Dungeons and Gargoyles

The portal closed and Claire crashed to the ground writhing in pain.

"She's been stabbed!" yelled Peter rushing towards Claire who was still on the ground.

"Are you ok?" asked Peter.

"I have a knife in my back Peter, of course, I'm not ok!" Claire yelled.

"Don't worry Claire I've got this" Marie said and attempted to use a healing spell to heal her but it didn't fully heal.

"Why isn't the wound closing?" Alice asked.

"She's been poisoned!" Marie declared.

"I can fix it," Melwise said after closely inspecting the knife she was stabbed with. "It's a poison I'm familiar with and we're in luck too".

" What do you mean?" Adrien asked.

"The antidote to this poison can only be found in the blood of a gargoyle and they're the guardians of the dungeons " Melwise explained.

"But it's empty here, there aren't any guards or gargoyles, and the prisoners are nowhere to be seen," said Adrien in a panicked state.

"The place is built differently from your regular dungeons, like most buildings in the magic world it's enchanted," Melwise said.

"Then how do we find Kylian and gargoyle blood," said Marie.

"We don't need to, Because they're coming to us!" said Peter pointing to two large creatures with spears flying toward them. Marie and Adrien helped Claire up while Peter, Alice, and Melwise stood in front of them facing the incoming gargoyles.

"Will regular spells work against them?" Alice asked Melwise.

"Honestly, I have no idea, because I've never had to encounter one before," Melwise said.

"Well, I guess there's a first time for everything," Peter said as he readied a spell in his hands. The gargoyles stopped and immediately threw their spells at them but as the spear approached, Alice took control of it and redirected it at them but they caught it and flew back into the darkness they came from.

"What just happened?" asked Adrien from behind in disbelief.

"Maybe they got scared," Alice said smiling.

"Or maybe they were testing our strength," Melwise said. She walked up to Claire who was leaning onto Adrien and Marie and asked: "Will you be fine?".

" I should be".

"I've stopped the bleeding and used a poison inhibitor, it should slow down the poison before we get the antidote," Marie said.

"That'll do," said Melwise and they began walking along the dimly lit hallway further into the dungeon. After walking for almost an hour, they started hearing voices, and the further they went the more audible they became. They entered a dimly lit room and suddenly the room began to light up and widen, with each light exposing rolls of prison cells as the lighting continued upwards. It finally came to a stop and immediately the place echoed with a loud cheer and with a clatter. The door from which they came slammed shut and two gargoyles appeared from the walls holding their spears across the door.

"Welcome to the dungeons," a gargoyle said flying down with a scepter in his hands.

"We don't want any trouble, we just want our friend whom we believe is being held unjustly here," Peter said boldly.

"What is your friend's name?"

"It's Kylian," said Peter.

"Ooh, the human boy," the gargoyle said as it flew up to one of the half-filled cells and brought out Kylian holding him by his collar.

"Be careful, don't drop him!" Marie cried out as she saw Kylian.

"Very well then. But you should know that you'd have to participate in the dungeon duel to get anyone free from here".

"We'll participate!" Marie blurted out.

"Very well then. The rules are simple, if you win we'll grant two of your requests and if you lose we'll be generous to let you go but we shall kill your friends" the gargoyle said.

"Let's think about this properly before making any hasty decisions" Melwise muttered.

"There's nothing to think about, I'm not leaving Kylian here!" Marie said fiercely.

"And we won't," said Melwise. "I'll be the challenger and when I fight him I'll use a spell that draws his blood so you guys can heal Claire".

"Can you defeat him?" Peter asked.

"I'll try but if I'm not able to, I'll use a spell to destroy the whole building so you guys can escape," Melwise said.

"But only a forbidden spell will be strong enough to deal that much damage," Alice said.

"Allow me to deal with that," Melwise said, "If I win I'll demand he gives us Kylian and ask him to send you two and Kylian back to the human world," she said pointing to Marie and Adrien.

"Why would you do that?" Adrien asked.

"It's getting dangerous and it'll only be more dangerous from here on out and you three are the weakest, I'm sorry I have to point out the obvious but that's it, no questions!" Melwise said and left towards the center of the already widened room.

"It seems you all have come to a conclusion and you're the challenger representing them, I'm I right?" the gargoyle asked.

"Yes, I am the challenger," Melwise said.

"And what should be your request if you win?"

"Firstly I want you to free the boy and secondly I want you to send the boy, and those two back to the human world," Melwise said pointing to Marie and Adrien.

"Very well then, my champion will be death-face the guardian angel of the dungeons, and the battle ends when either of you is unable to stand to your within ten seconds," the gargoyle said and immediately the ground erupted and an angel with a wing blacker than night and a small horn at the center of his head came out from under it holding a scepter in his hand.

"Whitewing, is that you?" death-face asked.

"It seems you meant it when you said you were coming here death-face," Melwise said.

"You know him?" Peter yelled from behind her.

"I do, I know him very well, he's my elder brother," Melwise said with a grin on her face.

"I see you've become acquainted with humans," death-face said smirking.

"How could you tell?" Melwise asked.

"I taught you the disguise spell when you became friends with that demon woman didn't I sister?" death-face asked.

"Ooh, how could I forget brother" Melwise said.

"He's met, my mother?" Alice asked.

"He even tried to kill her at first but she was way too strong," Melwise said.

"Enough talk!" the gargoyle yelled, "let the duel begin!" an instantly death-face with jet speed flew towards Melwise and punched her too fast she was unable to block which sent her flying into the wall.

"After spending time with these humans, it seems you've lost your touch little sister," death-face said.

"The only thing I'll be losing is you!" Melwise yelled and with lightning speed she flew and grabbed death-face by his throat and pinned him against the opposite wall smashing it in the process.

"You're going all out on me little sister, I like it" death-face smiled and in a flash, he disappeared and reappeared behind her and gave her a hard blow on her back which sent her crashing into the already damaged wall and injuring her head.

"First blood to death-face!" the gargoyle bellowed. While the fight continued Peter and his friends engaged in a discussion on how they would get blood from the gargoyle since he wasn't the one fighting.

"I think we should just attack that gargoyle since he's alone after the fight ends" Adrien suggested.

"I think you're right," Peter said, "a quick and precise attack just strong enough to get blood out of him".

"Then how do we collect the blood?" Marie asked.

"Leave that to me, just focus on making him bleed," Alice said. When they turned back to the fight they were surprised to see death-face was getting the upper hand and with a series of blows he was pummeling his sister into the ground.

"Temponervorum!" bellowed Melwise with her blood-covered face, the spell sent death-face flying off her and crashing into the ground unable to move but the spell didn't hold him down for long, he got up again and with jet speed, he flew into Melwise but she had already conjured a small dagger and stabbed his back with it which made him leave her and fall to the ground.

"Up to your old tricks again I see," death-face said pulling out the dagger from his back.

"The rules didn't say nothing about using those, did they?" Melwise asked.

"Taking advantage of loopholes I see, typical you," death-face said and drew out his scepter from under his wing and bellowed "gravidimittis!" but Melwise blocked the spell, he did it again and again and again as he walked closer to her but she blocked the spell every time.

"I haven't heard that spell before brother, what is it?" Melwise asked panting.

"You'll soon find out sister," he said and suddenly he disappeared and reappeared in front of her and gave her a hard blow, and when she tried to block, it felt as if she was no longer in control of her hand and they were now floating.

"What did you do to me?" Melwise asked.

"It's a spell that makes the hand you used to block the spell resistant to gravity my dear sister".

"So there's no blocking it then?" she asked.

"It's the only unblockable spell, my dear little sister, it seems you underestimated me," death-face said and lifted his hand about to strike whitewing when she said:

"You underestimated me, brother, we lived together for almost fifty years before you left and you didn't notice I could cast spells with my mind" immediately a large flaming chain came out from the ground and wrapped death-face and pulled him to the ground holding him in place and burning him. He screamed in torment as she walked away from him towards the center of the room where the gargoyle was.

"And we have a winner!" the gargoyle said and the whole prison erupted in loud cheer chanting "Melwise! Melwise! Melwise!".

"Now you have to keep your end of the deal," Melwise said.

"But of course," he said and stretched his scepter towards Kylian his chains broke into two and he immediately ran to hug Marie.

"And the other request," Melwise said.

"I don't forget my promises," said the gargoyle and he stretched his scepter towards Marie who was in a deep embrace with Kylian and Adrien who was still by Claire's side and a bright light engulfed them but before they disappeared Adrien said:

"You guys, please make it back" and they disappeared. Immediately the two requests had been fulfilled Peter was about to move in to strike the gargoyle but Melwise signaled him to stop from afar and with a slash sliced the finger the gargoyle's finger and it fell to the ground then Alice swooped with speed and took the finger while Peter with the temporal paralysis spell struck the gargoyle and he fell to the ground unable to move which made the prison erupt again with an uproar. The two gargoyles standing at the door threw their spears at them, but Claire who was sitting on the ground with a transfiguration spell turned them into small birds. The two gargoyles locked their hands and suddenly they turned into one large fire-breathing gargoyle and flew to attack Peter and Alice but Melwise with lightning speed grabbed Peter and Alice and flew over to Claire just escaping the fiery attack of the giant gargoyle and she created a portal and they escaped through it.