Tellus; A Fatal Deception (First Draft)

Part Three; Dungeon of the Demon Lord.

'Lucy...' Jill says placing her hand on Lucy's shoulder. 'Pull it back a bit, your using too much magic.'

'But... okay...' Lucy's eyes dim a little as she walks ahead, still clutching onto her daggers.

Ryder walks closely behind Lucy. 'Come on, lets get to it.' He pulls his sword, readying himself to fight more shadows as he walks with his eyes focused on the path ahead.

'You know, I don't think I've seen Ryder so focused before...' Lisa mutters to Jill.

'Yeah, makes me kind of nervous... come on, we don't want to leave him in the dark. Let's go.'

Lisa catches up to Ryder, keeping her staff as high as she can to provide light as they walk as Jill and Ethan follows closely behind her.

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They walk in silence for a few minutes in the dark, taking it slow as they go deeper underground. Suddenly Ryder jolts forwards. 'Watch out!'

He grabs Lucy's shoulder and throws her back, causing her to hit the ground hard in front of Lisa and Jill, she looks back up angerly before noticing Ryder standing still, looking at his sword trapped in some sort of barrier.

Energy like electricity flutters in the air around Ryder's sword, about halve way up the blade. Ryder grunts as he tries to pull his sword back, finding it completely stuck and unable to move.

'Wait!' Lisa shouts as she walks up to Ryder. 'Don't move.' Her eyes focus on the energy flowing like on a flat plain in the air, cackling around the sword. 'It's a trap...'

'We've figured that out already.' Ryder replies frustratedly.

Lisa looks at Ryder, giving him a look of stone as he slowly turns his head away from her. 'I wasn't finished...' She looks back at the sword. 'Looks like a status trap, made to trap intruders without killing them.'

Lucy looks on in complete fear at the sight of the energy coursing through the air, she drops her daggers and grabs at her head, closing her eyes tightly. 'No, no, no, no, no...' She begins to rock back and forth, catching everyone's attention as her voice becomes even more frantic.

'Lucy?' Jill kneels down to her, placing her hand on her shoulder. 'Lucy what's wrong!?'

Ryder looks back at his sword. 'Sod it...' He closes his eyes, focusing his mind. Light appears at the top of his right arm and slowly moves down, passing onto his blade and into the barrier.

A sudden shock of light comes from his sword as the barrier disappears.

'Ryder? What did you do?' Lisa asks looking back at him.

'Passed my magic into my sword and broke the magic holding it in place. Child's play...' He looks at Lucy wondering what is happening with her.

Lucy stops rocking as Jill hugs her. 'It's okay Lucy, I'm here.'

Lucy pulls back from Jill confused. 'What's happening? Why am I on the ground?'

'You don't remember?'

Lucy feels dampness on her face, feeling her tears with her hand. 'Why is my face wet?' Everyone looks at Lucy concerned and confused.

'Maybe she should go back...' Ryder states coldly.

Lucy looks at everyone looking at her. She grabs her daggers on the floor and jumps back up on her feet. 'I'm fine!' She tells Ryder as she walks past him, her eyes glowing once again.

'Whatever... keep an eye out for traps Lucy. I might not be able to save you from the next one.'

Lucy stands still for a moment. 'Next one?' She mumbles to herself before continuing to walk.