A Soul Imprisoned
Chapter 1
Venger looked down from the grey misty sky on to the valley below from the back of his Nightmare and took in the scene before him. A large group of Orc soldiers were trying to fight off Dungeon Master's Young Ones. He resisted the urge to go down and fight them himself; instead reasoning that soon he would get to deal with them personally, because as always, a group of Orcs were not really any match for the six.
"Eric! Duck!!" Hank fired an arrow in the direction of the Cavalier, sending two Orcs flying backwards into a pile of rocks on the valley floor.
"Ha! When will those Orcs learn not to mess with us?!" Eric cried. He jumped back just in time to avoid colliding with the dark form of the Acrobat as she landed next to him.
"Make you jump Cavalier?" She grinned, and then without waiting for his reply, sprinted off to deal with another one of Venger's approaching minions.
Finally, as the last few Orcs were fleeing, chased by a few golden arrows fired by the Ranger for good measure, the six young ones re-grouped.
"And don't come back!!" Bobby the Barbarian called after them.
"Mmmeaahh!" Uni echoed.
Hank quickly did a head count to make sure they were all still together. A quick glance to his right showed him that Sheila had just reappeared out of nowhere, lowering the hood of her cloak and Presto was firmly placing his hat back on his head. He'd already heard Bobby and Uni just behind him, and on his left he could see Diana and Eric approaching.
Hank then shifted his gaze towards the mountainside where he could see the Castle of Alyria carved into the mountain face. He gripped his bow tighter, grimacing at the fact that it was one of those occasions that they had were knowingly walking into danger. He hated leading his friends into these situations and as usual, the familiar feeling of responsibility he felt for all of them settled upon him, making his heart heavy.
"You ready to do this Hank?" Diana asked him.
"Sure, it's a chance to get home right guys?" he answered encouragingly, looking round at them all.
"Yeah," Presto murmured and Sheila smiled encouragingly at him. No one else offered anything. Hank didn't blame any of them for their lack of response.
The Dungeon Master had appeared as usual without warning at sun set last night and given them instructions about a possible new way home. Hank had to admit that although this was news that they wanted to hear, it was met half –heartedly. Even Eric who, when given the chance, was so quick to complain about how he wanted to "get out of this hell-hole for good" wasn't as excited as in the early days. A couple of destroyed portals, together with too many lost opportunities later (mostly due to the one and only Venger) had been the cause of them still trapped here. It was probably too much to ask of them to even pretend to be as enthusiastic as they should have been. Sheila had perhaps looked more positive than the rest, but even that hurt to see her getting her hopes up.
"Deep within the Castle of Alyria, seek the Crystal of Ice," The Dungeon Master had told them. "It has the power to send you home, but be careful, for the power of the Ice is colder than you can imagine."
As usual, the newest riddle from the arch mage was met with confusion and frustration from everyone and Eric didn't hold back his opinion. Hank hoped this would be the final trial in this world. They were all physically, mentally and emotionally exhausted from their time already spent here and were becoming extremely tired of this Realm, which seemed only to serve as their prison. Silently they made their way towards the cliff face.
Those cursed pupils of Dungeon Master must not get that Crystal! Venger knew they would have defeated his Orcs, but they were quicker than he expected and were already heading towards the cliff face.
Venger thought quickly. The Castle of Alyria was deserted. Nobody had inhabited that place for centuries, at least not since he'd been was alive and he was nearly certain that the six Young Ones wouldn't know that, unless the Dungeon Master had told them so. This could work to his advantage.
Venger pulled on the mane of his black steed and Nightmare flew towards the castle below.
"I can't go another step!"
"Come on Eric, just climb," Hank told him even though he secretly agreed.
The cliff face was almost impossible. The rocks were sharp and the sun was setting enveloping their surroundings into shadow. He stopped climbing to look at all of them. Diana was making the most progress above him, and even though he couldn't see her face, he could imagine her usual look of determination as she pulled herself onwards and upwards.
Presto and Eric were behind, and Hank could see the sweat glistening on their brows. Presto had stopped to fan himself with his hat. Eric slumped against the rock face next to him red-faced. Bobby and Sheila were just below him. The young boy helping his unicorn whenever he could, while his older sister keeping a watchful eye over him as usual. Hank couldn't help but notice the way the setting sun picked out the flame coloured highlights in her hair. Then he forced himself to look away and concentrate on the task at hand.
"It's not much further guys, let's keep going," He tried to sound enthusiastic in the hope of motivating them.
Eric did not reply, but a quick glance down below showed him that the Cavalier had started to climb again, with Presto brining up the rear. Hank turned back to the never ending rocks above him, and followed the Acrobat.
Finally, after another hour or so of climbing, they were nearing the top. The sun finally set, but the Realm's three moons shone brightly in the velvet sky and gave enough light enabling them all to see roughly where they were going.
Sheila could make out the outline of Hank and Diana already at the top. She could hear Eric complaining to Presto not far below while Bobby was just above her with Uni.
She hated him having to spend his childhood in this hellish place and would do anything to get him safely home. She watched her young brother climb steadily upward towards Diana and Hank and saw Hank lift a hand down and pull him up over the edge. Bobby looked up to Hank and Sheila couldn't have found anyone better for her brother's role model.
She looked up at the three glowing moons. She hated this place, true, but when it was like this, with no Venger wanting to destroy them, no fleeing from the endless amount of monsters and dragons that the Realm supplied, it seemed peaceful, almost tranquil.
Lost in her own thoughts, she did not realise she was at the top until she saw two hands reaching down and being offered to her.
She looked up into Hank's familiar face and tried not to blush as she accepted his hands and let him help her climb onto the rock ledge with the others.
She smiled her thanks at him, even though she was sure they both noticed that he didn't let go of her hands straight away.
"Hey guys," a voice called from below them. "Can someone just give us a hand here?"
Diana went over to the edge and saw Presto and Eric struggling to pull themselves up. She grinned at them and lowered her extended javelin down which Presto immediately grabbed hold of.
"Doesn't look very welcoming does it?" Presto commented when he was standing beside the others, wiping his glasses on his robes.
The front door of the castle was huge and looked like it was made of thick wood. In the centre of was a large brass knocker.
"Guess we'd better knock guys," Diana suggested.
It was too high up to be reached by any of them, at least well over 2 feet above Hank's head. Making her way towards the doors, the Acrobat pulled out her javelin again and let it extend. She then hooked the glowing jade weapon underneath the base of the brass knocker and lifted it, then released it. It fell against the thick doors with a deafening crash that sent vibrations through all of them.
A moment later the doors swung slowly open. All six of them hesitated.
"Well, we're certainly not getting any closer to home standing out here," Diana broke the silence and made to go inside. Hank put a hand on her shoulder to stop her.
"Wait, I want to be cautious going in there," he explained "Eric, you come up front with me, Diana and Bobby, take up the rear and all of you have your weapons ready".
When they'd all changed positions, Hank drew an arrow on his energy bow, and they all stepped over the threshold.