~chapter 24~
In only a few short miles, they reached the end of the Great Plain. After reaching the plateu they entered the canyon beyond and went through. On the other side there was a large forest.
"There seems to be a lot of foresty areas in this place." Jared said.
"Well, nearly 2/3 of Valea is forest." JD said.
"How far is Tribor mountain?" Link asked.
"We should reach it by tomorrow." answered JD. After only a few hours of walking (the plain had taken up most of the day) it was dark. They found a small clearing and began to set up camp. Justin was a little disappointed. There were no tents for privacy. Jared shot him a look when he caught Justin looking at Sam. The night wore on rather quickly; they went to sleep rather early.
Meanwhile...
Gondar paced around his throne room.
"IT'S NOT FAIR!" he shouted. "I DESTROYED THEM! HOW COULD THEY GET AWAY!!! I must be losing my touch..." An imp suddenly ran in.
"Sire, the package has been delivered." the imp hissed.
"Ah, excellent. Now it's only a matter of time. If I can't kill them all at once I'll take them down one by one..." Gondar mumbled to himself.
"Er...there is other news as well..." said the imp.
"News? I hate news....why are those kids always having to make news?!"
"Well...er...they were joined by a gang from Hensley....there's nine of them now."
"Gah! Those kids! They seem like they're always trying to make my job harder! You'd think an honest villain could just take over the world in peace, but nooooo! There's always that 'hero' who has to try to save the day!" The imp quickly rushed out before Gondar could take out his anger.
"Well...I'll have to send one of my minions to try to kill those brats..." Gondar mumbled. "I need to free up some space on my minion recruits anyway...heh" With a wave of his cape, he disappeared from the room.
The next morning...
The group woke up early and packed up, setting off at about 10. They hiked through the woods for a few hours. This was a rather boring part of the trip, nothing particularly exciting happened. After a long, boring walk, they reached the foot of a tall mountain, at least a mile high.
"Ugh...tell me that's not Tribor mountain..." Jared grumbled.
"No...Tribor is over there." JD pointed to the left. A mountain 10 times its height towered over it. Its peak reached up into the clouds.
"I'm going to be sick..." Jared mumbled.
"It's not that bad." Ron said. "There's a small trail up to the top....but people say the giant uses it."
"Has anyone ever been up there?" Link asked.
"Well...no, actually. People who try end up getting lost...and never seen again..." JD answered.
"So how do people know there's an essence up there?" asked Justin.
"Some fortune teller guy said he sensed it..."
"So we're going by some crazy gypsy?!" Jared shouted.
"Hey, he's not crazy.....well...maybe only a little...but he's never been wrong before...only once....that one guy was out of the hospital in no time!" JD responded. Link, Jared, and Justin suddenly looked very skeptical.
"Look, this is the only lead we have right now. If you have any idea of where another essence is, be my guest. But now, we're going up this mountain." JD said. The others sighed but didn't say anything else. The group made their way towards the mountain and began to climb. There was the slightest hint of a trail, but it was littered with boulders and small cliffs (as if steps for some very large person). It was fairly easy going, however. Within a few hours they reached the half way point.
"Gah...this mountain is endless..." Jared sighed, leaning against the cliff face.
"I guess we could take a small break now..." JD mumbled. The rest of the group sighed with relief and set their stuff down. Suddenly the cliff began to rumble. Without warning, a gap opened up behind Jared and he fell into it, being consumed by the cliff.
"Jared!" Link shouted, running over. The cliff suddenly seemed to spring alive. To rocky eyelids opened, revealing black stone eyes above the crack Jared had fallen into.. A huge round portion of the cliff broke away, rocky arms and legs sliding to the front of the rocky creature. It howled out a thunderous laugh and took a step towards the group.
"Oh man....that's a greeble!" Link shouted, recognizing the species from mountain side. "It ate Jared!" The others still stared, shocked by the sudden turn of events.
"We're going to fight..." Link muttered, drawing out his sword.
"What?! But those things are practically invincible!" JD shouted.
"I don't care...practically isn't completely. I'll find a way." answered Link, taking out his water essence and powering it up.
~end~
In only a few short miles, they reached the end of the Great Plain. After reaching the plateu they entered the canyon beyond and went through. On the other side there was a large forest.
"There seems to be a lot of foresty areas in this place." Jared said.
"Well, nearly 2/3 of Valea is forest." JD said.
"How far is Tribor mountain?" Link asked.
"We should reach it by tomorrow." answered JD. After only a few hours of walking (the plain had taken up most of the day) it was dark. They found a small clearing and began to set up camp. Justin was a little disappointed. There were no tents for privacy. Jared shot him a look when he caught Justin looking at Sam. The night wore on rather quickly; they went to sleep rather early.
Meanwhile...
Gondar paced around his throne room.
"IT'S NOT FAIR!" he shouted. "I DESTROYED THEM! HOW COULD THEY GET AWAY!!! I must be losing my touch..." An imp suddenly ran in.
"Sire, the package has been delivered." the imp hissed.
"Ah, excellent. Now it's only a matter of time. If I can't kill them all at once I'll take them down one by one..." Gondar mumbled to himself.
"Er...there is other news as well..." said the imp.
"News? I hate news....why are those kids always having to make news?!"
"Well...er...they were joined by a gang from Hensley....there's nine of them now."
"Gah! Those kids! They seem like they're always trying to make my job harder! You'd think an honest villain could just take over the world in peace, but nooooo! There's always that 'hero' who has to try to save the day!" The imp quickly rushed out before Gondar could take out his anger.
"Well...I'll have to send one of my minions to try to kill those brats..." Gondar mumbled. "I need to free up some space on my minion recruits anyway...heh" With a wave of his cape, he disappeared from the room.
The next morning...
The group woke up early and packed up, setting off at about 10. They hiked through the woods for a few hours. This was a rather boring part of the trip, nothing particularly exciting happened. After a long, boring walk, they reached the foot of a tall mountain, at least a mile high.
"Ugh...tell me that's not Tribor mountain..." Jared grumbled.
"No...Tribor is over there." JD pointed to the left. A mountain 10 times its height towered over it. Its peak reached up into the clouds.
"I'm going to be sick..." Jared mumbled.
"It's not that bad." Ron said. "There's a small trail up to the top....but people say the giant uses it."
"Has anyone ever been up there?" Link asked.
"Well...no, actually. People who try end up getting lost...and never seen again..." JD answered.
"So how do people know there's an essence up there?" asked Justin.
"Some fortune teller guy said he sensed it..."
"So we're going by some crazy gypsy?!" Jared shouted.
"Hey, he's not crazy.....well...maybe only a little...but he's never been wrong before...only once....that one guy was out of the hospital in no time!" JD responded. Link, Jared, and Justin suddenly looked very skeptical.
"Look, this is the only lead we have right now. If you have any idea of where another essence is, be my guest. But now, we're going up this mountain." JD said. The others sighed but didn't say anything else. The group made their way towards the mountain and began to climb. There was the slightest hint of a trail, but it was littered with boulders and small cliffs (as if steps for some very large person). It was fairly easy going, however. Within a few hours they reached the half way point.
"Gah...this mountain is endless..." Jared sighed, leaning against the cliff face.
"I guess we could take a small break now..." JD mumbled. The rest of the group sighed with relief and set their stuff down. Suddenly the cliff began to rumble. Without warning, a gap opened up behind Jared and he fell into it, being consumed by the cliff.
"Jared!" Link shouted, running over. The cliff suddenly seemed to spring alive. To rocky eyelids opened, revealing black stone eyes above the crack Jared had fallen into.. A huge round portion of the cliff broke away, rocky arms and legs sliding to the front of the rocky creature. It howled out a thunderous laugh and took a step towards the group.
"Oh man....that's a greeble!" Link shouted, recognizing the species from mountain side. "It ate Jared!" The others still stared, shocked by the sudden turn of events.
"We're going to fight..." Link muttered, drawing out his sword.
"What?! But those things are practically invincible!" JD shouted.
"I don't care...practically isn't completely. I'll find a way." answered Link, taking out his water essence and powering it up.
~end~