Spyro opened another crate. "Hunter, I've found some more arrows." he called. Hunter walked over to the crate.
Akiro kept reading over the plan that Spyro had written down. "No, really, we're the distraction?" he asked. Spyro nodded.
"Hunter and I have to get in unnoticed. All you guys have to do is get the attention of as many guards as you can. The more gnorcs that are out there trying to deal with you guys, the easier it'll me for me and Hunter to sneak in and out."
"Yeah, but..." Sabina began.
"Look, if it gets too dangerous to hang around, you guys can run for it. I'll even find you a map of the place and show you all the ways out."
The two finally agreed. "Good." said Spyro. "Now help us look through all these crates and get the place cleaned up a little. Nighttime's still several hours away."
So they spent the afternoon unpacking the boxes. In most of them were food, water, and basic supplies. Sadly, a lot of the food had gone bad, and they had to throw it out. Whatever they could salvage, they stored in the kitchen. The rest of the crates held things like maps and weapons. They didn't know why these things would be put in a storm shelter, but made use of them anyway.
The maps they posted on the walls of the main chamber. They depicted all of the Dragon Worlds before the change, Avalar, the Forgotten Worlds, and there was one large map of the storm shelter. Then they located a storeroom and put the weapons and empty crates in it. Spyro lit a few torches and handed them around so that they could go all through the shelter and light several of the lanterns in each room. Sabina found a door that led to a smaller hallway. Four doors lined either side of it. Behind each of them she found a long room with two rows of cots. Akiro found some of the alternate exits in the shelter, and marked them on the map.
Finally, it was dark outside. The shelter still needed a lot of work before it could be inhabitable, but that could wait. "Now, I know one of these exits comes out close to the dungeons." Spyro began. "I think it's this one." he pointed at a spot on the map.
"Let's go!" Hunter exclaimed. He shouldered his bow and arrows, Spyro picked up the Tracker Deactivating Gadget, and Akiro held on to a can of white paint he found. "Why do you have that?" asked Hunter.
"I've got an idea. I'll show you when we get there."
"Okay."
They passed through several different hallways and rooms, and eventually walked down one long, dark corridor. Sabina grabbed an unlit torch off the wall and Spyro blew fire on it for her. After a short while, they came to a set of stairs built into the wall. "We're here. Now everyone be quiet. There could be just about anyone waiting for us out there."
Spyro led the way up the stairs and carefully slid open a small door. He peered outside, and then motioned for the others to follow. They were standing ankle-deep in snow, right behind two huge ice crystals. It was a wide, open area, covered with snow and ice. In the middle stood a frozen fountain, and on one side was another store. Several doors and entries lined the walls. "Wow." Sabina whispered. "Is this Vokrath's hideout?"
"No, this is just where he put the dungeons. His hideout's in a different area." Spyro explained. "Come on, we need to go to the Ice Citadel." The dragon hurried across the frozen land to a doorway. They followed him through the tunnel. "All right, here's what you guys need to do." Spyro said softly while they were walking. "Get the guards' attention, and force them to leave the area. Hunter and I will sneak in, see who we can rescue right now, and come out. When it's time to get out of here, we'll let you know."
"How?" asked Sabina.
"One of us will come get you. Here we are." They had reached the end of the tunnel, and were standing at the top of a frozen set of steps, overlooking some type of fortress. There were two open doorways in the wall, each one guarded by a blue gnorc, wielding a sword. "You guys ready?" Hunter asked.
"Just about." Akiro said, opening the can of white paint he had been carrying. "I thought of something that would confuse the guards." he then held the can above his head and poured it on himself. "Ta-daa! Sabina and I now look almost exactly alike!" He began rubbing the paint all over himself to make sure he was completely covered.
"But you're twins." said Hunter. "I thought you looked like each other already."
"Well now we're the same color." Akiro said. "I'm ready."
"Me too." Sabina replied.
"Great! You guys go out first, and we'll follow." Spyro exclaimed. Akiro whispered something to Sabina, and then began to run to the steps. He slid down the stairs and landed in the middle of the courtyard. One of the guards looked up.
"Hey, you!" he yelled. "This is a restricted area, you have to leave."
"And what if I don't?" Akiro yelled back insolently. The guards looked at each other, then back at him.
"Then we're gonna have to arrest you!"
"I'd like to see ya try!"
The guards ran towards Akrio, who in turn ran to a pile of broken doors and hid behind it. The gnorcs ran to the spot and were about to pull the top door off the stack when they heard a voice from behind them.
"Hey, dumb and dumber! Over here!"
They turned to see Sabina, standing in one of the doorways. "There he is!" yelled one of the guards. "Get him!" The guards followed Sabina through the doorway.
"Go!" Spyro told Hunter. The two hurried to the other entryway and ran down the hall. About halfway through, they heard the sounds of more guards approaching. Spyro stopped and felt along the wall. "Hunter, you hold them off. I'll find the door." he continued feeling for a specific crack that would reveal the location of the hidden door. Three guards came around the bend in the hall.
"You!" one of them shouted, drawing his sword. "Get outta here!" The gnorc came charging forwards. Hunter quickly notched an arrow to his bow and let it fly. It hit the gnorc square in the neck. The guard made an awful gurgling sound as Hunter shot a few more arrows at him. The gnorc fell face-first onto the ground, dead. The other two came running to them, with spears and shields. Hunter nailed one of them in the heart, and it died instantly. The other one was now too close to shoot at, so the cheetah punched it in the face as hard as he could. This didn't phase the gnorc much at all. The guard raised his sword and brought it down hard! Hunter quickly held up his blow to block the blade, which sank halfway into the wood. Still holding up the bow and the sword, Hunter kicked the gnorc in the chest, sending him hurling against the wall. The guard dropped his shield on impact.
The guard stood up now, swaying a little, and grabbed his sword. He charged at Hunter, yelling at the top of his voice. "Uh, Spyro? A little help here!" the cheetah shouted. The gnorc came closer, waving his blade. Suddenly, Spyro sped between them and blew flames at the gnorc.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" it exclaimed as his clothes caught on fire. Spyro blew again, and the gnorc shrieked louder. Its skin began to blister all over as the fire consumed the guard. Spyro ran back to the wall and continued searching.
"Here it is!" he exclaimed, shoving his claws into a long crack in the wall and pushing. A panel in the wall slid open, revealing a long, stone hallway.
"We've gotta hurry." Hunter said as they entered the passageway and shut the door behind them. "I don't know how long Akiro and Sabina can keep up the distraction." They ran down the hallway.
Sabina came to the room at the end of the hall. It was almost empty, except for a few pretty urns and a fox standing in the middle of it. The fox stared at her, surprised. Sabina didn't stick around, and ran through the first door she saw. In the next room she spotted a furnace and darted behind it. The two guards, having been joined by three others, burst into the room. "Where'd he go? Where is he!" they asked each other.
Idiots. Thought Sabina. Akiro slipped into the room about then. "Here I am!" he yelled, sprinting across to a large pipe that was sticking out of the wall. "Think you're smart enough to follow?" He jumped inside the pipe and ran. The guards hurried after him.
They emerged onto a wide series of catwalks. Below them was a large room, where gnorc guards were training. There were groups of guards marching on one end, while on the other end they practiced dueling, archery, and other forms of combat. Four or five gnorcs, obviously Captains, strutted around the catwalks barking orders to the soldiers below. "Hunter." Spyro whispered. "Do you think you can get rid of those guys quietly?"
"Sure." Hunter said, raising his bow and aiming. He waited until the first guard had turned his back and wasn't yelling anything before shooting the arrow. The arrow appeared in the gnorc's back, and the gnorc collapsed. One of the other officers turned around and noticed that his comrade was dead. He opened his mouth to call a warning when he too, fell over with an arrow in his heart. There were still two gnorcs on the catwalks. Hunter aimed at a gnorc on the far side, and fired once more. Then, he aimed at the last gnorc. He was about to shoot it, when it turned and saw them.
"Kill it, quick!" hissed Spyro. Hunter fired the arrow and caught the gnorc between the ribs. Unfortunately, this gnorc was bigger than all the others and the arrow didn't go all the way through him. He staggered backwards and fell over the railing. The gnorc landed hard on the stone floor.
"Intruders!" he gasped as the other soldiers crowded around him. "It's..." the gnorc never finished that sentence. Already, more than half of the soldiers in the room had grabbed their weapons and were on their way out.
"You men, search the Citadel!" ordered a high-ranking officer as he gestured to a group who were fighting to get out the doors. "You over there, search the grounds! I want a dozen of you to stay behind and watch this area! They won't get away!"
The gnorcs charged out of the room, waving swords and yelling. Spyro and Hunter ran across the catwalk to two of the fallen officers. "Spyro, see those three doors down there?" Hunter asked quietly. Spyro pulled a long sword out of the officer's belt and handed it to the cheetah. "Yeah, what about them?"
"None of the gnorcs left through any of them. Maybe one of them leads to the dungeons!" Hunter suggested, pulling a shield off the other guard.
"Maybe, but which one?"
"I dunno." Hunter said as Spyro found another shield on the other officer.
They hurried across the platforms to the other end of the room. None of the remaining gnorcs had noticed their presence. Finally, they reached a ladder at the other end. "You go down first." Hunter said. "I'll cover you." Spyro nodded and began climbing down the ladder.
"Look!" one of the guards yelled, pointing at Spyro. The dragon let go of the ladder and started gliding down. The guards hurried over to him. One guard was running much faster than the others, and was the first one shot down by Hunter. The others slowed, dumbly looking up at the cheetah. Spyro was able to land and blow fire at the two nearest to him. They screamed at they caught fire.
Hunter quickly climbed down the ladder to help. Three guards met him at the bottom. Hunter swung off the ladder, knocking over one of them, and managed to stab another in the chest. The third came running at him. Hunter swung his sword and beheaded him. The first started to get up as Hunter attacked.
Spyro head-butted a guard, knocking back into his friend's spear. The guard dropped his spear, surprised, and the dragon blew fire on him. Another gnorc lunged, sword raised, at Spyro. He suddenly screamed and fell, and arrow in his back. Spyro burned yet another gnorc as he made his way to Hunter. The cheetah was fending off the last two guards when Spyro took one of them out. Hunter then made short work of the last one.
"This door!" Spyro exclaimed, pointing to the last one on the right. He tried it, but it was locked. Hunter grabbed the knob on the door in the middle, but that one was locked too. "It's gotta be that last door." he said.
Sabina ran through the tunnel and in to another room. This one was empty. She must have come in a little late, if all the guards had already left. She ran across the room to the door, but stopped when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned around to see that a guard was holding her. A chill ran down her spine as he glared and raised his sword.
Shit! I'm gonna die! Sabina thought, Think fast, girl...
"Daddy!" She exclaimed, "You're back from Peru!" The gnorc stared at her like she was crazy. Sabina took advantage of this by slipping out of his grip and hugging his neck as tight as she could. "Me an' mommy were so worried! We though you got run over by an elevator!" The guard tried to pull her off, but she swung around so that she was on his back. She tightened her chokehold and continued to ramble on until the gnorc collapsed. Sabina didn't know if he was dead or unconscious, but she wasn't going to hang around and find out.
The last door was unlocked. Hunter opened it, and he and Spyro went down the hallway. At the end was another door. They opened it to find a spiral staircase. Spyro pulled a torch off the wall and lit it. Then, they descended down into the darkness. It was a very long way down. At last they reached the bottom and were in the dungeons.
It was a huge maze of cells. There was almost no light whatsoever, and it was dead quiet. All that could be heard was the occasional drip of water. Spyro looked around and saw that there were some places where cell walls had collapsed. He and hunter began walking though the camber. They peered in through cell doors to see who was in there. Some were empty, some held sleeping occupants, and some held people who were obviously dead.
Suddenly, Spyro saw a figure sitting chained to the wall of one of the collapsed cells. He brought the light closer and gasped. It was Elora! Two years down here had taken its toll on her. She looked very emaciated, and her clothes hung in tattered rags on her body. Her hair had grown out long and tangled, and her fur was matted and dirty. Spyro stepped closer and saw the scratches and bruises covering her. He handed Hunter the torch and approached the faun. "Elora?" he whispered.
She didn't reply. Hunter stepped away to give him a moment. Spyro lifted Elora's arm and found the shackle around her wrist. Carefully, he tried to slide it off of her wrist. Her arm was so thin now that all it took was a little gentle tugging. The dragon then pulled the other shackle off too.
"Elora, what have they done to you?" he whispered, brushing some of the hair out of her face. The faun shuddered slightly, signaling that she was still alive. Spyro relaxed a little.
"Spyro?"
The dragon turned to see Hunter, cradling Bianca in his arms. Being here hadn't been good for her either. She too was thin and scarred. Her dress was torn and falling apart, and her hair was now down to her shoulders. Hunter shook his head. "I can't believe this," he said. "Why did they do this?" Spyro stood awkwardly on his hind legs and lifted Elora up. Off in the distance, a loud thud and the sound of footsteps and voices echoed through the cells. "We've got to get out of here." he said.
They were about to leave when they heard a voice calling them. "Spyro? Hunter? Is that you?" A face appeared at the bars of a nearby cell.
"Sheila!" Spyro exclaimed.
"Spyro!" the kangaroo said happily. "You guys finally made it!"
"Hold on a sec, we'll get you out!"
"No, you have to leave." she said, "Hear that? That's the guards coming. If you stick around much longer they'll get you too."
"It'll only take us a second." Hunter urged. Sheila shook her head.
"No! Just go. I know you'll come back for the rest of us." she said again. The voices sounded closer. Spyro and Hunter turned to go the way they had come. "Not that way." Sheila called. "Go to your right, and then turn left at the fifteenth door. It's a shortcut."
"Thanks." Spyro said. "And don't worry. We'll be back as soon as we can!"
They waved goodbye and hurried down the passageway. Hunter counted off the doors. "five...six...seven..." They could hear the voices again, louder now. "ten...eleven..." Spyro, unused to walking on his back legs, slowed down some. "thirteen...fourteen...fifteen! This way!" They ran down the left corridor until they came to a large dumbwaiter.
Hunter jumped inside. Spyro handed Elora up to him and then climbed up himself. He and Hunter pulled the rope and lifted the platform up.
Akiro ran out the door, panting. Sabina came out too, running into him. "I think we lost 'em." she said. "We're back where we started from! Now where's Spyro and Hunter?"
"I don't know. Should we wait here or try and find them?"
"Hey guys!" They turned to see Hunter standing at the top of the steps. "Ready to go?"
"How'd you get up there?" demanded Akiro.
"Shortcut. Now hurry!" The two tried to climb the steps, but slipped on the ice. "Try running up the railing." Hunter suggested. Sabina hopped up onto the stone railing and walked up, followed by Akiro.
"Who are they?" Akiro asked upon seeing the two very beat-up looking females.
"Guys, meet Elora and Bianca." Spyro said. "Enough talking, we've got to go, now!"
They raced out the door, unaware that there was a figure in the shadows, watching them.
Whew! Well, this chapter's out of the way. There wasn't a lot of Ember-bashing in this one, but there's still plenty of time for that.