(A/N: Sup guys! Just as I promised, I'm uploading this next chapter within this week and here it is. It took me longer than expected but its done and so here, enjoy!")
Mritha: I know. Reina would have been a good companion but I seem to have other plans. Don't worry though, she'll be back maybe in book 4 or 5. (Yup, I said it and spoiled it. I'm planning to make this story a 5 book series or maybe even longer but I'm currently planning it to be up to 5 books right now. I don't know. I might not even able to make it through the first book. I guess I'll just have to find out myself.)
Chapter Nine: Boxed Out pt.2
I woke up to the sounds of birds singing and the gentle sloshing of water somewhere near me. I also found myself staring at the clear blue sky. The fresh summer breeze caressing my whole body and rippling through my hair. My body felt so light and relaxed as if I never been in a fight earlier and what's more unusual is that I felt no pain. Especially when the last thing I remembered happening to me was getting kissed by a huge flying crate before blacking out.
I sat up puzzled and found myself in an open field and in front of me of me was a large familiar kidney shaped lake. The blue sky reflecting on its smooth mirror-like surface and it looked like it was glittering. About a hundred miles across was a valley and a large stone castle stood on its side: Oaklore. So this was probably the lake I saw two days ago before I met the dragon that carried Lady Celestia and Twilly. What am I doing here? I slowly rose up and took a quick sweep on the entire perimeter. Behind me stood a large three-tiered weathered stone fountain which was the source of the sloshing sound. An old wooden cottage with a single window and it's roof made of dry straw stood a few meters from the fountain. The trees were low and of well, natural size, not even coming close to twenty feet. As far as I'm concerned, I wasn't anywhere near a lake and if the last thing that happened to me was getting knocked out by Sneevils, shouldn't have they captured me and not throw me to some weird natural paradise?. I checked my waist for my daggers but they weren't there. All of this things are starting to make me feel uneasy.
"At ease," A familiar but stern woman's voice said behind me. "No harm will befall on you here."
I turned around and faced Lady Celestia before I spoke. "How did I get here? What is this place?"
"Sunbreeze Grove." She replied with her tone still stern and her gaze wandering into the crystal blue lake. The wind rippling through her white silk robes as if its made of liquid.
"But I'm supposed to be at the Sneevil fort since I've been knocked out and-" I was about to say more but she cut me off for the first time.
"Yes, you still are at the fort. I've only summoned your consciousness here so I could have a word with you." She gave me a disapproving look before continuing. "Do you know why you have slipped out of consciousness?"
"I was running on this bridge you see and then there's these flying crate that-" She cut me off again. Her tone never changed but this time she was facing me and looking at me straight into the eye. Well it was more of a glare and somehow she looked ominous and it made me uncomfortable. "I was not asking how, I was asking why."
I gulped. She looked exactly like a mother who caught her child doing something bad. She's definitely not in a good mood. "It-it was because of that feeling I had earlier. It was probably caused by my urges on testing the powers of the Magma Daggers that made me so careless. I felt unstoppable as if I could take on everything."
"Mhm…" Lady Celestia's expression softened a little bit as she nodded and a tea cup suddenly appeared in her hands. She took a sip before speaking again. "I'm relieved that you realized. Power in the hands of someone who has no control, no matter how strong that power is, can bring harm in so many ways. As in your case, due to your possession of these new weapon and your curiosity of its true powers, it first spouted excitement which evolved into overconfidence that resulted to your downfall. You should consider yourself lucky compared to others who had been consumed by it completely and sided with the darkness or have been destroyed in the process."
I was listening intently as she took another sip before continuing. "I was disappointed at how you handled the situation earlier. Control. It's one of the vital things you must learn. Learn to control yourself and try to look at things on a different perspective. Sheer strength alone won't let you break through every obstacle. You must use you wits, skills and most of all wisdom. Don't ever go into battle without them. This could prove to be one of your ultimate weaknesses"
There was a moment of awkward silence. I was staring at the ground while she was sipping her tea, her gaze back on wandering on the clear blue lake. Its color reflecting through her eyes. After a few more minutes of silence, I decided to break through the ice. "Thank you…for telling me all this. I'll do my best not to let it happen again."
"I'll hold on to your word. But mind you, the Legendary Magma Daggers you currently possess only grant little power compared to what other forces that you will soon encounter but you should not dwell on that for now. My only advice to you is to proceed with caution from now on."
"I understand." I replied. "I won't let you down."
She was smiling kindly now and its relieving to see that she's not upset anymore. "Alas, you are awakening. It is high time that I send you back. Complete this quest. You might not find everything you seek but finish it nonetheless."
"What do you mean? What will I fail to find?" I said, confused. How com she always leave me a lot of questions?
"You will soon find out. Farewell, hero." She waved my hand in front of my face and the whole world spiraled around me.
The way I felt when I woke up was completely different from the way I did on Sunbreeze Grove. My head throbbed and my whole body was cramped from being caught in a net and suspended on a ceiling. Below me was a long wooden table about 15 feet long. Its top was littered with thousands of sheets of papers with images of boxes and some other things I couldn't make out. There were two Sneevils standing on opposite sides busily sorting out the papers, not noticing that I was already awake. Suddenly, there was a series of booming noises which turned out to be knocks, coming from the door and emanating on the whole room, startling the Sneevils in the process. One of them nervously went over to the door.
"Umm…pazword?" he squeaked.
"Open za door you knowz who I am!" The voice outside slightly louder but similar in pitch shouted on the other side.
"Umm…..Yez mighty box lord!" The Sneevil hurriedly unlocked the door and stepped back as the largest Sneevil I've ever seen walked inside. He looked exactly like a replica of a regular Sneevil except for the fact that he was eight times bigger. Following behind him were three more Sneevils. One holding a pair of daggers which turned out to be my Magma Daggers while the other two were carrying a large chest painted black and maroon with a golden lock side by side and laid it on the top of the table. It was Maya's box!
The box lord walked over to me sneering. I pretended that I was still unconscious which weren't hard to do. "Zo di iz da human? He lookz weak! Are you sure he waz da one behind all diz?"
"Umm… Yes sir! He took out forty Sneevils before our stack attacks were able to ztop him." The Sneevil who opened the door reported.
"Foolish human! Thinking dat he can take on uz all. It would take an army to defeat us!" The box lord snickered and the others followed. "Now I shall decide wat to do wid him."
The box lord fell silent for a few seconds rubbing his chin and obviously deep in thought while the others were waiting to hear his decision. "I know! Tie him up and hang him into the river upside down!" The others cheered and went out of the room to find some ropes and other necessary equipment to be used on me. Meanwhile, I was thinking of a plan all this time and the only idea that came to me was so stupid I knew I'll only make a fool of myself if I tried but I had no choice. Here it goes…
"Hey, look outside! It's the legendary flying crate!" I squeaked on my best imitation of a Sneevil's voice. For some reason, it worked! There was pandemonium in the whole room as all the Sneevils hurried through the door while the box lord shouted out commands which came out like "Don't let it escape!", "Bring me a net!" , "Stop stepping on my toes!" and many more.
In less than a minute everyone was out of the room and were momentarily thrown into confusion but I knew it won't last forever so I went with the second part of my plan.
"Inventory: Open!" The bag grew and grew until it's on its full size. I managed to pry it open and with a few flexible movements, I was inside the bag. Now all I have to do is wait.
After a few minutes, the noises died down and the box lord burst through the door and screaming with rage. "It waz all a trick! And none of you notized!"
All the other Sneevils were silent. I on the other hand, was listening intently and making myself completely still. And then, one of them shouted. "Wat happened tooo heeemm!"
It was followed by plenty of gasps and murmurs as the whole room is filled with the noises of confusion again.
"Heez turned into a bag!"
"How did heee do dat!"
"Maybe it waz da net!"
"Bring heeem down!" The box lord commanded. I felt myself slowly being hoisted down the table and the net being untangled. Time to proceed to the third part of the plan.
As I felt the cover of the bag being lifted up, I burst out of the bag as the Sneevils cried in alarm. I ran atop the table, leapt and sent a flying kick straight into the face of the astonished box lord who yelped and fell back with a loud thud. I immediately grabbed his daggers and prepared to fight. They weren't my Magma Daggers but they're better than having no weapon at all.
After a few minutes, I was standing on top of the table in a room littered with Sneevils.
CLAP,CLAP,CLAP,CLAP,CLAP!
I turned around to see the box lord grinning at me sinisterly a few feet away. "You fight well for a human!"
"It's only you and me. You're box thieving days ends now!" I replied pointing a dagger on his face.
The box lord snickered. "We'll zee how you'll fight againzt dis!" He drew out my Magma Daggers from his back. The red gem started to glow. I backed away a little, aware of what those daggers can do but I suppressed my fear. 'In a battle, fear is what makes you easier to kill.' Those were words that Erin used to say.
The box lord advanced confidently, still giving me that evil grin. "I will burn you! Until you're only ashez!" He charged and I did as well. Our blades clashing in mid-air as flames exploded, making me wince and temporarily blocking my vision. The heat seared my clothes and arms. He took this opportunity and slammed a large boot on my chest and sent me straight into the table, cracking it in half. I rolled away as he came down and stabbed the floor and flames roared and engulfed the wooden floorings and his bare arms as well but he doesn't seem to care. "Run human!" he shouted while laughing like a maniac. I slowly stood up, my chest throbbing but still went on my fighting stance.
He came at me again as I ducked and slashed upward, cutting his chest. He cried out but laughed again as he swung the daggers wildly, occasionally hitting a wooden post or a shelf and setting it ablaze. In no time, the whole place was burning and the smoke was so thick that I was coughing constantly and my eyes were watery. The box lord also seemed to be affected since he stopped laughing and his breathing was labored but it he still pressed on with the attack.
We were at it for a few more minutes. Fighting like there was no tomorrow. The whole room was blazing. The heat was unbearable and flaming debris were constantly falling from the ceiling. I don't know how long we can keep this up. We were wounded in multiple parts of our bodies. I have about two pairs of broken ribs and some burn marks on my arms while the box lord have multiple gashes and cuts on his torso, arms and legs.
With the last ounce of our strength, we charged each other, hoping to be the first to make the killer blow. As he swung his daggers for a cross-slash aiming at my neck, I stabbed his arms. One of them struck the joint of the box lord's arm, rendering that arm useless while the other landed on his bicep. He yowled and dropped on of the daggers but he used the remaining one to slash straight into my chest. Cutting through the metal chestplate like soft cheese and burning through my flesh. Despite the infernal heat of the room, it was nothing compared to the searing pain that the dagger planted on me. I gave a blood curdling scream while stumbling back and clutching my new wound. My vision became blurred and I felt like my chest is being sliced a thousand times over and over in every second.
The box lord saw his chance and rammed at me full force with his body we and we both crashed into a wooden column which was already weak due to the fire and collapsed instantly along with a large portion of the ceiling.
I found myself under the motionless body of the box lord and a large pile of burning rubble. The lower half of my body was covered and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't pull myself out. It wasn't that heavy but my weariness and injuries were making me weaker by each second. The temperature was still increasing rapidly and I was barely breathing. I was out of options. It was dawning on me that I will die here. I guess I won't be the hero of the prophecy after all.
I was just lying there hopelessly, waiting for death to come when I turned my head to the side and saw my bag. It's contents were spilled. The four potions, two pairs of blur and red, were scattered amidst the burning floor with one blue potion already shattered.
A spark of hope ignited. I began to reach for the bottles. I easily grabbed one red potion since it was the nearest. I pulled the cork with a slight thump! before drinking the whole content. I'm not sure what it does but since I'm going to die anyway, what's there to lose?
The red potion tastes like fruit juice and immediately, I felt strangely warm and the pain in my body subsided. I then reached for the blue potion and did the same. It tasted different, like water with a slight fizz. All of a sudden, I was full of energy! My adrenaline pumped up and I pulled myself out of the rubble in one mighty pull. Now that I was free, I grabbed the Magma Daggers, sheathed them and grabbed the other potion and the bag. I found Maya's box which had burn marks on one side and is still smoldering. I hurriedly tapped it off and shoved the chest and the potion in the bag before saying "Inventory: Close!" and making a run for the door, tying the now brick-sized bag unto my waist.
I burst through the door and found out that the whole tree-fort was already on fire. The dark gray smoke was so thick it covered the sun. I made a run for the bridge when I heard a loud creaking noise from under me and the floor started to collapse. The burning planks plummeting fifty feet below. I ran as fast as I can with the collapsing floors a few feet behind me. I finally made into the bridge. Upon instinct, I slashed through the ropes and the bridge was disconnected from the crumbling floors and I held unto ii as it swung towards the adjacent fort.
I landed straight inside a window and crashed into some crates full of cabbages. This was probably their food storage area. I burst out of the door and down the stairs and through the exit. The entire fort was empty since the remaining Sneevils might have panicked and ran off. I looked up to see the gigantic oak go down in flames. I managed to retrieve Maya's box but not the Black Dragon Box but something tells me that it wasn't here.
I sighed. My job here is done. I drank the last remaining red potion, turned around and headed north. Back to Oaklore. Back home?
(A/N: Whew! I never knew that one of the easiest quests in Dragonfable would turn out like this? Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. I'll probably update again within a week. The Iron Raven taking off!)