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"Why must this happen?" cried Sir Grant. "He's gone. There is no use weeping over him, as he joins the other two. We must keep our promise. Let's head off into the forests." I told Grant "Jimmy, how could you hurry at a time like this? He was one of our dearest friends. He was the most powerful of all. Can we not stay one moment to pay tribute to such a great man?" complained Sir Grant. "I know how you feel, my friend. I grieve for his death as well." I said holding back tears. I closed my eyes and thought about the day that changed my life forever. "Grant, how many more swords do you have to sell?" I asked my childhood friend who was making money with me in our hometown of Spiradel (spear-uh-DELL) "Ahhhh. I still have ten more. No one is buying them. Perhaps it's because I am only sixteen and you are seventeen. They must think that our blacksmith skills are childish." Replied Grant. "You know, being a knight would be so much more exciting, but they wouldn't let us. Just because our fathers were merchants." I told Grant. I saw a man in silk robes and a long beard walking by. He must be rich! I thought. "Excuse me, sir, would you like a finely forged long sword for your protection? It is the best you will find in this town. Give it a try, please." I offered the rich man. He lifted the sword and gave it a swing at one of the dummies. "Hmmm�a nice sword indeed, kid. I will not believe that you made it, however. You are just a mere kid. Where did you steal these from?" The rich man asked accusingly. "We made them!" Grant yelled. "How rude you are. Just because we can make better weapons than you can, doesn't mean that you have to accuse us of stealing! Go away unless you want your neck opened up." The man drew a sword, and swung at Grant. Grant dodged the sword, and grabbed a sword that we had made. "Your sword can not compare to the one that I made!" Cried the man as he leapt forward with the blade. CLANG! Grant blocked the sword with his own, and the man stood stunned as he saw his own sword's blade chip off. "How? How is your sword so powerful? Mine cannot be beaten!" Cried the rich man in disbelief. "Give me your sword!" Cried a cloaked and hooded stranger startling all three of us. Grant held onto his sword tightly. "I cannot sell you this sword. It is my special sword, you may choose another one." "Is that a no?" asked the stranger. "That's a no." Said Grant. "Wrong answer! Hand it over, now!" "And if I don't?" Asked Grant "Death" explained the stranger. "Try it!" Yelled Grant. The stranger lifted his hood to reveal a scary skull. He pulled out his jagged dagger, and held it up in Grant's face. The rich man tackled the skeleton, and started wrestling with him. "Run!" screamed the rich man. "You two are our only hope�" The skeleton jabbed the sharp blade into the chest of the rich man. "You killed him!" I screamed. "Grant, we cannot run! That man sacrificed himself to try to save us, and we will avenge his death." "Foolish boy." The skeleton muttered. The skeleton lifted his dagger, and grinned. Then we heard the sounds of hooves. "Seize him!" screamed a knight. The knights swung their swords at him, but they did not seem to affect the undead man. The skeleton stabbed all the knights and laughed. Grant and I grabbed out special swords that we spent a long time making, and sliced the skeleton in half. "Y-Y-You got lucky, kid�it's not over. My master will kill you all!" The undead said as he faded away. "That's why he wanted our swords�so that we couldn't use them against him. There is some magical power in the these blades." Thought Grant aloud. We heard a horse coming, and a knight asked us to come with him, and to see the king. I wondered what it was. I did not want to get in any trouble with the king. "Welcome, merchants!" Greeted the king. "I've heard news of your courage battling that skeleton. You shall be knights from this day forward!" Grant and I could not believe what we heard. If only my parents were still alive to witness this. Grant probably felt the same way. We had dreamed of being knights since we were only kids. "You boys will be having a feast with us tonight�and every night forward." The King said. "Whoa, Grant, this food is so good!" I pointed out. "We've been eating buns and buns and buns all our life!" Said Grant. "You boys like the food?" The king asked. "It was made by our finest chefs." "My, lord, we must talk." Said one of the knights. They went into the corner and the knight spoke. The King's jaw dropped, and had a frightened look on his face. The king returned to the dinner table with a grim face. "You boys must be stuffed, and same with you other knights. Go to bed soon." Instructed the king. Grant and I were discussing what might have happened before we went into our rooms. I wasn't used to such a nice bed, but it was so comfortable that I fell asleep within a minute. Knock knock knock. "Jimmy wake up!" Knock knock knock. I recognized Grant's voice. I got up and opened the door. "What do you want? I'm still in bed." I asked "That's why I came! It's noon! Do you want to skip lunch, or what?" explained Grant. I quickly escorted Grant out, and pulled on my hooded shirt. It was black, and was my favourite colour. Then I pulled on white pants and black boots. Incase anything happened, I brought my special sword. I quickly ran out the door, and into the dining room. "I'm sorry I'm late, my lord." I apologized. "Not a problem." The king said. The king ate quietly and was not his cheerful self. "What's wrong? Why is the king so worried?" I whispered to Grant. "It was probably what that knight told him yesterday." Grant whispered back. After our quiet lunch, we went out of the palace, and into the market. The town had changed a lot after we left our place. There were so many more blacksmiths. We decided to go to the place that we never had gone before. We were not permitted to go in as merchants, unless the king allowed us to watch the shows. We never had that chance. We stepped into the huge building, and saw two knights on horses up on the large stage. A bell rang, and the knights charged at each other. "Grant, why would they kill their own men?" I asked. "They're not killing. Their lances are dull. They try to knock each other off the horse. This is called a joust." Grant explained. Boom! A lance smashed into the other knight's body so hard, that he had no time to react, and landed with a thud, and struggling to breathe. "You are the best! Well fought!" The loser reached his hand to shake hands with the winner. "Hmph. I'm not that good. You're just the worst." The knight kicked the loser's hand away. "Who do you think you are!?" I demanded. "What kind of knight are you? You fit more into the peasant category if you ask me! "Ha! A kid challenging me? Who's that beside you? Perhaps it'll take a minute longer if a joust you both at the same time. Two of you against me." The knight taunted. We got on horses, and Grant whispered a plan, but before he could finish, the knight charged, and aimed for my neck. I ducked, and jabbed him with all my strength. He wobbled, and tried to regain balance, while Grant charged, and smashed him right in the helmet. I came back from behind, and hit him in the back, and he went flying off his horse. "Ha! Don't worry, I'm not that good. You're just new!" I taunted him. The knight ran off behind the battle arena, embarrassed. The crowed started clapping, and roared with laughter. The king was so pleased of us, and asked us to come with him back to the palace. We got off our horses, took off our armor, and went with the king. "Well done, boys. I am very proud of you." Said the king with a huge smile. "That was one of our best knights in combat, but I do not respect him like I respect our new knights. That knight is the worst man there could be, as you saw. His name is Shaun. All the knights hate him, but we must use him in our wars. I think you two have what it takes to go on the quest that I will send you off to. I've heard of your special swords that can tear wounds into the undead. Please help us. We are in grave danger." So that was what the king was worried about. I was quite excited about going on a journey. It will be a fun adventure. I quickly nodded, and agreed to go on this adventure, and so did Grant. We were both very happy to be asked to help the town, and we were so excited, but who would have known that we were excited about sorrow, suffering and pain? "Ahhhhhhh!" We heard screams from a girl We ran outside, and saw a zombie trying to eat the girl! Grant and I ran towards the undead, and pulled him away. "Grant draw the special sword!" I instructed unsheathing my special blade. "I left mine in the room!" Grant told me in a frightened look. I leapt forward, slashing the zombie, but the zombie hit me with his cold hands before I could hit him. I felt my body numb, and I was so slow! It's cold hands cast this spell on me. I tried to swing, but it was so slow, that the zombie barely tried to dodge it. Grant kicked the zombie away, and told me to run until the spell wears off. I ran, but it was so slow. Grant kept kicking at the zombie, but it smacked Grant, and Grant was numb. The undead grabbed Grant's head, and opened it's mouth really wide. I felt my body again, and this time, ran around to the back of the zombie, and sliced it's head off the neck. Grant was horrified, as the blue liquids poured out. "Sir Jimmy, Sir Grant. I am very proud of you two." Said the king. "The teamwork you two displayed was excellent. You will go on this adventure. There are no better people for the job. Tomorrow afternoon, you two will go into the City of the Dead. You must obtain the Undead's Pearl. It is hidden deep within the city. Some say that a ghoul possesses it in his body. Kill the evil undead, and bring the pearl to me." "We will, my lord. We will not fail you. May I ask why you want this pearl?" I asked. "We must have it if we want our lives." The king explained, and walked away. "Grant, do you know anything of this pearl?" I questioned. "I have never heard of it. Do you think the king just wants it because of greed?" Grant asked me back. "Not a chance!" I said. "Why would the king be that way? He is a great man." We went to bed, and I couldn't fall asleep that night. I lay wondering what will happen to us. I got out of bed, and lit a candle. I examined my sword, and wondered how it could damage the undead. I saw nothing special in it, except the fact that I made it, and placed my family's precious ruby into it. My eyes became heavy, and I pulled up the covers. I thought I heard breathing noises, and bolted up in my bed. I slowly approached my door, and out floated skeletal ghostly figures. I stopped myself from screaming, not wanting to wake everyone up. I could take two undead by myself. I gripped my sword tightly, and stared at it. That's when I noticed that the ruby was flashing blue. Was that the special power? I had no time to think, as the ghosts came towards me. I slashed quickly with my undead killer, but the ghosts vanished. I started to feel relieved, and dropped my guard, as the ghosts reappeared. They started to attack, as a man around my age leapt out of nowhere with a gigantic sword, and slashed both the ghosts in two. I was too shocked to express my thanks. I had no idea where this guy came from, but he sure seemed like a good man. I did not fear him. He stood with his back towards me. He wore red robes, with short black hair, and a black sash at the waist carrying a blood red dagger. He also had a gem at the hilt of his gigantic sword. It flashed yellow. I tried to get a look at his face, but he disappeared through a red portal before I could get around. "Who was that man?" I kept wondering. "How did he transfer in and out of that portal?" "Jimmy, get up!" I heard Grant yell. "I have important news." I opened the door, and Grant came in and started talking. "You will not believe any of this, but I would not lie to you about things like this. Last night, I couldn't sleep, so I examined my sword. I saw the sapphire in my sword flash green. Then I saw five skeletal archers at my door. They fastened an arrow to their bows, and pulled back. I thought I was dead, but then this red portal appeared, and a man around our age appeared, and shot five arrows all at once right in the necks of the skeletons. I saw the gem on his bow flash red." "I believe you." I told Grant. "Something quite alike happened to me." I explained what had happened to me. We discussed about our adventure, and then the bell that signaled noon rang, and Grant ran into his room, grabbed his sword, and we met in the halls. We walked into the dining room, and placed our swords on the counter for the peasant to watch. "Are you ready for this, boys?" The king asked. "If you do not want this, you do not have to do it." "Don't worry, my lord." I replied. "We will go, and we will come back with the pearl." "We will not turn back until we get that thing." Grant assured the king. We quickly ate our lunches, and bid farewell to our new friends, and the king. We headed south as the king had instructed, and as we approached the gates, we noticed five cloaked adventurers. One of them was wearing a dark red cloak, with half his face showing under his hood. Grant and I walked past them and headed out of Spiradel. We walked for many hours, following the path as the king had explained. We were to follow the path and take right whenever we saw a split. At the first split, I saw a wanderer cloaked in black, hiding his whole face under his hood. His head turned our way, and summoned five skeletons armed with swords, and shields. The wanderer, lifted off his feet, and floated away. I kept my mind focussed on the battle. I pointed my sword at one of the skeletons, as it walked over to my direction. I slashed, but the skeleton blocked with his shield, and looked as if that required no skill. The skeleton sliced with amazing speed, as I jumped to the right, barely dodging the hit. I quickly slashed at the back of the skeleton, and it crumbled into pieces. "Help me!" yelled Grant. I turned around, and saw four skeletons chasing after him. "Try to get one skeleton to leave the bunch, and double team it!" I instructed Grant. Grant banged his sword onto a skeleton's shield, making it mad at Grant. I noticed that the skeletons could not run. "Grant! I got an idea! Keep that skeleton busy!" I commanded. I slashed the other two skeletons in the shield, making them walk after me. I lead them far away from Grant, and I ran to help Grant. I jump slashed the skeleton in the back, and it crumbled. "Use the same plan on the other two skeletons." I said. The other two skeletons were walking towards us, and Grant ran to one of them, and got it to chase him. I slashed the other one, and tried to kill him, but I was always on the defensive side. The skeleton kept slashing, and I kept dodging. The skeleton made a weak but quick swing, and cut me on my left arm. I bled, but the pain was not too great. The wound was not that deep. Grant ran back, and swung his sword at the skeleton, but the skeleton turned, and kicked him away. The skeleton kicked me down, and held his sword high, ready to finish me off. Grant was being stepped on, and I could not get up. My back hurt really badly. The skeleton swung the sword at amazing strength, but a wave of fire burned it into ashes. The other skeleton joined it soon after. "You boys need training." The man said in his white robes. I noticed that he was holding a long white staff with a golden top piece. What was strange about him was that he had pointy ears. "What's with his ears?" I whispered to Grant. "He's an elf." Grant told me. "Sir Jimmy, Sir Grant, I am Anthony. Lord of the elves in the Forests of North Spiradel. It is now a very dangerous place. Please help me destroy the orcs after your quest is over. I will accompany you on this journey. Only after the orcs are slain, will my elves be able to live there once more. " The wizard said. "Lord Anthony, how did you know our names?" I asked. "I've been watching over you two since your fathers died. I promised him. They were both very great friends of mine. We were with a few others, fighting with the orcs, and they both got slain. They did not get sick like what you two had been told." Anthony answered. We continued down the path, and Lord Anthony killed all the undead that we came across. He made us look foolish. He killed all of them without any effort at all. One shot of magic did the job. When darkness fell upon us, I unpacked my sleeping bag, and laid it out. Grant did the same. "What are you two doing?" asked Lord Anthony. "Get those things off the ground, and continue down the path. "But its night." I protested. "Can we not stop for rest? We will not be able to see our path later on, anyway." The wizard held his arms high, and muttered some words. A huge sphere surrounded us, lighting the area. I was amazed. Whenever we moved forward, the sphere moved with us. We continued until our light sphere vanished. "What happened?" I asked. "We are approaching the gates of City of the Dead." Anthony explained. "It will be pitch black in there, except for the glow of the undead." "Umm�May we stop for rest? The walk was really tiring." I asked. "Me too!" Grant agreed. The wizard looked at us for a moment. "Tiring�or are you afraid?" Anthony asked. "Ugh! We're going in no matter what I answer, aren't we?" Grant complained. The wizard led us into the city, and we saw houses. They were all broken, and seemed to have been there for at least thousands of years. There was light inside all the houses. "Oh well, there's light in the houses." I told Grant. "Oh�my�lord!" said Grant. "The light is the glow of undead creatures�" I felt a chill all over my body. I tried to run out of the city, but I could not move! What's going on? I saw Anthony and Grant trying hard to move, as well. "Grant�this is bad." I said. "What is this? I can't cast my magic!" said Anthony. We saw glowing zombies walking towards us with mouths wide open, arms outstretched, and drooling. This was bad. "I'm sorry Lord Anthony. I didn't mean to get you into this mess." I apologized. "Don't worry. This is not the end. I know this cannot be. I have to find a way to cast my magic!" Anthony told me. I felt a zombie grab my head, and slowly put it near his mouth. My head went deeper, and deeper, until I felt teeth on the top of my neck. Then I heard a slicing sound. The zombie dropped with the top part of it's head cut off. Grant and Anthony's predators had arrows stuck in their heads. Two men around our age stood with their backs towards us. One wore a shirt without sleeves, long white pants, and a bow. The other wore red robes with a gigantic sword, and a black sash around his waist carrying a blood red dagger. "It's you!" Grant and I both screamed simultaneously. "Thank you my lord. You have saved me twice already." We said. They turned around, and the one in red robes spoke. "Call me Wilson. My friend here is Brian. We've watched you two since the day that you were brought into this world." "Brought into this world?" I asked. "Your mothers died, and your fathers met us. We were struggling to flee from a beast known as Siniroth. He was once human, but as he possessed the Sinstone, and he mutated into a huge beast, and attacked our world. We escaped through a portal, and found ourselves here. We met Anthony, and we fought together until you fathers died, and we went back to our world. You two were born in our world. Your fathers brought you two here." "Well, let's make haste. Brian, shoot thirty arrows quickly. Aim them into each house. I will attack the undead wandering around." Wilson instructed. Brian shot twenty arrows at a time at a house through the holes where windows should have been. The glow in the house faded, and Brian continued this until all the houses were shot. "The pearl is not in any of the houses." Brian told Wilson. "How can you tell?" I asked. "Maybe the pearl is in there somewhere and we can't see it." "When the undead that has it in his body dies, this town will light up." Answered Brian. Wilson leapt into a group of at least twenty skeletons, and they lifted their swords. Wilson spun around with his huge sword killing all the skeletons. I was amazed at how he could spin at such speed with a gigantic sword as big as that. Wilson and Brian went around the whole place killing the undead like mad. Brian and Wilson killed all the undead and continued onto the next town. The City of the Dead is actually a whole lot of cities! How will we ever find the pearl? Brian got hit by a zombie, and turned numb. There were arrows of fire flying towards him. "Brian!" Wilson screamed. "Run!" "I can't�I'm gone. Continue on�" said Brian. Anthony cast ice cold magic on the arrows, shattering them into pieces. "Thank you, my lord." Said Brian There were a lot of archers, and Anthony had to help out. Grant and I watched their backs. This was getting hard. An over sized skeleton jumped out of a house, and ran at me with his spear pointed forward. I leapt over it, and struck him in the skull. The skull barley cracked, and Grant hacked at the ribs. The bones were as if they were made of steel or something! The skeleton whacked me with the end of his spear, and I fell to my knees. He kicked Grant down, and stepped on his head. I tried to get up, but the pain was overwhelming as I fell on my face. I saw the skeleton get ready to finish Grant with his spear, as a bolt of lightning struck him in the head. He stumbled back, and looked furious. He ran at Anthony, as Anthony made a wall of ice that the skeleton ran into. Anthony cast a lightning bolt that came down from the sky, and zapped the skeleton. The undead fell to his knees dropping his spear. I struggled to get up, and jumped with my sword slashing the back of the skeleton. The monster crumbled and a little red key dropped out of his rib cage. I picked it up, and showed Anthony. Grant fought his pain, and got up, as well. "This key may be important. We better keep it. It may lead to the pearl." Said Anthony. I gave the key to Anthony to hold, and I held my injured ribs. Grant's head was hurt, and he had to sit for a little bit. I wanted to help the other three, but I couldn't take the pain. "You two shall rest until you feel that you can go on. If not, you will not be able to fight, those ruthless creatures may kill you. We will come get you once we move further into the town." Said Anthony. "You dare try to escape from me?!" We heard an unfamiliar roaring voice. We all turned towards Brian and Wilson, and we saw a red portal open up. "What's going on? Did you open that portal?" asked Wilson. "No, and does that voice not belong to�" Brian was cut off as a huge beast came through the portal. "Gwahahahahaha!" Laughed the huge demon. "Siniroth!" Screamed Brian and Wilson. He was huge, standing around fifty feet tall! He was blood red, with huge horns, and demon wings. His tail was bigger than I was. It had huge spikes that could pierce anything. "How did he find us?" Wilson choked out. "You can run, but you will eventually die a slow painful death." Growled Siniroth. "Now�prepare to say good-bye to your new buddies here. Before I banish you from this world�I must thank you for leading me to this other world. You have been very useful, but now it's over for you and these fools." "Run! There is no chance of winning. I will distract him for hopefully enough time for you four to bring Spiradel's people to another place." Instructed Wilson. "There is no need. I can teleport." Said Anthony. "I will try to teleport all of us. Huddle in close�HURRY!" We all stuffed into a small circle. Anthony cast his spell. "GRAAAWL!" cursed Siniroth. I felt my body freeze, as I noticed that everyone but Siniroth was gone. I did not get teleported. Siniroth glared at me with hatred in his eyes. "BWAHAHAHA!" Laughed Siniroth. I knew I would lose, but without hesitation, I charged at full speed, and struck Siniroth in the leg. His scales or whatever they were prevented any harm. He breathed fire at my direction, and I barely leapt out of the way. I saw a flash, and the whole town lit up. It wasn't the fire�what could it be? "What is this?" Screamed Siniroth, shielding his eyes from the light with his huge hand. I remembered what Brian said about the town lighting up when the pearl was found. The demon stopped attacking me to cover his eyes. I found a wooden chest on the ground, with bones all around it. I picked it up, and tried to open it. It was locked. I had given my key to Anthony�What do I do now? I tried to stomp on it to crush it; I tried banging it on the ground. None of that worked. I slashed at it with my sword, and it opened up, and I saw a pearl the size of my eye. The pearl shined, and attached onto the hilt of my sword, replacing the ruby. I picked up the ruby off the ground, and heard feet stomping behind me. I spun around, and slashed the leg of the demon once again. It cut a shallow wound, and the demon continued walking. He had his eyes covered to block the light, so I ran into a house, and decide to jump from the house onto his hand, and climb up on his head, and kill him. A zombie jumped out form behind a broken couch, and startled me. I slashed it, and he fell to the ground. I ran up the stairs, and found a skeletal archer. I jumped at it, and it dodged my sword, and knotted an arrow to it's bow. It shot, and stuck me in the left shoulder. I screamed in, pain, as the skeleton knotted another arrow to it's bow. I pulled the arrow out causing great pain. It shot, and I rolled towards the skeleton dodging the arrow. I stabbed it in the chest area, and it crumbled. I continue up the building, until I got to the roof. I saw Siniroth kicking around, in search for me. It roared. The sound was unbearable. I fell to my knees covering my ears. I picked up a stone, and threw it at Siniroth's chest, hoping he would stop the roar. He stopped, roaring, and continued to kick around looking for me. I thought It was time for me to jump off. I took in my courage and leapt, trusting my luck� I closed my eyes, hoping that I would land on this hand. I felt wind blowing up at me as I fell from the building. I felt as though I would fall forever, until I landed on a scaly hard surface. My ribs ached even more than before. I opened my eyes, and saw a huge left red hand underneath me. I didn't think that Siniroth felt me land on him. He just continued kicking around, covering his eyes from the light. I ran up to the wrist of his hand, and started climbing. I had difficulty getting up to the lower arm. I jabbed my sword into it, and used it to get higher. Of course, the demon could feel that I was there, and started laughing. "Heheheheh�" Laughed the demon. "Foolish child. If you had run, your town may be safe. Now that I've got you, I do not have to look for the town blindly. I could make them all come to me. They will try to save you." I saw his huge right hand moving in my direction. I pulled the sword out of his hand, and I started to drop. I felt my ribs ache again. This time, as though they were shattering. I noticed that Siniroth hit my ribs with a huge sharp black claw. The tip of the claw almost hit me, which would cause my death. I knew that Siniroth would not kill me, for he needed me to lure the town here. "ROOAARR!" cried the demon in agony. "My eyes�They burn!" I noticed how fortunate I was, and how mindless Siniroth was. He uncovered his eyes to hit me. I fell back down to his hand, holding my ribs in pain. I knew that I had to get off Siniroth immediately. I struggled to stay on my feet, and waited till the huge demon moved closer to the building that I leapt off of. I felt so scared as I saw everything around me turn bright red. Everything around me spun, and I got dizzy. Then when it finally stopped, I saw six stone pillars around me, that all had a horrifying looking "S" on them. I noticed how it was so dark in that place, but I could still see what happened. I saw Siniroth walk up to a gigantic black throne with huge spikes at the top. He sat down, trying to rest. I knew that this was the time for escape. I jumped down from his hand, and fell a long way down to the ground, landing on my side. That fall hurt my ribs even more than it did before. The pain was unbearable, but I knew that I had to get out of that place. I spotted a big red portal in the middle of the six stone pillars, and ran for it. I almost reached it, when all of a sudden, a huge human-like beast burning in flames burst out of the ground bellow me. He was around ten feet tall. He had long dark black hair, with silver armour. He wore golden gaunlets with huge spikes. "I suppose you are not trying to escape?" He said with almost a threatening voice. "Who are you? What do you want from me?" I screamed at the burning monster. "My name is none of your concern. What I want from you, is your corpse." The beast said calmly glaring at me with fiery red eyes. I noticed Siniroth sleeping on his throne. I had a crazy idea, which turned my chance to escape into nothing. I ran up to the demon, and held my sword out. "If you get in my way, his life is mine!" I threatened the fiery beast. "Oh, my lord!" cried the monster. "That has got to be the funniest thing I have ever seen in my life! Ahahaha!" I wondered what was so funny. I slashed at Siniroth's tail, and it barley did anything. It didn't even bleed. I knew that I was dead now, as the flaming monster walked towards me. "Burn to hell�" whispered the beast. "Heh�try it! I will send to back to the flaming hell that you awoke from!" I cried, pointing my sword up at him. I ran forward and slashed with my sword, and it seemed as if I struck metal. He lifted his flaming broad sword. "May the devil take this soul away, and burn him in the fires of hell�" Whispered the torched soul. I held up my sword, trying to block the much larger flaming sword. The swords hit each other, and I pushed up, while the beast pushed down. He was obviously overpowering me, but I had enough time to roll out of the sword's way. He got ready for the finishing blow. //~+ Grant's Thought's +~\\ My head was still spinning from the teleportation done by Anthony. I glanced at Brian, who was already starting to make a fire. I wondered how long I was unconscious for. Everyone was already moving around. I noticed that Jimmy was missing. "Where's Jimmy?" I began. "Did he go off somewhere? Is he looking for food? I'm really hungry." "Jimmy's not with us�" Anthony said. "He did not come with us through the teleportation." "Umm� why did you not go back to get him?" I asked. "I cannot control my teleportation. Many wizards cannot even use the skill. I only use it when I am in great danger. As you can see, we're in an unknown forest right now." I did not know what to do. Jimmy was probably dead by now. "I think I know where we are�" Said Wilson, searching his map. That wall over there is the exit of Spiradel. That far place that way must be The City of the Dead." "Nonsense! That place is lit up�impossible. It cannot be The City of the Dead." Said Brian, still working on making a fire. "Wait a minute!" Grant said. "That may be the city. Remember how you said that once the pearl was found, the city would light up? Maybe Jimmy found the pearl! Let's go! Hurry!" We ran at full speed all the way to The City of the Dead. I was exhausted when we got there. "Look! The red portal is still there! Let's go through!" I said running towards it. I heard Wilson's warning, but it was too late, I have gone through� "No! You fool, that will lead right to Siniroth, and Bal-" I heard no more, as I opened my eyes, and saw Jimmy on the ground with a fiery monster getting ready to kill him. //~+ Jimmy's Memories +~\\ I closed my eyes, waiting for death. Then when nothing came, I opened my eyes, seeing the flaming monster looking over his left shoulder, starring at Grant! Grant rose to his feet, and held his sword out. I saw that the red portal in the center of the six pillars had disappeared. Grant and I both got ready for battle. I knew that we would lose, but it was worth a try. I signaled for Grant to charge. We both ran at full speed into the center of the pillars with our swords at our sides. I slashed at the back of the burning beast. Grant stabbed at the stomach of him. Both our swords bounced off of the monster. "H-How are we supposed to beat something like this?" Grant asked in a stuttering shocked voice. "Ahhhh! We will die�" I said. "Hah! You're right, fool." Moaned the burning monster. He just stood there laughing for around five minutes. We were slashing at him the whole time, but he just kept laughing. We were just waiting for our death� //~+ Wilson's thoughts +~\\ "Grant�" I said to myself. "Why must you be so foolish? This may be the end of both Zanarda and Ardakind." "It's okay. We'll save them." Brian reassured. "We will not let Siniroth kill them. If we do�" "We won't!" Cried Anthony. "Now, make a portal, and let's go save them." "But the portal will lead very far away from Siniroth's tower." I explained. "Don't worry! I'll teleport and you can tell me if I've gone to the right place, then I'll repeat that over and over." Anthony suggested. "Good idea, Lord Anthony." I said, pulling out my secret Portal Orb. I lifted it up, and a red portal slowly appeared. We went through, and into the middle of the six stone pillars with the word "Ardakind" on it. "Alright, start the teleportation." I instructed. Lord Anthony started teleported us and we appeared in the Forests of Sins. We were right where the Sinstone was. It was so silent, that it was almost scary. We left immediately, and we teleported to Mount Balth. I never wanted to come here in my life. I told Anthony to leave immediately. We finally got the Tower of Siniroth. We ran in, and found two huge monsters sitting by the stairs. We walked slowly, and when we reached them, we noticed that they had fallen asleep. After we crept upstairs, we heard something laughing around two levels above us. We ran past angry guards, and dodged flaming arrows. We looked back for more arrows coming, and ran right into a huge guard. He locked us up, and put us in a locked cell beside the door to the throne of Siniroth. "I have a red key that Jimmy found." Whispered Anthony. "If we're lucky, it may be the one to this cell." A guard walked by, and saw Anthony fitting the key into the lock. "Trying to escape are we?" Began the enormous guard. "Looks like you'll have to an-" I looked up, and saw Brian holding his bow, and saw an arrow in the neck of the guard. Luckily, the key worked! I used my huge sword, and cut down the door� //~+ Jimmy's Memories +~\\ I gave up on trying to kill the fiery monster. Suddenly, the door was cut open. Wilson, Brian and Anthony ran in, ready for battle. Wilson had both his hands on his sword, pointing it out at the flaming monster. Brian knotted ten arrows to his bow! Anthony had his staff pointing at the beast. The creature form hell glared at them with flaming red eyes. He lifted his sword, and ran at them. Brian released the arrows, and they all went towards the chest of the beast. As the arrows went close to him, they burned into ashes! Wilson swung his massive sword, but was blocked by the flaming broad sword. Anthony quickly shot a spike of ice at the monster. The ice started to melt near him, but not enough to stop the magic. "GRAAAAWWWWLLLLL!" Screamed the monster, freezing in cold. The huge beast seemed to move the fire around his body into a huge wave, fighting the ice. The ice obviously melted, but the water but out some of his fire. Anthony sweated from continuously shooting ice. The evil beast was slowly winning, and Anthony told us to run. I did not want to leave our new friend to die to this thing. I hacked away at his back, and nothing happened. Anthony instructed Brian to shoot if he wasn't going to run. Brian shot twenty arrows at once, and Anthony froze the tips with his ice magic. The arrows pierced through the fire, and the burning flesh of the monster. He screamed in pain, as the ice dug deep into the flesh. Brian and Anthony repeated this until Anthony was too tired, and Brian's quiver ran low on arrows. I ran up to the monster, and slashed as hard as I could. The flesh was somewhat tender, and was easy to pierce. He fell to his knees, moaning in pain. "Let's see you kill me when I'm in hell!" He appeared to sink into the ground. "It is impossible to win against me�If you hurt me, I can go back down there to regenerate my power! You! You fool in the white robes�You will come with me!" The huge monster used his remaining powers to burn Anthony right to hell. We could not do anything, but watch as our friend gets torched in ashes. I tried to help, but nothing worked. I kept hacking away at the flaming monster. He felt a whole lot of pain, but he just sank down to hell. Groaning in a horrifying voice, "I will be back for the rest of you�" Anthony turned into ashes, and we all fell to our knees in disbelief. I felt so bad. I felt as if it were my fault. I caused his death. If it weren't for me soon becoming the protector of Zanarda, he would still be alive. I felt terrible. We stayed at his ashes for a long time, not even paying attention to Siniroth resting on his throne. Anthony has joined our fathers. They are all dead. "Our lives are messed�" Grant said sadly. "First our fathers, now our new friend." "Why must this happen?" cried Sir Grant. "He's gone. There is no use weeping over him, as he joins the other two. We must keep our promise. Let's head off into the forests." I told Grant "Jimmy, how could you hurry at a time like this? He was one of our dearest friends. He was the most powerful of all. Can we not stay one moment to pay tribute to such a great man?" complained Sir Grant. "I know how you feel, my friend. I grieve for his death as well." I said holding back tears. I noticed Sir Brian, and Sir Wilson humming a sad song of prayer. I lay on the ground, staring into the darkness. "If this was how it was going to be, then why live at all?" I wondered aloud. "Living is the hardest part. Death is the relief." I'm thinking about the future, and how death may come to the four of us one day as I lay motionless on the cold stone floor. By Jimmy |
