The Alicorn Ring

by Dull Mist

Minor Complications

Minor Complications

We came to a screeching stop outside one of the the many doors that lined the wide, high roofed hallway. Outside this door in particular, a large pile of jagged rocks and boulders were scattered around the hall and sunlight streamed through a gaping hole in the ceiling from where the roof seemed to have collapsed in on itself. Broken shingles, bricks, and slabs of stone were laying all around, the tile floor cracked in many places underneath them, and stone dust layered the floor all around. It looked like something had fallen straight through the roof and into the hallway from above. The door itself was bigger than most around it, tall and dark with a heavy golden knocker in the shape of a snake eating its own tail sticking out and glaring at us threateningly.

Rainbow Dash was only seconds away from grasping the knocker and throwing the door wide open before a loud screech of “Wait!” stopped her. She, and everybody else, turned to look at Fluttershy with curiosity and frowns. She retreated into her mane timidly.

“It...it might be trapped again...”she muttered behind her mane, just loud enough for us to hear. Rainbow Dash blinked, look to the door for a moment, and recoiled as though it had hissed at her.

“That's...a good point actually.” The prismatic pegasus said with gritted teeth and an expressionless look. She fidgeted where she stood, and I could see that she still wanted to throw the door open and charge in guns blazing.

“There's nothing we can do but go in and hope for the best, it seems.” Rarity commented unhappily, running a hoof through her long violet mane in her constant struggle to keep it as neat and orderly as possible. To her credit, she actually had it close to the condition that it was in before we left Ponyville. Most of the dust, dirt, and bits of debris had been removed and it hung just as perfectly as before.

“Actually, there is.” I said, tapping my chin thoughtfully before turning my attention towards the ball of light that waited patiently behind me. “Is this room trapped like the last one?”

There was a small pause, and the light started to distort where it floated for a moment before it perked up in the air. “That's a negative, my lord! The trap that was set on this door seems to be have been disabled by a skilled magic user. I would recommend extreme caution when confr-”

I interrupted it with a wave of my hand. “Yeah yeah, sure.” I said, giving a nod to Rainbow Dash who smiled and, without hesitation, grasped the knocker in her mouth and pulled.

The door opened to a wide area with no windows of any kind and a very low ceiling compared to most that we had seen up until then. Lit torches nailed to the wall provided the only illumination rather than the magical lights that we had mostly seen up until then, giving this room more of an ancient, forgotten look, but they only really managing illuminate in a few metres in each direction, not enough to light up the entire room.

I was reminded instantly of an attic in an old, forgotten house that might have once belonged to a hoarder. Scattered haphazardly on tables, shelves, and strewn across the floor were objects that I could only guess at their origin or use, and those were only the ones that I could recognize. There was a rack of long, twisted staves made out of a variety of woods and metals, a massive bookshelf that only held about half of its books, weapons and bits of armour of all sorts and sizes, robes and cloaks and jewellery made with eye wrenching designs and colours, a table cluttered with a variety of skulls and bones from different animals, and of course, crystals. Statues made of crystal, instruments made of crystal, furniture made of crystal, and even some weapons and armour made of crystal.

I think I'm starting to see a pattern here. I thought to myself dryly. It was called a treasure room, but it looked my like a place one would store all the things that they didn't really need, but didn't want to throw away. Before the thought could go any further however, a faint voice reached my ears.

“-and I'm telling you, Spike, that if we wander around the castle willy nilly, the chances of us finding the others are much smaller than if we just stay patiently in one place. There's no point in-”

Our eyes widened with recognition. Rainbow Dash, ever the impulsive one, didn't hesitate for a moment before lifting herself in the air, putting two hooves to her mouth, and shouting “HEY TWILIGHT! WHERE ARE YOU?” at the top of her lungs. Rarity winced and shook her head.

There was a long moment of silence that was interrupted when a searingly bright flash of purple light appeared out of nowhere, accompanied by a loud snap noise. My eyes watered and colours swam across my vision as I recovered from the flash, but I was immediately able to identify the figure that appeared.

“Hey everybody, long time no see!” the violet unicorn said cheerfully. On her back sat a grumpy, yet relieved looking dragon. “How have you all....been?” Her voice trailed off uncertainly when she noticed how mussed up and tired we all were. We all were sporting our fair share of bruises and scrapes, so I imagined that we were quite the sore sight.

“We've been great!” Pinkie squealed as she bounded over to her purple friend and gave her a quick, squeezing hug along with the rest of the ponies. “We walked around and saw some really neat things and we found Kael and Fluttershy and we got attacked by some art and now we found you two!” She let go of Twilight to give Spike a quick nuzzle, soon followed by a kiss on the cheek from Rarity, which he grinned widely at.

“That's...great Pinkie.” Twilight replied with a small smile. Then her eyes crossed. “Wait, what did you mean by-”

“And we made a new friend!” Pinkie Pie interrupted loudly, dragging her and the dragon on her back to stand in front of the ball of light that lead us to her. Pinkie Pie giggled as she saw the unicorn's eyes widen considerably.

“Don't you dare speak of me you vile waste of space!” it demanded with a shrill and high pitched voice.

Pinkie giggled as Rarity tsked and Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. “Isn't he great?” the pink pony asked with a smile.

Twilight didn't answer, instead looking at me. “I have so many questions.”

I couldn't help but let out a little chuckle at that. I honestly couldn't blame her.

---

It didn't take us too long to fill the two of them in on what had happened to us so far. Apparently, and rather unsurprisingly, Fluttershy had been right when she had remarked how much Twilight would have enjoyed stumbling across Sombra's library like we had been but a few hours before. Saying that she was envious of us and our foray into the the private library of the tyrannical dictator was akin to saying that Sombra was a teensy bit cracked in the head; an understatement of epic proportions.

When she finally got over her jealous pouting and we explained the rest, she was quiet. “And this...thing that you found, the magical librarian as you call it...is it safe to have around?”

We all looked at each other. Truthfully, I hadn't considered whether or not it was dangerous to have around, or at least not enough that it concerned me. It struck me more as a tool to help me find my way around than potential threat, albeit a very vocal one. It was currently waiting outside for us as I told it to on the pretence of making sure no more of those 'heinous ponies' snuck up on us. It went about its duty with gusto, leaving us free to talk without worrying about it hearing.

It has a posh British accent. I thought to myself. How dangerous could it be?

“I suppose so.” I said as I rubbed the back of my head and looked towards the exit. “I mean, I don't really see how it can be a threat to anybody. It seems like its bark is a lot worse than its bite. The only thing I can see it hurt is somebody's feelings.”

The ponies were silent for a moment, looking at one another or to the ground deep in thought, likely thinking along the same lines as Twilight. Rarity and Rainbow Dash glanced at each other, both wearing matching frowns that reminded me very much of how Rainbow Dash looked when she first met me and though that I was a spy of some sort. Pinkie Pie's trademark smile had vanished to be replaced by a contemplatively blank expression. She was looking off into the distance, through the piles and piles of stuff all around us. Fluttershy looked from one face to another with a pained expression on her face before looking down at floor. Spike, for his part, looked like he didn't have a care in the world and was just happy that we were all together again. Well, almost all of us.

“If it was created by Sombra, I don't think we should discount the possibility that it could be, even if only slightly, dangerous.” Rarity commented, breaking everyone out of their reveries, and very likely mirroring their thoughts as well.

“True...” Rainbow Dash muttered, eyeing the exit to the room not far off with a furrowed brow. “It seems harmless now, but that's the same mistake that most ponies make about Fluttershy's Devil Bunny before he claws their eyes out.”

Fluttershy looked up at the pegasus with her lips pursed, looking the closest to irritated I've ever seen her. She opened her mouth to say something, but then seemed to think better of it.

“It doesn't matter at this point anyway.” Twilight finally said, brushing an errant strand of her hair out of her face and standing up a little bit straighter, somehow managing to remind me of the alicorn princesses Celestia and Luna, taking charge and commanding the attention of the room. Out of all of us. “We don't know where Applejack is, and from what you all told me, keeping it with us is probably the best way to find her. ”

“Right.” I said, furrowing my brow in consternation. “But we still don't know where she is. It told us that she isn't in the castle.”

Twilight's ears laid back against her head as a worried look crossed her face. “That's true...which raises the question; if she's not in the castle, then where is she?”

“Maybe it was lying?” Pinkie Pie suggested, finally rejoining the conversation and looking back at us with an uncharacteristically serious expression.

“I don't think that's very likely, dear.” Rarity said as she shook her head. “It hasn't lied to us before, and with it thinking that Kael is Sombra, due to the ring I believe, it won't start now. It seems absolutely devoted to its master..”

I briefly noted an odd expression pass Twilight, causing her face to scrunch up slightly in what seemed to be mild confusion or concern. It passed quickly, however, so I didn't dwell on it.

“It's pretty mean, but I don't think it has any reason to lie...” Fluttershy agreed quietly with a slight nod.

“I suppose you're right.” Twilight consented. “There's nothing for us to do then but keep on moving forward and hope for the best.”

“What?” Rainbow Dash said indignantly. “We aren't going to look for her?”

“We can't, Rainbow.” Twilight replied with a regretful shake of her head. “This castle is massive, and we don't know the first place to start looking for her, and that's only if she's even inside it in the first place. We would only waste time, time that we don't have.” Her eyes narrowed and her brow furrowed with worry as she looked at me. “You said that you didn't feel as much of an adverse affect when you used the ring's power as when you did last time in the Everfree Forest, correct?”

I blinked in surprise as the focus of the conversation turned to me. Hesitantly, I nodded my head yes, wondering whether my own theory was going to be proven correct.

“That can only mean one thing.” Twilight continued gravely. “Your body is acclimating to Sombra's magic. That means that we have less and less time to remove the ring before Sombra is able to completely take over your mind.”

I cursed mentally. I was right...Why did I have to be right?

“I see...” I said slowly. “How much time is left before that happens?”

Twilight bit her lip. “I can't say for sure, but not as much time as you had before you used the ring's power again.” She looked at me imploringly. “Kael, this is important. You can not use the ring's power again. Under any circumstances. You might lose your mind completely the next time you do.”

My mouth felt dry, so I could only nod once more in response.

“That's why we need to focus on our mission for now.” Twilight said, looking at Rainbow Dash but effectively speaking to everybody. “As much as I hate to say it...” she closed her eyes and took a breath. “Applejack will have to fend for herself for the time being.”

There was silence as everybody mulled that over. Everyone had pained expressions on their faces, but Rainbow Dash looked the worst. Her jaw was set so hard that it was a marvel that her teeth weren't cracking from the force, and from the the way here eyes were narrowed and darted from one spot to another, it looked like she was in the middle of wrestling match with her own mind. Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy clearly weren't any more fond of the idea than she was. Finally, the pegasus sighed.

“Fine...” she acquiesced, clearly unhappy as her shoulders drooped. “I guess we don't have much of a choice.” She cast a blank look my way, one that looked almost upset in its neutrality. Almost angry.

Almost accusatory.

I clenched my teeth to stop myself from standing up and shouting back at her. It's my life on the line here, not hers! It's not like I'm pleased that I had my life torn away from me only to be nearly killed multiple times and be told that I was going to die in a few weeks at which point my body would taken over and used as a tool for mass murder, and now she's looking at me like this is all my fault? Well, she can just go and fu-

I stopped mid rant and took a deep breath. My fists, I realized, were gripping the edge of the table that I was sitting on hard enough to turn my knuckles white. I forced myself to let go, eliciting a small creaking noise where I had managed to carve a small scratch in the wood with my nails only to find that my hands were trembling. Hard.

I took a deep breath. The is the last damn thing we need... I growled to myself mentally with a small shake of my head. Nobody was paying me any mind, engrossed as they were with their own thoughts.

“Alright then, there's no point in waiting here any longer.” I spoke, getting to my feet somewhat unsteadily. I only then realized that I was incredibly hungry, but pushed it out of my mind. “Let's grab that little bugger, go find Sombra and do whatever it is we need to do, get Applejack and get out of here.”

The ponies all smiled to a varying degree at that, Pinkie Pie's wide and eager and Fluttershy's small and demure.

“Right.” Twilight said as she levitated Spike and put him on her back. The little dragon didn't seem to overly bothered by anything. I had to admit that I envied him for that slightly. “Although now that you mention it, there's something that I'm a little bit confused about.” she continued as we all stood up and started for the door where the ball of light would be waiting for us.

“What's that?” I asked as I stepped around the piles of clutter, careful not to slip on anything.

“Doesn't that thing have a name?”

There was silence for a moment as I paused with my hand outstretched towards the heavy metal handle, yet to grasp it. I looked at the ponies and dragon and they looked at me.

Damn it.

---

“A name?” The as of yet unidentified ball of light. For the first time that we stumbled across it, it's voice sounded something other than crazed angry or crazed gleeful. Now it just seemed confused. Very confused.

“Yes, your name. The name you go by.” Twilight Sparkle clarified pointedly.

“My name?”

“Yes, your name. Who else's name would I be speaking of?”

For the past five minutes, this is how their conversation had went as it led us through the dessicated remains of the castle. Currently, we were trudging our way through a narrow hallway that branched off in random directions and had a continuous line of pillars down the middle that depicted carved pictures of Sombra as he traversed a great battlefield, laying waste to his enemies wherever he went. Currently, we were passing a picture that showed the king literally ripping a pony in half with his magic. The artist clearly was very skilled, as the horror on the poor victim's face was so clear that I almost thought I could hear the screams in my head. Or maybe they were my screams. It was hard to tell really, I was still pretty wired from before, twitching and jumping at every random noise.

Twilight, for her part, was questioning, no, interrogating our guide about its identity as we made our way, avoiding the pillars, some of which looked near to falling. It, for for its part, had been bullheadedly avoiding her question by simply repeating it back to her in a supremely baffled fashion, as though the prospect of itself having an identity that extended beyond its purpose was the most alien thing in the world to it.

Which it probably is. Sombra made it after all, and I doubt he would have cared much to name it. Nobody names a hammer or a screwdriver. It's just a tool. I thought to myself through the still hot anger and anxiety that plagued my mind, only getting worse as I beheld the vivid pictures of death and destruction. Twilight did not seem to share the same thoughts. I took deep, quiet breaths through my nose to calm myself, but in barely helped

“Why ever would I have a name?” it asked her. I had to admit, I was genuinely surprised that it had gone as long as it had without telling her to shut up or warning her of her impending doom. Maybe it was learning to play nice all of a sudden? I highly doubted it.

“Because you exist? Because you have a sense of self considering you just referred to yourself as 'I?' Because everybody has names? Take your pick, they're all good reasons!” She replied hotly, clearly getting frustrated at the lack of progress she was making. Twilight Sparkle didn't strike me as the type who appreciated obstacles in her search for answers.

Spike, who was walking had switched from Twilight's back to sit on Rarity's, something that he seemed to immensely pleased about, scoffed. “Seriously dude, how do you not know your own name?” the little guy piped in. I couldn't help but blink at hearing him address it as 'dude.' It just seemed so bizarre.

“Because I do not have one, dragon whelp, that's why.” it snapped back, some of the acidity I had come to expect seeping back into its tinny, English sounding voice.

“Wooow...I've never met somepony without a name before” Pinkie remarked, looking closely at the floating ball with fascination as if seeing it in a whole new light. “That's so weird!”

The light recoiled from the pink pony. “Ech, stay back you vile creature! I am a creation born of the magics of the great king Sombra himself, I do not need, nor desire a name or title. Merely being what I am is honour enough! Assistant to King Sombra himself!”

There was silence for a moment as the ponies let that sink in. “Yeeah...I don't think that's going to work.” Rainbow Dash commented dryly, taking to the air with a flap of her wings and hovering above us as we moved forward, peering like a hawk at the light. “If we're gonna have you around, we need to know what to call you.” I rolled my eyes as she grinned. I had a feeling I knew where this derailed train was going to crash. “How about Grumpy?” she suggested. “Or Cranky?”

“I already know a donkey named Cranky, so we have to name it something else.” Pinkie chirped. She gazed at it thoughtfully for a moment. “Hmm...it's really shiiinny...” Her eyes widened. “Oooh, that's it! We'll name the little guy Shiny!”

“We need a better name than that, Pinkie dear.” Rarity commented, quickening her pace to where she walked side by side with her friend. “Something more regal, something with poise and artistry. How about...Luminesce?”

“Or maybe we could name it Angel...” A quiet voice commented. We all turned to stare at Fluttershy who squeaked at the sudden attention and hid behind her hair.

“I miss my animals...” she murmured. Pinkie Pie patted her on the back.

"What about Crabby?" Rainbow chimed in.

"Or Glowey!" Pinkie chirped.

"Shimmer would fit nicely as well..." Rarity suggested.

“The only one who has the authority to give me a moniker to be addressed by is none other than Lord Sombra himself.” the light said with irritation plain in its voice, and I really couldn't blame it.

There was a silence.“Well then, it looks like it's up to you big fella.” Rainbow Dash said, looking at me with a grin. “What do you want to name the little guy?”

I blinked. “Me? Why do I have to?”

Rarity looked at me pointedly. “It thinks that you're you-know-who, remember?”

“Oh. Right.” I rubbed my forehead with the heel of my palm I had been examining the pictures that covered the pillars. Cities burning, rulers laughing, and commoners dying held me interest far more than wherever this conversation was heading. “Sorry, my mind was somewhere else.” Truthfully, I didn't care much for the little glowing bastard. The only reason that it was around us was because it thought me to be Sombra, and I couldn't wait to be rid of it.

“Do I really have to give it a name? It's not like it's alive or anything. It's just a tool that we're stuck using for the time being.” I said, not caring that it could hear me. The ponies looked at me reproachfully.

“Just because it's not alive or was created by a megalomaniac doesn't mean it doesn't have feelings.” Twilight Sparkle said pointedly.

That's funny, because I'm pretty sure that's exactly what that means.

“Yeah, c'mon Kael! Name the little guy! It'll be so much easier then just calling him 'it!'” Pinkie urged.

She had a point there, I had to admit. “Alright, alright. Let me see...” I considered for a moment, running through a variety of names in my head, some of them rather...harsh for my own amusement.

“I've got nothing. ” I admitted after a moment. “I mean, what do you name something like this? It's not alive, it doesn't have any features, and it doesn't have a body. It's just a floating, amorphous, glowing...thing.”

Something occurred to me, and my eyes widened as my corner of my mouth turned up in a small grin, a rare thing for me to do these days. “Hey, there we go. 'Thing'. That's its name.” I turned to address the ball, my grin widening in my own amusement. “You are now to be known as Thing.”

Thing made its own imitation of a bow, lowering itself to the floor as a reverent tone crept into its voice. “As you say, My Lord.” it said, sounding as though I had given it a gift that it was unworthy for.

I turned to look at the ponies to find them staring at me blankly. “What?” I asked them, defensive of my decision. I thought it was a good a name, but they didn't seem to agree.

Twilight shook her head. “Well, I suppose it does fit well enough...sorta.” Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie and Spike chuckled softly to themselves as Rarity just shook her head. Fluttershy had a small smile on her face. She seemed to be smiling more often now that me had joined up with most of her friends.

My miniscule smile disappeared. Most of them...but not all.

I shook my head to rid myself of those poisonous thoughts. For a moment, I thought I heard the sound of laughter echoing from the hall far behind us, but when I turned, there was nothing.

“Alright Thing, how much longer until we get there?” I said quickly, snapping my head back forward before anybody could notice. It wasn't the first time I've heard voices that weren't there since we found this place, and I doubted it would be the last

“My sincere apologies, my lord. I'm afraid I am having some difficulty navigating through the castle as many of the passageways are obstructed by the debris and remains from your battle.”

Before I could catch myself, I spoke. “My what?”

Thing paused for a moment in the middle of the hall, and we all stopped around him. Even considering the fact that he had no face to convey expressions with, I could tell it was shocked from what I just said.

“Surely you jest, my lord?” Thing asked me with a nervous laugh. “Your great battle with those pathetic Alicorns that call themselves royalty? As foolish as they are, they still had a great deal of power at their disposal, and I'm afraid the castle took quite a large amount of damage from it. Of course, they were no match for you though, Lord Sombra. They never had a hope of defeating you, and you destroyed them with ease!” There was a moment of silence, me and the ponies casting each other sideways glances. Nobody knew quite what to say to that.

“Wait a mInuTe, that'S not r-r-r-rGht...” Thing mumbled, just loud enough for us to hear, stuttering wildly as its voice rose and fell unnaturally. “I thiNk that they...almOst a-a-a-actually....bUt that's imPoss-oss-oss-ossible...” His voice was distorting wildly, becoming garbled and strained to the point where I could barely understand what he was saying. Its luminescent body started to waver, the soft light that it was made of flickering as it went from dim, to bright, and then back again, repeating several times in the span of seconds. “HoW strange, mY lord...I s-s-s-seem to rememBer you actually b-b-beiNg-”

“Alright, that's enough of that then! No need to dwell on the past!” I said loudly, snapping its attention back to me. The others, I could see, were eyeing Thing warily and were backing away. Spike had a predatory look in his eye from his perch on Rarity's back, and his sharp little teeth were drawn to a snarl. Rainbow Dash was staring daggers at it as Fluttershy hid behind her, and the others looked ready to hightail it out of there in a moments notice. I myself could feel a prickle of fear raising the skin on the back of my neck. Something about the what just happened struck me as incredibly...wrong, and I couldn't exactly explain why. Something in the back of my mind, a feeling that I couldn't quite describe, was resonating strongly. It was like a single guitar string that was incredibly out of tune being plucked over and over again, discordant and worrisome.

Thing thankfully snapped back to normal as soon as I said that. “Of course, my King.” it replied smoothly. I gave a silent sigh of relief that I'm sure was echoed by the others. We quickly started following him again as he led through ruined corridors, crumbling hallways, and half destroyed rooms. The ponies went back to talking to each other, occasionally flicking a nervous eye back to Thing.

Twilight cast me a look that I could tell meant she wanted a word, so I subtly stepped closer to her as Thing focused on finding a way through the multitude of dead ends that we ran across. We fell back a bit so as not to be overheard.

“Whatever you do, do not let it know that you're not Sombra.” she said in a low voice. I didn't really need her to tell me that, but it certainly didn't hurt to confirm my suspicions.

“Why not?” I asked for curiosity's sake.

“Just now, when it was trying to remember the details of Sombra's duel, the magic that fuels it started going into flux and almost lost control completely. Had you not stopped it then and there, something disastrous could have happened.”

It struck me that the strange feeling that I had just then was similar to the one that I had back in the Crystal Empire, a tingling in the back of my mind that told me that magic was nearby when, in actuality, it was everywhere around us. Here, when Thing started to malfunction like that, the same thing that enabled me to sense the magic back then must have allowed me to realize that something was wrong. There were similarities between the two feelings, I realized, but the one in Crystal Empire hadn't filled me with dread.

I bit my lip. “Tch...this is the last thing I need.” I said, referring both to me being able to sense the magic, and as a result becoming closer and closer to being assimilated under Sombra's control, and the fact that our only ticket around the castle was a ticking time bomb.

Twilight nodded. “Yes, so let's just go along with whatever...nd hopefully nothi...will go wrong.”

I blinked. In the middle of her sentences there, there were a few moments where her words had just turned to gibberish and I hadn't understood what she was saying. I blinked and cocked my ear. “What was that?” I asked, leaning in a bit closer.

“I said, let's ju...with whatever it says...rything will...ine.”

I looked at her with confusion clear on my face. "What? I can't understand what you're saying."

Her eyes widened all of the sudden. “...ell! The spe...earing off! We...derstand each oth...ny more!” She whispered frantically. I was only able to catch a few words, but I quickly gleaned what she was trying to say.

Oh God... I thought in horror as it dawned on me. The translation spell...it's worn off.

I was about to say something, likely a loud curse that would have little effect on the ears of the others considering my words were once more completely alien to them, but a frantic hissing noise from Twilight stopped me. She shook her head quickly and shot a fearful glance at Thing who was leading dutifully. She grimaced in his direction and looked at me imploringly.

“For the love of God man, don't!” her expression screamed at me, eyes wide with fright.

I blinked, and then nodded. Me speaking would let Thing in on the fact that something was wrong with his 'King Sombra,' and I really didn't want to encourage any more of episodes like earlier. I could feel the headache from earlier creeping its way back to my skull, and I seriously had to resist the urge to scream at something.

Twilight whispered something unintelligible, and her horn lit up with magic as she looked at me intently, making sure not to draw the attention of the others. I looked at her curiously, her face straining in concentration as sweat beaded on her brow. After a moment, she let out a pained grunt, and there was a small flash of light.

My eyes crossed, and I started to see colours that weren't there. A dizziness similar to when one stands up too fast after sitting down for a prolonged period of time overcame me, causing me to sway on my feet. It took an enormous effort to not fall flat on my face.

I glared at Twilight who was now looking at me expectantly. She said something in a low voice, and when I didn't respond, cursed under her breath.

“I don't think it worked.” I whispered very needlessly when I realized she had been trying to re cast the universal translation spell. It appeared to be a bit more than she could handle at the moment, unfortunately, and I wasn't the only one who seemed affected by it. Her breathing was a bit deeper now, and I imagined it must have took something out of her.

I took a deep breath as rising swell of panic bubbled in my chest. My legs started to tremble and my jaw ached from clenching it too hard for too long. Mentally, I was exhausted, and physicallyI was damn near the same. Now I was in just as bad a situation as when I first arrived in this world. No ability to communicate beyond, confused and disoriented, and getting awfully close to simply laying down and giving.

“The dead have never been able to speak, so why should you be any different?”

I repressed a wave of bile as the voice pierced my mind with perfect clarity. It hadn't been the first time it had surfaced today, and it certainly wouldn't be the last.

I'm not dead yet. I thought back resolutely. I only got laughter in response.

Comments

[Dull Mist]

4541757

Got it, thanks a bunch.

[Lab]

It has a posh British accent. I thought to myself. How dangerous could it be?

James Moriarty or Van Pelt, the safari hunter from Jumanji.

[Ocean Waves]

I honestly thought you were going to name him Alfred for a moment.

[Majk]

5337162 I couldn't decide if i want to read this or not... this line tipped the scale.

[first hand account]

If the worlds magic can kill him when the ring is off then attach the christal he has in his pocket to his soul so he doesn't die.
Just an idea.
Bye.

[Hakume]

5897569 Perhaps the author is Mojo Jojo.

[Buckshot2825]

5897569 Dear writer, i am nobody of consequence and i'm TELLING YOU RIGHT NOW

Listen to this person right here, these are the people you need to pay attention to whether they are kissing your ass or pointing at the mole on it. These people will give you hearty feedback filled with more than just 'this sucked' Take these comments with more than a grain of salt

[IcefireInfinite]

8471297
Well I wasn’t going to say it out loud!

[Hurricane Rush]

i am loving this story so far, you thought it out really well!