《Magic Barbarian》


 Chap 1: Begin Quest

    [1]:


    It was a cold and comfortable evening in the land of the barbarians as Zogg roasts his chicken on a flaming fire, for him there was


    comfort and satisfaction, as he sat by his favorite sitting log and contemplated the day''s happenings, a little pillaging and some raiding here and


    there, Zogg was content living in his hut joining the others in search of plunder and riches, and his hut was particularly stocked with gold and


    jewels, Zogg grabbed his roasted chicken and carved it with his axe, an enchaned axe that would return when thrown, Zogg himself was no ordinary


    warrior....he loved to study books which was quite an oddity among his people,whose preoccupation was on martial prowess a heavy built and muscled reaver


    he chanced upon a treasure trove of a long dead wizard whose only treasured possessions were a full set of elemental spells of fire, water, wind and earth.


    Zogg was curious in his mind and studied the books, and with studious practice was able to cast his first fire spell, then a water then wind and earth, and unlike his


    the other barbarians who only practiced with weapons. swords,axes,spears,maces. he continued to read the books until he was able to reach a mastery a mage could only blush at,


    [2]


    Zogg looked around and surveyed his hut, he was particularly proud of it as he had built it himself making it so he could store his treasures inside


    and no one would dare take loot from a barbarian, Zogg who was six spans tall(feet) and 131 stones heavy(kilograms) was a powerfully built fellow


    tempered with the fires of constant battle and hardened with the wear and tear of the elements."Zogg is pleased! today was a good day. much battle done and loot taken for oneself!" as he took a bite from his chicken and chewed the soft meat,


    all that changed in an instant as Zogg looked at the night sky and saw only a burning rock fall towards him, "A Fire Demon from the sky! come do battle with Zogg


    foul beast!!, Zogg challenges you!!!!! Zogg brandished his axe and bellowed challenge, one wonders of how a warrior would challenge a meteorite to single combat, but Zogg does not care, only that it would be a good battle


    Zogg chanted quietly and then casts a water ball spell towards the meteor then charged forward towards the falling rock which fell directly on his hut, his water blast spell rendered inate, the flaming blast launched Zogg backwards and making him fall in a the river beside his home.


    the cold embrace of the water welcoming him as he swam upwards to see what the grokk had happened


    wading back into the riverbank he raised his hand and summoned back his axe which being enchanted was indestructible as it spun back into his palm.


    Zogg looked around and saw his hut totally destroyed and his treasure? melted into a pulpy mass. he looked around to see what else he could salvageThe tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    from the burning wreck and wondered "so it was not a fire demon? What could make such powerful boom? Zogg is perplexed..." Zogg surveyed his home which was now a burning wreckage


    and saw a crater from which not a star rock could be found but a strange shining mystical orb. Zogg went closer for a look and as he went closer


    the orb shone brighter and projected an image of a lady bedecked with jewelry, the most beautiful lady Zogg had ever seen in his life.


    [3]


    the lady spoke softly but urgently as if she had limited time, please, I implore you warrior... help my kingdom regain its lost treasure, Zogg looked at her


    and beheld the orb in his hand the woman spoke once more "the orb you hold before you is our most precious trearure. the orb of


    great intention, I had no choice but to send it away to keep it from Yordac''s hands, my time is limited, I had intentionally sent it away to find


    a great warrior to return it to us the kingdom of outerspacia, I am princess Theria and to whomever this orb has chosen, yordac has already


    sent powerful men to take the treasure by force, you are our only hope! " the orb then dimmed and the message was lost "by throk!" said Zogg, what


    is this outerspacia? "he had never heard of such a place yet he remembered the desperate plea of the beautiful woman and then thought to himself "perhaps the men that woman has mentioned are skilled in battle?" Zogg then thought that if the orb was


    that precious then he could find a worthy foe to match his prowess in battle," but he was stumped as to where to locate the kingdom, then remembers


    the great library of Illumia, perhaps it could provide a location of the unknown kingdom. now decided, Zogg went and dragged the melted treasure and


    hacked off a portion to keep for his journey buried the rest then .packed supplies for a long journey setting off on his quest to find the star princess.


    [4]


    Zogg walked across the lands of his people and greeted fellow barbarians asking if any had an idea where the lands of outerspacia were. but


    to his dismay not a single one knew, no matter how well travelled barbarians are, what with the pillaging and raiding other kingdoms, not one did not know where it was


    zogg went farther and farther away from his native land, until he noticed that the land he walked on was not of his anymore, he traveled


    steadily and after a day''s walking night fell and he rested on a cave in one of the mountains he climbed, chanting a fire spell he started a fire and


    contemplated the day, "this meat is good! as he carves up a giant wooly bear he found earlier'' casting a firespell from his hand he incinerated the beast


    and dragged it''s cooked remains to a cave to eat. he then opened a spellbook and started reading the contents, something he always had done before.


    night fell and Zogg contemplated his coming adventure into Illumia, he relished the thought of going to the kingdom and seeing the sprawling shelves of the library.


    "there will be lots of spellbooks in the library, more spells for me to learn!!"


    this thought excited him as he lay down to rest for the night, until he saw another burning rock fall towards his cave from the sky, Zogg saw it and immedietely sprang into action, beckoning to his boomeraxe he called to it as it spun towards him and landed neatly on to his waiting hand


    then went towards the landing meteor, the thought of a fiery rock landing on his head did not even make him hesitant as he had no fear, or perhaps


    forgot how painful it was being blasted by one, the fiery meteorite then landed blasting the mountainside spraying rubble everywhere,


    Zogg ducked and hid behind a boulder and waited for the rain of rocks to finish falling then inspected the crater where it fell, but where the blast was, was not another orb but a large metal boulder.


    "by throk! another orb? hmmmm.....no....too large to be one..."


    the metal boulder then rose to thrice zogg''s height and unfurled itself and transformed in front of Zogg''s eyes...into a large mech.


    "entry affirmative.....it sounded off in a metallic voice


    "target spotted.,,,,surrender orb....."you have 10 seconds to comply!"


    then paced forward in a robotic walk.


    it sounded off


    "10....9.....8....7.....6"


    Zogg was excited to the bone and his insides tingled, here was the battle he had been waiting for,


    "throk will be pleased tonight!"zogg eagerly said,


    this would not be a dull night after all, and readied his weapon to fight!


    barbarian with an axe vs giant mecha.

 Chap 2: The Mighty Zogg

    ****************************


    Zogg readied himself.


    preparing to charge the robot as it steadily trudged towards him, "4...3...2...1" the mech said, thentransformed into its assault mode,


    "YX-1293...attack, target Engage..."


    Zogg was amazed at the appendages and strange looking protrusions that grew from the holes in the "metal golem''s" sides.the mech then shot several energy projectiles towards Zogg who stood defiantly and swatted all the projectiles away with his axe


    "That monster can use magic too?!.."


    Zogg bellowed mightily his scream echoing throughout the mountain. then chanting a spell, axe in one hand and a fireball on the other he shot the spell towards the mech, the spell hitting then engulfed the robot completely with flames, yet it was unfazed because of an energy barrier protecting it.


    Zogg shouted then threw his boomeraxe towards the mech which deflected by the mech''s energy shield spun back into Zogg''s hand


    the mech retaliating then sent more energy shots from its blasters riddling the mountainside with holes,


    while the shots continued flying, Zogg charged and swatted away continuously the energy shots from YX-1293''s blasters, bellowing into his own battle state, he slammed away all the shots that came his way spinning and smacking away. The mech''s sensors detecting the futility of discharging shots then switched its weapons .


    this time one of its arms discharged a purple-hued energy sword readying itself for close combat. Zogg chanted a spell then screaming threw his axe towards the mech while releasing a large spinning ice disc twice his


    height then unleashing the spell on the Mech. Zogg bellowed preparing


    himself to trade blows with his axe with the mech''s sword.


    ****************


    Zogg spun himself in a frenzy howling and chopping his axe, the mech catching the axe with its own blade then traded weapon blows with the barbarian


    "HAAWWWRRGGGHHH!!"


    screamed Zogg losing himself in his battle frenzy the barbarian flanked the mech and chopped sideways testing the fighting skills of the mech,


    YX-1293 in cold calculating accuracy stopped every blow and launched its own barrage of attacks stomping and hammering its sword into Zogg who responded to the attacks in skillful and blunt fashion, blow by blow countered in turn by Zogg who was impressed with the speed and accuracy of the strange "metal Golem".throwing his boomeraxe to the side and leaping backwards he landed, positioned himself then quickly cast a flaming wall spell to separate himself from his adversary.


    YX the mech merely stomped over the barrier and continued its assault, the axe Zogg threw then found its mark and hit the mech at the side, finding its mark hitting and burying itself in the side of the mech, who continued to fight regardless, slamming its blade diagonally towards Zogg, who caught the


    blow with the timely return of the thrown axe,the mech stomped the ground and prepared to charge, Zogg then stomped himelf and Howled mightily, his warcry shaking the ground he then cast a firespell and formed a flame axe on one hand and his own boomeraxe in the other, dual wielding two axes he raised both weapons in a bellowing challenge to the charging mech, both combatants now charging each other then locked weapons with the impact,


    thanks to the sideward throw Zogg did earlier the shielding of the mech was now disabled, as Zogg noticed his flame axe now going through and doing damage on the mech who was now having difficulty fighting the howling barbarian three times smaller than it,


    it raised its blasters ready to shoot Zogg down, but Zogg already had anticipated the "shooty" parts of the mech and began with his great strength to chop his axe, finding the energy blasters as actual weakpoints, he jumped on top of the mech and chopped and smashed pummeling the mech downwardsThe tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    as YX-1293 went down on one metal knee.....


    **************************************


    YX went down on one knee reeling but was not yet beaten, Zogg saw the ice disc he casted earlier stuck on the top of the mech, the disc had cut open a hole in the mech''s armor, he used this as an opening and raised both his magical flameaxe and the other Boomeraxe high into the air to land a defeating blow but the robot proved to be unyielding, activating its own shielding to cover its metal skin it glowed and was now covered with an energy coat preventing the warrior on top of it from striking the final blow. YX spun itself around stomping and smashing in an effort to fling the chopping barbarian on top of it,


    unable to hold on to something the screaming Zogg was then flung off landing with a loud thud on the ground, his massive muscled frame sturdy enough to withstand the impact, Zogg stood up immediately and shrugging off the damage Zogg laughed , his blood racing, he was enjoying the moment of the battle, roaring and bellowing to charge once more


    "Thokk!!! God of battles!!!! DO YOU SEE AND HEAR ME??! GRANT ME STRENGTH TO FIGHT!!"


    then bounded forward, Howling and spinning his two axes towards the waiting mech, YX now raised it''s other arm and activated it''s shielding


    "Attack Mode at 40% efficiency, divert available energy at left arm shielding" it''s system sensors indicated. if machines could feel fear this was probably the fear that the robot was now broadcasting


    a large energy shield then spurted out of its left arm as it readied itself to fight the barbarian once more, its energy blasters shooting off towards Zogg who swatted them all away,


    the mech despite being 3 times taller and larger than Zogg was having difficulty fighting the ferocious Zogg. who went to the side and leapt backwards, pausing to cast another magic spell one larger and more powerful than before.


    *********************************************


    Zogg released his flame axe, disintegrating it into thin air and concentrated all his will, focusing the mana reserves his large muscled body could muster and chanted under his breath a powerful spell he had mastered from the spellbook he once read, icicles then started to fall upon his enemy a taste of what was yet to come then with


    both arms holding his axe Zogg unleashed his spell, Ice Storm!!!" howling shafts of ice and wind then befell the mech, slowly freezing it still, covering it in a tomb of ice, Zogg ran straight at the mech, summoning all his mighty strength chopping with his axe holding in with both arms


    and leaping into the air axe raised poised to strike, his scream echoing throughout the mountain,


    "mighty thokk!!! I gain this victory!!!"


    the blow cracking and smashing the frozen mech into the ground as Zogg dropped his blow like a rampaging boulder, YX-1293 could do nothing even it''s shielding on both left arm and the energy coat covering it proved useless as it was frozen solid in place and took the full force of the blow,


    breaking the ice holding the mech, YX sputtered and dropped into the ground beaten as Zogg landed from his spot on top of the mech and shouted and pumped both his arms and hands at the same time into the air celebrating his victory. a mighty battle well fought, Zogg then went back into his cave and resumed eating his bear stew. with the broken mech still sparking from the damage it received.


    The next morning Zogg finished his breakfast and went over to the downed mech, and thanked it for giving a good battle


    "Zogg gives you thanks for fighting well!"


    then readied himself for the journey down the mountain, it was then when he started to walk that YX then started to get up. Zogg looked back and readied his axe, elated to have another go with the mech, but this time it was different, YX then sounded off,


    "kzzT. activating repair mode.....nanomachines online........full repair E.T.A 3 hours"


    then started marching towards Zogg, Zogg then giddy raised his axe in the ready, but the mech stood still in front of Zogg quietly staying put.Zogg was perplexed


    "No fight?"


    the mech stood there for the longest time until Zogg gave up in fighting it, then started to walk away, Zogg after a few paces then looked back and saw the mech behind, following him


    "Kzzt! target acquired.....Protect protocol engaged"


    Zogg then spoke to it saying


    "Zogg no need protect..."


    but the mech still followed him..... perhaps it was the powerful blow made by Zogg to its processing circuitry or Zogg''s fire spells frying its main brain core, it seemed Zogg had now a new ally...

 Chap 3: Zogg and the two kings

    The mech followed Zogg down the mountain, a silent sentinel following its new master, Zogg didn''t mind at all and actually was welcoming of the idea of having a sparring partner based on his last battle with the mech,


    "You are good fighter, Zogg likes that.."


    The mech then responded back to Zogg in a robotic voice.


    "assign new target to neutralize...."


    Zogg laughed and continued on his walking, telling the mech stories of his adventures outside of the land of barbarians, he then came to the realization that he loved to tell the machine stories of his exploits and was pleased with himself that day as not only did he do glorious battle that more likely pleased his god Thokk, he also gained a new companion as well, Zogg the asked the mech a question.


    "what is your name friend?, so that I may call you by your name as we enter and do ferocious fighting with challengers?"


    this was the first time the mech received a command so thus responded accordingly


    "unit designation, YX-1293 heavy autonomous assault"


    monotonous metallic voice sounding off while still following the barbarian


    Zogg puzzled with the name then said back


    "hmmmm, Waiexx? that is strange name"


    he then turned back and told the mech his name, his gruff voice sounding as a barbarian tells to a companion on a journey


    "I am Zogg, a barbarian!"


    proudly tapping his chest with his clasped hand, then turned to the path they were taking as the mech followed along, the path then led them to a lightly forested valley, Zogg saw something that was all too familiar to him, it was the flags and smoke of war, the valley was a battlefield, two armies were on each end preparing to charge each other,


    it came to be that the two kingdoms Rendoll and Ishvall declared war on each other, and the two kings, King Roven and King Simol were at the forefront of their armies meeting each other discussing the terms of the battle, the battle was about to start. and Zogg and YX were in the middle of it......


    *************************************


    King Roven met King Simol and barked his demands for his surrender of both his army and his lands


    "you have encroached upon our lands for far too long Simol! these lands belong to Rendall and we are prepared to fight to the death to protect it!


    King Simol of Ishvall then shot back at his demands,


    "lands that your ancestors stole from us! don''t think that we do not know!, there are rich deposits of gold here and you would not be interested in acquiring this land if it not for it, this land was ours to begin with and to let a cur like you stand upon it is unforgivable!!!"


    "King Roven then sneered at this remark and spat on the ground, showing his contempt for the other king"This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.


    "enough talk!, you know what will eventually come to pass! only one side will win, I challenge you King Simol


    to one one one battle and whoever wins between us both will be the winner and gain this land!


    King Simol then agreed and then shot back, which will be me! let us armies fight until only one


    of us is left!. Roven and Simol then drew their swords flinging themselves at each other


    thus the battle started as both armies clashed with the two kings fighting one on one in the middle of the chaos both kings were masterful lords of both men and arms and fought with great skill, meanwhile, Zogg and YX were watching from the edge of the battlefield seemingly indifferent to the events transpiring


    Zogg then looked far and saw the two kings fighting intensely their armies around them doing the same, fighting fiercely for the right to own the land under their feet as is usually the case with wars being fought for. Zogg then mused his observation to his Robot friend YX.


    "Look Waiexx! those two men with shiny metal caps are hitting each other with their swords, they look strong too!


    YZ then voiced to Zogg


    "awaiting orders......"


    Zogg then cast a spell and summoned a lightning axe in his hand and prepared himself, his insides tingling then said to YX


    "we go where strongest are and fight!!!"


    YX then voiced back"


    "orders confirmed, attack mode engaged...."


    then transformed into it''s fighting mode following Zogg into the battling armies.


    Zogg ran into the fray chopping and spinning disabling and dropping men by the dozens with his spell axe while YX stomped and shot through shooting its blasters and taking out soldiers, stunning men from both sides, the duo cut a swathe


    through the fighting armies, both sides noticing the large muscled man and a giant metal Golem fighting, dropping men one by one and


    going straight for the two kings.


    **********************************************************


    The two armies now were in surprise as to the appearance of the stranger with a "giant fighting beast"


    Zogg went straight for the two kings who were fighting in earnest, the kings Roven and Simol traded swordblows not allowing an opening on their defences lest the other take advantage of it, Zogg moved with incredible speed followed by YX who kept of shooting all incoming enemies dropping them with its blasters. Zogg then reached the two kings and immediately chopped in the middle of them surprising the two kings as to who this stranger was, the fight then into a three-way battle as the three were fighting each other


    Roven and Simol then shouted back at the muscled man with the mech behind him,


    "Who are you interloper!! for you to interrupt our duel means death"


    Zogg then answered back and howled with all his might


    "I am Zogg and I am here to do battle!!!"


    Zogg then put both of his outstretched hands and grabbed the two kings by their heads and with one mighty blow headbutted the two


    kings, knocking them unconscious.


    both armies were shocked and froze in their tracks, completely stopping their fighting,


    "look there!!! said one of the soldiers that muscled man has defeated the two kings!!!, the War is a draw!!"


    "nay!! said another, that man has singlehandedly stopped the war by himself!!!" according to the conditions set by the two kings


    whosoever defeats the other will be the winner! that man is the winner!! the war is over!!.immediately both the two armies raised their arms in cheering for Zogg, who pumped both hands in the air in a celebratory pose,


    the two kings below him knocked unconscious, but unharmed except for a bump in their heads. YX the mech was behind Zogg silent and on standby mode


    stranger tell us your name! asked one of the soldiers


    "I am Zogg"


    the soldier then thanked him and said "you have saves us all Master Zogg! this war has taken its toll on both kingdoms, you must be sent by the


    goddess to put an end to this conflict!"


    the kings Roven and Simol then woke up and saw that they were just beaten by the stranger, Roven and Simol then looked at each other and were ready to take up arms once more until Zogg stopped them,


    "you want to have another go with Zogg?"


    the Kings Roven and Simol then relented seeing how futile it was to fight a man that could take both of them on and win. Roven has already given his word and agreement with Simol,


    "Whosoever defeats the other will be the winner" which was Zogg, the armies gathering around them then chanted Zogg''s title,


    "Zogg the Warstopper"


    YX then went to the side of Zogg silently guarding him. Zogg raising his axe to the gathered armies around him.

 Chap 4: Githiom the Paladin

    The entire armies cheered on for Zogg who was still pumping both outstretched hands into the air celebrating his win, the two kings then sheepishly set aside their differences in order not to be headbutted again by Zogg, who took the orb of great intention out


    of his pouch and asked the two kings,


    "Do you know where the kingdom of outerspacia is? do two kings know what the orb of great intention is?"


    both kings looked at each other and shook their heads, as clueless to the orb as zogg was, by now the two kings were tired and spent after their duel and from being beaten by Zogg, but the soldiers were now in a celebratory mood as they could now go back to their families unscathed, YX was silently at Zogg''s back ready to shield him even though it was not necessary anymore, one of the soldiers then came forward to Zogg, an elderly man still strong but was captain of rank, his hair already white with age but drafted into the army anyway.


    "I may have heard of that orb, master Zogg, when I was a child I had heard of a kingdom among the stars that had a treasure of great importance but it was merely a bedtime story told to me"


    Zogg then asked the old veteran,


    "Does white hair know more? how can one get there?"


    the old man then shook his head, not knowing the answer.


    "the orb of great intention.....it''s a royal treasure possessed by the royalty of the kingdom among the stars......"


    Zogg looked around and saw an armoured man, bedecked with shining plates and a massive shield behind his back, it was a paladin from Illumia, the Holy kingdom of light, riding a large two-legged armoured beast with two massive tusks and a long tail,


    "I must thank you barbarian, you single-handedly put down the war between these two kingdoms,


    I was sent here to stop it myself but you had beat me to it!"


    the men around them then gasped and stood in awe of the armoured man who strode forward with his steed and promptly stepped down from his saddle


    "It''s Githiom! from Illumia! one of the five Royal Guards protecting the king over there!" the men said.


    Zogg then looked at him and sensed his strength and will, Githiom sensed the same with the barbarian and hailed him saluting with his right arm, YX stepped forward arms and blasters on ready, but Zogg had made it stand down.


    Githiom then dropped his salute and then challenged Zogg,


    "If I may be obliged Zogg, let us match our skills with our arms if you might allow it"


    Zogg then raised his axe and then readied himself for the paladin, YX stepped forward as well but Zogg had told it to observe"


    "Thokk guide me!!!" then swung his axe around his body to form his fighting stance,


    "for Illumia!!!" Githiom shouted back and then charged forward the same time as Zogg....


    ******************************


    Githiom brandished his sword hitting Zogg''s axe and locking with him in place, both king''s Roven and Simol watching with their


    armies around the two combatants, not one of them able to say a word, closely watching the battle between the two heroes, even YX stood by being ordered by Zogg to stand down, Zogg''s axe swung and chopped but only hitting the large shield of the paladin, Zogg had a hard time finding a mark as the Paladin was fully armored from head to toe, and was incredibly skilled in fighting and defense, Githiom moved around Zogg flanking him and attempting to find an opening but Zogg anticipated this and leapt backwards raising his axe and casting a firespell, flame blast, casting it with his axe and unleashing the spell on Githiom, covering him with flames, Githiom, stood back then waves his shield in front of him, removing the flames from his body, Githiom then raised his sword and slashed downward which was dodged by Zogg who did a frontal thrust with his axe, only hitting the paladin''s shield,


    The armored warrior then raised his sword another time an unleashed a Holy element sword skill, Holy slash!, covering the barbarian with searing light blasting him backwards, Zogg was knocked backwards but was still standing, a spinning shield then went his way almost hitting him, Githiom had thrown the shield towards Zogg, the shield thrown like a boomerang returned to the paladin, locking in place on his arm, Zogg now howled and gathered his strength, flinging his boomeraxe towards Githiom, but the axe bounced harmlessly again on his shield, spinning and returning back to Zogg''s hand.


    Zogg now realized how powerful this Githiom was and now stoked his battle fury, howling again and forming a stance with his axe, Githiom merely stood in place and waited for his attack to come, by now the gathered armies were now watching closely and were in awe to the highly skilled battle going on, Zogg charged forward screaming and howling with his axe casting a lightning spell and flinging it towards the paladin, while he raised his axe ready to strike, Githiom anticipated the spell and the oncoming attack and blocked with his shield, a glowing aura then started to cover the armored warriorThe author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    a nasty surprise was then set by the paladin for the barbarian, as the spell hit its mark and Zogg swung down with his axe, fully hitting Githiom, Zogg then noticed he had taken damage as well sensing himself getting hit whenever a blow landed on Githiom, Githiom blocked his blow once more and then Zogg was once again hit,


    "Surprised? said Githiom


    "this is my an aura of reflect damage, one of the Holy skills of Illumia"


    Zogg could hardly believe it, his attacks are bouncing off of the paladin and hitting him, every time he attacks he gets damaged as well, Zogg then leapt backwards and then concentrated screaming into the sky, he waved his axe preparing to cast another spell, Githiom sensed this and went forward


    "no you don''t!" Githiom said preventing the Barbarian from casting he charged sword and shield in hand and locked weapons with Zogg.


    The battle then commenced each warrior trading blows with their weapons, Zogg was the faster one and hit Githioms armor many times but Githiom was the better one in defense, each hit the Barbarian landed reflected damage and returned to Zogg, who despite his powerful attacks was on a disadvantage, as his attacks were coming back to him, despite this Zogg fought on, each blow he landed damaging him in turn, Githiom merely needed to block, Zogg rolled to the side, and for the first time on the match was on the defensive, Githiom sensed this and now shifted his stance from one of a defensive one to an attacking one.


    *******************************************


    Zogg was on the defensive as Githiom charged and swung his sword downwards hitting him with a Holy element attack, pushing Zogg backwards and temporarily blinding him with it''s light, Zogg now thought to himself on how to fight the Paladin and could not find out a way,


    "that man is very strong! Zogg thought to himself.....and strained on how to properly fight him, but the answer came to him and Zogg decided on the best way to fight the armored man, Zogg then moved backwards far away from Githiom, and then chanted while holding his axe imbuing it with lightning, Githiom then took his shield once more and prepared to block the oncoming flying axe, but this time it was different Zogg instead of throwing it in front threw it to the side, the crowd around them panicking and moving backwards to avoid from getting hit by the spinning axe.


    Githiom wondered to why the barbarian threw it off direction and immediately found out the hard way as the axe rotated on its direction and hit him on his back, unprotected by his shield, the axe bounced off from his armor but the message was clear as Zogg was too far away from being hit by his reflect aura, Zogg then finished his chanting and then unleashed a flame spell against Githiom who blocked it with his shield once more but instead of blocking it the flame spell explodes on contact and spread on Githiom body, Githiom then laughed and waved his shield and put the flames out once more, then held out his hand to stop the match.


    "Halt! this match will go on and on Zogg, you have shown me your skill and strength and I have judged you worthy!"


    Zogg''s axe then spun back to his hand as he was still in the middle of casting another spell.


    YX then trudged forward and put itself in the middle of the two, and voiced itself


    "Auto-sentry mode active, Target''s vital signs on critical...." indicating that Zogg had expended a lot in fighting the paladin


    "Zogg still alright!" but then his movements were slower now and the barbarian had difficulty moving. much less fight. Kings Simol and Roven and their armies who were watching now came forward certain that the battle had ended, and declared it a draw, as Githiom went forward to Zogg


    *******************************************


    Zogg was out of strength after the duel with Githiom and plopped down from where he stood and waited for Githiom to come over, the Paladin then came forward and shook his hand, his face lit up with a jovial tone Githiom praised the barbarian for his skill and tenacity.


    "Finally I have found someone who is up to the task, even finding the item is one less trouble for me said Githiom


    Zogg merely grunted....


    Githiom then gave him a friendly slap on the back and continued with his monologue


    "the orb of great intention, it is actually real! and in the most unlikely hands too, I''ve never seen a warrior skilled in the axe cast spells so skillfully one would think that you have studied in one of the magic colleges" said Githiom,


    "I''ve never been hit with such a powerful type of magic, where did you learn those spells pray tell barbarian?"


    Zogg then gruffly stood up and answered him


    "I read books, Zogg likes books......"


    Then stood there towering over the paladin who was already considered tall himself.


    the two king''s Simol and Roven now went over to them and talked to them saying


    Our war is now over.....even though it''s not in the terms we approve of, but still our word is to be kept, we will now go back to our kingdoms, eliciting a cheer from the men of the armies around them, Githiom then spoke


    "yes, I was sent here by my king to put an end to your differences but my work was done for me thanks to Zogg!" then held Zogg''s arm and raised it high celebrating the barbarian as the hero of the war, eliciting more cheers of approval from the soldiers,


    YX silently was in the background monitoring the events as they unfolded, Zogg was in his state was rather bewildered at the events that were happening but merely went along with it, and did not mind the attention given as long as he had shown a worthy battle to his God thokk,


    Githiom then now had joined Zogg along with YX-1293 and bid the two kings goodbye as they went on their way and prepared to continue with Zogg''s quest, Zogg then found the wisdom of having an extra sword to fight with him in glorious battle and welcomed the Paladin to his warband.


    "Githiom is good sword! we will do glorious battle and thokk will cast his pleased gaze upon us!"


    Githiom then said "I''m not exactly sure who is this thokk you keep on talking about barbarian but it sounds good the same to me!"


    and so they go as a Robot, a Barbarian and a Paladin in Zogg''s party.

 Chap 5: Papaya the Amazon

    Zogg and company had taken some steed beasts from the two kings and rode some distance over forests and streams


    when Zogg had asked Githiom a question.....


    "do you know what shiny thing is paladin?" showing the orb to Githiom


    Githiom then answered Zogg , "it''s a treasured relic from the kingdom of the stars" we can get an idea about that curious item from the great library


    of Illumia...my kingdom,


    Zogg then replied.


    "a pretty lady appeared to me in this shiny ball, she seeked help...."


    "hmmm I''d surmise that she was royalty...possession of the orb of this importance is usually given to the most important members of the Nobles. you are quite lucky to


    have glimpsed one of them" said the paladin


    Zogg looked at the orb then said


    "she was looking for this shiny thing, Zogg thinks she in trouble and where trouble is, is powerful opponents to fight!"


    Githiom looked at him in wonder and then said


    "you''re and easy man to please Zogg...how about this walking statue behind us? how did you come to possess such a metal beast?"


    Zogg then smiled and answered


    Waiexx is Zogg''s friend...he has proven himself in the field of battle and is good to travel with us."


    Githiom then glimpsed back at the mech walking and following behind them and then looked at the horizon


    "it seems that the sun is setting, we best set up camp and turn in for the night"


    which they did as Githiom dropped down from his steed beast and began to make a campfire while Zogg and YX foraged and looked around for something to catch and eat, which turned out to be easy as YX locked it''s sights on a passing deer and blasted it with it''s gun platform, Zogg then bounded over to the kill YX procured and put the large deer on his back to carry back to camp, the catch which was still smoking was then plopped in front of the surprised Githiom and then carved up by Zogg to be roasted in the fire with some potatoes that Githiom brought along as part of his travel supplies, both warriors then cooked the venison and then started to eat the tender meat sprinkled with some salt from Githiom and herbs foraged around by Zogg.


    Githiom happily ate the meat while Zogg chomped down greedily, YX meanwhile stood silent as a guarding sentinel


    Zogg then said to Githiom,


    "what is your land like paladin? I have heard many things about Illumia and Zogg is curious about the books one may read from its great library"


    Githiom then happily described to Zogg his kingdom


    "yes the kingdom of Illumia....it is a paradise and a shining beacon of what a country should be, almost all of the citizens are knights trained in the best forms of swordplay and thinking, we take pride in that Zogg, in it''s long history Illumia always has and always will be a kingdom that shines whether it would be a prosperous or a dark time.


    Zogg then asked Githiom,


    "your home sounds just like my own|, Zogg and his tribesmen take good pride in our skills as warriors,"


    the paladin then said "hoho!, I beg to differ, my kingdom has more wondrous sights and places and people to see!.


    ****************************


    Zogg was about to contradict Githiom when from the distance flew a spear right between the two warriors, alarmed Githiom andStolen novel; please report.


    Zogg picked up their weapons on guard and ready to fight, Yx sensors blazed back to life locating the intruder, across the distance then was a


    scantily clad woman holding a bow and arrow aimed at them, Githiom then spoke to Zogg


    "it would seem that she is challenging us..


    Zogg then raised his axe at the ready, and proceeded to bound straight for the aiming woman, Githiom then recognized the clothes the woman was


    wearing, he immediately cried out to Zogg about the identity of the strange woman,


    "Watch out Zogg she''s an Amazon!!"


    Zogg readily recognized the intruder, an Amazon was a skilled warrior woman from the jungles of Kixhivol, a mysterious land of mists and steaming


    jungles, but what was the purpose of the woman going after them? perhaps she was after the orb as well? this thought passed Zogg''s mind as he prepared to strike his opponent down, YX was at the ready stomping towards the lady warrior and raising its blasters, the woman sensed that YX was about to blast her and responded accordingly shooting down the emplacements and disabling the robot, Zogg then chanted a spell and while running released a fireball towards the woman,


    "what?! how does a barbarian know how to cast spell?!"


    said the woman who dodged the fireball and set her bow and arrow at her back and picked up a spear as Zogg came down on her, Zogg chopped strongly but was matched by the amazon''s skill with the spear. Zogg then leapt backward and while


    in midair threw his axe towards the amazon, while the disabled YX trudged slowly intending to capture the woman with it''s metal hand, but the woman speared it''s metal arm and twisted it disabling the mech''s right hand and toppling it with a powerful blunt blow from her spear, YZ then kneeled on one knee, temporarily disabled, Zogg saw this and saw the woman as a strong adversary and howled an approval in finding a worthy opponent, the woman hearing Zogg''s scream then howled herself in reply the two then locked weapons and exchanged blows from axe to spear and spear to axe


    Zogg could sense the skill of the warrior before her and unleashed a warcry while fighting the amazon, Githiom merely stood at his place observing the battle while the mech YX stood on one knee temporarily disabled, Zogg matched her blow by blow and each warrior and warrioress dodged and slammed their weapons not letting the other a moment''s respite, this continued on for several hours had passed until the two temporarily stopped and looked at each other using their weapons as crutches they leaned on them for support.


    "that would be all now," said Githiom coming forward and patting each of them in the shoulder" then going the diplomatic route asked the amazon


    "If I may be so bold milady, what do you exactly want from us that you would go and initiate an attack?"


    the amazon then spoke and said


    "shiny orb is trouble!, I must get rid of it as commanded by our high matriarch!"


    Zogg then looked at her and held the bag containing the orb tightly


    Githiom then asked her some more.


    ******************************


    "High Matriarch? is she perhaps your leader?".


    the amazon nodded and then prodded her spear at the two


    Zogg then grunted disapproval and bid the amazon to continue the match,


    "fight more woman!"


    challenging the amazon to continue once more


    but Githiom stopped Zogg and explained his proposition to the barbarian


    it would be better if she was with us Zogg said Githiom and then turned to the amazon


    "is there any particular reason why you want this orb amazon?"


    the woman warrior then lowered her spear and then pointed to the orb


    "the orb is not natural and must be destroyed, it has come to pass that shiny ball will fall from the sky and must be destroyed or


    the amazons will befall a terrible fate! its coming is a bad omen indicating disaster!"


    Zogg then spoke and voiced his opinion


    "shiny ball is from kingdom of the stars, Zogg will go there!"


    the amazon then held her spear once more but was promptly stopped by the paladin


    "if you want it sent away so badly milady then why not join us to send this orb back to where it came from"


    the amazon then turned her gaze to the orb and said


    "no! orb must be destroyed"


    Githiom then in quick thinking told the woman,


    "im afraid if you do that a bad curse will befall you....."


    Zogg turned to Githiom and then said


    what omen? Zogg no know about ome....


    "Githiom then nudged the barbarian in the ribs"


    Zogg then understanding the gesture turned quiet,


    the woman then thought for a while and then saw the logic in what Githiom had said, even though he had no idea if there was a curse


    in the first place.


    "you may have point what does armor man, and muscle man propose?"


    this then put a sly smile to Gitiom as he had realized that the amazon would provide a valuable ally,


    the skill and power of the amazons of the jungles of Kixhivol was known far and wide and to have a possible ally


    out of one was truly advantageous


    "then it''s settled then! said Githiom we now are a party!"a barbarian, a paladin, a robot and an amazon"


    YX then stood up having it''s self-repair protocols now engaged as it''s nanomachines work quickly to repair its


    damage, Githiom then asked the woman''s name as she tells them, I am papaya of the amazons, I will make sure that that


    orb will be safely disposed of without getting cursed by it and so Papaya shall fulfill her quest";


    with this Githiom was satisfied


    "welcome then!"


    as the amazon set her weapons aside and shook the paladin''s hand and went with them on their adventure.

 Chap 6: Casual Conversation

    Papaya, Zogg, Githiom and Yx all now went on their journey to send the orb of great intention back to the fabled "kingdom among the stars" but first they had to find where it is in the first place, Githiom''s kingdom Illumia might offer the answers they seek, thus their quest begins.


    a sinister aura permeated the large dark hall where a lone large and imposing figure sits on a throne of metal.


    "Olzen! where is the assault mech that was sent to retrieve my orb!" said the large brooding man


    the old gnarled minister was reluctant to give the news but was forced to anyway lest he be subject to the wrath of the large sitting man,


    "my liege...I am sorr...sorry to report but unit YX-1293 has been taken offline... its whereabouts are currently unknown.


    the sitting man in the darkness then stood and then said, "tell me, wretch! tell me as to how one of out most powerful mechs had disappeared, and without my orb!"


    the old man winced and capitulated his pose,


    "My liege, the last signals of YX-1293 were that of an encounter of a human from down below"


    the large man then strode forward and imposed his piercing gaze towards the minister.


    "and what are you trying to tell me? that a single man had beaten and assault encounter mech?!"


    olzen then stood there unable to speak as the large man turned back to his chair eliciting a sigh of relief from the minister,


    "send more retrieval units and find that man!, search every corner of the world if you have to for my prize! "


    "I the great Yordac will have that orb, even if I have to tear down all the kingdoms to find where it is hidden...."


    while the party was walking Papaya had eyed the orb that Zogg was hiding in his pouch, looking intently at it as he pushed it deeper into his pouch, Papaya then spoke


    "Tell me muscled man....how did orb find itself into your hands of all people" Zogg spoke and answered


    "it landed and blew up Zogg''s house...."


    Githiom then looked at Zogg and said while snickering


    "Did it now...well at least you are lucky it didn''t land on your head...."


    Papaya elicited a light chuckle as well as Zogg''s pride was slightly bruised


    "Pretty lady from within orb asked me to return this, which Zogg will do so Zogg can find strong opponents.


    Zogg already had found you two and is convinced that he will be able to fight gloriously."


    Githiom then "Yes,Thokk was it? your god? the god of battles..."


    Zogg then thumped his chest in reference to this,


    "Thokk my god will be pleased with the battles I will show him!"


    Papaya then spoke and asked "where does this Thokk you speak of live?


    ******************************************************************


    Zogg then spoke to her describing his god,


    "Thokk is the god and master of battles, he is found in the highest peak of the land of barbarians constantly watching us


    those he deems worthy are blessed with the strength to do incredible feats of skill"


    Githiom then speaks about his deity "this thokk can''t be as benevolent as the Goddess luminaria" Zogg looks at him and


    then asks


    "who is this Luminaria?


    Githiom then answers "Luminaria is the Goddess of light, her power is the power to heal and bless us with her radiance, all Illumians revere her for hernurturing care and benevolence."


    Papaya then spoke of her goddess both of your deities are nothing compared to Meeza the goddess of the amazons, she was the first amazon and her bravery was the fabric of legends,


    as they were walking and comparing their respective gods and goddesses, the party then came across a lake by the side of the path they were walking on, as they looked further inwards they see a large lump of what seems to be a mass of grass and moss, only it was clutching a large club


    by its side.


    Githiom then readied his sword,


    "It''s a water troll! to arms!, it is very aggressive and dangerous!"


    Zogg and Papaya then excitedly drew their weapons, ready for another battle,


    YX the mech then changed into battle mode and went straight for the troll, blasting it with shots fired from its blasters, the shots pierced through the troll dropping it instantly, but as the party went closer the troll stood up more angrier than ever. Zogg then spokeThe story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.


    "How did Troll get up so quick?"


    Githiom answered back It''s a troll! it can regenerate it''s wounds, we''re going to have a hard time felling it now that it''s enraged" Zogg then sprang into action throwing his boomeraxe then chanting an earth spell to deal with the monstrosity the axe spun fast and buried itself into the troll''s skin yet the troll did not even feel it''s bite,


    Zogg then finished his spell and unleashed it upon the monser, a large wave of earth spiked shot out of the ground impaling the troll yet it merely broke all the spikes that stabbed it and then regenerated its wounds, Papaya then nocked her arrows from her bow and shot true hitting the troll, but it merely broke all the arrows and went forward once more towards them, Githiom now was in front of it and raised his shield as the troll bludgeoned him hitting his shield


    Githiom was unharmed as his shield and armor had protected him from the blow, Papaya then rushed in and with her spear stabbed the troll from behind as the troll winced in pain and then turned to her to smash her with its club, Githiom then assisted Papaya by blocking the blow from the troll once more with his shield, then letting the troll feel the bite of his sword, Githiom then cried out to Zogg, keep the spells coming Zogg!, it''s weak against magic!


    YX then went in and wrestled with the troll as the three warriors regrouped.


    Githiom then cried out to to Zogg,


    "Keep casting spells! trolls are weak to magic if it keeps getting hit!"


    which Zogg did as he concentrated more on his spellcasting


    *********************************************************************************


    Zogg focused his chanting and paused for a while, while Githiom and Papaya kept the troll busy,


    Papaya took her spear and stabbed the troll from behind but no matter how many times she wounded the monster its regenerative ability kept it coming, Githiom also did the same with his sword and activated his reflect damage aura, returning the troll''s damage against itself but it still was not fazed, Zogg cried out and then released his spell, a fireball then sprang forth and hit the troll but still it had no effect, Zogg then cried out to Githiom and Papaya, as YX still wrestled with the creature.


    "keep troll distracted! , Zogg will cast a very strong spell!" Zogg said


    Githiom and Papaya then went in front of the troll once more as YX held it at bay, the troll then took its


    club and bludgeoned the robot, but YX did not move an inch and continued its assault with the amazon and the Paladin behind it, Githiom then focused on his blade and with a strong swipe, cast a Holy element sword skill, Holy strike, hitting the monster on the chest, the troll howled in pain as it toppled over from the searing light of the skill, but still it rose up and took another swipe at the trio fighting it, meanwhile Zogg was still busy casting his spell, as the two warriors and the robot, kept the troll at bay, Papaya then flanked the troll and then screamed a battle cry as she went forward and used one of her amazon fighting skills, a powerful spear thrust towards the troll, which pierced


    its sides, the troll winced in pain but still managed to swing its large club before Papaya dodged it in time, leaping backwards and avoiding the bludgeon, Githiom now hollered at Zogg ,


    "anytime now Zogg!, we can''t keep this troll company forever if you must know!".


    Papaya then went straight for the troll once more with YX behind her and used her spear like a pole vault and launched herself off the ground nimbly somersaulting in the air and in a daring move landed on the troll''s shoulders then with all her strenght stabbing the troll on the head with her spear. the troll then like a log dropped to the ground with a loud thud, as Papaya jumped off and neatly cusioned her fall by rolling when she landed, Githiom impressed then spoke


    "well done amazon!"


    Papaya smirked at him,


    they then moved in closer to inspect the troll when it burst back into life once more pulling out the spear lodged in its cranium and then throwing it at Papaya, who promptly caught it with her hands then pointing it once more to her enemy, Zogg concentrating at his spell the elicited a comment from Githiom saying


    "if he keeps at that we''ll probably be troll food by then"


    Papaya then also spoke and said


    "what is big dumb barbarian doing!? chanting a ritual prayer!?"


    but Zogg still was focused on his spellcasting paying no heed to the two warriors. Papaya then spun her spear and then once more with Githiom charged the troll as it swung its club on them, YX kept firing off blaster shots towards the troll, while Githiom and Papaya traded blows with it from their weapons, Githiom blocking with his shield and slashing with his sword while Papaya keeping her distance darting in and out while stabbing the troll with her spear, the deadly dance was now afoot as all four were dodging and striking with their weapons, even though the troll was swinging haphazardly it did not matter as it would only heal its wounds.


    ********************************************


    The troll then with a bestial howl then leaped forward taking them by surprise Githiom raised his shield while Papaya


    dived sideways to avoid the monster, while YX stood its ground, not budging to the sight of a massive hulking monstrosity coming at it at


    full speed, Githiom stood fast as well and as the troll landed on impact the force buffeted him but otherwise, he was still intact, same as with the mech, Papaya managed to get away and then doubled back to inspect the scene, seeing the troll bare its twisted features Papaya then raised her spear and prepared to fight once more, but this time Zogg shouted from back and shouted to them,


    "get back!!" as Zogg released an ultimate spell, fireblast a large ball of flame dropped from the sky towards the targeted troll, as such Papaya


    and Githiom and even YX frantically scrambled to safety to avoid the massive spell, Papaya and Githiom dove into the water as Zogg ran away as fast as he could to avoid the blast, while YX hid in behind a boulder, the troll then had little time as the titanic ball of flame dropped on it and incinerated it, not even it''s regenerative ability could save it as Zogg''s spell had beaten it.


    Zogg surveying the blast area then looked for his companions and saw them drenched from a dip in the river, Zogg then triumphantlysaid to them


    "Troll in now beaten!" Githiom then shot back to him


    "were you also aiming for us?!" Papaya was at a loss for words but still kept her calmness, Githiom took a look at the destruction and said to the victorious Zogg, "by Luminaria man! what kind of spell was that? not even master level Illumian mages can cast a fireball of that magnitude! the entire area was now a smoking burning hellish blast area done in by Zogg, Githiom asked Zogg where did you learn such a destructive spell?


    Zogg then answered him "Zogg read it from spellbook somewhere....." Githiom then deduced that Zogg must have been reading too many spellbooks to be that proficient in such an arcane art. Papaya then surveyed the area and found the troll now cooked and incinerated , she then took one good lookat its skin and then took a knife to skin the leather off of the monster, Zogg and Githiom looked on as Papaya took the leather of the troll which surprisingly was still soft and saw that it regenerated itself in front of their eyes, Papaya now had a regenerating Trollskin cloak, tough as steel yet as soft as silk and regenerates too!. Papaya was as happy as can be as she sported her new clothing and Githiom and Zogg looked around and saw a small cave and within it was loot from the troll! they then picked up the treasure which was a modestly sized hoard of gold and jewels and loaded


    them in bags and tied it to YX, for carrying which the mech uncomplaining did.

 Chap 7: Trekking Across the Plains

    The party now were trekking across the land of Zoll and were heading towards Illumia to investigate the whereabouts of Zogg''s destination, "the kingdom among the stars" walking along the grassy plains they took the time to survey the scenery and found it to be quite lovely as the plains stretched far across the horizon, as far as they could see there was only grass and patches of trees here and there, Papaya especially was pleased, it was a stark contrast to her steaming jungle home and she remembers the wet humid climate well, it was all new to her ever since the matriarch had sent her to find and destroy the orb, and now she was tagging along to make sure to dispose of it, for she did not dare break it lest a terrible curse would befall her, true it was not the task she was instructed to do but she had to improvise and she was also curious of the outside world. so she travels along the barbarian, the paladin, and their robot, which was turned into a means of travel as they climbed on top of YX and rode the robot across the plains, Papaya turned over her cloak and looked across the horizon, her figure was certainly attractive as most amazons are, Githiom then started conversation to the warrior woman as Zogg was occupied reading a spellbook he brought along the trip,


    "Is this all new to you amazon? the travelling I mean....I noticed you are always looking around and taking in the sights"


    Papaya turned around and flipped her trollskin cloak,


    "This the first time Papaya had seen so much empty space of grass, in my home, there are always trees all around and plants that choke the view, very hot and steaming also."


    Githiom then spoke once more


    "I''ve never been to a jungle myself though but it would seem interesting to see, your homeland is quite far away from here and there are no places here comparable to yours, perhaps someday I will visit." Papaya then smirked and said


    "you will not find much, only a lot of jaguars and wild boars and darkness, the entire jungle would seem to want to swallow you whole."


    Githiom then curious then asked Zogg


    what about you barbarian? what is your land like?


    Zogg then stopped sharpening his axe and smiled


    "Zogg''s land is like me, rough and covered with mountains, only the strong can live on it and it suits us well!"


    Papaya then asked Githiom, "how about you paladin, tell us stories about your kingdom" Githiom then straightened himself and obliged


    " Illumia ah yes the kingdom of light, it is a bastion of righteousness, all of our citizens are knights yes even the women and children and the elderly know how to wield a weapon, and our mages are unmatched in all of the land, save perhaps for Zogg I must confess, I''ve never seen a barbarian cast magic before, so it is quite a surprise for me to see him fling a fireball. is there anything of note you did to possess such a skill Zogg?"


    Zogg then raised his axe to the sky and said,


    "


    Zogg likes reading books and found dead magic man''s books, so Zogg reads and the rest


    is magic."


    Papaya then smirked quietly and Githiom merely looked on with Zogg''s gesture.


    Githiom was about to speak when as YX was walking forward they see an old man with a wagon and a broken wheel, the old man had never seen a mech was quite in shock and was in the state of running away when Githiom stopped him crawling out of YX''s huge body he assured the old man it was safe and asked "old man!, do you know of any town or village inn we could stay?


    ******************************


    The old man was in shock in seeing three people on top of a walking metal hunk and reluctantly answered


    "Y-Yes, of course, sir! there''s a village up ahead some distance from here that had an inn for weary travelers such as yourselves, if I may ask sir may you help an old man out and fix this broken wheel of mine?"


    Githiom obliged and after an hour of repair the wheel was connected, Zogg with his great strength lifted and got the wheel fixed to the gratitude of the old man, who insisted now to guide them to their destination, as he was also going there to but supplies as well, Zogg and company then climbed on top of YX and continued to travel, until they reached Barna Village, the entire village then was abuzz at seeing YX having never seen such a thing before and seeing a Barbarian, an Amazon and a Paladin on top further made things even more out of proportion, one of the villagers then spoke and asked Githiom,


    "Say now good sir....are you thee here for the reward for the capture of largefoot?"


    Githom then wondered and asked


    "What is this largefoot you speak of?"


    the man then explained himself and told him


    "Recently we have this mysterious monster that is damaging our crops and carrying away our livestock leaving behind large footprints all over the ground, we are in need of strong warriors to find and slay this monster."


    Zogg then went in and said


    "is this beast strong? Zogg need to fight something strong!"


    "Papaya too!"


    added the Amazon. Githiom looked at them for a moment and then asked the villager.


    "When was the last sighting?"


    one of the villagers a spritely woman then said


    "just last week! one of my cows was attacked and carried off! can you even imagine how a lossof one of my cows means? that beast is making my herd jittery"


    Zogg then howled and shouted a warcry which shook the crowd into silence and awe


    "Zogg will beat this monster!!"


    "Papaya too!!! added the amazon


    Githiom then calmed the two down and then said to the crowdEnsure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.


    "we''ll see what we can do then shook his head and continued"


    "where can we find this beast you speak of?"


    the villagers looked amongst themselves and then one of them said to them


    "In the forest west of here, it makes its lair there, we dare not send anyone for fear of them being lost"


    the owner of the local inn then went forward and said


    "Thank you, good sirs!, as a reward for doing this task I shall offer my establishment to you free of charge!"


    Zogg then raised his arms into the air and howled once more to the delight of the crowd


    **************************************


    "Zogg will fight and win!" the barbarian screamed and to the approval of the crowd, Githiom then


    took the directions the villagers had told them, Zogg ordering YX to stand down and stay behind in the village as they


    take care of the beast themselves, Papaya took her spear and Githiom his sword and Zogg his axe and went into the forest in search of the fabled largefoot, it took them some trekking across some meadows before they could find the borders of the forest where the sighting was seen, Githiom then spoke to Zogg, where do you think this so called largefoot is?


    Zogg then proclaimed


    "don''t know but ..when I see this beast it better prepare for a thrashing!"


    Papaya slung her spear to her back and prepared herself by drawing her bow and arrow all the ready for when trouble came they then went around the forest looking for the monster, but having no idea where it actually was it seemed their search was going in circles, Githiom then flustered spoke


    "this is getting us nowhere, it''s like finding a needle in a haystack with this largefoot"


    Zogg then found something and pointed it out to his collegues


    "Zogg found something!"


    the marks where as clear as day, large impressions in the muck indicating a large two-legged creature had just passed by,recently by the looks of the tracks,


    Papaya who was a skilled tracker then went down and inspected the tracks


    "These are still fresh! the largefoot passed by here recently!"


    Githiom and Zogg then got excited and then pressed forward towards where the trail went, perhaps it will lead them to what they are looking for, sure enough after walking some distance following the footprints they finally found it, sitting by a river eating a freshly caught fish it must have scooped out of the river with it''s large hands.


    Githiom the stopped the party and then gave instructions.


    "on the count of three we charge.... one ...."


    immediately Zogg and Papaya then charged forth screaming at the top of their lungs and lunged towards the creature,


    Githiom then cried out saying


    "Whatever happened to two and three you oafs!!" then bound forward himself to catch up to the two the beast was caught by surprise then stood upwards and then its true form was revealed, sporting large feet and height two times taller than even the tall and large barbarian Zogg, it then gave out a howl of surprise and stretched out


    it''s arms in reaction to the attacking group


    **************************************


    The creature arose from it''s seated position and grabbed a nearby log to pummel them as Zogg and Papaya rushed forth howling with a resonating battlecry, swinging their weapons wildly. driven by battlefury and brandished their weapons towards the creature known as largefoot, Githiom stood behind them as they hammered their weapons on largefoot''s thick fur but found it to be too thick as it had now acted as an armor of sorts against their attacks, the creature then swung


    its makeshift log weapon to hit Zogg but Zogg ducked and Papaya darted out of range, Zogg then threw his axe towards the beast the axe bouncing harmlessly against its fur, Zogg then chanted a spell and concentrated for a while as Papaya continued her assault against the beast, but as Papaya attacked more often she noticed something about her opponent, Zogg in the meanwhile finished his


    chanting and released a wind spell, wind cyclone buffeting largefoot with cutting wind as the small cyclones swirled around and engulfed largefoot, seeing the creature bellow in pain Zogg then called to his axe to return to him and saw his chance and attacked largefoot, but was timely stopped by Papaya who stood in front of the creature and stood in between the charging barbarian,


    Githiom then noticed it too as he stayed behind and chose to be a bystander in the fight.


    "So you noticed too eh Papaya? said Githiom and went forward


    "That was brave considering you chose to stand in front of a barbarian in full battlefury"


    Papaya then said "this largefoot is harmless! it was only trying to protect itself from us!"


    Zogg then lowered his axe and even though he was still on guard he also came to that conclusion also considering how the creature acted,


    Zogg then asked "we found the largefoot but now what? it is stealing villagers food"


    papaya then said


    "the villagers were encroaching upon it''s home it was only trying to protect it''s territory"


    Zogg then took one good look at largefoot who now sitting down and scratching its armpits,


    Githiom then spoke "she may be right Zogg, this creature appears to be harmless, we merely prompted it to attack us


    since it saw that we had weapons. Zogg sheathed his axe to his back and


    **********************************


    then examined the creature from head to toe, seeing closely as it went to the back of Papaya and sheepishly avoided Zogg''s scrutinous gaze, Zogg then went back to Githiom who was now watching him as well,


    Zogg then said "there''s no point fighting an opponent who wishes to not fight"


    Githiom then agreed to him "that was my sentiments exactly" while Papaya was holding Largefoot''s arm and smiling at them


    "But what we do now? village want the hairy thing to be away from this land"


    Githiom then put his hand on his chin and tried thinking of a way to convince the people of the village to see the largefoot in another light,


    "I think I may have something in mind...."


    Papaya piqued with curiosity then asked them "what do you have in mind? Githiom smiled and explained his plan"


    a few hours later the villagers caught sight of the three adventurers walking towards them and the town''s mayor asked them


    "well, how did it go? did you slay the beast?"


    Papaya shook her head and explained to them that they were not successful


    "The creature was not to be found we did not find anything"


    the mayor then looked disappointed and then said to them


    "oh well..that''s too bad,"


    then just as they were about to go about their usual business a scream could be heard from the rooftops of one of the town of the village it was a child from one of the village''s denizen''s he was hanging from the rooftops unable to get down, the villagers then became frantic as the child was about to fall, but just as he was about to go, a figure then jumped into the walls of the houses


    it was the creature that the villagers knew as largefoot, as the child was about to fall largefoot then picked him up and then went down unharmed on to the ground, the villagers caused quite a stir as they saw the beast save one of them, then one of them cried out


    "look it''s the creature! he has saved that child!"


    "Githiom could only smirk as his plan had worked"


    earlier before they could enter the village they had instructed one of the village boys, to hang on to the rooftop in exchange for a silver coin, a pretty price indeed. Zogg though was a little disappointed as to not have found a good battle"


    hmph! he uttered, "maybe next time!"


    Papaya then went in front of the villagers and then cried out,


    "look the creature is harmless!"


    the villagers looked among themselves until one of them said


    "but what about my livestock? that thing took one of my cows away!"


    Papaya then revealed the same cow by pointing away to the horizon, revealing the said bovine"


    "it only was a feet hundred spans away from your home!, prompting embarrassment from the villagers, the mayor then came forward and then said to them, but it might be dangerous to us..."


    Githiom then assured the mayor


    "Largefoot is harmless unless provoked it was only trying to scare you away from it''s home, in


    which your people were encroaching on"


    largefoot then went forward and still clutching the child placed him gently on the ground"


    to the astonished villagers,


    Papaya also explained to them


    "look it is smart enough to place the child there!"


    ************************************


    one of the villagers then pointed it out and then said


    "the woman is right! large-foot saved that child!"


    the villagers then broke into a fervor and then slowly went towards the creature who just saved the child. the Mayor then went forward and then recognized that largefoot did indeed was harmless,


    largefoot then patted the child and then started walking towards the forest and leaving the crowd to ponder what they have done. Githiom then went forward while Zogg called back YX the mech and Papaya continuing their journey towards Illumia,


    Zogg Githiom and Papaya then climbed on top of YX and then let the mech walk forward while they


    were resting on top of the robot, Zogg then went and asked.

 Chap 8: Zogg fights a Dragon

    Zogg Githiom and Papaya then climbed on top of YX and then let the mech walk forward while they


    were resting on top of the robot, Zogg then went and asked Githiom a question that had been on his mind for sometime now,


    "How far is Illumia from here anyway Githiom?"


    Githiom straightened himself out and stretched his arm towards the horizon


    "we''ll have to cross several mountains and even a great ocean since Illumia


    is over on the next continent"


    this surprised Papaya and Zogg as they did not expect the mythical kingdom to be so far away


    "what?! why is it so far, and more importantly how did you travel so far away from your home?"


    Githiom showed him a messaging crystal and explained"


    I go where I make a difference, this crystal enables me to message home and recieve my missions"


    this is why I was able to travel so far away from my kingdom"


    Papaya then was impressed and then said to him,


    "Githiom must miss his home very much to be so far away"


    Githiom then sighed and said


    "sadly I do miss home as you say, but now I have you people to guide there so I can come back"


    he then turned to the horizon to briefly view the sky, they then see a large dragon flying


    across the horizon and then looked at each other, to see a dragon is quite a treat as they


    are powerful creatures but at the same time they were in caution as they had heard of the


    great destruction one can cause.


    Githiom then told them a story about how one dragon was able to raze down an entire kingdom


    just because it''s greedy king had stolen a piece of the treasure the dragon had kept in its


    stash, even all four of them would not be able to put up a fight let alone fight one properly


    **************************************


    so Githiom signaled the other two to get down and keep themselves less conspicuous as they try to avoid the dragon flying dangerously near, but Zogg had other things in mind, bellowing out a challenge to the dragon the barbarian howled towards the sky


    "what are you doing fool!"


    but zogg did not pay heed, this will be a good battle he thought to himself as the large red dragon took notice and set it''s eye out for them, the gigantic beast then soared towards them as the terrified paladin and amazon ran in opposite directions leaving the mech YX and zogg who was now clutching his axe in both arms awaiting the mythical battle that was to ensue, Githiom who was now hiding behind a boulder then watched and cried out to the barbarian,


    "run away you fool this foe is beyond you!!!"


    the paladin may be brave but not foolish enough to fight a dragon upfront unlike the more simple minded Zogg,Papaya then watched from afar and then offered a passing prayed to her goddess for she was expecting Zogg to be incinerated by the dragon or crushed to death. Zogg then chanted a spell under his breath and awaited the large dragon who was now doing a dive from the sky Zogg raised his axe and then with a bellow released an ice wall between the dragon and himself, the dragon bellowing out and breathing fire as it collided on the ice barrier melting it and releasing steam in the process


    *********************************


    the steam covered the entire area enveloping it with a smoky cover and hiding the barbarian from


    the dragon, but the dragon merely flapped it''s powerful wings and blew away the steam revealing Zogg once again, not that he was hiding, he then threw his mighty axe towards the dragon and cast a lightning bolt spell from his hand and threw it towards the dragon, he bolt merely bouncing off of the dragon''s scale like armor, the dragon looked at the barbarian who tiny in comparison to itself and then inhaled, getting ready to breathe fire and incinerate zogg when Githiom intervened and grabbed Zogg away when the fireblast from the dragon fell,


    "this dragon is beyond our ability to defeat Zogg, we must flee," said the paladin


    Zogg did not want to go along with what Githiom had proposed and readied himself to face the dragon once more when Papaya came along and with a club had hit Zogg in the head, Zogg only seeing darkness and blacking out the two then with YX then ran as fast as they could fleeing from the large red dragon towards the forest and to safety, but were they safe? the dragon would only need to breathe fire and clear the forest with its destructive power and reveal them, nevertheless, the forest was their only option as it allowed them cover to escape from the flying beast, Papaya who was still carrying the unconscious Zogg with Githiom then turned to him and noted on how Zogg weighed.


    "the Barbarian is as heavy as a boulder! and just as smart as one too"


    Githiom then answered back


    "he is isn''t he, well we can''t just leave him alone there can we?"


    the three with YX the mech then reached to the safety of the forest and then were relieved that the dragon did not follow them perhaps it was not in the mood the chase it''s prey but nevertheless, it not pursuing them was indeed very fortunate as it afforded them rest for a while in the forest, Githiom and Papaya dropped down exhausted from carrying the barbarian and sat in the shade of a large tree catching their breath, as they took turns drinking from a waterskin carried by Papaya,


    "we safe now from flying lizard right?"


    Githiom shook his head and contradicted her


    "I''m afraid not.....dragons can sense scent from great distances, which makes us lucky it did not try and burn down this forest to find us...."


    Zogg the woke up and then raised his axe ready to fight


    "where is flying giant lizard? I was winning!"


    "Its flown away Zogg" Githiom said


    *****************************


    Zogg then screamed to the skies with all his might


    "noooooo!!! why Zogg was denied a great battle!?"


    Githiom and Papaya then took their hands off of their ears and admonished the barbarian for being foolish


    "if we did not drag you away you would have been a meal for that dragon, so you can thank us by getting on your feet and fleeing with us from far away as possible from here" said Githiom


    the three along with YX the mech then regained their bearings and slowly and carefully walked off from the sight by now their mission was not of facing the dragon but that off escaping the place safely before the dragon spots and hunts them once again, fortunately the forest provided ample cover for them to be able to hide their presence for they were practically invisible from the air, an advantage they used to the utmost as the dragon was still howling in the sky, it was fortunate that they were able to escape unscathed by some twist of fate the dragon did not decide to burn down the forest along with them,


    "where we go now?" asked Papaya, wondering what their next move now was,The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    Zogg then raised his axe and then proclaimed


    "let dragon come! Zogg is ready for him!"


    Githiom then countered him saying


    "no you are not Zogg, our priority right now is to escape from the dragon without getting detected


    the dragon is still flying around somewhere we have the robot here that can speed up our mobility,


    we should take advantage of that"


    Papaya nodded and Zogg grudgingly conceded, they then climbed on board the mech and then resumed their escape, several leagues later they came across a large expanse of clearing in the forest, Githiom checked their map to locate their bearings


    "we''ve come across a large clearing here, if we go north there we will find the mountains and then cross the border of the dragon''s territory all we have to do is avoid getting our bearings


    located by that beast"


    All seemed fine at the moment when they heard loud flaps and the wind violently getting churned by something they then all froze in place fearing getting located, Githiom and Papya had to cover Zogg''s mouth to prevent him from calling out to the dragon for a fight, they then spotted the dragon above but were not spotted by the beast as it flew across them, Papaya and Githiom were as quiet as possible muffling Zogg''s voice, the dragon flying slowly away not detecting them when Papaya without warning sneezed, getting a speck of dust in her nose, that brief sound was enough to set the dragon doubling back chasing after them as they scrambled away to hide from it, this time the dragon inhaled with all its might and breathed fire into the forest below, incinerating


    the whole forest to uncover the running party, all except Zogg were fleeing


    "come dragon!! Zogg is ready for you!!!


    The dragon then descended upon them landing like a mountain from the sky, breathing pillars of flame, melting even rocks, Githiom raised his shield and with a defensive Holy element skill, cast a protective barrier against the flames of the giant lizard, Papaya could only hide behind him while Zogg could not be seen anywhere, YX meanwhile was under the two warriors also protected from the fireblast,


    "where''s that blasted barbarian? said Githiom


    Just then Papaya pointed to him a speck in the armors back which turned out to be Zogg, the barbarian was slamming his waraxe repeatedly on the dragon''s thick scales, every cut getting stronger as the barbarian''s battlefury increased but the scales of the monster still proved to be too tough to pierce, so Zogg imbued his axe with the water element to counter the dragon''s fire element affinity, and with one mighty chop managed to put a scratch on the giant dragon, this did not please the dragon one bit as it bellowed in anger against the human who dared to scratch it inhaling again and with full force the dragon then let its flaming fury spill out and exhaled a river of fire from its mouth, Zogg sensing danger then leapt with all his might and flew from the dragon and timely plopped besides Papaya and Githiom, Zogg raised his arms in the air triumphantly but was taken away again by the two to escape the raging dragon, YX following quickly behind


    "why you carry me away? I was winning!!!"


    Githiom then cried out "you have a strange sense of winning Zogg!!" while they were running away once more as the dragon was now following closely behind them, they then decided that running away from a flying dragon was useless then jumped on board of YX the mech who was now on hover mode and like a floating cloud was flying faster than their legs could carry them, all three were clutching each other onboard the flying mech escaping a dragon hot on their tails, as it reared its large head and then tried to chomp on them while they were escaping


    Papaya then took her spear and then thrust with all her might against the dragon but she might as well be poking it as the tip could not pierce the dragons head, Githiom then cried out saying "We need to lose it! aiming his shield he then threw with all his might and hit the right eye of the dragon


    temporarily blinding it as he said to YX "fly Golem!!! fly like you''ve never flown before!!!" YX then went into hyper mode, transforming


    right before their very eyes


    "Hypermode engaged! power limit exceed 110%!"


    ***************************


    YX then began to emit an aura of power right before the three warriors eyes, transforming into its assault mode it then aimed it''s blasters towards the pursuing dragon and fired off several blast shots into its direction, the dragon howled in the ensuing flurry of blasts and breathed off fire into the fleeing party, a firestorm blanketed the area where the three were and for a moment a cloud of flames buffeted the ground, but where the party was still moving and fleeing fast was YX with its shields protecting Zogg and company, still hovering and moving fast towards safety, YX then fired another volley of shots towards the dragon who by now flew higher to


    avoid the blasts from the mech,


    "It''s working!" said Papaya as she pointed out to the sky and noting the missing dragon that was pursuing them.


    Githiom scoped out the horizon as they were moving to look for any signs that the dragon may be anticipating them but did not find anything only patches of trees and the treeline of a forest that may hide them once more from their pursuer,


    "look! a forest, we go there to lose the dragon"


    then signalled to YX to confirm orders to go straight for the forest, the mech then blasted its thrusters forward speeding up even more the party was all jitters except Zogg "who was in a cranky mood, for not being able to battle the dragon" as they came slowly reaching the forest and cover as they were almost there a sudden howl from the sky could be heard as the dragon has come back to take another swipe at them it came so fast as if it had expected them to be going that way, Githiom recounts in his mind that dragons can reach a very old age, and in that time become somewhat sentient and wise especially in dealing with humans who for the most part always find a way to destroy the dragons territory leading to the dragon always chasing them away.


    The dragon then stretched out its large wings and stopped right in front of the party blocking out the way to safety with its massive body, Zogg then gleefully brandished his axe and bellowed enthusiastically for the ensuing battle that was certain to take place, Githiom unsheathed his shield and sword and Papaya nocked her arrows into her bow and YX readied its blasters for shooting,


    the dragon howled along with Zogg who was howling back at it challenging it to a fight, it was four against the dragon, with the odds in the dragon''s favor.


    Zogg then charged forward running with all his might swinging his axe and shouting a warcry as Githiom and Papaya followed with YX close behind. The dragon then breathed fire once more onto the charging party seemingly burning them alive, that was until an icewall sprouted onto the location where the flames were, a spell cast by Zogg as he was charging.


    **************


    Slicing his axe, Zogg cut a swathe of power as he swung his axe with great force but only hitting air as the dragon flew upwards to avoid his attacks . The icewall Zogg cast also served as protection from the dragons large talons giving him cover, Githiom and Papaya also hid among the ice pillars that Zogg cast, Papaya then took aim with her bow infusing her arrow with mighty force and releasing it towards the dragon, the arrow flew straight and true but only managed to bounce from the body of the dragon as it hit its armored body,


    "it''s scales are too tough!" said Papaya as she aimed another arrow and another, all meeting the same fate as the last.


    ************************


    The dragon now was swooping directly on top of them beating it''s large wings into the air as it breathed fire once more into the icewall that Zogg cast melting the wall into the ground with it''s hellish flames, Zogg now cast a water spell that blasted the area with water weakening the dragon which had fire element but now so severely to disable it, Githiom raised his shield and concentrated while Papaya tool to her spear ready to fight the dragon head on as Zogg charged it with his axe, swinging with battlefury as both barbarian and amazon attacked the dragon''s side, despite


    Zogg''s brute strength and Papaya''s skill with the spear the tough armor like skin of the giant lizard proved too tough once more, Zogg then cast another spell concentrating for a second then arming his axe and Papaya''s spear with the water element then attacking once more, but the dragon with


    its sentience sensed danger so flapping its wings it flew away blasting the area with small tornadoes as it flapped away, Zogg and Papaya would have been shredded to pieces by the cutting winds if not for the timely arrival of Githiom and YX covering them with their armor.


    "dragon is getting away!" said Zogg


    Papaya pointed to the sky and then saw the bright red flame of the dragon heading towards them again.


    "watch out! dragon is coming again to flame us!"


    thus once again the party tried getting away, jumping on the mech which blasted it''s boosters away to safety from the fireblast


    **********************************


    Zogg surveyed the area where they once were and only saw destruction wrought by the red dragon, stoking his battle fury in eagerness for another go at the lizard but his companions had other things in mind, as he raised his axe to the sky he cast another spell, Githiom and Papaya both looked at the barbarian and immediately surmised at what he was going to do once more. cast another large area super spell.


    "we''re almost to the border of the dragon''s territory now!, we can lose it there"said Githiom


    Zogg was silent concentrating his mind on the spell he was about to cast and then with one mighty bellow to the heavens he cast his mighty spell as if calling to the sky to obey him he cast a large lightning spell that summoned a large lightning bolt that hit the dragon chasing them, the dragon


    howled in pain as the lightning bolt pierced it but yet amazingly it still was flapping its wings withstanding the blast from the sky, all three of the warriors widened eyes in disbelief at how the dragon was able to withstand the mighty spell. but the spell had done its work and delayed the


    dragon enough for them to get away and put distance as YX blasted its boosters flying them across and out of the territory of the dragon, Zogg raised his axe to the dragon in respect for a strong opponent while Papaya and Githiom sighed in relief


    "Next time when we go somewhere, let''s not go disturb and get chased down by a 30-foot tall flying lizard from the sky, understood?"said Papaya.


    Truth be told though their recent adventure did excite her but it would not be one she would be willing to go at again as the three sat and rested after their encounter with the dragon,


    Zogg had asked Githiom about their location now as they veered farther away from the dragon''s territory


    "we should be reaching the kingdom of Alwen four days travel from here, faster now with this Golem''s speed, referring to YX under them.

 Chap 9: Adventure in Alwen

    YX continued with its trajectory while the party riding it was now discussing what to do next still jittery from narrowly escaping a giant flying firebreathing lizard, Githiom then from his bag produced a map of the continent where they were at and pointed to the direction of Alwen, Alwen was known far over as a bustling country full of sights to see and people that were straightforward and industrious


    a fact that could be seen from its bustling ports and markets and its towering spires and wind-kissed plains were also worth seeing, Zogg and Papaya had never seen such an idyllic place before, but Githiom had been there and described his experience to the two while YX was still hovering and


    carrying them.


    "Alwyn is a country full of wondrous sights, I''ve been there and I''m sure you''ll be enthralled to see the place.....it also had an academy of magic and swordsmanship that''s renowned all over for producing one of the most famous heroes, Zogg and Papaya were excited, Zogg''s curiosity was stoked for he was always eager to learn new magic spells to cast and gripped his axe giddily,Papaya was interested in learning from those so-called fighting professors that Githiom had been describing, wanting to know how skille they really were.


    Githiom also had an interest in the academy to ask around if any of the professos had ever heard of the land of the outerspace kingdom, noon soon broke in and seeing that they were now far away from the dragon, the three camped in for the night, Papaya then made a fire as Zogg and Githiom went out to forage for food successfully capturing a pair of rabbits and some wild potatoes for roasting over the fire, setting all the ingredients Githiom then skinned and cooked the rabbits and seasoned them in a pot, displaying quite the skill in cooking food as Zogg and Papaya had found out all three sat around the fire as YX quietly was on standby mode.


    *******************************


    Githiom then displayed the cooked rabbits to the eagerly awaiting two and carved up the food for their hungry mouths, Papaya asked the Paladin about his skill in cooking the food.


    "where did you learn to cook good food?"


    Githiom then answered


    "when you travel a lot like me, you learn to make use of the skillet to feed yourself"


    Zogg then hungrily grabbed more of the rabbit meat and helped himself to the delectable feast, while Papaya took the rabbit''s leg and eagerly ate the juicy meat. This sight filled Githiom with satisfaction as he took a bite himself and chewed on with fervor. He then mentioned to them something he heard of while traveling across Alwyn.


    "Aside from the academy, I''ve heard of a contest of skill in the fighting arts to take place in Alwyn, perhaps you two would be interested in taking part of it?. There will be a lot of skilled and strong competitors there for you Zogg


    "Zogg''s face then lit up as he was chewing his meat, raising his axe high in the air he then went on with a monologue


    "Zogg will be there! at last, strong opponents to battle, Thokk will be pleased!"


    Githiom then turned to Papaya who was also excited


    "Papaya will take part! more skulls to bash!"This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    Githiom could only grin.


    Morning then broke as the three unceremoniously woke, packed up and then rode on YX once more to the kingdom of Alwyn, to recount there was a lot for them to do, as they were walking towards the kingdom''s gates the three discussed their plans


    Githiom then huddled Zogg and Papaya together as they discussed their plans


    "right. so now that we''ve arrived we must plan ahead to do what we have to do.


    since I''m from Illumia the locals will likely trust me more out of the three of us and I wi..."


    Zogg then stopped him right as he was speaking and added


    "what is wrong with me asking them?"


    Githiom then paused a little and said


    "well...I don''t think they will shine up to a hulking six-foot tall barbarian Zogg...."


    Zogg then said


    "what?!"


    Papaya then interrupted and pointed to herself


    "what about me?"


    ***************************


    Githiom thought to himself for a while and was actually agreeing,


    "hmmm yes, I think a woman would get more information more readily...."


    Papaya smiled, Githiom then outlined their plan of action, there will be a tourney taking place here in Alwyn and we''re taking part in it, but before that we will be checking out the country for any information regarding to where this Outerspacia is, Zogg will go and register us for the tourney, the signing place is at an inn called the white pony, you''ll find plenty of warriors and wizards there Zogg, so try not to bash them all at once,


    Zogg merely grunted and smiled.


    Papaya will go to the academy and see what you can find out about anything that will help our quest, Papaya nodded , the mech should stay out of sight for a while so we should deposit it on the outskirts of the forest near the kingdom''s walls, "I''m going to the markets to find supplies and gather information for us, so all three of us will have to split up, Zogg and Papaya nodded to this and then after additional deliberation each of them went their own way, each would be going on their own separate adventures as the story goes on.


    Papaya stepped into the large courtyard seeing the students pass by, catching looks from the male students as she strode into the renowned school, the Amazon herself was quite the beauty unsurprisingly as the male students were enamored of her, "is she a new student I hope? they said amongst themselves, Papaya was merely content to walk forward as she approached the academy''s hallway, her purpose there was to gather information but Githiom never mentioned at what she was supposed to do there as she was only given a task, so she took the time to look around the school, one woman professor approached her mistaking her for a new student and asking her, "are you lost miss? the registrar for new students is over the hallway to the right" Papaya looked around and saw the woman professor up close, she was a beautiful bespectacled woman with a large mage hat and had a stern look to her nevertheless she was very pretty and seemed to sincerely want to help her,


    "I''ve never received a student like you before, though this school has received students of all kinds all over this is the first time I''ve seen your outfit....where do you hail from miss? the woman professor pushed her spectacles inward and smiled slightly, but had a hint of confidence in her gaze


    *********************************


    Papaya straightened herself out and proudly proclaimed, from Ixiltah, referring to her jungle home, the woman professor then was impressed


    "oh! an Amazon? oh my! this is the first time I''ve ever met one...I''ve only seen your kind in the books, this is quite unprecedented, please...allow me, Mivera, instructor of the arcane arts to welcome you to the Alwen Academy of Adventurers, Papaya then took the opportunity to ask her about any information about her quest, she was about to ask her when she was pulled by Mivera towards one of the classrooms in the hallway, the bespectacled Mivera took the time to introduce in lengthy fashion the facilities the academy possesses,


    It would look like Papaya would not be allowed to ask her anytime soon so she merely let Mivera describe the school to her she then pulled her to one of the classrooms where a lecture


    of magic was taking place, the students especially the male students and even some of the females took notice of the Amazon, Professor wiltoh allow


    us to observe you for a while, so carry on with your lecture.

 Chap 10: Papaya goes to school

    Wiltoh then continued with his lecture about the basics of sword fighting, practicing on a practice dummy that was brung to animated life by magic, the practice dummy reared itself anticipating a strike from the students, most of the students were readily beaten by the dummy though some managed to land a strike and those few were the exceptional students, Wiltoh cried out to the students who were sitting on the ground after taking a beating from the practice dummy, that was pathetic! the training dummy is only set to the easiest setting yet you all performed poorly! Wiltoh then set the training dummy to expert and then readied himself to attack it, the dummy blocked his moves and struck out to strike the professor, but Wiltoh was too skilled and blocked and countered the training dummy''s every move, a testament to his skill in sword fighting, Mivera then interjected and tried to ease the bruised egos of the students,


    "now-now, Wiltoh, you should take it a little easy on the freshmen, they''re not a Alwyn tournament winner like you...."


    Wiltoh grunted


    "hmmph!, they should know how tough the course is from the start, keeps them in line and will toughen them up in the long run."


    Wiltoh then turned to Papaya and then invited her to try "how about you young lady? let''s see what you''re made of. try to last a minute against expert setting, pointing to the square where the training dummy was, Papaya the pointed to herself and said


    "you mean me?"


    Wiltoh then put his sword on the ground while leaning on it


    "yes, you try to fight expert setting you only ha--"


    Papaya then charged forward while Wiltoh was talking then one-shots the expert level dummy with her spear then sheaths it back to her back


    Wiltoh then shocked was speechless, while Mivera''s and the entire classroom''s mouth were wide open in disbelief,


    Papaya calmly went back to Mivera''s side and waited


    Wiltoh recovering "young lady, where are you from if I may ask?"


    Mivera then explained to Wiltoh


    "She''s an Amazon from the jungles of Ixiltah"


    Wiltoh then stroked his chin examining Papaya, "is that so? an amazon? haha."


    ****************************


    Wiltoh then went closer and examined Papaya up close and then drew his sword, Papaya sensing the sword drawn then quickly plucked her bow and arrows aiming at Wiloh, the sword fighting instructor then had an arrow aimed at his face, even faster than he could anticipate, leaving the entire room stunned,


    "young woman, said Wiltoh


    "that is a very fast sword arm you have there, reaction time like that can only be acquired by long and constant practice"


    Papaya nodded and saw Wiltoh go back to the cache of wooden swords in the corner of the room and then chucked a sword her way, Papaya quickly catching the weapon and then swinging it with consummate skill, Wiltoh then asked her


    "would you be so willing to match swords with Wiltoh,


    I am in search of a powerful combatant and I have seem to have found him....or her"


    Papaya prepared herself, Mivera then putting her hands on her mouth then tried to come between them,


    "Wiltoh! matching your skill against a student, she doesn''t stand a chance!"


    Wiltoh then contradicted her and said


    "she is skilled enough, and I have doubts if she is still even a beginner, judging by her skill....."


    Papaya was the first to make the move, in front of the eagerly watching students she made her sword strike, the students cheering for the upstart Amazon.


    Wiltoh steeled himself and went into his fortress stance a powerful technique made by himself, Wiltoh himself was no ordinary swordsman, the fact that he was one of the instructors at the Alwyn Academy and the champion of one of its past tournaments was testament to his skill as well, Papaya''s sword came fast and true striking like lightning but Wiltoh parried and then switched the attack into his favor, preparing to strike the Amazon down, but a surprise twist by Papaya''s wrist then leaned her sword from an attack position to that of instantaneous defense, Wiltoh was immensely impressed, then shifted backwards to avoid the swing from Papaya, the whole room was in a rumble of sounds and cheers as the two continued to engage, Mivera could only watch as the match continued its exciting pace.Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.


    Papaya then shifted her weight and quickly flanked Wiltoh, though he was skilled Wiltoh''s form made him slower in exchange for the added defensive ability, Papaya drawing to her own Amazon fighting arts went to Wiltoh''s side and then with a burst of speed made a thrust towards Wiltoh''s left torso, Wiltoh sword was at his right thus his left arm was undefended and vulnerable, Wiltoh with great skill then shifted his weight and in an instant was now guarded at his left side blocking Papaya''s strike


    ********************************


    The Amazon then swung her wooden sword in an arc, signaling a challenge to the instructor, this time it was Wiltoh''s turn to


    charge and he did so with great fervor, already noticing that the Amazon was no mere student but one that was actually experienced with the ways of fighting, Wiltoh did a feint to the left then swung his sword in a circular fashion... a moon slash as it was called, and quite a difficult slash to block, but not to the Amazon who jumped and parried with a downward block using her body to put weight on the force effectively nullifying the moon slash, Wiltoh was amazed at the clever parry done in by the Amazon, but had to set aside all his musings for now, the fight was commencing


    Papaya and Wiltoh then flanked each other and then locked in a stalemate of feints and fake attacks were now sizing each other up, the tension was intense, Wiltoh putting his champion status on the line, Papaya fighting for the honor of the Amazons. Papaya was the first to attack, slashing in


    a diagonal arc towards her opponent then blocked and counter slashed by Wiltoh, Papaya had barely enough time to dodge spinning quickly out of the path of the opponent''s sword, then setting herself up for another attack to the midsection to the champion of Alwyn, a slash to the middle was then blocked by Wiltoh as he used his weight to stave off the attack as he was heavier and more stocky than the lithe Amazon, grasping his sword he then made an upper slash surprising Papaya who countered with a dodge and rolling forward away from Wiltoh, the champion then chuckled


    "What''t this? you''re not telling me you''ve had enought now amazon?"


    "Papaya is not going to be provoked into being attacked easily by the likes of you" Papaya shot back


    readying herself to attack she then put herself into one of the Amazon fighting stances


    raising her wooden sword she then formed herself into an s shape position, Wiltoh then remembering from the stories he had heard about amazons that they possessed very dangerous fighting stances and though he did not dream in his wildest that he would be placed in the position of fighting one, Papaya formed herself into an S-shaped stance forming into the Cobra form, she then put herself into a position ready to strike at a moments notice, Wiltoh curious to see the Amazon fighting arts were then risked coming closer putting himself into a defensive stance, inching closer and closer to his intended target, he then decided to test Papaya by repeated jabs with his sword, but Papaya would easily swat the sword aside thanks to her added defensive stance, that was when Wiltoh made a mistake and went in too close miscalculating his movement due to Papaya''s smaller frame as the Alwyn champion was too used to fighting large and wide, muscled opponents.


    fighting a shapely and thin Amazon for the first time threw him off as he went in her strike zone too closely, that was the opening Papaya needed and then with the speed of a cobra struck out from her coiled position and made the first hit with her sword, Wiltoh was pushed back and


    then saw his breastplate dented, Papaya had the first strike winning the match.


    Wiltoh then put down his sword and raised his hand declaring Papaya the winner to the cheers of the students


    **************************************


    Papaya raised her one hand in a victory pose. as the entire classroom rushed to her, Mivera among them


    "it seems you are more than just an applying student, they''ll be talking about this in the succeeding batches!"


    said Mivera, now about that enrollment....all freshmen are expected to apply at the hall of heroes for application, but Papaya merely stopped her and explained that she was not an applying student much to the surprise and disappointment of Mivera, she had assumed and had hoped that the Amazon would be joining the campus but the Amazon had other things in mind


    Wiltoh came closer and was still nursing his bruised ego after the match had gone to its timely conclusion, Papaya had explained her quest to both professors who looked at each other and pondered her words for a while


    "hmmmm....you''ve been on quite an interesting adventure amazon...said Wiltoh but this land among the stars, it''s the first time I had heard of such a thing, but Mivera had a different answer, I''ve had many books and tomes read during my lifetime possibly numbering in the thousands and yes during my years as a student here I''ve had read a curious tome that describes a story about a man journeying among the stars,


    Papaya''s face lit up and eagerly asked Mivera,


    "where is book now? Papaya want to know about it!"


    Mivera then obliged her and then pointed to the great library of Alwyn, I''ve had the pleasure of reading that book all those years ago from the great library, but she also gave Papaya a warning, but there is something you must know Amazon.


    "What is that?"


    Mivera paused for a moment and then continued


    the book is buried within thousands of books in the library, to find it would take you months even with the help of the librarian, which is why I will come with you on your quest.......as I will too! Wiltoh also added


    Papaya now had two members in her own party on her quest...


    Githiom strode into the marketplace surveying all that he could see and took note of the hustle and bustle of the area, all around him he could see vendors plying their trade and hawking their goods and people from all walks of life selecting goods to buy from loaves of bread to weapons for adventurers, it was the perfect place to collect information, and since he was Illumian, people were more likely to give it to him, the renown of Illumians is that of shining paragons of the light that is known to the farthest reaches of the land, Githiom noticed a comely lady perusing a collection of perfume from a merchant to his left and a portly man selecting a basket of delicious fruit to his right the marketplace was lively from all the people going about their day, he then approached one of the merchants particularly the merchants selling weapons and magical trinkets as they would come into contact with adventurers who might have the information he needs

 Chap 11: Githiom goes Shopping

    "Good day sir.," said Githiom


    the merchant then recognizes the paladin as Illumian and then straightened out his clothes, not expecting such an illustrious figure visit his shop


    "as to you too," said the merchant, "Popol the weapons and magical trinkets seller at your service, now don''t be shy take a look at my goods Illumian


    you''ll find all the things you''ll need for whatever quest you may plan to take, I have a special on heal potions, buy three take 1 free only for today!"


    Githiom actually considered the offer but snapped back to his objective and asked Popol,


    "Quite tempting sir, but I there''s another purpose that I''m after, as a man of commerce, you always encounter all sorts of adventurers passing by right?"


    Popol proudly said, "that is correct sir!"


    Githiom then went to the point and asked the merchant,


    "have you ever heard of any land or kingdom called the kingdom among the stars?"You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.


    Popol, thought for a while and tried to recall which took several minutes


    "hmmmmmmmm....a country located among the stars....." he thought some more about such a ludicrous question


    "ah yes!, there was once I heard among the merchants about a legend told long ago....it was just an old tale are you interested in hearing it?"


    "of course!" Githiom''s face lit up


    Popol then stretched out his hand and opened his palm,


    "two silvers for a precious piece of information..."


    Githiom''s face then sunk and then said


    "two silver coins?! I could buy half the items in your shop with that amount!"


    Popol then slyly but politely smiled.


    Well it seems you are eager to know and you must know good sir that I''m running a business,


    I do need funds to run my shop" Popol then stretched out his hand and asked "two silver coins for precious information and I can guarantee you


    Illumian that you will like what you hear"


    ************************


    Githiom then looked over his money pouch and stared into the contents, he had 15 coppers and 4 bronzes, enough to buy lodgings for several days at a local inn or buy a sword, but not enough to pay for the information that the merchant had offered him.


    Githiom walked out of the shop and pondered his next action, then remembered the contest that Zorm was to register them,


    "perhaps the reward money will be enough, then remembering that the prize money last year was actually a gold coin and an exceptional


    weapon Githiom then made a line for the inn called the "White Pony" to rejoin Zorm.

 Chap 12: Zogg brawls in a Tavern

    Zogg entered the inn, the frames of the door decorated with a sculpture of a horse etched into the frames, narrowly missing a drunk patron thrown out by the tavern''s barkeep, Zogg immediately liked the place already,


    "good ambiance!" stepping over the knocked-out drunk. Zogg entered then place and saw all sorts of adventurers drinking and making merry, from mystic sorcerers to comely healers to muscled swordsmen, it was buzzing with activity as they all were there to join the annual Alwyn fighting tournament, Zogg approached the barkeep and then asked about the details of the contest, the barkeep a sultry woman busy passing drinks to the patrons then noticed the barbarian and then spoke


    "here to join the contest I suppose? well I wouldn''t wonder, the contest attracts the strongest in the land"


    Zorm immedietely liked hearing these words,


    "when Zorm sign up!?!" giddy like an excited child,


    then someone stopped Zogg holding his shoulder, Zogg could feel a vice-like grip clamp onto his shoulder turning to his back he saw a burly man with a large sword strapped to his back, Zogg then turned to see this man and sized him up, he was almost as tall as him but was just as


    muscled, and had some fairly expensive adventurer armor on him, indicating that he must be a skilled fighter, Zogg then uncharacteristically was chatty and asked the man,


    "who grips Zogg''s shoulder like a gorilla?"


    the man only chuckled and then explained,


    "now see here big man, this tournament attracts the strongest adventurers in the land, glory and riches are rewarded to the winners of this contest


    of which I will win"


    Zogg then drew this hand to his chin and asked him


    "and who are you then boasty man"


    the man then put his hands to his hips and the announced


    "who am I?!" surprised that Zogg did not recognize him


    "why I just happen to be one of the winners of the grand tournament of the kingdom of tournaments! they call me Wurlow!! along with my party we steamrolled our competitors to win and become the grand champions" Zogg was unimpressed. but Wurlow continued


    "but enough about my exploits real warriors talk with their swords....or axes pointing to Zogg''s weapon,


    Zogg then drew his weapon ready for a brawl, Wurlow sucker-punched him of which he was able to dodge hitting another bystanding swordsman who knocked his head into another drinking man, who spilled his ale onto his armor, upset the drinking man then punched the man who knocked him


    and then a domino effect happened as the entire tavern erupting in a brawl, mages flinging spells and swordsman clashing swords much to the barkeep''s horror, Wurlow and Zogg then traded weapon blows on top of a table while chaos ensued, Zogg finding out that Wurlow was not


    actually just all talk, his skills with the sword were formidable as he parried and counterattacked Zorm''s every move, Wurlow on his part was impressed with Zorms skill even almost being overwhelmed, the entire tavern was alight with spells and thrown chairs but at the center at it all


    were the two combatants Wurlow and Zogg, Wurlow twisting his sword to change the direction the sword will swing, Zogg blocking with his axe then twisting it to brush the sword away, it was a melee of sword swings and axe slashes, but neither one of the combatants could land a hit, finally with a swing thrown too soon goaded by Zogg, Wurlow was caught in a vulnerable position as Zogg raised his weapon and hit the handle of the axe on Wurlow''s jaw staggering the swordsman a few paces, Zogg then formed his stance placing his feet wide apart,


    better to enable him to strike with more power and accuracy, Wurlow did not take the blow very well and charged Zogg which what Zorm was expecting, then howling into the air Zorm


    cast a fireball spell which surprised Wurlow who did not expect a barbarian to fling spells.


    "magic!? that''s not possible!"


    Zorm then released the spell. flinging it at Wurlow. the spell was then swatted away by the swordsman but not before coming into contact with his sword and singeing Wurlow''s hair and eyebrows a bit, then Zogg cast a lightning spell and cast it on Wurlow shocking the warrior and a nearby swordsman and mage, but even with this and the swordsman and mage dropping to the floor Wurlow did not drop but instead went straight at the barbarian. Zogg then howled some more and enchanted his axe with the lightning element and went straight at Wurlow once more the two warriors locking weapons, each time Wurlow would hit Zogg''s axe with his blade he would get a jolt, forcing him to retreat a few paces but to his horror he would still get jolted by the lightning element enchanted axe Zogg held, Wurlow then charged onto Zogg holding his sword poised for a downward strike not minding the electric jolts whittling away at his stamina, Zogg then also charged as sparks kept tingling out of his axe, Zogg swung his axe downward Wurlow dodging it by inches, then howling a mighty bellow Zogg swung downward hitting the floor with his spell-enchanted axe unleashing the electricity stored in his weapon the discharge formed a circle of zig-zagging electricity, and swept the floor around Zogg knocking some of the fighting adventurers and hitting Wurlow the electricity arcing around Wurlow,


    but the damage did not fell the warrior as he kept himself up despite the


    Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators!damage he took, Zogg was impressed and then formed stance once more to attack, Wurlow smiled and swung his sword in form around him preparing to also meet his foe, then a flash of a skirt went was seen in the middle of the charging Zogg and Wurlow and in an instant the barkeep then came between them and angrily cried out, making everyone fighting in the large hall stop immediately


    "Stop destroying my property you buffoons!!!" the temporary peace then was broken as one of the patrons broke a jug of ale on his opponent and the ensuing chaos continued once more.the barkeep, ignored and sighing went berserk and jumped into the fray. now the momentum of the battle changed as the barkeep knocked out the patrons one by one with her fists, slamming men to the ground and throwing bodies to the floor.


    One by one each of the taverns patrons along with Wurlow and Zogg were thrown and kicked out by the barkeep lady who turned out to be a past tournament champion. Aluma that was her name, feared for her martial prowess and renowned for her beauty. all the patrons and including


    Wurlow and Zogg were lying on the ground all spread out like dried jerky.


    *************************************


    Zogg got up and brushed himself off and Wurlow did the same along with all the patrons in the tavern, all even the mages and swordsmen stood up all gawking at Aluma who still cross-armed looked at them with eyes like pointed daggers,


    Wurlow and Zogg then looked at each other then laughed at the state of the situation and then offered apologies to Aluma for breaking her establishment


    Aluma then placated said


    "all your uncollected tabs will go to fixing my tavern, and that includes all of you lot!"


    a series of grunts and protests were heard from the thrown crowd but all agreed reluctantly, lest risk incurring the barkeep''s wrath and getting banned from the tavern indefinitely,


    Wurlow then patting Zogg on the back


    "you fight well barbarian!, it looks like the strength and skill of the barbarians are not just all hearsay and stories!"


    Zogg then returned the gesture


    "Thokk would be pleased with your skills, swordsman!"


    after all the pleasantries were done, Zogg sat down with Wurlow, pouring ale into his mouth and recounting his adventures with Githiom and Papaya


    Wurlow took his turn and told of his adventures with Danas the comely mage and the owner of the swords of light and darkness in the kingdom of the colosseum, of how they won and ultimately passed into legend as the mythical three,


    Wurlow then listened intently when Zogg explained his Quest find the Kingdom found among the stars and then passed on an interesting piece of knowledge


    "hmmmm....during my travels I did come across some travelers speaking of stories about a land found in the sky but it is common knowledge


    there are flying mountains to be seen locally, remote but they do exist, I did not pay much attention to it but I did hear that the story goes that there was a lost adventurer who found himself lifted from the ground and seeing the sky up close and even touching the clouds,


    Zogg then received the registration scroll brought up by the tournament scribe and signed it with a pen, rather clumsily, Wurlow then had an idea


    "say Barbarian, how about teaming up for the contest? it needs five people to participate and I already have another member on board"


    Zogg considered this and then having seen Wurlow''s strength then asked"


    Who is the other member?"


    Wurlow then answered


    "sadly though the one owning a powerful pair of swords is far away from here on another land, but the second member is none other than one of the winners of the contest, Daneas the mage,


    the scene then focuses on a comely lady posing in front of the two,


    "yes it is I Daneas!" the mage then shifted to another pose, and then sat her buttocks on the table where Zogg and Wurlow were


    "Daneas is a very powerful mage, she and I won the tournament with another swordsman" said Wurlow


    Zogg smiled and then said


    "then we''re complete I have two other companions to join us on this contest,


    Githiom the Paladin an Illumian and Papaya the Amazon"


    Daneas then added


    "Oh! an Amazon? I''ve only heard them in stories. and an Illumian? we''ve fought them in the Kingdom of the tournament"


    Wurlow then bid the scribe to come and with his own initiative signed all of them in as one party.


    the burly swordsman then continued on with his story about the flying mountain as Zogg continued listening and Daneas still sitting on their table and listening


    "to what I''ve heard, that adventurer described being abducted by a flying disk and then whisked away while he was on that said ship he was


    able to see and touch the clouds, and having quite the journey across the sky, he was able to walk on the land among the stars, but I couldn''t tell if it was true or merely a story made up by drunks to pass the time.


    Zogg''s curiosity was piqued


    "where and how did that man get taken?"


    Wurlow then chose to withhold the information and then said


    "I''ll tell you when we win this contest"


    Zogg then stomped his mug on the table, slightly surprising Daneas who put her hands in front of her


    "tell me now Wurlow or I''ll force it out of you!"


    just then Aluma shot him a look and Zogg then reluctantly had to capitulate Wurlow placating Zogg merely said


    "I know the place where this man whom we are referring to was taken, don''t you want to know where or how he was able to go back?"


    Zogg then lowered his axe and then said


    "If we win this contest you will go with us to this location you speak?"


    Wurlow eagerly then answered him


    "of course! now drinks to everyone!"


    just then a man in bright armor came into the tavern and immediately made everyone notice his presence, it was not hard, his armor and weapons made him instantly definable as an Illumian, Zogg called out to him and beckoned him to sit with Wurlow and Daneas


    Githiom obliged took his seat and introduced himself to Wurlow and Daneas, Daneas mentioning that they had fought with Illumians before in the tournament and how they had almost been beaten by them. Gitiom then said "they must be strong then", but did not tell the two adventurers that they actually had fought youngling students from the knight school at Illumia and that they were doing an assignment which was to go and participate in a contest to test their skills against powerful foes,


    Githiom then after introductions were given then told of his foray into the markets for information to Zogg while Wurlow and Daenas listened,


    Wurlow then said to Githiom, that merchant may be selling you rubbish Illumian, they have been known to scam people around these parts


    Githiom then considered this but the chance may be too great that what the merchant may be telling could be the truth,


    Zogg confidently then said to Githiom


    "no worries Githiom, I will take care of that what we need is win the contest"


    this delighted Wurlow who took his turn now in the conversation


    Wurlow then explained his plan to Githiom and Zogg


    "this is what we''ll do.


    step 1 go to the contest...


    step 2 win the contest...


    step 3 get the prize and everyone is happy...


    Githiom and Zogg paused for a while and then clapped their hands in sarcasm


    while Wurlow basked in the glory of his plan

 Chap 13: Papayas Library Adventure

    Papaya now had two companions in her adventure, the two academy professors Wiltoh of swordsmanship and Mivera of magic


    as they were journeying across Alwyn''s cobblestone street, Papaya took the time to thank the two for aiding her,


    Mivera politely answered


    "no thanks necessary Amazon, I was curious about this kingdom you seek anyway, imagine a land amongst the stars that would be quite


    the sight"


    Wiltoh offered his reasons


    "I was meaning to go on a little trip outside as well, I haven''t been on a quest for some time now and it seems the opportunity presented


    itself"


    the group then continued on walking towards the great library and Papaya was able to see the sights offered by the kingdom, first, they passed


    by the bustling markets and saw the wares offered by the merchants, this new sight made Papaya excited as this was the first time she had


    seen another land''s place of selling, she had something similar as well in the amazon''s lands, but the Amazon''s way of selling was more


    like bartering rather than using the curious looking items known as coins, to Papaya''s eyes seeing coins was a rather novel way to acquire


    goods and she was planning to try it out when she goes home after finishing her quest, Mivera had noticed the gleam in her excited eyes as she


    observes a man in the act of purchasing goods, she then offered to demonstrate it by taking the Amazon and giving her 3 coppers for a loaf


    of bread sold by a nearby baker, Papaya then took the coins and then slowly gave it to the vendor who gave her an especially large loaf


    Wiltoh chuckled while Papaya nibbled on the loaf,


    "so this is how you people trade goods?"


    said the Amazon


    "very interesting!"


    Papaya''s group then continued on their way and crossed over fron the markets to Alwyn''s great piers, large ships of all


    sizes could be seen but the interesting thing to see on this pier is that it was a hub that connects to the sea, to the land and even to the air sea-going ships, land-going ships and even airships could be seen floating above and this sight awed the Amazon, Wiltoh then explained,


    **********************


    The amount of ships that pass by here is staggering, this port is the reason why Alwyn is a country unlike any other, Papaya took in the


    sights with Wiltoh and Mivera, the Amazon watched as porters loaded wooden carts and barrels full of goods as the port bustled on with its usual


    activity, she watched as ferry passengers strode up on the gangplank with the intent to ride the boat to some exotic destination, the port was


    large and vast, typical due to its status as a pier to hold all sorts of ships, up above she could see airships floating above Mireva took the


    time to explain that the ships were enchanted with potent wind magic that made it float above the air, Wiltoh then explained that though there are


    airships around the seagoing ship still are present because the magic required to make an airship float wears off after some time, that''s was why


    seagoing ships are more economical, as for land going ships the technology that makes vessels that can travel across the land was made possible due to


    the machines invented by the technologically advanced Orodos. the kingdom of machines, Wiltoh then said


    "I was able to travel there once.... the place was a marvel to see you could see mechanical things everywhere, perhaps you would go see it for yourself?"


    the group then were now on the gates leading to the residences of the citadel and Papaya could see houses as far as the eye could see, the place


    was decked with cottages and the streets were lined with cobblestones. trees were planted in an orderly fashion along the streets and living spaces and white


    stone could be seen on the houses,


    Mivera then took her turn explaining the area


    "this area, the streets the trees and the houses were built using magic by the best craftsmen using spells that could shape stone, the king wanted


    to build a beautiful centerpiece for his kingdom namely the residential district and tapped the finest craftsmen and planners to help him do it"


    Wiltoh then pointed out the outer boundaries and then the party were able to locate the Library of Alwyn, the building was particularly immense


    and was laden with white marble shaped by spells to form designs that impressed the eyes, Mivera then went first greeting the female librarian who


    immediately recognized her and returned the gesture,


    "ahh lady Mivera of the academy, here again to your usual?"


    Mivera then courteously bowed and told the bespectacled librarian


    "this visit is going to be something different Anea referring to the librarian"


    "I''m here to find a special book that contains a certain curious information that my Amazon friend here is seeking"


    Anea''s eyes then slightly widened


    "Oh my! an Amazon? I''ve only read about you in books"


    she then looked Papaya in curiosity and asked curiously


    "Is it true? that you amazons can fell an elephant in one strike with a spear? or shoot an arrow into the eye of a bird?"


    Papaya then smiled and merely was silent, Mivera then had to interrupt


    "We''d love to acquaint you with my friend here Anea, but we have a book to find"


    Anea then turned to Mivera and then said


    "yes of course... which book is lady Mivera looking for in particular?"


    Mivera then explained


    "that is what I''m hoping you would answer, I''m willing to surmise that you read most of the books of this library since you keep these books


    in order?"


    Anea then fixed her glasses in place and exclaimed


    "yes that is correct....but...I''ve only read less than half of the books here and that is considerable since I''ve worked these halls for years


    that is just how large this library is, I could ask the entire staff of librarians for any particular book you have in mind"


    Mivera then


    *********************************


    pressed Anea for her help narrating Papaya''s travels and her encounter with Wiltoh and herself, the librarian then took off


    her spectacles and wiped it with a cloth she procured from her pouch quite impressed with the story told by Mivera.


    "that''s quite the adventure you''ve had Amazon, alright I will seek the help of the others"


    this made the three in the party pleased as they had gone all across the country merely to find a book and now were relieved that they were


    at the end of their little mission,


    Anea procured a messaging crystal and called forth all the librarians working at the colossal building, speaking on the


    shining spell enchanted artifact she spoke and transmitted a summon to heed her call calling forth most of the staff nearby, a total of five


    people came and stood there in line as Anea prepared them, Wiltoh then asked Anea


    "well? not being rude but we do need to find that book immediately"


    Anea then smiled "first though you have to pass a test"


    "What test?"


    asked Wiltoh


    "we librarians consider ourselves guardians of knowledge and every once in a while we find adventurers looking for information in these halls


    they need to show us that they are worthy to receive that knowledge"


    Mivera then spoke


    "what is the test then?"


    Anea then explained


    "the test is quite easy, you will have to locate and capture all six of us while we are hidden in the library


    "a game of hide and seek and capture the target?"


    asked Papaya


    "that is correct!" said Ania excitedly


    all six of the library staff including Ania then lined up as Anea explained the rules,


    "we will be hidden all over the library but it won''t end there, you will have to capture us one by one, we don''t want to


    make it too easy for you wouldn''t we?"


    Wiltoh and Mivera looked at each other and then went to Papaya


    "don''t worry Amazon we will be with you on this"


    Anea then fixed her glasses and then beckoned to the five


    are you three ready now?


    Papaya, Wiltoh and Mivera then braced themselves in positions ready to


    sprint


    "let''s start now!


    1


    2


    3


    as Papaya and her two companions burst into a sprint they immediately could tell that this won''t be an easy task as the sixUnauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    Librarians immediately scattered some doing backflips while others doing cartwheels all away from them, disappearing into the


    vast network of bookshelves and in an instant Papaya''s party found themselves alone in the hall of the great library,


    all three of them then discussed their plans


    Wiltoh going first


    "we should be splitting up to find them one by one"


    the two nodded and they went on their separate ways


    Papaya sprinted through the library finding some Library visitors along the way but did not even see a flash of the robe of a librarian


    Wiltoh ran and checked every corner he could see around the shelves but fared no better


    "Blast! he cursed how can these book clerks be so good at hiding?"


    on Mivera''s end she looked around atop the bookshelves carefully surveying across the library but all she could find was a vast sea of


    bookshelves and no Librarian in sight.


    all three then dejectedly went back to the front of the hall and then huddled to discuss another better plan


    Wiltoh turned to Mivera


    "do you have any spells that remove or locate concealment?"


    Mivera then answered


    "In fact I do,"


    Mivera then chanted and cast a spell that covered the entire library and


    immediately they saw one of the librarians appearing in front of them


    hiding behind a chair


    "his concealment now undone he merely chuckled


    "good work finding me! good luck taking me in!"


    he then backflipped as Wiltoh attempted to capture him and then disappeared behind the shelves still nimbly flipping in the air


    "well that''s one of them we found..."


    "at least we don''t have to worry about finding them now"


    said Mivera


    Papaya the picked up her bow and arrow and notched the arrow ready to catch the hiding librarians, Wiltoh and Mivera catching up to her


    Mivera readied her staff enchanting their weapons with electricity,


    "with this, we''ll be able to stun our targets and capture them easily"


    Wiltoh swirled his sword the sparks flying all over and went ahead


    as the three formed a triangular formation to anticipate their targets movements, the library visitors watching them as they search the


    immense building for the library staff they are supposed to capture,


    then one popped out of the shelves and showed herself, Papaya immediately on to her and loosed a lightning enchanted arrow with the point dulled


    to hit the target, anticipating this the woman merely cartwheeled out of harm''s way and nimbly ran off to the side with the three in hot pursuit


    "Wait!!" said Witoh "she''s so fast!" how can these book clerks be so agile?!?


    after some walking Wiltoh then notices one in hiding and told the other two secretly not letting himself act in a way the target would know


    then in a quiet tone, he told the other two, "I found one, behind the stairs"


    the three then huddled in a circle and then discussed their plans


    "Mivera you go to the left, I will go to the right and flush him out then you can use the stun arrows Papaya"


    the two nodded and then went off, Papaya then stood some spans away (meters) and waited like a huntress that she was, she remembers her time


    hunting among the jungles of her home and this was no different from what she was accustomed to, Wiltoh then cried out


    "NOW!" and charged into the stairs with Mivera to his left the librarian then having been found out jumped out and ran towards Papaya who was hiding


    behind a table and shot her arrow stunning the oncoming book clerk,


    "that''s one down!" said Mivera as they huddled to the still limp body of the clerk, then promptly helped up by Wiltoh


    the clerk then stood up still stinging with the stun arrow and dusted himself off


    "well done! you have five more to go, adventurers"


    Papaya then went off with her companions to locate the other five


    it did not take long before they spotted another one who was jumping and stepping over the bookshelves at breakneck speed,


    there''s one! said Mivera as they broke off into hot pursuit once more. Mivera then cast a slow spell to impede the fleeing target chanting


    under her breath and flinging the spell hitting the librarian, Wiltoh then acted fast and flew his sword swinging with a swing that could only


    be skillfully done by a master swordsman and arced his lightning enchanted sword disabling the target and scoring them a second librarian,


    "that was not fair! said the lady librarian on the ground still immobile except for her parting lips


    "Mivera then countered"


    "Oh yes it was, don''t be so cross for your part you didn''t make it easy for us"


    the lady librarian then slowly stood up and then returned to where the still waiting the last librarian was but not before saying to the party


    "Humph! you have four more to go! be wary of the twins they''re tricky!"


    Wiltoh then uttered "Twins?"


    "I did recall that there were two identical looking ladies among the library staff," said Mivera, though I wonder what she meant by tricky"


    Papaya then readied her bow and checked her arrows earlier enchanted by Mivera and then led the two forward beckoning them to go forward and


    locate the last four,


    it took some hours of searching but they had finally found another of their target hiding in a pile of unsorted books and true enough through the luck


    of the gods they were twins


    "the twins then formed themselves synchronously and then were waiting for the three to capture them,


    Wiltoh was cautious " it can''t be this easy can it?"


    Mivera dismissed him "they''re there all we have to do now is to immobilize them, gesturing to Papaya to use her arrows which the Amazon did


    but as the Amazon loosed her arrows Wiltoh turned out to be right as the two targets parted and flipped in quick succession, their movements


    too fast and as the two backflipped and somersaulted Papaya could not make heads or tails on how to aim much less shoot another arrow, the


    two twins were just too nimble and fast.


    Mivera tried casting a slow spell to mitigate the two but her spell simply could not hit their mark, after spinning around the


    party the twins then each of them blew a kiss towards the party and then disappeared into the library, leaving the party dumbfounded


    Mivera was at a loss of words, looking at her two companions while Wiltoh was still dizzy with confusion, Papaya recovered and then


    said "What just happened? twins made me confused"


    Mivera then noticed and explained to her two companions, it''s a confusion spell. they cast it on us when they were running away.....


    one was distracting us while the other was casting it.


    "so that was what happened....how do we counter it?" asked Wiltoh"


    Mivera grabbed a small spellbook from her pouch and explained, "I shall cast a spell of unbinding and disrupt them so you two must act as my shields


    while I cast it. In all likelihood they would notice and try to interrupt me, fortunately, I have you two to prevent that"


    the three then tried once more looking for the twins among the narrow paths among the bookshelves and found them once more standing in one place


    giggling, then dashing once more but this time Papaya and the others were ready as they moved in to intercept them, Wiltoh and Papaya immediately


    felt the effects of the confusion spell as their senses dulled once again but still held adamant, their sight spinning and almost making them


    blackout then in an instant their seeing cleared up as Mivera finished her counterspell, surprising the two twins, Papaya then promptly struck out her


    spear also enchanted with the lightning element the same with Wiltoh''s sword and struck their targets down easily, now they had four and only two were


    left, clapping could be heard from the top of the bookshelves prompting them to look at their audience seeing the last two Ania and an elderly gentleman


    beside her


    "you have done splendidly Mivera''s group! you captured four of us, and within a very short time to add to that too, so I''m changing the task


    instead of finding us you will have to beat me and Liomos here in a free for all battle, Mivera protested "that was not what we agreed upon!"


    Papaya took note of Mivera''s hesitance to accept the challenge" Wiltoh also had reservations which made the Amazon ask "what''s wrong?, they only two


    while we are three, we have the advantage!"


    Mivera then said "the librarians are very adept at spellcasting I would not take them likely" Wiltoh then grabbed her on the shoulder and said


    "we can take them! now let''s get this done" and then went forward Mivera then asked Papaya "What do we do now Amazon?"


    Papaya then decisively stamped her foot down and went forward beside Wiltoh "we do this!"


    Mivera encouraged by the two then cried out to the two remaining librarians then also went forward yelling to the two above


    "WE ACCEPT!" all three then readied themselves for battle, the other captured librarians were now on the scene watching intently the ensuing battle,


    ******************


    Papaya was the first to charge as she leaped on top of the bookshelves to engage the two opponents brandishing her spear she then went forward and saw


    the two librarians concentrating on casting their spells, Wiltoh and Mivera down below also leaped onto the top of the bookshelves and ran towards the


    chanting spellcasters, aiming to intercept them before they could cast their spells, Papaya was first to come near them but as she was ready to engage


    a large construct appeared before her, twice the size it was an amalgam of books formed into a humanoid form, Ania then cried out saying


    "you did not think it would be that easy did you Amazon?"


    Papaya struck her spear into the large humanoid puppet made of books and parchment but found it not even flinching one bit from the stab of her spear


    jumping upwards she stabbed into its head but no matter how skillfully her strikes were her opponent was not of flesh and blood, Wiltoh and Mivera


    arrived at the scene to help out the beleaguered Amazon and lent their sword and magic to her


    Wiltoh slamming his sword on the construct''s torso to no effect, Mivera cried out to both


    "swords and spears are of no use here! only magic!" then cast a fireball spell towards the hulking pile of paper and books intending to


    burn it Mivera was then surprised as the creature simple brushed off the flames engulfing it and lumbered on towards them,


    "Wiltoh looked at the two librarians and saw that they were now chanting spells augmenting the formidable creature they had summoned against them


    and looked to Mivera "take down the source!" gesturing to the two spellcasters, Papaya saw the wisdom in this and then flanked the creature intending


    to take down the still chanting librarians the creature spread its arms wide to protect its masters but it was only alone and could not guard against


    flanking opponents eventually despite the creatures protecting the two, Papaya was able to get through and attacked Ania, only to be deterred by a


    magic barrier protecting the mage, Mivera saw this and immediately cast a spell of dispelling to remove Ania''s protection only to be countered in


    turn by Ania''s partner who simply recast another barrier spell to replace the lost one, the old man chuckled


    ****************


    seeing the barrier that the other mage had cast Papaya then leaped back to safety away from the swiping arms of the summoned creature


    protecting the two librarians readying her spear she prepared to defend from the attacks of the giant construct in front of her Wiltow also retreats


    to regroup with Papaya and Mivera, meanwhile, Ania changed her chanting to cast a different spell Ania cast several


    fireballs towards Papaya and her companions blowing up the bookshelves as Papaya and her group scramble to dodge the projectiles,


    Mivera then cried out


    "aren''t you worried about destroying your library?!"


    Ania simply said


    "Oh don''t worry a quick tidying spell will undo all the damage!"


    then continued casting her spells towards them


    Wiltoh then noticed


    something and mentioned it to his compatriots.


    "one of them is casting the spell that''s holding up that pesky creature!" pointing to the giant humanoid pile of books and parchment


    "If we interrupt the casting we''ll get a free shot in," Wiltoh said as he prepared his sword for a charge,


    Papaya and Mivera then understood his intentions and then went along with him,


    one of them must distract the creature while the others charge in,


    "Wiltoh then charged in and swung his sword towards the creature and slashed it keeping it distracted


    Papaya and Mivera then ran towards the two mages Papaya readying her spear to strike while Mivera closed her eyes concentrating on the spell


    she was casting,


    Ania seeing them then cast a firewall separating the Amazon from her and the old man. Mivera then released her spell, another dispelling spell


    ************


    to counter the binding spell that the old-man had cast on the creature all Papaya, Wiltoh and Mivera all then saw the spell holding up the


    creature weakening as the creature struggled to remain material, it''s parts slowly becoming undone and falling apart, Ania''s partner struggled to


    keep the creature material but this was prevented by Papaya who now jumped across the firewall and then attacked both mages with a technique


    double strike, striking both mages with her lightning enchanted spear both felled down disabled by the electric shock, Mivera and Wiltoh rejoiced


    their task now done as all four librarians captured and the last two defeated.


    Ania slowly rose to her feet and congratulated the three,


    "Well done adventurers, your task is complete, though I do say it was done a little too roughly...."


    Mivera and Wiltoh let out a slight smile while looking at Papaya who merely smirked,


    Wiltoh now then asked "so now can we use your help in locating that book?


    Ania with all five of the librarians then listened intently to Papaya''s request


    "Papaya is looking for a book that shows where a kingdom among the stars is located"


    all five then took their turns in telling what they know, the first one Ania spoke first


    "hmmm, I''m afraid I can''t help you there, I''m stumped I''ve read a lot of books and this is the first time I''ve heard of that request.


    the second one spoke and then was also the same


    "I''ve read logs of flying airships like the ones found in the great pier flying a little higher than they have should but not of anything else...."


    the twin also returned the same


    "We''ve not read anything about that.....we read castles held aloft by a giant balloon up in the skies but not of anything else.....


    the fifth one also proved fruitless


    "I''ve only read something about flying mountains up in the sky....."


    Papaya was then beginning to feel distraught seeing that their trip was for naught when she heard the oldest librarian speak


    "yes, of course, I''ve read about something called a land amongst the stars, it was a very long long time ago when I was still a young man..."


    Wiltoh then pressed some more out of the old man


    "could you elaborate on that? it might be what we''ve been looking for"


    the old-man then sat and spoke


    "the book is very old even more than me, it was an old musty tome I had found here when I was still new to this place"


    Mivera took her turn asking the elderly man


    "could you tell more about what you can recall?"


    the old man then stroked his chin trying to recall what he had remembered about the story


    "It was about an adventurer who managed to reach a peculiar land.....according to the story


    he was lifted high above the highest clouds and when he stood aloft he could see the entire continents


    below him and the things he brought with him would float mysteriously even without the aid of magic"


    Papaya was eager to know more,


    "Tell more old-man, about story"


    the old-man then paused some more trying to recall


    "he reached a floating land that was wreathed in metals and that the air itself was non-existent that he had to


    use a special artifact to breathe properly....that is all that I can recall... you''ll have to find the book to know more


    it is somewhere around here in the great library"


    Mivera then looked at the great expanse of the ocean of books that they must wade through to just find the book in question


    the lady professor then voiced her fears


    "that could take us months to just find"


    Ania then added


    "yes you are right I''m afraid....even with the book organization system we use to find certain tomes, not all books are documented


    here it is just that vast"


    Papaya was now distraught feeling that she reached a dead-end the old man then offered a solution,


    "I do know of a way to find it, it is a special spell that finds a certain tome and returns it to


    the caster, but I have to be the one to cast it since I am the only one who knows the story....


    the spell works by using the memory stored in my mind and then locates and sifts the same


    words in the library"


    Mivera then recognized the spell


    "from what I''ve heard that spell must be written and used in parchment for it to work....."


    "very astute of you lady Mivera..." said the old man