The Portal Key
Copyright© 2025 by Duncan7
Chapter 3: Into the Dark Castle
David descended the stairs from the village in the trees, together with Calantha and Kilyn.
“This trail is the most direct route to the Dark Queen’s castle. Be watchful of their patrols,” said Kilyn.
David bid them farewell, then walked along the trail, as he had no time to waste. He was in a strange world, poised to infiltrate a castle belonging to a Dark Queen. How insane was that? He wished he had some antacid pills as his stomach felt queasy.
David glanced behind him; their village was gone. Álfar magic was extraordinary. He understood why the patrols couldn’t walk down the trail and find the álfar village. They’d never be able to see it.
He continued walking. The forest was quiet, which added to his uneasiness.
Suddenly, David heard a noise coming from ahead! It was more than one person marching together.
He hurried off the trail, avoiding touching the bushes. He so didn’t want to get caught by a patrol so soon after he’d begun his journey. David hid behind a tree, satisfied he was hidden from their view.
Then, he had an idea. He flung a stone into the bushes on the far side of the trail. Those bushes gave off a glow.
David crouched down and waited. Soon, a patrol of four humans in medieval armor arrived, carrying clubs. The glowing bushes caught their attention; they stopped marching and looked. David was now looking at their backs.
The four humans had the initials “CK” on their tabards. David wondered what it meant.
Soon, they turned around, searching. David recognized their faces.
“Those are my former coworkers!” he thought.
He considered stepping out to greet them, but something was off. First, they wore medieval armor. Second, they were in a trance. There was no bantering, just all work.
David remained hidden, watching his former coworkers swing their clubs in the bushes on the far side of the trail. He could hear the crunching sound as they swung their clubs. Now, a lot of bushes were glowing.
“What happened to them - mind control, hypnosis, or dark magic? That Dark Queen is dangerous and powerful,” David thought. “What could he do against that? He’d probably become a mind-controlled minion himself.”
After finding no one in the bushes, his former coworkers resumed their patrol. That was surreal - finding his former coworkers here like this.
Once they were gone, David let out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding.
He waited several minutes before he left his concealment. Things were getting very real.
David walked along the trail in the direction his former coworkers had come from. He listened extra carefully for more patrols as he walked.
The trail opened onto a huge clearing, in the center of which stood a massive, dark castle. Indeed, the walls were black, complete with crenellations along the top.
From behind the treeline, David gazed at the castle. Its entrance faced towards him, the portcullis raised. There was a wooden sign outside the entrance that read, “Covenant Keep, Domain of The Dark Queen...”
“Well, I found the castle, but there’s something familiar about it,” he thought.
The clearing was eerily empty, as if the castle itself repelled all life.
David remained in cover and watched the castle for guards. He couldn’t see any at present. Maybe they were all out on patrol? His heart pounded in his chest as he considered his options.
He now faced a dilemma: if he tried to cross the clearing, would he be spotted before reaching the entrance? If he waited, might more guards arrive, making entry impossible? Panic threatened to paralyze him.
Should he risk a run across the open space and hope for the best? Perhaps he should; he sensed his discovery was imminent.
“Fortune favors the bold. If I stay here, I’ll achieve nothing,” he decided.
After one last check, he emerged from the treeline and sprinted toward the castle entrance. His heart beat as he crossed the exposed ground, half expecting an arrow or some form of dark magic to strike him down.
He nearly stumbled on uneven ground, slowing him slightly, but he continued to close the distance.
David reached the portcullis and ducked inside. Still, no one yelled the alarm. He peered within the castle walls, finding no guards in sight. “Where were they?”
David turned and entered a side door. Fortunately, it was empty, and more! Several tabards hung on the wall. David took one and put it on over his clothes, hoping it would serve as a disguise.
An immediate sense of unease washed over him, stealing all joy. Yet, he felt a warmth on his chest where the amulet was. The tabard weighed him down, but the amulet lifted his spirit, resulting in a feeling of equilibrium.
“Without that amulet, I believe I’d be a minion now!” The idea terrified him.
David scanned the castle courtyard, searching for any sign of life, but found none. Before him, the keep loomed, a silent stone giant against the skyline.
He knew Saria was most likely held within. David adjusted his tabard and marched towards the keep, his footsteps echoing on the stone path.
He marched rather than sprinted, since he was now another guard. Guards wouldn’t sprint. No one challenged him, a good sign.
“Pretend you belong here. Nothing to see. These aren’t the droids you’re looking for,” he thought to himself. His face was a mask of calm, mirroring the guards he’d seen in the forest. Inwardly, he was ready to throw up.
Soon, David reached the entrance to the keep. The heavy double doors were gaping open like a dark maw.
“If only this resembled a shopping mall. There’d be a directory on a big sign, telling me where everything was,” thought David. “Hmm, if there was one, I’d look for Cells—see Dungeon level. Wait! There must be a dungeon level. I’ve gotta find stairs going down.”
David moved inside the keep, circling until he found stone steps leading downward. He grabbed a burning torch, its flickering flame casting dancing shadows on the damp stone walls.
At the bottom, he paused, studying the floor.
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