The Knight and the Efreet Pt. 01

Each had a set of small claws, but even though they were sharp, they looked looked extremely painful and sharp.

Alisaundre drew his sword, and drew his sword from its scabbard, and then his shield from his side.

"Never a dull moment, eh?" He watched as they came.

The claws didn't look that threatening. At the very least they may puncture someone's flesh, and while someone may bleed to death, the claws were much too short to truly hit the heart. Which made him wonder why they even had claws. But then, as if magic, their claws transformed and turned into blades.

"Well," he spoke in surprise. "I suppose the claws were only a cover up."

The creatures came towards him and started to attack.

The first creature attacked him with a vertical slash which he blocked with his shield, and then the second creature closest to that one attacked with an overhead slash that he parried with his sword.

Once he had warded off the creature's attack, the third one came in and struck him with not ONE, but TWO sword arms; attacking him simultaneously. He parried those attacks, and took a few steps back, away from the creatures, and then rushed in; slicing his blade into the head of the first creature; cutting it right off and causing it to drop into the blood.

Instantly upon the head splashing into the water, the next creature came in for an attack, and while Alisaundre managed to avoid its strike that was aimed right at his face, he was too slow to completely move out of the way, due to lack of food, water and rest, and was cut across the cheek.

He was thankful he didn't receive a critical wound.

He returned the attack; impaling the creature through the stomach, and then going after the next; cutting its legs off, and finally slicing its head off into the water, bloodying his sword even more.

He stepped out of the way as the blood sprayed out, but his face and hair were still covered by the creature's blood.

Now he only had one to go.

The creature leaped from the spot it was at, but Alisaundre swayed to the left, out of the way, just as it was launching itself at him, and cleaved his blade through the middle of its skull; dragging his sword down the rest of its body; slicing it in half, further bathing himself in blood and innards.

"I wonder if anymore surprises await me?" He whispered to himself.

Alisaundre returned his blade to his scabbard and turned away from the dead bodies of the creatures, and turned his gaze towards the end of the tunnel; setting towards it again.

Alisaundre reached his bloodied hand up to his face, and wiped the sweat from his crimson-covered forehead.

He stopped; now in front of the fire, and stared into the brilliantly burning flames that acted as a safe wall; guarding the other side of whatever it was that awaited him.

"Another dead end?" His lips curved as he started laughing.

"To think that I came all this way for nothing. Am I to truly die here?" He turned his back.

Alisaundre walked away from the flame and was ready to turn back around and leave, when they ought of a secret passage leading to the other side, popped into his head.

Slowly, the thought popped into his head: Maybe someone didn't want him to get inside? That seemed plausible enough, given that so far he had only been in one room and it led to the dungeon room WHICH was a dead end of course, with the exception of the flames that we're blocking the way, which seemed completely off and out of place.

"Where would I hide a secret passage?" He cupped his chin.

The wall seemed likely.

Alisaundre walked towards the wall, and felt around it; rubbing his hands against the marble for any possible secret contraption. But nothing.

He moved away from the wall and continued feeling the walls, but just like before, he found nothing. The wall was just an ordinary wall without anything remarkably special about it. No secret passage, nothing to activate one. Nothing.

"This is foolishness!" He stomped his foot; gritting his teeth.

Just as he stomped his foot, he fell down into the blood and went right down a secret door that had opened up from beneath the bath of crimson; falling straight through the floor and then hitting an old, wooden table that broke his fall.

"What in the bloody..." He stared upwards as blood poured down into him, before the secret ceiling door closed.

Alisaundre say up, then walked towards the edge of the table and got off it; looking around slowly while he started to take his first few steps onto the floor; walking around the area he was in.

He soon discovered that the room he was in was the church room. There were pews from corner to corner, and there was even the pulpit.

The church room looked like it had seen better days, and the walls looked like they were well-withered, as if the entire church hadn't been set foot in by humankind in years.

Even the pews were withering away into nothingness.

As he continued to gaze about, Alisaundre saw, above the pulpit, another demonic looking statue. This one was bigger than the first one he had seen in the first room he arrived in upon getting out of the hall entrance of the temple. The claws were much longer, its head shape was quite angular, its tongue was out, its teeth were more defined and even larger, and it had six eyes; one pair in the correct place, one pair on the arms, and two pair on the stomach. The horns were longer as well, and the wings almost spandex to each corner of the ceiling.

A ghastly sight indeed.

Alisaundre stopped between the rows of pews and just stated at the statue, but then turned around and looked down at a tattered red carpet. He lifted his gaze up, then shot his gaze towards the oaken swinging doors that led to the room he was in, and followed the tearing carpet towards the doors.

"Whoever made this place is appalling." He muttered.

Why would someone dedicate an entire temple to Satan? There was nothing wonderful about him. He was a liar, a deceiver! A trickster who seduced people and then brought them to eternal darkness with his silver tongue.

He was starting to feel guilty for even being in such a place.

As he walked towards the door and reached for it, he heard the sound of cracking, turned back to gaze above the pulpit, and watched as the eyes if the statue cake to life, and then the wings started to break free from the stone that covered its body.