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Posts: 1908
Join Date: Jan 2008
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Durendel, Luminary, and Jake stepped out of the wormhole and into a rapidly different time. They were just outside a forest and a castle overlooked the beach bordering an ocean. The Red Swordsman recognized this place as the same one in which he was imprisoned all those years ago. The castle, he now knew belonged to Loki, was just as inviting as it had been when he first laid eyes upon it.
“Merlin might still be inside” he announced to his companions “I must see to it that he is okay.”
“Alright but we have to be careful. We don’t want Loki catching us by surprise” Luminary decided as they made their way towards the castle.
“Dude and dudette I think I’ll scout the area while you guys go look for the man with the pointy white beard” Jake said pulling out a small golden disc from his pocket.
The disc changed into a surfboard that hovered off the ground. Luminary thought it looked like the hover boards from the Back to the Future movies. Durendel had no idea what to compare the contraption to but he was curious as to its function. Jake jumped on and took to the air flying high above the castle to get a better vantage point.
“How did he know that Merlin has a pointy white beard?” Durendel asked Luminary.
“Because that’s how he was portrayed in the Sword and the Stone by Disney” she replied adding to his confusion.
The two made their way to the castle gate and saw an army surrounding the stronghold “Morgana’s forces” Durendel exclaimed “they’ve caught up to us!”
He broke into a run and rushed towards them drawing Nodashi from its scabbard as he did so. Luminary shouted at him to stop but it was too late. The enemy had already seen them. Luminary hefted the crimson tower shield from her back and strapped it to her arm as arrows were let loose from bows in a volley which rained down from the sky. She held the shield over her head to deflect the stone tips. Durendel was weaving between arrows avoiding most of them. A few tore through his clothing and a shaft or two was sticking out of his appendages but he did not slow down.
Luminary let force a concentrated light burst which blinded their enemy and then she used her telekinesis to rip away the archers’ bows. The two closed the distance and the light faded. The infantry charged forward with swords and spears. Durendel swung his blade in a wide arch deflecting as many attacks at once as he could possibly manage. Luminary continued to hit the soldiers with telekinetic force as she used the crimson shield to protect herself. The two of them managed to carve a way through the center of the enemy forces and make their way to the gate. But the gate itself was closed and barred from the inside.
“Do you think you can hold them off?” Luminary asks tossing Durendel the tower shield.
He nods in the affirmative wondering what she is going to do. Then her body bursts into bright white light and she takes flight. The red clad warrior doesn’t have time to contemplate her motives though as he his swarmed with enemies. The crimson shield limited his mobility initially but then he felt a wave of power rush over him. Then the shield felt light as a feather. It must be providing him with enhanced strength! Using this newfound power he slashes through his enemies quickly battering them with the shield and then striking out with the blade.
Nearby watching from above the castle is Luminary and Jake in midflight “I feel bad about this” she says to the long haired time traveler “what is the harm in helping him secure the castle?”
“Max says that since there are no concrete records from this era we cannot risk manipulating events directly. He and your Colonel both agree that we would give Durendel the shield to aid him in rescuing his mentor and stopping Loki. But that we should only intervene as a last resort.”
“I still feel bad about it. I don’t want to see him get hurt” she says pointedly.
“Okay, okay” Jake says “I dig you. But we have our orders. Let’s just give it some time and see how he handles himself.”
Durendel finally succeeds in killing the enemy guards. Then using his newfound strength he batters through the castle gate like a juggernaut. Inside the fortress he finds Merlin the Magnificent locked in a magical duel with Morgana and Loki. He wished he still had his magical abilities so that he could aid his mentor. Merlin smiles up at him when he enters expecting him to jump to his aid with a magical firebolt or immobilizing spell. But he shakes his head negatively to confer his lack of power.
Loki laughs as he watches the exchange “so my friend you have made it at last. How pray tell did you manage that without your magic?”
“Enough talk sorcerer” Durendel challenged and then his eyes were drawn to the two items Loki held in his hands.
In the Trickster’s left hand he clutched Oberon’s staff which he had used to banish Durendel. In his right he gripped the sword Excalibur. The former wizard’s courage faltered. If Loki already possessed Excalibur then had he already succeeded in freeing the Fenris Wolf and the Cerberus Hound as he had promised? And if so did Olympus, Asgard, and Avalon still stand or had they fallen under his control already?
“Ha ha ha” Loki laughed “I see the confusion upon your face. Yes Fenris and Cerberus are free. Right now they are assaulting Asgard and Olympus. Avalon on the other hand has already succumbed to my power.”
“Lord Oberon?” Durendel queried “he is more powerful than you.”
Loki laughed again “not as long as I hold his staff and this sword. Enough of this chatter! Morgana finish off Merlin while I dispose of this insignificant peon!”
Merlin hit Morgana with a paralyzing spell before she could destroy him. Fury rose on her face as she stood motionless and helpless before him. Loki on the other hand was more than enough for Durendel. Magic shot forth from the staff in his hand. Durendel dodged at first and then remembered the shield’s other power. Planting it firmly on the ground before him he ducked behind it as Loki shot forth another blast.
“Fool do you think a mere shield can stop my power?”
“No but I believe this crimson shield can!” Durendel retorted.
The magical destructive blast hit the shield full on but did not punch through it as Loki anticipated. The shield began absorbing the magical energy. Drawing it out of the staff until the staff was emptied of all power. Loki screamed as realization hit him. Then the staff shattered! But the crimson shield did not stop there. It began sapping Loki’s own magical power straight from his body. Draining the sorcerer until nothing at all remained. Then his physical being slumped to the floor lifeless the shield hungrily lapping up the residual power. Then it too shattered as the staff had done.
Thousands of tiny crimson fragments were propelled across the room tearing into the bodies of any who were in their way. Morgana was cut down where she remained frozen and unheard cry of pain upon her lips. Several more tore into Merlin’s robes but the master magician was prepared for this. His robes were imbued with magic of their own and they absorbed the metal shards without allowing him to come to any harm. Durendel wasn’t quite so lucky however.
Merlin the Magnificent rushed over to his apprentice as he fell. The aging magician caught the younger man in his arms. And tried to heal his wounds with magic, but there was something about the crimson shield’s composition that prevented Merlin’s magic to work. The shards simply absorbed the healing magic keeping it from doing Durendel any good. Tears streaked down Merlin’s face as he cradled the now lifeless form of his most promising student.
Jake and Luminary watched all this unfold in uncomfortable silence. Had they intervened they could have prevented this. But they did not know until the last second what was happening. They had no reason to believe the shield would be destroyed killing the Red Swordsman in the process. Luminary burst into tears for she had wanted to help from the beginning. Jake placed an arm around her and pulled her close to him. Then using his surfboard he flew them away putting more distance between them and the castle.
“We can’t leave yet” she whimpered into his shoulder “the Fenris Wolf and Cerberus Hound are still out there. Maybe even more deadly without guidance, they could still do some major damage.”
“I believe Merlin will make sure his little buddy is avenged” Jake assured her as he glanced back to see Merlin destroy the castle with one minor wave of his hand.
THE END
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