Koschei

The sight in front of them left everyone in shock. It looked just like Kisli, except the skies were darkened in a shade of plum, and there were no visible clouds or stars anywhere above. There was a moon, but it was red. The lake had been dried out and the mountains portrayed nothing but darkness and lurking shadows. It was very humid and damp, and the air in which they were breathing seemed very low of oxygen and pressure. Below them, the very ground that they stood upon was obscured with scudding topsoil, and blackened by ash. Alex squinted into the distance; there was no plant life anywhere, only destroyed huts all over and around various bumps on the ground. Alex had also noticed a very large, but misty, castle placed very far in the distance. But unlike the island in the Bluaic Circle, this place was occupied. It seemed as if the world was a wilderness—had they just entered a battle zone? There were bomb blasts and smoke all over the place, and a few people were riding on horses. Some of the riders had swords and spears of all shapes and sizes in their hands, while some remained weaponless. Then, without any warning, the ground below them began to shake violently as if by an earthquake. Amanda grabbed onto Kasen automatically. ‘Serge?’ said Kasen, apprehensively. ‘Where did you bring us?’ ‘I don’t know,’ said Serge, truthfully. ‘I followed the instruction manual thoroughly—this has to be the place.’ ‘It seems like there’s a war going on,’ said Leon, examining the scenery quickly around them for the third time. Amanda gasped. ‘I think you brought us back into the past!’ she cried, fearfully. Then her eyes widened even more as she spoke the next words. ‘This looks like—like the first World War!’ ‘Are you kidding me?’ said Kasen, horrified. ‘No,’ said Rene, finally. ‘Is this the Other World that Dr. Lombard spoke of?’ asked Alex. ‘Yes,’ said Rene. ‘This is definitely the place.’ ‘Okay, then that’s perfect,’ said Kasen, loosening up and fixing his hair. ‘Now let’s go look for the cure. The faster we find it, the faster we can leave this junkyard.’ Kasen had just about turned to pace when three very large horses, two brown and one white with a red handkerchief tied around its neck, approached him from behind, stopping him dead on his tracks. One of the riders on the brown horse was covered completely in armour of steel, and the other wearing only a helmet, was covered in a large maroon-coloured fabric of some kind; shining beneath was a protective chain coat. Then there was the rider in the middle, on the white horse; this one was wearing a black plate protecting the rider’s chest. This rider had two swift daggers in each hand, one pointing at Kasen’s face and the other at Alex. The rider with the robe-like fabric on the right side had a very large sword, stained of crimson, which pointed directly at Serge. The third rider pulled out two silver arrows from the Quiver, and aimed at both Leon and Amanda with the rider's abnormally large bow. The three Faeries had hid themselves behind each of their sages, while the three riders had surrounded the group, leaving them with nowhere to run. ‘Drop ya weapons, trespassers!’ ordered a harsh female voice. Serge quickly dropped Dr. Lombard’s Staff on the ground beside him, and held both of his hands midway into the air. Kasen began to stutter. ‘Did I say junkyard? I meant our graveyard...’