Riss Cobalt, sorceress supreme, and her husband and children attend a magic festival in this short adventure based on the Kismet and Tell novel and taking place after Book Two (a current work in progress).
Festival:
An Adventure in Sorcery
Colorful streamers decorated the streets of the city of Apo that sunny summer day. Shopkeepers closed their buisnesses for the day and made their way to the center of the city along with all the other citizens of the city. In the huge courtyard of the marble castle at the center of the city, and along the streets surrounding it, a gala festival had been set up. People crowded around street vendors, buying snacks and souvenirs of the annual event. Street performers wandered around, some singing ballads and telling stories, others performing slight-of-hand tricks to entertain the folks until time for the main events. Other street vendors had set up shop to hock their magical wares to any interested persons. An impromptu stage had been errected at the end of one street so that people who dabbled in magic could take the stage to show off any small spells they could perform.
Into this huge crowd six people suddenly materialized that morning. One was a tall man with long red hair in a ponytail. He had a sword strapped to his back. Next to him stood a lady with long blue hair in a braid down her back. As soon as her feet touched the ground she placed a small, crystal-topped wooden staff into a pocket inside her brown cloak. Beside her stood a twelve-year-old boy and girl with long black hair. Behind these four stood a man with shoulder-length brown hair and a lady with long blonde hair. The people around the group stared in amazement and muttered amongst themselves.
“Here we are,” said the lady with blue hair. “The city of Apo. And we got here in time to register before the tournaments start. I still can’t believe I got invited to participate in the Festival of Magic this year!”
“Well, Riss, everyone knows that you defeated the Dark Lord and that you’ve saved the world of Andor more than once,” said the redheaded man. “So I guess they think you’re not all that bad after all.”
“Maybe, Fiore,” she said to him. “Still, for me, the infamous Marissa Cobalt, to actually be invited to take part in the magic tournaments and to attend the ball later tonight…. It’s unbelievable!”
“Heh,” said the brown-haired man, “I suppose it is at that, Riss. Well, if you, the self-proclaimed sorceress surpreme, are going to be in the tournaments, I hope you plan on showing them all how it’s done.”
“Of course I do, Etienne,” she said. “I plan on taking home the trophy from each event.”
“And we’ll be there to cheer you on each time, Riss,” said the blonde lady.
“I know you all will, Arianna,” she said with a grateful smile.
“Mother?” said the boy with black hair as he tugged on the blue-haired lady’s brown cape.
“Yes, Elisha?” Riss said.
“May Elyssia and I enter the tournaments?”
She smiled at him. “Of course you and your sister may. It’d make me proud to have my children competing in this.”
“Thank you, Mother!” the twin boy and girl cried.
“But ask your father if it’s all right with him,” Riss added. “If it’s not, you can’t enter the tournaments.”
Elyssia turned to the redheaded man. “Father, may we enter the tournaments? Please?”
“Of course you may,” Fiore said with a smile.
“Thank you, Father!” the twins said happily.
“Well, don’t you think it’s time to register?” said Fiore. “The first event starts in half an hour.”
“OH!” said Riss. “You’re right, Fiore! Let’s go register.”
* * *
People crowded around the inside sides of the castle’s courtyard until there were at least ten rows of people. Even more climbed onto the ramparts. Yet more crowded into the gateway. Others sat on the rooftops of nearby buildings in the hopes of getting a view. Fiore, Etienne, and Arianna wended their way through the crowd until they were in the front row. All had gathered to watch the tournaments, to see magic-user compete against magic-user in tests of skill.
A gong sounded suddenly, startling everyone. Then a total of thirty men and women filed out of the castle and marched to the center of the courtyard. Once there, they stopped, and each faced a bull's eye target that had been set up for them a hundred yards from their respective positions. Among the thirty were Riss and her children, Elisha and Elyssia.
A middle-aged blonde man in ceremonial green robes stepped from the castle next. “Welcome, everyone, to this year’s Festival of Magic,” he said. “I want to wish all of our contestants good luck in the upcoming events. This promises to be a good show this time, for we have competing this year the great Marissa Cobalt, and her two children as well.”
Cheers from the crowd echoed around the courtyard.
“The first contest is to see who can come closest to hitting the center of the target. Remember, contestants, use no overly strong magic, and no enhancements. Use only the minimum power you need to fulfill the required task. That goes for all contests unless otherwise specified. Modifications to spells are allowed, but only minor modifications. And remember also that no weapons of any type, mundane or otherwise, are allowed on the contest field. Now, good luck! Let the games begin!”
A trumpet sounded, and the contestants faced their targets. Then, as one, they all launched their magical attempts. Small fireballs, spurts of fire, bolts of lightning, lances of ice, and other magics were tossed at the targets depending on the magic-user’s preferrence. Feeling cocky, Riss waited until the all others had gone before she cast a single, simple Flame Dart at her target. Then the judges inspected the targets. Five minutes later, they cast their judgement.
“Face off!” they declared. “Marissa Cobalt, the child Elisha, the child Elyssia, and Nattanial!”
All the targets were removed and four new ones were brought out for the face off. These new targets were set at two hundred yards from the contestants. The trumpet blew again, and the contestants made their plays. Elisha, Elyssia, and Nattanial - a big, dark-haired man of forty with a red sorcerer’s robe - took their turns at the same time. Riss waited to go last, again casting a single small Flame Dart. The judges inspected the targets and made their decision.
“The winner, with accuracy so amazing that dead center was hit…Marissa Cobalt! Runners up, Elisha and Elyssia, who hit just shy of dead center. Nattanial hit the ring around center.”
Cheers echoed in the courtyard as the winners were escorted to the castle entrance and the green-robed man presented Riss with the gold trophy, and gave both Elisha and Elyssia silver medallions for tying for second place. Nattanial was given a bronze medal. An attendant offered to keep the trophy for Riss while she continued to compete, and she gratefully accepted.
“Why didn’t Elisha or Elyssia hit dead center?” Etienne asked. “They are full-blooded elves after all, aren’t they? I mean, even though Fiore is human and Riss is human with only the tiniest bit of elfin blood, I thought Riss’s use of very powerful magic while she was pregnant affected the twins’ blood and made them elves. Right? Or have I been mistaken about that for the past three years and none of you bothered to tell me?”
“No, Etienne,” Fiore said. “You’re correct about the whole elf thing.”
“Good. And since they’re elves, I would have thought their keen elfin sight would have helped them.”
Arianna smiled and brushed a lock of blonde hair behind a pointed ear. “Their elfin sight did help them, dear. That’s why they hit just shy of dead center. I’ve trained them all I can in using their keen sight and hearing. They just haven’t had the experience with using their elfin abilities that Riss has had with using hers.”
“Oh, I see. That makes sense, I guess.”
The next event, heralded again by a trumpet blast, involved the tossing of clay disks into the air and the contestants taking turns seeing how many disks they could shoot down with a spell before the disks hit the ground. One after another the contestants made their attempts, using fire spells, ice spells, lightning spells, or whatever spell they favored to break the clay disks. Five disks appeared to be the average limit, with eight being the most shot down (a tie by Elisha and Elyssia) by the time Riss got to take her turn. She went last, again, by her choice. At her signal, a dozen disks shot into the air. At the same time, a dozen small fireballs appeared in her gloved hand and she tossed them at the disks while calling out, “Fireballs!” Everyone watched in amazement as each tiny ball of fire hit a disk and broke it. Not a single disk hit the ground.
“Ooooooo!” the crowed murmurred in awe.
“The winner,” the judges said unanimously, “is Marissa Cobalt!”
The crowd cheered again as Marissa received the gold trophy from the green-robed man, Elisha and Elyssia were awarded silver medallions, and Nattanial was given a bronze medal for knocking down seven disks. The red-robed sorcerer stared at the giddily laughing Marissa as she held her trophy up triumphantly and turned around so the whole crowd could see her prize before she handed it to the attendant for safekeeping.
“Hooray, Riss!!” called out her friends from the crowd.
For the next event, two poles were set up in the courtyard, and a large canvas was hung up between them. A gauge like that of a scale was attached to the side of one pole. The man in the green ceremonial robes spoke again from the castle entrance. “This event,” he said, “is a test of your power. The canvas has been enchanted to withstand the most powerful magical attacks. You are to each cast as powerful a Fireball as you can at the canvas. The needle will move according to the strength of the Fireball. The higher the number that the needle points to, the stronger the spell. Whoever reaches the highest number wins.”
“This should be a piece of cake for Riss,” Fiore said.
Etienne and Arianna nodded in concurrence.
The thirty contestants lined up and each took a shot at the canvas with a Fireball. The enchanted canvas withstood each blast of magical fire. The needle on the gauge never made it past the halfway mark, however. That is, until it came down to Nattanial, Riss, and the twins. Nattanial went first. He cast and tossed his Fireball, and it hit square in the center of the canvas. The enchantment on the canvas disbursed the Fireball harmlessly. The needle on the gauge moved to five marks from the top. That made it strongest Fireball cast so far in the contest. Elyssia went next. The twelve-year-old girl cast her Fireball. It also hit dead center and was disbursed harmlessly. The needle moved to three marks from the top. Riss went next, for a change. Her Fireball found the center. The needle went to one mark from the top. Riss was slightly surprised, having expected more, but shrugged it off. She’d still done better than everyone else. She stepped aside for Elisha to take his shot. Which he did. The twelve-year-old boy’s Fireball found exact center. The needle moved…to over the top mark. The crowd went wild. Riss stared in shock at her son, then smiled and hugged him.
“Well done, Elisha dear,” she said. “You even managed to beat your own mother. You’ll make a great sorcerer some day. Perhaps even greater than Ozanda Sunfire was.”
“Thank you, Mother,” he said. “I’m glad you aren’t angry that I beat you out of the trophy. I know you wanted to win every contest.”
“I could never be angry with you, Elisha. And winning second place to my own son is perfectly fine with me.”
At the castle entrance, the green-robed man handed the boy the gold trophy, and gave Riss a silver medallion. Elyssia was awarded a bronze medal. Riss asked the attendant to also hold Elisha’s trophy. Nattanial had to settle for honorable mention this time, which didn’t make him all that happy. His eyes held a glint in them as he watched Riss and her children walk back to the playing field. Slowly, he followed them.
The man in the ceremonial green robe spoke from the castle entrance. “The next and final event will take place in the back courtyard. If you will all move there, we shall conclude this tournament.”
Everyone did as he said, and as soon as the crowd and the contestants were in position fifteen minutes later, the final contest began.
The contestants stood in a line at the entrance to a large hedge maze. The green-robed man stood before them.
“This contest,” he said to them, “is to test your battle skills. You are to make your way through this maze to the gold trophy that is on the table at the center. The first person to take the trophy off the table is the winner. A flare will be set off and a gong will sound when the trophy leaves the table, letting everyone know that someone has won. This is a winner-take-all, everyone-for-themselves event, so do whatever you need to to try to make it past your opponents. The only stipulation is that no lethal force is allowed. You may stun or knock someone out temporarily, but NO killing. Now, as soon as the gong sounds, you may enter the maze. Good luck, everyone.”
The green-robed man left, and the gong sounded. At the clang, the thirty contestants ran headlong into maze, with everyone elbowing, tripping, and pushing each other to get ahead.
“This looks like it may be a bit rough,” Arianna said with a hint of worry.
“Yeah, but it’s right up Riss’s alley,” Fiore replied.
“Fiore’s right,” Etienne said. “She’ll be fine.”
“I’m not worried about Riss,” Arianna said. “I know she can handle this. It’s the twins I’m worried about. They’ve never been in a situation that involves the kind of fighting and cunning that this will require. Will they be able to handle it?”
“Of course they will, love,” Etienne said as he put an arm around her. “They’re the children of Marissa Cobalt. They’ll be just fine.”
She sighed. “I guess you’re right.”
A large image created by magic appeared in the air over the maze, showing the crowd images from inside the maze. The crowd watched it intently. The way the spell worked, whichever image got showed depended on the will of crowd. And they all wanted to see what Riss would do. So the images focused on her.
Like rats in a laboratory maze looking for cheese, the contestants ran. The entrance stretch ended at a three-way choice. A few decided to continue straight, while most went left and the others went right. Riss went straight. Elisha went left. Elyssia went right. Nattanial followed Riss at a distance as she made turn after turn. She made one wrong turn, meeting one contestant at the dead end. The man shot a lightning bolt at her, but she dodged and fired her own lightning bolt back at him. He dodged and fired another bolt at her. She dodged again, but the bolt grazed her arm. She cried out and tossed another lightning bolt at him. He dodged again, but tripped on the end of his yellow robe and fell face-first to the ground. She ran to him, grabbed his shoulder, and whispered, “Mega Shock.” The man shuddered, cried out, and passed into unconsciousness from the shock spell she had modified.
Riss turned and ran back to the main path. Nattanial, who had stopped to wait for her to return, continued his trailing. Riss soon ran into a couple more contestants at another wrong turn. Literally. The man and woman had stopped as soon as they found they had made a wrong turn, and Riss ran headlong into them before they could turn around. The force of her hit knocked them to the ground. They hit the ground hard enough that they were knocked out. Riss stood over them and giggled sheepishly. “Heh heh heh. Oops. Sorry about that, guys. I didn’t mean to run into you. Oh, well.” She turned around and continued on her way.
A few minutes later Riss caught up with the last three contestants ahead of her at another intersection. The choice was to go either left or right. The two men and one woman ahead of her were facing off, about to battle it out between each other.
“I don’t have time for this,” Riss said to herself. She pictured the runes in her mind. “Sleep!” she called out as she waved a hand at the three people ahead of her. The three collapsed to the ground in a deep sleep. Riss ran up, stepped around the snoozing figures, and turned right. Nattanial waited a couple of moments, then followed her.
Riss had guessed correctly. The path led to a big opening at which a table had been set in the middle. In the center of the table sat a gold trophy. Riss stopped at the entrance to the opening and stared at the trophy with a big smile on her face
“I did it,” she said softly. “I found it before anyone else. It’s mine. The trophy is all mine!”
Then a red blur went past her, heading towards the table. “Thank you, Miss Marissa, for leading me to the trophy!” Nattanial called as he ran by her.
Riss blinked in shock. “Huh? What?” Then it hit her. “HEY! WAIT A MINUTE! I FOUND IT! IT’S MINE!”
She ran after him and tackled him to the ground before he could reach the table. “The trophy is mine!” she said atop him. Then she got up off his back and walked towards the table.
“No, it’s mine!” Nattanial called from the ground.
He grabbed her ankle and she fell to the ground face-first. He got up, stepped over her, and made it up to the table. Standing at the table, he gazed longingly at the trophy. “Ah, after so many years of trying, I finally get the trophy from the maze…” He reaced out for the prize.
Riss lifted her face from the ground. Dirt stained her face. “Sorry,” she said, “but not this year, either. Freeze Motion!”
A white light flashed as the binding spell activated, and Nattanial suddenly found himself frozen in place, unable to move. Riss stood up, walked to the table, and picked up the trophy. A gong sounded, and a magical red flare shot into the sky from the spot where the trophy had sat. “I told you, the trophy is mine,” she said. Nattanial growled in his throat and glared at her. She just smiled sweetly at him and left with her prize.
Riss made her way out of the maze. As she stepped out of the entrance with the trophy in hand, the crowd cheered. The man in the green robe stepped up to her and shook her hand.
“The winner,” he announced, “is Marissa Cobalt!”
The crowd cheered again.
“This ends the tournament part of this year’s Festival of Magic,” the man continued. “The Festival will conclude with the ball, which will begin at seven o’clock tonight. I congratulate Miss Marissa Cobalt on her fine performance in our events, and thank her very much for showing us her great talent. And I thank you all for coming out to see the great display of magic talent from all of our contestants. I hope you all enjoyed the show.”
He then walked off. Then the other contestants began trickling back out of the maze, one by one. They congratulated Riss as they passed her. Fiore, Etienne, and Arianna ran out of the crowd and up to Riss. Fiore embraced his wife and kissed her warmly. Then Etienne and Arianna hugged her.
“Congratulations, Riss!” they said. “We knew you could do it!”
She laughed. “Thanks, guys!”
Elisha and Elyssia came out of the maze. They ran up to Riss and hugged her. “Congratulations, Mother!” they said.
Riss smiled down at them. “Thank you, Elisha, Elyssia.” She looked them over. “You didn’t get hurt, did you? I don’t see any wounds.”
“No,” Elisha said. “I’m fine. I managed to defend myself and to incapacitate my opponents rather easily.”
“I am fine, also,” Elyssia said. “I had no trouble in dealing with my opponents, either. Actually, they didn’t provide much of a challenge at all, which disappointed me.”
Etienne and Arianna smiled while Riss and Fiore laughed.
“I guess they underestimated your abilities,” Riss said. “Well, I’ll see what I can do about getting you a good challenge sometime. For now, let’s go retrieve our trophies from that attendant, then go get something to eat and enjoy ourselves some before we have to get ready for the ball.”
Her family and friends nodded agreement.
* * *
That evening, just before seven o’clock, Fiore, Riss, Etienne, Arianna, Elisha, and Elyssia entered the large, elegant ballroom of the castle. Pink draperies covered the walls. The polished marble floor shone in the light of the magic globes floating near the ceiling. At the far end of the room, an orchestra was setting up on a slightly raised platform. For Fiore and Riss, the room created a feeling of nostalgia. Only three years earlier they had attended a ball in the very same room. It had been soon after they had met, and the ball helped them begin to realize their feelings for each other.
Fiore, in a nice white shirt with a black jacket and black pants, looked down at Riss, who had her blue hair loose and who wore the same black velvet ballgown she had worn at the earlier ball. He smiled at her, and she smiled back. He offered her his arm, she accepted, and he led her to the dance floor, which had many elegantly dressed attendees already milling about. Etienne, in a dark grey suit, led Arianna, in a blue ceremonial elfin robe, out to the dance floor. The twins, dressed up but feeling somewhat out of sorts in the crowd, stayed by the door.
A man in a green velvet suit approached Riss and Fiore. It was the same blonde man who had worn the ceremonial robe earlier. He bowed to them.
“Miss Marissa,” he said, “Master Fiore, I’m so glad you came.”
“Thank you for inviting us, Lord Gallim,” Riss said.
“You are quite welcome. I hope you enjoy yourselves tonight.”
“Oh, I’m sure we will,” Fiore said.
“Good. If you don’t mind, I’d like it very much if you would start off the ball.”
“We’d be honored to, Lord Gallim,” Riss said.
“Great! Thank you.”
He turned and motioned to the orchestra, and they began playing a soft tune. Fiore took Riss into his arms and they began a slow dance. The other attendees watched the couple dance for a minute, then they all paired up and began dancing as well.
“Fiore,” Riss said softly as they danced, “you know, I love dancing with you. I wish we did it more often. I love the way you hold me close. I feel so safe, so protected, so…so loved.”
“You are, Riss,” he said softly in return.
She smiled and leaned her head against his chest, and they continued to dance.
From a corner of the room, unnoticed by anyone, Nattanial watched Riss and Fiore.
* * *
Three-and-a-half hours later, the ball wound down and people began leaving. Etienne and Arianna stood by the door with Elisha and Elyssia, waiting for Riss and Fiore to finally stop dancing and decide to leave. At last the two made their way from the dance floor to their friends.
“Have a good time?” Etienne asked.
“A great time,” Riss said.
“So it would seem. You two lovebirds never let go of each other the entire time.”
“Don’t be so critcising, Etienne,” Arianna said. “You didn’t want to let go of me for a second.”
Etienne blushed. “Yes, well….”
Riss giggled. “Well, let’s get back to the inn. I’m getting tired.”
The group left the ballroom. They were the last to leave. They hadn’t gone far down the corridor before a figure stepped up beside them. They recognized the man instantly.
“Miss Marissa,” Nattanial said, “may I speak with you for a minute?”
“Uh, sure,” Riss said. She turned to her friends. “This won’t take long. You guys go on ahead. I’ll catch up.”
“Okay,” Arianna said. “We’ll wait for you outside.”
“Right.”
Once her friends were gone, she turned to Nattanial.
“What did you want to speak to me about?” she asked.
“Well, you have so much talent, I was wondering if you could give me some tips on spellcasting.”
“What? You mean, now?”
“No, not now. It’s late, and I know you’d like to get some…” He raised a hand slightly towards her. “Sleep!”
He activated the spell he had cast in secret, and Riss, caught off guard, fell to the ground in a deep magical sleep.
Laughing to himself, Nattanial picked her up and carried her off down the empty corridor.
* * *
“Where IS she?” Etienne asked for the tenth time.
“I don’t know,” Fiore said. “How long has it been?”
“Me, too,” Arianna said. “Something’s not right. You think we should go back in and get her?”
Etienne and Fiore looked at each other, then nodded.
“Yeah,” Fiore said. “Let’s go find her.”
The three headed back inside with the twins in tow.
* * *
Meanwhile, Riss awoke in a dank, dark room. She cast a Light spell, but when she tried to activate it, she found her mouth gagged, so she couldn’t speak. She tried to move her hands to remove the gag, but she found them restrained by manacles attached to the brick wall she stood against.
A sudden bright light filled the room, and she squinted against it. When her eyesight adjusted, she saw Nattanial standing in front of her. She glared at him in hatred. He just laughed maniacally in return.
“If you promise to hold a sensible discussion with me, Miss Marissa, I will remove the gag.”
She nodded, and he did as he said. She opened her mouth to scream, but he cut her off.
“Screaming won’t do any good, Miss Marissa. You are in the castle dungeon. No one will hear you.”
“Okay, fine. So, what are you doing? Why do you hold me prisoner?”
“I want to make you a proposition.”
“Proposition? What kind of proposition?”
“Simple. I want you to join me.”
“Join you?”
“Yes. Dump that guy you’re with and marry me. Then, with our combined magical power, we can take over the world. No one will be able to stop us.”
Riss laughed. “HA HA HA! Yeah, right! You’re crazy! There’s no way I would join you. One, I have no interest in ruling the world. Two, I’d never use my magic in that way. And three, I love Fiore dearly, and would never, EVER, leave him! And certainly not for a loony like you!”
Nattanial frowned, growled, and slapped Riss. She yelled in pain. He struck her again.
* * *
The search party made their way through the castle’s deep corridors. Arianna and the twins came to a sudden halt.
“What is it?” Fiore asked.
“I heared something,” Arianna said.
“Me, too,” Elisha said.
“It was Mother,” Elyssia said. “She was yelling. She sounded like she was in pain.”
“You’re certain?” Etienne said.
She nodded.
“Which way?” Fiore asked.
The three elves pointed down a dark corridor.
* * *
Nattanial stared at Riss. Her face sported a couple of bright bruises. “Now, will you change your mind and join me?”
Riss glared and spat at him. “Never, you bastard!”
He raised a hand and struck her again. She cried out. Then the door crashed in, and Fiore ran in with the others right on his heels.
“Riss!” Fiore called out.
“Fiore!” Riss replied in relief.
“Ah, the heroes show at last,” Nattanial said.
“Let her go!” Etienne demanded.
“No, I don’t think so. Once I get rid of you all, she will be mine.”
“I already told you, I will never join you!” Riss said.
“Yes, you will,” Nattanial said. Then he kissed her.
Fiore lost it. He growled and charged at Nattanial, tackling him to the ground. The two men rolled around on the ground, puching each other. While they were occupied, Etienne, Arianna, and the twins ran to Riss.
“Riss, are you all right?” Arianna asked.
“I’ll live,” she said. “Can someone get me out of these chains, please?”
“No problem,” Elisha said. “I’ll cast a modified Knock spell and unlock the manacles.”
Riss smiled. “Very clever, Elisha. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome, Mother.”
He cast his spell and Riss was freed. Just then, Fiore suddenly went flying off of Nattanial and landed against the wall.
“Fiore!” Riss called in alarm.
“I’m all right, Riss,” he called back as he clambered back up and went to her side.
“He may be all right,” Nattanial said. “But none of you will be for long.”
He started chanting, and a large Fireball formed in front of him.
“Uh-oh!” Riss and her friends said at the same time. Everyone cast protection spells around themselves to sheild themselves. Etienne cast one around Arianna, since she only had her Elfin magic which gave her some control over nature, and that wouldn’t help her in this situation.
Nattanial loosed his Fireball at the group. It struck their shields and exploded, creating a hole in the wall and ceiling but not harming the group. As the fire died down, Nattanial laughed maniacally, thinking he’d won. But once the fire was gone and he took a good look, he saw that he was mistaken. He also saw two Fireballs flying straight at him, one from Riss and the other from Fiore. Nattanial didn’t have time to think before the balls of flame struck him to the ground and began burning him.
As he writhed on the ground, crying out in pain, he managed to speak. “I may be defeated,” he said, “but you won’t win! If I can’t have Marissa Cobalt, no one can! Pillal, I summon you!”
Nattanial stopped writhing and died after that. Riss exchanged worried glances with her friends. Then the reason for the glances suddenly appeared. It was a large,tall grey beast with four red eyes, long, wicked fangs in its mouth, long arms ending in claws, and horns sprouting out all over its head.
“A…A…Demon!” Riss called in horror.
“And you…that blue hair…I know who you are,” the Demon said with a deep, otherworldly voice. “You are Marissa Cobalt. And I will take extreme pleasure in killing you, for it will mean vengeance finally for the death of Lord Yangul.”
“Arianna,” Riss said, “take the twins and run. You all can’t fight this thing.”
“But, Mother…”Elisha said.
“No buts, Elisha. I know I said I’d get you and your sister a good challenge, but this is way out of your league. Now, go!”
“Yes, Mother.”
Arianna slipped out the hole in the wall. The twins headed after her. But the Demon had heard the conversation.
“So, those are your children, Marissa Cobalt? How delightful! I think I’ll hurt you first by killing them!”
Pillal raised a clawed hand towards the children and shot a ball of black magic at the retreating children.
“NOO!” Riss cried. She ran between the ball of black magic and her children. The ball struck her, sending her flying hard into the wall. Bones cracked, and she slid to the ground where she lay, unmoving.
“RISS!” Fiore cried in horror. He ran to her side.
Etienne echoed his cry.
“MOTHER!” the twins called in terror.
Arianna stared in shock for a second, then grabbed the twins and held them so they wouldn’t go running in and get in the way.
Etienne faced the Demon. “How dare you! I’ll kill you, you bastard!”
Pillal laughed. “I’d like to see you try, puny human!”
Etienne chanted. “Soul Lance!”
A bolt of white magic shot from Etienne’s hand and struck the Demon in the chest. Except for a few blisters, the spell did nothing.
The Demon laughed. “Is that the best you can do, human? Pity. I was hoping you’d prove more of a challenge. Oh, well.” Pillal flicked a claw towards Etienne, and a small ball of black magic shot towards him. Etienne threw up a quick shield for protection. The ball struck the shield, and the magic disbursed, but the blow knocked Etienne to the ground. He clambered up after a second.
“Okay, how about this, then? MEGA BLAST!”
A big ball of white magic formed in front of Etienne and flew towards the Demon. It struck, and the flames of white magic covered Pillal. The Demon roared in pain. But when the flames died, Pillal still stood. The Demon was a burned, but it was still alive.
“That hurt!” Pillal yelled. “You’ll pay for that, human!” A big ball of black magic flew towards Etienne, who hastily errected another shield. The force of the ball hitting the shield knocked Etienne down again.
“Etienne!” Fiore called.
“Yeah?” Etienne said from the ground where he lay on his back gathering his breath and strength.
“Riss gave you permission to use the staff, didn’t she?”
“Yeah. So?”
“So take it from her pocket and use it. I’ve healed her, but I need to cast a Resurrection, or I’d help you fight. So your best bet would be to use the staff to amplify your grey magic power.”
“Right!”
Etienne got up and ran over to Riss. He reached inside the pocket of her cloak and pulled out the staff. It was a special staff that had belonged to Riss’s ancestor, Ozanda Sunfire. Only those whom she has given permission may touch the staff upon penalty of death.
With staff in hand, Etienne faced the Demon.
“Back for more, little human?” Pillal asked.
“Oh, yeah,” Etienne said. “I just love fighting Demons. Especially when I have this.”
“Oh, really? And what are you going to do with that stick?”
“This.” He cast a spell, and the crystal atop the staff glowed with a white light. “SUPREME SPIRIT BUSTER!”
A large sphere of flicker white lightning bolts formed in the air in front of Etienne. It hung there for a second, gathering power, then flew to the Demon and struck it head on. The lightning bolts coursed through Pillal’s body and it howled in pain. Then, with a small explosion and a puff of smoke and ash, it died.
Etienne savored his victory for only a second before he returned to Riss’s side. He returned the staff to her pocket, then looked at Fiore, who held her body gently in his lap.
“How is she?” he asked.
“I’ve finished the spell,” Fiore said. “If it takes, she should come around any time now.”
Arianna and the twins came inside and walked over to them. They looked at Riss sadly. The twins fought back tears.
“Will she be all right?” Arianna asked.
“I’ll be fine,” Riss said softly. Then her eyes opened, and she smiled at them.
They smiled back, and as soon as Fiore let her get up, they all hugged her.
“Well, that was quite an adventure, wasn’t it?” Riss said.
“You can say that again,” Etienne said. “I didn’t plan on fighting a Demon tonight.”
“I don’t think any of us did,” Arianna said.
“Well, guys, shall we head back to the inn, now?” Fiore said. “I’m sure we all could use a good night’s rest now.”
“Yeah!” was the unanimous reply.
They headed out of the dungeon cell. As they did so, Riss turned to Fiore.
“Fiore,” she said, “why is it that every ball we go to turns into a brawl?”
He stopped and slid his arms around her, pulling her close . “I don’t know, Riss, but at least you always end up in my arms at the end.”
She smiled at him, and they kissed. The others watched for a minute, and when it looked like they weren’t going to stop, Etienne interrupted.
“Hey, you two! Enough already! Save it for your room at the inn!”
The kiss ended, and Fiore and Riss laughed.
“Right, Etienne!” Riss said. “We’ll do that!”
The group left the dungeon and made their way back to the inn.
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