My Escape (Magi Fanfiction)

Chapter twelve- Into Zarad

Chapter twelve- Into Zarad

 "The dungeon's name is Zarad, it's not far from here. We've packed everything you'll need, food, water, the daggers you used for training. You should be all set!"

Muu's cheerful words echoed in Ashlyn's mind. All set, my ass. Ashlyn breathed deeply. She was terrified. A few days of training was all she got before Muu and Scheherazade decided she knew enough to conquer a dungeon. They're insane...

She now stood at the entrance of the dungeon, trying to prepare herself. Everything will be fine...I know basic hand-to-hand combat, and I'm pretty good with the daggers...kinda... She chuckled a bit as she remembered nearly killing Muu and the other Fanalis with her horrible throwing aim. If only I was a Fanalis myself...Do they really think I know what I'm doing?!

"So...Zarad, huh?" Ashlyn looked the entrance to the dungeon over. The shape reminded her of Zagan. She sighed deeply, "Alright. It's now or never..." And sadly never isn't an option. She took a few steps towards the entrance, stopping again to reassure herself before entering the dungeon.

Everything around her changed. All Ashlyn could see was blackness, besides something in the distance shaped like a planet, with weird pillars of light coming from it. Ashlyn was confused and her sense of time was lost. So this is entering a dungeon? It's weird...

After what only felt like a few seconds, she landed somewhere different. Looking around, everything was made of solid ice, and Ashlyn slid as she tried to walk. "Ice...?" She touched a nearby ice pillar. Is Zarad a water-type djinn? That's cool... She wandered around for a bit, not really sure where she was going in the large ice-castle.

Ashlyn gasped and jumped away as she heard a weird creature's screech. Hiding behind a pillar, she peeked around, keeping as quiet as possible. The creature was hard to see amongst the icy surroundings, but Ashlyn could just make out sharp teeth and a head like a piranha. The body was even harder to spot, it was thin, shaped almost like a snake's body as a skeleton, and completely made of ice.

Woah...those are cool looking. Ashlyn thought as she watched a few of them fly around. How do I kill them? I feel like it won't be easy... She began searching for the exit, and a way to get there without disturbing the -what she now called- ice wraiths. Ashlyn could see the exit, a rather small wooden door on the opposite side of the large room. She figured if she hid behind the pillars she'd be fine. Alright...This is easy. I can do this.

A sudden shriek came from something behind her. Ashlyn's eyes widened and she jumped, turning around to an ice wraith right behind her. Unsure what to do, she whipped back around and began sprinting towards the wooden exit. Just a few more feet...

Ashlyn screamed. Several ice wraiths caught up to her, biting her arms and ripping her backpack of supplies open. She fell to her knees, scraping them and her hands on the ice. She turned towards the wraiths, praying her daggers were nearby. Luckily finding one, Ashlyn grabbed it and threw it at the nearest wraith. It passed straight though.

She began backing up, still on her hands and knees, trying her hardest to get to the exit. She felt her back press up against something cold, an ice pillar. Using the pillar as support, Ashlyn quickly pulled herself onto her feet, and searched once again for the door. This time it was only two or three feet away. Ashlyn breathed deeply and made a mad dash to the door, reaching it much quicker than she anticipated from the ice under her feet.

After hitting the door face first, she jiggled the handle, thankful when it opened. She slammed the door shut behind her and leaned against it, "Wow..." All my stuff is gone... Once she caught her breath, she stood from the door and wandered further into the new room. It was all ice again. In the very center of the room, a large, full-body statue of someone stood, also made entirely of ice. Ashlyn didn't recognize the man, but she felt like she should.

 This is very well made... Ashlyn walked over and placed a hand on the statues leg. A name was carved into the ice at the base: Setta. I wonder who it is? She looked around the room some more. Just behind the statue was another door. "No bad guys this time?" Ashlyn mumbled to herself. Not like she was complaining, the less she had to fight, the better. At least my wounds aren't bad.

The next room was a bit difficult. "Is this...a maze?" Ashlyn frowned. "What kind of dungeon is this?" Amon and Zagan were way worse than this...Zarad must be a weird djinn... She wandered around the maze for a few minutes, completely lost. "Uhm..." Ashlyn stopped walking. She was sure she was getting nowhere. I wonder, is there an easy way out of this? Can I cheat or something?  

Ashlyn began searching for a way to climb on top of the ice maze, figuring she could just walk across the top to the exit. Finding a block of ice resting against a wall, she climbed on top of it and onto the wall. Everything began shaking and she screamed as she fell into nothingness.

~

Ashlyn awoke slowly, her entire body aching. She felt as if all the air had been knocked from her lungs. She sat up and looked around. More ice. She wasn't surprised. What surprised her, was what was glaring at her from the corner of the small room.

A large troll-like creature with three eyes and white fur stared her down. Ashlyn quickly stood despite her body's protests and backed away until her back hit the wall. "Uhm... Ok...Please don't kill me, alright?" She tried to negotiate. The troll lowered himself onto all-fours and began running at her. Oh no. Ashlyn quickly looked around for someway to avoid his attacks.

She noticed a few rods of ice protruding from the wall, almost like a weird staircase. They led up to a small platform. Not having any time to waste, Ashlyn jumped and held onto the first rod with both hands. She grunted and looked down as the troll nearly hit the wall where she previously stood. "Am I supposed to swing up there?!"

 Alright... Ashlyn breathed deeply and readied herself. She began moving her entire body, trying to gain momentum. I fall, I die... She sighed and decided to just try and see what happened. Letting go of the rod, she gasped and reached for the next one, nearly slipping. Two more waited for her. She made them, barely.

Once on the platform, she closed her eyes and panted. After a few moments of catching her breath, she looked around once more. "Are you serious?! Zarad! What is this?!" Ashlyn exclaimed, yelling at the ceiling to the djinn. She regretted looking at the ceiling. Several more floors of what she decided seemed a lot like weird 'parkour' stood ahead. "Is this some kind of training?! What do I gain from this?!" Ashlyn complained, but prepared herself anyway. Whatever. I promised Lady Scheherazade.

And so, she began climbing.

~

Author's Note-

Ice Wraiths and the troll based off of Skyrim monsters that I hate the most. Pic is the ice wraith xD

Also, the whole thing with Setta will be explained later ;)