Team Darkoss: Rise of a Dark Lord

As Gallahon, Nina and Trenton raced back home to Windfall, Creed and the other crusaders stayed on Lakeborn. Creed was still fixated with getting revenge upon Alvatourix, he was so close. Now that Creed knew where he was hiding, Creed had no time to waste. But why on earth would Alvatourix be hiding in the Temple of the Dead? It mattered not to Creed. He raced out of the palace and through the burning remains of the once beautiful city. He headed towards the temple while the other crusaders stayed behind.

While Creed was busy with finding Alvatourix in the temple, Team Darkoss had made it onto the shores of Windfall. Maria had told Gallahon that Airloc had taken Aquanna captive, but where on Windfall could they be? His first guess was at Psygon’s Castle. They have raced through town to the castle. They’ve entered the castle but to their surprise, nobody was there. The castle was all but deserted and no guardsmen.

“Dammit!” Shouted Gallahon. “Airloc’s not here! Where could he be?” Team Darkoss looked around the castle in such for clues to Airloc’s hideout.

“King Psygon might know.” Acknowledged Trenton.

“Oh my God, Psygon! I almost completely forgot about him.” Said Nina. Trenton said nothing. He just gave her a blank stare.

“Really Nina?” Nina turned to Trenton and shrugged. He then turned his attention to Gallahon.

“He must still be locked up in the dungeon. Come on.” Trenton lead on into the castle’s dungeons and sure enough, there was Psygon still locked up in his own cell. King Psygon looked up and raced over to the cells door as if he was excited to see them in one piece.

“Gallahon! Thank the Gods you’re still alive, you and your friends.”

“We found your crusaders.” Said Gallahon as he lock picked Psygon’s cell door opened. “But their back on Lakeborn battling Alvatourix. But we need to find Airloc’s hideout. Do you know where that is mi lord?” Psygon pondered at Gallahon’s question.

“No, can’t say that I do.” Gallahon had gotten King Psygon’s door opened and he was free once again. As King Psygon stepped out, Trenton noticed something written on the wall.

“Gallahon.” Said Trenton. “You might want to take a look at this.” Gallahon saw the writing on the wall.

“Did you write this my king?”

“No. That was not there before.” It appeared to be text written in some sort of strange language. The text was written in red as if it was written in blood. Or maybe it was written in blood. The text said this:

I have your elvish wence. If you wish to see your blonde haired beauty again, come find me at Dragon’s Tower. It will be ashamed to waste such a pretty face.

“Can you read this Trenton?” Gallahon asked. Trenton acknowledged Gallahon that he could. Trenton stepped in further to get a better look at the texting.

“This text has not been used in ages. These are Moon Runes. They can only be read in moonlight under the same moon as they were written. Remarkable. But in tongue it reads; I have your elvish wence. If you wish to see your blonde haired beauty again, come find me at Dragon’s Tower. It will be ashamed to waste such a pretty face.”

Just above the text was what looked like a portal. A demonic arm came out of the portal and grabbed Trenton’s face. Trenton, struggling to get free, could not breathe with the hand covering his face. Gallahon came up with his sword and chopped off the arm. The remains of the arm fell to the ground. Trenton was free from its grip as he was gasping for air.

“Trenton are you alright?” Nina asked.

“Yeah, I think so. I think we just found Airloc’s calling card.” Airloc’s little calling card challenged Gallahon to come find him, but the true question was where was Dragon’s Tower? King Psygon acknowledged them to its location.

“My friends. Dragon’s Tower is an old, abandoned fortress. It was used long ago as a keep in the Great Wars. But if that’s where Airloc is, I’ll pray for your safety.”

“Why is that?” Asked Gallahon. Psygon explained.

“Because in order to get to Dragon’s Tower, you’ll have to go through the Dark Woods. Those woods have not been safe for years. Legends say that there is a strange creature that lurks in those woods. And those who went in never came back out.” This made Gallahon worried a little, but he’s been in tougher situations. Gallahon only had one thing on his mind though. To save Aquanna from Airloc’s evil clutches. And no folklore or legend of some possibly dangerous creature was going to stop him from venturing through the Dark Woods.

“I’m not afraid. Come on team. We’ve got a princess to save.” Gallahon had lead Trenton and Nina out of the castle. Psygon had walked calmly out of the dungeons and sat on his throne. Psygon looked upon Team Darkoss as they left the castle grounds.

“Good luck.” Psygon said. “You’ll need it. Nakumaul protect you.”

“ALVATOURIX! SHOW YOURSELF!” Creed shouted and the echo was throughout the entire temple. He ventured deeper within the temple with his weapons drawn. Armed with only his sword and shield, Creed was prepared for anything that crossed in his path.

“You Creed! You should not be here!” Said a wispy voice in the air. “You should not have come! Leave this place now or suffer dire consequences! I am in control of the dead and the dead serve me!”

“Come out and fight me Necromancer! I’m not afraid of you!” The Necromancer had done as Creed requested and appeared in front of him.

“Galvix.” Creed called the Necromancer. “Where is Alvatourix? Answer me!” Galvix laughed and opened his eyes to see Creed.

“Ah Creed Bladestorm. I remember you. So you’re still on the hunt for my master? So I guess this means Razath was not able to finish the job. Pity, I was really hoping to see you suffer. Once you were dead of course, I would’ve made you my servant.” Creed pointed his sword towards Galvix.

“I would rather die a million times over then to be your servant of the dead! Now where is Alvatourix!?” Galvix laughed again.

“Yes. Well, my master actually wants to see you, I won’t fight back. I’ll take you to him.” Creed thought to himself this to be a little strange. With Galvix not fighting back and all. He was up to something. But Galvix kept his word for now. He had placed his hand on Creed’s shoulder and raised his other hand in the air. They were both teleported to the basement of the temple. No one else ever knew about the temple having a basement. The room was like a massive catacomb that had two tunnels in it and a channel of water running right through it. A large stone fountain of Death himself rested hanging on the back wall completed the eerie scenery. It was as if the jaw of Death was pouring out a waterfall into the steam.

On the opposite end of the room from where Creed and Galvix stood, there was Alvatourix. Kneeling down in front of an altar of some kind. An altar for worshipping the dead.

“Ah, Creed. I’ve been expecting you.” Alvatourix said as he stood up and faced him. He opened his eyes revealing his blood shot eyes. Creed unsheathed his sword from his shield and pointed the tip of his blade towards him.

“Alvatourix. After years of hunting you down, I will finally have my vengeance.” Alvatourix just stood there and laughed.

“Yes, I suppose you shall. Or at least try. I mean do you honestly think that I will let you simply kill me without providing you a challenge? You were my best general Creed. I was simply doing you a favor. Now with your family dead, nothing was going to hold you back. You would’ve become a god on the battlefield.”

“I am no longer your pawn Alvatourix!” Creed said with such anger in those words. “You will fall to my blade and answer for your crimes!” Alvatourix laughed again.

“You seem to forget. I am a warlord! I don’t have to answer to any crime I commit on the battlefield! Oh Creed, I was actually really hoping that you would become my general again. Because with a simple command, I can have Galvix here resurrect your dead family and all will be forgiven. All you have to do, is submit your loyalty and servitude to me once more.” Creed was almost tempted to take Alvatourix’s offer. But he still remembered that day. That day Alvatourix stabbed him in the back. He could still hear their terrible screams, crying out in pain.

A flashback to that terrible day. Creed was returning home from the battlefield. Smoke and fire rose up from the hilltop of Creed’s home sweet home. He rushed to the burning building only to discover his family was dead. Blood and burn marks covered their entire bodies. He knelt down and sobbed over his losses. His loved ones. Cut opened and then burnt alive. They did not suffer so quickly.

“NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!” Creed shouted up in the sky. Tears rolling down his cheeks as he shouted out up into the moon as if howling like a wolf who lost her cub. Although Creed wanted them back, he knew that if they had been resurrected they would be hideous, deformed deadly creatures. The undead. And he worried that they would be gnawing on his flesh in his sleep.

“I will never become your general again Alvatourix! You’ve killed my family! Now prepare to die!” Creed yelled out as he rushed towards Alvatourix armed with his sword and shield. Fire was burning within his eyes as he thrust his sword. Alvatourix was quick enough to dodge his thrust and pulled out his massive Great Sword of Alva. The two clashed swords together and looked at each other with hatred in both their eyes.

“You are a fool Creed! I offered you a chance to join my side again and you refused!? But if you wish to join your family again, then allow me to send you to them! IN HELL!” Alvatourix shoved Creed back as Creed was stepping back, carefully not to fall on his ass on the stone hard floor. Alvatourix took a hold of his massive sword with both hands and jumped towards Creed. Creed jumped aside as Alvatourix’s blade plummeted to the ground, missing Creed horribly. Creed took his chance to swing but Alvatourix blocked his swift blow. Creed showed off his skills with a sword, trying to break Alvatourix’s defenses. But it did not work.

Alvatourix was very strong to lift that huge sword, however the size and weight of it did not slow him down. He was still pretty fast in switching from offenses to defenses. They’ve locked blades with each other as they stared each other down, growling at one another like wolves fighting over the carcass of a rabbit.

“You are no match for me Creed! I taught you everything I know! You will die like the pathetic dog you are!”

As Creed and Alvatourix were busy fighting to the death, Team Darkoss were venturing through the Dark Woods. It was cold and foggy. It was cold but not freezing cold although they could see each other’s breath.

“No sign of any creature yet.” Said Gallahon. “But be on the lookout and stick together.” Nina felt a little uneasy. She felt like they were being watched from the top of the trees.

“This feels somehow familiar.” Said Trenton. “Oh yeah!” He realized. “This is like that time we ventured into the woods back in the Norse Lands where we met that other creature.”

“What other creature?” Nina asked. Trenton explained to her what he was talking about.

“Well Nina if you must know, back on the Norse Lands when Gallahon and I were finding the Leviathan. We were venturing through a misty wood, like this. We were lost at first and we were being watched. And then out of nowhere, a creature jumped out from the treetops right in front of us. It was a hideous looking thing. All wide eyed looking. Long and thin arms almost reaching to its feet. Its skin was pale as the moonlight. It was quite a sight.”

“Alright Trenton that’s enough.” Gallahon had said.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to babble on. But Gallahon, could this be the very same creature we’ve encountered before?”

“Highly unlikely. That thing was fast but I highly doubt that it could walk on sea or teleport. Let’s just keep moving.” Something was defiantly watching them expect whatever it was had no eyes. They’ve heard what sounded like a twig snapping behind them. Nina turned to see what was following them.

“What was that?” She looked all around her but did not see anything. She turned back and rush to join back up with the others.

“Something is definitely here, I know it.” Nina told them. They then heard what sounded like a tree crushing down in the distance followed by a murder of crows. Upon hearing that sound, the team formed a circle and readied their weapons. Screeching could be heard in the distance. The screech sounded like it came not from one creature alone, but a horde of who knows how many. It lasted for about one whole minute until it stopped and then all was quiet. Silence surrounded them.

“What the Hell was that?” Asked Nina. Gallahon noticed something within the mist. It appeared to be human. It was just crouching on the ground. It’s naked bare back was facing Gallahon. Its skin was pale white. Its spine was peeking out of its back as if it was starving and was all bony almost skeletal. He slowly crept up behind it, thinking it was just a lonely, hungry person. As soon as Gallahon was close enough, it turned to face him and screeched as loud as it could.

Gallahon jumped back as if the thing was about to bite him. It had an enormous mouth but no eyes or nose. It was just a blank face with a gross mouth. Its arms were long and bony. Its legs were not human at all. It was as if it had short limbs with hind legs like that of a wolf.

“Gallahon!” Called Trenton. “This way!” As the creature suddenly grew in size, Gallahon ran with the creature chasing him. Team Darkoss ran through the woods and found Dragon’s Tower, the old abandoned fortress.

“Quick, let’s get inside!” As the large creature was chasing them down, Trenton tried forcing the massive door open but it would not.

“Door’s locked!” He pointed out. As the creature got closer, Gallahon guarded himself with his sword and the blade facing the beast. The creatures head rammed right into the blade. Gallahon took his sword out of the beast’s head and it had retreated back into the woods.

“That was too close.” Nina said in relief.

“The keys got to be somewhere. Let’s check these two towers of the fortress.” There was no way into the west tower on ground. The only way in was through the roof which was connecting the east and west towers of the fortress. But through the small window in the bottom corner of the west tower, they could see the chest that probably contained the gate key they needed. However, they could not simply break the window and get the key. For the window had iron bars over it. They had to climb the east tower, cross the roof, climb down the west tower and get the gate key to the fortress.

Team Darkoss saw there was a way up the east tower provided by stones in the form of a staircase that was peeking out on the outside of the tower. The team of three began climbing the stone steps. Of course climbing these ten stone steps was no challenge for the team. All was calm and quiet outside the fortress. They have made it to the top of the staircase with ease, no problems at all. The team then had to walk across the roof. This seemed a little strange because there were no guards around.

In the middle of the roof were two torches lit up side to side with a large stone mural in between them. Two torches lit up could’ve meant that someone was defiantly here worshipping this mural. As for the mural itself, it was that of a stone carving of a Dragon’s head, possibly a Draconian god or something like that. But there was something odd about this mural. Gallahon took a closer look at it. A shot of lighting burst out of the sky and onto the mural, breaking the stone portrait. The smoke from the burnt remains cleared up and revealed a Draconian. But this one seemed different then all the others. This Draconian was wearing shoulder pads and raggedy robes. It appeared to be holding a large great sword in its hand.

It looked up at Gallahon and stood up at seven feet. The creature then raised its sword over its head and plummeted it down towards the ground trying to slice Gallahon in half down the middle. Gallahon jumped back and prepared himself for combat. The creature struck again, but Gallahon blocked the enemies strike with his shield. Trenton and Nina decided to jump into the fight. But the creature saw them coming from the corner of its eye.

The creature jumped and leap frogged over both Trenton and Nina. It then grabbed a hold of Trenton with some sort of mystic power. This was defiantly no ordinary Draconian. It then threw Trenton into Gallahon and Nina. It sought the opportunity to escape. The creature jumped off the roof of the fortress and retreated into the woods.

“What the Hell was that thing?” Gallahon asked as he got up from the floor.

“I do not know.” Trenton said. “But whatever it was, it was no ordinary Draconian. Draconians can’t use magic.”

“Well let’s not worry about it now. We need to get the gate key and save Aquanna.” Gallahon lead onto the west tower. Trenton, looking towards the woods trying to figure out what that thing was, followed Gallahon and Nina came soon after.

Team Darkoss had made it into the west tower but there was no staircase. It’s as if the staircase had collapsed. They could see the ground but it was still pretty far down. However, they were in luck. For in replacement of the collapsed staircase was a ladder.

“I’m going down there.” Said Gallahon. “Hold the ladder steady until I get back.” Trenton and Nina did as instructed and held onto the top of the ladder as Gallahon went down. Gallahon ventured deeper down the tower until he hit the floor. He looked around and saw the chest laying on the ground. He opened it and sure enough there was the gate key.

As Gallahon stuffed the key into his pocket, a bony arm came up from the ground and grabbed Gallahon’s leg. Gallahon looked at the arm terrified. He pulled out his sword and cut the arm in half. He looked around as more arms were popping out of the ground. The arms belonged to zombies which pulled themselves out of the ground. They were blocking the way to the ladder.

Gallahon raced as he took his sword and chopped off their heads one by one. He made it back to the ladder and started making his way up. But a zombie grabbed his leg, trying to pull him down. Gallahon took his sword and chopped off the zombie’s arm. Gallahon’s leg was free and climbed back up the ladder. He got back up to the top as he lied on the ground catching his breath.

“Are you alright?” Asked Nina.

“Yeah. I ran into some zombies down there but I’m good.” He said as he gave a thumbs up in the air. “I got the key.”

“Did you get bit Gallahon?” Trenton said concerned for his wellbeing.

“No. Thank the Gods. Now let’s infiltrate this mother!” Gallahon got up and the team went back towards the entrance of the fortress.