Chapter 10
Bells, Gills, and Terror
Arctic bell was everything that Claris remembered. A white, barren and desolate land that was populated by only a few Shleep whose wool looked more coarse than their cousins to the south. It was quiet, save for the sounds of the cold wind blowing around their ears. Claris' hair flowed behind her like a flowing river of red and she took a deep breath of the crisp air. She had seen snow only a few times in her life. Her fondest memory was making snow angels and having a snowball fight with her father, that was right before he passed away. The other time was when the lake in Twin Seeds Park froze over, and she went ice skating with Elliot. At the thought of the young man, her hands grasped the blue crystal hanging around her neck, and it's warmth seeped into her hands.
"Claris, put your floppies on, you lose most of the heat from your body through the top of your head." It was Umbrae's voice that broke into her memory and caused her to wake up to the bleak landscape once more. "Claris? Are you alright?"
"I'm fine. Just, remembering a better time." Claris smiled sadly to Umbrae and took the floppy out of the Nightmaren suit that snuggled close to her body. She tucked her hair up into the unusual hat, turning her eyes to Nights who was surveying the landscape from on top of a large black boulder that had managed to break through the ice. "Well?"
"I don't see anything out there at all. Doesn't mean Gilwing isn't out there somewhere, waiting to pounce. Anyone else see anything?"
Iona shook her head, turning around in a full circle. It appeared that the cold wasn't affecting her at all. She looked as though she were walking through Mystic Forest, she wasn't shivering or chattering one bit. "I don't see a thing, and in all this white, you could notice something as colorful as Gilwing from miles away."
Pirdy, likewise, wasn't feeling a thing. Her time spent in the perpetual night that was the Nightmare Zone had prepared her for the cold that she was feeling now. "I don't see anything."
Umbrae flew up to the top of the large boulder and took a look around her. "I don't spot anything with infrared. He's hidden well or he doesn't know we're here yet. In either case, we should move on. Staying in one spot will surely let him know where we are."
Nights nodded his head and flew down to the others, taking the green Mother Ideya out of his suit, along with an ancient brown leather map. He placed the tip of the long green jewel on the region of the map that marked Arctic Bell. It slowly dragged itself atop the leather and stopped at a point not far from their location. "It looks like we have to go north. Now, I know there is a mountain range to the north, filled with ice caves and snow valleys. Most likely the Mother Ideya will be hidden there."
"Along with Gilwing." piped up Umbrae. "That would be a perfect spot for him to hide."
"I don't think so. His job is to protect the northern border to the Nightmare Zone. He's most likely far to the west of us, at least that's what I'm hoping. Keep on your toes, everyone, it only gets more dangerous from here." He put the map away and looked up to the sky. Finding the sun, he pointed north and leapt into the air, flying off. Umbrae took off after him, followed by Pirdy and Claris, and finally Iona taking up the rear.
-~~-
Jackal flew close to the ground of Spring Valley, careful to avoid being spotted by the Nightmaren patrols that constantly dotted the area. He continued to track the footprints as far as they could go, until they finally ended on top of a hill with a large tree. He landed and looked at the ground carefully. It appeared as though the footprints just appeared out of nowhere. There was no other trail for him to follow in any direction other than the way he had come. He stood up, walking underneath the tree and looking off into the distance. His thoughts were a whirlwind, trying to explain how this trail ended. At that moment an Alarm Guardian flew overhead, its alarm bell silent for a moment until it spotted a ghostly image in the distance. The alarm suddenly sprang to life, it's ringing fading as it headed towards the figure in the distance. Suddenly a spotlight appeared from underneath the Alarm Guardian and touched the ghostly image, causing it to suddenly disappear from view. Jackal blinked hard, realizing he had just witnessed a dreamer being woken up.
His mind snapped, eyes going wide as he slowly turned. He walked over to the spot where the trail ended and he knelt down once more. He had found an entry point, this was where a dreamer entered the Dream World from their own world. His mind was once more thinking, remembering his history. What else was significant about Spring Valley? It was where Nights had started his campaign against Wizeman, and it was where Nights chose to live. It was also where the Lord of Dreams had his own tower. Jackal stood up quickly, this was where Nights had started his campaign, and this was where he met Elliot and Claris. Revelation hit his face, and he looked down once more, he had possibly found the entry point where the allies of his hated enemy…entered Dream World. Those thoughts suddenly turned dark, and vengeance once again entered his mind.
-~~-
Reala was getting bored already. Looking for the Nightopians had proven to be harder than he had first anticipated and it was starting to show. His soldiers and officers would often find him ripping down whole sections of the library, kicking books left and right, shouting at the walls to open and reveal the secret hiding space of the Archivists. After one particularly loud ranting session, Reala looked up and his eyes peered down the long hallway, still stacked neatly with all manner of books. Finding the secret spot would take months, if not years. He sat down on one of the couches nearby, continuing to stare down the corridor, concentrating on what to do next and trying to relax his frayed nerves. Soon he would be asked for a progress report from Wizeman, and he would be able to provide no clues as to where the Archivists were hiding. It would be a sign of weakness were he to fail at such a simple task, and yet he could not provide a shred of proof that he had succeeded.
Wizeman watched Soft Museum from his mirror, unable to see anything inside, but able to watch the army mill about outside. He narrowed his eyes when he couldn't spy Reala, knowing that the General was still inside, possibly destroying the riches that the books possessed. He heaved a great sigh, "Clawz, to me."
The black Cat-Maren leapt into the room, bowing his head as he waited for his orders. "I am here, master. Tell me what it is you desire of me."
"I want you to go to Idia. In the ruins of the city you will find an entrance to an underground chamber which is large and circular. Inside this chamber is a sword imbedded into an anvil. The sword is made of a light blue metal, and I want you to retrieve it for me as soon as you can."
"Your skills are already immense, my master, for what reason would you need something so unwieldy as a sword?"
"That is none of your concern, Clawz, simply retrieve the sword for me please and take care not to get it wet." His voice did not rise up out of anger, it was a soft rebuttle for prying his nose into something that wasn't his concern. The flattery didn't hurt either.
"Yes, master, I will leave at once." His quite paws carried him out of the chambers. A moment later, as Wizeman looked down from his balcony, he saw the powerful strides of the Cat-maren whisk Clawz off into the forest, and the dark shadows swallowed him up.
If Wizeman had watched a moment more, he may have spotted the five black shapes that seemed to melt into the shadows themselves. They followed the fast Cat-maren through the forest, their red eyes only a blur in as they slipped inbetween the trees like a snake.
-~~-
Nights was growing more and more tense as they neared the mountain range. His eyes were constantly scanning the horizon, and his head never seemed to stop moving back and forth. Claris nor Pirdy seemed to notice anything, but Umbrae could clearly see muscles tensing up and releasing everytime a Shleep burst out of hiding at the sound of the Nightmaren closing. She had never met Gilwing but had heard that he was a tremendous beast, with a gaping maw filled with teeth as sharp as daggers. The question of how Nights had survived the first battle still rang in the back of her mind, and no matter how hard she tried to usher it away, it always came back to ask again.
"That's the Bell Mountain Range up ahead. There are a number of caves that dot the entire area, and I don't know which one the Mother Ideya is hiding in." The sound of Night's voice brought Umbrae out of her revelrie and she blinked her eyes as she realized that they were now very close to the tall peaks. As they began their descent, she looked behind and saw Claris and Pirdy flying close to one another, with Iona taking up a rear position and constantly looking behind her shoulder to make sure they weren't being followed.
They touched down between some trees, a small clearing filled with the tall green grass still peaking out from the snow. Even from here, the group could see the many caves that dotted the mountains all around them. "There are so many." breathed Pirdy. "How are we going to know which one to go to, we could spend three lifetimes just searching around here and the mountain range extends for miles to the east and west."
Nights turned to Iona, his voice quiet. "Contact Wizeman, seek his advice on this matter." Iona nodded her head and stood apart from the group. She closed her eyes and turned towards the direction they had just come. The others only watched, their breath frosting up in front of their faces as the wind whipped about them once more.
Iona's eyes opened, the green in her eyes appearing to be covered with a milky white substance. Her voice was deep as the words came, "Nights, it's Wizeman. Listen to me carefully, take the green Mother Ideya in your hand and hold it out in front of you. It will guide you like a compass towards its sister. The green jewel is your guide, trust it and it will never lead you astray. I hope you are all in good health, take care." Just as suddenly the voice was gone, and the milky substance in Iona's eyes melted away. She only blinked once or twice and then looked at the others as though this were a normal thing.
The group looked at Iona for a moment, afraid that she would go into the strange trance once more. Claris cleared her throat and quietly spoke, "Nights, you heard him, the jewel is the guide. Hold it in your hand and see what it does." The Nightmaren took out the jewel, placing it in his palm and looking at it. The Green jewel was quiet for a moment, and just as Nights was about ready to put it away, a deep glow issued from inside and spread itself through the entire jewel. It started spinning in his palm, stopping almost instantaneously as it's tip pointed off to the west and the other to the east. The green glow then went to the top pointing west and the glow became brighter. "I guess it's to the west.", was all Nights could say. The others nodded their heads in agreement and took off, keeping low to the ground and heading in the direction the jewel pointed them in.
Dozens of caves went past the Nightmaren, some so small as to be almost invisible. If it were not for the well-trained eyes of Iona, they would never have spotted all of them. "I'm used to it, there are hundreds of burrows, all through Mystic Forest. When you hunt Remmits, you have to know where their burrows are."
Claris looked at Nights, a question in her raised eyebrow. Nights smiled, "Think of Remmits as something like your rabbits. Small creatures that are good to eat and burrow in the ground. They practically look the same as your rabbits, only they have black and yellow fur and are a bit more ferocious." Claris nodded her head and made a noise that sounded as though she understood what he was talking about.
-~~-
It was the voices, the voices that echoed through his chamber that stirred him from his sleep. They reverberated all around the walls, the voices did. One was light and flowery, a womans' voice to be sure. The other, however, was all too familiar. It was deep, but had that same cocky tone that was there before. The self-confidence that seemed to exude from every breath.
The massive creature stirred in the darkness of his cave. His massive body began to writhe on top of itself, it's eyes hungry to see what his mind was already telling him was there. It's eyes opened, the tiny specks of light that dotted its cave were reflected in those massive eyes. A deep, rumbling voice issued from a throat almost the size of the cave itself. "Nights…"
The figure writhed even more now, waking up its sleeping muscles and lifting itself off the ground. There would be no error this time, there would be no weakness for him to expose. He would have the Nightmaren as a snack, and he would once again be one of the most cherished in Wizeman's dark stable. Gilwing had woken up.
-~~-
The jewel continued to point the party ever west, the mountains and hills rising up and down before them. Every so often the would spy creatures using a half-tube to slide down the mountain towards the fish rich lakes lying in the valley below. They did not have time to watch for long, the green Mother Ideya seemed to pull at Nights, eager to find its sister lost in the caves. Nights was eager to follow, wanting to get out of Arcitic Bell as soon as possible. In the back of his mind he knew that Gilwing was aware of their presence. His eyes and his ears, however, could not confirm this suspicion. It was the gut instinct that kept him distressed. He kept the two warriors, Umbrae and Iona, on either side of the group. Pirdy and Claris flew in the middle, and Nights continued to fly up front, taking the brunt of the wind himself. It had begun to grow dark, and that meant the temperature would be falling quickly. If they didn't find this cave where the Ideya was hiding soon, they were going to have to settle down in another cave and wait out the night. He turned his head towards Claris and spotted her shivering already, her arms wrapped around herself to try and keep warm. Iona continued to be unaffected by anything, but Pirdy and Umbrae were starting to show signs of getting cold as well. Still the jewel led them on.
"That's it, we're going to have to settle in for the night." he shouted above the wind. "This is no good, we're all starting to freeze and we won't be able to see the caves anymore anyway. Iona, is there a cave large enough to hold all of us?"
The Ranger nodded her head and pointed down at the mountain, "There's one there that.."
"Nights! Look!" Pirdy pointed to the jewel which had started to grow brighter. Suddenly it leapt off of his hand and took a nose dive down towards the earth. Nights' eyes went wide and he immediately dived down after it, twisting into a drill attack to try and gain some speed. The others followed, but could not match the speed of either the Ideya or Nights. The Nightmaren extended his hand out, willing himself to go faster, the jewel just out of reach of his fingertips. Suddenly the land was upon him and he twisted himself, barely scraping the earth and leaving a wake of dirt behind him. The jewel had hit the ground, hard. Umbrae could clearly see the green glow, embedded halfway into the ground. She landed next to it, Claris and Pirdy landing close-by, along with Iona. Nights landed soon after, taking in large breaths as he fell to the earth on his butt, his eyes never leaving the Mother Ideya. "What happened?", he asked, gasping in between words.
"It would appear that we have reached the point where we have to go down. There might be a cave nearby that would help us reach underneath where this jewel is. It's either that or we dig for weeks."
"I'm up for the caves." piped up Claris and Pirdy rather quickly.
Nights only chuckled and nodded his head as well, "I'm up for spelunking myself. I'd really rather not be here for weeks. Did you.." he was interrupted as the ground shook violently. He stood up quickly as though he were afraid the earth was going to swallow him whole. Just as quickly as the rumbling had started, it was gone. "What was that?"
"It might have been an avalanche nearby. We might have only gotten the aftershocks." said Iona. The ground shook again, however, and then again. "That's not an avalanche. It almost feels as though someone is trying to break through underneath us."
Nights' eyes went wide with fear and shock. Just as he realized what it was, Gilwing burst out of the ground with a roar that shook the mountains around them. He had grown since their last meeting. He was now twice the size that Nights remembered. His mouth was still huge, however, and still held row after row of razor sharp teeth. It roared once more and then it was silent, except for the heavy breathing of an exceptionally large monster. Its eyes were focused on Nights, and Nights alone. "It's been a long time, Nights. It is pleasant to see you again." His voice was low, rumbling, sarcastic in its tone.
"The pleasure is all yours, I'm sure. Let us pass, Gilwing, we have no reason to fight, and I have no desire to smack you around like a little guppy all over again."
There was a chuckle that sent the hairs on Pirdy's neck straight up. She had taken up position firmly behind Umbrae, peering over her shoulder with eyes filled with fear. "Nights, I shall enjoy eating you, and then eating each of your friends in turn." Gilwing roared once more and then dove down on the party. In a hair's breath, Nights had drawn his sword and was racing up at the large dragon-fish with his own roar. The sword lept to life with its inner fire and it gave Nights' face a fierce red glow. Iona raised her hand, an intense look coming across her face. She pointed her fingers at Gilwing spreading them slightly and bracing herself for the large gust of wind that followed. It blew all around her, gathering up dust before rising up into the air to sting the eyes of the large fish. Gilwing roared, but didn't stop charging. A black form streaked past Iona, Umbrae rising up to help Nights take on the monster. Claris and Pirdy landed on the ground and dove for cover as Nights raised up his sword and slashed out at Gilwing who was a foot away from him. It only hit air, Gilwing had dove down and underneath the Nightmaren. His speed had increased since their last fight, the dragon-fish had been preparing for this moment for over a year now. He rose straight up, his mouth opening wide and set to engulf Nights whole. A flash of silver caught his eyesight and he quickly turned, narrowly avoiding a well placed sai that was aimed for his eye. He turned and noticed the other Nightmaren close by, a mask covering her face. He curled up and rerouted himself, now speeding quickly towards Umbrae. He opened his mouth, sucking in air and creating a vacuum that started to bring Umbrae towards him.
She had not been expecting this. Umbrae felt herself drifting towards him, her speed increasing. She turned, clawing at the air as she tried to build up speed to get away. The giant mouth loomed closer and closer by the minute as Gilwing continued to speed forward and suck in the air around him at the same time. She could feel him behind her now, the sound of the air being drawn into his throat almost deafening in her ears. She continued to fly forward, twisting herself into a Drill Attack to try and gain more and more speed, but it was no use, he continued to close. Then a new sound deafened her, the terrible sound of someone screaming in pain. The air around her was no longer drawing her back, instead it was pushing her away now. She turned in mid-air, and she spied Nights, sword in hand and hovering near a freshly chopped off piece of tail. Gilwing turned, pain inciting him into a berserker rage as he bolted after his enemy. Umbrae had been forgotten and she landed on the ground, breathing heavily. The attack had taken a bit out of her, expending energy beyond what she was ready for.
Nights twisted and turned in the air, zooming in and out of the trees as though they weren't even there. Behind him he could hear the sounds of Gilwing bashing his way through the trees to follow. Nights realized that he was quickly losing ground. Gilwing wasn't having to go around everything like he was. He looked about to his left and right, not able to find an easy escape route. He started up, spinning and twisting as he did so, and coming around to face Gilwing. He slashed out with his sword once more, but the dragon-fish had twisted up even higher and the sword missed his belly by inches.
Claris ran out from underneath the trees, looking up at the fight that was raging above. Nights had swooped down once more to tree level, hoping to lose himself among the trees, but Gilwing was not fooled, his eyes had caught him quickly and he was already diving down. Iona continued to hover off to the side, watching the fight as well. She brought both hands up from her sides, quickly extending them upwards. From the forest, hundreds of shark pine needles rose up into the air, straight at Gilwings face. The attack didn't seem to phase him in the least, however, and he continued to fly straight after Nights.
"It's no use, Iona!" Umbrae stood up, taking a few final gasps of air. "He has a clear scale that covers his eyes, the pine needles can't get through. You need something stronger."
"There's not a whole lot for me to work with here. There are no vines on the trees to snare him with, and the branches from the pine trees are just too week to do any real damage."
Claris listened, watching as Gilwing got closer and closer to Nights. The dragon-fish opened it's great mouth again, a loud laugh escaping for a moment before he started sucking in the air once more. Nights was caught in the vacuum and turned, watching as the mouth full of teeth started getting closer and closer at a rate he wasn't comfortable with. He brought his sword forward, but he didn't know where to slash. The mouth was so large that he wasn't going to be able to hit anything if he went straight down the middle. Claris looked with horror in her eyes and turned to Pirdy, "I'm going to go help!" She ran out of the hiding spot, Pirdy shouting something incomprehensible behind her.
Claris knew she had to do something. She ran towards the fight, not fully sure what she was going to do, but knowing she had to help. She could hear Iona and Umbrae shouting after her and knew she had only a few moment before they caught up with her to drag her back. She looked all around her, not knowing what to do or how to help, her heart pounding in her chest. Nights was coming closer and closer to Gilwing, bolts of flame leaping out but doing nothing to the dragon-fish. Her eyes then caught something. It was large, almost three times her size. She ran towards it and saw a giant boulder before her. The magic that lived within her leapt to life, her imagination taking control. Her eyes flashed with energy and she stopped almost on a dime. She pointed both hands at the boulder, words coming from under her breath, ancient and unintelligible. Iona and Umbrae had finally caught up, landing on either side of Claris and watching in amazement as the boulder left the ground. Claris gritted her teeth, the size and weight of the rock almost more than she could handle. She turned and pointed the rock at Gilwing and with a shout of triumph, she sent it hurtling towards the large dragon-fish.
Nights was coming close, his eyes narrowing as he spotted the roof of the mouth. He knew that in a last ditch effort, he would have to drive the sword into the brain, but that he would most likely be impaled himself on one of the many teeth. He steeled himself for destiny when he spied something large and brown heading his way. He blinked in amazement as the boulder slammed head on into the side of Gilwing and sent him flying into the side of the mountain.
All he could say was, "Whoa, that looked like it hurt." Claris wasn't even breathing heavily, but she could feel the magic inside of her was tired and almost spent. It had taken quite a bit to lift the heavy boulder off the ground and send it flying. The other Nightmaren just stood stunned, Umbrae speaking first. "Nice shot, hit him straight on."
Gilwing hadn't even seen the boulder, and it had knocked the wind out of him. If hadn't been sucking in all that air, it would have surely killed him. He slowly got off the ground, shaking his head to try and regain his balance. Nights was flying towards him, his speed covering the distance between them in a matter of seconds. Gilwing knew this was it. Deep inside his mind he knew he wasn't going to recover in time to stop the sword from killing him.
Nights hovered down in front of Gilwings eyes, "You've been beaten. Do you yield?"
The dragon-fish shook his head, glaring at Nights with renewed hatred. "I will never yield. I will always hunt you, until the day I either hear of your death, or kill you myself. You were lucky today, Nightmaren, but one day you will not be. On that day, I will dance on your grave."
Nights sighed, shaking his head and holding up his sword, "When we are successful, you will be gone, Gilwing. You are the product of evil, a product of Wizeman's creation."
Gilwing roared in fury and flew off the ground, straight at Nights. Nights flew off into the sky with Gilwing close behind. The Nightmaren knew now how to win. He twisted backwards, going into a backwards loop. Gilwing moved to follow, but could not bend backwards far enough. His backwards loop was not as tight and he quickly saw his mistake. Nights was already leveling out, his sword pointed straight at Gilwings back. The dragon-fish could not twist and turn, his loop was too tight. Nights continued forward, until his sword was embedded deep within Gilwing's flesh. The Nightmaren closed his eyes, sad that his enemy had not yielded, and had paid the ultimate price. The dragon-fish slid off the sword and fell to the ground with a loud crash. As the dust settled, Gilwing released his last breath, cursing Nights as he did so.
-~~-
Wizeman felt the loss. Though Gilwing was hundreds of miles away, he felt the terrible loss of losing one of his great children. He hovered out to the balcony and looked off towards the north, the night sky revealing nothing. He knew that Nights had been there, and had been victorious. He turned to one of the Nightmaren in his chambers, "Find Jackal, he is in Spring Valley. Tell him that Nights is in Arctic Bell, and that Gilwing is dead. He will know what to do from there." The messenger nodded and ran off the balcony, flying off to the east.
-~~-
The party walked in silence, none of them knowing what to say in this moment. Deep inside, many had not wanted to kill Gilwing. Only Iona and Umbrae knew that the giants death had been necessary, the others had never wanted such a fate to befall any of their enemies. It was over, however, and there was nothing that could be done now. Nights took out the Ideya, holding it up and allowing it to once again guide them.
It took them down into the pit that Gilwing had formed when he burst out of the ground. They floated down into it and saw a large chamber filled with all manner of different jewels. Reds and blues mixed with yellows and oranges, making the cavern appear as though a rainbow had been entrapped in the rock itself. In the center of the chamber was a floor of pure gold, and in the center of the floor was a large white diamond shaped jewel. The green Mother Ideya was pointing directly at it. Nights and his party had found the white Mother Ideya. He picked it up and the jewel glowed as though it had found what it had been searching for all along.
"We have two of the Mother Ideya's now." Nights spoke quietly, looking at the others in his group. Each of them was tired from the fight, Claris was clearly saddened by what she had done. "Gilwings death was unfortunate, but he would have continued to hunt us down as long as he lived, and we would not have been able to accomplish our quest with him constantly on our heels." The Nightmaren looked at the white jewel, it gleamed inside with its own inner light, just as the green jewel did. "This is a war, and there will be casualties. Let's just make sure that we don't have any on our side." The rest of the party nodded their head, each of them closer now that they had been in a real battle together. Nights cleared his throat, his voice still quiet, "Let's, for now, rest here in this cave. I will gather some firewood and all of us will get plenty of sleep before we set out to find the next Mother Ideya."
"What is the next Ideya, Nights?" asked Pirdy.
Nights took out the map, setting it on the floor of the cave. He placed the green Mother Ideya on the leather and let it go. It slowly slid across the map, seemingly lost for a moment before it stopped right on top of Splash Garden. Nights looked up at the rest of the group, "We're getting out of this wasteland, we're going to the Garden to retrieve the blue Mother Ideya."
At that moment, Jackal walked once again through the town where he had found that elusive footprint. He would spend the night here, watch the entry point for a couple of days and then head north, across Splash Garden.
To be continued…
Bells, Gills, and Terror
Arctic bell was everything that Claris remembered. A white, barren and desolate land that was populated by only a few Shleep whose wool looked more coarse than their cousins to the south. It was quiet, save for the sounds of the cold wind blowing around their ears. Claris' hair flowed behind her like a flowing river of red and she took a deep breath of the crisp air. She had seen snow only a few times in her life. Her fondest memory was making snow angels and having a snowball fight with her father, that was right before he passed away. The other time was when the lake in Twin Seeds Park froze over, and she went ice skating with Elliot. At the thought of the young man, her hands grasped the blue crystal hanging around her neck, and it's warmth seeped into her hands.
"Claris, put your floppies on, you lose most of the heat from your body through the top of your head." It was Umbrae's voice that broke into her memory and caused her to wake up to the bleak landscape once more. "Claris? Are you alright?"
"I'm fine. Just, remembering a better time." Claris smiled sadly to Umbrae and took the floppy out of the Nightmaren suit that snuggled close to her body. She tucked her hair up into the unusual hat, turning her eyes to Nights who was surveying the landscape from on top of a large black boulder that had managed to break through the ice. "Well?"
"I don't see anything out there at all. Doesn't mean Gilwing isn't out there somewhere, waiting to pounce. Anyone else see anything?"
Iona shook her head, turning around in a full circle. It appeared that the cold wasn't affecting her at all. She looked as though she were walking through Mystic Forest, she wasn't shivering or chattering one bit. "I don't see a thing, and in all this white, you could notice something as colorful as Gilwing from miles away."
Pirdy, likewise, wasn't feeling a thing. Her time spent in the perpetual night that was the Nightmare Zone had prepared her for the cold that she was feeling now. "I don't see anything."
Umbrae flew up to the top of the large boulder and took a look around her. "I don't spot anything with infrared. He's hidden well or he doesn't know we're here yet. In either case, we should move on. Staying in one spot will surely let him know where we are."
Nights nodded his head and flew down to the others, taking the green Mother Ideya out of his suit, along with an ancient brown leather map. He placed the tip of the long green jewel on the region of the map that marked Arctic Bell. It slowly dragged itself atop the leather and stopped at a point not far from their location. "It looks like we have to go north. Now, I know there is a mountain range to the north, filled with ice caves and snow valleys. Most likely the Mother Ideya will be hidden there."
"Along with Gilwing." piped up Umbrae. "That would be a perfect spot for him to hide."
"I don't think so. His job is to protect the northern border to the Nightmare Zone. He's most likely far to the west of us, at least that's what I'm hoping. Keep on your toes, everyone, it only gets more dangerous from here." He put the map away and looked up to the sky. Finding the sun, he pointed north and leapt into the air, flying off. Umbrae took off after him, followed by Pirdy and Claris, and finally Iona taking up the rear.
-~~-
Jackal flew close to the ground of Spring Valley, careful to avoid being spotted by the Nightmaren patrols that constantly dotted the area. He continued to track the footprints as far as they could go, until they finally ended on top of a hill with a large tree. He landed and looked at the ground carefully. It appeared as though the footprints just appeared out of nowhere. There was no other trail for him to follow in any direction other than the way he had come. He stood up, walking underneath the tree and looking off into the distance. His thoughts were a whirlwind, trying to explain how this trail ended. At that moment an Alarm Guardian flew overhead, its alarm bell silent for a moment until it spotted a ghostly image in the distance. The alarm suddenly sprang to life, it's ringing fading as it headed towards the figure in the distance. Suddenly a spotlight appeared from underneath the Alarm Guardian and touched the ghostly image, causing it to suddenly disappear from view. Jackal blinked hard, realizing he had just witnessed a dreamer being woken up.
His mind snapped, eyes going wide as he slowly turned. He walked over to the spot where the trail ended and he knelt down once more. He had found an entry point, this was where a dreamer entered the Dream World from their own world. His mind was once more thinking, remembering his history. What else was significant about Spring Valley? It was where Nights had started his campaign against Wizeman, and it was where Nights chose to live. It was also where the Lord of Dreams had his own tower. Jackal stood up quickly, this was where Nights had started his campaign, and this was where he met Elliot and Claris. Revelation hit his face, and he looked down once more, he had possibly found the entry point where the allies of his hated enemy…entered Dream World. Those thoughts suddenly turned dark, and vengeance once again entered his mind.
-~~-
Reala was getting bored already. Looking for the Nightopians had proven to be harder than he had first anticipated and it was starting to show. His soldiers and officers would often find him ripping down whole sections of the library, kicking books left and right, shouting at the walls to open and reveal the secret hiding space of the Archivists. After one particularly loud ranting session, Reala looked up and his eyes peered down the long hallway, still stacked neatly with all manner of books. Finding the secret spot would take months, if not years. He sat down on one of the couches nearby, continuing to stare down the corridor, concentrating on what to do next and trying to relax his frayed nerves. Soon he would be asked for a progress report from Wizeman, and he would be able to provide no clues as to where the Archivists were hiding. It would be a sign of weakness were he to fail at such a simple task, and yet he could not provide a shred of proof that he had succeeded.
Wizeman watched Soft Museum from his mirror, unable to see anything inside, but able to watch the army mill about outside. He narrowed his eyes when he couldn't spy Reala, knowing that the General was still inside, possibly destroying the riches that the books possessed. He heaved a great sigh, "Clawz, to me."
The black Cat-Maren leapt into the room, bowing his head as he waited for his orders. "I am here, master. Tell me what it is you desire of me."
"I want you to go to Idia. In the ruins of the city you will find an entrance to an underground chamber which is large and circular. Inside this chamber is a sword imbedded into an anvil. The sword is made of a light blue metal, and I want you to retrieve it for me as soon as you can."
"Your skills are already immense, my master, for what reason would you need something so unwieldy as a sword?"
"That is none of your concern, Clawz, simply retrieve the sword for me please and take care not to get it wet." His voice did not rise up out of anger, it was a soft rebuttle for prying his nose into something that wasn't his concern. The flattery didn't hurt either.
"Yes, master, I will leave at once." His quite paws carried him out of the chambers. A moment later, as Wizeman looked down from his balcony, he saw the powerful strides of the Cat-maren whisk Clawz off into the forest, and the dark shadows swallowed him up.
If Wizeman had watched a moment more, he may have spotted the five black shapes that seemed to melt into the shadows themselves. They followed the fast Cat-maren through the forest, their red eyes only a blur in as they slipped inbetween the trees like a snake.
-~~-
Nights was growing more and more tense as they neared the mountain range. His eyes were constantly scanning the horizon, and his head never seemed to stop moving back and forth. Claris nor Pirdy seemed to notice anything, but Umbrae could clearly see muscles tensing up and releasing everytime a Shleep burst out of hiding at the sound of the Nightmaren closing. She had never met Gilwing but had heard that he was a tremendous beast, with a gaping maw filled with teeth as sharp as daggers. The question of how Nights had survived the first battle still rang in the back of her mind, and no matter how hard she tried to usher it away, it always came back to ask again.
"That's the Bell Mountain Range up ahead. There are a number of caves that dot the entire area, and I don't know which one the Mother Ideya is hiding in." The sound of Night's voice brought Umbrae out of her revelrie and she blinked her eyes as she realized that they were now very close to the tall peaks. As they began their descent, she looked behind and saw Claris and Pirdy flying close to one another, with Iona taking up a rear position and constantly looking behind her shoulder to make sure they weren't being followed.
They touched down between some trees, a small clearing filled with the tall green grass still peaking out from the snow. Even from here, the group could see the many caves that dotted the mountains all around them. "There are so many." breathed Pirdy. "How are we going to know which one to go to, we could spend three lifetimes just searching around here and the mountain range extends for miles to the east and west."
Nights turned to Iona, his voice quiet. "Contact Wizeman, seek his advice on this matter." Iona nodded her head and stood apart from the group. She closed her eyes and turned towards the direction they had just come. The others only watched, their breath frosting up in front of their faces as the wind whipped about them once more.
Iona's eyes opened, the green in her eyes appearing to be covered with a milky white substance. Her voice was deep as the words came, "Nights, it's Wizeman. Listen to me carefully, take the green Mother Ideya in your hand and hold it out in front of you. It will guide you like a compass towards its sister. The green jewel is your guide, trust it and it will never lead you astray. I hope you are all in good health, take care." Just as suddenly the voice was gone, and the milky substance in Iona's eyes melted away. She only blinked once or twice and then looked at the others as though this were a normal thing.
The group looked at Iona for a moment, afraid that she would go into the strange trance once more. Claris cleared her throat and quietly spoke, "Nights, you heard him, the jewel is the guide. Hold it in your hand and see what it does." The Nightmaren took out the jewel, placing it in his palm and looking at it. The Green jewel was quiet for a moment, and just as Nights was about ready to put it away, a deep glow issued from inside and spread itself through the entire jewel. It started spinning in his palm, stopping almost instantaneously as it's tip pointed off to the west and the other to the east. The green glow then went to the top pointing west and the glow became brighter. "I guess it's to the west.", was all Nights could say. The others nodded their heads in agreement and took off, keeping low to the ground and heading in the direction the jewel pointed them in.
Dozens of caves went past the Nightmaren, some so small as to be almost invisible. If it were not for the well-trained eyes of Iona, they would never have spotted all of them. "I'm used to it, there are hundreds of burrows, all through Mystic Forest. When you hunt Remmits, you have to know where their burrows are."
Claris looked at Nights, a question in her raised eyebrow. Nights smiled, "Think of Remmits as something like your rabbits. Small creatures that are good to eat and burrow in the ground. They practically look the same as your rabbits, only they have black and yellow fur and are a bit more ferocious." Claris nodded her head and made a noise that sounded as though she understood what he was talking about.
-~~-
It was the voices, the voices that echoed through his chamber that stirred him from his sleep. They reverberated all around the walls, the voices did. One was light and flowery, a womans' voice to be sure. The other, however, was all too familiar. It was deep, but had that same cocky tone that was there before. The self-confidence that seemed to exude from every breath.
The massive creature stirred in the darkness of his cave. His massive body began to writhe on top of itself, it's eyes hungry to see what his mind was already telling him was there. It's eyes opened, the tiny specks of light that dotted its cave were reflected in those massive eyes. A deep, rumbling voice issued from a throat almost the size of the cave itself. "Nights…"
The figure writhed even more now, waking up its sleeping muscles and lifting itself off the ground. There would be no error this time, there would be no weakness for him to expose. He would have the Nightmaren as a snack, and he would once again be one of the most cherished in Wizeman's dark stable. Gilwing had woken up.
-~~-
The jewel continued to point the party ever west, the mountains and hills rising up and down before them. Every so often the would spy creatures using a half-tube to slide down the mountain towards the fish rich lakes lying in the valley below. They did not have time to watch for long, the green Mother Ideya seemed to pull at Nights, eager to find its sister lost in the caves. Nights was eager to follow, wanting to get out of Arcitic Bell as soon as possible. In the back of his mind he knew that Gilwing was aware of their presence. His eyes and his ears, however, could not confirm this suspicion. It was the gut instinct that kept him distressed. He kept the two warriors, Umbrae and Iona, on either side of the group. Pirdy and Claris flew in the middle, and Nights continued to fly up front, taking the brunt of the wind himself. It had begun to grow dark, and that meant the temperature would be falling quickly. If they didn't find this cave where the Ideya was hiding soon, they were going to have to settle down in another cave and wait out the night. He turned his head towards Claris and spotted her shivering already, her arms wrapped around herself to try and keep warm. Iona continued to be unaffected by anything, but Pirdy and Umbrae were starting to show signs of getting cold as well. Still the jewel led them on.
"That's it, we're going to have to settle in for the night." he shouted above the wind. "This is no good, we're all starting to freeze and we won't be able to see the caves anymore anyway. Iona, is there a cave large enough to hold all of us?"
The Ranger nodded her head and pointed down at the mountain, "There's one there that.."
"Nights! Look!" Pirdy pointed to the jewel which had started to grow brighter. Suddenly it leapt off of his hand and took a nose dive down towards the earth. Nights' eyes went wide and he immediately dived down after it, twisting into a drill attack to try and gain some speed. The others followed, but could not match the speed of either the Ideya or Nights. The Nightmaren extended his hand out, willing himself to go faster, the jewel just out of reach of his fingertips. Suddenly the land was upon him and he twisted himself, barely scraping the earth and leaving a wake of dirt behind him. The jewel had hit the ground, hard. Umbrae could clearly see the green glow, embedded halfway into the ground. She landed next to it, Claris and Pirdy landing close-by, along with Iona. Nights landed soon after, taking in large breaths as he fell to the earth on his butt, his eyes never leaving the Mother Ideya. "What happened?", he asked, gasping in between words.
"It would appear that we have reached the point where we have to go down. There might be a cave nearby that would help us reach underneath where this jewel is. It's either that or we dig for weeks."
"I'm up for the caves." piped up Claris and Pirdy rather quickly.
Nights only chuckled and nodded his head as well, "I'm up for spelunking myself. I'd really rather not be here for weeks. Did you.." he was interrupted as the ground shook violently. He stood up quickly as though he were afraid the earth was going to swallow him whole. Just as quickly as the rumbling had started, it was gone. "What was that?"
"It might have been an avalanche nearby. We might have only gotten the aftershocks." said Iona. The ground shook again, however, and then again. "That's not an avalanche. It almost feels as though someone is trying to break through underneath us."
Nights' eyes went wide with fear and shock. Just as he realized what it was, Gilwing burst out of the ground with a roar that shook the mountains around them. He had grown since their last meeting. He was now twice the size that Nights remembered. His mouth was still huge, however, and still held row after row of razor sharp teeth. It roared once more and then it was silent, except for the heavy breathing of an exceptionally large monster. Its eyes were focused on Nights, and Nights alone. "It's been a long time, Nights. It is pleasant to see you again." His voice was low, rumbling, sarcastic in its tone.
"The pleasure is all yours, I'm sure. Let us pass, Gilwing, we have no reason to fight, and I have no desire to smack you around like a little guppy all over again."
There was a chuckle that sent the hairs on Pirdy's neck straight up. She had taken up position firmly behind Umbrae, peering over her shoulder with eyes filled with fear. "Nights, I shall enjoy eating you, and then eating each of your friends in turn." Gilwing roared once more and then dove down on the party. In a hair's breath, Nights had drawn his sword and was racing up at the large dragon-fish with his own roar. The sword lept to life with its inner fire and it gave Nights' face a fierce red glow. Iona raised her hand, an intense look coming across her face. She pointed her fingers at Gilwing spreading them slightly and bracing herself for the large gust of wind that followed. It blew all around her, gathering up dust before rising up into the air to sting the eyes of the large fish. Gilwing roared, but didn't stop charging. A black form streaked past Iona, Umbrae rising up to help Nights take on the monster. Claris and Pirdy landed on the ground and dove for cover as Nights raised up his sword and slashed out at Gilwing who was a foot away from him. It only hit air, Gilwing had dove down and underneath the Nightmaren. His speed had increased since their last fight, the dragon-fish had been preparing for this moment for over a year now. He rose straight up, his mouth opening wide and set to engulf Nights whole. A flash of silver caught his eyesight and he quickly turned, narrowly avoiding a well placed sai that was aimed for his eye. He turned and noticed the other Nightmaren close by, a mask covering her face. He curled up and rerouted himself, now speeding quickly towards Umbrae. He opened his mouth, sucking in air and creating a vacuum that started to bring Umbrae towards him.
She had not been expecting this. Umbrae felt herself drifting towards him, her speed increasing. She turned, clawing at the air as she tried to build up speed to get away. The giant mouth loomed closer and closer by the minute as Gilwing continued to speed forward and suck in the air around him at the same time. She could feel him behind her now, the sound of the air being drawn into his throat almost deafening in her ears. She continued to fly forward, twisting herself into a Drill Attack to try and gain more and more speed, but it was no use, he continued to close. Then a new sound deafened her, the terrible sound of someone screaming in pain. The air around her was no longer drawing her back, instead it was pushing her away now. She turned in mid-air, and she spied Nights, sword in hand and hovering near a freshly chopped off piece of tail. Gilwing turned, pain inciting him into a berserker rage as he bolted after his enemy. Umbrae had been forgotten and she landed on the ground, breathing heavily. The attack had taken a bit out of her, expending energy beyond what she was ready for.
Nights twisted and turned in the air, zooming in and out of the trees as though they weren't even there. Behind him he could hear the sounds of Gilwing bashing his way through the trees to follow. Nights realized that he was quickly losing ground. Gilwing wasn't having to go around everything like he was. He looked about to his left and right, not able to find an easy escape route. He started up, spinning and twisting as he did so, and coming around to face Gilwing. He slashed out with his sword once more, but the dragon-fish had twisted up even higher and the sword missed his belly by inches.
Claris ran out from underneath the trees, looking up at the fight that was raging above. Nights had swooped down once more to tree level, hoping to lose himself among the trees, but Gilwing was not fooled, his eyes had caught him quickly and he was already diving down. Iona continued to hover off to the side, watching the fight as well. She brought both hands up from her sides, quickly extending them upwards. From the forest, hundreds of shark pine needles rose up into the air, straight at Gilwings face. The attack didn't seem to phase him in the least, however, and he continued to fly straight after Nights.
"It's no use, Iona!" Umbrae stood up, taking a few final gasps of air. "He has a clear scale that covers his eyes, the pine needles can't get through. You need something stronger."
"There's not a whole lot for me to work with here. There are no vines on the trees to snare him with, and the branches from the pine trees are just too week to do any real damage."
Claris listened, watching as Gilwing got closer and closer to Nights. The dragon-fish opened it's great mouth again, a loud laugh escaping for a moment before he started sucking in the air once more. Nights was caught in the vacuum and turned, watching as the mouth full of teeth started getting closer and closer at a rate he wasn't comfortable with. He brought his sword forward, but he didn't know where to slash. The mouth was so large that he wasn't going to be able to hit anything if he went straight down the middle. Claris looked with horror in her eyes and turned to Pirdy, "I'm going to go help!" She ran out of the hiding spot, Pirdy shouting something incomprehensible behind her.
Claris knew she had to do something. She ran towards the fight, not fully sure what she was going to do, but knowing she had to help. She could hear Iona and Umbrae shouting after her and knew she had only a few moment before they caught up with her to drag her back. She looked all around her, not knowing what to do or how to help, her heart pounding in her chest. Nights was coming closer and closer to Gilwing, bolts of flame leaping out but doing nothing to the dragon-fish. Her eyes then caught something. It was large, almost three times her size. She ran towards it and saw a giant boulder before her. The magic that lived within her leapt to life, her imagination taking control. Her eyes flashed with energy and she stopped almost on a dime. She pointed both hands at the boulder, words coming from under her breath, ancient and unintelligible. Iona and Umbrae had finally caught up, landing on either side of Claris and watching in amazement as the boulder left the ground. Claris gritted her teeth, the size and weight of the rock almost more than she could handle. She turned and pointed the rock at Gilwing and with a shout of triumph, she sent it hurtling towards the large dragon-fish.
Nights was coming close, his eyes narrowing as he spotted the roof of the mouth. He knew that in a last ditch effort, he would have to drive the sword into the brain, but that he would most likely be impaled himself on one of the many teeth. He steeled himself for destiny when he spied something large and brown heading his way. He blinked in amazement as the boulder slammed head on into the side of Gilwing and sent him flying into the side of the mountain.
All he could say was, "Whoa, that looked like it hurt." Claris wasn't even breathing heavily, but she could feel the magic inside of her was tired and almost spent. It had taken quite a bit to lift the heavy boulder off the ground and send it flying. The other Nightmaren just stood stunned, Umbrae speaking first. "Nice shot, hit him straight on."
Gilwing hadn't even seen the boulder, and it had knocked the wind out of him. If hadn't been sucking in all that air, it would have surely killed him. He slowly got off the ground, shaking his head to try and regain his balance. Nights was flying towards him, his speed covering the distance between them in a matter of seconds. Gilwing knew this was it. Deep inside his mind he knew he wasn't going to recover in time to stop the sword from killing him.
Nights hovered down in front of Gilwings eyes, "You've been beaten. Do you yield?"
The dragon-fish shook his head, glaring at Nights with renewed hatred. "I will never yield. I will always hunt you, until the day I either hear of your death, or kill you myself. You were lucky today, Nightmaren, but one day you will not be. On that day, I will dance on your grave."
Nights sighed, shaking his head and holding up his sword, "When we are successful, you will be gone, Gilwing. You are the product of evil, a product of Wizeman's creation."
Gilwing roared in fury and flew off the ground, straight at Nights. Nights flew off into the sky with Gilwing close behind. The Nightmaren knew now how to win. He twisted backwards, going into a backwards loop. Gilwing moved to follow, but could not bend backwards far enough. His backwards loop was not as tight and he quickly saw his mistake. Nights was already leveling out, his sword pointed straight at Gilwings back. The dragon-fish could not twist and turn, his loop was too tight. Nights continued forward, until his sword was embedded deep within Gilwing's flesh. The Nightmaren closed his eyes, sad that his enemy had not yielded, and had paid the ultimate price. The dragon-fish slid off the sword and fell to the ground with a loud crash. As the dust settled, Gilwing released his last breath, cursing Nights as he did so.
-~~-
Wizeman felt the loss. Though Gilwing was hundreds of miles away, he felt the terrible loss of losing one of his great children. He hovered out to the balcony and looked off towards the north, the night sky revealing nothing. He knew that Nights had been there, and had been victorious. He turned to one of the Nightmaren in his chambers, "Find Jackal, he is in Spring Valley. Tell him that Nights is in Arctic Bell, and that Gilwing is dead. He will know what to do from there." The messenger nodded and ran off the balcony, flying off to the east.
-~~-
The party walked in silence, none of them knowing what to say in this moment. Deep inside, many had not wanted to kill Gilwing. Only Iona and Umbrae knew that the giants death had been necessary, the others had never wanted such a fate to befall any of their enemies. It was over, however, and there was nothing that could be done now. Nights took out the Ideya, holding it up and allowing it to once again guide them.
It took them down into the pit that Gilwing had formed when he burst out of the ground. They floated down into it and saw a large chamber filled with all manner of different jewels. Reds and blues mixed with yellows and oranges, making the cavern appear as though a rainbow had been entrapped in the rock itself. In the center of the chamber was a floor of pure gold, and in the center of the floor was a large white diamond shaped jewel. The green Mother Ideya was pointing directly at it. Nights and his party had found the white Mother Ideya. He picked it up and the jewel glowed as though it had found what it had been searching for all along.
"We have two of the Mother Ideya's now." Nights spoke quietly, looking at the others in his group. Each of them was tired from the fight, Claris was clearly saddened by what she had done. "Gilwings death was unfortunate, but he would have continued to hunt us down as long as he lived, and we would not have been able to accomplish our quest with him constantly on our heels." The Nightmaren looked at the white jewel, it gleamed inside with its own inner light, just as the green jewel did. "This is a war, and there will be casualties. Let's just make sure that we don't have any on our side." The rest of the party nodded their head, each of them closer now that they had been in a real battle together. Nights cleared his throat, his voice still quiet, "Let's, for now, rest here in this cave. I will gather some firewood and all of us will get plenty of sleep before we set out to find the next Mother Ideya."
"What is the next Ideya, Nights?" asked Pirdy.
Nights took out the map, setting it on the floor of the cave. He placed the green Mother Ideya on the leather and let it go. It slowly slid across the map, seemingly lost for a moment before it stopped right on top of Splash Garden. Nights looked up at the rest of the group, "We're getting out of this wasteland, we're going to the Garden to retrieve the blue Mother Ideya."
At that moment, Jackal walked once again through the town where he had found that elusive footprint. He would spend the night here, watch the entry point for a couple of days and then head north, across Splash Garden.
To be continued…