The D&D Chronicles: The Adventure Begins
Chapter 8: Grim Getaway
Brady Oaks, Main Street
Ghoular snarled as he stood in the shadows, finally facing the new Paladin of Xadador, who turned out to be a child.
When Mokdo alerted Horvath about the news the amulet's new champion, the little Kobold, along with the dark mage's familiar, scouted out earlier today, before returning to confirm their findings.
Ghoular soon left, face of the boy, while keeping in the shadows elongated by the setting sun. Prowling the alleys behind most of Brady Oaks's storefronts, he finally stopped and saw the heroes take turn to an empty construction zone, as a shortcut to their homes. Homes that, sadly, they won't be able to make their way back to.
For the party, the kids were all having a mixture of shock, fear and disbelief at what they were seeing in front of them.
"Okay… what is that?!" Frida asked in shock.
"A troll." Luz replied, knowing well what it was.
"That's a troll?!" David yelped, shaking in his boots, as his bike trembled as he shook.
Taylor looked to Chris as she asked, "Is that who I think it could be?"
"No doubt," Chris replied, "He seems to match everything Blinky mentioned about him."
"Wait, who?" Chuckie asked, as he heard what they were saying, "You know this creepy dude?!"
Patrick, meanwhile, was still shocked at the size of Ghoular, he seemed to be the exact size as AAARRRGGHH!
"You!" Ghoular snarled.
The kids looked shocked at this, Patrick included, as they looked to each other, until Patrick learned that the troll was referring to him, as he then pointed to himself, mouthing "Me?"
"Paladin, Merlin's creation, bane to my master's rule!" Ghoular sneered, as the drool spat out from his jaws.
"I think he's talking to you..." Luz said to Patrick.
The others soon overheard this as they looked to Patrick.
"Waitaminute," Callum spoke, "You're a what now?!"
"A Paladin." Hilda replied for her brother.
"Really?" Ezran asked, surprised.
"You have something that belongs to me, boy," Ghoular called out to them, "give me the amulet, or this day will be the last you walk on this plane."
"Oh yeah?" Raph snarky said with a grin, "Says who?"
"Yeah, what he said!" Hazel added.
"Don't encourage him, idiots!" Taylor said aloud through gritted teeth.
"I am Ghoular!" the vicious troll introduced himself, "The Grimreaper. The Bonebreaker. And feared by all troll kind!"
Hilda looked to the road in front of them as well as the troll, before letting out an idea, as she yelled, "If you want the amulet, why don't you come and take it, Droolar!"
"Hilda! What are you doing?!" Patrick cried out.
"We're with your brother on this one!" David trembled.
"What this!" Hilda said, as she pointed forward to the troll, who let out a roar and then stood on all fours, but as he started to move out of the shadows and towards them, his hand suddenly stung by the sun's rays, causing Ghoular to step back.
"Look! Right there!" Hilda smiled, "Ghoular is a troll, right? So that means that he's afraid of the sun! Trolls can't handle sunlight!"
"Well throughout, sis!" Patrick smiled at his little sister.
"Yeah, but we don't have long!" Chuckie pointed out, as he pointed to the setting sun, the others looking as well, as the sun was slowly setting, and the shadows were slowly beginning to grow, before eventually disappearing for the blackness to take hold.
"The amulet!" Ghoular roared, "Surrender it, and I will give you a speedy death!"
"Doesn't know how to negotiate, this guy!" Callum said in panic.
"Hurry! Go, go, go!" Patrick called out, as he and the others started to peddle out of the area, as Ghoular witnessed them running away.
"So… the hunt begins…" Ghoular grinned, as he licked his lips before charging on all fours as the sun fully set. Up on one of the buildings, the mysterious cloaked figure from last night watched what was happening, and knew he had to act fast and help the paladin and his friends, before taking off like a ninja.
"Okay, Patrick," Chuckie said, as he peddled as fast as he could to keep up with the others, "who was that guy? Why are you a Paladin? And what does all this have to do with the amulet!?"
"We like to know ourselves!" Callum added.
"Yeah, have you been through something awesome without us?" Hazel also asked.
"Guys, survive now! Questions, later!" Patrick cried as he and the others continued to peddle their bikes, Ghoular chasing after them.
The troll followed the peddling kids, getting ahead of them by cutting them off at the end of the block… only to find the street empty.
His prey had somehow evaded him, but they wouldn't for much long.
"You can run, boy," Ghoular said, as he stomped through the street, looking around to find his prey, "but you can't hide forever…"
A few vehicles away from Ghoular, Patrick and his friends were ducked between two construction trucks, hiding from the monster that was after them, while Patrick got out his amulet to try and activate it.
"Uh, Patrick," Callum said, nervously, "if you're a paladin, now would be a great time to fight back!"
"Working on it!" Patrick said, trying to calm his friends down.
A roar from Ghoular didn't help, as it made the kids panic more than ever.
"Armour up, armour up. Armour up! Please! Now! FASTER!" Chris cried.
"Okay, I'm trying!" a stressed out Patrick said, as he and the others soon heard several crushing sounds, along with few car alarms going off, as Ghoular began smashing, tossing and shoving everything in his path, as the troll looked to find the kids.
"Alright," Patrick said, as he took a quick deep breath and said the incantation, "For the glory of Merlin, may Vorpal light our darkest day."
The amulet glowed and hummed a little, as Patrick awaited for the armor to appear…
Nothing happened.
"Something's up, it's not working!" Patrick started to panic.
The sounds of vehicles getting crushed and Ghoular's loud footsteps started to get closer.
"¡Date prisa, se está acercando!*" Luz cried out, as she and the others grew more and more scared as Ghoular's stomps closed in, as the others were too terrified to ask about Merlin and the Vorpal that were mentioned in the incantation.
Ghoular, meanwhile, sniffed the air, as the childrens' fear was close by.
"For the glory of Merlin, may Vorpal light our darkest day!" Patrick tried again, but in no effect, resulting in him getting more stressed as he angrily said to the object in his hand, "Seriously! It's our darkest day! I need Vorpal here! Light it up already!"
The truck behind them suddenly groaned and rose ten feet in the air, as Ghoular was the one holding on to it. He glared down at them like they were mere bugs hiding under a rock.
"Years of Paladins," Ghoular said, as he seemed to have let out a vicious grin, "and I will have killed two in almost as many days!"
"HE'S GOOD AT MATH!" Luz panicked.
"GO! GO! GO!" cried Patrick, as he and others instantly peddled away fast from Ghoular, as the troll watched them go.
The party just then heard a grunt from behind, as Ghoular had just tossed the truck he was holding, and was hurtling straight for them!
"FLYING TRUCK!" Chris cried.
The others were starting to brace getting crushed by the truck, when Hilda saw something… or someone, heading towards them.
The cloaked figure was running at a great pace to the party, as he then took off the cloak and tossed it aside like a superhero removing their disguise to reveal their super suit, before jumping high over them as the figure brought up his arm and cried out, "Makaidir siyanc!"
The figure brought down his arm, resulting in a slashing strike wave to appear and instantly sliced the truck in half, causing both sides to crash to the ground, between the party and the mysterious figure who saved them.
The others were stopped to look and were surprised by who or what they saw.
The being that saved them looked like what resembled a Nubian goat, with long ears, a snout, and visible fangs, but with black fur. He was also wearing some sort of green wizard's outfit, complete with pastel-green tints on his clothes and hat. He also had a long magenta scarf wrapped around his neck and donned a pair of green colored glasses.
"Okay, who is that?!" Callum cried out, looking at Patrick, his sisters, Chris and Luz.
"That… we don't know…" Patrick replied, feeling a little stunned to see a new face.
Ghoular was surprised too, but his mood turned back to anger as he growled, "Who dares?!"
"Patrick, you and the others get going!" the newcomer said to them, "I'll cover you!"
Patrick, confused how this creature knows him besides the ones he met before, realized what he meant, before looking at the others as he said, "You heard him, let's go!"
Patrick and the others sped off, the unexpected being following behind them as quick as he can.
Ghoular grabbed hold of another vehicle, and tossed it at them, but as he did, before it could crash onto the party, the newcomer made a swift turn and surprisingly, used his scarf like a whip, Patrick could seem to hear him say something in an odd tongue, before striking the flying vehicle with his scarf, which almost acted like a hammer or a bat, as it knocked the vehicle flying back with a small crash!
The troll roared in anger before charging after them, even grabbing a nearby car and threw it at the retreating party, only to miss as it crashed and skidded on the road.
Ghoular continued to run after them on all fours, like a bloodthirsty gorilla, as the others continued to peddle quickly with their unexpected (possible) ally running alongside them like a ninja.
Ghoular soon spotted an open construction trench on the sidewalk, then ducked into it, disappearing underground.
"I think we lost him!" said Luz, when she believed the close was clear.
"I believe there's a human saying of 'not to count chickens when they hatch', Miss Luz." the newcomer stated.
"Actually, it's 'don't count chickens before they hatch'." Frida corrected.
"Maybe we did?" David nervously asked, trying to feel hopeful they did lose the troll.
"Oh, right, because our luck is going great so far!" Callum said sarcastically.
Below in the sewers, Ghoular followed the group's shadows through the slits in the storm drains, as he bounded through the sewers, splashing through fowl water and other types of crud and sludge.
He then jumped and struck the sewer ceiling with a strong punch.
The impact sent a manhole cover rocketing up, and almost Callum, but luckily it missed.
"See?!" he cried.
Another manhole cover shot into the sky and whizzed past Chris' head.
"What the heck?!" Chris cried out.
"He must be attacking from the sewers!" the newcomer said, "We need to keep moving! Fast!"
"No need to tell us twice!" Chuckie panicked, as he and the others picked up the pace, just as another manhole cover shot up into the air, this time missing the group as it landed.
Ghoular then burst through another open trench, flattening barricades and overturning an unmanned bulldozer as he went before catching up to the party as he galloped.
"I'LL FLAY THE FLESH FROM YOUR BONES!" Ghoular vowed as he looked at them.
"I LIKE MY BONES THE WAY THEY ARE, THANKS!" Chuckie yelped.
The troll leapt into the air, then came thundering down directly in front of them, still reeking of the sewer's stench.
Ghoular let out a roar as he prepared to strike, only for most of the kids that were close to him evaded his slashing claws.
The new creature that was helping them soon jumped in the air, as he cried out, "Spicy Toss!" Before throwing what looked like a fireball at Ghoular, which struck him from the back of his head, before the creature landed back on the ground and continued running.
"How are we gonna lose this guy?!" Raph asked.
Patrick had a bit of thought before recognizing a nearby block they were getting close to.
"Head down Cleese Street!" Patrick said to the others, "We'll try and split up there and meet up at the bridge!"
"Good thinking, Patrick!" the newbian goat-like creature said, "You'll do what you can, and once we're there, I'll do what I can to slow him down!"
"Alright!" Patrick said, as he and the others rode faster and faster, though Ghoular was soon starting to gain up on them, tearing up the roads with his clawed hooves as he ran, while snarling at the Paladin and his allies.
As the group raced through Cleese Street, Patrick called out to the others, "Ezran, Frida, David! You come with me, Hilda, Taylor, Chris and Luz! Callum, you, the twins and Chuckie head down behind Gadget Gabe's!"
"Are you sure?!" Callum asked, a little unsure of this.
"Let's hope so!" Patrick replied.
"But Patrick, I don't know I can fit that!" Chuckie cried out.
"We know you can do it, Chuck!" Chris said, "You've been on a diet!"
As the kids did their part, as they reached Gadget Gabe's, the goat creature stopped and stood his ground, ready to do his part.
Patrick's group continued onward, while Callum's group shot down the narrow alley behind Gadget Gabe's, it was a bit tight as Callum and the twins' knees brushed onto the bricks.
Chuckie was last to enter, but got stuck halfway through the alley.
"Oh man, I can't fit! I can't fit!" Chuckie panicked, as he tried to peddle through as fast as he could.
"Suck it in, Chuck!" Hazel called out on the other side.
Hearing this changed Chuckie's mind, as he sucked in his belly and continued pedaling faster. All of a sudden, his body soon budged, and slowly started to move forward.
"I can fit!" Chuckie said with a bit of excitement, "I can fit! I can fit! Yay, diet!"
As he watched Callum's group escape through the gap, the goat creature looked back down the road, and saw Ghoular skid to a halt as he looked to him and then let out a roar.
That roar, unfortunately, startled Luz, causing her to tumble off her bike.
"Luz!" Hilda cried out, seeing what was happening, along with her brother.
Patrick stopped his bike for a second and hurried back to help Luz back on her bike, she wasn't hurt, but a little startled from Ghoular's roar.
"Patrick, hurry!" Taylor shouted back.
The goat creature saw this as well, then looked back to the troll, as he licked his lips and roared again, before charging on all fours towards him.
"You look rather steamed," he said, before smirking as he added, "let me help cool you down!"
While he stood there, he pointed to Ghoular with his right hand, but as Patrick and Luz watched carefully, the goat creature suddenly made an odd doodle which appeared in front of him, before crying out, "Aspiro Frigis!"
The creature soon took a deep breath, and then blew as hard as he can, and as if by magic, an extremely powerful blast of ice appeared, the ice exploding from where he was casting it, and suddenly trapped the troll in a blast of ice, Ghoular's face and left hand not frozen over.
Patrick and Luz were stunned by this, before snapping abc and getting back on their bikes, pedalling away as the goat creature called out, "Hurry! Go, go, go!"
Soon, the party and their new ally escaped, leaving Ghoular struggling a little to get free so he can kill them for that trick, letting out a roar of frustration which echoed towards the others as they escaped.
A little later…
Patrick figured he and the others were about 30 to 40 seconds away from getting killed.
'Why didn't the amulet work back then?' Patrick thought as he peddled fast on his bike, 'Where was the armor and Vorpal sword when I needed it most? And where can the others and I go if we're not safe? My house? Chris'? Luz's house? The hospital? The Pentagon?'
Soon, as the party got back together upon splitting up for a second, the gang soon rode their bikes across the bridge and reached the other side to the entrance of their neighbourhood, and stopped to catch their breaths.
"Okay… that… was too close!" Chris said between each pant.
"Look at me. Look at me!" Chuckie said, panting as he joined up with the others, "We're not dead, right?"
"At least we made it." Patrick said.
Just then, Hilda spotted the goat creature that helped them, as he was sprint-leaping from lamppost to lamppost of the bridge like a ninja.
"Look!" she said, as the others followed where she was pointing at, until the creature landed by them gracefully.
"Is everyone alright?" he asked.
"We're fine. A little shaky, but okay." Luz replied.
"Thanks for helping us a bit back there." Patrick said with a smile.
"No problem, Paladin Patrick," the creature said with a smile, but looked back in concern before turning to the others, "but we have to hurry, that case of ice won't hold for much longer."
The goat creature soon started walking, "Come, everyone."
"Wait, where are we going?" Hilda asked.
"I'm afraid we can't stick around here at the moment if Ghoular is here," the goat creature stopped and looked to the party and explained, "if we stay, you guys and anyone else here could be in jeopardy."
"Whoa, whoa, waitaminute!" Callum instantly said, getting the others' attention.
"We are not going anywhere until somebody explains what is going on!" Callum stated, "We almost got flattened into pancakes by a flying truck and nearly slashed by a giant troll!"
"Yeah, like how does this goat kid know you and what does all this Paladin stuff have to do with the amulet?!" Chuckie asked.
Patrick, his sisters, Luz and Chris all looked to each other and decided it was time for explanations.
"Guess we should come clean here," Patrick said, letting out a little sigh as he looked to the others, "you see guys-"
"The amulet, it turns out, is a magical device worn by a great heroic protector called a Paladin of Xadador, who's job is protecting the lives of humans and the mystical creatures, and Patrick here has been chosen for the magical destiny! Just like Azura!" Luz cut in before explaining everything all at once without taking a breather.
The others, meanwhile, were quite a bit stunned upon hearing this, as Luz caught her breath upon saying all the info.
"Wait, seriously?" Frida asked.
"It's all completely true, guys." Hilda nodded in reply.
"And to help answer the other question, I've kind of been keeping an eye on Patrick and you lot." the goat creature confessed.
'Is every creature spying on me after becoming a Paladin?!' Patrick thought to himself in disbelief.
"And I suppose we should thank you for helping us…" Hilda smiled, before asking, "What is your name, by the way?"
The goat kid smiled before introducing himself, "Call me Ralsei."
"Thanks again, Ralsei." Luz smiled.
"It's nothing at all," Ralsei smiled, before looking at Patrick and said, "though the reason I'm here is because there is a great legend that I need to tell you all."
"A legend?" Chris asked.
"That's right," Ralsei nodded, before turning to Patrick, "I take it you know about your duty as a Paladin?"
"Well… yeah." Patrick replied.
"Well, what if I were to tell you that there is a legend to this and every other realm in the Multiverse that you were sworn to protect." Ralsei explained, "A prophecy that a band of noble heroes, for various races, would come together and save the Multiverse, as foretold by time and space."
"I don't think we were told about that." Hilda stated, looking a little unsure.
"Then please let me be the first to tell you of this legend." Ralsei requested.
The others looked to each other for a moment, until Patrick decided and replied, "I suppose it's worth hearing him out on this."
"You sure?" Callum asked, raising an eyebrow.
Patrick looked to him and stated, "He did save our lives, Callum."
Callum looked to the others then back to Ralsei, before sighing as he said, "Alright, we'll hear it. But can we get going to avoid becoming chow to that troll if he catches up with us?"
"Very well then," Ralsei nodded, as he and the others started moving, until Ralsei spoke, "This is a legend that begins many years ago…"
"Once upon a time, a Legend was whispered among shadows."
"It was a Legend of Hope."
"It was a Legend of Dreams."
"It was a Legend of Light."
"It was a Legend of Dark."
"This is the Legend of Xadador."
"Long ago, the Earth, like every other world, was once in an age of magic and wonder. During this time, the humans co-existed with the magical and fantastic creatures and beings beyond one's imagination."
"During this Age of Wonder, the co-existed races, while creative with inventions that would change and become part of the future of the world, there also excited magic, including the primal sources of magic: the sun, the moon, the stars, the earth, the sky, and the ocean."
"Of course, there also existed the seventh source of magic: dark magic. While mysterious and anonymous, and even believed dangerous, it was discovered that it can be controlled and mastered right with a pure heart, to avoid falling into darkness with a corrupted heart."
"With these magical elements, Light and Dark have lived in balance, bringing peace to the cosmos."
"But soon, a powerful warlock, who mastered the terrible dark arts of using dark magic, learned that if this harmony were to shatter… a terrible calamity would occur."
"The sky will run black with terror and the land will crack with fear. Then, with their hearts pounding… all worlds will draw their final breath."
"Only then, shining with hope… several young heroes appear at Worlds' edge."
"A Human Paladin…"
"Witches bonded by love and friendship…"
"An Elf Warrior…"
"A Mage who knows of the six…"
"A King of Demons…"
"And two Star-crossed Lovers…"
"Only they can stop the darkness, and banish the Evil's Heaven."
"Only then will balance be restored, and the cosmos saved from destruction…"
"Today, the Fountains of Light and Darkness - the geysers that give the realm of Xadador form - stand tall at the center of the kingdom of Xadador. But recently, whispers tell that another fountain of darkness has appeared… yet no one knows where. And with it, the balance of Light and Dark begins to shift…"
"Whoa…" Patrick and the others were a little stunned about hearing this.
"Thank you for listening to my long tale," Ralsei said, as he and the group continued walking a bit, "I deeply believe that young Patrick here is one of the heroes of legend, and that you all, despite anything and any foes you may face, you all have the courage to work together to save all worlds."
Ralsei stopped for a moment and looked to the humans proudly, as he asked, "Guardians of Xadador! Please, won't you accept your destiny…?"
There was a moment of silence from everyone as they looked to each other, then back to Ralsei, who was happily eager to await their answer.
Until Callum frowned and asked, "Are you kidding me?"
Ralsei was a little taken back by that, "Uh… w-what?"
"No way!" Callum said, "How can any of this be happening?! This has to be some sort of joke!"
He then looked to the twins, knowing that most of the time they got in trouble with some of their pranks, as he then said, "Raph, Hazel, I won't even be mad at you two if you both just tell me you're orchestrating all of this."
"Hold up," Hazel spoke, "we're somewhat flattered that you think our craft is at this level, but ultimately we're deeply offended that A, you'd think we'd put our buds through this turmoil."
"And B, that you'd think we'd listen to orchestra music!" Raph added, not getting what Callum meant, as the latter brought his hand to his face.
"Callum, they're right! This is the real deal!" Patrick explained, "That troll that came at us was all around real, and he won't stop until we're his next meal!"
"And if what Ralsei said is true, it's going to take all of us to stop whatever threat they're facing and save their homes and ours!" Hilda added.
"Really?" Callum raised an eyebrow, "Says who?"
"Us, actually."
The kids got startled (Patrick's group were a little surprised), as they and Ralsei looked and saw Sans standing by them.
"Hey, guys." he greeted.
"Sans?" Taylor said surprised, before looking a little annoyed, "Will you please stop that?!"
Then some rustling came from some bushes not far, getting the party and Ralsei's attention, as soon, Blinky, AAARRRGGHH! and Papyrus appeared from the bushes, the giant troll doing a bit of a terrible job trying to camouflage himself by holding a few leafy branches that barely covered his enormous body.
"Aha! Master Patrick!" Blinky chuckled as he and the others approached the party.
The other kids looked surprised and a little nervous when they saw them, only to be calmed down by Luz and Taylor.
"It's okay, guys," said Taylor, though feeling a little uneasy after what happened, "they're friends of ours."
"Are you s-sure?" David asked, a little nervous.
"Don't worry, David," said Hilda, "They're quite an interesting bunch."
She then gestured to the creatures before them as both humans and creatures met up, "I like you to meet the skeleton brothers, Sans and Papyrus, and these two trolls are Blinky and AAARRRGGHH!"
"Wait, that's his name?" Ezran asked, as Hilda nodded a yes.
"Guys, so glad you're here," Patrick said, "Ghoular's trying to kill us! He chased us all over town!"
"And you're still alive!" Blinky said proudly, as AAARRRGGHH! brought down the branches he was holding, "I knew you had potential, Master Patrick!"
'Kind of missing the point here, Blink!' Patrick thought, as he threw his hands in the air in frustration and disbelief.
"You have a sweet voice, Blinky," Luz calmly said with a small smile, before angrily cried, "but you bring death with you!"
"Yeah, hi, Callum here," Callum said to Blinky, getting his attention, "I don't mean to interrupt this meet and greet but there's still a giant troll out there still trying to kill us after we got away from it and we really need help!"
"Oh, worry not, Young Calen." Blinky said, mispronouncing Callum's name.
"It's Callum." Callum corrected.
"Of course, my apology." Blinky said before continuing, "This is why your friend, Master Patrick here, has been chosen to be our Paladin, to fight the dark forces like Ghoular!"
"But can't any of you guys fight?" Frida asked.
Patrick heard that question and hoped that they could, that way he and the others might have a chance of escaping death at Ghoular's claws.
The two trolls and Papyrus looked to each other for a moment… before bursting out chuckling and laughing at this.
"Sorry young human," Papyrus chuckled, "but I don't think we can."
"Why not?!" Chris asked, "Didn't you say that you're part of the Royal Guard or something?"
"Well, sort of," Papyrus explained, "I am actually a Royal Guard in training to be exact."
"What about your brother?" Taylor asked, looking to Sans.
"Oh, don't bother with him," Papyrus then said, eyeing his brother with a little annoyed glare, "Sans doesn't seem to do anything at all, all he does is sit or stand around boondoggle, and gets lazier and lazier everyday!"
"Hey, take it easy," Sans spoke, "I've gotten a ton of work done."
Sans then winked as he then said, "A skele-ton!"
Hearing that surprising unexpected joke, Hilda suddenly giggled with laughter.
"Okay, that was a good one." she said.
"Sans!" Papyrus snapped in annoyance, "Quit it with the jokes!"
"C'mon, bro," Sans said, "you're smiling."
"I am. And I hate it!" Papyrus groaned, "Why does someone as great as me, have to do so much just to get some recognition…"
"Wow, sounds like you're really working yourself…" Sans said upon hearing… before saying with his usual grin and a wink, "down to the bone!"
Hilda, and this time Ezran and even David, laughed at that joke.
"That was so funny!" Hilda smiled.
"I get it," David said, seemingly lost all his nervousness, "that's why they're skeletons too!"
As Papyrus groaned more on his brother's jokes, Patrick looked to the trolls, hoping if they could fight, as he turned to Blinky, "Can't you do something to fight?"
Blinky chuckled at this, as he wiped a small tear from his 5th eye and said, "I could not hope to possess the skill to defeat Ghoular!"
Patrick then looked to AAARRRGGHH!, who was the biggest, and had a last spark of hope that he could be helpful, "What about him? He's big!"
The others all looked to AAARRRGGHH!, the kids with a bit of hope… until it was crushed as AAARRRGGHH! said one word, "Pacifist."
"Seriously?!" Patrick cried.
How could this day have gone from so great to so horrible so fast?
And worse, the biggest and strongest of the creatures they've met who could stop Ghoular was a nonviolent beast, meaning Patrick was no doubt going to be dead before opening Romeo and Juliet's opening night.
"Man, such a waste of a hulking brute." Chuckie added, as he had approached the big troll and stroked his fur.
"Thank you." AAARRRGGHH! replied.
"This is why there is a Paladin, Master Patrick." Blinky explained, "AAARRRGGHH! renounced the violent path ages ago!"
Hilda looked to her downtrodden brother, as she decided to try and perk him up, "On the bright side, we have Ralsei with his magic ice to help us."
"Who?" Blinky… well… blinked.
"Oh, yeah," Hilda said, as she gestured to the goat-like creature, "this is Ralsei. He helped us escape Ghoular back in the town."
Ralsei looked to Blinky, before taking a small bow as he said, "Pleasure to meet you, Blinky."
Luz then looked to Ralsei and asked, "So, how did you do that trick with the ice back there? It was amazing!"
Ralsei smiled, a small little blush from his black furred cheeks while scratching the back of his head, as he said, "Oh, it's nothing much. It's just a little icy breath spell I learned in my teachings. It's one of the spells that one could use when learning Sky Magic, thus how I did that little icy breath with a magic rune for."
"Watch." he said, as he then brought his hand up and did another sort of symbol rune, on a smaller scale, before saying, "Aspiro."
He then blew a small gust of wind onto Luz's face, before asking, "Can you smell the chocolate?"
Luz took a small sniff, before smiling, "Oh, yeah. Is that part of the spell?"
Ralsei chuckled as he said with a grin, "Nope, it's just what I had for a snack a while ago."
"That's all interesting," Frida cut in a little, "but didn't you say that we all need to get going?"
"My apologies, Miss Frida, you're right," Ralsei said, "we will need to get going."
"Going where to, exactly?" Callum asked.
"Delta Rune." Ralsei replied, "Our home."
Chris then asked, "Is this… Delta Rune place… in another realm like you and Blinky mentioned a while ago?"
Blinky got what they were talking about as he then joined in the conversation.
"Oh no, it exists here in this realm," he explained, "in fact, it's not far from here as well."
"Really?" Taylor asked, "Your home is here? Near Brady Oaks?"
"How?" Patrick added.
"It exists in a pocket dimension." Blinky stated, "Like a magical protective bubble that helps prevent anyone from discovering it and wandering into it by accident."
Ralsei nodded at that, "Besides, the King and Queen would be wanting to meet the new Paladin."
"Wait, there's a King and Queen?!" Luz asked in shock.
"That's right," Blinky nodded, "King and Queen Dreemer. The proud rulers of Delta Rune."
Ralsei then looked to everyone, "So we better get going before-"
A roar cut Ralsei off, as both humans and creatures recognized that roar, before turning to the direction of where it came from, as Ghoular soon appeared and skidded to a halt, having finally got out of the block of ice and caught up with them.
The troll snarled as the last tiny chunks of ice slid off him, and he didn't show any signs of being nearly as tired as Patrick or his sisters and friends.
"Ghoular!" Papyrus cried out.
"Follow me!" Blinky shouted as he started to run, "We'll be safe if we take a shortcut to Trollmarket!"
The other creatures and kids soon followed him, even if Patrick and the others weren't sure what exactly is 'Trollmarket', but if Blinky says they'll be safe, then they better do what he says, and hopefully learn a bit more of what's happening.
As the creatures ran and the kids peddled for their lives, Ghoular was not far behind as he ran incredibly fast.
Blinky led everyone past neighbours' houses, between parked cars and around barking dogs and panicking cats, all the while Ghoular was catching up.
"This way, everyone!" Blinky cried out, "Hurry!"
Inside his house, Jim was busy reading one of his favourite Sci-Fi comics in his bedroom, laying down on the bed.
He had a pretty nice day, and was still amazed by Patrick's great acting skills, even if the glasses-wearing kid didn't get the part of Romeo, he was looking forward to helping out on the play.
Just then, he heard some yelping and the sound of trash cans getting knocked over from outside, causing him to put down his comic, and looked outside.
What he saw (though did not notice) was the tailend of Blinky's group (being Sans and AAARRRGGHH!, Patrick and his friends peddled away in front, but weren't noticed by Jim) running away from Ghoular, who ran by after them.
"Yes! I knew it!" Jim said with excitement, as he watched the creatures disappear as they ran.
'Those creatures were indeed real,' he thought proudly, 'and one way or another, I'm gonna get to the bottom of it!'
As he continued chasing after them, Ghoular soon a streetlight bearing one of the missing-person flyers and tore the entire pole to the ground, setting off a chain reaction as the other lamp posts that were connected by the power lines got pulled down around the escaping group, letting out tones of sparks as they fell onto the street.
"Look out!" Frida cried out, as she and David saw what was happening, before one of the sparking streetlights landed in front of them, tripping over their bikes and sending them flying.
Luckily, Papyrus saw what was happening, ran back to them and caught them both in midair before they landed onto the road, then started carrying them both under his skeleton arms as he proudly cried, "Got you, little humans!"
Chuckie also saw what was happening, and started to lose control of his bike, before it came in contact with another streetlight, the force caused him to fly off his bike seat and into the air. Fortunately, AAARRRGGHH!, like Papyrus, grabbed him in midair.
The troll then galloped back on all fours, as Chuckie held on to his mossy back for dear life.
Ghoular continued chasing after them, but luckily for them, the vicious troll tripped and got his foot stuck on one of the fallen bikes, as he shook it off, while giving the others more time to escape and turn into the woods.
"Hurry you brute!"
Ghoular heard and groaned as he recognized the voice of Featherfang, as he and Mokdo fly by him, as the raven exclaimed, "They're getting away!"
"I'm well aware of it!" Ghoular snarled, as he finally shook the bike of his foot, and started running again, as he followed the group as quickly as possible, the flying companions following him.
Back with the group, the kids were pedaling faster, all the while doing their best to be careful of tripping over and avoid crashing into trees, while their fantasy creature friends were running alongside them.
Fearing Ghoular would soon catch up, Blinky, while still running, looked at Patrick, who pedaling as fast as he can, Hilda holding on tight to her seat, as she was bouncing a little like a jumping bean.
"Master Patrick!" Blinky cried, "Dawn you armor!"
"I've been trying!" Patrick said, "The amulet won't listen to me!"
"Did you speak the incantation?" Blinky asked.
"I've been incanting the crud out of it like crazy," Patrick exclaimed, "and it's not working!"
"Don't worry, Patrick," Luz called out, "just focus and incant!"
Patrick had a bit of thought on that, before he stopped his bike as he and the others arrived at the dried up canal.
As the others headed down, Patrick got Hilda out of her seat, and looked to Taylor, who had stopped by them, and said, "Taylor, get Hilda to safety."
"What?! What about you?" Taylor asked in shock.
Patrick soon got out the amulet and said, "I'll try and hold him off… I hope…"
Taylor and Hilda looked at each other with worry, before looking back to their brother as the latter said, "Be careful."
Once his sisters had joined the others, Patrick looked back at the woods, and there, suddenly approaching not far, Ghoular was charging straight at him, ready to strike.
Patrick looked a little scared, before he began to try and incant once more, voice shakened, "For the glory of Merlin, may Vorpal light our darkest days!"
Still nothing, Patrick's heart was pounding like mad.
Ghoular was getting closer, fangs and claws bared.
"For the glory of Merlin, may Vorpal light our darkest days!" he tried again.
Still nothing happened. No magic. No armor. Nothing.
The vicious troll was getting closer and closer to the unarmed Paladin, the young boy felt like he was a new, inexperienced bullfighter facing off a very mad bull.
As he watched the troll get closer, time seemed to have slowed down, as Patrick began thinking of his sisters and his friends, who were with Ralsei, Blinky, AAARRRGGHH! and the skeleton brothers down in the canal. He thought of Mr. Sturges who believed in him. He thought of everyone he knew in town. He even thought of Biff who was not so bad compared to Ghoular. And then, he thought of Victoria, the girl that he cared so much for, the girl who he had a crush on for years, who he thought how he'd never see her ever again. He thought about young Harry, whom he hadn't seen for a while, and worried that he might never see him again. And then he thought back to his mum, and how she would react if she heard that she lost her son as she lost her husband, his father.
'No,' he soon thought, 'I won't let that happen. Not now, not ever!'
Taking a deep breath, remembering how he mastered his audition, he closed his eyes, focused and, once stopped overthinking things and relaxed, once more said, "For the glory of Merlin, may Vorpal light our darkest day."
Ghoular soon reached the young boy, and threw out a very strong punch onto him… until a loud clanging boom echoed, combined with a flashing light of colour.
As Ghoular threw his fist forward for a punch, Patrick brought his arms out in an attempt to shield the strike, only for something to form from his left arm that was in front, just as Ghoular's fist contacted it, and sent Patrick flying away from the troll.
Patrick was having a mixture of shock, stuness and surprise as he was rocketed into the sky by Ghoular, but still alive at least, and the amulet finally activated as the parts of his armor was once more installed on his chest and arms.
The others, meanwhile, looked in shock, surprise and, in Hilda, Chris and Luz's case, excitement, as Patrick survived the punch and finally got the armor.
And in a crazy turn of events, Patrick somehow managed to do a superhero-styled landing on his feet, as he skidded back onto the ground of the canal.
"Yeah! Superhero landing!" Luz cried out and clapped in excitement, as she looked to Ralsei and Blinky as she said, "Super hard on the knees."
Patrick, upon landing, stood up, as the Vorpal sword appeared in his right hand, but soon, something caught his eye on his left arm, as he looked to see… a shield.
Something that a Paladin would also use in defence.
He finally got that as he shielded himself from Ghoular's blow, the shield must have manifested on his left arm gauntlet, explaining how the clanging contact and being sent flying.
"Oh yeah!" Patrick said to himself, as he was now fully ready.
The others, meanwhile, were amazed at this, the rest of Patrick's friends were surprised and amazed at seeing him in his armor, the same one used for auditioning earlier.
But the moment was cut short, as both the Paladin and his friends looked up and saw Ghoular up where he was, and let out a booming roar that shook the ground beneath his feet.
Patrick looked to him in shock, sword and shield at the ready… only to instantly change his mind and started running away as he cried, "...Nope!"
Patrick ran as quickly as he could, the sword a little bit dragged behind him, but before he could reach the others, Ghoular landed with a stomp between the Paladin and his friends.
Patrick looked a little nervous upon seeing the big, bad troll up close and personal.
"C'mon, Patrick!" Hilda shouted, "You can do it!"
"Use your sword, Master Patrick!" Patrick could hear Blinky add.
Ghoular looked to the young Paladin and growled, "I'll drink your blood out of a goblet, made of your skull!"
"Cut him like a cake, Patrick!" Chris called out in encouragement, as most of the others did too.
"Take him down, human!" Papyrus whooped.
"¡Golpéale los mocos!**" Luz cheered in Spanish.
Hearing the support from his friends, both old and new, Patrick readied for a fight.
With both hands on the Vorpal sword (the shield disappeared after being used to defend him earlier), Patrick could feel the magical energy from it, as Ghoular charged at him.
Patrick made a swing with the sword, as it struck Ghoular as he tried blocking it with his arm.
He did another swing, and Ghoular blocked it again with the other arm.
Ghoular soon threw another punch, luckily, Patrick brought up his left arm, and his shield appeared again to deflect the punch, though skidded the young boy back a bit from contact.
"Hold on, Patrick!" Ralsei called out, as he joined in the fight, as he then threw what looked like a boomerang at Ghoular, only for it to seemingly miss.
"Ha! You missed, you welp!" Ghoular snarled with a grin.
"Did I?" Ralsei grinned.
Soon, the boomerang came back and struck Ghoular, and in a crazy turn, upon contact, the boomerang exploded!
"Whoa!" Patrick said with surprise, "What was that?!"
"A Kaboomerang!" Ralsei said with a smirk.
Ghoular was mad, and instantly charged at Ralsei, bringing up both his arms to squash the goat kid flat.
Fortunately, Ralsei was both small and fast, as he made a fast jump out of the way before the troll's arms hit the ground with a slam.
Seeing this as a distraction, Patrick rushed in and struck Ghoular again, though Ghoular saw this coming and swatted him away, as the Paladin fell to the ground with a thud.
"Yeah… that really hurt." Patrick groaned, as he got back up.
As the fight continued, the others looked on until Blinky spoke.
"We must work quickly!" he said as he looked to AAARRRGGHH!, "Open the portal!"
AAARRRGGHH nodded in understanding, and hurried over the wall underneath the bridge, with most of the others following him, while Blinky pulled out what looked like an odd-looking crystal dagger from one of his pouches.
"The Horngazel!" Blinky cried, as he tossed it to his troll friend.
AAARRRGGHH grabbed the Horngazel, traced a fresh glowing semicircle into the wall, and then punched it, activating a portal to open.
"Whoa…" most of the kids gasped in wonder upon seeing this.
"Hurry, everyone, inside!" Blinky called out, as the kids, a little unsure at first, did what he said.
"No need to tell us twice!" said Callum, as he and Ezran ran in first.
"What about Patrick? And Ralsei?" David asked as he was about to step through, a little nervous for the two fighting Ghoular.
"Master Patrick!" Blinky called out to the young Paladin, who, along with Ralsei, was circling each other.
"Patrick! Ralsei!" Hilda cried out also, "We gotta go! Now!"
"We're a little busy here!" Patrick cried back, as he readied his sword.
"You heard them, Patrick!" Luz shouted, "¡Vamonos! ¡Prisa!***"
"You are not fit to wield the amulet!" Ghoular growled, as he drew out his swords, "I'll tear the armour off you, along with your skin!"
"Jeez, you're such a boastful ham, aren't ya?" Patrick said in a small huff.
Ghoular snarled as he swung one of his swords, only for Patrick to dodge. He then tried to hit Ghoular with the Vorpal sword, but it soon got stuck in his arm instead.
"Uh oh…" Patrick said, still dangling from the Vorpal sword's handle, a little scared as he looked Ghoular in the eyes, who then let out a snarl.
The evil troll then twisted his body powerfully, as it dislodged the Vorpal sword and knocked Patrick aside.
The sword soon landed several feet away, as Patrick got back up, he then looked to Ralsei as the young goat said, "Now's the time if any to leave! Hurry!"
Patrick couldn't agree more, and hurried behind Ralsei as they rushed to the portal under the bridge.
Ghoular saw the two of them running away back to their friends then, instantly started running after them.
"C'MON, PATRICK! HURRY!" Taylor shouted frantically to her brother from the other side of the portal, the others having made it through.
"YOU'RE ALMOST THERE!" Hilda added.
Patrick and Ralsei closed in on the bridge, as Ralsei reached and entered the portal first as he looked back and called out, "This way, Patrick! Let's go!"
Patrick ran as quickly as he could, unfortunately, after pedaling so much to escape Ghoular around town, exhaustion was starting to catch up with him, as he tried to reach out as he neared the portal…
Only for it close before he could enter in a heartbeat!
"Oh no! No! No! No! NO!" Patrick cried, as he reached the wall that reverted back to an ordinary concrete wall, as he frantically panicked and rapidly pressed onto the wall to get it back open.
As he did, though, the amulet suddenly deactivated, causing his armor to disappear and the amulet to drop on the ground.
"Oh crud!" Patrick cried, as he picked up the amulet.
Suddenly, two swords slashed onto the wall with a slam, missing a panicking Patrick by several inches.
Looking up, he saw Ghoular charging towards him with a snarl.
But as Patrick looked in fear towards the thing that could end him, and before Ghoular could get any closer, the portal reopened quickly, as AAARRRGGHH!'s stony hand grabbed hold of Patrick, who yelped in surprise, and yanked him through just in time before Ghoular could get him.
Ghoular slammed into the wall, and discovered that the Paladin was gone, then let out a deafening roar and punched the wall hard as the Paladin had escaped his grasp yet again.
Featherfang and Mokdo, meanwhile, had watched the whole thing from afar, as the raven let out a sigh of annoyance, before they both flew down to the troll, as Featherfang let out a sarcastic smirk as he asked, "Satisfied?"
"Spare me your lecture, Familiar." Ghoular growled.
"Well, I think that went well." Mokdo smiled with a chuckle, "That Paladin sure knows how to swing that sword. Hmmhmmhmm!"
Annoyed by the feedback of the Paladin from him, Ghoular swatted Mokdo into the wall, as the kobold splat onto the wall, then slid down with a thud.
"I'm okay." Mokdo said, weakly.
"Oh, I won't say a word." Featherfang smiled with his beak, until he said, "Though someone else would like to speak to you."
Before Ghoular could ask, Horvath appeared before, a frown on his face.
"The amulet of Xadador chose a young human, and yet this Paladin prevented your claim for the amulet." Horvath looked to Ghoular, who let out a low, annoyed growl by his words.
"I should have devoured him on the spot," Ghoular snarled, "and excreted the amulet by morning."
Horvath let out an annoyed sigh, as he shook his head, "Thinking of either your muscle or stomach as always, don't you."
He then gave him an icy glare, "I'd stay my hands if I were you, Ghoular. Since most humans don't know creatures and beings like us exist, they'll never notice if a failure like Balasar disappears. But if a human like that teenager or any of those kids were to suddenly vanish without a trace…"
Using his magical gauntlet, he magically brought up a flyer. "HAVE YOU SEEN THIS PERSON?" read the headline in capitals, just above a picture of a female park ranger that had been missing in the woods.
Ghoular remembered how well she tasted when he looked at the picture.
"This kind of attention might sooner or later disrupt our plans." Horvath stated, before letting out a sneaky grin as he said, "Besides, you don't want to disappoint the big man, now, do you?"
Ghoular eyed him with anger, before huffing as he said, "Fine… we'll do things your way… for now…"
On the other side of the wall, meanwhile, Patrick had got pulled in by AAARRRGGHH! after a near death experience with the Grimreaper.
He and his sisters were currently embracing in a hug, the three of them all glad to see each other safe, but, like the others, were panting like mad, and had a mixture of shock and terror on their faces after what had happened.
"Oh my gosh," Patrick panted, as he began to babble like mad, "He nearly- We nearly- He… Almost…"
"Almost what?" Blinky asked, "Speak, Master Patrick."
"HE ALMOST KILLED US!" Patrick yelled like mad, as his voice echoed a little in the cave.
"Almost! A very important word!" Blinky said, proudly, though it earned the kids a look of confusion, disbelief and a way of saying 'Are you kidding me?', "A life of almost is a life of never."
As the kids followed the creatures through the cave, Patrick then asked, "Why the heck did the armour suddenly shut off?"
"Master Patrick, you are the first human in several centuries to possess the amulet of Xadador. An amulet that for a long while has been used by other races such as Dragonborns, Elves, Dwarves and even Trolls." Blinky explained, "It's to be expected it's behaviour will be… unexpected."
'Right, unexpected…' Patrick thought, as he shook his head about the whole situation that, to him, seemed unexpected.
As they continued walking through the caves, they reached a deep pit, as they got closer, a staircase of crystal steps appeared and lit up before them, the steps going down in a spiral.
The kids looked at the staircase with awe and amazement, as they then heard Blinky call to them from the first step, "This way, young masters. This way."
The kids soon followed the fantastic creatures they had met, as they walked down the crystal staircase, all while amazed by the magical crystals that were made as steps for them to go down.
"Quick question," Callum spoke up, "Are you sure we'll be safe?"
"Indeed, Master Callum," Blinky replied, as he led the group downward, "the incantation forbids entry to either Delta Rune or Trollmarket by Dumm-Dumms, such as Ghoular. They are the most fearsome of Trolls and Ogres."
"Wait, Dumm-Dumms?" Callum raised an eyebrow of that name, while the young kids, as well as Luz, and even Taylor, giggled a little as they found that a silly name.
"Scary ones." AAARRRGGHH! stated behind him.
They then reached the bottom, as Patrick and the others looked around the new subterranean chamber, as there were bleak stone walls. Nothing grew around here. Not even mold.
"Okay, hang on a sec." Patrick looked to Blinky, a little uneasy, "So Ghoular can't get in here? Into the Trollmarket?"
"No, Master Patrick." Blinky replied with a smile, as he placed his four arms on Patrick's shoulders, and gently turned him around.
The eyes of the humans grew wide at what they saw.
As they stepped forward, they were amazed by the sight of so many crystals and gems, glittering walls and ceilings, and around them were trading posts, houses and bridges arranged by the rocks, and there were several trolls all around where the kids looked.
"This is Trollmarket!" Blinky happily said, as Patrick and the others looked amazed by the sights of the trolls' home.
If Trollmarket was a fascinating place, then they were going to look forward to what Delta Rune was like uptop.
Author's Notes:
Phew! This was a doozy of a chapter to do!
The humans have now gained new allies in the form of these amazing creatures, and they about to meet new friends… and (maybe) foes(?) in Trollmarket and Delta Rune.
Spanish Translations:
*Hurry up, he's getting closer!
**Beat the snot out of him!
***Let's go! Hurry!
Gadget Gabe's is named after the unseen character from the Henry Stickmin games, who made reviews of the gadgets that Henry would use (only to result in a failure sometimes)
The Kaboomerang is based off and inspired by the weapon of same name from Ty the Tasmanian Tiger
A little head's up about Mokdo as he is basically inspired and based off the minion characters of the Don Bluth animated films, voiced by the late Charles Nelson Reilly, I really liked how he voiced those characters, especially of his iconic laughter he did for each them ("Hmmhmmhmmm!")
Until next time, True Believers!
Excelsior!