Mind Over Pleasure

Chapter 3- Royal Flame

The wind blew across the grassy fields where Nerris and the others laid, sitting up Nerris takes in her surroundings. "Guys...its time to wake up and look." Everyone around Nerris which included Space Kid, Neil, Harrison, Preston and Dolf. "Where are we?" Neil asked rubbing his head. "One of the Forgotten Cities in the Forgotten Realms in the Book of Vile Darkness. We're trapped here until we can conjure enough magic to set ourselves free, or we can find the person who did this."

Nerris stood up and dusted off her outfit as did Neil. Neil was struck in awe curious as to how they all got there and where the others ventured off to. "It would seem that the magic polarity from the book was so strong and so vast that it spread us in many different areas of this world, what I find strange is that..." Nerris looks down at her hands, "We can see. This place is meant to be plunged in eternal darkness."

Harrison walked over to Nerris whom continued to examine herself. "Which means?" "It means that either someone here casted a spell to enter light, the Darkness spell failed, or someone found the ancient Royal Flame that is said to cast a shadow in the light, but releases a strand of light into the oblivion." "What the hell is that suppose to me." Nerris rolled her eyes and sighed at Neil's question.

"It means, Neil, that in the right hands it can cast light in the enteral darkness, but if given to a dark caster the light will engulf itself forcing the world into the abyss of darkness where everyone will become blind. No amount of magic would be able to allow light, its basically like a worm whole in outer space. No light ever comes into it." "Space?!" Space Kid chimes.

"That still makes no sense." "I thought you were smart, Neil, let me spell it out for you in terms you would understand--The Royal Flame, if its light goes out so does this world, if the Royal Flame is lit and protected the light will continued to shine through the darkness." "You could have just said that." "So, what do we do now?" Dolf asked innocently. Nerris rubber her chin for a moment.

"The best thing we can do now is venture off into the city up ahead and try to prepare for what may come, does anyone feel strange or lack there of?" "I feel... really bothered." Neil says, "I feel like... Nothing, but I do feel a little pain." "Okay, so everyone is fine." "Why did you ask?" Preston interjected.

"The Book of Vile Darkness can shift, change and morph ones emotions, mental health, and so on. It can do anything. The spells inside may not seem that bad, but what they do is far worse than your comprehension. If I could find my master's notes I would be able to set us from this vile curse. I'm not sure what that person did, but it seems like it was a combination of spells thrown left and right. They clearly knew what they were doing and whom to target."

"Hey, I know this isn't the time, but where are the others? Shouldn't we go looking for them first?" Nerris looked around her, she didn't realize that most of the campers were gone. "It seems we're missing a few people, perhaps one of those few people found the Royal Flame. If that's the case we better find them quickly. If they have that flame their lives are only going to get worse."

"How so?" Preston and Dolf asked, "Well, the Royal Flame attracts many enemies and causing hallucinations. Someone with weak magical abilities or none at all would go insane. That person could be easily corrupted and destroy the Royal Flame, there is only one in existence, the others were destroyed by the warriors whom tried to wield it in this realm before it was plunged into eternal darkness."  "Why were they trying to use it before the darkness?"

"They knew that the darkness was coming, so the nights of now crumbled city were sent out to face the beholder of darkness itself. They searched endlessly in his chambers underground searching for a way to stop the darkness. They thought if they were to find the Book of Vile Darkness they would be able to reverse the spell and save themselves from calamity. However, each one perished. They couldn't handle the Goddess' Royal Flame, she was asked by the kings and queens of this realm to create a light so powerful that no darkness could ever falter it. She did just that, but it came with a price--her own life."

"Why would she give up her life?" "She was going to die anyway if the darkness would occur, she had the ability to see into the future she already knew her death was unavoidable. She gave them ten different flames each one glowed with the radiant color of blue. After the tragic loss of their nights and their kingdom, they swore an oath to never use the Goddess' flame ever again, so they destroyed them which only made the darkness grow stronger and invade even faster. However, one knight saw the potential of the Royal Flame and hidden it away from the king and queen." 

The sky grew dark and grim that day around the long lost kingdom that was slowly being eaten away by darkness, before the knight were the people of the city and the royals themselves, the royals he have served his whole life. "Where is the flame Captain?" The queen asked holding a wizard's staff in her hands. "I will never tell you. That flame is what will save us all! I'm not letting you destroy it." The queen nodded towards the executioner as he tied the noose around the knight's neck.

"You may kill me, but I won't let you tarnish our Goddess' life! You asked for her help and she gave you her light. Now you go and destroy it as if it was nothing!" "She gave us a light that sent our men into insanity and our people into famine. Her light is what destroyed our kingdom and allowed darkness to seep into our city!" The king shouted as the people of the city stood by and watched.

"She didn't do anything but gave you what you asked for. Everything has a price, our price was our own sanity for the light of the kingdom. She knew what was coming, she warned us all, we didn't listen--you didn't listen. I will forever serve our Goddess, the same Goddess you betrayed. Her light will shine once more, she will prevail in the end long after you are all dead!" Those were the knight's last words as the trap door below him opened. He was hung for his crimes against the people and their kingdom. He was hung for treason and hiding the Royal Flame from the Royal Family.

"That knight soon became a curse among their people, if anyone spoke his name they would fall dead in the streets with a blue flame incinerating their bodies. Since we can see, someone here or one of us has found the Royal Flame and are now in grave danger. We must find them and retrieve the Royal Flame, that is now our quest."

Nerris walked through the fields and towards the crumbling kingdom before them. "If...If what you say is true and we're trapped in some kind of story book world where nothing but bad things happen--then--I'm coming with you." Dolf said running up towards Nerris, "Anyone else?" Preston and Harrison joined in, Neil watched the four of them stand there waiting for Neil's answer.

"I... I still think this is all crazy, but...I don't want to be trapped here. I'm sure science will have a solution." He said as they all turned and headed towards the kingdom, the clouds swirled around the kingdom covering it in darkness, Nerris knew what she had to do and she knew exactly how to do it. The only issue she had was that she was trapped in an unknown world with a bunch of level one characters. She had to train them and assign them classes like before.

This is only just the beginning of their horrible life ahead of them. She knew what was next and she knew her party wasn't ready. None of them were.