Fresh meat," a gang of menacing figures surrounded them, some lurking in the trees while others skulked on the ground—these formidable individuals were nothing short of ruthless bandits.
"Forgive us, gentlemen, for trespassing in your territory. Please allow us to pass, and we will be on our way," Elaine spoke with a composed demeanor.
"So, the woman speaks for you, huh? Well, I'm saying, for your lack of bravery, men and boys, you are all going to meet your demise right here," the lead bandit declared with a tone dripping with disdain.
Elaine, displaying a level-headed response, merely shook her head, taking a step back—an indication that she had exhausted her attempts at diplomacy.
Finn, however, moved forward, his irritation mounting in the face of these audacious bandits.
"I'm going to give you all up to a count of 10 to run before I start extinguishing your lives right here," Finn declared with a stern, no-nonsense demeanor.
The bandits erupted in mocking laughter at Finn's ultimatum, taunting their impending doom with a carefree arrogance.
Meanwhile, Finn picked up a twig and began counting, each number punctuated by the bandits' uproarious laughter, growing even more uproarious as the counting continued.
"I warned you guys. Can you close your eyes for a bit?" Finn turned to Timothy and the others, his request met with confusion.
They complied with his instruction, and after a few seconds, Finn instructed them to open their eyes.
"Where did they go?" Ver asked, her surprise evident
"They ran away," Finn nonchalantly replied, though the discerning eyes of Timothy and Jake detected a trace of blood on his hands—a detail that didn't escape their scrutiny.
"Let's proceed," Finn spoke as they continued on their way. Night was slowly approaching, but they were not out of the woods yet. Instead, Finn took them to a beautiful river deep in the forest.
"We are here."
"Are we not supposed to be going to the capital?" Finn chuckled lightly as he walked into the river, followed by Elaine, as they disappeared into the depths of the river.
"So we were brought here to do what? Drown ourselves in this river?" Jake asked, feeling agitated. "What are you guys doing?" To his surprise, Timothy and Ver also went into the river, leaving him standing on the bank all by himself. He cursed and followed behind.
"What is this place?" Jake asked as he stepped onto the stairs that led down. He could see Finn and Elaine standing near a huge boulder with runes all over its surface.
"Hey guys, wait for me!" Jake quickly caught up with Timothy and Ver. They, too, looked amazed at the sight. They had clearly entered the river, but it seemed like the water on top was just an illusion. They weren't even wet, but when they looked above, they could clearly see aquatic plants and animals, which confused them.
"What is this place?"
"This is the gateway to the capital," Finn answered Timothy as he placed his hand on the boulder, activating the runes. The runes lit up, and a portal appeared on the rock. Finn and Elaine looked at their expressions, but both of them were surprised to see the teenagers looking abnormally calm.
"I thought you'd be amazed or shocked. I mean, any reaction I was expecting, but not that one," Finn spoke.
"We are literally under a river, but yet we are not soaked, and we can still communicate normally. I don't believe there's anything more shocking than that. But I do believe it's about time you start telling us the truth, and I mean the whole truth," Timothy spoke in a somber tone , his somber expression a reflection of his current emotions and determination to unearth the truth.
"Very well, I will explain everything to you tomorrow. For now, let's go in," Finn spoke before disappearing into the portal followed by Elaine. The teenagers quickly followed behind expecting the portal to be filled with dangers, but in reality, it was just like entering through a door with the only side effect being a slight dizziness.
"Welcome to the capital." Finn announced , right after they exited the portal gateway. Looking dumbfounded by the scene in front of them they all gasped . They were currently atop a mountain , and looking down below they spotted a majestic palace, standing tall and mighty. Built on high ground the palace overlooked the whole capital. In the center of the capital was the temple, the temple's architectural design was a Doric peripteral temple, which means that it consists of a rectangular floor plan with a series of low steps on every side and a colonnade (8 x 17) of Doric columns extending around the periphery of the entire structure. Each entrance consisted of an additional six columns in front of it. The rest of the buildings had a classical design and huge courtyards, but that was not what captured their attention the most.
"Am I the only one seeing this?" Jake asked with wide eyes staring at the sky.
"Nope," Timothy and Ver responded in sync , their expressionsno different from Jake's own.
In the sky above, many people were riding on flying creatures, mainly Griffins and a creature that looked like a hybrid between a beast and fowl. The flying steeds were huge , almost the size of a small house
"Uh, you think those flying steeds are impressive? Wait till you see mine," Finn spoke with a smile of anticipation plastered on his visage.
Four men in knight armor approached them from the sky , riding on Griffins. They didn't land but instead they circled them
"You there, state your business." The leader of the knights spoke , his domineering voice reverberating throughout the mountain.
"I have been gone for not more than a month, and you all have forgotten me? Well that is a shame." Finn let out a helpless sigh
"My Lord, forgive us. It's been a long time since someone used the ancient gateway to enter. We expected you to use the teleportation device in Sondor." The leader immediately ordered his men to land after recognizing finn.
"Whatttttttttttt!!!!!" The teenagers glared at Finn furiously , their eyes darting from Finn to Elaine .
"You should not have said that," Finn spoke , scratching the back of his head with an awkward laugh, shocking the knights with his reaction. Elaine quickly looked away with a "don't look at me" expression, making the three even more angry.
"Look on the bright side, we got to bond," Finn laughed awkwardly.
Jake glared at him with burning fury in his eyes , silently cursing hisfamily up to the seventh generation.
"My Lord, let us escort you and your guests." The leader of the guards spoke and gestured for them to get on the steeds.
"We will wal- okay fine, fine, suit yourselves," Finn changed his sentence midway sensing the burning gazes directed at him.
They rode on the steeds as each stead could carry up to three people. They took off flying towards the majestic castle , what awaited them was a whole knew world.