Trial and Tribulation Copyright 1997 Renee a. k. a. Alethea All " NiGHTS" characters and related indica copyright and TM by one or more of the following: Sega Enterprises and/or Sega of America Used without permission Etienne and related characters and indica copyright of Jeanette Merrell Used without permission Alethea, Dunamis, Aldwyn, Frost, Talitha, Nettle, Tarragon, Rhian, Salpinx and related characters and indica copyright Renee. This document may be freely distributed as long as it is not modified in any way. Trial and Tribulation (Part 5) * A few minutes after Salpinx leaves* Aldwyn leaned against the long rafters as a group of guards rushed down the hall, and headed down toward the cells. If he was careful, he could find out if Salpinx or Nights were here in the castle. It would be almost impossible to get such a good chance to try again. He wondered what had gotten them to leave. Aldwyn glided slowly down toward the prison. Only a few creatures were close enough to pose a problem. Aldwyn slid through the entrance and started looking for the keys. Every fiber in him warned him that he had better hurry; the guards could come back any minute. He felt a thrill of excitement. " I love my work." Aldwyn found the keys. He flew down the hall at top speed, and stopped at the first door, opened it carefully, and peered inside. There was one 'maren lying on the ground. Aldwyn tried very hard to remember if he had seen this particular 'maren before and decided that he had not. He was about to move to the next cell when he heard a small whimper. Aldwyn turned around and looked at the 'maren again, she did not seem to notice him. Considering how cold it was, he could not imagine anyone being able to sleep. He flew over and knelt beside her. Nettle stepped into the prison and glanced nervously around. The guards were not there as she had hoped. An eerie feeling that something was wrong crept over her. She walked down the hall slowly. Tarragon followed behind her. " Do you have any idea which cell he's inside?" " Not really, I guess we'll have to pick one. We have awhile before the guards come back." "Let's just get through with this." Nettle walked toward the back of the prison. " Let's try this one. Where are the keys?" " How should I know?" " Find them." A noise came from one of the cells, and Nettle whirled around. Tarragon stalked over toward it and looked at the very nearly closed door. It was so slightly opened that unless one was looking at it, one probably would not have noticed it. Tarragon pushed the door open. A 'maren was lying on the floor, and another 'maren was kneeling over her. Tarragon crept toward them curiously. The 'maren kneeling stood up and whirled around. Tarragon spotted the sun shape metal and sprang at him. The 'maren tried to avoid the claws that were nearly as long as Tarragon's fingers. Tarragon rammed into him, sending him flying backwards into the wall. Nettle ran to the door and stared at them. The 'maren picked himself up and tried to moved out of the 'maren cat's way. Tarragon cornered him and snarled. She stared as the two of them leapt toward each other. For several minutes, it was difficult to tell who was winning. Tarragon slammed the 'maren to the ground, and the 'maren rolled out Tarragon's way. The 'maren scrambled to his feet, then drill dashed into Tarragon's chest; Tarragon fell backwards with snarl. Nettle backed away from the door, and the 'maren picked up the one lying on the floor. Tarragon hissed and glared at the 'maren, who flew through the door as fast as he could go. Nettle ran over to Tarragon and helped him up. He glared at her. " I can get up by myself, thank you." Nettle frowned at him with concern. " Are you alright." Tarragon rolled his eyes. " Well lets see, I've been kicked, hit, drill dashed, and stepped on, sure I'm fine." he snarled caustically. " You're such a big kitten." laughed Nettle. " I AM NOT!" " I hope nothing serious ever happens to you." " I AM NOT!" *** Dunamis stared as Aldwyn flew out of the castle carrying a 'maren, with six guards chasing him. " WHAT IS HE DOING! HAS HE LOST HIS MIND! WHO IS THAT ANYWAY?" Alethea grabbed his sleeve and pulled him down behind the rock, which he was supposed to be hiding behind. " Get down! They'll see you!" Aldwyn headed toward Nightopia with all six guards behind him. " Well, change of plans people. I guess I'll go look, Aldwyn is a little...preoccupied right now." Alethea looked up at him. " Let me come with you. If they're in there they're probably hurt." Dunamis glanced at her, and gave her an upset look. " Alright, are you sure about this?" *** Jackle watched the troops line up and wait rigidly. Very few of them had ever seen wizeman before, and most of them were terrified. All the guards in the castle had been called for this "little meeting" to motivate them. wizeman had been VERY displeased with some of the more recent battles and had been in a horrible mood. That was of course, until this small victory. Reala stood quietly in front and waited. Jackle glanced at him. Reala had been especially quiet about this victory. He had shown no enthusiasm, nor any displeasure, and that puzzled Jackle. Reala appeared tired and very much uncomfortable. " Always the recluse," Jackle thought " ready to run back into solitude." He could never understand why Reala hated being around large groups. Reala didn't mind being around a few beings but disliked crowds. Jackle loved to be the center of attention and to be surrounded by people; the thought that someone else hated it was very inexplicable to him. The meeting started, and Jackle straitened. He hoped that the last of the troops would hurry up and get here; wizeman did not like slow troops.