Beginning: Victoria

Chapter 11

Sira lays her hands gently on the doors and closes her eyes to listen. She can hear a faint rumbling sound getting louder. She steps back and the ground begins to shakes violently. The four team members try to steady themselves, but the shaking forces them all to kneel and hold onto various things. They all panic a little, what is going on? Stones begin to fall from the platforms above and they all huddle in the arch of the doorway trying to avoid being struck. The earth shaking comes to a halt and they try and breathe despite the dust from the tumbling rocks. Valencia grabs Jaimus's shoulder and points to the wall opposite the enormous doors.

"What?" asks Jaimus.

"That's the area we were in before..." says Valencia.

"And...?"Asks Jaimus standing and helping the mage to her feet.

A loud purring sound is heard.

"Sweet mother of..."gasps Jaimus.

He starts looking for rocks to climb onto.

"Fool," yells Zenith pulling the bowman down from a boulder. "Those things can jump you know."

"The rope," yells Jaimus jumping towards the rope.

He grabs hold of it and starts inching up. A few feet above the ground the stones above loosen and fall bringing the rope down with it. The bowman lands hard on the ground and covers his head avoiding some falling rocks.

"Twit," says Valencia. "Mr. I'm so brave afraid of a few kittens?"

"KITTENS?" Yells Jaimus. "Those ... Those vile drooling fang filled beasts you lured to me are not kittens... they are going to chomp us good... we have nowhere to run..."

Zenith feels the door as the bowman's whining of "mama noooooo we're gonna die" repeat itself in the background. He takes his bag from Sira and reloads his stars in his pant leg case.

"Can we get it open?" asks Sira.

Valencia smacks Jaimus behind the head.

"Would you shut up," shouts Valencia. "If the kitties come, it'll be to eat you to stop your incessant babbling."

Jaimus ends his panic attack, clears his throat and puffs his chest.

"Well then," he asks trying to regain some dignity. "Shall we?"

He joins Zenith and Sira in pushing the door. The door nudges a little. Sira raises her Zeco and drives the steel shards in the slit between the doors using her spear to try and pry it open. As the doors open enough to let them through a kitty pounces from the rubble on the other side of the collapsed wall and growls. Valencia fires a weak Holy Arrow startling the beast. They slip through the crack in the door and arrive on the other side. They all breathe a sigh of relief as the kitty lunges its claws through the crack unable to pass. Jaimus snickers at it and turns to face the tunnel ahead. He steps back when his eyes land on the swarming white hissing beasts a few feet away.

"Oh well," says Jaimus. "Was nice while it lasted."

"Grab your bow and run," says Zenith pushing the bowman forward.

As the beasts charge they all unleash their quickest skills to clear a path. Zenith runs past them dodging their icy touch throwing random stars at the beasts as he leaps over them from boulder to boulder. Sira charges hoards of them using all of her strength and mana to use a multiple damage skill called slash blast. Jaimus jumps clumsily around shooting down arrows as Valencia follows advancing quickly using her teleporting skills, damaging some of the beasts as she passes by. They manage to make it far into the creatures den with only minor damages.

As they all gather on a safe ledge they collapse out of breath. Sira lies on her stomach, lets go of her spear and looks down. They still have a long way to go. The beasts seem to be getting larger in numbers as they gather below their platform hissing at the trespassers. How long had those doors been shut and these beasts been waiting for some fresh meat to come their way? Why were they behind this door? Were they guards protecting something? Something that should not be disturbed? Sira closes her eyes and feels a small stream of blood run down her cheek.

"Let me muster up enough strength to heal you all before I continue," says Valencia.

"We should go now," says Zenith.

"Hey," says Valencia. "I can heal you, but I can't bring you back from the dead. We are gonna all need each other to get out of this alive. There's no turning back..."

"No turning back?" asks Jaimus. "Val, hun, we are in a dead end tunnel... god knows how far underground with no way out but Sleepywood. We are stuck down here!"

"We can go back," says Sira. "We all know there is no dragon down here. I don't know what I expect to find."

She stands and walks to the end of the ledge. Zenith joins her.

"We have to go on," he says.

"Why?" asks Sira feeling guilty that they all came with her. "Why are you even helping me? Why do you care what happens to me? Why do you care about the dragon knights?"

Zenith is silent then hands Sira back her spear she had left a little ways behind.

"I'm curious," says Zenith. "Now get up, and you two stop moping."

Zenith turns and looks at the cleric and the bowman.

"Ahead," says Zenith. "Can't you feel it? Or are you too busy with thoughts of your own demise?"

Valencia stands and looks ahead. She realizes she can't see anything, but she feels something. A cool breeze blows through her hair.

"A breeze," says Jaimus cracking a smile.

"From where?" asks Valencia.

"From down there," says Sira looking down into the tunnel.

"But how?" asks Jaimus.

"Let's have a look," says Zenith. "However, there are too many of those creatures. Fighting is futile at the moment."

The assassin gestures with his hand for Sira to hop onto his back.

"Ill take Sira and run as fast as I can," says Zenith. "Valencia take this doofus and teleport past them. He can shoot at them if they become too bothersome."

"Wouldn't it be better if I were on your back?" says Jaimus to Zenith.

"No," says Zenith. "Valencia can't avoid them like I can. You will need to use your bow to protect her. Valencia is not a range fighter; she is useless to Valencia at the moment."

Jaimus clears his throat.

"It is very unlike a gentleman to allow a lady to carry him as a load on her back," says Jaimus.

"Says the man who was just crying like a baby ten minutes ago," says Valencia grabbing the bowman and helping him onto her back.

"Well err..." says Jaimus properly adjusting himself. "This stays between us ok?"

"Whatever you say," says Valencia rolling her eyes.

They leap off the ledge and down the rocky slope onto boulders and broken pillars making their way past the ravenous creatures as swiftly and safely as possible. After a while of running they reach a small tunnel and pass through it without any of the beasts following. They arrive in an area and stop admiring the view. Siya and Jaimus slide off the backs of their carriers and gaze in wonder. Large pillars and archways in ruin fill the area.

"It looks like the ruins of an ancient underground palace," says Valencia.

"Or that of a temple," says Sira.

"Do you think," says Jaimus. "That the dragons roar... that they were referring to an actual dragon?"

"Maybe," says Sira. "And Maybe this was his temple in days of past. It is fitting for a beast of such magnificence."

They walk cautiously across broken pillars and pass through enormous archways. Sira slides her hand on the marble of the elegantly carved pillars as they venture deeper into the ruined temple. Why had such a rich and elegant place been built so deep underground?

There are only a few of the white creatures but they are still very cautious. What if what had been locked away is still here? As they go farther into the ruins the breeze becomes stronger. Would they find an exit at the end of the tunnel? How is that possible? Where would it lead?

They enter a large open area and the cold breeze becomes very warm and the air is filled with unsettled dust once again. They make their way into the middle of the area and a new light shines on them. They look up and see a hole enormous in radius going up, as far up as they can see letting in light.

"What is that?" asks Jaimus.

"A very big hole," says Valencia.

"I can see that," says Jaimus. "But is that day light?"

"It would seem so," says Zenith. "Come, we climb."

Sira looks quickly around the room and seeing nothing informative follows her team up the dirt and rocks. So this was the end of the tunnel and still she had so many questions. What had she really expected to find? She wonders. She knew now that this dragon's roar had been kept in the temple, or so she assumed. She already knew a lot, but about her father she still knew nothing. Had he been killed? Had he come into the tunnel and died? She had seen his body at the funeral, he couldn't have. She shakes the thoughts from her head and concentrates on the task at hand.

The climb is tiring and steep, but they manage to make it up without much difficulty. They stumble on loose rocks from time to time but do not fall back down. The ground is warm... what had happened? An explosion? They climb many feet and the light becomes more intense. Zenith looks up and can see what he thinks is the sky. The ground briefly shakes again and they hold tightly onto roots and rocks. What is going on at the end of the tunnel?

The end comes into view and a large yellow flash followed by a crashing sound makes them stop and hold tight for another earth shake. They resume their ascent and finally Zenith puts his hand on level ground and lifts himself up out of the hole. He stops in his tracks and his eyes widened in shock. Men... women are fighting... a war? What is going on? He jumps out of the side of the hole and helps the others out. In the distance enormous beasts and fighters of all classes are at battle. They look around frantically ... trees burning... the cries of men and women... a town... Valencia lets out a cry... Ellinia.