Sa: I made balloon people with my little cousin! HAHAHAHAHA! Hers is a
replica of her, mine is a NERD! WHEEEE! NERDS ARE FUN! I am doing an oral
report on JRR Tolkien. I found a site with all sorts of info on him. And
it's only got to be a 4-6 minute speech. Imagine me standing up there, "and
in the hobbit Bilbo Baggins does this and this and . . ." -Two Hours Later-
"and this and this and this and this and this and this and blah-di blah-di
blah. Now on to The Fellowship Of The Ring!" -Audience groans-
Helga: all RIGHT Sa!!! You can STOP NOW! We've had enough!
Shawna: I was actually quite interested.
Sa: really???
Helga: NO! She's just being Shawna
Sa: fine! Forget you two! I'll go and play with Hayden! He LIKES to listen to me! And he is teaching me how to use his LIGHTSABER! I'll CHOP YOU TO PIECES! -Storms off muttering- "I hate oldies! I hate oldies! I hate oldies! I hate oldies! I hate oldies! I hate oldies! I HATE OLDIES! I HATE THEM YOU HEAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
*^*^*^*^Chapter Thirteen: Aggressive Negotiations^*^*^*^*
"Briar? Briar, wake up."
Briar pulled his blanket over his head and tried to go back to sleep.
"Briar!" the whisper persisted. The blanket was pulled off his head and he looked, bleary eyed, into Sandry's impatient face. "Come on, Tris and Daja are already awake."
"I'm up," he said, sitting and stifling a yawn. Sandry smiled and left. Dressing quickly, Briar wondered what was going on. It was not even dawn yet. Just then, the Hub clock chimed 2 hours past midnight. He pulled on his boots and tiptoed into the main room. The three girls were outside, whispering quietly. "What's going on?" he inquired.
"Briar, we're going after him. All four of us together." Tris said.
"You aren't going to say no, are you?" Sandry asked. Pleading blue eyes met his.
"No way," he said determinedly. "We're getting rid of that man as soon as possible." And with that, the four set out towards the road that would take them to their foe.
Three days later they arrived at the huge castle. On the way, the four young mages had studied the map of the castle and decided their plan of attack. Tris would draw up another fog and they would sneak into Snakethread's chambers at night. There, they would finish him off. Briar readied his knives as Tris called up the fog. They decided to tie themselves at the waist again to avoid getting separated. Tris tied the end of a long rope to herself. Daja tied herself next to Tris. Sandry took the next space and Briar took the other end. This was where it began.
They snuck into the castle and ascended four flights of stairs. ~This next door is Snakethread's chambers.~ Tris mind-spoke. ~Daja, make sure the hinges don't creak.~ A moment later the entered the rooms. There was no fog there. Instead, there stood Snakethread himself.
"Well, well. Our young mages come to save the day. It's not going to be that easy," he said silkily. No one noticed Briar discreetly untying the rope around his waist. Snakethread sneered at them. Then, uttering a single word of command, he threw the three girls to the corner. He was obviously surprised that Briar didn't go flying with them. Taking advantage of his enemy's confusion, Briar threw up the strongest magical barrier he could muster. Dimly he felt Sandry feeding her magic into the protection and pushing some of his magic back into his stores. Snakethread recovered quickly. He threw a blast of raw power at Briar. Dodging, he retaliated by plucking the thorns from the plants in the chamber and throwing them cruelly at the man, causing several cuts on his face and neck. No one knew how long the magical portion of the battle lasted. Briar was running out of magic. Most of Sandry's magic had already been woven into a protection for him. Daja and Tris had been knocked out by the impact of hitting the wall.
Suddenly, Briar remembered his knives. The mage was weak physically. He launched himself at Snakethread and flicked out one of his knives. Snakethread threw the last of his magic into a barrier that kept Briar from hitting him. As Snakethread lowered his defenses, Briar lunged again. Before the mage could even throw up another barrier, Briar's blade had buried itself deep into Snakethread's heart. Then, Sandry's magical barrier collapsed. The girl had fainted.
Rushing to her side, Briar realized that his magic was spent as well. The last thing he saw as his vision went dark was the dead body of Vinen Snakethread. He had fallen.
Helga: all RIGHT Sa!!! You can STOP NOW! We've had enough!
Shawna: I was actually quite interested.
Sa: really???
Helga: NO! She's just being Shawna
Sa: fine! Forget you two! I'll go and play with Hayden! He LIKES to listen to me! And he is teaching me how to use his LIGHTSABER! I'll CHOP YOU TO PIECES! -Storms off muttering- "I hate oldies! I hate oldies! I hate oldies! I hate oldies! I hate oldies! I hate oldies! I HATE OLDIES! I HATE THEM YOU HEAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
*^*^*^*^Chapter Thirteen: Aggressive Negotiations^*^*^*^*
"Briar? Briar, wake up."
Briar pulled his blanket over his head and tried to go back to sleep.
"Briar!" the whisper persisted. The blanket was pulled off his head and he looked, bleary eyed, into Sandry's impatient face. "Come on, Tris and Daja are already awake."
"I'm up," he said, sitting and stifling a yawn. Sandry smiled and left. Dressing quickly, Briar wondered what was going on. It was not even dawn yet. Just then, the Hub clock chimed 2 hours past midnight. He pulled on his boots and tiptoed into the main room. The three girls were outside, whispering quietly. "What's going on?" he inquired.
"Briar, we're going after him. All four of us together." Tris said.
"You aren't going to say no, are you?" Sandry asked. Pleading blue eyes met his.
"No way," he said determinedly. "We're getting rid of that man as soon as possible." And with that, the four set out towards the road that would take them to their foe.
Three days later they arrived at the huge castle. On the way, the four young mages had studied the map of the castle and decided their plan of attack. Tris would draw up another fog and they would sneak into Snakethread's chambers at night. There, they would finish him off. Briar readied his knives as Tris called up the fog. They decided to tie themselves at the waist again to avoid getting separated. Tris tied the end of a long rope to herself. Daja tied herself next to Tris. Sandry took the next space and Briar took the other end. This was where it began.
They snuck into the castle and ascended four flights of stairs. ~This next door is Snakethread's chambers.~ Tris mind-spoke. ~Daja, make sure the hinges don't creak.~ A moment later the entered the rooms. There was no fog there. Instead, there stood Snakethread himself.
"Well, well. Our young mages come to save the day. It's not going to be that easy," he said silkily. No one noticed Briar discreetly untying the rope around his waist. Snakethread sneered at them. Then, uttering a single word of command, he threw the three girls to the corner. He was obviously surprised that Briar didn't go flying with them. Taking advantage of his enemy's confusion, Briar threw up the strongest magical barrier he could muster. Dimly he felt Sandry feeding her magic into the protection and pushing some of his magic back into his stores. Snakethread recovered quickly. He threw a blast of raw power at Briar. Dodging, he retaliated by plucking the thorns from the plants in the chamber and throwing them cruelly at the man, causing several cuts on his face and neck. No one knew how long the magical portion of the battle lasted. Briar was running out of magic. Most of Sandry's magic had already been woven into a protection for him. Daja and Tris had been knocked out by the impact of hitting the wall.
Suddenly, Briar remembered his knives. The mage was weak physically. He launched himself at Snakethread and flicked out one of his knives. Snakethread threw the last of his magic into a barrier that kept Briar from hitting him. As Snakethread lowered his defenses, Briar lunged again. Before the mage could even throw up another barrier, Briar's blade had buried itself deep into Snakethread's heart. Then, Sandry's magical barrier collapsed. The girl had fainted.
Rushing to her side, Briar realized that his magic was spent as well. The last thing he saw as his vision went dark was the dead body of Vinen Snakethread. He had fallen.