Palin woke up slowly like he wanted to go back to sleep. Instantly, he felt hot. He got up and woke up Tera. "What happened?" she said groggily.
"Why did you push me?" he asked. She sat up and looked up at him.
"I don't know, I thought it was funny".
"Funny! I thought you were trying to kill me. And what happened to the "wimp"?"
"I don't know. I normally am. Really, I once jumped because a ladybug landed on me." Palin couldn't help but laugh. "Come on, let's go!"
A little while later, they passed their fourth mountain and came to what looked like a half built town. Then they realized it was also half destroyed. "What happened here?" asked Tera.
"The same thing that happened to my town, I guess". Then Palin told her what happened. "I guess the Takuta Bird carried me all the way over here", he finished.
"That must have taken days!" she exclaimed.
"I know, but the only thing that I wonder is how did the Takuta Bird use the gate?"
"Well, there is a legend of a creature that can pass through the barriers but I don't know if it's the Takuta Bird."
"Who's that?" Palin said pointing to a small boy kneeling behind a bush. They walked over to him and realized he was just a short man. His brown shirt and red pants were dust covered and his long red beard hung down to the ground. "Hello." Tera said. The man looked up at them with terror and sadness in his eyes.
"It was huge! A giant black snake, I think," said the man, now upright.
"Who are you and what are you talking about?" Tera asked.
"I am Gin-lak, son of Dar-kan. I am a dwarf and I am talking about the thing that destroyed my town!"
"Okay Gin-lak, tell us more about the snake", said Palin.
"Well, it had huge yellow eyes and long fangs. It headed off northwest toward the Palace of Life". Palin guessed that must have meant the Gate of Nor.
"So, it's not here anymore?"
"Pretty sure."
Palin cursed under his breath.
"Don't worry Gin-lak, we'll kill that snake for you", Tera said.
"I hope so. I'll rebuild as much of my town as possible. First I'll give you some supplies for your trip". He dashed into the cave. A few minutes later, he came back out. In his arms were a jug of water, a chunk of stone and a small blue crystal. "Use the Zinorite
for light in the dark. The crystal turns red when danger is near."
"Thank you" said Tera, taking the items gratefully.
"We should go" Palin said. "We have to catch up with that snake".
"Fine, thanks again Gin-lak" Tera said appreciatively.
"My pleasure, folks!" he replied gleefully.
So they took their stuff and said goodbye. It didn't take them long to get back to the gate. Once again, Palin wrote in his name and pressed the crystal. Once again, the crystal turned blue and the magic door opened.
As they were going up the steps, a loud shriek came from the air. They looked up and saw a Phoenix flying straight towards them. The two hurried inside and the door swung closed. Palin caught his breath first and noticed the thud on the roof and small chirps. It had a nest here, he thought. It wasn't attacking us. He told Tera. She understood but she was still scared. Eventually, they headed to the portals and this time, two were open. He checked the ruins on top of the portals and as he suspected, they were Elvenor and Griffion. So he jumped into the Griffion portal before Tera pushed him.
To be continued…