Chapter 9: Ruins of Rolasia
After packing up what they needed to blend into the society of Rolasia they all gathered into the mission room waiting for the three sorcerers to open a breach to their mythical world, though they were getting a little angsty about going back when they had spent so many lives living on earth
"You've never been back since you gained your reincarnation?" Dinah lifted an eyebrow at them
Kaedan shook his head "Since rumors spread out our reincarnated forms we've been wanted in Rolasia so we couldn't risk going back"
Wally's eyes widened "Wow Arissa really has it in for you"
"We're going there to save your people, they've suffered enough" Kaldur reminded them
"Right" Omari nodded turning to her brothers before transforming along with Kaedan, Dick looked over to Bruce for assurement and was given a nod from him so nodded back then transformed
"Remember you have to open a breach outside the inner kingdoms walls we can't alert any of Arissa's people or soldiers that we've arrived" Bruce reminded them
"Got it" Dick nodded
Each of the siblings focused hard on the spot they selected for the breach reaching one of their hands out making them glow brighter around their hands, a second or two later a small orb of white light appeared at the spot
"Cool" Zatanna muttered watching them create a breach
The small orb began growing the more they focused on Rolasia turning into an oval human sized portal, it had turned from a small orb of light to a watery different shades of white and appeared to be moving by itself. The three put their hands down and turned to the group
"Are you ready to go?" Kaedan asked seeing their stunned faces
While they were passing through the breach they seemed to pass by all kinds of different dimensions until they got a look from space of Rolasia before appearing out of another breach on a high hill looking over what was left of Rolasia. Kaedan, Omari, and Dick looked down at a village they could see from the hill for them it looked like they were still living in the dark ages, the skies were a grayish color and the usual forests around them were nearly dead of life
"We've been gone longer than I thought" Kaedan pictured this exact area the way he remembered it in 1485 and looked down at what was left of it
"I thought they would have modernized like our world by now" Artemis lifted an eyebrow
"Arissa has modernized her city to today's but hasn't allowed for the other villages to have the necessary supplies to do so, she has the other areas of the kingdom work to properly function her city" J'ohnn glared in detest at the land beyond the village not caring if that was the direction of Arissa City
"We should get going, if we want to find our way to the city its gonna take a while on foot" Dick told the group
With that they began making their way to the small town they had seen traveling through a polluted forest , where there used to be trolls, ogres, and gnomes living here were nothing but insects and dead animals that had died from drinking polluted water
"We should have come back sooner" Kaedan muttered
"I don't think it would have made a difference if you did" Kaldur spoke to him seeing the devastation as well
"What?" Omari stuttered
"If you had returned in a previous life you wouldn't have been as strong as you are now, you wouldnt have had the staff, and you wouldnt have had us to back you up"
"He's right you can't blame yourselves for what Arissa has done" Artemis assured them
As they continued walking through the dead forest they began feeling like they were being watched
"I think I've seen this in a movie before" Wally muttered
"This is no time for jokes" Conner growled
"But I-"He yelped before his foot tripped over a string hidden by leaves
Around them they were surrounded by crossbows hidden in he trees above them, making them take a step back, when the crossbows fired Kaedan, Omari, and Dick transformed and sent a wave of energy in a circular motion around them to destroy the arrows and the crossbows in one single swoop
"Thanks" The team sighed in relief after they turned back to their normal states
"What was that?" M'gann was still a little pale
"It must have been a defence system from the town to protect them" Bruce sumised
"You're right" they heard a voice call out making them turn to see a single man with a hunting gun, pointed at them "Now who are you?!"
Kaedan, Omari, and Dick had pulled the hoods of their cloaks back over their heads after they had transformed so they wouldn't be recognized from the wanted posters, the others had gotten out of their uniforms and had worn commner wear for this mission
"Excuse me sir but we don't want any trouble" Zatanna tried to start off calmly
"You are trespassing on our lands"
"Look we're just trying to find some information about Arissa City, We came to help to overthrow her" J'ohnn tried to explain
The man scoffed but lowered his gun "No sorcerer is as powerful as Queen Arissa" The royal heirs tilted their head at that statement, they were sure she would have assassinated all other sorcerers in the kand by now
"Well what were doing is to save the people from her reign" Dinah crossed her arms
"You must be part of the resistance" Their eyes widened, there was an army of people fighting against he reign? Maybe if they got to them they could help with the ambush on the palace
"Thats where were headed, but we've lost our way. Do you think you could lead us to your town so that we may find some proper transportation?" Kaedan asked
The man sighed "Fine, but you will have to keep your heads down, its close to the time Arissa's soldiers got their payment for protecting the kingdom"
"Payment?" Zatanna lifted an eyebrow
"Yes, Once every month her soldiers pass through each village to gather their payment for keeping our world safe from outside threats"
"Do you even have the money for that?" Bruce asked, glad that they had brouht some money of their own in case they needed it for supplies
"The villagers spare what they can and blend it together for the payment"
The three royal siblings looked to each other at this new information, their father Caermont would have never charged the villages for protection, these people were already poor enough they didnt need Arissa draining them of what little they had
"Well we'd be happy to pay this month's payment for you"M'gann offered
"Yes I'm sure you have pleanty to spare judging from your clothes" The man looked down at their brand new commener clothing, they probably should have dirtied them up and torn some parts to blend in better, he began leading them down the path towards their town drinking some alcohol from a cantine every now and then
"Do you drink to drown your sorrows?" Omari asked all of a sudden
"What do you care?"
"You should talk about what tragedies you've faced that way someone can help"
"What do a couple of kids like you know about sorrows?" Her lips thinned thinking about how their parents have died, all the times she and her brothers have been killed, and what tragedies have led the heroes to become what they are today
"Is he reason you have to follow Arissa's commands what saddens you?" Dick asked trying to gather as much information on what the people have gone through in their absence, as they crossed a small stream of water
"The Queen? I serve no one" The man scoffed as he led them through a couple of sticky bushes "Especially that old hag, and any other royal they're all damned!"
That statement made the royal heirs pause in their place, the group of heroes turned to them, had all he citizens of Rolasia lost their faith in them "King Caermont and his true Queen Allosa are not damned" Kaedan growled
"Queen Allosa maybe not she died before any of this happened but the King he's the one that let the witch in the door, it's his fault the kingdom plunged into darkness"
Bruce, Dinah, J'ohnn and the team grimaced at that, they had already been told the true story of what happened, Caermont had wanted to give his children a mother figure and have a happy life again, he had no way of knowing when they found Arissa it had been a ruse to get inside the kingdom
"You know nothing" Omari glarred
"And you do?What do you three care you werent even born yet to meet him" That silenced them "The land is diseased, natures been upturned" he turned his gaze to the stream "This, this is the legacy of your precious king"
He made the three turn their gaze to see a decomposed deer with rats and insects eating at its flesh making them feel even worse about leaving their citizens for 500 years
"Hey, not everything is like you've heard. The royal heirs have been reincarnated" Wally tried to remind them to uplift their spirits
"If those meesly kids wanted to save us they would have come back years ago, face it they've abandoned us just like everyone else"
They had no defence against that statement without giving away their true identities so stayed silent as they continued to walk through the forest, when the trees stopped coming they saw a old bridge overrun with weeds and branches
"Is this the edge of the forest?" Dinah asked
"Yes" He answered but his eyes were narrowed as theh began to cross the bridge he looked over the edge making the others look to see skeletal remains of soldiers and broken pieces of old crates and carts, their feet paced an old looking part of the bridge but it opened an eye revealing that it was a living creature. It began getting upshocking them to see it was over 10 feet tall
"Troll!" The huntsman yelled before it knocked them off the bridge into a small ravine, it jumped down after them so they ran to hide behind a large stump as the troll tore at it trying to get to them
"Run!"The man yelled to them before heading back to fight he troll
"Wait!" Dick called to him but he was already gone
"Let's go" Bruce called to his fellow leaguers and team to help the man against the troll but turned to the three sorcerers "You stay here, you can't reveal your identities yet"
"But-" He tried saying but was too late as they had aready run off
The huntsman slashed at the trolls legs to weaken the creature, as Bruce brought out his utility belt and began throwing explosives at it, while the others tried fending it off with the weapons they had brought of their own and the martial arts skills they had
The troll took what it could bear but then let out a large growl pushing all of them to the ground and as it was about to smash them with its giant fist it heard a loud protest
"STOP!" Dick and both his siblings had come out from the stump when they saw the danger their friends were in, the troll growled at them as it moved closer to try and intimidate them but they stood their ground
The troll sniffed at them and its eyes narrowed then tilted its head to look at their faces under their hoods its eyes widened
"He recognizes us" Kaedan whispered to his siblings
Dick's eyes widened and smiled at the creature reaching out to pet his head
The group watched in amazement seeing the siblings calmed the troll down
"Kodak moment" Wally whispered seeing his first mythical creature
"Not how I imaged a troll would look" Zatanna tilted her head at him
The huntsman was oblivious to the conversation he was stunned to see humans getting along with a troll, they were supposed to be very territorial creatures and killed anyone who tresspassed their grounds they had become even more ferocious since Arissa's reign took over
"Don't worry we won't harm your land, you can go back to sleep" Omari whispered to it so it huffed in a nodd then retreated back to the bridge
"I told you to run" The huntsman said
"If we did you'd be dead" Kaedan advised
"Your welcome by the way" Dick smirked
Please Review!
I plan for Dick to be reunited with Zitka the Pegasus but i can't decide between it sensing Dick is nearby or should the resistance have rescued her and have her when they show up
I got my first job interview tomorrow, I'm so nervous but everyone's telling me it'll be easy since its at Giant grocery store hope i do a good job