Kingdom Of Demons (5) When the horde reached Castle Dread, the sun was starting to come up. Gordo grabbed the princess and carried her through the castle corridors, while the others cleaned and sharpened their axes. The horde knew that once King Marcus discovered his daughter was missing, he would send his knights to rescue her. The thought of a fight on their home territory excited the demons to the point where they often quarreled amongst themselves. Nevertheless, they were ready for anything the humans had to offer. Gordo took Princess Ilea to a special cell, behind the throne room. He chained her to the wall next to a dark haired woman. The woman was very dirty and wore rags for clothing, but was still very beautiful. Gordo snarled at the woman, as she turned her head in fear. She was brought her by the horde years ago, after one of their hunts in the woods. As Gordo left the room, she looked over at the young woman and noticed her clothing. She assured herself that the young woman was royalty by the way she dressed and figured her reason for being here was truly of sinister nature. She started to speak to the woman. But before she could open her mouth, King Krimus entered the room. He walked straight to the princess and stared at the young woman with great interest. With his large hand he picked up her head to expose a most beautiful face. For some reason he found himself aroused by human woman and it showed as he moved his hand down her gown. Her head slowly lowered as he rolled the back of his hand over her breast. He became very aroused when her gown opened up exposing her firm young breast. He examined her curvy body and was pleased at what he saw. She moaned slightly as she was slowly starting to gain consciousness. She looked up and was quickly startled by the sight of him. “ Welcome Princess” he said as she looked around. “Where am I?” she asked. “ You are in the kingdom of demons. This is Castle Dread and I am King Krimus” he said proudly. “What do you want with me?” she replied. “ In due time princess. But first, let us get acquainted” he said as stroked her hair. She quickly pulled her head away and spit at him in anger. “My father will come for me. And when he does, he’ll have your head!” she yelled. Krimus was quickly angered by her outburst and slapped her in the face. Her head snapped around and tears began to roll down her cheeks. “ Your fathers arrival will only bring his death! I will hang his head on a pole and you will serve me forever!” he yells. “ I will never serve you” she says in disgust. “ We will see soon enough. You’ll change your mind when his army is at my mercy” he says as he holds her head toward him. Then he roars at the two women and exits the room. As Krimus shut the cell door behind him, the tears continued to fall down Ilea’s face. The woman next to her watched, as she struggled against the steel of the chains. “It’s no use princess. I’ve tried to escape. But I fear it is impossible” the woman said sadly. “How long have you been here?” asked Ilea. “I don’t know really. I was separated from my son Warrick, as we passed through the woods. We were attacked by those monsters, on our way to the village by your fathers castle.” As she finished the princess looked at the woman with a surprised look. “ Warrick is your son?” she asked. “Do you know him. Please tell me he lives!” the woman says with excitement. “ If we speak of the same person he not only lives, but is on his way, with my fathers knight’s, to the cave of the dragon” she replied back. The princess told her of the plan’s to retrieve the metal from the cave, in hopes of defeating King Krimus. She then told her of how she first met Warrick and about his battle with Sir Gregory. The women were soon in deep conversation and filled with hopes of their rescue. Chapter Ten When the king first heard of his daughters disappearance, he was angered. He knew it was the work of King Krimus, by the ax that was found embedded in one of the guards. All he could do was hope she still lived and that the knight’s would return soon. His thoughts of them were soon interrupted, as Kalavar entered the room. “Kalavar have you word from the knights?” he asked. “ I have seen them my lord. They are close to the dragon cave. They encountered some resistance from the creatures of the forest ” he reported. “Yes, as we expected” the king said as he slowly stared out the window. The sorcerer looked at the king, as he knew what troubled him so. “They will not harm her sire” he assured him. “ It is not her that they want” Kalavar added. “ Perhaps. But I still worry so” the king admitted. “ The knights will get the metal sire. They will then return to defeat King Krimus” Kalavar assured him. “ How can you be so sure?” the king asked welcoming good news. “ The one they call Warrick” Kalavar replied. “Ah yes, the blacksmith. Has the stone accepted him?” “ The power of the stone grows stronger as we speak” Kalavar said with confidence. The king walked over to his throne and sat down as he stroked his beard. “ It’s hard to imagine my kingdom being in the hands of a mere blacksmith” the king said lowering his head. “ He is no longer a mere blacksmith sire. Soon he will have power unmatched by even Krimus himself” “ And he can handle such power?” the king questioned. “ He is strong my king. And his heart is pure. Besides, when the two stones meet in battle, it won’t matter.” “ Explain yourself Kalavar” the king said curiously. “ It will all come to an end soon sire. The kingdoms fate is in good hands.” With that, Kalavar bowed to the king and exited the room. With the swamp of death behind them, the men closed in on the dragon cave. They were all eerily quiet, as their destination got closer. Warrick, strangely enough, found himself riding beside Sir William. He had a lot of respect for him as a knight, but his social skills left something to be desired. So many questions of knighthood rang in his mind, but he kept them to himself in fear it would bring an argument. Just when he thought he would burst from the pressure of silence, he was surprised by a civilized conversation. “You surprise me blacksmith” Sir William started. “ I? Surprise you? How?” Warrick asked. “I have to admit, when you first started talking of being a knight I was offended. I mean, the thought of a blacksmith thinking himself equal to myself was quite disturbing” William added. “ And now” Warrick replied. “ I have seen many young men talk of knighthood and bravery. I grew quite fond of one of them. I taught him the art of the sword, only to watch him easily slain. But, you are different. And that stone is only part of it. You are proving to be quite the warrior. And I am honored to fight by your side” the knight said respectfully. “ Thank you Sir William. For your words are kind. But your still not my type” he says with a smile. William has to smile as well, as he remembers his comment when the journey began. They start to laugh at one another, as Sir Gregory rides up beside them. “ If you two are done holding hands, I believe were here” he says pointing forward. The two men look ahead and soon find themselves staring at the entrance to the dragon cave. No one uttered a word, as they stared at the entrance to the dragons lair. The entrance to the cave was rather small. Some of the men made comments that there may not be a dragon inside at all. To prove their theory five of them volunteered to enter. Two of them carried spears, while the others had crossbows. They approached slowly at first. But soon got braver, as the silence in the cave continued. While Sir William and the others looked from a distance, the five men disappeared into the cave. Several moments went by and still no proof that a dragon was inside. Sir William was the first to speak, as the waiting got the best of him. “This is madness. I will wait no longer” he said impatiently. But when he started forward, Warrick’s strong arm held him back. William’s head snapped toward him in anger, but soon his attention was turned to the stone. It glowed bright around Warrick’s neck, as the knight noticed the serious look on the blacksmith’s face. “What is it lad?” he asked. Warrick glared at the cave entrance, as if mesmerized by the very sight of it. An eerie fear filled the warriors, as his words confirmed the unknown. “ It’s in there! I can feel it!” he said in a concerned voice. Just as his words made some of them start to tremble in fear, screams could be heard from inside. The screams were silenced by a loud roar, as all eyes were now on the cave. They watched in horror, as one of the five staggered out of the lair. His body was chard beyond recognition and he made it only a few feet ,before falling to his death. While his body smoldered in smoke, the others could do nothing to help him. Sir William started to wonder how they could possibly defeat such a foe, when he heard a sword hit the ground. He looked over to observe Warrick rid himself of his weapons and armor. “ What are doing lad?” he asked with concern. But he got no answer. Warrick just kept his focus on the entrance to the cave. “Warrick I asked you a question!” he said firmly. Warrick looked over, as the knight approached him. His words were confident as he revealed his intentions. “ I have dreamed of this moment since I was a boy. You will do well not to stop me” he said with a clinched jaw. “ What are you saying blacksmith?” William asked now concerned more than ever. “It is time. The stones power is now my own. And it‘s time to let that power out” he said with confidents. “Prepare the wagons Sir William! We will soon be gathering our metal!” The other warriors could only watch, as Warrick walked to the cave entrance and disappeared. “What are we doing! Are we not warriors! Let us storm that cave and cut that vermin dragon down” Titus yells. “ Aye, my large friend” Gregory replies. “ But, I fear that this is something Warrick must do himself” the knight finishes. “ As much as I hate to admit it, Sir Gregory is right” Sir William says with regret. “ The stone grows strong in our young friend. I fear we would only get in the way” he adds. “ But, make no mistake about it. If Warrick falls to the dragon as well, we will storm the cave as one and let the beast feel the wrath of our vengeance!” he shouts in anger. The men all agreed to let Warrick continue alone. If victorious, he would truly prove himself worthy of the stones power. But, if he failed, then heaven forbid the consequences. Chapter Eleven Inside the cave, Warrick proceeded with caution. As he walked, he could smell the fowl odor of the others as they laid on the ground. Their bodies were chard like the one at the cave entrance and he had to cover his face to escape the smell. Their armor was melted to their bodies, as smoke rose from the corpses. Looking down at them, he thought of what pain they must of endured. As Warrick continued on, he could see the remains of other warriors that tried to enter. Just like his friends, their bodies were burnt to the point where they looked almost un-human-like. He noticed weapons of all kinds, from warriors of long ago. He was saddened by the carnage, but soon his sadness turned to rage. As Warrick rose to his feet, he could hear the dragon in the distance. As he looked down at all those lives lost, his body was overtaken with rage. With his rage increasing over the slaughter of so many warriors, he could feel the stone charge his body. Normally, the stone would reject such thoughts of revenge. But, Warrick was not an evil person and the stone could feel that even with all his hatred for the dragon, his intentions were still of good nature. As Warrick walked in the dragon’s direction, the stones power continued to fuel him. With every step, the stone got brighter. Warrick could feel his chest start to burn, as the stone fed him power. The burning traveled across his shoulders and down his arms. Finally, when the burning reached his fingers, he looked down to see his fingertips glowing the same green glow that the stone possessed. When the burning stopped, Warrick could feel the invincibility of the stones power running through his large arms. By the time he reached the dragon, the blacksmith had the power of the stone gods. Around four hundred feet from the cave entrance, the cavern opened up to a large opening. Warrick looked around and could see the metal that they came for. The metal was like a shiny pewter that sparkled from the torches around the room. The room smelled of death and had more chard bodies scattered around. In one corner of the room, stood the dragon. It was about forty feet high and had dark green scaly skin. Its head was like a large triangle, with demon red eyes. Its large mouth was full of short pointy teeth. When the dragon seen Warrick, it roared at his intrusion. White smoke shot out of its nostrils, as it stared at him. As Warrick slowly approached it, he noticed that it moved extremely fast for its size. He watched as it drew back its head and spit fire from its mouth as a warning that he was in danger. Even though the flame was a few feet from his body, the blacksmith stood still. When the dragon saw that Warrick wasn't afraid, it became very agitated. It roared in excitement, drew back its head and once again spit fire at him. This time the dragon meant business. The fire was coming right at Warrick’s body. But, to the dragons surprise, Warrick shot a green light from his hands that deflected the flame. The dragon snorted white smoke and looked into his eyes as if to have a stare down. As Warrick moved one way the dragon moved the other. The beast soon realized that this human wasn’t like the others. It snapped its head from side to side as if to intimidate him. But, Warrick wasn’t impressed. “What’s the matter dragon, not use to a fight” Warrick said as if to taunt the beast. The dragon glared at the blacksmith with curiosity. It was true that it had never had someone survive one of its fire attacks. Again it drew back its head and spit fire. But, Warrick easily deflected it away. Again surprised, the dragon stared at him. And for the first time in its life, it was afraid. “You know why I’m here, don’t you? Yes you know. And for all those lives you took, you will pay with your life” Warrick said in an eerie voice Suddenly, the dragon moved toward him. Fire shot out of his mouth, as Warrick leaped to the side. He quickly shot a bolt of light from his fingers that caught the dragon in the neck. The beast roared in pain , as blood ran from the wound. It immediately tried to spit more fire at him, but the wound wouldn’t allow it. In a desperate attempt to save its own life, the dragon started snapping its large mouth at him. Warrick shifted from side to side, as the dragons mouth snapped beside him. As the dragon showed signs of fatigue Warrick jumped back. The dragon stood in a state of confusion. Never before had it fought such a worthy opponent. As the blacksmith glared at the beast, the images of all those men it killed ran through his mind. His jaw quivered as his teeth tightened together in rage. The dragon looked at him, as Warrick raised his hand toward its large body. “For my friends and the others you killed dragon. I send you to hell!” Warrick yelled. As the dragon roared one last time, a bolt of green light shot from Warrick’s hand, striking it in the chest. The dragon exploded into pieces that covered the room. Warrick shielded his face, as flesh flew everywhere. When the last piece fell to the ground, he looked around the room at the walls of precious metal. With his hands still glowing and his body still enraged, he blasted the metal in anger. Large chunks fell from the walls, as his fury continued. He stopped only when he thought the cave itself would collapse on top of him. When he finished, he dropped to the ground. He stared at his hands and noticed the glow was gone and the light of the stone was out. He gave a sigh of relief, when he realized he had accomplished his task. The metal they came for was theirs and the evil dragon was dead. Sir William and the others hearing all the commotion inside, ran in expecting the worst. When they got to the room, they were surprised at what they saw. The dragon’s carcass was in small pieces and the metal scattered throughout the opening. In the middle of it all was Warrick. He was still on the ground and his body was drained from battle. Sir William walked over and placed his hand on Warrick’s shoulder. “ You are a remarkable man blacksmith. I’m just glad you're on our side” he said with respect. “ Well I’ve appeared to of made a big mess” Warrick said as he rose to his feet. “Never mind the mess, we can take it from here” William replied. As Warrick walked out for some well deserved fresh air, the others looked in amazement. With his new found power on their side, they actually looked forward to the battle with the horde. A smile crossed Sir Williams face, as Warrick disappeared from site. “ And to think that I didn’t want him to come” he said to Sir Gregory. “ Kick yourself later my friend. But, for now we have metal to load and a kingdom of demons to conquer” he replied back. “ Then stop gawking lads, for our next stop is Castle Brave Rock!” Sir William yelled.
Copyright © 2003 Robert E Tadlock |