Killer Cure
by Richard B. Sampson Jr.

It has been a month since my granddaughter defeated the horseman known as Famine. I still think of the mess that spell had caused, but also at the relief that knowing one of the horsemen was gone. I may be one of the first ones to admit that even such a horrid thing didn’t deserve the fate it got, but I had decided recently that something must be done about the solution to Famine. My granddaughter was still inexperienced at using magic, and I have had to cure many people she lost her temper at. Deep down, I know she didn’t mean to hurt anyone, but she needed to learn self control. As I headed down to her quarters in the main base, I heard one of the guards scream in pain. I ran as fast as I could and knew what had happened. As I neared the scene, I heard Hope say, “Oh no. Not again. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to do this.”

When I arrived there, I knew what had to be done, I cast the highest level Cure spell I knew. Luckily, it was still early in the spells affects, so I wouldn’t have to cast more than one spell. I then took Hope into her room and closed the door. “Hope, what happened?”

When I looked into her eyes, I saw a scared little girl. “I’m sorry, grandmother. I wanted to go find you, but he said it wouldn’t be wise for me to wander about. I just got upset, and it happened.” She then just hugged me. I could tell she was scared. I needed to take her somewhere I could train her, without any one else getting hurt, or even killed.

I made Hope sit down and said, “Listen up Hope. I’m going to ask JaNa and Radr if there is anyplace I can take you so I can teach you self-control. Do you think you can wait until I return here.” I watched as she nodded and said, “Good. It won’t take long, so be patient.” I smiled at her and turned to leave.

Before I got out the door, I heard her ask, “Did you have to worry about things like this when you were younger?”

I turned and looked at my granddaughter and said, “Remind me to tell you about when we first met Isis. It is a real adventure.” I gave my granddaughter a quick smile and left the room. Now, I had to get JaNa and Radr to agree to me and Hope leaving the base.


I don’t know if luck was on my side when I finally found my daughter. She was in the main room with Radr, and they were talking about Hope. As I entered, I heard JaNa say, “Radr, you can’t be serious. To keep Hope locked up like she was a prisoner is just wrong.”

I then heard Radr’s cold voice say, “SHE’S TOO MUCH OF A HAZARD TO TOO MANY PEOPLE. SHE HAS TO STAYED LOCKED UP FOR THE SAFETY OF EVERYONE.” It was then that I think Radr noticed that I was in the room. “VET, I DID NOT HEAR YOU ENTER.”

I slowly made my way forward and said, “Radr, what is this about Hope being a prisoner?” It made me uneasy, especially after all I had been through in my life. In fact, being a prisoner had almost been most of my life, and I wouldn’t wish that on anyone who didn’t deserve it.

I then heard JaNa say, “He says she’s too dangerous and needs to be locked up for the sake of everyone. They all think she’s dangerous.”

I looked at both of them and said, “She’s like a fire right now, and only she can control it. I think I can teach her self-control, so she won’t injure anyone again, but I need to take her somewhere where she can’t hurt anyone but what should be hurt.”

I could tell that Radr was thinking about what I said, and then said, “I’LL AGREE TO IT, VET. BUT I ONLY REQUEST THAT YOU DON’T RETURN UNTIL SHE LEARNS CONTROL. HOPEFULLY, IT WILL NOT TAKE THAT LONG.”

I nodded and said, “I understand. I know the perfect place to take her to. The same place I went to train.” I saw the shock on my daughter’s face. She knew where I had disappeared to, and I could see she was not thrill that I was going to take Hope there.

She looked at me and said, “Mom, are you going crazy? The is no telling how dangerous the Final Dungeon has gotten. Part of it has been converted to a Crystoid maze, while the other part is too dangerous to risk inhabiting.”

I looked my daughter in the eyes and said, “JaNa, I know what needs to be done, and the risks involved. This is not the first time I’ve done this. Now do you want your daughter to be free, or be imprisonned.” I saw the look in my daughter’s eyes and I knew her answer.

Soon, Radr said, “ALRIGHT VET, GET WHAT YOU NEED AND GO. AND PLEASE BE CAREFUL.” I nodded and left the room. Hopefully, this would not take long. At least I hoped it wouldn’t, because if I failed, neither of us could return.

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It had taken Hope and myself a few days to reach the deeper levels of the Final Dungeon. There were no faces on the walls at this point, but there were far more dangerous creatures here. Creatures more dangerous than any that dared venture forth into our world. When we reached what had been my little safe area, I checked to make sure I still had all the items I had found long ago. I was glad to see the little hide away was still safe, and that the Door I had placed there was still intact. When we looked over the items, I heard Hope say, “Grandmother, what do those items do?”

I just looked at Hope and said, “Well, they help out in defeating some of the creatures down here. There is an odd thing about these creatures. They never truely die. It may appear to be killed, but it returns later. It’s a never ending cycle with them. Defeating them constantly helped me learn some of the self-control I have. I’m hoping it does the same for you.”

Hope looked up at me and said, “How so, Grandmother?”

I reached for a few of the items, a book, a scroll, an old oil lamp, and a lantern. “Very simple. We are going to fight the creatures that would be most affected by that magic. When I used magic I knew I shouldn’t use, I cast a spell on myself to teach me not to use the spell. I’m going to do the same to you.”

Hope had a worried look in her eyes as she said, “What if it doesn’t work? I mean, what if I don’t learn self control like you did?”

I couldn’t lie to her at that point. I just looked her in the eyes and said, “Then neither of us can go back, and some of these creatures can make the creature I encountered in the Nasty Dungeon look like wimps. Now, for tonight, we will rest, but in the morning, we will venture down the caves, and defeat those four creatures. Remember, do not use the spell.” I let Hope lay down in the small safe zone, and then walked over to the entrances to all the caves in the area. I glanced each one over to see if I could tell which one held the creatures I wanted to test Hope with. I knew how to proceed against them, and I knew at what point they could not venture past. I went over to the first cave and noticed how delapidated the walls looked. That was the first cave, and by far the easiest. I went to the next cave, to be greated by heat from obvious lava flows. That cave would wait. The next one was lined with marble. Another that would wait. The fourth cave had a greenish ooze coating the bottom of it, which told me that one would also wait. When I checked the fifth, just from the entrance I knew it would wait. Nothing but spider webs. I knew the spell I wanted Hope not to use affect males, and the creature in there was definately female. The next two were coated with sand and ice. I knew the creatures down there were the ones I was looking for. The last cave entered into an odd chamber. One could not make heads nor tails of it. I then returned back to Hope. I was glad to see she was asleep, but I knew that if she failed to learn self-control, she would spend the rest of her nights here. I then cast the spell on her that I had cast on myself. Now all we had to do was wait until morning.

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I had been up most of the night, watching the caves. My last time here, I had done the same thing, but this time had felt different. Something just didn’t seem right with one of them, but I could figure out what it was. As I watched the caves for a sign that something wasn’t right, I heard Hope say, “Is it morning yet?”

I looked over at my granddaughter and said, “Yes, I do believe it is.” I glanced back at the caves and start to wonder if it was my imagination. I then stood up and said, “Let’s go, Hope. You need to learn how to control your powers. Now, we will start with an easy foe.” I lead her into the cave that looked like an old crypt. As we ventured farther in, I handed Hope the book and said, “Use this first, then use what ever magic you can, without using the spell that I told you not to use.”

As we neared the main chamber holding the creature, I heard Hope ask, “Grandmother, how dangerous is this thing?”

When I saw the form lying on the ground of the next chamber, I stopped Hope and said, “There it is. It is called Lich. This book will severely weaken it, but it is also vulnerable to Light Magic.”

I watched as Hope nodded and said, “Don’t worry, I have plently of light type spells, and some light based magic attacks. He shouldn’t cause much problems.” I watched as hope entered the room, and the Lich started to stand up. Almost instantly, the book did what it was supposed to do. It weakend the creature, and Hope took the openning to start her attacks. I watched patiently as she moved around the creature, keeping clear of it’s attacks. Then it happened. I watched as a hand came from the floor and grabbed Hope. Before I could charge in, I hear Hope chanting the spell I didn’t want her to use. I saw the hand let go and the Lich double over in pain. I used a teleport spell on Hope and soon she was by me and I pulled her out of the cave. When I heard the explotion, I knew what had happened. It was only verified when Hope doubled over in pain. She just cried, “What’s happening to me, Grandmother?”

I just looked at her and said, “It’s a constriction spell, Hope. It’s how I learned to control using the Nuke spell, and how you will learn how not to use that spell.” I saw her nod and slowly, I watch the pain leave her. I then said, “The more you use the spell, the worse that pain will get. Now, we have 3 more battles today, and I want you not to use that spell.”

I watched as she nodded and said, “I promise not to use the spell.” We then headed down the second of the four passages. On our way there, I heard strange sounds coming from the cave that had all the ooze around it. I started to wonder if we would have time to do all the tests I had picked for today. When we neared the final part of the cave, I noticed that the being was not to be seen. We stood at the door, and Hope said, “Grandmother, where is the creature?”

I was almost startled when it finally appeared and said, “Here I am. I’ve been waiting a long time for you to return.”

I looked at Hope and said, “Use the lamp now.” She did and soon the Genie was surrounded by black smoke. I then said, “Run around him, blasting him with whatever you can.” I knew the range of his attacks, and stayed toward the back of the room.

As she ran and blasted the Genie with magical attacks, I heard the thing growl. “This barracade won’t last forever, and the second I can see, both of you will be in my harem.” The monster had been alone way too long. Soon, that barricade did drop, and the Genie’s eye was fixed on me. He then said, “There you are. Time to join your master.”

I watched in horror as it started to reach for me. I started to wish that Hope would use the forbidden magic. Soon, I saw the Genie freeze as Ice formed around it. Then I heard hope shout, “You leave my grandmother alone.” Soon the ice was a flame, and it shattered, with the Genie still inside of it. The Genie was no more. I looked over at Hope and she smiled saying, “I did it. I was about to use that wrong spell on him, and I stopped myself. I think I have self-control.”

I took Hope’s hand and said, “You did very good. I think we can head home now.” Then I heard it. A loud mechanical sound. I lead Hope out of the cave, and was almost scared by what I saw. The cave that had the ooze on the walls, was now coated in metal and crystal. The Crystoids were in that cave, but why? I went over to the base camp and grabbed everything, and said to Hope. “Something is not right. I hate to say this, but we need to find out what is going on down there.”

I watched as Hope nodded and then ask, “Grandmother, if the Crystoids are down there, would that mean one of the horsemen is down there as well.”

I nodded and said, “Yes, and I can only think of one horseman who could be there.” When we finally reached a point to look into the lair, I saw my fears were confirmed. Down there was the Plague Fiend, and the horseman know as Plague. On Plague was a glowing ruin stone, and it looked like the two were conversing. I didn’t want to know what they were talking about, but I was determined to end the conversation. I looked at Hope and said, “When I give you the sign, I want you to start casting Cure and Purify spells at both of the Plague entities. I will cast Regen and a full Cure spell on both of them.” I moved closer and glanced around. I heard Crystoids, but I could not see them. I then held up the Javelin, and it flew right into its mark.

I heard the Fiend yowl in pain as it was blinded and the horseman looked in my direction. “You again. This time I shall kill you.” Then it started to yowl in pain as Hope’s Cure spells started effecting it.

I just smiled and cast the powerful Cure spells I knew and said, “No you won’t. I’ll kill you, Plague.” With that, the horrid creature melted, and the runestone it had flew away. I then saw four Crystoids enter the chamber. From what I was told, they were the one’s that prepared things with the liquids the Crystoids needed to merge the crystals with machinery. I ran over to Hope as they started to come towards us and said, “Hope, use your spell. It won’t kill them, but it will detain them.” At least, part of me hoped that.

I noticed the scared look on Hope’s face and she just said, “What about escape?”

I set the door up and started to open it. “Just do it, I’ll drag you out.” I knew she might not be able to move, but we had to get out of there. I watched and listened as Hope chanted the spell, and the Crystoids just fell over. I was almost in awe as the ooze burst from tubes in there arms, legs, and even oozed out their mouths. I then remember what was happening to Hope. The spell I placed on her was still in affect. I grabbed her and pulled her through the door and back into the Guardian control room.

When I finally closed the door, I heard Radr say, “IS SHE IN CONTROL NOW?”

I looked up at Radr and said, “Yes, but she had to use the spell one last time, or else we would have been captured by Crystoids.” I heard a gasp, and turned to see my daughter standing there. I then said, “And thanks to her and myself, we have one less horseman to worry about.” With that, I helped Hope up and lead her back to her room to rest.

As we walked out, I heard JaNa come up behind me and said, “Thank you, mother. I shall inform Max and I know he’ll stop at the base. He’s been trying to find something to help us defeat War.” I saw the look in her eyes. Her whole family was soon to be together. I just hoped it wouldn’t be the last time.

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