Tales of Olde Part 4

      Suddenly cries and screams echoed through the castle halls followed by clashing steel. Vanse and Amethyst dashed to the window. Outside they saw the soldiers and knights fighting against what looked like humans covered in tree bark.
Several of the townsfolk had been slain by these tree people.
"The Chaparral are attacking again, Sire!" cried Vanse.
There was no response from the King.
      Amethyst and Vanse turned to the King. He had a blank look on his face, staring out beyond Vanse and Amethyst. His complextion paled and the King slowly lowered his head. He fell to his knees and onto his chest, a golden knife embedded in his back.
"Your Highness!" cried Vanse.
Amethyst's eyes narrowed as she said:
"Jayna."
      Vanse looked up from the fallen king and saw a woman dressed in a black cloak, her hood pulled down revealling her shining green eyes.
"I tried the easy way; asking nicely. But like with most inferior creatures, we had to do things the hard way," devilishly smiled Jayna.
      Vanse drew his sword and charged Jayna. With a wave of her hand, Jayna flung Vanse through a stone wall.
"It's rather funny how weak these humans really are," chuckled Jayna.
Amethyst drew her sword and readied herself. Jayna just laughed.
"Do you really think that will stop me?" said Jayna.
Amethyst said nothing. Jayna smiled. Within the blink of an eye, Jayna pushed away Amethyst's sword, grabbed her by the throat, and held her up off the ground.
      Amethyst struggled as she gasped for breath.
"Oh Ami, why to still count yourself among this human disease? You do realize that this world wasn't made for them, right?"
"This world wasn't made for us either," choked Amethyst.
"True, but I'm still taking it," Jayna said, smiling.
      With little affort, Jayna through Amethyst out of the window. As Jayna turned from the window, she saw two large Chaparral warriors enter the chambers. Up close the Chaparral barely resembled humans. They were more like twisted vines in human froms. She looked at one of the warriors, then to the other.
"Level it," she said.
      Amethyst was able to catch herself on a curtain billowing out of an open window below the one she was thrown out of. Hauling herself up, Amethyst wasted no time in finding a new weapon. She grabbed a black and gold Halberd that was hanging on a wall. As soon as she pulled down the weapon, the wall crumbled. Standing on the other side was a Chaparral warrior. It struck out at Amethyst but she blocked the blow with her halberd. She swung back and sliced off the warrior's right arm.
      The arm twitched and spasmed as a green mucusy liquid oozed out of the severed end. The wounded warrior cried in pain as the arm stopped twitching and instantly drying out. The arm crunched as Amethyst stepped on it to take another swing at the Chaparral warrior. The warrior ducked as she swung and was able to land a blow to Amethyst's side. Amethyst recoiled in pain.
       As the warrior struck again, so did Amethyst, jabbing the pike of the Halberd into the Chaparral warrior's head. Green ooze splashed the wall behind the warrior. After a quick moment, the warrior withered and dried out. The castle began to rumble for a moment.
'Not good' thought Amethyst.
      Just as Amethyst stepped out into the hallway, something whipped in front of her face, barely an inch away from her nose, chrashing into the wall beside her. Startled, she quickly looked in the direction, whatever it was, came from.
She saw another Chaparral warrior, but this one's arms were incredibly long and wiry. This Chaparral whipped it's right arm back, again barely missing Amethyst. The warrior raised it's left arm and whipped it at Amethyst. She raised the Halberd to block the blow. The tentacle-like vine quickly wrapped around the staff of the Halberd.
      The Chaparral warrior jerked the Halberd out of Amethyst's hands and whipped it clear across the hallway. The castle began to rumble again for a moment. The warrior raised it's right arm and whipped it. Amethyst dropped to the floor to avoid being hit by it. The warrior whipped it's arms back, one of them striking across her back.
      Amethyst could feel her rage building, getting stronger with each passing second. She rose from the floor, her eyes closed. The Chaparral warrior whips it's arms at her. In the blink of an eye, she caught one of the whips. She opened her eyes and they burned a bright red. Instantly, fire lashed out from her hand and traveled across the vine whip to the warrior.
      The Chaparral warrior burned to cinders in a mere moment. After watching the warrior burn, Amethyst made her way through the castle toward the throne room.