"Starflight, are you sure this is the right way? We've been in here for an hour and I think we are going in circles."
"I know, but it's got to be around here somewhere." Starflight mumbled, touching the tip of his wing to the cave wall to orientate himself. Under his arm he carried an old scroll, so old that it was literally crumbling at the edges. He pulled it out and unrolled it. saying, "Tsunami, could you check the direction of the tunnels again? We should have taken two lefts and three rights so far. I'm just glad I memorized the layout before…"
Here he paused, and everyone else knew what he was thinking.
Before the war ended, Starflight had been taken to the home of the Nightwings; a dead island with a volcano ready to explode over their heads. Soon the volcano erupted, but Starflight helped get most of the Nightwings through the tunnel that lead into Rainwing territory, but was soon confronted by Morrowseer. As they prepared to fight the volcano exploded and Starflight would have died alongside Morrowseer if it wasn't for Clay and his fire-proof scales. But sadly,he had lost his sight. Even after four months, it was still hard for Starflight to adjust to being blind. Perhaps the hardest part was not being able to read his scrolls; at least he had Sunny and Fatespeaker to help him.
Starflight cleared his throat awkwardly, sightless eyes staring at the floor.
"Um, can I ask you where you found this scroll again?" Clay asked, trying to change the topic.
It seemed to work because Starflight lifted his head a little and spoke with confidence, "I managed to sneak it out of the Nightwing library before the volcano erupted. The thing that drew my attention was this symbol," He flipped the scroll around to show them. The symbol was of three claw marks, and inside each one there was a evil-looking eye glaring out. "This sign, according to legend, is the sign of Darkstalker, the first Nightwing animus dragon. And also the most evil dragon that ever lived." Here Starflight paused, shivering. "Any way, this scroll was written by Darkstalker himself. He wrote that he had enchanted many objects, but that one of the more powerful ones was a ring, but he didn't say what it did."
"And you think that if you find it, you can figure it out," Glory asked. Starflight nodded.
"Well, we better get going if we ever want to get out of here before dark," squeaked Sunny, nudging Tsunami, whose scales were their only constant source of light.
They continued on, Tsunami leading the way, followed closely by Starflight, who clamped onto her tail. Glory and Sunny came next, and Clay was the last, on account that his great bulk often caused him to get stuck.
They passed through forests of stalactites and stalagmites, and through lakes and rivers of clear mountain water. As they were passing underneath a cascading waterfall, Tsunami suddenly stopped, causing everyone to bruise their noses as they collided.
"Tsunami, what's the holdup?" asked Glory.
Tsunami growled, pointing ahead of her. "There's nothing. It's a dead end."
"What?" exclaimed Starflight, forcing himself past Tsunami. He reached out his arms and waddled forward until his talons scraped the damp wall. It was, indeed, a dead end.
"No," Starflight stammered. "But I had been so sure… It couldn't have been wrong."
Sunny shifted uncomfortably. "It was really old, Starflight. Maybe someone moved it, or maybe the layout changed?"
Silence greeted Sunny's words until Tsunami sighed.
"Look Starflight, maybe we just took a wrong turn somewhere. We should head out and try again in the morning." Starflight nodded his head sadly and began to turn around to head back.
"Um, guys?" asked Glory. Their heads shot up. Sunny and Glory were pulling Clay's arms, trying to pull him through the opening, while he smile sheepishly.
"I think I'm stuck," said Clay. Glory and Sunny pulled harder, but lost their footing and flew backward into Starflight and Tsunami.
"Good job, Clay," growled Tsunami. "How are we supposed to get out before dark now?" Starflight frowned.
"It's alright, it's not Clay's fault. Let's all try to push instead." They all put their talons on Clay and pushed. And pushed. And pushed. And pushed. And pushed.
After a while their strength gave out and they flopped onto the ground panting, sweat riveting down their scales.
After minutes of silence, Clay lifted his head and said, "Um, guys?"
Starflight wearily turned his head. "Yes, Clay?"
"Would Darkstalker's symbol on the wall have any significance to our quest?"
There was no movement for a few seconds, then everyone pushed each other in their rush to see what Clay was looking at. Sure enough, in the top right corner, Darkstalker's symbol blended seamlessly into the obsidian stone.
"How did you even see that?" asked Sunny, squinting.
"I can see underwater, and in the dark, remember?" Clay responded. Starflight ran his claws over it, pondering.
"I wonder," he muttered, taking his scroll out again. "Glory, can you put Darkstalker's symbol from the scroll onto the one on the wall?" Glory took the scroll and did as Starflight asked. As the two halves met, an orange glow came from the wall, becoming so bright that they all shut their eyes from the glare. Though they couldn't see, they could still hear, and they all heard the crunch of stone and mumbling of rock through their blindness.
As quickly as it started, the glowing ceased and the stone fell silent once more. When they opened their eyes there was no more wall. An opening led onward, leading to who knew where. They looked at each other gravely.
"We can't go back now,"Starflight said.
"I agree," said Clay. "But before we do that, can you please help me get out of here?!"
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity of pulling, they managed to force Clay through the gap, and continued on.
The light from Tsunami's scales was just enough to guide their path, but only just so. They occasionally stumbled over unseen roots and rocks and they followed the winding path.
The sight that greeted them as the turned a corner took the breath from their lungs.
It was like an oasis in the desert. The whole area was green with plant life, moss growing up the walls and vine-like tendrils hanging like bats from the ceiling. Flowers, from the brightest res to the darkest black, glittered like gold throughout the scene. A gurgling stream wound its way through the ground like a snake, an occasional trout leaping into the air. HIgh above, an opening in the ceiling revealed one of Pyrria's full moons. A direct beam shined through the hole, making a certain tock glow. And on that rock… Darkstalker's ring.
As the dragonets advanced forward, almost as if in a trance, Starflight sunk his talons
into the rich earth in excitement. He was so close. All his research, all the sneaking and the stealing and the hiding was about to pay off.
Sunny, however, followed reluctantly. While she loved the beautiful scenery, she couldn't shake the feeling that this was suddenly a bad idea. BUt she said nothing. She knew how hard Starflight had worked on finding the lost NIghtwing treasure. If she destroyed that dream for a feeling she might be imagining… she couldn't live with herself.
The group stepped before the stone. Up close they could see cracks and rivets in the stone, revealing its age. Glory pointed to scratches that were barely elegible words:
" Risk the RIng at your own peril.
The treasure it holds is for the clear of mind and the strong of spirit.
You have been warned."
Starflight reached out, feeling the words in the stone. Feeling along the edge he moved toward the ring, tail quivering in excitement,
"Starflight, wait," Sunny burst, unable to hold back any longer, and everyone stared at her.
"What's wrong, Sunny?" questioned Clay, gazing at her in concern.
"I...I just don't think this is a good idea. Maybe we should think about this for a minute."
"Why?" barked Tsunami.
"It's right here in front of us," added Starflight. "We can't close the door that fate rarely opens."
"I just think we shouldn't touch it yet. You all heard what was written in the stone. Are you prepared, are WE, as a group, prepared for the consequences?"
Clay and Glory looked at each other. Tsunami huffed and looked away, while Starflight frowned, searching for an answer.
Several tense minutes passed, and when no one spoke Starflight sighed deeply. "You're right, Sunny. In my excitement I had forgot to be careful. This needs more thought. We should leave the ring here for now, until we know more."
When no one objected, Starflight stood, head craned back to look at the distant hole in the ceiling, "Let's see if we can fly out of here. It's better than walking back through those cramped tunnel."
Tsunami darted forward, shouting, "Starflight, stop!"
Too late. As Starflight stretched out his wings, the tip of them grazed the ring.
Starflight, noticing, shook his wings, but the ring was attached, attracted like a magnet. Gold ropes of light burst from the ring, wrapping around Starflight.
"Guy's, what's going on!?" yelled Starflight. twisting himself in the effort to loose himself.
As the ring began to glow, the light faded and receded like a pulse, and more tendrils of light enveloped of the frozen group.
They struggled in vain. It seemed the more they fought, the tighter the tendrils of light clenched. More and more were piled on until everything but their heads were wrapped in golden light.
"Geez, Starflight, good job," snarled Tsunami.
Starflight didn't answer as the light grew brighter still until with a loud pop, the light disappeared. The scene returned to the way it had been before. Except for one thing. The dragonets were gone.