I heard Camaron mutter the words Vas Ort Grav and suddenly there was a glowing blue portal in front of me. I closed my eyes and cautiously entered the portal. When I opened my eyes again, my surroundings had drastically changed. I had gone from the quiet Minoc tavern to the dark caves known as Fire Dungeon. I could hardly see and the vile stench of malicious beasts filled my lungs. I saw Camaron enter after me on his noble and magical steed known as a nightmare. He uttered the words In Lor and I was able see again. It did nothing to help the smell however.
We proceeded through the caves, and the quiet was beginning to disturb me. Usually, when I go to hunt, I hear the sounds of orcish axes falling on a knight’s metal armor, or the cackling laugh of a lich as it claims the life of yet another foolish mage who believes that he can take on a lich. Never have I heard such quiet before. Then again, only once had I been in such a dangerous dungeon. But I was on a mission. “I will get revenge,” I muttered to myself.
“That’s what we’re here for,” Camaron replied. I snapped back to reality and solemnly nodded. But I couldn’t keep the images of my best friend being brutally murdered by a tyrannous beast out of my head. A fortnight ago, my best friend Zac and I had gone hunting in Fire Dungeon. It was the first time hunting in such a dangerous place for both of us, but we were both skilled warriors and believed that we could do it. How arrogant we were! We had been walking through these very same caverns when a fire elemental sprung upon us. We had been unprepared for such a battle and I tried to heal Zac, but it was too late. I shuddered as I recalled the memories of that day.
“Let’s move on,” I said to Camaron, trying to keep the tears back. As we were walking, I heard a quiet hiss. I stopped dead in my tracks and slowly turned my head to the left. Next to my foot was a lava serpent. Quickly, I raised my sword while I heard Camaron muttering Corp Por. The serpent was struck by my sword and the energy bolt at the same time and quickly fell dead. I raised my head towards the path ahead. I knew more dangerous monsters lurked ahead, and this was barely even the beginning.
Camaron and I shuffled forward over the dead serpent’s body. That was when I felt that familiar, sudden wave of heat. “It’s close,” I whispered to Camaron. He nodded and looked in his bag to make sure his reagents were all secure. We stood, waiting for the fire elemental to come out of hiding and attack us. I stepped forward, squinting for the beast. All of a sudden, I heard Camaron’s groan behind me and the thud of Camaron’s body falling to the ground. I turned back around and found myself face to face with the monster that had slain my best friend, and which may have just killed Camaron. I had no time, however, to see Camaron was still alive. Now was my time for revenge. Now the beast must die!
My sword was a trusty one. A powerful mage had instilled magical properties onto it. With it, I felt that I could defeat even the worthiest of opponents. However, at that moment, I felt like I was going to faint. I was scared out of my wits, but I was determined to get revenge for Zac’s death.
Lifting my sword, I quickly slung it at the beast. It screamed out in pain and lunged forward at me. It struck at me with its fiery hand while casting powerful spells at me. I felt myself getting weaker and death was looming near. Reaching into my bag, I took out a yellow potion and swallowed it. My energy was revived and I lurched back into battle with a newfound vigor. This was the beast that had killed my best friend, and who may have killed Camaron. I was not going to let myself die to the hands of this monster.
I placed some bandages where burn marks were beginning to appear on my right arm, and jumped forward stabbing my enemy. My sword went right through it, as if it were air, but I could tell that I was harming it. Blow after blow, I struck at the fire elemental till it was almost dead. Suddenly, I couldn’t move. The beast had paralyzed me! This was not my first time being paralyzed however, and I knew that it would quickly pass. However, while I could not move, the bastard took the time to cast heal upon himself.
“Oh no you don’t!” I screamed as I felt the effects of the paralysis fading away. I lunged forward and with one fatal blow, the monster fell. There at my feet lay the beast that had slain my best friend. A feeling of release fell over me and I realized just how tired I was. Looking at the corpse once more, I realized that there was a piece of cloth thrown in the jumble of garbage that the monster left behind. I recognized that dark blue material as having come from Zac’s robe. I picked up the cloth, and holding it in the air I yelled so that every beast in the dungeon could hear me – “Beasts everywhere, harm my friends and I will hunt you down and kill every last one of you.” With that, I placed the cloth in my bag.
“Why don’t you just kill them anyway?” I heard Camaron say feebly with a little laugh. I turned around overjoyed that Camaron was still alive. I ran over to him and saw that he was in very bad shape. I bandaged him up as best as I could and handed him my last potion to drink.
Feeling more revived, he stood up and I helped him back onto his nightmare. “Good job killing the fire elemental, Shamino. To be honest, I didn’t believe you would be able do it alone. I’m proud of you.”
“Thank you Camaron. Now it is time we rest. Do you have the energy to take us back to Minoc?”
“Yes, I believe I do. Let us go – this place gives me the creeps.” With that, he once again muttered the words Vas Ort Grav, and that familiar blue portal opened in front of me. With one last look at the dungeon behind me, I entered the portal, never to return there again.
|