The Trial of Kings

Pause for a moment

The streets erupted and there was mayhem in the taverns and the main Guild Hall as the audience watching saw Ogregious pixelate and explode. The General dropped to his knees and took deep breaths. Cheers filled the streets and a wave of euphoria swept the city of Oron. They hugged each other and danced around singing songs of glory. The Samurai who had offered their help in the beginning downed the last of their rice wine and one was shedding tears of joy looking at the main screen. The Generals’ peril was shared amongst them and his victories were theirs as well.

The Goddess flushed as she dropped into her seat knowing that it was almost over and soon she too would have her prize. She crossed her legs and fixed her hair audibly exhaling her relief. The sight of his Red Dragon abilities was truly something to get her heart racing as well as stir up tingly feelings inside her. Fanning her cheeks with her hands, she went to get some water that waited on ice on her table as the engineers asked if they should play anything while he recovered. She paused for a moment and let the water fall down her throat, the cooling effect brought her back to business. She gently wiped the droplets off of her now moist lips and thought for a long moment looking at the General on his knees catching his breath. “Play, Victorious by Skillet,” she said and beamed looking at the monitor. “Wouldn’t that be better for the after the Dragon?” the engineer on the right asked curiously. She nodded taking another swig of her water and set it back on ice. “For defeating the Dragon, play Hail to the King by Avenged Sevenfold,” she said sweetly and smiled at them looking at them individually. They all nodded and smiled anticipating the win and hitting ‘play’ on that song. She ran a nervous hand through her hair again and shifted in her seat paying attention to her Hero now trying to stand and take deep breaths.

The image of him with his head back sucking in air appeared on every screen in Oron, his face dirty and slightly scratched from diving around the Dungeon floor. His right mid-section was not hurting as much as before and he contributed that to the adrenaline as well as the properties they put in the blue potions which raised your energy level and gave a decent kick of caffeine.

The Guild halls echoed as the adventurers who stayed there rejoiced loudly and the Guilds workers found seats to relieve the tension from watching the onslaught. The General did not run the Guild but he did dish out their orders and worked along side them. They were all very pleased to see him defeat Ogregious as Guildswoman Tatum stood motionless with a hand over her lips. “What’s wrong Tatum?” a co-worker asked from a seat next to her. She took a deep breath and responded without turning around, “I’ve read the book he wrote, ‘The Earth and the Dragon’. So, I know what comes next.” Her colleague shifted in her seat and leaned forward asking, “How much worse is it going to get?” Guildswoman Tatum exhaled forcefully as if blowing off steam, putting her hands on her hips she replied, “So bad that even after everything he’s gone through, and after all the power he’s been able to acquire, I still don’t know if he’ll survive the Dragon.” Her colleague covered her mouth and rested her elbows on her knees. They both looked back at the screen in silence, silently praying that he could pull off a miracle.

The music had ended and the lights in the Dungeon went out. The revelry ceased immediately and everyone stared at the screens, listening to the deep breaths of the General. They knew he was trying to compose himself. The growl was low and sent a shock of fear through all that heard it. Fire flowing from its snout and mouth, the 8-meter-tall Black Dragon emerged from the exit of the Dungeon, its wings engulfing the chamber allowing nowhere to turn and nowhere to run.