Chapter 5

Varden asked Argus, "Do you know how to get to Giants castle?"

Argus said, "There is a trail in the forest that leads to it. The adventurers that have tried to explore it have left a descent trail. It is what the creatures have been following back to the village."

Argus pointed a finger at a small overgrown trail, but you could tell that it was definitely been being used. All of the biggest growth was knocked down. As they made it deeper into the forest the brush began to get bigger but was more spread out, but it was easy to see in which direction the trail went. After 1 hour of walking, they managed to make their way out of the forest.

The path led them to a beautiful meadow. The meadow was filled with a large variety of flowers and other plant life. It seemed to be a very peaceful place. Varden found it strange that such a beautiful meadow was in the middle of such a nasty forest.

As they entered the meadow, they very quickly saw the castle. It was far larger than it had looked when they saw part of it from town. The castle was far larger than any castle they had ever seen or even dreamt about before. Even from where they stood, they could tell that the towers were hundreds of feet in the air, and based on the size of the rocks that were used they were unsure of just how thick the walls really were. While Varden was looking at the towers he noticed a large flying thing but couldn't get a good look at it and it disappeared out of sight quickly. That left him wondering just what it was.

As they made their way across the field the castle just seemed to keep growing bigger. When they finally reached it, they could tell that time had been doing damage to it, especially since no one was there to make repairs. There were places where boulders the size of a house had fallen out, but the wall was so thick that it didn't even make a hole.

From where they were standing all they could see was the wall one of the towers loomed way above them and the main gate. They were standing the mote was massive and ran all the way around the castle. The mote was easily 200 feet across and what Varden hoped for was water, but he couldn't tell for sure since it was dark deep, and very murky. It was so dark they couldn't tell just how deep it was. Then Varden noticed something moving in the water, and judging by the ripples in the water it was huge and was traveling very deeply. As he watched it, he was kind of hoping that it would surface so he could see just what it was. The water if that is what you would call it was way too dark to see anything in it.

Drake asked Varden, "How are we going to get across the moat?"

Varden's face went blank, he hadn't realized that he was going to be the one that was expected to come up with plans and things. He just thought that the leader was just going to have to decide if there was a disagreement between them. As he looked at Argus the wizard just waved him away saying that it was not his responsibility to come up with everything for the group and that he would help when his help was truly needed.

Varden thought for a moment. He knew that most moats had something in them to kill intruders and he was sure that this one was no different. In fact, based on what he had seen there was something in it that would be big enough to kill a giant.

Varden asked, "Argus can you get us across the moat and into the castle?"

Argus got a mean look on his face and said, "Yes I could, but I am not here to make your life that easy. There is a cost for every time I draw on the powers. You must use your heads, or this should end before it starts. There will be many challenges way harder than this one I can't be there to do all the thinking for you."

Varden really started thinking now. After all, there were other adventurers that had come here, it was one of the primary places that they went. If the monsters were the ones that they were talking about that were attacking the town and came from here, there had to be a way in and out of it. It wasn't like they needed a bridge to get back and forth across the moat.

So Varden made up his mind they would just search their way around the castle until they could find out how everything was going back and forth. Now came the decision do they split up to speed things along which would be more dangerous, or do they stick together that way their forces are combined in stronger but take longer to find what they're looking for. As Varden thought about it, it only made sense to stick together. Because even if they went the wrong way no matter what if they split part of them would go the wrong way and they would have to wait on them. So, it truly only made sense to stick together.

Varden asked the others, " Which way? Right or left?"

Drake thought it was funny after all the information that they had collected between all three of them no one fill them in on how to get into the castle. Then he replied, " I think to the right." No one else disagreed with his idea so they headed off to the right it was slow going not because it was hard but just because it was so big. By the time they made it around the corner, they seem several trees had been laid across the moat forming a decent kind of a bridge.

The so-called bridge was poorly constructed but perfectly sound and sturdy which made it very easy to get it crossed. Once they made it across the bridge, they were able to see the trail that led to a hole in the wall that was a little hard to climb but went very quickly. None of them could believe how thick the wall actually was in the tunnel that they'd dug and managed to use would have been easily overlooked by the giants.

They noticed that the wall was over 50 feet thick and loomed over them way over 200 feet. Argus was the last one to make it through the wall they gathered together for a better look. Argus asked, " OK where do we go first?"

Everyone turned to Varden expecting him to answer the question. Varden thought okay great now for every decision they were going to turn to me and maybe this is a little more than I was asking for. So, he resigned himself to the fact that he was going to have to make all the decisions from now on. As he looked around the courtyard was huge and mostly overgrown. It looked like from where they were there were only two main ways to go. At least that is where the paths led. The first path led to the castle entrants. He looked at the entrance to the castle, it was 400 feet crossed and 150 feet tall. The gate to the castle was wide open allowing whatever wanted in or out free passage. Based on the amount of traffic most of it was coming from inside the castle and he wasn't sure if they were quite ready to go in that direction yet.

The second path led to the nearest corner tower. The path was smaller and a lot less traveled so he decided that they would start with the southwest corner tower first. So, they made their way over two the tower door. Varden reached for the handle as soon as they got there Drake yelled to stop.

Drake managed to stop him inches before he touched the door. Drake said, "You can't tell whether it's trapped or not without checking first. Did you check to see if it was trapped? If you didn't that's a good way to end your life."

Varden took a couple of steps back and said, "Well, I normally just go up to it and try and open it."

Drake thought to himself it's a wonder he's lived this long he stepped up to the door and started checking it. He slowly and carefully opened it just a little and peeked inside. To the right was an oversized staircase straight ahead and another door that stood 20 feet tall, and it was 10 feet wide into the left was a solid wall.

Drake called to Varden, "From now on you should always let me check everything first."

Varden simply nodded his head in agreement as he realized at this point how lucky he had been through the years.

Drake opened the door, and they all entered the chamber. Drake had them close the door. He didn't want anything sneaking up on them from behind. At least with the door closed they would hear it open before it could get to them. They took a close look at the steps, each step was 2 feet high, 15 feet wide, and 8 feet deep. The steps were climbable but would take a lot more effort than normal stairs.

Drake looked at the door, it was the same as the door that they'd just come through. Drake took his time and searched the door again. This time when he cracked it open and looked in, he quickly closed the door again making sure not to make a sound. Drake then told the others that he had seen some giant ants inside the room moving around.

Varden and the others got their weapons ready and prepared to enter the room. Varden carefully opened the door, and they all crept into the room. They were as quiet as they could be when you're wearing armor.

In the room, there were eight giant ants, each ant was at least eight feet long and looking at it you could see that it would be easy for their pincers to cut somebody completely in half. As they watched the ants were busy moving boulders that were bigger than people, so they didn't notice the party enter the room.

Varden quickly jumped on the back of one of the ants that were closest to them and sliced the head off another. Drake got behind one and plunged his sword deep into it. The ant managed to take one step before it dropped to the ground.

The ant that Varden was riding on started running and that almost knocked him off. But with one hand Varden quickly grabbed an antenna and that helped him regain his balance and keep him from falling off. Varden plunged his sword deep into the head of the ant. His sword went through its head and sliced its way out its mouth. The ant quickly dropped to the ground. A second ant came within inches of biting Varden's leg. If it had gotten him, it would have taken his leg off easily.

Drake managed to kill the ant that he had stabbed before another one knocked him off his feet. Drayden started hitting the ant that knocked Drake off his feet. Argus pointed a finger at one of the ants and then mumbled a few strange words. A bolt of lightning shot from his fingertip and struck one of the ants then passed through it and struck three others that were nearby. The ants caught fire and dropped all four of them to the ground.

Drayden finally managed to kill the ant that she had been hitting.

After the battle was over Drake quickly went to work searching the room. In the center of the room stood a large hole. As they looked at the hole, they decided to deal with it a little later, they needed to find out just what else was in the room.

The room was 80 feet across and 20 feet high. It was a large circular room, and the walls were at least 4 feet thick and the hole in the floor was 6 feet across. The room had no windows and only one door that they had entered through.

By the time Drake had finished searching, Argus said, "I need to be getting back to my own castle now because it is getting dark, so we need to be wrapping it up here."

The last thing that Varden was looking forward to was the long walk back to town. The fight with the ants had taken what was left of his energy but it was far better to go ahead and go back to town and try and stay here overnight. Especially since there was a large hole in the floor and apparently the ants knew how to get in and out.

Argus said, "If you all are ready for this one, I will use my power to get us back to town. We will leave the portal here so that in the morning we can come right back to hear without all the time and walking."

Argus drew a circle on the ground and put some strange writing in the center then he started chanting and saying strange words. Varden listened to what he was saying a lot closer this time and could tell that the words were and a different language but that didn't really matter to him. He could not understand the language that he was chanting, and he knew he had no real magic in him.

Argus started chanting faster and faster Varden and the others felt themselves getting dizzy then everything seemed to blur. When everything cleared, they found themselves just outside town but were close to Argus's castle. It was after dark when they appeared outside the castle, time seemed to shift just like they did it was as if the time that it would have taken them to walk was used by the spell.

As Argus left them, he said, "Meet me back here at sunrise tomorrow and I will be ready that way we will get in an early start."

Varden replied, "We will be here at sunrise."

Argus quickly disappeared into his castle. The other three of them headed back into town. When they got back to the Inn, they looked around at this time there were only two men in the bar. The bartender and the giant.

The bartender asked, "How did you do today?"

Varden told him about the trip to the castle and the fight with the giant ants.

The bartender said, "I have heard of a lot of monsters that were in the castle, but I have never heard of them being giant ants. But I have heard of giant ants before and they are supposed to be very dangerous because once they see food they keep going after it until they get it, or they are dead."

Varden took in what the bartender was saying. Then he thanked him and said, "I'm sorry but we're going to have a very long day tomorrow and we need to go and get some sleep if we want to get up and get an early start in the morning."

Then the three of them went upstairs and to their rooms. Varden hadn't said much to Drayden all that day and you really wanted to talk to her now. This was usually the time that they would be able to talk but since they reached the island there had been no time for romance at all.

Varden told Drake, "I will be in the room in a few minutes if you don't mind."

Drake nodded his head and said, "OK." Then went into their room.

Varden turned to Drayden then they looked deep into each other's eyes. They both felt the longing growing inside them. It was like there was a hunger for a kiss and the passion for each other was intense. Then Drayden closed her eyes, turned around, and walked away into her room. Before she could close the door Varden called to her and said, "Wait! What's wrong?"

Drayden said, "I must not." Then went farther into her room and closed the door.

Varden knocked on her door, but she wouldn't answer. Then he said, "Just remember that we're across the hall if you need us."

Then he went into his room. Varden found himself wondering just what happened and what he could have done wrong. They had gotten along so well aboard the ship, and now it seemed like no matter what he did, or he said, or how hard he tried it just wasn't right, or good enough.

As Varden slipped out of his armor he remembered his golden bowl and that he could have Argus take a look at it. He had always felt that there was something very special about it but now he could have it checked to find out. When Varden had finished undressing and getting ready for bed. He took out his sword and cleaned, polished, and sharpened the edge. He wanted to make sure that it was clean and shiny and sharp for the next day. When he was finished, he got into bed.

Drake was still sitting on the edge of his bed, he was cleaning and sharpening his blade. He looked sternly at Varden and said, "You shouldn't try and break a clerics' faith, if you want her and she wants you she will have to stop being a cleric. You must keep your mind on the business at hand and her heart pure, she will be no use to us if she can't heal us. If you're distracted, we all could wind up dead. You're the leader and that means you have special responsibilities to ensure the rest of the team will survive. That is what being the leader of a party means."

Varden took in every word to his heart and nodded his head in agreement. Varden thought to himself he was glad that Drake was there to guide him. This was the first time that he had ever been in a party let alone put in as the leader, and it was proving to be a lot more than he had thought that it was going to be. Drake got undressed and they both went to sleep.

The next morning came sooner than Varden wanted it to. He jumped to his feet when he heard a rapping at the door. As he sprang out of bed, he grabbed his sword and pulled the door open.

It was Drayden she was there to wake them up. Drayden just looked at him for a moment then blushed and quickly turned away and said, "I'm here just to wake you guys up."

Varden wondered why she was acting so strangely, then he realized that he had not gotten dressed before answering the door. Now he was totally embarrassed, and this was something that he would never forget. As he thought about it, he knew she wouldn't forget about it either. He quickly shut the door and said," We will be ready in a few minutes. "

Varden went over and woke up Drake. The two of them got dressed at the same time they put on all their armor and gathered their weapons together. Once they were ready, they went over to Drayden's room, and Varden knocked on the door and Drayden came out.

Drayden saw Varden and smiled. Varden just blushed and said, "Shall we go?" The two of them just nodded. Drake watching the interaction of the two of them wondered just what was going on but didn't bother to say anything about it.

Then Varden remembered the golden bowl and he told the others that he would meet them downstairs. Drake and Drayden walked downstairs together and Varden went back into the room and dug out the bowl. When he had it, he quickly joined the others.

They left the inn and went to the well to get the water that they were going to need for the day. It looked like it was going to be a gorgeous day even though it was still early, and the best part was they had not been awoken in the night because the town had not been attacked. Once they were ready, they headed off to the wizard's castle. Even before they got to Argus's castle, they saw him sitting and saying something to himself on the path.

Argus told Varden he needed to speak to him privately. Argus turned to the others and said, " You two will wait here, this will not take long." They nodded their heads in agreement and stayed where they were.

Argus took Varden into his castle but into a different room than he had seen before. Something struck Varden as being different, it was like the castle had changed from the last time he had seen it, but he just wasn't sure what it was. The room that Varden was taken to looks more like a lab. There were long tables filled with potions, powders, test tubes, and beakers of all kinds of herbs. Varden couldn't describe the smell coming from the room, all he knew was that it was hard to breathe. On one particular table, he noticed three different potions that were in the process of cooking strange colored smoke coming from each. There were two students attending each boiling pot.

Argus said, "Give me the bowl."

Astonished, Varden took the bowl out of his pack and handed it to Argus. Varden thought to himself just how did he know about the bowl? He was thinking hard and wondering how does Argus know so much about everything.

Argus looked at the bowl, then took it over to a table where he could examine the engraved symbols more closely. After a few minutes, Argus asked, "Did you get this from a dragon?"

Amazed all Varden did was not his head and mumble a yes.

Argus asked, "Just what kind of dragon was it?"

Varden didn't understand what he meant by what kind of dragon he thought that a dragon was a dragon. So, we told them it was a large dragon.

Argus shook his head and said, "No what color of dragon was it? You can tell a lot about the dragon based on the color and what it breathes."

Varden said, "I got the bowl from a red dragon."

Argus asked, "Did it breathe fire?"

Varden said, "Yes, but what does that have to do with a bowl?"

Argus said, "Watch and I'll show you." From one of the bottles that were on the shelf, he took a pinch of powdered dragon's blood and dropped it into the bowl. It began to smoke in the smoke enveloped Argus. Argus grew to 18 feet tall for a minute then shrank back down slowly. Argus explained, " The bowl is a very powerful item, and it gives you the power to defeat dragons, but the time is limited to the power of the dragon's blood in the quantity that you put into the bowl and there's another condition it will only work once a day."

Varden knew that it was special and figured it had magic properties but until now he had known exactly what it could do.

Argus said, "Our colleagues are waiting on us. Just remember don't let anyone see the bowl or what it can do. First of all, it will only work for the one that obtains it from a dragon and a powerful wizard can activate it. There's one other word of warning some point in your life you are going to need this so make sure you do not lose it to anyone or anything. "

They left the castle and returned to the others, who were patiently waiting for them. Varden could tell they had been talking very seriously about something. He figured he would talk to Drake later and find out what they were talking about.

Argus took them back to the place where he had set up the portal. It looked like he was writing something in the sky and a doorway appeared leaning back into the castle where they had left the day before. Argus had it planned when he set it up that this would open in two a pretty safe and secure area. Argus knew that between the two doors and down the steps was going to be about the safest place that they could return to and not be attacked as soon as they ported in.

Once again Drake searched the door before entering. He didn't think that it was going to be all that necessary since there were large ants on the other side, but it was still better to be safe and check than to enter the room blindly. When they looked in the room, they didn't see anything, even though the parts of the ants that had been cut off were gone there were no signs of any live ants either. It looked like the bodies might have been dragged down the hole. This made them think there could be a swarm of ants down the hole and that's something they would not be able to handle.

So, it was an easy decision to go to the second floor instead of trying to explore the hole and the chambers which could be hidden below. They knew that they would need a lot bigger party to take on a nest of huge ants. It was slow-going and they had to take it one step at a time, but it didn't take that long to reach the second floor, the door was the same as the others. Drake set to work and checked the door for traps; he found that there was a trap attached to the door. Drake told the others to stand aside he was going to try and disarm it. The others gave him plenty of room to work and as he got about halfway finished with disarming it the trap was set off. An arrow went flying from behind them and sank deep into Drake's back.

Varden quickly reached down and pulled the arrow out. Drayden went over and kneeled above Drake. Drayden waved her hands slowly over his body and then touched the wound chatting Walsh was doing it. Instantly Drake felt better, and he knew that he was healed.

Drayden said, " Try to be more careful next time."

Drake said, " OK." Drake went over to where the arrow had come from and studied the entire trap. He told Varden that it was safe for him to open the door now. Varden put the arrow into his backpack and slowly opened the door a little. Then peeking in he saw a large, jeweled chest on the far side of the room. Varden opened the door fully then he was able to get a look at everything the room had 1/2 inch of dust covering everything including the floor. This room was exactly the same size as the one that the ants had taken over. The only difference was there was no hole in the floor.

Drake said, "I should go in first in case there are any more traps." So, Drake entered the room slowly and carefully he told everyone to follow in his footsteps exactly. The thick dust on the floor made it easy for them to see exactly where he had stepped.

They made their way safely to the chest avoiding several traps along the way. When they reached it, Drake searched the chest itself for traps and found that it was trapped too. He told everyone to stand back, he was going to try and disarm it. Drake managed to disarm the trap and pick the lock at the same time.

They carefully opened the lid of the chest. It was filled with gold and silver coins and there also was a variety of gems scattered amongst the coins. Strapped to the lid was a long sword and a shield. Argus said, "We will have to take the sword and shield back to my lab to find out if they are magic and what kind of magic they possess."

For now, they decided to leave the chest where it was, and they would take it back with them tonight. Drake carefully searched through the rest of the room, finding nothing of interest, making sure that he marked all the rest of the traps. That way when they came back to the chest the way would be free and clear, at least for them it would be. After securing the room they decided to go on to the third floor just going up the steps was a tiring process.

As they reached the door Drake searched for traps again. This time Drake found nothing, and he told Varden that it was okay. Varden opened the door carefully and just barely managed to duck of the way of another arrow that came flying out of the room. The arrow went flying over Varden's head and stuck 2 inches into the stone wall.

Everyone turned to look at the arrow and then back at Drake. Drake shrugged his shoulders and said, "Oops sorry." Then Drake searched the door and the trap making sure this type of trap wouldn't get past him again. Drake searched the room but other than the trap it was empty. So, they went up to the fourth floor. Drake checked the door and said it was clear there were no threats on it.

Varden asked, " Drake are you sure?"

Drake got a disgusted look on his face and replied, "Yes, I am sure." He snarled.

Varden slowly opened the door enough to peak in ready to close it if anything moved. This room was completely empty. Drake still did his job and searched the room carefully but to no avail it was completely empty, so they headed up to the fifth floor.

When they got to the fifth floor Drake checked the door just like usual, he found nothing and let Varden know. Varden slowly opened the door up to a peak this time he noticed some huge spider webs crossing the room. As he looked, he noticed there was at least one person in a cocoon behind the web. He could see that the body had been there for a long time based on part of the skeleton that was sticking out of it.

Varden looked hard and noticed it had been an adventure based on the fact it had been dressed in armor and the fact that the sword and shield were both still clutched in its hands. He carefully opened the door a little more so we could see further. He still didn't see anything that made the webs. Once he opened the door open far enough, he went in carefully, but as soon as he was all the way in the room a 6-foot-long spider dropped on him from above. Varden was pinned to the floor by the weight of the spider on his back and he couldn't move an inch.

The spider took everyone by surprise. The spider tried to sink its fangs into Varden's leg, but his leg bounced off of its fang and just slid off to the side.

Drake drew his sword and with one smooth slash managed to cut two legs off of the left side of the spider.

The spider turned its attention to Drake. With two legs missing Varden was able to push the spider off of him and make it to his feet. When Varden pushed and started moving the spider jumped to get some distance but having two legs missing made it a little off balance. The spider turned to face the two of them now.

As Drake swung his sword the spider shot webs pinning him in the doorway blocking the others from being able to come in.

As the spider was paying attention to Drake, Varden jumped high in the air and came down sword first on the spider's head stabbing it right between the eyes. The spider stood there for just a moment before it crumpled to the ground, its remaining legs quickly curled underneath it.

Argus carefully took his time and cut Drake free from the web making sure not to cut Drake. Then Argus went over to the spider and carefully cut out the two poison sacks and put them in the bottle for safekeeping. He said to himself just what I need to finish that potion.

Varden walked across the room and cut through the webs so that he could collect the bones to give them a proper burial. Varden noticed that the armor was all rusted from the age and the conditions of the room. The shield was past repair and it had seen a lot of damage before it wound up in this condition. The sword that had once carried a high price based on the hilt but was now something that could break at any time making it worth nothing, but as Varden was collecting the bones the pouch that was strapped to the waist was dislodged and its contents spilled onto the floor.

All of a sudden there was a bright flash and the skeleton started moving slowly at first then it picked up its sword and shield and climbed to its feet. As soon as it was on its feet it started attacking. The first swing was at Varden's head, but Varden was able to jump back just in time the tip of the sword cane inches from hitting his face.

Drake yelled, "Look out, "But he had already avoided the attack.

Argus looked up and saw what was going on, so he started casting a spell.

Drake ran over to help Varden.

The skeleton took a step forward and another swing at Varden.

Varden blocked it with his shield. It was a powerful clash that knocked Varden back and the skeleton back as well.

When Drake got there, he swung his sword and chopped one of the arms off of the skeleton it dropped to the ground with a thud and let loose all kinds of dust in the air.

Argus finished his spell and then posed like he was pulling back a bow aiming with his finger pointed at the center of the skeleton. When he let loose an arrow of light appeared and took off flying right where he was pointing. It struck the skeleton dead center of its chest and as it left the body a rib went flying off to the side. The arrow of light shot out of the other side of its body.

Drayden when running toward the skeleton to see if there was anything she could do to help.

The skeleton turned for Drake since he was the closest now. It swung its sword and managed to slice into the arm of Drake, cutting through his leather armor and deeply into the flesh taking out a small chunk.

Drake fell backward and hit the floor.

Varden swung and was shocked when he sliced the head off of the skeleton. The head when spinning up in the air and then rolled across the floor.

Drayden took her mace and hit the skeleton in the middle of its back as hard as she could. The skeleton broke in half and dropped to the ground. And as it hit the floor the bones separated from each other scattering everywhere.

Thinking that there was no more danger Varden went back to where the skeleton's pouch had emptied out. Varden noticed that there were six small gems lying on the floor. He reached down and collected them as soon as he had them in his hand the bones reassembled into the skeleton.

Argus with a scowl on his face said, "Enough of this." Then he made a rolling motion with his hands and then pointed at the skeleton. A ball of fire surrounded the skeleton and burned brightly. The bones turned to dust as they watched, and the armor sword and shield melted into a bubbling pool on the floor. The floor in the ceiling were both scorched as everyone that was in the room was hit by a massive wave of heat.

The three of them were stunned at the amount of power that Argus had. They had heard that he was powerful, and they had seen some amazing things, but nothing prepared them for the kind of power that he just demonstrated, and none of them could believe what they saw was true.

Varden slowly opened his hand and looked at the six small gems, two of them were still glowing. He slid them into a small pouch that he had and handed it to Argus. Argus studied the gems for a few minutes then chanted something as he passed his hand over them. The gems all started to flicker and glow brighter. "Aaaaahhh just what I had thought these gems when combined will animate the dead," Argus said.

Drayden looked at Drake and saw that gash torn in his arm where the sword had hit. She went over and knelt over him and said some strange words and waved her hands and lightly touched the cut, it slowly closed until the wound was gone.

Drake thanked her, then he got up and checked the rest of the room and couldn't find anything except the large hole that the spider had been using to get in and out of the room.

Since there was nothing else there, they moved on to the sixth floor. Drake checked the door and told Varden to go ahead. Varden slowly opened the door and didn't see anything, the room was empty. While Drake was checking the room, he found a loose stone he carefully inspected it and found that it was the trigger for a hidden door.

Drake told the others to be ready for anything and then he activated the door. A small panel in the wall opened and there were two small sacks inside. They both were filled with golden coins. They decided to divide them later and they were put in Varden's back to carry for now. Once everything was loaded up into Varden's pack they started up to the seventh floor.

By the time they made it about halfway up to the seventh-floor door, three zombies spotted them and came running to attack. All three of them were dressed in armor and had a sword and shield. They didn't look like they had been zombies for a long time. They were not all dried out and their flesh was not sagging off their bones, but they were putrid black in color, and they smelled like they had been rotting in the sun for a month.

The first took a swing at Varden. Varden blocked it with his shield and then plunged his sword deep into its chest.

The second took a swing at Drake. Drake blocked it with his sword and using his dagger he sliced open the zombie spilling its guts to the stairs.

Drayden started chanting with her cross held high. Then she pointed behind them and two of the zombies turned around and started back up the stairs.

Argus looked like he was firing a bow and arrow again and as he pulled back and let it go. An arrow of light shot forth and hit the zombie and made a hole straight through it.

The zombie swung this time and connected with Varden's chest. The sword didn't make it through his armor but did manage to knock him backward.

Drake swung and managed to cut a chunk out of the zombie's side.

Drayden caught Varden to keep him from falling back down a stair, but she stumbled and almost fell herself, but she barely kept her balance and saved them both.

Argus fired another arrow of light with perfect aim and this time hit the zombie's head. The zombie's head exploded on contact and the rest of it dropped to the ground lifeless.

Drake searched the zombie's body and came up with a small pouch containing a small ruby and twenty coins. He turned to show Varden what he had found when he saw Varden and Drayden staring into each other's eyes. Drake decided to give them a small break this time it had been a very rough day, and everyone was doing great in their teamwork. So, he showed the rubies to Argus and got them moving to the seventh-floor door and keeping an eye out for the two zombies that left.

Varden asked, "Did I do something wrong?"

Drayden didn't answer, she just looked at him like a wounded puppy.

Varden said, "You know already that I love you, don't you?"

Drayden replied, "I feel the same way," then she hesitated and continued, "But I would have to leave the church, and I would be nothing without being a cleric."

Just then they heard Drake yelling for them to come on and catch up. Varden grabbed her arm as she started to leave. Then he asked, "Can we at least talk about this later?"

Drayden replied awkwardly, "They are waiting on us."

Varden held tight to her arm keeping her from easily going until she finally gave in and said, "Okay we will talk about this later this evening and I mean just talk." He let her go and they quickly joined the others. When they got there Drake had already checked the door and was waiting to see what was inside till the team was together.

Varden carefully opened the door just enough to look in. He saw the two zombies from before and he noticed that they were standing in front of three sacks. Varden carefully closed the door silently making sure not to make a sound. Then he told the others what he had seen in the room.

Argus told Varden to open the door when he nodded his head and to keep clear. Argus prepared the spell and when everything was ready, he nodded to Varden. Varden pulled the door open wide and jumped back not knowing just what to expect next, but he wanted to make sure he was clear of it no matter what. Argus pointed a finger at the two zombies and a bolt of lightning went screaming from his finger and struck both of the zombies. After a few seconds it stopped, but by that time both of them were on fire. They managed to take a few steps before they dropped lifelessly to the floor.

Drake searched them both and found that they each had a small ruby and twenty coins. It was exactly the same as the first one. Next, Drake searched the three sacks, they looked like they belonged to a trader. The first one was filled with tanned furs they were all falling apart now you could tell that they might have been really good at some time but now it was like a bag of nasty hair. The second sack was filled with miscellaneous tools, a couple of picks and a few axes, some cook where. There was nothing of real value, to begin with, and now with the age and rust, there was nothing even salvageable. Their only hope was the third sack to have something of value. Drake opened it carefully and found that it was filled with expensive nick knacks for luxury homes. There were a few things that still had some value but there was nothing that they couldn't afford to lose or was worth carrying around till they left.

Drake finished going through the bags and gathered the good stuff and set it aside. Then he searched the room he found a loose stone and a small sack that had been hidden under it. Drake put it all together and said, "There must have been a merchant that had three bodyguards that carried his wears. They got trapped there, the merchant hid his treasure, and the guards were forced to guard it. Looks like the merchant got away and the guards were changed into the zombies that we fought.

They went up to floor eight. Drake searched the door, but there was nothing there they open the door, and the room was empty there was nothing to find so they went up to floor nine.

As they reached the ninth floor they came to a large platform and there were two large archway is each leading to the outlet of the top of the wall. Along the top of the wall, they could see several large piles of boulders. The giants must have put the boulders there so they could protect the castle from any type of attack. Varden wondered who would ever try and attack a castle filled with giants.

Drake searched the door and told Varden it was trapped. But it could not be disarmed from this side. It was the same type of trap that they had seen earlier so was simply to stand back and open the door, and let the trap take care of itself.

Varden opened the door just barely enough to book inside but not far enough to set the trap off. As he peaked in, he saw a large black bear. Varden thought for a moment then an idea came to him, so he let out a few yells to get the bear's attention.

The bear turned for the door, it was extremely hungry and very pissed off. It stood up on its hind legs and started walking and growling for the door.

When the bear was in the right position Varden yanked the door open setting off the trap. Three arrows went flying out of the wall and struck deep into the bear. The bear didn't make it another three steps before it collapsed dead on the floor. Argus knew that once that the arrows even though they would in deep wouldn't kill the bear that fast, but they must have been poisoned as well.

Drake searched the room and found the secret door on the floor. He carefully opened it and found a small, locked box. Drake did his best to try and pick it up, but the box was magically sealed and there was no way he would ever be able to get it open, it would take strong magic to open it. Argus told them that they would have to take it back to his lab to get it open.

They made their way to the 10th floor Drake searched the door it was not trapped in the Varden know it was safe to open. As Varden opened the door an image of a huge head of a dragon appeared in the center of the room.

The image yelled, " HALT! Stay where you are. Announce yourself and why you were here.

Varden stepped forward and said his name then said, " We are here to stop the attacks on the town and the surrounding area."

The image said, " You must turn back now, or you will doom everyone on the island and enslave humans everywhere." Varden just stood there for a minute. Then the image said, "Leave here now! Or you shall surely die." Then it flew straight forward at Varden and disappeared in a puff of smoke just before it hit him.

Drake searched the room and there was nothing of value in it. So, they started down the stairs so they could reclaim the valuable things that they had found. They made their way back to the chest that was on the second floor. They open the chest and put the other treasures inside it. Varden and Drake tried to lift the chest they couldn't get it off the ground.

Argus said, "Step away." He did what he had to do, then cast the spell. The chest lifted 3 feet off the floor and then hovered there. "Now you should be able to move it easily," Argus said.

At this point, they decided that they needed to go to the first floor and check down the hole. When they all entered the room Argus prepped and cast a locking spell on the door so that no one could enter the room. They put the chest in a corner away from the hole. Varden took a light and carefully lowered it down into the hole trying to make sure that nothing going to jump them when they went in.

They secured a rope then Varden climbed down and when he saw it was safe, he called to the others. Varden looked around a little while he was waiting for the others to join him. The tunnel was six feet tall and went off a long way in the distance. When everyone was together, they set off following the tunnel for the most part it was kind of straight. They made it 150 yards then it turned to the right and then after another 30 yards, they came to a spot where the water was dripping slowly.

Argus said, "We must be under the moat, we better be careful to stay away from the water just in case. You never know exactly what is in that water."

They all were careful to stay away from the dripping water and the pool that had gathered. The tunnel continued for another fifty yards then split into two different directions. The left path opened into a huge cavern and Varden saw at least 50 ants working in there taking care of the nest. The tunnel to the right extended out of sight and they fell back so that they could talk and not be discovered.

They got together to try to decide what to do about the ants. Varden suggested that they could go down the other path and see if there was anything that would help out there.

Drayden spoke up and said that she didn't want to get trapped between two groups of ants, one in front and one behind would be the end of them.

Argus said, "We could fill the chamber with poison gas, but it might not reach all the ants in the chamber."

Drake said, "If there was a way to fill the chamber with water from the moat that would be the best way to get rid of them."

They all agreed to the flooding plan now it was a way to do it quickly to not allow them to get away. Argus told the others that he could do it, but it would be dangerous.

"You all must leave the tunnel before I get it started and I will have to set up a few things, so I am not down here as well," Argus commanded.

They all walked back to where the water was dripping again and that is where Argus stopped to start setting things up. The other three went on ahead but Varden looked back, and he saw that Argus was positioning a mirror on the ground to be at just the right angle. When they reached the rope, it was just a matter of climbing up it. But that was proving to be a lot harder than Varden had thought it would be. Even though they had lightened the load before they came down the rope after a full day of being in new heavy armor and after all the fighting that they had been doing had worn everyone out. They made it back up the rope but they were glad that it was about the last thing that they would have to do today.

After a while Argus made it back to the rope, he looked back at his work to verify that everything was in the correct position. Argus had left 8 mirrors on the path, each with a small light so that he could aim his shot. As he looked at the last one, he could clearly see his target. He nodded in approval and then tied the rope around his waist and signaled to the others to pull him up. When the rope went tight Argus pointed at the last mirror, he had done something different with this spell. It was the magic arrow that they had seen before, but he had changed it; he had mixed in the fireball spell with it. So, when he pulled back the arrow that appeared was not just an arrow of light it had a huge fireball at the tip. Even from where they stood, they could see the arrow light up the hole. As soon as Argus's feet left the ground, he let the shot go. Argus yelled, "Now pull me up quickly!"

The arrow hit its target with an explosion. It easily opened a six-foot hole in the bottom of the moat sending all that water and everything else into the tunnel. They all struggled to keep Argus out of the water. They managed to keep ahead of it, and he made it safely out of the hole. When a fish jumped out of the water and tried to bite Varden's nose, he jumped back just in time.

Argus said, "Enough of this, I'll put an end to it." He seemed to put more energy into this spell than he had before, and he cast a lightning bolt into the water. Twenty fish came floating to the top of the water. They were the ugliest fish that Varden had ever seen, they were like all teeth and bones with very little meat on them.

Drake said, "Well that definitely put an end to them as well as anything else that was in the water at the time."

They went over and picked up the chest again with Argus's help and set off back to the portal that Argus kept working. Varden now saw why Argus didn't want to come and why they needed him so badly. As he thought that Argus turned to him and said, "Correct and that is why I can't keep all this up you will have to take more responsibility and leave me out of it more to conserve my magic."

Varden wondered if Argus was reading his thoughts. He turned to Argus and was ready to ask then thought that he really didn't want to know the answer to that question.

They took the chest into a room where they could separate everything. Argus took the sword shield and box back to his magic lab to study. The others started separating the treasure into piles of types to be equally shared.

Argus returned once he was able to figure out what the things were and what kind of magic they possessed. The sword and shield were easy. The sword was a sword of healing it had the ability to heal someone once a day as long as the wound was not that critical and even if it was it might save a life but not heal them all the way. The shield was simple too, it had the ability to protect from magic or at least lessen the damage done by it. The box was a different story, it took some work to get it to open. Once it was open, he saw that there was a small glowing gem in it. So, he studied it and found that the stone was the magic stone of a giant strength it would give anyone who possessed it the strength of a giant.

When Argus rejoined the others, they had just finished separating and counting everything there were 2,500 gold coins 5,000 silver coins, and 3,000 copper coins along with 175 gems of various types and sizes it was a tremendous hall as well as the sword shield, and stone. Argus told them about the sword shield and stone.

Varden asked, " Are you willing to sell some of your magic weapons and armor?"

Argus replied, " Yes, I will, but I want my share first. And of course, my pay for the day." They gave Argus his 10% and the hundred gold coins that he had asked for. That still left them with a lot of treasure for the three of them to split.

Varden asked Argus, " Why are you collecting so much treasure? You have the stuff lying around all over the place."

Argus replied, " I need it to buy spells and their components."

Varden knew how expensive and rare some of the components were. He knew the wizard and had collected some components for him before. Most of them were hard to get and some could only be collected in very dangerous places.

Varden asked about the magic gem and if it was for sale.

Argus said, "The gem will make you as strong as a giant as long as you have that it on you. I will trade you the gem for half your share of the gems."

Varden thought for a moment and then agreed to the deal.

Varden asked, "What type of weapons do you have?"

Argus answered, "I have swords, axes, daggers, mace's, bows, arrows, and war hammers. What kind of weapon are you looking for?"

Varden said, " I am really looking for a good sword."

Argus said, " I have lots of magic swords. A special one that flames on command, and it will burn things that don't usually burn. Another one that we just got heals once a day. I also have three special swords. The first does extra damage to dragons, the second does extra damage to giants in the third, and does extra damage to undead creatures. Lastly, one that will do extra damage to everything.

Varden said, " I want to see the one that does extra damage against dragons."

Argus left the room and returned a couple of minutes later with a large sword in a scabbard, then he handed it to Varden. Varden carefully pulled it out and looked at it, a strange sensation came over him and he knew that this was the sword he was meant to have. It was like he had always had it, it was a part of him even though he had never seen it before. The blade was engraved with a figure of two dragons fighting. The hilt of the sword was designed like the head and neck of a dragon. In the dragon's mouth was a large crystal.

Argus told Varden, " The crystal will change colors when you get close to a dragon."

Varden asked, " How much for the sword?"

Artists said, " It will cost you half of your gold."

Varden looked at the sword, then at the treasure, then agreed taking it was a lot for it, but he knew that he was meant to have the sword. So, he quickly agreed to the price. As Varden strapped the sword to his leg he felt as if he had always had it. It seemed as if it was part of him and he was a part of it. Now he has the gem he felt stronger than ever and felt like he could do anything. Varden wondered if there was anything else about the sword that he didn't know.

Varden asked Argus, " What type of armor do you have? "

Argus said, " I have shields, body armor, helmets, and rings.

Varden asked, " What kind of shields do you have?"

"I have three shields that will increase your strength and then I have a couple of special ones that were made from silver. " Argus replied.

Varden asked, " What is the price of a silver shield?"

Argus said, "It should cost you more than the rest of your treasure, but since you bought the other things, I'll give it to you for just the price of your treasure."

Varden thought that it was a great deal, so we quickly agreed.

Argus left and came back with a large silver shield. Then he handed it to Varden.

Varden looked at the shield, it was made from solid silver and there were a lot of images engraved on it. One was of the huge snake and the rest of them were monsters that Varden didn't know. Varden wondered what it all meant, even though it was made from silver it seemed to be stronger than steel and he could tell it was a lot heavier than any of the other shields he had ever felt.

Drake listened to their conversation and when Varden finished. Drake asked, " How much for the sword that does extra damage against everything."

Argus said, "It is worth more than all the treasure on the floor."

Then Drake asked, " What is the price of the sort that does extra damage against giants?"

Argus said, " It will cost you your gems."

Drake tried to dicker the price, but Argus would only allow him to pick one gem to keep separate. Drake finally agreed to the price and Argus went and got the sword. Drake looked at the sword it was extra-long and wide in both edges were razor sharp. Even though it was huge it was light and easy to swing. Argus told him that it would never need to be sharpened, it would never dull. The blade was engraved with symbols and the figures of a man using a sword to slay a giant. The hilt of the sword looked like the head of a giant at the tip. The two eyes were small gems.

Argus told Drake, " The gems were like the crystal in Varden's sword. The first gem would show how close giants were, and the second would show what type of giants they were."

Drake asked, " What type of rings do you have?"

Vargas said, " I have a ring of invisibility it works once a day. I have another that offers protection, it makes you harder to hit and harder to damage. I have several more, but they're not suited for you and your talents."

Drake asked, " What is the reign of protection, and what does it do?"

Argus said, " It makes a shield around you. If you want it, it will cost you 7000 gold coins."

Drake tried to argue him down, but Argus would not come down one coin. Since Drake really wanted the rain that left him no choice but to agree to the price. Argus slipped the ring out of his pocket and handed it to Drake. Argus knew that he would take it no matter what.

Drake looked at the ring closely it wasn't made of gold, silver, or copper, not bronze, or steel. He couldn't tell exactly what it was made from. There wasn't a stone in it, but there was a small engraving of a man who was surrounded by a bubble.

Drake slipped it on his finger for a moment a glowing surrounded his entire body then disappeared. At first, the ring was too large to fit any of his fingers but now it fits perfectly.

Drayden stepped up and asked, " What type of mace do you have?"

Argus replied, " I'm sorry I only have one mace and it does extra damage against the undead."

Drayden asked, " How much for the mace?"

Argus said, " You can have it for your gems."

She agreed to the price. Argus went and got it. The mace was magically light, and the handle was designed like a holy symbol. But there was a small symbol she hadn't noticed and as Drayden touched the mace it began to glow. Then Drayden began to glow, then she quickly fainted.

Varden ran to her and yelled at Argus, " What have you done to her?" Varden shook her and called her. In a minute she woke up and saw Varden over her, and as she looked into his eyes she smiled.

Drayden said, " You needn't worry about me I'm all right."

Varden asked, " What happened to you?"

Drayden didn't answer she just got her feet.

Varden asked Argus, " What happened to her?"

Argus said, " Sometimes when dealing with magic it will overpower you."

Drayden asked, " How much for your other silver shield?"

Argus said, " It will cost you 1/2 your treasure."

Drayden agreed to the deal. So, Argus left to go get it, and while he was away, they separated out the treasure that they owed him.

Argus came back with a shield and handed it to Drayden. It was heavier than she had realized but she would get used to it. Argus told them that he had a small vault where they could keep their treasures safe if they wished. That way it would be locked and safe and guarded, not to mention they would not have to try and move it until they were done exploring. They all agreed that would be a good idea, that way they didn't have to try and stash it in some other place. So, they took just what they wanted from their treasure that was left and left the rest in the vault he provided.

It was sunset by the time they made it back to the inn. The bar was half full and the woman dressed in red bows with a different man at her side. Varden noticed her keep an eye on him as he made his way to the bar and up the stairs. The three made it to their rooms, they each stripped off their armor and put away their weapons.

Varden went across the hall and knocked on Drayden's door.

Drayden answered the door she was dressed in her nightgown. It was made from fine silk, and it was very revealing even though she had a thin robe over the top of it. Varden noticed her every curve it was the first time he'd seen her out of her armor and her war robe. He could hardly believe his eyes he knew that she was beautiful but now he was totally enchanted by her beauty.

Drayden said, " Yes what do you want?" With him looking at her that way she did the best she could to try and cover up more.

He replied, "I just came over to see if you were all right, and I was wondering if we could finish our conversation that we started on the stairs."

She had forgotten that they were going to talk and all she wanted to do was go to sleep now. But she decided they could talk for just a bit, and she said, "Well we can't stand out in the hall with me dressed like this. Come in and have a seat."

Varden went in and looked around, the only light in the room was coming from the fireplace. The room was empty except for a small bed and a table with two chairs in the corner. The table was filled with her worshiping symbols. In the corner beside the bed stood her mace and shield. Her war robe was draped over the end of her bed.

Drayden went over and sat at the end of the bed and Varden joined her there, but he tried to sit too close, and she moved over.

Varden said, " You said you felt the same way that I feel about you."

She looked him in the eyes and said, " I do love you. But I will have to break my faith if I fall too much for you. Then I could no longer help you anymore and I simply couldn't do that."

Varden didn't know just what to say, all he knew was all he could think about was her. They both just sat there for a while just looking into each other's eyes. Then he carefully took her in his arms and gently kissed her. It was a long and passionate kiss. He felt as if he was floating on air, he was feeling better than he had ever felt before.

After the kiss, they looked into each other's eyes again then kissed once more. After they kiss, she said, " You better leave now before we go too far, besides we have to get an early start tomorrow."

Varden and Drayden stood up together and walked to the door. As they reached it Varden took her into his arms once more and pressed her body tight against his and kissed her once more. He wanted to stay, and he could tell that she wanted him too as well, but that wouldn't be good for the team. Drake had warned him about the damage that he could do. They needed and wanted her not to get hurt or break her faith. They looked into each other's eyes once more in the said good night as he left the room.

He went back to his room and saw Drake sitting on his bed examining his new sword. Drake asked him, " Where have you been?"

Varden answered, " Talking to Drayden."

Drake said, " You better not get too close, or you could tear the team apart and get us all killed. And you see how important it is having a healer around when you're adventuring."

The two of them got undressed and went to bed.