The D&D Chronicles: The Adventure Begins
Chapter 14: Wanted Witches and Wicked Wardens Part 2
Unknown location, Marketplace
Hilda, Taylor, Luz, Frida and David were dragged out of the tent by the woman, and brought down to the front of the tent, as the kids looked nervous at the sight of the woman they came across, all because the owl (which seemed to be a magical one) took Luz and Frida's books.
"Listen, ma'am, we're sorry for the bit of trouble back there." Taylor tried to apologize to the woman, who was giving them the eye, making each of them more worried about what she'll do to them.
"We came for our books that that owl… or whatever it is… took from us." Frida added.
"Look, we're so sorry! We just wanted our books back!" Luz then said, as she held out her arm, "If you're gonna eat our skin, just make it quick! Just do it now!"
"Or perhaps not." David added with a nervous grin.
"Eat you?" The woman raised an eyebrow, "Why would I eat... some potential customers?"
"Huh?" the kids all replied, as the woman's stern looked changed to a smile on interest, as they then looked up to the sign above the tent, saying 'Human/Earthly Collectables' written in red paint, and around the counter were various types of earthly knick-knacks, items and other sorts.
"'Human/Earthly Collectables'?" Hilda asked.
"That's right," the woman replied with a smile, "basically all the various and fascinating items that humans use 24/7!
"Can I offer you a human foot filled with holes? A bar of green human candy? Oh, oh! How about this black shadow box that reflects only sadness?" she smiled, as she offered them a holed clog, a bar of soap and finally a small TV set.
Luz looked to her and let out a light chuckle, "That's not all it can do. Here, let me see it."
"Luz, what are you doing?" Taylor sighed at this, as Luz observed the small TV.
Luz then got out a few batteries from one of the bowls on the counter and inserted them in, then switched on the TV as it came to life, showing what looked like an 80s life performance being shown on the screen.
"Voilà! A bit of entertainment!" Luz happily announced.
The sounds of music from the TV soon draw attention from various bystanders, from the humans to even other mythical creatures like Elves, Dwarfs and even a few creatures of sorts as well.
"What is this magic box?" a female human asked.
"I'm not sure, but I like to have it!" a male Elf replied.
"I'll pay 40 coins for the screaming box!" another human, male cried out as others, both male and female followed as well.
"I'll pay you 50!"
"75!"
"I'll give you a hundred!"
"Can I eat the tiny person inside?"
As many customers began clamouring for the TV (and possibly the other items on her stand), the woman looked to the kids with a grin as she asked, "What did you say your names were?"
"I'm Luz. Luz Noceda." Luz introduced herself.
"I'm Hilda Lee Kirby," Hilda also introduced herself, before gesturing to her older sister and friends, "and these are my sister, Taylor, and my best friends, Frida and David."
"Hey there." Frida waved.
David waved too, while nervously said, "H-hello."
Taylor sighed, and decided to go along with it, as she said, "Nice to meet you too."
"Well, nice meeting you all as well. And Luz, that was pretty clever... for a human." the woman said, as she started collecting money from her customers.
The kids looked a little baffled at that, until Hilda replied, "That's kind of a weird thing for another human to say."
"Oh, dear child," the woman said with a chuckling sigh, before instantly taking off her headscarf… and revealing her ears, which were revealed to be pointy and had two orange spherical earrings, much to the kids' surprise as she added, "I'm not like you."
She then stood up on the counter as she proudly introduced herself, "I'm Eda the Owl Lady, the most powerful witch of Delta Rune!"
"She's a witch?!" Luz and Hilda exclaimed in surprise.
"Waitamintue!" Taylor then added, as she said to the others, "Did she say she was the Owl Lady?"
The woman, Eda, meanwhile, was still making a spectacle of herself, "I am a respected, feared-"
"Busted!" a new, gruff voice spoke up, as it smashed the TV to pieces, and caused the customers and bystanders to run for it, while the kids looked on in surprise at who had appeared.
Standing before them and Eda (who had just got down from the counter) were some sort of guards, wearing a beaked mask, dressed in black and very dark grey, as one of them held up what looked like a wanted poster, and it had an image of the Owl Lady in a different art style, wielding her staff in one hand and holding a ball of magical energy in the other.
"Eda the Owl Lady, you are wanted for misuse of magic and demonic misdemeanors." the leading guard, who spoke earlier, said as he showed Eda (and the kids seeing what was happening) the Wanted poster of her.
"Guys!" Taylor cried to the others, "I think this Eda lady must be the wanted witch we heard about yesterday!"
"You mean the Owl Lady?" Luz asked.
"As in the witch criminal that Papyrus and Blinky told us about?" Hilda added, which Taylor nodded a 'yes'.
The kids looked back to the confrontation as the lead guard grabbed hold of Eda's arm as he said, "You are hereby ordered to come with us to Nabakza prison."
"Would you guys quit following me around?" Eda snapped as she pulled herself out of the grip, as she grumbly added, "I haven't done squat."
The kids were suddenly grabbed hold by the guard as he then said to them, "And you're all coming too, for fraternizing with a criminal."
"Wait, what?!" Taylor cried.
"That's not cool!" Luz panicked.
"I'm too young for jail!" David cried.
"Oh, all right, all right, you win." Eda said, wanting to calm everyone down, before going down under the counter, "Just let me get my stuff."
Eda suddenly popped back up with her staff… and swung it like a baseball bat as it knocked the guard down, tumbling into the other two while dropping the kids.
Eda soon began to use her magic to pack up her whole stand, magically wrapping it up in a bundle with the stand's tablecloth and hooked it onto her staff, and then brought out the portal, which now looked like a briefcase with the same yellow, slit pupil eye on it, and placed it surprisingly in her hair.
"Let's go, kids!" Eda cried, as she sat on her staff like it was broom, and took off, grabbing onto each of the kids as they then got onto her staff as well.
"After them!" the lead guard cried out to the others, as they chased after Eda and the kids.
The guards chased after the group and Eda, as they flew across the town, dodging pedestrians and other stands (or simply knocking the latter down to slow down the guards).
They then approached one cart that had some cabbages, though seeing they weren't slowing down, the kids began to panic (as did the merchant running the cart), though Eda remained confident.
"Miss Eda! The cart!" Taylor cried.
Luckily enough, Eda flew passed over the cart, almost knocking it over, but as they passed, Eda turned back and pointed back with her finger, and then drew what looked like a circle in the air that glowed, before it surprisingly let out a blast of wind that threw the cart into two of the guards behind them (the leading guard tumbled out of the way).
"My Cabbages!" cried the cabbage merchant, as he frantically hurried over to save his stock.
Back with the group, Hilda and Luz were seemingly starting to enjoy it a little (while a little nervous), while Taylor, David and Frida were a little scared of what's going on as they began to fly higher.
"Hey, Owl Lady!" Taylor cried to Eda, "I don't know what's going on, but you better not hurt my sister or our friends or so help me-"
"Ha! Don't you worry, I won't hurt you and neither will they." Eda smirked, "Besided, humans like you lot are much more valuable to me alive than dead."
"Wait. What's that supposed to-?"
Before Taylor could finish, Eda got out the case once more, as she then threw it in front of them as it unfolded itself, becoming a door once more as it opened up, allowing the group to instantly fly straight in. Once they were through, the door closed up, folded itself up, and instantly vanished.
The lead guard looked up to where they disappeared as he cried, "You won't get away with this, Owl Lady!"
A moment of silence, and the guard admitted in a defeated sigh, "Yeah, all right. You did. You got away with it."
"She got away with it, everybody!" he said in an annoying tone, before walking away with a sulk as he grumbly annoyed, "Typical."
Delta Rune, in the forest areas not far from the town…
The portal appeared above Delta Rune, as it opened and let out the group, still flying with Eda, as the portal folded back up and returned to Eda, placing it back in her hair.
The others were still surprised and stunned by what had happened, David, meanwhile, as still a little scared, eyes shut through what had happened.
"It's okay, David," Hilda comforted him, "you can open your eyes, we're back in Delta Rune."
"I hope we are," David said as he admitted, "but perhaps when we're back on the ground. I'm not too comfortable being high up."
"Huh," Eda said, with a small bit of surprise, "so you know you've been here already?"
"Yeah," Luz replied, "we've… well… we kind of met a few new friends from here, and showed us around already."
"I see…" said Eda.
"So, are we heading back to your place in town?" Hilda asked.
"Well, yes and no." Eda admitted, "I do have a place, but not exactly in town."
The group soon landed far off from Delta Rune, Eda landing them in a cliffside forest.
As Eda and the group got off, David was the only one still on the staff. He opened his eyes a bit and sighed in relief that they were back on the ground… only to freak out as Eda's hand was still on the staff and off Eda's arm and wrist, causing him to fall off.
"Oops. That happens sometimes." Eda admitted, as she got her hand and connected it back on the wrist of her arm.
"Well, I gotta say… that was pretty cool back there." Hilda smiled.
"Glad you liked it… Hilda, was it?" Eda said, as Hilda nodded when asked of her name.
"Yeah," Luz nodded, "it was quite awesome."
"Are you crazy, you two?!" Taylor said to them, "we just got abducted by a powerful criminal of Delta Rune!"
"Oh, don't listen to those jokers," Eda scoffed, "I'm a free spirit kind of witch."
"Well, forgive if I say that I very well respect the safety of those I care about!" Taylor stated, as she started to head, "C'mon, guys, we're going."
Taylor was suddenly stopped in her tracks, as Eda brought her staff in Taylor's way, the rucksack floating by the Owl Lady's side by magic, as Eda said, "Don't worry, you will go… only if you lot help me first."
"C'mon, kids." Eda said, leading them on.
"Should we help her?" Luz asked.
"Have you forgot that she's a criminal!" Taylor pointed.
"True," Hilda nodded, before countering Taylor as she said, "though she did help us get away from those guards."
"Who were trying to arrest her, remember?" Taylor reminded her, "We need to let Patrick, Blinky and the others know about this."
"I think we should hear her out, then we'll see what to do." Luz suggested.
Taylor looked to her, then to her sister and her friends, then back to Luz… before sighing as she said, "Fine. But if she does something like stabbing us in the back by taking the wrap for her, don't say that I told you so."
Luz smiled as she said, "Fair enough."
The kids soon followed after Eda, and as they walked alongside her, they were surprised by where she was taking them.
The group had come up to a large house made from white brick with a sloping blue roof. A stained glass window above the door gives the impression of a large orange demon eye. A crumbling, separate stone tower with orange moss growing on it was located to the rear left of the house.
"Nice place." Hilda said, looking at the house.
"Thank you." Eda appreciated the compliment.
"Um, Miss Eda," David spoke up, "Aren't you worried about those guards finding us?"
"Nope. My house has a state-of-the-art defense system." Eda happily replied, as she gestured to the front door of the house, as it had a wooden light beige owl face with a darker orange upper side, with brown eyes and an orange beak.
"Hoot-hoot! Hi, Eda!" the owl face spoke, startling the kids.
"Did-did that door just talk?!" Frida said in surprise.
"Sure can! Hooty's the name, hooting's my game! Hoot-hoot!" Hooty happily chirped, before looking to Eda, "Password, please!"
Eda, unfortunately for Hooty, poked him in the eyes as she said, "We got no time for this, Hooty. Let us in."
"All right, alright! Geez!" Hooty replied with a small grumble, "You never want to have any fun! Ow! Hoot!"
Upon this, Hooty stretched open his mouth to encompass the entire surface of the door (to the kids' stund surprise, though it also creeped them out a little), thus allowing the group to walk inside before shutting his beak back to normal size, and letting out a small burp.
"Welcome to... the Owl House!" Eda happily said, as she snapped her fingers, allowing the candles and the fireplace in the main living room to light up.
The kids were amazed by the site of the room they were in and looked around, the living room featured the fireplace facing opposite two couches, the candles, a wall of artifacts, and Eda's wanted poster, and artwork of an owl creature on the ceiling.
"...where I hide away from the pressures of modern life. Also the cops. Mm, also ex-boyfriends." Eda chuckled.
"Okay… I guess it's pretty great." Taylor admitted.
"Are you kidding?" Luz looked to Taylor, "This place is beautiful!"
"It is a pretty nice place to be in." Hilda added, before looking to Eda, "Do you live here by yourself?"
Suddenly, the room shook a bit, as loud stomping noises were coming towards them from another part of the room, much to the kids' worry.
"Um, w-what's t-that?" David stuttered.
"That," Eda sighed as she replied, "would be my roommate."
The kids looked to where the stomping was coming from, as a shadow of something sinister was approaching the room.
"Who dares intrude upon I," a deep voice spoke up… only to be replaced with a high voice, "the King of Demons?!"
The owner of the voice appeared and revealed himself, looking like an almost canine or feline creature that somewhat resembles a fox. He had mostly dark gray fur, although his torso and the tip of his tail were covered in light gray fur. He wore a red collar with a yellow tag. The highlight of his appearance was a dog-like skull with white horns on his head, one of which is broken. His eyes were pink with yellow sclera. He had three fingers and two toes that (excluding his thumbs) looked like white claws.
It seemed like he just came out of a shower, his waist and head wrapped around by matching towels that had hearts and duckies on them, holding a rubber ducky in his paw.
The kids stood there looking at the little creature… until the silence was broken as Luz and Taylor squealed a gasp, and the former instantly rushed up and scooped the little fella off his feet (dropping his towels and rubber ducky in the process) and happily cried out, "¡Ay, que lindo!*"
"Oh my gosh!" Taylor said as she joined Luz, looking at the tiny creature claimed to be the King of Demons, and smiled, "He's so adorable!"
"OMG, Taylor, he's so cute!" Luz agreed with Taylor, as she snuggled and cooed at King, "Who's a widdle guy? Who's a widdle guy? Is it you? Is it you?"
"Yes it is! Yes it is!" Taylor played along, as she decided to join in the hug as well.
King, meanwhile, was growing uncomfortable at this, as he struggled to escape, "No! I'm not your little guy! I don't know who your little guy is! Eda, who are these monsters?"
"Oh, these are Luz and Taylor," Eda said, pulling Luz (who was wanting to continue snuggling King) and Taylor away from her roommate, before continuing the introductions with the kids, "and those are Hilda, David and Frida. They're humans."
"Hello there," Hilda greeted, "you look very cute to be a King."
"Hey, I am not cute," King argued, as he threatenly said, "I am the terror that flaps in the night, the scourge that haunts your nightmares! You will tremble before me or suffer my brilliant might for I am a vicious creature from the depths of the nether that will only be satisfied by the blood of my enemies!"
"Aw, so adorable… but fearsome." Frida admitted.
"Just letting you know, King, they're here to help us with our little... situation." Eda explained to her roommate.
"Oh. Hooray!" King switched to happiness hearing this, though it left the kids baffled.
"Wait, wait, wait. I don't like the sound of this "situation"." Taylor stated.
"Just... let me explain." Eda said, summoning another magical spell circle, creating an image for the kids to see, the image revealed what looked like a wingless dragon, but seemingly in King's image with the skull head and gray skin, and on his head was a royal crown, as the Owl Lady explained, "King was once a mighty king of demons, until his crown of power was stolen, and he became... this."
"You mean this little bundle of joy?" Luz cooed, as she had secretly got King in another hug.
"Luz, focus a little, please?" Taylor said to her friend, shaking her head but keeping on a small smile, before looking to Eda as she said, "Continue."
Eda then showed a magical image of a terrifying figure holding King's crown, the figure being a humanoid creature with a large, muscular build. He had on a hood that is non-standard for a guard and a mask with yellow button-like lenses, resembling a medieval plague doctor. He also wore a white sleeveless tunic with brass buttons, a leather belt with a brass buckle, and black trousers tucked into dark purple shoes. On the uniform, one can also see a triangular brass badge, which apparently emphasizes his position.
"The crown is being held by the evil Warden Wrath and locked away behind a magical force field that only a human can break through…" Eda explained, before looking proudly to the kids as she added, "a human like you kids."
"If you help us retrieve his crown, we'll send you back on your merry way." Eda proposed as she happily awaited their answer, "So whaddya say?"
The kids looked a bit quiet at the moment, until Frida raised her hand and asked, "Quick question, Miss Eda, but… where exactly is that crown locked away in?"
Eda looked to Frida and had serious tone as she replied, "Nabakza."
"T-the p-p-prison realm?" David stuttered.
"The very prison realm. Full of darkness and danger lying around every corner…" Eda said darkly and seriously… before bubbly asked, "So ready to take part in this journey?"
Taylor looked to her friends and said, "I think it's safe to say that I speak for everyone here when I say-"
"We'll do it!" Luz cut in.
"WHAT?!" Taylor and David cried out.
"It'll be worth a go." Hilda smiled, much to Frida's concern.
"Hilda, Luz. HAVE YOU TWO GONE MAD!" Taylor cried, "You both know very well how dangerous Nabakza prison can be! Plus, we were told that no one has ever escaped from Nabakza, and that it was completely mad for anyone who would do it!"
"I know it's crazy, but we have to do this for King, he lost all of his powers from this Warden Wrath guy." Luz pointed out.
"That's another thing," David spoke up, "if we do come by him, we might end up… you know, suffering his… well, wrath."
"Need I also remind you two, that this Eda lady is a criminal as well." Taylor added.
"As I said, I've done nothing wrong." Eda stated, "Besides, I know you want to help this little guy too."
She then grabbed hold of King by the cheeks and said, "Plus, who could say no to this cute face?"
"No! Please don't encourage them!" King yelped, before getting dropped by Eda.
"Plus, there's a barrier that no mystical creature except a human can get through." Hilda stated to her sister, "We're the only thing that stands between the barrier and getting the crown back to King."
Taylor looked to her sister, then to Luz, then to Eda and King, as the former said, "I mean, you're kinda our only hope here, kid."
Taylor groaned a sigh, and brought her fingers on the bridge of her nose as she said, "So we don't really have a choice, do we?"
"Nope. Now, we've got no time to lose." Eda smiled proudly, as she led the kids back outside.
King then picked up his rubber ducky as he followed after the group and said, "Soon, Mr. Ducky, we shall drink the fear of those who mocked us."
Meanwhile, The Guzzling Griffon…
Patrick had a bit of a hard day of training, and was having a bit of a drink with Blinky, AAARRRGGHH!, the skeleton brothers and most of his friends who joined him at training.
When at first coming in, Patrick and his friends were a little skeptical, unsure of what drinks and beverages they would serve here, luckily, Taberna let them know that besides the strange (and yet quite tasteful) food and drinks they served, they also served the usual normal food that Patrick and his friends and family would have as well.
"Thanks very much for the root beer, Taberna," Patrick thanked the owner, after taking another sip of his drink, "I very much needed it."
"I'm glad you liked it," Taberna smiled, "anything for our new Paladin of Xadador."
"How goes the training, may I add?" he then asked, starting to do a bit of washing up on some used mugs that needed a good clean for use later on, "The town has been buzzing like bees chatting about your upcoming rematch with Kriv. I hope that you're up to it."
"Oh, don;t you worry," Chuckie spoke up, "by the time we get to the big day, Patrick will be all rough and tough and kicking Dragonborn butt!"
Chuckie got off his seat for the moment, and tried to do several attempts on a karate kick, before taking a breather, "Man, these pants are so elastic."
"Ezran," Patrick heard Callum speaking to his step-brother, "how many jelly tarts did you take from the bakery, I thought I made it clear to take just one!"
Patrick looked and saw that Ezran had a few jelly tarts in his bag, and a few had fallen out. He remembered well during the first week around Delta Rune, Asriel introduced him and his friends to the bakery, and they enjoyed much of the bakers' delicious treats, unfortunately, Ezran, being one of the friends having a sweet tooth like Patrick, became quite addicted to one of the bakery's best selling treats, the jelly tarts, and had been sneaking a few when most least expected.
"I know, Callum," Ezran said, before taking a bite of another jelly tart and admitting, "but they're just too good to have just one!"
Patrick chuckled to himself at that, and turned and saw the twins with Papyrus and Sans, and they seemed to be looking at a large billboard of sorts, which seemed to have several various notes, papers, flyers and even wanted posters up all over it.
As he got off his seat and walked towards them, Patrick could hear Papyrus talking as he looked at one wanted poster.
"One day, Sans, I will capture the Owl Lady." he said proudly, "And when I do, I, the Great Papyrus, will finally get all the things I utterly deserve. Respect… recognition… I will finally be able to join the Royal Guard!"
"I feel for ya, bro." Sans just shrugged.
Patrick looked at what they were talking about, and saw the wanted poster for the Owl Lady (the same one that Luz, Hilda and the others saw), and from his eye, he saw several more posters of the Owl Lady around a few parts of the tavern, before looking to the skeletons, "Still planning on capturing that Owl Lady, huh? She's quite popular around here."
"She is, and one day, someone will find a way to catch her, and it will result in that person getting everything he, or she, would dream about!" Papyrus smiled.
"Like joining the Royal Guard?" Sans said.
"Indeed," Papyrus smiled his skeleton grin, "and best of all, people will finally ask to be my 'friend', and I'll even bathe in a shower of kisses every morning…"
Wanting to cut off the creepiness Papyrus was starting to get close on, Patrick spoke up and asked, "What's this you're looking at, guys?"
"Oh, I see that you've taken an interest in the Job Board, Master Patrick." Taberna spoke up, as he saw what was going on.
"Job Board?" Patrick raised an eye with curiosity, before looking back to the board, "What's that?"
"Every tavern in every realm has one, Master Patrick," Taberna explained, "you see, the Job Board contains an endless list of different and various types of jobs, tasks and quests for any wizard, witch, barbarian, cleric, knight, ranger, monk or any band of various sorts of any race to partake in. Why, even a Paladin can also partake as well. Be it hunting down a sinister villain or a wanted criminal, explore ancient ruins to discover hidden treasure or even answer a call of help from any of the towns in this or the other realms, each of these jobs and quests will reward you well upon completion."
"But take heed, as most of these challenging jobs and quests are classed by level of difficulty, the more difficult the job the more rewards it usually pays."
As the others gathered around him at the board upon hearing all this, Patrick was quite intrigued by this, as he then said, "All this sounds like the campaigns you'd play in Dungeons and Dragons."
"Come again?" Taberna asked, curiously.
"It's a game of sorts that these humans play, Taberna." Blinky explained.
"Ah, I see…" Taberna nodded a little as if he got it a bit.
"That's right," Patrick said, as he explained, "and in D&D, you and your party would partake in campaigns, depending on what level your character is on to fit the right adventure, to explore and take part on an epic journey which would at times earn you rewards as well."
"Well, I like the sound of these high leveled tasks here, Patrick." Raph said, looking at most of the difficult leveled jobs, which showed the highest pay rate.
"Hope you pick the biggest reward, Patrick!" Hazel added, also intrigued by the big rewards as well.
"Steady now, Master Raph, Miss Hazel," Blinky eyed them as he calmed them down a little, "let's not forget that Master Patrick is still in training of becoming a Paladin."
While they still talked, Patrick looked back to the Job Board, and to the wanted poster of the Owl Lady, as he took a good look, the reward money was really high up, up to 1 trillion in cash.
'Just think of how much money it could help us,' Patrick thought to himself, before thinking 'if we returned with the money, mum might wonder where we got it from and would get suspicious…'
He then looked back to the poster, 'But then again… Paladins have taken part in these Job Boards as well… so this could be a great way to start my Paladin work…'
"Say, Papyrus," he said, getting the others' attention, "you said that no one has ever got hold of the Owl Lady, right?"
"That's right," Papyrus replied, "no one has ever succeeded on her capture."
Patrick then took down the wanted poster, and looked to the others with smile as he said proudly, "Then that's why I'm going to be the first!"
"WHAT?!" the others gasped.
"You'd do that?" Papyrus asked.
"Of course, you are one of our new friends, after all." Patrick stated, which was a little bit true.
"Master Patrick, are you sure about this?" Blinky asked, looking a little concerned.
"It's worth giving a go, Blinky." Patrick replied, "Not sure of what to do with the reward money, or what the reward money would be, but it would be a great way to kick things off for my Paladin work."
Blinky thought of what he said, and then decided to agree on it, "Very well, Master Patrick. It's true for a Paladin to answer the call."
While they talked, two guards were overhearing the conversation, and then decided to pitch in, stepped out of their seats and walked up to Patrick.
"Excuse me," one guard spoke, "you wouldn't happen to be the new Paladin we heard much about?"
"Yes. Yes, I am." Patrick replied, "Why do you ask?"
"Most of the guards of Nabakza prison, including my mate and I, have been having a bit of trouble trying to find the Owl Lady." the second guard explained, "Forgive us if we overheard what you were saying, but having a Paladin on our side could be quite a good advantage for us to capture her."
"So, you're asking for my help?" Patrick asked.
"Indeed, Paladin," the first guard nodded, "so, will you be able to help us to capture the Owl Lady?"
Patrick a small thought about it, then looked to the others (the twins instantly nodding their heads fast as a way of saying take the case for the cash), before looking back to them as he said, "I'll do it!"
"Perfect!" the first guard happily replied, "Come with us, Paladin, we'll take you to the Warden and explain everything on the way."
"Your friends are welcome to join too, if they like" the second guard added.
"How exactly will you get us there?" Patrick asked.
The first guard soon rummaged through his pockets, before taking out what looked like a knife, currently with the safety case on.
"Rift knife!" AAARRRGGHH! Said.
"Yes, AAARRRGGHH!, the Rift Knife," Blinky said, as he explained, "this little item is one of the well known means of traveling from one world to another."
The first guard took the protection case off, showing off the knife's mighty blade, then carefully handed it to Patrick, who then asked, "What am I supposed to do with this?"
"Hold it up in front of you, then focus on the place you wish to go in your mind, and then use the knife to cut through to open a gateway." the first guard explained, "For example now, focus on going to Nabakza."
Patrick seemingly got what they meant a little, before doing what the guard instructed him to do. He held up the knife in front of him, then thought of the prison realm that he was told about yesterday, then carefully used the knife, as like a means of slicing a large piece of cake, and soon, a small rift doorway opened up, revealing the prison realm itself. The others were stunned and amazed at this.
"I did it!" Patrick said with happiness.
"Great work." the second guard, as he and the first went through and said, "This way please."
Patrick looked a bit excited, while a little nervous, as he was about to actually go through to another world, taking a deep breath, he walked towards the rift, though stopped as he turned to his friends and asked, "It's okay if you want to come or not."
"I'll come with you, Master Patrick," Blinky replied, "You might need some back up when meeting with their boss."
"We'll be good here, Patrick," Callum replied, "best of luck to you."
"And get that cash!" the twins said with excitement.
Patrick nodded and then said, "Let Taylor, Hilda and the others know where I am."
"We will!" Chuckie said, as Patrick soon walked through the rift, Blinky following beside him, until the rift soon closed up on the other side.
As the rift closed up, Chris, carrying Kira, appeared through the tavern door.
"Hey, Chris," Callum said, surprised to see him, "what's up?"
But as he looked, he saw that Chris was a little nervous, and bit out of breath, having to carry Kira a little bit.
"Wait… what's wrong?" he then asked.
"Where's Patrick?" Chris asked, earning concerned looks on the others.
Later, at Nabakza Prison…
"Welcome to Nabakza Prison," Eda said, as she, King and the kids arrived at the prison realm, though staying clear from getting caught, "a place for those considered unsuitable for society."
Luz spotted one of the wanted posters that had the picture Eda with King by her side, took it off the wall and had a good look at it with Taylor and Hilda, "Whoa. These guys really have the hots for you."
"Yep. But we were never caught because we're too slippery." Eda replied with a smirk and a wink.
"Try to catch me when I'm covered in grease." King, sitting on top Luz's head, stated, "I'm a squirmy little fella."
King jumped off her head as he then pointed out, "You guys and I will sneak up to the top of the tower, where they're holding my crown."
"And I'm gonna make sure the warden's distracted." Eda added.
The kids were amazed about that plan (though Taylor and David were a little unsure, and Frida just smiled to make Hilda happy that she was helping her), until Luz asked, "Will we need a disguise?"
"Uh…" Eda said, a little unsure.
"I've been waiting to use this." Luz smiled, as she put on her hood, revealing cute cat ears as she added, "Meow, meow."
"It's hideous." King oddly politely complimented.
"Oh, you'll fit right in." Eda smiled at that.
Just then, they heard some guards heading their way, and the group quickly hid themselves to avoid getting caught.
As they continued hiding, they overheard a conversation between two guards.
"Did you hear the news about what's going on?" one guard asked.
"Um, no," the second guard replied, shrugging, "what did I miss?"
The first guard looked to his mate as he explained "I just got word that Warden Wrath is having a conversation… with the new Paladin of Xadador!"
The kids' eyes widened with shock upon hearing this, as the chatter continued.
"You mean that new Paladin that's been all the fuss about around here?"
"The very same, and I've heard that he's going to aid in capturing the Owl Lady for us!"
"Cool! Do you think the boss will give us a day off if we help out with good behaviour or something?"
As the guards left, the kids heard Eda let out a small groan as she said, "Oh yeah, I forgot about that problem with the Paladin. I can't believe this one is here. And if this Paladin helps out the warden, that's going to be a major problem for us."
The kids, on the other hand, were a little nervous, as the Paladin that Eda was uncomfortable about and working with this Warden Wrath guy was none other than their brother/friend, Patrick.
"Um, Eda," Hilda spoke up, hoping to explain to her about Patrick, "there's something we gotta tell you about-"
"No time. Better make things quick!" Eda stopped her, as she slammed her staff to the ground, bottom part down, instantly conjuring up a spell, as the kids and King were now on a magical levitating circle, and soon headed up to the tower where the crown would be.
"Meet you at the top of the tower." Eda called to them, as she flew in a different direction on her staff to make a diversion.
As the floating platform brought them near an open window, the kids followed King as they climbed in one at a time, though Luz stumbled and fell flat on her face.
"Ha, ha! Cats don't do that!" King poked fun on her.
"Come on, King. We're doing this for you, remember?" Taylor eyed the little fellow who claimed to be a King of Demons, while Luz got back on her feet and dusted herself off.
"Alright," Hilda then said, "let's find this crown and then get out of here quick!"
The others nodded and hurried quietly and carefully as they explored the tower, while Hilda added in her thoughts, 'Before this warden… or worst, Patrick, finds us here…'
Meanwhile, at the same time, in his office, Warden Wrath was having a conversation with Patrick (Blinky accompanying him), upon learning that he wished to help in tracking down and capturing the Owl Lady.
"So, I hear that you like to help track down the Owl Lady," Wrath said to the young Paladin, who was doing his best to be brave, as the warden creeped him out a little, "is that right?"
"Y-yes, of course, Warden Wrath," Patrick replied, "I've been hearing a bit about this as well during my training, too."
He then asked, "Has anyone, I don't know, tried to break in or, forgive if I ask… escape?"
Blinky eyed him with worry upon asking that, but the warden just looked back without an outburst, and shrugged as he said, "It's alright to ask that."
Blinky let out a sigh of relief.
"And to answer your question, the answer is no." Wrath then said, as he looked to the Paladin and his companion, eyeing them from behind his mask, "No one has ever, ever escaped from Nabakza prison. I'd sooner jump in a boiling lake of oil than let that record fall. So don't you forget that."
"O-of course, warden." Patrick said with a nervous grin.
"Since you want to help us, I suggest that you meet up with the others guards at the main hall," Wrath stated, "your six-eyed friend can stay here with me until it is time."
"B-but…"
"Don't worry, Master Patrick," Blinky comforted him, "you run along, I'll see you soon at the main hall."
Patrick looked to Blinky, but then nodded in understanding, and made his leave.
"No! It wasn't me!" cried a prisoner that was being taken to his cell, "I didn't do it! It was the rat! The rat!"
Patrick felt very uneasy being in a prison, even feeling sorry for those that have been sentenced there, though knew that it was one of the only ways for a Paladin to do it when sparing an enemy's life.
He then took out the poster of the mentioned criminal (he kept it for future reference, especially in case if he did bump into her), and had thoughts on what he would do if he did come upon her. Would he take her on? Spare her life? Kill her?
As he continued walking with all that in his mind, his thoughts were cut off by the sudden clang sound he heard nearby, just around the corner.
'Was that her?' he thought, 'The Owl Lady?'
He soon got his armour back on, and carefully crept up to where the sound came from (he thought he heard a few voices on the other side of the corner as well).
He took a deep breath, and cried "The jig is up!" as he jumped to the other side… only to see his sisters, Luz, David and Frida standing there, along with some little creature.
"Girls?! Luz?! David and Frida?!" he cried in surprise.
"Patrick?!" they responded in surprise as well.
"What the heck are you guys doing here?!" he asked, "I thought you were at the park with…"
Patrick stopped as he looked at the group, then quickly asked, "Where's Chris and Kira?!"
"They're still at the park." Taylor replied, though then thought to herself, 'We hope…'
"Hey, who are you supposed to be?" King then spoke up, getting the group's attention.
"I could say the same for you, little fella," Patrick said, before admitting with a smile, "though I must say, you're pretty cute."
"He sure is!" Luz smiled.
"I am not cute!" King cried, "I am the King of Demons!"
King groaned as he said to the others, "We're wasting time, let's find my crown and get back to Eda before the warden finds her."
"Wait a sec," Patrick said, hearing that last part, then took out the poster and had a good look at it, besides Eda shown on the poster, next her was a small creature that looked exactly like King, looking at both the picture and figure in front of him, he suddenly put 2 and 2 together, "you're with the Owl Lady!"
"Yeah… funny story," Luz nervously grinned as she said, "we kinda bumped into her and were asked to help her and King out."
"You what?!" Patrick asked in shock.
"It's like this," Hilda started to explain, "while we were at the park, we saw an owl take Luz's book, and we chased it around town to get it back along with Frida's book, which was also taken, then we stumbled into a new realm and met Eda there, and she helped us get away from the guards and then took us back to her house not far from Delta Rune, where we met King, and we're tasked on retrieving his crown from Warden Wrath because he stole it from him."
Patrick just stood there in shock hearing this, before looking to his sister and cried, "And you encouraged them?!"
"We didn't have much of a choice, okay!" Taylor cried out.
Suddenly, footsteps were heard approaching, resulting in the group getting panic with worry, especially Patrick, who then sighed as he decided to help.
"Quick, this way!" he said, pointing to a nearby door, and the others followed him, quickly going inside and shut the door carefully to avoid suspicious detection.
Patrick placed his ear to the door, and listened as the footsteps walked past the door, only to then get fader away, noting that they were gone now.
"Alright," he said, "I think they're gone, let's…"
Patrick didn't finish that sentence, as he and the others looked in surprise and shock of where they were: the room they were in was a giant hallway full of prison cells, most of them filled with different prisoners.
"Where are we?" Frida asked.
"I think this is a holding cell of sorts." Luz thought aloud.
"You got that right."
A new, female voice caught them off guard, as they turned and saw one of the prisoners. She was a slender girl with pointy ears, dark skin, black hair in a ponytail, hazel eyes and notorious fangs. She wore a purple shirt/dress which bared her shoulders and covered all of her upper arms and about half her forearms and had a gold band around her neck.
"Hey, cat lady," she said, looking to Luz, "how'd you and your buddies get out of your cells?"
"Oh, no, no, no. I'm not a cat." Luz admitted, taking off her hoodie, revealing her human ears, "I'm a human, like my friends. I'm Luz, by the way."
"Name's Katya." the prisoner introduced herself, "And your buddies?"
"Patrick Lee Kirby," Patrick introduced himself then his sisters, "and my sisters, Taylor and Hilda."
"And these are my friends," Hilda then gestured to her friends, "David and Frida."
"Hi there." Frida waved hello.
David also waved, but in a shaky manner, as he nervously said, "Also, just letting you know, that none of us are criminals."
"Not yet, you're not." King playfully teased, making David more nervous.
"Neither are we. The stupid warden likes to lock people up who don't fit in." Katya grumbled, before bringing up a book, and showed the group pages showing what looked like two different types of anthropomorphic vegetables in embrace, as she said "Like, I write fanfics of food falling in love. I like food, I like love... Just let me write about it."
"I'm here because I like eating my own eyes." a monster prisoner with 5 eyes said, before popping one of them off and swallowing it… before popping back in it's original socket.
"I'm in here three," said another prisoner, a jittery, skinny fellow with pointy ears like Liz, "it's do three that I like counting and saying things in odds."
"Like when you're trying to say 'in here two'?" Patrick asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Yes." the prisoner nodded.
"We are agents of fwee expwession!" The small voice of another prisoner got the groups' attention, seeing her a cell, an odding looking creature, small, round and white with large blueish eyes, a rather prominent nose, and reddish hair. She was practically just a head with no body, with her limbs coming out of it and seemingly speaking in a form of rhotacism, "They will never siwence us!"
"Yeah, Tiny Nose here is sometimes really big into conspiracy theories." Katya pointed out to her.
"The world is a simuwation!" Tiny Nose added, "We are but pwaythings for a higher being!"
Upon hearing all this, Patrick and the others began to see something up here.
"Waitaminute, none of this makes any sense." Patrick stated.
"Yeah," Luz nodded, "These aren't crimes. None of you actually did anything wrong."
Patrick looked back at the wanted poster, and then said, "You're all just a bunch of weirdos." he then looked to Luz as he added, "Kinda like you."
Luz looked to Patrick as she half smiled and said with a little humor, "Also a bit like you, too."
"Heh, maybe…" Patrick admitted, scratching the back of his head, while the others, hearing the whole thing, let out a small giggle.
Suddenly, the group began faint, thudding footsteps, as they were approaching the prison.
"It's Warden Wrath!" Katya cried, "Get out of here and hide!"
"Hold up," Patrick said, as he grabbed hold of the lever to her cell door, "I'm gonna try and get you guys out!"
"There's no time!" Taylor exclaimed, as she escorted the kids out.
"Hold on," Luz then spoke, before looking at Katya, "where do they keep any items locked away? Our friend's crown is among them."
Katya pointed to her right and said, "Next room down the corridor around the corner, the item is behind a big door! Hurry!"
Luz nodded in understanding, as the group of kids rushed and followed Liz's directions, turning a corner just in time as Warden Wrath appeared through the door they came in.
"I can hear you." the warden said, sternly, as he approached the prisoners, "Just what are you fools whispering about?"
He then looked down, and saw the wanted poster of Eda (Patrick having dropped it during the rush), and picked it up to see the witch's image, "Ah. The Owl Lady." he said with a small bit of interest, before snarling, "I'll get my hands on her soon enough."
Around the corner, Patrick and Luz were hearing what was going on, but quickly hid again as the warden started to turn his head to where they were.
He was about to walk to where they were, until Tiny Nose spoke up, "Fight against the oppwessor! We will wesist! We will conquer! We will never be afwaid of you, you old cweep!"
Wrath looked to the little prisoner… then opened her cell.
"Hooway! I'm fwee!" she happily chirped… only to be grabbed by Wrath, much to the nervousness of both the prisoners and Patrick and Luz.
"Let this be a lesson to all of you." Warden Wrath said to the nervous prisoners, as he walked out with Tiny Nose in his grip, "There's no place in society for you if you can't fit in."
Knowing there was nothing they could do, Patrick and Luz headed off and joined the others.
Having left the holding prison, Patrick, his friends and King continued wandering around the tower to find the room that Liz mentioned to them, though they were in a bit of a small awkward mood after what had happened.
Wanting to break the silence, Taylor looked to her brother and asked, "So… how are the others?"
"Hmm? Oh, yeah, they're good," Patrick replied, "Callum, Ezran, Chuckie and the twins are doing ok. They with AAARRRGGHH!, Papyrus and Sans. Blinky is here with me at the moment."
"How did you end up here, by the way, pal?" King then asked, "And what's with the getup?"
Hilda nervously looked to her older brother, and then back to King as she said, "Well, King… the thing is-"
"Hey, kids." Eda's voice spoke up, cutting her off, as the witch landed by them, "I just checked. The warden is distracted, tormenting some tiny creature. He won't be coming around here anytime soon."
Eda then noticed Patrick, who gave an awkward wave hello, before looking to the others and asked, "Um… who is this?"
"Oh, right… Eda, this Patrick." Taylor said, introducing her brother, "He's my and Hilda's brother."
"I see…" Eda said, having a good look at him.
The moment was cut off as they then heard King cry out as he approached the big door that they were told to find, "My crown! It's close! I can sense its power!"
The group watched as he jumped up on the door, and began tackling the doorknob, trying to get it to open.
"Aw, he gets so cute when he's thirsty for power." Eda smiled as she looked at her roommate, she then looked to the others, and noticed something up as they all had upset looks on their faces, "Something up, kids?"
"Well… it's just not right on what's happened with the other prisoners…" Patrick admitted, "I mean, it's not fair that they're all in here when they just want to be themselves. Why does everyone think that being a weirdo is so bad?"
He then gestured to Luz, "Take Luz, here, I've known her since kindergarten, and while it's true that she can do odd ways to show off her creativity, I still care and appreciate her antics."
"We all do, Patrick." Taylor nodded in agreement.
Soon, they heard King finally got the door to open (having taken the doorknob off) and scurried into the next room.
"Come on, before he hurts himself." Eda said, as the group followed her.
Sure enough, they heard King yelp, "Ow!" as they saw in the next room, a giant glowing beam of light, and there, they saw King trying every attempt to get through, but with no prevail.
"We have some humans, remember?" Eda reminded him after his 5th try.
"Oh yeah," King happily remembered, then looked at them as he asked, "so who's going in?"
The group of kids looked at each for a few seconds, until Patrick, having seeing how much they're starting to mean for Eda and King, decided to help them out, as he let out a sigh and said, "I'll do it."
The kids were surprised to see Patrick go ahead on this, they were worried that he would be mad at them and rat out Eda to Wrath, but he didn't, Luz, Taylor and Hilda looked to Patrick with a smile as the former said, "Thanks, Patrick."
"Becareful." Hilda said, earning a nodding reply from Patrick.
Taking a deep breath, Patrick stepped through the beam of light, and reached the other side, and boy, was he surprised on what he saw.
Right in front of him, was a large pile of items, knick-knacks and other trinkets, most of them no doubt from Earth as well. He looked upwards until he finally spotted the item the group were looking for: King's crown.
Patrick carefully climbed up the pile, making sure that he didn't tumble down, until he finally reached the top and saw the crown… though his amazement turned into disbelief as what he saw, "Wait a second. Is that a…"
"My crown! You've found my crown!" King cheered as he finally got his crown back.
Though Patrick and his friends were in disbelief at what Patrick was holding: it was a crown, alright… a Burger King crown one would get for one's kid's meal!
"That's what all the fuss was about?!" Hilda exclaimed, as even she was stunned in disbelief.
King yoinked the crown from Patrick's hands, and placed it on his head, as he felt like he was whole once more, "Yes. Yes! I can feel my powers returning!"
King then turned to the pile (which Patrick accidentally caused to fall over a little after retrieving the crown) and spotted a stuffed-toy rabbit with floppy ears and picked up proudly as he said with a chuckle, "You, there. Nightmare critter. I shall call you Francois, and you shall be a minion in my army of darkness. Ha, ha!"
"That crown doesn't give him any powers, does it?" Luz asked, as she and the others looked to the Owl Lady.
"Uh, no." Eda admitted, before letting out a sigh, as she explained, "Oh, look at us, kids. King and I don't have much in this world. We only have each other. So if that dumb crown is important to him, it's important to me. And besides, us weirdos have to stick together, you know?"
Patrick, Luz and the others understood what she meant, and looked to each other with warm smiles, as Patrick looked to Eda and said, "I suppose you're right there, Eda."
"Of course, I'm right," Eda said proudly, "Well, we owe you kids one. Now, let's get out of here before the warden finds us and loses his head."
"Too late."
Totally unaware of the others, Warden Wrath had walked up behind them as he said that, before bringing up his right hand, that somehow morphed into a sickle… and sliced off Eda's head!
Eda's head landed in Patrick's hands as he and the others let out a startled scream upon seeing what had happened, and looked to Eda's face, showing a gaged out face like anyone would sometimes do when they died… only for her eyes to blink and groaned, "Ow! Oh, I hate it when that happens…"
The kids screamed again.
Author's Notes:
Spanish translation: *Oh, how cute!
A few Harry Potter references from Nabakza Prison, the first being the name of the realm, which is 'Azkaban' spelled backwards.
The second with the guard being carried away, screaming that it was a rat's fault, is a reference to the third Harry Potter story, The Prisoner of Azkaban (didn't want to spoil it for anyone if you haven't read the book or seen the film yet).
Next time, the conclusion and battle with the warden!
Until next time, True Believers!
Excelsior!