Disclaimer: I don't own the Legend of Spyro.

Chapter 10

Felon's Refuge

"There it is," Jirin said as they reached the crest of the hill. Cynder stared down at the village. The buildings were old and decrepit with blue-green moss growing on most of it. Most of it was built on stilts over a poisonous lake, which had several small ships docked. "I shall see if I can find out where the moles where taken. You can go buy something to distinguish yourself from the shape stealer."

The llama tossed a small sack to Kadie. Cynder expected to hear the sack jingle when Kadie caught it, but a clattering sound came from it instead.

"I'd recommend you try Frogtongue's place first. Tell him I sent you," Jirin said, starting down the hill. Cynder glided after him. She glanced around when she landed. A rotten wooden sign stood above the entrance to the village. Felon's Refuge could be made out written in faded black paint on the sign. "Kadie can show you the way. Meet me at the Poisoned Mushroom Inn when you're finished."

The small white insect took off in one direction, Cynder followed. Only a handful of creatures walked past, most of them resembled apes, but with canine-looking heads. All of them looked shifty, or otherwise unsavory.

"Isn't Jirin afraid someone will steal that sack from you?" Cynder asked.

"No, if someone tries to take this from me, they'll get a nasty surprise…" Kadie replied. "Jirin hexes most of the stuff he carries into this place and most everyone here knows not to try anything."

Kadie led her out over the lake. The paths here were narrow and without railing. A shove, whether accidental, or not, could send one plummeting into the liquid below. Cynder stayed as close to the center of the path as she could.

"Here we are," Kadie said, hovering over to a large building. The sign above it read "Honest Frogtongue's Trinkets and Stuff"; or rather it did when you corrected all the spelling errors.

Cynder pushed the door open, the bell above it ringing as they entered the shop. Another one of the canine creatures sat behind the counter, lounging back in his chair and looking half-asleep. He grunt at the sound of the bell and looked towards the door, spotting the two.

"Kadie! I see old Jirin still has you in his service," Frogtongue said. His long tongue lolled out of his mouth and Cynder noticed the strange green coloration of it.

"Yeah, he does," Kadie replied.

"He always was quick to magic someone," Frogtongue said, fingering his large green tongue. "Says he's teaching them a lesson. Rubbish, I say. But anyway what are you looking for?"

"I'm looking for some kind of jewelry," Cynder spoke up. The shopkeeper looked at her and studied her. Recognition flashed across his face a moment later.

"I see, I see. Wait here," Frogtongue said, heading through the doorway behind the counter. They could hear Frogtongue muttering and shifting around objects. A loud crash sounded, followed by a quick swearword. "Oh, my tongue!"

Cynder examined the shop's contents, noticing a barrel full of shrunken heads, several bones along with armor which resembled that of the undeads', and a necklace of what looked distinctly like dragon claws. Cynder shivered…

"Here we are!" Frogtongue said, emerging behind the counter with a necklace in hand. She was relieved to see purple pearls decorated the necklace rather than dragon claws. "And I guarantee that each pearl is the real thing. The oyster almost took my finger off when I was getting them. Do you have payment?"

Kadie fluttered over to him and dropped the bag into the canine's waiting hands. He set the pearl necklace down and carefully opened the bag, peering into it. Cynder walked over and examined the necklace. A purple gemstone was embedded into a strip of gold on the front of it.

"So will you take it?" Cynder looked up at Frogtongue who was clutching the small sack tightly. Cynder nodded and picked up the necklace in a paw, standing on her hind legs and working the clasp with her front paws she clipped it around her neck.

"It looks perfect," Frogtongue said, though the flattery was only an attempt to keep her from changing her mind. He really wanted whatever was in that bag.

"Thanks for the help," Kadie said, heading towards the door.

"No, thank you for your patronage," Frogtongue said, shaking the bag in his hands. "Sometimes I'm almost glad I tried to pick that llama's pockets…"

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Spyro and Pyris hadn't touched the ground since the shape stealer's attack. They didn't plan to land until they put plenty of distance between themselves and whatever was imitating Cynder.

Pyris glanced back and abruptly stopped and hovered in midair. Spyro noticed, stopped, and turned a few seconds later. He stopped and glared at the black figure flying towards them. It stopped and flew in a tight circle.

"It wants us to go after it," Spyro said.

"I don't care," Pyris said. "I want to get rid of that monster."

Spyro nodded and the two beat their wings, flying after the shape stealer, who turned and darted away in a very definite direction.

"It's leading us somewhere," Spyro said. "Let's keep our eyes open."

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Neither one of them wanted to look through the shops, so they headed for the Poisoned Mushroom. Cynder heard the sound of heavy footfalls and turned her head halfway around before something rammed into her hind section and sent her tumbling over the side of the wooden pier. She managed to grab hold of the wood with her front paws, sinking her claws deep into it, while the rest of her dangled over the poisonous lake below.

She looked up to see an ape standing over her, a grin plastered across his hairy muzzle. "Hello, ex-General."

Cynder growled and swung her tail up, the sharp tip piercing the wood and stabbing through the ape's foot. He cried out in pain and stumbled back, falling into the lake. She looked to her left and saw five small apes running towards her and one massive commander. She quickly climbed back onto the pathway.

The narrow walkway prevented the apes from coming at her in numbers higher then two. She ducked a swipe from the first ape and swatted her paw against its head, sending him tumbling over the edge. The other ape caught her in the shoulder with a swipe and she nearly followed the first ape off. She butted her head into his chest and knocked him back into the others.

The big ape howled and tossed a bundle of dynamite at Cynder. She caught it in her mouth and tossed it to the side and into the lake. Too late she realized the explosion would send the poisonous liquid shooting into the air. She spun around and leapt into the air, grabbing Kadie in a forepaw and flying as fast as she could. She glanced back to see the explosion send the poison spraying into the air, the substance dousing the apes and making them howl in pain. Cynder let Kadie fly out of her paw.

Several villagers peered out of their windows down at the apes below. A strange creature wearing a black and white tuxedo with a black top hat stepped out of one of the buildings. He carried a black cane. He was covered in blue chitin, the entire lower half of his body resembled a caterpillar and his face reminded Cynder a bit of an ant's. He wore a monocle over his right eye. The apes were all writhing on the ground in pain, so Cynder thought it would be safe to land.

The insect crawled up to the big ape and grounded his cane into the beast's back. "This village is for smugglers and thieves, not murderers. If you wish to get into a fight, there is a bar right around the corner."

The ape groaned and nodded his head slowly. The insect raised his cane, spun it about in his pincer-like hand once and then turned and headed off.

"Come on, let's fly the rest of the way," Cynder said, taking to the air again.