Chapter 17: Before the Waldreich Mountains
A/N: Wanna know something funny? The next Year of the Dragon according to the Chinese zodiac is during the year 2012 and that is the year when scientists predict a massive solar storm will occur. I'm not sure how true that is but it made me think of Malefor's wrath on Earth. Spyro, save us! It will be a global catastrophe if it really came true.
"At long last, we're here," Spyro said while staring at the misty mountain.
Many weeks ago after the team has reunited and recovered, they set out on their journey to the Waldreich Mountains and picked up the pace. They only have one week left before the alignment and that means that time wasn't on their side. They have to reach the church before the alignment or Malefor will live again.
"So, this is how the Waldreich Mountains look like close up. It looks far more foreboding than the images of the spy drones took," Sven said.
"We still have to reach the church in order to stop the ceremony. Demons or not, I'm going," Spyro said.
"As if we have a choice," Hunter muttered.
"Hey look, there is a village nearby," Ravager pointed at a nearby village.
Sven took out his binoculars and peered through it. He saw apes guarding the village entrance and he nodded his head before putting down the binoculars.
"I think that village is where Argus hides. I wonder why the spy drones can't even spot it," Sven said.
"Maybe it's the overly thick mist or maybe it's because it is magically enchanted with invisibility magic," Cynder said.
"The first one sounds more reasonable because we still can see it. Spyro, should we go check out their village or should we ignore it?" Hunter asked.
"I say we split up. Sven, you, Hunter and Collette check out the village while the rest of us head up the mountains through the catacombs," Spyro ordered.
"Um…if you say so," Hunter said.
So, they split up and went on their respective ways. For now, we focus on the non-dragons as they embark on a 'secret mission' to spy on the village. It doesn't help if they tiptoed because visibility was rather good and they might just attract attention. In order to prevent themselves from being seen, they had to hide behind trees.
"Why am I even doing such a mission? I'm a soldier, not a spy," Sven grumbled.
"So are the rest of us. We aren't spies but if Spyro says do this, we do this," Collette said.
"Humph, unwavering loyalty to the king eh," Sven smirked.
Collette wanted to say something but he held his hand up and gestured her to keep her mouth shut. Sven peered into his binoculars again and noticed some apes leaving for the mountain. They entered a nearby catacomb and disappeared into it.
"Hmm…that must be the way up the mountain," Sven said.
"What do you see?" Collette asked.
"I see some apes entering some sort of hole at the base of the second mountain," Sven explained.
"It has to be the catacombs the elders were talking about. Does Spyro know about this?" Collette asked.
"I'm not sure. Hunter, can you inform Spyro?" Sven asked Hunter.
"You can count on me, Sven," Hunter saluted and ran off to catch up Spyro.
As for the two, they slowly crept to the east side of the village where they found a hole in the wooden palisade. It was a tight fit but they managed to creep in. The two hid behind a barrel and listened to the conversation of two ape guards.
"So, I've heard that Argus is up in the old dragon church with that young lass of a dragon," one burly ape said.
"Yeah and he's goin' te drain her blood for the sacrifice. Too bad we ain't got the chance to see that," the second ape, a stout ape, said.
"We're only allowed up there after Malefor has been summoned. Damn, why can't we ever get to see the nice fireworks and magic display?" the burly ape asked.
"That is because Argus thinks we ain't smart enough to understand what's goin' on. I swear that Argus is just like his father. Not to talk bad about Gaul but I think that he's a bit pushy and arrogant," the second ape muttered.
"I thought we all are just the same," the burly ape said.
"Yeah righ', if we were, we would have usurped Gaul's throne and be king. Still, it does pay to be dumb so nobody will suspect ye in doing somethin' dangerous," the second ape joked.
Collette looked intrigued and she stroked her furry chin.
"So, Gaul and Juno are up on the mountain eh. I guess that means we have nothing important here. We better go," Collette whispered.
"Agreed," Sven said and quickly sprinted for the hole in the palisade.
Collette lagged behind because some guards were passing near her hiding place. Sven waved at her but she just waved him away. Sven was getting impatient as the guards stood near her for quite a long time. He equipped his assault rifle and sprayed bullets at them. Before any of the apes could react to the sudden attack, Sven primed a fire bomb and threw it towards Argus' wooden home and set it on fire.
"C'mon Collette, get going!" Sven yelled out loud.
Collette nodded and ran for it with arrows zinging past her. One arrow came too close but she blocked it by parrying it with her sword. She reached the hole and quickly climbed out before the arrows hit her. Sven helped her out and primed another fire bomb. He aimed it high and threw it hard, and the bomb hit a group of apes and the ammunition depot. The fire got to the live ammunition and set it on fire, exploding the building and creating a massive shockwave that sent nearby apes flying everywhere.
"That should distract them and let Spyro slip into the catacombs. In the mean time, we better make a run for it," Sven said.
"Dreadwing behind you!" Collette shouted and pointed behind Sven.
Sven dived to the ground and the dreadwing swooped pass him. Before Sven could use his weapon, the dreadwing made another swoop at him. Sven brought up his shield to shield himself from the swoop attack. The dreadwing landed behind him and roared out a challenge.
"Wanna play rough eh," Sven said.
He got up from the ground and stood in a ready stance. The dreadwing dashed at him and Sven did the same with his shield up. His bash set the dreadwing on fire and burnt it to death.
"Wow, the magic shield is useful after all," Sven said happily.
"C'mon, we have to warn the king! Collette said and pulled Sven by the hand.
"Whoa, slow down," Sven said.
Hunter had reached Spyro in time to inform him about the catacomb. Spyro had already known about the catacomb but he was unsure of its position since he didn't have a map. Hunter led him to the catacomb and at the same time, they saw the village on fire.
"It seems like Collette and Sven are wrecking up the place," Cynder said.
"I think they're trying to distract the apes for us. C'mon, we better get going now," Hunter said.
The catacomb was well lit and it didn't look haunted. Everything seemed in order and not a drop of blood was in sight. It should be a walk through the park…hopefully.
"Well, the catacomb has been well-kept despite being here for so long. I wonder if the devotees are responsible for this," Spyro said.
"Impossible that devotees to Polaris are existent nowadays. Maybe the apes are keeping this place clean," Cynder suggested.
"They can't even keep their body clean and you expect them to keep such a place clean? Not in a million years," Hunter scoffed.
The path was steep as it reached high up to the mountains and there was not a place without a stairway. Stairs spiraled here and there and elaborate hallways were of the norm as well. It really surprised them because the catacomb was well-kept despite being abandoned for centuries.
"I think we're lost," Ignitus muttered when they found themselves back in the same main hall.
"Hmm…how very odd. Maybe we should find ourselves a map," Spyro said.
"Good idea Spyro. Where can you find a map when there is no brochure stand?" Cynder asked sarcastically.
Spyro pointed at a stand with dusty old maps leaning next to a statue of a dragon guardian. Hunter can't help but snicker secretly.
"I stand corrected," Cynder said softly.
Spyro retrieved an old map and looked through it. He wasn't sure how to interpret the words written on it because it was old draconic language that looked like squiggles and Chinese writing. He could only understand the pictures but not the legends.
"I should have taken ancient draconic language classes from Volteer earlier," Spyro said as he handed the map to Cynder.
"Yeah…since when were you interested in ancient draconic?" Ravager asked.
"That is why I didn't study it. Now be quiet or I shall ground you for a longer period of time. You should know better than to come out here without our consent," Spyro growled.
Yes, Spyro was still mad…though not as much as when he first woke up from his unconscious state and have Cynder tell him about what his kids did. He was fuming mad and nearly had them whacked but Cynder and Hunter stopped him. So in the end, Spyro went along with Cynder's plan of grounding them, though Cynder didn't exactly tell him about her plan of letting them go if they wrote a good essay regarding their adventure.
"Now let's not get angry for now and focus on what we need to do. The sooner we reach the church, the better." Cynder said quickly.
They were clueless on which path they have to take. Some of the paths were marked red while others are marked with black, green and blue. The explanation was in ancient draconic and that meant trouble for them since none of them took ancient draconic language classes.
"Well, I guess we'll have to guess the path we need to take. I reckon that the paths that are marked in red and black are dangerous," Spyro said.
"Spyro, I don't think we should trust color coding alone. Volteer used to tell me that the color coding of the 1st and 2nd age of dragons are different and it could be the opposite of what they mean nowadays. That is what Volteer said anyway," Cynder said.
"Since when did Volteer know about ancient color coding? I asked him a few questions about it and he got it mixed up. He may as well be a teacher in ancient language," Spyro chuckled.
"Well…I dunno but since you're the boss…" Cynder muttered.
"C'mon, I think we've wasted enough time here. We better get going now," Spyro ordered.
They followed the map and reached a corridor with three doors. Spyro consulted the map and nodded.
"The doors have red, black and green paths respectively. What say you?" Spyro asked his team.
"I say we take the green one," Hunter suggested.
"How about the rest of you?" Spyro asked the dragons.
They just looked at each other and nodded, which made Spyro surprised.
"Wow, that was easy," he muttered.
The door with the green path was on their right and they entered it. The stone door slid open and the dark corridor instantly lit up, illuminating the path ahead with soft glows from candles. Overhead were grand candle chandeliers and cross bracings that were Gothic design. It was as if they were walking down the tunnel of time to the past where even the catacombs were well-designed.
"This is no catacomb…this is a mansion for dead bodies," Cynder joked.
"My thoughts exactly," Hunter said.
The three young dragons were lagging behind and they were shivering. They can't explain why but there was a cold blast of air that was filled with the feeling of anguish and malice. Every time the cold air passed them, they shiver and shudder.
"Ravager, there is something in here with us…and I don't like it," Fiona stuttered.
"I know…I have that feeling too. We better stick close and watch each other's backs," Ravager whispered.
They heard a low growl in a tomb beside them and they looked into it. Everything was dark and they could only see a coffin but when their eyes adjusted to the darkness, they saw something standing on the coffin. It was a large wolf-like creature with red eyes and its clothes were tattered and torn. It bared its fangs at them and saliva dripped from its mouth.
"I…don't think it wants us to look at it so…let's just bug…out," Ravager said with fake coolness.
"Run!" Ignitus yelled and ran away to catch up with the others.
"Wait!" Ravager yelled and pulled Fiona along.
Spyro turned around to see why the kids were shouting but when he saw a large wolf chasing after them; he turned his head and ran.
"Rogue wolf!" Spyro yelled.
The wolf was quick and it pounced on Hunter. Hunter kicked it in the stomach and threw it aside before picking himself up and running off.
"That caught me by surprise," Hunter panted.
At the end of the corridor was a door but it was locked. The dragons tried to head butt the stone door but it won't budge even an inch. They tried their breath attacks but the door just repelled the attacks back at them.
"Damn, it's enchanted and there's no way we can get through," Spyro growled.
The wolf was behind them and the team turned around to face the threat with weapons ready. Spyro noticed that the wolf looked familiar but he couldn't recall who it was.
"I don't know if I know you but you're going down," Spyro said.