Chapter 25
After we crossed the bridge, we proceeded down the path the long way around to Upover, finding that the path was very long and that the monsters were very tough in terms of defenses and some of them had fire capabilities. These included the Bagmas, the Hell Ninos, and the Bomboulders, which had a nasty explosive attack that they used when they felt like they couldn't win a fight.
Our group was very tired by the time we finally reached Upover, which had a huge flight of stairs we needed to climb in order to reach the town itself, a man looking shocked at us when we made it up to the place by nightfall. "Oh my! We finally have some visitors? You all look tuckered out... which means you came from Wormwood, right?" the man asked.
"Y-Yeah... we made a bridge of light... n-need sleep..." I groaned in weariness.
"Please, come inside and stay at my Inn for the night. All I ask is for 50 gold coins," the man smiled. I sighed and gave him a Gleeban Groat, which was double the price.
"Keep the change..." I sighed as we went into the inn and collapsed on the different beds, us snoozing away immediately afterwards. "Ah... sleep..." I sighed as I closed my eyes and fell asleep, seeing myself in another vision that I didn't expect.
This vision in particular was one that I didn't see coming. It was of the Gittingham Palace, where I heard a very dark and brooding voice start to talk from the bowels of the place. "Finally... the Yggdrasil bears fruit... time to enact my vengeance..." a voice said, me not recognizing it, but hearing a small bit of raspy breath in it. And it was then that I felt a massive earthquake under my feet as a flurry of lights broke from the center of the palace and around the four towers, them being the exact same colors I recognized as the lights that assaulted the Observatory! And at the same time? I saw 3 monsters rise from the dead as well as a fourth power emerging from the center of the palace. And atop all of that, I saw a large set of dragon bones reform its skin and muscles and turn into Barbarus! All caused by the same creature.
"Hah... now... I just wait... once those Fyggs are mine... I shall be the Almighty... and destroy all of this world... they will all feel the same pain I felt..." I heard the voice say again as I saw some feathers get sent from the center of the palace upwards, me seeing that they were jet black. And I immediately knew what happened when a Celestrian's feathers were jet black. Corruption, them turning into Fallen Angels, which were pure evil.
"C-Corvus..." I gasped at this new knowledge as I woke up with a groan to see Stella hitting my face nonstop in her tiny form.
"Rgh! Get up! Everyone's been up for an hour now but you! Wake up already!" Stella yelled at me, me groaning as I got up and the others looked at me with concern.
"Guys... I had another vision... and now I know for a fact that Corvus really is the cause of all this chaos... because he's been corrupted. And now he's a full blown Fallen Angel," I said with a sigh, them looking shocked at this,
"Fallen Angel?... That would explain why he was able to do all that stuff. Fallen Angels are said to be incredibly powerful in dark magics," Carl frowned.
"Sounds dangerous... we need Greygnarl's help now more than ever," Marionette said, getting the attention of the innkeeper.
"You seek Greygnarl's assistance? If so, you'll need to gain approval from the Mayor to get to the Magmaroo, Greygnarl being on the summit of it," the innkeeper said.
"Thanks for the information. Do you know where the mayor lives?" I asked him.
"He lives at the highest part of Upover, which is up the staircase behind the item shop and church," the innkeeper said.
"Thanks, we need to get going quickly. You may not believe us, but Barbarus is back from the dead and we need Greygnarl to help destroy him," Harley said as we proceeded out of the inn and up the stairs he mentioned until we got to the mayor's dwelling, which I knocked on the door to get his attention.
"Hello? Who's out there?" a male voice asked.
"Some travelers that got here from Wormwood Creek. We want to seek out Greygnarl's help," I said, the mayor's gaze looking at my comment with confusion.
"How were you able to get here from Wormwood Creek? Did someone fix the Wyrmlight Bridge finally?" the mayor asked.
"Yes, that was us," I smiled.
"Really? Well, why would you go through that trouble just to meet with Greygnarl?" the mayor asked.
"Because we need his help. The Gittish Empire has been resurrected along with the Dark Dragon, Barbarus. We need Greygnarl's help to get the jump on them before they can harm the world. And I have no doubt in my mind they may start their reign of terror with Upover because of Greygnarl's presence," Harley said with seriousness.
"Well, normally I'd think you'd be telling me porkies, but the fact that you're here from Upover and you went through all that trouble to get here means that there must be some truth to your story... if Barbarus is back from the dead, you definitely need Greygnarl's help. Talk to the guard at the gate by my house and give him this. He guards the Magmaroo, Greygnarl being its sole resident at the summit," the mayor said, him giving me a small cloth that looked to have a mark of a dragon on it. "That cloth is only given to those that are allowed to see Greygnarl. And all I ask when you meet him is to try to be nice to him. He's old and gets cranky if he's perturbed," the mayor said.
"Thanks, we'll remember that, mister mayor," Marionette smiled as she nodded and we proceeded out to the gate in question and presented the cloth to the guard.
"So, you wish to speak with Greygnarl? Well, since the mayor permits it, I'll let you through. Greygnarl is our great protector, so please don't do anything that may annoy him," the guard said.
"Understood," I said as we proceeded forward into the Magmaroo and saw that it had lava throughout the place as well as even more fire-based opponents. They included Magmalices, Mandrake Majors, Live Lava, and Mega Moais, our group having to act quickly to defeat them from afar because of their fiery properties. We walked up the path for awhile until we eventually reached the summit, us looking in the center arena and seeing a large hole in the side of the mountain.
"Who dares disturb me?" asked an old, gravelly voice as some pounding on the ground could be felt, two bright yellow eyes emerging out of the darkness of the cave to reveal a large, gray-colored dragon that had quite the look of intimidation on his face.
"Hello, friend! You must be Mister Greygnarl, right? We need your help," Marionette smiled as she walked forward to get closer to Greygnarl, him looking at her in confusion.
"I sniff something odd about you, young woman... I sense a body, but my snout detects a power inside of you I've not felt in some time... the stench of the House of Gitt," Greygnarl frowned.
"House of Gitt? Sorry, no, we're not affiliated with those assholes... please excuse my choice words... my name is Mariana, Guardian of Angel Falls. And these are my allies. They only smell like the Gittish Empire most likely because we had a brew that contained the essence of one of the Gitt's members," I said, speaking about Corvus of course.
"Hmm... you say you are a Celestrian from on high?... I feel I must ask, miss Mariana, but how would these mortals have the essence of the House of Gitt when they've been eliminated for 300 years?" Greygnarl said, my allies looking at me in shock when he said that.
"Three hundred years? But I thought you said it happened 25 years ago, Mariana," Carl gawked at me.
"Oh yeah... dumb me... I forgot that your time frame is much different than that of a Celestrian's... for me, it was 25 years. But for mortals, it's 12 times the age of a Celestrian," I said, my allies looking at me dumbfounded.
"You look a bit pale, guys. Do you need a drink of water?" Stella asked them with a smile.
"S-Sorry... it's just... whoa..." Ina gawked.
"Why have you come to request my audience anyways?" Greygnarl asked.
"Well, Mighty Greygnarl, you may not believe us, but the Gittish Empire has risen from the dead after that earthquake that happened a week ago. And with it, Barbarus was resurrected as well. And we ask for your assistance in helping us defeat them once more," I said to him.
"Bah! You say the House of Gitt has returned along with Barbarus? Do you have any semblance of proof?" he asked. But just as soon as he asked that, something happened that made Greygnarl gasp.
"I can hear a commotion in Upover! You lot! Get back there and protect them! I may look strong, but I'm unable to fly currently," Greygnarl frowned.
"Okay, everyone, let's go down there ASAP!" I exclaimed as everyone grabbed hold of me and we appeared back in Upover, seeing a trio of soldiers attacking the citizens and one of them actually grabbing a woman by the hand!
"NO! Get off me, disgusting freaks!" the woman exclaimed, me growling at this and what the guy said next.
"You'll be a suitable example of all who oppose the Gittish Empire, young lady," the soldier said, his bones being hidden underneath a ton of armor. Before he could do the deed, I shot a Frizzle spell at the guard, causing him to let go of the girl long enough for her to escape.
"You're dead! You should stay that way, you big bullies!" Ina growled at the trio of soldiers.
"And how, pray tell, will you have any say in how we do, little girl? You're just a weakling in a tutu! Get her, she'll be more suitable," the head guard frowned to his Stenchurion followers as Ina then started to do her power dance.
"Abanukem, Abanukem, Mekunaba, Mekunaba!" Ina growled as she did the dance, her body erupting into power and her immediately lashing her whip out at the Stenchurions, the force of the lash being powerful enough to crush the skull of the first one, causing him to die instantly.
"Eep! B-Boss..." the other Stenchurion gulped before I killed him with a swing of my Hypernova Sword, managing to cut through the armor and split the guy in half right down the middle.
"You're next," Harley growled as she looked at the final opponent with fury in her eyes and she took her hammer and smacked it so hard against the guy's armor that it completely shattered all over, him being nothing but an animated pile of bones with a sword.
"N-No! Help! I beg of you, don't kill me!" the soldier gasped.
"Then you shouldn't have tried to kill an innocent woman for no reason, monster. Look at yourself. Nothing but a skeleton and you still believe the Gittish Empire is worth following. You sicken me," I frowned as I ended him and sliced his skull in half, the bones of the soldier evaporating into dust afterwards. And then we heard a voice from behind us.
"Well, well. Looks like someone is doing well after that long fall," said the reserved voice of Hootingham Gore as he appeared down from the sky with his ear wings.
"I suggest you abandon your efforts here, Hootingham Snore. We're not letting you hurt anyone so long as we're around," I frowned as I held up my sword to him.
"Oh yes, yoo certainly are a force to be reckoned with, aren't yoo? But it matters not. We will take Upover and Greygnarl with it, and there's nothing yoo peons can doo to stop us!" he spouted before he disappeared once again. And then I heard Greygnarl's voice as well.
"I wish to help you defend Upover from future attack, travelers. But I require two things. First, Mariana must meet me alone at the top of the Magmaroo. And second, she must bring me some Drunk Dragon from the village brewers. I cannot risk you all getting injured," Greygnarl said, me nodding at his voice as well as my allies nodding as well.
"Okay, I think I'll zoom you guys over to Wormwood Creek for now. If anything happens, Stella, you go ahead and get them all in the Starflight Express and start looking for me. Okay?" I said to her.
"Just don't go gettin' your sorry hide burnt to a crisp is all I ask," Stella pouted at me with a flap of her wings. I then grabbed all my allies and warped them over to Wormwood Creek and then warped only myself back to Upover.
"Now time to get that Drunk Dragon to Greygnarl," I said to myself.