Happy Halloween.
Story's almost done… I hope.
Siren and Bofur walked through the corridors of the castle unrestrained. They could hear the faint sounds of fighting from outside. The thick walls insulated them from most of the noise.
"Do you sense anything?" Siren asked Bofur.
"Nay." He shook his head.
"Everyone seems sure that the orb is here." Siren frowned.
"Something that powerful would not be in plain sight." Bofur remarked.
"I know. Still there's usually a residue or feeling…" She stopped.
"What?" Bofur looked at her. She stood stock still.
"Shhh." She closed her eyes. She opened her mouth and a low vibration floated throughout the room. The walls shuddered as if they were cold. Bofur winced and covered his ears. When she stopped, the walls also stopped moving. Silence.
Bofur was about to speak when he felt something.
"There!" He bolted ahead.
"Wait for me!" Siren chased after him.
They zigzagged through the labyrinth of hallways until they reached a room at the lowest bowels of the castle.
"He hid it in the pantry?" Bofur rubbed his hands together. "I like his style!" He tucked the nearest loaf of bread under his arm while grabbing a wedge of cheese.
"Bofur! Now's not the time to think about food." Siren scolded.
"Pish, it's always a time to think of food." Bofur tucked a bottle of wine under his other arm.
Siren ignored him as she walked around the room trying to ascertain where the energy was coming from.
"Bofur, help me." She grabbed the edge of a shelf. She waited as Bofur walked over slowly as he shoved various fruits and nuts into his mouth along the way. "Come on!" She said impatiently.
"Coming." Bofur said with his mouth full. Without setting down any of his items. He grabbed the other edge. They pulled the shelf away from the wall.
They saw a faint glow in the middle of the wall behind the shelf.
Siren touched the glowing wall. The glow grew brighter until it blinded both the fey.
When the light faded, Siren found herself staring into a hole in the wall formed by missing bricks.
They looked at each other before looking at hole.
"After you." Bofur said nervously to Siren.
"Lily-liver." Siren scoffed. In one hand a blue flame flickered to life. It lit up the darkness. She entered the darkness.
It felt like she was walking forever. She reached a fork in the tunnels.
"Which way?" Bofur asked from behind her.
Siren jumped, forgetting that he was there. "I don't know." She admitted trying to calm her wildly beating heart. "Both feel equally strong."
Suddenly, red glowing eyes appeared in the left tunnel. As the eyes came closer, Siren and Bofur backed away.
The eyes were joined by a scaly snout with a mouthful of sharp teeth.
"I'm guessing that's the wrong way." Bofur said uneasily.
The dragon stepped into the open, unfurling its wings. It roared before fire shot out of its mouth.
0o0
When the smoke cleared, Roy and Quattuor stood several feet from each other both blown by the force of the explosion. They glared at each other panting.
"You think you can handle real power, boy?" Quattuor sneered.
"I don't think! I know!" Roy formed a crossbow and fired a barrage of arrows.
Quattuor's bandages snaked out to knock the arrows out of the air. He looked up smugly until he saw Roy's War Hammer heading for his face. He managed to move his head out of the way but Roy's other Hammer hit him square in the chest. He fell on the floor. Roy placed his foot on Quattuor's chest. His arm transformed into a crossbow that he aimed at his head. Instead of fear, Quattuor started laughing.
"Fool!" He spat out.
Roy looked at him in confusion. "Hey, I've got you right where I want you."
"Oh, do you?" He smirked.
"Uh, yes." Roy was not uncertain. That's when he heard a scream. His head spun in the direction of the shriek. Quattuor took the opportunity to knock Roy off him.
Roy fell on his behind. "Reselda!" He tried to scramble to his feet, but bandages wrapped around his ankle. He was swung up before he plummeted to the ground. Roy felt his body lift before hitting the ground again. The hits continued over and over until Roy felt blackness start to overtake him.
0o0
Reselda was conflicted about leaving Roy to fend off the attacker. Conrad didn't seem to hesitate. She wondered how he could be so calm leaving his own brother. Most of the army went with Senarius to attack the army of Baratrum. He had left only a handful of people in the camp to look after their supplies and to protect her and the orbs. Conrad stopped suddenly so that Reselda bumped into him.
"What's wrong?" She looked over his shoulder and gasped. All the men of the camp were prone on the floor unmoving.
"Come on Princess." Conrad pulled her in another direction.
"But where are we going?" Reselda asked. There was no place to go.
Before Conrad can answer Reselda felt something grab her around the waist and yanked her backwards out of Conrad's grip.
"Reselda!" Conrad yelled as she was lifted high into the air. A shadow creature had gotten her.
"Very bold of you to be out in the daylight." Conrad said. He put his hands together and created a fireball. He released it at the creature. A hole opened and the fireball passed through harmlessly. Conrad frowned. This might be a problem.
"Conrad! Look out!" Reselda yelled.
Conrad spun around just in time to see a shadow tentacle come crashing on top of him.
Reflexively, Conrad held up his hands. As the tentacle hit his hands, they flamed up. The creature screeched as it pulled its tentacle back.
Reselda saw what happened. It gave her an idea. Concentrating very hard, she managed to form a small flame in her hand. She jammed it against the tentacle around her.
She should have thought through her plan as the creature immediately released her. Reselda screamed again as the ground came rushing to meet her.
I know. It's been a while. I'm still here and thinking about this story as well as others. Things have been more than just hectic but chaotic as well. I won't burden you with details but I'm still here. Hope you all are well and safe.
