3.3.20.1. Fruits of Envy - Part One

What lies inside Kraal'Thragon, the Towers of Death?

CHAPTER TWENTY

THE TOWER OF DEATH

3.3.20.1. Fruits of Envy

            The great gate of Kraal’Thragon opens slightly after the explosion, wide enough for the Paladins to go through two-by-two. Robert and Hernan glance back to make sure their gigantic partners are all right and whether they want to make another push to join the Paladins inside.

            ‘Just go, Hernan. I’ll be all right out here. In fact, I’ve never had this much fun since my days as Terror of the Ocean,’ says Petra the Leviathan without looking back at Hernan. Indeed, he seems pretty occupied and enjoys himself at the moment.

            Algaban, Robert’s partner also says, ‘Go, Paladins. Let us handle things out here. Just call me again if the occasion demands it.’ The red dragon rams into a dracolich, CRASSSHH!! and breaks the flying bones into pieces to prove it.

            Robert and Hernan nod once as agreement, and they quickly join other Paladins inside.

==oOo==

The torture chambers in Kraal'Thragon dungeons.

            The first stage of the Black Citadel, the lower chambers are rooms for dungeons, barracks and weapon factory. Therefore, most of the walls are blackened and dirty. Skeletons in handcuffs, rotten dead bodies and dried bloodstains are typical and common in these torture chambers.

            The Paladins, on the other hand are much occupied with the skeletons, zombies and ghouls who attack them. The undead in this citadel is really more powerful than outside – the elite squad – being so close to the Dark Source.

            Nevertheless, they don’t post a very significant threat for these heroes. The real trouble, if there’s any, comes from the citadel itself.

            Robert, for one, slashes at a super zombie who parries it quickly with its rotten hand. The Lorean Knight’s face stays tenacious as he quickly spins and with his other sword does a basic Power Bash, slicing diagonally through the opponent like a piece of cake.

            And then comes a skeleton wearing a ragged cape thrusting its spear at Robert. SWISSH! Rob evades the thrust by bending backwards, and then as he moves forward to stab the enemy, something grabs his left foot!

            The skeleton uses this opportunity by striking towards the foot-locked Paladin, and SOKKK! A kick sends its skull flying! The headless heap of bones loses coordination at once and falls motionless on the floor.

            Without looking down, Rob severs the hand that grabs him from the zombie he sliced through earlier.

            ‘Carol, cover me!’ He shouts, crouching and taking off the annoying hand. Two ghouls and a skeleton quickly jump to strike down the defenseless Rob, and ZAPPP! They stop dead in the air with electric currents surging their entire bodies.

            Robert stares at Carolyn with a thankful smile, and the two soul mates don’t need words to communicate in the heat of battle. The sorceress quickly sticks her trident into an imp, electrocuting it into crisp.

            A ghoul attacks Carol when she is busy with the imp, and CRAACK!! Desmond’s great hammer Terra Nakroβ crushes it on the ground.

            The eleven heroes demonstrate a good team work like hands and feet, assisting and protecting each other while pushing forward.

            However, even with the physical and mind protection ready (Omnigalatr and Omnidelmetr), the Paladins still stuffer minor wounds and scratches from enemy attacks.

            Kyflynn, the swiftest of the eleven scouts ahead for the group. He runs past a group of werewolves and ghouls, leaving them with stab wounds on their backs along that narrow path.

            Oh, great! They’re still standing even with those mortal wounds! Kyflynn thinks, pushing away another group of enemies with the horizontal Cartwheel Slash skill, pivoting and spinning several times with his left and right feet in turns. Anyway, let’s see if there’s a tra…

            SWIINGGGHH!!

            Suddenly, a giant pickaxe comes dangling from the ceiling straight to him! The agile night elf quickly moves aside and the pickaxe misses him altogether.

            Whew, that was close, I... eep!

            He quickly rolls forward as two giant pickaxes swing from his back. SWIISSHH! Again, only the tip of the trap seems so close to the top of his head. The undead filling that path become victims and baits just to lure the Paladins into this trap.

            Even dark elves won’t use their own kind as baits. If they truly support Vordac, they will end up as baits and pawns as well.

            Kyflynn then moves on, breaking through more enemies, triggering and outsmarting more traps so his comrades won’t easily fall into them, until...

            Ah, there must be an opening ahead. Maybe we can just take a break in there... oops!

            BRUALLL!! Suddenly the stone floor opens beneath him! Kyflynn falls into a deep trap hole! He reacts very quickly, steps on the wall close to him and jumps from wall-to-wall upwards like a ninja. He goes out and lands on solid floor again as spikes come out on the trap walls, closing into each other real slowly.

            I must wait here and warn the others so they won’t fall into this trap.

            Just then, another group of undead charges on Kyflynn from the back. Without turning back, the elf flips backwards and DHIIEESSHH!! Kicks two enemies on their back, and makes the running group of four in front of them fall altogether into the trap hole!

            ‘KAIIIEEEE!!!’        

            A ghoul and a zombie come from Kyflynn’s front. The elf dodges their attack by climbing the wall on the right side and THOKKK! Kicks the enemies forward. The two get stuck on the closing trap and are crushed to their doom.

            That should serve as a sign, Kyflynn thinks with a mischievous grin. Yet, he decides to wait and the Paladins arrive just then.

            ‘Stop right there!’ The assassin shouts. ‘It’s a trap hole. I guess you guys just have to find a way across.’

            ‘I got it,’ says Iris. She then jumps to the wall on the left, runs rapidly alongside it like a ninja and then lands on the far side on Kyflynn’s side.

            She then outstretches her hands and shouts, ‘Cover me. I’m using Levitation spell to bring the others across.’

            ‘Roger that.’

            CRASSH! CRASSH! DASH! DASH!

            Kyflynn lands two Cartwheel Slashes into a fat zombie’s cranium and lands a double Somersault Kick on two undead – a skeleton and an evil eye.

            ‘Thanks, Flynn. You may go on ahead.’

            Iris’ words are like a trigger, and Kyflynn dashes off like an arrow.

            Slashing and stabbing his way through a bunch of undead, the night elf comes into a wide space and stops at once. He’s stunned to see what’s inside.

This is... a torture room! All those dead, rotten bodies: and war prisoners! There’s only one reason for the Dark Forces to take prisoners: to turn them into zombies! The dark elves are better – they never take prisoners and always kill on the spot.

            The night elf walks on through that grim laboratory, the place where humanity ends and undead is made. Men and women, all dead in extremely horrible ways imaginable. The air reeks of pungent odor, and together with the sight can make a human vomit, fall unconscious or have trouble breathing.

            Something’s wrong... It’s too quiet! I better had back and warn the others...

            ‘Oh no you don’t,’ comes a voice in front of the night elf. An all-black cloaked figure comes out from her hiding spot under the experimental table, shouting, ‘Omni Skülag Kraal Gehreisen!’

            The Living Death spell! Tch! I was too distracted by the Dark Forces’ sadism. I should’ve known: Whenever there’s a pile of corpses, a necromancer is surely around!

            ‘HHRROOAAHH!!! HUUUU!!!’

            All the dead people in that torture room instantly get up and about! Kyflynn quickly gets back to the exit, and about twenty zombies already block his way. He’s surrounded!

            ‘If you think you can finish me here, witch, you’re mistaken!’ Kyflynn jumps and somersaults, TAP! He steps on a zombie’s head and TAP! TAP! TAP! He moves half-fluttering like a butterfly, swiftly and lightly stepping on heads and shoulders to the other side.

            TAP-FWOOSH! He darts off like a wind on solid ground, and the newly-made zombies are too slow to catch up with him.

            Just then, Desmond and Tina show up from the dungeon hallway. Kyflynn goes behind them, saying, ‘Tina, do your thing!’ Tina doesn’t respond to that. Expressionless, she just stares at the incoming throng of attackers, points her Frost Wand and casts!

            ‘Vare Jokulhaups Nek’havr!’

            FLAAAARSCHHH!! The sliding mass of Avalanche pours down to the abominable living corpses, breaking them apart. No one is spared, even the necromancess herself is frozen, imprisoned in the ice coffin.

            CRAACK! CRAACK! Desmond moves forward and breaks the frozen undead into pieces with his gigantic hammer Terra Nakroβ, and when he is about to break the necromancess apart, Tina comes in front of him, saying, ‘Let her be.’

            Kyflynn comes near them, commenting with a concerned face, ‘Death in a thousand pieces is too light a punishment for someone who made living hell out of people. This is an eternal torture between life and death, more severe than death itself.’

            Just then, other Paladins come and are met with another wave of monsters coming from the other exit.

            The eleven castle raiders are of course ready to fight non-stop now, though naturally they need rest more than anybody in the world. Their struggle is beyond their limits – well, almost – thanks to their tactic of fighting in turns and determining each other’s role according to abilities.

            In this case, Kyflynn who has the role as scout tries to analyze the situation. I must open a path to the exit before my friends are too exhausted. ‘Paladins, follow me!’

            So, he steps back, jumps forward and spins his body so fast as if a Soulstealer Drill, breaking through enemy ranks to the other side.

            ‘NOW!!’

            The whole group follows Kyflynn’s path immediately before the door closes up again. Thank goodness, all of them pass through safely.

            The rest of the dungeon area is a labyrinth with spiked trap holes, road block puzzles, dead-ends and more monster variants like headlesses, carrion caterpillars and armored specters.

None of the monsters can stop these twelve champions from charging like a breached, burst floodgate. Hernan, Kyflynn and Eidos outwit the traps no matter how complicated they are: spike traps, falling cages, giant swing axes, more trap holes and sort.

            In short, the Paladins press through until they come in front of a great iron door with a skull with eight spider legs embossed on it.

            Carolyn and Iris feel a great energy surge from inside, which blows terror on their skins. The two shiver, and the elf girl speaks up, ‘Careful, fellow Paladins. I – and Carol – think a very powerful foe is inside.’

            ‘Let’s say it’s the first gatekeeper, and we must go past him to advance to the next level,’ says Kylfynn, much excitedly.

            ‘Better get ourselves prepared first,’ says Chris. ‘Omnigalatr!’ The Mass Protection spell he learned from Father Andreas will be again useful in battle.

            Shortly, when the heroes have finished their preparations, Robert presses his hands on the door, saying, ‘Ready or not, here we go.’

Note: Script to Mid-break of Page 314/487 

Image Source: 
1. Dark Palace - Abstract.Desktopnexus.com 

http://abstract.desktopnexus.com/wallpaper/835974/

2. Torture Chamber from Elder Scrolls - Skyrim
Dawnstar Sanctuary Torture Room in
Dungeonkeeper.wikia.com

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