Age of Lions

Chapter 4

Strangers

The forest was all dark and cold, covered in a very deep thick fog with the grass and leaves all covered in moist. There was nothing but silence except the sounding crows cawing in the air, frogs croaking in the pond, and the woodpeckers pecking on the trees bark. A squirrel climbed down from its home beginning its search for food. He scurried over a log lying over on the grass sniffing. Just when he thought he smelt something that caught his little nose a giant shadow was cast over him. A giant foot was coming down the frightened little critter quickly moved out of the way in time before he could even be crushed. The squirrel took cover in the bushes and looked over to whosever giant foot it was and saw two figures running together before they disappeared into the fog.

Leo the Slayer and Zelda the Fierce ran swiftly through the forest as their cloaks fly like flags. Their keen eyesight and sensitive nose from under their metal carved feline shaped helmets help guides them through the thick fog without missing a step. "How far do you think the village is from here?" Adam asked. "We should be getting close once we've reached through the forest.

. . .

His head aching and world spinning Marshall groans in pain he tries to pick himself up. He wobbles dizzily losing balance trying to stand on his two feet. The wizard apprentice shakes himself as his quickly adjusts his world finally comes back to him. "Whoa," he moaned. "That was quite roller-coaster ride." He looks at his surroundings and sees that he was no longer at the warehouse with the other trolls. His feet were standing on wet grass, in a field with great big hills, and with no sign of his friends anywhere. "Jim." He called. "Claire. Toby. Arrrgh. Talia?" His friends must be so far away that they could not hear him, so he took out his cell phone and see if he could dial them instead. But his phone showed him no signal bars. Even his clock and GPS apps were not working. "What? No reception? Where did that portal take us?" Marshall stared at his phone completely confused.

. . .

Marshall walked through the heather moorland lost and alone. This place somehow brought back memories of that dreamful realm of Talia's mind. It was strange, yet also magical. Whether if it were fate or destiny that brought him to her, to Jim, to everyone he has met along this incredible journey. He has never had so many people before in his life besides his father. Speaking of which, he wonders of how he was doing back home right now. The last thing he heard from him was that he was stuck late working at night again and hopefully makes it back before he suspects anything.

Marshall looked up above into the sky and notice there was a small line of smoke. He hiked over the big hill and looked below finding houses that looked like small huts made of mud, guarded by a wooden wall, people in rags pushing wheelbarrows, washing their laundry in old fashioned buckets, racking hay, and feeding swine in the pig pen. This was all too completely strange. This village looked completely depressing by its appearance. They had no cars, no roads, technology, no powerlines, nothing. "Okay, something tells me that I'm not in Arcadia anymore." He said to himself. Then the thought of the Kairosect and the portal came to his mind. "Wait. Did Claire's staff- -and the Kairosect somehow- - Oh, no." He slaps his face realizing now that the Shadow Staff did not just send him to an unknown place. It sent him somewhere in the past. "How the heck did I get myself into this MESS!" Marshall yelled. He scratched his head frustratingly of how such a thing happened to him, swearing and cursing, stomping around in a circle to himself to blow off some steam. Then he came to a stop and took in a deep breath and exhaled to relieve all the tension. "Okay. . . calm down," he said to himself. "I just need to find my friends and come up with a plan to get us back in present. But where exactly did that portal sent them?" He pinched his chin to think. He looked up to the night sky and still see the smoke coming from the village he had just found and thought what if they ended up there somehow? "I guess it couldn't hurt."

Before the young wizard would begin his search, a voice was heard, "I wouldn't take one more step, Witch-Boy." Marshall raised an eyebrow turned his head around and was taken out with one big sucker punch right in his face and knocked out cold. Marshall was now lying on the ground moaning in pain as his head spined yet again.

. . .

Leo removed his mask and blew the dust off his knuckles taking out the sorcerer with one shot. "Did you have to do that?" Zelda put a hand on her hip unimpressed.

"Come on, Zelda. You can tell by his stink that this kid's clearly a wizard," Leo pointed it out. "If I hadn't step in he would've cursed the village with his sorcery."

"Leo, if he was going harm the village he would've done that by now," Zelda said, as she kneeled down checking on the unconscious boy. "If you had paid more attention and carefully at his aura. You can see that this child is no threat."

"Yes, but wizards are also mysterious, dangerous, and their magic is too unpredictable. Even if you can see through his heart. You can't trust them just like that," Leo said snapping his fingers.

"Well, what do you suggest we do?" Zelda stood up crossing her arms.

Leo pulled something from his traveling pack from his waist behind his back, his dull expression turned into a smirk revealing a familiar bracelet; the Fouding Ring. Zelda rolled her eyes and covered her face with her palm hand thinking that he of course would think of something like this.

. . .

Marshall was starting to regain conscious from after whatever it was that stroke him. The swelling pain from his left cheek was hurting like Toby's occasional visits to the dentist's office. "Ow" he moaned, as he sits himself up and touches his poor face. He comforts his sore cheek and feels a little weight, and a cold metal surface upon his skin. He removed his hand from his face and finds the magic oppressing artifact attached to him. "Oh, no."

A big shadow cast over him, he looked up and finds a man in a dark hood and armor standing right before him. Marshall's paranoia made him jump to his feet, he attempted to throw a cross at the h00ded-man, before he caught his attack and begin twisting his arm. "AAAAHHH!" Marshall screamed in pain being over powered by the stranger's strength. His arm was on the urge to break until. . . another punched the guy behind the head making him release his arm.

The dark hood crouched down to his knees clinging onto his throbbing head. "Why'd you do that?"

"We don't harm and torture our captives Leo," she said. "You better than know that."

Marshall's ears perked up when he heard the female's voice under the hood gave away the name of his kidnapper.

"Don't say my name in front of the wizard," Leo snapped. "Do you want to give away our identity?" Marshall raised an eyebrow of not sure what was going on here, before the moonlight's shine revealed the two figures in armor that looked exactly like Talia's one back home, and wearing iron lion-face masks. Marshall rubbed his eyes as if he were seeing things, but it was all too real. These people were Silver Lion's.

While they were arguing, Marshall interrupted them, "Uh. . .excuse me?" The two stopped and turned towards facing the boy. "Could either of you attacked me and put this thing on me?" he asked showing the Fouding ring on his wrist.

The female Silver Lion sighed, came up to him, pulled a key out from her pouch, and unlocked the magical suppressing bracelet. "What are you doing?" Leo said in denial. But she ignored him and said, "Forgive my friend's brash behavior. "No kidding," Marshall rubs his wrist. "He nearly knocked out my tooth!"

"And I am terribly sorry for that," she said. Leo crossed his arms and immaturely huffed turning away in arrogance. Zelda smirked under mask of his childish attitude. "But might I ask what brings you. . ." A big loud bash alarmed them. They looked to find the village's defense had been breached and the wooden fortress had been shattered. "Oh, no! He's here!" Leo said before he rushed in.

"He? Who is he talking about?" Marshall asked Zelda, seeing the destruction and hearing the villager's screaming in terror.

"You mean? You are not aware of Tellad-Urr's hostility?" she asked.

"Tellad-Urr?" Marshall raised an eyebrow confused not familiar with the name.

"Tellad-Urr the Triumphant," Zelda continued to explain. "Merlin's current Champion. Has betrayed and abandon his duties of being both troll and man-kind's protector. Disgracing the name of the Trollhunter. And now has become Tella-Urr the Terrible."

Marshall's eye's turned all wide eyed aghast. A fallen hero? Ugh! As if falling back to the past was bad enough! I have to find the others fast. I just hope Talia's not having any trouble back in the present.