A Wizards Beginning: Part Seven

Ramek was confused at first, but then the odor came into his nostrils. He crinkled his nose and got up from the floor, running over to where Delor was peeking out the door. Outside were large beasts, their skin a very beige color. They were at least twelve feet tall, their heads almost slamming into the ceiling. They held a large "blaster" in their hand, which Ramek recognized from his trips to the Space Station. Only the higher up authorities were allowed to use them and they were dangerous - deadly. They wore a long white cloth around their legs and a sleeveless shirt that showed their bulky muscles, sticking out in all angles. Their face looked gruff and mean, their eyes glowing a faint red with blue pupils contrasting greatly. It grunted every few steps while its body shook around.

     "Are they the Minions?" Ramek asked, nodding to the creature that was investigating the rooms.

     Delor nodded, her Pink Zafara shape bouncing up and down. "We're going to have to run. You, can run, right?"

     Ramek gave a quick nod and rolled his eyes, then quickly returned his gaze to the beast. Delor ran back into the room and searched around until she found a small glass vase. She grabbed a hold of it and went back to the doorway, gripping it tightly. "Get ready...we'll be running in the opposite way he walks, okay?" Ramek nodded and concentrated intently on the task at hand. The vase flew out of Delors hand and across the room. It smashed into a wall far away, making a sickening smash and then a loud crash. The Minion turned around quickly and started to run in the opposite direction, heading towards the sound. "Run," came the short whisper from Delor and both of them were off, running in the opposite direction. They ran through only carpet, no desks were present.

     "Where are we going?" Ramek asked, panting from running around for so long.

     Delor didn't answer for a minute, then came back with a reply, panting almost as much as Ramek. "Up. That's where you wanted to go, ain't it?"

     The Yellow Draik nodded. "You know..." he started to say something but was cut off when Delor pushed him aside and behind a wall to hide.

     "Minion," she said quietly and pressed her back in the wall. Ramek followed suit and tried to push into the wall as much as possible.

     He saw a Minion run past them, the blaster steady in his hand. It seemed to pay no attention to the two as he darted past. "Chief!" it yelled to the other Minion who had followed the smashing of the glass.

     Once the path seemed to be clear, the two continued to run in the same direction the Minion had come. Ramek was starting to get very tired, but he tried not to show it. He didn't want to seem like a weakling, especially to someone who could turn her back on him and kill the Draik right then and there.

     Surprisingly, the Draik heard Delor start to wheeze before him. "Break," she muttered through deep and struggling breaths.

     Ramek nodded. "Next room..."

     They sharply pulled into the next door opening and entered into another undecorated room, save for the carpet and a fold up chair. "Here, sit," Ramek said, pointing to the chair.

     Delor gave a thankful nod and sat down, stretching her body out in exhaustion. "It's...harder...than I...thought..." she said in between breaths.

     "Take a rest," Ramek said, closing the door gently behind him. He then sat near the door and put his ear next to the door to hear any Minions who came through the corridor or anyone who tried to break in.

     "So, where are we heading?" Ramek asked, still pressing himself against the door.

     After a few more deep breaths, she answered. "Down this hallway, the next, and then there's a stairwell. From there, we travel up."

     "How long?"

     "About five minutes to the stairwell and about an hour or two...or three up. It really depends," Delor said. "Magic surrounds the stairs and it differs to where you are going. Technically, it can bring you anywhere you want...at least in this World."

     Ramek was confused by what he had said. "This World? You mean there are others?"

     Delor gave a short nod. "There are millions actually. This World is a copy of Neopia that is ruled by the Dark Power so he could train his Minions without pressure from the other Powers."

     Once again, the information came too fast for Ramek to comprehend. It seemed whenever he began to think and start to understand one thing, another was thrown at him. "Ready?" he asked, getting up from his position on the floor.

     Delor nodded and picked herself up from the chair. "Check around a bit before you walk out. You never know where those lil' creeps could be."

     Ramek nodded and opened the door a crack and poked his head out, his eyes darting from left to right. "Clear," he said as he moved out into the hallway, followed closely by Delor.

     Then, they started to run again. The two started to slow down as they veered to a right and entered the next corridor. "Stairwell," Delor panted, pointing to a large white door a few feet down. Ramek nodded and both of them zoomed to the stairwell, opened the door and emerged through the other side.

     Ramek stared around for a moment, telling himself not to look up. It was all white. The stairs, the walls, the railings, the doors (they were indented into the wall), and the floor. The Draik slowly lifted his gaze up, trying to see past the many flights of stairs that loomed before him. "We've got a long way up," he muttered. "About...five hundred flights of stairs."

     Delor followed his gaze. "Let's get moving."

     The two started up the stairs, going slowly and taking one step at a time. "So..." Ramek said while climbing, trying to start a conversation. "What exactly do we do when we get to the top?"

     "Find the Dark Power and defeat him," Delor said, taking a break in between words to go up a few steps.

     "I read somewhere in my Manual that he can't be defeated."

     Delor gave a quick nod. "He can't. But his power can be withered down to a fraction of an inch...with the right spell, of course."

     "What spell?" Ramek asked inquisitively.

     "Want me to teach it to you?"

     Ramek nodded, trying to catch his breath.

     "Stop here. I'll go through it."

     The two of them stopped at a small platform that was placed in between each flight of stairs. Delor then reached into an invisible pocket and pulled out a small red book, similar to the one Tyvek had used to send Ramek off on this Journey. She started flipping through pages, humming to herself. "Here it is," she said and focused her eyes on the page.

     A few minutes later, Delor looked up from the book to see Ramek patiently waiting in the corner of the stairwell. "Okay," she said, putting the book back in the invisible pocket. "I'm ready."

     "Okay," Ramek said, while getting himself up from his spot on the floor. "What do I do?"

     Delor started to repeat a series of long words in the Language, making sure she said them precisely and clearly, looking down at the book when she was unsure of something. "Okay, you understand?" she asked, putting the book back into the invisible pocket.

     Ramek nodded slowly. "Yeah...yeah, I guess I am."

     "Good," she said. "Now, let's get up these stairs."

     The two them took off from the platform and continued up the stairs, keeping silent through the whole trip. Ramek was thinking hard... What if he messed up? What if he couldn't remember the Verse? And...what would happen? Ramek didn't have a clue. He continued to look down at the ground, not paying attention to anything but his thoughts. He was surprised when he heard a voice, saying something very softly.

     "We're here."

     Ramek looked up from the floor to see a set of large wooden doors, looking out of place in the whitewashed stairwell. "Okay...let's do this," he said, doubtfully. As Delor pulled the door open, he almost gasped when he saw the inside. It was filled with pets shuffling around, carrying boxes and pushing carts, standing behind counters and trying to sell things on the streets. But, it looked almost like a small town - no place for a Dark Power. But, then Ramek saw their surroundings. They were in a cave, mold and dust matted against the walls. He could see reddish sand on the floor, piled high so everyone was elevated about a foot. They were trying to make the best out of a good thing...

     "Come on," Delor said. "We don't want to be seen."

     The Draik nodded and walked into the desert environment. As he stepped in, he noticed everything get cold around him.

     "Watch out," Delor looked over to Ramek and smiled. "Oh, and don't scream."

     "Huh? What--" Ramek was interrupted when he fell through the sand and into darkness. He stifled a scream and tried to look around him. "Delor?" he whispered quietly.

     For a moment, no answer came. "Yeah, I'm here," came a quiet whisper. "Shhh..."

     Ramek and Delor sat in silence, slowly falling to nowhere.

To be continued...