Chapter 29: ...A Zone of Danger
I kicked the door open and walked into the throne room. Jack and Marcy didn't follow me, instead opting to wait until I distracted everyone in the room. I thought this would be simple because they would be focused on each other. Unfortunately, you kind of gain everyone's attention when you decide to have your foot meet the door.
For only one reason, I do not regret my decision.
Y'see, Highwind and Albus are very good fighters. But between the two of them, it seemed Albus was the better. You can usually come to this conclusion by noting that his lance was inches away from piercing Highwind's throat which, even if it didn't decapitate, would pierce a very important artery and cause a bleedout (assuming, of course, Highwind is alive and the neck of a gryphon shared the same anatomy of a human's). My door kick managed to throw Albus off and stare at me for a few seconds.
In that few seconds, Highwind grabbed the lance and smacked Albus in the back of the head. The pegasus stumbled away, pulling the weapon away from his former quarry. I ran to the battle zone and placed myself between the two combatants.
"What...are you doing?" the king asked, confusion and anger mingling in the question.
"What does it look like?" I asked. "I'm saving your a-" My snarky comment was cut off by Albus's lance going through my ribs and lifting me off the ground. As soon as I reached the top, he threw me off to the side. That's gotta hurt, my snarky side observed. For the sake of the future, he will now be called Bard.
Is that thing made of silver? I asked myself.
Doesn't look like it, Bard answered. He probably placed an enchantment on it. Remember the rules of the dead?
Unless it's silver or magic, it can't kill? I guessed.
Bingo! Bard clapped. How he did it, I'll never know. But don't let it stop you. Get back in there and protect the king!
Who was I to not listen to Bard? I got up, sword still in hand, and ran at Albus. Now, instead of doing the smart thing and using my Beam Sword to gut him, I rammed him in the side, sending him into the wall before he could finish off Highwind (again). The paladin slammed into the wall, dropping his lance as he collided with stone. It didn't phase him too much, but he was obviously still pissed.
"You undead are really starting to get on my nerves," Albus spat.
"Good to know," I replied. "Can I sever them?"
Albus responded by raising his left hoof. "ZEPHEN BULLET!" He shouted. Oh, shit, if that's what it is, this is...wait, it's not gonna hurt THAT ba- "MAX SHOT!" I took the full hit, slamming right into the opposite wall. I slid down to the ground, in huge pain.
"Dark...and lightning...I resist both..." I laughed uneasily as I fell to the ground, face first.
"Sad," he commented. "Most wouldn't have the stamina to survive it, anyway. Just like the King's not going to...where did he go?"
I picked my head up off of the floor to find Griffon gone. Seems like he pulled my trick off. Albus looked around, trying to find his target. "Gentlemen," we heard him say.
Outside the window, flying just outside, was the king, wearing his crown, and Marcy, wearing her saddlebags and carrying the cake. "You know, I had this lever beside this window all of this time, and I never did see what it did," he commented. "I wonder what it does?"
Albus shot towards the king as fast as he could. Unfortunately for him, it wasn't fast enough, as there was a *click* and an iron gate fell. The poor paladin couldn't stop himself from hitting the gate, and he fell to the ground with a horrible headache.
"Ah. That's what it does," Griffon observed. "Nice for opportunities like this, wouldn't you say, Stalfos?"
I picked myself up off of the ground and answered, "I'll get back to that. Right now, I've gotta deal with him." I pointed to the now-dazed paladin, who was starting to shake off the damage.
"Very well. Should you survive, meet me at the arena. We'll discuss things there," Highwind said. He turned to fly off before he added, "Oh, and I left your old sword in there. Hopefully your magic has recharged enough to use it properly again." With that, he and Marcy flew towards the arena.
I did a quick scan of the room to find that the old sword was NOT in sight. Did he hide it? Did Jack take it? Also, where was my hammer? My answers had to wait, once again, because the angry pegasus had finally recovered. Is it just me, or do I have a habit of royally pissing people off. Hehheh, royally...
"You are a thorn in my side," Albus said coolly. "It's time to p-"
"DON'T EVEN START WITH THAT!" I shouted.
"Very well, then I'll just do this," he commented. He then zipped around the room, faster than I could keep up with. He stopped right in front of me, giving me a dark smile. Without skipping a beat, he did a quick 180 and bucked me right into the wall. Hello again, wall. You're the only one that knows my pain.
I peeled myself off of the wall as I turned to the one responsible for my flight session. With my sword now pointed at Albus, I held my left hand out, open palm. "Get some," I challenged, making the correct gesture with my hand. He accepted by charging at me, hooves first. Instead of jumping out of the way, I bent my back, dodging the tackle by bending at the knees. As he flew past my line of vision, I gave him the one-finger salute. His hooves slammed into the wall, embedding him very nicely. No messing around THIS time.
I raised my sword and attacked his midsection, hoping to make him a halfling. The bad news is that he was fast enough to get himself out of the wall and avoid the killing blow. The good news was that it wasn't fast enough to avoid the attack fully. My sword sliced the right side of his face, cutting the eye. I have NEVER been so happy to hear a howl of pain.
"Forget fair play! I'm destroying this place!" Albus shouted. He raised both front hooves into the air, using his wings to balance on his back hooves. His right filled with the power of light, his left with the power of darkness. "OPTICAL SHOT!!!" he shouted, firing both blasts at me. I jumped out of the way, but he didn't stop shooting. He shot more and more at me, shouting the attack's name every time he used it. After a few jumps, I mistimed one and took a bad hit to the leg with the light attack. I landed behind the throne, unable to feel either leg. Damn. I think one was blown off while the other didn't survive the crash, I thought.
Beside the throne was a hole and a quickly-scratched note. I picked it up and read it.
"Daniel,
Your sword is in here. I left through the front door when the king shut the window. The path out of the castle should be clear: finish your work and we'll meet again.
Jack"
I reached into the hole and sure enough, there it was. The old red sword, jagged and sadly empty on magic. I did a quick focus on it, and within half a minute it gained the glow. But it was probably too late: I can't crawl out of here while that crazy paladin's still flying around.
Time to get serious now, Bard said. You'd better find a way to regain your legs and get out of here.
Agreed. I've been in here for long enough, I thought. Why not have Albus provide us with the legs? The sword's aura became a mix of black and red at the thought. Just in time, too, as Albus flew right above us.
"Your time is nigh, dark spawn," Albus laughed. "Any last words before I send you to oblivion?"
"Two words," I replied, pointing the sword at him. "Heal, plz!"
The poor pegasus paladin had no idea what it meant until it was too late. A dark red light shot from the sword, hitting him square in the chest. The Drain spell blasted him into a corner, writhing in pain as I felt my legs return to me. I didn't question if they regrew or if they flew back from wherever they had been blasted to; I just got up and ran to the door. I gave the sword a quick charge before I opened the door. Turning to the paladin, I gave a nasty thought as the sword's aura became bright red.
"Y'know, Albus," I said, opening the door, "I was told I have an...explosive personality." I hit a stone in front of me with my sword and ran out, not even bothering to close it behind me. As I ran for a window close by, I heard multiple blasts go off behind me, each one getting closer. As I reached the window, in true cliche action style, I jumped out as the explosion rocketed me towards the arena. I didn't fly that far, however, only clearing the wall and hitting the ground. My body scattered into the many pieces that I am, sadly, getting used to happening to me.
Then again, life as I know it was turned on its ear the moment I came here, so I guess that's a given. Well, I thought darkly, at least I got out of there in one piece.