The Company of the Ring: The third tale of Rpa

[Crazywolf]

This tale takes place after my 2 previous tales, Invasion of the Villains and Attack of the Catovirus.

The Company of the Ring: The Third Tale of Rpa

HoleyPaladin knelt silently before the alter of Pelor, his knees bent and his head bowed in supplication, his mind lost deep in prayer. "Oh lord of the sun grant me the gifts of wisdom and mercy" he said. "Grant me also the power to protect the weak. Grant me also..." Tap tap tap. At that moment his prayers were abruptly interrupted by a tapping sound at the window of his room. He glanced up to see a raven sat outside on the window ledge peering in. On closer inspection he saw that the raven had a message tied to it's leg. Immediately he opened the window and reached down to untie it. He unfurled the small scroll and read it. He saw that it was a message from the admins summoning him to the palace, it requested that he come immediately or as soon as possible. Unsure why he'd been summoned he put on his armour just in case it was needed then picked up his sword and headed to the door.

He arrived at the palace and entered the main audience chamber, as he did he found that Omac, WolvesOfwriting, P.K. and Honeyheart were there as well. "Hey guys what's happening" he said.

"I don't know" replied Omac. "But it seems we were all asked to come here." The others nodded.

At that moment a door opened at the back of the room and the four admins appeared accompanied by Karma. "ah I see that everyone is here" said Merry. "Thankyou all for coming so quickly."

"What is this about" asked P.K. "Why did you need us to come?"

"I am afraid the reason is rather serious" replied Merry. She let out a grave sigh. "It's probably best if I explain things from the start" she said. "Long ago when this realm was first created by Gabriel Zero it was threatened by a Dark Lord, possibly his spirit was already here in the ether, possibly it entered from the outside, who knows. Fortunately Gabriel Zero was able to fight the Dark Lord and slay him, unfortunately however he made one error - having slain the Dark Lord he took a magic ring from his finger and kept it. When he left this land he left it behind locked inside a secure vault here in the palace. Because the ring stayed intact all this time the spirit of the Dark Lord endured and now he is almost ready to rise again - unless he can be stopped."

"How can he be stopped" asked Wolfy.

"By destroying his ring" replied Merry. "Several days walk north of our city is a volcano. The ring must be taken and cast into the fire. We have chosen Karma to lead this quest and the five of you to accompany her. We ourselves must stay back to defend the city in case he rises too soon."

"But why us?" asked Holey.

"Because you each have special skills" replied Kris. Omac because of his butter magic, you because of your ability with a sword and healing spells, Wolfy for her sharp nose and P.K. for her knowledge of rabbits."

"What about me" asked Honeyheart.

"Your inherent sweetness makes you resilient to evil" replied Merry. "Therefore your job is to carry the ring."

"Uh so when do we set out" asked Omac.

"You will set out at once" replied Merry. "But first of course we must give you the ring." At that point Juni stepped forward holding a casket. she opened the lid and they could see inside a single gold ring. Honeyheart tentatively reached out and took it. "We also have some special gifts to aid you in your quest" added Merry. She reached into a bag and pulled out several short blades. "These are elvish daggers" she said. "Hopefully they will offer you a bit of added protection." She handed them to Holey, Omac, P.K. and Honeyheart. "We have also given Karma a brand new magic staff to help channel her powers of Moderation" she said. "And last but not least we all wish you good luck on this quest, the fate of all Rpa depends upon you completing it successfully so hopefully good fortune will smile upon you."

***

With the fate of the realm on their shoulders the company set out on their journey. After leaving the city they initially passed through fields and meadows full of delicate flowers and gentle butterflies then as they went on further away from the city the land started become less tame. Karma led the way carrying her new magic staff while the others followed behind.

After several hours of walking they eventually came to a path that ran along the base of a valley with steep rocky cliffs on either side. Suddenly they heard a voice shouting from above them. "Hey losers!"

They looked up and saw three trolls standing on top of one of the cliffs.

"You guys suck" one of them shouted.

"You guys should be at home playing Dungeons and Dragons" shouted another. "I bet all of you are virgins."

"I bet you guys spend all day playing World of Warcraft" added the third one.

Holey felt himself getting annoyed. "We should go and kill them" he said.

"I could try and make them slip off the cliff with a butter spell" Omac suggested.

Karma shook her head. "They really aren't worth the trouble, just try and ignore them."

"But Karma they're really annoying" replied Holey.

Karma sighed slightly then relented. "Alright fine, I'll handle them." She pointed her staff up at the trolls and then cast a banishment spell which caused them to disappear.

"Wow nice job" said Wolfy.

"Luckily troll-banishment is one of the powers I get as a Global Moderator" she replied. "And the fact I'm a Global Mod means I can use it anywhere in the realm. But anyway now that the situation is over we should get ourselves moving again, we can't allow stuff like this to distract us from the quest."

***

After continuing for a couple of days the company came to a wall of mountains. P.K. who was at the front of the group beside Karma stared up at them. "Oh dear it looks like all the passes are blocked up with snow" she said.

"It looks like your right" Karma frowned. "Luckily though there is another way to get across. There is an old dwarf mine that runs under the mountains."

"Is it safe?" asked Honeyheart.

"Probably not" replied Karma. "But unfortunately we shall have to risk it."

"Don't worry" said Wolfy "I have a nose for danger."

"That's good to know" Karma replied "Anyhow the entrance should be several miles over that way."

"You mean near that ominous looking lake" asked Omac.

"Umm yeh just near that" she replied. "Though in the case of the lake I suggest we don't walk too close to it, ominous lakes like that are often known to contain giant monsters."

"That's ok" replied Holey. "If a monster comes out I'll just kill it with my sword."

"Maybe you could" replied Karma "but it's probably better to avoid the risk."

Holey frowned slightly as he considered her wisdom. "Hmm yeh I guess you're probably right" he said.

They headed over to the entrance to the mine while avoiding the ominous lake. On reaching the mine-entrance Karma cast a moderation spell to open the door and they all headed inside. She then created a light with her staff and they began their journey along the dwarf-made tunnels. After several hours of trekking along in the dark everyone felt tired and weary. Eventually they came to a large chasm spanned by a narrow bridge.

"The exit of the mine should be just on the other side" said Karma. She led the way as they all started crossing over.

"Well it looks like we made it through the mines with nothing bad happening whatsoever" said wolfy cheerfully.

Just at that moment they heard a rumble behind them and a large cave-troll emerged from the dark. It stepped forward onto the end of the bridge. "Hey all you ladies should be at home in the kitchen" it bellowed.

"We have to do something Karma otherwise it'll follow us" said P.K.

Karma sighed and nodded. "I know." She turned to face the troll. "You shall not pass" she told it. With that she struck the bridge with her staff and the bridge broke under it's feet causing it to fall to its doom.

"If I only had a whip I could have taken you out with me" said the troll as it fell. It then started to say something else but by that point it had fallen out of earshot and no-one could hear it.

***

After leaving the mine they continued on their way. Finally they could see the volcano up ahead. They reached the base and found their path barred by a small white rabbit. As they approached the rabbit looked up and stared at them menacingly.

"I'll take care of it" said Holey as he drew his sword.

Karma shook her head. "That's a killer rabbit you wouldn't stand a chance with it. Unfortunately it's immune to magic as well."

"If only we had some kind of hand-grenade" mused Omac.

"Perhaps we should just try being friendly to it" suggested P.K. She produced a carrot from her knapsack and stepped forward a few paces before tossing the carrot just in front of it. In response the rabbit stepped forward and cautiously sniffed the carrot then started to chew on it. P.K. let it chew the carrot for several moments then cautiously walked up to it and then bent down and gently petted it. "See" she said. "It was only being fierce because it thought we were a threat."

"Perhaps you could adopt it as a pet" suggested Honeyheart.

"Hmm that's not a bad idea" P.K. replied. "I wonder what killer rabbits are like for breeding."

"You can pick it up on the way back" said Karma. "Right now we need to keep moving and get this ring destroyed."

P.K. glanced down at the rabbit then back at the others. "Yeh I guess you're right" she sighed. "Saving the world comes first."

***

Leaving the rabbit they began the long climb up the side of the volcano until about halfway up they came to a passageway leading inside the cone. Cautiously they headed inside it and eventually came out inside a massive cavern with a deep pit of flaming lava in the middle.

"Wow looks like we finally made it" said Holey.

Suddenly at that moment a colossal figure encased in black armour stepped out of the shadows in front of them. All of them stared up at him in horror, their hearts suddenly filled with dread.

"Oh no it's the Dark Lord" cried Wolfy.

"Yes indeed" the Dark Lord replied. "And I am very grateful that you simple fools have come all this way to return my ring to me."

"Quick Honeyheart throw his ring in the lava" said Omac.

Honeyheart pulled out the ring to throw but found she couldn't. "I can't" she replied "it's evil power is controlling me and telling me not to destroy it."

"Just imagine it's not a ring" replied Omac. "Imagine it's a tub of butter that's been left out of the fridge and gone off."

Honeyheart focused hard and imagined the ring was a tub of butter then drew back her arm and flung the ring out into the pit of flaming lava.

"Nooooooooo" cried the Dark Lord. He tried to reach out and catch it but it was too late. The ring fell into the fire and with its demise the Dark Lord dissolved in a hiss of black smoke, his form destroyed forever.

"Hooray we beat him" cheered Holey.

"Yay, nice job everyone" said P.K.

"Yes indeed, great job everyone" said Karma. "Now if you guys will excuse me a sec I'll go and call up an eagle to take us back home."

***

With the quested completed an eagle came and took them back to the city and once they got back everyone celebrated like mad. Thanks to The Company Of The Ring the world of Rpa had been saved once again.

The End.

[Splat]

I love the trolls xD Also A+ Monty Python Reference

i call being tom bombadil

[HoneyHeart]

Thank you for my part.

[Crazywolf]

@Splat: Thankyou for the comments. xD
@HoneyHeart: You're welcome. <3

[HoneyHeart]

..and thank you to everyone (including you, Wolfie) who protected me.

[Holeypaladin]

Heh, furry funny. The trolls are a purr-fect touch. A paw-sitively entertaining tail!

[Kayser]

10/10

[Crazywolf]

Someone else should write an rpa story. I know Omac did one as well but we ought to have more. xD

[Omac]

I could always write another. Crystal Cavern was originally going to have characters based on people from RPA.

I loved this!

[Crazywolf]

Thanks. Really I should have given your own work a public credit somewhere for being an inspiration. A couple of years ago I did do a previous story about spambots but it was only about 1 paragraph long. your story was the thing that really inspired me to have another crack at it and write something a bit substantial.