Chapter Five: The Trials of Two Heroes
Pacing back and forth Seth had a hand to his mouth still in disbelief and repeating over and over, "You're the bloody prince."
"No, no, no, no, HELL NO!" Connor yelled getting Seth's attention, "There has to be a mistake! I am not them!"
Watching Connor point to one of the statues he sighed and approached, "Connor you're not seeing the bigger picture, You're not just a prince, you're possibly the last heir to a hero bloodline! The magic that ran through their veins, runs in you too! We just need to activate it."
"Activate it?" Connor repeated in disbelief, "Seth I don't have an on / off switch! I never used magic before I barely know how to shoot!"
"Look the old man brought us here so you can get the Guild Seal, There has to be more to it right?" Seth suggested, both their gaze looking down to the seal in Connor hand that then began to glow and shake.
"Wh-what's happening?!" Connor yelled but before Seth could respond to his question the two men along with Ginjer and Roscoe were engulfed in a bright light and transported out of the room.
Blinking Connor gasped quickly looking around in the darkness he ended up in, "Seth?! Ginjer?! Roscoe?"
"I'm here Connor!" Roscoe replied but the two didn't hear Seth and Ginjer making the man worry who quickly pulled out his flashing light and moved it around the room realizing he was no longer in the crypt of the royal family but in a dark tunnel of a cave.
"Where the bloody hell are we?" Connor asked hearing Roscoe whimper who pressed himself against Connor's leg, "Hey it's ok boy, don't worry we will figure this out and find Seth."
Hearing a hum Connor looked down to the Guild Seal in his hand and watched the symbol outlines glow blue before hearing fumbling on the other end as if the seal had turned into a walkie-talkie, "Uh hello?"
"Testing, testing, one, two, three, Connor? Roscoe? Can you two hear me?" Gabriel asked from the seal.
"Gabriel?! How in the bloody hell are you using this thing to talk to me?!" Connor asked inspecting the seal to try and figure out how it was possible for them to be talking.
"Magic, duh," Gabriel spoke getting an annoyed glare from Connor, "but jokes aside, the time has come to see if you are truly worthy of the powers your family left for you to find."
"Where on earth did the seal take us?" Connor asked flashing his flight down the dark tunnel then jumped back with Roscoe when old burnt-out torches began to relight and lead the way down the tunnel.
"Right now? You both are under Bower Lake," Gabriel spoke while Roscoe sniffed the air.
"He's right, the scent is completely different here, we're not in Bowerstone Castle anymore," Roscoe spoke looking up at Connor.
"Where's Seth and Ginjer?" Connor asked walking down the tunnel with Roscoe staying close next to him.
"They're in the secret sewers, he is going through what you are right now, the trail left behind by your ancestors, I suspect Seth will have it easier than you, I am afraid," Gabriel explained.
"Oh well that's bloody brilliant," Connor spoke sarcastically petting Roscoe's head gently.
"This first trial is what will awaken your power, the second is what will lead you to the great weapons left for you," Gabriel explained his comment making Connor stop in his tracks.
"My powers? So, it's all true then. I am a descendant of the Hero King Sparrow?" Connor asked hearing Gabriel chuckle.
"Well, he's part of a greater bloodline. You and all your ancestors before you all came from the bloodline of William Black the greatest hero in Albion history," Gabriel spoke.
"Oh, bloody hell, no pressure right?" Connor chuckled hearing Gabriel sigh.
"I know what you're thinking, You think you have to live up to the legacy of your heroic ancestors before you, but this will lead to failure, we don't need another Zane, Sparrow, Adam, or Logan. What Albion needs is Connor, this journey will form just what kind of hero you can be, Your choices will be of your own, not theirs," Gabriel spoke his words making Connor feel a little more at ease.
"You right, Albion needs a hero, it's been so long since we felt hope, The people need to believe in something more than a rebellion that may get nowhere, what they need is a hero to lead the way," Connor spoke looking at his reflection in his seal, "I'm ready! Ok Gabriel, tell me what I must do."
"Ahead of you is the path you were born to walk Connor; on this journey, you must recruit allies. Heroes who will aid you to bring hope back to Albion's people. However, we must locate and recruit three special heroes to aid you," Gabriel explained as Connor felt his pocket shift and reached in and pulled out his hero card which now had three cards behind it.
"More cards," Connor spoke examining a card with a fist behind wrapped in fighter tape like the hero was getting ready for a brawl.
"The Champion: This hero is a proud hearty warrior with tremendous courage to match his incredible strength, however, he needs help seeing the path to take," Gabriel explained while Connor pulled out the next card of a hooded figure studying piles of books and form electricity in their hand.
"The Apprentice: This hero seeks knowledge and wisdom so that she can share her findings with others like her in time, while she appears fragile, she holds incredible powerful magic at her fingertips," Gabriel spoke as Connor drew the last card of a pistol on a table and a hand reaching out for it.
"The Successor: Beautiful but deadly, the daughter of a tyrant without a glimmer of light in their soul, you will have to act to show her that she can put her trust in you before joining us," with the last card Connor examined the five cards in his hands.
"Gabriel, what are these cards?" Connor asked looking at his and Roscoe's cards.
"The Cards of Fate, they are clues to the heroes they represent, There are many some scattered across Albion, in time you will find them all but for now we will slowly gain allies," Gabriel explained, and with this Connor put the cards away into his back pocket.
"So, these three you describe why are they more important than the others you described?" Connor asked continuing to walk down the dark tunnel.
"They are this era's new heroes of Strength, Skill, and Will, With them as allies the four of you can create a weapon to combat the true threat that has Albion in its clutches," Gabriel explained this comment getting Connor's attention.
"What true threat? Lord Tirich and Reaver are not who I need to worry about?" Connor asked hearing silence on the other end, "Gabriel?"
"I should explain the situation better when Seth is with us, For now, let's proceed with the trails," Gabriel said as Connor was about to take another step but was pulled by Roscoe by the back of his shirt.
Looking down Connor had nearly fallen into a large hole in the ground, whistling Connor peeked into the hole and then looked over to Roscoe, "Thanks bud, that would have sucked."
"This may be the second time I will tell someone to jump down that hole," Gabriel chuckled at the irony.
"Excuse me?!" Connor spoke looking down into the darkness of the possibly bottomless pit, "Are you out of your bloody mind?!"
"Relax, the water at the bottom will break your fall, so trust me and just take a leap of faith," Gabriel said making Connor look to Roscoe and then back to the hole.
"Fine!" Connor sighed putting his flashlight away and looked at the darkness below, "OK I can do this! Ready Roscoe?"
"Right behind you," Roscoe nodded watching Connor take a breath then jump down into the hole falling a few feet before hitting the cold water below.
Swimming to the surface Connor gasped looking around he spotted a tunnel where lit torches lead deeper into the cave.
Hearing a splash behind him Connor turned to see Roscoe doggy paddle to the surface next to him and was shivering, "DAMN THIS WATER COLD!"
"Come on Roscoe," Connor spoke swimming toward the entrance down a tunnel where he and Roscoe walked out of the waters and his canine companion shook the water from his fur.
"This looks promising," Connor spoke following the path till they reached a large cave with some ruins.
"Does this seem too easy?" Roscoe asked looking down to sniff the dirt below.
"Something tells me this cave got some surprise for us," Connor spoke dropping with Roscoe they both turned when they heard something digging itself out of the ground and a pack of large beetles emerged.
"Connor look out!" Roscoe growled ready to fight with his new friend who drew his sword.
Hearing a hiss the two looked to the roof where Rockmites began to emerge from burrows and began dropping below.
"Whoa! Those are the biggest damn bugs I've ever seen!" Connor yelled kicking away a Rocksmite before spinning and swinging his sword smashing a Giant Beetle to bits.
Growling Roscoe pounced slashing claws against a Rockmite before sinking his teeth into its head and tearing it off.
Slashing his sword again Connor killed several more of the giant bugs till twitch legs and bug body parts were scattered across the room and Connor was looking around making sure the attack was over.
"I think it's over," Roscoe spoke noticing orbs fly from the dead bug's bodies and begin to fly over and enter Connor's body.
"Whoa..." Connor spoke taken aback by the sudden orbs and looked at his hands feeling his body tingle, "What was that?"
"Those orbs are key to unlocking your powers, what you feel is the Strength within in your body making itself known," Gabriel explained.
"Let's keep moving," Connor spoke keeping his sword out ready to fight more bugs that they encountered down the tunnel.
After dispatching more Beetles and Rockmites they reached more waters where they swam across to the other side and reached a tunnel with glowing blue mushrooms all along the walls.
"I will admit the bugs caught me off guard I was expecting we see more you know?" Roscoe spoke sniffing one of the mushrooms and shaking his head in disgust.
Saying nothing Connor led them to an opening where they looked down a ledge, they stood to see a very old and rickety bridge below them.
"I do not trust that bridge but we have no choice," Connor sighed jumping down and leading the way carefully across the bridge with Roscoe following close behind watching their steps on each plank of wood.
Going into another tunnel they could see more bugs ahead mostly on the roof of the cave, ready to drop down and attack any who walked below them.
Pulling out his gun Connor began to shoot every last bug from a safe distance while Roscoe stayed at his side watching Connor miss a few times but gradually with each kill get better and better.
"You're getting good at that Connor," Roscoe spoke watching the bugs fall from the roof and down below disappearing into the fog below the bridges.
"Call me crazy but it starting to feel easy," Connor spoke not noticing flying from the fog yellow orbs from his kills were entering his body.
"Because your abilities in Skill are awakening," Gabriel spoke while Connor shot the last bug spun his pistol in his hand, and placed it in its holster at his side.
Exploring the cave deeper and going across more bridges they reached a large room with a large stone circle in the middle with blue flame torches circling it.
"A pressure plate?" Connor spoke approaching the center carefully and stepping on it watching an orb fly out and place itself high above turning yellow.
"What is that?" Roscoe asked watching Connor narrow his eyes and pull out his pistol firing at the orb watching it turn blue and fly directly in front of him.
"Flint Switches, I read about these once, They are like ancient keys, yellow means you have to shoot, blue means you hit it," Connor explained while drawing his sword and slashing the orb watching it fly off and turn yellow.
"Not a very secure lock if all it takes is shooting and hitting it to break in," Roscoe spoke hearing Connor chuckle and continue to hit the flint switch several more times before it moved to the closed doors where it placed itself to the center and the circular lock began to spin and turn before slowly opening, leading to another tunnel.
Walking through the doors with Roscoe the two walked down a tunnel which must have been the Heroes Guild Library where they found many broken bookshelves and many ruined books.
Picking one book up Connor opened it looking sadly at the destroyed pages that were impossible to read, "It's sad to see all these books forever lost."
"Hey Connor look," Roscoe spoke looking down a tunnel Connor came up from behind to see a bright light past a large bridge.
Approaching the bridge Connor and Roscoe could hear whispers before one voice, the voice of the Seer Theresa echoed.
"Beyond these broken doors lies the Heroes Guild," her voice echoed as Connor touched one of the broken doors and peered into a large room where light was flowing down from the ceiling towards a circular platform.
Looking around the room Connor looked at the ancient art of heroes that was decorated on the walls, Walking forward Connor looked down to the dark bit where the floor had fallen leading to the unknown.
Looking at a picture of the Hero of Oakvale battling a dragon Connor gasped when a memory flashed before his eyes making him stumble back and watch the decaying guild go back in time turning into a battlefield where the hero Zane battled with Jack of Blades.
Another memory then flashed where he watched the Hero Sparrow in the Spire ready to confront Lucien for the final time.
"What's happening? What am I seeing?" Connor groaned seeing another memory flash to Adam fighting the Crawler that was possessing Walter.
"Don't be afraid," a man's voice spoke as the final vision of Logan fighting the Empress in Samarkand flashed.
"Gabriel, what was that?" Connor asked looking around to see the room was now back to its present appearance of decay and ruin.
"For centuries this academy trained the supremely gifted sons and daughters of Albion, bound together by the blood that flowed through their veins, once worshiped by the people of Albion the great heroes became feared and hated, no man alive today remembers the night the guild burned and now it lies forgotten, but the heroes are not all gone, you are here and that same heroic blood flows through," Theresa voiced echoed again.
Gulping nervously Connor approached the light with Roscoe both stopped just before the light both looking up to where it was shining down from the roof.
"The Guild has reacted to you, step into the light and learn the true power of heroes."
Looking to Roscoe Connor nodded before stepping into the light with his canine. Groaning Connor gasped as a blue light formed in his chest unable to stop the painful transformation his body was going through.
Whimpering out Roscoe too had a blue light forming on his chest both then began to float off the ground as the blue light entered their bodies creating visible Will markings on the Connor body and transforming both their eyes to a magical blue.
"RAAAAAAAH!" Connor yelled out his voice echoing through the guild that began to be engulfed in the light.
Slamming down on the ground Connor fell to his knees nearly falling over and panted watching the blue Will markings on his hands form and stop creating a unique pattern.
"Bloody hell! That fucking hurt! Roscoe, are you ok?" Connor asked looking over to his dog who lay on his side and groaned in response.
"Why did that hurt me too?" Roscoe asked looking up and tilting his head when he looked at Connor, "Whoa."
"What?" Connor asked raising an eyebrow when he noticed the canine eyes were now a blue color, "Were your eyes always that color?"
"You changed too, you have weird markings on your face now," Roscoe spoke watching Connor pull out his phone and turn on the selfie camera, and softly gasp at what he saw.
"Holy shit!" Connor spoke touching the markings on his face and blinking a few times to make sure that his normally brown eyes were playing tricks on him, they weren't his eyes had indeed turned color, blue like his Will markings.
"I feel weird Connor," Roscoe spoke standing up weakly with the other, both trying to get their footing from the very painful transformation their bodies had endured.
"Me too buddy," Connor spoke looking at his palm before gasping when a fireball appeared in it, "WHOA! SHIT!"
Trying to shake the fire out Connor realized the flames didn't hurt him and watched the fire turn into a ball of electricity, then into a ball of spinning swords, a ball of violent winds, a slow-moving bubble of time, a mask of chaos, a blue aura of shaking energy, a green skull, then stopping at a mini blizzard of ice shards.
"Ugh! What is in my mouth?!" Roscoe groaned in disgust opening his mouth and gaged accidentally sending a bolt of Shock flying and hitting an old table destroying it.
Staring wide eyes Connor slowly looked down to Roscoe who looked back up in shock, "Did you just use magic? Are you a Will user now?!"
"I think I'm a Will user now!" Roscoe gasped licking his lips, "BLAH! Magic tastes vile!"
"Your blood has awakened I see, You both can now channel the experience you collected today into Strength, Skill, or Will, I will confess I was not expecting the dog to be a Will user but it would seem this place awakened the magic that lied dormant in him," Gabriel spoke as Connor and Roscoe's attention were drawn to the end of the room where a red flint switch appeared before a Cullis Gate.
"Ok, time to try out this magic," Connor spoke holding out his arm and spreading his palm open where flames began to form, "INFERNO!"
Launching the fireball Connor and Roscoe watch the spell explode against the switch where it flew and activated the Cullis Gate.
"What is that thing?" Roscoe asked approaching the Cullis Gate with Connor.
"That's a Cullis Gate, Heroes used these as a means of transportation across Albion, sadly there are barely any active anymore, We could have used these to go from Bowerlake to Bloodstone in seconds," Gabriel explained getting Connor attention.
"Are you serious?! This technology could have saved millions in fuel prices! Geeze the Albion people of the past were morons to let these things go out!" Connor growled stepping onto the Cullis gate with Roscoe both being teleported away.
A.N. Hope you like what I got cooked up so far, in case you probably curious, yes this time I didn't bench Seth to Sanctuary duty, he is very much a key player with the other heroes!
In case your case if you missed chapter 1 little Author Note, I have character concept art available for viewing on my Newgrounds page, (Same user name) you will also get a peek at new heroes that will make appearances in future chapters.
If you like the story feel free to comment or don't :P