Trouble in the East
Chapter 24: Among the Dead
When it became morning, the group rose up and left their tents. They went to find the rulers here. Quint and Arial were already up and making sure things were going smoothly with tending to the wounded, dead, and the other things that needed to happen after a battle. "Here they come," Arial told Quint, spotting the approaching group.
Tethu and his group made it to the two ruling Orok. "Good morning," the male one replied, a bit sad.
"If you can say that," Nicholas commented as he looked and saw a wounded Orok being carried on a stretcher back to the medical tents.
Esna and Lanayru came out of their orbs and she saw this to. The female water spirit closed her eyes. "How horrible," she whispered.
"Yes, but the important thing is to go on," the male stated. "For those injured and who died fighting the enemy."
"Yes," Quint commented. "They not only did their duty, but also knew the risks. And even so they fought against evil. The ones who have gone on to the other side won't be forgotten."
"And we can honor them starting by heading to where the spirit is and rescuing them," Nicholas said.
"I agree," Miura commented. "Guess it's time to head there huh?"
"Yes," Tethi agreed. "But where is it? We know the direction at least."
"It's simple. Straight walk from our city to there," Quint told them. "It will be obvious. You'll see."
"Then we'll take our leave," Nicholas stated. They all bowed before the two rulers. "Thank you for everything."
"Maybe the spirits be with you," Arial whispered.
The group began to make their way to the area. It wasn't a long walk until they had made it to a valley in the desert. And there ahead of them in the face of a rocky cliff had to be the place where the spirit of stone resided in. The entrance and face not only had symbols of the race that lived here but also those to honor this spirit. There was even a face of some kind carved in the stone. It was hard to tell for while humanoid it didn't look like any being the group had seen before. "This is it I guess," Nicholas stated.
The two spirits with this group came out of their orbs. "Can you sense though?" Esna asked.
"Sense what?" Levi asked.
"That evil has attacked and something more…"
"I sense it to," the male water spirit stated.
"Well… guess it's time," Nicholas commented. With a nod, they made it to the entrance and went inside.
The group noticed when they arrived that the same corruption like substance seen in the others was here as well. They saw the two statues that looked like some kind of cobra ahead, and the stone floor with steps heading up to a small area up ahead. "Say how are we going to find out way through here?" Tethu then stated. "Nobody gave us a map."
Just then they felt the presence of the spirit who lived here. It was just like with the others form before. "You… are here…" a voice stated being male.
"It's her," Lanayru said after he and Esna came out in their orbs.
"Please…. Free me… Free this place… from evil..."
"But… where do we start?" Miura asked.
"The map… start… by going… to the left… hurry…" The presence of the spirit then faded away.
"Well, let's go," Nicholas said.
"Hold on, what about the dead that are in here?" Tethi then asked with a shudder.
"Then we deal with them like in that army," Tethu told her with a smile.
The group then went to the left through a door like they had been told and found themselves in a small room. Already a trap with spikes that was sliding back and forth was in their way. But this was moving slowly so it wasn't too hard to get around. There were also bat like enemies in here but they had four wings instead of two. These were easy to take out. When doing so the door at front of this place became unsealed. But there was a problem as there was one to the left. "Which way?" Levi asked.
"Left," Nicholas replied.
"How can you be so sure?"
"Call it a gut feeling."
"So you really don't know," Sol commented with a grin.
"You got a better idea?" the Anuban asked with slight glare to the male Lagora.
"Fair enough."
The group went through the door and found some skeleton like warriors waiting. These were taken out quickly and then everyone moved forward. They found they had to climb up which was easy thanks to a wall made of stone that had perfect places to grab onto. Levi needed some help but they got him to the top. There they had to beat a few enemies. Then they noticed some kind of orb on the ground. But this didn't look like any they had seen before. Hitting it with their weapons did nothing. "Now what?" Miura asked.
"A puzzle indeed," Nicholas commented.
The group then felt the presence of the spirit. "Find it…" his voice said. "The switch… to shine light…" He then vanished.
Tethi spotted it and shot at it with her crossbow. From a panel in the room, it opened and allowed the light to come in and shine on the orb. It activated and the way forward was unlocked. "There we go," Nicholas said.
They then went into the next room. "Whoa…" Tethu stated.
This next room was huge. There was a large statue that dominated the place in front of the group. It was humanoid like and had the legs crossed. There were four arms with two hands on the knees while the others were in a meditative like pose. Behind that was a huge wall with some kind of ancient written, different than what Tethu, Levi, Sol, and Miura, had seen from their desert. At the base of the lap was a small raised ledge with two torches on either side. The one with the fire crystal used that to light these things which caused a chest that the group knew was important to appear. It was similar to what they had seen before. Opening showed the map was here. "Got it!" Nicholas stated and pulled out so they could all look at it.
"This place… it's bigger than I thought," Tethi commented.
"And it looks like it heads down if I'm reading this right," the male Seedling in the group said.
Just then enemies came out as if from nowhere. They were floating ones and wrapped up in what appeared to be stone like bandages. Their faces were pointed like birds. "Uh oh…" went Tethi.
"Take them out!" Nicholas stated, drawing his weapon.
"I'm on it!" Sol exclaimed.
He brought out his crystal and sent fire in the direction of the enemies. This did the trick and they were all defeated. "Nice move there," Miura told him.
"So now what?" Levi asked.
Just then they heard the sound of something moving. "What's that?" Tethu stated.
They saw at the foot of the statue the floor was moving to reveal some stairs that went down. The group then felt the presence of the spirit again. "Now… head down…" he said. "But beware… of the dead…"
The presence he had vanished. "Do we really?" Tethi asked, getting scared.
"I'm here with you," Tethu told her, giving her a squeeze of warmth and love.
The group nodded at the other and went down. At the bottom of the short stairway they found themselves at a stone hallway with torches lit up. Going forward they found themselves at a room where there was sand and it was flowing into two areas that looked like pits that could only lead to death. Even though there was a path, some of the stone for the sections was broken which meant jumping from one area to the next was needed. There were some skulls here with horns that seemed to have belonged to some kind of creatures. At the end of this was a gate that blocked the path ahead. "This is different," Levi commented.
The two spirits with the group came out. "I'm seeing the corruption here to," Esna pointed out. Indeed the group could see the substance piled up against the walls here.
"In that case be careful," Lanayru cautioned. "I'm also getting a bad feeling there might traps to."
With that, everyone began to move forward. They had to take out some enemies that were in the sands. They looked like some kind of small fanged worms that jumped out at certain points. The group then made it to the others side where the gate was. They had to go to the right where they found a chain to pull. But doing so caused a few skeleton like enemies to appear that rose up from the sand. Once those had been defeated, the chain was pulled which made the gate up ahead retreat and the way forward open. Going ahead showed there was a locked door but two doorways to the side. Each of these were blocked by wooden barriers that were cracked. The right had nothing but the left had a chest that contained a small key. After getting that, the group went back and forward where it was used to unlock the way forward. The group went into the next room and found it was dark in here. There was a little light though. "Here, allow me," Sol stated and used the power of his crystal to light up the room some more.
That's when it happened with a horde of small skeleton warriors erupted form the sand here. "Uh oh," Tethu said.
"Let's take 'em out!" Nicholas exclaimed, drawing his weapon.
It didn't turn out to be that bad at all. Once the enemies were defeated, it was then onto lighting the two torches in here which unlocked the door ahead. The group then stepped into the next room and were stunned by the size of it. "Whoa…" Levi said.
"What is this?" Miura asked.
"This… this is different," Nicholas commented. Even he was unnerved by this and for good reason.
The room while large had a feeling of evil and the undead in here. There were statues here of some kind of humanoid figures and they all looked the same. They were in a row on the left and right and stopped at a carving in the floor that had a picture of a Orok who looked to be from the past. Ahead was a huge gateway that could be accessed by walking up some stairs with four huge torches that could be considered small pyres that were burning with blue flames rather than regular colored ones. It was dim in here. "I'm not liking this," Tethi whispered.
Just then the group heard the sound of some kind of clanking and what sounded like moaning. "Wait… what's that nose?" Levi asked nervously.
"Trouble," Nicholas snarled and drew his weapon.
Just then they saw some kind of diamond shaped lanterns come floating out of the gateway. There were four in total, one for each of the blue flames. "Wait… am I seeing things?" Levi asked, shaking his head to try to clear it.
"I'm seeing it to," Sol commented.
The group watched in wonder and a bit of horror as these lanterns went to each flame. They caught the burning fire and these were placed in each object. Then the floating lanterns moved in a circle over the area where each flame had once burned. The gateway became closed by a metal section that appeared to be a fancy set of bars. "Great…" Nicholas grumbled, seeing that the group couldn't got that way anymore.
These lanterns they came to the group and circled around them before three flew off but one stayed behind. "Now what?" Tethu stated. "We can't see what's holding it but something has to be there."
Just then the group felt the presence of the spirit here. "Take… this…" went the voice of the being. "The last… of my… power will help…"
Everyone here felt something awaken in their bodies and then looked. "Wait… we can see it!" Miura exclaimed.
What they saw was a blue figure that was transparent and taller than Nicholas or Miura. It was long and thing with a rob and a face that looked like it had decayed due to death. The teeth in the mouth for it opened it up were few and pointed. The eye sockets had no eyes and the bone part of where a nose should have been was exposed. It was wearing some kind of robe with a hood and there was a small skull attached to where the fastener to hold the hood together was. It then let out a snarl. The figure floated around a bit and then it glowed bright blue as the arm holding the lantern pulled back to strike. Nicholas on instinct attacked with his ax and found that it made contact with the spiritual being but there was damaged done. The ghostly enemy was sent back but then returned. "It seems whatever that spirit did is working for these kinds of enemies!" Nicholas stated.
It wasn't long before the thing was laid to rest. What was left behind was the lantern and the robe which became visible and had white for the main color. The group closed their eyes and they saw they could turn the ability to see ghosts and things like that on and off. They saw the lantern shatter and the blue flame float in the air before returning to one of the four spots where it had originally burned at. "So that's it then," Tethu said. "We'll need to find the other three and return the flames to where they once were."
"Yeah but… how can we even begin to find them?" Tethi asked.
The group felt the presence of the spirit here come up. "That power…" went their voice. "You can… sense them…"
"Sense them?" Miura asked after the presence faded.
"Maybe a way to track them down?" Nicholas suggested. "Could it be that simple?"
The group all closed their eyes, trying to see if they could sense where the other three ghost like enemies had gone. Looking again they could see what appeared to be a trail of some kind; a bluish kind of light, similar to how the first enemy had been for the color. "Can you all see that or is just me?" Sol asked.
"I see it to," Levi replied. They followed it to a section of floor here against one of the wall. There was sand here.
"Here, help me clear it Tethu," Nicholas told the Male Seedling. The Anuban used his crystal while the other male used his Gale ability to clear what was in the way.
There was a chain with a handle revealed and Nicholas pulled at it. Doing so caused a section of the floor nearby to descend and become stairs that went down. "Should we all go?" Levi asked.
"I think it would be best," Miura replied. "Who knows what's down there?"
"And we can only see one trail anyways," Nicholas added.
The group went down the stairs and through the door. Here they found a circular room with a pillar in the middle. This was twisted like a corkscrew and had a stone slab to push. Doing so caused a ladder to extend down and allow the group to climb up to the area above. But before that the group was able to grab a small key from a chest and even defeat an undead enemy like what had been seen before when that army attacked. Then it was through another door and into a smaller circular room with a bunch of blue lanterns. But the group could hear the enemy even if they couldn't see it. Closing their eyes and focusing, they then opened those parts of their bodies to see the ghost they had been hunting. It was dealt with like from before. And like last time the flame left the broken lantern and floated out of the room to return to its rightful place. "That wasn't so bad," Tethi commented.
"No, but I bet the other two will be harder to find," Nicholas commented. "Call it a gut feeling."
"I feel the same," Miura replied.
The group returned back to the main room from before and saw the flame that had been freed return to one of the places it had originally burned at. "So where to now?" Tethi asked.
"Looks like there's a door above those stairs we went up from," Miura said after noticing it. "Let's try there."
The group went through that and had to use the key they found to get to the next area. "Whoa…" Levi commented.
What the group saw ahead of them was more sand as well as a huge slab of stone attached to chains up ahead in a circular shape. This thing was in the way on a stone pathway up ahead. The group went forward towards the sand where they saw sections of stone that could be used as platforms to get across. But they had to be careful because at certain points spikes erupted out of the sand. "Watch it!" Nicholas told Miura who almost ran into one.
"Damn, what is with this place?" she asked. "This is more like some kind of training ground."
"Perhaps that's what it's intended for."
The group made it and up to the slab or stone. There was a chain that was pulled to lift it up. Once the thing was as high up it could go, the group went past it before it came crashing back down. Then it was up a small flight of stairs. At the top was a statue that had to be turned in order to open up the pathway. Doing so not only allowed the group to get another small key after defeating a few undead enemies from a chest, but also reveal the door that the key was used on to go on ahead. They went through it and found themselves in a hallway like area with moving sand in the middle. They could also hear the sound of the third ghost they were looking for. "I hear it," Tethu stated.
Miura then looked ahead. "Forget that for now," she commented and drew her spear.
There was a number of small enemy skeletons heading their way including a large new enemy wrapped up in bandages with a decaying face and huge sword being dragged behind. "Let's take these out first," Sol said and brought out some fire from his crystal to help.
The group did so and the enemies were disposed of. They then closed their eyes and found a chain buried by sand. The trail of the ghost they were looking for had gone to it and so after digging it up, Levi pulled it. This opened up a hidden room and revealed the floating lantern with the ghost inside. Tethu and Tethi took care of it this time. Once the enemy was beaten, the flame was released and floated back to where it belonged. Then the group went through the door ahead and found themselves in a small circular room. There wasn't much but a small chest in here which has a small key. But as soon as it was grabbed, the lights dimmed. "Uh oh," the female Seedling in the group said.
The group then heard the sound of what sounded like scurrying and squeaking. Then they felt something that felt like multiple little bodies on theirs holding them down. "What is this?" Tethu asked, trying swat them off.
The group closed their eyes and focused. What they saw seemed to be little imp like creatures with rat like tails in here and holding them down. They were ghost like, similar to the one just beaten. Seeing them allowed these to be disposed of. "Let's get out of here before more show up," Nicholas growled.
The group did so and found themselves in the room where the flames had to be returned to. Only this time they were up higher. They could see the third flame return to its rightful place and then that the way forward was by jumping across to some kind of stone slab that was held up by chains. However it was carved to form some kind of elegant platform. The group then felt the presence of the spirit who lived here. "Just one more…" went his voice. "Keep going…"
The presence faded and Levi saw what they had to jump to while looking hesitant. "Here, you can do it," Tethu told the male Serkah. "I'll go first."
The Seedling did and showed he was able to do so. The guy then hopped to the other side where there was a platform and the next door waiting for them. "That's probably the best way to do so, one at a time," Nicholas commented.
They made it and went through the next door. Here they found something similar to last time only this time they had to pull up another stone stab with a huge hole in the middle and let it drop so they could use it to cross some sifting sand and made it to the next door. Here they had to beat a few new skeleton like enemies to go forward since that was sealed shut until the monsters were beaten. Then through the next door they found a smaller looking statue that had been seen before with five different torches on stands to light. "Do we go for them all?" Sol asked.
"I don't think so," Nicholas replied. "Let's see if there's a clue to what should be lit."
It was Levi who found it and read the riddle out. "I'm not good with these," he grumbled.
"Here, let me look at it," the Anuban stated and read the riddle before closing his eyes. After a minute or so, he opened them.
"Here, light those Sol," he told the male Lagora, pointing out which ones to target.
Sol used his crystal to light them and that caused a wall to open up, revealing a new door. The group went through it and found themselves in a smaller circular room. But they saw the lanterns here. "We've found the last one," Miura commented.
The group closed their eyes to concentrate and then opened them. They saw the ghost whose mouth moved while floating towards them. It then split into four bodies. "Not fair!" Tethi exclaimed.
The enemy began to circle the group. Nicholas just slowly positioned himself with his eyes watching them. The bodies then stopped and one glowed blue. "There!" the Anuban stated and attacked it with his weapon.
The same thing happened again after the ghost took a number of hits. Then it was taken out. The last flame was released. "That's it, we got them all," Tethu said.
The group took a second door here and were soon back where the flames had all returned to. The last one went back to its torch and then the way forward opened. "Talk about a hassle," Nicholas commented.
"But we got them," Miura said.
Just then the group felt the spirit's presence, the one who lived here. "Well done… all of you…" he said, sounding stronger. "This place is… being freed. But beware… what lies ahead…" The presence then faded away.
"What lies ahead?" Tethi asked. "I don't like the sound of that."
"It sounds like it might get worst," her guy agreed.
"No other choice since we've got to free him," Nicholas stated.
The group went passed the now open gate and found themselves in a room that had a wall ahead with a huge hole in it. But they couldn't see what was beyond it. Here some more enemies had to be beaten and these were taken out quickly. There were two pathways, one to the left and to the right. Looking to the left showed what appeared to be the chest that contained the key that would get the group to where the spirit was. But there was a wall in the way with a hole to see the chest. "Is there another way to get to it?" Tethu asked Nicholas who brought out the map.
"Yes, there's a way around," the Anuban replied, looking. "It looks like going down the other path will get to it."
"What about forward?" Miura asked. "Is there anything beyond that wall in front of us?"
Nicholas took a look. "It would appear so," he answered. "But we can't get to it right now."
"To the right it is then," Levi said, looking towards there.
"Time to move," Sol commented.
In the next room they found a spiraling staircase that went down below. At the bottom was another door the group went through. What was beyond that was a long hallway like room that had pillars here and there to help support the ceiling above. There were skulls littering the place and also squares on the floor that looked like holes placed in strategic ways at certain points. There was also sand in here as well. "Shall we go forward?" Levi asked.
"It can't be that simple," Miura commented.
"I wonder…" Nicholas said.
He picked up a skull nearby and rolled it to one of the squares. Instantly spikes came up that were made of stone. These then retreated. "So we've got to watch out for those," Tethi stated. "Are there any more skulls?"
"Let's gather some and find out where they are," Miura suggested.
"Wait…" Nicholas said then he let out a growl.
That's when the group heard it, the sound of squeaking like they had heard before. They closed their eyes and opened them to see the ghostly imp like enemies were in here to. "Take them out!" Tethi stated.
"Allow me," Tethu replied and used the power of his crystal to send a huge wave of water which did the trick and disposed of them.
"Nice move," Tethi said.
Once those had been taken care of, the group carefully went forward until they reached the other side. There a chain had to be pulled to open up a wall so they could go forward. In the next section they found a narrow hallway. On both side of the wall they saw some spinning orbs with spikes that were moving back and forth. These things were in grooves that acted like a track. The group managed to get around these and then into the next room which was one that was circular in shape but in the middle had a device that went around in a circle. Attached to it was a long rod that had spikes on it. Looking showed these were very deadly. "Jeez, morbid much?" Sol asked sarcastically.
The group had to time it just right to make it passed the deadly trap. They then came across more sand and stone sections to get across. But then something else emerged as well. "Wait… what are those things…?" Tethi whispered.
They looked like tiny black insects of some kind with orange spots. Before the group could do anything they jumped on in a huge swarm. While no damage was done, everyone felt heavier and couldn't move like before. "Son of a…" Nicholas growled and used his crystal to create a wind and blow them off the bodies of his friends.
They saw these things disappear. "Keep an eye out for more of those," the Anuban said.
Luckily these things weren't too much trouble and the group kept moving forward. They defeated whatever undead enemies stood before them, freeing this place of the evil that had infected it. And then finally at last, they reached a door that going through took them where the chest was. The one that held the key that was needed to get to the spirit that lived here. "There, we got it," Levi said after it was opened and Nicholas took the item.
They then felt the presence of the spirit who lived here. "Well done… all of you…" his voice said, sounding strong like the others had when almost there to being rescued. "My strength is almost fully back… You can do it…" The presence then faded.
"Yeah… but now what?" Tethi asked looking ahead to see that the wall with the hole that they had seen before was in the way.
Nicholas found a switch that when pulled, moved it out of the way and the other wall they couldn't get pass before. "There we go," he stated with a grin.
The group made their way to the new section which was circle in shape and small with a single stone section to go to. They found a switch on it that Levi had to hit in order to get it to rise up to the door where the key they had just found could be used. "Looks like this is it," Sol commented.
"Yeah…" Miura looked worried.
"You okay?" Nicholas asked her with concern. "Hey, we'll make it through this. You'll see."
"He's right we always do," Tethi agreed.
"Yeah, I'm just a little nervous for some reason," the Drauk replied. In truth it was because she didn't want to be killed or Nicholas. After all she hoped that after this they could become something more than what they had.
"I can understand how you feel babe," the Anuban told her. "But don't worry, you've got me and the rest."
"Yeah."
"Come on, let's go in," Tethu stated.
Nicholas used the key they had picked up and the huge door was unlocked. With a group push, they got it open and went inside. The group made it in and like always the way back was closed and sealed them off. But they didn't look back in shock this time. Everyone looked around and saw this room was large and dim but not to the point it was so dark in here that they couldn't see. In the middle was a huge pit filled with sand. There was even a fine mist in here that was low to the ground. The surrounding walls in the circular area had designs on it that represented the element of stone and fighting Oroks. "What do we have here?" Levi asked, his voice echoing a little in this room.
Their footsteps did as well. "I see the corruption substance here," Nicholas stated and pointed it out. It was pooling and gathering on the sides.
"But… where is the enemy in here and why is it so dim?" Tethu asked.
Suddenly the room shook as the same corruption like substance came gushing out of the center of the sand pit. "Here it comes…!" Nicholas growled as everyone drew their weapons.
Suddenly the orb seen before appeared. It had brown mixed in with the black. But the first thing to emerge was the long tail that had spikes made of stone and sand. Then the right arm emerged wielding some kind of hooked cane end that was sharp and made of blue energy. Then the main body and head emerged showing it was some kind of twisted looking jackal like head with three eyes and a mouth that opened sideways to let out a roar. The group felt the presence of the spirit who lived here. "Be on edge!" went the voice that belonged to the being. "That thing is from the enemy! Don't let it end here. Fight now and free this place!"
"Let's go!" Tethu stated.
"Watch out; this thing is much faster than it looks!"
The group saw the enemy move and were barely able to dodge its attack. The thing was almost a blur. "What the hell?!" Nicholas growled, getting back up.
"How are we supposed to beat this?!" Miura asked.
The monster turned to look at them before doing the same thing again. Those in the group were able to dodge but once again barely able to do so. But this time many noticed it. There was a tiny flaw in the way this creature move. Just big enough to exploit. That was why when the thing did it again Nicholas was able to move and strike at the monster. The thing went flying before landing on the sand here. And it was a hard enough of a fall that the surface of that did nothing to cushion the fall. "This thing can be hit!" the Anuban stated.
"Well done!" the voice of the spirit who lived here was heard.
The monster rose up and summoned forth two pillars of sand to attack. "Watch out!" Tethi exclaimed.
Nicholas and Miura responded by bringing out the power of their crystals to defend the others. The combination of the two elements worked as the attacked was stopped. This did create an small explosion of dust and broken stone. When this cleared, the monster wasn't there. "Where is it?!" Tethu asked.
"Damn!" Nicholas growled, looking around.
Then Levi spotted something moving in the sand and knew where. "It's in the sand!" the male Serkah exclaimed.
The monster then emerged with a hand made of sand emerging to grab at the group. It managed to grab onto Tethu who wasn't fast enough this time. "TETHU!" Tethi exclaimed.
"Allow me!" Sol said and brought out his crystal to use the power of fire and used it to burn some of the grains away. The male Seedling was freed and he summoned water to attack the creature. The enemy brought out a wall of stone to block that move.
The monster then went back to using its super speed again. This time Levi when he tried to move got hit. "You okay?!" Miura asked, seeing that guy had taken a hit.
The monster then raised both arms up to summon sand and stone bits. Tethi shot at the eyes in quick succession with her weapon. Each arrow found their mark and not only did the attack stop, the creature roared in pain before falling to the ground. "GET IT NOW!" Nicholas ordered.
The group rushed forth and made it, hacking at the enemy and doing damage. It soon recovered through and blasted them all back with sand. "Damn, it's still got power!" Sol said after spitting out some sand from his mouth.
The thing then rose up with a growl. "I don't like the look of this…" Levi whispered.
The monster raised the arm that had the weapon and a burst of energy came out. This then scattered and the group saw the shield and weapon glowing with power. "I think this thing is done playing around!" Nicholas growled.
"Watch out now!" went the voice of the spirit here.
"No need to tell us twice!" Tethu commented as though the spirit was here.
The monster now summoned stones of good size to crush the group. These came raining down. "Can we use those to our advantage?!" Miura exclaimed.
When the stone landed, those that hit solid ground came apart while those that landed in the sand sank below. The monster did it again but this time Nicholas was ready. With a shout he summoned a massive amount of wind from his crystal to direct one stone towards the monster instead of focusing on all of them. It did the trick as the stone hit the enemy and caused the rest to crumble away. The thing was knocked to the ground. "Let's get it!" Tethi stated.
They all were able to attack and the monster took damage. But then it shook them off. "Not enough!" Levi said.
The enemy put on the same burst of speed but was even faster this time. The group was all hit and sent flying before landing. "Son of a-!" Nicholas growled as he flipped back to his feet.
"Don't give in now!" Tethu exclaimed.
The monster struck again and those with the crystal all responded with sending out blasts of energy from each that was of that element at the thing. The opponent couldn't deal with that and was hit hard while letting out a cry. The thing went back to its orb form before reappearing in the center of this room. "Did that do it this time?" Tethi asked, on guard just in case.
The monster let out a roar at the group. It tried to move but then it falter as the corruption like substance that had been seen before began to come out of the body in puffs of smoke. "I think we did it," Nicholas said.
Then enemy then arched it's back as the corruption like substance began to spray out of its body like blood from wounds. It let out more cries of pain before with a final one it exploded, leaving nothing behind and freeing this place. Any of the corruption substance in here also disappeared to. The group let out a breath. Lanayru and Esna appeared from their orbs. "I thought that thing had you at points," the female water spirit said.
"Yes, but you have all done it," went another voice. This one was female to.
The group turned to see the spirit who lived here appear. The orb emerged being a very pretty brown with gold mixed for the colors. First the legs and feet emerged, showing these were covered by some kind of slipper shoe. "I knew you wouldn't let me down like the others," the spirit's voice continued as the being continued to emerge. "Thanks to you, I'm free and so is this place from evil."
Then the arms and body emerged before finally the head. The ears were pointed but the skin was tanned like the spirit had been out in the desert sun. Each ear had one earing, big hooped ones made of gold. Her armor was royal indeed with colors of gold, royal blue, and red. While the stomach was exposed and more jewelry like the earrings were around her ankles, wrists, and neck. Esna and Lanayru came out with their orbs to see her. The male water spirit smiled. "I'm glad you're alright… Nami," he stated.
"So you're here to Lanayru," the third spirit stated. She looked to Esna and smiled. "I'm sure we can catch up later. Right now, I have something. The crystal that you guys will need." From her right hand a glowing orb appeared, the same color brown she had. Then from it came the pointed crystal of the same color that flew towards Levi who grabbed it and attached itself to the male.
"Just one more spirit to help now," he said, smiling. Tethi hoped she would get the next one. The group also knew that whatever last being that was out there would also need their help with freeing as well.
"Here, I will let you out," Name told the group and they were all transported outside to the entrance of this place. But what was going to happen next would be one of love and romance for one couple in particular.
X
Author's notes: I do apologize for how long it took to get this out but being on a hiatus break for four months did that. Rest assured I'm still around and now that I'm back it's time to resume all the stories. Thank you for your patience.