Lessons - Part 02

Royally Received

“Hank! No!”

The Thief watched in horror as the arrow struck Hank’s side and she gasped as he hit the ground. Cries of shock sounded from her friends as the Ranger lay on the grass and Sheila hurried to his side. She knelt down and recoiled at the sight of the arrow embedded in Hank’s flesh, and at the wound it had created.

“Hank…” she repeated his name again, quieter and close to tears. She had to help him but she didn’t know what to do. Nothing like this had happened to any of them before. As she began to panic, Hank groaned and returned to consciousness.

His eyes flickered open, but they were glazed and unfocused. Tears of pain were already beginning to flow from them.

“O-out,” Hank croaked, barely audible.

“Hank?” Sheila didn’t understand what he was trying to say.

“Pull it out,” Hank told her, his voice thinner than the wind.

Realising he was talking about the arrow, Sheila hesitated. The sight of the wound – and of Hank hurt – was making her queasy. She didn’t think she would be able to stomach doing what Hank wanted. But he was in pain…maybe if she took it out…

Mustering her inner strength, Sheila’s hands tentatively moved towards the arrow. She swallowed as she touched it and shut her eyes. She was about to pull when a shout broke her concentration, bringing her back to reality.

“Sheila, stop!” Presto had managed to reach her. He grabbed her arm, stopping her from removing the arrow.

“Don’t,” he told her. “Taking it out’ll make it worse. We’ve gotta get proper help.”

“But it’s hurting him!” she protested.

Just then, Sheila heard a noise and turned her head back toward the castle, where she saw the drawbridge being raised. Moments later, a small army was charging towards them.

“What’re these guys doing?” Diana demanded, getting herself into a fighting stance, her javelin ready.

“God knows! They’re nuts!” said Eric. “And so’s Dungeon Master! What’s he thinking sending us to these morons? It’s like he wants us bumped off!”

Suddenly, the guard leading the army stopped in his tracks and ordered his troops to halt as well. He turned towards the Young Ones.

“Did I hear you correctly?” he asked. “Did you say Dungeon Master?”

“Yeah, what’s it to you, pea brain?” Bobby snarled. He was furious and kept looking over his shoulder at Hank and Sheila. There was worry in his young eyes.

“Bobby!” Diana chided. She addressed the leader of the guards. “Yes, we said Dungeon Master. He sent us here on a mission.”

“Oh dear! Oh goodness…” the guard looked frantic then, as if torn. “What’s your business?”

“He wanted us to meet with Prince Estah, to discuss an amulet he has,” Diana explained. “We mean you no harm; we’re just trying to find our way home. Dungeon Master thinks Prince Estah might be able to help us.”

The guard was silent for several moments.

“Allow me time to ask his Highness. I’m sure if Dungeon Master sent you, the prince will grant you an audience. The Prince may rule his own kingdom and castle with a firm hand, but I do not think he would wish to find himself on the wrong side of the Dungeon Master.”

While the guard and his men retreated, the rest of the children hurried to Sheila’s aid. She was sobbing now, holding Hank’s hand and promising that “It’ll be alright”, but Hank had passed out again.

“Sis?”

Bobby caused Sheila to look up. She saw his face – filled with more fear than any ten-year-old should ever feel.

“Hank’s gonna be okay, isn’t he?”

“I don’t know, Bobby,” Sheila replied honestly, her voice shaky.

“But he’s gotta!” protested Bobby “He’s gotta or I’ll—”

“Sssh, Bobby.” Diana put a hand on Bobby’s shoulder but the boy shrugged it off, too angry to want comfort.

“Maybe if they let us inside they’ll help us,” said Presto.

“They better! It’s their fault!” Eric was seething. Sheila had thought he’d be cowering in the aftermath of such a surprise attack, but she’d never seen him look so furious.

All they could do was wait until the guard came back. Sheila prayed that Hank would last that long.
“Your Highness.” The guard entered the study without knocking.

Infuriated at the lack of respect, Estah slammed his hand down on his desk. The guard caught the prince trying not to wince as his hand came into contact with the solid wood. The guard fought not to smirk.

“What have I told you people about disturbing me? You are to knock! You always knock! You know the penalty for this—”

“Your Highness!” the guard interrupted. “Those children you ordered us to attack…I, er, I think there has been a terrible mistake.”

“Impossible,” Estah waved his hand dismissively. “I’m a prince. I never make mistakes.”

“They are not here to attack you, Sire!” the guard insisted, desperately trying to get Estah to see reason. He’d had enough of this. “They have been sent by the Dungeon Master.”

Estah instantly stiffened, his face becoming a picture of controlled panic. “Dungeon Master? Are you certain?”

“One of them said so herself. I believe her,” the guard confirmed.

“Why has he sent them?”

“The girl said that Dungeon Master has sent them to you to inquire about an amulet. She says they are just trying to find a way home. I don’t know what the girl means by this, but if they are here on Dungeon Master’s orders—”

“Can we be sure?” Estah looked suspicious “How can we really tell if they were sent by Dungeon Master? What if they’re just claiming that in an attempt to gain easy entry?”

“The one who first mentioned the Dungeon Master by name, was addressing his comrades rather than us. It was only by chance that I heard his words. Also, when we were attacking them, they were seeking cover as opposed to fighting back. They were startled by the assault – if they had been planning to attack YOU, Sire, they would have been a lot more happy or at least ready to fight us than they appeared to be.”

Estah pondered what the guard was saying and realised, to his annoyance, that it actually made some sense. He sighed.

“I’ll grant them an audience. Though I think I will have some of my guards ready in case these people try anything. You can’t be too careful. Although if it wasn’t for the Dungeon Master I would not be so receiving. I may not answer to most people, but Dungeon Master is not most people.”

The guard silently agreed with that statement, but thought that Estah may already be out of favour with the Mage, after injuring one of his warriors. “Um, Sire? There is a slight problem. When you ordered us to attack, we injured one of them.”

Estah’s eyes widened in horror. “You did WHAT?”

“It was an attack that you ordered, Sire, what did you think might happen?” the guard would never usually dream of being so disrespectful, but he was at the end of his tether and Dungeon Master was far more important than his boss, whatever the prince may think.

“This is not good. Oh, why must these things always have to happen to ME? Go and escort these children inside. Fetch one of my healers to tend to the injured one. Then I will try to discover exactly what they want so that I can get rid of them,” Estah decided.

“Yes, Sire.”

Estah ordered the guard to leave. He would not follow just yet. He’d let them help the wounded one first. Then he would grant them some of his precious time. With the guard's words replaying in his mind, Estah tried to decipher which of his many amulets they could be talking about.
Sheila reluctantly stepped aside as two guards gathered Hank up from the ground and lifted him, carrying the wounded Ranger between them. Hank drifted in and out of consciousness, and Sheila stuck as closely to him as she could.

Bobby walked closely by her side, not taking his eyes off the older boy. Bobby idolized Hank. Sheila didn’t want to think about what could happen if Hank –

No! She wasn’t going to think like that. Hank was going to be fine. He had to be fine. Anything else was too frightening to consider.

Sheila blinked back fresh tears and fought to stay strong as she followed the guards into the castle grounds.
Once they were inside the castle, a woman in a white gown met them. Her hair was tied back in a bundle with some silver netting covering it. She was short and chubby and looked fairly young, but she radiated more authority than any school principal.

“I will do what I can for your friend,” the healer promised as they lingered outside the room that Hank had been placed in. “Wait here.”

“Can I come, too?” Sheila asked desperately. “Please?”

“I prefer to work alone,” the woman said. “And his Highness may want to meet with you. It is better you remain here.”

The woman opened the door to Hank’s room and went inside, closing the door behind her. Sheila frowned.

“It’ll be okay, Sheila,” Diana soothed. “Hank’s a fighter. You know that.”

Sheila knew Diana was right, but she couldn’t stop picturing the expression on Hank’s face when the arrow had struck him. He’d looked so shocked. And as he had lain on the grass with her kneeling over him, he had actually whimpered. Hank never whimpered – even when he had been hurt before. He’d always shown so much strength and courage.

But then, he’d never been hurt as badly as he was today. None of them had – although they’d had countless close shaves. Maybe she shouldn’t be so surprised that this had happened. In a world so crazy, it had only been a matter of time before any of them got seriously hurt. She only hoped that Hank would be all right.

“So what’ll we do now? Just stand around here cooling our heels?” asked Eric, who was leaning against the wall with his arms folded and a scowl on his face. Even though he hadn’t voiced his worry for Hank, Sheila knew that he was just as concerned as the rest of them.

“I guess we wait until the prince is ready to see us,” said Diana.

“Do you think the attack was his idea?” asked Sheila. “It’s his castle. Maybe he thought we were dangerous. I can’t think of any other reasons why anyone would do that to us before even meeting with us, or knowing what we want.”

“If it was him he’d better be sorry!” Bobby said, not taking his eyes off the door to Hank’s room as they waited in the cold hall.

“Looks like Dungeon Master’s sent us to a total numb nut,” snorted Eric.

Uni bleated, though no-one was sure if it was in agreement or not.

“Maybe it was just an honest mistake?” suggested Presto hopefully. He didn’t want this Prince Estah to be a bad guy, not if the royal had something that could help them get home. If Estah had attacked them for no reason on purpose, he may not be very nice. If he wasn't nice, the chances of them getting that amulet would be slim. Though why would Dungeon Master send them to this place if they didn't have a chance? Presto tried not to worry, to not make any judgements until he'd at least met the prince in person first.

The sound of footsteps caused them to look away from Hank’s door. A guard, the same one who had shown them into the castle, had appeared.

“His Highness will see you now. This way, please.”

The guard began walking down the corridor and the others followed. Sheila kept turning back, looking at Hank’s door. She tried not to worry about him being alone in there as she was led away.
Estah sat in his throne room, waiting for the guard to bring him the children. His wait was brief, and when they entered he took in their appearance with interest. They were a very odd looking group. There were two girls and three boys. One of the boys was clearly a magician; his hat and robes gave him away. The other looked to be some type of knight and wore a shield strapped to his arm. The youngest boy was clad as a Barbarian and held a large wooden club. The dark skinned girl was dressed in what appeared to be a tribal uniform made from fur and carried a long stick. The other girl, a very pretty redhead, appeared to be the only one unarmed. A baby unicorn stood by the Barbarian’s side.

“I am told you claim to have been sent here by the Dungeon Master himself?” Estah asked.

“Yeah, but if we realised you were gonna attack us on arrival we might not have been so quick to come,” said Eric.

“The attack was an accident. I believed you to be enemies.”

“Get a lot of enemies stormin’ your castle?” demanded Bobby angrily. Uni echoed his rage by letting out a ‘baaah’.

“I’m sure your companion will be all right. I have some of the best healers in the Realm under my employment. Now, tell me exactly why you are here. My guard mentioned something about an amulet?”

“Dungeon Master said you have a gold amulet which could be of use to us. He thought you might be willing to give it to us,” explained Diana.

Estah frowned. “I have many amulets, but none of them have the power of teleportation.”

“But Dungeon Master said—!” protested Bobby.

“He said you don’t know the amulet has powers,” Sheila remembered. “He also said that it can only be used once.”

“Interesting,” said Estah.

It was indeed. Fancy owning such a powerful device and not even knowing it. Most of Estah’s possessions had previously belonged to his father and his grandfather. He also had many items that were his mother’s, though he hadn’t looked at any of those for years. They were female items that he didn’t need to take interest in. But perhaps the amulet was one of hers. Or maybe it was one he had bought himself while on one of his rare shopping excursions. Whichever one it was, Estah suddenly longed to see it, to hold it. If Dungeon Master wanted his charges to possess it, it must be important.

“If you find it, may we use it?” Diana asked.

“Hmm. I personally have no use for the power of teleportation,” said Estah “However, I do not just give things away. If I were to give you my amulet, you must give me something in return.”

“Like a trade?” suggested Presto.

“Exactly,” agreed Estah. “And there is an item I have wanted for some time, one that’s powers would make a worthy exchange for those of teleportation. Perhaps if I gave you my amulet, you could find my item for me.”

“What it is?” asked Eric.

“A legendary stone which is said to be able control the elements of wind, water, fire and earth. It is believed to be stored inside the tomb of an ancient king, deep within the Valley of the Mist. Retrieve this stone for me and I will give you my amulet,” said Estah.

“But what about Hank?” frowned Sheila “He’s hurt; he can’t lead us.”

“Surely you can go without him? It is the stone for the amulet. I will accept nothing less,” said Estah.

Go without Hank? Could they? Hank led them, he told them what to do, kept them going when things got really tough. How could they go on a quest without him? It would feel wrong, just like when Hank had been taken by the Darkling and they had been without his guidance for days. But that amulet could send them home. It was a chance, a real chance. They couldn’t pass it up.

“I think Hank would be the first to tell us to go,” said Diana. “We’ve still got me and Eric and Presto and Bobby and you—”

“No,” Sheila shook her head. “I’m staying here. I won’t leave Hank.”

Sheila looked hopefully at Prince Estah. “Uh, I CAN stay, can’t I? It’s just that, I don’t want Hank to be alone and—”

“You may remain behind, if you wish. Maybe you can help sort through my collection of amulets so we can find the one which teleports?” said Estah.

“All right,” agreed Sheila, not minding the arrangement. Just so long as she didn’t have to leave Hank.

“Are you sure you want to stay, Sheila?” Diana asked.

“I have to,” Sheila said. “But you guys go. You can find the stone; I know you can.”

“And hopefully we’ll even get back in one piece, too,” quipped Eric.

“I’ll get the stone, Sis. We’ll get home this time,” promised Bobby, allowing Sheila to give him a hug. Uni bleated in agreement.

“Be careful, guys,” Sheila told them as her four friends made their way out of the throne room.

Alone with Prince Estah, Sheila fidgeted nervously. “Guess I should help you find the amulet now?”

“We’ll begin the search in my treasure room. I’ll enlist some of my servants to help us,” Estah said.

“You’ve got THAT many amulets?” Sheila couldn't help being both amused and awed by the idea.

Estah simply shrugged casually. "I'm rich."

“Oh. Well, I’d like to see my friend first, if that’s okay,” Sheila didn’t know if the healers would be finished with Hank, but she needed to make sure he was still with them.

“You may. Just don’t be too long,” said Estah.

Estah watched the redhead go, not bothering to deny to himself that in addition to Dungeon Master sending the children to him, it was the beauty of the girl with the hooded cloak that was making him agreeable to help them. Even if she seemed to care very much for the injured young man, Estah couldn’t help considering the idea of asking for her hand in marriage.