The Alchemist's Apprentice: and the Ogre's Curse

  Chapter 8

  The dark damp dungeon

  It was damp and gloomy in the cells deep inside the warlord's castle; I sat on a stone bed pushed up against a wall below a high barred window that let in very little light. Godwin was standing at the thick bars of the door looking out to the aisle between the rows of cells and at the prisoners who were residing down here. There seemed to be three of the eight cells occupied in this dungeon, I say seemed to be because in the furthest cell away from us tucked into the corner a shadowy figure was curled up on the bed, or it could have been a pile of rags, I couldn't tell. The two other cells had Ogres in them staring back at us the newcomers.

  "Are you going to produce some potion or powder to get us out of here?" I asked as I stood up and joined him at the door. I knew he had something in one of those many pockets that could get us out.

  "Nope." Was his short answer.

  "Well I will then!" I said angrily. "We can't wait down here until they come and kill us." I rummaged in my pockets for the packets and bags that Godwin had given me earlier.

  He put his hand on my arm. "What would you do once you get out?" he asked me. "Seriously, what could you do? They know we are here now so when they find us gone they will have no trouble getting us back, there is nowhere to go to, we are trapped in the castle and they will track you down."

  "Then what do you suggest! Wait here until they come and get us!"

  Godwin bowed his head. "Yes. That is exactly what I suggest." He said.

  "Well you might have given up, but I haven't."

  "Lem, I haven't given up, think about it for a minute. Where are they going to take us?"

  "They are taking us to the fighting platform." I replied.

  "Exactly, just where we want to be." He said.

  "But they are going to kill us!"

  "We will deal with that bit when it comes. Please calm down so I can think."

  I sat back down on stone bed trying to fathom out how we got here.

  "The boy is right," The Ogre in the cell next to us said. "You will die here, mark my words."

  Godwin turned to look at him. "You do not even know the reason why we are here, so please don't interrupt my train of thought."

  "You are Wood Riders that much is obvious, and it is because you are Wood Riders is how I know you will die." The Ogre continued.

  "My apprentice is worried enough, can you stop saying 'die', it is not helping one little bit." Godwin angrily responded.

  The Ogre imprisoned opposite us was getting agitated walking back and forth banging its head with its fists. "You will all die, you will all die," he was ranting. "The king is first, the king is first." He had gone mad by the look of him.

  Godwin's eyes went wide. "The king?" He turned back to the Ogre in the next cell scrutinizing him. "You're the king?" He asked.

  "I was king, but now I'm here." The king moved closer to our cell, he looked dejected and tired, the entire colour gone from his skin.

  Rummaging through his pockets Godwin pulled out the potion that eased the Ogres symptoms from the curse. "Take this, it will help, I am Godwin and this is my apprentice Lemon."

  "It's Lem not Lemon; it's nice to meet you. It's a shame it isn't in better surroundings" I said.

  The Kings eyes lit up as he took the small packet from Godwin. "You are the sorcerer that is helping my people?"

  "Well I'm not a sorcerer but yes I am trying to help, we are here to get the final ingredient I need to cure the curse your people are under."

  "If you can get me out of this dungeon I will help you get what you need." The king replied.

  "Unfortunately I can't do that, even with your help I don't think we could make it to the moss I need without being caught. When they take us to the platform we can get it, and then we will do our upmost to get you out."

  The king sighed. "I am due on the platform shortly. I believe I am to be their main event, I may not be alive by then."

  Godwin's face dropped. "This is not good news at all." He rubbed his forehead vigorously, I could tell he was trying to rethink the plan that he had already made.

  "I could help you." The voice came from the pile of rags from the very last cell. It sounded young, female and definitely not an Ogre.

  The Ogre opposite us immediately ceased his ranting and tried to disappear into the dark corner of his cell.

  "Do not listen to that!" the king spat, "it is a demon and is not to be trusted."

  Godwin's face went white. ”They have a demon down here?"

  I stood up to look at the pile of rags curled up on the stone bed. "How can you help?" I asked it.

  Godwin grabbed my arm. "Do not engage with a demon Lemon!"

  I was surprised at his reaction. "We only have his word that it is a demon." As I spoke the rags moved, they shuffled forwards off of the bed and to the front of the cell then they started to fall to the floor. To my surprise there stood a young girl about twelve or thirteen years old dressed in a dirty white dress peeking out of the bars. "I would like to get out of here too," she said in a soft tone. Surely this girl couldn't be a demon. "Help me and I shall repay you by helping you get what you need."

  Godwin was looking at her through narrow eyes. "We do not need help from you, thank you for the offer."

  "I was not talking to you." The girl replied.

  I turned to face Godwin. "How can you refuse to help her? She is in the same situation as us and she is obviously an enemy of the warlord or she wouldn't be in here."

  "We don't mess with demons Lem. That isn't what we are here for." He was very serious, he must have been as he got my name right.

  "I am not a demon," the girl was starting to weep. "They took me from my home and brought me here. They killed my parents."

  "We can't leave her here!" I said worried for the girl.

  "Look at the cell, boy." The king said.

  I did as he said and noticed the girls cell was slightly different from the rest, it was shinier and seemed to shimmer.

  "The cell bars have silver in them to prevent the demon from escaping." The king said.

  I have never seen a demon before and this wasn't what I thought one would look like. Just at that moment the main door opened into the dungeon and four huge Ogres walked in armed with pulse rifles and massive axes. They stopped in front of the Kings cell. "Stand back for the door." One of them ordered. The king did as he was told.

  "All of you!" The guard shouted at us too. We fell back with the force of the Ogres voice. The other Ogres unlocked both of our cell doors. I looked over to the girl in the corner, her wet eyes were pleading with me.

  "Get out!" The Ogre shouted. I placed my hands into pocket and followed Godwin out into the aisle; the Ogre lined the three of us up with me put at the rear.

  "Go!" The guard shouted giving the king who was in the front a push. As we started to move I dropped one of the bags Godwin had given me. It was a yellow one. The guard behind me gave me a shove, as I stumbled forward I pretended to fall over, the Ogre grabbed me by the collar and pulled me up with ease, but when I was on the ground I managed to slide the packet to the back wall opposite the girls cell, just as I left I glanced back. The girl was smiling at me.