Chapter outlines are your friend. :0)
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Spyro spread his wings and landed softly in the familiar plateau. He felt at ease; he had been expecting a small army or a magic force field, or some massive beast that couldn't just be charged but had him doing complicated puzzles to defeat it. Instead he saw nothing out of the ordinary. Sparx was the first to appear next to him, and he was soon followed by the four hatchlings. It felt odd, having other dragons to follow him into an adventure. Watching as they glided through the portal one by one, eyes lingering on the two females, Spyro felt a wave of responsibility sweep over him. It was his job not just to lead these young ones, but protect them if push came to shove.
"So where should we start?" Shemp wondered aloud.
Spyro shrugged sheepishly. He hadn't thought to ask Marco where the attack occurred. "I think the village is a good idea," he speculated, "whatever it was could be hiding there. We have to be careful, though."
They agreed without question. The six of them moved over the bridge and towards the strange tangle of green that covered the small clay huts. They stayed close, each within an arm's length from another, preventing the group from being separated in case of an ambush.
"BzzBzzz bzzbzzz BzzBzbz," said Sparx quietly as they approached the first hut. The vines covering the clay were dusty but not too thick, and Spyro used his claws to cut and rip them away.
"I dunno buddy. Something that could cause a big enough disturbance, but small enough to want to flee after hurting a dragon. And not a big dragon, at that." He thought of Marco's slight frame and felt more sure that the five of them could handle whatever was going on.
The others began cutting away vines from nearby huts, searching for entrances. They moved in a line, moving from hut to hut in a steady sweep that left no room for an enemy to sneak back to the portal. The muscled red-brown dragonling, Evie, was doing a great job of tearing up foliage, but she was already panting, and a thin layer of sweat was glistening over her scales.
"You okay there?" Spyro asked after poking his head into a hut. Nothing of interest, only dirt and rocks.
Evie looked over as she pulled some plant material from a window. "I'm fine, Spyro" she said in her incredibly thick Beast Maker accent, "I just miss my swamp. I hope we can fix this whole mess soon."
"Oh, trust me, once I find whatever is responsible for this catastrophe-"
"Hey! Look!"
Spyro stopped his work on the doorway of hit hut and looked over to the far side of the plateau, where Shemp's tail could be seen waving wildly from a window. Bruce was already on the scene, poking his head in as the waving green tail disappeared into the viney hut. Spyro was there in a second, squeezing in next to Bruce to get a good view. "What is it?"
Inside the hut was dark and dusty, but unlike the others the vines had invaded the interior. They twisted together in a braid-like patter and wound down through a hole that took up almost all of the floor space. Shemp was peering into the crevice, while grasping something in her claws. "It's just darkness," she noted in awe. "Instant darkness." She reached out with her free hand to touch the twist of vines; they were tough and unyielding, and Spyro didn't see them budge one bit under her claws.
"What did you find?" He called to her, feeling uneasy about being so near to the massive hole. Who knew what could be lurking there? Sparx's nervous buzzes echoed his feelings.
Shemp turned around and plodded to the window, the doorway being still sealed with vines. Spyro winced inwardly as she turned her back to the hole and on the possible danger of whatever it was hiding. He'd have to teach these younglings how to function in a time of real crisis; for now he just watched the hole suspiciously, ready to lead past Bruce through the small window incase anything should emerge.
No vicious rhynocs or chortling gnorcs came up, however, and Shemp was soon pulled back through the window. She landed with a thud on her stomach, to chuckles from Bruce. The blue dragon helped his comrade up from the ground and dusted her off as she turned a shiny object over in her hands.
"I saw something shiny in the hut, that's why I went in. I didn't notice the hole until my eyes adjusted to the light." She held out her treasure to Spyro.
He was going to ask her what she meant about her eyes adjusting, but once he saw the object he stopped. His memory flashed back, several years into his past. Silver orbs! It had been so long since he'd used one. For a moment he was overcome at the realization of how long it had been since he'd been home, but he soon shook off the dreary feeling and gone to examine the shiny liquid-metal object in his claws.
"What is it?" Evie's disinvite voice asked. Spyro had almost forgotten her presence. The three of them were gazing at the orb in wonder.
"It's just a healing orb." Spyro said, "One of those ones you can collect, and a full set gives you some resistance against serious injuries. Right? Nobody's changed them since I've been gone?"
The three gave him a blank expression.
"What?"
"This thing heals?"
"Is it like a dragonfly?"
"Is it magic?"
Spyro was aghast. "You guys don't know about these? You keep them in your inventory and they heal you... if you get, like, thirty of them, you supposedly get longer life?" In fact, this might just be what they needed to heal Marco's odd magic wounds. Like the Beast Maker's salve this was health from the earth, very natural.
Bruce shrugged. Evie said, "But we don't have inventories."
Spyro stared at her. He didn't understand what she was saying.
"Wow, they weren't kidding when they said you'd been away for ages." Shemp said, leaning against a hut. Her face was a portrait of amazement.
"Girl dragons don't have inventories." Bruce tried, using the same tone Spyro just had trying to explain to them about the shiny, whilry orbs.
Spyro couldn't even fathom this. "What? Just- what?" How did a dragon not have an inventory for their items? His was full of almost thirty thousand gems from his previous adventures.
They all shrugged. Clearly this wasn't news to them.
"How do you carry things then? Weren't you gathering jewels earlier?"
Shemp shook her head. "I picked them up for Bruce and he zapped them to his inventory."
"Oh." Spyro said, looking down at his feet. This was weird, just weird to him. He had to focus on the task at hand though. No getting distracted. He looked at the shiny orb in his hand. "Okay... okay. So you're telling me you guys don't know about these silver orbs?"
His audience shook their heads obediently.
"There haven't been any laying around since you can remember?"
More head shaking. Spyro wished he'd made an adult dragon come along on this journey so he could get some more answers. Thinking back, he'd gotten almost no information on how much the worlds had changed since he'd left. Weird weather is all they thought to tell him, and all he'd thought to ask about. But it was looking like a few other things had changed as well, and he was gonna have to find out as he went.
So the silver orbs weren't around, for whatever mysterious reason. What else could he expect? He looked around at the area. Before he'd felt at home, but now the world felt alien to him. Even as he glanced around, Spyro felt he was missing something. Or someone.
"Hey... do you guys... where did that blue guy go?"
They looked around. Buddy was nowhere to be seen. Doing a quick relay of the last thirty minutes, Spyro realized he hadn't seen him since before Shemp found the silver orb. He bit his lip with frustration. "Shoot. Did he just wander off? He is a magic crafter, those guys get spacey sometimes."
Evie shook her head. "He's usually such a focused guy. He doesn't usually just go off by himself."
She sounded worried, and Shemp and Bruce's faces reflected her fear. They were social creatures, these new hatchlings. If they weren't usually solitary, Buddy's disappearance could mean trouble. Spyro edged around the hut and looked around, staying on all fours, body close to the ground. The others were still looking about franticly, even standing up on their hind legs to get a better view. Spyro whipped his head around.
"Shush! Don't stand up, you're making yourself a bigger target. We'll find him, just stay calm."
The others were instantly gathered around him, low to the ground and pressing close. Their eager eyes looked at him for further instructions. Spyro truly admired their skill at becoming and maintaining such a tight unit. He just wished they had more combat skills. He supposed he was just as bad when he first took on Gnasty, but now wasn't the time to dwell. They had to find Buddy and make sure he wasn't injured.
"Okay, here's the plan. We go in two groups of two. We always stay in sight of each other when possible, and in hearing range at all times. We circle this area and meet at the far end of the plateau, where the stairs start. There's only like two more huts we gotta search, so each group takes one. Then we get to the part with a lot of steps and ladders. Like we did when we started, fan out with your partner and make sure nothing can get past you. Don't stand up on two legs when you're in the open, don't make a lot of noise. Don't leave anyone alone! If you find something send out some flames. Once you see the flames go to them, no hesitating or staying behind. Got it?"
They all nodded eagerly. Shemp and Bruce were practically inseparable to begin with, so Spyro looked at Evie and gestured for her to follow him. The two groups had slipped about ten yards in the opposite direction when Spyro glanced back to check on the others' progress.
There was a flash of movement from the hut with the hole in the floor.
Spyro froze, Evie doing the same right behind him. She glanced at him, then followed his gaze to the hut.
Something just inside the window ducked down. Spyro didn't notice it had been there until it moved, but now he definitely saw something.
"There's someone in blue over in the hut!" Evie whispered excitedly.
"Come on, let's go check it out." Spyro took the lead and moved steadily, directly towards the hut. He figured they had been seen when the thing was looking out the window, so he was more concerned with cornering it. He was five feet away when the thing tore out of the window. Spyro was instantly in autopilot; a little fellow, short in stature, running as fast as it could. It was instinct now. Spyro took chase, dodging between huts and then steps and bridges. The thing went in circles to throw him off, but he kept on its tail. He was vaguely aware of Evie following behind, keeping a good pace for a Beast Maker. There were shouts that must be Shemp or Bruce from a slight distance away. Spyro ignored these distractions and plowed on after the thief, head down and horns ready for gouging.
They took a turn sharp and were met with a dead end. The thief stopped at the wall and flipped around. Familiar white eyes and a white-toothed grin sent a rage through Spyro, a desire to destroy. But he had to hold back if he wanted any answers.
"Who are you working for, thief!"
The little creature in blue just gave a jump and a laugh, waving its hands around mockingly. Why isn't it cowering in fear, Spyro wondered. The little jerk.
Spyro felt the approach of another presence behind him. A gentle touch told him it was Evie. There was a pause, then Spyro heard her send up flames. Shemp and Bruce wouldn't be far away.
He yelled again. "Did you hurt Marco you little bas-"
There was a shout from behind. Before Spyro could spin around a heavy object connected with the back of his head. He was stunned with pain and went down. His vision flashed and blurred, then someone put a cloth over his face and he felt ropes sliding over his neck and legs. He tried to struggle, but another hit came from the heavy object and the world flickered out.
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