Hey believe it or not I am in fact updating, I know its been so long you probably thought I died but no, I've just been busy. work, school, girlfriend, etc. I will do my best to update sooner from here on out, but I cannot make any promises. To make up for it i made it a longer chapter...sorta. Be happy because I spent a couple Friday nights writing this up.

Thanks DemonDarkchild for beta-ing my story because I suck at grammar. (She actually wrote this as I am at her house. She's the girlfriend I often use as an excuse not to write.)

For those who have reviewed. You rock, keep it up I like to know people are reading my work.

For those who have not. Please. even if you don't like it or do not know what to say just let me know your reading it. But you know, if you do not thats cool too.

I think this is one of my best chapters so far so enjoy.

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Chapter3

Though there was not an abundance of space within the tree, it seemed as though someone, or something had been here before.Before the child there was a tunnel which seemed to twist and stretch for quite a distance and for some reason he felt as though it lead somewhere and that he was meant to be here. But where could it lead? And more importantly, what could be there? He realized that it was stupid to think this way, it was merely a strangely large tree, and nothing much would be inside of it, but he couldn't shake the feeling that he had been led here and that there was something he was supposed to find here.

The child continued deeper and deeper into the depths of the darkness, which seemed to swallow him. Though many are frightened and uncomfortable in the darkness, and feel it as an oppressive force, the child had no fear of it and in fact was comforted by it. Through all his years of slavery he had learned to make the shadows his friends, as he knew he would have no others. He had used them to feed himself when his masters withheld his food or had merely forgotten about him. He had used them to hide his pain and be alone when his cruel masters seemed to be more then he could take. Yes, the shadows had been the closest thing to a caress for him and the darkness an embrace. So, the shadows that now surrounded him did nothing to dishearten him.

As the boy went onward into the unknown, for what seemed to be hours, he just barely heard a slight rustling, like a calm breeze blowing through autumn leaves on a moonless night. The further he went the louder it became. Until he realized it wasn't a rustling from ahead of him but a low rasping whisper all around him or perhaps within him. So of course, being curious, he stopped and listened and heard an old decaying, drawn out rasp… "Chil' … Chhiiiil'… I's feeeels… chhiiiil'… I's feeeels yous… poweeerrr… yousa… dak critta…yous strrrongs… I's needs… I's feeeeeds… poweeerrr…" A cold chill ran down the boy's spine. He wheeled around searching in vain for the source of the dead voice. Sword and shield drawn he crept onward as the cryptic voice continued taunt him. "yous… yous waaants it… mine's… poweerr… theee… powerrr… mine's… cuurssse… yous… killz… my's… crittas…chiiil'… I's feeeds… yous… poweerr… chiiil'… yous… are…toos…die…I'sa… Goddd." The sudden and bone-chilling realization passed over the child. The voice wasn't coming from something within the tree; it was coming from the tree itself.

Though unsure of what laid ahead the boy had no choice but to continue onward, as going back would be sure death. By now it must have been hours since he first entered, or perhaps only minutes, there was no way to tell. The walls around him suddenly began to come in on themselves and before he could react the paths behind him and in front of him where closed off.

A groan from the ceiling alerted him to a hole that was opening up above him and pouring out of it, as water from a broken dam, came dozens of starved skulltulas. He near-instantly whipped out his slingshot and began shooting like wild as fast as he could. The damned spiders where coming at him like a wave and he was picking off as many as he could but there was no way, as his bag of bullets was growing lighter and lighter. He did have half a second to notice though that those that where not scrambling to knag him away, where ripping each other to pieces in their extreme hunger. Several where beginning to jump at him and he had to abandon his distanced approach. Sending those jumpers back into the mass horde, with a strong swipe of his shield, crazed the beasts and caused them to instantly consume those injured. Now the majority of them where on a self-annihilating rampage fighting over their fallen, causing more to die and be fought over. Those not part of the horde where still scrambling to the more succulent prize of the child's flesh. The boy was batting, slicing, stomping and fighting for his very life, and what little blood was in those creatures was quickly drained by the tree or covering the child.

Eventually, the room grew quite and the skulltulas attacking the child where thwarted and those in the main horde had been torn to pieces or injured so badly they could not move. The room was littered with the twitching bodies of those creatures not yet realizing their time had already come. The walls stretched back to their original positions and the child walked on sporting more then a few skulltula bites.

"Well that was fun," the child muttered.

The boy, sure that more traps would be coming, crept onward doing his best to notice every detail which could help him come out alive. As such, he began to notice something that he had not before; the walls were quivering just slightly as though breathing or as if a pulse ran through them.

The voice returned from time to time giving cryptic messages of "powwwerr's" and "cuursse's" meaning little to nothing to the boy as he had no idea what it was speaking of. The more deeply the child traveled, the narrower the tunnels became and he seemed to be led continually, but slightly, downward. His path twisted and turned and he began to see bones of many manners of creatures scattered about. The further he went, the more numerous and human-like they became. And then he realized he had traveled down a dead end. But all too late, as the wall behind him closed before he could react. His eyes darted to the ceiling but no opening or spiders where coming. And the he heard a hollow rattling all around him and it dawned on him that skulltulas would be the least of his worries.

The many of the bones animated themselves into the forms of small skeletons, all of which seemed to have a slight green glow in their eyes, which immediately lounged at the boy. In exasperation the child blurted, "Holy shit, stahlchildren, they exist!?" He quickly rolled to a corner of the room raised his sword and shield and began hacking and bashing at them. He quickly found that knocking of their heads had little effect, there were over a dozen of them and they had closed in on him. Blocking as much as he could with his shield he hacked at them whenever possible. All he could think about was how stupid he was for having believed he could be anything more then just a slave.

Suddenly, over the sound of bone scrapping on shield he heard it, a cold dry laughter. It was the tree laughing at him and then it began to speak "Mysss crittas ill.. kills youss" The boy became furious, being mocked wasn't something he took lightly. Immediately, he ran his sword all the way up and through the nearest stahlchild destroying it instantly. He bashed his shield through another. He bashed and sliced, blocked and slashed until all of them where finished. But the path from where he came was still blocked off and he looked towards where he was headed and saw the a pile of somewhat lager bones with a round shield, and a curved sword began to assemble itself. The child's eyes widened for a moment and then a smile crossed his face, and he whispered, "A duel".

The two began to circle each other, then the large skeletal creature lunged at the boy and he quickly dodged and retaliated with a stab to it's rib cage, dislodging a few. The creature jumped back and they stood still for just a moment and the boy jumped at the creature and attempted to strike its skull. He caught only its shield as it quickly blocked and slashed down at the child who was also quick to block. But the creature continued to press down with its sword and as it was much stronger it was pushing the child's shield closer and closer to his face. The child shifted to the right and in that same instant slashed through the creature's sword arm. The creature jumped back, holding its shield defensively in front of itself. The child rushed towards it, but at the last moment before he would have struck, he jumped to the left and brought his sword though the creature's undefended spine, causing it to fall to pieces.

The child stood their smiling as the wall in front of him opened to reveal large and ominous room.