Two Worlds: Clash of the Guardians (Completed)

XV - Chilli and Curry

Elli

October 5, in the year of 8845, Reminis Calendar (RC) 

Marko had long been awaken. 

He smelled rubber and felt a rubbery muzzle covering his mouth, perhaps the only thing that had kept him alive. He opened his eyes but barely made out where he was. He guessed he was floating in a brownish tank, with the smell of overdosed cinnamon and rancid meat. 

The thought almost made him puke, which was just aggravating his situation. 

He tried to move his limbs as they were getting numb, but he couldn't. The ropes bit into his flesh, and he winced at the pain. He thought hard. What happened since he was last awake that had caused him to fall into this situation? He remembered the witches pushing him to the electric chair, with Roxy at his side. Before they could argue, they were being transported. Looking to his left, he saw Roxy in a yellowish tank, staring at him. 

The sight froze the blood in his veins as he saw a sudden flash of red lights in her eyes. As Roxy realised Marko was staring at her, she turned to look the other direction. Marko's perplexity was being washed away as a school of arm-length fish with green illumination swimming past their tanks. Their light allowed Marko to see clearer. They must have been hundreds of feet underwater as there was no sunlight coming from above. Could this be the Blue Lagoon? 

If so, the one who had come up with the name should think of renaming it. 

Where were the others? He looked around and saw two cages, each the size of a camp-site tent; but the prisoners inside weren't his friends. They had feathers that illuminated blue fluorescent light, and were the prettiest flying birds he had ever seen — phoenixes. One of them had three silvery hairs stuck out of its head like antennas, while the other had pink hairs. He reckoned the later must be female. The phoenixes had gills glowing next to their beaks, and their wings had transformed into fins. Relieved by the faint blue lights from the phoenixes, Marko maneuvered his body forward by using his waist and wham! An enormous face glued to his tank. 

Its face was so hideous that Marko quickly backed away. The fish swam away within second. The green gleam from the fish vanished, but darkness didn't envelop the river as another source of light took its place. Torches flickered into life. 

Since when could fire burn in water? Marko had no time for the logic. 

He saw a round table sitting in the middle of the river bed, ringed by twenty stone stools, each bigger than a king's throne. Two seething cauldrons lay next to the table. Their size could each fit in an adult elephant and still have space. One by one, the trolls unfastened their muzzles.

A troll with a butcher knife paced before the tanks. It wore a loin-cloth that was smeared with blood. Scratching its chin, it said, "What should we eat for dinner? The cinnamon-soaked sorcerer, or the lemon-grass' one?" A stupid and dubious look spread across its acne-filled face. 

Marko wriggled hard at the troll's words, trying to rid himself off the bonds on his hands, but to no avail. Where's my wand? he questioned himself. The butcher troll made up his mind after pacing half a dozen times before the tanks. Marko's attempt of escaping away lured its attention. After staring at him like a butcher would to a fish, it took a step forward, readied to open the tank's lid, when a deeper voice snapped at it.

"That one needs to be marinated for a day to let the meat tender. Today, we eat the phoenixes. I've prepared two broths, chilli and curry," a troll with an oily apron around its waist said.

"Hmm, goodness, phoenix broths. Tasty... Yummy..." the dumbest troll of all said. 

The other trolls chanted "yummy" in unison.