Heroes.

[dragonzero39]

Heroes.

“A Encounter for Five”​

-----Kege Dravin slowly navigated his ways through the naturally carved caverns, his armor impede his progress a great deal in the areas where the floor seemed to have not been as smoothed over as the rest of the tunnels. He continued to curse under his breath as he stumbled over the rocks and continued to work his way downwards. A small array of pebbles slid down the rock face off to his side, and rang off his steel boots. He looked up towards the rock to see a small tunnel, almost man made looking, into the side of the cavern.​

-----Denieth Sanctum held his breath, his back tight against the small tunnel he had worked his way into. He had easily heard someone making their way towards the bottom of the cavern, but didn’t foresee himself knocking loose rocks from the mouth of his hiding space. He continued to hold his breath, until he could hear the bypasser continuing on their way. He then turned from the small tunnel mouth he had been near, and ran off into the labyrinth of tunnels, hoping to find his own way to the bottom of the caves.​

-----Clairith Viddan and Harlett Bentam, were quickly making their way through the maze of turns, using their arcane powers to track the artifact that was lying just a few hundred feet away. They knew that if they could get their hands on it, that it would be a great achievement for their Magic’s Academy. Yet the echoing of footsteps behind them, made them tremble as they tried to quicken their pace.​

-----Clairith sprinted around a corner, thinking that she was on the right track, but she panicked when a silhouette was running down the tunnel towards her. In less than a second, fire gathered at her fingertips, and flew down the tunnel, growing larger as it gained speed. The fireball erupted not feet from the silhouette, and the shaded figure was gone. She stopped to catch her breath for a moment. and when she turned around to see if Harlett was behind her, she only found an arrow sticking into the wall a few feet behind her. the feathers on the back of it blackened by a flame. Harlett however, was nowhere to be seen. Clairith turned and headed back in the direction where she had just came, this time, more cautious on which turns she took. But unaware, that the arrow hadn’t been shot by a Guardian of the Tomb.​

-----Denieth clenched as he slowly lifted the leg of his leggings, to reveal a burn that had seared right through his armor. He kept himself against the damp and mossy walls of the cavern, in order to avoid being detected while he tended to his wound. After resting for a few short minutes, he heard the loud footsteps, from the same traveler that he had heard earlier. He glanced around as beads of sweat ran down his face. He could hear the boots of the adventurer crushing into the puddles on the floor as the echo’s of the steps seemed to be lost in the halls. Silence, Denieth looked up to find himself staring at a large man, coated in a layer of thick steel armor. Denieth made the decision that instead of crawling around like a thief for the rest of his journey, that he would do something about it instead. He slid a diamond tipped axe out of a leather bound sheath that was located on the side of his thigh, and without a single sound, stood up, he was so close to the warrior that he could reach out and touch him, he simply had to hit a vital point on the warrior in order to end his life. One simple swing, and the noisy follower would be done for.​

-----Kege had stopped to take a rest, his breathing was heavy and he could feel the sweat running down his chest under his thick plate armor. He hadn’t seen himself having this much trouble reaching his destination. He had been sent by a king of a distant kingdom, to retrieve a simple book he was told. His only knowledge on the item was that it was the second arcane book in a series of three, that would unlock the knowledge of rift teleportation. All he cared about was the woman waiting for him when he got home. A farm girl that he had promised to marry once he got back. He was so close now to getting the book, but so far from actually setting foot onto his own threshold again. He was about to start walking again when the tunnels were suddenly pierced by a loud scream. He took off running without a second thought, knowing that whoever had echoed that cry, was in serious danger. Denieth missed him by only a few inches.​

-----Meanwhile, a poor crafter by the name of Marek Zeal, was mindlessly digging tunnels, in search of a red powder that could power his machines. He began to line his recent tunnel with a highly explosive adhesive that he had created himself, called TNT.​

-----Denieth, not sure which way the scream came from, turned and headed the opposite direction of the Warrior, in search of his prize that would bring him a fortune on the black market. He had only heard rumors about the Teralth, a series of novels that wizards seemed to worship. He was only in it for the coin though, to provide for his guild back home.​

-----Clairith had come to what seemed to be a dead end. Moss grew on the walls all around her, and a constant drip of water could be heard from the ceiling above. A bone stuck out of the ground in the corner, and a small torch in her hand, revealed a smooth brick surface that made up one wall of the small room. She approached the wall, and glanced through a crack in the brick, all she could see were a few torches that seemed to light the room, but she figured that something had to be on the other side. Maybe she could find her friend if she went through. She stood back and begun to concentrate all her thoughts on what she had seen on the other side of the wall, for a moment, she became ethereal, then disappeared.​

-----Kege slid through a puddle under his feet, almost slamming himself against an iron door. It was almost twice his size, and there was no visible keyhole or method of opening the sealed door. He feared for the life of the individual that had screamed earlier, and his drive as a paladin had taken over, and his entire conscious was filled with finding the voice. He took a few steps back from the door, and then stood, facing it. He took a deep breath, the dusty air filled his lungs, during his time as a dragoon warrior in the Royal forces, he had learned how to charge and break enemy ranks. He figured this no different as he began to charge the door at full speed.​

-----Denieth had almost given up, when he saw a dim light coming from a small volcanic hole in the ground. He bent down and peered over the lip of the hole, he couldn’t however, see a bottom to the hole. He knew that if there was light though, that there was also the chance of reaching the treasure. Living in the trees for so long, he had learned how to safefall from any height and land safely on his feet, without taking any physical damage from the impact. He lowered himself down into the hole, while keeping a tight grip on the edge of the tunnel, and then let himself drop into the chasm.​

-----Marek hummed happily to himself as he began the countdown for his explosives to shatter a hole in the underground, so that he could begin collecting his redstone. Only a few more minutes he thought to himself. Just a few more minutes.​

 

[dragonzero39]

*Reserved*

This work will be continued on and chapters will be added often.

 

[dragonzero39]

Heroes

"Masked Thieves"​

-----Kege went crashing through the steel door, entirely shattering the stone that had been bound in place for hundreds of years. At the same time, Denieth landed on the other side of the room. The iron door slid down a large set of smoothstone stairs, that led to a small floor at the bottom of the room. on the left side of the room, Kege watched, bewildered as a figure seemed to appear, a tall woman, with robes on. But what shocked Kege the most, was the woman in the middle of the room. Suspended in the air, a young woman with blonde hair seemed trapped, held in place by transparent chains, she was floating a few feet off the ground, crying uncontrollably as her skin seemed to glow red. Right next to her, was an obsidian pedestal, with an open book laying on the surface, the book glowed red, same as the girls skin.

-----"Harlett!" Clairith ran towards her friend thinking that she would be able to help. The paladin, also ran forward to try and assist the girl. Denieth was so confused at this point, he didn't know who anyone was, or what to do, he could grab the book and run he though... He would be away before anyone could catch him. Or he could help the young girl. Before he could come to a decision, the walls around the room seemed to open up, and hordes of undead began to rattle their bones as they awoke from their slumber. A chill swept through the room, and terror was struck in the hearts of Clairith and Denieth. But not Kege, for his heart was pure, but actions reckless, He charged the book at full speed, hoping to break whatever enchantment had been placed on the young girl. The space around the book seemed to ripple as he was blown backwards. His armor crushing against the stone. Denieth regained his senses and began to take action. He began to whistle a soft tune, and a void began to open next to him, growing slowly. A zombie began to charge towards Denieth, but was stopped cold by three wolves that ran out of the small void. Denieth stopped whistling and the void vanished. He began to launch an array of arrows towards the undead, knowing that the undead wouldn't be as merciful as the people he was now helping. Arrow after arrow pierced the flesh of the incoming horde, and his three wolves furiously swarmed the straggling zombies. Denieth looked up to see the man in armor, once again running towards the book at full speed, and once again, get blasted back to the wall. "What is he thinking." Denieth thought to himself. Three fleshy and gory monstrosities moved in on where Clairith was attempting to help her friend, and in response, Denieth knocked three arrows at the same time, and was able to land devastating shots on all three of the attackers.

-----Clairith was going through every spell that she knew, trying to shatter the invisible bonds that were keeping her friend in place. But nothing seemed to help. She began to get angry that her efforts had been in vain, and began to cry with her friend, as one in agony of pain, and one in the agony of another's pain. though a veil of tears, she watched as the Paladin threw himself against the forcefield a third and final time, yet when he collided with the back wall, the entire room began to shake. A large section of the rooms east wall flashed as if a fireball had taken place within the wall, and rocks the size of Kege alone, propelled into the room. One large chunk of stone, flew through the forcefield and collided with the pedestal. Harlett collapsed onto the floor, gasping for breath as her tears turned to blood running down her face. Other chunks of rock were thrown against the horde, crushing their numbers one by one. Splinters of bone and chunks of rotten flesh were being thrown about the room in a giant mess.

-----Merek stuck his head around the corner of his new found tunnel, to see what the loud commotion was about. And couldn't believe his eyes when he saw what was taking place. His skin stood on end at the sight of the blood painted walls. Merek watched as a man in a cracked steel chest plate, ran forward to pick a body off the floor. The body of a young girl. The man in armor also grabbed the hand of the girl kneeling next to him, and he started to carry the blonde girls body towards his newly dug cavern. "Hey, you cant be in this cave! It's mine!" Shouted Merek as the paladin walked by, almost pretending not to see the crafter.

-----Denieth began to sprint after the Paladin and women as well, until he saw the edge of a book sticking out from under a pile of rubble. He dove to the rock and pried the book out from underneath the rocks. His hands felt a warmth emanating from the book, but his thoughts were more focused on running after the Paladin, in order to escape alive.

-----The explosion had caused a tremor, deep in the bedrock below the earth, and the entire tunnel system that Merek had spent days digging, was now collapsing on itself. The Paladin, Kege, Led the group. He carried Harlett over his shoulder as if the young beauty was a potato sack. Behind him was Clairith, who was trying as hard as possible to avoid stepping on loose debris. Merek follow, tears in his eyes out of fear for his life, and loss of his life's work. Right behind him, at the back of the group, was Denieth. He sprinted fast, and easily was able to keep up with the group, but the tremor was faster. Inch by inch, the falling rock began to catch up to the party, and the hearts of the adventurers were only buried under layer and layer of fear as they heard the rocks get close. Shrapnel from some smaller pieces began to tear and Denieths armor, and other pieces launched ahead of the party, as if trying to escape their own power.

-----The tunnel began to grow lighter and lighter as the heroes continued running. Their footsteps soon changed from stampeding over rocks, to running over dirt. They were close. The sweat ran down their faces, and their legs had lost all strength from the sprinting. Kege reached the top first, the sudden sunlight blinded his eyes as he fell to his knees trying to catch his breath. He dropped Harlett in the process, and she awoke, startled and confused as to where she was. Clairith came next, not nearly as tired as Kege, but still exausted. She bent over and began to gasp violently for air. The light blinded her eyesight as well. Merek came running up behind them, trousers and all. He reached the top, and although not tired, he was near to tears as he just stared off into space with a large bug eyed look. Denieth came last, not tired, nor blinded by the light. The first thing that caught his attention, was the group of people surrounding the group. He froze, a dozen men stood, weapons ready, around the group in a large half circle. One of them stepped forward, his skin seemed to have been replaced by a bark tree armor, and small patched of leaves seemed to grow through his skin. A mask of an upside down face, covered his real identity. Step after step, he moved towards the book in Denieths hand. And step by step, Denieth wondered whether to stand and fight the odd people, or just surrender the book. His choice however, was made for him. He was pulled, as if by an invisible force, straight towards the tree like person. The book, slipped from his grip, a burn imprint left on Denieths hand from where he had held it. The odd man bent down, and picked up the small book. Denieth wasnt sure, but he thought he could see the upside down mask smile, as the man ran his long tree limb fingers over the surface of the book. “Thank you, for fetching my prize.” the man said. There was a long pause where the mask seemed to stare at Denieth, and Denieth stared back, until the man vanished, along with the rest of his men.