Golden Sun: The Sands of Time
Chapter 19: Many Dangers
Picard did a fast sidestep, neatly dodging the black… thing that had ambushed him. Raising the Masamune, he slashed horizontally at the side of the strange creature. It merely collapsed into a roiling, shifting mass of smoke, before reforming.
Picard backed off somewhat, pausing to cast Ply on his bleeding side. The damned thing had managed to get a good hit on him from the back with his teeth before Picard had noticed it. Shaking his head, he prepared to cast Megacool on his foe.
The creature had other plans, however. Opening it's mouth, it expunged a wave of thick black fog that covered the interior of the ship, making it utterly impossible to see anything. Picard uttered a low curse, and backed up until he felt the wall of the room. This way, he could only be attacked from the front.
Suddenly, something charged straight into his stomach, doubling him over in pain as the air was knocked out of him. The strange beast opened his mouth, and Picard could see rows of serrated teeth, salivating in anticipation of a meal. Gritting his teeth, Picard lashed out with his foot, knocking the creature back to the ground.
"Chill!"
The djinni shot out from Picard's body, slamming into the creature and knocking it further back. Scrambling to his feet, Picard drew the Masamune once again, looking around desperately. Damn the fog…
Suudenly, he heard a soft clatter beside him. Whirling, his Masamune flew through the air… only to be intercepted by the Excalibur in mid-swing.
"I would like to keep my head, if at all possible." Felix calmly stated. Withdrawing his blade, he shouted to the others, presumably hidden somewhere in the fog, to move closer together.
"Sheba!" Picard heard someone else's voice, probably Isaac's. "Blow away this smoke!"
The winds in the area seemed to pick up, dispersing the thick smoke in the area, allowing sight at last. Behind him, he caught sight of Jenna hurling a Searing Beam at the creature. And in the light of the fire-based spell, he finally managed a good look at the thing.
Black upon black, razor sharp fur. A vaguely hound-like shape, with slavering mouth, opened wide in anticipation, and two eyes, burning red in the gloom of the hold. Most unsettling of all, the strange creature seemed to have no definite form, but instead a smoky outline that shifted and changed even as the Shadowhound crouched low, preparing to spring. Dodging the fiery ray, it opened it's mouth, and released a multitude of darts, which sparked and flickered as they struck the far end of the room.
Isaac jumped back a second too late, and stumbled away, clutching a bleeding arm.
"Destruct Ray!"
A flurry of lightning bolts fell on the beast, temporarily distracting it. Sheba allowed herself a tiny smile as she edged back again to prepare for her next spell.
"Fever!" With a cry, Garet launched himself at the beast, trying to deal it a blow with his sword. The Felhound merely swatted him away with a paw, sending Garet crashing to the ground. With another howl, it lunged at Mia.
She was ready. Even as it neared, she raised a hand, focusing the energies of Mercury from her palm, culminating in a destructive wave of freezing ice.
"Glacier!"
Howling, the Felhound leapt back. The ice attack missed by a hair, once again. Mia frowned slightly, backing up.
"It's too fast." Jenna muttered tersely. "Whatever we throw at it, it'll dodge."
Mia raised an eyebrow. "You have something in mind?"
Jenna grinned. "Superheated water."
Nodding, Mia raised her hands once more. "Douse!" A surge of water shot forth from her palm, heading straight for the Shadowhound. Twisting, it leapt straight up, and released a Storm Blessing on Isaac, who had been trying to sneak up behind it.
Jenna shut all this out of her mind, focusing instead on her strongest Mars psynergy.
"Dragon Fume!"
A raging dragon, created out of fire itself, flowed forth from her hands. Leaping into the midst of the torrent of water along the ship's hold, it traveled along within the river, Jenna's entire willpower devoted to preventing the great dragon from dissipating. With a hissing sound, the water from Mia's spell began to boil, until half the room was covered in a choking cloud of steam.
Coughing and backing off, Picard glared at the Felhound. Twisting and turning, it seemed to be currently trying to shake off the steam in the area. Garet, meanwhile, had seized the opportunity to blast at the Felhound with a Flare Storm attack, causing the beast to screech in pain and anooyance.
Suddenly, it opened it's mouth, and once again a thick wave of smoke rolled out, dispersing the steam and covering the interior of the hold in darkness once again.
"Okay," Felix's annoyed voice cut through the blackness of the interior. "We can't hit him, we can't restrict his movements, we can't see him. Anyone have any- Gah!" The sounds of a scuffle penetrated the gloom.
Dashing over, Picard managed to catch a glimpse of Felix on the floor, struggling with the hound. Leaping over a stray piece of debris, he brought the sword slicing down on the back of the hound.
Jerking, it let out a shrill scream of pain. Collapsing to the floor, the hound began to merge with the smog within the hold, becoming invisible.
"Damn." Picard snarled. Turning over to the limp body of Felix, he noticed a nasty-looking gash on his arm. "Hey, you alright?"
Golden light surrounded the dark-haired warrior, and Felix stood, the wound little more than a memory. "I am now." He said.
Isaac's voice suddenly rang out, off to his right. "Everyone! Stick together! We can't afford to be separated in this gloom." Picard nodded to Felix, and began moving backwards.
"Ahh!" A scream suddenly pierced the relative silence.
"Jenna!" Felix yelled. His plaintive call was met only by silence.
"Jenna! Jenna! Where are you?! Jenna!" Picard turned around desperately. They couldn't see a blasted thing, how on Weyard were they going to defeat that beast?
"Oh, we so do not need this right now." Isaac growled irritably. From somewhere in the room, Picard felt the ground began to tremble.
"Isaac!" Garet snapped. "Control yourself! If you cast Grand Gaia you'll blow the ship apart!"
"Garet telling Isaac to control himself?." Mia said with a slight chuckle. "I never thought I'd live to see the day."
"How the hell can you be so calm?!" Felix yelled. "Jenna's in here somewhere! Jenna! Jenna! Jen-" A crimson ray of fire shot through the room, crashing into Picard's stomach and sending him staggering backwards.
"Jenna? " Felix gasped. Slowly emerging through the gloom, the black shadowy figure that approached was most definitely not his sister. But it bore enough of a resemblance to give Picard, and the others in the hold pause.
Slowly, a demented grin spread across the Jenna/Felhound's face, and raising an arm, it sent off another ray of fire that nearly incinerated Sheba's head, the Jupiter adept's lightning-fast reflexes being the only thing that saved her. Before the Jenna/Felhound could cast another spell, an iceberg generated from psynergy fell on it. Apparently, changing forms had slowed the thing down somewhat, Picard mused. Lunging forward, a series of quick slashes quickly shattered the Diamond Berg, freeing the wounded creature. Before it could recover, Isaac and Sheba had already teamed up for a devastating spell attack.
"Impact!"
"Odyssey!"
A purple blast of light surrounded Isaac the same instant he had charged forward, sending two magnificent golden swords streaking towards the Jenna/Felhound. A third, larger sword appeared in Isaac's hands, which he stabbed straight into the gut of the creature, the strength of the Jupiter-based spell boosting his powers.
Howling and shrieking, the form of the creature wavered and dissolved once more into the shape of a wolf. Using his reacquired speed, it darted away from Isaac, pausing to slash at Felix with his claws.
Another hurricane blew through the area, and the hold was once again free of smoke, with a rather exhausted Sheba leaning on her staff for support. The battle was taking far too long, Isaac noted. Mia, taking advantage of the improved visibility, readied her staff, prepared to bring a hail of icicles raining down on her foe.
The Shadowhound had sensed this, and suddenly charged forward once again, it's huge jaws closing on Mia's ankle. With a quick twist, he sent her crashing to the floor. Lunging at the clear opportunity, it was prepared to rip her throat out when one of it's paws caught on the edge of Mia's pack, tearing it open.
Sudden light flared throughout the interior of the hold, the strange staff Mia had acquired in the caverns of the Ghash now illuminating the darkest recesses of the room. Temporarily blinded by the intense light, Isaac raised a hand to his eyes, trying to shield his eyes. And he caught sight of the Felhound, backing off, shifting into a crouch as it stared at the rod, crimson eyes wide in terror. It growled at Felix who was now approaching him, sword at the ready, but it was weak, lacking conviction. It didn't bother to move, even as Felix slashed at the beast.
"Mia," Isaac whispered. "Pick that staff up." Slowly bending over, Mia lifted the rod into her hands, never taking her eyes of the Felhound. Suddenly, the light flickered, and vanished completely.
In the split second for the rays pouring from the rod to be extinguished, the Felhound lunged forward, aiming for Isaac. Catching the Venus Adept unawares, he breathed a wave of suffocating fumes into his face. Choking, Isaac fell over, and everything became a blur. He heard his friend's cries and yelps of shock, felt the weight of the Shadowhound pressing on his body, felt the heat of the creature's breath, felt it's jaws closing on his throat, felt-
Twang.
Then the weight was off him, as the creature howled in pain. Scrambling into a sitting position, Isaac stared at the arrow the now protruded from the creature's eye. Out of the corner of his eye he noted Davion had appeared in the hold and was lowering his bow. The Felhound, shrieking in pain, never noticed the figure of the tall, red haired Mars Adept appearing behind him. It never noticed the Fire Brand that cleanly seperated it's head in one quick blow.
The headless body abruptly dissolved, into a tiny cloud of smoke that grew ever smaller until it vanished completely. The head held shape for a second longer before finally dissolving as well.
Felix rushed over to Jenna, who was slumped on the far end of the room. "You okay?" He asked.
Jenna raised her head to look at Felix, a tiny grimace etched on her face. "I'll be fine, as soon as this headache stops. You killed that thing?"
"Garet did."
"Same diff." Pulling herself to her feet, she glanced at Picard setting the orb in place. "Well, now that we've dealt with any problems, shall we be off?"
Isaac strolled along the deck of the ship, looking at the sands far below him. Sheba was standing near the helm, eyes straining for any sign of Snarlgrin Mountain. And Davion was currently giving directions to Picard, who was controlling the ship.
Walking over to Davion, he tapped his shoulder. "Could I speak to you for a minute?"
Nodding, Davion followed Isaac to the side of the ship.
"So, what's the story?" Isaac questioned in a conversational tone. "I seem to recall- rather clearly, in fact- you saying that you couldn't sacrifice any men for this- and I quote- 'suicide mission'."
"Davion offered a tight-lipped smile. "I can sacrifice myself, can't I?"
Nighttime already?
Sheba let out a long, slow sigh as she stared at out the sand dunes in front of her. They had been traveling for nearly a day now, and still no sign of the Northern Mountains. Impatience was beginning to tell on her, and she had been staring at the barren landscape in front of her practically nonstop, and she was, well, in a word, cranky.
They had to find Ivan. Fast.
Suddenly, the winds around her seemed to pick up, turning from a pleasant coolness to icy cold. Instinctively, Sheba stepped back, wrapping her cloak around tighter around herself. Staring around wildly, Sheba turned to Picard at the helm, who didn't seem to notice anything particularly different.
Then she heard it. The voice. Innumerably dark, reminiscent of her blackest nightmares. The very nature of the voice paralyzed her, unable to move, unable to do anything except tremble in utter and abject terror.
"You will not find the one you seek…" The voice whispered, so close to her ear. She could almost feel it's hot breath hissing against the cheek.
"No…" She whispered. She couldn't give up. She couldn't lose hope. Not now. Not when they had come so far.
"Search your soul, mortal girl. You know this to be true." And suddenly a fell wind blew up around her. Freezing winds assaulted her, forcing her eyes shut and sending her into a crouch. When the winds finally subsided, she opened her eyes, staring at the alien landscape in front of her.
Far below her, a thousand rocky mountains, peaks sharp as spikes, stabbing upwards. The platform she stood on was a narrow path, suspended in midair seemingly by air itself. An orange sky, with bloodred sun burning down on her, illuminating the strange jewels embedded in the ground, causing them to glow with a strange aura that seemed almost… alive.
But that was not what drew her attention, commanded her gaze. It was him.
Floating in midair, clad in a cloak that hid all features save his eyes, he slowly hovered in front of Sheba, staring down at her.
"There is nothing for you in the Blasted Lands, God Child." The last part was said with a definite sneer. "Not love, not friendship, not life. Only…" The ground around her suddenly shook, breaking and cracking into a dust. Caught in freefall, Sheba could only stare at the figure, floating serenely high above her. A quick glance showed her the mountains rushing up to meet her.
" Only… death." The mountains were startlingly close to her. It would only be a matter of seconds before-
"AH!" Sheba's eyes snapped open, staring at the familiar sight of her cabin roof. Propping herself onto a sitting position, she drew a deep gasp of air. Why…? Why did these dreams haunt her? Shaking her head, she stood up.
"I will find Ivan…" She said to the empty room. " I must …"
The memory of the strange being's eyes seared into her mind. It seemed… haunting. Still trembling, she closed her eyes, trying to calm herself down.
And the beginnings of a desperate idea began to form in her mind.
Suddenly, someone rapped sharply on the door, and Mia stepped in. "Oh, good. You're awake. Come to the deck, quick. We have a… problem."
Throwing himself to the deck, Davion narrowly avoided being skewered by the Aerion flying over him. With a shrill scream, the bat-like creature wheeled once, before swooping down on Davion again, it's Karan rider glaring at the elven prince.
Not this time. In the space of a second, Davion had drawn an arrow, and fitted it onto his bow. Pausing only to ensure his aim was true, he released his dart, and watched it fly into the chest of the Redskin, knocking him off his perch. As the Aerion, now without a master, flew past, Davion opened up it's chest with a swipe of a long knife.
But more came. Now in the thick of the Northern Mountains, the Karan were simply jumping off nearby cliffs, onto the ship itself, and engaging the adepts in direct combat. The bodies were beginning to pile up.
Behind him, he caught a glimpse of Isaac performing a perfect somersault as he leapt over the swords of two Karan trying to behead him. Almost before he had landed, he lashed out with Flint and one of the Karan fell back with a hole in his chest.
Suddenly, from the hold, a combination of lighning and water psynergy flowed out, drenching the Karan and electrocuting them at the same time. Leaping out onto the deck, Sheba and Mia once again unleashed their devastating psynergy spells on the horde of Karan, blasting them away.
Ducking under an axe from one of the brutes that had snuck up behind him, Davion whirled and slashed at the head of his current foe. Jumping back, the Karan bellowed in anger before making another swipe with his battle axe. Davion merely ducked under the weapon, and stabbed his knives forward, their sharp edges puncturing the belly of the Karan. Staggering back, the enemy Karan let out a choked gasp before slumping to the ground.
"Picard!" Davion yelled out at the Lemurian who was currently piloting the ship, and under the defense of both Jenna and Felix. "To the left! That's Snarlgrin Mountain!" Rising from the ground, the huge stone structure crafted by time into the shape of a snarling wolf's head loomed over them. Davion fancied he could even see a tiny doorway in the side, leading into the mountains, and ostensibly, the fortress of the Karan hordes.
Tilting slightly, the ship creaked as it dipped lower, aiming for the doorway in the ground.
Turning, Davion caught sight of a Karan charging for him, screaming in rage. With a single swift motion, he ducked under the spear hurled from his current enemy, and kicked at the Karan's leg. Thrown of balance, the redskin cried out in fear and surprise as the ship lurched, sending him tumbling off the railing. His final, despairing scream was cut short as he struck the side of the mountain, his limp body bouncing as it continued it's descent to the desert floor far below.
Davion had already turned his mind to other matters, however. Drawing and arming another arrow, he turned to find a Karan ready to plunge a dagger straight into his heart. Without time to dodge, Davion settled for firing the arrow point-blank through the red-skinned warrior's throat. A frozen expression of surprise was the only reward he got.
Suddenly, something struck him in his back, knocking him to the deck of the ship. Twisting, he caught sight of an Aerion stooping over him, mouth opened wide. Shit.
Suddenly, a spear passed clean through the chest of the winged creature. With a shrill shriek of pain, the Aerion flapped it's wings, trying to take to the air before collapsing onto the wood.
Panting for breath, Davion managed to pull himself into a sitting position as he offered a quick thumbs-up at Isaac. Isaac returned the friendly gesture, before reversing his sword and stabbing clean through the gut of a Karan that had tried to sneak up behind him.
Felix wearily pulled his sword out from the chest of the last Karan. Glancing around wearily, he stared at the large amounts of corpses strewn about the ship. Behind him, Picard had already set the ship down on a cleft in the mountains, next to the yawning doorway. Damn, that thing looked way too much like a mouth.
And we're the hor'devoures. Felix though
Suddenly, from the hold, his sister emerged, looking a bit surprised. "Guys? I think you need to see this."
"Typical." Isaac muttered as he stared at the sheet of paper pinned to the wall with a dagger in front of him. "Just typical. I'm almost surprised she didn't do this sooner."
"What is it?" Felix asked. "What's on the note?"
"See for yourself." Isaac muttered as he moved to the side. Stepping forward, Felix quickly scanned through the contents of the note, written in Sheba's neat scrawl.
All of you, I ask your forgiveness. By the time you read this, I should hopefully be within the fortress.
Please try to understand. This is something I have to do on my own. I do not know if we will meet again. Farewell.
"Shit."
"That about sums it up."
Sheba stared around the corner nervously. Crap. A Karan patrol. And they would round the corner any second
"Haze." She said. "Now." Instantly, a protective veil shielded her from view. As the Karan marched past, the smokescreen dissipated, allowing any who might have been watching to see her. Running quickly, she rounded the corner before the Karan had the opportunity to turn it down..
(You sure about this, mistress?) Haze asked worriedly.
"No, I'm not." Sheba muttered as she continued on further into the darkness.
"So?" Garet demanded angrily. "What do we do now?"
"Picard snorted slightly. "I should think it was obvious. We go in, find her, and rescue Ivan together."
"He's right." Isaac interjected. "We've come too far now. We can't turn back."
"So be it." Davion said. "To be honest, I don't think our chances of survival are large at all."
"And since when has that stopped us?" Isaac laughed.
Turning, the leader of the group sighed once, glancing briefly at the face of Sol high above him for perhaps the last time, before venturing into the doorway.
And deep within the mountain fortress,they waited.