Chapter 2: A New Face of Evil
After Gallahon and Aquanna had made love to each other, they were fast asleep in their nice cozy bed within the tavern that is the Drunken ’Dragon. Gallahon had entered into the dream state. But this was not an ordinary dream. It had turned into a terrifying nightmare inside the mind of Gallahon.
In the dream, Gallahon could see Psygon castle in ruins. Smoke and fire still burning the collapsing castle. He ran inside the castle to check if there were any saviors. Bodies were scattered all over the floor all bloody and burnt. He looked ahead and saw King Psygon’s body hung on the wall behind his throne. He was dead.
“What monster could have done this?” Gallahon was horrified. Than a shadow of a man came up behind Gallahon. Gallahon turned. He could not see his face. As if his whole body was covered in shadow. All Gallahon could see was glowing red eyes. Gallahon readied his sword and shield. He rushed towards the shadow but the figure caught Gallahon’s sword with just two fingers. The figure pushed Gallahon back. Gallahon was astonished. The shadow then somehow morphed itself. It turned into a bigger shape that looked like it had wings and was at least ten times taller and bigger than Gallahon.
Gallahon was shocked at the sight of this thing. It grabbed Gallahon in its massive hand. Gallahon struggled to get free. The things grip grew tighter around Gallahon. It looked at Gallahon with those glimming red eyes as it began to squeeze the life out of Gallahon. As Gallahon could feel his innards being crushed and was slowly dying a painful death, the thing let out a very loud roar as Gallahon died.
Gallahon woke up, gasping for air as he sat up in the bed. He was terrified with the nightmare he just experienced. Aquanna was still asleep as Gallahon sat on the edge of the bed. He placed his hands on his head and thought to himself.
“What the Hell kind of dream was that? Some freakish nightmare. But what does it mean?” he asked himself. “Could it be…? Warning me about what’s to come? About the future?” Aquanna awoke, placing her hand onto Gallahon’s shoulder as she sat up still naked.
“What’s wrong Gallahon?” He looked over his shoulder at Aquanna.
“It’s nothing. Just a…” he paused for a moment. “…Bad dream is all.” He told Aquanna and lied back down in the bed and so did Aquanna.
Gallahon and Aquanna had an almost full nights’ rest and got their clothes on the next morning. Alroy, the tavern’s owner, came bursting into the room.
“THEIR HERE!” he screamed.
“Whose here?” Gallahon was curious.
“The creatures! Half lizard, half dragon! Weird freakishly looking monsters!”
“Draconians? What are they doing here?” Gallahon was confused. Trenton and Nina rushed into the room as Gallahon got his armor on.
“I fear they are looking for Gallahon.” said Trenton. “For what reason I do not know. But we’ve dealt with these things before. But if King Erloc is dead, then whose commanding them?” Gallahon took a couple of steps forward after getting his armor on before stumbling.
“Gallahon you’re still weakened from the fight you had with Dar last night.”
“No I’m fine.” Gallahon said still stumbling. Trenton caught him.
“Gallahon. The Draconians are too strong for you to fight off. We need to help you get out of here. Live today, fight tomorrow.”
“Alroy.” Nina spoke. “Is there another way out of here?” Alroy pointed out of the room.
“There’s a secret passage at the end of the hall that lead to the castle. We use it to bring ale to Psygon’s castle for his parties.”
“Thank you.” The three took Gallahon and into the hallway. They have found the hidden passage covered by a trap door. They opened the door and down a spiral staircase into the passage. Alroy closed the door behind them. The passage was lit up so they could see easily in front of them. It wasn’t a gloomy, dark passage. The long, long hallway was a fairly neat sight. Arch ways down the passage and columns on each side.
“We need to get Gallahon to safety until he regains his strength.” Trenton told them.
Back at the tavern, the Draconians were raising havoc trying to search for Gallahon. But why are the Draconians looking for Gallahon was still a mystery. A tall man with silver hair and covered in armor walked into the tavern. He was carrying a massive sword on his back.
“No sign of them yet sir Alvatourix.” said one of the Draconians. But this Draconian was different than all the others. He was the only Draconian that could actually talk.
“Good work Dralord.” Dralord was the Draconians name. Dar was still inside the tavern observing the fiends attacking the tavern. The tall man who was called Alvatourix ringed Alroy by the neck and lifted him in the air.
“Where is the one they call Gallahon!?” Alroy answered.
“He… He’s not… Here.” he said gasping for air.
“Tell me where he’s gone now!” Dar was about to pounce onto Alvatourix, but a voice stopped him from doing so.
“Stop Alvatourix!” Another man said. Alvatourix did as he commanded and released Alroy. The mysterious man walked down the steps and towards both Alvatourix and Alroy. He was a dark, green skinned man with red hair. He was wearing a black jacket with a stick up collar and orange trimming. Two sheathed katana’s strapped to his waist.
“Gallahon is not here. He must’ve left right before we came so he cannot be far.”
“So what are we waiting for? Let’s go get the son of a bastard.” Alvatourix commanded.
“Patients Alvatourix. Even if we cannot get to him, he will eventually come to us. It’s a simple game of cat and mouse.”
“I know where he’s gone, the one you seek” Dar spoke out. The mysterious man turned to him.
“Of course I cannot reveal that information for free. If you want to know where he’s gone, you will have to beat me in a brawling match.” The mysterious man laughed as Dar balled his fists in front of him.
“You foolish mortal. Do you not know who you’re messing with? You cannot possibly beat me.”
“Well why don’t we find out?” He was at least two feet taller than Dar, but Dar wasn’t scared. Dar threw a punch at his face but the mysterious man caught it. He gave Dar one Hell of a whack with his arm and Dar went flying out the window breaking the glass. The mysterious man than walked out the broken window and kneeled in front of Dar as Dar was lying there astonished.
“You still think you can beat me?” Dar said nothing. Dralord came up behind the mysterious man.
“Orders sir?” He turned to Dralord.
“We’ll just flush Gallahon out. Burn this place to the ground.” Dralord did as he commanded. The mysterious man looked back at Dar.
“Now. Where do you say Gallahon went?”
Gallahon, Trenton, Nina and Aquanna walked for what seemed like miles before reaching their destination, below Psygon Castle. They went up another spiral staircase and opened the trap door from a top. But it did not lead them exactly in front of the castle. Instead they’ve ended up in a cavern. As soon as they’ve entered the cavern, they were greeted by a thunderous voice.
“Gallahon? Is that you?” Gallahon turned and saw the thunderous voice came from Vulcan. The forty-foot man wearing a blacksmith’s apron around his waist and slightly burnt skin.
“HA! Is it you! I haven’t seen you in ages! I see the armor I forged for you still fits you.”
“Vulcan.” Gallahon spoke. “It had been far too long. But don’t you remember? You tried to kill me.” Vulcan sighed.
“Yes, I do remember I did try to kill you. But that was so long ago. Psygon told me what happened. That his brother Erloc tricked me into helping him to kill you. Erloc told me that you had kidnapped my beloved daughter.” Gallahon stopped Vulcan from speaking for a moment.
“Wait! You know King Psygon?”
“Well yes. I forge armor and weapons for him and his men. That’s why I’m down here.”
“But I thought you were a blacksmith to the gods.” interrupted Trenton.
“That is true. But not all gods live in the skies you know. This volcano is my domain. I still forge for the gods. But they’ve left me down here and I’ve been here ever since.” Gallahon interrupted Vulcan again.
“Vulcan. Do you know anything about the Draconian attack?” Vulcan thought to himself, tapping his finger.
“Draconians? Well there were two mysterious men that came here before accompanied by these Draconians. They were looking for you Gallahon.”
“Me? What for, who are they?”
“Can’t say. I’ve never seen these men before. But they were determined to find you for some reason.”
“Thanks for your help.” said Gallahon as he turned and walked away. The others followed. The four of them had to go through the passage that leads them out of the cavern and in the dungeons of Psygon Castle. When they got to the dungeons, they saw, to their surprise, King Psygon. Gallahon spoke out.
“Mi. lord? This is the second time I’ve seen you locked up in your own cell.”
“Gallahon. Two fiends attacked me accompanied by these Draconians and took over my castle. Damn them. Damn them all to Hell.” If anyone knew about these new invaders, it was Psygon.
“What happened? Who were they?” asked Aquanna.
“One of them, his name is Alvatourix. He is an infamous warlord. Alvatourix has been looking to take over thy kingdom for years, but has failed numerous times. But this time, he finally got his wish. My body guards, the six crusaders, battled Alvatourix for my kingdom. But they had failed, all of them. As for the other one, I do not know of. But he has abilities for which I’ve never seen before.”
“The six crusaders?” Asked Trenton.
“Yes. My most trusted and loyal bodyguards. They are still alive. I’ve ordered them to retreat after the battle with Alvatourix. But now that you all are here, you can find them and combine your force with theirs and get my kingdom back.”
“Where would we find them?” Asked Nina.
“I am sure they are located on Lake Island somewhere. You must find the six crusaders!”
“It will be done mi lord.” Gallahon and the others had fled. They went through the dungeons and up the stairs but stopped before they headed into the great hall of the castle. A horde of Draconians with axes and swords were invading the castle. Some even had shields.
“There’s too many of them.” Nina pointed out. “Looks like we’ve got no choice but to fight our way out.” Nina armed her swords but Trenton stopped her.
“Wait.” Nina paused. “Maybe there’s another way out.”
“No there isn’t.” Gallahon spoke. “The Draconians are blocking the only exit we have. I can fight.” Trenton looked back. He stepped into the great hall. He walked up behind one of them.
“Hello.” As the Draconian turned, Trenton unsheathed one of his blades and chopped his head clean off. The Draconians body fell down dead. The other Draconians were alerted as Gallahon, Nina and Aquanna came charging into the great hall. A battle for Psygon castle was about to erupt. It was four of them fighting a horde of Draconians. As one of the Draconians jumped towards Gallahon, Gallahon slide on his knees under the creature with his sword upward, slicing the creature’s pelvis down to the tip of its tail. Gallahon got up and his shield was greeted by a Draconians axe. Trenton crossed blades with one of these creatures.
As Trenton went in for the kill, the Draconian raised its shield and saved itself from the killing blow. The Draconians may have protection to their upper bodies, but their too stupid to block low attacks. Trenton sweep kicked the creature’s legs and impaled it while it was down on the ground. Nina and Aquanna double teamed up on the Draconians. As Nina clashed her sword with the Draconians axe, Aquanna got behind it and struck its back with her staff. As soon as its guard was down, Nina impaled right into the Draconians chest with one of her swords and chopped its head off with her other sword.
As the fight in Psygon castle was taking place, Dar woke up by the smell of smoke coming from the fire that was burning the tavern.
“Alroy. He’s still in there!” he realized. Dar rushed into the burning building to look for Alroy.
“ALROY!” Dar shouted. ’ALROY, WHERE ARE YOU!?” Beams that were holding up the ceiling started to crumble down. Dar was sweating from the intense heat of the fire, but he had to look for the bar keep. He saw Alroy lying on the floor, still alive and not a burn on him yet. Dar had to get to him. A beam fell down directly above Dar, Dar saw the falling beam and avoided from being crushed. Dar grabbed a hold of Alroy and pulled. He was heavy but Dar managed to drag his body. Dar dragged Alroy’s unconscious body up the steps and pulled him out of the flames. Dar and Alroy were safe.
“HELP!” Dar shouted out. “Can someone help us please!?” Alroy started to open his eyes. Dar was pleased that Alroy was waking up. But a projectile came out from nowhere and impaled Alroy. The projectile was in the shape of a spike and was glowing blackish purple. Dar looked into Alroy’s dying eyes, horrified. Alroy was cold and died in Dar’s arms. A sinister laugh came from Dar’s side. Dar looked upon the dark green skinned man accompanied by Dralord and Alvatourix with such anger.
“Foolish mortal. He should have died in the fire.” The mysterious dark skinned man said.
“You son of a BASTARD!” Dar was furious as he came running towards the dark skinned man. As the mysterious man tried to smack him aside, Dar ducked and kicked the mysterious man in the face.
“You shouldn’t have done that boy!” As Dar ran towards him again, the mysterious man grabbed Dar and flipped him onto the ground. As Dar was down, he unsheathed one of his katana’s and tried to impale him, but Dar rolled aside as the blade sank into the ground. As Dar got up and ran towards him again, the mysterious man pulled his katana out of the ground and cut his arm, leaving nothing but a deep scratch. Dar covered up his wound as it was bleeding through his fingers. Dar retreated, for now. The mysterious man put his katana away.
“Should we go after him mi lord?” asked Dralord.
“No. Let him go. I’m sure we didn’t see the last of him.” Having said that, the three of them headed for Psygon Castle.
Back inside the castle, Gallahon and his friends were slaughtering the last of the Draconian horde. Victory was near for them, but their celebration would have to what. Alvatourix, Dralord and the mysterious man entered the castle. As Gallahon looked over, he had a flashback. As if the mysterious man was the shadowy figure in his dream. As Gallahon ran towards him with sword and shield at the ready, the mysterious man held up his hand and Gallahon suddenly stopped. He was somehow floating in mid-air as if the mysterious man had a mystical grip on him. The mysterious man jerked his hand forward towards Gallahon and Gallahon flew back and crashed into the others. Gallahon could not believe what he just experienced.
“So, I finally found you Gallahon.” the man had said.
“Who are you?” Gallahon replied.
“You should remember me. I am the one you flung into the rift a long time ago. Remember Gallahon?” Gallahon tried hard to think back to that day. He remembered back then during the jousting tournament. Before his final battle with King Erloc, he remembers a dark green skinned boy that resembles the mysterious man that stood before him now. Gallahon remembers.
“Airloc…?” He answered. Gallahon and his friends were shocked to see the sight that was in fact Airloc.
“Yes Gallahon. I should probably thank you.” Airloc held up his hand and some kind of a purplish black aura appeared in his hand like magic. “If it wasn’t for you sending me into the rift, I wouldn’t have obtained this kind of power. So thank you for your help. And now, you must die.”
“LIKE HELL!” Gallahon got up and ran towards Airloc with such fury in his eyes. As Airloc was throwing shadowy like energy balls at him, Gallahon blocked every single one. Airloc quickly pulled out both of his katana’s as Gallahon jumped towards Airloc with sword in hand. But Airloc was no fool as he blocked Gallahon’s blow. Gallahon quickly struck again, but Airloc was playing defense. Gallahon kept striking until he got an opening but Airloc was a master of the katana and was leaving no openings. It was Airloc’s turn to play offense as Gallahon went to defense. Nina, Trenton and Aquanna ran in to try and help Gallahon but Alvatourix and Dralord had stopped them in their tracks.
“Where do you think you’re going!?” asked Alvatourix as he took his massive sword and slammed it down at them. The three quickly avoided from being cut in half. Dralord pulled out two battle axes but he also had another secret weapon. It was a steel made dragon talon that he held in his hand. Dralord also had a backup sword strapped to his waist. Trenton fought Alvatourix as the two girls defended against Dralord. It was a massive brawl inside the castle. Gallahon and Airloc showed off their mastery of swordplay.
“What’s the matter Gallahon? Out of breath and can’t keep up?” Airloc asked sinisterly.
“You certainly know your ways of the sword Airloc. But in the end, I will be victorious.” Airloc gave off a sinister smile.
“We shall see about that.” Gallahon and Airloc clashed and banged their swords against one another’s. Gallahon held up his shield as Airloc threw down his katana. As soon as an opening was found, Gallahon thrust his sword but he forgot about Airloc’s other katana as Gallahon’s blade slide across Airloc’s blade. Airloc stepped back as Gallahon struck again. Airloc knew the right time to play defense and so did Gallahon. Gallahon sought the opportunity to strike and took it. Airloc quickly avoided the blow and kicked Gallahon, causing Gallahon to stumble back. Airloc charged at Gallahon. Gallahon quickly avoided as Airloc swung his blades horizontal, hitting one of the columns of the castle.
Trenton struggled with Alvatourix as Trenton was trying to avoid from being cut in half by the massive sword. Nina and Aquanna teamed up battling Dralord as they both came charging at Dralord. Dralord blocked both attacks with his battle axes. They have never fought a Draconian such as Dralord, but then again Dralord is not like the ordinary Draconian. Dralord had the smarts of that of a human being.
“What are you?” Dralord did not reply at first.
“Wouldn’t you like to know?” Dralord attacked with his axes but Aquanna was smart to avoid Dralord’s blow. Nina tried to sneak attack him, but Dralord heard her footsteps and blocked her blow.
“Ha ha ha ha!” laughed Dralord as he blocked both Aquanna and Nina’s attack. Airloc was striking Gallahon with every blow, trying to break Gallahon’s defense. Airloc managed to get through and cut Gallahon’s arm. Gallahon yelled out as Airloc’s cut was deep. Gallahon’s arm bleed out. As Gallahon held up his shield he yelled out. “RETREAT!”
The others took it as a sign to flee. Gallahon managed to swept kick Airloc to the ground, giving Gallahon the chance to retreat for now. The others followed and fled from the battle. They ran as far as their feet could take them. They got to the shores of Windfall and got in a boat. Airloc, Alvatourix and Dralord had followed them but by the time they got there, Gallahon and his friends were off shore and safe into the sea. Gallahon and his friends took King Psygon’s advice and sailed to Lake Island to find the six crusaders.
“Dralord.” said Airloc. “Get your army ready to invade Lake Island. That’s where their most likely headed. I want Gallahon’s head.”
“Of course mi lord.” Dralord followed Airloc’s orders and went to ready his army. Gallahon watched as Airloc, Alvatourix and Dralord left the shores.