The Witch, The Wizard, and The Out-Worlder

A Dark Tower, A Scary Ride

The long hall to the magical elevator felt longer than before. Celia was on edge, her magical orb firmly in her hand. To her, every creak, every shadow was a threat. Her left arm with the bracelet guided her, while her right hand held her orb, ready to defend herself.

"Where is he?" She asked in a hushed voice as we shuffled slowly down the hall.

"I'm sure he's up by the portal." I replied, feeling a little unsure of myself.

As we crept forward, Lute started shaking on my shoulder and Felix moved in close, "Something isn't right here." He whispered so softly I could barely make him out.

Felix was right though, something was off. The magic flames were so faint, they barely flickered, much less creating enough light, the tower doors were wide open, and the Out-Worlder should have been here to greet us, or at least have his magic doll guide us. Instead, all we had was a dark empty corridor.

Eventually, we reached the throne where the Out-Worlder had introduced himself upon. Celia took a studious look around, examining everything with disgust. Her face scrunched up and her lips curled. It looked like she was insulted to just be here.

"This is the most self absorbed man I have ever met. He makes himself a throne to rule over only himself." She sneered as she strutted towards the stairs to the second floor.

"I don't recall seeing any way to get higher than this." I told her as we ascended to the second floor.

Celia paid me no mind, only hastened her pace. Once we reached the top, we found the treasury to be completely destroyed. The artifacts were all missing, only the rubble of dismantled bookshelves, fallen pedestals, and debris.

I looked around for any sign of the Out-Worlder, but found nothing, "This wasn't like this before." I spouted out the obvious.

"Something is very clearly, wrong." The witch said as she pulled out, what looked to be a wand. She walked the large, open room, wand leading the way.

"What is it that it does?" Felix asked her, following close behind, his spoon guiding him.

Taking another deep breath of agitation, she explained, "It allows me to find hidden magic. It's mostly for uncovering traps, however, if there is a way to the top that is hidden by magic, this will unlock it for me."

As if on command, the wand flashed a bright white light and her bracelet began to glow a deep red. Almost instantly thereafter, the roof above shuddered, dust drifted down, and a platform slowly descended. Seeings how her magic proved its worth, she stuffed the wand back in her robes and waited for the lift to fully descend.

"Be prepared for anything." She warned as she stepped onto the lift.

I looked over to Felix, who was fumbling around with his spoon, trying to turn it into something, with no success. I hadn't ever seen him so nervous, it wasn't like him, "Hey," I grabbed his wrist, "when you need it, it will change. The best thing we can do now, is be on alert."

"This doesn't feel right. Even the witch is on her guard." His voice wavered as he grasped his spoon to the point his knuckles were turning white.

I took a deep breath and pulled him unto the lift, "If somethings happened to the Out-Worlder, we need to help him."

"If something has happened to him, I can tell you this much, we will have lost our way out of this land." She scowled. Her magic crystal ball was filled with a yellow, cloudy gas, with what appeared to be sparks of electricity flashing within.

Before I could think about it anymore, the lift lurched upwards and we were being hoisted above. The platform wasn't all that large, fitting five or six people at most. There was also nothing guarding us from the walls as we rushed upwards, faster and faster. The three of us crowded the center as tightly as we could to protect ourselves. I had to fight my knees from buckling under the force, though I was able to quickly acclimate.

I recalled how tall the tower seemed from the outside, but the lift seemed to go on for an incredibly long time. Not only wasn't it taking so long, the lift was moving so rapidly, I couldn't imagine how far up we were at this point. As I was losing myself to how high we had risen, the lift lurched once more, only this time, it started to slow down. When I looked up, I could make out the ceiling, we were nearly there. My stomach grew cold and I grabbed Felix's hand for comfort. He squeezed tightly, head tilted towards the top of the tower, likely just as apprehensive as I am.

The two of us stood behind the witch, hand in hand, as we waited to see what the source of the destruction above was.

"Be prepared girl." Celiea commanded as she held the yellow orb in front of her, prepared to unleash its fury, or blunt whatever magic came her way, "There is a tremendous amount of magic just ahead." She nodded towards her bracelet, of which was crimson red, and pulsing rapidly.

"I cant fight." I weakly let out, my voice shaking. I clutched the ring on my hand tightly, as that was all I felt I could do.

Felix released my hand and stepped in front of me, just behind Celia, "Ill see to it that you both get home."

"You cant even manage a spoon, let alone defeat a powerful wizard. All you need to do, is get out of my way, and steer clear of whatever other danger we are approaching. It's that simple." She snapped, though she never changed posture, still ready to fight at a moments notice.