(no subject)
Chapter 14
"Where did they go?" One of the elves said. The rest of them shook their heads.
"They were here one moment and then they are gone." Another said.
"Hmhm." The others said at the same time.
"I think I know where they have gone." One said. The others looked at the elf with eyes that wanted to know what he knew.
"Where?" An elf asked.
"We're standing on the answer! They have gone underground!" The elf answered.
"Benji, where the heck are we?" Brian said as they all looked around the dimly lit cavern that Benji had them all enter.
"In a cavern under the ground." Benji said. "We should have enough light to see by provided that the holes and cracks every now and then in the forest floor aren't sealed up by rain." The cavern walls of rock were many colored. They all could barely see deep reds, scarlet blues, diamond whites, bright oranges, ugly yellows, and great greens. They moved off in a direction that they could only guess was westwards. As they moved on further and further west, they began to see that they would soon have to find a way north or leave the shelter of the cavern: For the paths were continually getting harder and harder to walk on and it was becoming very cramped.
"I don't think we can keep going west any more. The paths that we have been able to find going that way are getting to small for us to travel on. We will need to find a way north and then try west once more." Nate said. Benji looked back at his brother and nodded. They turned around and began to try to find a way that would take them north. They couldn't find any possible path.
"Great. Now what?" Brian said. Benji looked up to the ceiling of the cavern and then drew his swords and put the points of them together. A light blue and dark black light shone from the swords and shot up toward the ceiling of the cavern. The earthen ceiling split open and they all took a running start and then bent toward the ground so that their right knees were forward and their left feet bent at the ankle. A sudden flash lit up the cavern for a brief moment and they all jumped into the bright light of day. They were in a forest of trees much like the ones that they had already seen.
"Where the heck are we?!" Nate said. Benji looked back at his brother.
"We're in the same forest that we went under." He said.
"Oh. I knew that!" Nate said back at his brother. They turned to the west once again and began to plod forward. It was nearing night when they entered a small clearing. In the middle of the field were several huts and buildings. Many people moved around the lighted windows and streets of the village.
"What the heck?" Brian said.
"This is one of the many villages of the wood elves." Benji said. He strode forward and stopped short. He turned toward the east and drew his swords again. The others quickly could feel the presence of some sort of danger approaching the village.
"Benji, what is it?" Ilonton asked him. He turned toward the west of the clearing and his face darkened. His mouth was tense and his eyes were frozen in a look of hate and pain.
"Danger.....coming....from the.....east......from the west. We are in terrible trouble." He said. "Prepare to fight."
Suddenly the feeling that they all shared grew so strong that they all felt that the danger was right behind them. Half of the group turned to face the forest out of which they had come. The rest all turned to face either the east or west. Benji stayed facing the north. His head moved slowly as if it were on a turn-table that would only moved about half an inch every three days. His eyes roamed the plain and the village. He stared into the lights of the fires of the candles and beyond them. Suddenly he saw it.
Chapter 15
From somewhere to the left and a bit northwest of him, the bushes began to move. A leg appeared from behind them and out into the night stepped Draconeis. "Time to fight! ARMOR OF NIGHTHAWK!" Benji shouted and threw his arms to the sides of his body so that they were level with each shoulder. Then he brought them upward until he slapped his left hand on top of his right hand, above his head. A great bluish light washed over his body and he was suddenly shot up into the air! He then soared over the ground. He flew like this right at Draconeis. The others did the same. Benji collided with Draconeis at a good fifty miles an hour! Draconeis flew into a tree behind him and, because of the force of the blow, the tree fell over!
"Benji!" Nate shouted as he flew to his aid. Benji stood up and shouted back:
"The others! Get the others you fool!" At that moment Brayockin appeared from the east and ran and did the same jump that Benji and his friends had done to exit the cave. Nate took off like a bat out of hell! Brayockin and Nate collided with each other in the air and both fell to the ground. Fireockin then came from the north and Brian was upon him in a second. With swords drawn and looks of death upon their faces, they each ran at an angle facing each other. Brian was running full tilt northwards while Fireockin was running at full speed east toward the town. They jumped and swords flashed in the darkness of the twilight and midnight sky. Oakon appeared out of the south and saw the fighting. He drew his weapons and charged down Benji. He waited until the tip of Oakon's swords toughed his breast.
Then he jumped and kicked with all of his might. His foot hit Oakon in the mouth and he flew backwards about ten feet. With blood streaming from his mouth, Oakon got back up and charged again. This time though, he was able to strike Benji in the face and once in the stomach. Benji just shrugged them off. A flash of lightning shone in the darkening sky. It was now nearly pitch black. Suddenly an arrow was shot into a tree not too far from Benji's head. He looked at the person who had shot it, but could only see the dark side of the person's body. A flash of lightning showed him that it was an elf.
"Try picking on someone you're own size!" The elf said. Though the elf was wrong in the words, it did give Benji the edge he needed to take Oakon down. Benji did a back flip and then drew his swords and clashed the ends of them together. He jumped and twirled them above his head. He then fell back to the earth and as he did so, he shouted the words of his power:
"NIGHTHAWK SCREEEEEEEEEEEECH!" The sound of thunder and lightning mixed with that of Benji's voice and it made it sound louder and more terrifying than it really was. The swords hit Oakon on the chest and on the right arm. He screamed in pain and fell to the earth with a thud. His body bounced with the impact and his eyes closed. His head rolled to the left and he was still ere hit the ground.
"WATERS OF DOOM!" The elf and Benji heard shouted. They turned around and saw that Brayockin was in the same state as Oakon: Out cold. Benji then looked at the elf and he saw that it was a young woman. She nodded toward him and he did a back fist with his right hand. Oakon fell to the ground, at last out for good. They then ran to help Brian. Fireockin met Brian with a punch to the face, but he ducked and planted a firm front kick in his jaw. Fireockin fell to the ground. Brian punched him in the face and his body went limp.
"We thank you for the help you have given to us." The elf said to Benji. She had golden hair that went down to her shoulders and bright blue eyes that shone and sparkled in the lightning of the night storm. She wore a bright and dark green shirt and leggings. A cape that was the same colors hung round her neck. A ring of gold and ruby rode upon her right hand.
"It is I who should thank you. Without your help, I might have lost that fight. I am in your debt." Benji said. The others all nodded.
"I cannot take such a thing from one as you, Toekon." The elf said.
"Only one race that I know of calls me by that name: You are a wood elf right?" Benji said.
"Yes." The elf answered. "By the way, I apologize for the attack on you and your friends the last day. My brother did not believe me that you were not the people whom you have just fought with. He led a small army of ten elves out into the forest and has not returned since." At this Benji's face broke into a grin and began to laugh.
"Uhh....he and his friends won't be coming back for a little while longer. You see they are currently upside down in a tree!" Benji said.
"Do you mean to say that he found and fought with you?" The elf asked.
"Yeah." Benji said.
"And?"
"And.....well....oh, boy how can put this? Oh, I know: He didn't have such a cool time with us. After we escaped through the ground, I silently cast a spell that would cause the vines on some of the trees to act like ropes and wrap around their legs and send them upside down into a tree."
"When will they come back?"
"About the high the morn the next day."
"What?"
"Oh, sorry. I what I mean is that they won't be back until the baton. The area where I have come from uses the words: "high morn" to mean ten of the clock." Benji said.
"Oh, I see." The elf said. They picked up the bodies of the people that had attacked them and walked off toward the town and stopped in front of the northern gate. The gates were made of tiethayium, it was like titanium only sixteen times as strong and it also had a great magic in it. It could produce water at the simple speaking of the word. A wooden sign hung over the gates. A flash of lightning revealed the letters of the sign: .
"What is the name of the town? I can't read the writing of the sign." Nate said.
"The name of the town is Acorn." Brian said. "I thought you knew how to read ancient tollachon!"
"I can, but I couldn't see the letters very clearly." Nate shot back. The gates swung open and they all entered. They followed the elf to the center of the town and saw that rising above them was the great elven palace: Tokockolon-Bolin-O'Kellino. The Palace of Ever Lasting Peace. They looked at it with wonder in their eyes and stared at it long. It was a green marble and while diamond building. Quarts crystals were embedded into the rock of the walls and shone like the stars of the night. The green was mixed by many greens of the night and the day. In it were dark and light greens and dark and light whites. Only six crystals were pure white and they sat above the Door of the Halls of the Magic.
They entered the palace and were led down a twisting hallway. They past many doors of marble and stone. They were soon taken to the center of the building. The most sacred place on the face of the planet: The Pillar of Light. Many an elf and other creature of Mother Nature would come to the Pillar and watch it for an hour or even an eon. There in front of the rose a stair the like that they had not seen in a long time. It was green and each step had a diamond and crystal in it. The diamond on the left and the crystal on the right. There were about one hundred steps in all. On the top of the stair case was the Pillar of Light and in front of it was the king of the elves. "Blocknokon." Benji whispered. The elf's head was crowned with a reef of gold and sapphire and ruby. In his right hand was a scepter of the same metal and gems as the Crown of Kindness. By his left hip was Excaliber, the Sword of Truth.
"I don't believe it, but I can't deny it! That's the Scepter of Wisdom that guy is holding!" Nate said. Benji turned toward his brother.
"That "guy" happens to be a king! I don't think you should have said that!" Benji said in a low voice. Nate's eyes widened in the realization of what he had just said.
"Oh great! I just insulted the most famous king on the planet!" He whispered. Blocknokon stood and looked down upon the people at the bottom of the stair. His eyes were harsh and cruel and unkind. His body was taught; straight as a ruler. He was tense and a look of death came over him. Benji stared the elf in the eyes. He didn't move. He didn't speak. It was as if he had been turned to stone. His eyes were frozen in the same look that the king was giving to them. His body was like the king's in every way. It was taught and straight as a ruler. A look a death was over him. Suddenly they both sprang at each other!
Chapter 16
They both jumped at the same time. With their swords drawn and, ready to kill each other, they flew into the air. Two blades of titanium clashed against each other. They both fell back to the earth and stared at one another for the longest of times. Then they burst out laughing! "You have not changed one bit since the last time I saw you on the field of battle, Toekon." The king spoke in a deep, but wise voice.
"Nor have you my friend." Benji said. Their eyes sparkled in the dim light of the torches. They smiled at each other and then sheathed their weapons. Benji heard his friends all breath sighs of relief. He turned toward them and then back to the king. He laughed and said: "These are my friends. Ilonton, Brian, Ben, Benjamin, Irookon, Thren, Cilth, Mr. Tolkien, Mr. Anthony, Gen, Cira, Angus, Sapphire, Moncoo, Tobockin, Tricon, Nate who is my brother, Chuck who is my father, Julia who is my mother, and Sage-Light."
"Sage-Light? The Slayer of Evil? Here with you? You aren't playing a trick on me are you?" The king said.
"No, Benji, is not playing a trick on your eyes or ears. I am Sage-Light. I am the Slayer of Evil." Sage-Light said. The king held out his hand and Sage-Light took it and shook it three times. Benji then turned toward the people that they had brought in with them.
"I know what you want done with these varmints, but I will have it done with loathing hatred for them." The king said. He clapped his hands together and three maidens dressed like the young woman that Benji and his friends had been led to the palace by, entered the room.
"What shall we do for our king?" They said together.
"Take these four.......jackasses to their quarters and make sure that they get rooms that the only way out is through the door. They shall be put into rooms that surround the Halls of Magic. That way they can't use magic to get out and cause trouble. And see to it that my friends here get a good nights rest." The king said. Two of the women bowed and quickly dragged the four captives off to their rooms. The last one led them each off to a separate room. Once inside his room, Benji shed his Armor and changed into the typical clothing of the elves. His room was huge. Ten people could sleep in it without taking up even a third of the space! There was a window made of quarts. Dark green curtains hung by it. There was a small wooden table and a chair that had been painted the same colors of the palace. Off to one corner Benji saw a desk. It was old and worn out, but it still retained much of its color.
A few feet from the desk was a bed. The covers were the same as the palaces' coloring: Dark and light green. Next to the bed was a small dresser. Benji opened the dresser and found inside an assortment of clothing. He put on a light and dark green shirt, a cape, and a pair of pants. Under the shirt he had strapped a small knife that he had found in the desk. There was a knock on the door. "You may enter." Benji said. The door opened and the elf who had shot the arrow at Oakon entered the room. Her golden hair flashed in thelight of the small red candle that sat atop the desk. Her bright blue eyes shined with a bright sparkle.
"Hello, Toekon." She said. "I have a message from the elven king."
"Hello. What is the message?" Benji said.
"The king has asked that you join him for dinner tonight before you retire for the night." The elf answered.
"Is that all?"
"No there is something else."
"What?"
"My brother has returned a bit early and is......as they say on Earth: steamed with you."
"I had a feeling he would be. Does he want to speak with me?"
"Nooo....he wants to kill you!"
"Oh, great! Don't tell me: You want me to talk some sense into his thick head right?" Benji said.
"In matter of speaking. Yes." The elf said.
"By the way, what's your name?" Benji said.
"My name is Thowkon." The elf answered.
"Tell the king I will be with him shortly." Benji said.
"I will. Farewell Hero." Thowkon said. She left and Benji soon walked out of his room. In the hall he met his brother and Ilonton. They had gotten the same message. Soon they found themselves sitting at a large table with hundreds of other elves with them. The king was seated at the very head of the table. Upon it were loads of steaks and fruits and breads. There were pastas and many other forms of food. Ale, whine, whiskey, and red water were severed as drinks. Benji and his friends were each seated by the king. Blocknokon rose and all became silent.
"My friends I have with me several guests of honor and great pride. As many of you probably know, we were under attack earlier this evening. We would not be here if it were not for the people that have shone themselves to us. I now present them to you all." Blocknokon looked at Benji and his friends. They all slowly stood up. Once everyone had stood up loud clapping and cheering followed. Whoops and yells of a joyous people were heard that night. After the feast, Nate and his friends returned to their rooms. Benji went right away to Thowkon's brother's room. He found his room and saw that the door to it was not like the other doors of the palace. It was made from wood; not stone. Benji tapped on the wooden door a few times and then heard the word
"Enter!" Benji did so and was face to face with a very tall elf. His blond hair reflected the light of several candles that were lit by a desk. Benji bowed to the elf and then spoke to him:
"Hello." Benji said.
"Hello." The elf said. "I already know who you are, so let us just dispense with the formalities, shall we? Sit down." The elf pointed to a wooden chair and Benji took a seat in it. The elf took a seat across from him and looked at Benji with cold and deadly eyes.
"Your sister, Thowkon, sent me to......" Benji said, but was cut off by the elf.
"I already know why you are here. You are here to try to calm the anger that I and nine other elves feel for you and your friends. That little stunt you pulled on us in the forests nearly cost us our lives!" The elf said. Benji nodded to him and then spoke. When he did, though, his voice was filled with wrath:
"Yeah, well.....your little attack nearly killed the Warriors of Light! Do you even know what my mission is, Elf? Do you? I'll tell you: My friends and I have gathered together to rid this world of evil and that's just what we're going to do!" The elf sat where he was and stared at Benji for a long moment. He at last spoke with wrath building upon his voice:
"Listen to me, human! You may be some all-powerful fighter with magical Armor at you side, but I know this world better than you and I say that evil will never leave it. Without Evil there can be nothing Good....."
"Oh, please! You think you what evil is?! You don't know the half of it! I have better things to do than to sit here and fight with someone like you who has probably never known hate. Never known loyalty. Never known pain. Never known sacrifice. You don't even know the value of life! I have fought with things that are consumed by evil. I have fought with things that you can't possibly imagine! I come from a past of evil.....a past that I dare not dwell upon for it has a way of haunting those that hear of it! And you tell me that evil can never leave this world? You're wrong! It will and my team and I will be the ones that shall take it from this world. There is something that I need to know.........when did the Warlords of Evil attack and how could you have known about us and why did you attack us when some of us where wearing our Armors?" Benji said. The elf stood up quickly and took a quick step towards Benji. Benji merely looked at him the eyes and his eyes flashed with a cold, bitter, icy, black, terible, horrid, deadly anger. The elf sat back down. Fear shown in his eyes.
"They attack without any warning and without going through any traditional movements that would have let us know that they wanted to fight us. My team and I had sent out spys and they had spotted you coming into our forests. When I heard about that, I thought that the Warlords had come back for more. You see....we were able to drive their soldiers away once, but I thought that another attack would surely kill us! I knew that you might have been the famous Warriors of Light, but I was too angry by what had happened to let that bother me. I am sorry." The elf said. For almost an hour more there was nothing but silence between the two. They looked into each other's eyes and then Benji spoke:
"You should be sorry. Had your team of hunters killed us, there would be no one left to defend this word and the evil that is feeding upon it will have already won the war." They talked to each other for a little while more and then Benji went back to his room. He slept. In the middle of the night the winds of the storm were howling with rage. Suddenly it happened.
Chapter 17
"Tell me what I want to know and you live." The intruder said in Benji's ear. A hand was his mouth and a dagger upon his neck. Benji's eyes roamed the blackness for the face of his attacker. He knew that he could do nothing at the moment to get away from the person for if he did; it would be the last thing he ever did. He could not find the person's face in the darkness. "Where are your friends and how many are there?" The person continued. Benji made a muffled answer. The person kept the dagger on his throat and Benji repeated what he had said.
"There were four of us. The rest were killed in a fight. I am the only one left." Benji said. Benji's eyes finally found the person to his right, but all he could see were two dark red eyes.
"I don't believe such a lie. I know there were many more. Now who and where are they?" The person said. Benji looked into the person's eyes and hate rose in him. He looked into the redness of them and saw nothing that would help him. Death. If was as if he were looking into the face of Death himself.
"If I refuse to answer?" Benji said.
"Then you die and I will just hunt down your friends myself. You can't stop me. Pain in nothing to me. I feel it not. Tell me or die. It makes no difference to me." The person said.
"Okay you win. How long do I have to think about this before you kill me?" Benji said.
"I'll give you no time at all." The person said. Benji swiftly thought of a way that he could warn his friends and save himself. He looked everywhere for an answer to give Life a chance. The wind howled loudly outside and it burst open the window. Rain and sleet flew into the room. The person held his free hand up to the window and it closed in a second. At that moment the howl was heard. Benji's voice rose above the wind and it floated out of the cracks of the door and down the hall to the ears of Angus and Tobockin. They woke and jumped through their windows.
"Shut up!" The person said and Benji quickly fell silent. "Now since you have been unwilling to tell to me what I want to know, you shall die!" The person said and rasied the dagger above a shadowy head. The blade had star of light appear upon it for a second and it seemed to Benji that the star of light turned a few circles before the blade was brought down.
"Where did they go?" One of the elves said. The rest of them shook their heads.
"They were here one moment and then they are gone." Another said.
"Hmhm." The others said at the same time.
"I think I know where they have gone." One said. The others looked at the elf with eyes that wanted to know what he knew.
"Where?" An elf asked.
"We're standing on the answer! They have gone underground!" The elf answered.
"Benji, where the heck are we?" Brian said as they all looked around the dimly lit cavern that Benji had them all enter.
"In a cavern under the ground." Benji said. "We should have enough light to see by provided that the holes and cracks every now and then in the forest floor aren't sealed up by rain." The cavern walls of rock were many colored. They all could barely see deep reds, scarlet blues, diamond whites, bright oranges, ugly yellows, and great greens. They moved off in a direction that they could only guess was westwards. As they moved on further and further west, they began to see that they would soon have to find a way north or leave the shelter of the cavern: For the paths were continually getting harder and harder to walk on and it was becoming very cramped.
"I don't think we can keep going west any more. The paths that we have been able to find going that way are getting to small for us to travel on. We will need to find a way north and then try west once more." Nate said. Benji looked back at his brother and nodded. They turned around and began to try to find a way that would take them north. They couldn't find any possible path.
"Great. Now what?" Brian said. Benji looked up to the ceiling of the cavern and then drew his swords and put the points of them together. A light blue and dark black light shone from the swords and shot up toward the ceiling of the cavern. The earthen ceiling split open and they all took a running start and then bent toward the ground so that their right knees were forward and their left feet bent at the ankle. A sudden flash lit up the cavern for a brief moment and they all jumped into the bright light of day. They were in a forest of trees much like the ones that they had already seen.
"Where the heck are we?!" Nate said. Benji looked back at his brother.
"We're in the same forest that we went under." He said.
"Oh. I knew that!" Nate said back at his brother. They turned to the west once again and began to plod forward. It was nearing night when they entered a small clearing. In the middle of the field were several huts and buildings. Many people moved around the lighted windows and streets of the village.
"What the heck?" Brian said.
"This is one of the many villages of the wood elves." Benji said. He strode forward and stopped short. He turned toward the east and drew his swords again. The others quickly could feel the presence of some sort of danger approaching the village.
"Benji, what is it?" Ilonton asked him. He turned toward the west of the clearing and his face darkened. His mouth was tense and his eyes were frozen in a look of hate and pain.
"Danger.....coming....from the.....east......from the west. We are in terrible trouble." He said. "Prepare to fight."
Suddenly the feeling that they all shared grew so strong that they all felt that the danger was right behind them. Half of the group turned to face the forest out of which they had come. The rest all turned to face either the east or west. Benji stayed facing the north. His head moved slowly as if it were on a turn-table that would only moved about half an inch every three days. His eyes roamed the plain and the village. He stared into the lights of the fires of the candles and beyond them. Suddenly he saw it.
Chapter 15
From somewhere to the left and a bit northwest of him, the bushes began to move. A leg appeared from behind them and out into the night stepped Draconeis. "Time to fight! ARMOR OF NIGHTHAWK!" Benji shouted and threw his arms to the sides of his body so that they were level with each shoulder. Then he brought them upward until he slapped his left hand on top of his right hand, above his head. A great bluish light washed over his body and he was suddenly shot up into the air! He then soared over the ground. He flew like this right at Draconeis. The others did the same. Benji collided with Draconeis at a good fifty miles an hour! Draconeis flew into a tree behind him and, because of the force of the blow, the tree fell over!
"Benji!" Nate shouted as he flew to his aid. Benji stood up and shouted back:
"The others! Get the others you fool!" At that moment Brayockin appeared from the east and ran and did the same jump that Benji and his friends had done to exit the cave. Nate took off like a bat out of hell! Brayockin and Nate collided with each other in the air and both fell to the ground. Fireockin then came from the north and Brian was upon him in a second. With swords drawn and looks of death upon their faces, they each ran at an angle facing each other. Brian was running full tilt northwards while Fireockin was running at full speed east toward the town. They jumped and swords flashed in the darkness of the twilight and midnight sky. Oakon appeared out of the south and saw the fighting. He drew his weapons and charged down Benji. He waited until the tip of Oakon's swords toughed his breast.
Then he jumped and kicked with all of his might. His foot hit Oakon in the mouth and he flew backwards about ten feet. With blood streaming from his mouth, Oakon got back up and charged again. This time though, he was able to strike Benji in the face and once in the stomach. Benji just shrugged them off. A flash of lightning shone in the darkening sky. It was now nearly pitch black. Suddenly an arrow was shot into a tree not too far from Benji's head. He looked at the person who had shot it, but could only see the dark side of the person's body. A flash of lightning showed him that it was an elf.
"Try picking on someone you're own size!" The elf said. Though the elf was wrong in the words, it did give Benji the edge he needed to take Oakon down. Benji did a back flip and then drew his swords and clashed the ends of them together. He jumped and twirled them above his head. He then fell back to the earth and as he did so, he shouted the words of his power:
"NIGHTHAWK SCREEEEEEEEEEEECH!" The sound of thunder and lightning mixed with that of Benji's voice and it made it sound louder and more terrifying than it really was. The swords hit Oakon on the chest and on the right arm. He screamed in pain and fell to the earth with a thud. His body bounced with the impact and his eyes closed. His head rolled to the left and he was still ere hit the ground.
"WATERS OF DOOM!" The elf and Benji heard shouted. They turned around and saw that Brayockin was in the same state as Oakon: Out cold. Benji then looked at the elf and he saw that it was a young woman. She nodded toward him and he did a back fist with his right hand. Oakon fell to the ground, at last out for good. They then ran to help Brian. Fireockin met Brian with a punch to the face, but he ducked and planted a firm front kick in his jaw. Fireockin fell to the ground. Brian punched him in the face and his body went limp.
"We thank you for the help you have given to us." The elf said to Benji. She had golden hair that went down to her shoulders and bright blue eyes that shone and sparkled in the lightning of the night storm. She wore a bright and dark green shirt and leggings. A cape that was the same colors hung round her neck. A ring of gold and ruby rode upon her right hand.
"It is I who should thank you. Without your help, I might have lost that fight. I am in your debt." Benji said. The others all nodded.
"I cannot take such a thing from one as you, Toekon." The elf said.
"Only one race that I know of calls me by that name: You are a wood elf right?" Benji said.
"Yes." The elf answered. "By the way, I apologize for the attack on you and your friends the last day. My brother did not believe me that you were not the people whom you have just fought with. He led a small army of ten elves out into the forest and has not returned since." At this Benji's face broke into a grin and began to laugh.
"Uhh....he and his friends won't be coming back for a little while longer. You see they are currently upside down in a tree!" Benji said.
"Do you mean to say that he found and fought with you?" The elf asked.
"Yeah." Benji said.
"And?"
"And.....well....oh, boy how can put this? Oh, I know: He didn't have such a cool time with us. After we escaped through the ground, I silently cast a spell that would cause the vines on some of the trees to act like ropes and wrap around their legs and send them upside down into a tree."
"When will they come back?"
"About the high the morn the next day."
"What?"
"Oh, sorry. I what I mean is that they won't be back until the baton. The area where I have come from uses the words: "high morn" to mean ten of the clock." Benji said.
"Oh, I see." The elf said. They picked up the bodies of the people that had attacked them and walked off toward the town and stopped in front of the northern gate. The gates were made of tiethayium, it was like titanium only sixteen times as strong and it also had a great magic in it. It could produce water at the simple speaking of the word. A wooden sign hung over the gates. A flash of lightning revealed the letters of the sign: .
"What is the name of the town? I can't read the writing of the sign." Nate said.
"The name of the town is Acorn." Brian said. "I thought you knew how to read ancient tollachon!"
"I can, but I couldn't see the letters very clearly." Nate shot back. The gates swung open and they all entered. They followed the elf to the center of the town and saw that rising above them was the great elven palace: Tokockolon-Bolin-O'Kellino. The Palace of Ever Lasting Peace. They looked at it with wonder in their eyes and stared at it long. It was a green marble and while diamond building. Quarts crystals were embedded into the rock of the walls and shone like the stars of the night. The green was mixed by many greens of the night and the day. In it were dark and light greens and dark and light whites. Only six crystals were pure white and they sat above the Door of the Halls of the Magic.
They entered the palace and were led down a twisting hallway. They past many doors of marble and stone. They were soon taken to the center of the building. The most sacred place on the face of the planet: The Pillar of Light. Many an elf and other creature of Mother Nature would come to the Pillar and watch it for an hour or even an eon. There in front of the rose a stair the like that they had not seen in a long time. It was green and each step had a diamond and crystal in it. The diamond on the left and the crystal on the right. There were about one hundred steps in all. On the top of the stair case was the Pillar of Light and in front of it was the king of the elves. "Blocknokon." Benji whispered. The elf's head was crowned with a reef of gold and sapphire and ruby. In his right hand was a scepter of the same metal and gems as the Crown of Kindness. By his left hip was Excaliber, the Sword of Truth.
"I don't believe it, but I can't deny it! That's the Scepter of Wisdom that guy is holding!" Nate said. Benji turned toward his brother.
"That "guy" happens to be a king! I don't think you should have said that!" Benji said in a low voice. Nate's eyes widened in the realization of what he had just said.
"Oh great! I just insulted the most famous king on the planet!" He whispered. Blocknokon stood and looked down upon the people at the bottom of the stair. His eyes were harsh and cruel and unkind. His body was taught; straight as a ruler. He was tense and a look of death came over him. Benji stared the elf in the eyes. He didn't move. He didn't speak. It was as if he had been turned to stone. His eyes were frozen in the same look that the king was giving to them. His body was like the king's in every way. It was taught and straight as a ruler. A look a death was over him. Suddenly they both sprang at each other!
Chapter 16
They both jumped at the same time. With their swords drawn and, ready to kill each other, they flew into the air. Two blades of titanium clashed against each other. They both fell back to the earth and stared at one another for the longest of times. Then they burst out laughing! "You have not changed one bit since the last time I saw you on the field of battle, Toekon." The king spoke in a deep, but wise voice.
"Nor have you my friend." Benji said. Their eyes sparkled in the dim light of the torches. They smiled at each other and then sheathed their weapons. Benji heard his friends all breath sighs of relief. He turned toward them and then back to the king. He laughed and said: "These are my friends. Ilonton, Brian, Ben, Benjamin, Irookon, Thren, Cilth, Mr. Tolkien, Mr. Anthony, Gen, Cira, Angus, Sapphire, Moncoo, Tobockin, Tricon, Nate who is my brother, Chuck who is my father, Julia who is my mother, and Sage-Light."
"Sage-Light? The Slayer of Evil? Here with you? You aren't playing a trick on me are you?" The king said.
"No, Benji, is not playing a trick on your eyes or ears. I am Sage-Light. I am the Slayer of Evil." Sage-Light said. The king held out his hand and Sage-Light took it and shook it three times. Benji then turned toward the people that they had brought in with them.
"I know what you want done with these varmints, but I will have it done with loathing hatred for them." The king said. He clapped his hands together and three maidens dressed like the young woman that Benji and his friends had been led to the palace by, entered the room.
"What shall we do for our king?" They said together.
"Take these four.......jackasses to their quarters and make sure that they get rooms that the only way out is through the door. They shall be put into rooms that surround the Halls of Magic. That way they can't use magic to get out and cause trouble. And see to it that my friends here get a good nights rest." The king said. Two of the women bowed and quickly dragged the four captives off to their rooms. The last one led them each off to a separate room. Once inside his room, Benji shed his Armor and changed into the typical clothing of the elves. His room was huge. Ten people could sleep in it without taking up even a third of the space! There was a window made of quarts. Dark green curtains hung by it. There was a small wooden table and a chair that had been painted the same colors of the palace. Off to one corner Benji saw a desk. It was old and worn out, but it still retained much of its color.
A few feet from the desk was a bed. The covers were the same as the palaces' coloring: Dark and light green. Next to the bed was a small dresser. Benji opened the dresser and found inside an assortment of clothing. He put on a light and dark green shirt, a cape, and a pair of pants. Under the shirt he had strapped a small knife that he had found in the desk. There was a knock on the door. "You may enter." Benji said. The door opened and the elf who had shot the arrow at Oakon entered the room. Her golden hair flashed in thelight of the small red candle that sat atop the desk. Her bright blue eyes shined with a bright sparkle.
"Hello, Toekon." She said. "I have a message from the elven king."
"Hello. What is the message?" Benji said.
"The king has asked that you join him for dinner tonight before you retire for the night." The elf answered.
"Is that all?"
"No there is something else."
"What?"
"My brother has returned a bit early and is......as they say on Earth: steamed with you."
"I had a feeling he would be. Does he want to speak with me?"
"Nooo....he wants to kill you!"
"Oh, great! Don't tell me: You want me to talk some sense into his thick head right?" Benji said.
"In matter of speaking. Yes." The elf said.
"By the way, what's your name?" Benji said.
"My name is Thowkon." The elf answered.
"Tell the king I will be with him shortly." Benji said.
"I will. Farewell Hero." Thowkon said. She left and Benji soon walked out of his room. In the hall he met his brother and Ilonton. They had gotten the same message. Soon they found themselves sitting at a large table with hundreds of other elves with them. The king was seated at the very head of the table. Upon it were loads of steaks and fruits and breads. There were pastas and many other forms of food. Ale, whine, whiskey, and red water were severed as drinks. Benji and his friends were each seated by the king. Blocknokon rose and all became silent.
"My friends I have with me several guests of honor and great pride. As many of you probably know, we were under attack earlier this evening. We would not be here if it were not for the people that have shone themselves to us. I now present them to you all." Blocknokon looked at Benji and his friends. They all slowly stood up. Once everyone had stood up loud clapping and cheering followed. Whoops and yells of a joyous people were heard that night. After the feast, Nate and his friends returned to their rooms. Benji went right away to Thowkon's brother's room. He found his room and saw that the door to it was not like the other doors of the palace. It was made from wood; not stone. Benji tapped on the wooden door a few times and then heard the word
"Enter!" Benji did so and was face to face with a very tall elf. His blond hair reflected the light of several candles that were lit by a desk. Benji bowed to the elf and then spoke to him:
"Hello." Benji said.
"Hello." The elf said. "I already know who you are, so let us just dispense with the formalities, shall we? Sit down." The elf pointed to a wooden chair and Benji took a seat in it. The elf took a seat across from him and looked at Benji with cold and deadly eyes.
"Your sister, Thowkon, sent me to......" Benji said, but was cut off by the elf.
"I already know why you are here. You are here to try to calm the anger that I and nine other elves feel for you and your friends. That little stunt you pulled on us in the forests nearly cost us our lives!" The elf said. Benji nodded to him and then spoke. When he did, though, his voice was filled with wrath:
"Yeah, well.....your little attack nearly killed the Warriors of Light! Do you even know what my mission is, Elf? Do you? I'll tell you: My friends and I have gathered together to rid this world of evil and that's just what we're going to do!" The elf sat where he was and stared at Benji for a long moment. He at last spoke with wrath building upon his voice:
"Listen to me, human! You may be some all-powerful fighter with magical Armor at you side, but I know this world better than you and I say that evil will never leave it. Without Evil there can be nothing Good....."
"Oh, please! You think you what evil is?! You don't know the half of it! I have better things to do than to sit here and fight with someone like you who has probably never known hate. Never known loyalty. Never known pain. Never known sacrifice. You don't even know the value of life! I have fought with things that are consumed by evil. I have fought with things that you can't possibly imagine! I come from a past of evil.....a past that I dare not dwell upon for it has a way of haunting those that hear of it! And you tell me that evil can never leave this world? You're wrong! It will and my team and I will be the ones that shall take it from this world. There is something that I need to know.........when did the Warlords of Evil attack and how could you have known about us and why did you attack us when some of us where wearing our Armors?" Benji said. The elf stood up quickly and took a quick step towards Benji. Benji merely looked at him the eyes and his eyes flashed with a cold, bitter, icy, black, terible, horrid, deadly anger. The elf sat back down. Fear shown in his eyes.
"They attack without any warning and without going through any traditional movements that would have let us know that they wanted to fight us. My team and I had sent out spys and they had spotted you coming into our forests. When I heard about that, I thought that the Warlords had come back for more. You see....we were able to drive their soldiers away once, but I thought that another attack would surely kill us! I knew that you might have been the famous Warriors of Light, but I was too angry by what had happened to let that bother me. I am sorry." The elf said. For almost an hour more there was nothing but silence between the two. They looked into each other's eyes and then Benji spoke:
"You should be sorry. Had your team of hunters killed us, there would be no one left to defend this word and the evil that is feeding upon it will have already won the war." They talked to each other for a little while more and then Benji went back to his room. He slept. In the middle of the night the winds of the storm were howling with rage. Suddenly it happened.
Chapter 17
"Tell me what I want to know and you live." The intruder said in Benji's ear. A hand was his mouth and a dagger upon his neck. Benji's eyes roamed the blackness for the face of his attacker. He knew that he could do nothing at the moment to get away from the person for if he did; it would be the last thing he ever did. He could not find the person's face in the darkness. "Where are your friends and how many are there?" The person continued. Benji made a muffled answer. The person kept the dagger on his throat and Benji repeated what he had said.
"There were four of us. The rest were killed in a fight. I am the only one left." Benji said. Benji's eyes finally found the person to his right, but all he could see were two dark red eyes.
"I don't believe such a lie. I know there were many more. Now who and where are they?" The person said. Benji looked into the person's eyes and hate rose in him. He looked into the redness of them and saw nothing that would help him. Death. If was as if he were looking into the face of Death himself.
"If I refuse to answer?" Benji said.
"Then you die and I will just hunt down your friends myself. You can't stop me. Pain in nothing to me. I feel it not. Tell me or die. It makes no difference to me." The person said.
"Okay you win. How long do I have to think about this before you kill me?" Benji said.
"I'll give you no time at all." The person said. Benji swiftly thought of a way that he could warn his friends and save himself. He looked everywhere for an answer to give Life a chance. The wind howled loudly outside and it burst open the window. Rain and sleet flew into the room. The person held his free hand up to the window and it closed in a second. At that moment the howl was heard. Benji's voice rose above the wind and it floated out of the cracks of the door and down the hall to the ears of Angus and Tobockin. They woke and jumped through their windows.
"Shut up!" The person said and Benji quickly fell silent. "Now since you have been unwilling to tell to me what I want to know, you shall die!" The person said and rasied the dagger above a shadowy head. The blade had star of light appear upon it for a second and it seemed to Benji that the star of light turned a few circles before the blade was brought down.