(A/N: Hey guys! Or whoever is still out there. You all know what I mean. I'm finally back and I'm really sorry. I've been gone for more than two months and I never thought I could ever get back on working on this but here I am and I'm working on it again... for the time being that is. Anyways, for those that are still out there, read on!)

Chapter Twelve: Lightning Reborn pt.1

I could say that riding a dragon, whom I learned earlier was named Glumbert, was one of the best experiences of my life. We were soaring hundreds of miles above the green carpeted ground zipping past hazy clouds with nothing above us but the infinite blue sky. We were going so fast that the wind roared in my ears and my face felt like it was peeling off. My whole body was pumping with excitement and it all somehow felt natural as if I was born to ride a dragon or something. The only thing that really didn't appeal to me that much is Sir Baumbard's long hair which kept on flying wildly into my face, stinging my eyes and clogging my nostrils and all that but it was liveable. I was having the time of my life!

The moment was short-lived, however. Our destination was barely a mile away and soon the dragon began to lose speed and descend. The clouds parted and not far below us lay a wide stretch of mountains along a gray barren wasteland. A strange thick grayish-white mist covered the mountains' peaks almost all the way down to the base. There were dead plant life, remains of trees and bushes long withered away, scattered along its craggy slopes and crevices. The whole area gave off an eerie sense of calm, a foreboding silence as the thick moist air swirled all around us.

"Fogpeak Heights" I muttered to myself but Sir Baumbard seemed to have heard. He nodded and gave his dragon a pat on the neck and it spread its wings to a glide.

"Keep your eyes peeled boy. If that map of yours is accurate, those ruins should be around..." He trailed off as he scanned the whole perimeter while occasionally glancing down at the map I gave him earlier while we were riding. "Nowhere! Curse this damn mist! This is going to take longer than I thought."

I have to agree about that. I couldn't make out anything except for sparse pointed rock formations and dead plant life but nothing decent or resembling any sort of ruins. After a few minutes of fruitless searching, I've decided that it's useless to search for it while in the air.

"Can you put me down somewhere?" I asked the old Dragonlord. "I'll try to look for it on foot."

"Are you mad? We came here on a dragon in the first place so we won't be doing what you are about to do!" He replied, looking at me like I was some sort of madman, which I probably am.

I told him my plan. "We never expected the fog to be this thick. We could circle this place all day and we won't be able to find it. Let's just look for a place for me to land and then I will search on foot while you scan the whole area on air."

Sir Baumbard seem to consider this. "Alright, if you wish. But how would I know if I need to pick you up? I need some kind of signal that I can either hear or see."

"Uhhh...well…" Okay, that wasn't part of the plan. It made sense though. I need some sort of signal. Shouting won't do since it would only produce echoes that would only confuse him.

Sir Baumbard let out a small amused laugh which I never thought I would catch him dead on. He just seems to be all too serious and grumpy ever since the first hour I've met him.

"So, go in there now and worry about getting out of there later?" he continued, still letting out small bits of laughter. "I like your attitude. Reminds me when I was a bit younger." He patted his dragon's neck that in turn headed off towards the nearest cliff and landed softly. I leaped at the side and landed on rough gravel when Sir Baumbard disembarked from his dragon as well and dislodged our packs. "Tell you what? There's no use of me flying up there anyway. I'll come down and help you search instead. Once we find those ruins, we get those daggers, we hop on Glumbert and we're out of here in a flash."

"Sounds good. But what about your dragon?" I asked while glancing at the black 30 foot serpent-like creature whose glowing red eyes seemed to scan its surroundings as if expecting something to attack anytime. "Are you going to leave it here?"

"Ah, about that, watch closely." He fished out something beneath his breastplate. It was a small golden amulet in the shape of a dragon with its wings half-extended and a smooth round, dull red gemstone embedded in the dragon's chest. Before I could ask what it was, he held it in above his head and the dragon exploded into thousands of sparkles before being absorbed by the gemstone which now shone with life.

"Whoa…" I said under my breath while staring at the amulet wide-eyed, still not being able to register everything that happened.

"A Dragon Amulet." He said before turning around to walk away from the cliff, answering my questions before I could even ask them. "It is the temple of the dragon's life force and our medium of communication. It is both the dragon and the Dragonlord's most prized possession. Come, we have wasted enough time. We should have better luck finding those ruins on higher ground before nightfall."

I shouldered my pack and followed him. My mind filled with thoughts of dragons and Dragonlords, wondering what I could be able to do if I would be one.

***Two Hours Later***

We both sat down hard by a large smooth gray boulder by the edge of a cliff which opened into a large abyss. We couldn't see the bottom mainly because of the thick mist and probably because it's really a long way down. Both of us were already breathing heavily and suffering from strained muscles so we decided to rest for a while. It had been the third peak we have reached in the course of two hours of non-stop hiking and we still weren't making that much progress, probably not even any progress at all.

We started a conversation to help pass the time and to break the eerie silence while we eat and rest for a bit. Sir Baumbard was the first to tell his story between munches of his bread. He told me that he used to be in one of the elite corps of Dragonlord warriors and bombardiers in Swordhaven called The Order of the Silver Shield. He was a renowned veteran and fought many battles which mainly consisted of bombing raids on the battlefield and aerial reconnaissance. One battle which he considered most memorable was back in the time where an evil king named King Slugwrath attempted to invade Lore. Sir Baumbard said that one of the key victories of the war took place in Oaklore itself. King Slugwrath's army laid siege on Oaklore for a full week as he, along with the Pactagonal knights and other members of his order stubbornly defended it, many until their last breath, never abandoning the fort until reinforcements arrived and defeated the evil king's army which already suffered severe losses as well. It was the turning point of the war as it was not long before King Alteon and his army achieved victory. It was also one of the last battles Sir Baumbard fought before he was transferred permanently to Oaklore. He doesn't seem to be too happy about it but he served nonetheless until the present time.

"How about you?" He asked once he finished. "You're that mysterious chap I've seen the other day. I haven't seen you before so I expected that you lived somewhere else."

It was then my turn to tell my part of the story. I simply told him what I used to say to other people who are curious of where I came from and such. I told him that came from the Kingdom of Asgard about fifty or so miles from here in a humble village of Locklaven. A bandit attack that destroyed my village led me to be a wanderer doing quests for others for a living until one day I happened to come across Oaklore and the rest is history.

"Hmmm... that's quite a story" he seemed to be deep in thought. "I always wondered why bandits are one of the main problems of every kingdom. You were lucky to survive, boy."

"Yeah...I was." I sighed and laid back on the rough surface of the boulder. That's when I heard a slight rumbling sound, it was very faint but I could hear it and it was coming from underneath the boulder. Some sort of rustling, like small rocks...sliding off...a cliff. I frowned as the puzzle pieces began to fall in place and Sir Baumbard saw my expression. "What is it? What's wr-"

Before I realized it, I was already too late. He never even had the chance to finish his sentence as the large rock flipped over along with both of us as we slid down the edge of the cliff. My whole world swirled in gray dust and dirt as we continue to tumble down.

We reached the bottom about a few seconds later which wasn't as far below as I expected, probably only about fifteen to twenty feet. I was lying on my back with my head still spinning and my ears still ringing. I heard a groan beside me and then a cough. "You alright?" He asked in a raspy voice.

I sat up, wincing a little from several pains in my back but I was fine. I silently cursed our luck, we've been here for two hours of useless searching and on top of it all, we fell on a cliff and this quest isn't going any better. It was all hopeless! When the dust finally settled, I began to make out my surroundings and I'm not feeling bad about my luck anymore.

In front of us lay a collapsed stone column. Part of an ancient gate which was covered with vines, long dead, strewn hanging about like dried brown spaghetti. Further away, across a gray sandy clearing and on top of a small hill, we saw what seemed to be a dilapidated stone structure. The roof had long given away along with the weathered walls. Its columns are either collapsed or barely standing. The mist seemed to be clear in the vicinity of the ruins as if it functions as a barrier or screen to prevent the ruins from being found. The lonely howl of wind was the only sound we could here apart from our own breathing.

"Well what do you know?" Sir Baumbard said in a raspy voice and a slight smile. He obviously hasn't fully recovered yet from the fall. "It's been here all along. Better watch our backs. Places like these aren't always empty."

I nodded and I placed one of my hands on my dagger's hilt though the place looked real empty. In fact, it looked like nothing's ever been here for decades or centuries but the stories I've heard from Vivor and Castic about this place being overrun by elementals long ago made me keep my guard up.

"Shouldn't there be some sort of welcome party ready to meet us?" Sir Baumbard wondered out loud. "This dagger is special isn't it? Someone or something should be guarding it but I don't see a single soul."

"I don't know." I was beginning to wonder as well. Those daggers should be heavily guarded but there were no signs of this place being inhabited.

The fallen column was huge and was blocking the path so we climbed over it. When we landed, my foot sank on something wet...a muddy puddle. I frowned as I pulled my foot up from the dark and murky water. Sir Baumbard also stepped on a puddle but it was a little deeper and he struggled, trying to keep his balance.

Sir Baumbard cursed, he tugged at his foot but it won't come off. It looked like he's stuck. "Damn it! Something's pulling me down!" As he said it, his leg sank into the muddy puddle right up to his knee. I ran over to help him out. I pulled both of his arms and after a great deal of effort, we manage to yank his leg off and we stumbled backwards, panting heavily. The howl of wind grew louder as we watched the puddles around us rise and expand like some sort of balloon. The sky grew darker with every second and soon a distant rumbling of thunder was heard. Sir Baumbard whispered as he cautiously eyed his surroundings. "Elementals. So they were hiding here all along."

The puddles we're getting bigger now, glob-like creatures about the size of a small boulder. Puffs of mist began to form into small cloud-like creatures as well. Sir Baumbard stood up but fell down again and cursed...again. "My damn leg's busted up! Of all the time that this should've happened, why now!"

I helped him up. He drew his sword and slashed at one of the globs fiercely. The glob dissolved back into a puddle but started to reform again. The cloud puffs attacked. They hit us with very strong bursts of wind and we were thrown aback.

We both slammed on the column. A glob tried to attack but Sir Baumbard slashed at it and it returned to being a puddle. It was then that I noticed his sword. I remembered seeing one of those not long ago. I even remember breaking it. It was back with my encounter with Drakath and his thugs. What did he call it? A Marquis blade.

"Where did you get that?" I said, voicing my thoughts.

Sir Baumbard's face became proud. "Oh, this?" He said lifting the blade. "A spoil of war. But it's not time for stories now, boy, we got bigger things at hand!"

The glob and cloud creatures were now moving and are heading to our direction. I drew one of my Magma Daggers and stabbed at the nearest glob which released a little volume of steam upon contact but it didn't seem to do that much damage. It was then that I remembered that they're made of water and I stabbed them with something that has the element of fire. Good job. I thought while giving myself a mental face palm and yanking off my drenched dagger. The creatures were getting closer and we found ourselves backed against the fallen column with no way out and with Sir Baumbard injured.

"I guess we're going to fight our way through." Sir Baumbard said, determined. "I've encountered these things long ago. They're lesser elementals. We can go pass through them easily and I think I see a way up." He gestured at the side of the hill. There was a long staircase leading straight up into the ruined temple but the way was blocked with more of the glob and cloud creatures. "Don't worry about me. I've been through worst times than having just a mere busted leg!"

"Can you summon your dragon? It can help us a lot." I suggested.

"No not yet. I'm still waiting for something else." He said firmly.

"Alright, ready when you are." I said, drawing both my daggers. I know they're not effective but its better than my normal curved ones. I also don't have any idea about what he's waiting for but I hope it's something good.

"Well then, let's get started!" Sir Baumbard let out a battle cry and we charged towards the staircase. I swung my daggers as hard as I can for it to gather as much oxygen. It worked wonders somehow. The globs explode back to steaming puddles and took a longer time to reform but it's still not killing them. The cloud ones stayed away from me and only attacked the old Dragonlord a few meters away, which is strange. I'm not asking to be attacked by those or anything like that, I've got plenty to deal with here, but it just seemed like they're afraid of me or…afraid of my daggers. I watched Sir Baumbard who was hacking and slashing like crazy as the gears began to turn. The cloud things are made of mist. I slashed at another glob who tried to take the opportunity to attack behind me as I began to realize how we can beat these elementals.

I smiled and ran over to Sir Baumbard. A cloud thing was already charging towards him and I intercepted it by stabbing it head on. There was a small explosion as the daggers absorbed the wind elemental's essence. The dagger was now glowing a little brighter and Sir Baumbard smiled in realization. "Good thinking, boy. Let us continue shall we?" And we resumed our attack. The staircase was still about a hundred meters ahead.

I stabbed at one of the globs and the dagger released its stored energy. There was an explosion of steam and the glob vaporized instantly. I kept on repeating the same procedure, attacking the water and wind elementals alternately and slowly but steadily, we made our way through.

Their numbers were slowly diminishing as my method took out every elemental I came close with. I was doing great and the staircase was less than a thirty meters away. That was when Sir Baumbard cried in pain. I turned around and saw him limping towards me. His leg was really in a bad condition and he probably took that for granted all this time. The elementals were now closing in on the beat-up Dragonlord.

There was a sudden flash of lightning that momentarily lit up the whole place. It was followed by about a dozen lightning bolts striking the ground behind me and I was sure it wasn't a coincidence. The ground where the lightning struck was now glowing with energy. A couple of seconds passed and orb-shaped things started to rise from where the lightning had hit.

"Be careful, those are shockwisps! It's about time they got here. We need to take them out. They're the only ones I'm worried about!"Sir Baumbard shouted over as he tried to hold off the elementals which were now swarming at him. So that's what he's been waiting for.

I turned to face the new threat. The shockwisps seemed to take formation in front of the staircase, blocking our way, their orb-shaped bodies crackling with energy. Okay, time for plan A.

I charged straight at them just to see what they can do. I slashed at one and it dispersed momentarily before reforming again, completely unharmed. "What the-" I was about to say more but the shockwisps were on me in a split-second. My whole body trembled violently as the shockwisps' energy surged inside me. I fell to the ground still trembling violently. My muscles hardened and my teeth felt like it was coming off. The shockwisps revolved around me.

"I'm coming! Hang in there!" I heard the Dragonlord shout somewhere above me. The shockwisps all backed away. They reacted similar to what the cloud ones did when I used my Magma Daggers.

"This Marquis Blade of mine has the special ability to absorb the energy element." He explained. "It comes quite handy when I ride through thunderstorms. I guess they sensed it."

I stood up slowly. My body has recovered but it felt like it had been injected with lead. I shook myself to get rid of the lead-feeling. "You ready to get back in the fight?" He asked.

"Sure thing. You handle the shockwisps then." I replied and we continued our fight. After a few minutes all the shockwisps were absorbed but the globs and cloud things were still coming at us. They seemed to come from nowhere and there's no end to them. I've probably killed closed to a hundred and they're still more of them every minute.

"Finally!" Sir Baumbard said with a cruel smile on his face. "With those wisps gone I can finally summon my dragon. I will cover you while you climb those stairs. Come back down once you have the daggers."

"Okay, I'll be back in a few minutes." With that, I climbed up the stairs, slashing at the few globs and cloud elementals that tried to stop me. Something behind me exploded with golden light followed by a dragon's mighty roar. I quickly glanced behind me and I saw Glumbert torching hundreds of elementals with one breath of fire. It brought me to the though of having a dragon. What I wouldn't give to have one of those!

I reached the top of the stairs in seconds. I was breathing heavily after climbing. In front of me was a stone table about twelve feet long and four feet wide. There were writings engraved on the sides but they were long faded and impossible to read. Around me lay debris from the dilapidated structure along with a few broken vases and chests. It all resembled some sort of crypt or mausoleum for somebody special which I think it really is.

Something on the far corner caught my attention. It was another chest but fairly larger than the others and it seemed intact. It was gilded in gold with a lightning shaped lock. I had the slightest feeling that what I'm looking for is finally there. I run towards it but a voice made me stop in my tracks.

"Ahhh, so you've finally found what you're looking for, eh?" A thin voice whispered in my mind.

"Who are you!" I shouted. "Why don't you just come out?"

"We have been expecting you!" The voice hissed. "Master Sephulcre kept us well-informed of your arrival."

"So he sent you here to try and kill me again?" I replied coldly. "Why won't he fight me himself? I came here for the daggers and if you are to stop me, you better come out!"

The voice cackled. "Fool. As if an all-powerful being like him would waste time on a pathetic weakling like you? We weren't sent here. We have been thriving here for centuries after getting rid of human pests like you!" And with that lightning flashed and I jumped aside as another bolt struck the ground where I was standing half a second ago. A creature rose from where the bolt had hit. It was barely humanoid and purely made of energy. It had no legs but it has some sort of tail which flickered with electricity. Its arms were large and spiky along with its head. It rose to the full height of about nine feet and its head looked down on me.

"You've been toying with our lesser brothers and sisters, now, try your luck on a full-fledged elemental!"

"You've been saying 'we' and 'our' all this time. Why is that?" I questioned.

The voice cackled once again. "I was hoping you'd be contented only in fighting me. But if you insist…" As if on cue, two more elementals rose behind him but the other two were made of water and wind.

"I haven't seen a trespasser in a hundred years." The wind elemental howled.

"Yes, and the last one wasn't even a challenge." The water elemental agreed. Its voice was female. "And I see another one down there and it's a Dragonlord. This will be fun."

"Apparently, this one we got here seemed to have annihilated a lot of our lesser brothers and sister." The lightning elemental spoke. "He's just like any human; no recognition to the elements, taking for granted our role in this universe, they all deserve to perish! And that will happen once Master Sephulchre ascends into power and he will make me the most powerful elemental in the world!"

"Only you?" I asked. It's all going according to plan. "What about your other two siblings?"

"Yeah, what about us?" The wind and water elemental asked in unison.

"Err…Never mind that!" The lightning elemental said, trying to wave off the subject. "You two will be powerful as well. Now, let's get on to business!"

"But you said you were the most powerful! You're practically useless. The world could survive without you! The wind on the other hand, is the most abundant element in this world. I'm supposed to be the most powerful!" The wind reasoned.

"The water is the most important element in the world. I am the source of life! Without me, the world would be a barren wasteland!" The water countered. "I should be the most powerful!"

"All creatures breathe me. I'm the source of life and the most powerful. Not you and certainly not lightning here!" The three continued to argue.

"Enough!" The lightning elemental boomed. "We should be killing- Hey! Where'd he go?"

"He probably got bored and left. Oh look at that, he left that old guy down there. I'll take him do-" The wind was about to say more but I interrupted him with a scream.

AAAAAAARRRGGGHHHHH!

I kept on screaming as I jumped down from a column straight on the top of the wind elemental. As I landed on him, I drew both my Magma Daggers and stabbed him in the head with all my might.

"WHAA! NO! " The wind elemental flailed and tried to escape as the other two stared dumbstruck while I absorbed the wind elemental's essence. After a few seconds the wind elemental was gone and my daggers were glowing redder than ever before.

"What have you done!" The water elemental exclaimed. "You will pay for that!"

She charged at me but I was ready. I jumped aside as she sent a wave of water towards me. I rolled forward and stabbed both my daggers on her body. With a wail, she exploded into thick mist and left a small puddle on the ground. That's two down, one more to go.

I turned around to face the lightning elemental who looked indifferent even after he saw me take out his siblings. "You're the last one. You can either leave or die just like them!"

"I have to admit. I owe you my gratitude for getting rid of those pests!" He replied, amused. "They were both weakened since they've spent most of their power creating lesser elementals and were always bickering and pestering me. Now that they're gone, I only need to take care of you and that old man before I could proclaim this place as my own domain."

"I'd like to see you try." I raised my daggers, prepared for a fight.

"You don't know who you're dealing with." And with that, he attacked. He raised his arms and shot bolts of lightning towards me. I dove for cover behind the stone table as the whole place was rocked with explosions and pieces of rubble rained everywhere.

"Hiding already?" He taunted. "I was just getting started!"

"So was I!" I dove out of my cover and threw both my curved daggers at him. He tried to swat them away but one got through and hit him square in the face.

"Why, you-" I was already upon him before he could even react and I stabbed my Magma Daggers on his chest. There was no explosion. My daggers were just impaled in his body. He cried in pain but soon his cry turned into laughter.

"Do you think I could be vested by such an inferior weapon?" He said mockingly. He then punched me in the face and sent me flying towards a column a few meters back. "Pathetic human! At least you've provided me with a great deal of entertainment I haven't had in centuries."

I groaned as I lay on the ground. My whole body was spinning and for a moment I don't know where I was or what was happening. Slowly, I began to regain my focus and I stood up with a great deal of effort.

"Now as a reward, I'd like to make you suffer some more." As he said it, one of his arms began to extend and soon formed into some sort of whip made of pure energy. That is definitely not good. I was running out of ideas. The chest was right behind him. If only I could get there somehow. "I'm going to make this slow and painful."

I ducked as the whip sailed pass my head and I charged at him. He tried to punch me again but slashed of his arm with both of my daggers. He let out a cry of rage as his left arm dissipated but grew back again in a second. It was enough to distract him though. I slipped under his arm and ran towards the chest. The chest was obviously locked and I don't have any key so I stabbed the lightning bolt-shaped lock with my dagger but it didn't seem to even leave a dent.

The elemental behind me chuckled. "Foolish, simply foolish." He cracked his whip and continued. "Only a lightning elemental or a powerful energy spell could unlock it and as far as I can see, you're no mage to be capable of such thing."

He struck at me again and this time as I dove aside, the whip caught my leg and he slammed me on the stone table. I coughed up blood as I hit the table hard, my breaths coming in short gasps. I looked beside me, in the direction of the chest a few feet away.

"My, my, are you still going for another try? " He said amusingly. "Humans never learn to surrender. Their resilience always gets them killed."

I lay back waiting for him to finish me off but he seems to be enjoying the moment and is still jabbering about how inferior humans are, etc but it won't matter anyway. That was it, I failed. I failed them all once again just like how I did before.

It will not happen again. You hadn't been defeated yet. As long as you're still alive there's still hope. I suggest you look around for a start and do not give in to deception.

A familiar female's voice whispered in my mind. It was Lady Celestia, trying to help me and I felt thankful but what does she mean have a look around? I did as told and I noticed one of my curved daggers lying beside the chest still crackling with energy. His energy. I remembered him telling me that about his kind being able to open this chest. I wonder if this could work? The chances are slim but it's all I got.

I muttered a little thanks to her and I rolled down the table. The lightning elemental was finally finished with his monologue and eyed me cruelly. "Well, have you given up yet human?"

I stood up with my head bowed. Slowly, I dropped my daggers.

"Ahhh, wonderful. At least you'll die with a little piece of mind." He attacked with his whip again, aiming for my neck. I rolled forward and used the table as leverage. I jumped over him, broke my fall, grabbed the dagger and stabbed at the lock. It all happened in less than five seconds and I found myself opening the chest revealing a set of daggers both in the colour of copper. Was this it? The daggers looked like nothing special, cheap even. I then realized it is made of copper. Is this the legendary daggers of Sir Jing? It looked so cheap and not battle-worthy. He's more likely to use this on cutting bread than fighting.

"NO!" The elemental screamed in terror though. But then showed an amused smile when he saw my face in disbelief. He then spoke with a sly tone. "After all this years, the blades have lost their power. They are now useless pieces of rubbish. How does it feel, eh? Coming all the way here and after the long journey and all the fighting, you'll just end up dying in vain."

I still can't believe it. I have to admit he was right. But Lady Celestia's words nagged at me. Do not give in to deception. I tried to recall all the things I've know about the daggers. They were owned by Sir Jing. True. They were placed in these ruins long ago. True. The ruins are overrun by elementals. Absolutely true. It was made from the essences of lightning elementals. Whoa. Bingo. That's it!

A knowing grin spread through my face as I clutched both of Sir Jing's daggers. The lightning elemental was slowly closing in, preparing too finish me off. "Say goodbye, boy, in the end, your cause was pointless." He attacked with his whip. I didn't try to dodge but I intercepted it with Sir Jing's dagger.

"NO! It can't be!" The lightning elemental screamed in horror. He tried to yank his whip off but the dagger seemed to hold on to him and is slowly absorbing his essence. I casually walked towards him as he desperately tried to escape. "NOT ME! NOT ME! I CANNOT BE DEFEATED BY A MERE HUMAN!"

It was the last thing he said as I plunged the other dagger to his chest and absorbed him completely. As it happened, the daggers turned into gold and crackled with energy. I was right. It has been kept all this time and it has released all its energy long since. It only needs to recharge.

I leaned back on the stone table with a smile of victory on my face. I've done it. Thank you Lady Celestia. I was about to rest back but I remembered Sir Baumbard and Glumbert still fighting somewhere below. I tried to stand up but the whole place began to shake violently. The remaining columns began to topple over and the ground was cracking in many places. It looks like the whole mountain is being torn apart.

I tried to make my way towards the staircase, or what remained of it. The stairs were cleaved into two and hundreds of debris were sliding over the edge making it impossible to climb down. I don't see Sir Baumbard and Glumbert anywhere and figured that they left. Without me? I doubt he would do that. I heard a shout coming somewhere behind me. I could barely hear it apart form all the rumbling. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a black figure burst through the mist. It was Glumbert.

"Come on, boy!" Sir Baumbard yelled. "The whole place is coming down!"

I ran towards him, dodging falling debris and leaping over huge cracks on the ground. Behind me, the whole mountain was collapsing, sinking into the ground. I was nearly on the edge when I saw my Magma Daggers, I hurriedly picked them up and jumped off the edge. I landed on Glumbert's back breathing heavily but with a smile on my face.

"Now that is how it is done!" Sir Baumbard laughed and patted my back. I smiled again but this time it was not of the feeling of victory but of anticipation. Hang on Hydra, I'm coming for you!

(A/N: WHEW! Once again, I made a simple quest so epic and complicated. Maybe that's the reason why my plot is so slow. I'm still trying to work on that. A fun fact: this is the longest chapter I've typed yet. I cannot guarantee the next update but I'll try to work on it ASAP. Please let me know if you want anything concerning my story or if you want to provides feedback, which I greatly accept, just review. See yas! Iron Raven out…)