Battle of the Castle

Merlin's Cottage I

Inside of the wizard's cottage, Merlin, Varian, Kristoff and Barley are gathered around the big round table.

Archimedes the owl sleeps in his little birdhouse.

Merlin sat on his big burgundy chair. The wizard was happy. "All right, which one of you three boys like to introduce yourself?" Merlin asked.

The blue burly elf raised his right arm. Barley was smiling. "I'll go first." He answered.

The blue burly elf cleared his throat. "Hi, my name's Barley Lightfoot. I'm an elf. I came from the world of mythical creatures. New Mushroomton in the United Realms is where I was born. And I'm the adventurer." He introduced.

The alchemist raises his left hand. Varian was puzzled. "Just one question, Barley, are there any humans in your world?" Varian wondered.

Barley shook his head at the alchemist. "Nope." He answered.

Varian was still puzzled. "Really? Not one ever been to your world before?" He asks.

Barley made a sad smile. The blue burly elf shrugs his shoulders. "Well, Ian and I have met one human a year ago. Long story." Barley answers.

Kristoff was skeptical at the blue burly elf. "And who's Ian, Barley?" Kristoff wonders.

The blue burly elf looks at the mountain man. "My brother. He's three years younger than me. Ian's in college for one year." Barley replies.

Kristoff was emotionless. The mountain man nodded his head. "Huh." He said.

Merlin stares at the alchemist. The wizard gestures to him. "I say, young man, you seemed to be asking lots of questions to the elf." He mentioned.

Varian made an awkward smile at the wizard. "Uh, yeah. That's what makes me think most of the time. I'm always curious when it comes to something interesting and fascinating at the same time." He said.

Kristoff was still emotionless. The mountain man looks at the alchemist. "Do you have a name, kid?" Kristoff asked.

Varian raised his eyebrow with his smile. "Yeah, I do have a name." He answered.

The alchemist clears his throat. "I am Varian. And I'm not the kid. I am nineteen going on twenty. I come from the world of humans. Of course, they are mythical creatures too. That takes time to discover later on by books. I'm all about the alchemy and the science. I lived in the village called Old Corona with my dad, by the way." He introduces.

Kristoff was skeptical at the alchemist. "Varian, was there any snow in your village?" He wondered.

Varian was smiling at the mountain man. "Oh, it only came for the season after the harvest. My dad grows pumpkins in his garden." He replied.

Barley was curious at the alchemist. "Hey, Varian, are you into magic by any chance?" Barley asks.

Varian was irked. He shook his head at the blue burly elf. "No, Barley, I don't research magic. I researched alchemy and build my inventions." Varian answers in his vent.

Barley shrugged. "So you're a kid alchemist. Nice." He said.

Varian growls. He facepalmed himself. "No." Varian said. The alchemist was annoyed at the blue burly elf. "I just told you. I'm not a kid. I'm nineteen years old." He argued.

Kristoff was skeptical at the alchemist again. "How long have you been doing alchemy exactly, Varian?" Kristoff wonders.

The alchemist was glad at the mountain man. "Oh, since I was four years old." Varian replies.

Kristoff was surprised at the alchemist. "Whoa, you mean to tell me that you've been doing alchemy since you were four?!" He inquired in his exclamation.

Varian just nod and smile at the mountain man.

Merlin was amazed at the alchemist. "Mmm, how fascinating." He commented.

The blue burly elf glances at the mountain man. Barley was cheerful. "What about your name?" He asked.

Kristoff gestured to himself. The mountain man was perplexed. "Are you asking me, Barley?" He asked too.

Barley nodded his head twice. "Yeah." He answered.

The mountain man took a deep breath. "It's Kristoff." He answered as well.

Barley was interested. "Do you have anything to share with us, Kristoff?" Barley wondered.

The mountain man was cheerless. "There isn't much to share with you and Varian here. I lived with my life with the trolls. Sven and I are the only friends. Then, we met Elsa in Arendelle. It was after she became the queen. Elsa don't get out much because she has powers. Long story short, Elsa lives in the Enchanted Forest while her parents continues to rule in the Arendelle castle." Kristoff replied.

Merlin cleared his throat. Then, he pretended to cough himself. The wizard was serious. "Ahem!" Merlin exclaims.

Barley, Varian and Kristoff faced Merlin confusingly.

The wizard was still serious. "It appears to me that I owe you three an explanation. And thanks to Archimedes for reminding me, I can confirm with you that I did summoned you three for an urgent matter." Merlin clarified.

They blinked their eyes twice at the wizard astonishingly.

Merlin sighs. "It was not my intention to bring you three over a perilous place such as The Castle of the Dread. But Archimedes made that suggestion about the girl out of nowhere." He mentioned.

Varian was concerned at the wizard. "Merlin, what's the Castle of the Dread?" Varian asks.

The wizard was frowning. "According to Archimedes, it was the pink and gray castle which is being used by some fiendish sorcerer. Unfortunately, there's no name for that corrupted person." Merlin answers.

Barley was perplexing at the wizard. "Does anyone try to check out the place?" He wonders.

The wizard huffs. "Many knights have investigated the Castle of the Dread. You see, boys, when they entered that castle, no one has ever come back out for days, months or even years. It's like they vanished." Merlin replies.

Barley was bothered. "I was afraid of this." He mentions.

Kristoff was mystified at the blue burly elf. "What makes you think that, Barley?" Kristoff asked.

Barley looks at the mountain man. "Because my gut tells me that the Castle of the Dread are being invested with mysterious monsters." He answered.

Merlin blinks his eyes several times. The wizard was shocked. "Oooh..." he whispered.