The Dragon's Key

Chapter 12: Goodbyes

The group heard shouting coming from a room branching off of the hallway. As they approached the room, what was being said became clear.

"Faithful servants of the Holy Spirit, by the Holy Spirit's hand you are blessed. Your hands will not be sullied with the demonic magic of this evil place while you destroy its horrid artifacts. Your souls are protected by the love of the Holy Spirit. Go forth and do good in His name." It sounded as if someone was giving a speech to start a holy crusade.

"They want to destroy the Great Library and its artifacts! We have to stop them, they might destroy the Key," Gwen said to her friends.

Maximus rushed ahead to confront the would-be destroyers visibly angry. The others rushed to follow him, hands on their weapons.

Upon arriving at the door, Gwen saw a priest dressed in a black priest's robe with a book in his hands. Located between the friends and the priest was a squadron of twenty-five armored knights.

"Ah, welcome adventurers, you are just in time. You may join us in the destruction of this monument to the demonic beings." The priest smiled at the group, seemingly pleased at their arrival.

"You cannot destroy the Great Library! It is the greatest accumulation of knowledge in this world," Maximus argued.

"Do you not understand?! We must cleanse the world of the magics of the false gods in order for the world to be ready for the return of the Holy Spirit!" the crazed priest shouted.

"I won't let you do that. There are thousands of years of knowledge and literature in this library," Maximus said, his hand on his sword.

"Does this young man speak for all of you?" the priest questioned, eyeing the rest of the party.

The brothers took a defensive stance, their hands ready to draw their weapons.

"No, No, NO! You are all heretics. Heretics must be purged from this world. Execute them in the name of the Holy Spirit!" the priest spat. "May your souls be cleansed so that you may join the Holy Spirit in Heaven."

"There is no reasoning with these zealots, Max. We will have to fight," Marigold said, readying herself for battle.

All three of the boys drew their weapons as all but three of the armored knights walked forward to execute the priest's command.

Maximus raised his right hand and spoke something in Draconic. The entire room became frigid. A wall of ice grew from the ground, enclosing the doorway. The religious zealots were trapped inside the room behind the ice.

"This won't hold them for long," Maximus stated. "Our first priority is to get the DRAG Key and get the girls home. This isn't their fight; they shouldn't be involved. After that Tristan and Gabriel, you two can escape, this battle does not concern you either."

The group ran down the hallway and turned into another room. Once they were all in the room, Maximus spoke something in Draconic and a door closed behind them. There was a large machine in this room. There was a pedestal next to the machine with a clear locked box on it. In the locked transparent box was a large round ball. The ball shimmered like a pearl with energy running underneath the surface.

"That is the Dragon Key?" Gwen asked gesturing to the orb.

"Yes, now just let me put in the password to this lock and then we can go about setting the dimensional coordinates for your home world," Maximus stated, already working on the lock.

Maximus opened the box and placed the sphere into the machine.

Suddenly a loud shattering sound echoed through the library.