Alexander Walked toward the cave entrance. He felt as if he needed to go there. He trudged regaurdless of the pattering rain, through the slosh. His allies ran up behind him. He held a paw out to stop them from coming with him to the cave entrance.
"I'm sorry, friends. I feel as if I need to do this on my own. Go back to camp. Tell the others of this, but don't come. Make haste! Now!". Erik then replied, "But Alex, you need us! We have to come! You'll be slain instant-". He was cut short by, "I need to do this alone. Please, go"
Erik respected Alexander's wishes, so slowly he began to back up. He turned around and motioned to his team. "come on, lets go". But then he stopped, turned around at tossed a dagger to Alexander. "Take this he said. I'll wish you the best of luck." Turning away with heads down, they trudged off.
Alexander then turned back toward the cave. He entered. Peering at his surroundings, he sawthere was a small narrow tunnel before him. He walked down, and it got darker and darker. He walked down deeper and deeper as the tunnels sloped down. He wondered what he would find down here. But before anything, he would need light.
Taking out his pack, he searched for a piece of wood. taking one, he took a piece of cloth and wrapped it around the wood. He took it, and lit fire to it. He made a very crude torch. Happy with this new item, he drew his sword in his other hand. He used the light to look at the carvings on the walls. There were snakes, and some type of weasel/rat vermin. This was a VERY old temple. He looked at the carvings and concluded that an early species of rat had built this temple, and placed snakes in it, treating them in reverence. What he saw next horrified him. He sawmice being tortured and sacraficed to carvings of snakes.
He jerked his head backward. He turned his head and shuddered. What kind of sick place was he in? He would have to find where the small child was. He decided that he would already be dead, or stored in a place were he would be eaten later. Coming into a stop at a wall, he saw that there was a fork in the tunnel. He went right. He enterd a medium sized space, which branched out in three different directions. walking to the center, he made his first mistake. He stepped on a stone, but it activated a trap! He then heard rumbling and saw that the three tunnels branching out were being slowly blocked by iron gate coming down from each branch, causingeach tunnel to be slowly blocked. He had to choose quick. There was a door with a + sign, one with a -, and one with an X.
He chose the minus branch and ran toward it. He didn't know if he could make it in time. Reaching the front of the gate, he did a roll and made it under the closing gate. Grunting, he got up and walked down the short tunnel. He then discovered what the - was for. It meant the wrong room. He saw that walls were closing around him. He thought he would be crushed by the round cylinder closing in on him. But it suddenly stopped. Slots opened in the walls. Snakes then slowly started coming out of them. He was gripped with an icy claw of fear, but it then passed. Swinging his torch around, the slowly advancing snakes recoiled, and he charged some. Swinging his sword, he chopped the head off ofone. He spun around, swung his torch and lit another one on fire. From the cieling, one dropped down and he stuck his sword straight up, impaling it.
A snake then leaped at him, and he grabbed it in mid air. He silenced it with a swift blow. He backstepped a snake, but was then attcked by one from behind. He spun around and slashed this one. Rolling around a snake, he stabbed upward and killed it. He jumped high, and came down crashing one's skull. He flung his torch, he stabbed, he slashed, he parried, he blocked, he dodged, and fought off the flow of snakes.
When they finally stopped, he listend quietly. He then saw the walls closing in again. He was out of breathe, but urged himself to think of what to do. The slots. Leaping toward a wall, he crawled through a large slot in the wall wich was closing. It was on the right. He then wedged himself in and started crawling like a worm further down. He saw the edge of the other side of the slot. He held his torch in front of him, keeping it a safe pont away from his face.
After climbing out of that slot, he looked around and stared open mouthed. He saw things he dreamed of at night. Treasure. Lots of it. He now knew he was in the room that came from the branch with the X on it. He knew what the X meant. Treasure. X marks the spot!
He gazed dreamily at the gold, jewels, clothes, silk, armor, necklaces, daggers, plates, dabloons, gold coins, pearls, bracelets, swords, oils, candles, axes, vests, shoes, silver, and all the riches you could think of. But what he noticed most was that all the treasure was surround byone thing in the middle. A sword. It was a beautiful sword. It was light, and had a VERY strong blade. At the edge of the hilt was a red promelstone. The sword was laced decorativley with thin silk and pearls. It was definetly forged by a badger lord. He gazed in awe at it's wounderous beauty.
He made a grab at the hilt. He attempted to pull up, but found it was wedged in something. It was a stone. He would have to pull it out. He grabbed both hands on, and pulled up with his arms. He was a tough kid, but he could not pull it up. He starined, and strained. He pulled and pulled. He felt the blood vessels popping up and his face turning red. He pulled, strained and tugged. He then felt something he never felt before. It was a feeling. A feeling of bravery, a feeling of confidence, a feeling of strength, a feeling of fury! It was a warriors fury!
He felt his heart beating inside himself and his newfound powers surged through him. He felt so envigorated, he felt he could do anything! He pulled up and up until fianlly it came up with a flash of light and large grunt of exurstion from Alexander. Staggering backwards, he practically flew across the ground. He sat up, gazing at his new prize in his hands.
Alexander would need to go on. He looked across at the far edge of the room he could make out a stone door. He walked towards it. He pulled on a knob and opened it up wide. He walked into a large dome type place. He looked around and saw there were many Doors. He walked straight across the room and walked to another door. He reached and touched the knob, but it crumbled. He walked diagonally away and opened another door. This time he stepped through it.
Walking inside, he saw dead cracasses, weapons, skulls, scatterd across the floor. He turned around and threw up at the horrible sight of decomposing bodies. He then heard something. A whimper. Turning around, he dashed toward the noise. There was a small mouse huddled against the wall, crying. Alexander crouched down near the small mouse and hugged him. "I.. want.. my daddy..." , said the crying little boy. "It's ok. It's ookk", replied Alexander.
"Come on, we have to get you back home. Your Mother and Father are wating for you. You have to come." They walked through the door an entered the dome again. He looked around. Suddenly, he heard a rumbling. The ground began to shake, and fake doors began crumbling in the dome. Suddenly, there was a mass of bricks jiggling in the wall. Then,it cracked and burst, and a sea of snakes came forth. Holding up his torch, he swung it around as reptiles came pouring out of the wall. He was suddenly gripped with fear. Run. That was it. Run.
Snapping away from his thoughts, he hoisted the small, and frightened, child on his shoulder, and threw his torch behind him. It caught fire to the scattered wood on the ground. This would keep the snakes at bay for a short period of time while he ran. He burst open the door in front of him. He ran into the treasure room. Once in, he looked around. no way out. Wait! behind the stack of chests! a way out. Knocking gold and jewels out of the way, he found a hole that had been made when the rumbling occured. He looked behind him in the tunnel he was now in, and saw a few snakes just now entering the end of the hole. He ran faster.
He dared not look behind him anymore. Once seeing the end of the tunnel, he ran wirth more envigorated speed. He ran out and turned a corner in a large hallway. He was running,then he tripped over something. It was a lever. Hearing now age rusted gears working, he looked at the cieling and found that metal bars were now slowly being dropped behind him on the ceiling. The bars filled the entire width of the passage and were slowly being dropped one at a time. He ran, not wanting to be trapped in between two metal bars. The slowly speeding up blocking of the passage now got even faster, and willed himself togo on.
Seeing the end of this tunnel, he realized he was almost out. Looking behind him, he saw only the fastest snake coming toward him, for others were now trapped in the walls. He ran on. Coming out of the tunnel, he saw the edge of a large ledge, but was going too fast to stop his momentum.
He ran straight off the edge, and plunged into the black abyss. For once in Alexanders life, he felt he was going to truly die while falling through the pitch black abyss. Then, everything was white. He was standing in a large white room, which seemed to stretch all directions for an eternity. He looked ahead and saw a a mouse clad in armor, holding the sword he was holding. He walked up to Alexander and put his swordpoint on his. He felt his sword grow hot, and was suddenly filled with the spirit of the warrior. It surged through his body and he felt like he was being electrocuted for a moment. The Armor clad mouse then shouted one word. "Redwall!"
Suddenly, he was back in the falling stage, falling through the air. He closed his eyes and braced himself for the worst. He grabbed hold of the small mouse and tightened. He hit something, then it broke, and he was falling again. He then landed again. He lay on the ground, and opened his eyes. He was alive. That was good.
Hearing the echos of shrill cries above him, he snapped out of it. He felt around and discovered he fell on a large pile of hay. He got up and peered through the darkness. He was almost out of the tunnel, for there was a long hallway before reaching the opening which light came through.
He then got up and ran toward the light. But suddenly a stone which he stepped on sank into the ground and activated a trap. The slots where opening again! Looking down the torch lighted tunnel, he ran for it. Suddenly, he had an idea. Alcohol. Fire. Damage.
Taking out his flask of beer, he ran towards the light, spilling the alcohol on the ground as he went. The flagon was almost out of the beer when he got halfway down the tunnel. He took out his other flagon of beer and began pouring some more. Looking back while pouring, he saw snakes gaining on him. He hurried himself. when that flagon was empty, he reached about 3/4 through the tunnel. He stopped. Turning around to face the slithering mosters, he grabbed a torch from the wall. He grinned, and dropped the torch.
Almost as soon as that happened, the entire tunnel was an inferno of flames. He hopskipped around and took off down the tunnel, a mass of fire flying through the tunnel toward him. He looked behind him and saw the giant flame making its way toward him. He didn't want to be burnt to a crisp , so he ran like the dickens.
He neared the end of the tunnel. He could feel the giant mass of heat right behind him now, abut to engulf him. He leaped through the light and landed in soft grass, and felt a wave of hot heat wave through him. He opened his eyes Ahhh! Such a bright light! Why was it so bright? Alexander realized staying down there that long enlarged his pupils a reasonable amount.
Sitting up, he looked around. He saw a few peices of grass on flame, and alot of the gras nearby had scorch marks. He got up and looked around, covering his eyes from the light. Taking the little mouse from his shoulder he said to him, "It's all over now. Come on. Let's get you home."
Walking around on the grass Alexander rounded a large rock and spotted the cottage p a large hill. The little boy puched him out of the way, and rand home yelling and shouting. Alexander ran up with him. Reaching the cottage, he walked around to the back. He saw Sharon sobbing gently. Looking up, she say her little boy. she cried. He was safe.
"Thank you, thank you! How could we ever repay you. Oh I promise... We'll always be in your debt. Jacob came from around the corner. His father looked at him. "son. You have to go with Alexander and his warriors. It is a noble orginization., and I think you are ready. Jacob nodded, and turned around. "I'll come with you back to camp. I'll go get my stuff."
Alexander looked back toward the forest and smiled. A few minutes later, Jacob came throghthe doorw with a sack, a sword, and some food. He gulped. Alexander could tell he was nervous. He chuckled. "Come on. Let's go." And they headed back to the center of Mossflower.