William woke up the next morning.
"Good morning." Said Marie, "Feeling better?"
"I'm okay." Said William.
"Come on kids, up!" Yelled Ken.
William looked out the window, it was bright outside.
"Wow, we slept a long time." Said William.
"Well we did stay up late last night." Said Marie, "You had an anxiety attack."
William thought about what happened. I saw Ratty's grinning face instead of the mountain troll.
"Right." Said William, "Let's get going. The sooner we get out of here, the better."
The group marched across town he first mountain, and then began climbing the second one.
William kept Spike the baby dragon on his shoulders, he had no problem breathing the thin air.
After a few hours, the group reached the top of the second mountain. Snow was everywhere.
"Well what's the next area we travel through." Asked Brian.
"At the base of the last mountain is an old fortress carved out of stone. That will be our last stop before we make it back to the ark. But this last stretch is going to be hard. The mountain is full of snow and ice, and there are strong winds. We could also run into a yeti or two." Said Alice.
"Well, we'll just have to deal with them." Said Mica, "If we keep our heads and watch each other's backs, we'll make it."
"Right," said Pretta, "let's go. We're almost home."
The group walked down the mountain, they had made it safely.
Suddenly, a giant 8 foot tall white creature leaped out from behind a rock.
"Ahhh!" Yelled Luke.
It was a yeti, a massive white furry monster with razor sharp claws.
"Die yeti!" Yelled Mica as she slashed at the yeti with her sword.
The yeti swiped at her with its claws, and knocked her aside.
"Fireball!"
Cayleb cast a spell which struck the yeti, burning its fur.
"Acid Splash!"
A ball of acid hit the yeti, causing it to roar in pain.
"Let's go! Quickly, while its distracted." Said William.
"Right!" Yelled Tara, "Run!"
The group ran away from the yeti and down the mountain.
"We're not going to make it!" Yelled Gong.
"We have to!" Yelled Alice.
To the surprise of everyone, the yeti ran in the opposite direction as the flames were dying down.
"What the hell?" Said Renny, "I thought those things never gave up."
"It must be afraid of the fire." Said Alice, "But it doesn't matter, it's gone."
"Damn," said Gong, "that was close."
"Too close." Said William, "Keep moving. And don't stop. We have to get out of this cold."
After a whole day of walking, the group reached the bottom of the third mountain.
"Well," said Marie, "there's the fortress."
The group looked up, the old fortress was made out of stone, and it was huge.
"That's not the fortress, that's a castle." Said Luke.
"Yeah," said Ken, "and a big one too. It's not likely that the plumbing and electricity are hooked up."
"Come on, let's go." Said Marie, "The sooner we get inside, the better."
"Right," said William, "we'd better be careful, we don't know what's in there. Keep your guard up."
The group entered the old fortress, they found themselves in a large room with a staircase.
"Okay," said William, "everyone keep quiet. We don't want to attract any attention."
"There's a torch up there," said Pretta, "We can light it."
"Right," said William, "let's light that torch."
"Hold on, I've got a lighter." Said Renny, "Give me a minute."
Renny pulled a small lighter out of his pocket and lit the torch.
"Okay," said William, "we can go now."
The group climbed the stairs and reached a balcony overlooking the land.
"This place is huge." Said Gong, "It looks like an ancient castle. But it doesn't look like anyone's been here in years. The dust is everywhere."
"Hello there?" Said a voice from outside, "Anyone home? I'm lost, and I could use some help. Hello?"
"I don't know, that sounds like a girl." Said Luke.
"Hey, we're up here!" Yelled Tara.
"Oh, good." Said the voice, "Thank you."
Suddenly, a young female wolfling enter the castle.
Wolflings were a race of humanoid wolf people with fur and tails. Wolflings had excellent eyesight and could see perfectly in the dark.
"Phew, I thought no one lived here anymore."
"What are you doing here?" Asked William.
"Well, I'm Lady Celeste. My people moved into the ark a few days ago. The king told us that you guys were out here. So, I volunteered to find you."
"You came by yourself? Why didn't you bring anyone with you?" Asked Alice.
"Well, I am supposed to signal to Prince Edgar and his army that I had found you." Said Celeste.
"Prince Edgar? He's coming here?!" Asked Luke.
"Yes, he's with General Graham, Madam Circe and Sir Haggar. They're bringing an entire army here to rescue us."
Marie jumped for joy.
"My brother is coming! Thank goodness, he's going to save us."
Celeste pulled a small radio out of her pocket and began speaking into it.
"Prince Edgar, do you read me? I've found them! They're alive and well. I repeat, they're alive and well."
"I read you Celeste, what is your position?"
"We are at the old Krakatos castle. They are here waiting for you. Hurry and rescue them. Celeste out."
"I can't believe it," said Tara, "he's really coming to rescue us. He brought the entire army."
"You hear that Ratty?!" William called out, "They're coming for us! You have failed!!"
Evil laughter was heard echoing through the castle.
"That's what you think Underhill! I have an army of goblins coming for you! You will all be dead in one hour!"
"Edgar? Come in."
"Celeste? Are you okay? What's going on?"
"Ratty is nearby with an army of goblins. We need help. Now!"
Open
"Okay, stay where you are. We'll be there in a hour."
"Right, Celeste out."
The radio turned off.
"So just sit tight and hope Edgar finds us before Ratty does." Said Alice.
"Barricade the main door! Quickly! We have to make sure no goblins can get in here!"
"I've got this!" Yelled Cayleb.
"Okay, everyone get out of the way! I'm going to barricade the door!"
Everyone stepped back as Cayleb cast a spell.
"Wall of Stone!"
Suddenly a wall of stone rose up and blocked the main entrance.
"Okay," said William, "that should hold them for a while."
Within minutes, walls of stone were blocking every outside door and window of the old castle.
On the balcony, Gong used a scope to scan the land, hoping to see Edgar's army.
"I can't believe this," said Gong, "Not a thing. I don't see any sign of the army."
"Where the hell are they?" Asked Ken.
"Don't worry, they'll get here. We just have to hold on."