by KJ Siirila
CHAPTER SEVEN
Olagh and Izasa stood at the entrance to the Midnight Mountains prepared to begin looking for the Book of Elandor. They were quite a ways from the ghoul’s castle and would take no risks in getting there safely.
“I’m going to leave the battalia behind Izasa we may need them but there would be too many of us.”
“Olagh are you sure about this? What happens if we get captured we will need them to help defend us against the ghouls.” Izasa was frightened.
“We’ll be fine Izasa. If anything were to happen it was meant to be. We can’t control what happens to us in this world but we can take precautions to make sure that we are safe.” He put his hand on Izasa’s back to reassure his friend.
Olagh turned to his battalia. “You are to stay here and wait for our return. We will go into the Midnight Mountains in search of the Book of Elandor alone. If we’re not back in three days you can go back into the Forest of Shadows under the assumption that we are dead.”
The battalia looked at each other and then at their leader. Olagh turned around and he and Izasa began walking into the Midnight Mountains, not knowing that only a few hours behind them the ghouls were ready to make their entrance back into the Midnight Mountains themselves.
The Angelic Spirits walked through the Forest of Shadows looking around in amazement. It was a scary land but quite calming at the same time. They knew that if they didn’t find the Mystagog the others could be in a lot of trouble. Mitral, Ademus and Aerifus slowed as they passed the cave that the Shaman had originally entered.
“Should we go inside Mitral?” Ademus asked.
“No. We should never go anywhere we’re not invited. I can’t imagine there would be anything of importance in that dark cave. We should move north.”
Aerifus spoke up. “I’m not too sure we should pass this cave Mitral. I’m sensing something about this cave and we should go inside.”
All three of them looked at each other then began walking towards the cave. Once they got to the entrance they looked inside and found nothing. It seems that sometimes creatures want to be seen and sometimes they don’t.
“You see my friends sometimes it’s best to leave things as they are.” Mitral smiled at them.
They walked away from the cave and didn’t look back, but if they would have they may have seen the eyes watching them leave from behind.
The Valley of Illumination was quiet today. Grimelda, Magella and the Princess Fimella walked slowly on the pathway.
“Where is this great tree with the red leaves Princess?” Grimelda inquired.
“Don’t worry Gardenia. We will find it soon enough. I have only seen it once but it’s such an amazing tree. The leaves are so red.” The Princess grinned knowing she had no idea what she was talking about.
“Where do you live Princess?” Magella asked.
“I live in a small castle with my mother the Queen Armad. Have you heard of her?” They both shook their heads.
“Where is the Queen now?” Grimelda asked.
“She’s on a journey with a group of friends. She will return to the Valley of Illumination soon enough.” The Princess played along.
“Maybe we can meet the Queen when we bring you home Princess.” Magella looked at her slyly.
“Yes that would be nice.” The Princess looked away from the witches. She thought of her mother and hoped she was alright.
When she was a young Princess in the Valley of Illumination she learned quite a lot from her mother as did her sister. She missed her sister greatly and it still angered her that she was gone. She grew stronger from the experience though. Losing someone special to you always makes you stronger.
The three of them walked along and the Princess knew the castle of the Angelic Spirits was directly ahead of them. Grimelda and Magella stopped in their tracks.
“Who does that castle belong to Princess?” Grimelda asked.
“I’m not sure Gardenia. I’ve always thought it to be the quite beautiful.” The Princess was young but very wise not to tell them anything they didn’t need to know.
“Maybe we should stop and find out Grim I mean Gardenia.” Magella hoped the Princess hadn’t caught her slip of words.
Grimelda shot Magella a look. “Yes maybe on the way back from the tree we’ll stop and have some tea with the owners.”
The Princess was worried about the Angelic Spirits with the witches being in the Valley of Illumination. She knew the Angelic Spirits were powerful beings but she wasn’t sure if they were so powerful that they could destroy the witches if they were attacked by them. She would try to keep the witches away from the castle as long as she could.
The Shaman, Micael, Ovit and the Queen Armad continued on their journey after their rest. They weren’t sure how long it would take them to reach the mountains they were looking for but trudged onward with thoughts of the Book of Elandor in mind.
The Queen Armad was still flying high above them.
The Shaman walked ahead of the Micael and Ovit who lagged behind. They were still a little weary from the whole adventure.
“It felt good to be around myrmidons again Ovit.” Micael smiled.
“It always feels good to be around your own kind Micael. It’s a comfortable place to be. I miss my friends and my family so I understand.” He smiled back.
“We will never experience anything like this again as long as we live Ovit. We should cherish every moment we spend together.”
“I agree Micael and believe me I do. We are friends for life.” Ovit pushed against Micael knocking him a bit and they both began laughing. The Shaman looked back for a moment and started to chuckle to himself. It made him happy to know that they had all become such good friends.
When the Shaman turned back he noticed a large castle coming up quickly ahead of them. He stopped and Micael and Ovit almost bumped into him. The Queen Armad flew down from the sky.
“It’s the castle of the ghouls. We should change direction now and go a differen’t way.” The Queen spoke nervously.
The Shaman looked at all of them.
“I think that you may get your chance after Micael to see the castle of the ghouls. What do we have to lose here? We should at least try to see what the others are up to here in the Midnight Mountains don’t you agree?” He smiled.
All of them looked at each other as if to agree.
“So who’s going to attempt going into the castle Shaman?” Micael asked.
The Queen flew into the middle of them. “I’m the smallest I will go.”
They looked at her with concern.
“Don’t worry my friends I won’t be seen. I’m not afraid of the ghouls, but in case anything should happen to me, please tell Fimella that I loved her.” She smiled at them.
The Shaman, Micael and Ovit were a little nervous about letting the Queen go into the castle but they knew they wouldn’t change her mind about it. They would just be extremely careful and try to protect each other.
They moved quietly to the outside of the moat and studied the castle for a moment. The Queen looked up and saw the tower above her. “I will fly into the tower to reach the main castle. It’s the easiest way.” She began to fly upward.
“Good luck Queen Armad and be safe we’ll be waiting for you to get back.” The Shaman watched her fly into the window then he sat with Micael and Ovit in the shadows and waited for her return.
The Queen flew inside of the tower window and flew into the hall. She didn’t see much. The castle was quiet and she assumed at this point that the ghouls weren’t even there. She flew to the main entrance and looked around. There was really nothing. She flew back up and out the tower window and down to her friends.
“They’re not even there.” She smiled.
“That means that they will be soon enough though friends, we should leave here quickly.” The Shaman hurried them along.
They moved quickly back into the dark night sky and never looked back.
The ghouls approach
ed the entrance to the Midnight Mountains and looked relieved as they saw the darkness.
“We’ve made it home, finally.” Helmog sighed.
“Now, we have much plotting and planning to do. We have to figure out a way to get into the witch’s castle.” Slothard moved along talking quietly.
“The first thing we need to do is get back to the castle, the rest will come to us in a short time trust me.” Helmog once again playing leader lead them up the path towards their castle.
About an hour ahead of them Olagh and Izasa walked briskly along. They had no idea the ghouls were as close as they were but their main objective was to get into the ghouls castle to find the Book of Elandor.
“I’m assuming that once we arrive at the castle we can enter through the moat without any difficulty. We could probably hide in the dungeon for quite awhile waiting for the ghouls to leave.” Olagh breathed heavily becoming winded from how quickly he and Izasa were moving.
“We won’t have any problems Olagh we just have to make sure that they don’t catch us because if they do they’ll torture us and kill us. The ghouls are evil, as evil as those witches and warlocks who we also have to stay far away from.”
“The main thing Izasa is to go into the castle quietly but quickly and not be noticed.” Olagh was stern about their plan.
“Agreed.” Izasa nodded his head.
They continued into the Midnight Mountains hoping their brush with the castle of the ghouls wouldn’t mean losing their lives.
Grimelda and Magella followed the directions of Princess Fimella in the Valley of Illumination, for being so strong and powerful the Princess found them to be very naïve. She chuckled to herself quite a few times while wandering through the Valley. She would take them to every tree she saw with red leaves until there were no more to look at.
“How long Princess? How long until we find this tree?” Grimelda was growing impatient.
“Don’t worry Gardenia we’ll come upon it soon. I just hope that it’s the right tree there are quite a few you know.” The Princess smiled.
The sisters stopped and looked at each other.
“What do you mean quite a few Princess I thought there was only one.” Grimelda looked at her with clenched teeth.
“There is more than one Gardenia, I thought you knew that.” She looked at her coyly.
“So, what you’re trying to tell me is that we need to visit many trees with red leaves?” Grimelda looked at Magella.
“This could take forever.” Magella scoffed.
“Then we shall look forever Marigold.” Grimelda began stomping up the path angry with what she had just heard.
“Don’t worry I will help you find the tree you’re looking for. We’ll find the perfect one I promise.” The Princess held on as Grimelda and Magella pushed on.
Back in the Midnight Mountains the Shaman, Micael, Ovit and the Queen Armad continued on. They had passed the ghouls castle and would soon come in close contact with the witch’s and warlock’s castle. They wouldn’t stop this time they would sneak past it in the shadows without being seen.
“Where do you think the ghouls have gone Shaman?” Micael asked.
“I believe that you may not find anyone in their castles now Micael. Everyone is in search of the Book of Elandor. We weren’t the only ones to meet with the Mystagog trust me.”
“I just hope that we are on the right path Shaman. I know we have to find the Book of Elandor but it would be horrible to think we’ve traveled so far just to be fooled by some old man sitting on top of a mountain.” Micael seemed a bit bothered.
“You must remember Micael that everything we are doing we are doing for the greater good of the whole world. You will be completely satisfied in your life knowing that you could’ve helped save the world.” The Shaman smiled.
“I think that we will find the Book of Elandor, and then we’ll find the other two.” Ovit interrupted. “I think we’re the greatest team of adventurers that ever traveled the planet.”
The Shaman and Micael smiled at him and chuckled.
“I think you might be right Ovit.” The Shaman patted him on the head. “We just might be the greatest adventurers this world has ever seen and we should be grateful that the Gods have sent us on this journey.”
They kept walking and talking while the Queen flew overhead.
Olagh and Izasa were walking very fast through the Midnight Mountains and eventually found their way to the castle of the ghouls. They sat for a long period of time outside in the shadows of the castle until they decided what would be the best way to enter without being caught. They noticed there were no candles or anything burning in the windows so they were almost positive that the ghouls weren’t even there. They would have to act fast and get inside before they returned.
“I think that we should go in through the back of the castle through the moat. We have to be careful of the alligators. One wrong move and we might not even make it to the castle wall but rather into the belly of an alligator.” Olagh knew his plan couldn’t fail.
“I agree Olagh we should go through the moat in the back and through the hole that’s quite visible from where I’m sitting.” Izasa pointed to a hole that they could both squeeze through easily.
“What’re we waiting for let’s go.” Olagh stood up and walked to the water and looked closely making sure there were no alligators. Izasa followed him closely as they both went into the water and began wading towards the hole.
Half way to the wall Olagh stopped suddenly.
“What is it?” Izasa whispered.
“Stay very still. There’s an alligator directly in front of us. I don’t think he’s seen us yet but if we move he’ll attack I’m sure of it.”
They stood still for a long time before they saw the alligator swim away. They breathed a sigh of relief and moved quickly to the hole and entered into the lower region of the castle.
Once inside the castle, they shook the water off themselves and began looking around. They were obviously in the dungeon of the castle.
“What is this some sort of stone cage?” Izasa asked.
“This is where they store their myrmidons I’m assuming Izasa.”
“We should find the main hall as fast as we can Olagh. We’re wasting valuable time down here in this cold, damp hole in the ground.” Izasa walked fast until he found the stairway to the rooms up above the dungeon. Olagh was following him now.
They reached the upper region after a very long walk up the staircase. They stopped and took a breath of air before searching for the main hallway. The castle seemed endless to them. It would take them a long time to find what they came for and they knew it.
As they walked through the first hallway they searched for paintings of billy goats and mountain lions anything that would make sense of what the Mystagog had told them.
They saw one painting that looked somewhat like a mountain lion so they pulled it off the wall but found only wall behind it.
“This is insanity Olagh. I can’t believe we’re even in the castle of the ghouls searching for something that seems impossible to find.” Izasa was frustrated.
“We will look until we find something Izasa. Stay calm. We have to be patient now. If we let ourselves go we definitely won’t find it.”
They were chatting back and forth when they heard a loud noise coming from the outside of the castle. They weren’t sure what it was so they went to a window and peered over the ledge. They saw the bridge being lowered to the ground and then the ghouls.
“We have to get back to the dungeon and hide Olagh!” Izasa began running down the hall.
Olagh followed Izasa and neither of them noticed that they didn’t put the painting back on the wall.
They made it to the dungeon and opened one of the doors and hid in the room. They were terrified that the ghouls would find them and kill them.
Helmog, Slothard and Wagrim entered their castle through the main door and went to their sitting room.
“We ca
n’t waste any time. We must begin planning how to get into the witch’s castle.” Helmog spoke sternly.
“Let’s just go over there and hit them over the heads with a broom.” Slothard began laughing.
“This is not the time for your foolishness Slothard.” Helmog scolded him.
Slothard rolled his eyes and Wagrim cracked a smile.
Helmog started pacing the room. He stopped suddenly and began looking around the room.
“Someone has been here.” He said.
Slothard and Wagrim stood up and began looking around the room.
“Why would you say that Helmog?” Wagrim asked.
“Look over there. My chair is out of place as if someone had been sitting in it.”
They walked out into the main hallway and started walking down it together making sure to search every dark corner they could find.
They finally reached the painting that Olagh and Izasa pulled off the wall. Helmog bent down and picked it up and looked at Slothard and Wagrim and spoke quietly.
“Someone has dared to enter our castle and when we find them we’re going to destroy them.”
“We must look everywhere Helmog, the creature could be anywhere.” Slothard began walking slowly down the hall.
They reached the stairway to the dungeon and Wagrim pointed at some wet footsteps on the stairs. They knew whoever it was had come from the dungeon.
“Let’s go.” Helmog lead the way down the stairway into the dungeon. Olagh and Izasa heard the footsteps and cowered into the corner of the room they were in hoping the ghouls wouldn’t find them.
They heard a loud voice bellowing as the footsteps reached the bottom of the staircase.
“We know you’re here creature and when we find you we’re going to destroy you. You can’t hide forever so come out and show yourself.” Helmog warned.
Olagh and Izasa sat shivering knowing that if they left the sanctity of that corner they would surely be killed.
“Have it your way then!” The three ghouls continued searching the dungeon room by room until finally they reached the room with Olagh and Izasa.