Peregrin Old-Fur: Captured

It appeared as if everyone was ready the following week. The men and elves and everyone else seemed like they’ve been training their whole lives for this event. After the stalwarts had dragged Hortamus away, I took the implement everywhere I went. The implement became a necessity to me, as vital as a jug of water. Every night I held that jug, and I used it. It reminded me of Hortamus, and it wasn’t because of the scales on the implement. It was a reminder of hope and courage. I glanced around to look at the soldiers surrounding me. Most of them looked my way, and nodded. They saw me as a leader. They saw me as a saviour or an embodiment of peace. It felt weird knowing that the people who once frowned at the sight of me now risked their lives for me. I prayed to Bahamut that this would work.
The dark magician smiled as he walked out of the dark hallway.
“Today’s the day,” Tylovine reminded us, “Today is the day that we will stop and visit our friends in Kemadri.” He walked over to two humans who were creating sparks on a portal. “Turn it on,” Tylovine ordered, and the machine roared. It made a low rumbling noise, and then the pitch rose resembling the cry of a hyena. The man walked through the circular door frame and painted himself in the drawing that was displayed for everyone to see. The drawing had goblins, hundreds in each row, and there were dozens of rows. The man walked up to the goblins and yelled his speech in their language. I nodded to Tonito and he erased himself from the picture. Turning my head to the bombing table, I noticed that a bomb had also been erased. Tonito appeared right in front of the green drawing. He swung the flaming metal ball and chucked it into the drawing. He nudged the human on his left and they whacked the portal. The drawing folded into a small white circle, until it was finally erased.
Everything became chaotic. The soldiers roared and the goblins hissed. They raised their weapons to the sky: knives, bows, clubs, and hammers. Tables flipped over and were used as shields. Some men took a few cloth bags and wrapped them around a goblin’s head. They pulled back as hard as they could until there was nothing left to pull. The humans saw arrows stuck in each other’s chests, and they collapsed. Blood spilled everywhere I looked. No matter what race they were, they all bled one colour - red. Blades collided and many screams were heard. They were the screams of dying women and men.
I walked towards the dark hallway. Before I allowed the darkness to consume me, a stalwart blocked my path. With my mace equipped, I spun the handle in my hand. The stalwart raised its club, and then lowered it. I rolled to the right, and then threw my mace towards the sky and held the rope. The top spike dug into the stalwart’s neck. I yanked it down and whacked its leg. The giant goblin fell to its knees.
“This is for Hortamus,” I yelled as I knocked its lights out.
The dark hallway had seemed lighter before. I felt the darkness creep down my back. I could not see a thing. “Rumaanspel,” I chanted and I was able to see. I looked around the room and noticed it looked the same as it had the last time I had seen it. A few blood stains looked unfamiliar and weapons were knocked over, but the room was still the same. I turned towards the stairs, but then I heard something. It wasn’t a scream or a plea for assistance, but it was breathing. Just inhales and exhales of a broken soul. I searched the room to find the injured person and found a body on the ground, laying in silence, except for his breathing. “It’s okay,” a voice in my head comforted me. “I’m here.”
“Hortamus!” I screamed and ran towards him. My run was interrupted by an invisible wall.
“Dark…barrier,” Hortamus murmured.
“Right,” I grabbed the implement and cast the prayer to remove the dark barrier. I held Hortamus’ arm. His whole body was covered in scratches. His forehead had a dent in it and his scales seemed to be lighter than usual. I picked up his body and started walking. I stopped when I heard low-pitched laughter. A man walked up to us from the stairs.
“Did you honestly think I would fall for that?” the voice laughed. My jaw dropped when I realized it was Tylovine in front of me.
“How are you here?” I asked.
“Teleportation. I didn’t actually need a portal, you know. I just wanted to watch their backs stiffen.”
“This ends here.”
“Not if I can help it.” The darkness of the room began to move. It began to float towards Tylovine as if he was sucking it all in. The black cloud stuck to his skin and sunk into his veins. The room became much brighter now. Tylovine’s skin was black and his eyes beamed blood red. He laughed hysterically as his hand sparked an orange light. Hortamus grabbed the implement from me and created a white light at the feet of the dark magician. He backed away and covered his eyes. He vanished from sight. I felt wind pushing me, and I fell to my knees. I rose and swung my mace at him. Tylovine pushed Hortamus to the ground and he fell to his knees. He then scrambled over to the weapons to grab a spear.
“I should have known, old man,” the dark magician smiled. “I should have know that you were a cleric. From the day I trapped you, I wanted to torture you, but I didn’t know why. You’re just as ugly as my parents were. If only they were here to watch their friend suffer.” He thrust the spear into his chest and I watched Hortamus’ eyes widen. Hortamus let out all the air that was inside him. Tylovine backed away from the dragonborn and disappeared. I fell to the ground and then crawled to my mentor, tears runnng down my face.
“Peregrin,” he said as he gave me the implement. “Go to the cleric temple in Silenora.”
“Don’t leave me-“
“-meet with the dragon on Escargot mountain.”
“I’m not leaving you.”
“Protect my people.” he asked of me. He pointed towards the spear. I shook my head, but he nodded his. I held my breath and pulled the spear out of his chest. His eyes suddenly showed no light, and no reflection. I cried as I held the dragonborn in my hands. It felt like I just pulled the spear feom my own chest. I knew I was going to be lost without him. I needed him by me. Comfortingly, a small voice in my head embraced me: “It will be okay.”
I walked up the stairs to find Tylovine. I walked through two doorways until I saw a light. There were trees and dirt. The wind blew on the trees and a dark fog covered the forest. I walked towards it.
“You’re almost there,” a voice said from behind me. A man with black skin walked up to me. His ruby eyes brightened and his laugh crackled. On either side of him were walls with weapons on them. These weapons had handles with blades that stretched from the little finger to the elbow. He grabbed the weapons and they slid out of their sockets. The curved blade looked like it was a part of his arm. I recited the strength prayer and felt a burst in energy. The man jumped in the air and spun. His sword and my mace collided. He went for an attack with his other arm and I blocked the attack. He attempted to jab my stomach, but I backed up. I went for a blow to his legs; it ricocheted off his blade. As we danced our aggressive routine, we started waltzing towards the light. I was so close to freedom. He pretended to attack with his left hand, but went for a blow to the right. I fell to the ground.
“You’re a cleric too? I thought you would’ve been too whiny to be one. You know, I really hate clerics.” My body uncontrollably lifted from the ground, his smile growing larger and his disgusting red eyes brighter. He spun the handles of the blades in his hand. The tips of the blades that once touched his elbows were now pointing at my nose. The black fog slithered onto his blade, making it completely black. The black fog looked similar to bubbles. I silently prayed that Bahamut would look over me. “Any last words?” he asked. My lungs started to fall apart.
“Only one,” I said. “Okdakensplet,” He dropped the blades and I regained full control of my body. I grabbed the rope and spun the mace around. The mace hit his head and I watched as it flew from his body. It bounced off a wall and then onto the ground. The body fell to the rocky ground and the black cloud detached itself from the owner. The black cloud raced towards the outside and all the darkness from the forest lifted up into the sky and disappeared. The forest had never been greener than what I saw before my eyes. I crawled to the outside. I felt dirt on my skin and grass tickling my nose. I breathed in heavily and deeply exhaled. I was finally free.