The Return Chapter 14

The Third Encounter

By Firstborn Dragon

"Wh…What happened here?"

There were a few people outside, watching the town burn. They turned as they saw the ship land. Cecilia rushed towards them, in an attempt to discover what had just happened.

A man ran up to them. "A giant creature came out of nowhere, and demanded we hand over something called the ‘Elw’. When we said we didn’t know what it was talking about, it began to attack everything in sight. Then it set the town on fire, and it spread very easy. So many dead…"

Rudy came up beside her. "It’s still here. In there…"

Zed came up too, Striker drawn. "Then I must go face it. The blade calls to me."

Rudy drew his ARM, and Jack came up, Slayer drawn. Zed looked slightly surprised by Jack’s approach, but all three advanced towards the burning town.

As they entered, they saw several bodies. Those too slow to escape the creature’s wrath. So many dead. They kept searching, and finally fond the creature, in front of the castle. But when they saw it, it was not what they expected at all…

Zed was the first to see the creature. "YOU! This time I will kill you for what you did to me. This time, you die Zeikfried.."

Rudy the second. "Grandfather! Stop! Why are you attacking this city?"

And Jack, the last. "Father! There’s no need for this. You’re a knight! A knight doesn’t attack the innocent…"

The creature appeared to be someone that the three felt close to, or hated very much… The creature turned to speak to Rudy and Jack. The known dangers.

"Why should I not? These people are mere annoyances. I will find what I seek, for better or…WHAT!"

Zed drew Striker. And advanced on the creature. Once Striker touched it, the spell was ruined. The creature towered over the three, easily twice as tall as the tallest man. It had two heads, one of Zeikfried, one of Rudy’s grandfather. It held a weapon in each of it’s arms. A sword, an axe, a spear, and an ARM. It had a great reptilian tail behind it, as well as a great pair of wings. It’s tail ended in a curved point, like the head of a scythe. "So, you hold Striker as well. No matter. When the three fight together, not even your pitiful weapons can stop us! We shall rule this planet, and it’s vermin. And open the gateway to the Elw’s world!" The creature spread it’s great wings, and began to rise up. The wind from them was so great, that it blew Zed, Rudy, and Jack back. And the creature vanished from sight…

The three headed towards the castle. Miraculously, it had been spared from the ravings of the fire. Most of the people were still alive as well. At least for the moment. With the fire closing in, there was a chance that everyone could be killed. As they entered, most of the people vanished inside. Jack looked very annoyed at this. "Fools! Can’t they see that they’ll end up dead if we don’t get out of here?"

The fire was closing in fast. Somehow, the creature must have been keeping it away. And now that it was gone…

Rudy suddenly got an idea. "We’ve got to get everyone down into the sewers. The monsters living down there will probably avoid attacking a larger group, and even if they don’t, between us and the guards, we should be able to hold them off."

Jack nodded. "Right."

The three rushed into the castle, and nearly ran over the chancellor.

"You’re back! You saved us from that beast, but the fire…"

Rudy cut him off. "Get everyone together. We can get into the swears. That way, the fire will miss us, even if it hits the castle."

Fear entered the chancellor "But the monsters…"

Rudy cut him off. He knew there was no time to argue. "You get the people down there, the three of us will deal with the monsters."

The Chancellor nodded, and rushed off. Rudy lead the others to the kitchen, and down into the swears. As soon as they landed, the monsters began to advance towards them. The three prepared for a fight. By the time the first of the castle’s inhabitant’s descended, the creatures had backed off, not willing to try and fight the warriors. Within 5 minutes, everyone had descend. With Rudy, Jack, and Zed leading, the party took off threw the swears. Several times the monsters tried to attack, but they always fell back from the guard’s steel. Soon, they reached the man hole that would take them out into the center of town.

Jack started to climb up, but Zed stopped him. "I’ll go first. The fire will bother me the least. But it could kill you." He then turned to Rudy. "If something happens to me, could you…"

Rudy nodded. "I’ll look after her, I promise."

Zed nodded, then climbed up the ladder. But what he saw was not the raging inferno he expected, but rather a burned out city. He climbed back down. Jack and Rudy waited for him to say something. "It’s out. All that’s up there is a burned out town."

Jack and Rudy look at each other, in disbelief, when a familiar voice calls out from above. "You guys all right down there? The sorceresses from the cathedral came over to put the fire out. But every one from the castle is gone…"

Jack looked up the ladder. "Cecilia! Am I ever glad to see you! Everyone is down here. The fire started to approach the castle. So we had to move fast."

Jack, Rudy, and Zed moved to the back of the line, as the rest of the people headed up. But the monsters had learned their lesson, and were keeping a safe distance. Soon, everyone had headed up the ladder. And looked around in disappear as their town had been burned down, yet again. Cecilia approached the chancellor. "This is no longer my fight. I shall stay to help our people rebuild. There is nothing I can do to help them anymore." Cecilia turned to Jack, Rudy, and Zed. "May the guardians go with you on this journey. The survival of all the races depends on it."

The three nodded, and left. There were tears in Cecilia’s eyes as she watched them leave. She knew, as well as they, that should they fail, life as they know it would end…

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