Chapter 5

KNIGHT WARD LED a group of knights to the industrial quarter warehouse where he last saw the witch talk to the mysterious creature. He had waited until now to arrest the witch and bring her to justice but he needed backup first. Who knows what powers the witch had. The iron armor clad knights marched behind their leader with swords drawn and resolute faces. He had briefed them back in Castle Wardland, and now they were on their way to the witch to bring her in for questioning.

Their iron boots echoed on the cobblestone streets of this part of Wardland. It was night with the moon and stars high above and the torches of the lampposts, made out of oak wood, cast their shadows on the street as if they were double in number.

Knight Ward led the way until they stopped in front of the derelict brick building, still as unkempt and abandoned as he had found it. Oakwood planks boarded up some of the windows of this once fine building.

He didn't say a word. Knight Ward only turned his head and nodded to his men to begin action. Like a well-oiled fighting unit, they moved in unison towards the door. Knight Ward kicked the door open and in they went into the building. He and the rest of the knights gripped their swords as they took careful step after careful step with boxes, crates, and old furniture piled up around them in haphazard fashion. Posts held up a wooden catwalk that snaked above them. Above, a window held a view of the outside sky where he had peeked in earlier and found the witch's hideout. Knight Ward's eyes darted around ever mindful of danger. This place could be booby trapped for all he knew.

He needn't have worried. They found the witch at the center of the building stooped over a cauldron. With a witch's hat on her head, she didn't seem to have noticed knights come into her hideout. Instead, she was fixated on the bubbling cauldron, stirring and stirring the sickly green liquid. He put a hand over his nose having caught a whiff of the slight rotten egg smell even from his position a bit back from her.

Hmmm Ahmmm Hmmm Hmma, Hmmm hmmm Hmmm Hmmma, she hummed, not even caring that knights with swords were behind her.

His men behind them gave each other curious glances not expecting the sight. Knight Ward, however, kept his resolve and gripped his sword tighter.

"By order of Wardland, I hereby put you under arrest!"

Hmmm Ahmmm Hmmm Hmma, Hmmm Ahmmm Hmmm Hmmma, she hummed once more as if oblivious to his proclamation. The witch kept stirring the cauldron, some of the foul liquid spilling over to the floor with a sizzling sound.

Knight Ward felt his fury growing. "Did you hear me, witch!" he snarled. The knights behind him shifted uncomfortably, but still they had their swords drawn. "You are under arrest by the Knights of Wardland!"

The witch creaked her head sideways towards them, the wart on her nose clearly visible. "I heard you, knight . . ." she said. Even with a smile on her face, it looked like a sneer. "I just don't have to listen to you . . ." She turned back to the cauldron and stirred.

Knight Ward gritted his teeth. She's not going to come peaceably, he thought. They'll have to forcibly arrest her. With one glance back, his men understood. Swords in hand, they advanced upon her.

He led the troop. If they could strike her quickly, they could incapacitate her and bring her in alive.

They didn't get close.

The witch merely looked back and with bared teeth and eyes glowing for just a moment, she transformed before them. Instantly, her form became that of a cat. The knights' advance stopped at the sudden transformation where the cat bared its fangs and hissed. The cat bounded away quickly climbing up the boxes and crates and towards a blown out window.

The witch had escaped.

Knight Duper and Knight Aaron rolled away as the hydra lunged down at them. Having missed its targets, it suddenly coiled up. Each one of its three heads sprung up while it bared its fangs and flicked its forked tongues.

Knight Steve turned around finally and the treasure chest hinged closed even as Knight Duper and Knight Aaron drew their swords to combat the beast.

"What is that?!" Knight Aaron said aloud, staring aghast at the beast and holding his sword in front of him defensively. Knight Steve didn't know what was going on. One moment he was about to open the chest and the next a creature was attacking them . . .

The hydra slithered off to the side of the secret chamber, while the two knights circled away from it. Knight Steve, on the other hand, stayed put, kneeling in front of the chest and looking up confusedly at the monster.

Knight Duper nodded one by one as if counting. "One, two, three heads, it's a hydra!"

One of the hyrda's heads lowered with menace in its eyes.

Knight Aaron attacked first. "Ayaahhh!" shouted his war cry as he charged. The hydra saw its chances and one of its heads snapped at him. He was faster though and jumped, landing on its head and with one arc, his sword sliced through its neck!

The other hydra heads screamed in pain even while the severed hydra head fell to the floor with Knight Aaron with it. The severed head landed in a thunk and he hopped down to the stone floor triumphant. "HaHa!" Knight Aaron said exultantly. He turned back around with sword drawn towards the rest of the hydra. "One down, three to go!"

All their eyes, however, watched in horror as the most unexpected thing happened. Instead of nursing its wounds, the hydra recuperated. It hissed once again and then, on the stump, blocks added one by one until the third head grew back!

Knight Aaron's jaw slackened. "Looks like three to go," Knight Duper said from behind him, equally as astonished.

"What do we do! What do we do!" Knight Aaron said running back, but he didn't get to his friend. The hydra's tail coiled around Knight Aaron and hoisted him up into the air. "Aaaahhh!" he screamed.

Knight Steve finally got his bearings back upon seeing his friend in danger. He fumbled for his sword, but then, he grimaced and grabbed his head with both hands as a familiar voice echoed inside.

Open me Open me Open me . . .

Knight Duper watched aghast at the hydra drawing Knight Aaron closer to its jaws and what was happening to Knight Steve? "Focus!" he scolded to Knight Steve as he ran by and stopping suddenly, he threw his iron sword at the distracted hydra.

The sword spun in the air until it landed on the hydra's chest, making it scream in pain and loosening its tail's grip on Knight Aaron. He thudded on the ground and a thwack sound reverberated in the air, meaning that Knight Aaron most certainly lost some hearts.

Recovering, Knight Aaron ran back to his knight friends drinking a healing potion as he did so. Behind him, the hydra heads each tried to snap at the impaled iron sword lodged in its body. The monster kept blinking as it continued to lose hearts, which enraged it even further.

Knight Steve ran down and joined his knight friends. "I'm sorry," he said, feeling guilt at what happened. It wasn't like him to be like this. He had finally found his sword.

"Let's worry about that later," Knight Duper said, focusing on the task at hand. Knight Aaron joined them, still a bit shaken at the harrowing events.

"Thanks," he said.

Knight Duper made a determined nod back.

In front of them, one of the hydra heads bit onto the impaled iron sword and ripping it out, the hydra head threw the sword to the ground, making a clanging sound. With that done, it focused once more at the knights, each head baring its teeth, more enraged than ever.

"I have a plan," Knight Duper said to the both of them. The Hydra slithered closer trying to find an opening. "Go distract them," he continued.

"Why?" Knight Aaron asked. He held his sword in front of him. Knight Steve didn't know why either, but a part of him was fearful not of the hydra but of the voice inside. He didn't know when he was going to hear it.

"Don't have time to explain, just go!" Knight Duper exclaimed.

"I hope this works . . ." Knight Aaron said as he ran off to the side close to the mossy stone brick walls of the secret chamber.

A moment later, Knight Steve moved off to the other side, closer to the chest.

"Woooooo! Wooooo!" Knight Aaron shouted, waving his arms. "Over here, ugly!" Two of the hydra heads snapped to his direction. It hissed louder.

Knight Steve waved his hands out too. "Yeah, over here," he said but not as loud as Knight Aaron's hollers. At the back of his mind, he didn't want to hear that voice again. Especially not in a fight.

The hydra slithered off slowly towards Knight Aaron's direction. It seemed it was trying to find an opening. "There you go!" Knight Aaron said. He waved his arms even faster. "Weeehhhh Weeeehhhh," he continued trying to make the most annoying sound possible.

His heart thumping, Knight Steve gaped at the hydra coming towards Knight Aaron and then he looked back to Knight Duper . . . who was busy at work constructing something.

Knight Duper had already built two pillars out of sandstone and was now hopping up at a third pillar. Upon finishing the pillar, hopped down and headed towards the last end to make the final pillar.

Knight Steve closed his eyes. Please no voices, he thought. Please no voices.

The hydra seemed to have caught up to Knight Aaron at the corner of the secret chamber, but then, he ran away as fast as he could. "Haha!" he said. "Can't catch me!"

Over at Knight Duper's spot, he was putting the final touches on his creation — a platform. Four pillars held up a ceiling where on top of it, Knight Duper hopped up, placing gravel underneath him. Already, several columns of gravel had already been built atop the platform.

"Ready!" Knight Duper shouted excitedly. Knight Aaron ran back. Knight Steve saw it too and joined him a moment later even as Knight Duper hopped down to his other knight friends. He quickly ran under the platform.

"Follow me!"

The two knights joined him. "Get him under here," he said and then focused his attention at the Hydra. "LALALAALALALAA" Knight Duper said. He waved his arms in the air excitedly.

Knight Aaron looked up at the underside of the platform, and seeming to understand, he followed suit. "Heeeeeeyyyyyyyy! Heeeeyyyyyyyyyy! He followed it up by putting his pressed together index finger and thumb to his mouth and whistling loudly.

Knight Steve figured it out too. He was still a bit slow at understanding but he finally understood. They were trying to get the hydra under the platform so they can break one of the blocks above causing the gravel to fall on it. "Over here, over here," he said. At least the voice hadn't come back yet, and he got a bit of confidence from that.

More determined than ever, the hydra slithered towards the noisy knights, hissing louder and louder.

The noise seemed to combine into one jumbled mass of annoying sound with each of the knights shouting aloud and waving their arms.

Knight Steve began to smile too and he began to wave his arm more and more excitedly as the hydra now slithering fast towards them. They certainly sounded annoying, it was actually kind of—

He closed his eyes as the voice came to him unexpectedly. Open meeeeeeeee Open meeeeee.

The Hydra arced back and sprung at the knights. Knights Duper and Aaron rolled to their respective sides but Knight Steve was still there clutching his head.

The Hydra heads opened wide ready to snap at Knight Steve . . .

At the last moment, a hand yanked Knight Steve off to the side, saving him, as the Hydra landed and caught only air. The blocks above got picked with a pickaxe one by one and finally, towers of gravel crashed down right on top of the three headed monster, crushing it!

Knight Duper caught his breath looking at the crushed monster. Its tail was the only thing visible from the mountain of gravel on top of it.

Knight Aaron and Knight Steve were on the ground. He had saved him and Knight Aaron looked back shaken at Knight Steve at what had happened. Knight Steve shook his head, the voice now gone from his head. "Thanks," he said, quietly.

"Is everyone alright?" Knight Duper said, coming towards them.

"Um yeah," Knight Aaron said, picking himself up. He gave an unsure glance at Knight Steve who also picked himself up and dusted himself off.

"Looks like it's dead," Knight Duper said with a smile, looking over at the crushed hydra. The tail twitched for the last time.

Seeming to have forgotten what happened with Knight Steve, Knight Aaron looked over at the dead hydra and smiled. "That was awesome!"

Knight Steve laughed sheepishly. "Yeah, awesome," he said in a whisper.

"Good job everybody!" Knight Duper said. "My idea was good, wasn't it? I thought of it quickly and—Hey where are you going?"

He caught Knight Aaron heading straight for the treasure. He followed him, but Knight Steve trailed behind both of them as they approached the treasure chest in the middle of the secret chamber.