by Angel Medina
When the trio get further in the hallway which is green and murky in nature which was to be expected in a dock they see a group of cultists with crossbows. Angel uses his flare gun to burn one of them, Luis shoots an arrow through the heart of another one and Mariano uses his life leech to send the last cultists to hell. They see an elevator which they manually pull up and when they get up they see a bridge where undead knights come after our heroes. Mariano uses his nailgun to take out some of the knights out, the last remaining knights take a swing at Angel but Angel dodges the knight's attack and pushes him down the bridge to his death. Mariano with his quick reflexes swipes the sword of one of the knights and uses it to cut off the head of the last two knights. Angel sees a switch which opens the door at the ends of the bridge then several cultists come out of the door firing with no mercy, one of the arrows hit Mariano’s arm. Angel uses his thunderbolt to clear the room of all the cultists. Luis takes out the arrow out of Mariano’s arm and then finds some supplies in the dock station to at least relieve the pain because medicine wasn’t as advanced as it is now. At the same time Angel relieves the pain on his legs and says “Much better, I feel good.” Mariano says “Same here.” Luis also finds a key in the station as well.
Angel, Luis and Mariano find a dock where the Cabal would use to transport soldiers and supplies to other islands and foreign lands. Angel finds a special weapon that seems to be out of place in the time period our heroes were in. A weapon that was able to shoot lightning and one that Mariano was amazed of because electricity was just beginning to be discovered back at his time. Our heroes find a key which looks like it leads to small fortress at least that’s what the note by the key indicated. Where was the fortress was another story looks like another dive underwater was going to be needed.
The heroes saw behemoths up ahead by the dock landing; Angel uses his flare gun to burn them alive. The trio sees a big arrow in front of them the heroes were not sure where the arrow would lead them to because the sign was written in the special Cabal language. However our heroes had an idea that it would lead them in the right direction and there was no other way to go. Our heroes dive back underwater then go through the underwater passage and when they get to the other side they rise out of the water. When they get out of the water a couple of hungry fiends looking for blood, one of them jumps towards Luis and Angel pushes him out of the way then the fiend falls underwater and drowning in the process. Mariano takes care of the other fiend with the nailgun and says “You aren't so tough!” Angel says “What’s waiting for us inside the fortress?” Luis says “No idea my brother but we’ll about to find out now.” Mariano replies “Well just like every other obstacle we’re get through what ever is inside waiting for us.” Angel uses the key to open the big wooden door and the trio heads inside the fortress.
The trio opens the wooden door and is nearly ambushed by a swinging blade trap luckily they ducked down in time. After the trap swings through a Cabal phantom in fact two of them attack our heroes with Angel’s X-ray goggles he is able to guide the other on where the ghosts were. One of them uses his skull blast on Angel but with the spirit armor he is able to deflect the blast back onto the ghost causing it to disappear into thin air. Luis and Mariano work together to take out the other Cabal phantom. After the encounter they head further into the fortress they see a room with a small platform surrounded by water fill with alligators. Angel says “It’s quiet here.” Luis follows with “You mean it’s too quiet.” Mariano says “Look out!” The walls open on the upper parts of the left and right sides which reveal Cabal cultists aiming for our heroes with crossbows and nailguns. Angel says “We can’t stay here they’re have us cornered if we do; we got to make a run for the elevator on the other side without falling into the water of course.” The trio makes a run to the elevator while dodging arrows and nails, by a miracle none of the projectiles hit Angel, Luis or Mariano and the trio are able to make it to the elevator. Angel pulls the chain as quickly as he can to bring the elevator up while the cultists were still shooting in their direction. When the trio gets upstairs they are met with more undead knights who after a long melee battle are able to kill off. They head for the door but it is locked, Angel realizes that this door is opened by hitting the floor switches in the room, when he takes a step he sees a spike come out of the wall. Angel realizes that he had to be careful and time his steps carefully so he wouldn’t get hit with a nail from the spike traps.
Angel carefully hits all five switches without getting hit and the wooden door opens. Our heroes go through the door shoot a few cultists along the way then they see a stone bridge leading to a bell tower but the railings on the sides were broken and it was a long fall down. Our heroes start to cross the bridge slowly and all is quiet until a group of gargoyles attack if heroes. The gargoyles miss their initial attack giving our heroes time to make a run to the bell tower. Angel’s leg that was injured from before gave way causing Angel to fall and trip Mariano. Luis was able to make it to the other side just fine and he tries to shoot down the gargoyles to save Angel and Mariano. He manages to kill a few of the gargoyles but their numbers were too much and he had run out of bolts; he says to the others “Come on guys get up, I’m coming to get you guys!” Angel and Mariano get up while Luis came to get them but before Luis was able to get to the other two the gargoyles attack. The gargoyles force Angel and Mariano off the bridge then down to the bottom, Luis can only look with agony saying “Angel! Mariano! Shit damn it!” Luis has no other choice but to assume that Angel and Mariano have fallen to their death, he heads for the bell tower just to get away from the gargoyles but has a defeated look to his face.
Angel, Luis and Mariano explore the docks, find a key that takes them to a fortress which was guarded by fiends. When they get inside they go through every possible obstacle that gets thrown at them, including spike traps, swinging blades and ambushing cultists. Once they get to the bridge to the bell tower all hell breaks loose for our heroes. They are ambushed by a group of gargoyles the trio tries their best to get to the bell tower. However an injury Angel took on the leg by an arrow back at the castle causes him to fall down and lose his balance while tripping of Mariano. Luis did everything possible to save Angel and Mariano but it wasn’t enough as Angel and Mariano fall off the bridge probably to their death. Luis heads in to the bell tower all by his lonesome. Could it be that Angel and Mariano are dead forever or will the long fall take them into another an unknown area of the lands? For now we can only assumed they are dead.
Chapter 22
The Ogre Citadel
While Luis was going to the bell tower by himself losing Angel and Mariano in the process Maria and Dayvon get out of the castle of the doomed into a small cave. This cave according to the sign would lead our heroes to the Cabal Citadel. Once the duo got through the citadel it would lead them straight to the bell tower which would eventually lead them to the Elder Temple.
Maria and Dayvon entered the cave killing a few undead knights now with their new weapons the knights went down much easier. Once they get out of the cave back outside a fiend attempts to ambush Maria but Dayvon sees the fiend and blasts it with his hand cannon. Dayvon says “Damn for a prototype of gun its sure good at close range!” Maria says “I’m just grateful that it works or I would have been that creature's next meal.” The duo sees the entrance of the citadel of the cabal cult but the drawbridge is up preventing our heroes from getting inside. The two see the same distinctive Cabal symbols on the wall on each side of the door, Dayvon shoots both symbols then the drawbridge starts to lower. After the drawbridge lowers ogres and cultists await the duo on the other side of the bridge. While the duo takes care of the enemies rather easily, a strong gust of wind starts to blow causing Maria to fall down to the moat below. Maria survives the fall as she lands on water and not solid ground however hungry alligators are below just waiting for a piece of meat. Dayvon says “Damn there’s no way I can get you back up is there.” Maria replies “Doesn’t look like there is
a way for me to get back up but I know moats and there’s usually another way back up, go on inside without me I’ll find my way out of here.” Maria and Dayvon are separated once again with Dayvon heading into the citadel by himself and Maria finding a way out of the Moat.
Dayvon heads inside the citadel and at first it seems to be quiet but when he sees a picture of Darkgaryl’s head it starts shooting nails out, Dayvon backs out of the way just in time to avoid being shot. Dayvon notices the trap is motion sensitive; so every time Dayvon got too close trap would activate. He notices the other side of the hall was to his right and not straight ahead. Dayvon decided to shimmy along the wall until he was straight facing the other side of the hallway. Unlike the other traps before this trap shot nails at every level of the body head, body and legs. So Dayvon had to rely on his speed to out run the trap but Dayvon decided to dive ahead instead the spike traps activate. By the time the nails hit the wall Dayvon had already made it to the other side of the hall. Dayvon went on to the main hallway of the citadel where a group of knights and ogres were awaiting him. Dayvon used his hand cannon to take care of the ogres but ran out of bullets when the undead knights approached him. Dayvon fought off a few of the knights but found himself out numbered badly so he runs to the right side to a huge door which needed a gold key to open it. Dayvon went up the small ramp but when he got up there more undead knights were awaiting him. Dayvon found himself cornered preparing to fight to the death, one knight takes a swing at him although missing him Dayvon trips then the other knights come to him ready to cut him up. Dayvon braced for what was possibly his death…
Meanwhile Maria falls down into the moat but she doesn’t have much time to relax as the alligators are heading in her direction. Maria notices her ring still hasn’t recharged; so she tries to run on the wall which she is able to do successfully until she falls back down into the water. By then though she has already reached the other side and she sees an elevator. Maria rushes inside the elevator pulling the chain to get the elevator to go up; the elevator goes on its way just when the alligators were beginning to catch up. After going up the elevator Maria finds herself still in the moat but she can see the next elevator which would probably lead her inside the citadel. Cultists begin to shoot Maria with crossbows from above, Maria swims for her life while dodging arrows. When Maria gets to the elevator the elevator goes up by itself and the wall in front of her opens by itself as well. Maria had found a way out of the moat and inside the citadel; when Maria gets inside the citadel she can hear the screaming of what sounded like Dayvon who was in trouble calling for help. Maria follows the voice of Dayvon’s scream.
Maria runs to the direction of the screaming as fast as she can until she sees what is going on. She sees Dayvon is being surrounded by undead knights and she says “I think it’s time to even the odds a bit don’t you think?” Maria grabs the double swords from her back and uses them to behead several of the knights. Maria gives one sword to Dayvon and the duo would get into a sword fight with the remaining knights. Eventually after a long enduring battle Maria and Dayvon do win the battle; Dayvon is grateful for Maria’s save saying “Thank goodness you came along I almost became canned meat!” Maria says “Don’t mention it you can thank the fact that you scream like a little girl with a temper.” Dayvon replies angrily “Oh you were just dying to get another insult in there; you just couldn’t resist it right?” Maria laughs saying “Relax killer it was just a joke, just pulling your leg.” After the battle the duo goes up the ramp where Dayvon tried to go up in the first place. They find themselves on the upper level of the citadel where they were able to pick off the cultists that were shooting at Maria when she was stuck in the moat. When they get to the end of the hallway the wall behind them comes in and pushes them down into a lower room where the gold key is located but it was also a trap room. The room was filled with zombies that would continuously pop out even though the duo would kill several. Dayvon says “It looks like we are never going to see the end of these guys; we better find a way out of here.” Maria replies “Hey one of those symbols, shoot it!” Dayvon shoots the symbol which opens the gate and the duo escapes out of the trap room.
Dayvon and Maria bump into the Ogre Citadel and from the start both heroes are led into booby traps. Maria falls into the moat while Dayvon is out numbered by undead knights. Dayvon is nearly killed by the knight until he was saved by Maria. While they still have their disagreements but its clear the relationship between the two is starting to improve slowly but surely. Now the two needed to get out of the fortified citadel and try to catch up with the others.
Maria and Dayvon escape the trap and go back to the door that needed the gold key. They open the door and are on a platform on top of the moat, they are attacked by cultists and a fiend. Maria uses her ring to take out the enemy, Maria was starting to get used to her rings power and limitations. The two of them notice the platform starts to go down slowly; they had to get to the other side before the platform went down causing them to get stuck. Dayvon is able to jump to the other while Maria trips, Dayvon gives out his hand then pulls Maria up before the alligators got a chance to bite. The duo heads out and sees the bell tower just ahead however the path ahead was broken probably due to earthquakes or catapult fire from outside forces. The duo had to jump onto the platforms one by one until they got to the other side, while the first two platforms were easy for our heroes it would get tougher. Gargoyles came out ready to knock down our heroes the duo decided to dodge the jump as the gargoyles would be too hard to take out. Maria is able to get to the platform where the bell tower was but Dayvon was hit by a gargoyle. Dayvon was still able to stay on keeping his balance; Dayvon jumped to where Maria was but his jump is a bit short so he grabs on to the edge of the platform. Maria says to Dayvon “Grab my hand I’ll pull you up!” Dayvon responds “You sure?” Maria gets angry and replies “Trust me Dayvon just grab my hand I got you, you are not going down today!” Maria grabs Dayvon’s hand and pulls him up to where she is. The gargoyle that was chasing Dayvon crashes into the wall falling to its death, once our heroes reach the bell tower the gargoyles retreat. Dayvon says “Can’t believe I’m saying this but we are becoming a great team.” Maria responds “So I’m not that five dollar hoe like you were saying before?” Dayvon takes a deep breath saying “No you’re not I’ll admit you are more than just good looking. I can see why Angel has taken a liking to you.” Maria says “Thanks.” The duo now prepares to enter the bell tower.
Dayvon and Maria were beginning to learn how to work as a team now was it because it was out of mutual respect or because their lives depended on it remains to be seen. The duo was heading into the bell tower the first stop to the final destination which was the Elder Temple. Maria and Dayvon have no idea that Angel and Mariano have fallen down a bridge probably losing their lives. How would Maria react to the news that her new found love was possibly dead or at least until the effects on Earth were reversed? Finally what did the bell tower have in store for our heroes; were Angel and Mariano really dead or just disappeared to another strange location
Chapter 23
The Tower Of Despair
Luis makes it to the bell tower and heads into the south side entrance but his thoughts remain on Angel and Mariano who fell off the bridge. Meanwhile Maria and Dayvon found the top entrance of the bell tower and were prepared to go inside to work their way down. Maria and Dayvon still have no idea of what had just happened to Angel and Mariano. Another thing bothering our heroes was that Caleb was still MIA and our heroes grow suspicious that he is up to no good. Anyway our heroes are on their way to the first stop to the Elder Temple. What was waiting for them inside?
Dayvon and Maria head to the bell tower and find a ladder which leads them up to the roof of the tower. Once they get to the roof of the tower they find a way to jump down inside, Maria says “Let’s sneak in and surprise them!” Dayvon says “Yeah let’s do this!” So Maria and Dayvon jump inside once they see the coast is clear, they are no
w inside the tower. They see a couple of cultists walking around the duo come behind them choking both of them before they can react. Then down the hall they see a couple of undead knights walking they use their sword to behead them from behind. Maria says “Wow this is easy so far, I know that we shouldn’t get too cocky though it’s probably going to get tough from here on out.” Dayvon replies “Hey girl don’t so pessimistic we’re bound to find the others, I know Caleb is in his own world but I get the feeling he’s going to help us out.” After the short talk the duo continue down the hall and find a couple of ogres with their backs turned as well, the duo takes out the ogres from behind. Maria impaled her ogre in the heart, while Dayvon simply beheaded the ogre attacking him. After they go through the hallway they arrive at room with three smaller rooms to their left, right and straight ahead that surrounded a pool of blue water. The heroes are shot at by cultists with crossbows and frantics armed with nailguns. Dayvon shoots some of the cultists with his hand cannon and notices one falls into the water but the water didn’t splash or move at all. Maria takes care of the other cultists with her expander ring and implodes the cultists. Maria notices the same thing when the body parts fall into the water that the water didn’t make any movements at all. A sliver key was right in front of them; Maria attempts to jump to the platform to get the key fearing the water very deep but she was timing her jump the bell goes off with the vibration strong enough to force the duo into the water. However as the two head into the water it really wasn’t water it was a mirage and they simply fell through hitting the ground. After the two get up they hear a loud scream and Dayvon says “Who’s there?” Maria replies “No I think the question should be are we the hunted?” The duo goes to find out where the screaming is coming from.
