IronHeart Part 5
It all came flooding back to Koga in that moment. He remembers walking through the forest, listening to the sounds of nature, looking up at the trees, and seeing the sunlight break through the clouds. But in a flash, the birds all flew away in a panic. Koga blinked, and standing before him was a tall man in black armor. His eyes shined red. Koga's legs were weak, and sweating was flooding down his face. The Black Knight walked closer and closer. The wanderer could hear his name echoing in his head. The knight walked closer, and he grew taller and taller.
"KOGA!" Elfo called out.
The knight's eyes grew brighter, blinding Koga.
"KOGA SNAP OUT OF IT!" Bean cried
Koga blinked, and he snapped his eyes open. Veronica lunged forward and thrust her sword at Koga. Bean would leap before Koga and block Veronica's attack with her sword. Bean pushes Veronica back and swings at Dark Knight, but she jumps back, avoiding Bean's attack.
Veronica clicked her tongue."Damn…I'm not getting another opportunity like that,"
Bean turned to Koga. "Koga, what's up with you?"
"I…" Koga looked at Bean, shook his head, and placed his eyes back on Veronica, Dalton, and Lucias. "It's not him…" The wanderer thought. "Nowhere close to being him…" He took a deep breath and exhaled. Koga drew his sword and pointed it at three knights clad in black armor.
"Enough wasting time," said Dalton. "Let's take the blacksmith back to our fleet. No playing around."
"No need to tell me twice," said Lucius.
"What about the princess?" Veronica asked.
"If she gets In the way, dispose of her."
"Harsh…" Veronica sighed. "But It is what it is." Veronica rushes forward, but Bean cuts her off. The swords clashing together, causing sparks to fly. "Come on, princess, I don't want to harm a hair on that cute little head of yours."
"Fine by me! I'll just slice your damn head off!" Bean shouts.
"Oooh, feisty," Veronica giggled.
Koga turns to Diana, Elfo, and Luci. "Get Diana out of here! Hurry! We'll hold them off!"
"Come on, move, move!" Elfo shouts as he, Luci, and Diana bolt off running.
"GET BACK HERE!" Lucius roared. He rushed after them, but Koga would stand in his way.
"Not so fast, buddy," said Koga.
However, Dalton would intervene and begin his attack on Koga. Lucius would take this opportunity to chase after Elfo, Luci, and Diana.
"Damn it," Koga cursed. He had to trust in Elfo and Luci to protect Diana. The wanderer turned towards Dalton, who was charging at him. Koga swung his sword swiftly at Dalton. Dalton held up a metal rod and clashed with Koga's sword. Dalton slid back, leaving skid marks on the soil. His hands shook on the impact. "What strength..." He whispered. Koga continued on the offensive. He swung his sword at Dalton quickly, and Dalton carefully dodged each of Koga's swings. Dalton waved his hand, and a large cloud of smoke burst into Koga's face. Koga coughed and fanned the smoke out of his face. Dalton unsheathed a dagger and thrust it at Koga.
Koga grasped Dalton's wrist and clenched it tightly. Dalton winced and tried to break free. Koga glared at Dalton, "Nice try…" He said grimly. Dalton kicks Koga in the stomach, but he doesn't flinch. Koga picks Dalton up with one hand and slams him to the ground head-first. The helmet shattered into pieces, revealing Dalton's face. His hair and facial hair were a dark shade of brown, and his eyes were a hazel color. Dalton was dazed at the impact, and Koga raised his sword to stab Dalton. Dalton raised his arm and held out his hand. A sudden gust of wind sent Koga flying, and he landed flat on his back.
"W-What the hell was that?" Koga rises and sees Dalton get to his feet.
"I can't match you in physical strength," said Dalton, holding out his metal rod. "You won't be getting close to me again." The pole begins to extend and turns into a spear with a long blade.
Koga scowles. "Oh goddamn it…"
Meanwhile, Bean and Veronica were going to head to head. Veronica was unrelenting. Bean was having a hard time keeping up with her. Veronica's swings were precise and difficult to read. Bean blocks a thrust aimed at her neck, then one aimed at her side. Veronica switches up with a downward swing. Bean holds up her sword to block, but Veronica changes her downward swing to a horizontal slash. Bean stepped back, barely avoiding Veronica's attack and leaving a slash on Bean's shirt.
Veronica whistled admiringly. "Nice dodge, princess," She smiled confidently under her helmet. Veronica went in with a flurry of thrust at Bean. Bean deflected some of Veronica's attacks before she tripped and fell to the ground.
"Gotcha!" said Veronica, raising her sword to stab Bean.
Bean gasped and held out her hands, and a surge of black and blue lighting burst from her hands, hitting Veronica in the face and sending her flying back. Bean opened one eye and looked at her hands. It was the same magic she had used to kill all the spiders surrounding her, Elfo, Luci, and Freya.
"Whoa…" said Bean in awe as she watched the black and blue lighting surge up their fingertips.
Veronica slowly rises and rubs her head. Her helmet was utterly destroyed and revealed her face. Veronica was a tan-skinned girl with long black hair that covered one side of her face. Her eyes were brown, she wore black lipstick, and she had a mole on her left cheek.
"Oh crud…" Veronica groaned. "Leo is not going to be happy about this. That's the third helmet I've gone through." She placed her eyes on Bean. "What the hell kind of magic was that? It nearly knocked me out!"
"I don't know!" Bean replied, shrugging. "I'm still trying to figure this out!" She waves her hands and shoots a few sparks of electricity flying from her fingers toward Veronica.
Veronica yelped, ducks, and the magic destroyed a small boulder entirely. She turns around and stares at the rumble. Her eyes widen. "Holy shit…" She turns back to Bean. "That was AWESOME!" She grinned excitedly. "Ok…my turn…" Veronica grabs her sword and glides it over the blade with her left hand. Her sword had a frosted look, and frozen sickles had sprouted around it.
Bean's jaw hung open. "H-How did you—What?"
"Ice magic," said Veronica, stabbing her sword to the ground, and ice began spreading. "Usually, I would need a scroll for this, but I memorized it. Pretty neat, huh?"
"Uh…yeah…It would be if you weren't going to use that to try and kill me…"
"True," Veronica snatched the sword from the ground and swung her sword. Ice sickles fly off the blade at Bean.
Bean yells and rolls out of the way as the sickles pierce the ground. Bean tried using her magic, but she couldn't muster up the blast that she used earlier. "OH COME ON! HOW DO YOU WORK THIS?!" She screamed, running away from Veronica.
Elsewhere, Elfo Luci was trying to hold off Lucius. Diana was watching Luci and Elfo deal with Lucius. Lucius was already at his wit's end when dealing with Elfo and Luci. The two were crawling his helmet, punching, kicking, and tripping him over and over.
"Stop this at once!" Lucius shouted.
"The more you keep telling us what to do, the more we'll keep doing it! It's being annoying 101," said Luci. He slides into his armor and bites him on the neck, causing Lucius to cry in pain.
Elfo hops off Lucius's shoulders, grabs a rock off the ground, crawls back up Lucius's legs, and bangs the rock against Lucius's helmet. Lucius would trip and fall flat on his back, and his head hit the ground, causing his helmet to shatter. "Goddamn it!" Lucius's cursed. He had pale skin, black hair tied into a ponytail, and a long bushy goatee. Lucius let out a low growl. "That's it…"
Luci leaped out of the armor and laughed. "Aww, what's wrong, buddy? Are you going to go cry to your mama?"
Lucius reached into his side bag and pulled out a small scroll. The scroll glowed a bright green, and vines sprouted from it, entangling Elfo and Luci.
"H-Hey! What the heck? That's cheating!" Elfo whined.
"You two stay put," said Lucius. He looked over at Diana. "Enough running away. Our general has requested the services of Gregory Ironheart. I'm sure that you have some ties with him, correct?"
Diana glared at him without saying a word.
"Don't make this problematic…come quietly and take us to him," Lucius slowly walked towards her.
"Run, Diana!" said Elfo.
But Diana didn't run. She reached into her satchel, pulled out a long stick with a small blue jewel implanted in the middle, and from the tip, a ball of ice fired from it, hitting Lucius directly. He was frozen solid in a block of ice.
Elfo and Luci's eyes widened. "Whoa…" They both said.
Diana walked past Luciu's and stood in front of Elfo and Luci. She waved her wand, and the vines disappeared. "Are you two ok?" She asked softly.
"Uh…yeah…we're fine," said Elfo, staring at Diana. "Wait…is that a wand?"
"You're a witch?" said Luci.
"I like to use the term Enchantress, but…sure," said Diana.
Elfo and Luci walked over to Lucius and stared at him. Elfo would ask, "Is he dead?"
"No, just frozen temporarily," Diana replied. "Forget about him. We need to go help Bean and Koga!"
"Aww…I wanted to see if he would shatter if we tipped him over," said Luci.
"Maybe later, come on!" said Elfo as the three hurried off.
The fight between Koga and Dalton continued. Koga was having a difficult time trying to get close to Dalton. His skill with the spear was impressive. Koga was nearly stabbed in vital points of his body multiple times if it wasn't for his speed. Dalton was not letting Koga anywhere near him. And Dalton's cuts on Koga's body were starting to add up. The wanderer needed a new plan.
"This is getting boring," said Dalton.
"I agree," said Koga, tossing his sword on the ground.
Dalton looked at him, confused. "Do you give up?"
"No," said Koga, simply. "Just changing my strategy."
"Is that so? Let's see how well that works for you," said Dalton as the two began circling each other.
Dalton makes the first move as he thrusts his spear forward. Koga moves to the side, catches the spear by its base, and lifts Dalton. He flings him, causing Dalton to fly and land on his back with a thud.
"Damn it all…" said Dalton, winching at the pain. "You'd think armor is supposed to protect you but makes falling feel worse!"
"That's why I don't wear any," said Koga, standing over Dalton, placing the spear's blade to his neck, and stepping on his hand. "Better not try any of that magic bullshit on me. Or I'll cut your head off."
"Ugh…" Dalton sighed.
Veronica was beginning to get frustrated with Bean. Bean was on the run throughout the fight, and Veronica had to chase her around.
"Will you stop running away!" Veronica screamed.
"NO!" Bean screamed back. "Why would I let you catch me and kill me?!"
"Well—I—ok, you have a point, but ARGH!" Veronica yelled in frustration.
That's when Bean found herself with her back against the wall. Veronica smirked as she slowly walked toward her. "Nowhere to run, princess," The black knight said, holding up her ice-coated blade. Sweat ran down Bean's face. She looks at her hands and then closes her eyes. "I'm not going to die! Not like this!" She opened her eyes, and it glowed a bright blue—the same color as the magic power she holds. She fires her magic at Veronica, sending her flying away from Bean.
Bean leans back against the stone wall and slides down. She pants and wipes the sweat away from her head. "I gotta…learn….how to... control that…holy crap…" She gets to her feet and hurries back to Koga.
Koga glared down at Dalton and asked, "So, will you tell me why you're after the girl?"
"Sorry, but that's none of your business," Dalton replied.
Koga scoffs. "Well, never mind then. I was just curious," He raises Dalton's spear high, ready to stab him till Veronica lands on top of Koga. "OWWWW!" Veronica cried. She rises and rubs her head. "Well…that was a close one…UGH! My body hurts. What broke my fall?" She looks down and sees Koga flat on his stomach and Dalton mumbling under him.
"Oh crap…" Veronica gets up and pulls Dalton from under Koga. "He broke your helmet too? Yeah, Leo is not going to be happy about this."
"Just help me up…" Dalton coughed.
As Veronica did so, Diana, Elfo, and Luci arrived. She rolls her eyes. "Did you two kill Lucius?"
"No, but he's a popsicle now," said Elfo.
Koga groaned and rubbed his head. "Ow…now I'm pissed…" He glares up at Veronica and Dalton.
"Oh goddamn it!" said Veronica. "How the hell did it go south this bad?!" He turned to Dalton. "I think it's time for a tactical retreat?"
"Unfortunately," said Dalton. "This mission has failed…"
"Well, everyone, princess and sexy blond girl," Veronica winks at Diana, which causes Diana to look at her puzzled. "It's been fun, but we gotta roll now!" Veronica takes a piece of paper from his side pouch, which glows green.
Dalton's eyes widened. "V-Veronica! No! You can't control wind magic—" But it was too late. Veronica activated the wind spell, and she and Dalton were sent hurdling into the air and far away from the party.
"G-Guys! It's ok! I'm here!" said Bean, huffing and puffing as she arrived. "What was that I saw flying in the air?"
"There's nothing to worry about now. They flew off," said Koga.
"Oh," Bean looks at everyone. "I guess we won?"
"I guess so," said Elfo.
"WOOOHOOO!" Bean, Elfo, and Luci cheered.
Diana sighed. "Well, with that said and done, I got material to pick up. So if everything is done trying to kill us—" Diana walked to where the material she needed was present. She takes out her wand and waves it. Wind currents appeared around her feet, and she began floating in the air.
Bean blinked. "What the heck—since when can she do that?"
"Always, apparently," said Luci.
"Diana's a witch," said Elfo.
"ENCHANTRESS!" Diana corrected him.
"She is? Wow…I didn't see that coming," said Bean.
"I didn't expect to be surrounded by magic users…I just wanted to get my sword fixed…" said Koga.
Diana returned to the ground elegantly as the wind current below her feet disappeared. She held out a glowing white and purple crystal that sparkled in the sunlight. "I got it…" She said breathlessly. "After all this time, I got it…"
"Woooow…" said Elfo. "What is it?"
"It's obviously a crystal, you dumb elf…" Luci spat.
"Does it do anything?" Bean asked.
"This is called an Iris crystal," said Diana. "It's one of the crystals my father wanted to give my mother as a wedding gift. It's also one of the crystals if enchanted correctly…I could give it healing properties that can help her illness…" She looks up at Bean, Elfo, Luci, and Koga. "Thank you…thank you all so much for helping me…I…I don't know how to repay you all."
"You can start by making that new sword for Koga!" said Bean, smiling at her.
"And paying us eight thousand gold pieces," said Luic. Elfo lightly shoves Luci with his elbow, which results in Luci shoving Elfo to the ground.
Diana chuckles. "Right, let's head back home before it gets worse out here.
And so, they all headed back to Diana's home.
"Well…that did not go as planned…" said Veronica.
"No. No, it didn't…" said Dalton. "Why in the world did you use wind magic when you don't even know how to control it?
"The best way to learn something is on the spot, right?"
"If you were smart, you would've used the blinding light spell!"
"Ooooh right…I should've used that instead. My bad," Veronica chuckled nervously.
"Now, where the hell is Lucius?" Dalton looked around.
"I'm guessing that's him over there frozen solid?" Veronica points forward. Lucius was still frozen but looked to be in the process of thawing out. "Did the elf do this?"
"It's a possibility," said Dalton, walking over to Lucius and taking a piece of paper. A gentle wave of fire engulfed Lucius, and the ice melts instantly.
"GAH!" Lucius fell to his knees. "Damn, that witch!"
"Witch?" said Veronica. "What witch?"
"The blond girl! She cast that ice trap on me!" Lucius explained.
"Ooooh, so that's why the Elf said you were popsicle. That explains that" said Veronica, patting her fist into the palm of her right hand. "Also, that princess isn't just any ordinary princess. She has some potent magic; I can tell you that much. It's what sent me flying earlier."
"The princess, too?" Dalton rubs his chin. "We need to report all of this to the general. While we're at it, we need to contact our fleets and order them to regroup."
A loud ringing noise was coming from Dalton's wrist. "Speak of the devil; that's him now." Dalton holds up his wrist, and a green flame appears. "Greetings General Alexander—"
"HI ALEX!" Veronica shouted happily, staring into the flame.
Alex laughed softly, and he spoke with a relaxed and calm voice. "Hello, Veronica, Dalton, and…Lucius," His tone was deep and stern on Lucius's name. "How are things going with the mission? Were you able to locate Gregory Ironheart?"
Dalton took a deep breath and exhaled through his nostrils. "Unforuntantly general…the mission was a failure…."
Alexander was quiet momentarily and then spoke with the same relaxed tone. "The mission failed? That's not like you three at all. What happened?"
"Well, sir, you see—" Veronica had cut Dalton off and began explaining herself.
"You see, we ran into that Koga the wanderer guy while we were out, and he kicked Dalton's ass apparently—" Dalton scowled at the explanation. "And we found some really really really cute blond girl named Diana who has some ties to Gregory Ironheart and is a witch? We just found that out, anyway. Lucius got frozen by her and got his ass kicked by an elf and a demon—" Lucius grumbled at that. "Theeen I got my ass kicked by a white-haired princess who has some VERY powerful magic, annnd..yeah, we just kind of screwed everything up…"
Dalton, Lucius, and Alexander were all quiet.
Veronica looks at Dalton and Lucius. She frowned. "What? I can't lie to him! What did you expect me to say?"
Alexander began to speak. "Did you say…a white-haired princess?"
"Yes, sir," said Dalton. "A princess from Dreamland was present with them."
"I see…" Alexander went quiet again.
"Is there something wrong, sir?"
"No. Nothing. I want you three to return to your ships and leave the bedrock kingdom at once," Alexander ordered.
"Yes, sir!" said Dalton and Veronica.
"General!" said Lucius. "You don't want us to pursue them? They even had an elf with them! Think of what we can do—"
"Return…to your ships…" Alexander said sternly. "I will not repeat myself, Lucius."
Lucius opened his mouth to protest but stopped and held himself back. "Yes…general…"
"Return safely," said Alexander as the flame on Dalton's wrist died out.
Alexander sat on a red throne with a mushroom-shaped symbol with an eye in the center. He was clad in black armor with a purple cape and a helmet with large horns sticking out from each side. He rested his check on his right fist. "You're just like your mother Tiabeanie…out and about and doing the wildest things…" He laughed softly. "If that's the case…Tavish must be manifesting, too…but…what about the prophecy? It only foretold—"
"General Alexander!" said a crewmate.
"Yes, what is it?"
"One of our crewmates had been caught stealing food from the pantry!" Two knights clad in the same black armor had brought the thief forward. He looked up at Alexander with fear in his eyes.
Alexander shook his head. "Come now…everyone has to eat. If rations are gone, no one can eat…"
"I-I'm sorry, general! Please! Don't kill me!" The crewmate begged.
"Kill you?" Alexander was taken aback. "Why on earth would I kill you? All that would do is lower morale and decrease staffing. No…I'm not going to kill you."
The crewmate sighed in relief.
"However," Alexander raises himself from his throne. He stood 6,6 and towered over everyone in the room. "I will sentence you to clean the decks, wash the dishes, and do the laundry. And you will start at nine in the morning to five past morning!"
"NOOOOO! NO GENERAL! NOT Nine to Five! Anything but that! PLEASE!" The crewmate begged.
"Take him away!"Alexander ordered.
The crewmate was dragged away, kicking and screaming.
Alexander chuckled. "This new nine-to-five torture method is not bad,"
From the late evening to morning, Bean, Elfo, Luci, and Koga could hear the sound of Diana's hammer at work. It wasn't hard for them to fall asleep, considering they were exhausted from the fighting they did. By morning, they were all fully awake, still hearing the sound of Diana working.
"Jeez, she's still at it?" said Elfo.
"That's blacksmith work for you," said Koga, leaning back in his chair with his foot propped up on the table.
"I wonder if she's going to enchant the blade," said Bean. "You know, add a bit of magic to it?"
"Oooh, that would be cool!" said Elfo. "Every time Koga swings the sword he can make a flaming tornado or something!"
"Hey, fire is my thing!" said Luci.
"Barely," said Elfo. "But you make for a gun flame spitter, though!"
"Shut up before I spit fire on you!" said Luci, looking away embarrassed.
"I don't need my sword doing any weird magic," said Koga. "I need it to do one thing. Look cool, and cut down everyone in front of me. That's it."
"Speaking of magic," said Bean. "I was able to shoot out some of mine at that Veronica girl."
"Really?" said Elfo. "It looks like you're getting the hang of it!"
"Um…yeah…I guess," said Bean, sounding unsure of herself. "I really need to talk to Tavish about this magic. He's way better at it than I am. Hopefully, he can tell me more about it."
"Hey, the clanging stopped," said Elfo.
They all turned towards the door and listened to Diana's footsteps as she headed their way. They first saw a floating large colossal sword that was sixty-sith inches long and four to five inches wide. The sword was wrapped in thick white bandages from head to toe. The handle was red, and the cross guard was silver, one centimeter on each side. On the center was a green jewel implanted on the cross guard.
"Your sword is ready," said Diana. She waved her wand, sending the sword over to Koga.
Koga caught the sword by its handle and held It up. His eyes gleamed as he examined the huge sword. "It's…It's…." Bean, Elfo and Luci stared at Koga. "IT'S INCREDIBLE!" He squealed.
Diana laughed. "I'm glad you're satisfied. Of course, consider it as a thank you for helping me out. And…going through all of that trouble."
Koga was laughing to himself as he examined the blade further. "So cool, so cool, so cool…" He mumbled.
"Hey, Diana," said Bean, looking at the blond-haired blacksmith. "Was your dad a wizard?"
"Yeah, he was," Diana replied. "The only normal one in my family is my mom."
"How's she doing, by the way?" Elfo asked.
"Much better now. The first thing I did was transfigure that crystal into a ring. It's been doing her good since then. She should be feeling better in the coming week,"
"That's good to hear!" said Bean, smiling warmly at her. Then, a thought occurred to her. "Hey…Diana…can I ask you something?"
"What is it?" Diana looked at the princess.
"Well…you see, I have this weird magic that lets me shoot out this black and blue lightning. My brother can do the same, too. Do you know anything about it?"
"Black and blue lightning? It just sounds like different-colored lightning."
"Well…ugh, I don't know If I can do it again. It takes a lot of concentration to do. And I'm horrible at concentrating…" said Bean.
"Yeah, she'll be drowning herself in beer and staring off at a fly in the room," said Luci.
Diana rubs her chin. "Well—maybe—ok, hold out your hands for me," Bean did just that. Diana took Bean's hands and held them tightly. She closed her eyes and rubbed her thumbs in the palms of the princess's hands. "Hmm…hmm…w-what…what is…is that…Is that an eye?" She gasped.
"An eye?" said Bean, confused. "You see an—WHOA!" Black and blue lightning sparked around Bean's hands and shocked Diana. She lets out a small cry and rubs her hand. "Oh my god! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to do that! Are you ok?!"
"Y-Yeah I-I'm fine," Diana rubs her hands. "Shit that stings…"
"What the heck did you do?" Elfo asked.
"It's something my dad taught me. I was using my magic to sense the magic you hold within you. My dad always told me that magic is a part of the earth, the universe, humans, and creatures. It's a bunch of philosophical stuff I don't feel like quoting," said Diana. "Anyway…the magic you have, Bean, is…is dark. VERY VERY dark. And…I have no idea where it stems from. Sorry…"
"It's ok," said Bean. "Thanks anyway, though." She looked at her hands once more. She would have to talk to her brother about it when they return to Dreamland.
"Well, with that said and done," said Koga, sheeting the sword on the holder on his back. "It's time for us to hit the road."
"UGH, about time," Luci hops onto Bean's shoulder. "Come on, princess! I miss my windowsill!"
"MY windowsill, you mean," Bean narrowed her eyes at Luci.
"What's yours is mine. It's how the whole demon thing goes, sweetheart!" Luci smirked.
Diana laughed a bit as Bean rolled her eyes at Luci. "Thank you guys so much. You all take care, ok?"
"Take care, Diana!" said Elfo, waving at Diana along with Bean and Koga. Diana walked out of her home and saw them off. They mounted the horse and trotted off downhill.
"What an odd group of people," said Diana, smiling.
She stepped back into her home and closed the door.