Hero of Ranora

Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Derrik felt something cold pressing into his neck, almost as if he were being pierced by ice. “Wake up, chosen one,” Derrik heard a raspy voice say. As Derrik’s eyes fluttered open, he saw a vaguely familiar creature standing on his chest, knife pressed against his throat. Derrik recognized the creature as the slimy monster that had attacked Sharelle and him back at the cave.

“What are you doing here?” Derrik asked the hideous creature. “And what are you?” At this, the creature gave a shrill cackle. 

“Wouldn’t you like to know, chosen one,” The disgusting thing said. “Come with me, and your life may be spared,” It growled.

Derrik laughed nervously. “Yeah, right. Last time I trusted you, my hand got shredded to bits,” Derrik said. The creature just giggled again.

“You have no choice, chosen one. Either follow me, or die.” The slimy creature pressed the knife harder into Derrik’s neck, a small drop of blood trickling down his throat.

“Alright!” Derrik shouted nervously. “I’ll follow you, but if I feel threatened in any way, you’ll see how it feels to be on the other end of that knife,” Derrik said, trying to sound more confident than he truly was.

The creature let out a nervous chuckle. “Have it your way, chosen one. But be warned, once you meet master, you will never be the same,” It said gravely. Before Derrik had a chance to react, the creature jumped off his chest, landing almost gracefully on the ground. It closed its wrinkled eyelids and began muttering a phrase that Derrik had never heard before.

“Shlormnan HannaShaa,” The creature whispered, over and over. In less time than it would take to breathe a single breath, Derrik realized that they were no longer in the inn. Instead, they appeared to be in a vast courtyard of some sort. A strange combination of beautiful statues and fresh bodies were strewn all around the area.

“Where are we?” Derrik asked. But the creature did not respond, as he was still uttering the same phrase. After a few more seconds, however, it gave one last shout.      

“Shlormnan HannaShaa!” It shouted.With that final verse, the creature slumped over, apparently drained of energy. Derrik shook the creature, trying to wake it, but to no prevail.

Derrik heard a loud crackling noise and turned around. What he faced were two giant pillars of fire, spiraling down to the very ground he stood upon. He leaped out of the way, and not a second too soon. The fire crashed into the rocky ground, spewing rocks and gravel into the air.

The fires soon grew more intense, reaching almost deadly levels of heat. Just when Derrik thought he could take no more, the flames dispersed, leaving behind two magnificent golden doors. Derrik hesitantly walked up to them and, realizing that he currently had no other options, pushed them open.

He regretted this choice immediately, due to the fact that upon walking through the doorway, the doors slammed shut behind him. “Well,” Derrik heard a familiar voice say. “The prodigal son has returned at last.”

Neyom stepped out from the shadows, holding his long, golden sword firmly with one hand.  “Are you scared of dying, Derrik?” Neyom asked eerily.  “Because, if that’s the case, I can make sure your life ends quickly.”

Neyom lifted his sword above his head, ready to strike down his son. “Stop!” A screeching voice commanded.  Derrik turned around and stared at death; or a pretty good representation of it. The figure was cloaked from head to toe in inky black robes. It emitted the scent of rotting flesh, which caused Derrik to feel quite nauseous.