Friedrich gasped as he dropped to his knees, releasing his grip on his sword which fell to the grey grass beneath him. Grey? Grass is not grey. He looked around desperately, wondering where he could possibly be. This was not the temple, for he was outside, but it should not be night, nor should there be grass in the desert.
The dark blue sky billowed with endless purple and grey clouds without a sun to illuminate it. Instead, there were faint deposits of light that lit up the world, if you could call it lighting up. There were peaks and spires of sharp stone all across the horizon in every direction, some of them bearing metal towers with blue fire lighting the tops.
The foliage was few and far between with all of the trees greying and decayed, without a leaf in sight, while the grass beneath Friedrich’s feet was sharp and stiff as though it was thousands of little needles rather than plants. The soil from which it grew was lifeless, stale and certainly not fertile.
“Where…where am I?” he muttered while standing up as panic started to set in. “Marina? Teleri?”
He had struck the orb with his sword and it had activated. It had teleported him somewhere, but where was that somewhere? It reminded him of The Infernal Kitchen. He must have been sent to another plane.
“How do I leave?” he asked, dropping to the ground and looking around for the orb. “It isn’t here. It isn’t here. Am I…trapped?”
There was a loud screeching in the distance that made Friedrich wince and the hairs on his neck and arms stand on end. He grabbed his sword and stood back up, looking around for the source of the noise. There was nothing in sight. Nothing except for the rocks, the distant towers and the void of lifeless flora.
He felt all alone. He had felt alone before, upon the death of his mother and the capture of his father. He had felt alone, travelling across Mercia for a year and learning how to fend for himself. But then he found Marina and Teleri. He hadn’t been alone for a few short months and, now, he was all by himself once more.
There had to be a way back. It couldn’t be that he was stuck in this strange plane with no way to return to his world. He had found a way to escape The Infernal Kitchen and he would find a way to escape from here too. No matter what it took, he would find a way.
A sudden beating reached Friedrich’s ears and he looked directly above. He rolled to the side upon seeing the creature descending upon him. It swept its long tail through the air, slamming it into the soil where Friedrich had stood a moment before. As he returned to his feet, he saw the beast clearly.
It was womanlike in shape, reminding him of a harpy, but it was covered in pale purple scales rather than feathers. Its face was not pretty to look at with its high brow ridge that twisted into horns atop its head along with its jagged teeth that were sharp as razors. It had no hands attached to its body or wings, but its feet were large and clawed; perfect for scooping up prey and carrying them away.
Friedrich swung his sword as the winged beast lunged for him, claw-first. He delivered a deep gash to the underside of its foot and blocked a whip from its tail with his shield. He was not going to die in this plane and certainly not to a hideous creature like this.
The creature flew up and out of his range before circling around him in the air. He watched it the entire time, keeping his shield at the ready and his blade held back. Not finding an opening, the creature swept down at him, upon which he leapt aside and thrust his sword, skewering it through one of its wings, forcing it to the ground.
While it screeched and wailed, Friedrich pulled his sword free and plunged it into the monster’s scaly chest, ending its life and bringing silence once more save for his own panting. It had been a long day and even a short fight was enough to take it out of him after making his way through the Temple of Valskythe and defeating the giant cobra.
Fearing what would happen should more of these scaled harpies show up, Friedrich made himself scarce. He ran from where he had first arrived, unsure of where he was going, but he did not care. He had to find somewhere to lay low. He needed to give himself time to think.
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He ran past a pool of glowing green water, not daring to go too close to it, should it melt his flesh. He had experienced melted flesh less than an hour ago and he had no desire to experience it again. He headed for a cluster of jagged rocks by a cliff and wedged himself between them. It was an uncomfortable place to sit down, but at least it gave him some measure of cover.
Friedrich peered out into the wasteland of decay, wondering if there would be any sign of life beyond nether creatures that desired nothing more than to feast upon him. He didn’t have high hopes, but there was a small part of him that dared to believe that there was something here. Something good.
His stomach rumbled as he watched and waited. The rumbling gave him a terrifying realisation. If he was to survive here for any length of time, he would need food and water. Was he to feast on the flesh of his enemies? Perhaps the minotaur wouldn’t mind that. Perhaps it would even force him to ensure his survival. Its own survival. What about water? That green pool looked far from thirst-quenching.
“I don’t believe this,” he sighed, clutching his head in his hands. “What am I supposed to do?”
He knew the answer. He had to venture out and see what he could find. Of course, venturing out meant that he would also find things that he was not so keen on finding. But, needs must. Friedrich stepped out from the rocks, feeling no better after his uncomfortable and stressful rest.
It was tempting to don the minotaur mask, but it was what had gotten him into this mess in the first place. It had fuelled his anger, driving him to strike the orb. It was as though it wanted to be here. It may have been calm now, but who could say for sure that it would remain that way? Friedrich certainly couldn’t. No, he would opt for something safer that would give him stealth over strength.
He morphed into his golden fox form and scurried from rock to tree to rock to bush. Anything he could use for cover as he made his way through this nightmare plane, he used. The less time he spent in the open, the better, but his shining golden fur did not give him the subtlety that he truly needed. Considering his options, it would have to do.
Friedrich made his way towards one of the metal towers in the mountains. It would not be a short journey, especially the way he was moving now, but it would be his best chance of finding something. Even if he found only monsters and demons, at least he would know it was not worth his time to check other towers.
As he moved along, he spotted shadows and silhouettes moving nearby, but he dared not dwell on them in case they would attack him. Some of the creatures were large and others were small, but small did not mean harmless. He needed to conserve as much strength as possible and could not risk fighting openly. Even if he were to win, that would only make him hungrier and thirstier.
When Friedrich drew close to the foot of the mountain, something caught his eye. It was something most unexpected, but stoked his hopes. It was a road. It was unmistakably a road and it was leading towards the mountain. There was no vegetation and the ground had a distinct trodden look to it. There were creatures here beyond monsters. Whether that was good or not remained to be seen, but it was at least something to go on.
Before Friedrich had the chance to think more, there was the beating of heavy footsteps and the creaking of metal coming from up the slope, but hidden behind the thick clusters of lifeless trees and branching, leafless bushes.
Friedrich slinked behind a rock and waited. He dared not poke his head out in case he was seen. Rather, he would wait for whatever it was to pass and watch as it moved away. That seemed like the smartest play for the time being.
The footsteps grew louder and the creaking metal was joined by a rolling of wooden wheels. It was very close and it was moving along the road. Every now and then it was joined by a hiss, reminding Friedrich of the cobra from the ruins. He silently prayed to Jorren that its kind was not native to this plane, for that was the last thing he needed.
Suddenly, a whip cracked and a harsh voice called out. “Kelzrah, ki’gathu ver melyna!”
Friedrich watched as a pair of fat-bodied, bipedal lizards pulled a wagon. They were strapped to the wagon while an armoured man—if you could call him that—sat upon the wagon holding reins and a whip. The demonic wagoner had greenish-purple skin like a rotten artichoke and glowing eyes of orange that were clearly visible even from Friedrich’s position. Sitting on the back of the wagon was a large cage, carrying a mountain of bones, many of which were protruding from the cage.
Although he could not be sure of who the bones belonged to, there was a distinct human-like quality about them. Perhaps it was all in his head, but he was convinced that they were humans. If there were human bones here, then there were other humans too. He just needed to find them and, perhaps then, he would be able to find someone who could help him escape this plane.
He knew it was reckless, but Friedrich felt compelled to act. He sprinted across the grass and onto the road, making sure to stay behind the wagon and out of sight of both the demon and the lizards. They were fast, but free from carrying a wagon, he was faster. He pushed himself until he was feet away from it and then leapt with his front paws outstretched.
Friedrich grabbed onto the back of the wagon and pulled himself up, hiding behind the cage of bones. He peeked around to make sure that he wasn’t noticed before bringing his head back out of sight. He was going to ride with the demon until he found something that would help him out of this mess.