CHAPTER 10: Encounter
"Get up!" a voice called as miscellaneous battlegear were thrown upon the sleeping creation.
Elfriede's yellow eyes slowly opened to see Takinom, irritated with hands on her hips. She leaned forward and said, "Get ready. We're going to Odille's castle today. Chaor's orders."
The creation rubbed her eyes as she shoved the battlegear off of her and sat up. "Really. . . ?" she murmured softly.
Takinom just stared at her.
Elfriede slowly got off the bed. She was lucky to have a bed, Takinom thought, because she deserved to sleep in the bunks with the other soldiers.
She blinked and suddenly Elfriede was staring up at her seriously, giving her a cold glare, saying nothing.
Then Elfriede got up and went to her collection of battlegear, completely ignoring the ones that Takinom had previously thrown at her. She opened a safe and started packing into a large brown bag, carefully choosing what to bring.
Takinom's eyes twitched. She couldn't wait any longer. They had to hurry and complete the mission that Chaor assigned to them earlier that morning.
"HURRY IT UP!" she yelled at Elfriede. "WE CAN'T AFFORD TO WASTE ANYMORE TIME-!"
Elfriede turned around and glared at her again, and her Mugical markings suddenly glowed a bright red.
Takinom couldn't fight the force which threw her harshly back onto the wall.
Elfriede still stared at her, not moving.
"The battlegear I'm packing is really important," Elfriede said seriously, "It will help fighting the ghost and will test the powers inside the castle."
The glow from her markings faded as the red-haired girl turned around and continued to pack battlegear into the bag.
Takinom just looked up at her and blinked. How did she get that information?
Maybe Chaor told her or she tricked him into telling her, she thought.
She gnashed her teeth as she defeated the barrier holding her onto the wall. She flew to the ground in front of Elfriede.
The creation zipped up her bag and put it around her back.
She turned around and walked past Takinom, looking straight ahead.
"Let's go."
Takinom turned around angrily as Elfriede walked past her.
"You can't order me around!" she said as she caught up with the creation.
Elfriede suddenly stopped.
"I'm sorry," she said softly as she looked apologetically at her.
Takinom's eyes widened for a second.
Elfriede then walked out into the hallway of the castle.
Takinom stared.
"Why the sudden change. . . ?" she whispered to herself as she walked into the hallway as well.
Three massive vehicles motored across the Al Mipedim desert, leaving a long dust path behind them.
In the first vehicle, multiple creatures were talking amongst each other. A large, wolf-like Underworlder General with white fur and brown streaks was talking casually with his comrades.
"Are you sure no Mipedians will follow us?" one of them asked him.
"I'm positive about it! We had a Mipedian reign before remember?" he said in his coarse voice. "They can't see us if we're invisible! Flip the switch!"
The creatures nodded and raised the lever. The three vehicles turned invisible, one by one.
"Chaor once used this technique in an Overworld invasion, much like the one we previously went on," the wolf-like creature continued. "I didn't like the previous invasion too much. We got nothing accomplished!"
"But at least we found out that we have a secret weapon," a creature sneered.
"I'm not too sure about her," the General said gravely as he looked up in thought, "there's something wrong about this. She looks so. . . . different. Somewhat like a human. . . ."
"But Rigbar! I thought you said you liked having her on our side!"
"True," Rigbar said, "but still. . . . I have a feeling that she might turn against us. . . ."
Everyone fell silent.
"I Al Mipedim," Rigbar said, breaking the silence.
"Why?"
"I their leader, Ifla-"
"Come in, Rigbar!" Takinom said from the crystal.
Rigbar ran over and picked up the glass.
"What is it?" he asked.
"We spotted the castle. Follow us."
The vehicle on the far right sped up to the front of the others, and took a sharp turn to the right, and the rest did as well.
They drove towards the dirt, and the mysterious clouds surrounding an abandoned dark castle in the distance.
Takinom stared through the window at the distant castle. It was shaped bizarrely. The castle had many spiraling towers coming from the top of it. It was a dark black, and the windows were all broken or strangely grey. Shivers went up her and the other creatures' spines as they came closer to it. All except for Elfriede, who stared up at it in awe and wonder.
The vehicles stopped in front of the castle, not too far from the shadow which the castle casted.
"I wonder when this castle was made," Takinom said, still staring at the castle.
She then looked at Elfriede, who couldn't keep her eyes off it.
It seemed as if she never saw anything like it before.
She looked at the creatures around her. She wasn't an Underworlder for sure, but she was too different to be a creature, and definitely not a human with those Mugical markings. But maybe it's an altered human who had no memory? But she thinks like a creature and acts like one. . . .
"Are you sure you don't remember anything?" Takinom inquired, walked towards her.
She woke up from her gaze and looked perplexed at Takinom.
"Remember what?"
Takinom gave her a glare.
"Your past. . . ."
"Oh," Elfriede realized, looking down.
"No, I don't," she said finally, looking back up at Takinom sincerely.
"Well-!" Takinom stopped herself.
She turned around and said to her team, "Let's go."
They nodded and climbed the ladder.
They felt the cold breeze as they all exited the vehicles. This was very unusual for Al Mipedim. The ice cold wind made them feel uneasy, and some wanted to stay inside the vehicle.
"No," Rigbar said, "We need to find out what's inside that castle if we want to know if it's related to the Cothica!"
They all looked down and obeyed the orders.
There was no noise coming from inside the castle. A few who heard the rumors that the Mipedians said that anyone who went in there was brutally *** made it seem even more eerie.
Elfriede was the first of all the creatures gathered to head towards the large black doors of the castle. She thought she spotted a small figure as the doors seemed to close as they approached the castle.
She stopped.
Takinom shook.
"Elfriede, what's wrong?" she asked nervously.
"I thought I saw a human go inside the castle."
They all froze.
"A human?" Takinom asked. "Are you sure?"
The creation didn't say anything and continued to head towards the doors as they became larger and they were so enormous, even a warbeast could fit inside.
The Underworlders looked up at the castle, wondering what lied inside. The wind blew more harshly than before, and a few wanted to turn around.
Rigbar, at the end of the party, said, "Don't turn back now, soldiers. This may be our chance of being the most powerful tribe in Perim! And. . . ."
He looked at Elfriede in the front, staring up at the castle curiously.
". . . .maybe being able to prevent our death as well. . . ."
Takinom looked on as the creation walked towards the castle, while everyone else had stopped.
She touched the doors.
Nothing happened.
They all sighed in relief.
Elfriede turned around and set down her bag.
"Can you open them with your weapons?" Takinom inquired.
She closed her bag, and stood up.
"Use the cannons!" she ordered to the squad. "One for each door!"
The red soldiers brought out the cannons from the vehicles, and positioned them at each door.
"FIRE!" yelled Rigbar as the cannons blasted at the two doors.
The doors rattled and shook, but no effect.
Then they slowly creaked open.
Takinom and Elfriede stared at each other.
The doors were not destroyed. Not even a dent was made on them. And yet they had opened.
The red soldiers stared at the entrance of the castle. It was extremely dark inside, and the cobwebs on the antique furniture made it even more creepy. It was like nothing any Mipedian could have made. It looked more like Gothos Tower.
Even Rigbar gaped, and took a few steps back.
"I think it's a trap," Takinom said as she placed her hands on her hips, staring suspiciously into the entrance of the castle. Elfriede said nothing and went to her bag and brought out a large firearm. She also got out a bag and started to handcraft a bullet.
Once it was prepared, she placed it in the firearm, and Takinom moved out of her way as she knelt in position, ready to fire.
Her yellow eyes narrowed, and pulled the trigger.
The bullet entered the castle at a high speed, and was destroyed before it could reach the wall.
Everyone stared at the scene wide-eyed.
Takinom walked towards the red-haired girl as she set down her firearm and went over towards her bag for new bullets.
"What was that bullet made out of?" Takinom asked.
"Dractyl scales that I got from H'earring. Luckily he gave them to me," she replied, still looking for the new bullets.
"Why?"
She started to place the new bullets into the firearm.
"If any life form enters in there, it will die."
"Oh," Takinom said as Elfriede knelt in position again, staring at the far end of the wall.
"Then use a different bullet," Takinom suggested.
"That's what I had planned," Elfriede responded, "This one is made out of steel."
BANG!
The bullet crashed inside, making a large dent in the wall.
It wasn't destroyed.
Takinom looked at the ground. She picked up a rock and threw it inside.
It bounced onto the tile, until it clattered then stopped.
"Are you sure if just life forms are destroyed?" Takinom asked.
"I'll try with Dractyl scales again," Elfriede decided.
She got out the same bag she did previously and handcrafted another bullet.
She shot it in again.
This time, many strings caught around it and cut it into many pieces. It fell to the floor and then disappeared.
"Honestly," a voice came from inside.
Takinom and Elfriede's eyes widened in shock.
"Who's there?!" Takinom yelled as everyone stayed on their guard.
"Even when I open the door for you, you still continue to make such racket."
"Who's there?" Takinom yelled again.
"Who's there?" the voice parroted.
Takinom 's eyebrows narrowed.
Multiple lasers came from her hand and blasted inside the castle.
"It would take way more than that to harm me."
"Who are you?" Elfriede asked cursiously.
Suddenly, a pale blue Mipedian with long flowing silver hair and yellow eyes came out from behind the opened doors.
She was very beautiful and was wearing a purple dress with purple and pink roses, and a scar under her left eye.
"My name is. . . . Odille."