The Journeyman part 2

Jorn kept running and the roars grew louder and more intense until finally the sound came from right above him. Jorn looked up and something dropped down from the ceiling. It smashed the stone steps and anything else in its way, making a large open space in the castle. This new creature had the shape of a dragon currently, but its body was made from a twisting shadowy darkness and it would occasionally change its size or shape in small ways. This explained how it fit through all the doors and hallways. Jorn swiped the kings sword through the air, not sure exactly were the shadow serpent was. It was so dark and Jorn could only see glimpses of shapes before the beast moved. At least the lumpy flesh monster had pale skin and solid features. There was no way to fight a dragon made of shadows in a castle where there is no light. Since flailing his sword didn’t seem to work Jorn turned around and ran back up the stairs. To get to the main exit, he would have to run past the dragon and he didn’t like that idea. So instead he backtracked hoping he could find an alternate route.

            The journeyman ran like mad as he heard the shadowy serpents body cut through the air as it moved, never touching the ground once.

Jorn was almost back to the armory, he thought maybe he could trap the dragon in there if he ran in, then double backed. It was a stupid idea but he wasn’t thinking very clearly. The dragon seemed to be getting closer and it lashed out with dark tendrils. The tendrils struck Jorns arm and back. Each strike felt like being hit with a sword that was shot out of a cannon. Jorn stumbled forward and then fell on his face. His old sword clanged against the ground and slide across the floor out of reach. The King’s sword seemed to be bound to his hand though and didn’t move when Jorn fell. Jorn was on the ground now, bleeding but still alive. He gasped for breath and scrambled to his feet. He saw movement in the corner of his eye and swung his sword. The kings blade sliced through the air and struck an oncoming attack from the dragon. The dragon roared loudly, its roar seemed to be coming from every direction.

            The Journeyman hoped to trap the dragon in the room, but now it seemed he was trapped. Jorn wasn’t a knight and didn’t think he could kill a demon shadow dragon. He would have even had a tough time even trying to kill the twisted flesh freak from earlier. Dark tendrils shot forward again, and luckily Jorn was able to strike them with his blade. The Kings blade seemed to be doing some of the work, making Jorns reflexes better and his strikes stronger.

            The dragon was tired of being slashed and instead of attacking with its tendrils or claws it opened its mouth and let out a blast of dragon breath. Jorn saw the inside of the dragon’s mouth for a split second, it looked like a glowing portal or ball of dark energy was contained within the creature’s throat. Then the dragon breath filled the air. It wasn’t fire or toxic and it didn’t even smell that bad. Instead of normal dragon breath this dragon had a demonic haze that it could breath out. The demonic breath affected the victim’s soul. It poised their very roots and prolonged exposure would turn the victim into a demon as the soul corroded away.

            Jorn’s muscles tightened in pain. His veins constricted and his eyes opened wide. He stood in this state for a few seconds as he was paralyzed with pain. He knew he needed to escape, but he was cornered and the demon breath was filling the room. The only hope was to open the dormant portal. Jorn figured he was going to die anyway, he might as well take his chances with the portal. He stumbled over to it as he felt his senses going numb. The portal was soon within arms reach and Jorn struck it with the kings blade. Blinding light bursts out from the small portal as it opened. Jorn waiting to see what he just released from the portal. He could have just released the next plague on human existence, all because he wanted to buy a few more precious seconds of life.

            What emerged from the portal was not a demon, but a knight, a shimmering knight with sturdy armor. The dragon reared back and was about to launch forward at the new intruder, but before it could, the knight lifted his sword up and stabbed it forward. Light surrounded the blade as the sword stabbed into the dragon’s head. The Shadow dragon roared and began rapidly changing shape. The shadows seemed unstable and it began lashing out all around it. The knight blocked with his shield but the force of each attack pushed him backward. Jorn realized this knight was his only chance for survival and tossed him the kings blade. The knight saw this, stabbed his own sword into the stone castle floor then caught the king’s blade. As soon as the knight touched the sword it began to glow and give off even more power than before. It was clear the knight was no ordinary man. The knight ran forward at the twisting mass of shadows. The dragon was still striking out on all directions and even though the knight was hit, he continued to charge. Then when he was within range he stabbed the center of the shadow dragon with the king’s blade. The screaming of a thousand souls echoed through the hallways and the shadow dragon melted into the ground. Once defeated all of the souls he had consumed were released into the air. They flew off rapidly in different directions like bats from a cave.

            The Knight turned to the Journeyman and returned the King’s blade. Jorn knew the knight deserved the sword more, but took it anyway. Without saying a word, the knight stepped back through the portal. Jorn was tempted to follow. The knight was so powerful that he must have been from a world were humans ruled. Before Jorn made up his mind to follow, the portal closed. The portal not only closed but also disappeared as if it never existed. Portals open all the time, the really skilled can close a portal,  but no one has ever destroyed a portal before. Jorn stared at the empty space were the portal used to be. His mind was lost in wonder and amazement. Then he realized he needed to get back to his village. The shadow dragon might have been dead, but the castle was still dangerous.

             Jorn slowly made his way out of the castle. Even though the castle was till full of demons, it was possible that none of them bothered the Journeyman after they all heard the shadow dragon die. Not all demons know fear, but they do know that they would prefer to stay alive. So Jorn was free to leave the castle in peace. The very moment he stepped onto the grass just outside the castle walls, the Journeyman sighed a heavy sigh of relief. He had survived and even had the king’s blade to show for it. The village would be so proud, they might even call Jorn a Hero. And even though the knight saved his life, he still made the trip by himself and did what most ordinary men would fear to do.

            As the Journeyman walked home, he couldn’t help but wonder what kind of world lay just on the other side of that portal

Autumns End

The wind blows and dry fall leaves rustle and rattle as they glide along the pavement. The air has gotten chilly and the trees have lost all of their color. The official end of autumn might not be till December, but by late November everyone is preparing for winter. Autumn is a strange time of the year, it’s the shortest and the most beautiful. The trees turn yellow, orange and red like a great glowing fire and like a flame they only last a short time before being snuffed out. Autumn’s beauty cannot last forever, though some of us wish it could. It is the same reason that autumn is so short as it is lovely. Autumn is just a transition between summer and winter. The leaves absorbed as much sun as they could in summer and for a month or so they release their leaves and let the wind blow them away as they prepare for a winter hibernation.

In the united states there are states that get warm weather all the time, there are some states were it feels like spring all the time, either early spring with its sunshine and mild weather, or late spring with cool weather and rain on a daily basis. There are places were it is cold and snowing constantly, yet there are no places that experience a longer autumn or a perpetual autumn. To keep a balance of chilly weather that’s not too cold and leaves always on the brink of loosing all of their leaves would be impossible. So even though the season is not officially over, we all know that by the end of thanksgiving, it will be Autumn’s end. So wish it good-bye and good luck and prepare for the winter ahead. It is ok to be sad when your favorite season passes, but don’t forget to enjoy the time you have in between as you wait for the Autumn to leaves to come around again.

The Journeyman part 1

There was a land that was dark and chaotic. Monsters lurked around every corner and portals that lead to other realities were scatter across the land. These portals were easy to access and the results of opening them were unpredictable. These portals could unleash dark energy that would ravage the area or the portal could open a door to untold nightmares and monsters. Portals could also be used for good though. Containing healing light, magical treasures or even doors to other kingdoms were the humans thrive.

            In this story we follow the Journeyman in the land of twilight, the world on the brink of complete darkness, where humanity struggles to hold on. The Journeyman named Jorn had traveled to a large dark castle. The castle was once a bright and busy place and the king of the castle ruled over and united the whole land, but a portal had appeared and carelessly opened inside the castle walls. Demons flooded into the castle, killing the royal family and all of the strongest knights.

            The Journeyman was going to the castle in search of a powerful sword that was in the king’s vault. Enough time had passed that most of the demons had dispersed through the land and if Jorn was careful he might be able to steal the ancient blade away from the remaining demons of the castle.

            Under cover of night, Jorn crept softly into the castle through a large hole in the main wall. He couldn't use a torch without alerting any enemies, so his eyes had to get used to the complete darkness of the castle. Jorn kept his hand on the hilt of his sword as he walked. He wanted to be ready for anything. Jorn had come prepared, wearing leather boots and gauntlets, chain mail vest under a leather chest piece and a bronze helmet that covered most of his head and face. He wasn't a trained warrior or knight so all he carried was a long sword and a small shield and since he was trying to sneak into the castle he didn't bring any metal armor, not that he could afford it in the first place.

            Jorn’s heart had been beating quickly ever since he first stepped into the dark castle. He inched along the ground, barely lifting his feet up at all and every step down was slow and deliberate. As he moved through the castle corridors he felt like something else was moving through the castle too. Like some kind of invisible creature was moving through the darkness without making a single sound. All Jorn had, was a feeling. Logic told him he was being paranoid but instinct told him that if he were to reach out into the darkness his hand would grasp something made of nightmares. Something that would be so horrible it could only exist in the worst parts of his mind. Jorn tried to calm down and continued to move through the dark halls. He never made any sudden movements and found that every step forward was unhindered.

            Finally he reached a large pair of doors with a lock. Beyond this door should be the room where the kings sword was kept. Now it was time for the loud part. Jorn rustled through his bag and pulled out a lock picking kit. He sat there and fiddled with the lock, trying his best to pick the lock as quickly and quietly as possible. Anything of value was always behind a locked door or inside a locked chest and since Jorn didn’t know where the keys were, he would have to pick the lock. Picking locks wasn’t too much of a problem for the Journeyman. He had a variety of skills like lock picking, the hard part was trying to avoid drawing attention as the metal of the lock clinked around with the pick.

            With one final click and a sudden pop, the lock was sprung and the door opened with a loud long drawn out creek. The sound of the metal lock springing and the creaking of the door echoed down the stairs, through the hallway and bounced around the castle for a few seconds before everything returned to being dead silent. Jorn was relieved that he got the lock open safetly, but was now nervous again as he realized how much noise he just made. It was time to get the sword and then make an escape.

            He knew what the sword looked like by a painting he saw in the village if the king holding the sword. So now the trick was finding it. The room was filled with armor, swords, cannons and gunpowder. Everything was covered in dust and cobwebs and some of the weapons and armor were rusted or rotted away. As Jorn searched he eventually came upon a chest. It was wood with gold lining and had a big old lock on it. Jorn didn’t know if he had time to pick another lock and figured if a special sword was in that room it was probably in the fancy box. He only had one option left. Jorn unsheathed his sword and struck down at the chest. The lock was too big to break, but the hinges that were attached to the rotting decades old wood would break with enough force. Jorn struck the same spot twice, making more noise than he would have liked. Finally the chest opened and inside was the Kings sword. It looked new and shined even though there was no light to reflect off of it.

            Then something caught Jorn’s eye, a faint glow in the corner of the room. He walked over to it and noticed it was an unopened portal. Dormant portals just look like small little orbs of dull light until opened. This light had a bluish hue, not that the color of the portal meant anything to Jorn. While he was investigating the portal a large monster had crawled into the room and located the source of all of this noise. The Journey man looked up his eyes wide and terrified as he saw a giant humanoid creature. It had eyes that were black as coal, sickly pale skin that had a sheen on it, like a mucus or moisture of some kind. The creature was bald with floppy eyes and a big stupid face. Inside his mouth were jagged teeth and a large tongue that seemed to be coated in thick toxic saliva. Jorn could see all of this because the giant had its mouth open and drool oozed from his mouth and ran down his tongue then dropped off and made a little splash on the ground. The saliva changed the spot on the floor from gray stone to a fragile looking black stone, like burned wood. Jorn held his old sword in one hand and the new sword in his other. He stood ready to fight as he slowly moved around this abomination.

            “Your soul looks delicious. I haven’t had human in so long” the abomination said, its words were slow and gurgled by the thick saliva in its mouth. The creature moved forward with the speed and agility that you would not expect from a lumpy flesh monster. The creature tried to grab Jorn with its large fleshy hands. The creature had broken and jagged fingernails, which weren't dangerous, but this further added to the disgust and horror Jorn felt toward the creature. The journeyman narrowly escaped the creatures grasp. Then spun around and stabbed both of his swords into the creatures arm. The old sword left a wound, the kings sword left a wound but also seemed to burn the monster. The lumpy sack of flash recoiled in pain. Its face twisted into an angry grimace. It then slammed its fists into the ground. The sound echoed through the castle and then the ground began to rumble. The fleshy ogre gave a taunting smile then ran off. Something bigger was on its way and it didn't seem to make allies. The abomination disappeared into the darkness with the same unrealistic speed that it used during the battle. Jorn tried to run out too. He left the armory, ran down the hallway and reached the stairs. The ground rumbled and he heard a roar. Something big was chasing him, but Jorn didn't know from which direction, or how it could even fit in these narrow hallways.

The Clock Ticked

The clock ticked. Tick tick tick. The sound echoed through the dark hallways of the oversized house. Moonlight shined through one of the windows, the image of the window was projected to the floor. The clock ticked and everything else was silent and still. Tick tick tick. Then footsteps were heard, hasty and quick footsteps. the wood floor creaked under each footstep and was joined by the sound of slippers slapping the ground with each quick step.

A pair of legs rushed passed the window and disrupted the image on the floor for just a second. The clock continued to tick and the footsteps grew faster. Then in the darkness a figure stood before the clock as it ticked and as the ticking echoed through the house. Such a soft noise traveled so far and seemed so loud in the dead of night. The figure hastily grabbed the clock and shook it with annoyance. After a few moments of fiddling with the clock, the ticking eventually stopped. One last tick could be heard and the faint little sound bounced through the whole house and seemed so loud for just a second. Then all was silent, everything still.

The clock lay motionless and silent on the table, no longer telling time or ticking away the seconds. The footsteps quickly moved back through the house. The slippers slapped against the ground, the floor creaked and the light from the window was disrupted. The footsteps walked quickly and then they too stopped. All was silent in the house and all was still. The night continued on and time passed, but the ticking had finally stopped.