Chapter 29. Making Contact
By: Dardarax
Disclaimer: I, Dardarax, do not own Spyro, Cynder, the Guardians, the Temple or any other character or place belonging to the Spyro franchise. To be or not to be, what was the question again? However, several of my characters are featured in this chapter. Their names are listed at the bottom.
The cool night air brushed through the leafy canopy of the trees high above. The night creatures' chirps and calls resounded through the emptiness between the mighty tree trunks, echoing hauntingly. The night sky was blocked out by the dark forest ceiling, but the crescent moon's light still found its way through the leaves to light up the verdant jungle floor. The dark slums of Grasbronda were alight with hundreds of camp fires scattered around the heart of the lower city. Cheers and sounds of laughter echoed up to the city above, as the army celebrated its victory.
At the center of the myriad of camp fires the war tent had been erected, dark and foreboding in the flickering shadows of the fires outside. Inside the Guardians looked over a map of the slums they had captured, marking valuable locations and points of interest on the sheet. Pyron was going through the countless sheets of paper that made up the reports of the battle, while Diatrax teased Prowlus nearby, who was sulking in his suit of bandages. Cyrine snoozed on his perch, head burrowed in his wing as he whistled out snores.
"Albiard, have the soldiers set up the fortifications yet?" Pyron grunted as Albiard, the mole king, entered the tent.
"Ai, zey be building zeh barricades now." Albiard murmured, shaking off the dew that had formed on his soft fur, and drawing himself up a stool. He climbed onto it, and dropped his hammer onto the table. "There hazn't been any ambushes since zeh battle. I sink we may have done more damage zen we first thought."
"Excellent." Pyron murmured, slamming the book of reports closed and dropping it onto the table, rubbing his eyes. "With any luck we'll be fortified enough to continue the assault tomorrow. We might even be able to wrap this 'war' up in..."
"Feran!"
Everyone started and glanced up, Pyron's mutterings cut off. The red dragon rose and marched over to the tent flap and stormed out, the Guardians and now wakened Cyrine following.
"What's going on!" Pyron bellowed as he stamped out of the tent, heading towards the nearest captain. The canine saluted, and gestured over to the grey wind drake racing towards them. Pyron turned to the figure as he skidded to a halt in front of him, bowing.
"What's this about a feran?" Cyrine demanded, the massive hawk fluffing his wings in agitation. He glowered down at the dragon prostrated before them, huffing indignantly.
The dragon rose, and pointed back behind him, breathing too hard to answer properly. Pyron, Cyrine and the Guardians looked up to where the drake pointed, and frowned. Soaring down from the treetops, a small blot descended. Squinting, they could just make out the maned, dark crimson figure of the feran, a flag of white gripped in her jaws.
"Is that a flag of truce, or of surrender?" Pyron wondered to himself as the feran swooped down to greet them.
"Hold yah fire, dammit!" Diatrax barked to a group of canines drawing back bows as he left the tent. "Have yah no respect for a flag of truce?"
The warriors dropped their bows, bowing their heads and shuffling their feet like chastised children. The old wolf huffed, shaking his head in disappointment at the young soldiers as he turned towards the approaching feran. Everyone waited with baited breath as the feran descended, wondering what message the jungle drake brought.
The soldiers moved aside as the feraness landed, leaving a wide clearing for the crimson dragoness. The feraness swallowed hard, glancing at the cold glares sent her way by the soldiers as she moved towards the kings, the flag gripped in her jaws.
The feraness came to a stop in front of the kings, and gazed up at them, forcing down a shiver of fright at their grim faces.
"Are you here to surrender?" Pyron asked, his deep voice gruff as he gazed down at the balking dragoness.
"Er... ye... no... I... I don't know." The feraness murmured, dropping the flag to speak, bowing her head in shame. "I... I came to deliver a letter from his Majesty."
The Guardians glanced at each other, raising their eyeridges dubiously. The feraness gulped hard upon seeing their expressions and quickly opened her satchel to fish out the envelope. She pawed it over to the kings, snatching her paws away the moment the king had a grip on it. She quickly backpedalled, grabbing the flag and moving to take off.
"Wait." Inferna shouted, causing the feran to stop dead in her tracks. "Shouldn't you wait to receive our reply?"
"Er... uh..." The feraness said, her eyes flickering about the camp anxiously. "Er... his majesty wanted me back right away. I... I'm only supposed to deliver the letter, not receive any."
The kings looked at each other, suspicion growing on their faces. The feraness hesitated for a moment, paling when she saw their faces and then took off. She flew as fast as she could away, as if expecting an arrow in the back at any moment. The Guardians and kings looked at each other, puzzled, and then glanced down at the letter.
"I guess we should see what this is about."
They filed back into their tent, glancing back to stare after the feran courier, their gazes puzzled. Pyron waited for everyone to settled down around the table, before slicing open the envelope with a claw. He pulled out the thick letter and carefully unfolded it, holding it at arm's length, in case there were any magical traps contained within. Everyone sighed with relief when nothing happened and then quickly crowded around to examine the letter. Prowlus read aloud.
To the Lords and Guardians of the Dragon Realms,
I shall be frank, as there is no light way of putting what I am about to say on paper. I, Ramolous am the one who organized the attack on the Dragon Temple, and initiated this conflict.
"I knew it!" Cyril declared, slamming his paw down on the table with a growl. "That filthy conniving drake was responsible! By the noble blood of my ancestors, we shall reign a fury upon him like never seen b..."
I confess this, knowing all that it entails for me,
Prowlus continued on, ignoring Cyril.
The sin committed is mine and mine alone to bear. All others associated with it were duped into committing the acts.
"Why is he saying all this?" Inferna asked, puzzled. "You would think one would try to cover up the fact that they were the one who started the war."
"Judging by what he says next, it's that he is trying to protect his country." Prowlus grunted, looking up from the letter. "Also: stop interrupting." Prowlus cleared his throat, and continued on, waiting only until those around him nodding in understanding.
As of this morning I had been fully anticipating the war that would ensue, believing myself capable of withstanding the horrors to come. I was wrong. I realize now that neither I nor my people, who were ignorant of the events to come, were ready for this conflict. I had originally hoped to wait out the war for a while and force you into a truce, but I have decided to initiate it instead. I fully understand any reluctance you have in making a truce with me, which is why I offer you this: my life in exchange for a duel with Spyro and Cynder.
"What?" Cynder gasped, shocked. "Why would he want to duel us?"
"He has an infamous loathing of purple dragons." Pyron replied, glancing between the two heroes. "Though why he would want to battle you, Cynder, is something I cannot grasp."
"What did I say about interrupting?" Prowlus snarled, glaring up at the three. They all immediately shut up.
"Good, now where was I?" Prowlus muttered, returning to the letter.
I have no qualms about giving up my own life for my people, indeed I was planning on doing that from the start. My desire is simply to face Spyro and Cynder to the death in battle and after that, should I somehow survive, I will gladly give myself up to your judgement. You need not worry about me attempting to flee, have little time left in this world as it is. Should I die in battle, then you will have taken your vengeance upon me for my crimes. Should I succeed however, then you will have me to torture and punish at your leisure; until I die at least. Of course, you have no reason to believe anything I say, or even act upon it, but I will only paw myself over to you should you accept. I will have no problem simply taking the two "heroes'" lives in their beds should you refuse. If you do accept, throw the special wax on the envelope into a bonfire tomorrow and then wait another day. There will be no attacks or attempts to expel you, during or after this time. At noon of the second day after lighting the fire, have Spyro and Cynder fly up to the palace (you are welcome to bring guards, though they cannot participate in the duel) where we can settle our score face to face.
Ramolous.
The tent fell silent, everyone within contemplating what they had just heard, not entirely sure what to think of it.
"This sounds like a trap." Terrador rumbled finally, shaking his great green head slowly.
"You think?" Prowlus snorted, rolling his eyes derisively. "What else could it be?"
"I'm not so sure about that." Cynder replied, frowning. Everyone turned to look at her, puzzled.
"What do you mean by that, Cynder?" Pyron grunted, cocking his black horned head at the comment.
"Well," Cynder responded, clearing her throat. "while the proposition does sound suspicious, it isn't logical from a tactical point of view. When you want to set a trap for an opposing army, you generally try to get the leaders of the army, to remove the head from the snake if you will. But us? Spyro and I may be important figures, but we are not war leaders, our deaths would barely affect the tide of the war as a whole. We already have the ferans on the ropes, so it is not like our powers are necessary to turn it in our favour."
"They could be planning on removing you to ruin our moral." Cyril returned, his frown deepening. "Your loss would be a great blow to our troops moral. It could be that they are hoping that by killing you, we would lose the will to fight and return home."
"I suspect our friends' deaths would have the opposite effect, actually." Pyron said, turning his gaze to Cyril. "I imagine that the murder of the saviours of the world would actually send our troops into a frenzy. They would be more liable to storm the city and slaughter everyone as vengeance, than they would turn back and flee."
Spyro and Cynder glanced at each other, grimacing while the others nodded their agreement.
"That makes sense. It is likely they would have come to such a conclusion as well, had that been their intent." Inferna spoke up, tapping her chin thoughtfully. "So that can't be their plan. It would only backfire against them."
"Zere has to be more to zis zan zat zough." Albiard muttered, stroking his tiny beard. "Zis letter simply makes no sense if we were to take eet at face value."
"Naturally." Spyro responded, nodding slowly. "This is still too... suspicious to take seriously, but I cannot think of any advantage he could gain from setting up a trap to kill us. It may well be that he just wants to face us in a battle, if what you said about his hatred to me is correct."
"I agree with Spyro." Cynder retorted, putting a paw on her mate's shoulder. "I also think that this is too good an opportunity to pass up. Ramolous has confessed his guilt and is offering to give himself up to our justice, whether we defeat him or not. He may be a skilled fighter, but against both of us I'm fairly confident we can take him."
"Yeah and if we do defeat him, we could simply take him prisoner so he can face justice the proper way." Spyro agreed, nodding. He glanced over at Cynder and smiled.
"That is a possibility, but there is one other thing I would like to suggest first." Cyrine chirped from where he was perched in the corner of the tent. "Why bother going to fight him when we have his confession on paper? We even have his seal in the form of that wax he mentioned. If we showed it to the ferans, they would have a hard time disproving the claim. We could simply have them arrest Ramolous for us. That way, we can settle this dispute legally, with no extra hassles."
"Indeed." Terrador rumbled, nodding his head. "And if we do take up his offer, we would have to throw away that seal of his, losing half of the proof."
"Something tells me that we aint gonna get close enough to give 'em that information if we don't light the pyre tomorrow." Diatrax huffed, the greying, one eyed wolf shaking his head. "He ain't gonna be stupid enough to give us this proof, knowing we could turn 'im in like that. Sumpthin's up."
"True... true." Cyril agreed, nodding, his rage having calmed. "It could be even something as small as changing up his writing style, so it looks like we forged the document. His officials would be smart enough to recognize such a thing and then we would be the suspicious ones."
"Alright, I propose a plan of action." Pyron said, rising from where he sat, shaking out his enormous red body. "We will do both. We will shave as much of the wax off the seal as possible, without damaging it so that we can make the fire tinted green. Then, on the day of the duel, Spyro and Cynder will go up to face Ramolous, taking our elite guard, led by Terrador up. Terrador, you will have in your possession the letter and the seal, which you will show to the feran court after the duel begins. If it does appear forged, then it would not matter as Spyro and Cynder are already engaged in the duel and will take him down that way. If it is convincing enough then we may be able to stop the battle midway through, before any real damage could be done. And, should it turn out to be a trap, then you will have the best at your disposal, and you would be inside the palace grounds; you would be a perfect strike team to end this war once and for all. Are you all onboard for this plan?"
Pyron looked around, and nodded in satisfaction when each of them nodded in turn. "Excellent. Spyro, Cynder, Terrador, you may take your leave to rest and prepare for what is to come. We will remain here for now and organize our troops to respond to any possible attacks while you are up..."
"My Lords?" A voice murmured from outside the tents. "There's someone here to see the Guardians."
"Let them in." Pyron replied briskly, huffing at the interruption. They all waited for a moment, watching to see who would come through. A few seconds later, a cheetah entered, his spear slung over his back. He nodded to the Guardians, and bowed to the five kings. "Your majesties, your excellencies." The soldier murmured, rising.
"What is it you want?" Terrador asked, sighing impatiently.
"Sir, my squad and I found the Albino you were looking for." The cheetah responded, saluting.
The Guardians stiffened and glanced at each other, fearful relief entering their expressions. Inferna bolted to her paws, expression desperate.
"Is... is he alive? Where is he? You're absolutely sure it is him?"
"Yes, m'lady," The cheetah replied, bowing. "he was. We brought him down to the clinic when we found him, Lady Aquina confirmed his identity for us... he was in pretty bad shape though."
Inferna let out her pent up breath in a rush, relief softening her pensive expression for the first time since the battle at Delberie. She glanced over pleadingly at her peers, paws twitching with the need to get up and go.
"Go on, Inferna." Spyro said, patting her on the shoulder. "Cyril can hold your spot while you go check up on your student."
Cyril opened his muzzle to object, but before he could speak Inferna bolted out the tent, only pausing to rip off the pouch of coins hanging from her neck and toss it to the cheetah. The cheetah gasped at how heavy it was and saluted after Inferna, grinning broadly. Cyril sighed, defeated.
Spyro, Cynder and Terrador glanced over at the kings, smiling in relieved amusement.
"Well, we will be off then," Spyro said, rising to his paws and stretching. "we have a lot to prepare for. We will drop by tomorrow to help with the bonfire."
"Excellent. We shall see you then." Pyron grunted, sitting back down himself. He folded up the letter and slipped it and the seal into a small box for safe storage. "With any luck everything will go according to plan, and this war will be over in three days."
"Knowing our luck," Prowlus muttered under his breath as every one went their separate ways. "that doesn't seem very likely..."
"So you failed." Jaxar said, staring into Travix's face blankly.
Travix swallowed and averted his eyes, glancing about the cramped room. His eyes searched the racks of equipment and hundreds of bottles as he desperately tried to think of some kind of excuse. Travix shivered from the intense cold radiating off of Jaxar, a quiver of terror crawling up his spine.
Jaxar let out a long, weary sigh, his hand rising up to cover his face. He turned away and walked slowly over to a work table on the other side of his back up lab, remaining coldly silent the entire time. Travix relaxed, relieved and took a step to follow his master.
"Don't. Move." Jaxar murmured, his voice low, yet bitterly sharp. Travix froze in mid-step, fear suddenly prickling up his scales, leaving him feeling numb. Jaxar came to a halt at the work table and leaned over it, his head lowered. He spoke, his voice as cool and bitting as before.
"Travix, can you remind me again why I made you my apprentice?" Jaxar whispered, rubbing his temple with a hand. "It seems to be slipping my mind at the moment."
Travix gulped. "Well... er... it was becaushe you found me in trouble, and I promisehd to sherve you if you got me out of it..."
"Ah yes, now I remember!" Jaxar cried, turning to face Travix with a humourless grin. "It was way back when you were sixteen, wasn't it? You were being burned at the stake down in that backwater village you called a home. It was just after you had fed the first time! I took pity on you, didn't I? So I wiped that little splotch off the map and took you in! Wasn't that sweet of me?"
Travix nodded enthusiastically. "Yesh, yesh it wash! And I'm forever in your debt!"
"Indeed you are." Jaxar said, his voice cool and dispassionate, despite the smile on his face. "And you are one of my best! Indeed, you remind me a lot of my previous apprentice."
"I... I do?" Travix said, suddenly on the alert.
"Oh yes you do." Jaxar said, nodding. "She was a talented and ambitious electricity dragoness, with lots to prove and enough ability to prove it. Unfortunately, she happened to get into a bit of an... accident with some local authorities and accidentally led them straight to me."
Travix was deathly silent, his pale green eyes wide as saucers.
"Now, what I remember most of her was one particular theory of hers." Jaxar continued on, stalking closer to Travix, each step slow and deliberate. "She theorized that Dragon Crystals were formed from the gradual buildup of life energy from dragons both living and dead, which collected in areas that were magically inert. She thought that it might be possible to extract this life energy from dying dragons, to produce potent Dragon Crystals that could function as all kinds at once."
"Did... did it work?" Travix asked, morbid curiosity filling him with equal parts dread and interest.
"Somewhat." Jaxar said softly, stopping in front of Travix and looking him in the eye. "She produced a fairly powerful spirit crystal, but it took days to form and her screams got rather... grating after the first day."
Travix's entire body went cold, his jaw falling slack as Jaxar stepped past him. The sorcerer placed a hand on the blood dragon's shoulder, giving it a tight squeeze. His voice was soft and cool, as if tinted with frost.
"Thank you for reminding me, Travix. My mind is at ease once more."
Travix shivered, not sure if he should be relieved, or terrified. The blood dragon turned about to watch Jaxar as his master moved about the lab, gathering materials together and placing them in the middle of the room.
"W... what are you doing?" Travix asked anxiously, the story Jaxar had just told still fresh in his mind.
"I'm preparing to reclaim the asset you so foolishly lost." Jaxar replied, his amused smile once again playing over his face. "And with only two days remaining, I'm going to need to work fast."
"You... not... not me?" Travix whispered, a cold vice clenching his heart.
"Oh, worry not my... apprentice, you will have your part to play." Jaxar replied, picking up a box of chalk, and rummaging through it, until he found a stick of lime green. He carefully examined it, comparing it to the other colours of green to make sure it was the proper colour, and then set to work drawing up a circle.
Travix sighed with relief. "Well... what will I be doing?"
"Hush! I need to concentrate!" Jaxar hissed, his red-orange eyes flashing as he worked. "This is a very delicate procedure and even a single flaw can be disastrous."
Jaxar finished the circle, and started drawing precise runes all along the interior and exterior of the circle. He carefully examined his work, making sure that every sigil and symbol was exactly as it should be. Then he set down the chalk, and picked up a mortar and pestles. He threw in some dry rose petals which he ground into a fine powder. Once the powder was finished, Jaxar rose and started shifting through the stack of incense he had beside him, sniffing them and examining their colours.
"Travix." Jaxar barked, glancing up momentarily to look at his apprentice. "Go heat some water and cook pork stew. No vegetables, no potatoes, no nothing. Just pork, flour and water."
Travix jumped to attention, and raced off to do as he was told, moving over to the fireplace and lighting it with a quick spell. Travix threw the stew together and turned back to face Jaxar, who was placing the incense in key points around the interior of the circle, snipping some of their tops off so that they were of exactly the same size. The blood dragon watched as Jaxar measured each one with a length of string, nodded and got to setting up another ring of incense, this one of a light blue in colour, to contrast with the peach of the first set.
It took an hour before Travix determined the stew was thick enough, and presented it to Jaxar. Jaxar took a spoon, dipped it in and tasted it. He shook his head, and gestured for Travix to set it back onto the fireplace. Another half an hour passed before the stew could pass Jaxar's inspection. Jaxar picked up the powdered rose petals he had ground and sprinkled in a pinch of it into the stew. He raised the spoon to his mouth once more, tasted it and shook his head. Jaxar threw in another pinch, paused and then added a third. He then picked up a lump of salt, ground some of it into the stew. Then, he handed the pot back to Travix.
"Let that simmer for another ten minutes." He ordered, sitting back down at the circle. "Then we can start the ritual."
Travix nodded dubiously, and placed the pot back on the fireplace. Jaxar turned away, moving over to his lab to shift through some bottles on a rack. There, Jaxar produced three small jars of fluids. Jaxar paused and picked up a metal bowl, which he dumped the rose petal powder into.
Working slowly Jaxar poured one of the bottles into the bowl, covering his mouth with a cloth as they sizzled. Once the bubbling ceased, Jaxar drained out the now vibrant red fluid to leave behind the bleached white powder. With that done, Jaxar poured in the rest of the fluids into the bowl and stirred them all up with a crystal rod.
Behind him, Travix coughed. "It'sh done, mashter."
"Good, place it in the center of the circle." Jaxar muttered, bottling his new potion in a clear crystal bottle. He shook it up some, checking to see if it was clear all the way through. He nodded in satisfaction. He placed the bottle down and moved over to the circle.
The half-breed sorcerer sat down cross-legged in front of the circle, inhaling deeply. Travix stepped forward, hoping to get a closer look at what was happening, but backed down when Jaxar gave him a withering glare. The sorcerer exhaled slowly, raising a finger up into the air, conjuring a small spark of flame on its tip. Murmuring a slow incantation, Jaxar lit the candles one by one, his voice growing from a hum to an order as he finished.
Once the candles were lit, Jaxar waved his hands over the circle and stewpot, grating out his incantation and billowing the smoke away from the circle. The chalk runes abruptly flashed, and the smoke, which drifted lazily about the circle, suddenly coalesce into a thick fog as it was drawn into the circle. The smoke writhed inside the circle, struggling vainly against invisible walls that now surrounded the circle.
Travix watched as Jaxar's chanting grew louder and louder, bouncing off of the laboratory walls to reverberate and twist together into obscene phrases. The blood dragon gulped, watching the smoke wide eyed as it twisted and turned, the flames of the incense sputtering and flickering in a nonexistent wind. Faces seemed to emerge in the smoke, twisted into expressions of horror and agony beyond anything a mortal could comprehend. Then, the smoke seemed to expand, pressing against the invisible walls of the circle, only to collapse on itself, whirling into a pinpoint of light, a tiny hole that had appeared in the fabric of reality. It warped and expanded, growing disproportionately, one side stretching, only for the other to fill out a second later slightly too large.
Jaxar rose, dusting off his robe as he stood back, away from the circle to watch as the tear opened wider and wider. The air in the circle filled with an odd greenish gas, pouring through the portal into this world. Strange, alien sights flashed passed the portal. Odd clockwork devices and structures forged from a strange cloud-like substance filled the world beyond, with streets of sand and shadow winding around between them. Then, the portal was filled with a massive figure, who blotted out the orange sunlight in the distant. It stepped through the gap, its four scaled arms grasping the edges of the tear, to force it open wider so that it could properly fit through. Its hawk talons gleamed darkly in the light of the candles as it pulled its feathered body through, its six over-large wings dragging along behind it. The beast peered about with its five beady black eyes, flinching as the darkness pierced its vision. It blinked rapidly, trying to get used to the lack of light. As it did so, it sniffed and paused, noticing the pot of stew. It licked its beak and bent down to reach for the stew when it stopped, seeing Jaxar. It blanched, and hurriedly withdrew its hand.
"Uioliqwa Jaxar!" It hissed, the beasts' eyes flashing at the sight of the sorcerer. "C'callialwil ttyguo n'nb vvs."
Jaxar laughed, and answered the bird creatures response in its own language, matching the musical tones of the tongue perfectly.
"Llipny, wytrf calqcnm Mnveris. Kipolqui hiipry vbrcll?"
"Fine, though I find your tongue vulgar and harsh to speak." The bird creature huffed, clearing it's throat as it shook out its mane of feathers.
"Excellent Mnveris!" Jaxar replied, clapping his hands together delightedly. "I apologize for the inconvenience, but I have a rather limited vocabulary in your tongue, which might cause some problems."
"I assume you have not called me here for a... friendly visit?" Mnveris responded tartly, its five eyes blinking erratically. "You never had a sense of camaraderie among my kind... or others outside your world for that matter."
"Unfortunately yes," Jaxar sighed, placing the back of his hand against his forehead dramatically. "I never did possess enough patience to learn all the customs of daemons such as yourself."
"You had enough to learn our languages, and which offerings to serve." The bird snorted, rolling three of its eyes.
Jaxar laughed. "I suppose that is true, isn't it?"
"Enough of this, you interrupted me during Heulvist and it is leaving me in a rather foul mood. Tell me what you want so we can be done with it." Mnveris sighed, kneeling and digging his claws into the stew, bringing it up to stuff down its beak. Jaxar watched him with faint amusement for a second, before coughing and getting down to business.
"I'm afraid I called you here to give me back the ring I lent you some years back. I have need of it again."
"Lent?" Mnveris crowed, throwing its stew smeared face back in laughter. "You do not 'lend' to a Ccawlalli, you only trade. As you know, there is no word for 'lend' in our language, only in yours."
Jaxar shrugged. "Well as it happens, what you traded me was of... less value than it should have been. It broke the very moment I tried to use it. It was of poor quality."
"That harvester was the only one I had in stock and you failed to determine its faulty nature before the finished transaction. The fault lies squarely in your court." Mnveris cackled, snickering maliciously.
"But you would not even let me examine it before the trade was agreed upon." Jaxar replied, condescendingly. "You are a poor salesmen and I have come to recollect what is owed me."
"And how do you intend to get it back?" Mnveris whispered, a forked tongue darting out from its beak, its five eyes narrowing. "You cannot break the seal without releasing me and even if you did, you would burn in the atmosphere. You may control whether or not we can leave the circle, but it is we inside who are the only ones who can initiate a trade."
"I will get it back through a trade." Jaxar replied, smiling broadly. "As is custom."
Mnveris stared at Jaxar blankly for a moment, and then burst into raucous laughter.
"You... you're going to reclaim what is owed to you by... by trading for it! That's... that's absurd!"
Jaxar continued to smile, not phased in the least by the beast's response.
"I hear all sorts of stories about you, Jaxar!" Mnveris cackled, shaking his head. "Everyone always said to avoid dealing with you at all costs, but now I realize what Bfrpid tales those are! You're just a chump like the rest of th..." A sudden bout of coughs racked the bird, who frowned in puzzlement.
"Now then, if you're done, let's get onto the trade." Jaxar said, turning away to walk towards the counter. He picked up the elixir he had brewed not long before. Mnveris hacked some more, watching him with growing anxiety as Jaxar turned back to him, whistling a jaunty tune as he juggled the bottle in one hand. Mnveris snorted, clutching at his chest with one claw, and pulled away the other which he had been using to cover up his beak. He froze. His claws were slick with blue blood. His eyes widened in horror.
"W... what did you put in the offering!" Mnveris choked, realization hitting him like a bolt of lightning.
"Oh, just some rose petals." Jaxar replied sweetly.
Mnveris's beak dropped open in utter horror, his five eyes bugging out of his skull.
"You... you monster!" He cried, clutching at his throat as Mnveris began coughing up a lung. "How... how dare you be... betray a sacred... sacred tradition like that!"
Jaxar merely laughed off his accusation, waving a hand dismissively. "So, are you willing to listen to what I have to offer?"
From off to the side, Travix watched the exchange with nervous interest, amused and shocked at how Jaxar had pulled a fast one on the creature using such a simple, malicious trick.
"I can't imagine doing such a thing." Travix thought, swallowing hard. "Dealing with lesser outsiders is frightening enough, but he's bullying around greater daemons! This is insane!"
"Yiriclb nhmrbi eeryal!" Mnveris spat, lunging forward to claw at the barrier, which held easily against his onslaught.
Jaxar sighed and shook a finger at Mnveris, tutting disappointedly. "Now now, there's no need to be so foul. I've only set up some insurance, something I'm sure you can comprehend my trader friend. I'm offering you the antidote to your affliction. De-essenced rose petals, sulfuric acid, wolf's bane and strawberry extract are all here."
"How can I trust that's the antidote?" Mnveris spat, coughing up a spurt of blue blood. "How can I trust you will not simply give me a bottle of water instead?"
"You don't have much of a choice, now do you?" Jaxar answered, sitting down in front of the circle. "After all, you're stuck in there until I let you out. It's quite secure too, so you won't be able to escape before the rose petals settle in, after which you will be too weak to pose any sort of threat to me."
Mnveris glared at Jaxar, loathing boiling in his gaze. "You are as wicked and twisted as the tales tell, Jaxar. You have no respect for anything sacred."
Jaxar shrugged, chuckling in response. "Wow, I must be truly rotten to the core, if I am looked down on by a dirty dealing, two faced double crossing bird daemon! I offer you the chance once more. If you don't take it, then I will simply wait for you to die and see if you brought the ring with you. I have little doubt you would have, since its powers are far to valuable to leave behind on an excursion like this. Of course, if you don't have it then I can simply procure one through another means. I'm sure one of the others I traded a copy of the ring to would gladly trade it to me if I showed them your corpse..."
"Alright, Alright!" Mnveris hacked, doubling over as he coughed, knocking the pot of poisoned stew over. "I... I have the... the ring with me!" I'll do the trade! Just... just give me the antidote and let me go!"
Jaxar clapped his hands together delightedly, standing up once more to dust off his robes.
"Perfect! Initiate the trade, oh mighty and powerful Mnveris."
Mnveris rose, coughing and choking and dug around in a pocket of feathery fur that had formed on his side. He pulled out a black ring, seemingly formed of carved crystal and held it out in both clawed hands. It whispered a small incantation in its language, forcing back its choking coughs. On the other side of the circle, Jaxar raised the bottle and whispered the same incantation, a wide smile creasing his face.
The circle suddenly flared to life, the once invisible wall suddenly becoming opaque and misty. The surface in front of Jaxar bulged outward, forming into a large bubble that separated from the wall. It floated over in front of Jaxar and hung suspended there, waiting. Jaxar smirked and dropped the bottle into the bubble, watching as it slipped easily through the surface of the orb, to hang suspended in its center. The sorcerer glanced up and watched as Mnveris glanced away from Jaxar, to drop the ring into the bubble hanging in front of him.
With the two bubbles filled, they floated back to the wall and seeped back into place, depositing their contents on the other side. Mnveris caught the bottle before it could fall and smash on the ground. He quickly uncorked it, draining its contents. The bird sighed in relief, its tongue flicking out to lick its beak.
"De-essenced Rose Petals... Strawberry Extract... Sulfuric acid... Wolf's Bane... It's all there. I'm shocked."
"I do keep my word, Mnveris." Jaxar replied, shrugging. "I may be a murderous, lying wretch of a sorcerer, but when I promise to do something, I do it."
Mnveris huffed, rolling his eyes. "Of course you do. Now, may I go? I want to get out of this hell hole as quickly as possible."
"You may go." Jaxar responded, waving his hand at the now clear barrier, dispelling its containing magic. Mnveris sight in relief as the portal reopened behind him, and the bird quickly retreated back into its home world, vanishing from sight. With the daemon gone, Jaxar bent down and picked up the ring. The sorcerer gazed at it fondly as he examined its non reflective black surface, the crystalline ring seeming to absorb the light from around it.
Travix stepped forward to gaze at the ring, curiosity filling his pale green eyes.
"What exactly ish that ring shupposed to do?" The blood dragon asked, frowning. "How doesh all of thish fit into getting the colourlessh back? And how do you know it'sh not a fake?"
"As I have told you, Travix, Daemons cannot trade a fake object during one of these sessions. They can only con with faulty items you if you're foolish enough to allow them to, as Mnveris did to me once." Jaxar laughed, removing a glove to slip the ring on. "As for the ring, it is to help keep Lyrith... stable so I won't need to worry about him running off. You'll understand soon enough."
Travix grunted, not convinced as he watched Jaxar put the glove back on over the ring, hiding it from view.
"If you shay sho..."
"I do." Jaxar responded tartly, turning away to clean up the circle. "Now if you don't mind, clear off. I'll call you back here when I need you. Go deal with that messenger now or something."
"Yesh... Mashter." Travix murmured, turning away and padding out from the room. The blood dragon glanced back once as he exited, sighing when he saw Jaxar had already dismissed his presence, to get to work. The blood dragon slipped out and moved into the shadows, disappearing from sight, seeking new prey to sate his growing hunger.
Inferna burst into the clinic, eyes wild as she gazed around the tent, searching the cots for the familiar white shape. Behind the red and orange Fire Guardian burst out Savron, Igneous, Tirren, Typhous and all the other members of the purple dragon's gang. The physicians glanced up from their patients as the group entered, expressions irritated at the abruptness of the intrusion. They said nothing however as the group, led by Inferna, moved through the cots towards Aquina.
The water dragoness glanced up as they approached, looking away from the patient she tended.
"I see the news has reached you." Aquina murmured, moving to clean her paws in a basin of water beside her. The cheetah she had been tending groaned as she put in the last stitch and tied it off.
"Where is he?" Inferna asked anxiously, glancing around the tent in search of Lyrith.
"Give me a moment." Aquina responded tartly, laying the cheetah back and replacing the cloth over his head with a new, cooler one. The group fidgeted anxiously as she took up a bowl of ointment and smeared it over the newly stitched cut, to keep it from getting infected. With that done she turned back to them, washing her paws off once again. "Alright, follow me."
The group sighed in relief as Aquina brushed past them, heading to a separate wing of the clinic. Voltlyn trailed along behind the group, fear started to bubble up in her gut. When Inferna had stopped by to inform them of the news, she had been unbearably relieved with the knowledge that he was found. Now however, that relief was replaced by a heart numbing fear of seeing him again.
"I... I hope he's alright..." Voltlyn thought, gulping as she an the others padded through the entrance to the wing of the clinic. "He... he wouldn't have gone to the clinic without a reason... and after being in... in their paws for so long, who knows what has happened to him?"
Aquina came to a halt by a cot and turned to face them to watch their reactions. The group stepped up to the cot and peeked past Aquina anxiously. They all gasped in horror. Lyrith lay stiff as a board on the cot, his limbs twisted up over his body and his expression one of paralyzed horror.
"Oh... oh ancestors..." Inferna whispered, a paw rising to her muzzle at the sight. The others stared at the white dragon in shock as well, expressions tense and filled with revulsion at his twisted body. Savron took a step back, shaking his head slowly as he saw what he had done to his friend. Tears glistened in his eyes as guilt tore at him, the knowledge that this was his fault too much for him to bear. He started to turn, but stopped, swallowing hard and forcing himself to turn back, to face what he had done.
Voltlyn whimpered as she stood by the bed, her paws clamped firmly over her muzzle as she forced back her tears, mortified at what had been done to the white dragon.
"W... what happened to him?" The topaz dragoness murmured, swallowing hard to get down the lump in her throat.
"It appears he was afflicted by Coffinstalker venom." Aquina replied, turning to look down at Lyrith once more.
"C... coffinstalker!" Typhous stammered, his eyes widening.
"What does that mean?" Inferna asked, looking to Aquina desperately.
Aquina noticed the fear entering their voices and huffed. "Coffinstalkers are a fairly common species of tarantula in the underground portion of the Feran Jungles. Their name was given to them by how their venom paralyzes their victims, leaving them in a similar state to rigor mortis. The name was also given due to the shape of their bodies, which is similar to the shape of a coffin. The name is admittedly a little inappropriate however, as the venom itself is far from lethal. He would need to receive ten times the dose he has been subjected to before it would become dangerous."
"Oh... so he'll be alright?" Savron said, sighing in relief.
"Yes." Aquina said, nodding. "He will. He will be stiff and sore from the bites, but will otherwise be unharmed."
"Is he aware of what we're saying?" Igneous asked, leaning over to stare into Lyrith's petrified face.
"No. He's not. The venom also has a tendency of causing delusions in victims who received more than two doses. Judging by the glaze in his eyes, he has six or seven in him right now. He is deep into his nightmares now."
"Nightmares?" Voltlyn asked, gluping.
"Nightmares." Aquina confirmed, putting a paw on Lyrith's forehead. "Drug induced hallucinations often have a tendency of inflicting negative visions on the one subjected to them. Coffinstalker venom drags up the worst memories in the victim as a result."
"How long will he be like this?" Tirren asked, grimacing.
"I've already introduced the antidote to him, to help speed up the process. Unfortunately the antidote is only a muscle relaxant, so while he will be physically sound within three hours he will still remain delusional for some time longer."
"I see." Inferna sighed sadly. "Well... at least he's going to be alright."
"Yeah..." Savron whispered, his eyes downcast as he nodded his agreement.
"Can we stay a while, to visit?" Voltlyn asked weakly, never taking her sorrowful eyes off of Lyrith.
Aquina nodded. "Of course. Visiting hours won't be over for some time." Aquina turned her gaze to Inferna. "That is, so long as no trouble will come because of it."
Inferna chuckled. "The others let me go for this. Besides, they have everything under control, they don't need me."
Aquina shrugged. "So be it. I shall be tending to the patients should you need anything." The navy blue dragoness turned and padded away, grabbing some extra medication as she left the tent. The group watched her leave and then returned their attention to the comatose Lyrith.
The group chatted uneasily for a bit, occasionally directing their questions to the white, even though they all knew he could not hear them. Eventually they fell silent, uncomfortable talking about such simple things in the presence of their friend. Finally, after ages of sitting in silence, there came a low groan from Lyrith. Everyone perked up and glanced down at him, wondering what was happening.
Lyrith's limbs had long since loosened and he was now resting far more comfortably on the bed. While his limbs were far more relaxed, his expression was not. His face was twisted up in an expression of fright, something none of them had ever seen before. Low moans and whimpers emanated from his muzzle as he slowly curled up on the bed, covering his ear frills with his paws and his head with his wings.
Inferna, Savorn, Voltlyn, Tirren, Typhous, Danrah and the others stared at him with saddened shock as he whimpered again, his body quivering under the covers fearfully. Voltlyn gazed at him, mortified at seeing the strong, fearless Lyrith in such a state. Voltlyn tore her gaze away and saw that the others had similar expressions. Lyrith cried out, flailing on the bed for a moment before falling still, returning to his fetal position. Voltlyn and the others flinched at the action, expressions darkening even further.
"I wonder what he's dreaming?" Tirren murmured, gazing down at Lyrith with equal parts sadness and apprehension. "It must be terrible."
Everyone nodded in agreement, swallowing as they tried to imagine what he could be seeing. Time wore on, Lyrith's moans, groans and whimpers only growing worse and worse. The white dragon thrashed on the bed, eventually drawing Aquina to the bed so she could strap him down, to ensure he would not hurt himself.
Finally, Voltlyn could not take it anymore. She turned away from the sight, tears starting to blur her eyes, only to see Vash sitting off to the side. The dream dragon sat stiffly against one of the empty cots, his gaze fixed pointedly away from Lyrith. While his posture spoke of indifference, it was too stiff to be entirely real and he appeared almost to be struggling with holding his gaze away from the white dragon. Voltlyn stared at him for a long while, examining him. Then, an idea struck, causing her heart to flutter with hope. She stood and padded slowly over to the deep blue dragon, and sat down beside him.
Vash glanced over at Voltlyn, frowning. "What are you doing?" He asked, cocking his head in puzzlement.
"Vash..." Voltlyn replied, swallowing hard as she forced down her anxiety. "Y... you're a dream dragon... right?"
"Yes." Vash replied, raising an eye-ridge.
"Can... can you go... go into people's dreams?" Voltlyn asked swallowing hard.
Vash gazed at her for a moment, before nodding. "Yes..."
"Then... then can you send... send someone else in as well?"
Vash stared at her, his eyes knowing. "I can, but I won't."
"Oh..." Voltlyn mumbled, her head lowering in defeat. "Can... can you at least tell me why?" She asked, glancing up at Vash once more.
"Because it's too dangerous." The cloud patterned dragon huffed, shaking his head. "Dream trances are where one enters into another's mind by connecting the souls together. That means whatever happens in the dream, happens to your real body. In a nightmare such as Lyrith's, you would be liable to be killed or worse."
Voltlyn slumped in defeat, sighing mournfully. "Alright... It's just that I really, really wanted to help him. I can't stand seeing him like this. He was so strong for me, but now..." Voltlyn sighed once more, shaking her head. "I... I just want to be strong for him..."
Vash gazed at her for a while, saying nothing as she moped beside him. Finally he sighed, shaking his head as Lyrith let out a whimpering moan.
"Fine!" He said, rising to his paws. "If you're really so insistent."
Voltlyn glanced up, a small smile breaking over her disheartened expression. "Really?"
"Yeah, but there are going to be some changes." Vash muttered, moving over to the cot. "For one thing, you are not going into his nightmares. That would be suicide and there wouldn't be much there for you to accomplish."
"Then where are you taking me?" Voltlyn asked, stepping up beside him.
"I'll send you right into his subconscious. It'll be safer there, and you'll be able to do more good."
"Voltlyn, what are you doing?" Inferna demanded, overhearing their conversation as they stopped by the bed.
"Voltlyn here browbeat me into putting her into a dreamtrance." Vash huffed, rolling his eyes.
"That... that's ridiculous!" Inferna exclaimed, stepping between the pair and Lyrith. "I won't allow it. It is far too dangerous."
"Which is exactly what I told her." Vash sighed, rolling his eyes.
Voltlyn swallowed hard at Inferna's stoney expression, but stood strong. "I... I'm going." She whispered, staring up into Inferna's eyes, meeting them with only the slightest of wavers. "He... he helped me when I needed it so... so I want to return the favour."
Inferna was taken aback by the topaz dragoness's words, startled by the assurance in them.
Voltlyn let out a small sigh, closing her eyes for a moment before meeting Inferna's again. "Please. Let me help him. Let me at least try."
Inferna glanced around at the others, who stared at Voltlyn with small smiles and proud expressions. Then, the Fire Guardian sighed, shaking her head, realizing she was the minority on this.
"Alright. Just be careful. Vash, make sure there's an easy way to..."
"I'm already on it." Vash replied, picking up a pink ribbon and tying it around Voltlyn's neck. Voltlyn stiffened at his touch, but let him do so. "This ribbon," Vash said as he finished tying the not. "Is your link back to the real world. Breaking it is the signal to me to pull you back out. Use it when you're done, or are in trouble."
Voltlyn nodded her understanding and stepped past Inferna up beside the cot. Vash followed her. The dream drake placed a paw on Lyrith's forehead and then the other on Voltlyn's, holding them both still.
"Alright," Vash grunted, shaking out the spiny tendrils that fell across his face. "remember that even though you are in the world of the subconscious, everything will be taking a physical form around you, that is the nature of the dream trance. The key word here is physical. Everything there can affect you as if it was the real world counterpart. Be on your guard. Should you find yourself in danger, cut the ribbon immediately and I will pull you out. I will not be responsible for you getting hurt."
Voltlyn nodded, swallowing hard and shutting her eyes as she waited for Vash to begin the trance. The others all stood back to watch as Vash started to glow, activating his dream fury as he started the connection up between them.
"Now then, sleep and we shall begin."
Characters created by Dardarax:
Savron's Gang: (Savron, Lyrith, Tirren, Voltlyn, Vash, Typhous, Sleet)
Ramolous, Jaxar, Travix.
Inferna, Albiard, Cyrine, Diatrax, Pyron.
So yeah, this one took a while. xD It was originally going to be much, much longer than this having clocked out at about 22000 words when I had finished it. However, I was convinced that I should instead simply split it in half so that I could post this half, and still work on the other half to get it absolutely perfect. Also, splitting it in half will make it so that you don't have to read a stupidly long chapter all in one sitting, and will let you focus on what happened, instead of being overwhelmed by all that went on. xP Over all simply a better choice than over whelming you with too much writing.
Like I said, though, technically that means the other half is done, so it won't be that long in coming. I just need a week or so to edit it all out.
Also, all those comments from me about how important chapter 29 was? Those now apply to chapter 30. xD All the important stuff is in the second half of the chapter. I apologize for all of you patiently waiting for it, but it will be coming soon. =)
That's all for now. xD Thanks for reading. ^^
