Defenders of Kron - The Black Dragon

by Ritu Ghosh

  “Pull it Flynn, now!” Jane screamed and Flynn fumbled and pulled the handle with all his strength.

  “Catch them!” the Trolls were right near them. One of the trolls almost caught Sandra by her hands. The earth under their feet moved suddenly and a secret entrance opened on the ground. They screamed their lungs out as they fell into the darkness. The only little light was coming from the opening of the door above them. They were inside a tunnel and it was a few meters deep. It was pitch dark soon. They finally hit the ground with a big thud. They were fumbling around in the dark to see if they were alright.

  “Is everyone alright?” Aaron asked.

  “Yes!” everyone answered together.

  “It’s so dark here” Flynn said holding on to his wrist that hurt.

  “Jane can you show us some light?” Aaron asked.

  “I can’t, I lost my light maker” Jane said in a sad tone.

  Aaron didn’t understand what to do for a moment, but then he saw a beam of light coming from behind them. “Here, follow me” Aaron whispered.

  He then led them to one of the passages inside the dungeon. There was enough light to see one another. Everyone had cuts and bruises on them. Flynn’s wrist turned to be ok but Sandra was limping.

  “Where do we go now?” whispered Jane in a low voice.

  “Only the Trolls would know where Brandon is” said Aaron.

  “That’s a great idea, let’s ask a Troll and get ourselves killed” said Sandra with a sarcastic expression.

  “There is no other way to know where Brandon is” said Aaron “Does anyone else have any ideas?”

  Everyone’s face went blank.

  “Wait, I have a plan, follow me” Flynn said and slowly walked into the open passage. The others followed him to one of the chambers where a Troll was guarding a prison. The Troll guard was sleeping in his stone chair and snoring loudly.

  “Wait here!” Flynn whispered and walked behind the sleeping Troll.

  “What is he doing? Trying to get himself killed?” Sandra frowned.

  “I don’t know. I hope he has a plan” whispered Aaron as he prayed for Flynn.

  Flynn walked in behind the Troll and climbed up the wall. He hid in the shadow “Wake up you fool!” he said with a heavier voice, which he liked to make sometimes.

  The Troll jumped on his feet instantly. Jane and Sandra held their breath and crouched behind the wall.

  “Who? Who’s there?” the confused Troll spoke.

  “I am your master, don’t you recognize my voice?” Flynn said again.

  The Troll scratched his head for a while and then said “Yes master, I know. I am sorry, I just dozed off” he looked very ashamed.

  “I can see that. Now, tell me where the small boy is” said Flynn sounding angry now.

  “Which boy master?” The Troll scratched his head again.

  “The small human boy who was bought here yesterday by the wolves” Flynn said.

  “Oh! That boy. Don’t worry about him master. He was very menacing, so we have thrown him in the Krigan’s lair. He won’t be bothering us anymore” the Troll laughed.

  “Silence! You fool! How dare you do such a thing? I wanted to finish him off myself” Flynn said.

  “Sorry master, it was Murat’s plan not mine” the Troll shrugged.

  “Now, show me the way to this Krigan’s lair you fool” said Flynn.

  “Yes, yes master” the Troll said and started walking. He tripped over the chair and regained his balance again “This way”

  Flynn slowly came down from the wall and followed the Troll, still hiding in the shadows. Aaron, Jane and Sandra followed Flynn.

  The Troll took many paths through the dungeon. He looked back several times to see if he can see who he was talking to, but he couldn’t see anything. He came to a dimly lit passage and stopped.

  “Why did you stop?” Flynn made the heavy voice again, still hiding in the shadows.

  “This is the entrance to the lair master. I do not wish to go any further”. The Troll said in a trembling voice.

  “Why is that?” asked Flynn.

  “The Krigan... I do not want to take a chance with my life master” said the Troll.

  “Ok…. then run now and do not come back here till I tell you to” said Flynn and the Troll ran off like a little mouse.

  Aaron, Jane and Sandra came out of the shadows. Flynn walked towards the entrance of the lair.

  “I hope we find Brandon here” said Flynn looking at Aaron.

  Aaron nodded and said “Thanks for locating Brandon, Flynn. But how did you come up with this plan?”

  “Well, I saw how dumb the Trolls were outside, so I thought I could fool them.” Flynn grinned “And it worked”

  Aaron thanked him again and walked towards the Krigan’s lair. He knew that the chances of finding Brandon were very slim. If a Troll was afraid of the Krigan, then it must be something deadly. It may not be easy to get away from it.

  “Let’s go inside then” Flynn looked at Jane and Sandra who were not sure anymore.

  Aaron grabbed one of the torches burning on the wall and said “You don’t have to come in if you do not want to. I understand it is dangerous, just wait here”

  “No, we are coming too. We are in this together” Jane said and walked in after Aaron. Flynn followed her immediately. Sandra hesitated for a moment, but followed Flynn.

  “It’s not going to be easy, I tell you” Flynn told Jane as they continued their way in.

  It grew colder and darker as they went in. A strange stench hit their noses.

  Chapter 18

  Mordok

  Dan hurried towards the open third entrance with Ony and Belster. There was a brightly lit passage on the inside which was guarded by two Trolls. They hid behind the wall.

  “What are we going to do now? The Trolls are bigger than me. But I can knock them over if you want me to” Ony said.

  “No, we cannot be seen. If they report to the other Trolls, we are all in grave danger, even the kids” said Dan.

  “Why don’t we finish them both?” Belster said pulling on his bow.

  “No!” Dan stopped him. “They are not very bright, we need to distract them”

  He took a few stones and threw them on the Trolls to get their attention. The Trolls were startled. “Who’s there?” said one Troll.

  Dan threw a few more stones in the other direction to make some noise.

  The Trolls immediately ran in that direction leaving the entrance unguarded.

  “Quick, this is our chance” said Dan as he looked out for the Trolls.

  They got inside quickly before the Troll could return. They followed the path inside the passage. There were no more Trolls inside, but the passage had pavements covered with colorful pebbles and the walls had polished marble on them. They heard a few voices and ducked behind the pillars.

  A few Lurgs walked out from the opposite direction. They seemed to be discussing something of great importance. But neither Dan nor Ony could make anything of it. The Lurgs went past them soon.

  “What are the Lurgs doing here?” asked Ony.

  “I don’t think we are at the right place” Belster said. Beads of sweat were forming on his forehead.

  “No, we are not!” Dan said with caution. “This is not an entrance to the Troll dungeons, this is the way to a Lurg prison. It should be one of their bases”

  “We have to get out of here!” Ony panicked.

  “We can’t go the same way; the Trolls at the entrance must have come back. They would know by now that someone was trying to fool them. We have to find another way out” Dan said. “Let’s keep walking”

  They walked through the passage but this time they were extra careful, just in case the Lurgs came back.

  ‘Boom!’ There was an explosion in one of the small chambers in the passage. Three Lurg guards came running to the chamber.

  “I’ve had it with that slug, I am going to kill it today” said a Lurg looking very ann
oyed.

  Dan signaled the others to duck down and sit behind the extended wall. The three Lurgs came to the door of chamber, unlocked it and went inside.

  Dan could hear a screech and a voice of high pitch.

  “Let me go you ugly creeps!” The voice said. Then there were sounds of hitting and more screeches. The Lurgs laughed as they walked out of the room. “That should teach the little slug a lesson”

  “I know that voice” Ony said when the Lurgs went out of their sight.

  “What do you mean?” asked Belster.

  “That annoying voice, I have heard it before” Ony was trying to remember hard, “Ah! The stupid Nomes at Alfadon’s place. I remember now. They took my cotton candy while I was enjoying the banana fretters, I am going to get that little freak” Ony was in front of the chamber door before Dan could stop him. He looked through the small window through the grills.

  “Hey, you!” Ony said.

  Dan walked behind him to look inside. The Nome was startled seeing them. He came immediately to the door and climbed on the grilled window to look outside.

  “I know you!” the Nome said.

  “Of course you know me, you stole my cotton candy” Ony said angrily.

  “Oh, it must be Cully, he has a weakness for sweets. I’m Bo. I apologize on his behalf” the Nome grinned at Ony.

  Dan stepped forward. “How did you end up here Bo?”

  “Oh, Sir Dan! It’s so nice to see you” said Bo. “We were all captured Sir. It was horrible, horrible” the Nome started to cry loudly.

  “Don’t be so loud, the Lurgs will hear you” said Belster who was watching the little creature from a distance.

  The Nome stopped crying and stared to sob silently.

  “What happened? Is Alfadon alright?” asked Dan.

  “They have taken him, sir. Taken him to Mordok, the Dark Wizard”

  “Mordok!” exclaimed Ony.

  “Yes sir, this is one of Mordok’s abode” the Nome stared to sob again.

  “Get a hold on yourself” said Dan “And tell us everything. How did this happen? Alfadon was at the Fairyland, where you with him?”

  “Yes sir, we were at Fairyland. It was so beautiful, golden fruits, silver trees, glowing plants and soft cloud beds to sleep on” The Nome said lost in dreamy thoughts.

  “Get to the point” Ony said sternly.

  “Oh yes.. yes.. everything was going so well and then on the third day, everything became dark, the Lurgs attacked, but they were not alone . The Dark wizard was leading them” said the Nome. “It all happened so fast, the Fairies couldn’t do anything. Nobody was prepared for the attack and then they destroyed Fairyland and took the stone away.”

  “Took stone?” asked Dan.

  “The Sicil stone of Merthyl” The Nome said with his head hung down.

  “What? That is not possible. That stone is guarded with many charms and spells” said Dan “It’s impossible to break them”

  “What’s this Sicil stone of Merthyl?” asked Belster who was confused now.

  “It is the Sicil stone of the great wizard Merthyl. The stone has many powers including the powers of bringing back the dead. It became a thing of dispute when the Dark Wizards wanted it for themselves. So the elder wizards decided to hide it with the Fairies because they are the only ones whose charms were unbreakable” said Dan.

  “So, Mordok wanted the powers for himself?” asked Ony.

  “It could be. But since Alfadon said that Mordok had joined hands with Zorath; I do not have a good feeling about all this” said Dan.

  “We have to stop Mordok and bring the stone back. The possession of the stone will make him more powerful” said Belster after some thinking.

  “Yes, it’s unfortunate. We have to do something. Let’s go” Dan started to walk away.

  “What about me sir? Please don’t leave the poor Nome all alone here. The Lurgs are so horrible with it” Bo made a sad face.

  “Oh sure, Ony take him out” said Dan.

  “Stand back” said Ony and with a big thrust he brought the door down. “There you go, you are welcome!”

  The Nome came out happily and followed them through the passage looking around for the Lurgs. Soon, they came to a narrow passage and halted.

  “Do you know where Mordok lives?” Dan asked Bo.

  The Nome shook his head in a ‘no’. “Never been there” he said.

  “Then there is only one way to know it, got any of your explosives left?” Dan asked Bo. The Nome was so happy that he took out a few small red balls out of its pocket and showed it to Dan.

  “Throw them into the passage, let them explode” Dan said with a smile.

  “Wait! What are you saying? That will bring the Lurgs here” Belster said panicking.

  “That is the plan” Dan winked at Bo and Bo did as Dan said. Soon, there were two big explosions and clouds of dust from the ceiling fell on them.

  They heard a lot of footsteps coming towards them, Dan looked at Ony and Belster and said “Ready?” Bo hid behind Ony’s legs peeping to see what’s coming for them.

  Troops of Lurgs poured down from both directions. Dan pulled out his sword, Ony was ready with his axe and Belster fitted an arrow to his bow.

  Dan was quick with his sword, before the Lurgs could understand what was going on, two of them were beheaded by Dan. Ony hit as many as Lurgs as he could with his axe without stopping even for a second. He was swinging his axe in every direction. Belster hit many Lurgs on their foreheads and pierced their hearts with his swift arrows. One by one, many Lurgs fell. But soon, many more poured in and they encircled them.

  “Drop your weapons!” said the leader of the Lurgs as he came out from behind the troop.

  Dan lowered his sword and asked the others to do the same. As soon as they put their weapons in their belts the Lurgs captured them and tied their hands behind their backs. Then they walked them through another passage. After discussing among them, most of the Lurgs left and a few stayed to escort the prisoners through a hidden passage to a big castle.

  The Lurgs dragged them to a big hall with huge pillars and high walls. Ony looked around in amazement.

  “This place is big!” he said moving his head from side to side.

  “Move sooner you fatso!” said one of the Lurgs kicking Ony. Ony grew very angry but Dan signaled him to stay calm. They walked along the big halls and were brought before a raised platform. On the platform, there was a jewel studded throne.

  The Lurgs made three of them kneel in front of the throne. The room grew very dark like a shadow just came in from the outside. They felt a sudden chill down their spines. The shadow became darker as it approached the throne and from this shadow, slowly appeared a form of a man. A man draped in a black cloak from head to toe, hiding his disfigured face. He held a staff which had a dragon’s head on it with red rubies for the eyes. On top of the dragon’s head, was a blue flame, flickering.

  “Well, well” an unpleasant voice came out of the dark wizard’s mouth “Look who is here?”

  The Lurgs standing behind the men trembled at the sight of Dark Wizard.

  “Well done my dear Lurgs, now leave” said the Dark Wizard. The Lurgs scrambled as soon as the orders were given.

  Dan stood up “Mordok!” he said “Where is the Sicil of Merthyl?”

  “Ha ha ha… you Defenders, a foolish lot. You stand up to me in my castle and you expect me to answer you?” said Mordok with his scary voice. “But I will answer your question. It gives me immense pleasure to tell you that, after destroying the land of Fairies, the most gracious and heavenly place in the world; I have presented the Sicil stone of Merthyl to my master, Zorath the great. He shall be revived and will be back soon. And you fools, who think that you can stand against him, will be the first ones to die...”

  “We will see about that” said Ony pulling his axe. He threw it towards Mordok without warning, but Mordok vanished at once and the axe hit the legs of the iron throne.

  Mord
ok appeared behind them. “You fools!” Mordok was very angry. “You think you can kill me with these mere weapons of yours? I am the greatest wizard in the world”

  “The greatest wizard in the world is Alfadon and you are nothing in front of him” said Dan filled with rage.

  “Ha ha ha..” Mordok laughed aloud “Alfadon, your greatest wizard is locked up in the darkest cell in my dungeon. If he is so great, why can’t he come here and save you now?”

  “You filthy lowlife, what have you done to Alfadon, where is he?” Ony was outraged.

  “Why don’t you see him with your own eyes?” Mordok said and disappeared. The darkness left the room and there was light again.

  “Where did he go?” asked Belster.

  The castle floor started to creak and thump like there was an earthquake. They turned their heads up. Two big monsters were standing right above them. The first one picked up Dan and Belster before they could reach for their weapons. The second one caught Ony by his legs and lifted him up.

  ‘Let me go, you big stinky mess” Ony was kicking in all directions. The monster began to walk outside the castle. The monsters opened a small door on the ground and dropped all of them into it. They slid through a long and slippery tunnel one after the other. Their screams were heard all the way up by the monsters who seemed to enjoy it. They smirked at each other.

  Dan landed on his back on a dirty floor and Belster landed on him.

  “Watch out!!” said Ony as he came sliding. Both Dan and Belster rolled over in different directions and Ony landed on his butt “Ouch!” he cried. “That hurts…”

  Slowly, all of them stood up.

  “What is this place?” Ony asked straitening his back.

  “The Dark Prison” said Belster “I have heard about it, they say once you get in here, there is no way out”

  Ony fell silent and didn’t look very pleased.

  “Do you think Alfadon is here?” Belster asked Dan.

  “I think he is here, let us look around” said Dan and walked towards a narrow passage. Ony and Belster followed him.

  For hours they wandered in the dark passages, they came to corridors with many chambers, but every one of them was empty. They tried calling Alfadon by his name, but the place didn’t even eco and their voices died in the corridor itself. They started to become tired as they felt the lack of air. They sat down on a dry patch on the floor.