White Phantom

Chapter 4: Arrival

The sun rose high over the mountains the next morning. Smoking embers were all that was left from their fire the previous evening. As Chad rolled to escape his sleeping bag, every sore muscle screamed and ached in protest. Groaning as he moved, Chad managed to sit up and get a bearing on his surroundings. Luna awoke to the sound of Chad's griping, "Morning," she yawned. "Morning," he moaned. "You look terrible..." "I feel terrible..." "Are you sure you are up to using your magic today?" She looked at him, sympathetically wincing in pain. "We have no choice. Besides, I need to get her out of there." His voice was filled with determination. "Alright. We'll go through today as we did yesterday, only stopping when you need to rest. I'll get our things together and you eat something before we get moving." "Already ahead of you," he said as he triumphantly found some cakes in one of the bags. Luna smiled at him and continued packing up their camp while he ate his breakfast. Before she finished the last bag, she pulled out the map and rolled it out before Chad's feet. "Alright," she said, "we're here in Velut a Tinea," she pointed at the map, "today we've got to get to Blatta. That's about 349 kilometers from where we are now." "That's further than yesterday..." Chad said with his mouth full. "Since we travelled a total of a little over an hour of you actually using your magic yesterday, and the rest of us was resting, I figured today we'll push it a little further," she said flatly, "today's total is a little over two hours. Double what you did yesterday but it would get us closer to the girl." Chad thought about it for a moment. If he could manage doing double what he did yesterday, it would get them there that much sooner. "Do you have anything in any of your bags that would help my muscles from feeling so fatigued?" "I thought you'd never ask," Luna smirked and went over to one of the packed bags. She pulled out some herbs and a canteen full of water. Then she pulled out a small mug and poured some of the water from the canteen to the mug. She held her staff over the mug and said, "Aestus." Steam billowed up from the mug as she put some of the herbs into the water. "Drink this; it will help your muscles relax a bit so they're not so sore. When you're finished drinking we'll get ready to go." She handed the mug to him carefully as not to spill. Chad drank the tea as quick as he could without burning his tongue. He could almost instantly feel his sore muscles relaxing which, in turn, made him feel much better. He helped pack the remaining bags and Luna shrank them all with her magic and tied them to her belts. He knelt down and let her on his back and they were off. *** Days went by as they did before. Endless hours of air magic and resting to regain his strength, and endless worry over a girl he'd never even met. Chad was so emotionally and physically drained by the fourth day, and finally he heard the words he wanted to hear. "We're here." Luna said, looking to the ominous castle before them. The stones were dark that built the castle, and the sounds of crashing waves were all around them. Creatures were patrolling the castle walls, and they were even more terrifying up close. The creatures stood taller than an average man. Black, matted fur covered them from head to toe. They had the head of a bull, the torso of a man, and the hindquarters of a bull. They wore armor just like real soldiers did and held giant axes for weapons.

"How are we going to get in there?" Chad asked.

"Let me think..." Luna looked around to see if there were any places that she could see that were left unguarded. There was a small opening on the west side of the castle where the sea came in, "I think I see one there," she said as she spotted it, and pointed it out to where Chad could see it.

"Perfect, now how do we get over there without being seen?" "Leave that to me," Luna pulled some bracelets from her back pocket. They were plain gold and had a single opal gemstone in the center. "What are those?" Chad said curiously. "These are charm bracelets. Once we put them on, all I have to do is cast the spell to make us invisible and voila!" "That's so awesome!" "However," Luna said, "the magic only lasts for a short time. We'll have to get closer before I cast the spell, so we'll have to be very careful so those beasts don't see us.""Great let's go," Chad said hastily. They were so close, but still had a long way to go. They approached the west side of the castle, just in sight of the opening. The creatures were all facing west, so they needed a distraction. "This should do the trick," Luna pulled out a small orange orb from her coat pocket. She threw it in the air and said, "Fulgeo!" The orange orb burst into light and flew to the east. The creatures watched as it flew by. "Now's our chance! Evanesco!" Luna made a motion with her staff to the bracelets. Instantly, they vanished from sight. "Let's go!" Luna whispered. Chad followed her into the small opening. As they got further in, there were bars obstructing their path. Luna held up her staff and said, "Adtono!" The bars burst into flame and fell apart at their feet. Chad couldn't help but think to himself, It's really helpful to have Luna around. They made their way further into the castle, and the light began to fade more and more. When they could barely see, Luna pulled out her staff and said, "Elucid," then a purple aura filled the space around them. The inside of the castle was cold and damp. Stone walls, mold, moss, and many other things grew with the moisture in the air. "This looks familiar," Chad whispered, "the girl was in a dungeon that was dark and damp like this. The dungeon must be down here somewhere." "Question is where?" Luna whispered back. Chad didn't know, but maybe he could try sensing where she was. Mustering up what strength he could, he called out with his mind, "Alcrolyie!" "Chad?" she answered him back. "We're in the castle, do you know where the dungeon is?" "I don't know, but I'll push my awareness to you so you can come to me." Chad could feel a warm sensation come over his body, and it pulled him. "This way," Chad said, "she's leading us to her." "Lead the way," Luna held the staff closer to him so he could see where he was going. They made a few turns and came to a hallway with a large wooden door. There was a small barred window and an iron ring handle. "This is it," Chad said, "through that door." "Stand back," Luna pointed her staff to the keyhole and said, "Recludo." Chad heard the door unlock. Luna pushed the door open with her staff to see if any of those creatures were inside. As she put her staff further and further into the room, there was no sign of any guards. "I'll go in first, you keep an eye out," Luna whispered. Chad nodded in agreement. Luna looked about the room to be sure no one else was there. Finally, she spotted the girl. "Chad, she's in here." Chad turned around and entered the dungeon. When he got to where Luna was standing, he saw Alcrolyie there. She was lying on the ground and barely breathing. "We need to get her out of here!" Chad whispered harshly, "can you unlock her cell?" "Recludo," Luna pointed her staff to the keyhole. Chad opened the door to her cell, and quickly knelt down by her side. Lightly, he touched her shoulder and said, "I'm here." Alcrolyie's eyes flew open at his touch. She looked over to him, and sighed with relief, "It's you." "It's me," he said, stroking her cheek, "C'mon, let's get you out of here." He put his arms carefully under her, and then slowly picked her up. He heard her wheeze in pain and cough up a little blood. "Chad we have to hurry," Luna said, "bring her to me." He carried Alcrolyie over to Luna outside the cell. Waving her hand over her face, she said, "Somnum," and Alcrolyie's eyes closed. "What did you do?" Chad asked. "I put her to sleep," Luna said, "this way she'll sleep through her pain." "Good. Now let's go before we're discovered!" Chad made traced his way back to where they came in. As they came to the opening, there was a large figure standing in their way. "Hello boy." His voice boomed and echoed through the halls. Zebsnun stood in their way. He was even larger than Chad had imagined. Standing as tall as his creatures, the king himself was a monster. His skin was covered in scars and his muscles were very well built. He had no hair and the light from outside the opening made his scalp shine. His eyes were pale blue and almost looked white. It was just as the legend had said, he was horrifying. "Zebsnun..." Luna growled.