Just a few minutes north of the tunnel entrance, we came across this well. Peering down, I can see an old man and a priest below. We climbed down the well.
"So you wish to take on the demon emperor," said the old man.
"Yes, sir," I replied.
"May the Lord God Almighty assist you."
I felt fully energized; I was coimpletely healed.
"Deathtamoor has a prison nearby," said the priest. "It is said that a sage is being held captive there."
"We'll check it out," I said.
So we climbed out of the well. In the distance I could see this huge stone building; that must be the prison the priest told me about.
We then approached the entrance to the prison. Stairs led up to the front door. This mean-looking giant stood in front; he wielded a wicked-looking axe.
"I can not let you pass," said the giant.
"We just want to visit," I said.
"Surrender or die."
He then summoned this mist.
"We can't cast spells," said Barbara.
"We'll just use our brawn," said Hassan.
"I don't HAVE brawn!"
I drew the Sword of Ramias, preparing to do battle with the giant. I sidestepped just as the giant swung his axe. He then parried our blows. As we fought him, it was revealed he was adept at handling four opponents at a time. We were locked in a furious battle, and we occasionally landed hits while we occasioanlly took hits. And his strikes hurt a lot. I used the Hustle Dance to heal us.
I swung my sword at him, and he parried with his axe, deflecting my blow. My momentum caused me to fall. He then raised his axe to styrike me down.
And then Hassan delivered a Spirit Punch, taking the giant down.
"You," said the giant. "you were the ones my brother was weaiting for. You may enter."
And so we did. Anothet giant stood just in front of the door.
"I can not let you pass," he said.
I reached for the Sword of Ramias in preparation for another fight.
"Open the gate," said this voice. "They will bring light to the people."
"Here," said the giant. "this is the Prison Key."
I looked and saw this finely-machined key.
"You must defeat Akbar," said the giant. "He rules over this place."
"Okay, we will," I said.
And so I unlocked the front door with the Prison Key and we all entered.
These humans in uniforms then approached us.
"New arrivals?" one of them asked. "We weren't expecting anyone."
"Put them in the dungeon," said another human.
"Yes, sir!"
And so we were escroted through the stone-lined hallways of the prison to the lower levels. There were cells adjacent to the hallways, with barred doors. The guards led us into one of the cells and locked the door.
"I hope this isn't a trap," said Muriel.
"One way to find out," I said. I inserted the key into the keyhole of the door. So far, so good.
I turned it and heard a click. Yes!
"We'd better be careful," said Chamoro.
Making sure none of the guards were making their rounds, we walked along the stone floor. We looked down a side passage with a glowing floor.
"I wonder what's there," said Terry.
"The floor's dangerous," said Barbara.
"Let me help," said Muriel. She cast Stepguard on all of us.
We walked across the glowing floor without injury.
"Wow!" said Hassan. "You're the best!"
We wa;lkled to the end of the corridor and walked down some stairs. We emerged into this room where there was a glowing barred door.
I inserted the key and unlocked the door, but I could not open it.
"It must be magically locked," said Chamoro.
"That sage must be held in that cell," said Terry.
"What are you doing there?" asked a voice.
We all looked and saw one of the guards. I drew the Sword of Ramias to slay the guard.
"Wait! Wait!" yelled the guard. "I'm not gonna fight you. Don't you recognize me?"
"Should I recognize you?" I asked, placing the sword point at his throat.
"It's me, General Soldi of Reidock!"
He removed his helmet.
That was General Tom, who for some reason called himself Soldi in the dream world.
"You're dead," I said.
"I...don't know," said Soldi. "After you left with the king, my troops and I left Mudo's castle. Suddenly I was brought here, a prisoner. I managed to kill one of the guards and take his place. Zozogel is recruiting new soldiers from the real world. I was able to pass as one of his recruits."
It made sense now. After Tom was killed in the real world, Deathtamoor brought his spirit here and reincarnated him.
"Okay, General Soldi," said Hassan. "Tell us what's goin' on here."
"Ah, Hassan," said Soldi. "Good to see you again. You have grown strong since we rescued the king. Lord Akbar is a servant of Deathtamoor, serving as regent. General Zozogel commands Deathtamoor's army, and the wizard Dogma is the chief magician."
"They're humans, right?" asked Barbara.
"The Dai Maou has managed to recruit humans to his cause. Most of those people had big, weak egos, easily lured by promises of power. I suspect that was why Zozogel and Dogma decided to pledge their loyalty to Deathtamoor. His four vassal Maous were recently killed. He intends to replace them, and renew his campaign against the real world."
"Yes," I said. "Humans were among those who served Mudo."
"So where is this sage Masarl?" asked Terry.
"Behind that door," said Soldi. "The sages Masarl and Krimut are masters of sorcery, a very threat to Deathtamoor's plans. They were captured, and Masarl is imprisoned here, in the maximum security unit. I don't know where Krimut is."
"I suppose that the only way to release the seal is to defeat Akbar," I said.
"Yes."
"There is a town where the prisoners dwell when they are not confined to the cells. Some of them are plotting against Akbar. When I saw you escorted to the dungeon, I knew you had a plan to free the sage. You will need these." He pulled some clothes from a leather bag. "These are the guard uniforms I borrowed from a storage closet. Wear these over your clothes."
And so we all put the uniforms on. Mine was a little tight.
"Just act casual," said Soldi. "If an officer tells you to do something, do it. I will see you after the seal is released."
And so we left. Walking upstairs from the cell blocks, we emerged into the prison town. There were dozens of people milling about. Most of the prisoners paid no heed to us. Most of the floor was stone, although there were patches of bare soil. In the center of the town was a guillotine.
"Do you have any information on Akbar?" I asked this lady.
"Uh, no," she said. "I know he rules over this prison."
We went through some doors, and there was this foyer where guards were sitting behind desks.
"Where are you going?" asked one of the guards.
"We just finmished making rounds through the prison town," I said.
"Okay then. Report back to the main office."
We walked upstairs. The upper floors apparently contained offices and storerooms for the guards and staff. It was a busy place, with all sorts of people walking around.
We entered this room where a bearded man wearing a turban sat behind a wooden desk. On top of the wooden desk was a scythe.
"Excuse me," said the man.
"We're just going up," I said.
"To see Lord Akbar?"he asked.
"Yes," I replied. "We are new here, and we were told to deliver a message to him."
"I see," said the man. "I am Dogma, Akbar's chief sorceror. He is upstairs."
"Thanks." We went upstairs to this balcony. At the very top was a tower. Standing in front of the door to the tower was this guard.
"We're here to see Lord Akbar," I said.
"You may not enter," said the guard.
"We have a message."
"Akbar does not summon lowly prison guards to his chamber. If he wishes to do business with anyone, he pays the visit."
"Uh, is anything going on?" asked Hassan.
"Sister Anna, one of the prisoners. Tomorrow, a demon will possess her body, and then the demon shall marry Akbar. Because of this, he is too busy to see any of us; I am not even allowed to enter the chamber. Only Zozogel and Dogma may interrupt him, and only if there is an emergency. If you've no further business, you'd best leave."
We went downstairs.
"What do we do now?" asked Barbara as we walked through the stone-lined hallways.
"We could take out the guard and bust in," said Terry.
"It could be a trap," said Muriel. "If Akbar isn't even in there, like if we was meeting with Deathtamoor, we could find ourselves fighting all of the guards here."
We went back down to the prison town. Going to some isolated corner, we removed the uniforms and placed them in the bag; we now blended in with the prisoners. Perhaps the prisoners will tell us things that they would not tell the guards.
We went to a bar where drinks are served. Security was loose here compared to the maximum security unit, as the prisoners could move freely about, just as long as they cooperated with the guards.
"Hi there," said the bartender, who was this portly woman in her forties. "You new here?"
"Yes," i said.
"So many new faces. My name is Lee. I was a bartender in the real world, until I was brought here by the demon emperor."
"Do you know a Sister Anna?"
"Yeah, she had the power to make people feel better. Deathtamoor ordered her imprisonment here."
"Tomorrow, she will be possessed by a demon who will marry Akbar."
Her eyes widened. "Thanks," she said. "Will you ifhgt Akbar?"
"Of course," said Terry.
"Speak to the shopkeeper."
And so we did. The shopkeeper was this pudgy, well-dressed man.
"Lee told us to talk to you," I said. "We plan to fight Akbar."
"Shhhh," said the shopkeeper. "Talk to Gon. He is standing at the corner."
And so wewalked to the outer wall of the prison town. This big man stood near the corner.
"Are you Gon?" I asked. "We plan to overthrow Akbar."
"Okay," said Gon. "you may pass."
We did, and we walked along this passage. We emerged in the back of the shop.
"It's futile to fight Akbar," said the shopkeeper. "You can take the wine in the left barrel. The one in the rioght barrel is special, so don't drink it."
There wwere these two wooden barrels,the familair scent of wine arose from both of them. We all took sips from the left barrel.
"Now what?" asked Chamoro.
"We'll put on the uniforms and go back up," I said. "Maybe Soldi has a plan."
And so we went into this out-of-the-way area and put on out uniforms. We then approahced the door leading to the upper levels of the building.
The doors swung open and a squad of guards were escorting a prisoner.
"Good thing you're here," said the guard officer. "Help us secure the area as we prepare the prisoner for exeuction."
The prisoner was placed in the guilottine, his bneck in the slot. The othet guards tied him up.
That was when we attacked. I first cast Lightning to strike all of the prison guards, and then wequickly made short work of them.
"What are you doing?" asked another prison guard, still stunned by what happened."
"You surrender or die!" yelled another guard.
"What is this?" said this gruff voice.
A uniformed man stepped in. He appeared a bit older than the guards, and his uniform was much more decorated.
"Sir, these guards interfered with the execution."
"This is General Zozogel," said the uniformed man. "Stand down or be destroyed."
"How about we destroy you?" I asked.
"Dogma, back me up!" yelled Zozogel.
"Okay," said the wizard.
Muriel cast Increase to raise our defense, and I raised the Sword of Ramias to increase Hassan's attack power. Zozogel then swung with his sword, and Terry parried him. We engaged Zozogel in a furious clash of swords, as we tried to find an opening while parrying with weapon or shield. Dogma cast attack spells at us, even as Chamoro, and Muriel cast their spells.
Barbara the n used the Madante skill to release her magical power in a huge burst, which sweriouisly hurt Zozogel and Dogma. I struck down Zozogel, while Hassan knocked out Dogma with a Spirit Punch.
The other prisoners cheered upon seeing our takedown of Zozogel and Dogma.
"It's...not over yet," said Dogma, leaning on his scythe.
I walked over to him to cut off his head with the Sword of Ramias.
But before I could strike down the sorceror, I fell. My body felt numb and I could not move.
"How pathetic," said Zozogel.
ooooooooooo
"here we are again," said Barbara. "How do we get out this time?"
we sat in the cell. Our weapons, uniforms, and prison key were confiscated by the guards.
"Not much we can do," said Muriel. "Until they have us executed one by one."
"That cheap bastard," said Terry. "Paralyzing us like that!"
"This is it, I guess," said Chamoro.
"We've come so far," said Hassan. "We can't just give up."
"Look," said Barbara.
I looked and noticed a guard passed on on the floor. "I guess he will be going to the guillotine soon."
"Probably just before they kill us," said Muriel.
"What';s going on here?" asked another guard. "You're gonna be in big trouble when you wake up."
Then I saw the prisoners approach him. They attacked the guard, quickly killing him.
One of them unlocked the door to the cell.
"We put a little something in their wine," said Gon. "Most of them are asleep and we're fighting the others."
"So you're bustin' out of here," I said.
"Not until we rescue Sister Anna and the sage. Will you help them?"
"Yes."
"The ceremony's today," said this lady.
We all headed upstairs, back to the prison town. A whole bnuch of prisoners were gathered in front of the exit.
"I am Tonra, leader of the rebel army," said this man. "Your bravery against Zozogel and Dogma inspired us to revolt! Here."
Tonra gave me a prison key anf four seeds of strength, which I consumed.
"Akbar is in his chamber for his wedding. Kill him. We'll take care of the guards."
And so we did, walking up through the buolding to the door to Akbar's chamber.
"Get ready," I said. I opened the door.
the chamber was huge, with the floor covered in a red carpet. Two guards stood beside whis woman dressed in a habit. Standing on a rasied platform in the back was this wingled creature with two horns and tusks jutting from his mouth. I knew that was Akbar.
"Now to have this human possessed," said Akbar.
"Stop right there, demon!" I yelled, raising the Sword of Ramias.
"You!" yelled the demon lord.
"Let us kill these intruders, my lord," said one of the guards.
"I shall join you," said Akbar.
"Okay, I'll take on Akbar," I said. "Keep these guards busy!"
Chamoro cast Stopspell on Akbar. I raised the Sword of Ramias to increase Hassan's attack power, while Barbara cast Barrier.
Akbar then breathed a violent blaze, which hurt, and which would have hurt more if the barrier was not up. I then engaged Akbar in melee combat, doidging his blows and flaming breath while delivering blows of my own, even as my companions kept his guards occupied. We waltzed around the chamber as we tried to kill each other.
Akbar knocked me against a wall, and it hurt! I began a quiet meditation to heal my wounds. I then dodged a blow from Akbar, striking him in the chest. We then continued parrying each other's blows, hopping around the chamber as we did.
After a few minutes of parrying, we were both knocked away from each other. I looked and Akbar's escorts were down.
"I didn't need them!" yelled Akbar. "i could take on all of you!"
He then breathed a violent blaze. I dodged the worst of it, and then thrust the Sword of Ramias into Akbar. Hassan then delivered a powered-up Spirit Punch, and Terry delivered a jump kick.
"You...you were the ones prophesised to take me down," said Akbar. "The two of them...must not meet."
He then fell, a pool of blood spreading from his body.
"Thank you," said the lady in the habit. "I'm Sister Anna."
"You beat him!" yelled Tonra as he burst into the chamber. "The guards disappeared."
"I guess they went back to where they came from," said Muriel.
"The seal should be broken," said Soldi, who came along with Tonra. "Let's free the sage."
And so we went down to the maximum security level to where the sealed door is. Turning the handle, the door opened. We all went inside and saw this man chained to the wall with manacles.
"Unlock the chains," said Soldi.
And so I did. The man lay down on the ground; I wondered if he was alive.
"Who's there?" he asked. "I can't see."
"Are you Masarl?" I asked.
"No," replied the man. "I am the sage Krimut. Masarl is my brother."
"Where is he?" asked Soldi.
"They took hikm across the Sea of Nothingness; he is held in Sorrow Prison."
"How do we get to him?" I asked.
Krimut started this soft chanting. This orb appeared. "This is the Orb of Truth. A cape juts out into the mist. Use it and you can open your way to Sorrow Prison."
"Okay then," I said, taking the orb. "We will rescue your brother."
We then left the maximum security unit. As we approached the stairs leading to prison town, we heard this thunderous voice.
"If I let them play, they start to get overconfident...anooying humans, remember my power!"
I then heard this rumble.
"What was that?" asked Chamoro.
We walked up to the prison town, and this cat greeted us. I found it odd, as I never noticed any pets.
It was then that I saw statues of people.
Deathtamoor did this! He must have turned the people to stone.
"Nothing we can do here," I said. "Only way to free them is to kill Deathtamoor."
"Right," said Hassan. "Let's show him!"
And so we left the prison. Just outside, we saw the two giants who greeted us, now stone.
oooooooooooo
Just west of the prison, we walked where the land seemed to jut into the glowing fog.
"Here goes nothing," said Terry.
I held up the orb. Suddenly, the fog in front thinned out, revealing a new land ahead.
"Let's go, people," I said. "We have a sage to rescue."
And so we did.