The Unlikely Hero

With a hiss escaping through his lips Elek slashed at yet another skeleton and it crumbled down in separate bones. He glanced up ahead at the swarm of bony enemies heading towards him and frowned grimly. He wasn’t that worried about fighting these skeletons as they were rather easy to kill. A few swings of his broad sword and they were gonners. Yet, other things were on his mind and he felt dead worried about Aleta. She seemed to have some kind of a phobia of skeletons and he could only hope she was fine. Elek was sure she could deal with one or two skeletons by running away or burning them, but if she was to come upon a group of these bony things, she could be in quite some trouble.

Despite her valor and her strength Aleta was a magician and a girl, too. She could not hold out long enough against a group of such skeletons, not until she overcame her fear. Unfortunately, Elek feared that Aleta might have turned to the deeper section of the crypts and the deeper he went the more skeletons he encountered.

Gritting his teeth the warrior slashed his way through the skeletons and rushed forward. After a short few minutes of thinking he had decided the most logical thing to do was to find the source of the problem and eradicate it. If by then he still hadn’t found Aleta, he would literally comb through the crypts looking for her. And he would find her no matter what.

With a determined nod of his head Elek dashed into the next room and sliced at the skeletons with no mercy. There were around twenty or so here in this room, but they posed little danger to the warrior as one precise hit of his sword was enough to kill them. Yet, just as he was half through the skeletons in the room, a strange thing happened. He felt a strong wave of pulse and a rumbling sound as if something had just exploded resounded off the walls. By the sound of it, the explosion was no further away than a few rooms and Elek pressed his lips into a tight line as he wondered if Aleta was fine. He turned to slash at the next skeleton, ready to finish this off as quickly as he could, but to his surprise the skeletons were crumbling away by themselves. As if the thing that kept them going suddenly went off. The bones clattered down to the ground and for a short moment Elek stood quietly trying to make sure none of them were rising again.

Yet, the bones did not move and the warrior turned on his heel dashing forth into the next corridor heading to where the explosion took place. Even though he no longer encountered any skeletons, it still took him quite some time to maneuver trough the labyrinth like crypts. Everywhere he went, there were only shattered bones on the ground and rusty swords lying around messily. This could mean only one thing and Elek felt his worries increase. If the source of the skeletons was eradicated, then who did it? Aleta? But she was so scared of them before. Did she manage to overcome her fears so soon?.. Still, even if she did so, this was no easy task. There could have been hundreds of those skeletons on the way to the centre of the crypts and he himself would have had some troubles dealing with them alone.

“Aleta, please, be fine,” he whispered as he dashed forth along a long corridor. He could see some light in front of him and the floor was littered with bones. Elek was sure he was nearing the centre of the crypts.

He was right. As soon as he reached the hall, he realized this was where everything happened. The floor of the hall was covered in bones and skulls, rusty shields and swords. Looking a this mess Elek groaned realizing there must have been at least a hundred or so of them here.

“Aleta?!” he called as he made his way across the hall. “Aleta!”

He noticed there were scorched marks at the centre of the hall, forming a circle. He could not make it out yet, but he had suspicions it was the remains of a magical portal. That would surely explain some things. Elek shook his head as he glanced around the hall once more.

“Aleta?” He called out again worriedly, hoping she was here somewhere.

The warrior made his way across the hall and when he finally reached its other end his heart skipped a beat as his eyes noticed a small figure lying on the ground. Weirdly enough, she was lying on a clean empty circle with no bones around her. As if some force had scattered all the bones away from her in a radius of a few meters.

“Aleta,” meanwhile, Elek whispered, recognizing it was truly her. She lay on the floor unmoving and his heart clenched at the thought of her being hurt.

His feet carried him towards the girl immediately, but just when he was a mere meter away from her, his mind rang sounds of alarm as he heard a growling sound coming from his left. The warrior halted immediately, his body turning that way and his arm raising his sword in a defensive block. And just in time too, for a black whip flew at him and only thanks’ to the shard of the Holy Crystal embedded into his sword, it was blocked away bursting with specks of blinding white light. A painful growl resounded in the hall and a huge shadow leapt from behind a pile of bones.

Elek pursed his lips together as he watched it take form and soon a huge hound-looking creature stood in front of him. Its bloody red eyes glittered angrily and its long tail moved up and down in the air in sudden angry movements.

“A demon,” the warrior whispered and pressed the handle of his sword tighter. This might prove to be troublesome.

The demon dog stood baring his canines at Elek and its paws paced on the ground unsurely. It obviously wanted to launch an attack, but at the same time Elek knew it was baffled by the fact its first attack was blocked. The warrior smirked slightly as he moved towards the beast slowly. Demon or not, it had to be killed and Elek was not one to run from a fight.

The demon retreated backwards a few steps and then suddenly leapt into the air to its right side. Elek followed its movements with his eyes as the beast hit the wall with its paws and jumped away back to the ground and then again up into the air in a blink of an eye. The warrior furrowed his brows trying to guess its next movement and then it hit him.

“Damn it!” Elek exclaimed as he dashed forth towards Aleta, but the demon was faster and it landed just in front of Aleta’s body in a defensive crouch, its tail whooshing up and down at Elek. The warrior jumped away and rolled backwards, gritting his teeth.

“You foul beast,” he groaned. “Leave the girl out of this!”

The demon growled back as it retracted its tail and paced in front of Aleta, its eyes watching the warrior warily.

Elek cursed in his mind as now he could not charge blindly at the demon. The beast could have attacked Aleta any time now. There was only one way left and Elek let out a soft sigh. The demons were most vulnerable to the Holy attacks. It scorched them as strongly as fire. If he was to launch a Holy attack on the beast it would surely jump away to evade it and then Elek would have a chance at hitting him. No demon would stand and take a blow from Holy magic. Also, the attack should not harm Aleta as it only worked on the demon race and the dragons, which were pretty much extinct now. It was the only plan of action Elek could come up with at the time and so he raised his sword quickly, concentrating his energy into the shard of the Holy stone. It glowed with a silver light and the demon paced nervously as it let out a gurgle, feeling the Holy energy condense around Elek.

Then, the warrior brought the sword down in one wide swing and a slash of white energy travelled forth at the hound in immense speed. Elek tensed, waiting for the beast to jump away any second now, but to his utter surprise the demon let out a heart-piercing howl and stood its ground, crouching in a defensive stance. The wave of magic hit it full force and the hound whined in pain as it was pushed backwards a little. A slash wound appeared at its side and black blood trickled down to the ground in thready drops.

“What the…” Elek whispered as he stared at the beast baffled. The demon growled in pain, but it did not retreat. Its head turned slightly to look at its bleeding side and it let out a whimper. Still, the hound stood tall once again and its tail whooshed downwards as its red eyes continued to watch Elek carefully.

“What are you doing?” Elek shook his head. He had never seen a demon take on a blow of Holy magic straight out like this. It almost seemed as if it was unwilling to leave the spot it was standing in, as if it was defending something.

“No,” Elek shook his head. “It can’t be.”

If the demon was foolish enough not to run away, then he will just have to kill it with the Holy attacks. Yet, as Elek tilted his sword up again and the beast let out a whimper at what was coming, there was movement behind the hound and Elek heard a painful groan.

“Ouuuuch,” Aleta’s voice rang in a low grumble. “My head… oh, my head.”

Elek froze in sudden fear as the demon cocked its head sideways and its tail whooshed up in the air.

“Aleta,” Elek whispered hoarsely. “Don’t move. No sudden movements.”

“Huh?” He saw her sit up with her right hand tilted to her head. “Elek?..”

“Hush, don’t make any sudden movements and don’t scream,” he whispered hastily as he watched the demon closely. The latter one stared back and then let out a growl as if a warning.

“Scream?” meanwhile, Aleta whispered and her head finally turned to him. “Noooo, don’t tell me the skeletons are back… huh?”

Her gaze fell on the demon in front of her and she furrowed her brows confused. Elek prayed that she did not scream out in fear for that could make the beast attack. As the Holy Warrior he was used to seeing various demons, but it must be the first time for Aleta and, well, demons were intimidating creatures.

“Did I miss something?” she asked as she picked herself up from ground. “Why so tense, you two?”

“Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!” the demon let out a long growl and Elek watched in utter shock as Aleta walked around the beast as if it was nothing and her hand landed on its head almost affectionately.

“Aleta!” Elek exclaimed in alarm, yet the girl rubbed the beast’s nose gently and to his surprise, the demon whimpered back.

“Awww, did the big strong warrior scare you, Totto?” Aleta cooed and her hand reached for the demon’s neck to rub it.

“You… D-don’t,” Elek stuttered as he moved towards Aleta in an attempt to pull her away, yet, the long black tail landed just in front of him, cutting him off effectively and Elek jumped backwards immediately.

“Totto!” Aleta exclaimed surprised and shook her head. “Don’t do that- Oh Gods almighty! Are you bleeding?!”

She squatted down and her eyes glanced at the wound on the demon’s side worriedly. “Totto, you’re hurt! When did this happen?..”

“Grrrr…”

“Elek, he’s bleeding!” Aleta turned to the warrior nervously. “My Totto’s hurt!”

“Uhh,” Elek furrowed his brows as he nodded his head confused. “Yeah… I kind of…”

“What should I do? Will Healing magic work on him?”

“I… am not sure?” Elek stuttered as he stared at the scene in front of him. For the life of him he could not explain what he was seeing. “Um, Aleta?”

“Mmm?” she mused as she tried casting a healing spell on the demon. The latter one growled in response as the spell seemed to be ineffective.

“Did you… Did you just call it… Totto?”

“Yeah, he’s my pet!” she turned to him frowning. “The healing spell doesn’t work on him!”

“Ahh,” Elek furrowed his brows in thought. “Aleta, it’s a demon.”

“No,” she replied. “He’s a hell hound.”

“A hell hound?” Elek echoed and shook his head. “It’s still the same. It’s a demon!”

“Do you think a potion would help him?” The girl wondered as she took out a vial from the sack by her side. “Here, Totto, try drinking this. Open up! Yes, like that…”

Frozen in shock Elek watched the demon part its mouth, letting Aleta pour the contents of the bottle into its throat. As soon as it gulped the liquid down, the beast shook its head and let out a whimper.

“I know, I know, it tastes horrible,” Aleta smiled sheepishly. “Do you feel better now?”

“Grrr,” was the reply and Elek stared at the two baffled. It really did seem like the demon had no ill intent towards Aleta. But that couldn’t be. All demons were bloodthirsty creatures and they devoured humans with no mercy. That was what he had been taught for countless years and experienced himself in battles. Demons did not befriend humans.

“Elek, what should we do?” meanwhile, Aleta turned to him worriedly. “It’s not working for him!”

“I… uhh,” once again, Elek was at a loss for words and he shook his head in confusion. “I don’t think-”

“Ah! I know!” suddenly, Aleta exclaimed and turned to the demon again. “Jill will definitely know what to do!”

“Grrrr,” the hound whimpered and Aleta caressed its head.

“Totto, do you know how to go back to Jill? Can you go back to him in some quick way just like you appeared here? He will surely know how to heal you,” she cooed and the hound replied with another growl. Strange as it was, Elek could not discern any malice in its actions.

“Totto, you must go to Jill. He will help you,” Aleta explained once more. “I’ll come as soon as I can, too. I’ll be fine here with Elek.”

“Grrrrrrah,” the demon growled and its tail moved sideways a few times. Then it gave one last look at Elek as if trying to make sure of something.

“Don’t worry, Elek will take care of me,” Aleta smiled and rubbed the demon’s head again. “He’s a friend, Totto. A friend.”

“Grrrrrrrr,” the hound replied in a growl and then stepped backwards, its body slowly losing its firm shape and turning into one massive shadow. Elek watched warily as the shadow twirled around and then slipped away into the crevices of the floor, disappearing completely.

“I hope he reaches Jill soon,” Aleta whispered and Elek finally took the chance to step towards her freely.

“Are you alright, Aleta? You’re not hurt at all?”

“Ah, no, I don’t think so,” she replied and smiled sheepishly. “But Totto got hurt… I have no idea how it happened. He seemed fine just before I… well, fell.”

“About that,” Elek frowned slightly as he glanced away. “It’s kind of my fault, actually.”

*+*

I glanced at Elek surprised and cocked my brow wonderingly as I asked, “How could that be your fault?”

“Because I cut him,” he replied turning to me and I gasped.

“You cut him?! How could you?”

“Aleta, that… Totto of yours is a demon,” he explained as he came closer to me. “What was I supposed to do after seeing a demon beside you?”

“But… he is so cute!” I whined. “How did you even have the heart to attack him?!”

“Cute?” Elek arched his brow amusedly. “You find skeletons creepy and demon dogs cute?”

“Well, he saved my life,” I grumbled as I looked away. “And he is cute.”

“Heh,” Elek scoffed lightly as he finally sheathed his sword. “I never thought I’d see a friendly demon and I still don’t buy it.”

“But Totto is my friend!”

“That’s what you might think, but demons are a treacherous kind and all they want to do with humans is rip them apart,” Elek replied grimly and I stared back somewhat confused.

“Totto would never hurt me.”

“Argh, Aleta, please,” Elek reached out his hand towards me and his fingers rubbed my cheek gently. “You mustn’t go anywhere near demons again. They are dangerous and merciless creatures, no matter how cute you find them.”

“But-”

“No buts,” he interrupted me. “I don’t know why it spared you this time, but it might not end that well the next one.”

I kept quiet as I contemplated on his words and Elek smiled at me softly as if trying reassure me he was right. But I knew better, didn’t I? Totto would never hurt me. I just knew that. He protected me and even saved my life today. Elek is wrong on this one. Not all demons are out for our lives. Totto is different.

Yet, I said none of this to Elek, who seemed to be too prejudiced about these kinds of things. Must be a warrior thing. Meanwhile, Elek glanced around and his eyes fell on the remains of the magical portal.

“Aleta, do you know what happened here?”

“Hmm,” I mused as I thought back to my long fight against an army of skeletons and then my Dreamwalking state. Now that one was truly enlightening. “There seemed to be a portal, from which all the skeletons came. I destroyed its magical crystal and then everything just stopped.”

“Indeed,” Elek whispered. “A portal would explain a lot of things. But why would someone open such a portal beneath Trarton and who could even do such a terrible thing?”

“Ahhh,” I smiled sheepishly as I wondered if I should tell him.

“I don’t get it,” Elek shook his head as he kneeled at the portal remains, surveying it closely. “It would require immense power to do so.”

“Hey, I know!” I exclaimed enthusiastically and Elek turned his head to me wonderingly.

“You saw the perpetrator?”

“Ah,” I paused. Well, I did kind of see him, but I suppose it would sound silly if I said I dreamt of it. “No, I just had a thought.”

“Tell me.”

“What if… and I mean, what if, it was a huge black dragon that made the portal in attempt to annihilate all humanity!” I exclaimed and grinned sheepishly at Elek who watched me with a dull expression on his face.

“Aleta, I’m being serious here,” he shook his head as he rose from the ground.

“Yeah, me too,” I whispered and let out a sigh. Talk about telling the truth.

“I’ll need to look into this further,” Elek said thoughtfully, “but for now let’s head back.”

I nodded my head. Yes, we should head back. I was worried about my poor Totto and I wanted to go to Jill as soon as I got the chance. And so, we headed back across the crypts. Thanks’ to Elek, we found our way back rather quickly. Well, he found it if to be more exact. I doubt I would have gotten out any time soon if not for Elek. I was really envious of his sense of direction. How in the world did he remember the way in?.. Was it some special training that warriors received? It must be, cause I had no such lectures in the Magic Academy of Trarton.

Still, even with the perfect sense of direction that Elek had mastered, it took us nearly two hours to get out and by that time I was dead tired. My feet were literally killing me and I was wondering if there was some magical potion for getting rid of pain. Or, maybe, a spell? I should look into it in the future.

Anyhow, we finally climbed the stone stairway up to the exit of the crypts and as I finally walked out of the stuffy and dark corridors, I felt like coming back to life after a very long long sleep. The sun was bright and the air was fresh which offered a very welcome change to all of my senses.

“Aaaah,” I sighed. “Finally!”

Elek chuckled at my reaction and nodded his head, “It does feel good to be out.”

“Ah, ah, you’re back!” a short man in his forties and dressed in shabby clothes came almost running to us and I narrowed my eyes at him. “I thought that something happened to you!”

“Johnny,” I grumbled as I stomped to him angrily. “Something almost did happen to us! I almost died there!”

“Oh, my…” the man stuttered and I fumed.

“Oh my? Is that all? You could have at least told us those were not rats, but some bloody skeletons!”

“But, but if I did,” Johnny stuttered back, “you wouldn’t have gone there!”

“Damn true I wouldn’t have gone there!” I yelled out frustrated. “Who on their right mind would go into a place overcrowded with walking bones?!”

“Ah, but I’ll pay you for your work well…”

“It’d better be double!” I glared at him just as Elek’s hand landed on my shoulder.

“Take it easy, Aleta,” he smiled at me and I glanced away angrily. “I’m sure Johnny didn’t know there were going to be that many skeletons.”

“Oh I think he did,” I grumbled and the man in front of me smiled apologetically.

Then, suddenly, he gasped and waved his hands frantically, “Ah, ah, I forgot! There’s this man waiting for you, Mr. Warrior. Said he had something very important to tell you.”

“A man?” Elek whispered surprised and Johnny motioned for us to follow him.

We did so and as we walked out of the cemetery and reached its gates I indeed noticed a man standing by the entrance. He looked rather skittish and was wearing light armor. Elek seemed to know him, though, and he hastened his pace to reach the man quicker.

“Sam!” Elek exclaimed and the man turned to us. He was still rather young and his face brightened with sudden relief as he noticed Elek.

I saw him run to us with a letter in his hands and he made a bow just in front of Elek.

“Sir, the Council requires your presence immediately,” he said as he extended the letter. “There have been sightings of portals opening up in various parts of the country and demons have been attacking.”

“Portals?” Elek whispered as he grabbed the letter and tore it open.

I stood just a few steps behind him, furrowing my brows. Portals? Demons?

“Most of them have been dealt with by now,” the messenger continued. “The forces with Holy Warriors were sent as soon as the Council got notice of a new portal opening up.”

Meanwhile, Elek skimmed through the letter and his forehead wrinkled as his hand crumpled the small piece of paper.

“Thank you, Sam, you can go now,” he muttered. “I’ll be right there.”

The messenger nodded and bowed again before running off on his other duties or, perhaps, to report back to his headquarters.

“What is going on?” I asked as Elek turned to face me.

“I’m not sure yet,” he replied shaking his head, “but it’s definitely something big.”

I nodded, my thoughts racing each other. Portals and demons in various parts of Amyron?.. Could it be? Then, Blacky did not lie to me.

“Aleta, I must go to the Council and see what this is all about,” Elek said and his hand landed on my shoulder, pressing it reassuringly. “You go home and rest. Don’t get into any trouble while I’m not here, alright? Just take it easy for once.”

“But I-”

“Aleta,” he interrupted me, “this is serious. Stay here, where it’s safe. Don’t run off on some weird missions, got it?”

I thought for a moment and then smiled, nodding my head, “Sure, no weird missions.”

After all, going to Ugundi Mountains to despell a stupid curse off my back is not a weird mission. It’s not even a mission, after all. A personal quest, more like it.

“Good, good,” Elek nodded his head. “I’ll be off then.”

“Alright,” I replied smiling. “Take care.”

“Yes,” he nodded, lingering in front of me unsurely. His gentle eyes landed on me worriedly and then he smiled reassuringly. “You too, take care, Aleta.”

I watched him go away with mixed emotions in my heart. It felt like he was going somewhere far away from here. Somewhere where I could hardly reach. I was not sure why I got such a weird impression. He was merely going to the Council, which resided in a small village merely a day’s trip from Trarton. He would be back soon. Still, something was bothering me and I had a very bad feeling that I won’t see Elek for quite a while.