Prologue
A lone silhouette sat on a small slope hunched over, hugging itself. The icy wind blew softly through the night. Grass rustled, and the silhouette sighed.
Suddenly a twig cracked from behind the silhouette inside the vast forest. The silhouetted moved a hand nonchalantly to besides him on the ground where a long line of grass was flattened by one single long blade with no hilt.
"Shaman, what are you doing out in the cold?"
"Don't worry about it Star, I'll be back in time for dinner later."
SapphireStar stepped out from behind a tree at the edge of the forest, "Shaman, come on, you'll catch a cold out here, let's go back home."
"Where's your bow and arrows? You know it's dangerous to be without them at night."
SapphireStar sighed, annoyed at being told that over and over again daily, "Shaman, you know there's nothing more dangerous than a green slime in these woods, and besides, Karik's been teaching me how to use some magic, so I don't have to worry about anything!" SapphireStar stuck out her tongue at Shaman's back.
"A bowman that uses magic? I don't think the world's ready yet Saph," Shaman chuckled, "Good thing Karik's a cleric, if he specialized in fire, than this whole forest would be burnt down to the ground by the time he taught you how to use a spell."
SapphireStar retorted back coyly, "I'm sorry? Who was the one that got lost in the forest and was found crying after five hours?"
Shaman's eyes twitched and he forced a smile as he concentrated on the dark scenery ahead of him. A long stalk of grass flew into his face and he hastily scraped it off his cheek.
SapphireStar's eyes widened with glee, "You're lost aren't you? That's why you haven't come back home yet!"
Shaman stiffened, "NO! I just wanted some time to think!"
SapphireStar rolled her eyes and snorted, "Admit it Shaman, you're lost again."
"No I'm not!" came an instant and hurried reply. "Stupid!" cursed Shaman internally, "now she knows I'm definitely lost!"
SapphireStar smiled and crossed her arms, "Shaman, we've been living here for almost two years! How can you still get lost in this place!"
"Shut up! A paladin doesn't have to know where he's going," barked Shaman bitterly.
"Ah…but there's your problem Shaman," SapphireStar said delicately as she sat down gently next to Shaman, "You're not a paladin!" SapphireStar giggled.
Shaman decided not to say anything and turned away from her. The two of them sat there for a while quietly, the cold wind blowing now softly through the grass and chilling the two of them.
"Shaman…let's get back…" pleaded SapphireStar as she tugged Shaman's white sleeve.
Shaman ignored Star as she tugged and pulled at him, shaking him up quite a bit.
"Shaman! Come on!" whined Star.
Shaman finally taken enough of the shaking abuse, turned around to face Star, to find that she was missing.
"Star?" he asked out loud as he looked around the area, searching for her.
"Hah! I have your left shoe!"
"What!" Shaman spun around to see Star holding his shiny left steel boot. He than spun back to see that his white left sock was exposed to the open night air.
"Give it back!" Shaman raged.
"You'll have to catch me first!" cheered Star as she bounced off into the forest.
"Dammit!" cursed Shaman as he got up hastily, grabbing his sword while he was at it, "Come back here!" yelled Shaman as he ran off after Star.
Shaman chased Star around the forest, passing through many trees and many small and weak monsters. All the while, Star was laughing at Shaman's predicament while Shaman was yelling at Star for stealing his left boot.
Finally they burst forth into a clearing where a small cottage with smoke coming out of its chimney stood with light coming out of all its windows.
"See! We're home!" laughed Star as she stopped and turned around to face a still running Shaman.
"Grah!" yelled Shaman as he lunged towards Star. Star was surprised by this outburst and right as Shaman was about to make contact with her, she fell over back wards, thus allowing Shaman to fly right over her and slam right into the wooden cottage door with a deft thump.
Shaman slid down onto the dusty ground and gave out a slight moan. Star got back up off the ground and attempted to dust off her back.
Suddenly the wooden door which Shaman slammed upon and was still right in front of slammed open with such force that Shaman went right into the stone wall of the cottage.
A tall boy with long black hair stepped out from the cottage wearing a white apron with a very flustered face, "Shaman! Star! Stop screwing around and get in for dinner!
Inside the cottage at the dinner table...
It was silent as the three occupants of the house sat there at the wooden table, consuming their meal that was on their plates. The only sound was the clattering of the knives and forks and a soft whisper of wind coming in from the cracks of the cottage every so often.
Suddenly Shaman broke the silence, "Hey Karik…"
"Hm?" said Karik as he raised his head from his plate.
"Uh…I don't mean to be disrespectful…but your cooking sucks!" said Shaman dryly as he stabbed a piece of meat and was unsuccessful in picking it up.
"Star?" asked Karik as he raised an eyebrow at her.
"No comment," Star said meekly as she bent over low over her plate and continued eating with no expression.
"Seriously man…I can't even tell what it is!" continued Shaman as he stared at the piece of meat with a squinted eye. He than jabbed at it with his knife and the meat suddenly stood up and grabbed the knife by the sharp end and then slapped Shaman with the handle of the knife.
"OW!" Shaman rubbed his cheek as the meat plopped back down onto its plate. Star stared at the meat and then at the half eaten meat in her mouth and slowly spit it back out onto her own plate.
"What? I just added a bit of magic so it wouldn't taste raw!" explained Karik as he received two hard stares.
"Explain to me why you're cooking again?" asked Shaman sarcastically.
"Well…," reminisced Karik as he ignored Shaman's sarcasm, "Star couldn't bear to chop up the meat while it still resembled the form of an animal, so she decided to feed us only vegetables for a week or so. That's when we decided that I would cook the dinner from than on because we lacked meat in our diet and that also made you and I extremely irritated."
"Right…," said Shaman tiredly, "Than explain to me why Star was cooking for us?"
"Um…guys? I'm right here…," said Star sadly as she watched the two boys talk over what has happened over the past few weeks.
"Hm…I believe it was because Robbie left us after he said that God was calling him or something, and he would always make dinner…which we all agreed was edible," Karik said wistfully as he stroked his chin. The dinner was all forgotten now, stone cold on the table.
"Right…but didn't we all agree to stop letting Robbie sniff that one plant in front of our house?"
"I believe Star picked some of the flowers from that plant one day and brought it in here and somehow Robbie was able to attain it…"
"Ah…touché…, so this comes back to Star in the end…"
"Guys?" trembled Star, who was in a mental pit of deep despair as the two boys related all their food issues back to her.
"Huh?" both the boys finally snapped out of their thinking and looked at Star.
Star's head was bowed low, and a dark aura was emitting from her. The two boys edged away from her as she started trembling.
"FINE! If I'm such a hassle! I'm leaving!" shouted Star suddenly as she stood up aggressively with both her hands shaking.
The two boys cowered and fell off their chairs, both scrambling into a corner.
"I've had enough! All I ever wanted was to help a bit! But whatever I do, you two always criticize me in the end!" roared Star as she went to grab her yellow bow and an armful of arrows.
Karik edged behind Shaman as he attempted to get as close into the corner as possible.
"Hey!" whispered Shaman as Star angrily threw cloths and necessities into a small brown suitcase, "You're older and you're the cleric! What are you doing! Go calm her!"
"Shut up! I'm a cleric and I deal with evil things, not women!" Karik retorted as he eyed Star warily as she slammed her suitcase shut.
Suddenly Star whirled around and fired three rapid arrows at Shaman and Karik, each coming dangerously close to their future children. Shaman fainted as Karik sweated beads of bullets and used Shaman as a shield.
"I'm leaving for good! Don't even try to come and find me!" huffed Star ferociously as she walked out the front door and slamming it shut with great force.
Karik sweat dropped as the force of the slam caused a bowl on the dinner table to drop onto the floor and break.
Later that night...
Shaman awoke to find himself still on the floor sprawled in an unceremonious manner. Karik was washing the dirty plates while humming a soft tune.
"Where's Star?" asked Shaman groggily.
"She left…," Karik replied without turning around.
"What do you mean she left?" Shaman got up unsteadily.
"She left, simple as that."
"Why didn't you go after her than!"
"Why didn't you?"
"I fainted!"
"Pansy…"
The two were quiet but Karik kept on wiping away at the dishes. Shaman sighed as he marched over next to Karik and grabbed a dirty dish and also started washing it.
"So when do you think she'll be back?"
"I don't know…I don't understand the female mind."
"Who does?"
The two boys chuckled. Karik used his arm and moved some stray strands of black hair away from his forehead.
"You know…we're running low on mesos," began Karik.
"And?"
"I think its time we went into town and did a few jobs for the townsfolk."
"Without Robbie?"
"We'll just do some easy ones…just enough until he comes back."
The two of them sighed. Robbie has been missing for over a month, and the money he left them was dwindling away quickly.
After the two finished the dishes, they both went and did their own personal things. Karik grabbed a dusty book off one of his private shelves and sat down at the dinner table and began reading it with great intensity. Shaman wanted to go out and train with his sword, but without Robbie to help, it was pointless in the end.
Shaman sighed, "I'm going to bed…"
"Whatever…," replied Karik softly as he traced the wordings on the book carefully.
Shaman went into his small room. It wasn't much, there was a bed, with a drawer and a small window to look out of. Besides the mass amounts of armor and weapons lying on the ground, there wasn't anything special. Shaman plopped onto the bed and he started thinking.
Robbie and Karik used to travel together, a paladin and a cleric, the perfect team of God, and also the perfect team for ridding evil. But one day, Robbie was possessed by an evil spirit and he slaughtered hundreds of people searching for a magic ruby. Karik in the end was able to awaken Robbie and drive the spirit out of him, but at the cost of Karik's left arm up to the elbow and the blinding of Robbie's right eye.
Well, thought Shaman, that's what the two told Star and him. He didn't believe it full-heartedly, because Karik's left arm and hand was still intact, but Karik always had a long white glove covering it, and Robbie's right eye didn't seem dimmed or blind.
After the events that led to the injuries of Karik and Robbie, the two decided to take a short break and settled in the small cottage they were in now. Half a year later, SapphireStar arrived at the cottage in the middle of the night while it was raining heavily and Star was sick with the flu. Karik tended to her during the time she was sick and she recovered quickly, but she stayed with the two of them after that.
Shaman smiled, he hoped that Star would return before midnight. Than his smile dimmed, he remembered how he arrived at this place.
Star was one day picking medical herbs and flowers for Karik in the forest where she found him passed out on the ground with many heavy and critical wounds on him. She quickly alerted Robbie and Karik, which both took him in their cottage and was able to save him before he died. He was asked a numerous amount of times of what has happened to him, but he was never able to answer, unable to remember the past events.
After that, Robbie began to teach him how to use the blade and also told him that he could someday become a Paladin like him. Shaman trained day and night vigorously for the next two years, in hopes of catching up with Robbie.
Shaman smiled, he loved this household; Robbie and his always cheerful mood as he attempts to woo many girls down at the bar in town; Karik and his always stoic manners, polite, helpful, yet ferocious in front of evil, Sapphire and her amazing charm and innocence to befriend anything she meets in a matter of seconds. They were more than friends after the past four years of spending time together, they were family in a sense.
Shaman sighed contentedly as he drifted off into deep slumber.
The Next Morning…..
Shaman awoke with great vigor. He hopped out of bed and brushed his teeth happily, feeling something good was going to happen today. He walked out into the living room, which was connected to the kitchen, to find Karik meditating quietly in the room.
Shaman chuckled, "Hey, what's for breakfast?"
Karik didn't reply.
Shaman frowned and fell onto the long, brown couch that was behind Karik. He instantly jumped back up. He turned around to find that Star was asleep on the couch he was about to sit, snuggled in tight with a wool blanket over her.
"When did she…," Shaman began.
Karik replied silently, "I found her this morning asleep on the front porch; I don't think she went anywhere far yesterday."
"Nice," laughed Shaman quietly. He stared at Star's peaceful form on the couch and he yawned.
"So I ask again, what's for breakfast?" asked Shaman.
"We're going to use the last of our mesos and have breakfast in town today, after that, we're going to go talk to the quest office and go earn some mesos until Robbie's return." Karik replied as he stood up from his meditating position.
"Great! Let's go!" cheered Shaman.
"Not until Star wakes up."
"Aw…but I'm hungry right now…"
"And don't wake her up either, or else you'll have to answer to me, she's had a rough night."
Shaman pouted and dropped onto the floor next to Star, awaiting her awakening.
Much later...
SapphireStar awoke due to a slight tickling sensation on her nose. She opened up her cerulean eyes to find Shaman very close to her face tickling her nose with a stiff feather.
"Shaman!" shrieked Star shrilly as she jumped up from the couch hugging her blanket tightly.
"Wah!" yelled back Shaman, surprised at Star's outburst.
"Shaman! I told you not to wake her up!" roared Karik as he rushed into the living room brandishing his staff menacingly at Shaman.
After a bit of beating...
Shaman and Karik sat at the dinner table with Star looking very sorry. Shaman was nursing a few of his bruises and an extremely large bump on the back of his head.
Star suddenly spoke up bashfully, "Guys…I'm really sorry about yesterday…I didn't mean to any of that. Please forgive me…"
Karik gave Star a heartwarming smile, "Don't worry about it Star, if it was anything, we should be the ones apologizing!" Karik then stepped on Shaman's foot hard.
"OW! I mean, yes! We're very sorry for what we said last night SapphireStar," Shaman said with pain.
Star giggled as Shaman yelled at Karik for stepping on his foot and the two got into a small tussle. She smiled, everything was still the same.
In a small café in to town...
Shaman was wolfing down his eggs while reaching for the pitcher of milk across the table. Karik looked at Shaman with disdain at his eating manners. He was eating nothing except a glass of orange juice. Star smiled as she ate her toast in dainty bites.
A piece of egg flew from Shaman and hit Karik on the cheek. Karik flicked it off of himself and sighed, "Shaman, my God, you eat exactly like Robbie…"
Shaman didn't reply since half an egg was still hanging out of his mouth. Star giggled, "Well Karik, Shaman has been training with Robbie for a while…"
"The horrors…another Robbie…"said Karik weakly as he drank the rest of his orange juice.
After breakfast and a quick trip yet long wait at the quest office...
Karik, SapphireStar, and Shaman strolled down the street of the town, heading towards their mission objective. Shaman was still complaining loudly about how the line was so long at the office while Star was chasing a blue butterfly. Karik all the while was rubbing his temples due to Shaman' excessive noise.
They left the town and traversed into the darker regions of the Great Forest, which spanned out all the way into the mountains, which divided the region up from the humans and the monsters.
"Hey Karik…have you ever gone into this part of the forest?" asked Shaman as he swiped at a large flower with his hiltless sword.
"No…actually I haven't…," replied Karik quietly.
Star laughed, "Stop being such a worrywart Shaman! Karik said this quest was going to be easy! And it will be!"
They kept on walking until they arrived at a huge dark cavern. Karik stopped the other two and he took out his map, checking to make sure they were at the right location.
"This can't be right…" murmured Karik.
"What can't be right?" asked Star curiously.
"This map says that the cavern is here all right…but it's in the boundaries of the magic line!" Karik exclaimed.
"What's a magic line?" questioned Shaman.
Karik sighed, "You idiot, all the towns on Victoria Island has them!"
"So what are they?"
Karik sighed once again and began to explain, "All towns and cities in Victoria Island had a magic line that separates us humans from the monsters that live out here. They usually don't span very far, but it's far enough to keep the monsters out of town so they won't raid us at night. They were all cast by Grendel the Really Old, one of the Five Great Warriors of Victoria Island. Each town and city has one. But the strange thing is that this cavern, which contains out quest, and no doubt is filled with numerous monsters, is in the boundaries of the line!"
Star than asked, "Maybe the line's becoming weaker?"
"Impossible, a student of Grendel comes and recasts the spell on each town and city yearly to ensure the safeness of the townsfolk while Grendel himself recasts the spell every month on the Six main Cities." Replied Karik.
Shaman yawned, "Whatever than, we'll just finish the quest and report this after we collect our money!"
"No, I think we should leave this for the officials, only powerful dark magic can penetrate Grendel's barrier," said Karik seriously.
Star and Shaman stared at Karik, who kept on staring intently at the darkness of the cavern entrance.
Suddenly Star dashed into the cavern, dragging Shaman with him, "Oh well than Karik! You can go warn the officials! We'll finish the quest!" She laughed as her blue hair flew backwards as she charged into the darkness."
Karik snapped out of his thinking, "HEY! Don't go in there! It could be dangerous!" But already Star and Shaman were to deep in the cave to hear him.
"Dangit!" yelled Karik as he chased after them into the cave.
Karik was finally able to catch up with Star and Shaman, both whom were sitting on a large rock chatting.
Karik stopped at the bottom of the boulder and screamed at the two of them, "DAMMIT YOU TWO! Don't run off like that! What if a Balrog was in here or something? Than you two would be his official toothpick!"
Star pouted, "Oh, don't be like that Karik, we need the money anyways."
Shaman continued, "Besides…Balrogs live between Victoria and Ossyria in the air, why would they come to our little town?"
Karik fumed but contemplated over this, "Fine..." he said finally, "We'll go, but at the first sign of serious danger, we are to leave, no matter what happens! Understand?"
Star and Shaman both nodded happily and they both hopped off the rock.
They kept on traveling deeper and deeper into the cave until they stopped at a large stone door.
"Strange…how would a door be here?" questioned Karik to himself.
"Maybe somebody made it?" said Star helpfully.
"With monsters populating it? Unlikely...," Karik examined the large stone door carefully over, muttering small incantations at the stone, zapping out small, bright light at it every so often.
"Weird…I can't open it…" Karik said finally. He wiped some sweat away from his forehead with his long white sleeve. Karik's attire was like entirely white except for the golden cross going along all the way of the robe. The robe also had a white hood that Karik wasn't currently wearing. Instead he was wearing an overly large wizarding hat that was also white. Karik tapped his brown sandals with his red, metal staff that was in the form of a long cross with a blood, red, ruby in the middle of the intersection.
Shaman and Star, who has been quiet the whole time shrugged at each other. If Karik couldn't open it, neither could they.
Star sat down on the cold, stone ground while Karik paced in front of the door back and forth. Star was dressed in blue clothing, but the blue has many degrees of shades. She wears a small and tight jacket but doesn't restrict her movements that has many pouches on the front. She wears light blue stockings with a small skirt with brown boots which are laced with dark blue string. Her bow is a mixture of hardened oak wood with many sapphire jewels adorning it.
Karik suddenly cursed loudly, zapping the door with a large, shining arrow of mana. Both Shaman and Star took cover, for the arrow caused a large explosion, causing dust and smoke to go everywhere.
Shaman tumbled behind a rock, his white, steel armor clanging against the rock itself. Shaman was garbed in white, pristine, steel armor that covers his shoulders, arms, elbows, chest, stomach, pelvis, legs, and feet. The joints in where the armor cannot cover without restricting his movements were black since Shaman was wearing a black shirt and pants underneath the armor. His armor also shined with whiteness after Robbie doused it with holy water, saying that all paladin's armor shone on the battlefield, to bring hope to his comrades and also to strike terror in evil. Shaman's black hair is stuffed inside a white bandana. He carries a long, gray, steel sword with no hilt and a large shield that can cover him entirely with a thin golden cross on it.
The smoke and dust settled and Star and Shaman both cautiously looked from their hiding spots. Karik was dusting off himself while cursing because the arrow didn't even chip the stone.
"You know Karik," said Shaman as he stepped towards the stone door, "You can always do it the old fashioned way…"
"And what way is that?" hissed Karik.
Shaman knocked on the stone door five times and stepped back. Nothing happened.
"Hmph…" snorted Karik, "If that worked, than dead Lupin's would have been crawling out of my"
Suddenly the stone door rumbled, and it raised itself all the way to the top at a slow rate. The party stared at the door, than at Karik.
"I'm waiting," said Shaman smugly.
Karik didn't reply as he stomped towards.
They kept on traversing into the cave until suddenly Sapphire tripped onto the floor.
"Hey, be careful Star, we don't want you injured before we fight any monsters," lectured Shaman as he went back and helped Star up.
"Nyeh, I don't need your"
"Quiet you two…," said Karik cutting of Sapphire.
"What?"
Suddenly a great, bright fireball emerged from Karik's staff and he threw it behind at where Sapphire and Shaman were.
The fireball doesn't explode, but it shines up the whole tunnel, allowing them to see clearly. And behind them were a massive amount of randomly assorted monsters.
"Oh my…," stuttered Star.
The monsters all stared at the three of them intently, not moving an inch.
"Karik…," said Star worriedly as she quickly stood up and ran behind Karik.
"Star! Watch out!" yelled Shaman, for in front of them were also a large amount of randomly assorted monsters, and a steel pig has just started charging at Star.
Star shrieked, but Karik was quick enough to fend off the pig with his staff.
Shaman unsheathed his sword and got into a fighting stance while Karik rolled up his long sleeves. Sapphire readied a few arrows at her hand while stretching the string on her bow. Everything was quiet, and the three of them were completely surrounded by monsters. They all breathed heavily, there were too many monsters, to many different types, slimes, pigs, boars, lupins, metal slimes, mushrooms of all kinds, and even stone golems!
Karik suddenly made the first move, he raised his staff into the air and many streams of white light shot out, hitting numerous monsters, squashing them. At that same moment, all the monsters started pouring in towards the three. Karik kept on shooting white lights that hit multiple monsters with Star behind him, shooting off any creature that attempted to take him from behind, while Shaman, who was separated from them, was swinging his sword madly in wide arcs, cutting many monsters.
"There's too many!" yelled Karik to his two party members.
"Tell me something I don't know!" yelled back Shaman.
"We have to get out of here!" yelled Karik as he casted a bubble shield, which encased both Star and him in it. The monsters charged at the bubble, but they could not get through. All the while, Shaman kept on battling at the monsters, blood streaming down his face, staining his white bandana and also his armor.
"I see a door!" yelled Star as a roaring Stone Golem smashed at the bubble.
"Go than! I'll keep these guys occupied!" roared Shaman as a spray of blue sap hit him from a dead blue mushroom.
"Fine!" said Karik. He dispersed the bubble shield and shot a beam of yellow light at the stone golem, causing it to topple over, smashing many monsters behind it. He and Star scrambled towards the door, which was at the end of a flight of stairs. They both climbed it with Karik pushing off many monsters from the stairs.
All the while, the monsters were attaching themselves to Shaman, with him still slashing away ferociously at the monsters.
Sapphire and Karik reached the door. Star wrenched it open and allowed Karik to go through it first.
"Shaman! Hurry!" she yelled.
"No! Keep on going! I'll keep these guys occupied!" Shaman struggled with a lupin that was beating on his head.
Karik's head emerged through the door, "Don't be silly! You'll die if you stay! Hurry!"
Star looked worriedly at the monsters that were climbing the stairs together in mass numbers.
"Don't worry! I got it!" Shaman sliced at the belly of the lupin, which it jumped off. Shaman ripped off his backpack and pulled out a golden sword adorned with many jewels.
Karik's eyes widened, "That's a…"
"GO!" roared Shaman as he held the sword high as five slimes oozed onto his legs and chest.
Karik pulled Sapphire inside and slammed the door shut, the last thing he saw was Shaman's hand still in the air with the golden sword while the slimes had him completely covered and a stone golem's fist was flying over his head.
Karik and Star slumped down onto the ground, huffing and puffing away. They heard beating and ramming on the door that separates them and Shaman.
"Will…will Shaman be alright?" asked a panting Star.
"Yes, he will be, he has a Elloon." Karik replied with completely seriousness.
"What's that?"
"A holy object, a holy sword actually. He must have taken Robbie's spare one in his room."
Star smiled happily as she pulled back a few strands of stray hair, "Than let's wait for him!"
"No," said Karik, "We have to keep going, we'll finish the quest and meet up with him later.
The two of them stood up and traversed down a long hallway, until they emerged into a large room filled with bones of dead monsters.
"OH M" Star was cut off by Karik.
In front of them, four, white Yeti's were asleep.
Karik sh'd Sapphire. Sapphire nodded.
"What do we do Karik? Can't you take them on?" whispered Star.
"No…Yeti's aren't dark monsters, and my regular spells aren't strong enough to take them down, maybe one, but the rest will get to me afterwards. We need Robbie for this."
Suddenly a Yeti's eye shot open and stared at them. Star and Karik stiffened. The Yeti laid there still staring at them while Star and Karik stood there like statues, scared of what would happen if the other three Yetis awoke.
Suddenly the Yeti got halfway up and roared such a roar the ceiling trembled and much dust and dirt fell from it. The other Yetis woke up groggily and they all looked at the first one. The Yeti pointed at Karik and Star.
Karik smiled weakly and waved at the Yetis, "HOLY SH!"
Two Yetis' fists flew towards them, and Star was just in time in pulling Karik away from their target point. Both of their fists slammed into the ground, cracking the floor and making the whole place tremble.
"RUN!" shrieked Star as she and Karik both bolted backwards towards the way they came from. All the Yetis roared at once and a large amount of Stone Golems emerged from behind them. They all gave chase towards them, each of their step trembling the earth.
Karik and Star huffed and puffed until they reached the door in which they came through after they left Shaman behind. The monsters were still close behind them. Karik opened it and they both went through it, leaping over the stairs. They were encountered by a large mass of dead monsters on the ground sprawled everywhere, many in good sized chunks. They started leaping and stepping over them running as quick as they could. Suddenly a Stone Golem smashed through the wooden door they closed behind them and a Yeti pushed it over the stairs, roaring and jumping down itself.
"OH MY GOD! Karik! They're going to catch us!" screamed Star.
As they turned a corner, that's when they saw Shaman lying on the stone floor not far in front of them.
Star covered her mouth in fear. Shaman was laying face down, surrounded by many chunks of dead stone golem's stones, splattered slimes, diced mushrooms, and gaping lupins. His armor was shattered, his bandana soaked in blood, and his right leg was bent at an odd angle. His golden Elloon was not far from him and his shield was crunched up into a small ball.
Karik yanked Star at the arm, "Keep on going!"
"But Shaman!" despaired Star.
"He's probably dead! We have to keep on going or we'll end up like him!"
"NO!" Star suddenly stopped running and crossed her arms.
"Star!" yelled Karik.
"I'm not leaving without Shaman!"
Karik cursed, "FINE!" He slung Shaman over his back at began to run again, Sapphire followed.
They kept on running, running from the horrible monsters that were pursuing them. Karik at that time was panting like crazy. He was running out of energy. He wasn't built with great stamina, he spent most of his time reading! And carrying a person that was taller and weighed more than him was wearing him down greatly.
Sapphire realized that Karik was lagging. "Karik! Let me carry him! We're almost at the door!"
With that, the stone door started falling slowly.
"Oh for the love of! Keep going Star!" Karik suddenly teleported forward, right next to Star.
Another deafening roar was heard, and Karik kept on teleporting next to Star, who was running towards the quickly closing stone door. Suddenly Karik couldn't teleport, and with the monsters tightly behind him, he couldn't think straight. Star was already on the other side, reaching out to him, yelling something.
He couldn't move, he was out of mana. He huffed and puffed, he was so close to the door. No…he wasn't going to…
"KARIK!" A ringing voice snapped him out of it. Star was crying desperately, and a Yeti was just a few yards behind him.
The door was three fourths to the ground. Karik dove for it, rolling right under the door as it slammed shut.
A crying roar was heard, and heavy banging was induced on the stone door, but it didn't move. Karik collapsed onto the ground, and Sapphire also fell onto the ground. Star wiped some tears from her eyes.
"Are you all right Star?" asked Karik weakly.
"Yes…" she lied.
The roaring finally stopped, and some stomping was heard leaving the door.
"We have to get out of here…" Karik struggled to get up. His legs felt like rubber, and he ran out of mana completely. He couldn't move.
Sapphire dragged herself up using a wall. "Karik…,"
"Star…please tell me you have some mana potions…," rasped out Karik.
"I think so…" Star rummaged through her pouch on her hip, she pulled out a small bottle that contained blue liquid, "It's not much…I don't think it would…"
"Give it to me!" wheezed Karik.
Sapphire handed it to Karik and he drank it in one gulp. He sat up. He could feel the strength return to his body. Mana was the only thing keeping him standing. He stood up fully.
"Star…we have to get out of here…now!"
"Why?" questioned a tired Star, "Can't we just rest for a moment?"
"NO! The monsters know that we know they are here, and they probably know we're going to report this to officials…we have to leave this area now before they find another way to get us."
Star nodded and they both staggered out of the cavern.
Suddenly Star gasped, "Karik! Where's Shaman! Where is he! Where's Shaman!"
"What!" Karik was stunned.
"Where is he!" Sapphire suddenly collapsed onto the ground, crying and moaning, "Oh my god…where is he…where is…"
Karik stood there, he stood there and waited. He was shocked beyond all belief. Yes…where is Shaman…no…he couldn't have…
"No…," whispered a horrified Karik.
Sapphire's muffled crying didn't help his conscience.
"No…NO!" Karik fell to his knees. He left Shaman behind…he left him behind. Shaman's dead…no matter what…
Karik suddenly held his head tightly, how could he have been so careless? How could he leave him behind like that? Karik's heart tightened, he left Shaman behind…he's dead.
Sapphire kept on crying, her hands and shirt wet with tears. Karik stayed there in a kneeling position, staring with a faraway look in his eyes.
Shaman was gone, and nothing can bring him back now.
Wind blew threw, but the trees did not rustle. The world was silent, and so were Karik and SapphireStar.