Curselock

Chapter 85: Uncle

“Uncle?”

The question hung in the air like a confused hawk. The boys tore their gazes from the monster king to Gelo, who then flinched under their scrutiny.

“Err,” she meeked, stepping forward like a squire presenting a House. “These three humans wish to challenge you…”

Ice Castle’s king pushed to the landing above the grand staircase, his long neck and branching antlers nearly colliding with the hall's chandelier. The monster was four legged and husky, like a moose thick with extra armor-like fur. It huffed warm white mist through its nostrils, instigating a charge with more anger than a bull. Glistening golden eyes clashed with their pure white form, which was also highlighted by the gem encrusted crown resting upon its head.

Ruby, sapphire, topaz, emerald, all colors were present within the King’s crown, each shiny and properly cut by a master’s patient hand. The monster shifted his attention from Gelo to the boys, swinging his craning neck out like a giraffe looking to feed on a bush. He watched them with ego and mirth, obviously amused by the showing the humans presented.

The King, moving in long frolicking strides, stepped across the landing onto the first of the descending steps. He twitched with magical ire as he continued down, focusing intently on the four invaders. Blue-white power dripped from the tips of his stark antlers as he started to speak in a deep, cold voice.

“Lowly human—”

“Stop it uncle!” Gelo interrupted. “These are my friends! They saved my life, show them respect!”

The giant moose hesitated, his golden eyes flicking back and forth. Like a mother washing their child’s mouth out, the King reapproached his speech, not wishing to insult the dungeon’s matriarch. That being said, he was still the King of this castle, and he had a duty to fulfill.

“Humans,” he said with a discreet pause looking at Gelo. She didn’t object. “You have challenged me! The King of this land and the overseer of the forest below! I shall not let you simply pass, for I have not earned my title of Monster King through word alone!”

The King stopped at the last step, obviously waiting for a response. The boys, however, turned their attention to Gelo.

“Uncle?” Leland asked, echoing his earlier question.

Gelo, again under scrutiny, flushed red as much as a bear cub could. She tried to hide her face, turning away like an embarrassed child. “Yes…” she muttered at the wall.

“Isn’t he like a deer or something?” Jude asked, not trying to hide his words. “How does that make sense? You’re a bear and he’s—”

No longer able to handle such insolence, the King interrupted, “A deer?!” he spat, like the word itself was heresy. “A common deer?! How dare thee, y-y-you heathen!?”

The walls shook with the monster’s anger. Madness laid within his golden irises, the blasphemous affront pushing him from the last step and onto the main floor. Instantly the polished floor froze over in a thick layer of blue ice. The ice raced down the common area and main hallway, forcing the boys to jump to dodge being stuck to the floor.

“Uncle Everald!” Gelo sneered. “They are my friends! This is not—”

“Silence!”

A gust of blistering cold air rushed through the castle, slamming doors and sending the nearby monsters into a frenzy. They snapped at the air or cackled with horrid snickers, howling like the unintelligent beasts that they were.

Only Gelo stood unfazed by the cold snap, her blue-white fur bristling in the sudden wind. She growled at her uncle, standing as tall as she could on her short stubby legs. Instinct took over and for a moment she lost her humanity, for a moment she was a monster just like those surrounding her. Like a candle being relit by a simple smolder, her anger waned, allowing her to regain control.

“Uncle Everald!” she seethed, enunciating every syllable with a proper growl. “These are my friends! You will treat them with respect!”

The moose and bear stared at each other while the monsters continued to celebrate with rage. Internally, a nagging set its sharp hooks in the King. Instincts clashed within the beast, both intelligent and primal. He had a duty to the dungeon, to the forest below, but at the same time, he knew of a fear grander than some idealistic notion of pride.

He saw the cause of his fear deep within Gelo’s eyes. The same cause that tortured his existence.

Not wanting to look weak, the King snorted with another huff of white mist. He turned his back on the invaders, his magic opening the double doors leading into the arena. Without looking back, he trotted ahead and said, “I await the challenge.”

With that, the monsters went silent. Once their leader entered the arena, they quickly descended the castle’s steps following along. Soon the boys and Gelo were left alone.

“It's always the same with him!” Gelo cursed at the spot where her uncle had just disappeared . “For being the only other intelligent being in this dungeon beside mother and I, he’s really dumb!”

Leland, having been gnawing his lower lip, spoke up again, “Uncle?”

Gelo spun, her body tense like a startled cat. When she saw the three boys’ confused expressions, she deflated. “Uncle Everald is like an uncle to me,” she muttered. “After my father died, I didn’t have many people to talk to… and well, Everald is the only other monster around that I could have a conversation with – that with Mother always being asleep.”

“Your father died? Was he not a dungeon monster? Did he not come back like the other monsters?” Glenny asked.

“He did, but not with his previous intelligence,” Gelo said with a pout. She sighed, sitting with a plop. “I think that’s why Mother sleeps so much if I’m being honest. So she doesn’t have to see him.”

Jude’s expression fell first. “That’s terrible!” he bellowed out, crouching down and taking the cub in a hug.

“That’s why Mother killed the core… she was grieving.”

Nodding in understanding, Jude pressed her harder into his chest. The other two boys stepped forward and pet the poor cub as well. For a long moment everyone just stood in silent warmth, but an angry moose yelling about respect this and king that, pulled their attention back to the issue at hand.

“So we have to battle your uncle?” Leland asked.

Gelo pushed her face out of Jude’s fuzzy shirt. “Yes… It will be a hard fought battle, but I believe we can do it.”

“We? You don’t mind fighting him? Possibly even killing him?”

“Everald doesn’t have intelligent independence like me or Mother… He will respawn later, the dungeon core will make sure of that.”

Even Glenny gave her a suspicious look at that. The cub’s words did not match her fidgeting snout and whiskers.

“Gelo…” Jude whispered.

“I-it's fine. He’s nothing more than a monster…”

The boys shared a glance. Leland spoke up, “Gelo, are you sure this is the only way to get to your mom?”

“Yes…”

“And would you be able to get to her without defeating your uncle?”

“Yes…” she muttered. “Mother made sure that he will always allow me to pass. She’s scary like that.”

Again the boys shared a look, each silently agreeing. “Alright then,” Leland said with a stretch. “You sit the battle out then. We’ll take care of him.”

Gelo instantly perked up, her ears going stiff and her eyes locking onto the Legacy of Curses. “What?”

“He’s your uncle and it's obvious you don’t want to fight him. We’ll make do.”

Jude added on to that, “The deer won’t know what hit him!”

Snorting, Gelo turned to the human who was holding her. “I-I don’t know—”

“Just cheer us on from the crowd,” Glenny interrupted. “We’ve battled strong monsters before, this is what we do.”

A loud crash sounded from the arena room, and a puff of white mist shot out. “HURRY UP!”

Leland tsked. “I think we are angering him. We should probably get in there.”

“Eh,” Jude said with a shrug. “Let him stew. Trust me, anger doesn’t always help in battle.”

Glenny considered his friend’s words, an idea forming. “You know, you might be onto something.”

“Hmm?”

The rogue looked Jude up and down. “How many deer related insults can you think of?”

It took several minutes but eventually the boys and Gelo stepped into the castle proper. They took their time, idly looking through the closed rooms with Gelo acting as a “tour guide.” They tried every door, finding most of them unlocked and opening to a particularly bland room.

Most rooms were open and devoid of furniture with a large area to step around in. Or, more likely, to fight in. Each room also had a specific type of monster nest. The yeti’s was covered in goat furs and a light dusting of snow, the Winter Hag’s room had a bubbling cauldron and plenty of dried herbs. All together the boys and Gelo meandered around, carefully paying attention to the King’s angry screeches.

Before the moose truly exploded in anger, they entered the arena with smiles on their faces.

Rows of seats encircled a sandy pit, stretching the length of the room before wrapping back around. In the center a sudden drop lowered onto the battleground where a certain angry King and three other monsters waited. All around the castle’s other inhabitants snarled and growled at the boy’s sudden entrance like fans booing for the away team.

The king huffed and puffed, yelling, “GET DOWN HERE!”