A Fantasy Story Chapter Twelve

Chapter Twelve

Warrior of the Ancient Temple

            The duo stepped onto the deep tan stone floor of the ancient temple in search of a secret tunnel. A damp dirt stench lingered in the air as they wondered around the entrance which allowed the setting sun light up the walls inside.

“We need to find a torch or something, so we’re not bumping around in the dark” I said inspecting the carvings in a column.

“What’s a torch? Is that a type of spell or something?” Mayhew asked confused.

“No, it’s a stick that you light on fire and lights up the dark. Not magic”

“Wait, what’s magic? Is that like magika or something?”

            Van took a moment to hold his forehead in exasperation.

“Ok now, you’re telling me you haven’t heard of a torch and magic is actually called magika?”

 “That’s about right”

“With that in mind, what do you do to see in the dark?”

“People just use a light spell like this” and Mayhew preformed the spell.

            It appeared that he held a small ball in the palm of his hand as strands of light flowed down as if it was water or fog.

“Woah! How are you doing that?” I asked studying his hand as if I could see the mechanism that allows Mayhew to do this.

“It’s just a spell; do you not know how to do spells?”

“…no” I said looking down with disappointment.

“Don’t worry Van, I can teach you sometime. It’s real easy”

            I appreciated his light hearted generosity, but I didn’t have the heart nor the energy to tell him that I’m from another dimension and can’t perform spells from this dimension. Instead we continued on our journey in the temple to find the secret tunnel the only way I knew how; we dungeon crawled.

            The temple stretched far into the mountain and had several hundred rooms that all served their own purpose. Van and Mayhew slowly inspected them all, one by one, for answers about the tunnel, however Van had other motives to his search. I do wonder what Van would do if he finds a chest full of gold that weighs over a ton, or two thousand pounds. You know what? I think I’ll do that.

            We turned the corner that leads down yet another hallway and we saw light coming from a room halfway down. When we got there, my jaw dropped so far that I felt the cold floor for the room was filled with gold, gems and other treasures for the taking. I could hardly believe how rich and glorious the room was that I foolishly stumbled into it and picked up two handfuls of gold coins. Suddenly the door solid stone door closed behind me, locking me inside the treasure room alone. I must have activated a trap when I entered the room, and that means there must be more to this room that meets the eye. Just then the room began to feel very hot and began to get even hotter until I couldn’t take it anymore. Out of anger I attacked the door with my fists and as the gold began to melt I drew my sword and sliced the door in half. I didn’t realize that Mayhew was standing right behind the door and he too was cut in half. My stomach ached as I realized what I had done, so much I didn’t even feel the molten gold pass my feet, melting and searing my skin off.

            All of the sudden I realized I was looking at my hands holding gold coins, like I had been before the door closed. Quickly, I kicked myself out of the room and got Mayhew out of the way of the door which closed just as I exited the room.

 “Woah! That was too close!”

“What was that?!” Mayhew asked me.

“That room had a trap set in it. I needed to get out of that room before I was trapped inside”

“How did you know that? I didn’t see anything”

“Let’s just say that I had a feeling. Now then let’s keep going, and leave the treasure where it is before we’re cooked alive”

            Before we moved on, I noticed that there was a few gold coins laying on the floor. I exercised caution as I picked up all twenty of them and put them with the other five I had gotten from that mansion in chapter three, I mean X. Von Ravenblood mansion.

            Curiosity filled my head as I wondered how I can get a better handle on this future sight I received. It seemed to me that every time it happens, it shows me people dying and that gives me another chance to change my fate.

“If only I could use it before then, I could use it to scout ahead for danger. That way I wouldn’t have to die in order to see what I have to do”

“What was that?” Mayhew asked as he overheard me talking to myself.

“Huh? Oh uh, nothing. I was just thinking about the other rooms and whether or not they’ll be traps or not. We’ll have to tread lightly”

“Hmm, right! I’ll be careful” Mayhew says only to turn around and trip on his own foot.

            Shaking my head, I went over and picked him off the ground so we can continue our search.

            Thirty or so rooms later, we find a room I can only assume was the center of the temple for it was far more elaborate and bigger than all the rooms prior this this room. At the center of the room, we saw a pedestal with a diamond idol that sat upon it.

“Whatever you do Mayhew, do not touch that idol”

“Why?”

“Just don’t touch it. I’ve seen Indiana Jones and I don’t want to run down a long hallway with a giant ball chasing us!”

“Oh alright” Mayhew said disappointed.

            We must have spent an hour looking around in this room for clues about the secret tunnel. I read the scriptures on the walls, because for some reason learning new languages became the easiest thing in the world. Mayhew on the other hand looked at the clearly booby trapped idol in the middle of the room.

“Hey Van! Take a look at this stuff” I heard Mayhew said.

            Sitting on the floor, all laid out, was a suit of armor and a sheathed sword. The words on the pedestal told me that this was the armor and weapon of a great warrior whom long ago saved the island from a great beast that tried to eat all the islanders.

“Cool! Armor” I said picking up the gloves and put them on.

“Woah wait!” Mayhew yelled.

“What!? What!?” I asked frozen in place.

“Oh nothing happened. That’s funny”

“What do you mean? Is this thing cursed or something?”

“Well now that you mention it”

            I quickly took them off and dropped them on the floor.

“Why? Why didn’t you say something sooner? Now I got the curse all over me!” I exclaimed as I tried to wipe of the invisible curse goo off me.

“No it’s alright! You are worthy to wear the armor!” Mayhew yelled at me with excitement.

“What do you mean worthy?”

“Legends say that those who are worthy are allowed to wear Bowakka’s legendary armor. Many people tried to take his armor after he had died only to have their body parts burn off! But your hands remained whole, so you’re the first person that can wear it! That’s awesome!”

“Yeah Ha! Alright!” I said receiving a high five from Mayhew.

            I discarded my leather jacket and put the chest piece on first. Next I put on the leggings and then the boots before the shin guards. After that I put on the shoulder pads I put the gloves back on and left the buckler, mask and helmet for last, which I wondered whether or not I should were. However I decided to wear it all because I wanted to have the complete illusion. I did keep my shirt and the left over shorts I made from my pants for there was nothing to this armor for pants or shirt. Soon after I got all the armor on, I realized that there was no way to attach Bowakka’s sword to my body.

“What is this? I got nothing to attach the sword to”

“Just hold it” Mayhew said as he looked at the idol again.

            Holding the sheathed blade in my hand, I saw it disappear suddenly like predator armor.

“That’s so awesome! But how do I get it back?”

“How do you normally draw a sword?” he asked sarcastically.

            So being the grown adult that I am, I performed a special move that resembled something from power rangers. A few quick hand signs and then I brought my hands together as if I’m drawing the blade out of my hand. To my surprise it actually worked.

“Mayhew! Did you see that? That was totally bad a- What are you doing!?”

            Mayhew had grabbed the idol that I said specifically not to touch, and took it off the pedestal. This caused part of the wall to sink down slowly as if it was a door and reviled a very dark room where deep inside we heard deep dragon-like breathing.

“Mayhew, if there is a giant breathing boulder in there I’m going to be so angry”

            Just then a tall mummified Anubis-like creature holding a spear and shield emerged from the dark and into Mayhew’s light spell. Mayhew let out a sigh of relief.

“Whew, thank goodness it’s not a breathing boulder”

            Van uses face palm, its super effective.

A Fantasy Story Chapter Eleven

Chapter Eleven

Adventure in the Jungle Forest

To the naked eye, all one could see were two blurred objects colliding against each other in a meadow. One object was on fire while the other was emanating green. However, thanks to our slow motion cameras, we can see what happens within the five minutes that Van used to fight the hellhound. The heat of the hell fire was so strong that Van couldn’t get close enough to land a blow without getting severely burned. It was his idea to get the hellhound running around so the flames would die down enough for him to get into its weak spots. There were a few times that Van had missed because he wasn’t quick enough to get in and out before the fire rose up, cloaking the hound’s body.

Fire started to spread to the surrounding vegetation and Van had to snuff it out before it lit the jungle on fire. He worried about the after math of his battle with the hellhound would cause harm to others on the island and it was up to him to be strong enough to fight all the flames on his own.

Suddenly Van had tripped in a hole in the ground, causing him to fall and power slide across the chard earth. He had milliseconds to see that the underbelly of the hound was completely unprotected and take action before it mauled him to death. Van slashed the sword right through the hellhound and ended the fight showing him holding his sword high above his head in victory over the halved remains of his foe. Inconsequential to the fight, Van practiced the same move a couple more times, thinking about how awesome it would be to include the sword into his victory pose.

                That’s correct reader; this is, unfortunately, our stories hero. Brave dimensional warrior, sent here to save and protect the essence of existence itself from an evil force so diabolical I would need two chapters to properly explain just how dastardly this entity is. Bravo hero, bravo.

            Ignoring whatever cocky remark the narrator is making of me, I started looking around at my surroundings, in hopes that I would be able to see something that will help me get out of this isolation and meet up with Ace, who promised me free food. Alas my spirits dwindled as I realized that there was no audience around that would have witnessed me slay that beast so awesomely, as well as help me find a way to Ace’s village.

            As I continued to look around for things that would help me get to Ace’s village, I noticed that the hellhound’s body was twitching. Just then the body of the hellhound started to burn red and suddenly exploded into a billion tiny lights that floated around in the air like dust before gathering into one ball, shooting high up into the air and flying off to the unknown. It was pretty awesome, but then I started to wonder about something very crucial to the storyline.

“Why did this monster explode into tiny pieces of light while the two other monsters that I fought before remained whole and un-exploded?”

            I paced around the meadow and pondered this question to myself; however I couldn’t come up with an explanation that made sense. I refused to believe that aliens had anything to do with this and will continue to do so until I see a little green man or a proper flying saucer.

            Walking along the tree line, I came to realize my situation again.

“Great… Hungry and alone. Just what I always wanted. That was sarcasm in case you were wondering!” I yelled into the jungle.

“You yell a lot, hey?” said a small voice behind me, scaring me to the ground slightly.

“Bwa! Who’s that?! What do you want?” I asked relaxing on the grass, not scared at all.

“Wow, I didn’t mean to scare you. I was just passing by and heard you yelling at the trees”

“Uh yeah, sorry bout’ that. It’s just that I’m lost, alone and incredibly hungry. I even lost where my friend Ace went, when we were separated.”

“That’s bad! If you want, I can get you back”

            I quickly arose to my feet and rested my hand on the young boy’s shoulders.

“Can you really help me? Can you really get me to the village where foods of plenty have been promised?”

“Of course I can, follow me” The young boy said as he walked into the jungle.

            I didn’t think too much about who this kid is exactly, mostly because I was tired, light headed and he said he could help me. However since I was being guided by him, I might as well get to know him a bit better.

“So what’s your name?” I asked

“My name is Mayhew”

“Cool! Mine is Van. Do you live around here Mayhew?”

“Yes! There is only one village on Bowakka”

“Oh Yeah? So who are your parents?”

“Whoa! Look at that!” Mayhew said before answering my question.

            Some local deer things in the brush caught our attention because they had ostrich feet and red moose antlers that spiked at the front while forming long swooping spoons towards the back as if they were for protecting its sides. There was five traveling all together and they were incredibly close to us.

“These guys are amazing! What are they?” I asked.

“They are called Blood Kulkans. Some stories of my village say that long ago, villagers would go out to gather fruit and never come back because a monster would kill them by impaling them, leaving holes in their bodies. So a group of hunters went out to find a monster that they believed lived in the ancient temple built inside the mountain. Before they could get there, they found a heard of Blood Kulkans and where brutally murdered. One escaped and told the elders what he saw when the Blood Kulkan killed on of his friends with its red horns. From then on, whenever someone saw a Blood Kulkan, they had to get away to a certain distance or they will think you’re going to hurt their family.”

“How far away do you have to be?” I asked concerned.

 “Usually have to be to forty paces away, but a few years ago an adventurer came to our island and studied them. She found out that they will start shaking their heads, making a rattleing sound to warn others that they are threatened.”

“And so it’s safe right now because they’re not acting like that”

“Yes, that’s right. But it’s weird, I’ve never seen them this close to people before. It’s like they’re not scared at all”

            Just then a giant Blood Kulkan, which was bigger than the others and even had a few scars on its face and body, emerged from behind a tree and looked directly at me. I froze in place, hoping not to look to threatening. It took a moment to study me and then started to walk directly at me.

“Get behind me Mayhew, I’m not going to let him hurt you” I said slowly dragging him behind me.

            It must have been ten feet tall when it stood right in front of me. I didn’t dare make any sort of movements that would upset this bull Blood Kulkan or hurt it. Ideas ran through my head for escape plans, but then I started to hear a quiet voice saying something calmly. I thought it was Mayhew at first, however this voice I heard was deeper and had more of a rasp to it.

“We saw how you fought against the hellhound, who was put here to destroy this island. We saw how you protected this land by putting out the flames and for that I would like to thank you.” The voice said.

            Van could hardly believe it. He could actually hear what the animal was thinking and how thankful it felt for his services. It took most of his energy to restrain his excitement and keep his composure.

“You are most welcome, though I would have done the same for anyone, I appreciate your thanks” I said out loud.

            With that, the bull Blood Kulkan turned to his family and led them into the jungle. Van let out a sigh of relief knowing that his luck continues to surprise him.

“Van! What was that? Who where you talking to?”

“Huh? Oh, I was just talking to another friend. He was thanking me for something I did earlier today”

“You mean that hellhound you killed?”

            I turned to Mayhew with confusion.

“You saw me fight?”

“Um… No? I was just listening to you two talking”

“Wait! You heard that too?”

“Yes?”

            Van took a moment to try and understand what just happened. Suddenly he realized that at this point of his life, where he’s in another dimension and hearing the thoughts of animals, he just doesn’t care about the how anymore.

“You know what Mayhew?”

“What?”

“I care not about how anymore. Let’s just get to the village already”

“OK!”

            We made our way awkwardly through the jungle, jumping over fallen trees, around boulders, across rope bridges and up cliffs. It wasn’t until we got to the ancient temple that I started to wonder something to myself.

“Mayhew?”

“Yes Van?”

“Do you know how to get back to the village?”

“Yes I do”

“Do you really?”

“Well, I’ve been shown a couple of times from my brother”

“Ah Huh… So do you know how to get back from this place?”

“No. This place has been lost for over three centuries”

            Van sat down on a rock and sighed.

“Lost again huh?”

“I’m sorry Van, I just wanted to help”

“I know, I understand. I just wanted to get back to village so I can see if Ace was ok.”

“You know, I think I can still help.” Mayhew said eagerly.

“At this point I’m all ears. What’s up?”

“In the village, there is a secret tunnel that my brother told me leads to the ancient temple. So if we find the tunnel on this end then we can take it all the way back to the village.”

“Have you seen this tunnel? Do you know it exists?”

“Yeah I seen it”

“That’s good enough for me, let’s go!”

            And so Van approached the dark entrance of the lost temple with Mayhew in toe, confident that he will be able to find the secret tunnel and get back to the village.

“There better not be anything bad in this place, or else I’m going to flip a coffee table” I thought to myself.

“Come on now Van, what kind of adventure would this be if there wasn’t?” Said the Narrator.

Soul Reaper Rocker