Dungeons and Dragons
The Die Master
Chapter 8: The Final Roll
Presto raised his arms high, and a huge portal appeared in the room. Out of it fell all of his friends.
"No!" Mallacar said.
"Mallacar is still alive!" Diana gasped.
"And I am free!" Venger shouted as he arose challengingly.
"Aw man, Presto's spell must have taken Venger too!" Hank said.
"I have had enough of being your puppet, Mallacar!" Venger said.
"And I have had enough of your insolence, Venger!" Mallacar shot back, and he threw a bolt of lightning at Venger, which knocked him back hard into a wall. Mallacar the strode over to Venger and said spitefully, "How dare you step out of line. I made you what you are today!"
"What you made him into was a monster!"
Everyone turned to see that Dungeon Master was very angry.
"Silence!" Mallacar spat.
"No, you and the six honorable wizards created this Realm, and you corrupted it."
"I did no such thing!"
"Yes! You did corrupt it. You gave many evil intentions, and the dark powers necessary to fulfill their evil plans. You also pulled great beings out of this world, such as Dekion, and filled their hearts with evil so they would become your pawns in your own twisted game you've become wrapped up in. And just as you have corrupted this Realm, you also corrupted my son," Dungeon Master with an iron gaze.
"Wh-what! Venger's his son?" Eric gasped in horror, dropping his shield.
"No way. . ." Sheila gasped.
"Dungeon Master?" Hank asked quietly, looking from the short sage's angry, let pain-filled face, from where Mallacar was standing over Venger, who was looking down at his chest, disgusted with himself. For some reason, Hank couldn't help but fell sorry for Dungeon Master and Venger.
"Die!" Mallacar as he drew his black 20-sided Die of Doom from his robe.
"Mallacar, your end has come!"
Mallacar turned around to see Hank standing courageously, with Uni, Dungeon Master, and his six other friends behind him. Each and every one of them were giving Mallacar a massive death-glare.
Mallacar still had a grave expression on his face. He gestured back to Venger and said, "Let me clean up this mess first."
"No," Hank said seriously, "We're not gonna let you do anything to him, not after you've been using him all this time."
"We're gonna beat you once and for all!" Presto said.
"You've got a lot of nerve, you punk, putting us through all this craziness! Well we want out of here, now!" Eric demanded.
"You're gonna be sorry for what you did to Bobby!" Sheila said with angry tears in her eyes.
"We'll beat you at your own game!" Dianna said, brandishing her Javelin Staff.
Mallacar actually gave a cry of fear at what happened next. Where once stood the children, now stood the six wizards. Where Bobby stood, now was Balthazar the green. Where Presto was, now stood Palladar the violet. For Eric, Erranos the orange. For Sheila, Shaara the indigo. For Dianna, Dannoka the blue. And for Hank, Haddos the yellow. Even the spirit of Balthazar's adult unicorn fell upon Uni.
The images of the six wizards towered above Mallacar. Their eyes were hot, and they were ready to strike.
"I tried to warn you, Mallacar," Balthazar said, "I truly did."
Mallacar felt himself begin to sweat all over. He began to get hot all over, and experience he never had before. Mallacar then felt rage build up inside him, and that rage overshadowed his fear. Mallacar released his rage in a mighty shout.
"ENOUGH!" came the roar, and he shot his hand holding his Dice of Doom out.
"Gahh!" Mallacar grunted as the entire vision was shattered by a pain in his hand. Mallacar looked to see that Uni had run up and bitten him.
Mallacar threw the unicorn off, and it tumbled and rolled back to the group. Mallacar pointed threateningly at Bobby as he quickly ran to Uni's side and said, "Just for that, you will be the first to die! I should have never brought you back! What a fool I was! Well, now I shall set things-."
Mallacar stopped speaking abruptly when he realized that the Die of Doom was no longer in his hand.
"Oh no, when it bit me. . ." Mallacar gasped, he then looked up to see Bobby holding the black die. Bobby had a very angry face on.
"No one hurts Uni!" Bobby said.
"It attacked me first, little toddler," Mallacar said with a rage that matched Bobby's. However, this only increased Bobby's rage even more.
"Don't call me a toddler!" Bobby screamed, and he threw the die with all the force he could muster.
"Fool!" Mallacar spat, "You don't have to power to use that die! You're too small and weak too-."
The Die of Doom flashed brilliantly, and a huge whirlwind shot out of it.
"NO! How could you have rolled a perfect 20! IMPOSSIBLE!" Mallacar exclaimed.
The mighty whirlwind quickly surrounded Mallacar. His screams and cries of rage were lost in the roaring sounds of the wind.
The six wizards reappeared momentary around Mallacar, just long enough for Haddos to say, "It is time for you to pay for each and every one of your crimes!"
Mallacar gave one final rage filled roar as the effects of the whirlwind finally began to dissolve Mallacar's arms, body, and head.
And then, the wind ceased.
Dungeon Master then stepped in front of the them, and bowed, and with his voice choked with tears of relief and joy, said, "Congratulations, young heroes! The great evil of the Realm of Dungeons and Dragons has gone."
"If anyone had told me that one day I'd be doing this, I would have cracked up laughing right there," Eric said as he took his turn to give Venger a friendly handshake.
Mallacar's corruption had clearly left Venger. His normal skin color had returned to him, and his bat wings, claw-like hands, and single horn had gone, replaced with a long, red robe similar to Dungeon Master's.
Venger bowed and said, "It appears much of my memory has left me along with the evil, but I do that I have done so much evil to you all, and to the Realm for many centuries. I am truly sorry."
Hank smiled and said, "Don't be. It was all Mallacar's doing. And he's gone, so it's all over now."
Dungeon Master looked at each of the six heroes. He then opened his arms wide and said, "My greatest pupils. For many years, I have employed heroes of the Realm to defeat the evil known as Venger. However, you six, who have come from another world, did much more than defeat the evil, you cured it, and destroyed it's cause, Mallacar."
Dungeon Master then walked toward a large ring in the castle floor.
"With my son restored to me, we can return to his training in good magic and the power of light, and now, your quest has come to an end."
Dungeon Master raised his hands, and the ring began to glow, a bright portal forming inside of it.
Dungeon Master smiled and said, "This device of Mallacar's should bring you back to your world instantaneously."
"Yes! Finally!" Eric shouted, throwing his fist in the air, and he ran up to jump into the portal, but then he stopped suddenly and turned to Dungeon Master. He tapped his shield nervously as he said, "Well, okay, look Dungeon Master, I've got something to say and well, listen up." Eric sighed and said with a pained expression on his face, "I'm sorry for all the complaining and being a jerk, and I guess I made a fool of myself, and well, that's it."
Dungeon Master nodded and smiled, "That's quite already, Caviler."
"Well if that's it, then I'm outta here!" Eric said, and he dropped his shield and dived into the portal.
"Wow, I would have never seen that coming from Eric," Presto said.
"Well I'm pretty sure we all saw that coming," Diana remarked.
"What?" Presto asked.
"Eric went first."
"Oh. . ."
Diana gave Dungeon Master her Javelin Staff and said, "You know, even though we've all been in grave danger the whole time, you gotta admit it was all so cool. Thanks for all the help, Dungeon Master."
Dianna entered the portal as Presto sadly took off his Hat of Many Spells, "I'm sure gonna miss doing magic."
"Don't worry Presto, just keep on practicing those card tricks!" Hank said encouragingly, patting Presto on the back.
Presto smiled and said, "Yeah, I guess you're right. You know, I think that after this, I'll be able to do any kind of magic trick!"
Presto entered the portal, and Hank was about to follow, but then he turned back to Dungeon Master and said, "I never thought being a leader would be hard, at least, not until I got here. Making all those decisions, and always being brave and confident for everyone. . ."
"But you succeeded, with flying colors I might add," Dungeon Master said.
Venger nodded and said, "Yes. You were an excellent rival, Ranger. And it was your words that had saved my life from Mallacar. You have my eternal gratitude."
Hank smiled and gave a thumbs-up, and then entered the portal.
Sheila placed her cloak and Bobby's club in the pile of magic weapons. She then looked over to where Bobby was gently running his hand through Uni's orange mane.
"Are you ready to leave, Bobby?" Sheila asked her brother gently.
Bobby didn't look up. He just said, "Go ahead, Sheila. I'll be there."
"But-."
"Trust me. Please."
Sheila nodded, and she stepped down into the portal.
Bobby hugged the small unicorn and said, "Well Uni, this is it."
Uni gently licked Bobby on the cheek.
Bobby looked up and to the side to see Balthazar on his unicorn.
A sudden remembrance came to the boy's mind, causing him to smile. Bobby nodded to the spirit and said, "Yes, I'll do it just like you planned."
Balthazar gave one last smile before vanishing for the last time.
Bobby held Uni closer and whispered, "I'll be back."
Bobby set Uni down and turned to Dungeon Master, "You'll make sure she gets back to the Valley of the Unicorns, right?"
"Yes indeed, guaranteed," Dungeon Master replied.
"Thank you Dungeon Master, for everything," Bobby replied.
The Barbarian then stood up straight and took a deep breath. He was gonna hate himself for doing this, but it was the only way for him to let go without falling apart. While still holding his breath, Bobby turned and walked without hesitation into the portal, without looking back, or paying attention to anything around him.
"Like pulling off a bandage. . . fast, quick, easy. . .,painful. . ." he thought.
The portal then blinked closed.
"Now, it is time for us to go, and put Mallacar, and this symbol of his reign, behind us," Dungeon Master said solemnly.
The three figures vanished from the room, and the great floating castle spun with a jerk, and began accelerating up, up, and up. Stone began to crumble and wood began to burn. The various works of art fell from their pedestals and hook as the castle zoomed at high speeds, right into its final destination.
The biggest of the Realm's three suns.
And thus ended the reign of Mallacar.
This is not the end! Read the epilogue!