Chapter 14: Battlegrounds
A/N: Wouldn't it be nice if the TLoS series has the Lord of the Rings music style?
Collette came out from the Council chamber as soon as she heard the first explosion. Just as she stepped out from the entrance, a shell exploded near her and sent her flying into the air. Her ears went temporarily deaf and all she heard were muffled noises and loud ringing in her ears. She fell to the round with a sickening crunch and got up slowly with blood flowing from her head. It streamed down to her left eye, blurring her vision a bit.
"Damn, what's their problem?" she growled.
She quickly seeked shelter to avoid getting blasted by the shots and thought about what to do next. Some dragons were cowering beside her and she shook her head. Dragons were supposed to be fearless but here she was, seeing a couple of cowards.
"Can you explain why is the city being attacked and where are the guards?" Collette asked.
"I don't know why it is attacked…it came so suddenly and we…don't know what's going on," the nearest dragon to her said.
"So are you the guards?" she asked some more.
"Yes…we are," the dragon said.
"Then why the hell are you cowering in this building when you should be fighting?" she chided them.
"We…we're not trained for this, Prime Minister. Apologies," the dragon apologized.
She smacked her head in dismay and stared at them. So the Council hasn't been sending them for military training? Despicable, the Dragon Council should know better. They should have them prepared for any situation. Just because they were high up on a mountain doesn't mean that their city was invulnerable. It was tough and hard to shoot, but not invulnerable.
"Not trained? Are your leaders pacifists?" she asked.
"Um…you can say that. They refuse to fight with sword and shield and they expect us to win in the war of words. Pretty stupid but none of us could defy them. They set the rules in Skyrim after all," the dragon said with a bitter laugh and hung onto his helmet.
"They can't defy me since I'm the king's subordinate and they should know better than to respect and obey the prime minister and that goes for the rest of you as well. I say you go down there and fight those primates," Collette ordered.
"But we locked our weapons in the armory and it's a shooting gallery out there," the dragon quivered.
"How much more useless can you people get?" she asked angrily.
Suddenly, she caught sight of Ravager heading for the entrance and that gave her a shock. She quickly ran out and caught him by the wings.
"Just where do you think you're going?" Collette asked as she dragged him into a building.
"I'm going to fight the apes. If no one wants to fight, I will," Ravager said and shrugged off Collette's grasp.
"It's dangerous out there and I don't want you to get hurt," she said.
"It'll be more dangerous when the artilleries have finished pounding this place to dust. No, I'm taking the initiative to attack them before they deal with us," Ravager said.
Collette can't help but feel that he was like his father, always taking responsibility into his hands…or rather paws.
"In that case, I'll come with you but we have to unlock the armory first so the guards can retrieve their weapons," Collette said.
Looking around, she couldn't spot his younger brother or Fiona.
"Where are Ignitus and Fiona?" Collette asked.
"They decided not to come. I don't blame them though, they're weak," Ravager said.
They dashed out from their cover before it crumbled down and headed straight to the armory. It was a dangerous sprint and they nearly got hit by the exploding shells. One shell hit a tall building and it crumbled down. The two barely avoided being crushed by it.
"There goes our only path. I guess we have to find another way to the main gate once we're done unlocking the armory," Collette said.
The armory was located at the base of the castle and it took them a few tries to destroy the lock and open the door. The insides of the armory had a dusty smell and dust particles swirled in the air.
"By the looks of this, the armory hasn't been opened for a long time," Ravager said.
"Grab anything you like here if you think you need a change of weapon. When you're done, we'll be going," Collette said.
Ravager discarded his sword and picked a morning star. He examined it and nodded his head in satisfaction. It was light enough for him and it was made of mithril. It will make hell for the enemy.
"Heh, it's clobbering time," Ravager said.
They headed out and found another route through the alleyway. They had to make one big round before returning to the city square where the guards hid.
"The armory has been unlocked. Grab whatever you can and start fighting before this place gets flattened. Don't just stand there, get moving!" Collette yelled.
The dragon guards nodded quickly and ran for it to the armory. Collette then led Ravager to the main gate but it was shut tight and the gate controller was absent from the tower that controls the gate.
"Ravager, get up to the tower and open the gates," Collette said.
Ravager nodded and climbed up the stairs to the tower. In the control room, he spotted a turning wheel that is used for opening the gigantic gates. On the left of the room was an entrance that led to the ramparts. Ravager turned the wheel and he grunted because it was heavy. Still, he managed it but before he could turn it some more, a bullet shot pinged off the wheel. Ravager turned around and saw apes climbing up the ramparts with swords and guns brandished.
"Aunt Collette, I need your help up here! Thos apes are climbing up the ramparts!" Ravager yelled out.
Collette ran up the steps and reached in time. Ravager was battling the apes and clobbering their heads while the wheel started to turn counter-clockwise. The gates were closing once more.
"Ravager, get the gates open! I'll handle the apes!" Collette yelled.
Ravager nodded and clubbed an ape in the head before returning to the control room. Collette fought off the apes using her sword and magic spells while providing cover for the young dragon. She kicked an ape off the rampart and torched another with the snap of her fingers. They couldn't touch her as her spells were long range…and she was very aggressive. Collette even surprised herself with her fighting skills. She never had the impression that she was good with the sword in these kinds of situations. She decided to utilize it and fight the enemy before she thought too much and lose her fighting skills.
"Just give me another minute or two!" Ravager called out.
The Dragon Guards came at the same time, armed with weapons and ready to fight.
"We may not be as good as a normal soldier but we'll do our best," the guard captain said.
"Then help out!" Collette said and blocked a slash from an ape.
The guards were armed with pole weapons and they had better reach but their slow movement made them targets for the fast-moving apes. They clashed and attacked each other while defending their teammates in a confused melee. The guards proved hard to kill because of their armor but they're not really skilled in armed combat so many of them resorted to using breath attacks most of the time. After two minutes, Ravager opened the gates.
"It's open; we can go out and fight!" Ravager said.
"You all stay here and defend the ramparts!" Collette told the guards.
The two rushed out of the gates to fight the enemy. They saw artilleries at the lower mesas and that explained how their shots reached the city. They got to the first one, attacked the crew and destroyed the artillery. The two did the same to the subsequent artilleries and its crew, ending the assault in an hour. After that, Collette and Ravager returned to the city.
"You have returned. We managed to defend the ramparts and prevent the apes from entering the city. Damage to the city has so far been minor but the motives in attacking Skyrim still remain unknown," the wounded guard captain said.
"Have you any survivors?" Collette asked.
"Yes ma'am, we caught this one alive before he tried to run away," the guard captain said and gestured towards an ape tied to a pole.
Collette approached the ape and lifted his head up. The ape had a scarred eyes and one of the fangs protruding from his mouth had broke during a scuffle with the guards.
"You look like a competent fellow. Maybe you can tell me why you tried to blow up the city," Collette said.
"Maybe it's because the Black Dawn hates people the likes of you," the ape growled and spat at Collette's face.
Collette rubbed her face and kicked the ape in the knee, causing him to wince in pain.
"Don't try to bully me just because I'm a lady. If you tell me why you did this, I might spare you your death sentence," Collette growled louder.
"I'm still not telling," the ape said.
"Maybe you need a little motivation," Collette said darkly and pointed the tip of her sword at his neck.
The sword was so close to his neck that the ape can't help but break sweat. His eyes gazed at the sword tip which was now touching his neck. The ape let out a gulp and a sweat drip landed on the shiny surface of the sword.
"Okay, I yield!" the ape yelled.
The ape took a deep breath and seemed to have slumped down a bit.
"It was Argus' idea. He had us attack the city because he wanted to weaken the nearest city that is a threat to him. He is preparing for the Resurrection Ceremony and he didn't want anyone disturbing him," the ape said.
"That's all?" Collette asked.
"Yes ma'am," the ape muttered.
Collette nodded and turned to the guards.
"Put this ape in slammer. Get this place cleaned up and make sure no bodies are left on the streets," Collette ordered.
Under the ground, Spyro and his team had entered the Moray Mines. It has been a few months of walking and they have only one and a half months left until the planetary alignment. They were close to reaching the Waldreich Mountains but the exit was still far away.
"I'm glad we reached a familiar place. It has been a long time but I can't believe that I'm glad to see the Moray Mines," Cynder said.
"It's still a dark cave. If we stay in here for another month or so, we're going to be albinos," Sven said.
"I think we're already albinos," Hunter joked.
"Figures," Sven said.
The Moray Mines were as same as before except some places were blocked by rubble. Not far from where they have came in, they spotted bones scattered everywhere. They were human bones.
"This is the same position where Cynder and I fought the enemy undead. It seems like the bones are preserved though I don't know how that happened," Spyro said.
There was a water catchment area not far from them and they camped there. Light shone from the surface and reflected off the pool, creating a nice effect. Sven scooped up some water in his hand and drank it.
"Ah, now that is what I call refreshing," he said while savoring the taste of the cool water.
"Just don't clear your bladder in there," Cynder quipped.
"So Spyro, how long more do we have? It has been like an eternity since we left Warfang," Hunter said.
"According to the time we have left…about one and a half months left. If we can pick up pace, we may be able to break the surface within half a month," Spyro said.
"Sounds a little impossible," Hunter muttered.
"No, nothing is impossible. There is always a way," Spyro said.
Sven threw a rock into the pool casually, causing it to ripple outwards.
"This is a mine ain't it? Do you know what mines contain?" Sven asked.
"Um…gold?" Cynder said.
"Besides gold," Sven said dismissively.
"Um…silver," Hunter said.
"I mean the mode of transportation," Sven hissed.
"Oh, that yes? Um…roller skates?" Spyro asked.
"A mine cart! Mine cart!" Sven yelled.
The three looked at him as if he has lost his mind. Hunter gave a snort and put his bow on the ground.
"How is that going to help? Look at this derelict mine; everywhere is a death trap. You ride a mine cart and you're bound to crash into an unknown part of the mine. I know because I tried it once while escaping from the undead," Hunter said.
"Doesn't give us a reason to not try. If Spyro wants to make haste, it is the only option. If you prefer to walk at current pacing, you may as well enjoy Malefor's rising from the dead," Sven said.
"Sven is right, Hunter. We have to try and risk it if we are to stop Malefor from coming back," Spyro said.
Hunter stayed silent for a while before shrugging and sighing.
"Oh well, if you insist but I can't guarantee I'll enjoy it," Hunter said.
"Dude, no one's enjoying this. This ain't a holiday trip to Happy Cuckoo Land," Sven shook his head.
As they decided to call it a day, Spyro's dream occurred again after for so long. This time, Malefor had reached the chalice. It glowed brightly and Malefor's body began to become coherent. He stared at Spyro menacingly and broke the chains.
"Try and stop me but I'm still returning from the netherworld," Malefor laughed.
"No, I won't allow it," Spyro said subconsciously.
"Say what you want Dragon of Destiny, this is only the beginning of the end. Remember this Spyro; I'm going to get you."
A/N: A word of thanks to ArktonDartorix and Black Cyrus for being faithful readers and thank you to the others who commented. This story is far from finished so stay tuned. After this is done, my next story will be The Legend of Spyro: Lunar Phantasm.