As it had many times by now, a portal opened in the side of Grand Sensei Dareth's Mojo Dojo. The studio was as Lloyd would have remembered it: a single room of large mats, fake trophies and a large screen wall perfect for throwing people out of. There was a familarness to the place, one that served to offset the feeling of worry that reigned supreme in the group as they entered into this new world.
"If Harumi's whole thing checks out," Monty raised his gun, "This is that snake's world."
With a nod, Lulloyd and Mage stepped forward. Mage bounced on his feet as he looked around yet another world that looked nothing like he did, while Lulloyd had simply grown used to it by now. The two shared a small look as Mage shifted his sword back against his hip. Lloyd shifted the weight of Lulloyd's mechdragon brick onto his back.
"Are you sure those two aren't going to randomly show up?" Lloyd asked Harumi. His words sparked a moment of silence among them. They waited patiently, praying not to hear the sound of a mech's jets approaching from the distance. With how quickly those two had followed them until now, if they didn't arrive immediately, they had likely gotten away.
When no sound came, Harumi smiled awkwardly, "Camouflage. I'm still not sure about my energy theory, but if they are tracking disturbances in dimensional energy, it makes sense that when we infuse our own by entering a new world, they'd appear right away. Since we used Ophiod's scale to get here, in theory that would mean we're hidden from them."
"To cloak ourselves in the energy of the world we wish to arrive in to minimize the chance of them finding us…" Overlloyd nodded, "While I find it worrying you rely on theory over fact, thus far your words have proven correct."
"Science is just testing theories until you either make them into facts or revise them to work when they fail," Harumi pointed out with a cough, "Anyways. Do you two know what you're doing?"
"Yeah, we're gathering information on Ophiod and Skales," Lulloyd turned to Mage, "Do you think you can make us some more… permanent disguises?"
"Uh… well, after what I did when we went to Borg's place, I have an idea, but right now I think it's better if we just hide the old fashioned way," Mage looked around, "Does anyone have a cloak?"
"Do not push him," Overlloyd stated harshly, "He is a child, and to rely on his power is a folly. Use your powers sparingly. To attract attention may bring forward those two. Alone, you two stand no chance against them. Leave your weapons with us. You both are more than capable without them." As they had previously agreed to, Lulloyd and Mage relinquished their swords.
"I'll be fine, Over!" Mage chirped, "Trust me, I know what I'm doing! I've gotten myself out of some pretty dangerous situations."
"It's someone making a situation more dangerous than you're prepared for that worries me," Overlloyd's eyes began to pulse brightly, "Do not push yourself. Hide if you must."
Mage blinked at Over's intensity and, while it didn't rattle him, it did make him nervously nod, "S-Sure. I can do that. Anyways, cloak, cloak…"
"Uh, hello? I uh, wasn't aware I had classes today!" Dareth's voice rang out from the other room.
"And that's our cue," Monty waved his hand, "Come on, I'm getting sick of being your chauffeur. I have things to do too, you know. Be back here in twenty four hours."
Quickly, Harumi and Lloyd shared a last look with Lulloyd to ensure that he was alright. Lulloyd just smiled at them back, forcing confidence up to show he was ready. With that, the four quickly disappeared into the portla, causing it to evaporate against the wall. Just as it faded away, Grand Sensei Dareth in his loose fitting brown robes entered the studio.
"I am Grand Sensei Dareth, and I Dareth you…!" Dareth pointed at them, "To tell me how you got into this place. Seriously, uh, I thought I locked the door. I was out to lunch."
Lulloyd saw Mage quickly open his eyes purple, indicating he was using form to cloak them both and leaving Lulloyd to pick up the slack, "Oh! Uh, heh, it's nothing. We kinda wandered in from the street. Uh… yeah. We were wondering if we could, uh, get some directions?"
"Directions?" Dareth raised his eyebrow in suspicion, "You broke into my studio for directions?"
"Grand Sensei Dareth!" Mage suddenly shouted, a sharp enough pitch it made Lulloyd flinch, "Oh my gosh, Lloyd it's really him! It's him! Come on, introduce me, introduce me!" He turned to Lulloyd pointedly, "You said you'd introduce me for my birthday, big brother!"
"Huh…?" Lulloyd's eyes sparked with understanding, "O-Oh! Oh! Yeah, yeah, of course!" Lulloyd quickly moved forward, pulling Mage along, "Sorry, we uh, well, we weren't looking for directions. See, my little brother here… Mark, he's really, really excited to meet you! We got excited and… well, the door was open so we waited for you!"
"You… wanted to meet me?" Dareth blinked, then his suspicious glares turned into smug grins, "Well, I'm always happy to meet a fan! Even if I'm not sure who you are, little one. Ahem! Well, it's nice to meet you, Mark! You're now inside the studio of the one! The only! Grand! Sensei! DARETH!" Dareth struck a rockstar pose, then riffed an air guitar.
"LLOYD, IT'S REALLY HIM!" Mage squeaked, bouncing up and down like a true little kid, "Thank you, thank you! I didn't know he was going to be this cool up close!"
"Y-Yeah, yeah he really is!" Lulloyd tried to imagine what a brother would be like, "Just doing what a good brother should!" Mage gave him a momentary look of disapproval.
"You can do more than see me!" Dareth proclaimed, "My wednesday class has a slot open. If you act now I'll even throw in the first week, just for free!"
"...Really?!" Mage gasped hard, "You're so kind, Sir Dareth! Can I sign up now, please, please? Pretty please?" He directed his gaze at Lulloyd.
"Hrmm… I uhm, we might need to talk about it with mom…" Mage's harsh glare made Lulloyd freeze, "...B-But if it's a free first week then why not!"
Mage beamed in approval, making Lulloyd relax a bit. The next few minutes were a long blur as Mage went about getting himself signed up, getting a form signed with some fake names and more or less playing to Dareth's ego to keep his suspicion off them. Lulloyd quickly found it was better to just not talk at all. When it was finally all over, Mage was waving hard to him as the two exited out onto the streets.
"Okay!" Mage put his fists together, "Now it's time to find those snakes!"
"Y-Yeah," Lulloyd nodded, looking out over Ninjago City, or at least a version of Lloyd's Ninjago City, "...Woah."
After having seen what Monty's city looked like, Lulloyd had expected the city to be a simple modern metropolis. Instead, the two were immediately thrust into a massive throng of people that were crowding the streets. There were no cars on the streets, as the streets were filled with people. So many people, in fact, that Lulloyd felt the throng shove into him as soon as the two of them had stepped out of the dojo. Lulloyd quickly grabbed Mage's arm as the two were rapidly swept along into the throng.
A slight brown haze seemed to hang over the crowd as the two, still under Mage's guise, were swept away. What immediately struck Lulloyd was how dense everything was. The city itself looked somewhat modern, with the usual buildings that one would expect, yet they were packed so tightly together that he could barely see any alleyways. To either sides of the street were large market stalls with people trying to sell all kinds of goods from food to blankets to clothes. So many people were on the streets that just seeing what someone was holding up was nearly impossible. While the road under their feet was paved, it was also incredibly narrow, making it so only bikes were able to weave their way in and out of the crowd. The ir had a strange haze in it, making it almost seem a deep yellow instead of the normally clear blue.
"Over there!" Mage pointed to a small patch of greenery amongst all of the chaos. The two all but swam their way through the people until they were able to stumble onto the greenery. At first, it looked like a park, until the two look around to see it was completely locked in on all sides by buildings. It was more than likely a lot that simply had been planted for some reason or another. The only thing making it a park was a single tree that had done well to grow with the lack of sunlight.
"What's going on here?" Mage huffed, "It's so… so tight!"
"I dunno… it doesn't look right either," Lulloyd looked around, "I don't see any phones or… really any technology like that. Is this really Ninjago City?"
"It kinda reminds me of the Time Tribe," Mage blinked. Lulloyd found the comparison apt. The Time Tribe looked as though it'd been on the cusp of true industrialization. This place looked like it had invented roads and massive cities, yet hadn't hit the modern age just yet. That fact alone struck Lulloyd as rather significant.
"Uh… here," Lulloyd looked around, "Harumi taught me how Ninjago used the Serpentine Wars to date everything. Maybe, we can see if we're like, really far in the past or?"
Mage walked up, holding a massive newspaper up to drop his element of form on them, Lulloyd decided not to ask where he got it and instead moved to peak around and look at the date.
"No…" Lulloyd frowned, "This, says that we're only a year off from when Lloyd left his universe. But, this place looks so different!"
"Hrmmm…" Mage rubbed his chin, using the newspaper to hide them both, "I guess it's just something we can find out! We just need to figure out where the Serpentine are!"
"Serpentine?" A man that the two had previously not seen in the little 'park' spoke up behind them, "Now that's a name that I wish I didn't have to hear again."
Lulloyd and Mage turned with the newspaper towards the man. The crowd behind them didn't seem that interested in them, thankfully. Mage peeked around to see a man in a thick brown jacket and long tan pants, hooked together with a massive utility belt. On his hip, he wore a massive whip. He had long black hair that fell notably over an eyepatch he had currently on his left eye.
"Uh… hi!" Lulloyd waved his hand out from the side of the newspaper, "We were uhm, you know. We were just wondering where they were. I'm Lloyd and this is Mark."
"Clutch," The man walked over towards them, "Clutch Powers. You've probably heard of me from my book, right?"
"Uh… nope!" Mage answered honestly, "We don't read much."
"What? You have to! It was a bestseller!" Clutch stalked towards them, "Boobytraps and How to Survive Them? Famous Places I Will Find Before Anyone Else? How Not to Raid Your First Temple? None of them?!"
"Nope, sorry," Lulloyd answered, "But, uh, you know about the Serpentine?"
"Know about them? I've been trying to get to them for months!" Clutch exclaimed, "All the good explorers sites are on the other side of the border! Course, I wouldn't need to go if those stuffy guys at the club didn't demand I keep up a quota. Sorry if all the good places have all been touched by now, Constello!" Clutch huffed at an imaginary person, "What do you have to do with them?"
"We're… wanting to explore more about them!" Lulloyd lied, "But yeah, I know, right? They're not letting anyone over the border! You know, the big huge border?"
"Ugh, tell me about it," Clutch sighed, "I've been to Nagaus I don't know how many times! It's the only place on Serpentine lands humans are allowed, but each time I try to explain I'm doing it for the good of everyone, they don't listen! I tell you, those guys can be awful."
"Nagaus?" Lulloyd asked without thinking.
"You know, Nagaus!" Clutch tore the newspaper from their hands, just in time for Mage's eyes to glow as he guised their forms, "Big trading city? Only place we're allowed to go? Uh, the Queen says it's supposed to be a big symbol of us moving forward together. If you ask me it's just a big sign of how 'powerful' and 'strong' they are."
"Right, of course," Lulloyd grimaced, "My bad. Uh… you know what, we were actually just on our way there. Need to do some, trading. We'll be going now!"
"Hmmph, well if you're trying to see more of that place, good luck!" Clutch scoffed. Just as the two turned to leave, Clutch suddenly shouted, "Wait!" They both froze, expecting him to say something about their bodies.
"You two seem like some good kids, I tell you what!" Clutch walked up and slid a business card into Lulloyd's hard, "There, that's a coupon for Famous Places I Will Find Before Anyone Else. Give me a call once you get it, I'll even sign it for you. It'll be worth a lot of money one day!" Lulloyd looked down, seeing the coupon was 10% one book with the purchase of two more of equal or greater value.
"Will do!" Mage tugged Lulloyd's arm, "Come on, Lloyd! Let's go! I wanna see Nagaus!" The two quickly moved to absorb back into the throng of people. Clutch Powers sighed as he watched them go, moving back to sit on the bench in the tiny carved out park in the crowded and congested city.
While it seemed that personal transportation hadn't hit a stride yet, most of Ninjago was connected by rail. Armed with the name Nagaus, the two had managed to find their way through the dim and congested city until they'd reached a large train station. With both of them lacking currency, Mage had used his metal powers to attract all the loose coins from around the area until the two had scrounge up enough for a ticket to their destination. After braving the crowd of people that lined both sides of the train station, both had found their way onto a rather antique looking train. The fact it wasn't antique now was somewhat awkward in Lulloyd's mind. Thankfully, for once Mage had some frame of reference for what a train was with the invention of the Speed Cars in his world.
Soon, the two found a small pair of seats next to each other in a crowded passenger car. Once there, Mage looked around until he found a large coat rack. He nabbed two coats and returned to Lulloyd, letting them both cover up and let Mage finally drop using form. He panted visibly as he did, shaking his head a bit to clear it from the slight wave of exhaustion from keeping them disguised for almost three hours.
"Okay, I'm using sound so nobody hears us," Mage informed Lulloyd.
"Good," Lulloyd slowly sighed as he tried to relax in the hard seat of the train, "Where, did you learn to act like that?"
"With Dareth?" Mage blinked, "Oh. I think it was Lady Chamille? She kidnapped me and kept me prisoner in her tribe. I had to learn to assume a form and act good enough to get past all her guards. I wasn't allowed to leave until I was able to fool my way past her. I've learned how to read people and figure out what I should say to them!"
"That makes sense" Lulloyd voiced, then his mind caught up to what he heard, "Wait, what?"
"I was kidnapped a lot when I was learning stuff," Mage shrugged, "Sometimes Chen arranged for it, other times it was just how they wanted to teach me. I've told you guys I know how to get out of dungeons!"
"...I'm just, gonna not think about that right now," Lulloyd looked around at the large group of people, "What do you think about what that Clutch guy was saying? He felt a bit, weird to me."
"I think it's pretty obvious!" Mage voiced, "The humans and Serpentine are in different tribes! And they have a border between them, just like back home!"
"Yeah but, why?" Lulloyd asked, "All the worlds we've been to so far, the Serpentine haven't been, around. Well, they kinda were for Harumi but, not for Lloyd, Monty or Over."
"I dunno, usually it's because of a war or something," Mage shrugged, "That's how it was back home. It all happened a long time ago for me, though."
"Yeah… I kinda wish I had one of them here to ask about," Lulloyd sighed, "We don't know much about how these places work since we're, you know… special."
"Ophiod is a Serpentine," Mage pointed out, "So it makes sense they're probably a big deal here. Nobody reacted when I called you Lloyd, so Harumi's probably right about Ophiod being us!"
"Why would they…?" Lulloyd's gears turned, "Were, you making me look like Lloyd?"
"Yeah, it was just to test some things!" Mage pointed out, "It's a trick I learned from Lady Chamille's captain, Camus. If people had a reaction to you, that tells us something!"
"Don't, do that without telling me, okay?" Lulloyd shuddered, "We don't know who Lloyd is here. Well I mean, we do but, he could be someone else!"
"That's why I did it with Dareth first," Mage pointed out, then he yawned, "Do you mind if I rest a bit? I wanna be fully charged before we get to Nagaus!"
"Huh? Yeah, sure, go for it," Lulloyd looked around, "I'll uh, keep watch."
With a thankful yawn, Mage turned and slowly leaned back, drifting into a small nap. Lulloyd wondered if he was really asleep with all his elements, but that wasn't that important. For now, he tried to look around and see what else there was to gleem about this place. Aside from the large amounts of people in various states of clothes, he wasn't quite sure of what he was looking for. The most advanced thing of technology he saw was a watch, so he had to question what was really going on here.
It was another hour before they arrived at their destination. Lulloyd didn't have the clearest map of Ninjago, but it looked as though the train was heading towards the desert. At first, the passing scenery had been crowded city after crowded city. Once they broke from the cities, however, the landscape turned into large open fields filled with crops and small communities that everyone could see from the window. The last stop was a half hour into the journey, leaving a long stretch for Lulloyd to just stare out the window and wonder about where they were. He tried to see if he could find the ocean to give him a place to see the shoreline, but they were too far inland for that.
Soon, the large fields of crops and stretches of land turned into large arid plains, and those plains into sand. They seemed to have crossed into the desert. Lulloyd recalled them flying over one in Monty's world; assuming the geography was right, and they had been going in a straight line, then they were in the northwestern part of Ninjago. Not long after the train had entered the sands, the train car arrived at their destination. Lulloyd quickly woke up Mage, who yawned at him as the two stood up so as not to get left behind. The people on the train rapidly began to disembark. When the two exited onto the large train platform, the city of Nagaus was shown to them.
What immediately struck Lulloyd was the unique layout of the city. Nagaus, from an aerial view, was shaped like a massive fan. The train tracks formed a tangent with the highest point of said fan. The city, however, was not flat. Instead, as soon as they exited the train tracks, the ground sloped down into massive stepped paths that went down towards the bottom of the fan. The entire city sloped downwards below the ground level, surrounded by a massive wall of carved sandstone which grew taller as one went down. At the very bottom of the city, the wall stretched hundreds of feet into the air. At said bottom of the city was a massive cave carved into the bottom of the wall. From the sculpted walls that formed the basin the city was built into all the way to the ground under them, it was immediately clear to Lulloyd the city was entirely hand-made and carved. The top of the rock wall on the other side of the city reached the height the train station was positioned at. In every direction around the city was a vast sea of sand, with no sign of civilization in sight. Even the train tracks stopped just past the city itself.
The train station was at the very top of Nagaus. All the paths that were spread out radially from the station all sloped downwards through the city. The city was built in layers, with large semi-circular platforms built into the side of the downward sloping walls. The city was laid out in a series of washers that stretched from one end to the other, with houses, shops and structures built on them. A total of ten of these washers were present, getting smaller in length as one went down into the city. Cutting straight through these washers were what looked like aqueducts, water pouring down in straight lines until they reached the bottom where a small lake had been built. A large beautiful plaza was built around the lake. It was at the front of this plaza that Lulloyd saw the cave that stood out so prominently against the carved out wall of the city. All in all, the city appeared as though it had been made by someone carving a section of sand out from the desert itself.
"Woah…" Lulloyd blinked, "This is… Nagaus? It's…"
"It's really pretty," Mage whispered, "It reminds me of some of the places back home but… this place looks incredible!"
"If you think Nagaus is impressive," A familiar voice caused Lulloyd to jump, "Just wait until you get me into Ouroborus!"
Lulloyd spun around, his hand almost reaching for his sword. Standing behind them was none other than Clutch Powers. The man yawned and stretched his back out, causing it to pop. Mage started to use form, but Lulloyd put his hand on his shoulder and instead just tugged their coats over their head a bit more. Mage stopped, but looked at Clutch nervously.
"Clutch?" Lulloyd tried to act calm, "What, uh, are you doing here?"
"Oh, I stowed away on the train," Clutch stated calmly, "I need to remember to write down notes about choosing the right size suitcase to hide in. I picked one too big and I think the rocking threw my neck out."
"Hi, Clutch!" Mage went back into his younger persona, "Did you follow us here?"
"Yeah, I did," Clutch sighed, rubbing his head, "Hey, if anyone asks, I'm your father, alright? I'm a bit strapped for cash right now and well, it isn't cheap to come all the way out here."
"Oh, yeah, it really isn't!" Mage chirped, forgoing the fact he'd just grabbed coins until the ticket booth let them have their tickets, "But why did you follow us?"
"Because, nobody talks about the Serpentine unless you have an 'in' with them, and I've been looking for my 'in' with them for years!" Clutch finished adjusting his neck and grinned confidently, "C'mon, you guys have to tell me how they're letting you in!"
"Oh, uh… we know some guys," Lulloyd smiled nervously, "Yeah like, some really important guys. We uh… we know… O-Ophiod."
"...You serious?" Clutch suddenly lowered his voice, "Don't lie to me. I know how to lie! I've lied my way into some pretty sweet things."
"We're totally serious!" Mage beamed, "We know Prince Ophiod! He's going to let us into Ouroborey!"
"Ouroborus," Clutch frowned, "Don't mess the name up. They're really picky about that. But nevermind that, are you for real?" Clutch took a step towards them, "Can you get me into Serpentine Lands?"
"We can…" Lulloyd paused, "But! Uh, tell me, what's in it for us?"
"Hrmm, leveraging information for profit, you got some guts there," Clutch smirked, "I like it. Mark of a real explorer! Alright, fine. I can play ball. But first, we need to get off this train station. Come on, I know my way around."
Lulloyd shared a look with Mage, deciding to trust Clutch for now. The middle aged explorer smirked at them and then spun on one foot, taking a step forward. Unfortunately for him, he misjudged the stairs that went down from the station, causing him to shout and fall off. Both of them rushed to see him groaning as a bit of dust kicked up from where he landed. When he tried to sit up, his eyepatch caught on a rock, snapping back onto his face painfully.
"Clutch!" Mage put on a childish worry, "Are you okay?! That must of hurt!"
"Ugh… nothing to worry about!" Clutch stood up, his eyepatch on his right eye, "...Anyways, lead on!" Lulloyd blinked at the discrepancy in the eyepatch, but said nothing. Mage just kept up his persona as the two followed him into the city.
Clutch led them down a fair amount of stairs, following one of the massive aqueducts that went along the main path. They followed an arch that went under the flowing water, entering the second level of the city from the top. The streets here were far less crowded with people, much to Lulloyd's relief. All along the sides of the path were massive vendor stalls, giving the place the air of something akin to a bazaar. The sun above them had begun to set, however, meaning that many of the stalls were now packing down. For now, only humans were around.
The three arrived at a large square building, with a large sheet of cloth stretched out to form the roof to form a covered area. A few sparse tables were set up, which Clutch directed them to sit at. While they waited, Clutch went up to a window in the building and soon arrived back with three large bottles. When Lulloyd opened the one he was given, there was a faint sweet smell wafting from it.
"Never had this stuff before?" Clutch had just finished a swig, "Made from something called a Javarus plant. Native to the desert. It's supposed to keep you hydrated even longer than guzzling down a whole canteen of water can with just a few sips. Plus, it's really sweet."
"I thought you said you didn't have money for the train ticket," Lulloyd asked as he saw other people moving up and paying for the same drinks.
"I said I didn't have money for the ticket, I have money for local cuisine!" Clutch scoffed, "Nothing gets past you, does it?"
"Ease off him, big brother!" Mage nudged Lulloyd in the side, "He's showing us the city! Plus, this stuff is really good!"
Lulloyd looked down at the drink, then took a sip. The liquid was slightly thicker than he expected. The sweet taste was something of a mix of strawberry and mango, but was otherwise hard to describe. When he drank it, it felt as though it stuck to the inside of his throat. Even after he swallowed, it didn't seem to go away. If this was made for combating thirst, it made sense.
"So," Clutch waved his hand, "What do you two know about Nagaus?"
"Only what we've heard on the streets!" Mage answered, "It's a snake city, right?"
"Always get you information from the source," Clutch informed Mage, "You're not all wrong, though. Nagaus is the only city that humans are allowed on in Serpentine Lands. It was built around a decade ago as a symbol of progress, but like I said," Clutch took a long drink, "I see it as them flaunting their power in our faces."
"Yeah, it's, a really nice city," Lulloyd looked around, "I've never seen something laid out like this."
"It's somewhat clever," Clutch rolled his eyes, "The city was built so that big wall you see faces east. That way the people that come to the city can go to the lower levels and escape the heat in the shade. Then at night, when all the people are leaving the city, the sun's started to set so the upper levels are cooler. They pump the water up from some underground river to help with the heat."
"So that's why it's all kinda built below ground," Lulloyd nodded his head, "So, what's the cave down there?"
"That, my friend, is the one and only entrance to Serpentine lands," Clutch set his drink down, a frown on his face, "If you want to make it to the next city without going through that tunnel, you better be ready to trek across miles of scorching hot desert. Even if you are prepared for it, they'll turn you back as soon as they see you. That cave connects to an underground network that links all the major Serpentine cities. Jormun, Malcho, Maras, Crawles, Nagina…. Well, if you want to see Prince Ophiod, you'd be heading to Ouroborus."
"Right, Ouroboros," Lulloyd affirmed, "Uh… so what's the name of the Serpentine Lands all called? Act like we're stupid here."
"Ouroborus," Clutch stated casually, "It's named after their capital. I guess it'd make more sense to say it's Ouroborus City. Makes a little more sense."
"So, Ninjago and Ouroborus, those are the two big nations here…" Lulloyd mused, "And, you want to go there because… you want to explore?"
"Wrong, I want to explore and then write about it," Clutch leaned back, "All the money is in monetizing your adventures, remember that."
"I will!" Mage smiled, "I think the man at the train place said that was the last trip of the day."
"Yeah, the train is probably taking the last batch of people back from here now," Clutch stretched, "You're planning to make your way straight for the capital, right?"
"We weren't sure yet," Lulloyd pointed out, "We kinda were just making our way here. I, guess we can go?"
"Most of the Serpentine leave this place before the sun goes down, so unless you know your way around the tunnels, you best wait until you can get yourself a guide tomorrow," Clutch stood up, "Alright, I think I've figured out my offer to you guys."
"Oohh, right!" Mage turned to Lulloyd, "What he'll give us in exchange for letting him into Ouroborus!" Clutch froze in his seat for a moment, then shook himself.
"Once I get in there, I'll explore everything I can, and after that, I'll write my next book about it, this one will be sure to be a bestseller!" Clutch nodded his head, "I'll make you both coauthors with me. And I'll give you…. Fifteen percent of the profits," He paused, "No, wait. Thirteen. Or, hrmmm… oh, fine, I'll give you twenty percent, together. How does that sound?"
Normally, if Lulloyd was actually negotiating, he'd have demanded twenty percent each. Given that they had no reason to stick around after they learned more about Ophiod, he didn't feel the need to negotiate. He did stop and make it look as though he was actually thinking about it for a long while. Clutch waited impatiently, tapping his foot as he waited for them. Finally, Lulloyd rotated his body to nod his head, making Clutch grin.
"You won't regret it!" Clutch reached out and forcibly shook first Lulloyd, then Mage's hand, "Alright, I have a friend around here to give us a place to hole up for the night. You'll like him, he's an explorer, just like me! We go way back."
Clutch took the rest of his drink, downed it, then threw it in a small box filled with similarly empty bottles. Lulloyd shared another look with Mage, who kept on smiling as he downed the rest of his own drink and then went to quickly hop after the two of them.
Clutch led them through the massive market area, by now the sun having set on the horizon. With how the city was laid out, however, it felt as though it was already night. A chill had begun to go through the air as the city cooled without the direct sunlight. Everything around them seemed to be carved from stone, with the only manmade structures looking to be the stalls themselves. The houses were all carved into the side of the city, resulting in the stretches of street starting to look somewhat homogenous. Granted, once one was able to get to an open space and look down the descending levels, this was far less of an issue.
"Alright, here we are!" Clutch declared. Lulloyd couldn't tell the house that they stopped at apart from any other. Clutch smirked and walked up to the door, giving ak nock, "Hey, Speedman! It's Clutch! Think you can…"
The door opened to a man with a massive grizzled gray beard. His hair was combed into a widow's peak, and was similarly gray. He wore an eyepatch over his left eye, making Lulloyd start to wonder if wearing an eyepatch was just a common thing or not. He was in a plain set of button up shirt and shorts, looking a bit like a retiree of some kind.
"Clutch Powers..?" Speedman yawned, "What are you doing here?"
"Oh you know, on my way to another adventure!" Clutch grinned, "How'd that trip to Atlantis work out for you? Get anything good out of it? I haven't seen you talk about it to the press. Well, anyways, do you mind if we stay the night? We're heading out to Ouroborus in the morning."
"You? Going into Serpentine lands?" Speedman laughed, "Good one, Clutch. Well, I suppose I should help you out here. One of those ridiculous tips you spout on about actually saved the Neptune from crashing, so I suppose I can let you in. Are those two with you?"
Mage waved his hand while Lulloyd just blinked, letting Clutch speak for them, "Yep, they are. They're my ticket in. Thanks for this, wouldn't want to leave a fellow explorer out in the cold, right?"
"Normally, I'd tell anyone that claims to be an explorer to always have a place to rest and lock you out," Speedman corrected him with a smirk, "But seeing as you got friends with you, looks like I can't. You can stay till the sun is up."
Clutch looked momentarily offended, but between Speedman's offer and his smug expression, he didn't want to push his luck. He simply rolled his eyes and made a rather dramatic step into the large sandstone home. Lulloyd and Mage looked to one another, then nodded as they entered too. Speedman just yawned again and shut the door behind them as the sun fully set over the desert horizon.
Lulloyd had remembered hearing at some random point in school that deserts got incredibly cold at night due to the sand not holding heat very well. Until that night, it'd always been a little fact for him. Sleeping through the night in Nagaus, however, was colder than he could have imagined. Speedman's house was one giant cube with large carved walls that made one bedroom, living room and a kitchen area, so the three were made to sleep in the living space. One blanket each had seemed like enough, but by the time the moonlight was shining through the carved out windows, Lulloyd was shivering. Mage had thankfully exhaled a breath of flame to warm the space, but that had only lasted a few hours. After that, it'd been back to frigid city.
When the morning sun rose, Lulloyd was all too ready to get moving. Without waking up Clutch, however, he moved to place the side of his claw hand on Mage's lips and gently shook him. Mage, however, sprung up at the moment he was touched. Slowly, Lulloyd exited the home and stood out on the street, shivering as he spoke with Mage.
"S-So, do you think you can keep us disguised as Serpentine?" Lulloyd stammered out.
"Yeah," Mage was subtly heating his body with fire to stay warm, "I need to do it before we get there, though. I think I know how but… it's not really something I can do on the spot."
"H-How are you doing it?" Lulloyd asked, trying to keep his mind on something else.
"When I'm using an element like fire or earth, I don't actually keep focusing on what I'm doing," Mage explained, "Like. I just hit the ground once and then a rock comes up. I think if I hit us both with enough form energy at once then, maybe it'll stick in the same way. The more I hit us with, the longer it should last. So like, instead of constantly thinking about it, I just do it at the start. Chamille said she did that to you guys when you went to rescue Nya, I think."
"A-As long as it doesn't hurt, I'm in," Lulloyd affirmed, "A-Are we taking Clutch with us?"
"Why would we ditch him at this point?" Mage asked with a genuine tone.
"I uh… I just assumed we wanted him to show us around Nagaus and stuff," Lulloyd answered.
"Neither of us know a lot about Serpentine, but Clutch does," Mage pointed out, "And if he gets caught, we can just claim he snuck in with us and have him sent back. If he doesn't, he gets to explore!"
"Uh… that's, pretty reasonable," Lulloyd admitted, "Should we go get Clutch and head out?"
"Yeah, we only have until this afternoon to get back to Dareth," Mage paused, "Let's see, we arrived at what, three? We got to Nagaus at sevenish, I know that. And if the sun hasn't risen yet, that means it can't be more than six right now. So let's work with us having nine hours to do this!"
"Oh…" Lulloyd blinked, "I was just, gonna leave when it looked like we had to go back," He nervously sighed, "Was, this the sort of thing you did while traveling all over your world?"
"Yep!" Mage beamed, "Now come on, let's go get-"
From the door to Speedman's home, Clutch Powers exited with a hard yawn. Both of them blinked in surprise as he moved to rub sleep from his eyes, then stretch out and knock his back into place. Sleeping on the floor hadn't done him that many favors, it seemed. The two both flung on the coats they'd taken the previous day before Clutch saw too much of them.
"Urgh, he needs to invest in more beds," Clutch lamented, then smiled upon seeing the two, "Already getting ready to go, eh? You two really are ready for this. Almost reminds me of a younger version of myself."
"Really?!" Mage suddenly flipped back to his child persona. This only made Clutch just smugly grin and begin trekking down the road, waving his hand for them to follow.
Lulloyd decided not to respond, instead following clutch. The three made their way back to one of the massive stairs that followed the aqueducts down the radius of the city. As they descended, Lulloyd was given a bit more time to observe the city. It seemed the top half of the city was primarily there for homes, with some small marketplaces interspersed for food and small goods. Once they entered the middle levels, that was where the marketplaces truly stretched. They were empty now, but all the way down the length of the roads were massive tents, stalls and some carved homes that looked converted for larger stock. This continued for a long while of steps, and Lulloyd could only imagine what it was like when people came to trade again.
That was until they reached the bottom four levels. These were no longer made for trade, and instead looked as though they were built for a massive public space. Because of how the city was fan-shaped, the levels got smaller as they went down. By now, Lulloyd could run from one end of the level to the other without getting too winded. Large planters were filled with greenery, fed by pouring water from the aqueducts into them. These took up two levels. The bottom two, including the very bottom, were simply a massive walking area. As they approached the second to last level, Lulloyd saw a very pointed gate that was built from sandstone like the rest of the city, and on the other side of that gate was none other than Serpentine.
"Woah…" Mage blinked as he saw a large green one, "Serpentine are cool!"
"I've never seen one up close…. Well aside from, him and, all of them," Lulloyd played along, "Clutch, you know a lot about Serpentine, right? Why not tell us about some? We'd really like it!"
"Kids these days, not even learning about the basics!" Clutch lamented dramatically, "Well, I guess it can't be helped. There are five main tribes you gotta know about. Greens one as Venomari. They spit venom. Makes your mind go all funky. Red ones are Fangpyre, they bite you or something else and it'll turn into a snake. Black ones are Constrictai, they dig. Blue ones, those are Hypnobrai, kinda obvious from the name. Purple ones are Anacondrai, they're super tough and rumor has it they can turn invisible."
"Rumor has it?" Lulloyd blinked, "Why wouldn't you know?"
"Because most people don't get to see many Serpentine. This place is the only place you can and, well," Clutch gestured to the gate, "They aren't happy to let people in."
"Wait, why are the black ones called Constrictai?" Mage gestured to a rather small black Serpentine with a massive head, "That one doesn't have a tail! Don't they constrict?"
"I didn't name them, but you aren't wrong," Clutch paused, "Ah, yeah. One more kind. Vipers. You probably won't ever see them, and nobody actually knows what they look like, other than the Queen. And only the big guys have seen the Queen, so yeah. There aren't many of them around nowadays."
Mage waited until they found a planter with thick enough brush for them to hide behind. Lulloyd subtly changed their course so they stood behind them, out of sight of the Serpentine. Mage went to slowly peek around to start studying the looks of the Serpentine that filled out the bottoms levels.
"Why aren't there more of them around?" Lulloyd asked.
"Well, and don't quote me on this," Clutch frowned, "Seriously, don't, I have ot approve all citations; Vipers are said to have been around since before the tribes. Some say the tribes evolved from them. Nobody really knows. But as the tribes grew, Vipers made up the royal family. Started with King Mambo the First. The Queen is his ancestor. Most of the guys that study this stuff think Vipers just started to integrate with other tribes. They're pretty small now, but the royal family is all Viper."
"That's… huh," Lulloyd blinked, "I guess that makes sense."
"Lloyd!" Mage tugged Lulloyd's sleeve, "I'm ready to go now! I've seen enough! More than enough!"
It took a moment for Lulloyd to realize what Mage was saying. Lulloyd quickly turned to Clutch and then smiled, "Hey, Clutch, tell me more about Serpentine!"
"You haven't heard enough yet?" Clutch shrugged, "Alright. Well, the Anacondrai make up most of the royal guard and military, they're pretty-"
With a small inhale, Mage thrust his hands forward and sent three blasts of pure form energy from his hands. Normally, summoning an element like form wasn't something that acted like power, but he had tooled it enough to work. The three blasts struck each of them, causing all three to stumble back. While the element didn't hurt, Mage poured as much as he possibly could of his hands. Clutch's words had distracted him enough to take his attention off Mage. Lulloyd tensed up until Mage finally staggered and stopped, panting a bit as he did.
"Hey, what gives?!" Clutch turned to Lulloyd, "Did you just push me, kid?!"
"Sorry, I uhm, I fell!" Lulloyd lied, "I was, so focused on your speech that I was leaning in to hear more!"
"...Well, I guess in that case I'll let it slide," Clutch scoffed, "But you need to learn more stable footing!"
"Hehe.. .yeah!" Lulloyd smiled, then took a step back towards Mage and whispered, "Did it work?"
"Yeah, it did," Mage huffed out in a whisper, "We look like those snake guys down there now. I'm a Constricter, you're a Venomareye, and he's a Fanger. I also added did a bit of stuff so we don't have to hide anymore."
"Right…" Lulloyd had already mixed up who was who, but gladly shirked his coat alongside Mage, "Do you think these disguises will last?"
"Long enough," Mage grimaced, "But let's not waste time."
Lulloyd affirmed Mage's words by taking a step forward and leaving the small cover of the plants. Mage followed him, causing Clutch to blink and decide to catch up. Lulloyd's faith in Mage after having seen what he could do was enough for him to be willing to march right up towards the gate where two Hypnobrai were standing guard. As they approached, the two turned their sights towards them. Clutch nervously walked up to Lulloyd and whispered in his ear.
"You sure this is going to work?" Clutch asked nervously, "Not that I'm doubting you."
"Trust us," Lulloyd smiled to him, then turned towards the two Serpentine.
"Returning from a tour of the city, eh?" One guard hissed out.
"I don't remember seeing you two leave," The second guard hissed, "Anyone going in the city is supposed to go through us."
"We left last night," Mage put his hand up, "Just looking out for some humans that wanted to sneak past the gate."
"I thought you guys said that-" Clutch started to speak, only to go silent when the first guard stared at him.
"We came here on businesssssssss," Lulloyd drew out his 's' for the snakes, "We wanted to sssssee what we could bring back with ussssssss."
"...That's a pretty thick accent you have there," The second guard pondered, "Where are you from? Nagina?"
"Nah, that's totally Maras," The first guard corrected his partner, "Those guys need a translator just for them, right?" The two shared a snicker.
"Well, next time get back before the shift change," The first guard shook his head, "Or let them know you're staying out late. Makes it easier on us. Where are you guys heading?"
"Ouroborus," Mage paused, "We have some business with Prince Ophiod."
"The Prince?!" The second guard gasped, "But, nobody has seen hi-" The first guard elbowed his chest.
"Sure you do," The first guard chuckled, turning into a hiss by the end, "Just like I do. Well, if you're heading there, the first ride should get here soon. Lucky you."
"Thankssssss!" Lulloyd smiled at them. The two guards shared another look before stepping aside, letting the three of them pass. Clutch looked at both of them with a confused glance, unsure of what had just happened. The three walked past the two guards, who were already chatting about them as they went by. Once they were out of earshot, Clutch moved to put a hand on Lulloyd's shoulder.
"Those two didn't even point out you two were humans," Clutch frowned, "And they just let me in with you! How did you two get past them?!"
"Like you said," Lulloyd smirked, "We have an 'in.' We're basically honorary Serpentine."
"Impressive," Clutch smirked, "I can't believe it! I'm actually on Serpentine soil right now! Well, sand, but you get the picture! Oh I'm going to write so much when we get back!"
The small bottom later of the city wasn't very large at all, with the cave in the massive vertical wall being the only defining feature. The three made their way inside. The cave was more like a massive tunnel, lit with small lights on the walls that looked like a mix of crystal and lightbulbs. The walls were incredibly smooth, making a perfect hemisphere that stretched deep into the rock. With the precision on display, it was clear that this tunnel was entirely handmade. The three saw a small stairwell that led to a raised platform, and made their way onto it.
Not much longer after the three arrived, they heard a loud rumbling. From further down the tunnel, something was coming. When it came into sight, it was both normal and bizarre at the same time. Four large two wheeled green cycles came down the wall. The cycles had no driver, and instead looked like snakes themselves. The fronts were shaped like snake heads and blinked from large eyes in the sides. Two in the front were pulling a massive cart with almost fifty seats on it, sparsely filled with Serpentine. The other two were in the back, pushing it along. The cart was tall enough that, when they got close to the platform, the bite cycles moved to pull it up until the cart was level with the platform.
The snakes onboard disembarked, perhaps ten in total, moving to exit the tunnel. Lulloyd looked down in confusion, but then slowly moved to move down into one of the seats along with Mage and Clutch. As soon as they were seated, the two cycles that had been pushing turned around. The half snake, half vehicles extended their tails and looped them into slots on the outside of the cart. Once they had their grip, the cars began to quickly pull the group along. Soon, the three were off, soaring down the tunnels comparable to the speed of the train from earlier.
Once more, Lulloyd was left to look around. The tunnels were the same no matter how long they went, with several splits in the road. The bite cycles moved on their own, and Lulloyd only realized that he hadn't told them where they were going until they had already passed one. By then, it was far too late, and he was left to instead just sit back and wait. That anxiety began to build as he saw Mage still calmly sitting down and maintaining his persona of a young child. How he could stay calm like this, he wasn't sure. Clutch was quiet too, thankfully, but was more so scribbling down notes in a small notebook he produced from his utility belt for now.
It was somewhere between a half and full hour before the cycles went on a steady incline and soon exited out into the bright light of the desert. Lulloyd was forced to put a hand over his eyes to stop the light from blinding him as they did. Given the shorter length of travel, they couldn't have been too deep into the desert yet. For the first few seconds of his eyes adjusting to the sunlight, he was forced to look down at the cart. All around them, the desert stretched out for miles. When he finally was able to look up towards the horizon, his attention was focused on the destination the cycles were taking them to.
In the distance was a massive city. The city, like Nagaus, was carved from some sort of stone. Yet unlike Nagaus, this was built on top of the sands, and thus was far more grand. The city appeared to be laid out in a massive circle, and the buildings that made up the perimeter stretched up high enough in the sky to fall just short of skyscrapers. Four massive buildings stretched up like fingers that bent inwards towards the city's center, marking the four points on the city's circular layout. The buildings around them were nowhere near as tall, but they gradually increased in height as they approached the four massive towers, creating a sort of rippling shape to the profile of the city. The cycles were heading towards a massive gate that served as the opening, with a large rectangular space cut out of the city's foundation for them to pull into.
As they grew closer, Lulloyd was able to make out even more of the city. The buildings were all designed like wedges, creating a beautiful wheel-like shape. They all stretched into a massive center, where a large pyramid-like palace was erected. It was clear just looking at it that it was the palace. Four massive obliques marked its corners, while a large stairwell led up to the very top where the entrance seemed to lie. It was as though those four massive pillars on the city's exterior were stretching towards the pyramid's top. The entire city was easily the size of Ninjago City, just judging from how long it took for them to approach before they were able to even make out the intricate carvings that lined the four large pillars.
Clutch immediately turned to a new page in his notebook and began to furiously scribble down a surprisingly accurate sketch of the city he was seeing. Both Lulloyd and Mage, for now, were just happy to enjoy the sight of it. They soon entered the large gate and pulled into a station, where they were able to exit their ride. They stepped down together. A minute after they left, the cycles switched roles and once more pulled out of the station.
"Is this… Ouroborus?" Lulloyd asked as he looked up. Buildings stretched up around all sides, creating a pleasant shade on their area, "I-I mean we've just never been before!"
"The city shaped like the legend itself," Clutch whispered, ignoring Lulloyd's slip-up, "It sure is. Can't be anything else, even! The jewel carved from the desert itself…"
"This place is amazing!" Mage was already running over towards a path that led further into the city, "Let's see more!" Whether this was his persona or just him naturally, Lulloyd wasn't sure.
"Agreed! I have to see all of this place!" Clutch had his notebook in hand, "Everyone will have to hear about this!"
Mage traveled down the path. As they walked, the path got wider until it connected to a massive open area. As though the buildings on the outer wall acted like a barrier, once they emerged from the path, the city seemed to open up. They stepped out into a massive plaza, and all at once the splendor that was Ouroborus was laid out to them.
The small perch that they had allowed them to see all the way to the main palace. The city itself was relatively flat, with massive open areas paved over with beautiful colored stones to give the entire city a swirling mass of color. Everywhere they looked, they saw Serpentine. All of the tribes mingled together, rushing about like the people of Ninjago City. They were so thick the streets were a blend of purples, blues, greens reds and, black and oranges. The buildings on the exterior grew more and more sparse as they went in, leading to more massive spaces that emphasized the structure that was the massive palace in the dead center.
The city itself appeared to be divided into quadrants, easy to see from the general colors that each one emphasized. One area was filled with greenery, with large snake-made waterways fueling crops and beautiful flora. From this distance, it almost looked like a garden. One district was filled with large shops and homes that had an industrial feeling to it. At the center of this district was a building Lulloyd could only describe as a huge furnace. Another area looked far more like a traditional city, with shops and homes that were spread out in a blend of residential and commercial districts. The homes looked remarkably similar to those they had seen in Naguas. And the fourth was an area that took time to discern at first. Upon seeming more, it looked as though it was a blend of schools, libraries and museums. It was a place of learning, it seemed. The districts weren't as rigidly defined as quadrants, and blended together at their edge sto make telling where they began an ended more difficult. All of them, though, fed into a massive courtyard that surrounded all of the main palace.
"This place is… beautiful…" Lulloyd whispered, "It's… amazing."
"It's unlike any place I've seen before!" Mage beamed, then whispered, "Not even the tribes were this pretty!"
"Yeah… what do you think, Clutch?" Lulloyd turned, only to see no one else there, "...Clutch?"
Mage suddenly pointed down, showing that Clutch had descended some stairs and gone towards the main streets. Quickly, Lulloyd and Mage followed after him. By the time they'd gotten to where they'd seen him, though, he'd already gone rushing off into the main street, his eyes filled with excitement. Lulloyd gave a grimace and quickly went after him, urging Mage to follow.
One property of Mage's disguise was that all those that he used form on still saw each other as their normal selves, making tracking Clutch through the crowd easier. Yet once they entered those crowds, they were soon unable to locate him. Lulloyd gave a long frown while Mage looked around, trying to track where Clutch had went off to. The two saw him moving towards a large shop, and went to follow.
Being around so many Serpentine was strange. It was strange at first because they were snakes, but the further along they went, the less that was true. In fact, the more that they walked, the less odd it felt. It reminded them of the Ninjago City that they'd arrived at, with the massive crowds and throngs of people. Yet, unlike that crowded place, Ouroborus felt open and free. While the streets had been filled with harsh metals and dull colors in Ninjago City, Ouroborus was brimming with them. No two buildings shared the same colors. Vibrant designs across them made each one feel unique and pop against the massive blocks that made up the streets. The crowds were thinner too, as the space for them to walk was far greater. Even as they pursued Clutch, never did they feel packed in or rushed. The streets were simply full, and that was that.
By the time they arrived at the shop, however, Clutch was gone. Lulloyd looked around, but he wasn't able to find him. With a sigh of defeat, he frowned at Mage, "Can you see him?"
"No…" Mage whined, "If I was doing my power the normal way of using it on him, I'd feel where it was going but… not this way!"
"What time is it?" Lulloyd asked. Mage took note of the position of the sun in the sky. Given that the sun was now up and shining into the city, Mage had to think.
"If we were working on nine hours then… we're probably down to six," Mage shook his head, "And It's going to take us at least three to get back. So, we don't have that much time to go and look for him. We need to go learn more about Ophiod first!"
"I was a little worried you'd say that…" Lulloyd sighed, "I, guess we need to go and start looking for stuff on him. We don't have time to go and look for Clutch."
"Hopefully he tries to find us before then," Mage lamented, "Well, Ophiod did say he was a Prince, right? Let's go towards the palace. Maybe we'll find something there?"
Lulloyd couldn't argue with that logic. Even if leaving Clutch like this didn't sit well with him, they didn't have a choice. With one last nervous look around, Lulloyd oriented his sight towards the palace. The two began to weave their way through the city, heading towards the main sight.
As it turned out, Ouroborus was not as straightforward as Lulloyd had thought. While it looked as though all roads did lead towards the palace, the path they took was far more winding. They soon hit a large area that was filled with the smell of food, Serpentine walking around and eating things off of sticks that Lulloyd couldn't place, chatting with one another and more. While all the tribes seemed to be accounted for, Lulloyd noticed the Anacondrai were rarely seen mingling. Many of them looked like guards that were on patrol. Given Clutch's description, that seemed accurate.
Their small trip around this area led them into the fringes of the large garden area that they'd seen from the entrance. It was a beautiful place. As they weaved around foriegn and exoticly shaped leaves and trees, Lulloyd monetarily forgot that this was in a desert. There was humidity in the air, and some snakes seemed to enjoy it. Many Fangpyre seemed to be hanging around the area just to cool down, while Lulloyd also saw some Venomari doing the same. Many of them were chatting and making gestures at plants, debating what should be moved and pruned and more. They skirted the industrial sector completely, which Lulloyd was thankful for. It looked as though it was dedicated to working metal and supplies, meaning just looking at it made the heat feel unbearable. The city was oddly cool when compared to the heat of the desert, yet standing at a blacksmith shop at the same time was unfathomable to him.
After nearly a half hour of walking, the two finally approached the palace grounds. Here, the area was transformed into a communal square. There were massive areas made for Serpentine tos it, talk, and sell small goods. A large patrol of Anacondrai went through the square as Lulloyd and Mage arrived there. The numbers of Serpentine decreased as they entered it, but it made the city feel no less massive.
The base of the palace was unlike anything that Lulloyd had ever seen. It appeared to be some sort of arena, set up in one massive disc. Large stands were erected around the perimeter of the large arena, all framed by a massive statue of a large snake. The snake there was one unlike Lullyod had seen. It was far taller than him, with a large head of three horn-like protrusions swept back along its head. The main area floor was shaped with large swirling patterns. Around both sides of the statue of the massive snake were two stairwells that lead around the snake and then merged together to form the straight path that led up towards the palace's main entrance.
Speaking of the arena, it seemed that it was in use. Perhaps the reason why the square around them had been so empty was because Serpentine were crowded into the stands there. Lulloyd and Mage looked at one another in confusion, then decided to go and see what it was about. They slid their way towards a small set of stairs that led up to one of the stands (for snakes, they seemed to love putting stairs in their architecture). While the stands were packed, the two were able to find a seat at the very back and look down towards whoever was fighting.
In the middle of the arena stood a large Anacondrai. He was glad in golden armor, almost regal in its appearance. He held only a purple sword, tan running up the spine of it. Around him, five other Anacondrai were positioned, all with far heavier and far more dangerous looking weapons. Notably, all of them had tails instead of legs, something that seemed standard with Anacondrai. Lulloyd blinked as he saw the sight, wondering what was going on.
"Let the Slither Pit!" A Hypnobrai atop the huge snake statue shouted, "BEGIN!"
All at once, the five Anacondrai rushed the one in the middle. The golden-clad Anacondrai ducked under the swipe of a massive axe, sending his massive tail out like a whip to strike his attacker. Two more tried to team up and go in from both sides, but the snake pulled his tail under him and then struck up like a spring, sending him into the air to swipe both sword and tail at the two, knocking them back. The fourth tried to take this chance to backstab him, but the snake turned around and reached out with his hand, grabbing hold of his wrist and snapping it back. As the fourth warrior cried out, he grabbed his arm with both hands and swung him around, sending him flying into the fifth warrior that had been waiting for his chance.
The Serpentine in the stands let out a massive cheer as the five warriors slowly picked themselves back up, anger in their eyes as they stared towards their opponent. After a moment to breath, they all rushed him at once. The golden-clad snake swung his sword out and caught the largest weapon, then slid his sword down the length of it while twisting his body out of the way. The weapon was jerked forward, striking the guard of the one that had tried to rush in from behind. The snake then turned towards the others, taking the flat of his blade and swinging it to smack the face of one that had swung high to cleave down at him. As they stumbled back, the snake then held his arm up, catching a sharp looking sycle on a gauntlet. He traded hands with his sword to punch the one he'd caught, then swing backwards to knock down the one he'd already smacked in the face. His tail shot out and yanked the foot out from under the last warrior, sending him down to the ground with a painful thud.
"We have a winner!" The Hypnobrai spectating the event hissed out.
"ARCTURUS!" The crowd cheered out, "ARCTURUS! ARCTURUS!"
Arcturus moved to bow his head, giving an honorable nod to his fallen foes before slithering away from the arena. Lulloyd looked around, trying to figure out what was going on. It seemed that this Arcturus had been fighting in some match called a Slither Pit, but he'd never heard of what that was before. Either way, the crowd seemed to be loving it.
"Did you see that?" Mage asked excitedly, "The way he used his tail like that, and how he was predicting all their moves!"
"Yeah!" A Venomarai in front of them turned to talk to Mage, "General Arcturus is amazing! He isn't the captain of the Queen's guard for nothing!"
"Huh… well then," Lulloyd blinked, "I guess we know who he is now!"
"What is this?!" The Hypnobrai suddenly shouted, "It seems we have a new challenger!"
Arcturus stopped from exiting the arena, turning his head to see who was there. The entire crowd turned to see as well. Having entered from one of the paths through the stands was a new Serpentine. As soon as he came into view, Lulloyd's eyes widened.
"Clutch?!" Lulloyd gasped.
"You," Arcturus raised his blade and pointed it towards Clutch, "You have intruded on a Slither Pit. For what reason have you come here?"
"Oh!" Clutch spoke up in surprise, "I was just looking around here and saw the crowd…" He looked around, quickly taking stock of his surroundings, "...You know what, I think I should go."
"Have you no shame?" Arcturus slithered towards Clutch, "To enter into a Slither Pit is to challenge the one that is left standing inside of it. If you do not fight, then they will see you as a coward. Pick up one of their weapons and fight me."
"Woah, woah!" Clutch put his hands up, "Look, pal, I don't even know what a Slither Pit is. I was just looking for my friends and happened around here!"
"Lying will not grant you mercy," Arcturus picked up one of the fallen Anacondrai's swords and tossed it to Clutch, "Defend your honor in the Slither Pit. Leaving now will only bring on your shame!"
"You know, I'm totally okay with that," Clutch turned to leave, "I'm really good with that. So, if you don't mind…" When Clutch turned to leave, there were Serpentine that were now crowding the entrance he'd used to get in, having come to see who dared to challenge Arcturus. The snake himself just glared at Clutch with an unwavering gaze.
"This is bad," Lulloyd gulped, "We have to help him."
"How?" Mage asked, "We don't want to make a scene!"
"Clutch has already done that," Lulloyd stood up, "Let's help him out!"
Lulloyd turned and jumped down from the stands, causing the crowd to direct attention towards him. Mage looked down nervously before he did the same. The two jumped from wall to wall of the stands until they landed down just on the edge of the arena. Arcturus turned to see the two disguised as Serpentine walk towards him.
"Are you here to fight as well?" Arcturus asked firmly, "It is improper to enter a Slither Pit without a formal declaration. I will take you arriving like this as such."
"Y-You two!" Clutch smiled nervously, "These guys were the ones that I was trying to find! See! Alright, well, now that we're back, why don't we go and-"
Arcturus said nothing more. Instead, he moved forward, slithering straight up to Lulloyd. Lulloyd barely even registered he had before Mage had shoved them both down to the ground to avoid Arcturus' blade. As they went down, the crowd all cheered, their blood boiling to see more action. Lulloyd scrambled away from Arcturus, who turned towards them and scowled.
"Pick up a blade," Arcturus spat, "I will not take anymore cowards in this sacred arena!"
"Here!" Mage had already scrambled to take a hammer and knife from the fallen Anacondrai, tossing Lulloyd the hammer.
"H-Hey! Go easy on those two!" Clutch put his hands up, "They're not here to fight1 They have some business with Ophiod!"
"Ophiod…?" Arcturus paused, then he turned and glared at them both with a harsh gaze, "How is it you two know of the Prince?!"
Lulloyd went to respond, but Arcturus was on them. Just the force of his swing was enough to rattle Lulloyd down to the core. Mage frowned, not sure what to do without his elements. Using them would risk revealing their disguise, though, and he didn't want that. He went to drive the knife into Arcturus' arm, only to feel the Anacondrai's tail wrapped around his wrist. With a simple swing, Mage was sent into Lulloyd and both of them into the wall.
"He's… strong…" Mage coughed as he got up. The crowd had started to cheer again.
"Y-Yeah, we should get out of here…" Lulloyd turned, "Clutch!" Lulloyd saw Clutch forcing his way past the Serpentine that blocked his exit, running away from the arena as fast as he could.
"Hmmph, one coward has fled," Arcturus leveled his sword at the two, "It is now just down to two. Pick up your weapons and fight!"
Lulloyd nervously did as told. Mage did the same. Arcturus nodded his head at them, as though saying he respected their choice. That was all they saw of him before the Anacondrai had shot forward and moved down low to the ground. He spun in a circle, using his tail to sweep their feet out form under them. Lulloyd went down hard along with Mage. Once more, the crowd cheered.
"What do we do?" Mage asked. Without his powers, he couldn't fight.
Lulloyd shook his head, not knowing how to answer. Arcturus raised his sword up, earning him another cheer, then drove his sword towards Lulloyd. Lulloyd pushed Mage away as he swung his hammer like his father would his warlord staff, shout in all. The action was just unexpected enough for Arcturus to stop and block against it. When the strike connected, the crowd went wild. Arcturus glared at Lulloyd with an expression that almost looked… impressed.
"So you do have strength," Arcturus frowned, "Then I will show you mine!"
Arcturus took his sword in one hand and rushed Lulloyd. Without using his tail, he violently swung his blade striking at Lulloyd's hammer. Lulloyd was forced to go completely on the defensive, but each strike made his bottle rattle. Arcturus refused to stop pressing his assault, forcing Lulloyd all the way towards the edge of the arena again. Once there, Arcturus swung hard enough to throw Lulloyd into it. Lulloyd shouted and dropped his hammer, sliding down as the crowd cheered.
"...Perhaps it was not even worth wasting my time on you," Arcturus pushed the hammer away, drawing his sword up, "So be it. You have entered my arena. Now, you will pay for it!"
"Lulloyd!"
Arcturus turned to see a massive pillar of fire heading straight towards him. The Serpentine put his arms up over his face, gauntlets shining as the flames struck them. They carved a path through the fire, but the heat and light were intense enough Lulloyd had to look away. When the fire cleared, Arcturus stood, looking towards Mage who looked down at his hands in horror at what he'd just done.
"...You!" Arcturus pointed his sword at Mage, "I have never seen a snake that has used fire before. You called this one Lulloyd, yes," He pointed his sword at Lulloyd, eyes narrowed, "That is unlike any Serpentine name I have heard before."
"We…" Mage gulped, feeling his panic rising, "We don't want to fight! We're here to see Ophiod! The Prince!"
"And again, you mention the Prince!" Arcturus hissed, "...There is something wrong about you both. Something I do not yet know. But I will get to the bottom of it." He turned towards the fallen Anacondrai in the arena, "Seize them at once!"
As it turned out, the warriors were not as downed as they seemed. The five all stood up and swarmed Mage, who quickly turned and tried to blast with them fire and ice. As he tried to spit wildly, one of them wrapped an arm around Mage's neck. They squeezed hard, forcing Mage to gasp out as his airway was cut off. The others moved and quickly grabbed hold of his arms, yanking them out to his sides. Lulloyd shouted in fear, only to feet Arcturus' tail wrap around him. The force of it was painful enough he couldn't move. Mage tried to blast something from his hands, but the one squeezing his neck used his other arm to strike him on the back of the head. Mage went limp, not unconscious but just out of it enough the pain was too much.
"Take them to the palace!" Arcturus demanded, "We will get to the bottom of who these two are!"
With a groan, Lulloyd and Mage were dumped onto the floor. The Anacondrai had forced them to walk up the seemingly endless stairs to the top of the palace, something that Lulloyd would be happy never to do again. The Anacondrai who had carried Mage left as soon as they dropped him. Arcturus himself simply frowned and placed his hands behind his back.
Lulloyd looked around as best he could form being on the floor. The two were in a massive room, one that was truly built to be the centerpiece of a palace. The room was a deep red, something that struck him as unnatural to the space. A long path led into the room from the stairs they had taken to get there, and lining that path were small dishes suspended on poles that had beautiful orange flames lit in them. The room was lit by these flames, revealing the large pillars that held up the space.
On the other end of the room was a massive throne. The throne was beautiful, sculptured from gold and raised up enough to look down on anyone that entered. Lulloyd wasn't able to see much, as from being down on the floor, he could only turn his head to see the first few steps.
"My Queen!" Arcturus declared, "These two intruded upon a Slither Pit! They have claimed to know of your son! The small one used both fire and ice in the arena! I believe that these two are not what they seem!"
"They claim to know of my son?" A female voice hissed out from atop the throne, "That is most shocking indeed. And the little one used an element?" Her voice dropped lower, "Then let us see who they truly are."
The voice began to chant something, something deep and powerful. Lulloyd heard something gathering in the space above them, almost like hearing Jay power up his lightning mech. The Queen, as it most likely was, gave a loud hiss, and then a powerful orange glow surrounded both Lulloyd and Mage. While Lulloyd felt nothing, Mage locked up on the floor beside him. His eyes flared purple as he gripped the floor, gasping hard and straining as though fighting against something. The Queen continued to chant, causing Mage to cry out as both her power and his element fought. With one more burst of orange around them, though, Mage's eyes flickered out and he slid to the ground.
"What…?" Arcturus hissed, "You are not Serpentine!" Lulloyd froze, realizing that their disguises were now gone.
"...These are not mere humans," The Queen hissed out, "Stand them up. I wish to speak to them." Arcturus nodded, dragging to the two their feet. As soon as he did, Lulloyd was able to lay eyes upon the Serpentine Queen.
The Queen of the Serpentine was unlike any that the two had seen in the city. Her body was clad in golden robes, with a large piece of gold around her shoulder shining with a metallic gleam that betrayed it as armor. The scales under those clothing was a deep navy blue, unlike that of any of the other tribes. She had a tail underneath her torso, but not as long as that Arcturus had. What stood out the most, however, was her head. It was shaped like that of Ophiod's own, with a tiered neck of scales giving away to a flat forehead. Large flaps extended out from the sides of her neck, decorated with golden accessories. Her eyes were piercing, a beautiful glow of yellow and orange that stared into those she saw. Her two large fangs were a pure white and gleamed against her body. On top of her head was a small crown, cementing her status to them.
"Now," Queen Aspheera sat up upon her throne, "Let us discuss what it is you know about my son."