~Chapter 14~
Lauren stood with her back against the wall. She watched the door as the creatures pounded against it shouting. She glanced around the room. It was totally empty. Nothing to hide behind, nothing to use as a weapon. The banging continued as the door creaked and groaned under the pressure. It began to bend inward, splinters flying off. With a loud crash the monsters knocked the door in. Most of them ran in, a few straying outside waiting for a chance to fit through the door. Lauren panicked and pressed hard against the wall. She looked down for a bit, took a deep breath, then looked back at the soldiers. Her eyes suddenly started to glow a faint yellow. The creatures stopped in the middle of the room and watched in fear. She raised her arms from her side and her entire body began to glow a golden yellow. Some of the creatures backed away in fear, mumbling. Her hair and clothes began to wave as if a wind was blowing. The light around her body suddenly focused around her hands as she brought them together, outstretched her hands, and shot out a beam of white light at the creatures. It blasted through them and sent them scattering. They all lay on the floor dead, a white glow surrounding them for a moment then dissapeared. The light vanished from around Lauren and she turned back to normal. Two creatures who had been standing outside the door stared at her wide eyed, then took off shouting "Master Gondar!"
"Oh crap...I shouldn't have done that..." Lauren mumbled. "Now Gondar knows I possess the light essence..." She quickly ran out the door and down the hall. "I've got to get out here before I'm caught...again..."
The four were pushed out of the cold building. Link squinted his eyes from the sun. They were led to the front of the kings building, where apparently all the special events were held. Not many people were there yet, not even the king. Four stocks were there, however. The guards placed the four inside the stocks. They were rather uncomfortable. There the four waited for about an hour or so until a large crowd had gathered, talking amongst themselves about what was to occur in the next few minutes. The king then emerged from the building greeted by the cheers of the crowd. He waved to the crowd and sat down in a throne that had been placed there.
"Greetings, my good people. The day has come!" the king said raising his chubby arms. He was responded with a loud cheer. "We have some wonderful events planned for you today. We thought we'd start off with a little torture!" More cheers came forth. "We'll start with our first victim!" he walked over to Jared who was in the first stock. "Well, you have a choice. Punishment number 1, Punishment number 2, or Punishment number 3." The crowd all shouted different numbers as Jared stared angrily at the king. He simply replied by spitting in his face. The crowd booed. "Hmm...I think the victim is having difficulty choosing. So I'll choose for him. Show him what he's won Johnny!" A troll rolled out a cart covered in a dirty cloth and displayed it like Vanah White.
"Well King Blagdar," a troll announced through a cone-like object, amplifying its voice. "Today our lucky torturie is being put in...the arm bound!" the crowd cheered as the cloth was lifted off the cart. On the cart there was a rectangular hollow block of wood with no top. There was a large hole on one side, leather straps in the center, and a crank on the other end. Jared was taken out of the stock and dragged over to the cart. When he struggled he was knocked over the head. The crowd seemed to be amused by this. His arm was forced into the hole of the device and the straps were tied around his fore arm. The Vanah troll walked over and displayed the crank, then grabbed a hold of it and started turning. Jared groaned in pain as the crank turned the straps which twisted his arm. The crown cheered. The troll turned it again. Jared fell down to his knees and shouted. The crowd cheered. Once again the crank was turned and a few popping sounds were heard from his shoulder. He let out a shuddered cry and tried to turn into it to ease the pain but the guards pushed him down. The King put up his hand.
"Alright, he can be put back." Jared was taken from the device and put back into the stock. He layed in the stock totally limp, gasping in pain. "Wasn't that fun?!" the king shouted. His yell was met with cheers. "Now for the next one!" Justin was next. "Now, would you like to chose your method of torture?"
"Burn in hell!" Justin said through clenched teeth.
"Hmm...give him the chair!" the king shouted. The crowd cheered. The cart with the arm device was wheeled away and a big chair was brought in. Justin was strapped down in his chair. His arms and legs were tied and his neck was strapped back. On the back of the chair, just below where his neck would be, there was a large crank. When the crank would be turned, a pole was pushed into his upper back. The crank was turned and the pole was pushed into his back. He was chest was pushed forward but the neck strap held him back, choking him.
"The nice thing about this, is the person has two ways to die. Either he is choked to death, or the pole breaks his spine." the announcer said. "Either way its loads of fun!" The crank was turned and Justin groaned in pain. The crowd cheered. He gasped for air as the strap clenched his throat tightly. The crank was turned once again. Justin coughed and tried to yell but couldn't. The king laughed and held up his hand. The straps were released off of Justin and he collapsed onto the floor. This was met by cheers from the crowd. He was dragged back to the stock. Next was Link.
"I've got a special treat for this one, and for all of you as well!" the king shouted to the audience. "In order to encourage audience involvement, we're going to have an old fashioned stoning!" The crowd cheered with approval. Links stock was rolled to the center of the stage. The crowd picked up some rocks off the ground and waited.
"Begin!" the king shouted. Several stones were thrown at Link. He groaned as each one hit. He clenched up his fists in order to save his fingers from being broken. One rock cut open his kuckle, another hit him above the brow. He lowered his head and winced with every stone. After a few minutes the king stopped this and Link was wheeled back with the other stocks. Fenix was last.
"Ugh. It's an elf..." the king said in disgust. "You know, why don't we just kill this one right now?"The crowd cheered. "Should he be hung of beheaded?" 'hung hung!' was the responce from the crowd. Fenix was taken from the stock and a rope was tied around his neck. The rope was thrown over a post and a large troll grabbed it.
"Ok, pull!" the king shouted. The troll began pulling on the rope, lifting Fenix in the air by his throat. He choked and gasped as the rope began to collapse his wind pipe. Loud cheeres errupted from the crowd. Suddenly an arrow shot through the air and hit the troll in the face. The troll's body went limp and fell to the ground, releasing Fenix. He collapsed on the ground coughing and gasping for air. Several other arrows flew into the crowd.
"Goblins!" someone suddenly shouted and the crowd panicked even more and began to scatter. Many troll guards ran into the crowds as hordes of goblins could be seen running down the street. Fenix stood and threw off the rope and ran over to the stocks. He unlatched them and made sure everyone was ok. Link could run but the others were in bad shape. Jared ran, leaning on Link, and Fenix carried Justin as the four ran away from the area.
"Wait, our stuff!" Jared shouted. They had to run back to the kings building. Their weapons and supplies were conveniently lying next to the throne. They ran over and got their weapons. Two guards suddenly ran forth. Link smirked and ran forward, slashing through the two easily. Suddenly the king ran forward.
"Halt! You're not going anywhere!" the king shouted.
"Oh, this is going to be so much fun..." Fenix muttered. He brought out his sword and charged the king.
"No...stop! HALT!!!!" the king backed away and tried to run. Fenix quickly caught up with him and swung his sword as hard as he could, decapitating the troll. The headless body slumped over and fell onto the ground.
"Hmph." Fenix muttered as he spit on the body. Suddenly the body began to glow an eerie brown and green. The glow left the body and floated through the air toward Fenix. Then the glow surrounded him and seeped into him.
"What was that...?" Fenix muttered. Link's face suddenly brightened.
"Wait!" he rushed over to Fenix. "Here." He reached into his sack and pulled out an empty orb, handing it to Fenix. Fenix gripped the orb and after a few seconds the same glow returned and entered the orb. Inside a swirling brownish green gas was seen with bits of rock circulating with the cloud.
"Oh...don't tell me that's an essence..." Jared muttered. "How the hell did that troll get it?!"
"Very strange indeed...." Fenix mumbled.
"Well it doesn't matter. We have it now. And that means 2 down. We're getting there guys." Link said. The four then remembered where they were. The shouts of goblins and trolls were heard from outside. They were beginning to storm the castle.
"We've got to get out of here!" Fenix shouted. They ran to the door but five goblins were in their way. Fenix decided to try out the new essence and pointed his hands at the goblins. The earth shook below them. Suddenly the ground beneath the goblins parted and they fell inside, then the ground closed back up, no trace of the goblins found.
"Let's go." Fenix said as they ran out of the building and fled into the woods.
"...And then it just...shot out from her hands!" In Gondar's lair, one of the creatures that saw Lauren was explaining what had happen.
"Hmm...The little wench was holding out on me then." Gondar mumbled. "She is the possessor of the light essence. Hmm...I guess that means we don't need her alive anymore. Now, as for you. WHY DIDN'T YOU CAPTURE HER?!!!!!!!!" he erupted.
"But--but sire!" the creature protested. "I didn't want to get killed!"
"Hmph, looks like you made a mistake." Gondar quickly threw a ball of energy at the creature. It hit the creature and was absorbed. At first it seemed as nothing was happening. The creature looked over its self in surprise. Suddenly a loud explosion erupted from the beast and its body was blown apart into many pieces, staining the stone walls with green blood and intestines. Suddenly a goblin ran in, but paused when he saw the steaming entrails on the wall.
"What is it?!" Gondar shouted, still angry.
"Uh...well..." the goblin studdered, eyeing the walls. "Well, one of my troops said they saw Link and the others in the troll villiage today."
"Really? They survived the army's attack then?" Gondar said annoyed.
"Yes, and one elf survived as well."
"Erg...that stupid boy...how many times must it take until he dies?! He's like a freakin cat or something! Bah...well what about the king. Were you able to persuade him and his troops to join our cause? Surely the attack would sway his opinion." Gondar chuckled evily to himself. "It was so simple to persuade the goblins to attack the Trolls."
"Er...well...there may be a slight problem with..."
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN?!!! WE DO HAVE THE KING! DON'T WE!!!?" the goblin gulped and began to sweat.
"Well...L-Link had be-h-headed the king right after the attack was launched...'
"GRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Gondar exploded furiously, punching through a stone table. Dark energy flew everywhere. "I WILL TAKE CARE OF THAT PEST MYSELF!!!!!" he roared, pushing the goblin away harshly and flying down the steps.
~end~
Lauren stood with her back against the wall. She watched the door as the creatures pounded against it shouting. She glanced around the room. It was totally empty. Nothing to hide behind, nothing to use as a weapon. The banging continued as the door creaked and groaned under the pressure. It began to bend inward, splinters flying off. With a loud crash the monsters knocked the door in. Most of them ran in, a few straying outside waiting for a chance to fit through the door. Lauren panicked and pressed hard against the wall. She looked down for a bit, took a deep breath, then looked back at the soldiers. Her eyes suddenly started to glow a faint yellow. The creatures stopped in the middle of the room and watched in fear. She raised her arms from her side and her entire body began to glow a golden yellow. Some of the creatures backed away in fear, mumbling. Her hair and clothes began to wave as if a wind was blowing. The light around her body suddenly focused around her hands as she brought them together, outstretched her hands, and shot out a beam of white light at the creatures. It blasted through them and sent them scattering. They all lay on the floor dead, a white glow surrounding them for a moment then dissapeared. The light vanished from around Lauren and she turned back to normal. Two creatures who had been standing outside the door stared at her wide eyed, then took off shouting "Master Gondar!"
"Oh crap...I shouldn't have done that..." Lauren mumbled. "Now Gondar knows I possess the light essence..." She quickly ran out the door and down the hall. "I've got to get out here before I'm caught...again..."
The four were pushed out of the cold building. Link squinted his eyes from the sun. They were led to the front of the kings building, where apparently all the special events were held. Not many people were there yet, not even the king. Four stocks were there, however. The guards placed the four inside the stocks. They were rather uncomfortable. There the four waited for about an hour or so until a large crowd had gathered, talking amongst themselves about what was to occur in the next few minutes. The king then emerged from the building greeted by the cheers of the crowd. He waved to the crowd and sat down in a throne that had been placed there.
"Greetings, my good people. The day has come!" the king said raising his chubby arms. He was responded with a loud cheer. "We have some wonderful events planned for you today. We thought we'd start off with a little torture!" More cheers came forth. "We'll start with our first victim!" he walked over to Jared who was in the first stock. "Well, you have a choice. Punishment number 1, Punishment number 2, or Punishment number 3." The crowd all shouted different numbers as Jared stared angrily at the king. He simply replied by spitting in his face. The crowd booed. "Hmm...I think the victim is having difficulty choosing. So I'll choose for him. Show him what he's won Johnny!" A troll rolled out a cart covered in a dirty cloth and displayed it like Vanah White.
"Well King Blagdar," a troll announced through a cone-like object, amplifying its voice. "Today our lucky torturie is being put in...the arm bound!" the crowd cheered as the cloth was lifted off the cart. On the cart there was a rectangular hollow block of wood with no top. There was a large hole on one side, leather straps in the center, and a crank on the other end. Jared was taken out of the stock and dragged over to the cart. When he struggled he was knocked over the head. The crowd seemed to be amused by this. His arm was forced into the hole of the device and the straps were tied around his fore arm. The Vanah troll walked over and displayed the crank, then grabbed a hold of it and started turning. Jared groaned in pain as the crank turned the straps which twisted his arm. The crown cheered. The troll turned it again. Jared fell down to his knees and shouted. The crowd cheered. Once again the crank was turned and a few popping sounds were heard from his shoulder. He let out a shuddered cry and tried to turn into it to ease the pain but the guards pushed him down. The King put up his hand.
"Alright, he can be put back." Jared was taken from the device and put back into the stock. He layed in the stock totally limp, gasping in pain. "Wasn't that fun?!" the king shouted. His yell was met with cheers. "Now for the next one!" Justin was next. "Now, would you like to chose your method of torture?"
"Burn in hell!" Justin said through clenched teeth.
"Hmm...give him the chair!" the king shouted. The crowd cheered. The cart with the arm device was wheeled away and a big chair was brought in. Justin was strapped down in his chair. His arms and legs were tied and his neck was strapped back. On the back of the chair, just below where his neck would be, there was a large crank. When the crank would be turned, a pole was pushed into his upper back. The crank was turned and the pole was pushed into his back. He was chest was pushed forward but the neck strap held him back, choking him.
"The nice thing about this, is the person has two ways to die. Either he is choked to death, or the pole breaks his spine." the announcer said. "Either way its loads of fun!" The crank was turned and Justin groaned in pain. The crowd cheered. He gasped for air as the strap clenched his throat tightly. The crank was turned once again. Justin coughed and tried to yell but couldn't. The king laughed and held up his hand. The straps were released off of Justin and he collapsed onto the floor. This was met by cheers from the crowd. He was dragged back to the stock. Next was Link.
"I've got a special treat for this one, and for all of you as well!" the king shouted to the audience. "In order to encourage audience involvement, we're going to have an old fashioned stoning!" The crowd cheered with approval. Links stock was rolled to the center of the stage. The crowd picked up some rocks off the ground and waited.
"Begin!" the king shouted. Several stones were thrown at Link. He groaned as each one hit. He clenched up his fists in order to save his fingers from being broken. One rock cut open his kuckle, another hit him above the brow. He lowered his head and winced with every stone. After a few minutes the king stopped this and Link was wheeled back with the other stocks. Fenix was last.
"Ugh. It's an elf..." the king said in disgust. "You know, why don't we just kill this one right now?"The crowd cheered. "Should he be hung of beheaded?" 'hung hung!' was the responce from the crowd. Fenix was taken from the stock and a rope was tied around his neck. The rope was thrown over a post and a large troll grabbed it.
"Ok, pull!" the king shouted. The troll began pulling on the rope, lifting Fenix in the air by his throat. He choked and gasped as the rope began to collapse his wind pipe. Loud cheeres errupted from the crowd. Suddenly an arrow shot through the air and hit the troll in the face. The troll's body went limp and fell to the ground, releasing Fenix. He collapsed on the ground coughing and gasping for air. Several other arrows flew into the crowd.
"Goblins!" someone suddenly shouted and the crowd panicked even more and began to scatter. Many troll guards ran into the crowds as hordes of goblins could be seen running down the street. Fenix stood and threw off the rope and ran over to the stocks. He unlatched them and made sure everyone was ok. Link could run but the others were in bad shape. Jared ran, leaning on Link, and Fenix carried Justin as the four ran away from the area.
"Wait, our stuff!" Jared shouted. They had to run back to the kings building. Their weapons and supplies were conveniently lying next to the throne. They ran over and got their weapons. Two guards suddenly ran forth. Link smirked and ran forward, slashing through the two easily. Suddenly the king ran forward.
"Halt! You're not going anywhere!" the king shouted.
"Oh, this is going to be so much fun..." Fenix muttered. He brought out his sword and charged the king.
"No...stop! HALT!!!!" the king backed away and tried to run. Fenix quickly caught up with him and swung his sword as hard as he could, decapitating the troll. The headless body slumped over and fell onto the ground.
"Hmph." Fenix muttered as he spit on the body. Suddenly the body began to glow an eerie brown and green. The glow left the body and floated through the air toward Fenix. Then the glow surrounded him and seeped into him.
"What was that...?" Fenix muttered. Link's face suddenly brightened.
"Wait!" he rushed over to Fenix. "Here." He reached into his sack and pulled out an empty orb, handing it to Fenix. Fenix gripped the orb and after a few seconds the same glow returned and entered the orb. Inside a swirling brownish green gas was seen with bits of rock circulating with the cloud.
"Oh...don't tell me that's an essence..." Jared muttered. "How the hell did that troll get it?!"
"Very strange indeed...." Fenix mumbled.
"Well it doesn't matter. We have it now. And that means 2 down. We're getting there guys." Link said. The four then remembered where they were. The shouts of goblins and trolls were heard from outside. They were beginning to storm the castle.
"We've got to get out of here!" Fenix shouted. They ran to the door but five goblins were in their way. Fenix decided to try out the new essence and pointed his hands at the goblins. The earth shook below them. Suddenly the ground beneath the goblins parted and they fell inside, then the ground closed back up, no trace of the goblins found.
"Let's go." Fenix said as they ran out of the building and fled into the woods.
"...And then it just...shot out from her hands!" In Gondar's lair, one of the creatures that saw Lauren was explaining what had happen.
"Hmm...The little wench was holding out on me then." Gondar mumbled. "She is the possessor of the light essence. Hmm...I guess that means we don't need her alive anymore. Now, as for you. WHY DIDN'T YOU CAPTURE HER?!!!!!!!!" he erupted.
"But--but sire!" the creature protested. "I didn't want to get killed!"
"Hmph, looks like you made a mistake." Gondar quickly threw a ball of energy at the creature. It hit the creature and was absorbed. At first it seemed as nothing was happening. The creature looked over its self in surprise. Suddenly a loud explosion erupted from the beast and its body was blown apart into many pieces, staining the stone walls with green blood and intestines. Suddenly a goblin ran in, but paused when he saw the steaming entrails on the wall.
"What is it?!" Gondar shouted, still angry.
"Uh...well..." the goblin studdered, eyeing the walls. "Well, one of my troops said they saw Link and the others in the troll villiage today."
"Really? They survived the army's attack then?" Gondar said annoyed.
"Yes, and one elf survived as well."
"Erg...that stupid boy...how many times must it take until he dies?! He's like a freakin cat or something! Bah...well what about the king. Were you able to persuade him and his troops to join our cause? Surely the attack would sway his opinion." Gondar chuckled evily to himself. "It was so simple to persuade the goblins to attack the Trolls."
"Er...well...there may be a slight problem with..."
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN?!!! WE DO HAVE THE KING! DON'T WE!!!?" the goblin gulped and began to sweat.
"Well...L-Link had be-h-headed the king right after the attack was launched...'
"GRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Gondar exploded furiously, punching through a stone table. Dark energy flew everywhere. "I WILL TAKE CARE OF THAT PEST MYSELF!!!!!" he roared, pushing the goblin away harshly and flying down the steps.
~end~