This particular chapter I had written out, then lost the original paper copy of it. I know what happens, it just seems a bit hard to recreate what I had in that notebook. I'm afraid it won't be as good, but I will do my best to create all that I had in my written version of this chapter.
"Stealth is no longer an option! We need to disrupt that ritual before it gets any further!" said Albert to his companions. Sarah saw there was no hesitation in his voice, nor was there a cheeriness that usually accompanied his dialogue. When things were this serious, Albert didn't make light of the situation.
"Nina! I don't know which direction to take, lead the way!"
Nina without delay dashed forward and began leading them through the twists and turns in the cavern. Sarah noted how important this was; enough for Albert to put aside his usual antics with directional sense. It was no fooling around when innocent lives are at stake.
It wasn't too longer before Sarah's lack of physical training began hampering her pace with Albert and Nina. She began to breath heavier and heavier. Nina was first to notice this, then Albert saw as Sarah fell more and more behind.
"Sarah, it may be best if you follow us from behind a bit. Just in case we fall into a runic trap, you can free us. Slow down and catch your breath. We need you at full strength and spirit when the time comes!"
Just as Albert finished yelling that back towards Sarah, Nina focused some blood magic into her right hand, and slashed the wall to her right. It glowed with a blood red essence and was very noticeable.
Albert understood what she was doing and said "Follow that Sarah!"
"O-Ok!" Yelled back Sarah, almost breathlessly. Although she knew she could have used her magic potential to dash in short bursts, it wouldn't be sustainable and would end up draining her energy, only causing her to be even more worn out.
Albert and Nina nodded to each other, then ran even faster, making a turn at the end of the tunnel the three were running down, disappearing out of Sarah's sight. She heard a scratch against a wall, knowing that Nina was still guiding Sarah in their direction. Although Albert told her to slow down, Sarah still did her best to maintain her fastest pace, but by the time she reached the fork where Albert and Nina turned, she was almost out of breath and had to stop.
"I wish I did more physical endurance training back in Braiken" Sarah thought. As she caught her breath, she looked in the direction where her two compatriots turned toward. They were moving so fast that they were already out of sight; turned in whichever direction the tunnel pathways led further down.
As Sarah began to move in the direction that Albert and Nina ran towards, she heard something in the other direction in which the pathway forked.
"...help!"
It sounded like the voice of a girl.
"Hellllpppp!" the voice called again, ending in what sounded like a whimper. Sarah knew she was suppose to keep following Albert and Nina in case they needed aid, but the cries of this girl didn't seem too far off. Perhaps she could ensure the girl was alright and learn more about what was going on before following the other two again. Sarah started moving in the direction in which she heard the girl's voice. As she got closer and closer, the cries for help were followed with heavy sobbing.
Finally, Sarah reached a door where there was no lock. Not knowing if there was anyone else in the room besides what she heard was a little girl, Sarah cracked the door ever so slightly to peer into the room.
As Sarah suspected, there was a little girl trapped in a locked cage, but the girl wasn't crying. In fact, she seemed quite content given her current situation, and even smiled when she saw Sarah peering through the cracked opening of the door.
"Hi! Are you here to get here me out of here? To be honest, it isn't so bad. There's some hay that's soft and it's quite cool in here, but I wouldn't mind leaving. I'm Naomi, what's your name?"
Sarah was quite taken aback by this young girl's demeanor and attitude despite being locked up in a cage of all places. Sarah opened the door and could see there was minimal lighting in the area given the lack of candles in the room. Just enough to keep the cage illuminated where Naomi was. Not seeing or sensing any danger in the room, Sarah proceeded forward, towards the girl.
"Hi Naomi, I'm Sarah. Are you alright?"
"Me? I could be better, but I'm in one piece, so I'm content." said Naomi, with a smile on her face.
"Oh, well, it didn't sound like that before I got here. I heard you crying out for help all the way down the hall."
"What?! I wasn't crying for help before! I'll let you know that I'm a strong and independent woman...well I'm still young, but I'm mature for my age!"
Sarah smiled, thinking Naomi was just hiding her fear. She let her guard down and moved closer to the cage, bending down to meet Naomi eye to eye. "Really? Then who was yelling for help before then?" Asked Sarah, in a playful way towards the child.
"That, was me" said a dark and ominous voice.
Before Sarah could fully turn around to see who spoke, something knocked her full force into the rock wall of the room.
Sarah hit the wall hard, then fell to the ground. Sarah's body ached all over as she did her best to collect herself from the impact. Her ears rang as if she'd heard an explosion of some kind.
"You meanie! That's no fair hitting a lady without her knowing it. When I get out of this cage, I'm gonna beat you silly!" Sarah foggily heard Naomi say. Sarah tried to lift her head up, but her vision was blurry and the was blood running down her face. She couldn't see clearly, but saw what flung her across the room.
"HAHAHA, you played a fine bait young one. I've been waiting for an adventurer to come and find you here. And now, I have one"
said a tall muscular humanoid creature. It was grey, and held a glowing mace with a hook and cleaver-like blade attached to it.
Sarah tried to get up, but her body ached so much that she couldn't even lift herself up one bit from the ground.
"Oh, trying to get up? Here, let me HELP YOU"
The creature grabbed Sara by the neck, and slammed her against the wall again, holding and pinning her against it.
"Urgh!" grunted Sarah as she was held up on the wall. The creature's grip began to tighten around her neck as Sarah gagged for air.
"An Incar mage huh? Funny I should kill one now of all places. Goodbye. Hahaha!"
Sarah's body began going limp and her vision started to fade to darkness. She thought of Albert and Nina, how her journey with them just started. She didn't want it to end here.
"Help" she thought, just as she heard the impersonated voice cry out before, so she also began crying for help.
"...please...help...someone..."
"I will help you, only because I am curious..." said a familiar voice.
Sarah found herself once again in the place where she first saw the vicious summoner. There he was again. No black flames this time, just the man sitting with legs crossed on the floor of the place that was in between when she teleported from Braiken to Loa. As before, she could not utter a word. She knew she was in a dire strait, but had a strange peace that all would be well. She raised her hand to reach out to him, but couldn't touch him in this star-filled place.
"Call me to your side" said the man.
Without thinking how to do so, Sarah closed her eyes and wished with all her being for this man to appear at her side. She couldn't see it, but her body began to emanate a red aura that waved and flowed. It began to envelope the whole space that Sarah and the summoner were in, till the whole area was covered in a bright red.
"AHHHHHH, MY HAND!" Yelled the creature that held Sarah against the wall before.
Sarah was able to look up from the floor she fell to, and saw the back of the man that was in that star-filled space with her before. Nothing seemed special about him; no powerful visible aura surrounded him, but the man was able to sever the hand that grasped Sarah's without the use of a sword or sharp object. He used his bare hands to do so.
"Ooooooh, you're in trouble now baddie! Sarah's boy friend is here to kick your butt!" Exclaimed Naomi from her cage.
The man turned to look at her scornfully, but then averted his gaze back towards the creature. As he stepped forward, the creature backed against the wall, blood spewing from it's missing hand.
"Th-th-this isn't over vicious summoner! I know your kind. I'll come for you AND that Incar mage, just you wait!"
The creature then turned into a shadow, fusing with the wall, only to disappear entirely out of sight.
The man sighed, then turned around and held out his hand to aid Sarah in standing up on her feet.
"My name is Connor. You are Sarah I presume?"
Not too bad eh? I'll probably edit this chapter later on when I think of something more efficient. Until then, look forward to the next chapter, laterz!
No comments:
Post a Comment