Chapter 12: Undead Mayhem
Spyro was taking cautious steps as he made his way through the dark catacombs. Besides the flickering light from the burning lamps and torches, there was no other source of light. The catacomb interior looked like the insides of a Gothic structure with a lot of cross bracings and domed tops. It looked old and the air smelt musty.
"Well, I never got the impression that catacombs were always this fancy. I should buy us a spot to keep our bodies once we die," Hunter said jokingly.
"That wasn't funny," Sven muttered.
"We'll never know when we're due so we might as well be prepared," Hunter shot back.
The team reached a hallway with three entrances, each one of them has a large horned skull with a missing jaw above the doorway. The first one had one red crystal embedded in the forehead followed by two and three red crystals on the following skulls respectively. Their eye sockets came to life and glowed red.
"To come here is to seek nothing but death for what awaits beyond is darkness and blight," the first skull said.
"For a reason to come besides death is to seek what lies beyond the dark and unknown plight," the second skull said.
"If you find what you seek and seek what you desire then you have only one chance to reach the light," the third one said.
The three doors opened and a blast of cold air blasted at the four of them.
"Pick one but there is no return should you elect the wrong choice," the three skulls said.
Spyro looked at Cynder but she just shrugged. Spyro looked at the doorways and shook his head in dismay.
"I never liked making choices. Any suggestions?" he asked the others.
Hunter looked at the three and pointed at the third one.
"It has to be that one. That entrance has a lesser smell of blood and I can see a light spot at the end of the tunnel. This has to be it," Hunter said.
"Let's not be hasty. We can't be so gullible. It can be a trick for all you know so I suggest that we split up," Sven said.
"That's even worse. I say we stick to one door and go together, that way we can cover each other's backs," Spyro said.
"I'll pick the middle door," Cynder said quickly.
Spyro turned to the black dragoness and went close to her.
"Can you repeat that?" he asked.
"I said I choose the second door. I don't know why but I feel its right," she said.
Spyro looked at his other companions and they just shrugged. Nodding to Cynder, Spyro took his first step into the second entrance and the others followed. Just as Sven entered, the doors closed and they were shut it.
"I guess there's no way out except forward. Everyone stick close," Spyro said.
The halls were dark and there was no light except the one from Sven's flashlight. Sounds of liquid dripping were ever present and the air was humid. Not only that, the air had the smell of fresh blood and burnt flesh. It was sickening.
"Someone remind me to bring my air freshener the next time we come here. This place reeks like a morgue," Sven said while pinching his nose.
"It is a morgue of some sorts," Cynder said.
Hunter bumped into a dangling thing with a thud. Sven swung his torch and found a dead body with the skin peeled off and blood was dripping from it. The expression shows that the victim was in pain.
"Spyro, I'm scared," Cynder said as she shuddered.
"Don't worry, there's nothing to fear from a dead body. Sven, point that light somewhere else," Spyro said to Sven.
Sven nodded and pointed at the road ahead of them. However, he quickly turned off his flashlight.
"What's the matter with you? Turn it on or we can't see," Spyro said irately.
"I wouldn't do that Spyro. There are some things that our eyes aren't supposed to see. You don't want to know what it is," Sven whispered.
Spyro lit a torch and pointed forward. He saw a towering horned beast with a sword in its hand glaring at them with fiery eyes. It looked like the mini version of the Hell Golem.
"Uh oh," Spyro muttered.
The beast roared at them and swung its great sword at Spyro. The dragon jumped backwards and avoided the slash. The ground where he once stood cracked and cratered as the sword hit on it. Some of the splinters cut Spyro's scales.
"Whoa, this one's not a thing to be messed with!" Hunter exclaimed.
On the surface, the young dragons somehow snuck out of the Phoenix State without being spotted. They let out a sigh of relief when they exited the state without too much fuss.
"All went well thanks to my superior leadership skills," Ravager boasted.
"Yeah, you only got lucky," Ignitus said.
"Lucky enough to be a leader," Ravager said.
"So…what now?" Fiona asked while grabbing her sword tightly.
"Now, we move on as planned to the Waldreich Mountains to rescue Juno. I will prove to everyone that I have my father's blood in me and I can take on anything even if I'm not purple," Ravager said.
"Your ambition will eventually lead to your death if you're not careful. Mom and dad won't be so happy to hear that," Ignitus snapped.
"You tell them that," Ravager said.
They walked into a large forest with lush trees and colorful exotic flowers that captivated them. This has to be the Phoenix Woodlands because they had heard stories of this beautiful place but never seen the place themselves.
"Too bad dad never lets us out of the castle often. I never knew I'm missing so much of paradise," Ignitus said with a smile.
"Same to mom," Fiona said.
Suddenly, they heard rustling in the bushes nearby. Out came a few armed apes and a dreadwing. It looks like they were expected.
"Well, what do we have here? Three little dragons going on an adventure without mommy and daddy. You'll be easy pickings," a large ape said while pointing his club at Ravager.
"Hey, back off stinky. Our business is not with you so get lost before I get angry," Ravager growled.
The apes laughed and that only peeved Ravager as his face was red with anger and shame. He let out a puff of smoke as a sign of anger.
"You're a whelpling of a dragon. How do you expect us to think what you're capable of? Argus will love dragon skin beneath his feet and we're here to provide him that. Get them," the ape told his companions.
Back at the Phoenix State, Collette woke up suddenly after having a dream. She got up quickly and dressed up. Outside the inn were a few guards waiting for her.
"Well ma'am, we mounted a night of searching but we just couldn't find the dragons. Are you sure they've come here because I think it's highly impossible," the guard captain said.
"Are you sure? I heard someone said that they are here," Collette said.
Suddenly, a guard came and reported something.
"There is a fight occurring at the Phoenix Woodlands! It seems like the apes are fighting three young dragons!" the guard reported.
"What?! It has to be them! Get my steed ready!" Collette yelled.
Ravager head butted an ape into a tree and knocked it unconscious. The large ape clubbed him in the back sent him sprawling head over heels. Just as the ape was about to hit Ravager, Ignitus threw a sword at his back. The ape turned quickly and knocked the blade away with his club. Ignitus stomped the ground and a shockwave hurtled towards the ape. He didn't see it coming so he was knocked into the air like a large ragdoll. Ignitus leapt into the air and hit the ape multiple times in midair like how Spyro does his air combos. The final slash of the claw sent the ape plunging into a mud puddle.
"Don't mess with me," Ignitus said.
The ape called his dreadwing to attack Ignitus but Ravager recovered quickly enough to leap onto its back and pounded its head with a thick branch. One hit in the face was enough to knock the dreadwing out. Fiona on the other hand was surrounded and she wasn't much of a fighter. She slashed at the apes so slowly that they just moved backwards to avoid getting hit.
"She's an easy target," an ape grinned.
The ape leapt at Fiona but before the sword came in contact with her, an arrow hit the ape in the head and killed it. They turned around to see a yellow-furred vixen with a bow and arrow smiling at them.
"What's this? It's the Prime Minister herself," an ape laughed.
"You guys better clear off or I'll work your face," she said.
"It's your face that needs working sweetie pie. I'm good at that so just sit back and relax," one ape said darkly and brandished a long spear.
He dashed at Collette and tried to spike her but she leapt from her horse quickly and stood on the spear as if she was very light.
"Touché," she said with a soft smile.
With a quick move of her hand, she cut the ape's head off and killed it. The dragons were awed by her swiftness.
"If the rest of you don't want to end up like this fellow, I suggest that you clear off," Collette threatened.
The apes took flight like cowards and left the leader behind. Collette grabbed the leader and interrogated him.
"What do you want with the dragons?" she growled.
"I rather not betray my leader. You can kill me if you like," the ape said.
Collette's eyes had a sudden glow of yellow and that caught the ape by surprise. Before he could react, she slashed his neck mercilessly and threw him aside. She let out a sigh and kept her sword before turning to the three young dragons.
"You three should be ashamed of yourselves! How can you run away from home like that?!" she scolded.
"But…" Ravager started but Collette stared at him menacingly.
"Stow it, mister," she growled softly.
They fell silent and stared at an angry Collette. They had never seen her mad before and they didn't know what happened if she did. This was a chance to find out, though they doubted it'll be pleasant.
"I heard from Sparx that you guys have run off to find for Juno. It's not only foolish, it's dangerous as well! Why can't you let your parents do their job? You're still too young for an adventure," she said.
The three dragons still remained silent and they lowered their heads to avoid eye contact with Collette.
"Listen, I'm not trying to make you feel bad. It's just that I care for you all and you are like my children as well. Besides, your father told me to care for the lot of you," Collette said gently.
"We only wanted to help save Juno," Ignitus mumbled.
"I know what you want but it's foolish to go out alone like that. You have me worried back then," Collette said while smiling weakly.
She whistled and her steed came to her side.
"Since we have already come this far, we might as well go on an adventure together. Don't worry, I've survived such adventures and I'm rather experienced," she said.
The dragons seemed rather happy and she can't help but smile as well. However, deep down in her, she wondered if what she was doing was right.
Back in the underground catacomb, the 4 battled a deadly beast armed with a flaming sword and a shield of onyx. That shield proved to be impossible to destroy so they resolved to hit the creature in the back.
"C'mon, why won't you drop dead?!" Sven yelled impatiently.
He fired his rifle at it but the shield deflected the bullets away. It wasn't good; he got no clear shot at it.
"Spyro, distract it while I try to get a shot at it!" Sven said.
Cynder slid under its legs and unleashed a blast of poison at its groin. The beast roared in pain and fell down. Sven found an opening and fired his rifle at its face. Just as he finished shooting a clip, the beast got up again and Sven reloaded his rifle.
"Cynder, Wind Drill!" Spyro yelled.
Cynder nodded and dashed at Spyro. He launched her into he air and she spun around like a drill with her horns pointed at the beast. She dived at it and drilled at its body, sending fiery splinters everywhere. After that, she leapt backwards.
"Ouch, that thing is so tough that my horns hurt," she said.
The beast dashed at them and bashed all four of them with such a force that it sent them hitting into a wall and a vase. They were seriously injured but Cynder learnt healing magic and she incorporated it into her wind breath to unleash healing winds that cured wounds. They got back onto their feet and continued fighting. Hunter took aim at a weak ceiling above it and shot an arrow. The arrow pinged off a cracked surface and a ton of rocks smashed down on the beast, covering it entirely except for a flexing arm.
"C'mon, we better move before that thing breaks free," Hunter said.
They ran pass it and reached another crossroad with the same set of skulls and three doors. They didn't hesitate to pick one so they chose the last door. There was nothing in there except a great void of nothingness. It looked like they were walking on dark waters.
"C'mon, don't stop moving lest we get caught," Spyro said.
They ran but they didn't seem to be heading for any specific direction even the light from Sven's flashlight didn't offer any clue on where to go next. All they did was run in the darkness like blind mice. Just when they stop to catch their breath, the darkness beneath them rippled like water and they began to sink as if they were on water.
"Hey, what the hell?!" Hunter yelled and struggled to swim.
Then, the darkness sank and they fell onto a soft ground. The darkness dissolved and they found themselves in an arena surrounded my spikes. At the far end was a large throne with a large bloody beast that resembled a decaying goat sitting on it. Only a little bit of flesh was left on the skeletal body.
"What is that thing?" Cynder asked.
"That's…I don't know. It looks like a large demon or something. It looks powerful," Hunter said.
"It couldn't be as bad as the one back there," Sven said.
The thing suddenly woke up and its eye sockets glowed bluish-red. It picked up a fallen sword and headed for them, each step creating tremors like an earthquake. That thing has to be at least 200 meters tall and it reeked of blood as it oozed and dripped from its flesh.
"You have come this far, mortals, but to exit the catacombs to the Moray Mines, you must beat the Guardian of Death," the large beast said.
"You mean the famous Horned Demon of Trilith? Wow, it's like a living fossil," Sven whistled.
"I am no living fossil I assure you that. Win me fair and square and I shall let you pass. Be warned, lest you die a horrible death here, your souls will be my slave for eternity. If you must back out now, do so quickly," the demon said.
No one budged and the demon nodded.
"Very well, you have taken the challenge. If you defeat me, I will teach you new techniques," the demon said.
"Now this I will enjoy," Sven smiled.
The demon stomped at them but they dodged quickly to avoid being squished. Spyro hit the demon's leg but it didn't even flinch in pain, instead it kicked Spyro away. Sven and Hunter fired a volley of projectiles but they just pinged off its body. This one is hard to fight and if they die, they're going to regret it.
"C'mon, we have to win," Spyro encouraged his team.