your best men," The Queen said.
"Do you really think this is a good idea? I mean if there is an invasion I won't be around and this kingdom could fall or…" Kingsley before getting cut off.
"First of all you are being extremely conceited and secondly Gustav and the rest of the True Knights will remain here." The Queen said with a slight scolding in her voice.
Kingsley didn't like being sent on a far off trek to god knows where for some treasure. He would rather be defending the kingdom with his sword and shield and iron will.
"But mother…I am the leader of the True Knights. Wouldn't it be better if I stay here and one of the others go?" Kingsley said.
"As the leader of the True Knights you should go. And need I remind you that we run this kingdom and what we say goes, do you understand me?" The Queen said breaking her calm demeanor.
"Yes, Ma'am," Kingsley said obliging.
"Good, you leave tomorrow morning. Meet in the castle courtyard and make sure you have all your supplies. Oh and if you want to know about the treasure itself, talk to Old Wrinkle he knows about it. I believe it's called the Sword of Leistung," the King said.
Kingsley hated when his mother forced him to do things, made him feel like a cub again. He was now 26 years old and the toughest knight around yet scolded like a bratty youngster. He bowed to his parents and took his leave. He traveled to the Study where he knew he could find Old Wrinkle. On the way he thought about his Master and remembered his teachings. Though Old Wrinkle was old as the hills, he was an extremely skilled and knowledgeable badger.
He still remembers the day he was brought before Old Wrinkle and was told that he was to be taught by the old man to become a knight. He thought something was wrong with the whole situation. His mind was completely changed when he listened to Old Wrinkle and realized the skill and knowledge the ancient badger possessed, not to mention knocking Kingsley straight to the ground during their first sparring practice.
But the main thing that made Kingsley want to train under Old Wrinkle was the fact that his real father, Sigmund was also trained by Old Wrinkle. According to the Queen, Sigmund was one of the best True Knights the Carrot Kingdom ever had…well until Kingsley saved the kingdom at a very young age. Due to his honed skill, Kingsley has the highest regard for his Master despite tales of fantasy he tells.
Sitting behind the big oak desk sat Old Wrinkle scribbling on some parchment.
"What fantastical tale are you writing about this time?" Kingsley asked his mentor.
"Oh Kingsley…Well just about the time I took down that dragon with a broomstick," Old Wrinkle said.
Kingsley had no idea how true that was but it was definitely possible.
"What brings you here, my lad?" Old Wrinkle asked.
"I've come to ask about a treasure that mother and father are sending me on a quest to find." Kingsley said.
"I know of many treasures, most of them still unclaimed. Which of them is it, the Silver Idol of Stegen, the Magical Cloak of Izbar, or maybe the Lost Gold of King Lincart?" Old Wrinkle said as he continued to write.
"No, the Sword of Leistung," Kingsley said.
Old Wrinkle stopped writing and dropped his quill pen. He slowly removed his bifocals and looked towards Kingsley.
"Please tell you didn't just say Sword of Leistung." Old Wrinkle said.
"Well yeah, at least that's what father called it." Kingsley said.
"When are you supposed to leave to find that sword?" Old Wrinkle asked.
"Tomorrow morning, why?" Kingsley said.
"We must not let your Highness let you go find that god forsaken sword…" Old Wrinkle said as he scurried out of the Study.
Kingsley followed his Master back to the throne room where the King and Queen still sat.
"Your Lordship, I must have a few words with you." Old Wrinkle said.
"But of course my old friend, what is it?" King Marius said.
"You mustn't send Kingsley to find the Sword of Leistung," Old Wrinkle said slightly out of breath.
"Oh, and why's that?" The King asked.
"From what I know about the previous attempts to obtain it…all parties died trying," Old Wrinkle said.
"Is that true? How do you know this?" the Queen asked.
"A very old and close friend of mine named Xor was in the last party to try and get the sword, I received word of his death shortly thereafter." Old Wrinkle said.
"Xor? Xor Maxwell, leader of the Orange Kingdom's Knight of Round?" The Queen asked.
"Yes Malady," Old Wrinkle said.
"But Xor was a knight of legend. I have heard that there has not been a fight he has ever lost. Tell me how did he die?" The Queen asked.
"No idea, no one returned from the quest. No one has any idea what happen to him and his party. That is why I implore you to cancel this quest immediately." Old Wrinkle said.
"Nonsense, Kingsley is perfect for this quest. Did we all forget how he beat Bad Custard single handedly and he was just a cub." The King said.
"But father, if just try to listen to reason…" Kingsley said trying to interject.
"Silence!" The King shouted.
"Dear, if you think about what Old Wrinkle said…" The Queen began to say.
"I will have silence in my kingdom! I am ruler here and if I say Kingsley will retrieve the Sword of Leistung, then that is exactly what is going to happen and nothing more will be said about this. Now leave the Queen and I to our own peace," The King said.
Kingsley knew no matter what, once his father spoke in that way there was no changing his mind. Without risking upsetting the King further, Kinsley and Old Wrinkle went back to the Study.
"Do you think I can do this Master?" Kingsley asked.
"I'm not sure but I will say this, be damn well prepared. I want to see my best student come back alive." Old Wrinkle said.
"Well then I will do my best and come back. I guess I shall do all my preparations and rest up, good bye Master." Kingsley said the heading to his quarters.
Kingsley thought about the Sword of Leistung and Xor. If it was true that he was such a great knight then he had much to worry about. But his skills made him feel more confident about it and didn't want to muddle his mind with such things anyway. As he reached his quarters, Kingsley's Aunt Adeline approached him.
"Kingsley, is it true you are going after the Sword of Leistung?" she asked him.
"Yes, I'm about to prepare for it." Kingsley said.
"I must ask of you not to go, your life will be in great peril," she said.
"I appreciate the thought Auntie Adeline, but father has put his foot down." Kingsley said.
"Damn that fool, his stubbornness always gets the better of him. I don't know how my sister stands him." Adeline said.
"You know how mother is, she will always stick by father no matter what he does, we all just have to live with it." Kingsley said.
"I supposed you're right. You were always understanding, even as a cub. I guess that one of the things that makes you a True Knight huh?" she said.
"Cut it out Auntie Adeline," Kingsley said blushing.
"Well I'll leave you to your preparing. But do me a favor and don't die out there. I don't think I will be able to withstand your fool of a father for much longer." she said.
"Don't worry, I promise on my real father's name I shall return." Kingsley said.
Adeline left her nephew and returned to her own quarters. Kingsley finished his preparations and readied for bed. Before nodding off he tried to imagine what possibly prevented all those parties to not return to their respected kingdoms. The early morning came and the cock crowed waking Kingsley. He sat up in his bed stretching, and yawning loudly. He poured a bowl of cold water from the pitcher on his night table and splashed it into his face.
The very low temperature of the water forced him awake. He gathered all his gear and put on his armor and strapped his sword and shield to his back and his provisions to his waist. As he walked to the courtyard, he passed Old Wrinkle and Adeline.
"Make us all proud son," Old Wrinkle said.
"I will Master," Kingsley said with a smirk on his face.
He continued to the courtyard and found a small group of his knights and two scraggily looking men.
"Good morning everyone, I'm glad you could join me on this perilous and possibly life threatening quest." Kingsley said approaching the group.
"We wouldn't want it any other way Sir," one of the knights said.
"Glad to hear that, by the way, whom would you gents be?" Kingsley said.
"We're the Treasure Hunters we are," one of the men said with a very strong British accent.
"Yeah, and before you ask, we're good at what we do," the second said.
"Well let's see then, shall we go?" Kingsley said.
The troop gathered everything up and headed out in the direction of the treasure hunters. As they began to venture away from the Kingdom, Kingsley turned to see his home for one last time, he noticed the Queen standing in the window of the throne room. She waved with a sad smile on her face.
"Don't worry mother, I will come back, I promise," Kingsley said to himself as he waved back.
About a full day had passed as they reached mouth of the cave.
"Okay gov'. The treasures in there, but be careful traps line the entire cave," one of the treasure hunters said.
"Okay, you two hang back, my men and I will retrieve the sword." Kingsley said as he and the other knights slowly entered the cave.
The inside was dark except torches lined randomly on the walls. Kingsley peered around, trying to notice if anything was unusual. As his eyes adjusted to the darkness he could see rows of holes that lined the walls. Kingsley held up his arm, gesturing the others to stop. He made a second gesture that told the others to raise their shields. Kingsley picked up a small stone and threw it in front of him. The second the stone hit the ground, a swarm off arrows shot from the walls in several different directions.
One after another, arrows struck their shields making a high pitched sound as the tips ricochet off. The knights held their position until the arrows stopped coming. All the shields lowered and Kingsley scanned the area. Arrows littered the ground; there was enough to skewer a hundred men. The troop moved on and stopped again when they reached a wide open room. Kingsley motioned for the others to stay back.
The room was too big and too dark to see what was going in it. Kingsley reached the middle of the room and stepped on a small switch. He heard two small clicks above him. With his swiftness and signature back flip, he dodged two large stone slabs that came down and smashed together. He motioned to the knights once more to follow him. In the next room there was a steel door a few feet away and a higher ceiling.
The second they stepped in, the ceiling sprouted spikes and began to descend. The speed seemed to slow as it lowered, giving them all time to reach the steel door and jump through. As the turned towards the new room the door swung closed behind them. In the center of the room sat a lit pearl white pedestal with a sword on it. Looking around, Kingsley couldn't see anything that looked like a possible trap.
He approached the pedestal slowly; being wary for anything. Kingsley picked up the sword and examined it. He admired the craftsmanship and the overall beauty of the blade. Once he sheathed the sword, he held it up towards his men.
"We got it men!" Kingsley shouted triumphantly.
Before they could celebrate, the pedestal began to lower into the ground.
"What's happening?" one of the knights said.
Before he could think about what was going on; the wall on the far side of the room slid open and a huge green creature, with scales covering half its body walked into the room. Without a moment to blink, the creature rushed towards Kingsley and hit him in the chest knocking him back and the sword from his hand.
Being the True Knights that they were, raising their swords, they charged the beast. In a daze Kingsley could for now only watch as his men got ravaged by the creature. By the time he could see straight, all his men lie on the ground lifeless.
"For the honor of my men and all True Knights, I will destroy you!" Kingsley said unsheathing his sword and holding it out in front of him.
Kingsley and the creature started to run at one another, closing the gap between them rather quickly. Kingsley jumped and lunged forward with his sword, piercing the palm of the creature's left hand. The scales on the back of the creature's hand caused Kingsley's blade to get stuck. The creature examined its hand and pulling free the sword with its other hand. It proceeded to grasp the sword in a closed fist and snapped off the blade with its thumb.
The creature laughed as he dropped the two pieces to the ground. Kingsley realized he was know weaponless and needed to acquire a new one in order defeat this monster. Kingsley looked to the dropped Sword of Leistung as did the creature. The two glared into each other's eyes knowing that they had to stop each other from grabbing the sword. But thanks to his quick speed, Kingsley managed to grab the sword.
He raised the sword into a ready to strike position. But unfortunately he was completely out of breath. He used all he had to grab the sword and now he didn't have any energy to use it.
"Hold it out in front of you…" a whisper said.
Kingsley became confused; he had no idea where that voice came from. There were only two of them since the rest of his troop were dead and that creature seemed too stupid to be capable of speech.
"The sword…hold it out in front of you…" the whisper said.
Kingsley was all out of options and decided to do as he was told and held the sword out in front of him. As he raised the sword up, a veil of light covered Kingsley's entire body. He could feel an energy emanating from the sword as well as that same energy flowing into him. As his body absorbed this energy, he could feel his body changing. His arms and legs grew longer and more muscular.
His shoulders and torso grew wider and his amour that was kind of loose and not completely sturdy, thickened and covered a lot of his body and fit tightly but easily maneuvered in. The Sword of Leistung itself changed; it was longer, thicker, and sharper. As the energy flow stopped and the light faded, Kingsley now stood there as a new warrior, a real True Knight.
"Let's end this now," Kingsley said embracing the new power flowing through him.
The creature roared loudly then rushed towards Kingsley. He scoffed at the creature raising his knew sword high above his head. As the creature was mere inches from him, he brought the blade down; cleaving the monster in two. With the creature now gone, he figured he should leave this place since he didn't want to stay under his own accord anyway. As he started to walk out he noticed his old sword; or what was left of it.
He removed his old sheath that was already torn from his transformation and laid it next to the pieces of sword. As he stared at his old weapon and sheath; in which he had etched his name on when he first received during his training, he was sad to lose a sword he had for a long time but knew that the sword he carries now fits him to a "T". He tied the new sheath around him and left the past behind and walked towards the new future.
Seeing the heap of his men in the corner didn't sit right with him, so before leaving he placed them all neatly in the back area and forcibly shut the wall. As he reached the steel door, he grabbed the handle to check if it remained unlocked. Not realizing how increased his normal strength was, he ripped the door clear off its hinges. Noticing that the spikes had found its way back up to the ceiling, he tried to rush past like last time.
But this time it fell much faster, which gave him less time to react. All Kingsley could do was raise his shield and hope he wouldn't get crushed and skewered at the same time. The sheer power that he now had; stopped the spikes dead in their tracks. With his free hand, he punched the back of his shield sending the spikes back from where they came, breaking the mechanisms on its way up.
As he went back through the cave, he noticed the stone slabs were also reset. Still trying to avoid setting them off Kingsley tried to go around but heard those two clicks again. Realizing he was now too bulky to do a back flip, he raised his two arms and swung his massive fist out as they collided with the stone slabs, smashing them into a pile of gravel. He continued into the first room he came across with the arrows and notices that all the arrows were gone.
There was definitely something going on here, he thought to himself. Someone had to be resetting these traps which meant that the arrows will shoot out yet again. He walked right into the middle and waited. As the arrows shot out as they did before, Kingsley swung his sword hitting every single arrow; splitting them in two. He walked out with not one arrow coming close to hitting him.
As he stepped foot out of the cave, the power escaped out of his body and he turned back to his old self. Though his new form was great he was happy to be himself again. He noticed the treasure hunters were gone and wasn't sure if they left or something happened to them. All he knew was he had to return and deliver the sword to the King.
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