44 Jonathans Gambi (2/2)

If what Jonathan remembered of the previous conditions to the kingdom were considered colorful and lively, this new kingdom seemed black and depressing as if it were a place for the dead.

The gate supervisor rapped three times on the big wooden castle door before two knights swung it open from the other side.

”I have a big group for the prison.” the supervisor called behind his shoulder as he continued to walk forward.

Once inside the castle, Jonathan's eyes went wide. There were black rugs laid out where there used to be gold embroidered crimson ones. The big corridor walls which once held the proud previous rulers portraits now were laid bare. The side of the walkway once held numerous candles in which burned the true flame of the king, ones that never went out, were nowhere in sight.

It seemed as if the castle itself had died. When they reached the castle double stairway which used to be so colorful that the prison door never stood out on the side, Jonathan could only see black carpeting winding the stairs and it made the door stand out ominously.

Opening the door, the instructor gestured for the men carrying Christopher to shove him through. When they continued their way down into the dungeon, the large group of soldiers formed a two three column barrier with the civilians in the center for show as they marched into the darkness.

The moment Jonathan went through the door he almost gagged. The metallic scent of blood and rust hit him with such force he almost retched. The smell of rotting flesh had hit him almost as fast.

As they filed through the stairwell, the almost non-existent lighting from the castle had all but disappeared. He heard tripping all around him followed by the guard leaders chuckle. They undoubtedly had the dungeons memorized by feel and memorized the amount of stairs that way the dungeon could disorient the prisoners.

”If you were here at all in the last five years you would know that the smell of fresh blood is what makes them behave, not seeing the bodies.” The gate supervisor said with a hint of humor to Christopher. ”You would only think of lighting if you haven't been down here for some time, which obviously means you haven't been doing your duty as a soldier.” He said with a hint of pride. ”Those who do do not serve will be terminated.”

”This is what our once proud kingdom has become.” Christopher said to no one in particular. ”I would rather die with the memories I have than live in this nightmare.”

The instructor chuckled slightly. ”I'll kill this one myself.” he told the other knights as they stopped within an open area. Though the rest of the group couldn't see anything, Jonathan had a special affinity with earth and could sense the open area.

A loud ringing sound went through the dungeon corridor as the supervisor unsheathed his sword. ”Do you have any last words?” he said as he kicked Christopher in the small of the back, sending him flying into a pile of corpses.

Christopher looked into the crowd of knights and villagers. His thoughts were as clear as if he were speaking them aloud. No one else but Jonathan could see him. If you have a plan, now's about the time to do it.

Jonathan shot down to his hands and knees, he could see the sword raise, he knew he only had seconds. As soon as his hands hit the stone floor, they emitted a pale green light.

In an instant, the ground came up to meet the downward cast of the blade. Instantly the sword shattered in the collision with the stone barrier.

Another second later, two walls formed around jonathan, pushing everyone around him away safely as he tugged his dog tags from around his neck and threw them in the air. When they fell, they changed shape into two green embroidered silver hand guns. The chain grew until it hit the ground and seemed to meld with the sword, a thin line of green light cast upward from the chain into each of the guns.

Before the lead guard had time to react, Jonathan shot twice, one bullet per leg and the assailant went to his knees. He repeated the process four more times and the guards around Christopher fell.

Jonathan quickly put the chain on his twin guns around his neck and they returned snugly as dog tags around his neck.

Jonathan walked forward from the two walls he created and snapped a finger. Shackles of stone formed around the injured knights as he continued forward.

”So this is what happened to the once proud kingdom of Ebonhart Nathan?”

The supervisors eyes went wide as he took in the sight of the brown duster and unique hat of the man who approached. ”Y-you died.” his voice trembled slightly as Jonathan bent over his former student.

”No, I just had a more important task to oversee.” Jonathan said as he looked into the knights eyes. ”Though now I wish I never left.” he said with a scowl. ”You used to be such a proud warrior Nathan, what happened?”

Nathan looked down at the stone shackles and slowly regained his composure. He shook his head and looked back up with a chuckle. ”Surely this is a ghost of my past come to confront me on the error of my ways.” he said sarcastically. ”When you left, the king made the changes you see before you.” he said woodenly. ”Those who do not follow will suffer.”

”The royal color was replaced with black,” he continued. ”The king locked himself away and only gave orders through his advisor. He hasn't been seen in years.” he looked up at Jonathan. ”If you were given the choice to follow or die, what would you have done?”

”I will show you through my actions what I would have done.” Jonathan said as he laid his hand on each leg, when he touched them a green light came forth. Nathan could see his wounds closing Before his own eyes. ”Give me the cell keys Nathan. You know the people who are already down here are not guilty. Only when you hand me your keys will I heal the others.” he said with a stern look.

Nathan looked down at his belt, on a loop held a set of keys to open the cells. He moved his hand to the loop, the shackles of watch bending with his movement and took the ring from the belt and handed them to Jonathan. ”Those will open the fifty cells that are within the dungeon.” he said with an exasperated breath. ”We have always been warned to stay away from the fifty first cell. There is no key for that door, we were told a mass murderer resides there.” Nathan's eyes met Jonathan's. ”So there still is one person who does deserve to stay here. The king himself out his crest on the door to ensure that everyone knows it is by his decree that it remains sealed.”

Jonathan nodded as he took the keys from his former student and placed them in Christopher's hand. ”You go unlock the cell doors, I have something I must see.” Christopher nodded as he took the keys and walked down the long corridor.

”The cell is in the other corridor on the right.” Nathan said as he sensed what Jonathan was planning. ”I normally wouldn't inform another knight of the location, but if anyone could handle that murderer it's you.” he said with a dry chuckle.

Jonathan looked down the opposite corridor from where Christopher walked. He thought only for a minute before getting to his feet and walking down the hall.

The sight of the sage leaving down the darkened path made the knights on edge. They would have to rely on their training should anything happen while he was gone.

As Jonathan walked down the corridor, he used his aura to sense the winding pathway. He was able to sense where to step, and where not to. Be could tell that there were some pressure plates within various spots on the floor. One wrong step and he could trip some sort of trap laid out for trespassers. So this is why he gave me the information so freely. He thought to himself as he could sense a sharpened axe that would release of a trip wire was snagged.

Ten minutes of dodging traps and holes in the ground landed Jonathan at a giant obsidian black door. He could sense the grooves within the door which gave raise to the royal crest.

With a sigh, Jonathan placed his hand on the door. The unique pale green aura once more lit his hand. He searched the inner mechanisms within his mind until he felt the latch. With just a thought, the door swung open to a gold embroidered crimson carpeting, a small bed with a large mirror next to it as well as sturdy oak table with a chair. Within the chair sat an older man, he must have been at least the same age as Jonathan. He had brown hair with a hint of graying on the sides. A massive brown and gray beard spilled down the red and gold robe he wore. His blue eyes met Jonathan's with a hint of surprise.

”Hello your Majesty.” Jonathan said with a smirk on his face and a formal bow. ”So this is where you've been.”