Alcingeria Chapter Twenty Seven: Into The Ruins

Walden leads the boys into the ruins of an old castle. Deep in the ruins, they come across a strange door that even Walden can't blast through. What secret is the ruins hiding?

Chapter Twenty Seven Into The Ruins:

Saturday June 26th 1690

We all ran after Walden. He wasn't flying very fast, so it wasn't hard to catch up with him.

"So Walden. What kind of magic can you use?" I asked him.

"I can use manipulation magic as well as destruction magic. You mentioned that you have a witch with you, so I assume you know what all the magic types are and how they work." Walden said.

"Yes, it was explained to all of us." I said.

"Yeah, fairy magic and witch magic are very similar. Well, except for the fact that fairy magic is cooler. Anyway, like witches, there are pure and impure fairies as well. Also, like witches, a fairy's magic is determined by the magic types of their parents, their grandparents, and so on and so forth." Walden explained.

"That's neat." Macalister said.

"Darn right it is. My destruction magic will come in handy down in those ruins." Walden said.

"Maybe we'll find some treasure!" Macalister said.

"I sure hope so." Robert added.

"So where are these ruins?" Raymond asked.

"Not too much farther. The one that we're going to is the biggest one of them all. Should be interesting, eh?" Walden asked.

"Yes, but like we said, we need you to help us fight the monsters down there." Francella reminded.

Walden scoffed and swatted his hand in the air.

"Yeah, yeah I got it." He said dismissively.

After a few minutes of running through the forest, the sunlight faded. I looked up and saw that the canopy here was thick, thick enough to block out most of the sunlight.

"Alright fellas, we're here." Walden said.

"About time..." Robert muttered under his breath.

I looked around. All I saw were rocks sticking out of the ground and fallen trees everywhere.

"Where's the entrance?" I asked.

Walden looked around.

"Hmm, not sure... oh! Here it is!" Walden exclaimed.

He walked over to a mass of fallen trees. I walked closer to Walden. I heard the others behind me as well. I looked through the cracks between the entangled limbs of the trees and saw that there was a stone staircase leading down into blackness. The entrance was covered by a few fallen trees. The trees were big, too.

"Can you clear this?" I asked Walden.

Walden laughed in his high pitched fairy voice.

"No problem, pal. Stand back." Walden instructed.

We all did as we were told and we took a few paces back. Walden rubbed his hands together dramatically.

"Here we go." Walden drawled, mostly to himself.

There was a moment of silence as Walden concentrated. He looked to the ground. After a few moments, Walden looked back up at the fallen trees and held out his hand.

"Windstorm!" Walden cried out.

Instantly, the trees flew through the air as if hit by a huge wave of air. They soared through the air at a high speed and they crashed to the ground twenty feet away. The staircase was now cleared and we could go in.

"That was impressive." Macalister said in awe.

Walden chuckled.

"Thanks pal. Now, any volunteers to go first?" Walden asked.

Francella shot him an 'are you kidding me' look.

"Alright, geez I'll go first." Walden said as he flew down the staircase slowly.

I walked down after Walden. I looked back at the others.

"Come on, you aren't scared, are you?" I asked teasingly.

"I'm not scared." Francella said as he walked down the staircase.

Raymond silently accompanied him.

"Let's do this!" Robert said confidently as he walked down the staircase after us.

"I'm not afraid of anyone. Or anything." Macalister said, cracking his knuckles and walking down the staircase after us.

"Good on you, Macalister!" Robert said.

That left only Don at the top of the staircase.

"Buddy, you comin'?" Asked Walden.

Don hesitated for a moment.

"Don, if you don't come down here, I'll tell Tabatha that you were scared." Francella teased.

Don's face started turning red.

"I'm coming." He said quickly as he started down the staircase.

"'Atta boy!" Walden praised.

We all started walking down the staircase. Walden led us and I was right behind him. After we descended about ten meters, it began to get very dark.

"It's dark down here." Macalister observed blankly.

I heard Walden mutter something under his breath, and light engulfed us, illuminating an area of about ten feet in all directions. Past that was blackness. Walden was holding a fireball in his hand. It was the source of the light. I looked around. We were surrounded moss covered cracked stone walls. The moss was moist and we could hear water dripping somewhere within the depths of the ruins. In front of us I saw a doorway. Laying on the floor in front of the doorway was a metal grating that was bent and crumpled as if it were parchment. That grating must have covered that door at one point in time.

"Any idea what happened here?" Walden asked, pointing to the metal grating.

"A vampire attack?" Don suggested.

"Bah, doesn't matter now. Let's go." Walden said as he flew into the doorway.

I followed him slowly. I could hear the others walking behind me. Walden flew slowly as well. We looked around but saw only the cracked, moss covered stone on the ceiling, walls and floor and the corridor in front of us could have stretched ten feet or a kilometer. Since anything past ten feet was shrouded in blackness, it was hard to tell.

"It doesn't look like anyone's been here in a long time." Macalister said.

"Don't let your guard down, Mac. There could be anyone or anything lying in the shadows." Walden cautioned.

We walked along in the dank, narrow corridor. Over the sound of our footsteps, I heard a wet, squelching noise.

"Everyone stop." I ordered, straining my ears.

            "What is it?" Robert asked.

Everyone stopped walking. The sound was still there. It was coming from somewhere off to our right.

"Walden, can you throw a fireball down to our right?" I asked.

"Sure." Walden agreed, reeling his hand back.

He hurled a fireball to our right. For a few seconds it illuminated the corridor as it moved down it. Just then, the light cast from the fireball revealed a male vampire kneeled down with his back to us. In his hands was a small animal. A mouse or a vole. The vampire was drinking from it. After a few seconds, he was finished with the animal and he sighed in relief, discarding the crumpled rodent corpse to the floor. The fireball then passed the vampire, leaving him in darkness once more. I readied my flintlock. Walden muttered something under his breath again and an area of about ten feet around us was bathed in light yet again. He was holding another fireball. Just then, I heard footsteps coming from the corridor to our right. It had to be the vampire.

"Buddy, you friendly?" Walden called out.

The footsteps quickened, and the vampire charged out of the shadows, entering our circle of light. He had his fangs barred and his red eyes were wild with bloodlust and they flashed in the firelight. He jumped at us, going for Don.

"Don, look out!" Robert shouted.

Before either Don or Robert could get their flintlocks up, Walden hurled the fireball at the vampire. The vampire was engulfed in flames and began screaming. It fell to the floor in front of Don, thrashing around. In seconds it was still and the flames crackled on the corpse of the vampire.

"Guess not." Walden said with a shrug.

Macalister laughed.

"Serves him right." He said.

"Let's keep moving. There's no telling how big this place is." Robert told us.

We walked along for another few seconds, and all of a sudden the walls on either side of us started to get farther apart quite rapidly. As we walked on, the walls could no longer be seen in the darkness. We must have entered a larger room. We kept walking. Everyone was looking around in wonder.

"What is this room?" Macalister asked.

"Beats me, Mac." Walden said.

I looked ahead. I saw an object come into view as we walked along. I walked up to it and examined it. It was a wooden cube. The cube was pretty damaged and had dents and other marks all over it. There was a metal lock on the front of it, but it was rusted and almost nonexistent. I picked it up and found it to be lightweight. I turned it over and found hinges on the upper part of the backside. It was a wooden chest!

"Watcha find, Redmond?" Walden asked.

"It's a chest!" I called over my shoulder.

I opened the box. I looked inside and found a small rusted knife. Inscribed on the side of the blade were letters that I didn't understand.

"That's a fancy looking knife." Francella remarked.

"We should take it to Erin and see if she knows what those letters mean." Suggested Robert.

I looked in the chest for anything else, but it was empty. I took the knife and put it in my pocket.

"We should move on and see if there's anything else in these ruins." Don said.

"Righto." Walden exclaimed as he flew ahead, leading the way once more.I followed Walden close behind.

The others trailed after me.

"That knife was a pretty good find." Walden told me.

"Thanks, how much-" I was cut off by a metal grate falling from the ceiling, landing directly in front of me.

In the bottom were rusty but sharp spikes that landed in a seam in the floor between two bricks in the floor. I looked down and realized that I had stepped on a tripwire. Walden flew over it, but since I was behind him, I set it off. We were now separated from Walden.

"Whoa! What happened?" Walden asked in shock.

"I set off a tripwire." I explained apologetically.

"Why would there be traps set here? These ruins were abandoned years ago!" Walden shouted.

"Maybe a vampire is defending his home?" Francella asked.

"No. A vampire couldn't have made this, the metalwork is too rough. A vampire could have made this flawlessly. This was definitely the work of a human." Walden said as he examined the grating.

"Do you think you can get this thing down... I mean up?" Macalister asked.

Walden laughed his high pitched fairy laugh.

"Mac, who do you think you're talking to?" Walden asked.

"Um..." Macalister trailed off.

"Don't answer that. Stand back, boys!" Walden ordered.

We all took a few steps backwards.

"A little farther." Walden called.

We all backed up about ten paces each.

"Combustion!" Walden shouted.

An explosion ripped through the air. I heard the sound of metal straining and contorting. In the light provided by Walden's fireball, I could see the metal grate flying at us. It lost its momentum and clattered to the ground, rolling and rolling until it lay at our feet. The metal was smoking and dented as well as contorted. I looked up to see Walden looking at us. He had his arms crossed over his chest and a smug smile on his face.

"Not bad, eh?" He asked.

Don laughed and walked towards him.

"Not bad at all." He commended.

We all walked after Don and Walden.

"Watch where you all step!" Walden called over his shoulder.

We continued walking on. I heard a high pitched squeaking sound, and a couple of bats flew overhead, retreating the way we had come.

"This place is creepy." Macalister remarked.

As we walked on, I saw that the walls were coming closer together. We were entering another narrow corridor. We walked for a few seconds and we reached a turn. There was a fork in the tunnel. We stopped.

"Left or right?" Walden asked.

There was a moment of silence.

"I suppose left is as good a choice as any." Francella shrugged.

"Left it is." Walden announced as he flew down the tunnel on the left.

We all followed him once more. After a few more minutes of walking, the walls began getting farther apart again. We were entering a large room. Walden looked back at us while flying backwards.

"You guys, what do you think we'll-" he was cut off as he slammed into a wall.

As he hit it, a hollow bang! Sound rang out. He fell to the ground with a pained oof. He got back up and began flying once more.

"What the?" Walden asked, mostly to himself.

He examined the wall he bumped in to. He tapped on it and it made a hollow bang! Noise.

"It's metal!" He exclaimed.

He held his fireball closer to get a better visual on the door. As he moved his fireball, more of the door was revealed. I saw a square hole in the door that was about ten centimeters by ten centimeters. The door had thick, rusted hinges on the left side.

"Stand back, I'm gonna blow this thing sky high." Walden said.

We all stepped back about twenty paces.

"Combustion!" Walden shouted.An explosion sounded, but I didn't hear metal bending or contorting. All I heard was a loud metallic clang! Walden looked at the door in bewilderment.

"What the heck is this?" Walden asked.

"That, my friend, is a very thick door." Don answered.

"Well, we aint getin' though this thing any time soon. We may as well move on." Walden said.

"Actually, moving on wouldn't be smart." Francella said.

"I agree. We need to be out of here by nightfall, or else we will be either stranded down here until daybreak or killed by vampires trying to make our way back to Riverguard." Raymond agreed.

"Oh yeah, it is getting' a bit late. I suppose we should go back to your place. Don't forget, you gotta honor our deal." Walden said.

"We know. We'll take you to see our witch. We need to leave right now, though." Francella told him.

"Aye, aye, captain." Walden retorted sarcastically as he turned back the way we came.

"We can come back another day. We'll bring torches and other supplies down with us." Robert said.

"Good idea, Robert." Macalister said.

Walden led us back the way we came and we soon found ourselves at the bottom of the staircase that we came though, looking up at the rapidly descending twilight. We ascended the staircase and made it out into the forest again.

"I'll cover the entrance back up so no one else goes down there." Walden said as he got on the other side of the fallen trees that he had forced out of the way. He held out us hand.

"Windstorm!" He cried out.

The trees flew back to their previous position; blocking the staircase.

"Good thinking, Walden." Don said.

"Thanks, bud." Walden replied.

"Let's get back to Riverguard before dark." Raymond suggested.

"I'll lead the way." Francella announced.

Francella started walking off in the direction of Riverguard. We all followed him.

"So, Francella. What's your witch's name?" Walden asked.

"Tabatha." Francella answered.

"I'm curious as to how you have a witch with you. Last I checked Queen Yuka was huntin' 'em all down." Walden said.

"Well, she is, but we saved Tabatha from being burned at the stake. She lives with us now." Francella explained.

"Righto, I see. So is she... Eh... Any good with magic?" Walden asked curiously.

Robert broke out laughing.

"Why don't you ask Don?" He asked.

Don looked away, his face going red. Walden regarded him with a strange look.  

"Geez, what's his deal?" He asked.

Robert waved a hand in the air.

"Never mind." He said dismissively.

"Eh, alrighty then." Walden said, confused.

After a few more minutes of walking, the walls of Riverguard came into sight. Twilight was fading quickly into dusk. As we approached the gate of Riverguard, Walden muttered something under his breath and disappeared. He was invisible so the guards wouldn't see him. The guard looked at us.

"I'm glad you all made it back safely." He told us.

"Thanks." I replied.

He looked to his friends and nodded. The gate began opening and we walked through. The gate closed behind us and we found ourselves in the town square amid a mass of people. Francella led us down the familiar pathway that branched off the fountain and led to The Viper's bunkhouse. We walked down the street and we came across the path that led through the field and to the bunkhouse. We ran down the pathway and we made it to the door. I looked over and saw that Walden was now visible again. Francella opened the door and we stepped inside. Walden hid himself behind me. The girls were all back from town and they were sitting at the table, playing cards. Tabatha was back in her witch clothes. They all looked to us with relieved faces.

"Oh, boys! Thank heavens you're all safe!" Martha said as she strode out of the kitchen.

"What happened? Where were you? What took you all so long?" Tabatha asked.

Don chuckled.

"It's okay, mom. I'll explain everything." He said with a small grin.

Everyone began laughing, including me. Tabatha glared at Don playfully. She raised her staff and Don's smirk instantly fell from his face and he took a step back.

"That's what I thought." Tabatha said with a smirk of her own.

We all began laughing even harder, all of us except for Don.

"Just when we thought the tables were turning..." Robert trailed off.

I chuckled at his remark.

"Alright boys, enough. You all tease poor Don too much." Martha scolded.

"I think that she's the one you should be calling 'mom'." Tabatha said with a grin.

Everyone in the room broke out into huge belly laughs. Don just glared at Tabatha and Martha covered her mouth, trying not to chuckle at Tabatha's swift comeback.

"Alright, alright let's just settle down. We have a few things for you girls." Francella said.

The girls looked to each other and giggled. They whispered to each other and I heard the word 'engagement'.

"Not those kinds of things!" Francella snapped.

I reached into my pocket and withdrew the knife. Walden flew out from behind me, holding the ring. All of the girls looked at him with adored faces.

"Awe! Who is this cute little guy?" Stella asked, getting up, walking over and kneeling down in front of Walden.

Walden backed away and Stella stood up to her full height. Walden flew up so he was at eye level with Stella.

"Look lady, I aint cute!" Walden snapped.

Stella backed up, shocked at Walden's outburst. Erin and Stella started giggling.

"Whatever. Look, all I need is your witch to appraise this here ring." Walden said in an annoyed tone.

"I'm not 'witch', I'm Tabatha." Tabatha told Walden threateningly.

Walden's annoyance seemed to be taken down a notch when he heard Tabatha's threat.

"Sorry, Tabatha. Now, Francella told me you'd take a look at this ring since I helped him and his friends with something." Walden explained.

"A ring? Let me see." Tabatha said, taking the ring from him. As soon as Tabatha touched it, her rich brown eyes went wide.

"W-where did you get this ring?" Tabatha stammered.

"I found it in some old ruins underground. It's where we all just were." Walden explained.

"That ring is imbued with dark magic. There isn't a lot in there. There isn't enough in there to harm anyone, so you should be fine to hang on to it." Tabatha said.

Tabatha handed Walden the ring and Walden took it back, putting it in his pocket.

"Gee, thanks lady, I mean, Tabatha." Walden said.

"You're welcome...?" Tabatha trailed off.

"Walden." Walden said.

"Nice to meet you, Walden." Tabatha told him.

"Likewise." Walden replied.

Erin's gaze fell on the knife in my hand. She flipped her short black hair and her brown eyes narrowed on the knife.

"What do you have there, Redmond?" She asked.

"Well, I was wondering if you could tell me what is inscribed on the knife." I said.

Erin's brown eyes brightened.

"Finally! It's been a while since I've translated anything! Give the knife to me." Erin said.

I passed her the knife. She examined it carefully. She squinted as she muttered unintelligible things under her breath. She looked up from the knife.

"It's too rusted, I can't read it. I'm sorry." She said.

Tabatha looked at Erin.

"That's no problem." Tabatha boasted, taking the knife.

She laid the knife on the table, stood up, grabbed her staff and held her staff over the knife.

"Repair!" She called out.

A warm green glow enveloped the dagger. I saw the knife's rust slowly melt away into non-existence and when the green glow vanished, the knife was in pristine condition.

"Wow, Tabatha! You're pretty good at healing magic!" Walden praised.

"Thanks. What kind of magic can you use?" Tabatha asked.

"Manipulation and destruction magic." Walden answered.

"I can use manipulation and healing magic." Tabatha replied.

I looked over to see Erin studying the knife. She was muttering strange things under her breath. She looked up to me and handed me the knife.

"The inscription on the knife translates perfectly from old Alcingerian to English as 'no battle is over until it is lost'." Erin announced.

I took the knife back from her and put it in my pocket. That was an interesting inscription. I wonder who it belonged to?

"Thanks, Erin." said.

"No problem, I'm always glad to help out whenever I can." Erin told me with a smile.

After a moment of silence, Walden spoke.

"Welp, I'd best get goin'. I'll see ya'll sometime soon, yeah?" Walden asked.

"Sounds good, Walden." I laughed.

"Well, until we meet again!" Walden exclaimed with a wave of his hand as he flew out the window.

We all sat watching Walden fly out into the fast approaching night.

"Now, who's hungry?" Martha asked with a clap of her hands.

 

Author's Note

Please tell me what you think!

Reviews

[KeithKVH]

Interesting turnout, it's got me with a bit more questions than answers on how the ring and dagger will come into play but I suppose I'll see eventually. The inscription is interesting, I honestly thought it would end up being enchanted too though.

Walden and Tabatha had a friendly sort of fellow magic user vibe going there, once she got his name right. All their interactions are really pretty good here.

The ruins were a bit brief, understandable since they had to get out before dark. The trap set in there and that door though, I got a few suspicions that's important.

[Ryan Henderson]

Yes! I felt sad that I had to cut the ruins scene short, but dark is the deadline I'm afraid. They WILL be back soon though, I promise! And yes, the dagger, the ring, the traps, they all come into play later. And you should wait to see what I have planned for that door XD