David Bishop and the Legend of the Orb by T.C. Crawford (tools of titans ebook .txt) 📕

they reached the others they quickly embraced, happy to see they had made it this far.

“This is it, David, are you ready to face General Krauss?” asked Orin, weary from the intense concentration he had been holding while fighting off the mages and undead soldiers.

“I think so.” said David. He was more confident in his powers now than ever before, but still unsure if he had what it took to stand up to such a powerful foe like General Krauss.

“All right then. There’s no time to waste. Let’s go!” said Orin, starting off down the main highway through the city and towards the palace.

Together David, Erin, Orin, and Tyrius moved with Captain Ryan and his company down the main road toward the center of the city and the gates to the Royal Palace. As they rushed onward, the sky began to darken as the moon began to slowly block the sun. They were running out of time.

The city had been transformed from when they had last seen it. It was no longer the safe haven filled with bustling crowds and busy city streets. Instead, it was a desolate wasteland, a phantom of its former glory. No children were out running through the streets, playing hide-and-seek. No merchants were yelling to passerby, trying to capture their attention for long enough to sell them their goods. Not a single soul apart from their small company was anywhere in sight.

It was a dark and grisly scene; the clouds were gray and swirling overhead, showering them with a seemingly endless rain. The shops and houses were in a state of near collapse, windows and doors hanging off their hinges, some that had burned down completely were still smoking and hissing as the rain hit the still burning embers. They were all looted, their supplies taken, leaving the shelves empty and desolate and the buildings in a state of total disarray. It would take a lot of work to get the city back up and running to its former glory, if it were at all even possible.

David and the others proceeded onward through the ruined city, cautiously awaiting the moment when they would reach some kind of resistance.

It finally came.

As they neared the palace walls outside of the inner garden, they could see line after line of Royal soldiers in their new dark colors. They had clearly been waiting for the battle to reach the palace and had placed a company of soldiers to stand guard to protect their king.

The companions marched onward through the gardens, stopping just before the center fountain.

The walkway opened into a wide circle around the center fountain that would provide them enough room to fight through the enemies’ defenses and make their way into the palace proper. The gardens had all but shriveled up and died, leaving decaying vegetation spoiling across the once beautiful grounds. All that remained were the hedges, which had suffered severely and had dropped nearly all their leaves, leaving a patchwork of intersecting branches. The fountain, once elegant and awe-inspiring, now lay broken and destroyed; only half of the statue that once stood on top still remained.

As they waited behind the fountain, the royal soldiers slowly approached, lining each side of the fountain, and preparing for the coming battle.

Captain Ryan was the first to speak.

“Stand down, soldiers. You still have a chance to fight for your king. He is alive and well and if you choose to fight with us, rather than against us, you may live to see another day,” he yelled across the grounds.

The soldiers slowly looked around at each other, seemingly unsure of what they should do. Finally, one of the soldiers spoke, as if he were speaking for the whole group.

“We have chosen our path. Do not waste your breath! Our king is inside this palace. It is him who we fight to defend, not some weak old man cowering in the forest!” The man spat on the ground, a look of disgust on his face. “Our king is strong and will lead us into victory! Long live King Krauss!” he began chanting.

The others quickly followed suit, encouraged by their brazen comrade.

“So be it! Then you will die defending a traitor!” shouted Captain Ryan.

Immediately he charged towards the enemy lines, his soldiers following suit, screaming “For the King!” as they broke through the front lines of the enemy formations.

Tyrius turned to David, Erin, and Orin, “The sun is almost fully eclipsed! You must push onward into the palace to stop General Krauss before he performs the ritual. Let us handle this. There’s no time to waste!” and he quickly darted off to help the others in the battle.

“You heard him. Let’s go!” shouted Orin. The three companions quickly darted around the skirmish and up the steps to the palace doors. As they approached, they opened as if in expectation of their arrival. The three companions proceeded cautiously through the opening, not knowing what awaited them inside.

David’s heart was pounding in his chest as he anticipated the final confrontation he was about to face. He had seen the powers that the General possessed in his visions, and the reality of the encounter was beginning to weigh down on him. He gathered his courage the best he could and slowly walked forward into the main entryway to the palace.

It was a grand room with vaulted ceilings and polished marble flooring. There was a long red carpet that ran from the doorway to the grand staircase that led to the upper levels.

On the staircase stood General Krauss surrounded by his Wolf Guard.

The very sight of the wolves angered David, as he recalled his flight into the forest when he first came into this world.

But that was before. He was a different person now and was fully capable of defending himself. He was ready to exact his revenge.

“Well, well, well…. the hero has finally arrived.” said General Krauss taunting David, slowly clapping in feigned applause. “Have you come to stop me, boy?” he teased.

“Don’t listen to