Just about a mile in front of us was this very tall mountain. I could see some sort of building on top of the mountain.
"That must be Deathtamoor's castle," said Hassan.
Just a few yards in front of us was this low stone building; I figured this was the Sorrow Prison where the sage Masarl was being held captive.
The first thing I noticed when we entered the buklding was that the air was dusty. Looking around, I could see cracks in the stone walls. Cobwebs hung in the corners.
"What a dump," said Muriel.
There were two doors to the back of the front room. One of the doors led to a room where a demon was sitting on a chair; there was no response from him.
"He looks dead," said Barbara.
We went to the other door, leading to a staircase going down. The stairs led to this huge room lit only by a handful of torches mounted to the stone wall. We climbed up some stairs to a terrace.
Chained to a stone pillar was this bearded man.
Crossing over some spikes, I walked up to the chained man.
"Masarl?" I asked. "Is that you?"
Suddenly this bright fog enveloped the room, like it did in my first encounter with Mudo.
I saw a vision of Masarl being led to the guilottine in that prison we had just liberated. He was placed in the guillotine, and the blade was raised, prepared to chop off his head. The blade then strikes, severing the man';s head and causing bright arterial blood to spurt out.
Then the image shifted. There was this granite titan and this olive-skinned troll.
"You will pledge your loyalty to the Dai Maou," said the granite titan. "Or this will be real."
I then found myself back in the dungeon.
"They're attacking his mind," said Chamoro. "They're threatening to execute his brother if he refuses to serve Deathtamoor."
"If we go back for Krimut," said Terry, "we should be able to help Masarl."
And so we did.
ooooooooooooooo
"So they're threatening to kill me if Masarl doesn't bow before Deathtamoor?" asked Krimut, who was feeling much better now.
"That's pretty much it," I said.
"I need to see him. Take me to Sorrow Prison."
And so we did.
oooooooooooooo
We brogutn Krimut to Sorrow Prison. He immediately looked at Masarl, still chained to the stone pillar.
The glowing fog appeared, and we were once again greeted to the image of Krimut being led to the guillotine.
"Pledge your loyalty to Daimaou Deathtamoor," said one of the demons. "Or your brother shall die!"
"Brother, wait!" yelled Krimut. "It's me, Krimut. I was rescued. Their threat is empty."
"What?" yelled the granite titan, looking at us. "Shoukaku, these humans dare interfere."
"They rescued the sage!" yelled the olive-skinned troll. "Zuikaku, our plan is defeated."
"Not yet. If we destroy their rescuers, the sages will be at our mercy."
"you always think of a plan, don't you, Zuikaku."
"All right, people," I said. "This is for real."
I began by casting Sap on the troll Shoukaku. Muriel cast Increase to raise our defense.
"I'll take the granite titan," I said. "Hassan, you keep the troll busy. Muriel, Chamoro back us up."
I then engaged the granite titan Zuikaku even as he tried to pummel me with his powerful, stony fists. I had to use my reflex and dexterity to avoid the worst of the blows; the glancing blows hurt bad enough. Not to mention that his skin was rock-hard, I could barely chip him with the Sword of Ramias. He was almost as durable as those metal babbles. We went around and around as he blocked by sword swings with his stony forearm.
He managed to kick me with his foot, and I was kicked back a couple of feet. I could see that the others were hurt, so I performed the Hustle Dance to heal us all. We then continued the battle, striking at each other and occasionally landing blows.
After parrying a few of Zuikaku's blows, I retreated a few feet.
"The troll's down," said Hassan. I glanced and saw Shoukaku lying on his back. I then turned my attention to Zuikaku, just as he swung his arm. I quickly dodged and slashed him with the Sword of Ramias.
Hassan and I then continued to fight the beast while Chamoro and Muriel cast spells to support us. Zuikaku showed the same adeptness that we did in handling multiple opponents. We continued our furious fighting.
I glanced over at Hassan. I then sidestepped around Zuikaku, getting his attention.
I struck with my Sword of Ramias, which he parried with his massive forearm. Hassan delivered a mighty Spirit Punch right into the titan's jaw.
Zuikaku fell, and did not get up.
"Looks like they're down," said Chamoro.
The fog disappeared.
"Masarl!" yelled Krimut, going to his brother. We assisted in undoing the steel chains. "Are you all right?"
"Krimut," said Masarl. "You're alive."
"Thank these people," said Krimut. "They came to Deathtamoor's realm to defeat the Dai Maou."
"Thank you," said Masarl. "Deathtamoor kept us apart because together, we have great power."
"So you can come with us to deal with Deathtamoor?" asked Terry.
"Unfortunately, we are not that powerful. But you all are. You have gone through a lot. It is clear that the six of you are the only ones who can take down the Dai Maou."
"No one else is gonna do it," I said.
"We are currently below the dai maou's castle," said Masarl.
"We will combine our powers," said Krimut.
The two sages started chanting.
I suddenly felt the floor shake. I leaned against the wall.
Suddenly, the stone pillar fell, leaving behind this glowing hole.
Despite the shaking of the ground, I made my way out of Sorrow Prison.
I looked towards the tall mountain where Deathtamoor's castle sits upon.
A beam iof light emerged from Sorrow Prison, striking at the mountain. The mountain seemed to glow.
And it appeared to collapse. The castle fell to the ground with such force that I was knocked onto my back.
I then returned to the prison where the others were.
"We've done our part," said Krimut. "This portal on the floor will take you to the shrine leading to Zenithia, if you have need to go there."
"Surely the Dai Maou's castle took some damage," said Masarl. "Now it is the time for the final assault. The six of you formed bonds of friendship through your journey through the real world and the dream world. I am confident you can put an end to the threat of Deathtamoor."
"We won't let you down," I said. "We won't let the world down."
So we then set off to take the fight to Deathtamoor himself.