FicWad

The temperature dropped rapidly as Lila and Mori entered the castle. A gentle breeze tried to push them back. She walked in slowly, Mori flapping by her side, as she looked around at their surroundings. The ice walls seemed to glow of their own accord, so she blew out the flame of her lantern. There were also a few blue torches along the walls. She wondered if it was a real fire but thought not because the ice wasn't melting. The lights were probably enchanted. She was in a room with a balcony leading to three doorways. Two others were to her right and left; only the left one was open. The middle door was much larger than the others and had a giant lock with four holes in it. The rest had bars blocking the way.

"I guess we go to the left," Lila said. Her breath turned into a cloud in front of her.

"There's probably traps all over this place," Mori informed her. "The chainmail is through the middle door, but you're right, we have to go through the left one first. In fact, we probably have to go through all of the other doors before we can go through the middle one. Looks like there are four keys."

"Great. This will take a while. Well, let's get started."

Lila put her lantern away and pulled out her sword. She walked through the first doorway to a small room, about the size of a walk-in closet. It had another door, this one made out of wood, and a couple of pots. She tried the door first and found it locked.

"Whoever made this castle is obsessed with locks!" Lila shouted in frustration. She swung her sword around angrily, breaking both of the pots. A blue rupee fell out of one of them, and a simple silver key fell out of the other.

"Look, money!" Mori shouted, swooping down to the rupee. "I'll just hold on to that for ya."

"No way, that's mine," Lila argued. "I broke the pot, so I get it fair and square." She grabbed the gem before Mori could get to it and stashed it in a leather purse at her hip. She smiled and said, "This castle isn't so bad if I get paid five rupees a pot."

"No fair. Just 'cause you have arms..."

Lila ignored him and picked up the key. She tried it in the lock, and it worked. "Too simple," she sighed, then stepped through.

"Wait, you don't know what's on the other side!"

Woosh! Too late, Lila realized the room was a trap. Bars came down in front of the door, blocking their exit. She quickly readied herself for battle, familiarizing herself with the chamber.

She was standing on a bridge over a room filled with water. The bridge used to cross in the middle of the room, so there were four parts, but the path on the left had broken or melted. There was a small treasure chest to the left, a sort of shrine straight ahead, and a second – barred – door to the right. In the middle stood a goblin-looking creature wearing leather armor and holding a wooden shield. When it noticed Lila and Mori, it turned to them and pulled out a double-bladed ax.

"Looks like it's time for a fight," Lila said, excited.

"You go ahead. I'll just fly near the ceiling," Mori said and did just that.

"Wimp!" Lila called after him. The moblin was getting closer, so Lila ran forward to meet it. "Hyaaaaa!" She watched the shield because it took up half of the bridge. It's a wonder the moblin itself didn't make the bridge break, it was so big. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the ax swinging down toward her, and she jumped back out of the way.

"Dang it, not fair!" she shouted. She wished she had a shield.

The ax slid into the ice and slid out just as easily. One hit from that thing would kill her.

"Find a way to get around it," Mori advised. "It's exposed in the back."

"Yeah, I figured as much!" Lila retorted. "Shut up and let me fight!" She bit her lip, thinking of how to get around the monster. She wondered if she could run up the shield. She took a deep breath and muttered, "Here goes."

Her boots gave her traction on the ice as she took a running start. They also held well on the wood. She did a flip at the top of the shield, landing on her feet and bending her knees to take the force. Then she spun on her toes, slashing at the backside of the moblin.

The monster roared and staggered forward. Lila continued hacking at its back, all rubbery flesh, and light clothing. The monster started turning around and used the side of its shield to knock Lila away. She landed on the ice with a thud, inches from the break in the bridge. By the time she got up, the moblin was facing her again.

"You're kidding!" she cried. "How are you still alive?"

The moblin only grunted in reply and brought down the ax. Lila narrowly jumped out of the way.

"Again!" Mori encouraged. "Jump over it again!"

"Yeah, I know," Lila growled.

This time the moblin kept its shield tilted to the side and led with its ax. It attacked her again and again until her back was almost to the alter thing.

"Not good," she muttered. She kept looking for an opening, but the monster and its weapon were just too large.

Sensing its victory, the moblin raised its ax above its head for the final blow. This was her chance, and she acted before it was too late. Lila dove between the monster's legs and somersaulted to a stand, once again behind the monster. She attacked it with all her might, and this time it fell for good.

"Nicely done!" Mori said, flying down to her side.

"Like you were any help," Lila muttered, panting. She wiped the sweat from her forehead.

"Of course I was. I told you where its weak spot was."

"I was going to try that anyway. Let's just get the treasure and move on."

"Um, how? The bridge is broken."

"Okay. Fine. We'll skip the treasure." Lila turned to the next door to find the bars gone. Weary, she went through.

"But I like treasure," Mori said as he followed her.

This next room was also tiny and simply held a switch.

"That monster was guarding this?" Lila wondered. She shrugged and flipped the switch. There was a loud rumbling and the sound of rushing water.

"You broke the castle!"

"What? No, I didn't!" Though she denied it, she was scared. She rushed through the door into the previous room to find the water level had risen. Now she was able to swim to the treasure. "See, it's fine, and now we can get the treasure."

Mori sighed in relief and Lila couldn't help feeling the same way. Ignoring the shaky feeling, she swam across to the treasure. Inside was a shield.

"Yes!” Lila said.

"Wait!"

"What?"

"Don't forget the key."

"What key?"

"This one."

Lila turned around to see him flapping by the shrine. During the fight, she hadn't noticed an ornate key sitting on light blue silk. It was completely round on one end and an intricate triangle on the other. A thin rod connected them. When she picked it up, it felt warm.

"What a weird key," she said. She pocketed it and turned back to the door. "Now can we leave this room?"

"Yeah. Why're you asking me?"

Lila sighed. "Because you're the one who told me to wait."