The Portal Key
Copyright© 2025 by Duncan7
Chapter 7: The Hunt Begins
The Dark Queen limped back to her keep, a crimson trail staining the stone floor from her injured calf.
Fortunately, she had a first-aid kit from Earth. With a flick of her wrist, water shimmered, then warmed with her magic. She winced as she cleaned the wound, the antiseptic stinging, then bandaged it.
By the time she returned to the main gate, she found that several of her minions were missing.
“Where are the others?” She asked the remaining guards. Their blank stares offered no answers, unable to think or explain why someone was missing.
The Queen’s frustration mounted, a cold rage rising.
“Perhaps I should have killed one earlier. They’re too passive; and now some have wandered off,” she thought.
The Dark Queen took out her wand and pointed it skyward. Another crackle of energy, and a bright flare shot forth into the sky.
“If they don’t get back soon, I will kill someone!”
A few minutes passed, and still no one returned. Fear prickled her skin. Something was amiss.
“Quickly! Everyone get inside the castle walls,” she said, ushering the guards through the main gate.
She waited while the guards trooped inside the wall. With a wave of her wand, the heavy gate groaned shut, trapping them inside and leaving her outside.
With another wave of her wand a loud, piercing noise sounded; it was the castle alarm.
Now, she was going hunting...
Meanwhile, David, Bob, and Saria led the six coworkers and six álfar along the forest trail. They moved as fast as the group could move.
Something or someone was pursuing them, and they had to escape.
David and especially Saria felt an overwhelming sense of panic that threatened to freeze them.
They couldn’t stop, or they’d perish.
Eventually, they arrived at the álfar village, and with it a renewed sense of hope. The álfar wasted no time as they guided the humans up the steps.
Elion greeted them, his smile faltering at their grim faces.
“We’re being pursued; we need to keep everyone quiet,” said David.
“Understood. Our magic muffles sounds from above. You can watch below from here.”
Elion guided David and Saria to a balcony overlooking the trail, the air vibrating with unseen magic.
They waited to see who was pursuing them.
Below, the Dark Queen appeared, looking about menacingly, radiating fear.
She clutched her wand tightly, ready to unleash death on whomever she found. David experienced déjà vu from his time working at CHI.
Saria gasped, and David silenced her with a finger to her lips.
At that instant, the Dark Queen looked up, squinting. She was searching for something.
They held their breath, the silence echoing with their terror. This was a test of their defensive magic against her powers. David knew this was a pivotal moment.
Several long minutes passed while the Dark Queen stood below them, clutching her wand.
Finally, she sighed, shoulders slumping, and she stomped away.
Soon, everyone on the balcony let out a collective breath. The Dark Queen hadn’t seen them. For the time being, they’d endured.
“Let’s continue our discussion in the council area,” said Elion.
David, Bob, and Saria followed Elion, while the six álfar escorted the recently freed humans elsewhere.
“So, you freed six more humans.”
“Yes, that’s six fewer minions in the service of the Dark Queen,” said David. “Later I’ll help them return to their world. Until then, I need your help.”
“The álfar will house your humans until you can return them to their world.”
“We’ll free more humans as soon as the opportunity presents itself.”
“And we’ll house them all. Today was the most progress in our war with the Dark Queen ever.”
“Thank you.”
In the council area, the rustle of fabric announced the arrival of another álfar, bearing tabards.
“Ah, thank you, Rhys. David, here are the tabards you requested,” said Elion.
David, his fingers brushing the smooth cloth, inspected them. “This is an excellent likeness. Thank you!”
David handed a tabard to Bob. “Please put this on. It won’t turn you into a minion.”
Bob donned the tabard, and the familiar minion look was instantly back.
“Now what?” Asked Bob.
“You must learn to act like a minion. Follow her orders and not say anything. When in her presence, look at the floor in front of you.”
“So, her minions are mindless slaves?”
“Exactly,” said David, grinning.
“Then what’s the plan this time?”
“We’re going back to the castle. You’re going inside the castle, and we’ll wait at the treeline. You send more minions out into the forest. We’ll put them to sleep and remove their tabards.”
“You’re not going inside the castle?” asked Bob.
“The Dark Queen knows my face. My presence would put us at risk.”
“That makes sense. So, I just walk into the castle?”
“Yes, you’re our undercover agent. You wait for a chance, then send out more minions.”
“Okay. Let’s go then. No time like the present.”
Bob, Dave, and Saria stood and left the council area.
Elion watched them leave, completely amazed. The álfar’s luck was improving!
The Dark Queen returned, muttering curses with each heavy footfall. Fury consumed her.
“I had everything and everyone under my control. The álfar feared me and my minions. Now, everything’s changed. David! I’ll destroy him!” she thought.
The humid forest air pressed against her as she trudged along the trail. She was boiling inside.
“I should have killed that miscreant when I had him and his álfar girlfriend in my office,” she fumed, picturing their heads on pikes outside her castle.
Finally, she entered the clearing, where the dark castle loomed, a stone monolith against the sky. For most, it would instill fear. She walked towards the main gate.
With a wave of her wand, the gate creaked open. She walked inside, waving her wand again to close it behind her. Several guards stood in the courtyard.
“Were these morons waiting here while I was gone?” she wondered, disdain filling her as she looked upon their lack of initiative. In either world, they were pathetic.
“Well, don’t stand there!” she commanded, her voice sharp. “You four man the walls! You three, to the dungeon! Everyone else, I want roving guards throughout the keep and the courtyard!”
They scrambled to obey. In reality, she hadn’t given orders before she left, and it was her fault they were waiting.
Satisfied they were doing something, she entered the keep and climbed the stone steps to her throne room. This was her dominion. No one could take it from her.
“I’ll just fetch some more minions from Earth,” she decided. “Later, I’ll find the missing ones, or I’ll kill them. They’re all fungible.”
Then, with a touch of her lamp, the Dark Queen vanished.
Bob, Saria, and David marched to the clearing, the crunch of leaves underfoot, and stopped at the treeline. David surveyed the scene.
“The main gate is closed,” he said.
“I see guards on the walls,” said Bob.
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