Chaos 10: Alliance in the Sky
Everyone in the group had their eyes fixated on Skyfrost and Firesquall, the two juvenile wyverns who were standing before them in the center of the cavern.
"Revlogg," said Seth. "That big dragon I saw earlier. She's the one who killed their parents?"
"I'm pretty sure that's how Raxtus interpreted it," said Kendra.
"But, why?" asked Seth.
Raxtus asked the wyverns Seth's question by speaking in Draconian. The wyverns gave their response, for which Raxtus was to relay back to the others.
"Well," said Raxtus, "Revlogg saw their parents as a threat, so she got the drop on them and killed them. I got the impression that the situation upsets them, and they'd rather not talk about it too much."
"I understand," said Seth.
"Poor kids," said Geminus. "Abandoned at such a young age."
"That horrible Revlogg," said Warren. "Almost makes me want to want to forget about trying to find Storm Sanctum and just defeat her."
"Really?" asked Bracken.
"Yeah. I mean, look at these two. Cloud Canyon is their home, and they have to spend the bulk of their time hiding from a bully. A bully who killed their parents."
"I agree," said Raxtus. "My childhood was pretty unusual, to say the least. Looking at Vanessa, I'm grateful that she's fortunate enough to even have parents."
"Look, let's not get carried away," said Clover. "Revlogg may be a threat, but if we don't have to cross paths with her, let's not derail our plans for that. "Our first order of business is to get to Storm Sanctum."
"Wherever that is," said Kendra.
"Wait a moment," said Seth. "Maybe Skyfrost and Firesquall know. I mean after all, this place is their home."
"It's worth a shot," said Raxtus, as he proceeded to speak in a language of snarls and hisses to Skyfrost and Firesquall. The wyverns then gave their response to Raxtus, who turned back to face his allies.
"Well, they've got good news and bad news for us. The good news is, they're familiar with Storm Sanctum, and they know where the entrance is."
"Really?" asked Kendra. "That's great!"
"No point in sugarcoating it for us," said Seth. "What's the bad news?"
"The entrance is on Revlogg's turf, and she's usually guarding it."
"Great," said Seth, sounding perturbed. "Just great..."
"I think I liked it better when we didn't know the location," said Warren.
"Hey, you don't suppose that Skyfrost and Firesquall would mind directing us to Revlogg's roost, would they?" asked Kendra.
"I'll ask them," said Raxtus, interpreting Kendra's question to the wyverns. They then gave Raxtus their response.
"What'd they say?" asked Bracken.
"They said that they'll show us the way," replied Raxtus, "but that we're crazy if we actually think we can take on Revlogg."
"It's only one wyvern," said Warren. "She may pose a threat to these two guys, but we've taken on creatures far worse than her. Tell Skyfrost and Firesquall that we'll deal with Revlogg, and that they needn't worry."
Raxtus spoke to the wyverns in Draconian, and soon received a response. "Um, they said that Revlogg should not be taken lightly. She's very aggressive, and is capable of shooting lightning bolts from her mouth."
"I see," said Kendra.
"To be honest," said Seth. "I can see why they don't have much faith in us. We're small and we don't exactly look very threatening."
"Well, let's show them what we can really do," said Warren. "Raxtus, tell the wyverns that we're ready to go."
Raxtus then spoke to the wyverns, while Kendra and Bracken proceeded to climb up onto his back. Likewise, Seth and Warren got up onto Geminus.
Kendra looked over at Skyfrost and Firesquall and got the impression that they looked upset about something. "What's bothering them?" she asked. "If we run into Revlogg, we'll deal with her."
"I'll ask them," said Raxtus, as he proceeded to speak to the wyverns in their own tongue. They soon gave him a response. "They said that they're not really upset about anything, and that we should just get going."
Kendra took another glance over at Skyfrost and Firesquall, then thought to herself. A gut feeling gave Kendra the impression that the wyverns weren't actually telling the truth.
Skyfrost and Firesquall proceeded to run towards the front of the cavern, where they leaped down the shaft towards the entrance. Riders now on their backs, Raxtus and Geminus proceeded to leap down the shaft, following behind the two wyverns. The dragons both clung to the walls with their claws to slow their falls, and caught up with the wyverns, who were waiting at the bottom of the shaft, standing at the entrance which overlooked the sky beneath them.
"Hold on a sec," said Kendra. "I'm starting to have my doubts about all this. What if this whole thing is some sort of trap? We barely know these wyverns! They could be bringing us to Revlogg as a sacrifice for all we know!"
"Kendra," said Geminus. "I don't know what it is, but I've just been following my heart. And while it may not be foolproof, it's telling me to trust Skyfrost and Firesquall."
Firesquall made a gesture with his wing, signalling for everyone else to follow him. He and Skyfrost then leaped out of the cave and into the air, where they kept afloat in one spot by continuously flapping their wings.
Raxtus and Geminus then jumped out after Skyfrost and Firesquall. Now that they were all airborne, the wyverns proceeded to fly off, at a speed that Raxtus and Geminus were unable to keep up with.
Raxtus let out what could best be described as excessively loud hissing, prompting Skyfrost and Firesquall to slow down and wait up for him and Geminus.
"What was that about?" asked Kendra, once they had caught up with the wyverns.
"Wyverns can fly faster than most other dragons," said Raxtus. "I asked them if they could slow down for us."
"I can't really blame them," said Seth. "I don't think they get too many visitors up here. They probably aren't used to waiting for others."
Now flying at a slower speed, the wyverns proceeded to fly through a gap between two of the floating islands, while the dragons followed close behind. As they flew out of the chasm, they swerved their way around a corner and into another chasm between two of the other floating islands.
They continued to fly around for several more minutes, passing through a few more chasms, before Skyfrost and Firesquall finally slowed down and came to a stop on a ledge that was protruding out the cliff face of an island.
"Is this it?" asked Seth.
"I don't think so," said Kendra, feeling rather doubtful. Looking up at the imposing wall of the island they were on, Kendra could not make out anything of significance. It was just a solid wall of rock that stretched up for well over one hundred feet.
"Skyfrost and Firesquall said that this is near the entrance to Storm Sanctum," said Raxtus. "But that we should be extremely careful, because Revlogg's roost is here as well."
"So where exactly is the entrance?" asked Kendra.
Raxtus asked Kendra's question to the wyverns, who gave him their response.
"They'll show us," said Raxtus. "But they said that we need to execute extreme caution."
The wyverns proceeded to fly up towards the top of a nearby cliff, but slowed down near the top. Raxtus and Geminus followed close behind. Skyfrost then clenched onto a long rock that was protruding out of the wall with his talons and let himself hang upside-down, much like a bat. He then shook his head and flailed his wings around.
"What's that about?" asked Seth.
"He doesn't want us to continue to the top," said Bracken. "I think."
Firesquall then rose up to the top of the cliff, just enough so that he could presumably see what lay before him. A moment later, Firesquall dropped down to where the others all were. He then said something in Draconian. Although Kendra and Seth were unable to understand the language, they could tell that Firesquall sounded scared.
"Oh my," said Raxtus. "Firesquall said that Revlogg is perched atop this island, and that we're lucky she hasn't spotted us yet."
"She's here?" asked Seth. "Good. Let's deal with her already and get this over with."
Kendra winced. "As long as Revlogg doesn't know we're here, we can use this opportunity to get the drop on her."
"We should all go on ahead," said Warren. "Just enough so that we can properly see what we're up against."
Raxtus, Geminus, Skyfrost and Firesquall all rose up towards the top of the enormous island. Perched on a hill in the center of the grassy island was a large, silver wyvern. The same one that Seth had spotted earlier. Revlogg was indeed quite large, and she easily rivaled Navarog in terms of size. Fortunately for them, the beast was curled up in such a position so that her head was facing towards the opposite direction.
"Can she tell that we're here?" asked Kendra.
"She will, if we cause enough commotion," said Raxtus. "So let's not do anything rash that would draw her attention."
"So, the entrance to Storm Sanctum," said Seth, "is underneath where Revlogg currently is?"
Raxtus translated Seth's question for the wyverns, who both gave their response by nodding their heads.
"Great," muttered Seth. "Have we got anything on us that'll allow us to take out a wyvern that size?"
"Wait a sec," said Warren. "First of all, to answer your question Seth, not easily. And second, even if we can take out Revlogg, I wouldn't want to do it where she is right now. If she's on top of the entrance and we kill her, we'll have a massive carcass blocking our way through."
"I've got an idea," said Kendra. "Since there's enough of us, what if somebody were to act as bait and lure Revlogg away from her spot?
"Not a bad suggestion," said Bracken. "Maybe Skyfrost and Firesquall would be willing to take on that duty. They're faster than any of us and must know their way around here pretty well."
"Yeah," said Bracken. "And while Revlogg is off chasing them, it'll buy us enough time to enter Storm Sanctum."
"Sounds good," said Raxtus. "I'll ask them what they think."
Raxtus spoke to Skyfrost and Firesquall for a moment. They then gave him their response, and appeared to have worried looks on their faces. Raxtus said something back to them, prompting the wyverns to put their heads down.
"What's the matter?" asked Seth.
"You see," said Raxtus. "Skyfrost and Firesquall said that not only could this be incredibly dangerous, but even if we were to succeed, they'd not only be separated from us, but they'd have to deal with Revlogg as well."
"It just feels wrong," said Geminus. "Making these young wyverns do our dirty work like that. Putting them in such danger."
"I understand," said Warren. "But a wyvern like Revlogg isn't easy to kill. Especially if one such as her has electrical powers. She could fry you before you even get near her."
"So, maybe the wyverns should lure Revlogg away," said Seth. "I just hope she's stupid enough to fall for this trick. Mind you, she probably isn't even aware that our group is here."
Raxtus spoke to the wyverns for a good moment, then turned to face his fellow allies. "Okay. I've gotten these two to agree to our little plan. They'll fly ahead and draw Revlogg's attention. While she's off chasing them, we enter Storm Sanctum, the entrance of which is too small for her to follow us through."
"Okay," said Clover. "Good luck, you two."
Skyfrost and Firesquall looked over at the knights and nodded, then turned around so that they were facing the hill where Revlogg was sitting. The two wyverns then flew over towards Revlogg and proceeded to assault her by blasting streams of fire and ice at her body.
Upon absorbing the attacks that the two wyvern brothers were assaulting on her, Revlogg let out a booming roar, one so loud that Kendra and Seth could both feel the island shaking beneath them. Now that they had her attention, Revlogg rose up off of the ground and unfurled her wings, revealing an impressive wingspan. As the wyverns flew off, Revlogg unleashed a blast of lightning in their direction, but it missed them.
"Whoa," said Kendra, watching as Revlogg jumped into the air and proceeded to give chase after Skyfrost and Firesquall. "I hope this wasn't a bad idea."
"Come on," said Warren. "She's gone! Let's check out where she was resting."
Raxtus and Geminus proceeded to fly across the island and descended down to the spot where Revlogg had just been. Unlike the rest of the island, there was no grass to be found in this part, no doubt due to the wyvern's constant roosting.
"I see it!" said Bracken, pointing to a nearby area in the dirt. "That! It has to be the entrance to Storm Sanctum!"
Everybody looked down at the spot where Bracken had been pointing. Surely enough, even though it was partially covered with dirt, there was a large, rounded outline set within the ground.
"This is the entrance?" exclaimed Clover, as she flew over to the spot that Bracken had discovered.
"Yeah," replied Bracken. "The Floodmaze had an entrance similar to this one. It's just underneath all this dirt."
"It's feels like it's true," said Seth. "If this stupid dirt wasn't here, you could see for yourself."
"Hold on," said Clover. She proceeded to fire a small blast of green magic at her feet, which conjured up a very small whirlwind that barely went above her ankles. The whirlwind proceeded to blow away the dirt that was surrounding Clover, revealing the circular barrier that she was standing on.
"That star," said Kendra, admiring the rainbow-hued star which Clover was standing on. "I remember the Floodmaze entrance had one just like it!"
"So, how do we open this thing?" asked Clover, looking down at the barrier.
Suddenly, a loud roar drew everyone's attention away from the barrier, and over to the side, where Revlogg could be seen flying towards the center of the island. Revlogg looked furious, and she proceeded to open her mouth, blasting out a bolt of lightning towards the group, nearly hitting them.
"Whoa!" exclaimed Raxtus, as he leapt into the air with Kendra and Bracken still on his back, just in time for Revlogg to smack him with one her massive wings. The impact slammed Raxtus back down towards the ground, where he crashed, knocking off both Kendra and Raxtus. The sudden fall was painful, but Kendra did not experience any injuries.
"Are you guys okay?" asked Raxtus, rubbing his backside. "I think I just broke my wing, but it'll heal."
"Oh, Raxtus," said Kendra. "But what about them?" She watched as Revlogg continued to pursue Geminus towards the far side of the island.
"Geminus!" cried Seth, as Revlogg proceeded to open her mouth. "Revlogg's going to blast us with another lightning bolt!"
"Oh no she won't!" said Geminus, as she magically conjured up a pink aura around herself, Seth and Warren. Seth watched as a lightning bolt shot out of Revlogg's mouth and hit them, but experienced no pain.
"Nice!" said Warren. "Your shield worked great!"
Soon Geminus was beyond the island, and flying out in the open sky. Revlogg had now closed in on Geminus and was flying directly overhead.
"Uh, Geminus," said Seth, "what's Revlogg doing?"
Revlogg then suddenly lowered her talons down at Geminus and quickly wrapped one of them around the fairy dragon's entire body. Fortunately, Seth and Warren had not been crushed, for they had ended up in the narrow gap between two of the massive wyvern's toes.
"Let me go!" shrieked Geminus, even though Revlogg presumably couldn't understand her tongue.
Just before Seth or Warren could proceed to draw their swords, Revlogg shook Geminus around with her talon. The force of Revlogg's shaking was so intense, that Seth and Warren both found themselves being flung off of Geminus' back and started falling down to the open sky below.
"HEEELPP!" screamed Seth, as he and Warren plummeted down towards the layer of clouds that was a fair distance beneath them. Looking up, Seth could see that Geminus was still being held in Revlogg's claw.
"CLOVER!" cried Warren, "GEMINUS! ANYONE!"
Suddenly, Skyfrost and Firesquall swooped down from the island above, and dove down towards Seth and Warren. Skyfrost soared down at Seth and gracefully caught him within his claws, with Firesquall did the same with Warren. The wyverns had broken their falls, and proceeded to fly back towards Revlogg's island, where they descended down onto a protruding ledge along the side.
"Holy..." gasped Seth, once Skyfrost released him from his grasp. He could feel his heart pounding within his chest like a jackhammer.
"It's times like these I miss having the power to fly," said Warren. "And, I realize that you can't understand us," he continued, while patting Firesquall on his wing, "but thank you."
"Yeah," said Seth. "We owe you our lives."
The two wyverns then gave gestures with their wings, indicating that they wanted Seth and Warren to climb onto their backs.
"They want us to get on them?" asked Seth
"It's not like we have much choice up here," said Warren, as he proceeded to climb up onto Firesquall's back.
Seth nodded, and then got himself up onto Skyfrost's backside. One he was in position, Skyfrost and Firesquall both spread out their wings and flew back up towards the top of the island and landed on the edge, where they stood side by side. From what they could see, Revlogg was standing in her spot on the hill in the center, holding Geminus captive under one of her talons. The rest of their friends were encased within a force field, which was shielding them from Revlogg's lightning blasts.
"Oh boy," said Warren. "This looks like trouble."
"Are the others even okay?" asked Seth.
"I can't really tell."
"I'm pretty fed up with Revlogg right now. What do you say we deal with that monster once and for all?"
"Let's do it," said Warren, as he held out his hand from atop Firesquall. In response, Seth extended his hand and gave Warren a high-five.
Skyfrost and Firesquall then extended their wings and gave each other "three" using the claw-like digits that were on their tips. Seth didn't know if the wyverns even understood what it meant, but one thing was for sure, they were ready to confront Revlogg.