Chapter 5: Giant Robot Action!
"Well, you've certainly been busy, Ryu." The Dragon God smiled warmly. Looking around, Ryu dimly realized that he was in the local Dragon Temple, and that the statue had come to life, changing into the ethereal spirit of Ladon himself once more.
"Am I... dreaming again?"
"Well, yes and no." The Dragon God frowned. "That's really a tough quesiton, and the answer would depend on exactly what you percieve dreams as. You see, when the mind enters an unconscious state..." He paused, noticing that Ryu was staring with glazed eyes. "Well, never mind that. That's not the issue here. You've done well, Ryu. You're matching the Dark Dragons in the number of Goddess Keys, and you've found two of the people who are destined to aid you. Not bad for barely being a month out."
"I try, your divinityship." Ryu bowed, and the Dragon God winced.
"That's a bit cumbersome, isn't it? But that aside..." His eyes turned serious. "Ryu, you've done good so far. But danger is approaching again. The only way to save this world from plunging into darkness, Ryu... is to awaken the sleeping guardian."
"But... how?" Ryu asked desperately as he felt the light of day starting to envelope the dream. Ladon's voice called to him even as he disappeared.
"Romero, Ryu... the key to the key is in Romero..." And then the Light Dragon was awake, and the morning sun was shining on his face through the window of his room at the local inn. Upon returning, he and Nina had been given free room and board for as long as they needed by the grateful innkeeper. Sighing, Ryu slipped on some clothes, then went to see if the princess was awake yet.
"All right, let's review the situation." Chief Lupin grunted. It was noon, and he, Chief Bart, Ryu, Nina and Bo were gathered around a table in his house for a council of war. "One. The Dark Dragons have been chased out of the Forest of Despair... for now. General Folage has been killed, and the real Elder Bart has been rescued... whatever happened to that other fake, by the way?"
"He developed a sudden urge to go swimming in the river." Bart smirked. "Headfirst."
"I just adore small-town justice, don't you?" Nina commented to Ryu, who laughed.
"You forget, I come from a place smaller than this. Although, to be honest, we only had one instance where we had to apply such justice. A guy thought it would be a good idea to try to scalp a widow on the price of her husband's business."
"Oh? What happened to him?" Bo asked, interested.
"He fell down a flight of stairs." The Light Dragon smirked. "Repeatedly. My sister was nice enough to set all his bones before he left. I think he said he was going to Arad."
"If we might get back on topic?" Chief Lupin coughed. "Two. A new General, General Graham, arrives here in a few days with a legion of reinforcements. The survivors of Folage's legion are camped along the east coast, all the way from the Stone Robot up north to the volcanoes in the south. If they stay in that position when Graham arrives... we're going to be in a lot of trouble. There's no way in hell we can hope to match them on open ground in those numbers."
"Three, we still have water troubles and nothing we can do will move those boulders." Bart concluded. "Well, Lupin, I think we both know what the only solution to this is." The Forest Clan chief nodded glumly.
"And that would be...?" Ryu prompted. Bo sighed.
"What our elderly friends are trying to tell us is that it's time for the Stone Robot to be reactivated for the first time since the Dragon War."
"But... how?" Nina blinked. "Nobody knows anything about the Robot any more..."
"Almost nobody." Bart corrected her. "Something we've been keeping a secret from the rest of the world ever since the Dragon War... at the instruction of the Forest Clanner who accompanied that Ryu. The key to activating the Stone Robot... really is a key. A special one."
"A Goddess Key." Ryu said grimly. Bo nodded.
"Exactly. From what you've told us, the Dark Dragons are trying to collect all of the Goddess Keys, so they can raise Myria. And I don't know about you, but I'd really prefer it if that didn't happen."
"The King Key is the one that's used to activate the Stone Robot." Lupin leaned back in his chair. "The Goddess Keys, aside from their primary function, were-are-all very powerful weapons. The Earth Key can cause horrible quakes... the Light Key and Dark Key can alter night and day... and the King Key can awaken the Stone Robot again." He sighed. "The only problem is, we don't know where the King Key IS."
"I hope that one's not the one the Dark Dragons have..." Nina moaned. Ryu shook his head.
"No... it's not. Does anybody know where Romero is?" The others looked at him strangely, but Nina nodded.
"Yeah... it's a town up in the northlands. Near Karma. Why?"
"Well..." Ryu hesitated for a moment, thinking about the best way to say it. Somehow, he doubted "god told me this" would be very convincing. "My sister was a priestess. She told me once that the people of a place called Romero knew about the King Key."
"A bit sketchy, but if it's all we have to go on..." Bo shrugged. "All right, the three of us go to Romero."
"Three?" Everybody else stared at him.
"Yeah." Bo shook his head. "Before you all start arguing, keep this in mind. The Ramui Woods run all the way to the northwest of our territory, north of the Winlan bridge. If I go with Ryu and Nina, we can be through those woods to Romero in half the time it would otherwise to take to go through Winlan and the Aura Cave. Time is of the essence; we have to get that Key and get back here as fast as possible before General Graham wipes everything out."
"You make a good point." Ryu conceded reluctantly. "You can get us through the Ramui Woods that fast?" Bo nodded.
"You already know we're called the Forest Clan for a reason... and I'm the best." He said it simply stating a fact, not boasting.
"Then I don't think we've really got any choice. Your graces?" He turned to the two chiefs. Bart in turn looked at Lupin.
"He's one of your clan."
"All right." Lupin sighed heavily. "Bo, go with them. I'll have the rest of our archers organize... if the Dark Dragons start moving, we'll hold them off as long as we can."
"And I'll see what my people can do." Bart stood up. "We may not be as good shots as your Clan, but we can still fight close-range."
"We'll leave tomorrow, then." Ryu decided. "We can be in Romero in... a week, if Bo's estimation of the time we'll need is right. As soon as we have the King Key, we'll come back." Lupin nodded, still looking depressed.
"I just hope it's enough..."
"Looks like you were right on time." Ryu told Bo as the three of them emerged from the Ramui Woods. "Just about one week. We made good time." The Forest Clanner just shrugged.
"Fairly routine if you know what you're doing. Or can just fly above the trees." He looked up at Nina, who waved.
"Hey, I came down to off that giant spider that was sneaking up without either of you seeing it, right?"
"As the talking frogs near Gant say, touche, missy." Bo muttered. "At any rate, here's Romero. Let's see about getting rooms first, then we can try to get in to see the chief about the King Key."
"I know just the place." Nina led the way into the town. The people of Romero had changed since she had last been here; now, each and every one of them crept around with scared expressions on their faces, almost as if they expected to be attacked at any moment. For some reason, the soil was a strange purplish color that did nothing to help the mood. Ryu frowned.
"These people are giving me the creeps... and what is that smell? "
"You're not the only one..." Bo sniffed the air. "Both the creeps and the smell. Something stinks here. Death... everywhere. It's like the entire place is one big charnelhouse..." He fell quiet as Nina pushed open the door. At first, it seemed nobody was there. A moment later, the innkeeper poked his head out from behind the counter.
"Yes...? Can I help... young lady, haven't you been here before?" Nina smiled winningly.
"Yes I have, good innkeeper. Me and my friends will be requiring more rooms tonight."
"This is a bad time for it, I'm afraid, miss..." The stout innkeeper shook his head gravely. "No matter what you're here for, I'd advise you forget it. Get out of Romero, and don't come back..." He seemed to suddenly notice something. "Say, what happened to those two fellows who were with you last time?" Nina sighed mournfully.
"They died, I'm afraid... gave up their lives in the slaying of the Wizard, Manson."
"What a sha-WHAT?" The innkeeper's eyes looked like they were going to explode out of his head. "Did you say Manson is dead?"
"Yes. And this time, permanently." Ryu confirmed. "Me and her were both there. Believe me, the Wizard of Karma is very dead."
"But that's impossible... he can't be... he's doing all this..." The innkeeper was muttering.
"Beg pardon?"
"Oh!" He looked up. "Well, you see... wait. If you're telling the truth, if you killed Manson... maybe you can help us! Come with me, please!" He ran out of the inn. The three looked at each other, shrugged, and followed him to the largest house in town. "Chief! Chief! Open up! There's some people here... they say they killed Manson!" A few moments passed with no response, and then there were noises like large bolts being shifted. The door opened, revealing a stringy-looking old man with wild hair.
"Killed Manson? Nonsense."
"I assure you, it was not, sir." Ryu said firmly. "I hacked off his right arm and leg, Nina here drove her sword through his forehead, and what was left of him fell into molten lava. Even with all his magic, I doubt the Wizard of Karma is anything more than cinders and slag now." The chief raised an eyebrow.
"Well, you tell a convincing story... and you look capable of it, I suppose. Maybe you CAN help us... come in." They entered his house, and he gestured for them to sit down. "Miss, you've been here before, about a month back, correct?" Nina nodded. "Did you hear about the zombies from our graveyard?" Another nod. "Well, then. Until about a week ago, the zombies... the ones from this graveyard, anyways... were docile. Then, they changed. Most of them don't even have their minds left any more... they're like animals. They howl at the moon, and they've torn apart some of our animals. We're afraid if they go any further, they'll attack us next... and nothing we can do will stop them. We've tried, believe me, but any wounds, even to the head, just heal instantly."
"Then we wouldn't be able to do much..." Ryu shook his head regretfully. "We just dealt with zombies by killing them with the normal methods."
"Then we are well and truly doomed..." The chief mourned. Bo's eyes narrowed.
"Maybe not... tell me, what exactly did this Wizard do to bring the zombies up?" The chief thought.
"He poured a potion over the ground in the graveyard. The earth was poisoned, and it spread to the rest of the ground in this town... you can see it if you look."
"So that's why the dirt's purple." Bo snapped his fingers. "And that's why you haven't been able to kill them. The magic that's animating them is in the earth they were buried in, not in themselves. Obviously, though, we can't just kill the dirt. Nina... Life Magic can nullify Death Magic, right?"
"Highly advanced spells, yes..." Nina frowned. "But I don't know those ones... and even if I did, I wouldn't be able to cast them on all the earth here..."
"But Life Magic doesn't only exist in spells!" Ryu's eyes lit up. "Springs of Life... the Water of Life! It's very potent... would it be able to purify the soil?" His eyes dimmed. "Wait... even if it could, there's nowhere we could find enough of it..."
"Now just a second there." Bo looked at the chief. "That just may be the answer... and I've heard stories about a cave near here... a cave where you can find an underground lake, and if you swim in it, all that ails you will be healed. Is this true?"
"Well... yes." The chief admitted reluctantly. "The Cave of Cleansing Water... you have to walk all the way west through the Ramui Woods to Karma, then go south." He thought for a moment. "All right, it looks like that's the best chance. Here's the deal. There was once a man in this town who applied magic to everyday jars and pots. He made them into magical artifacts that could hold ten times, twenty times as much liquid as they should. They say before he died, he created a masterpiece... a jar that could hold a hundred gallons of water."
"But if he's dead..." Nina interjected.
"He's one of the zombies." The chief continued. "His wife is still alive... she sleeps during the day so she can be with him at night when the zombies roam. I think that when she's with him, part of his mind still remains..."
"I think I saw them when I was here before." Nina recalled. "All right. We'll talk with them about that jar, then go get the water."
"If you do this thing, every man in town will aid you in whatever you have come here for, no matter what it is." The chief promised. Ryu smiled.
"Good. We're here for big game... Goddess Key game. We'll see you when we get back." The three of them walked out before the startled Chief could respond. "If we're going to be walking around at night, we should probably catch some naps at the inn right now." The guys nodded, and they went to do just that.
That night, the three adventurers poked their heads out of the inn door once the sun had gone down. A man with sickly blue skin lurched by, howling wierdly. His eyes were vacant of anything even resembling thought.
"Yeah, it's zombie hour, all right..." Ryu muttered. They closed the door behind them and heard the innkeeper bolt it. "Where did you see that couple, Nina?"
"The graveyard."
"Figures." They creeped through the town cautiously. The zombies did not seem to be particularly hostile yet, but the adventurers tried to avoid them anyways to be on the safe side. As they neared the graveyard, they saw an old man and woman perched on gravestones, talking. The old man's skin was blue.
"Are you the magical jar maker, sir?"
"I am." He turned to look at them. His pupils were barely visible, as through a thick fog. "You... want something of me?"
"Your masterpiece. The jar that can hold a hundred gallons." Bo nodded. "We need it. Will you..."
"No! No! Never!" The old lady shrieked suddenly. "I know what you want that for! You want it to carry Water of Life! You want to return the zombies, return my husband to the grave!"
"Dear, we've... already discussed this." The old man sighed. "We knew... somebody would ask about that. I told you. And... my mind is starting to fade. Look." He pointed at another zombie. "Soon, I'll be like him... just another mindless shambler. And then... what? Attacking the villagers... attacking you? Impossible. These people are going to save Romero, dearest one... I have to leave." The old lady bit her lip, but she said nothing more. The old man hopped down and dug in the grave for a bit, then pulled out a cloth-wrapped object. It was a jar carved of pure white marble, bound around the neck with a ring of silver. "This is the Water Jar... not a very imaginative name, but it serves. It can hold a hundred gallons of water. Use it... please. Save Romero..."
"We will." Ryu promised, taking the jar. The old lady looked at him.
"If it must be so... then it will be. I've enjoyed our time together..." She looked at Ryu. "I think if we both give it our all, the two of us can prevent the other zombies from deteriorating to a dangerous point until you get back." Ryu nodded.
"We'll move as fast as we can." They departed Romero that very evening, and struck out west, through the Ramui Woods. Nina glared at the Towers of Karma as they neared them.
"Even after he dies, Manson still plagues us... that skeletal sicko's probably laughing his rotting butt off in whatever hell he's at right now." South of Karma took them out of the Woods, and to a lake. In the middle of it, a small peninsula extended to a cave mouth.
"Good thing it's not an island." Bo commented. "I'm not a very good swimmer, and don't even get me started about the smell. Like a wet dog, only ten times worse."
"We'll make sure not to push you in the Water of Life, then." Nina smirked as they entered. Ryu looked around and raised an eyebrow.
"Okay... wierd." Unlike most caves, the Cave of Cleansing Water was not dark at all, but there were no torches or holes in the ceiling. Instead, the rock all around them seemed to glow with an eerie blue phosporesence.
"Hey, it's almost the exact same shade of blue as your hair!" Nina realized. "Yeah... this is spooky. Let's get going."
"Hold it." Bo slowly drew his weapon, then fired a pair of arrows at lightning speed. Two pale-skinned slugs with abnormally large, cute golden eyes fell from the ceiling, transfixed. "Those buggers were planning to get the drop on you... literally." The Forest Clanner grunted.
"They don't look very threatening..." Nina protested. Bo shook his head.
"Look again. They're sporting some fangs I did not like. Let's go." They journeyed down the glowing tunnels. All Ryu could tell about their overall direction was that they were going steadily downward. After about an hour or so, they emerged in a larger cavern room. Two other tunnels led outward.
"Which one do we want?" Ryu frowned.
"Well, the one we came from goes upward. So does one of these new ones. We should probably take the one that goes downward instead... the water'll most likely be near the bottom of the cave." Nina deduced. Bo fitted an arrow to his bow.
"Natch that for the nonce. We've got company!" From each one of the three tunnel mouths, something emerged, squealing. They looked like huge, green blobs of slime, but they had disgusting things swimming around in them that looked vaguely like internal organs. Nina gagged.
"What ARE those things?"
"I think the Romero chief forgot to mention a few things about this cave..." Ryu growled. Bo chuckled cynically.
"Yeah. These here would be known as the reason he didn't come himself. All right, everybody take one!" The green blobs proved to be unusually tough to kill. Ryu sliced deep gashes in his, leaking green goo. Nina waited until one of the organs neared the outer lining, then skewered them with quick thrusts. Bo stood a safe distance back and riddled his with arrows. They all kept on coming, despite shrinking due to the loss of liquids. Finally, Ryu's enemy flopped down, a husk without anything left inside, and expired. Bo managed to off his by freezing it with an ice spell, then shattering it. Nina, however, had gotten hers down to the size of her head when it lashed out in sudden anger and spewed the rest of its slime at her, somehow igniting it. Nina screamed as the fires touched her, then started fanning her wings to put them out.
"Are you all right?" Ryu bent over. She smiled a little weakly.
"Scorched, but not barbecued. I'll be fine..." She clenched a fist. "Although I'm not making any promises about the chief of Romero once I get my hands on him!"
"We'll worry about that when we get back there." Ryu helped her into the air, and the three went down the next tunnel. At the end, there was a hole in the floor, with a rope ladder leading down. Shrugging, Ryu descended it, followed by Bo, and then by Nina who simply flew down. At the bottom, they found themselves on a small island in the middle of the biggest lake they had ever seen. The entire thing was underground, and yet they could not see the cavern walls in any direction. Ancient, broken pillars rose both from the island and from the water itself, and an ancient set of stone stairs descended into the depths. None of this, though, caught their attention. What they WERE focusing on was the most disreputable-looking old man any of them had ever seen. He was wearing a stained and patched tunic and leggings, shoes that did not match, a burlap cloak and a piece of rope for a belt. A battered felt hat completed the effect, and he looked both unshaven and drunk. He doubtless would have been filthy as well, save that he was in the middle of the lake, actually swimming in the Water of Life.
"Hey, kids." The shabby old man called to them, doing a backstroke. "If you're looking for the Water of Life, you've come to the right spot. Otherwise, you're in trouble."
"Uh... yeah, we're here for the Water..." Ryu shook his head. "Who... are you?"
"Me?" The old man blew water like a whale. "Heck, I don't know. Might have had a name at one point, but if I did, I've probably forgotten it. Just call me Uncle Specs. I live down here and talk to God. Sometimes he even talks back." Bo shook his head.
"Okay, sure. Listen. This IS the Water of Life, right?"
"Would it be called the Cave of Cleansing Water if it wasn't, son?" 'Uncle Specs' laughed. "Of course it is. This lake here feeds every single Spring of Life in the world through underground channels. This is where it all comes from."
"Then there should be more than enough for Romero." Nina smiled happily. Ryu nodded.
"Uh, listen... is it okay if we take some water? A lot of it?" The old man shrugged, almost sinking.
"Sure, there'll always be more. Take as much as you like."
"Thanks." Walking over to the stairs, Ryu bent down on his knees and dunked the Water Jar. Unlike ordinary jars, though, it did not immediately fill up; the water just went into it, and then kept going in, like down a drain. It was about ten minutes before the suction stopped and Ryu lifted it out of the water.
"Just be careful not to spill it." Bo joked. "You'll flood the entire continent."
"Ha ha." Ryu turned to the old man. "Well, uh... it was nice meeting you, 'Uncle Specs.' We'll be off now." 'Uncle Specs' waved.
"All right, then! Give my best to the zombies!"
"General Graham!" A Dark Dragon soldier saluted as his commander walked into the tent. "We weren't expecting you until later, sir!"
"We put on a burst of speed at the end." The General shrugged, removing his ornate helmet and stroking his long, drooping mustache.
"We? Does that mean the legion is here as well?" The soldier asked.
"Of course they are, you imbecile." Graham said without looking at him. "Why would I be here without them? Is this Folage's?" He gestured at a desk, covered with pictures of the arrogant General.
"Yes sir!" The soldier confirmed. Graham swept an arm across the top, clearing the desk with a great crash of breaking glass.
"Well, it's mine now. Hope he doesn't mind my redecorating."
"Sir, General Folage is dead." The soldier blurted out. "He was killed when we lost our base in the Forest of Despair."
"So he was..." Graham mused. "Well, no great loss to the empire there. Folage always thought he was better than he actually was, even in tactics school. Figures I have to clean up after him, even after he's dead. Well, I can turn this operation around."
"Are we going to be retaking our base in the Forest of Despair, sir?" The soldier asked timidly. Graham shot him a look of disbelief.
"Why the HELL would we want to do that? The Forest Clan have the clear advantage there, you ninny. That's why so many of you got killed under Folage's brilliant supervision. Ladon, I've got my work cut out for me more than I thought if everybody here is as stupid as you." Sighing, he flopped down into a chair behind the desk. "Make yourself useful. Brief me on the geography."
"Yes, sir!" The soldier saluted. "Our encampment currently stretches all along the east coast, from the volcanoes near the dry river in the south to the Stone Robot in the north. West of here in the north is the Forest of Despair. The dry river comes down out of it. The towns of Tantar and Tuntar are situated on either side of it further south."
"Stone Robot?" Graham sat up straight, eyes taking on a peculiar gleam. "Is that the same Stone Robot that they say the King Key is used to activate?"
"I believe so, sir."
"Very interesting..." The General leaned back again. "What kind of actions have the Forest Clan been taking against us since the, ah, incident in the Forest of Despair?"
"Not much, sir." The soldier frowned. "They've formed up west of us, and there seem to be some humans from Tuntar along with them. They're not making any signs to suggest that they'll be attacking us, but instead seem to be preparing themselves to defend. It doesn't make much sense, sir."
"Not normally, no..." Graham mused. "Normally, they'd want to take the offensive, hit us here while we had our pants down... but if they were only some kind of a delaying action, if they were waiting for something... yes, that's what they'd do." The soldier frowned.
"Sir?"
"Here's what we're going to do, grunt." Graham suddenly stood up, pacing. "We're going to split this army in half. Half of the soldiers will head west and attack the enemy forces. The other half will go north and take up positions around the Stone Robot on all sides possible."
"But, sir!" The soldier started to protest. "Why? If we moved all our forces to the enemy, we'd crush them! What would be the point of only sending half and moving the rest up to..." He stopped suddenly. Graham's eyes had taken on a dangerous glare, and his hand was on his sword.
"Are you questioning my orders?" He asked, barely audibly. The soldier gulped and shook his head as fast as he could.
"No... no, sir! Orders understood!"
"You may leave now, then." Graham inclined his head towards the exit, and the soldier practically flew out. Graham returned to his pacing, thinking hard, recalling what Mote, the Red Dreammaster, had told him a few days ago.
"General, there's something... special... about the warzone you're heading to that you should be aware of." Mote had said. "Or perhaps someONE special is better... there's a person who's been causing us some aggravation lately. A Light Dragon named Ryu. He appears to possess at least some skill with fighting, and quite a bit at screwing things up for us. I'm sure you've heard about the disaster at Nanai. In truth, that wasn't Terrack's fault, though he was an incompetent. No, this Ryu killed Terrack, took the Earth Key, and destroyed the city. He then went and derailed a very expensive plot we had gone to quite some extremes to carry out. One of our allies, the Wizard of Karma, poisoned the King of Winlan, and his silly daughter went to try and get the antidote. However, Ryu followed and saved her, killed the Wizard, and got the antidote himself. That's a lot of money wasted. The Wizard had, however, set up a spell recording their fight, and it was transmitted to Blue, thus how we know all this. Ryu now appears to be in Forest Clan territory, and he seems to have brought that princess along with him. If his past record is any kind of indication, he's very clever, and he'll try to kick your forces out of this area as well. If he does, direct all your forces towards him. Kill him, and get that Earth Key back, no matter what the cost."
"Hm, I wonder..." Picking up a report on the fight in the Forest of Despair, the General flipped through it to the end. "Aha! Just as I thought... a man with blue hair and a Wing Clan girl, along with a dark-furred Forest Clanner... huh, might want to keep an eye out for that fellow as well. Point is, mister Ryu was here all right, and he was making a hash of our business as usual." Tossing the report aside, he sat behind his desk, grinning wildly. "And now this silence, this waiting on our enemies' part. Ryu's not here any more, and the Forest Clanners are counting on him to come back with something... something that they have to believe will win this war for them. And there's only one thing that could be. The King Key." He threw back his head and laughed. "That simpleminded dunce! Does he think he can simply reactivate the Stone Robot that easily? Oh well, I suppose I shouldn't complain... it's not like I'd know where the King Key is by myself. And now, all I have to do is wait here, and my friend Ryu will come and bring me not one, but TWO Goddess Keys! I've wanted to get my hands on just one for so long... and now two! Ladon truly does smile upon me..."
"Sir?" Another soldier was standing in the entrance to the tent. "Sir, the legion has arrived. They're out here waiting for you to inspect them." Groaning, Graham rose from his seat.
"Oh, very well... I suppose it is expected..." He shrugged as he walked out. "And besides, it's not as if show time is going to come any time soon... still a little more time before that, if Ryu is doing what he's supposed to..."
"Well, let's see if this works." Ryu grunted. They were back in Romero, and all the living townspeople were gathered around. Slowly, the Light Dragon warrior began pouring the Cleansing Water out. It disappeared into the soil as if something was drinking it up, but more and more kept pouring out. Gradually, the purple color began to fade. The dirt turned brown, and then suddenly, healthy green grass sprung up all over the town. The graveyard was the last place to be affected, but as the water's flow began to lessen, the graves were covered with beautiful flowers. The jarmaker's wife knelt by his grave, which had sprouted a rosebush, and plucked a single flower from it. Bo smiled.
"Hey, Ryu... the smell's gone. We did it."
"Seem that way." Nina agreed. The townspeople erupted in a cheer.
"Hooray! The zombies are history!"
"Excuse me, coming through..." Pushing, the Chief came through the crowd to face the three heroes. "Thank you, all of you! We are greatly in your debt!"
"Yeah, about that." Ryu smiled. It was not a nice smile. Neither were the ones Nina and Bo were wearing. "We noticed a few things you forgot to mention about that cave. Like, say, the giant flame-spewing blobs and the fanged, ceiling-crawling slugs. Ring any bells?" The Chief gulped.
"Well... I suppose, perhaps, I might have heard something about that... once or twice..."
"You don't say." Nina flexed her wings, making a sound similar to one cracking their knuckles. "We found those things you, ah, forgot, troublesome. Now, how grateful are you again?"
"Anything in the town is yours." The Chief blurted. "Whatever you want."
"The Goddess Key." Bo nodded. "You have information. We need it. Talk." The Chief paled.
"Goddess Key? Oh, no... no, we know nothing about..." He stopped as he saw them start to approach. "Wait! All right, all right! The King Key is in Agua, north of here!"
"Agua..." Nina thought. "I remember seeing that. But there's no way in..."
"Oh, I think there is." Ryu shot the Chief a look. "There's always a way in... and I'm betting our chum here knows it. Don't you?" The old man blinked.
"What? Oh, no, I..."
"Think carefully before you answer, friend." Bo advised him. The Chief faltered.
"Oh... yes, I do. It's the greatest secret of our village... ever since the War of the Dragons..."
"Well, I've got news." Ryu told him, suddenly growing grim. "You might not have heard about it back here, but the Dark Dragons are going after the same thing again. They want all the Goddess Keys, so if we don't take the King Key off your hands, sooner or later THEY'll come up here for it. And they won't ask nicely like we are. So which is it going to be, Chief? Us or the Dark Dragons?"
"The... oh damn it all, fine. Follow me." Muttering to himself, the Chief took them to his house, where he pushed aside an old bookcase. Hidden in an alcove behind it was a flat, dust-covered stone disk. Ryu took it and blew on it to get the dust off. It was covered with strange designs, symbols and messages carved into it.
"What's this?"
"This Tablet is the key to entering Agua." The Chief told them. "Walk to the end of the pier and place it there. You'll see the spot where it goes."
"And that will get us into this Agua place?" Bo pressed. The Chief nodded. "Good. We'll be off tomorrow. Oh, one more thing. We'll be staying at the inn tonight, and probably another night after we get back. You can take care of the tab for that, can't you?" The Chief nodded again unhappily. "All right. Thanks. We'll see you around."
The next day, they left at daybreak and immediately went north. Nina just smiled as the two guys stared at Agua.
"Holy..."
"What IS it?"
"It's our destination is what it is, gentlemen." Nina told them. "If what I've heard is correct, we'll be the only people who have set foot there since the Dragon War."
"Wow..." Ryu shook his head. "Well, if there was a place I'd look for a Goddess Key, that's be it. Guess my namesake couldn't be subtle with hiding all of them... let's go." The three of them walked out to the end of the pier. The entire thing seemed to be built of marble. At the end there was a depression that looked as if it would fit the Tablet exactly. Shrugging, Ryu set it in. Nothing happened. "Great. Now what?"
"Maybe you have to read those wierd words on it?" Bo suggested.
"Sure, why not..." Rolling his eyes heavenward, Ryu bent over it. "Let's see... Nikrowd, Eertkorb, Yerfmuh, Nidleb, Lizah, Nohkera... is that how it's-whoa!" All three of them dropped to the ground as everything began shaking, like there was a sudden earthquake.
"But I didn't touch the Earth Key!" Ryu yelled over the noise.
"It's not that! It'a Agua!" Nina yelled back. As suddenly as it had began, the disturbance stopped. Looking up, the three saw that the floating landmass had descended so that the very bottom of it was on their level. A staircase that had not been visible before connected to the pier and led into a cave mouth. Bo frowned.
"I don't like this. What if somebody comes along and takes the Tablet? Will we be stuck up there?"
"I don't think so." Nina shook her head. "Besides, even if we are, I can fly down and retrieve it. I doubt that force field or whatever that keeps Wing Clanners from flying in works both ways."
"No help for it, I guess." Ryu set himself. "Let's just get this over with as fast as we can then, folks." He walked up the staircase, and the other two followed him.
Despite having been untouched for ages, Agua had not a speck of dust or a single cobweb. The interior of the structure was carved out of some yellow stone. Every wall had murals etched on it, and spookily, blue torches were set along them, burning eternally though nobody tended to them. Bo shivered.
"This place... lots of magic here. Old magic... the kind that can blow you out the other side of the universe if you screw with it. Creepy..." He shook his head. "Let's just hope there's no guards." They turned around a hall corner, climbed up a level, and found themselves facing a huge gap that covered most of the entire floor, which all seemed to be one huge room. "Great. Looks like this is Wing Clan only from this point on..."
"No, wait." Ryu pointed at the pit. Floating at the edge was some kind of large floor tile... without a floor. It simply hovered. "That looks like a transport." Bo stared at him as if he had just suggested they flap their arms and jump. "Look, it's the only way. Like you said a moment ago, we can HOPE there's no guards, but I wouldn't bet on it. And if there are, chances say all three of us will need to be there to win. No other option."
"No way." Bo shook his head firmly. "No way in hell. I am NOT doing it." Ryu sighed.
"Look, I'll go first. Watch. If I don't die, you'll know it's safe." Hopping on, he waited as the tile coasted across the gap easily, and jumped off on the other side. "See? No problems. It's fine." Bo still shook his head.
"No. I HATE heights. I'm not riding that thing."
"Look, Bo." Nina sighed. "I understand that you don't want to. But if you don't, we may not get the Key... and then the Dark Dragons will conquer your people. I'm sorry, but there's no other way." Bo bit his lip. He closed his eyes. He jumped on the tile.
"Tell me when I'm across..."
"You're here." Ryu informed him, and the Forest Clanner jumped off as if somebody had lit a fire under his tail. Nina glided across.
"See? That wasn't so hard."
"Let's just go." Bo growled. Unfortunately for him, it did not end there; the next two floors were similar. Both times the Forest Clanner went across with his eyes clamped tightly shut. On the fourth floor, the ride took them not to another staircase. The far side of the room had two other features. A huge iron door, locked tightly shut with a mechanism as big as their heads. And a short half-pillar, covered with even more strange carvings than the rest of Agua. A glowing blue crystal orb was resting on top of the latter.
"Well, we're not getting through there..." Ryu tilted his head at the door. "...so let's just hope this is it." He walked up to the pillar and examined the orb.
"What?" A deep voice came out from it, making all three of them jump. "Who's there? What is going on here?" From the orb, a blue mist creeped out. Within it, the three could see a pair of baleful yellow eyes. "You seek the King Key?"
"Uh... yeah." Ryu nodded. "The Dark Dragons are trying to revive the-"
"I care not for your motives!" The spirit boomed. "I am the Wisp, the Guardian of the King Key! If you wish to revive it from its slumber, then you must prove yourselves to me!"
"It's hostile!" Bo yelled. "Get it!" Stretching his bowstring tight, he loosed several rounds into the Wisp. Laughing, the spirit extended a portion of itself to whack him in the face. He recoiled back; it had been like being smashed with a large chunk of ice. Nina cast her resistance-increasing spell on him as Ryu made his attack, slicing a large gash in the mist. Wisp winced, but the gap closed.
"Damn it! How do you fight this thing?"
"Maybe this will help more!" Bo flung a bolt of lightning at the Wisp, who recoiled from it, hissing. "Ha! Don't like that, eh? Ryu! Maybe if you go for the face!"
"Gotcha!" Ryu jumped forward to try for it, hacking off chunks of mist that were in his way. Wisp opened up a dark hole below the eyes in the shape of a smiling mouth, and balls of ice flew out to smash into all three heroes' faces. Nina immediately cast a healing spell on Ryu, then Bo.
"Don't let up, guys! Keep on him!" Finally, Ryu reached the eyes. He plunged his sword into one, and Wisp shrieked.
"Move, Ryu! Now!" Bo yelled. The Light Dragon complied, and he hurled his thunderbolt spell again, right into Wisp's other eye. With another scream, the blue mist dissolved into the air. Ryu sheathed his blade.
"Another nasty down..."
"Wait, no! It's coming back!" Nina yelled. Ryu cursed and pulled his sword out again as blue mist reformed above the orb. This time, though, Wisp made no moves to attack.
"Ah... no, no. You have done well indeed. Take the King Key with my blessing, Ryu!" The orb floated into the air, and within it, a dark shape could be visible. As the three stared, the orb hovered down to Ryu, and then suddenly shattered as a small object placed itself in his hand. A key. Much slimmer than the Earth Key, it was carved of solid gold. At the top, wings flanked a nearly-flat carving of a grim, bearded monarch in ruby that was set in the metal. Like the Earth Key, though, the bottom was strangely complex, fit for a unique lock. Ryu carefully placed it in his pocket, though he felt it was much stronger than it looked.
"Uh... thanks. But how did you know my name?" At this, the Wisp laughed.
"Ha ha ha! I have my sources, Light Dragon warrior. But for now, you have more important things to take care of... as do I. Farewell!" Winking, the Wisp faded out again.
"Well, that was wierd." Nina commented. Bo nodded.
"Agreed. But hey, we got the Key!" He suddenly realized something and groaned. "And now we have to go back down... across all those lifts again..."
"Seems that way." Ryu observed the locked door. "Like I said before, we're not getting through this, whatever it's for. It's probably not our problem anyways. We got what we came here for." As it turned out, the trip back down was slightly more eventful; a pair of marauding Orc Clanners had boarded to look for treasure. The flabby orange pig-men were able to open up a nice cut on Bo's arm before they were taken down, and although Nina was able to heal it, it didn't improve his mood. When they exited the floating island, though, he sighed and smiled.
"I just hope we never have to come back here."
"I don't see why we would." Ryu said as he took the Tablet out. The three heroes watched as Agua slowly gained altitude and went back up into the sky. "Removed from the world again... shall we head back to Romero?"
It was one week later when the three approached the Stone Robot. They had simply gone there straight from Romero instead of stopping at the twin towns. Now that they were this close, Ryu saw how big the Robot really was. Constructed apparently of yellow bricks on the outside, it was hundreds of feet tall; just one of its own feet was three times as tall as Ryu. The left foot, to be precise, which also had a door built into it. The robot was obviously constructed to resemble a human, but a very bulky one, perhaps wearing heavy armor. The head had no face save one huge blue glassy orb.
"There's passages inside." Bo explained, opening the door to demonstrate. It creaked open noisily, and a clod of rust fell. "Hasn't been used in decades... nothing to see here anymore."
"We'd better keep it quiet. Scumbags not too far off." Ryu muttered, pointing to the south, where tents could be seen. "We can wipe 'em once this thing's active, but until then, best not take any chances." The other two nodded, and they entered the Stone Robot silently. Inside, the stone was dull and grey; lighter on the walls, darker on the floor and ceiling. More interesting, and confusing, was that all surfaces were strangely carved to resemble, Ryu thought, creeping vines covering it all. "Watch your step, Bo. Nina, don't fly too high." Cautiously, they moved to a set of stairs and climbed up. Several more rooms like it, one on top of the other, formed the right leg, and then a larger one as they moved into the torso. When they moved into the chest level of the Robot, they found the room had a large altar. Unusually thick stone "vines" were in this room, the thickest of which ran into what was on the alter; a huge statue of a heart. A monolithic slab exactly like the one that had held the Earth Key stood in front of it. Nina gagged.
"Those aren't vines... they're veins!"
"Very perceptive, your highness." A mocking voice congratulated her. From behind the slab, three Dark Dragon soldiers walked out; two archers and a General. "This Stone Robot is truly a work of art... so much ancient magic and technology combined in it, in way which we here today could never understand. But then again, we need not understand something to wield it, correct, sir Ryu?"
"Who are you?" The Light Dragon warrior demanded as Nina began muttering something.
"My name is General Graham. I understand that you killed my predecessor, Folage." Graham clapped. "I must thank you for that... but nevertheless, I must also demand that you turn over both Goddess Keys immediately. Yes, both, the Earth AND King Keys. I know you have that second one, so don't even bother trying to deny it."
"...Uh-huh." Bo threw back his head and laughed. "You... and two of your sad excuses for archers. Wait, whoops..." There were a flash of green sparkles, his hands flickered, and one archer was pierced by multiple arrows. The other turned to gape at him, and moments later, went down with Nina's rapier through him. "Sorry. Make that just you. So... still care to make threats?" Graham's face went livid, and he cursed and jumped backward off the altar.
"You haven't seen the last of this!"
"Hm... smarter than Folage. You actually know when you're outmatched." Ryu observed. "However, you seem to think you have a chance of escaping. I'm afraid you're wrong on that count... sorely."
"Really?" Suddenly drawing his heavy blade, Graham threw it, spinning lengthwise at them, and they were forced to duck and cover. When they looked up, the General was already gone, his footsteps echoing down the stairway. Ryu started to follow him, but was stopped by Nina.
"No, Ryu. Let him go. We'll never catch him, and we have to wake this thing up before he returns with the army." Ryu glared at her for a moment, then turned to the stone slab. Without a word, he produced the King Key, and inserted it in a hole in the center of the block. as he turned it, everything began shaking, and the giant stone heart turned pink and began beating, pumping some kind of liquid that could not possibly have been blood through the veins. Bo frowned.
"Heat... that stuff's lava! What IS this thing?"
"STONE ROBOT... REACTIVATED..." A voice like boulders grinding came from somewhere far above them. "MOVE TO BRAIN... TO ISSUE COMMANDS..." A glass orb set in the floor below them began glowing. Ryu blinked.
"Hey, I've seen one of these before... they're teleporters. This one probably goes straight to the brain." He stepped on it and vanished. Nina and Bo looked at each other, then shrugged.
"What the hell. Nothing ventured..." Following Ryu, they appeared in a small room. Another altar, another slab, but nothing behind it but a wall.
"INPUT COMMAND..."
"Robot, could you please take us to the lake?" Nina asked politely.
"You need to go south of here until you see the dry riverbed, then you go west until it turns north. Then follow it up there to the lake!" Ryu followed up.
"COMMENCING..." There was a great deal of shaking, as for the first time in centuries, the Stone Robot moved. Ancient legs bent and straightened, taking huge steps to the south. There were a great many screams from what it walked over, but it did not hear, or perhaps it did not care. Either way, it followed their instructions to the letter, stopping right in front of the barricade. Bo smiled, his ears standing straight up.
"Yes! Robot, please destroy the barricade!"
"...DESTROY?" The Robot seemed hesitant. "ARE YOU... SURE?"
"Yes." Bo affirmed. "Those rocks are blocking the river... they water shortage is endangering my people's lives. We need the water to live."
"...VERY WELL." There was a crackling noise from beyond the slab. Unknown to them, the single eye was glowing. A moment later, it discharged a beam of energy straight into the barricade. The noise was colossal. All three of them fell to the floor, covering their ears. It was several minutes before it stopped, and was replaced by another sound. Rushing water. Bo stood up, exuberant.
"We... did it! WE DID IT!" He threw back his head and howled. Laughing, Ryu and Nina grinned at him.
"Yes! Now we can return to the village!" Nina exclaimed. Ryu grinned as well, but his was more evil.
"AND, unless I'm mistaken, that course I set the Robot on took him right across the Dark Dragon camp." He made a squishing noise. Nina shuddered, but Bo smiled.
"Good... we're free of them as well, then."
"Seems that way." Ryu nodded. "Come on, let's get back to the towns. Maybe there'll be a party!" The three of them left.
None of them realized that they had made a dreadful error...
"Bo! Hey, Bo!" A Forest Clanner ran out of Tantar to greet the three as they approached. Bo grinned and dashed forward.
"Terry, you old hound! What are you doing out of bed?"
"I'm healed, Bo! Completely!" Terry laughed. "I even nailed a few more Dark Dragon soldiers before you guys mopped them up! Man, that was great! And you unblocked the river, and I'm getting married! What more could go right?"
"Well, there is... wait." Ryu blinked. "Married!"
"Yup!" Terry said proudly. "Me and Amelia were going to get married a while back, actually, but the Dark Dragons messed everything up. Now that they're history, we're partying!" He suddenly had a thought, and bowed to Ryu and Nina. "Sir Ryu... Princess Nina... thank you. You and Bo saved us all!" Ryu smiled and clasped his shoulder.
"If you want to thank us, let us attend the wedding!" He noticed Terry wincing. "Oops... sorry. That's where you got injured, right?"
"Ah, it's nothing!" The young Forest Clanner laughed. "And of course you two are invited! You're the guests of honor! And Bo... would you do me the honor of being my best man?"
"Nothing would make me happier, Ter." Bo nodded. "So, what are we waiting for? Everybody's got to be waiting on US, so let's go!"
The path through Tantar was completely changed; the dry soil now sprung with life every bit as green as Romero's was. The sunset reflected off the sparkling blue river as they walked around it to the Dragon Shrine. Inside, all the residents of both villages, Tantar and Tuntar, were gathered indiscriminately. All had come for the same reason. Ryu's eye caught Chief Lupin waving to him near the front, and he and Nina joined the old Forest Clanner. An old priest with wispy blue-white hair coughed.
"Everybody is here now? Good... we may begin." Terry walked down the aisle, looking nervous but happy in a green doublet. Bo was next to him, whispering words of encouragement. After Terry stood at the alter, musicians began playing an ancient melody as Amelia entered on Chief Bart's arm, radiant in a beautiful white dress. An odd sound caught Ryu's eye, and he turned to see Nina rubbing her eyes.
"Something wrong?"
"Of course not." She whispered. "And don't talk!" Ryu shrugged and watched as the old priest began reciting from the Book of Ladon.
"We are here to join Terry of the Forest Clan and Amelia of the humans. It is the wish of the Dragon God, Ladon, that you have a long, happy life together..."
At some point in the ceremony, Ryu must have dozed off, for the next thing he knew, the two were kissing, and everybody was cheering, and his shin hurt. "Ow! Nina, what-"
"Shut up and be happy!" She hissed. Ryu gave up and started clapping. The bridesmaids took up positions flanking the couple and began dancing wildly. At that point, everything broke down. Whooping and hollering, the townspeople charged outside, Bo at their head.
"PARTY! It's party time!" Nina shook her head.
"Let's just hope he doesn't get loaded..."
"I thought that was a wedding tradition!" Ryu joked.
"Har har."
"Actually, he might be right." Chief Bart grinned. He and Lupin were the only ones left in the Shrine aside from Ryu and Nina. "I know I plan on toasting my daughter and son-in-law a few times. What's the point of partying otherwise? But anyways... I take it you two will be leaving us soon?"
"I'm afraid so, your grace." Ryu nodded. "Our work here is done... the Dark Dragons in this area are all dead, and all your people are saved. We've still got business with the Dark Dragons, though."
"I think Bo will come with you." Lupin predicted. "He likes you two, I can tell... and I think he still wants to settle things with the Dark Dragons more as well. Will you..."
"Why not?" Ryu sighed, then grinned. "Actually, we'll be happy to. Bo's been a great help already. If he wants to continue helping us kick Dark Dragon tail, all the better, right, Nina?" The Princess nodded.
"Yeah. No problem at all." Lupin shook Ryu's hand.
"Thank you. You should be able to have the Stone Robot take you across the river. It's all mountains south of there, though, so he won't be able to go on. Look for a large cave on the south side... it's a tunnel that will take you to the city of Auria. Rumor has it the Dark Dragons are looking for a third Goddess Key in the area." Ryu's eyes brightened.
"Well, we'll just have to get that one fir... wait." He held up a hand. "Everybody, quiet! Listen!" Outside, the howls of glee had been replaced by something quite different. Screams of terror. Bo ran inside, his face bleak.
"Ryu, Nina, get out here! We've got trouble... BIG trouble!"
"But the Stone Robot killed all the Dark Dragons..." Nina began, then fell silent in horror. Against the blood-red sunset sky, the Stone Robot loomed over Tuntar on the other side of the river.
"Almost all." Ryu growled, eyes flat with rage. "General Graham. It has to be. He snuck aboard the Stone Robot while we were occupied here, and now..."
"COMMAND ACKNOWLEDGED." The Robot boomed. Its eye began glowing, and it released a massive blast of energy straight at the empty town of Tuntar. For a moment, none could see... and then, all that was left of Tuntar was a crater.
"Ladon..." Nina choked. "What power... that's what Goddess Keys do!" Ryu shook his head.
"That's only a secondary function... their true power is much worse. But Graham still has the key... and it's still enough to wipe us out..." The Stone Robot's head shifted towards Tantar. "Dammit, I think this is it..."
"COMMAND... ACK... NO... NO... NO..." The glow in the Robot's eye faded, and its movement ground to a halt. Bo slowly opened his eyes; he had shut them a moment before.
"Look... it stopped! But why?"
"That's not important!" Ryu growled, breaking into a run. "What's important is, now we can stop him! Come on! We've got to get to that thing's brain before it starts up again!"
"WHAT is going on here!" General Graham shrieked. "I gave you a direct order! Destroy the other town! Do it!" The Robot remained silent. "What do you want? Should I say 'Simon Says'! Move! Attack! Do SOMETHING!" The Robot was still motionless. "What is WRONG with you? What is your problem? Say something, already!"
"I think you've got a lot more problems than an unresponsive Robot, General Graham." An angry voice challenged him as Ryu stepped off the teleporter, followed by Nina and Bo. "Consider yourself lucky that there was nobody in Tuntar at the time. As it is, you're not leaving here alive this time."
"Oh, is that so?" Graham sneered. "Let me tell you something. I could have killed all of you quite easily the first time we met. Why didn't I, you may ask? Simple. As I was about to, I realized you would probably leave the King Key here if I let you, so I could wipe out the villages-and you-with the Robot, not even bleeding! Shame it didn't work... now I will have to deal with you personally!"
"Oh, is that so?" Bo snorted. "Tell me, how do you expect to kill us so easily when you don't even have your sword?" Graham smiled crookedly.
"Oh, poor, stupid Forest Clanner. I don't need my sword. It's time for you all to learn the difference between fools like Terrack and Folage, and people like me. It'll be your LAST lesson, I'm afraid!" Before any of them could move, he began swelling and expanding like a bloated tick. His skin turned green and scaly, and his body bulked up, becoming hugely muscular. His ears shifted back and became bestial and pointed while his forehead jutted and his mouth widened. When the change was complete, something very big, very nasty, and entirely unhuman glared at them from baleful golden eyes.
"What... what..." Nina stammered. Ryu shook himself.
"Some kind of... Gremlin! But it still bleeds! Take him down!" Nina nodded and began coating all of them with yellow sparkles while Ryu hacked at its leg and Bo tried to get a shot at the eye. The Gremlin chuckled.
"Cute... but ineffective." Drawing back a foot, it kicked Ryu like a soccer ball. He went flying across the room. Bo cursed; his arrows weren't doing jack either.
"Nina! Give Ryu that attack-up... it's his only chance of slicing through that hide!" The Princess nodded and changed her words.
"And just what do YOU plan to do, hmm?" The Gremlin growled, lumbering towards Bo.
"Same thing I did for Folage." Bo flexed his arm, and an ice spell caught the Gremlin full in the face. Stumbling back, the Gremlin shook his head.
"Oof... that was unpleasant. But not nearly enough, pup!"
"Maybe you'll like this better then!" Ryu yelled, darting in behind the Gremlin. Before the surprised brute could move, he had sliced into its thigh, going for the hamstring. He didn't get it, but the Gremlin's howl was satisfying nonetheless.
"You little-!" It reached for him, but he jumped away. Snarling, the Gremlin lumbered after the Light Dragon, leaving its wound exposed to Bo, who lashed it with lightning. Again the Gremlin howled.
"Is my magic still 'unpleasant', big guy?" Bo snickered.
"I'll tell you after I make a bow out of your spine and arrows from your ribs!" The Gremlin turned on him, and Ryu opened up another cut on its flank. Screaming, it whirled, and Bo pumped a fireball into this wound as well.
"There you go, you... crud. Ryu, hold him off for a moment!" Falling back, Bo began searching through his pockets for something. Ryu cursed as the Gremlin grinned nastily.
"Dammit... fine time to lose your keys! Guess I'll have to go the gung-ho approach... YAH!" Charging forward, he leaped into the Gremlin's grasp and began hacking at its chest with wild abandon even as its claws found him. Caught aback, it was only able to slash at him for a few seconds before it was knocked back and over by the ferocity of the attack. Panting, Ryu stood up, dripping blood as the last of blue sparkles around him faded.
"There. We've all got the works now." Nina told him. "Attack power, endurance and speed are all up."
"And I've got more spells ready." Bo confirmed. Ryu groaned as the Gremlin began to rise.
"Good... because I think we just pissed him off!" Shrieking, the beast forced itself to its feet and turned to glare at them, eyes devoid of all intelligence. With another mindless shriek, it dashed forward, crouched before them, and opened its gaping maw wider than should be possible to spew out endless waves of golden flames that filled nearly the entire room.
"What's it doing!" Nina yelled.
"I don't know, but we're all barbecue if it keeps it up!" Bo called back.
"If I can just get one good hit..." Ryu was muttering. Nina had a thought.
"One good hit, eh? Right, Bo, hold an ice spell ready. And hope this works...!" Pulling her rapier, she cast it in a smooth underhand throw like she had done with the Wizard of Karma, straight into the Gremlin's mouth. The flames cut off, and it raised its head, choking, mouth still open. Taking the cue, Bo released the ice, and like the rapier, and went straight into the Gremlin's maw. Now it was almost staggering around, clutching at its throat, as Ryu ran forward.
"End of the line... General!" He leaped up, jumped off the Gremlin's knee, rebounded off its shoulder and went for the neck. The beast stared at him for just a moment before his blade went through. The Gremlin's head sailed across the room and hit the wall with a disgusting splat. For a moment, it looked as if the body was going to fight on... but then it collapsed to the ground, even as the golden light in the Gremlin's eyes died.
"Well, that's another General on our kill list." Bo put away his weapon. "NOW the Dark Dragons are gone from my people's lands." Suddenly, the room started shaking. Nina blinked.
"Hey! It's moving! The Stone Robot's walking!" Ryu and Bo exchanged nervous glances; was the Stone Robot now carrying out Graham's last order?
"LEAVE..."
"Huh?" Ryu frowned.
"LEAVE... NOW..."
"What does it..." Bo started to say, then stopped himself. "Whatever... I don't think it's going for Tantar. Do what it says." Taking the teleporter back, they quickly ran down the right leg and exited through the door; the Robot stopped walking so they were not stepped on. "Hey, we're down at the southern border... right north of the river, near the volcanoes!"
"Wow..." Ryu shielded his eyes, looking at the fire-topped mountains. "So that's what a volcano looks like... the crater on that one looks like it's big enough to fit the Robot!" He suddenly went pale. "Wait... you don't think it's..."
"It's walking up the volcano!" Nina exclaimed. The Robot neared the top, then stopped and turned its head to look at Ryu. His eyes widened. "What... what is it?"
"I don't know..." The Light Dragon whispered. "I don't know how, but... I'm seeing things... this Robot was built for one purpose only. War. Ever since it was brought into this world, it saw nothing but death and destruction... then the Dragon War ended, and it could sleep. But then Graham came along, and made it wreck Tuntar... and it couldn't do any more. The Stone Robot... doesn't want to do anything else. It doesn't want to hurt anything else... it thinks it's done too much already. It just wants to... rest. Forever." Nina and Bo bowed her heads.
"Its entire life... nothing but killing and destroying?" The Princess wiped her eyes. "I'm... sorry..." Though there was no possible way it could have heard here, the Robot turned its eye on her for a moment. Then it turned back to the volcano, and took one more step forward. As it plunged into the crater, a huge mass of lava was displaced, and came boiling down the side of the mountain. Over the rushing noise, one last message could be heard.
"THANK... YOU... GOOD... BYE..." And then it was gone. The lava poured into the part of the river that turned east, and through a massive amount of steam, hardened. When the steam cleared, the hardened lava filled the riverbed fully.
"Wow... indeed." Ryu whispered. "We can use this to get across once it cools..."
"But won't the river back up and flood?" Nina worried. Bo shook his head.
"No... it looks like the river just turns east, but it really forks; straight ahead, it just goes underground into the mountains. It'll keep going." He frowned. "What I'm wondering is... why did it... say that? To us?"
"Because..." Ryu looked at the volcano. There was nothing remaining of the Stone Robot left showing. "Because what we asked it to do... that was the only time it was ever used to save lives, instead of taking them." He looked around. "We'd better head back to Tantar... everybody will want to know what happened. And I don't know about you two, but I could definately use a hot bath and a soft bed."
"Amen to THAT..." Nina nodded. Bo did as well.
"And tomorrow?"
"Tomorrow..." Ryu bent over and picked something off of the top of the lava bed. It was the King Key, completely undamaged. "Tomorrow, we go south."
