Infiltrating the Kingdom

Kingdom of the Plains, OverWorld

Night

"Well, here we are," Daniel said as he looked down at the map once more to make sure they arrived at the right location.

Elena was standing next to him to his right. Everyone else was behind them. Everyone was wearing armor. They all carried swords, crossbows, and enchanted arrows. As everyone stood on the tree line at the end of the forest, EnderBrine suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

"So this is what the Gods gifted you, huh?" EnderBrine said as he stood to Daniel's left. EnderBrine glanced over at him and faintly smiled, "what gifts will they shower you with this time?"

"I don't want anything else," Daniel answered.

EnderBrine took a step closer to Daniel. "Oh but you know that's a lie, don't you? C'mon I know what it is you want. Tell me."

Daniel turned and walked up to EnderBrine. He got up close and personal with him. "I'm not telling you anything. That's none of your business!"

"The longer you stand here, the longer Scarlet gets away with Petra's death," EnderBrine said, "I'm willing to help you fulfil your urge for revenge."

"Last I recall, you almost killed me and Petra. Remember?" Daniel questioned.

"But did I succeed?" EnderBrine asked, answering his own question with an answer, "no!"

"That's right. You didn't win," Daniel said.

"If you don't want my help, then so be it," EnderBrine said, "I've helped you once, and I was willing to do it again."

"How is it that you're here? On the OverWorld? Your banishment wasn't over," Daniel mentioned.

"Oh that," EnderBrine said as he smiled and glanced at Daniel, "well that conversation will be for a later time. Good luck, your majesty."

EnderBrine vanished into thin air. Daniel rolled his eyes. After that, he looked over at Elena. "Ready?"

Elena nodded. Daniel then looked directly ahead at the Kingdom. He began walking forward. "Then let's go!" Daniel said.

Everyone behind them began following them. Elena looked back at her people. "Earl," Elena said, "we could use a distraction."

"It would be my pleasure," Earl said as he loaded his crossbow with an explosive arrow. He aimed it out into the open fields. He pulled the trigger. The arrow was launched. It went flying across the plains before descending and piercing the ground.

After it had landed in the ground, it exploded. Flames erupted and smoke began rising into the air. The ground shook and rumbled.

As they continued marching forward, Scarlet was awoken from her sleep by the explosion. She hadn't a clue what caused the explosion or where it occurred. She did know one thing though...something was going on.

She jumped out of bed and threw her red robe on. She put her golden crown on and ran out into the hallway. Guards were already in action, running throughout the halls in formation.

As she watched the guards leave the Castle in a hurry, Ceres and Merlin came running down the hallway. They both approached Scarlet.

"Your majesty," Ceres said, "there's been an explosion on the outside of the wall."

Scarlet, after hearing what Ceres had told her, realized what was happening. She turned her head and looked at Merlin and Ceres both.

"It's just a distraction," Scarlet said, "to lure our only protection away. That's when they'll infiltrate the Kingdom."

"What do you want us to do?" Merlin asked.

"Pay our dear friends a little visit," Scarlet said, "would you?"

"Of course, your majesty," Merlin said as he and Ceres both vanished into thin air, leaving behind a purple cloud of smoke.

Scarlet didn't dare move from where she was standing. If those outcasts infiltrate the Kingdom, her plans will begin to crumble before her. Everything she worked tirelessly to accomplish will all fall if she doesn't play her moves carefully.

NetherBrine came running down the hallway in the opposite direction of the fleeing guards. He ran up to Scarlet. He could see that she was concerned and nervous. But it was nothing he hasn't seen before.

"What is going on?" NetherBrine asked.

"We're under attack from invaders," Scarlet said, "led by the King and Queen."

"Shall I intervene?" NetherBrine asked.

"No," Scarlet responded, "stay here with me. If they manage to get through the gates and into the Castle, I'll need someone to protect me."

"Do you know what I'm capable of?" NetherBrine said, "I can do a lot of powerful things."

"Then tell me, NetherBrine," Scarlet said, "why did you lose the first time?"

As NetherBrine and Scarlet remained safe temporarily inside the Castle, things were beginning to heat up outside of the walls. Merlin and Ceres appeared outside of the gates. They saw what was going on.

"You go left," Merlin told Ceres, "I'll go right."

They split up. Their plan was to stop the invaders from getting any closer to the Kingdom. Until the guards arrived, Merlin and Ceres were Scarlet's only hope at stopping Elena and Daniel.

Elena froze. She lowered her sword as she fixed her sight on Merlin. "He really is okay," she told herself.

Merlin saw that she wasn't moving. He began running towards her. In his hand, a fireball appeared. He raised his arm and prepared himself to throw it. But before he could, he was tackled to the ground by Vincent, Elena's second in command.

Merlin struggled to free himself from Vincent's grip. So far he was unlucky. The guards were responding to the current situation extremely slow. They still weren't outside of the Kingdom. Perhaps they were waiting for something else?

Sure, Daniel and Elena had the element of surprise on their side, but that didn't last very long. It wasn't long after Earl fired that explosive arrow that their presence became known. Now, they must fight their way back into the Kingdom, now matter how long it took.

Ceres was busy attempting to hold off Elena and Daniel. The first thing he did was throw a scorching hot fireball at Daniel. Daniel saw the incoming fireball and managed to deflect it. The fireball flew back at Ceres and struck him in the chest.

Because the fireball traveled fast through the air, and by how hot it was, it managed to knock out Ceres. Ceres fell to the ground and laid there unconscious. Daniel was suspicious. Knocking Ceres out seemed too easy. Why didn't Ceres use more powerful magic? Why'd he choose a fireball over a spell?

Daniel didn't have time to think about that. Daniel looked over and saw that Vincent had Merlin restrained on the ground. Elena was running up to Vincent to assist him. Instead of pushing him out of the way and tackling Merlin herself, she simply just grabbed a bottle of healing potion.

She popped the cork off of the glass bottle and tilted it. A small amount of liquid should do the trick. The amount of potion she gave him was just enough. Merlin instantly fell asleep. He stopped squirming.

Vincent still held onto his arms just to make sure that Merlin wasn't playing a trick on them. Vincent became aware that he wasn't playing any type of tricks on them.

"What was that?" He asked Elena, "what'd you give him?"

"A potion that will set him free from the mind-control effects," Elena answered, "just a simple, harmless healing potion is all. Mustn't worry, Vincent. He'll be okay."

Vincent let go of Merlin's arms and got back up onto his feet. He grabbed his sword back out from his inventory. Daniel approached him and Elena.

"That seemed a bit too easy, did it not?" Daniel questioned.

"Indeed it did," Elena responded.

"They're trying to prevent us from getting into the Kingdom," Daniel said, "I wonder how Scarlet is feeling right now knowing that her plans are beginning to crumble."

"Well we did surprise her. Sure, she knew when we were coming, but she didn't know the time or day we'd arrive," Elena mentioned. "I, personally, think she's panicking. If we manage to fight the Guardsmen, then there won't be another form of protection to protect her."

"She's right," Daniel said, turning his head to look at everyone else. They were all standing huddled closely together. Their weapons were still out.

"Then why are we standing around then?" Daniel questioned in a frustrating tone. "The Kingdom can't take itself back. That's why we're here."

"Do you even know how many Guardsmen are behind those walls? What if they are waiting for us just on the other side of the front gate?" Elena said.

"Not entirely. I remember how many we had before Scarlet came around," Daniel said, "at that time, we have twenty guardsmen. I have the slightest clue as to how many she has now."

"Well then," Elena said, "it shouldn't be that complicated to get inside now right?"

"No," Daniel said as he glanced to his right at the Kingdom. His home was so close. Daniel was growing more impatient. He wanted to get a move on.

"Let's go," Daniel said, "we have a Kingdom to take back."

Everyone began following Daniel from behind. Together, as a group, they marched closer to the Kingdom. Once they were close, they all walked over to the main gate and stood there. No one was going to move. Not until the gates came down. But what if there was another way in? Like an explosive way in?