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THE ROOT OF DARKNESS THIRTY ONE
My hands tremble after an hour of persistent climbing. The stalk seemed to have no end. The farther I climb, the farther the top seems to get. I could only see what I assume to be the top of the giant plant, piercing through a sea of clouds so far up above.A strong wind blows against me, rattling my ropes and causing my hair to whip behind me. I hold fast, digging my knife into the thick stalk. My shirt is paper thin against the harshness of the elements up here, but I can only grit my teeth and continue.Up here, the wind is unrestricted and strong enough to knock one off any footholds. I do not intend to let that happen, anyway.The wind eventually dies down, and I let out a tired breath, continuing the torturous and hazardous climb. My fingers are bright red and raw from gripping tightly at the knife and ropes. I have tied the knife tightly to my arm with the ropes, so it does not fall back down to the ground if my hold slips.My toes burned from gripping on to precarious grooves
THE ROOT OF DARKNESS THIRTY TWO
"That's enough for today. We covered great a distance. I would not suggest you look down, because we are at such an unbelievable height. I don't want anyone getting faint." Sir Victor announces.I ignore him and look down, but I can not even see much of what lay below because it is already nightfall. And again, we are so far up that our eyes can not simply take the strain of trying to identify anything on back in the ground.A ghoulish thought crosses my mind, wondering if one would be dead in the air before they even reach the ground should they fall from this height.The last of the light is rapidly vanishing from the sky, and I have to focus harder on where I place my foot to avoid slipping.Sir Berret glances around us, and draws our attention to a fork in the part of the stalk right above us. It branches out into a sturdy stem with giant, strong leaves that don't even move with the wind."We can spend the night there, lads. Move your arse up there, Jack, we are running out of twi
THE ROOT OF DARKNESS THIRTY THREE
Three days.Three days to break the thick sheet of clouds hovering around the top of the giant plant like a mist. We persist through the fog like mad men, losing the strength to even talk.Every breath is precious in the thin air, and every step higher, drains our strengths faster than our barely existent food supply can replenish. Despite our strict rationing of hard bread and stale water, there is nothing left in our satchels."Ah! I can barely feel my back anymore!"It is Sir Berret who exclaims, his voice hoarse with exhaustion.I glance sideways at him, barely seeing him through the fog. I croak back,"I can't feel mine either. Only the pain in my fingers guide me. I reckon if I take my gloves off and see the state of my fingers, I would definitely faint and lose my balance."Sir Victor let out an exhausted wheeze that he probably intends to be laughter."Look on the bright side, lads. We are about to break the clouds. Look up!"I look up and a relieved smile stretch my parched l
THE ROOT OF DARKNESS THIRTY FOUR
I am still lost in the formless world of dreams and drowsiness when a sudden series of shouts and yells barges into my ears.Jolting, my eyes fly open as a familiar course of adrenaline runs through me. It is a familiar feeling. I have felt that a hundred times during the climb up the beanstalk, when I startle awake in the dead of the night thinking I was falling to my doom.Each night on the giant beanstalk brought a different kind of fear. The fear of my ropes snapping. The fear of the strong winds blowing me off my perch. The fear of suffocating in the thin air. The fear of slipping on plant sap.The fear of losing my blade, the last thing I have of my father.It was a treacherous sensation.And that fear is exactly what I feel right now, as I scramble on the pile of leaves I was lying on, squinting up at the sight before me."Don't move, you slimy intruder!"A bark shoots in my direction, followed by the whiny ring of a steel sword pointed at me threateningly. My heart thunders as
THE ROOT OF DARKNESS THIRTY FIVE
Exactly how large is this castle? We have not reached the kitchen yet, how much farther can it get?"Sir Berret mutters, rubbing in his sunken belly through his threadbare shirt. The knights are leading us to the kitchen to be fed, according to the orders of the princess, and I find myself ever grateful to her.Without her intervention and insistence, we three would be dead men by now.Sir Victor says in a low tone,"At least we know we are finally going to eat good food after starving for a day or two."I smile at them both,"They will treat us to a feast. Nothing like the treacherous stale bread we had coming up here. In a castle filled with gold like this one, food and game must be in abundance. We will feast on food far better than anything we can find back in our kingdom. The princess will make sure of it."My own stomach growls as I speak and salivate over the food I had not even set my eyes on yet. Only the thought of putting something warm and tasty in my mouth, and filling my
THE ROOT OF DARKNESS THIRTY SIX
After we fill our stomachs with meat which turns out to be giant flesh, the princess orders the knights to get us new supplies and better clothes than the rags hanging off their bodies.In no time, we are provided with clothes fresh from the laundry, and shoes. I refuse the shoes, because despite the nectar fluid, my feet are still raw and sore. It will be better for me to go barefoot, like I did during the climb up here.The knights present us before the princess, for her approval, before she can let us go back into the woods. She sits on a chair in the kitchen, with her green eyes critically examining us one by one. She looks Sir Victor over, and moves her eyes to Sir Barret.He is slouching, and from the expression on his face, I can tell he wishes for a soft bed and a good, long nap. Unfortunately, we can never enjoy such luxury when aunt and Sir Hansman are still out there in the unknown.Especially with the threat of man-eating giants roaming the woods.Sir Hansman would be defe
THE ROOT OF DARKNESS THIRTY SEVEN
I feel the ground rumble and shake as the loud thumping sounds appeared closer and clearer to Victor, Barrett and me. Even though I had string knights like them by my side, It didn’t help to calm my nerves. Not one bit. My mouth drops down in utter shock, leaving me speechless as my eyes bulged staring at the ugly creature Infront of me. Ugly, is even infact putting it politely. They didn’t look like regular people as it seemed to have extra sets of arms and legs. Plus, they didn’t look friendly.It was my first time seeing such an enormous creature, like it was the height of 10 men. The sight of it alone was enough to intimidate anyone that dared to challenge it. It’s bottom jaw hanged low and as it opened it’s mouth to let out a growl, long, sharp, visible fangs could be seen at either sides of it’s crooked jarred teeth. I stumble to the ground, not knowing when my legs even gave out as I started squirming and shifting backwards, my fear getting the best of me as I soon found m
THE ROOT OF DARKNESS THIRY EIGHT
The knights marched into the castle as they made their way urgently to the throne room. When they came face to face with guards by the entrance, they were questioned.”What reason do you have to be at the king’s presence?”“We have a disturbing news to give the king”. Said the knight who had communicated with the giant earlier. “Please, let us through”The guards by the entrance exchanged a look between one another before letting them pass through the golden door and into the throne room. Inside, the king laid on his golden throne as the two maids by either side of his chair fanned him slowly and continuously.He seemed to be enjoying the fresh breeze that came from the fan and also the conversation that ensued between him and his daughter as the corners of his mouth shot up with a smile. “That’s one too many tales, my princess”. The princess, hIs daughter whom he chatted with to hid heart’s content was strictly an epitome of beauty. She had a fair skin and long blonde hair. The lo
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