Chapter Nine: Dangers of Timing
(Thirteen days prior to Spyro's death)
"Draikor has escaped," Cyril said as he was informed by a Mole who was shaken by the news. "Should we mount a search for him?"
"No, he will be expecting that," Terrador said as he looked off the balcony of the Dragon Study. "Send off a reward of twenty pounds of gold nuggets for his death, we'll squeeze him out into the open."
"How long do you estimate until we find him again?" Volteer asked as he joined Terrador and Cyril on the balcony.
"Hard to tell my friend," Terrador stated as he looked over the early morning horizon as well. "He is a master at camouflage and can quite possibly change color completely. That is why he was able to elude us so many times before, and how he was able to commit so many murders. He could be anywhere at the moment. Right now we should just hope and pray that he won't kill anyone right at the moment."
The day seemed to fly away as the night remained young over the world. The Celestial moons were fully visible over the mountains for all life to see as shooting stars jetted across the night sky like fireflies.
"Something doesn't feel right honey; can you please shove the boulder over the top of the cave please?" Ember asked as an unfamiliar knot tightened in her stomach.
"Alright, stay right here." Flame said, kissing his wife on the forehead while yawning as he shook himself awake, trying not to disturb Cynder while she slept as well. The quiet night was only pierced by the sound of crickets and frogs as Flame climbed on top of the roof of the small cave and attempted to shove the boulder which was resting aside the hole in the roof with little success.
"Here, I'll help you." Cynder said as she startled Flame.
"Darn it Cynder, are you trying to give me a heart attack?" Flame joked as the two managed to shunt the boulder over the hole.
"Why did Ember ask you to cover this up?" Cynder asked as she made her way with Flame down towards the cave entrance.
"She seemed uncomfortable for some reason, so I just wanted to make her comfortable." Flame said as a felt a sense of pride rise inside his body.
"You really love her don't you?" Cynder said with a smile as her eyes seemed like stars in the moonlight.
"Yes I do, very much in fact." Flame said as he smiled to the fact.
"You should know that she loves you enough to want to start a family with you, think of what you've been given Flame," Cynder said, not trying to sound to strict. "Even Spyro would say the same to you. Nobody else loves you as much as she does. She thinks you might be nervous in becoming a father, is this true?"
"Yes it is," Flame admitted as he started to spill out his feelings on the subject. "I love her and I know we can raise a family together successfully… I just don't think I'm ready for that kind of commitment though…"
"Flame, if you weren't ready she wouldn't have brought up the subject to begin with," Cynder said, bringing a small smile to Flame's face as Cynder continued to explain. "She knows how you are and how much love and support you give her. She knows it is well enough to start a family with you. Trust her Flame; don't say no to her love. Talk to her about the subject when you have the time, it'll be worth it."
"You're right… I'll speak with her when we have time." Flame said as he smiled.
"That's all I ask," Cynder said with a smile as well as she looked among the sky. "Well goodnight Flame, morning comes early."
"Yeah, goodnight," Flame said as he stood outside for a second longer. "I would be crazy if I was to say no to her love." Flame then entered the cave while shoving the heavy boulder in front of the cave for security.
"Is this it Hunter?" Spyro asked as the two landed in front of a giant cave which seemed to resemble a dragon's head.
"I say it is," Hunter said as loaded an arrow into his bow. "We can rest here if you need to before we head inside if you would wish to."
"No, we have to push on," Spyro said firmly as he looked around the surrounding area. The land seemed to be made from molten lava and sand as the ground seemed hot to the touch.
"The objective is right in front of us, let us push on then and retrieve the water so we can head back already." Hunter said as the two began to move into the mouth of the cave. The cave entrance lead to stone carved stairs which were masquerading as the dragon's tongue which ventured down the throat. Not knowing what evil laid in wait for the two, Spyro took slow, steady movements through the cave while torches were being automatically lit by some strange force. The deeper the two ventured into the cave, the brighter the surrounding became and the colder the wind became as Spyro's ice element seemed to flare to the cold. The two eventually came to a large, open chamber with an enormous pit which held a monstrous, tightly coiled being.
"Where are the guardians who were supposed to protect the outside?" Hunter asked in a whisper as the two peered over the pit ledge.
"Probably in the chamber where the water is stored," Spyro said as he edged Hunter to follow him across the natural stone walkway which led across to the other side of the pit to another passage. "I believe this is one of the three abominations that Cynder warned me about. The cobra which is right below us, a giant tarantula, and finally a mud-like substance which is said to transform into whatever or whoever it comes into contact with." Just then, Spyro accidently smacked a small pebble down into the pit, landing on top of the cobra's head.
"That's not good." Hunter said as the two watched the cobra rise from the pit, hissing as it flicked its tongue, trying to pick up Spyro and Hunter's scent.
"Don't… Move…" Spyro whispered as the ominous snake raised its head and flared out its massive frill, signaling that it truly was a cobra. Its black scales had a light ruby tint to them as the designs lining the frills and head seemed to intimidate anything that met their gaze. The yellow eyes seemed to make the pupil slit in the snake's eyes more aggressive as it stared at Spyro and Hunter in confusion.
Suddenly, the snake bared its enormous fangs as Spyro yelled, "Move, get out of the way!"
The cobra lunged with lightning speed as Hunter leaped towards a small ledge at the side of the pit while Spyro managed to hover away from the giant snake. Spyro then noticed that the force of the impact from the snake's snout destroyed most of the bridge as Hunter managed to shimmy his way towards the other side of the pit where the entrance to the next chamber led to.
"Hunter, aim for the eyes!" Spyro yelled as he dodged the cobra's fangs repeatedly. Spyro barely managed to dodge the previous strike as the cobra's fangs wrapped around and over Spyro as he used all of his strength to pry himself away from the poisonous fangs and jaws.
Hunter took aim with his bow and took a deep breath. The sounds around him were muted as everything seemed to move slower as the sound of his heart beating slowly rang in his ears. Within a fraction of a second, Hunter narrowed his eyes and released the arrow which hurled through the air as incredible speed.
"Sweat poured down Spyro's forehead as he watched a drop of venom drip from the cobra's fang onto his largest chest scale. Spyro's body was at the peak of collapsing under the cobra's strength until Spyro heard the zing of an arrow followed by a cry of pain from the cobra. Spyro then seized the opportunity to escape as he leaped from the cobra's mouth and fluttered toward Hunter, exhausted as he nearly fell upon landing.
"I need to encase him in stone if I can," Spyro said, trying to gather his strength. "Can you blind the other eye while I catch my breath?"
"Aye, but I can only provide little time my friend," Hunter said, loading another arrow into his bow. "It will still be able to hear and smell us." Hunter then ran across the small ledge which circled the whole pit at an impossible pace while aiming the bow towards the massive cobra. The snake then spotted Hunter with its remaining good eye and flicked its tongue, enraged over Hunter's attack to its right eye. Before the cobra could attack again, Hunter released the arrow which stuck deep into the cobra's left eye. In another shriek of pain from the cobra, Hunter ran along the ledge until he met up with Spyro who was finally able to stand up straight.
"Hunter, move away from me!" Spyro yelled as he unleashed a powerful blast of earth and ice energy into the floor which combined together and began to move and shift the pit floor around the cobra which began to encase and immobilize the giant in stone and ice before the two heroes. Seconds passed as the giant snake was forever encased in a giant statue-like tomb of ice and earth.
"That was to close for either of us," Hunter said as he placed his bow around his torso and shoulder. "We should press onward; we still have a ways to go before we reach the water."
"With the cobra down that leaves the tarantula and the black creature, let us continue onward." Spyro said as the two ventured down through the poorly lit passageway into the next chamber. The two remained silent as they observed the walls of the narrow passageway. The walls were lined with giant cobwebs and skeletons of departed beings of long ago Apes and dragons along with a variety of other species as the two prepared themselves for the unexpected while entering the next chamber.
"Wait a minute," Hunter said in a whisper as the two stopped in their tracks. "Something doesn't feel right." Spyro looked among the now pitch black area with no light as he tried to focus his mind. Spyro then remembered his training in the Shadow Forest as he tapped into his Convexital side. His vision was replaced with a sight which had different shades of purple to create a sort of map to the surrounding area.
"I can't see any danger," Spyro said while he looked among the ceiling and walls of the chamber. "But there is a large pit like the last chamber; the tarantula must be in there." No sooner did Spyro finish his sentence, a large, slender black leg covered in long hairs stabbed into the ground in front of him as a large black spider followed. Hunter and Spyro were left gazing among a fifty foot tarantula as the area around them was suddenly lit by torches covering the walls.