NINE

DANGEROUS DISCIPLE


They ran as fast as they could. The pirates tried not to look behind them as they attempted their abrupt escape from their new enemy. Reverix the Viking knew how fast and operational the dragons could be, and he couldn't afford another risk that claimed the lives of his comrades. Whoever survived the confrontation in Perem Doris stayed close together without any abandonments whatsoever.

The dragons showed no signs of leaving the human intruders alone. They did everything they could to their prey. They made the ground explode with their powers. They flew down and snatched a pirate with their claws and flung him to one of the dead trees, making him break every bone in his body. They even flew straight down and stomped on them with their feet. At this rate, Reverix could be losing half of his company in just one night.

Barclay the Celt pointed at something. "Look! Another temple!"

Reverix still had time to survey the view in front of him, and he immediately spotted what Barclay pointed at. It looked to be another Roman temple, but unlike Perem Doris, the building looked untouched by foreign hostility and had been constructed as a rectangular structure like the Parthenon. But it appeared rather small compared to every other building in Rome.

Reverix yelled, "Quick! To the temple!"

The survivors ran inside the temple. They discovered an open entryway in the middle of the temple that led downstairs. They didn't consider the possibilities of entering dangerous territory. They just made a dash down the stairs and found a long hallway illuminated with torches. But it wasn't fire that created light. The iron torches had sphere-shaped crystals that glowed in the dark. None of the pirates had ever seen such a unique invention.

Everything went silent. The dragons no longer roared from outside. The pirates stayed in the hallway until they were absolutely sure that they would be safe to leave the temple. Reverix no longer questioned the dragons' barbaric behaviors. The high possibility of being poisoned by Voriak became more obvious.

Emilia the Spaniard whispered, "I'm starting to hate dragons."

Donner the Dane looked rather furious. The tall and muscular gentleman clenched his fists. "Oh, I can't wait until I bash their brains in."

Anton the Bulgarian patted him on the shoulder. "Calm yourself. Save it for the Mongols. I fear that the dragons are just doing their job."

Reverix looked around to see who survived the latest skirmish on land. He counted eleven survivors, including himself.

And then, he realized something. "Where's Denin? Where's my nephew?"

Havoc the Roman raised his hand. "I saw him and Zeema being carried away by one of the dragons. It didn't drop them or anything. It just flew away."

"They may be still alive. There's still a chance!"

Anton stood in front of him to avoid a quick exit from the temple. "Yes, captain. He's still alive, we believe you. But I think it is best that we don't give ourselves away to our enemies too quickly. Denin can take care of himself. We know it."

Reverix took a deep breath as he tightened his grip on his sword. "Yes, Denin can take care of himself."

He liked to believe it.

Furlock the Gaul added, "Don't worry. We'll find him and Zeema breathing and still in one piece."

Barclay noticed something on the wall. "Would you look at this?"

The pirates shifted their attention to a large crack on the concrete. Black liquid seeped through the crack, dripped down the wall, and produced a small puddle on the floor.

Emilia asked, "Is it oil?"

Barclay leaned forward and took a little sniff. "No, it's the same one that killed Alvin the Treacherous. It's making me wonder if there's a huge batch of it behind this wall."

Havoc pointed at the other wall. "There's another one."

The crack appeared smaller, but the puddle on the floor was the same size as the other one.

Barclay slowly raised his hammer. "Maybe it's Voriak's blood."

This made Reverix much more cautious. "Everyone, be careful. I have a feeling that we're about to discover something at the other end of this hallway."

Furlock the Gaul shrugged his shoulders as he spoke with a laidback, almost monotonous tone. "Well, you could have at least given me a chance to visit a Polynesian island instead of this."

Striker the Icelander laughed. "Now I have a craving for coconuts."

Donner added, "A massage sounds nicer."

Reverix narrowed his eyes. "Stop it! Stay focused and follow me."

He led his comrades deeper into the hallway. They found a few more cracks coupled with black puddles. Once they reached the end of the hallway, they found a long spiral staircase that led further down the bottom of the earth. More crystal torches had been placed on the walls.

Kinesh the Indian asked, "What do you supposed is down there? A ghost? A demon? A tiger the size of a whale?"

Reverix didn't give a reply. He just walked down the stairs and led his pirates deeper down into unknown territory.


Denin would have made a torch, but he found his flint stones worthless against dry and dusty wood. The trees had been deceased for such a long time that the boughs couldn't be used for illumination. Rain was apparently non-existent for the past hundred years or so. He still had the moon to keep him from being enveloped by complete darkness.

So far, he couldn't find any of his companions yet. But he did find something in the dirt below him. He had found more footprints similar to what he and his companions had found before the short trek to Perem Doris. Several people had their presence known with their footprints. But what caught Denin's attention was one that made him suspicious. The right foot appeared normal, but the left one had the shape of a lizard's foot. Denin knew it to be the same one he had found before he and Zeema separated from the group.

Perhaps Hiccup had previously wandered around this area after all.

Denin wielded his one remaining dagger and followed the human footsteps that led him further up a hillside.


The Romans who constructed the temple clearly didn't give the pirates any hints that they would discover a cave underneath. The interior looked massive, with stalagmites and stalactites in all directions. Crystal torches had been hung everywhere as well. They gave the pirates a clearer view of the gigantic pools on the floor. Every single of them contained the same black-colored liquid that everyone had seen for a long time. Whether it was oil or blood, it was being collected in this cave. Much of it were spewing out of the walls and landed in the puddles. Dripping down the walls made them create a wet and sludgy sound. They even dripped down from several stalactites. The pirates remained careful as they stayed away from anything that could force them to come in contact with such a mysterious liquid.

But the pirates discovered something else. There must have been over a dozen human skeletons lying around on the floor. The bones had been drenched in dried-up black water. Some of them still had their Roman attire on their bodies.

Havoc didn't sound too pleased. "I'm already ready to go back to the surface."

Barclay remarked, "This entire place is soaked with black blood."

Reverix kept his composure intact. "Voriak is sounding to be more authentic by the minute."

Vidko the Russian slowly looked from left to right. "This place feels so…alive."

Emilia took one step back. "What do you mean by that?"

Vidko closed his eyes. "You can feel it. This place has a feeling."

Reverix suddenly could hear a faint noise, a very deep and rhythmic noise. It sounded like a hollow echo of a heartbeat. And it began to grow louder.

"I can hear it."

Furlock added, "I can hear it, too."

Kinesh slowly gasped. "It's a new experience…I like it."

Then, he let out his typical psychotic laugh.

Reverix heard something other than a heartbeat.

He heard distant footsteps growing louder. He quickly assumed it to be a Viking from the Isle of Berk.

A deep masculine voice, however, erased his small hope of finally finding anyone whom he was familiar with. He couldn't identify the voice at all.

"You are not welcome here! You are not ready for the heart and soul of our new emperor! You will be dead before you even leave this place! I, for one, will never let you leave! You should be prisoners. But there is a chance. Be a disciple just like me. Become his children!"

He and his comrades looked to see a middle-aged man, drenched in black liquid and drawing ever so closer. His current apparel made him to appear as one of the Romans who lived on this island.

The self-proclaimed disciple didn't seem to look and act like his usual self. Instead, he had the appearance and personality of a deranged cult leader, something that he may have not been before.

"The only way to survive is to drink it. Drink his blood!"

Reverix could see something in the disciple's hand. "What in the name of Valhalla has happened here?"

The disciple raised the bloodied heart up to his chest. "He is alive! We have become his children! We are the ones who will keep his spirit alive and well! Drink his blood, and you will see that he must live on."

Reverix raised his axe. "Who is he?"

The disciple had the smile of a psycho. "He is the island. He is…the world!"

His sinister laugh made half of the pirates tremble with fear. Vidko raised his crossbow and pointed it at the crazed Roman.

Reverix quickly lowered it down for him. "Don't fire. He can give us the answers we're looking for."

The disciple stepped closer and raised the bloodied heart high up in the air. "Your time is now! You will drink and you will see the purpose you have in this world."

Havoc raised his spear. "There is no way in Hell am I going to drink this stuff!"

The disciple suddenly frowned. "That is not the answer that we want to hear."

Reverix noticed ripples forming on the black pools. The sound of the heart beat grew even louder.

The disciple growled. "I can see now why you are not welcome here."

The ripples on the black water suddenly showed the cause. Something emerged from the surface. Three heads popped out of the water. They stepped out of the pool and had their eyes on the intruders. They were three tigers drenched in black water. Their sharp fangs, menacing glares, and deep growling made them predators more dangerous than their original forms.

The disciple laughed. "There is nothing else for you here!"

The tigers let out a piercing shriek.

Reverix had only a few seconds for the oily felines to lunge at them before he shouted, "Retreat!"

The pirates turned back and ran back up the spiral staircase. They didn't look back as they clearly didn't want to. They made it to the top of the staircase, ran straight across the hallway, and exited the temple. They didn't even care if dragons stood waiting for their next kill. They just didn't want to have anything to do with whatever lurked in the Roman disciple's cave.

But they didn't have time to breathe a sigh of relief.

They heard the distant sounds of the familiar Mongolian war cry. Reverix and the pirates couldn't see anything in the darkness. The captain grabbed a crystal torch that hung near the front entrance of the temple.

"Everyone follow me!"

He led his last remaining comrades away from the war cries by running in the opposite direction.


TO BE CONTINUED…