"This will be dangerous, Nalrem's lair is sure to have magical protection and other traps to stop you."
He opened a drawer and brought out silver bracelets and also revealed a wall of various weapons.
"The bracelets should block magical attacks and also let you bypass barriers. You will also need a weapon; they are enchanted so they can damage any magical creatures that Nalrem decides to summon."
The guys each took a sword except for Todd who chose a crossbow. Pauleen chose the same weapon, Diana grabbed a rapier and Sena decided on a pair of daggers. Fully equipped, the group set out on their retrieval and rescue mission.
After a couple days of travel, Nalrem's lair came into view. It was an ominous looking castle, but security seemed weak and the group was confident in their skills. The bracelets helped to disable any magical traps and any scouts that saw them were quickly disposed of.
The group arrived at the deepest part of the castle where they found Nalrem, the sword and Gwen. She was standing in a cage with her arms crossed and glaring at the exiled wizard.
"Now my goal has almost been achieved. All that is left is for the guests to arrive."
Nalrem rubbed his hands together and Pauleen realized something.
"We have to..." Her words were interrupted as everyone was suddenly frozen in place, they slowly rose into the air and floated beside Gwen.
The wizard laughed gleefully, "There you are, I was wondering when you would arrive. Especially you, Arther." Nalrem eyed the young man.
He waved his hand and the group dropped to the ground in a jumble as a metal cage fell from the air trapping them. After helping each other up and brushing off dirt, they glared at their captor. Their weapons were in a pile just out of reach, along with the bracelets.
Nalrem snapped his fingers and Arther was teleported out of the cage and in front of him.
"Arther, pull out the sword and give it to me." A light shone onto the gleaming sword embedded in the rock. Arther furrowed his eyebrow.
"You sure about this? I might not be the one to pull it out."
"Tsk, tsk. Of course you are the one to pull it out. Why else would your friends have sought you out to attend the competition? You and your lady are meant to be the rulers of the land. Too bad I am going to crush that poor dream. If you refuse…"
He trailed off as he lifted his palm and a fireball appeared. "Your precious little friend Gwen might burn."
Arther glared at the evil wizard but walked slowly over to the sword and placed his hand on the hilt. With one fluid motion, the sword came out, its job done, the stone crumbled into dust that floated away.
Arther handed over the sword and was then teleported into the cage with Gwen. Nalrem began to cackle evilly and said, "Now that I have the sword, I had better get rid of you all. After all, I would not want my rule getting jeopardized by you."
"You rotten…" Arther cursed.
"Decisions, decisions, what shall I do to you? I know, to make this last longer, I will go one at a time. This way, you can lament over your powerlessness. Any volunteers?"
His eyes wandered over to Gwen and Sena narrowed her eyes. She picked up a pebble from the ground and threw it at the wizard. Her aim was true and the pebble hit the back of his head. Nalrem yelped in pain and turned around, rubbing his head.
"Who threw that?!"
Sena stepped forward. I should be able to handle whatever he throws at me. When I find a chance, I'll get the rest their weapons to escape from the cage.
Nalrem grimaced and teleported her out, he also materialized four bands that attached themselves to Sena's limbs. They weighed about 50 kilos each, an amount that no regular human would be able to endure, however Sena would be able to hold on for some time. In order for Nalrem to drop his guard however, she crumpled to the ground the moment the bands attached to give the impression she could hardly move.
Dino was grabbing the bars of the cage so hard that his knuckles were turning white. With smirk, he flicked his fingers toward Sena and a ball of fire dashed forward. The heat was intense, but she had survived worse. As the fire was magical in nature, it only provided pain and when the fire disappeared, Sena was left bodily unharmed. She needed to wait some more until Nalrem's arrogance would cause him to become careless.
Sena taunted the wizard, making sure that her voice sounded weakened from the attack.
"What was that?" She coughed for effect. "A heater going at low?"
Steam was pouring out of Nalrem's ears, "We'll see who has the last laugh."
He raised his palm to face Sena and this time a concentrated blast of razor sharp wind danced forward. Nalrem was looking forward seeing the girl ripped to shreds, especially with her friends watching, however to his surprise, she nimbly jumped out of the way.
The blades of wind hit the cage instead, cutting it into pieces and freeing the prisoners. The wind even managed to damage Arther's cage enough for him to break free with Gwen.
Everyone grabbed their weapons and faced the wizard. Suddenly outnumbered, Nalrem backed away slowly.
"Hold on a second, why don't we talk about this?" He nervously chuckled, then spun around and began to sprint towards the door.
"He is going to get away!" Diana said and started to run as well.
Suddenly an object flew out from behind them and hit Nalrem squarely on the head. The wizard was knocked to the ground, a bump already forming at the back of his head.
The group turned around to see Arther with a surprised look on his face and Gwen in a post-throw stance.
"That is for grabbing me and stuffing me in a cage!"
The first thing they did was lock Nalrem in some handcuffs they found lying around, hopefully they were magic-proof and then leave him in an extra cage. Once they were done, a familiar flew into the room.
"Good job. The sword has been returned to its rightful owner. Now only one more task remains."
"There is still more to do?" Arther asked and the rest of the group had confusion on their faces as well. Merlan continued to explain.
"You must visit the Lady of the Lake in order to have the sword blessed. With it the land will remain in peace as long as the sword stays with its owner."
"Where does this person live?" Todd asked.
"A special lake of some sort?" Pauleen suggested.
"Actually, any large lake should do. Arther just needs to stab the sword into the lake bank and ask the Lady to appear. You need to be polite, but even then she might ask for a favor of some kind. I wish you luck."
The message relayed, the familiar exited the room and presumably returned to its summoner.
"Well, Arther do you know of any large lakes on the way back to the castle?" Dino asked and Arther pursed his lips in thought.
"There is the Enchanted Lake a couple of miles from here. It is said that the water helps cure any disease."
"Sounds like a plan, let's go then." Diana pumped her fist in the air and led the way out of Nalrem's abode.
Soon, the lake came into view and the group marveled at the landscape before them. Fortunately, there was a path leading to an island in the middle of the lake. When the group arrived, they found a woman sitting in a chair.
"Welcome, I have been waiting for you." Her voice was serene like ripples of water, there was no doubt she was the Lady of the Lake.
"Wasn't I supposed to stab the sword into the ground?" Arther asked.
"It is much nicer here, so give me the sword to bless."
Light surrounded the sword, which became more vibrant. The sword was handed back, the Lady was thanked and everyone continued on their way.
"That was too easy..." Todd said as they walked. Pauleen agreed, "Now would usually be the time where one of group would get kidnapped by the enemy who should be gone. Then there would the final battle before a happy ending."
Sena tensed at the exchange. Knowing the way he does things, something will happen. A minute later, Sena heard faint rustling and yelled, "Get down!"
As the group ducked, arrows whizzed past them, embedding themselves into the trees. A group of humanoid creatures appeared and ready to attack. The group drew their weapons against the enemies that surrounded them. Dino's instincts felt something was coming, but none of the enemies were moving. Suddenly everyone in the group was pushed forward, crashing into the surprised creatures. A large impact sounded behind them, along with a cloud of dust. When it cleared, Sena was lying on the ground and not moving. Dino sprinted over to Sena and gingerly supported her head, everyone else crowded around as well.
"Are you okay?" He asked and Sena said "...et...way"
Dino realized, the attack was not over and yelled, "Everyone back away!"
The warning was uttered and the group minus Dino and Sena moved away as a bubble of some sort surrounded the two. Diana tried to pop it with her sword but it only bounced off.
Nalrem flew in and said, "Darn, I thought that would have gotten everyone, well two is better than none." He realized that Sena was in the bubble and grinned, "I look forward to having some payback. Come to the castle with the sword if you value their lives."
Nalrem snapped his fingers and some kind of gas appeared in the bubble, causing Dino to fall asleep. He flew away with the bubble in tow. The creatures faded away as well.
"I thought we were finished with him?!" Diana exclaimed.
With no other choice, the group continued on their way to the castle to mount another rescue mission. The moment Nalrem arrived at the castle, he petrified the inhabitants and somehow sealed Merlan inside his tower. Nalrem sat on the throne as he waited for Sena and Dino to awaken.
As Dino regained consciousness, he heard faint voices arguing.
"...he must have implanted a sliver of his soul in you during the creation process."
"Not much but enough to know about you...his name was Kail wasn't it?"
"You! Don't you dare..."
The voice was cut off for a bit, replaced by a zapping sound and sounds of pain. Dino realized that is was Sena; his eyes snapped open and he bolted upright. Both had shackles on their arms and legs. Sena stood facing the wizard, anger blazing in her eyes.
Nalrem looked over to Dino and said, "Oh, the other one is awake now. Should I swap?"
"Don't you dare." Sena snarled and positioned herself in between the two.
Delight appeared in his eyes as he observed Dino. "He does not know does he?"
Sena's eyes clouded over for a moment, "He should not know."
"Sena, what are you talking about?" Dino asked, shifting his view between his friend and the evil wizard.
"Let's just say that the majority of people in my life betray me."
The conversation stopped as Diana and the group burst into the room.
"Welcome, I hope the trip was pleasant?" The question was met with angry looks and he shrugged his shoulders. With a flick of hand, Sena and Dino were thrown against the wall behind him, they could not move.
Arther stepped forward and demanded a duel. The overconfident wizard agreed and a sword appeared in his hands. The group stepped back but stayed ready to intervene. The battle was surprisingly short, after a few slashes from both sides, Nalrem raised his sword for a power slash.
"You cannot dodge this!" There was a sound of metal piercing flesh.
Nalrem made a gurgling sound as he fell, blood pooling from his mortal wound.
"You have not seen the end of me" The wizard disintegrated into a pile of dust that got blown away by a stray breeze. The group hurried over to Sena and Dino and helped them onto their feet; the shackles had disappeared with the evil wizard.
The petrification spell was reversed and Merlan was freed from his tower. The group had an audience with the king and queen. Rupert managed to convince them that he wanted to travel and have Arther and Gwen become the rulers. The two were reluctant but agreed.
The problem of succession was solved and a grand celebration was put in place.
"What's going on? You guys are fading away!"
"We have completed the task and are now being sent back to where we belong." Sena said and Diana added, "We will never forget you. Hope we meet again!"
A flash of light later, the group found themselves back in the library, the book nowhere to be seen. Thank goodness that those things only last until someone beats it.
Todd glanced at a nearby clock and gasped, "It has only been an hour since Diana opened that book. I am sure that we spent a few weeks in there."
"Time runs at a different speed in there." Sena replied with a tinge of bitterness.
"That means that the chocolates are ready to be picked up." Pauleen said happily.
"It also means that there are still girls aiming to give chocolates." Rupert groaned.
The group split up again and the rest of the day was spent decorating chocolate or sneaking around the school to avoid mobs of girls.
At the end of the day, the group met up again outside the dorm. The guys looked exhausted.
"We managed to evade all the girls." Rupert explained.
"Todd, were a lot of girls after you?" Pauleen asked. Todd shook his head.
"They were all trying to use me as a middleman to get to Rupert or Dino. This what happens when you have popular people as friends."
"What are we going to do now Diana? They spent the entire day running away from chocolate." Sena said and brought out a wrapped parcel.
"What are we going to do?" Diana wondered.
"Well, no sense wasting it, let's eat them ourselves."
"Who were you planning to give those to?" Dino asked, Rupert and Todd seemed interested as well.
"You three." The girls said.
The guys glanced sheepishly at each other and said, "Well, it would be okay from you since we are friends. Most of the other girls we had no clue who they were."
The chocolates were given and promptly eaten. The girls were complimented before the group split up. Everyone went back to the dorms to get ready to sleep.
School is starting to be some fun after all. How long will it last?