Chapter Nine: An Idol and an accomplice
Zane's POV
Zane's mission Log: Gathering more information, I have uncovered an ancient item called the Idol of Borious. It is said to have been crafted by the dust of the golden sunsets blown across the mountains by the northern winds. If I can get a sample of the Idol it would be enough to help me in my quest to return home. The last known location of the Idol is Griffonstone, the heart of the Griffin kingdom. The Idol is also known for uniting the entire species of Griffins so getting close to it won't be easy. To my knowledge the Griffins are as greedy as dragons, in which I find very strange. I have met Griffins and dragons before and have never been known for greed… except for one large red dragon. Anyway Fluttershy's been getting better and better in her spinjitzu training, but I might have to put a slight delay on today's training depending on when I get back. End of mission log.
"Guidance, I need you to take this message to Fluttershy telling her that I will be late today and when you are done with that, stay here and watch over the monastery while I'm gone. Thank you." We both fly off to our task; Griffonstone is very far to the east but with the help of trains that inexplicably travels everywhere I should arrive in no time.
In about two hours I have arrived, I can see that this kingdom is recovering from poverty, or at least under maintenance. Most of what I can observe is that a perfect half of the Griffins are minding their own business and the other half are very social. But news seems to travel very slowly because I was expecting for this kingdom to already be grand.
Walking towards the castle it was clear that a battle toke place right here. The windows were shattered, holes inside the wall and plants barley growing on the inside. No guards or construction workers insight. The throne room is empty No king or Idol to be seen. What happened, I do not know but in order to find the Idol of Borious I must know the story of the last Griffin king. Considering the fact that the library is in shanvels, I'll have to ask the citizens. Judging from the low reactions I received walking my way to here, I 'am not considered a threat to the law if there is any law enforcement.
Meeting an old Griffin called Grandpa Gruph here it has come to my attention that I do not have currency to exchange. I remember that Fluttershy told me that in this land they use gold coins as currency. In this situation I am going to have to do some gambling. I can see some Griffins rolling dice and placing their bets just outside of what seems to resemble a broken down tavern.
Upon entry the waiter next to the door cleaning glass cups asked "can I help you?" without showing any emotion at all. "Yes where can a Pegasus like me find some were to take a little risk with his bits?" "In the back door." "Thank you kind sir."
I stepped in to the room with three other players playing poker. I spoke with confidence, "Mind if I join in?" "Sure, if you got the bits to play." I reached into my pocket and pulled out one-hundred and Fifty pieces of metal made to look like bits. "Alright, first things first I'm Bearin and these two are Minsium and Thagnius." I thought of a fake name for myself "Frozen Blades." "Okay let's get started." As poker is supposed to be played each of us are given two cards by Minsium, with nine bits in the pot, my bet is six in place. My cards are the Eight and Two Clubs these are not good cards so I've already fold. I can't let them know that my bits are fake so I have to get them back. In the next round the dealer has won seventy-eight bits. My new cards are the Six of Hearts and the King of Diamonds, nine bits in the pot. I raise by twelve bits, Minsium calls in causing both Bearin and Thagnius to fold. The first five cards are in, Nine Club, Five of Diamonds and an Ace of Hearts. I raise again but by Twenty-Two bits, Minisium calls leaving the pot with Seventy-Seven bits. A new cards is placed: Three Spades so I will check. I seems as though Minisium is copying my every move but the last card will decide who is the winner. The last card is the Queen of hearts we both check… I lost, Minisium has won with his Four of Diamonds and Four of Spades, this could take awhile.
I've been playing for two hours and I think I might have become addicted to this game; nonetheless I must win this game of poker. Right now Thagnius has most of the bits and I only have one-hundred and ninety-four bits of the four-hundred. I have the Two of Diamonds and Four Clubs, we're all in. If I win I won't have to come to my back up plan. We show our cards he has The Ten of Diamonds and the Three of Hearts. Now for the last five cards, the Seven of Hearts, Three Spades, the Four of Hearts, the Six Clubs, and the Four of Diamonds, Three of A kind, I Win exactly four-hundred bits.
Walking out of the Tavern I found Grandpa Gruph. Giving him two bits as he requested, he examined it to make sure it was real then told me the entire story of the Idol. Apparently the Idol of Borious fell into an abysmal abyss. Seeing how the closest abyss is near the castle that's where I should start searching.
All I can see is darkness down there with high winds blowing about. Dropping a rock into the abyss it made a splash sound; I might as well jump in.
I gave myself a running start and put my mask on. Running as fast as I could holding my wings tightly to myself, I dove head first into the darkness at high speeds until I hit the water were I came to a halt.
Nothing… it is only pitch black down here, even with the light from my eyes I could only see the bottom of the abyss. While searching for the Idol at the sea floor I heard a whispers and distant echoes coming from behind me. The voices brought shivers down my spine so I turned around to see where it was coming from but nothing was there. The whispers were starting to become clear, the voices were saying my name in a robotic but human voice. Then I spotted some sort of light Violet mist not absorbing the light from my eyes. It swam away so I decided to follow it.
The mist was trying to shake me off its tail but it suddenly went into the ground surrounding an object. I attempted to grab hold of it but the mist disappeared and what was left in my hooves was the Idol of Borious. A question came to my mind, what was that Violet mist and how did it know my name? I'll have to find the answer later. What's Important now is the task at hand.
I came back to the surface and found myself out of the abyss and in the middle of the ocean. The canyon must have been connected to the sea. The main land is not far from where I' am so let's get swimming.
When I came on land my uniform was drenched in water and had the stench of sewer pipes stained with algae, I cannot wear these. Well at lets no one usually wears cloths in this world, time to get back to base.
A few moments later
Okay… I have made it to the cottage only about twenty minutes late. I thought that mission was going to take longer than ten hours with the whole traveling time and the actual mission itself.
I called out to Fluttershy by whistling towards her. When she came to where I was hiding she began to blush "Oh…um…uuuuh…umm," "What's wrong" I asked. "Nothing it's just that I' m not used to seeing you without any cloths." So I blushed too realizing how awkward this moment is. "Oh… about that, I was diving in water on a mission. I'll explain on the way to the training site."
Fluttershy had brought Angel bunny with her this time. I wander how Guidance will react to his presents.
Later after going through our training routine
We went back to the monastery and I tried to introduce Angel to Guidance who was very excited to meet him but then he ran away from him, though it was like playing tag for Guidance. Fluttershy walked up to me then asked "Are you sure he's going to be okay?" "Absolutely, since Guidance is also a robot he doesn't eat meat. In time Angel will learn for himself. Now can you continue your tale from yesterday?" "Oh certainly, So RainbowDash bolted from the starting line sending me falling from the sky. I was too afraid to even open my wings thinking this was going to be my appending doom. But just before I hit the ground, a large flock of Butterflies caught me at the last moment. The Butterflies introduced to the wonderful creatures of the forest. Then suddenly the Sonic Rainboom made such a loud noise that it scared all the animals. Seeing how afraid they were I came to reassure them that there was nothing to be afraid of and soon I knew that this was what I was meant to do. And not only did the Rainboom help me earn my cuti-mark, but it also gave all of my friends theirs too. It was as if we were best friends before we knew it," She ended.
"Six friends that would later become heroes of their home land. Your parents must be so proud of you," I said.
"Now that you mention home land. Zane, how will you get home?" asked Fluttershy raising an eyebrow. "I'll show you," I replied.
Within one of the hanging rooms in the monastery laid an incomplete machine placed in the center. It was surrounded by four pedestals that were linked to the device. One pedestal had the Idol of Borious mounted on top of it while the other two were empty.
Fluttershy walk around slowly, observing the room of science and enchantment. I began to explain what this is all for. "I may have told you that I' am from another world, but what I haven't told you is that I have been traveling to different realms for a long while. Exploring, studying different kinds of wizardry, experiencing new laws of nature, saving lives, etcetera. The way I had traveled into other realities was by using a device given to me from the Writers of Destiny. But when I crashed into Equestria, the device was damage beyond repair. So I decided to create a machine that would cause two paranormal events to occur. Two events that would normally occur in my dimension, The Yin-Yang Eclipse and The Blind Man's Eye. Both of these events would open a rift to one of the sixteen realms in correlation with Ninjago. I know it's a little difficult to understand, but so far it's my only option to return to my friends."
Fluttershy walks up to me and asks, "How can I help?"
"You wish to assist me in my quest?" I calmly questioned.
"I know how much your friends mean to you. I don't know what I'd do if I lost mine. So if building this can help reunite you with your friends, I'd be more than happy to help."
"I'm not so certain about this. I was considered a criminal the second I hit that factory, but if you were seen assisting me in my work; the other citizens might consider you a traitor."
"Please let me help you. It's the least I could do for you." She stared directly at me with her puppy eyes. "How could I say no to you," I sighed. "Tomorrow we will be heading off to retrieve an artifact from Manehattan's museum of natural history. I shall take you home for you to rest, for tomorrow will be a long night." With that I escorted Fluttershy back to her cottage. I wandered how exactly I was going to let her help me on this mission without anyone suspecting her involvement.
I must rest as well, perhaps I could figure this out once my mind is clear in the morning.
