Chapter 13
Ben continued on through the tunnel, his out-held sword illuminating the path ahead of him. It was scary being alone down there. Well, not quite alone (there was the occasional spider and once he startled a bunch of bats) but other than that, no one else was there.
As he walked, he glanced down at the bottle of blood he had in his hand. A bottle of blood that can break a kingdom and melt chains...that's what I call powerful.
Ben looked up then and caught sight of a mysterious shape in the shadows. Was that an ogre, waiting just beyond the light to grab him? Ben could just imagine it's evil red eyes. It reminded him of a time when he had been a lot younger. It had been night time, after Mom and Dad had tucked him in and turned off the lights. He had been lying peacefully in his bed on the verge of falling asleep when he had seen a shadowy shape on the wall. Not daring to move, he had lain in his bed until he had finally worked up the courage to turn on his nightlight and found that he had been scared of the shadow of his favorite teddy bear. Maybe it's like that; I'm only imagining things.
His sword flared up brighter, revealing the real source of the shadow--a rock sticking out of the wall. Feeling slightly foolish, Ben moved on. He didn't encounter anything else until he came to the end of the tunnel. There was a door there, with strange runes etched on it.
Ben stared at the writing for a moment, and then to his shock he found he could read the letters. They didn't change or anything, but they suddenly made sense. They read:
Here is the door to Mahal
That sounds simple enough, Ben told himself. Adonai must have arranged the 'suddenly being able to read it' thing as well as the tunnel and the way to Mahal. I bet Daran doesn't even know about the entrance into his city yet.
Ben hesitantly grasped the knob and then pushed open the door. Stepping inside, he looked around. It was dark and deserted, just like the tunnel. Actually, the only thing that was a change was that the walls were stone and metal, and not dirt. So this is Mahal.
He started walking again, keeping a wary eye on his surroundings. This new tunnel (or more of a really long hall) went in an upward direction. Ben had been walking for several minutes before he came to an apparently more trafficked area of the hall. He could tell it had more use because it was lighted by torches in oddly shaped white jars, which were in small alcoves in the wall. A closer look revealed that the white 'jars' were actually human skulls. Ben shivered and tried not to look at them after that.
Then he heard footsteps in the hall around the corner ahead--many footsteps, and headed his direction. Ben tightened his grip on his sword and steeled himself for whatever he would see.
The footsteps came closer.
Ben jumped around the corner with his sword at the ready, and then gasped. In front of him stood seven huge Ogres, each armed with bows, arrows, knives, and clubs. They looked as if they had been prepared for him.
The first Ogre gave a screaming growl and loosed an arrow at Ben with amazing speed. He flicked it away with his sword just as quick, and stepping closer, twirled his sword and lopped the Ogres head off. Immediately he whirled and a ray of light shot out of his weapon, burning a neat hole through the next opponent's forehead. It too dropped to the ground.
Then Ogre #3 drew it's knife and Ogre #4 drew it's club and then they both jumped at Ben. He managed to impale #4, but he wasn't quite quick enough to catch the other, which managed to nick Ben's arm with his knife. To his surprise and concern, the skin around his wound started to bubble and burn. As Ben looked down at it, wondering what he was going to do, a beam of light emitted from the pommel stone on his sword. The wound glowed for a moment, and then it healed perfectly.
Ben didn't have time to think that over before he had to stab Ogre #3. He got it right in the throat, and it toppled over, letting out a gurgling howl before it died. He pulled his sword free and then stepped forward to slice the string of the bow that Ogre #5 held. He followed that up by thrusting his sword into the Ogre's heart.
Now all that remained were Ogres #6 and 7, which were standing close by each other. They both had bows and arrows, but obviously were not very intelligent; they didn't even have arrows on their strings. Ben cut #6 in two, and then his sword shot a narrow beam of light at #7, which detached it's head and neck from the rest of it's body. It fell onto it's side next to the rest of the Ogres.
Ben lowered his sword and stared for a moment at the carcasses of the seven Ogres, each one's blood staining the hall floor black. Then he stepped over them and walked on.
He continued on several minutes, noticing that there was an odd reddish glow coming from up ahead. It looked very evil, and it made the skulls on the walls even more scary-looking. When Ben had walked a little more he found the reason for the glow. The hall-way suddenly opened up into an enormous room. As he stepped in he saw that the room was basically a big platform, with drop-offs on all sides. From out of the drop-offs came long flames--the cause of the red light.
Even more worse than these was the completely black throne on a raised part at the end of the platform. Or rather, the figure on the throne. Ben knew right away that it was Daran.
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Izori
Ben hesitantly grasped the knob and then pushed open the door. Stepping inside, he looked around. It was dark and deserted, just like the tunnel. Actually, the only thing that was a change was that the walls were stone and metal, and not dirt. So this is Mahal.
He started walking again, keeping a wary eye on his surroundings. This new tunnel (or more of a really long hall) went in an upward direction. Ben had been walking for several minutes before he came to an apparently more trafficked area of the hall. He could tell it had more use because it was lighted by torches in oddly shaped white jars, which were in small alcoves in the wall. A closer look revealed that the white 'jars' were actually human skulls. Ben shivered and tried not to look at them after that.
Then he heard footsteps in the hall around the corner ahead--many footsteps, and headed his direction. Ben tightened his grip on his sword and steeled himself for whatever he would see.
The footsteps came closer.
Ben jumped around the corner with his sword at the ready, and then gasped. In front of him stood seven huge Ogres, each armed with bows, arrows, knives, and clubs. They looked as if they had been prepared for him.
The first Ogre gave a screaming growl and loosed an arrow at Ben with amazing speed. He flicked it away with his sword just as quick, and stepping closer, twirled his sword and lopped the Ogres head off. Immediately he whirled and a ray of light shot out of his weapon, burning a neat hole through the next opponent's forehead. It too dropped to the ground.
Then Ogre #3 drew it's knife and Ogre #4 drew it's club and then they both jumped at Ben. He managed to impale #4, but he wasn't quite quick enough to catch the other, which managed to nick Ben's arm with his knife. To his surprise and concern, the skin around his wound started to bubble and burn. As Ben looked down at it, wondering what he was going to do, a beam of light emitted from the pommel stone on his sword. The wound glowed for a moment, and then it healed perfectly.
Ben didn't have time to think that over before he had to stab Ogre #3. He got it right in the throat, and it toppled over, letting out a gurgling howl before it died. He pulled his sword free and then stepped forward to slice the string of the bow that Ogre #5 held. He followed that up by thrusting his sword into the Ogre's heart.
Now all that remained were Ogres #6 and 7, which were standing close by each other. They both had bows and arrows, but obviously were not very intelligent; they didn't even have arrows on their strings. Ben cut #6 in two, and then his sword shot a narrow beam of light at #7, which detached it's head and neck from the rest of it's body. It fell onto it's side next to the rest of the Ogres.
Ben lowered his sword and stared for a moment at the carcasses of the seven Ogres, each one's blood staining the hall floor black. Then he stepped over them and walked on.
He continued on several minutes, noticing that there was an odd reddish glow coming from up ahead. It looked very evil, and it made the skulls on the walls even more scary-looking. When Ben had walked a little more he found the reason for the glow. The hall-way suddenly opened up into an enormous room. As he stepped in he saw that the room was basically a big platform, with drop-offs on all sides. From out of the drop-offs came long flames--the cause of the red light.
Even more worse than these was the completely black throne on a raised part at the end of the platform. Or rather, the figure on the throne. Ben knew right away that it was Daran.
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Izori
1 comment:
I personally like the idea of the skull lanterns. I have them in a lot of my books
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