I made this for English class, it's not the final version, and it doesn't have a title yet. X_x Please, suggestions and critique please!Castle Elisia seemed to glow as the sun’s first rays bathed the stones in a rich gold light. Yet even with such a magnificent color, the castle was not one to splendor. The empty castle had not been lived in for years, a fine layer of dust had settled on anything that wasn’t entangled in vines. The forest animals had been living in the castle for quite some time now, accepting its hard surfaces and finding areas to use as a home. But at that moment, no animal could be seen, for a stranger was in their midst.
“Alex!” The young man called out as he picked his way through the vines on the ground. He held his left hand cupped around his mouth while his right hung near the pommel of his sword, which was currently sheathed. “Alex!” he called out again, stopping to look around.
The subtle footsteps, imperceptible to a normal human, were picked up instantly by the stranger. He jerked his head to the left, towards the source of the sound. “Alex?” he sped off to the left, down a long corridor. Light streaked through the broken windows, revealing rocks and tumbles of masonry which the man hopped over with ease. Then, he felt himself lurch forward as his feet stopped instinctively. The pathway suddenly stopped from a small gap.
Regaining his balance, he looked towards the spiral staircase which wound upwards and downwards. There was a small space around the stair case with nothing, a dark pit that showed nothing of what could be below.
“Took you long enough, Kal.” A voice from above made Kal crane his head upwards. A figure descended the spiral staircase and grinned at him.
“Alex!” Kal sighed, speaking with a slight tone of annoyance. “You could’ve at least let me know where you were going!”
Alex scratched his head and grinned apologetically. “Sorry Kalintz… Guess I just got a bit carried away.” He smiled and then started up the steps.
Kalintz hopped over the gap and followed, looking upwards. He noticed that the only thing that seemed to connect the staircase from the rest of the castle was the very top walkway into the floor above them. “Not the safest place to be walking eh?”
“Hey, if curiosity doesn’t kill you, then the reason for usually won’t.”
“I don’t know if that’s wise or imbecilic.” Kalintz rolled his eyes as they got to the top. The doorway on the second floor led to another hallway that branched off to the left and straight.
“The path straight leads to dead ends.” Alex nodded towards the path. Already they could see a large hole to one side that led outside, probably damage done from a catapult.
“What about the other?” Kalintz asked, which Alex replied with a shrug and shake of head.
“Haven’t checked it out yet, shall we?” Alex gestured for Kalintz to go forth, and they both started walking down the hallway.
The hall led to only one door, a large, double door that was twice the height of either Alex or Kalintz. They looked at each other and then simultaneously opened the door. The doors swung open with a huge thud, they both stood in front of what seemed like the master bedroom. The dusty, red satin blanket was still covering the dilapidated bed. Under normal conditions, the bed would have remained sturdy, but something extremely heavy was occupying the bed.
As large as a bear, with the body and head of a lion, tail of a snake, and a goat’s head protruding out the back of the lion, the Chimera started to stir. The lion’s head growled as it oriented itself; the swinging doors had apparently woken the monster from its sleep.
Kalintz and Alex stood still, watching as the Chimera slowly shook itself awake. The monster blinked a few times and then noticed the two strangers inside its resting area. With glowing green eyes of anger, the lions head opened its mouth, revealing a row of razor sharp teeth. The deafening roar gave Kalintz and Alex the motivation needed to start sprinting away from the Chimera.
The roar was switched to a heavy breathing, making both the men dive onto the ground. A beam of fire surged through the air where they had been standing. The flames singed the top their hairs and bounced around the stone walls. Any roots that had been entangling the hard stones burst into a whip of deadly flames. Another roar came from behind, followed by a tremor as the Chimera transcended the distance between them with one powerful leap. Kalintz scrambled onto his feet, his sword unsheathed and ready. As he saw the Chimera’s gaping mouth come closer to him, he raised his sword to block the bite, but Alex hopped towards him with his sword held in both hands.
The teeth caught onto the sword and made a deadly screeching sound, making even the Chimera wince and pull back. Alex used the split second to step forward and swing his sword at the Chimera. The sword, which was heading towards the lion head’s eye, instead caught onto the horns of the goat, leaving Alex open to the head of the lion which rammed into his chest.
Alex flew back several feet, landing on the stony floor not too softly. The Chimera’s muscles bunched up temporarily as he prepared to pounce towards Alex with Kalintz, seeing the motion threw himself towards the Chimera’s right flank as he was in midair, making both him and the monster slam the stone wall. Kalintz quickly regained his balance, hopping away from the stunned Chimera and towards Alex.
Alex sat against the wall where the hallways branched off. He seemed fine, but was breathing raggedly and clutching his right side with his left hand. “Just a scratch, just a scratch,” he waved off Kalintz who had a concerned look. “Chimeras are a damn nuisance.”
“It’s what we’re trained for.” Kalintz responded calmly, looking straight into Alex eyes. Without a word, Alex understood the unspoken message and nodded, a new look of confidence within him. He grabbed Kalintz’s outstretched hand and stood up, staring at the growling Chimera which stood ready to attack.
“Alright boy, come get some!” Alex yelled provocatively, brandishing his sword and annoying the Chimera. The sudden head first charge that the Chimera delivered caught both of them off-guard, giving them barely enough time to dive opposite directions. Kalintz dived towards the dead ended hallway, recovering with a roll and a neat pivot as he spun around to strike with the sword.
He felt as the sword buried deep into the side of the dangerous mouth, a huge gash opening up on the side of the Chimera. With a roar, it whipped around; catching Kalintz off-guard as its back knocked Kalintz to the side, slamming painfully into the stone wall. His vision went in and out of focus, just enough to see the blur of the Chimera spinning around to meet its new enemy.
Blinking several times, Kalintz reached for his sword which he thought was only a few feet away from him. Turning, he fumbled for the sword, his brain still addled from the slam. At last he grasped it, spinning around just in time to see Alex, sword raised at the archway leading to the unsteady stairs.
“ALEX!” He yelled in vain. He watched in horror, as if in slow motion, as the Chimera pounced towards Alex. The sword dug straight into the mouth of the Chimera, but it was too late. The enormous Chimera’s deadweight threw Alex and it onto the stairs. The stairs, already at the verge of collapsing, couldn’t handle the weight of the Chimera and the supports instantly crumbled.
Maybe it was just a trick of light, but Kalintz swore he saw Alex wink at him one last time before he, the dead monster, and the stairs fell deep into the black abyss.
Kalintz sat in silence, the morning birds were now chirping, but through that sound he heard the thud that echoed through the hole. The sound snapped him out of his shock, as he ran towards the now empty hole, looking downwards for any sign of movement. He breathed quickly and scrambled back, looking around quickly. He saw what he needed, grabbing his sword and running quickly to an extremely long and thick vine that grew well past where the cobblestone ended, hanging down the large hole in the castle. He pulled at it with his hands, using his sword to quickly pull the vine away from the ground which had been its resident for years. The work seemed like agonizing hours to him, even though it had only been a few minutes.
Finally, with a long and strong looking vine, he hooked one end onto the corner of a steady cobblestone, throwing the rest down into the dark pit. Testing his weight with the makeshift rope, he gave a strong pull; the vine didn’t tear at all.
Not once throughout the entire time did Kalintz stop to think that Alex could be dead. He couldn’t believe it. He wouldn’t believe it.
Finally, sure that the rope was secure, he slipped on a pair of thin leather gloves. Looking down into the abyss, with one great inhale, he hopped into the black hole; his hands gripped the vine rope. Slowly, he descended down into the hole, sliding down several feet at a time. The light at the top quickly receded, leaving Kalintz in completely darkness, with no sound but the repetitive motions of his descent.
The light at the bottom was so dim; he had to squint closer to make sure there was even any light at all. Realizing there were only a few more feet to go, he hopped down, noting that there was still plenty of vine rope that coiled at the bottom. ‘The fall wasn’t that deep…’
He looked around the area he was in. A dungeon. The hole seemed to only lead to one stony pathway, there was a flickering glow just behind the corner of the dark and damp hallway.
The dim light was from a lit torch that hung off a nearby wall. Kalintz walked towards it, but something upon his feet made him step back. A blood trail that led to under the torch, where the enormous, dead Chimera laid. Kalintz knelt down to inspect the monster, his spirit lifted as he realized, there was no other body.
Only another blood trail.
Kalintz grabbed the torch and then, without hesitation, moved along the trail of blood. He noticed that it wasn’t a profuse amount, just a constant, small amount. He found Alex before he could see him. The sound of a sword clashing on something, coupled with a few grunts and a roar, were picked up by Kalintz as he looked up from the blood trail he had been watching so intently. The bright light bounced off the walls, creating a red glow along the tunnel. He ran towards the second source of the light, turning the corner and suddenly being flashed by a brilliant light.
Alex stood to the right of the fire, his sword brandishing something in the darkness. He turned only for a second as Kalintz called out his name, but his attention snapped back at something from another side that seemed to come too close.
“Taste my blade, foul demon!” He yelled, more for the sound than anything. A chimera’s head popped into the edge of the light, snapping its jaws at Alex before pulling back. Kalintz quickly stepped in to aid Alex, the two of them back to back as they prepared their swords. “What took you so long?” Alex couldn’t help but grin at this.
“Well, when you fall down a hole, it’s pretty difficult to follow.” Kalintz watched as burning, green eyes started to appear in the darkness. One at first, than another.
Everywhere, they started appearing, until Kalintz realized, “there must be tens of them… What have you gotten yourself into?”
Alex grinned and regripped his sword. “Oh, this is nothing at all!”
“Confident aren’t we?”
“It’s only confidence if you aren’t unsure who will be the victor.”
Kalintz couldn’t help but smile. He shook his head and slowly watched as a Chimera straight in front of him began pawing its way towards both of them. As if in unison, every other Chimera followed suit. Kalintz blinked once, and then readied for a charge. “Meaning who?” He simply said, as they both charged forward into the circle of vicious teeth.
