Chapter Seven: Second and Third Clues

Spyro lost himself in the gore. Limbs flew this way, and torsos flew the other. So much blood coated his scales, you'd think he was a red dragon from birth. It started with just the simple decapitation of the ape's leader. They all stopped what they were doing and turned to look at him in awe, "Release the grublin!" He roared, pushing the commander's corpse off of it's chair. When the stupid awestruck creatures didn't respond, Spyro tried a different tactic. He rammed towards the ape that was gripping onto the poor grublin's collar, and knocked it into the flames. As soon as it had it's release, the ex-prisoner ran away into the cold safety of a nearby cave.

"You... You killed Urgaul!" Exclaimed the officer, unsheathing his sword. The rest of the apes followed his example.

"You're all going to regret ever coming here." Growled Spyro, teeth clenched so hard blood ran down from his gums, "Now you die." The first one came at him slowly so it was relatively easy to dodge his swing, and place a well sharpened claw underneath it's armpit. The newly-made hole made for a great escape route for all that red liquid trapped inside of the screaming animal. The next two were quicker, so Spyro had to change fighting styles. He jumped over them and dug his hind claws into their furry backs, using them as a platform to spring off and onto the officer. It's voice erupted into a cry of anguish and surprise that was soon exchanged for the gurgle of a pierced throat. Spyro pressed his whole body-weight onto the ape's; jaws tightly secured around it's badly bleeding neck. The rest of the apes all stood around in shock and horror, "Run." They didn't.

And so we zoom through time to the place I talked about at the beginning of this story. Spyro stood in the piles of dead, panting like a dog in the desert, "Is... Is it safe?" Chirped a tiny voice from the cave with a grublin inside.

Spyro's heart softened at such innocence, "No, don't come out yet." He had to think of some way to rid the ground of this mess! As quickly as he could manage, the purple dragon ate. He ate and ate. What he didn't consume, he dragged off into a dark corner of the clearing, "Okay, you can come out now." Spyro felt weighted down by his enormous meal, so he probably wouldn't be flying any time soon. At least the small grublin didn't have to witness all that horrible carnage.

It walked- Waddled out, "Th-th-thank you for saving me Spyro." It bowed to him, shivering in fear.

"You know me?"

The grublin looked confused, "You didn't think the loser would forget the winner's face, did you?" It cracked a grin and elicited something best described as a cat's purr mixed with a dog growl. Probably some kind of grublin chuckle, "You were some-what of a legend in our village." Then it's expression sank, "My village..."

"I'm sorry... They're all dead." Spyro hung his head slightly to show his grief.

The grublin gave a great sigh, "We were the last of our kind... Well, seeing as my race is extinct, I don't see much reason to keep living. So if you'll please excuse me, I'll go-"

"Wait," Spyro rudely interrupted, "how is it that you are so civilized?"

It laughed, "What you fought on your campaign against Malefor, was a mind-controlled version of our real selves. In other words, all they could do is fight, kill, and die." The grublin started to walk away again, leaving Spyro to digest everything he had just learned.

Just before it disappeared behind a snowdrift, Spyro asked, "Have you, perchance, seen something wrapped in leather nearby?"

The grublin smiled, nodding, "As a favor to my savior, I'll show you were my vllage chief hid it."

Spyro followed the small creature as best he could. He found it quite difficult, seeing as the thing moved at a snail's pace compared to him. Listening to it speak was almost comical. Spyro had to force himself not to laugh at the grublins high pitched voice, "Almost there!" It chirped, exchanging a casual stroll for a cheerful skip.

"Ah! I can see it now!" It lay at the very back of a grublin-made cave. The cave was set in the side of a 'very' tall wall of ice. Spyro spotted it by the small amount of light, if any at all, that reflected off of something shiny protruding from it's leather casing.

The grublin looked up at him with a friendly smile, "Well, you know the rest of the way, I wont see you again." He then spun on his heels and hopped away. Spyro watched him leave piteously; he knew what it was like to experience loneliness. At one time, dragons were only five away from extinction. He picked the leather-wrapped item up off the ground and unraveled it. A lump of steel fell out onto the ground.

"Is it just me, or is that clue just a bit too obvious." Remarked Spyro to himself, leaving it behind as he took to the skies. In the clouds, Spyro felt like he could just forget about all of his troubles and just fly forever. Cynder. He flew faster.

He set down in the old weapons forge and looked around. It was exactly the same as he left it. Pumping raw ore out of the volcano, and forming it into weapons. If only some one knew where the weapons all went after they were created. That person would have enough to outfit two whole armies! Spyro kept his pace quick as he trotted in and around working machinery. Movement caught his eye, and he spun to face it, "Show yourself!" He barked, taking up the proper dragon battle-stance.

A scaly tail disappeared behind an ore cart, and a voice called out, "Not until you promise not to hurt me!"

Spyro relaxed, "Who are you!" If it was an enemy, it would've recognized him on sight, "I promise not to hurt you! Just come out so we can talk properly!" After a few seconds of debating, the mysterious creature stuck it's head out, "You're a-"

"Dragon, I know. Almost everyone I meet has the same reaction." It smiled as it studied Spyro and found that he was a dragon too, "The name's Flame."

Spyro felt something tingle in the back of his neck. Almost as if, he had heard that name before, but in another life, "Mine is Spyro. Nice to meet you Flame."

Obviously more comfortable with the purple newcomer, Flame stepped closer and let more of his guard down, "So what brings you to my home?"

Spyro looked around in disbelief, "You 'live' here?"

"Yeah... I know what you're thinking, and no, I wasn't abandoned 'or' banished. I just grew up here with my mother until she died fighting some evil black dragoness." Spyro felt a tang of guilt hit his stomach. That same dragoness could be the one he loved, "So I ask again, what brings you here?"

"I'm looking for something. Something that resembles this." Spyro held out one of the many leather wrappings he carried around, "Only, lumpier and heavier."

Flame thought long and hard, then said, "Follow me, I think I know what you're talking about." The red dragon turned tail and headed towards a nearby air-duct that led directly into the volcano. It had been a while since Spyro had been here last, so he didn't recognize the tunnel they traveled through.

"Where are we going?" He asked, looking around with wide open eyes at his slippery surroundings, "It's oddly wet in here for an air vent."

Flame chuckled, "That's because it goes into the cooling room. I saw another dragon carrying the thing you're talking about in his paws, and he dived into this tunnel. I followed him, and saw him plant it underneath a shield that was just getting ready to be shipped out to chronicler-knows-where." He tapped Spyro on the nose with his tail, "Are you, perchance, that purple 'legend' I've been hearing so much about?"

Spyro nodded, even though it was a useless gesture as Flame was looking the other way, "Yes. Funny, only outcasts and bad-guys seem to recognize me anymore."

The red dragon stopped in his tracks, "Hey!" He looked over his wing-shoulder at Spyro, "I'm no outcast!"

"Sorry, it's just. The way you live-"

"Okay, I'm going to have to stop you right there, mister 'probably lives in a big mansion surrounded by servants'! I just so happen to love the way I live, and wouldn't trade it for anything else in the world! So before you go dissing my lifestyle, think about how much you enjoy 'your' life!" That little rant made Spyro go deathly silent, and his eyelids raise really high in shock. He never thought about it before; but he hates his life! "Are... Are you okay?" Asked Flame, starting to move again.

"Yeah..." Spyro was still in shock.

Finally they reached the cooling room. That's where Flame left Spyro on his own, "I don't dare go down there."

"Why?"

"Just stay quiet for a while and listen real carefully. You'll hear why." The red male chuckled while heading back the way he came, "Good luck!"

Spyro looked down into the freezing cold space below him, "He was just kidding, that's all. Come on Spyro, you can do it." It felt weird to talk to himself, but at least it boosted his confidence if only by the tiniest bit, "Should I stay here and wait to hear the noise?" He pawed at the edge, "No, every second I spend not looking for Cynder, is another second she could be in incredible pain. There's no way I'd let that happen!" Spyro shook the fear off of him, and leapt down into the dark space beneath.

Both fore and hind paws struck the floor hard, sending an echoing clang ricocheting off the walls. His pupils widened, trying to adapt to the dark, "Silly dragon," Spyro's neck hurt as his head snapped around towards the direction of the voice, "thought he could see in the dark!"

"Who goes there!"

Then another voice came from another part of the dark, so once again Spyro's tense spring-like neck muscles threw his head around, "Listen to him! Sounds like he thinks he's some kind of night guard!"

"Take my advice boy, get out while you still have the ability to walk." A third voice!

"How many of you are there!" Spyro spun in circles hearing hundreds of voices chuckling in a maddening way, "Stop laughing!" The purple dragon placed his paws over his ears and screamed as loud as he could, "Stop!" But the voices only seemed to get louder.

Suddenly they all went quiet, "Poor dragon, he didn't take my advice!" This one was ear-piercingly high pitched, and Spyro's ears started to bleed.

"Shut up!"

End Chapter Seven: Second and Third Clues