Chapter 5
Alex looked over the hillside at the scene below, not believing what he was seeing. This is a dream, he thought to himself. It has to be a dream. All I have to do is pinch myself and it will all be over. Alex closed his eyes and pinched himself in the arm. He took a deep breath and opened his eyes. The castle still loomed in front of him. You have got to be kidding. He looked down at the village, watching the people as they moved about. A fire in the middle lighted up the village, allowing Alex to see the brick houses that lined the ground. Alex watched as the embers flew from the fire and headed towards him, only to disappear over his head.
Well, if I want to find where I am, I have no choice but to head down there and ask one of them, Alex thought to himself. He looked for a way down and saw that the hill he stood on descended down towards the main gate of the village. It would be a long walk, but nonetheless, he had nothing else to do. Alex sighed and made his way down. He wove his way around the trees, trying his best to follow the path that led through the forest down the hill. A sound from the bushes to his left made him stop, right as an arrow flew right by his head and into the tree close to him
"Whoa! What the hell!?" He yelled out in surprise. A deep voice came from the forest. "Don't move or the next one will be through your head." Alex tried to locate the source of the voice but failed. "Don't worry, man, I'm not moving." A rustling came from the bushes as a tall man made his way into the clearing. Alex looked him up and down, taking his features into memory. He had straight blond hair that was slicked back and reached down to the middle of his neck. He wore a normal shirt, but wore a type of mesh armor over it. The mesh allowed the user to move freely, but also provided the same protection as normal armor. He wore dark grey pants that were covered in a much looser type of mesh. In one hand, he held a bow, with an arrow knocked in his fingers. What surprised Alex the most was what was strapped behind the quiver on his back. Twin broadswords were sheathed on his back, proving to Alex that he wasn't just an archer.
The man eyed Alex with his blue eyes, before finally speaking. "Where do you hail from, trespasser?" Alex laughed. "Like you would believe me If I told you…" The man shot a quizzical look. "Which kingdom? Who sent you?" Alex rolled his eyes. "Nobody sent me, I don't even know why I am here." The man stepped closer to Alex. "State your name then."
"Shouldn't you introduce yourself before asking others?" Alex said with a smirk. The man looked down, thinking if it were fine to state his name or not. Finally coming to a decision, he looked up at Alex. "My name is Gabriel Holland, Court Guard of Seere." Alex looked at the castle in the distance. "So this is Seere…" Gabriel dropped the aim of the bow. "Yes this is. Are you a spy of some kind?" Alex laughed. "No, I'm not a spy."
"Then why are you sneaking around the borderlines of our city?" Gabriel asked. "You won't believe me if I tell you." Alex said, looking away. Gabriel sighed. "Well, then I am going to have to take you in by force." Alex gasped as Gabriel suddenly rushed in, tackling him to the ground. He rolled him onto his stomach, and tied his hands with a rope he pulled from his belt. "What the hell are you doing?" Alex yelled, trying to break free of the binds. "If you aren't going to answer my question, then I will just have to assume you are a spy and take you in for questioning."
Gabriel grabbed Alex and lifted him onto his feet. "Now stop struggling or the trip to the castle will not be a pleasant one." Alex stopped his attempt to break free of the ropes, and just followed the path that Gabriel pulled him in. After a while, they finally reached the main gates to enter the village. Gabriel looked up and yelled at a man who stood atop one of the sides of the gate. "Anon, open the gate for me!" A dark skinned man who Alex presumed was Anon looked down over the edge, saw Gabriel, and turned to pull a lever. The gate opened slowly, which allowed Alex to get a better look at the village inside.
People crowded around as Gabriel pulled Alex inside and slowly walked towards the castle. Alex watched as they looked in amazement. Some of them smirked at him, and some refused to even look his way. They finally made their way up to the castle gate, which was guarded by four soldiers. One of the soldiers stepped forward. "Captain Holland! What do you need of us today?" Gabriel motioned towards Alex. "I just need you to open the doors so I can escort him to the dungeons." The soldier nodded and turned to the other guards. "Open the gate." Then he looked at Alex. "Another spy? He will make a fine companion for the other."
The gate fully opened and Gabriel entered the castle grounds. A big garden surrounded them, with a walkway that led towards the front doors of the castle. As Gabriel approached the doors, two soldiers opened them. Gabriel made his way into the castle and Alex gasped at the scenery. Everything in the castle looked elegant and expensive. Gabriel turned down a flight of stairs, which led to an underground dungeon. Gabriel moved to one of the jail cell doors and opened it. He unbound the ropes from Alex's hands and threw him in the cell.
Alex hit the far wall with a thud. He quickly stood and approached the bars. "Why am I in here? I already told you I wasn't a spy." Gabriel headed back towards the stairs. "A spy would have said the same thing. Now you will wait here until I return to question you." With that, Gabriel walked up the steps and disappeared into the upper levels of the castle. "Damn." said Alex, slamming his hands against the bars. He slouched against the far all, and sat with his back towards it. What the hell happened? Why am I in the middle ages? Did the fireball somehow transport me back through time? There is so much I don't understand!
Alex looked around the dungeon. It contained two cells, and the rest was just open space. Grime and dust lined the floors, and shackles hung from the wall. Scanning the room, he also noticed a dark figure in the corner of the cell. The figure was in a fetal position on the ground, most likely asleep. "So you're the 'other guy' huh?" Alex said aloud, hoping to wake the guy up. The guy shifted, lifting his head a little to look at Alex. Alex gasped. "Adam? What the hell are you doing here?"
Adam lifted himself off of the ground, but winced as he placed his left arm on the ground. "I was about to ask you the same question!" Alex looked at Adam's arm. "Are you hurt? What happened in Bastion?!" Adam shook his head. "I don't know. After you had disappeared, the monster quickly shot another fireball and hit me. The next thing I knew, I woke up here. Then that man appeared out of nowhere and grabbed me, hurting my arm." Alex sighed and leaned back against the wall of the cell. "This is so confusing. I don't know what's happening anymore."
"Well, that isn't going to help us now, is it?" Gabriel said, as he walked down the stairs and entered the dungeon. He eyed the both of them. "You seem to be getting along well, do you know each other? Spies of the same region, perhaps?" Adam laughed. "He thinks you're a spy too?" Gabriel walked over to a pillar, and unstrapped the two swords from his back. He laid them against the pillar, along with his bow, and pulled up a chair. "Well, if you two aren't spies, then who are you, and why were you right outside of our kingdom?"
"You wouldn't believe us even if we told you." Alex said. "Well, why don't you try me?" said Gabriel. Alex looked at Adam, who shrugged. "We aren't from this time. We are from Bastion, a city in the future…" Alex proceeded to tell Gabriel what had happened.
"So…that's how it happened." Alex said. Gabriel sat back in his chair. "Is that it?" Adam sighed. "We told you that you wouldn't believe us." Gabriel laughed. "How could I? You want me to believe that you come from the future, where everything is powered by this enigma you call electricity. You tell me that your hometown was attacked by monsters who hit you with these balls of fire that teleported you to this world. It's just too farfetched to believe."
"Well, whether you believe us or not. We aren't spies." Adam said. "Although it is hard to believe you, your odd clothes support your story. Nobody dresses like you do around here. I do believe that you aren't spies, but it will still take some persuading to prove that you are from the future."
A loud bang erupted from upstairs. Gabriel looked up. "What was that?" The door to the dungeon opened, and a woman dressed in black made her way down the stairs. She wore a long black dress, and in her hand, held a dark wood cane. Gabriel looked at her. "Lillith? What is going on?" The scared look on her face made Gabriel worry. "Gabriel! We are being attacked!"