Disclaimers: I do not own Fairy Tail
A/N: Okay, chapter 8 for everyone one. I would like to point out that the villagers must, in fact, eat solid food despite them being illusions, if only to keep up the appearance for Wendy and Carla. So they must hunt for it as well as farmed it themselves.
This story was beta by Conbolt Is Fire.
Please Review, Follow, or Fav, if you want and check out my other stories such as Fiery Hurricane of Love and Right Claw.
Chapter 8
A Temple Claim By The Wild
It was safe to say that Wendy was easily able to find the book on dragons that Master Roubaul was referring to due to it standing out amongst her possession. Covered in black leather with golden letters woven into it and a picture of silver dragon's claw on the front cover, it really contrasted with her white and pink room. Even better, she was able to retrieve it without waking Carla as the cat laid sleeping.
Now she was facing her current predicament…
Finding a position to sit in that didn't place her in danger or compromise her morals. She didn't want Fonaar to be behind her or even in front of her while she and Romeo read through the book and she didn't want him being so close on her side. She felt bad if she put Romeo in between them, feeling like she was using the little boy as a shield of some sorts, but this prove to be her safest bet, especially when she allowed him to sit in her lap after he asked, (though this also meant that she couldn't use her magic, so technically she was even more vulnerable than she was before), something along the lines of that what his mom lets him do whenever she reads him a story from a book. In Wendy's mind, it kept Fonaar from trying anything though the dragon was not silent about his thoughts on this matter if the constant growling was anything to go off of as he sat in front of the pair.
"Umm, Wendy? Fonaar keeps saying stuff like, "That's a dirty trick", what's that supposed to mean?", Romeo asks as he turns to look at Wendy who turns her head away in shame.
"I couldn't tell you", she lied, "But let's start reading, shall we?"
Romeo nods his head vigorously, "Okay! We have to find out what type of dragon Fonaar is!"
Wendy was about to question the idea when she recalls Porlyusica's words of advice, "It wouldn't hurt for me to know more about Fonaar, especially if I encounter another dragon like him."
"Okay then, let's see what we can find!", Wendy says as she looks begin flipping through the pages, looking for any of the portraits that match a resemblance to the dragon currently growling in front of her.
"There doesn't seem to be any pictures that look like Fonaar, despite there being so many dragons in this book. Though this book does contain a large number of dragon species, it's nowhere close to the entire race", Wendy states, "Maybe we ought to start reading through some of their descriptions and see if they mention anything about Fonaar's species off-hand."
The three of them, though Fonaar was too busy keeping an eye on Wendy to really paid attention, briefly search through the contents of the book with Wendy doing the reading while Romeo listens, though his young mind couldn't grasp most of the knowledge being read to him. Without warning, he stops Wendy and puts a finger on the current page she was all just as she was about to flip through it.
"What dragon is this?", Romeo asks as he points at a picture of a ferocious looking dragon, with its dark red scales and billows of fire seething through its teeth.
"That is one of the most dangerous dragons around, the destructive red dragon of the chromatic class. Most mages, even dragon-slayers, consider themselves lucky if they never have to face one of them", Wendy explains as she feels a surge of hot breathing pressing down on her face and looks up only to see Fonaar's snout.
Fonaar was hovering over the two children while examining the portrait they were currently on. For reasons unbeknownst to him, this particular dragon call to him. He let out two short but loud howls and Romeo turns around to talk to Wendy only to see her staring wide-eyed at the close proximity Fonaar was to her.
"Fonaar says to tell him more about the red dragon", Romeo tells her.
Wendy snaps out of her petrified state for a moment, "He can't be this close to me if he wants me to read", she replies and Fonaar temporarily brings his head out of the book to death glare at the girl.
"Hey! You heard her, Fonaar! Sit back where you were!", Romeo yells and a grumbling Fonaar returns to his original position. As soon as he sat down he began swinging his tail behind him in an almost agitated manner. Both Wendy and Romeo take this as a sign and the Sky Dragon-Slayer began to read:
Red Dragon
The Undisputed King/Queen of The Chromatic Dragons
Vain even by draconic standards along with its two distinct horns on its head and blood red scales, this dragon is believed by many to have been created from the very flames of hell itself. This monstrosity is credited as being the most infamous of the True Dragons along with the most powerful of the Chromatic dragons. Entire kingdoms have been toppled by the wrathful rampage of a single one of these flying killing machines and very few can claim to have survived an encounter with one let alone slain one. Its blood colored scales go a long way in intimidating any would-be foes and its fiery breath is rumored to be hot enough to melt solid rock. But even before its breath and lust for destruction, the red dragon is known for its insatiable greed. In their mind, every piece of treasure that has ever exist or will exist already belongs to them and they will shatter entire continents to make this a reality and only the might of a much more powerful dragon will sway it away.
The most famous example of the massive scale of a red dragon's rampage is no doubt that of the "Scourge of the East", Syzdothyx, the Great Wyrm. In X504, a bold thief whose name is lost to history stole a single bronze coin from his horde, prompting him to go on a path of destruction so terrible that it let the entire southeastern region of the Pergrande Kingdom, including its second largest city of Albdia, in shambles. It took the might of five silver dragons and half of the kingdom's magic guilds to finally stop his rampage at a terrible cost. But even with all the forces that were brought against him, they only manage to wound the monster and force him to retreat.
In Fonaar's mind, an image started to appear. Blurry, yet he was able to make out distinctions in it. A snout beaked off like a hawk, a forked tongue, and finally, two great horns swept back on top of a massive, red, head, but that was all Fonaar could see. What did it all mean he couldn't tell but one thing was for sure; he has definitely had an encounter with a red dragon before because he also knows that he has heard the name Sydothyx somewhere before even if he couldn't remember where.
Fonaar then began to feel a foreign energy surge through his body now and with his draconic supernatural senses, he was able to realize that the same energy was flowing through Romeo as well.
Romeo has never quite been an avid reader. While he enjoys the stories told by his mom, reading books was more along the lines of his sisters, especially Juliet. But he unexpectedly found himself listening intently to Wendy as she read while examining the picture of the fiery red beast, almost as if he needed to know every single detail about this creature. As he was honing in on Wendy's every word, he began to feel a swelling in his chest. Though it was different than what he felt yesterday after waking up from healing Fonaar and meeting the green lady.
But sure enough, the same outer effects of that incident were showing as Wendy lean her head over Romeo's shoulder and glance down.
"Um, Romeo? Your chest is flashing, is that normal?", Wendy suddenly asks, snapping Romeo out of this trance and making him look down and just like Wendy said, his birthmark was indeed flashing, only instead of the emerald light that Romeo had kind of gotten used to, it was flashing a multitude of different colors.
After staring at it for a moment Romeo turns toward Wendy.
"I think I need to see Granny Porlyusica."
Back With Roubaul and Porlyusica
"You honestly expect me to believe that everyone in the village except for Wendy and Carla is an illusion created by you and that you're a spirit who died hundreds of years ago?", Porlyusica asks Roubaul staring with a look of disbelief.
"That's right", Roubaul nodded.
"I'm to assume you're going to be sticking to that fabricated story", Porlyusica spats.
"Believe me, Porlyusica, when the time comes, you'll understand everything but until then...", Roubaul states as he turns to see a panicking Wendy running toward him, "Well now, what's going on here?"
Inside the Cait Shelter Main Building
The small room was agonizing quiet as Romeo, Porlyusica, Wendy, and Fonaar sat in front of Master Roubaul who at the moment was sitting in front of them all, going through page after page of what seem to be ancient and delicate scrolls. Romeo's birthmark stopped flashing only a couple of minutes of ago, but Porlyusica and Roubaul were able to examine it beforehand. Everyone had a baffled look on their faces, even Fonaar.
"Hey, Wendy?", Romeo asks as he pulls on the helm of the girl's dress to get her attention, "What are those scrolls Grandpa Beardy is reading?"
Wendy turns to look down at Romeo with a mixture of a shock and confuse expression before asking, "Grandpa Beardy?"
"Well, I can't call him Grandma Beardy or just grandpa because I call Grandpa Makarov grandpa, but he's an old man so grandpa fits so I call him Grandpa Beardy?", Romeo explains as if it was the most oblivious thing in the world, "It makes sense because he has a beard."
Wendy continues to gawk at Romeo and barely notices Fonaar doing the same with a facial expression that screamed that he was unamused. She shakes her head to snap out of it and get back on topic.
"I believe those are the Wild Master scrolls I have been hearing so much about. I hardly ever see them and they're written in a language that I have just recently started to learn", Wendy explains only to jump in surprise as Master Roubaul slams one of the scrolls on the ground with an audible smack. The room once more plunges into silence as everyone waits on the guild master.
"I was hoping to avoid this path until after Wendy had fully healed and I got a little more time with the boy but it seems that we have no choice now", Roubaul started as he looks toward the Sky Dragon-Slayer, "Wendy, I need you to take Romeo to the temple in the forest immediately."
Wendy stunned expression said it all, "Yesterday you forbid me from going to the temple after everyone in the village witness that towering spiral of green light. Why the sudden change of mind, Master Roubaul?"
"Yes, I too would like to know why", Porlyusica interjected, "Seeing how she is confined to the village for another two days."
Fonaar lets out a grumble as he lays his head down and everyone turns their attention to Romeo.
"Really, me again?", the boy asks before sighing, "Fine, he said he really couldn't care less about this temple."
"Well, I believe he will soon change his mind once he hears about what lays inside those temple walls", Roubaul began, "For there lies an item within that ancient temple that may be able to shed some light on Fonaar's species."
Roubaul's words had the expected effect on Fonaar as the juvenile dragon lifts his head off the ground.
"Romeo", Roubaul begins, catching the young boy's attention, "Do you remember the "Green Lady," you told me about?"
"Uh huh", he answers and Master Roubaul unravels the scroll which was currently in his hand. It depicted a feminine figure, awash in a glowing emerald light with her hands outstretched. Clouds form on top of her head as the stars glitter high above. Beneath her entire forests laid out at her feet as streams, her water came gushing out.
"Did she look like this?", Roubaul question and Romeo immediately shakes his head.
"Yes! Yes! That was the Green Lady!", he screams as he points his finger at the scroll and starts jumping up and down, "That was the lady I saw in the endless white!"
Romeo is in mid-jump when he feels something scaly and large wrap around his waist and looks down to see Fonaar's tail wrap around his waist, stopping him from jumping any further. A sharp howl emits from the dragon and Romeo crosses his arms and starts sulking.
"Fonaar says I need to calm down", he groans, causing Wendy to turn away to avoid being seen trying to hold back a laugh.
"Anyway", Roubaul interrupted, "The reason I need Romeo to go to the temple is to retrieve the ritual weapon of the Wild Master Order, the Savage Blade."
"The Savage Blade?", Porlyusica repeats, "You want a six-year-old boy to go fetch a sword?"
"It's actually a long dagger but regardless, before you start worrying just know that it's needed for him to become a full-fledged master of the wild", Roubaul assures her, "Each Wild Master was given one upon accepting their role and it's extremely useful in helping them carry out their duties."
"Oh really? How so?", Porlyusica questioned and both Wendy, Romeo, and Fonaar, could feel a sudden shift in the air. One that made the two children and the dragon feel like they were in the eye of the storm and it all was about to come crashing down on them.
Roubaul himself noticed the change in the woman in front of him and decided best to approach with caution. He shifts through the scrolls lying around him and pulls out two of them. The first one revealed a giant symbol in the middle of it that resemble….
"That looks like the thing on my chest", Romeo points out and indeed there was a circle with a tree canopy and three claw mark within it on the scroll.
"I'm actually ashamed at myself for taking this long to inform you about it but you need one of three things to become a fully-fledged Wild Master", Roubaul began, "You need the Wild Mark, a familiar…."
"And the last one is the Savage Blade, correct?", Porlyusica inquires.
"Yes, know that the Wild Mark and the Savage Blade was by all accounts the main reason the Wild Master were respected and feared throughout the known world", Roubaul began, "Sometimes it came down to their ability to communicate with the wild, while other times it depends on their familiar, but all in all it was blade and the symbol that most of the masters relied on."
"Master Roubaul, what exactly makes the Wild Mark so special?", Wendy ask.
"Well, you see-"
Romeo's chest lights up in an array of colors once more as the Wild Mark activates, catching everyone off-guard including Roubaul but he quickly regains his senses.
"It seems that now is not the time for story-telling. Wendy, I need you to take Romeo to the temple, now", Roubaul orders, holding up a hand to silence Porlyusica before she could protest, "I just need her to watch the boy. While yes Fonaar will protect him with his life, I need Wendy to help him navigate the temple, plus she knows the way there."
"Why do you need Romeo to go if Wendy could just go?", the Potion Mage asks.
"Certain areas of the temple are only accessible to one who bears the Wild Mark", Roubaul states, "This temple was the training ground for the Wild Masters of my people in days long past.
"Then I'll go with him", Porlyusica says.
"It's half a day walk to the temple. Do you think you could keep up with them? Because you do not want to be out in the forest after sunset. Creatures that are the things of nightmares come out once the sun goes down out there along with the fact that bandits have been known to take of residence there from time to time."
"And yet you want to send Wendy out with them", Porlyusica points out.
"Between Fonaar and even Wendy in her current state, Romeo should be fine if it's only him they have to worry about. I'm afraid someone like you would just slow them down", Roubaul states.
"Then send your hunters to protect us", Porlyusica propose.
"My hunters are extremely superstitious of that place, to tell the truth, very few are brave enough to venture to that place nowadays. One of the main reasons I didn't allow Wendy to go yesterday morning was because she and Carla would have been on their own."
"Couldn't Fonaar just fly us there?", Romeo's voice rings out, catching the attention of everyone present.
"Come again, Romeo", Roubaul says.
"Fonaar fly us there. Everyone knows he can fly, right?", Romeo says and all eyes turn to the dragon.
"He does seem big enough to carry people two if not three people", Roubaul assumed after a moment.
"And he does seem to have a great amount of speed in the air", Porlyusica added.
A threatening growl interrupts the conversation as Fonaar's eyes narrow at the two elders.
"He said that only I get to fly him and anyone else who tries will be missing a part of their body", Romeo translated with a smile on his face. But he wasn't smiling at the fact the Fonaar basically just threaten to dismember some of the people in front of him, but he was especially giddy at the fact that there was a good chance he would get to fly Fonaar and that made him excited beyond belief.
"Juliet and Rosalina are going to be so jealous", he giggled before noticing that Roubaul was talking to him, "What's going on?"
"We were asking you to tell Fonaar to let Wendy fly on Fonaar", Porlyusica replies.
"But Fonaar doesn't want Wendy to fly on him", Romeo said as he looks to the dragon to see him nod his head.
"Then I guess you don't get to fly either", Roubaul shrugs and Porlyusica agrees.
…..
….
"Fonaar, you're letting Wendy fly on top of you", Romeo all but orders.
Fonaar's wings spread out to their full extension as the dragon rears up on his hind legs over Romeo, letting out an echoing roar that reverberates throughout the building and causing cracks to appear on the windows. Both Roubaul and Porlyusica to back away in fright while Wendy took a defensive posture and began gathering as much magic as she could before it started causing her pain.
But despite everyone in the building and most likely the whole village getting put on edge by the draconic display of anger, Romeo was entirely calm as he looked up at Fonaar with a mellow smile on his face, even as the dragon brings his front legs back down with a thundering slam, he then turns to address the people behind him.
…..
"He's not happy but he'll let Wendy fly but only on the condition that gets to have some of the village's deer that he has been smelling all day because the last time he ate was before he even met me", Romeo translates before he started heading for the door, patting the dragon on his side as he skips by him "Come on, Fonaar, let's get you something to eat!"
The dragon let out a huff as he retracts his wings and follows the boy, though everyone could clearly see that he was still annoyed as he stomps out the door, once again shaking the building and leaving three flabbergast humans in his wake.
"R-Roubaul?", Porlyusica gets out after a moment, "I'm going to assume that a Wild Master's familiar can never physically harm them."
"You are correct", Roubaul replies, his eyes never leave the doorway.
"Did you tell Romeo that?", Wendy chides in.
….
….
"I believe that that bit of information slipped my mind", Roubaul answers.
Awhile later on the outskirts of the Village.
"Okay, he went through four whole deer and two boars, but I think Fonaar's hunger is finally sated", Roubaul concluded while shaking his head as the village's clerks try to explain to him how much this will put them back, especially seeing that the herds were about to begin their migration in a few days, "I believe it's time you, Fonaar, and Wendy, made your way to the temple while I try to straighten things out here."
"Um, Master Roubaul, Romeo is already on top of Fonaar", Wendy says as she points to the scene of the little boy hollering at the top of his lungs on how he was going to fly above the clouds and touch the sun as he sat upon a grinning Fonaar whose wings were already spread out and ready to launch. Roubaul pinches his nose and motions Wendy to go join the two and the girl slowly inches her way toward the beast whose shining grin has turned to a snarl as he watches her every move. It was only after Romeo swatted his back a couple of times and remind him about what he promises was the girl allowed to climb on his back, granted she wasn't allowed to sit in front of Romeo. And thus, the scene of seeing Wendy awkwardly wrap her arms around the waist of a boy half her age was seen by all the village including Carla, who had finally awaken…
And she was livid.
"You mean to tell me that all of this has happened in the few hours I have been asleep!", she ranted at Master Roubaul and the rest of the villages.
"She had a long nap time", Romeo whisper to Fonaar, who nodded, while him, Romeo, and Wendy still stood ready to take off as Carla raged. The dragon nods his head with a toothy smile on his face.
"In such a short time span you somehow manage to come up with the brilliant idea of letting Wendy go off to the temple accompanying only by a boy and the dragon who almost ended her life no more than a day ago?!"
"Carla, I assure you that Wendy-", Roubaul began.
"Will be staying in the village until both her wounds and my own are completely healed and we are accompanying by at least two dozen hunters, no more, no less!", Carla spat.
"She's going to reopen her wounds if she keeps this up", Romeo hears Wendy whisper, right before the cat decided to turn her attention to the trio, her blazing eyes enough to make even the Dragon-Slayer shiver.
"Young lady, you will get down off that dragon and you will get down now! And then you will go back to your room and rest!", Carla orders.
Fonaar turns his attention away from the bemusing sight and growls at Romeo who Wendy sees dawns a thoughtful expression.
"That is true, isn't it?", she hears him say and for some reason Wendy felt the need to know what was going on between master and familiar.
"What are you two discussing?", she asks only to be met by the sight of Romeo and Fonaar smiling back at her.
"Fonaar told me that if you can't go then more than likely I can't go flying today", Romeo relays to her.
"That is probably what is going to happen", Wendy tells him but can't help but notice a swelling panic rise in her chest.
"I really want to go flying, Wendy. It's not fair that you and Carla get to fly and I can't", Romeo bluntly states.
"Romeo, the right thing to do now is to wait until I'm fully healed and Carla can go with us. Your parents do teach you to do the right thing, right?"
Romeo's head slightly lowers, "They do."
"Good", Wendy says as she begins to climb down, only to stop upon hearing Romeo's next words.
"Too bad I'm only six years old! Go, Fonaar!", he shouts and Wendy watches in horror as the dragon spread his wings and arches them upward.
"Rom-!", is all Wendy has time to get out before the dragon lunges itself upward, forcing Wendy back into her sitting position and making her hold tightly to Romeo who was livid with joy.
"WOOOOOOOOOOOO! This! Is! Amazing!", could be heard throughout the village as everyone watches the beast streak across the sky.
Romeo spreads his arms to the side, screaming to the heavens, "I'm a bird in the wind!", right before Wendy grabs them and slams them back onto Fonaar's back.
"Romeo!", Wendy screams amidst the howling winds, "We need to go back! Carla won't be happy about this!", she yells as she could still hear Carla's screams behind them with her enhance hearing.
Fonaar lets out a roar at this statement.
"He says we'll be halfway to the temple in a little while!", Romeo tells her without looking back, his eyes glued to the breathtaking scenery as he turns his eyes downward at the rolling forests that past underneath Fonaar's shadow as the dragon sped through the sky.
"What are you talking about?! Fonaar doesn't even know where to go!", Wendy screams. Fonaar lets out a howl and stretches his neck forward.
"He says, what is that then?", as Romeo points forward into the distance. Wendy follows his fingers and is amazed to see a series of crumbling ruins a ways off.
"I know firsthand that Fonaar is fast in the sky, but I never realize that he was this fast. The temple is half a day walk away and yet Fonaar has already covered a wide gap", Wendy tells herself before another plagues her mind, "How did he know where to go?"
The young dragon lets out a shrilling howl and turns his head back at toward the Dragon-Slayer.
"Fonaar spotted it while he was following me and Grandma yesterday", Romeo translates.
"Why didn't he say something sooner?", Wendy wondered and receives a small roar in response.
"Because no one ever asked", Romeo says and Wendy rolls her eyes as she sat quietly for the rest of the ride, thinking about how she was going to deal with Carla upon her return to the village.
Back at the Village
"I DON'T CARE IF HE IS A MERE CHILD! I DON'T CARE IF HE SAVED WENDY AND MY LIFE YESTERDAY! I DON'T EVEN CARE THAT HE HAS A FRICKING DRAGON BY HIS SIDE! I AM GOING TO TEAR THAT BOY TO SHREDS WHEN HE GETS BACK!" Carla screech to the heavens and she began to summons her wings, only to be stop by Porlyusica who merely pressed down on both of her tiny shoulders.
This causes the cat to hiss in pain as she glares up at the Potion Mage.
"You are not going anywhere right now", Porlyusica orders, "You wouldn't make it five minutes flying."
"But Wendy-", Carla growled.
"Will be alright", Porlyusica finished as she started gently yet roughly pushing Carla along toward the main building, "Now back to bed with you."
Now as for Roubaul, who was still staring in the direction that Wendy, Romeo, and Fonaar, took off in, he was deep in thought...
"Though this is clearly my fault for not telling her sooner, I pray that Wendy is not the one to take hold of the Savage Blade. For if she does, both Romeo and Fonaar's lives will be in danger."
The Trio
They reach the temple grounds within half an hour of leaving, the spiraling towers of an ancient civilization rising above the treeline. Upon landing, they were instantly overwhelmed by a foreboding feeling as they observe the crumbling temple. Spew all over were giant blocks of stone, covered in weird markings. Vegetation had taken over and vines were sprung out everyone, leaving very little room to walk around unhindered, especially for the larger beast who had to use his claws and teeth to clear a path for himself as well as Romeo, who he insisted stay on top of him while Wendy walked on the side.
Granted, she was a couple of yards away.
"Have you been here before Wendy?", Romeo asks to which the girl nodded.
"Once with Carla and Master Roubaul. He brought us here to teach us the ancient language of his people. Though he didn't say why though. I figure he would have passed it on to one of the native villagers before me", as they came to the entrance of the temple, its darken hallways going down into the belly of the earth, "Anyway, down here it gets dark and I didn't bring a torch due to how fast we left."
Fonaar's growl catches Wendy off-guard and almost forces her to take a defensive posture, but the dragon pays no mind to her as he stares downward.
"Something about how he can see perfectly fine despite it being dark", Romeo translates, "He said he would guide us."
"That doesn't help me when it comes time to reading the writing to know which way we are going", Wendy points out only to receive a snort in response.
"He says you'll figure something out", Romeo tells her and Wendy once again rolls her eyes and the trio descends into the depth. It was an awkward silence for the first few minutes as they with down, Wendy only source of light being the sunlight from behind them and that was beginning to fade along with the fact that the halls were suddenly narrower than the last time she was here.
"Might have something to do with the dragon", she thinks as she decides to talk to Romeo to pass the time, "Hey, Romeo. Miss Porlyusica said that she used to be part of Fairy Tail."
"She still is in a way", Romeo tells her while riding on top of Fonaar.
"Are you part of the guild as well then?"
"No, my mommy and daddy are and my sisters getting training from a lot of the mages there, but I don't always go there", Romeo confess.
"Do they not like you being there?", Wendy wonders, seeing how his anti-magic ability might be frown upon by a prestigious magic guild like Fairy Tail.
"Mira likes it when I show up, along with Grandpa Makarov. Besides my parents, my sisters, and Rebecca, not many people pay attention to me", Romeo recalls before Fonaar lets out a shrill growl and Romeo ducks his head. Once Fonaar lets out another growl, Romeo raises his head back up, "It's not so bad."
"What about your other friends outside the guild?", Wendy asks.
"I don't have any other friends besides the neighborhood dogs, cats, and Granny Porlyusica. Oh yeah, now I have Fonaar", Romeo admitted as he began to scratch the scales on Fonaar's sides, causing a blissful purr to escape the dragon's lips, "Everyone else, thinks I'm making up the fact that I can talk to animals, so the other kids don't talk to me. My parents and sisters don't believe me either, but they're family."
"Oh, that's sad to hear", Wendy comments as her face fell, "Must be hard on someone his age."
The trio pass in silence once again for a moment before Wendy started to talk again, "Am I your friend, Romeo?"
Wendy didn't need to see to know that Romeo was looking in her general direction.
"Well, yeah. You have been nothing but nice to me ever since I got here, so of course, you're my friend. Now you and Fonaar…."
A sharp hiss erupts from Fonaar.
"He said something like give it a couple hundred years without you making him angry and he might consider it", Romeo tells her as he tries to hold back a laugh to Wendy's unamusement.
"Well, if he is going to act like that, then I guess we'll never be-"
Fonaar now lets out louder, sharper, hiss as he abruptly stops, putting Wendy on guard as she instinctively starts to sniff around.
"Whoa, Fonaar, what's going on?", Romeo asks as he slides down the side of his draconic friend.
Fonaar lets out two yelps and Wendy is barely able to make out him swing his head from left to right.
"What is he saying?", the girl asks.
"He says we can't go any farther on neither our left or right side due to both hallways being collapsed in", Romeo translates.
"That's odd", Wendy voices as she puts her hand on her chin, "When we came through here a couple of months ago, the hallway's structure looks perfectly fine except for a few rocks that fell out of place. They couldn't fall that quickly…."
Romeo was trying to find his way in the dark, tripping and tumbling over rocks and plants. He then fell Fonaar's tail wrap around him and the dragon tells him that if he kept going straight he was going to run right smack into a wall. Romeo rubs the back of his head as he lets out a nervous laugh.
"Hey, Romeo, ask Fonaar if he could let out a quick burst of flames so I can get a quick look at our surrounding and see if I could find another way. The temple goes much deeper than this and we may find the Savage Blade in one of the rooms", Wendy says.
Romeo looks in the general direction of Fonaar and can somehow feel that the dragon was suddenly uncomfortable, "You want me to what again?"
"Ask Fonaar if he could breathe fire for a moment. Don't know why I didn't think of this earlier, guess my mind was somewhere else", Wendy admitted.
"Hey, Fonaar? Could you spit out a glob of fire? Not a big one but one that's enough to light up this room?", Romeo asks the dragon.
…..
And received an awkward silence in return, not even an annoyed growl or anything, it was just quiet.
"Um, Fonaar, did you hear me?", Romeo questioned the beast and gets a muddled growl that he could barely make out.
"What? I think I heard you say that you couldn't do that", Romeo repeats.
"Okay, does he breathe lightning then?", Wendy asks, now curious about this bit of information.
Fonaar hisses.
"No."
"Acid?"
Another hiss.
"No can do."
"Ice?"
A loud growl.
"Can't do that either."
"Is he trying to tell us that his only breath attack is that sonic roar he did yesterday?", Wendy theorizes.
"Fonaar?"
Fonaar turns his head away in shame only to feel Romeo's hand on his side, following his scales until he comes up to his neck and started scratching, putting him at ease.
"It's okay, boy. I like you just the way you are", Romeo assures him, "So what if you can't breathe fire or ice?"
"Well, this makes things more difficult than I thought they turn out", Wendy states while in her mind, "Though this does mean Fonaar has no more surprises up his sleeve should I get into another confrontation with him."
…
"That aside, it probably best that nothing else lives down here", Wendy started back up, "With the way he brought down those rocks yesterday, him using his attack inside the temple will no doubt bring the whole thing collapsing on top of us", as she used her nose to pinpoint Romeo location and move to him, careful not to trip over anything or bump into Fonaar.
Upon reaching Romeo, she kneels down to what she assumed was eye level, "It looks like we may need to turn back and come back here when we have a light source."
"Awww, do we have to?", Romeo whine as he crosses his arms and pouted.
"Yes, without being able to see, I can't translate the symbols on the walls to see where to go", Wendy said as she told up, "The hallway we have been walking down is filled with them and maybe they'll give us a clue on how to get around the rumble."
Romeo lets out a sigh in defeat, "I guess, come on, Fonaar. Let's go-", as Romeo began to walk only to trip over what he assumed was a rock that he didn't see there before and uses his hands to catch himself on the wall in front of him. Right before everyone's eyes, the hallway lights up in a green light, every symbol along its walls virtually come alive. Soon the Romeo, Wendy, and Fonaar were all basking in an emerald shine so bright that it was nearly blinding.
"Woooooowwwwww-OH MY GODS!", Romeo shouts as he started to examine the sight around him only to look down and see what exactly he tripped over.
A human skull.
The boy jumps back into the protective arms of Wendy, who engulfs the terrified boy in a hug while looking back at the skull with a wary eye.
"That wasn't here last time, I'm almost sure of it", she says more to herself as she tries to calm Romeo by gently rubbing his back, "Bandits are known to roam the area around the temple from time to time and even take up shelter here. Must be one of their unlucky victims. But I didn't pick up anything when we landed so they must be long gone."
She then notices that Fonaar was now looking upward toward the ceilings, eyeing it carefully. She saw that his claws were now extended all the way out and he was making threatening growls as if expecting something to attack. Wendy then hears a rumbling coming from behind and turns around to see the wall splitting apart down the middle, the very force behind it causing a large amount of dust to fall down from the ceiling.
Wendy summons as strong of a wind as she could without over-straining herself and was easily able to sweep most of the light debris falling on them to the side as she examines the new room that appears before them. This new addition was also lit up with symbols as they brighten up the vastly empty room. Wendy then spots a small altar at the back of the room and with her enhance eyesight, see a dagger-like object on top of it.
"I know I have been saying it a lot in the last few minutes, but without a doubt, this room wasn't here before, at least not in this way", she says as she lets go of a still shaking Romeo, "It might be better if you stay with Fonaar while we explore this room."
"O-okay", he stammers out as he moves toward the dragon who has since come up beside the two all while still looking upward. A threatening growl echoes throughout the room.
"Fonaar says-", Romeo began before Wendy step in.
"He thinks there is something in the ceiling", Wendy guess.
"That's right. Can you understand Fonaar now?", Romeo wondered.
"No, I just observe the context of what he was saying", Wendy explains as she keeps an eye on that altar as they get close to it.
"The what text?"
"Nevermind, Romeo. Just have Fonaar keep an eye on the ceiling", Wendy tells him as she carefully approaches her target, "Though it's probably nothing major, just a bunch of bugs at best, that will at least keep Fonaar away from me."
As the distance between Wendy and the altar began to close the girl started to pick up on the finer details of the object in front of her. At first, it appears to be a normal, run-of-the-mill dagger. The blade was just shy of being a foot long and it had a slight curve in it, not too much but enough to know that it was there. But the rarity of the dagger laid in the fact that blade itself was a tint of green, not much different from the light that emitted from Romeo's chest or the lights of the symbols that was currently allowing Wendy to see. Speaking of which, she had to rub her eyes to make sure that what she was currently seeing wasn't a trick on her mind and that the handle of the dagger was indeed covered in vines.
"Whoa", was all that escape her lips as her attention was then diverted back toward the blade itself, as she witnesses strange lettering starting to appear on it. It seemed to be written in the ancient Nirvit language that Master Roubaul taught her and Carla a couple of months ago.
"I think I got this", Wendy told herself, "Let's see, it says…."
Woe to all that wield this blade
For your mind will revert back to ancient days
With newfound strength that now through you flows
You will soon be wondering who is really in control
A/N: No action this chapter, you'll get that in the next one. I'm trying to make it where there is an action scene every one or two chapters.
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