"Ah," cried Maximus as he awakened in a cold sweat. It was a dream, just a dream.
"Where am I," questioned the warrior as he looked around into the darkness. "You have entered the Forbidden Forest. You shall never leave here, so make yourself at home," said a deep, horrifying voice. Maximus attempted to draw his sword, but it was gone. He went for his pocket-dagger, and that too was gone. He had no weapons, and he was in the pitch black. He got onto his feet, and walked in an unknown direction. He came across something cold and slimy.
"What could this be," exclaimed the warrior.
"I wouldn't touch that if I were you,” answered the horrifying voice. Suddenly, a cold sensation overcame the warrior, and he felt as though thousands of tiny daggers had been driven into him. “I told you not to touch,” exclaimed the voice over Maximus’s ear piercing screams. Then, Maximus remembered that he still had a small blade in his shoe. He quickly flung out his dagger and drove it into the slimy structure.
“You idiot, you’ve made me bleed,” yelled a voice in anger. Maximus took this as a signal to throw his dagger right back into the creature. On his fifth hack, he noticed a light from where he had wounded the monster. He quickly jumped through the hole into daylight. He came to his feet and spun around to see his attacker.
“What the heck is that,” asked the warrior, staring at the creature. Maximus had been eaten by a great org. They were about the size of a whale, and capable of destroying entire countries, but they tend to be peaceful and cooperative with humans. The most deadly characteristics about these creatures were that they were extremely intelligent and capable of rejuvenating themselves from deadly wounds.
“You are the first meal that has managed to escape my digestive system. I could have sworn I disarmed you. Well I guess I’m just going to have to kill you first, then eat you,” exclaimed the org as cured its opening in its midsection and took out it’s giant wooden club. Maximus only had a tiny dagger, and even with his trusty sword, he was no match for this creature. Retreat was not an option, for orgs are considered the fastest creatures in the world. Maximus began to shake uncontrollably, and he began to panic.
“What am I to do? This creature has every advantage over me, there is no way to escape,” cried Maximus. The org approached Maximus shaking the ground with each giant step. The org prepared to squash the warrior with one swipe of his club, when an arrow flew right into the orgs arm. Suddenly hundreds of arrows struck the org it various areas.
“Arrows don’t harm me,” laughed the org. Suddenly, the out in the distance, an army of thousands of men lined up with catapults armed with flaming boulders. “Oh no,” whispered the Org as the commander of the army yelled, “Fire the catapults!” Maximus dove for cover behind a rock as the giant boulders flew towards the org. The org had no time to react, and a boulder struck him straight in the face. The org fell to the ground without a sound. An echo of victory cries rang out from the line of warriors and they marched onward toward Maximus.
“I am General Campaign, leader of the Greek Army,” stated a man decorated in heavy armor.
“I am Maximus from the state of Troy on a mission to find my family and kill the Northern Dragons,” answered Maximus. “Hmm, from the state of Troy, I tend to dislike your kind, but we fight for the same cause now. So for now, we may depart as allies, or, if you wish, you may join us on our quest. It would be safer than traveling alone. Orgs aren’t the worst type of danger you will meet on your way to the Northern Mountains,” said General Campaign while handing Maximus his canister of water.
“I shall accept your invitation,” answered Maximus. Maximus was given armor and scouts were sent to search for Maximus’ trusty sword. “I must tell you general, you know your army has no chance against the Northern Dragons. Not with 100,000 men could you defeat the dragons. Man-made weapons are of no use against such legendary creatures,” explained Maximus with great concern.
“Do you honestly believe that we were going to face the dragons like this,” laughed the general. “We are rendezvousing with the powerful Forest Elves before we reach our final destination. We have their king we are making an exchange. They supply us with the weapons needed to defeat the dragons, and we give them their king back alive,” answered General Campaign with a smirk on his face.
“Quit clever, but I must ask, what weapons do the elves have that can defeat the dragons? It takes more then just magic to defeat dragons,” questioned Maximus.
“They have this ancient potion, with power that can’t be comprehended. A gram of this potion is capable of destroying entire worlds with ease. It is this potion that we seek, and that shall bring destruction to the dragons,” exclaimed the general. “Now, it’s a two day journey from the rendezvous point, get some rest and we leave early in the mourning. I suggest that you get some rest,” and the two warriors departed.
“Wake up! Wake up! We’re being ambushed,” yelled a soldier in terror. Maximus woke up startled and fell out of his bed.
“By who,” asked Maximus in frenzy?
“By goblins, we have trespassed onto their territory.” Suddenly, an arrow flew into Maximus’s tent and went right through the soldier’s chest. Maximus jumped to the wounded soldier, and tried to pull out the arrow, but the soldier was already dead. Maximus crawled to his sword in its scabbard as arrows flew overhead. Having no time to change, Maximus ran out of his tent in his sleeping garment. Goblins were everywhere, in the hills, revenging through various tents, and attacking unarmed men. A mounted goblin came from behind Maximus and swung at him with his axe. Maximus ducked in the nick of time and thrusted his sword into the goblins horse. The horse fell to the ground bringing the goblin with him. The goblin came to it’s feet, and prepared took a fighting position. Although goblins are at the largest, 4 feet, they are incredibly agile, strong, and merciless. Known for their enjoyments in torture and destruction, they were an enemy to all good on earth. Men could be seen everywhere retreating into the forest. The goblins outnumbered the men, and had taken them by surprise. Now, Maximus was a great warrior, there was no doubt about that. But one man against hundreds of goblins was a bad situation. Maximus killed one goblin, then another. By the twentieth goblin, Maximus was beginning to lose hope. No matter how many he destroyed, more kept coming. He finally found something that would save him. Next to a human corpse, Maximus saw a blinding potion. While fighting off two goblins, he picked up the bottle containing the potion and threw it into the mob of goblins. He shut his eyes right when a gigantic flash exploded into the night air. When it was safe to open his eyes, Maximus saw the goblins walking around aimlessly, screaming in anguish. The potion had only a temporary effect, and only left Maximus five precious minutes to make his escape. Maximus quickly checked for any survivors, but everyone was dead. He grabbed his clothes, shield, some meat and bread, some potions, and found his horse. With everything loaded, Maximus and his stallion rode off into the night.
The only problem was that goblins could track an animal from miles away just by their scent. So when Maximus heard the thunder of horses quickly gaining on him, he wasn’t surprised. Flaming arrows right past his head as he encouraged his horse to sprint faster. Maximus reached behind his back to grab another one of the potions he had taken. “Crying, no. Anger, definitely not! Sleeping, yes, this will do,” claimed Maximus as he went through his bag of provisions. Maximus simply tossed the bottle behind him. There was a loud “bang” and all went silent. The goblins had all fallen into a deep sleep. Maximus took no chances, and continued to have his horse sprint until its ankles began to bleed. When the horse could take no more abuse, it fell to its side, bringing Maximus down also. Maximus crawled to back to the resting horse and took his bag full of supplies. “No, how can this be,” yelled Maximus as he discovered the humongous tear in his bag. His food, water, clothing and everything had been lost, except the couple of potions he had put in his pocket. Maximus tried to get his horse to stand, but it refused. Even worse, he was in the forest of the Demons, where everyone who had ever entered, never came out. Maximus took out his map and tried to figure out his exact location. It seemed that if Maximus went through the forest of the Demons that would take him straight to the Northern Mountains, and his destination. Maximus took the reigns off his horse, and set off into the forest.
The first order of business was to find food. He took his bow and positioned himself into a hunting position in a nearby tree. The tree was huge, thick, and hard to climb. It took Maximus nearly an hour just to settle himself in the branches. Maximus sat in the branches with his eyes searching for any movement. It was not long before a lonely deer came walking by, grazing on some shrubbery. Maximus quietly lifted his bow and armed it with an arrow. He was about to fire when a demon jumped out of the tree next to Maximus onto the unsuspecting deer. The deer died instantly after the demon broke its neck. Maximus, surprised by this attack, fell backwards and out of the tree. The demon was quick to realize that there was someone else nearby. It left its prey and quietly approached the moaning Maximus. If you have ever met a demon, you would know that Maximus was in deep trouble. Not only are they immortal, they are evil as well. The only thing keeping Maximus alive was the demon’s cautious personality. It had never seen a human before, studied it as though it was a poisonous snake prepared to attack. Maximus opened his eyes to see this horrific face staring down at him. “What the heck are you doing,” asked Maximus as he quickly crawled backwards. The demon just starred at him, curious at what it thought to be a strange looking creature. Maximus was aware of the dangers involved while being around a demon. He took his bow and arrow and aimed it at the demon’s head. The demon continued its persistent stare. Maximus released the arrow and it hit the demon right in-between the eyes. The demon continued to stare, not even noticing the arrow in its head. Maximus slapped himself in the head, “What am I thinking, demons are immortal, you idiot!” Once again, Maximus was forced to run away.
The demon had now finally figured out that this creature could not harm it, and it began to stalk it. Maximus noticed the demons change in behavior began to run faster. The demon was about to go in for the kill, when a branch from a tree swiped down and struck the demon, knocking it backwards at least fifty yards. The branch then took the form of a hand, and grabbed Maximus. “What have we hear,” exclaimed the tree as Maximus tried to escape. “Oh yes, a human, I have seen many of you wander these woods. What brings you into such a dangerous place.” Maximus knew of tree spirits, but had never seen one. Tree spirits were kind, peaceful creatures that despised anything that was evil-hearted. He was amazed that a tree could speak and stuttered to get out, “I am on a journey to defeat the Northern Dragons who have killed my people and burned my village.”
“Well, you have quite an adventure ahead of you. I must say, I don’t believe an army of 100,000 men could defeat the Northern Dragons, let alone, one man,” stated the tree spirit. Maximus had heard this statement before, but didn’t intend to tell the tree spirit of his plans. “Well, that doesn’t matter now, you will go see the elders and they will determine your fate. You have trespassed on sacred grounds,” said the tree spirit as it took long strides deeper into the forest. “Listen, you must let me pass, I’ll give you anything you want, but I need to get to the mountains before the full moon in two days. That is when the dragons breed and search for food to feed their young. If I don’t destroy them by then, thousands of innocent people will die,” pleaded Maximus. “Look around here, do you think you can give me anything that will do me good. We shall she if you exit these woods alive,” and the tree spirit continued onward.
Maximus was beginning to lose faith. The tree spirit and he must have been walking for hours, and it seemed as though they would be walking forever. “You here that,” whispered the tree spirit which broke the two hour silence. “I hear nothing,” lied Maximus, as he listened carefully for the direction the unmistakable hiss was coming from. “Are you deft? That hissing sound, it is nearby. Human, we are in trouble. We are being stalked by demons,” alleged the tree spirit as it looked around. “Oh, this is excellent, how many demons are we talking about,” asked Maximus while crossing his arms. “At least 5 maybe, ah.” Roared the tree spirit as an arrow on fire struck the tree spirit. The fire quickly spread over the tree and it fell to the ground. Maximus fell to the ground with a grunt, for he had severely broken his arm. Seven demons, counted Maximus, swarmed upon the tree spirit. Suddenly, a low growl rumbled through the forest, and the ground began to shake. “The trees are coming alive,” exclaimed Maximus to himself. Maximus leaned upon one of the trees and saw it open its hidden eyes. The demons quivered in fear, as hundreds of tree spirits surrounded them. Maximus avoided the feet of many tree spirits as they passed. The tree spirits jumped onto the demons and tossed them around like they were rag dolls. Although demons can’t die, they can have their spirits taken away if they are decapitated, sending them back to hell. Maximus sat by a bush embarrassing his arm, watching this amazing spectacle. More demons came from every direction. One demon leaped over Maximus and shot an arrow on fire into the crowd of tree spirits. The arrow lit all five tree spirits on fire. There must have been hundreds of demons and tree spirits brutally fighting. Maximus took this as an opportunity to escape. He made his way to the Northern exit of the forest, which would take him to the base of the Northern Mountains. As Maximus ran through the forest, he witnessed hundreds of tree spirits coming to life to fight. It seemed as though a war had just began. Demons were shooting arrows everywhere, and a wild arrow struck Maximus in the leg. Maximus screamed in pain as he caught on fire. With a broken arm, and a severely wounded leg, Maximus crawled into a nearby cave. He tied his shirt around his leg to stop the bleeding, but fainted from the blood loss.
Maximus woke up in freight, not knowing where he was. He could feel the warmth of blankets over him, and the comforting cushions around him. “Sir, he has awaken,” said a young boy.
“Where am I,” groaned Maximus as he opened his eyes.
“Well, Sir, I discovered you in a cave nearby my village. You had some pretty severe injuries I must say, and if it weren’t for my boy here, Tom, I doubt that you would have survived the night. My son and I were ordered along with the other men of our town to retrieve arms and go into the forest. There was a war between the tree spirits and the demons, and those demons were lighting the forest on fire. Our village was in danger of catching fire also, so we went into the forest with our swords and buckets of water. We helped the tree spirits fight off the demons, and we sent every last one to hell. Unfortunately, many of us died. As we were finishing the clean up, my son came across you in a cave and carried you back to this house here,” told the stranger.
“I thank you for your kindness, but I must leave at once,” said Maximus as he attempted to get to his feet.
“Sir, you are still in a weak condition and are not at all ready to leave,” said the stranger caringly.
“If I die, so be it, I must get to the Northern Mountains by nightfall, before the full moon,” said Maximus as he limped towards the door. “Sir, if you are going to the Northern Mountains, can you do something for my son and I?” nervously asked the stranger.
“I will do anything to repay you for your kindness,” said Maximus. “I know this may sound somewhat crazy, but, well, if you could possibly bring back my wife, she was taken by the dragons. Even if it be her body, anything just to know her fate,” and the man began to weep uncontrollably.
“Sir, I will bring back any remains of your wife, whether she be dead or alive. What does she look like may I ask?” sympathetically asked Maximus.
“She is tall, with long black hair, and wearing a white crystal necklace that you can see for miles,” wept the man as he regained his composure. Maximus took his sword and bow and arrow, said farewell to the kind people, and set off towards the dark, dreadful, Northern Mountains.
There are two physical obstacles that one must overcome if they are traveling by foot to reach the peak of the Northern Mountains. First, the sulfur fields, where falling asleep means you have died. Next comes the rigid mountain where the temperature is so cold, that your lungs freeze with every breath. These two obstacles lingered in the mind of Maximus as he approached the sulfur fields. Maximus self-healed his leg with an ointment he had saved from the elves, but his arm was still broken, and hurt him tremendously with every step. Maximus had prepared himself for the poisonous mist of the sulfur fields, but not for the overwhelming heat. The fields were so hot; that his moccasins had began to melt. Maximus began to jog through the fields as he noticed himself becoming weary from the heat, and did everything in his power to keep himself awake. “I must go on, I can’t give up,” gasped Maximus as he breathed deeply into his gas mask. Even the rubber lining on Maximus’s gas mask had begun to melt, and the poisonous air began to seep in. Maximus fell to his knees, and began to crawl. His knees and hands burned and his eyes became red from the sulfur. Maximus pushed himself onward until he came to the mountains. He jumped into the nearest river and washed his eyes out.
“It’s so cold,” said Maximus as he trotted onward up the mountain. A blizzard was raging, and Maximus was caught in the middle with no shelter. “Wow,” yelled Maximus as he dodged a boulder that rolled by. Maximus then heard a sound that stopped his heart. The sight that followed the sound was enough to give Maximus a heart attack. A one hundred foot wave of snow was speeding towards Maximus. Maximus jumped behind a huge boulder as the snow rushed by him. Luckily, the boulder remained strong through the entire avalanche, and saved his life. He made his way through the snow until reached the peak of the mountains, and his destination. Thousands of dragons lay in front of Maximus, all resting before the slaughter that was to come that night.
Maximus had finally reached his destination, but had no idea what he was going to do next. He had never considered how he would defeat the dragons. He had never received the potion from the elves to defeat the dragons. He couldn’t possibly kill all the dragons by himself. “Don’t move,” whispered a voice as Maximus felt the tip of an arrow in his back. “Don’t make a sound, come with me,” said the same voice. Maximus obeyed the directions and stayed in front of the man.
“What is this? General Campaign! But I thought you died when the goblins attacked us,” cried Maximus at the sight of his friend. “Ah, Maximus, thank goodness you made it out of there safely. Yes, we did lose many men that night, but we escaped and continued our journey here. Now, we can catch up on our adventures later, but as of now, we must concentrate on the dragons. Night fall is approaching, and the full moon is tonight, we must kill them before they search for food,” answered General Campaign while throwing Maximus a beautiful white bow and golden arrows. “Here take these, they are from the elves. We made the exchange for their king shortly after the goblin ambush. They were so kind as to supply us with weapons that have the power to kill dragons. But make sure you don’t miss, we only have so many arrows, and once that supply is depleted, we are doomed,” informed the General.
“When will we attack?” asked Maximus as he bent the string back on the bow to test its sturdiness. “We shall attack in an hour, when darkness has fallen, yet, it is too early for the dragons to go hunting,” said Colonel Campaign. Maximus nodded his head and sought for food amongst the preparing soldiers.
“Men, I understand the fear you must feeling right now, because I’m feeling the same way. We are small and weak; the dragons are huge and powerful. But we have help. You see, the swords and arrows we handed out earlier possess magic capable of killing a dragon. You now don’t need to fear a slaughter. Now, archers, you must aim for their hearts, where the magic will kill it quickest. Swordsmen, hack at their legs, this will paralyze them. When the beast falls to the ground, place your sword right where its heart should be. Don’t forget that our scouts witnessed some survivors hiding, and try to lure the dragons where they may not harm them. Men, remember who you are fighting for, and fight gallantly,” proclaimed General Campaign in an attempt to rally his soldiers. Maximus stood amongst the archers, who began to march towards the dragon’s liar.
Maximus could feel his heart beat pound throughout his body, steadily increasing in pace. He looked at each man beside him, and saw them both shaking, and sweating profusely. The man to his left wet himself in fear. The man to his right vomited all over the soldier beside him. As they came upon the sleeping dragons, the General signaled his men to stay quiet. Suddenly, there was a scream. A soldier had come upon a rotting corpse. Everything went quiet after that. Another soldier ran to the petrified soldier and put his hand over his mouth. “Keep him quiet,” whispered the General, “he’ll ruin our element of surprise.” But it was too late; one dragon had heard the cry and woke with a start. He made an ear-piercing roar at the sight of all the soldiers. Maximus took his bow and shot an arrow right into the dragon’s heart. It fell dead instantly. “Wow, these things are good,” exclaimed Maximus as all the dragons awakened. “First row, fire! Second row, fire! Last row, fire,” exclaimed the Colonel as golden arrows flew through the air striking various dragons, which fell to the ground dead. The dragons retaliated with their fire breath. “Behind your shields!” yelled the General as the wall of flames rushed towards the soldiers. Maximus fell behind the infantry line with the shields as the fire passed overhead. Maximus checked himself after the flames died down, he was unharmed. “Where would we be without the elves,” said Maximus as he readied his bow with another golden arrow. One dragon took it upon itself to charge the men. Maximus and several other archers readied their bows, and fired their arrows into the heart of the dragon. Right as the dragons were about to send another blast of fire at the soldiers, Maximus felt water drop on his shoulder. “Thank goodness, it’s beginning to rain, infantry attack,” yelled the General sending a wave of men towards the confused dragons. With the rain falling, the dragons lost their fire breath, but they were still capable of killing a human with ease. Soldiers with swords came to the feet of the dragons and hacked at their feet. The dragons swiped at the pesky soldiers with their powerful claws striking a soldier here and there. Maximus continued to send arrows into the line of dragons. It seemed as though the men would win easily, but then, something horrible and unsuspected happened. “What is that,” cried a soldier next to Maximus. Maximus gaped at the giant dragon heading straight towards them. “That’s the King of the Dragons. Quick kill it before it kills us,” screamed the General as archers sent their final arrow towards the huge dragon. Nothing hit the dragon and it continued to approach the men. Suddenly Maximus remembered that he had one arrow left in his case, not a magical arrow, but one of his arrows. He took it and aimed at the huge dragon. As he let the arrow go, he said a prayer. The arrow soared through the air with every man and dragon staring at it, for it would determine the victors of the battle. The arrow didn’t need to be magical, for it struck the dragon perfectly in the heart, killing it instantly. Upon seeing this, the dragons tried to flee. But the men killed every last dragon on the mountain before it could escape. The men gave out a victory cry, as the last dragon fell to the ground. “Let us celebrate after we have rescued the hostages,” claimed the Colonel.
Maximus sat back into his rocking chair, recalling the memories of his adventurous. “Yes, I searched the entire mountain for my wife and child, but never found them. I did manage to find the kind man’s wife who had saved me from the forest. He was overwhelmed with joy when he saw her and gave me some housing and job as a blacksmith, which was one of best hobbies. I worked there peacefully till I could no longer manage the job, and never took another wife. I’m just glad that I was able to make such a difference in someone’s life,” exclaimed Maximus as a tear ran down his face. “Yet I will never forget the family I so dearly miss, and I shall see them sometime soon.” After Maximus finished his story, he died with a smile on his face, as though he had never experienced the horrors he had during his life. “Go my friend, seek the family that you miss, and live in happiness,” sadly whispered the kind benefactor who’s wife was saved by Maximus. And Maximus left this world to meet his family, which he so rightly deserved to see.
