A looming shadow
I groaned in discomfort, feeling a familiar ache around my body. ‘I got to stop waking up like this.’ I slowly began to move my arms down to push myself up, but, before I could do so, I noticed that the ground was completely black. I began to look around and I realized that was surrounded by total darkness. ‘This again.’ I sighed in annoyance while pushing myself up. ‘At least I’m not floating this time.’ Once I got up, I began to search for Cortez, knowing he likes to appear at random.
“Greetings, my friend.” I turned around to see the knight himself, sitting down on… something.
He was calmly sharpening his sword, using one of those shaving tools.
“I take it, my map was of great use to you?” after he said that, I simply glared at him.
“Oh yeah, GPS worthy of navigation. My only gripes with it, is that it led us straight into a DEATH TRAP!” I bantered out, clearly showing my frustration.
I was then rewarded with a fit of laughter. “Well we could not leave such secrets unguarded, but I can admit, he can be quite excessive.”
“Wait, who’s he?” I asked, getting frustrated for being left in the dark.
“Everything will be explained in due time, but right now I must warn you.” He completely stopped what he was doing and looked at me with a cold stare, “they have been following you, lurking in the shadows. Prepare yourselves, for they intend to strike soon.”
The darkness began to consume him, while I felt myself losing consciousness again.
“WAKE UP!”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Come on man, wake up.” I slowly opened my eyes, only to see blurry shapes in front of me, “that’s it, nice and easy.”
The shapes began to come into focus. One being Jordan on my left and Nova on my right. I noticed that Nova had a wet cloth in her claw, padding my forehead with it. The cool moisture felt blissful to the raging heat of exhaustion that my body endured.
“Wh- what happened?” I asked, as I tried to jog up my memory.
“Well when everygriffon was running for their lives, you and Gilda were able to make it to the podium. I’m not really sure what you did, but it caused an explosion of magic, turning all the rocks into dust.” Nova explained, waving her arms around to elaborate it, “after that… you kind of passed out.”
I chuckled a bit by how anti-climactic it was, but at least it was over.
“There’s one more thing.” Jordan said, drawing my attention to him, “when all that magic disappeared, the podium opened up, with this inside.”
I felt curious as to what it was. After all we’ve been through, I knew whatever was inside must be extremely valuable. However, what Jordan showed me wasn’t what I expected.
“A book… we went through all that for a book!?” I groaned in disappointment.
“Yeah, I felt the same way to.” He said, examining the book.
I massaged my forehead, trying to calm down my minor headache, but then I remembered the warning that I was told when I was out.
“Sh#t, we got to get out of here!” everyone looked confused as I tried to get up.
Before they could ask why, a sudden rhythm of clapping echoed all around us. It was slow and unsettling, and to make matters worse the glow of the gems seem to wane while darkness floods in. By the time the clapping stopped, there was barely any light left. I couldn’t even see the walls anymore.
“I have to say, your performance was quite amusing to watch, but your methods are ludicrous at best.” A voice echoed out to us within the darkness.
It was female for sure, but the tone was cold and callous. We all looked around but it was pointless.
“Who’s there; show yourself!” Andor screeched.
“Now is that any way to speak to a lady tsk tsk, how rude.” The voice reverberated in all directions, “I don’t have time to deal with you pests. My business is with you three.”
At this point, I was clenching my MP5, fearing that we’re going to have a bad time.
“What do you want from us!?” Jordan demanded, pulling out his pistol.
“Oh nothing much. That book for starters… and your lives.”
Suddenly, black humanoid figures began to walk out of the darkness and into the light. I realized that they were similar to the ones that we took out when we first got here. However, we don’t have the element of surprise this time, and there’s a lot more of them. We all drew our weapons and formed a defensive circle.
“I don’t know about you, but I don’t think they’re the friendly type.” Falco quipped.
“You have no idea.” Gilda growled, sensing the hate in her words.
“Let me guess, these were the ones who attacked you?” after Ember asked that, Gilda clenched her sword even tighter as memories of that day came to her.
“Oh, so you’re the one who interfered.” The voice chimed.
Gilda roared out in anger at this. “Interfered; your goons tried to kill me!”
“Yes an unfortunate dilemma. You see our intentions were to kill the chosen, but I did not account for any witnesses. My failure to do so had cost us our opportunity.”
I was completely lost at this point. There were just too many questions, and little to no answers. How did they know about us, why do they want us dead, how did they know where to find us?
“Why do you want to kill us?!” Jordan asked, wanting to get some answers.
“You would like to know wouldn’t you, but telling you won’t benefit me in any way.” She retorted.
“Neither is attacking a member of the Gryphonian royal family, which makes you an enemy of all of Gryphonia.” Andor declared.
“… A member of the royal family you say?” I could already hear the malevolent scheming, coming from her tone.
“I don’t think you should’ve said that.” I could already tell where this was going.
“Don’t worry about it. We can take them. After all, they don’t even have swords.” Falco said assumingly.
However, all the creatures took an aggressive stance, and, to my surprise, their arms shifted into blades. I could see Falco wane a bit, probably from disbelief. “You were saying.”
“w-what do we do now?” Nova asked shakenly.
We were surrounded, the exit is still a distance away, and, not to mention, there’s also an injured dragon under our care. I looked back at Amethyst to see that she was taking a defensive stance like the rest of us, but I could tell she was shaking. I knew she could see through the darkness, and I’m sure what’s still hidden isn’t pleasant. Nevertheless, we could put her sight to our advantage.
“Amethyst!” she quickly looked over at me, “how many of those things are at the door way?”
She scanned that general direction, counting the numbers. “Two dozen at best.”
‘We could work with that.’ I gave an approving nod, and prepared myself. “We’re making a run for the exit. Andor, Thrain, Falco cover our approach. The rest of you; don’t fall behind.”
Everyone shouted their approval, and with that we made our move. (.hack- bridge01) Thrain immediately charged forward with great ferocity, raging a battle cry while doing so. The rest of us began to follow behind. The creatures held their ground, but they couldn’t stand up against Thrain, as their lines were crushed by his charge. Andor and Falco took the opportunity to attack the staggered ones, swiftly downing them with one blow. However, they were able to reorganize themselves and began to congregate toward the exit. The numbers were too great to punch through, so Thrain took out his sword and swung at them. He swung in wide arcs, taking out many after every swing. One of them leaped over and tried to strike from above. Before I could take the shot, Gilda lunged at the creature, piercing it with her sword in midflight. Once she brought it to the ground, she pulled out her sword only to bring it back down for the finishing blow.
“That’s for before you freak!” she screeched.
While she was relishing in her revenge, another one of those things was charging right at her. I took aim, but, yet again, I was beaten by a stray dagger that flew right into its head, killing it instantly.
I looked over to see Hans, looking at Gilda with urgency. “Now is not the time to celebrate!” he then slashed at another enemy, cutting its throat, “that comes later.”
With the entrance in sight, we were close to pulling this off. However, there were a lot of those things in our way. To my surprise, Amethyst ran ahead towards the center. She then spewed out fire that engulfed all who stood in our way. The creatures were madly waving their limbs in attempts to remove the flames, but to no avail as they slowly burned to their deaths.
“Good work Amethyst, come on, the way is clear!” I yelled as the opportunity arisen.
Without hesitation, we all made a beeline towards the exit. Jordan and I turned around to cover our escape. We noticed a large number of them closing in on us. Taking well placed shots to conserve ammo, we were able to down some of them, but they were coming in to fast. Before they could reach us, a wall of fire erupted in their path.
“Go we can handle them!” I turned around to see Ember, raising her staff that glowed bright red.
We immediately turned around and ran out, but I stopped next to Ember, looking eye to eye. “You better be right behind us.”
She simply nodded and turned her attention back to the battle. I took one last look before retreating back to the surface.
Shoot to kill
I kept my sight ahead of me, hearing the sounds of my footsteps over my heavy breathing. Within seconds a small light appeared ahead, growing brighter as I came closer to it. Before long, my vision was engulfed in light, forcing me to clench my eyes shut. As I allowed them to adjust, I slowly opened them to see everyone outside and out of breath… except the four that stayed behind that is. I turned around towards the entrance, to see if they were coming, or if any of those things got through. However, neither came.
“It’s all clear up here.” Taphy proclaimed after checking our perimeter, “where are the others?”
I looked back at the cave, only seeing blackness within, and the eerie silence is making me uneasy.
“Those lads didn’t follow?” I shook my head, making Hans look back in the cave with worry.
“They stayed behind to try to fight them off.”
“We got to go back down there.” Gilda said, while moving back towards the cave.
She was halted by a wing in her path. “Wow las, I aint gonna let ya go back in there. Not after what we been through to get out.”
“We can’t just leave them!” she protested.
From what I’ve seen, they seem to be handling themselves well enough, but I have no idea how many of those things were down there. They could easily get overwhelmed if they weren’t careful.
“No, we’ll go.” I said, picking myself back up, “you guys cover the entrance. If we’re not back within the hour, get the hell out of here.”
I could see that Gilda wanted to protest, but I already went on ahead. Jordan followed close behind and, reluctantly, so did Taphy. He tried to argue that they may need more hands to cover the entrance, but we paid no mind to him, causing him to groan in annoyance.
“Good luck lads!” that was the last thing we heard, before the darkness consumed us once more.
The jog down the cave was mostly silent. Either the fighting was taken away from the exit, or one side had won already. ‘Jesus this silence is killing me.’ (KA-BOOM) ‘That’s not what I wanted to hear.’ We stopped as the cave shook around us, followed by a gust of wind and dirt. As the cave calmed, my anxiety began to escalate.
“That can’t be good.” Jordan exclaimed, practically stating what we all thought.
“Taphy switch up with me.” I said, passing my gun to him.
“Uh… sure.” He took it and gave me his and its holster.
“Alright here’s the plan, Jordan and I will escort them out of there, killing anything that gets in our way. Taphy, I want you to provide fire support at the exit.” I stated, strapping the holster on, “remember, we’re scarce on ammo so make it count.”
We trudged on, hoping that we weren’t too late. Once we passed the doors, I could see that the situation was a lot worse than I had hoped. Andor, Falco, and Thrain were down. Ember was the last one standing, if only barely. A group of those things surrounded them and were slowly closing in. (devil may cry- battle music 1) ‘crap, we got to get in there!’
“Taphy!” I yelled as Jordan and I charged forward.
“On it!” I heard him acknowledge, probably taking aim right at the closest hostile from the group.
One of those things got closer towards Ember, but she was too weak to do anything. It rose up its spear like arm, preparing to strike her down. (BANG) its head jerked violently to the side, as the bullet pierced its skull, and then fell limply to the floor.
The others turned their attention towards us, seeing us as more of a threat then the fallen soldiers. I pulled out my sword with one hand and kept my gun in the other. ‘Come and get some!’ they decide to charge us as well, meeting half way. When one of them was close enough, I stopped and pointed my pistol at its head. After pulling the trigger, I watched as black liquid sprayed out from the back. It then slumped to the ground, sliding a little from its momentum, but I couldn’t stop there as another came close behind it.
It lunged its spear arm at me, but I quickly deflected it with my sword, sending my attacker off balance. Seeing the opportunity, I slashed at it , lodging my sword between the neck and shoulder. I aggressively yanked it out, spilling its blood on the floor. I then rammed it with my shoulder, sending it to the ground. I looked up to see two more coming at me. (BANG) make that one, as the other’s head exploded. ‘Nice, keep it coming Taphy.’ Unlike the last ones, this one took more of a careful approach, stopping in front of me. It quickly threw jabs at me, concentrating on speed then strength. I deflected most of them, but I had to take steps back to dodge the rest. I then juked to the side and elbowed it in the gut. I looped around it, hoping to get a hit while it’s disorientated.
To my surprise, it quickly rolled away from my strike, and recovered just as fast. It came at me again, just as aggressively. Seeing that the conventional way isn’t cutting it, I decided to up my game. After dodging its next blow, I kicked its shin, causing it to stumble. I then jammed my sword into its chest, forcing him to his knee. just to be sure, I then cracked its head with the blunt end of my pistol. I jerked my blade out of its chest, then slit its throat to finish it off. It fell to the floor forming a black poodle of its own blood.
I continued on towards Ember, closing the distance between us. I noticed the lack of numbers of those things on my path. Hearing the gun shots and the occasional sword clangs, I’m sure Taphy and Jordan are keeping them busy. Once I got close enough, I could see the state the group was in. Ember was horribly bruised, and covered with gashes and lacerations. Her cloak was no better, being reduced to burnt rags. The others were either similar or worse.
“Ember!” I quickly grabbed her before she fell.
She looked at me with half lidded eyes; ready to pass out in any second.
“what are… you doing here.” Her speech was ragged, as she struggled to keep consciousness.
“we’re here to help, and it looks like you’re going to need it.” I looked over to Jordan to see that he was still holding out.
Every one he takes down; a couple more takes its place. ‘Jesus, how many are there.’
“you should… protect the princess.”
“don’t worry, she’s safe up top.” I said, keeping an eye on our surroundings, “can you still walk.”
She slowly pushed herself up, using me and her staff as support.
“barely… I can still move on my own… but Thrain…” I looked over to see that Thrain was the worst off out of all of them, and, to add on to our problems, he’s unconscious. ‘cr@p, I was afraid of that.’
I quickly went to the others, nudging them up and assisting if needed.
“come on, we’re getting out of here!” I went up to Thrain and wrapped his arm over my shoulder.
I sheathed my sword so I could hold him in place, but I kept my pistol out in case any of those things got to close. I pushed myself up, successfully pulling him with me. ‘man, your one heavy son of a gun.’ We then slowly made our way towards the exit. However, our escape attempt did not go unnoticed as a number of those things were coming down on us.
Without hesitation, I aimed my pistol and fired away, doing my best to conserve ammo. Unfortunately, with all the weight I’m carrying and the constant wobbling, my shots didn’t always make their mark. ‘why won’t you guy’s F off already!’ even with my best efforts, they were still closing in. I took a couple of shots at the closest one, but they jerked away so quickly that they missed by an inch. I tried again and again, but it dodged each one almost effortlessly. ‘what the hell, are they getting faster!’ without warning, it leapt into the air. I was startled by how far up it was able to get. Once I realized it was going to land on us, I aimed my gun at it. Before I pulled the trigger, another one of those things rammed into it.
“keep going!” I looked over to see Jordan, waving towards the exit.
He had his sword out, but instead of his pistol, he had a dagger. I’m guessing he ran out, or he’s trying to save what ammo he has left. One of those things tried to stab him in the back, but he quickly dodged it, coming back around to slice its leg. Once it was down on its knee, he jammed his dagger right into its skull; then roughly pulled back, yanking the weapon free and slinging the body away. Another tried to charge him, but he threw his dagger at it, lodging it in its shoulder. It staggered to a stop and reached for it to try to pull it off. He took the opportunity to charge at it himself, tackling it to the ground. He then impaled it with his sword, causing it to go limp. After he removed both weapons from the body, he began to follow us out.
Looking ahead of me, I could see the exit in sight with Taphy posted next to it, taking shots at our pressures. Looking at the amount of shells under him, I say he still has half a clip left. I was impressed of his aiming skills, hitting every target without fail. Once we made it to the exit, I called out to Andor and Falco to carry Thrain the rest of the way.
“that’s some nice shooting Tex!” I said, positioning myself in front of the entrance.
“when did you learn how to shoot?” Jordan asked, taking the other side.
“if we survive, I’ll tell ya.”
Things were going better than I had hopped. The rest of the group is safely heading to the surface, we’ve quelled quite a bit of their numbers, and, even though we're low on ammo, we could force them into a bottle neck in the cave. ‘looks like we won this one.’ However, something wasn’t right. The attacks had stopped. I knew they were still there, hiding in the darkness. ‘what the hell are they waiting for?’
(devil may cry 3- devils never cry) “how humiliating.” The voice from before echoed in the cavern, sounding slightly annoyed, “I’ve waited so patiently, arranged this whole stage, only for it all to go to waste… what a pity.” As she was speaking, the darkness in the room began to dissipate, taking those creatures with it. “I know when I’m beaten… but there is one more thing I could try.”
The doors behind us suddenly closed, and, when Taphy went to open them, they wouldn’t budge. We’re trapped in here. ‘not good.’ I darted my sight left and right, keeping guard in case of a surprise attack. What happened next put me through a loop.
All the rock debris in the dome began to glow in a dark hue, and, to my surprise, proceeded to move on their own once more. To my confusion, they were piling up in the middle, almost gluing themselves together.
“I haven’t casted a spell like this for an age, but, with the original enchantment placed upon the earth, it won’t be difficult to manipulate it to my favor.” The pile grew and grew, forming into… something.
Within seconds, the ruble began to form claws. Four of them to be exact, but what really got me was that they were moving. One of the claws slammed into the ground, piercing it with its talons.
This thing proceeded to push itself up on all fours, while the ruble continued to flow up its legs. After what I presume to be a tail with spikes on its tip had formed, I realized what it was taking a shape of. My eyes widen in shock, as the neck and head had taken form.
“it’s a…. it’s a… a dragon.” Once the final pieces came together, the dragons eye sockets began to glow white and moved its head to look at us.
Without warning, it roared, causing us to flinch and stumble as the whole cave shook upon its wake.
Once I regained my senses, I looked back to see the dragon leap towards us.
“Scatter!” I yelled while running out of its way.
Within seconds, I heard a fierce crash behind me. The blast literally threw me to the ground, sliding forward by the force of it. After pushing myself to one knee, I looked over to see it whip its head towards me. It roared in anger to see its kill unscathed. It began to stomp towards me, while I slowly backed away. ‘how are we going to fight this thing. It’s made of rocks for Christ sake.’
The dragon got closer, shaking the ground with every step. All I could do was back away, seeing no possible solution. Suddenly, loud bangs were heard, as small chips of rock were removed from its head. I looked over to see both Taphy and Jordan shooting at it, but to no avail. They only managed to anger it even further. It roared at them, changing its attention away from me. Upon noticing this, they ran, turning around only to take a few shots. Seeing my friends in danger, my fears and doubts were pushed aside, deciding to take action. What was my plan you may ask? To charge it head on of course. I aimed for its legs, hoping that I could cripple it somehow. Unfortunately, it had no effect. It turned its head to snarl at me, but I didn’t notice its tail, swaying towards me.
For the second time, I was swatted away, but, this time, I flew. My body rolled around on the ground like a rag doll, before slowly coming to a stop. I quivered on the ground as pain flooded through my body especially on the side where I took the hit. 'Christ that hurt..’ I clenched my teeth, as I slowly force myself up. I then heard a growl, and looked up to see the dragon with its mouth wide open. It glowed bristling red and radiated extensive heat. Once I realized what it was doing, it was already too late. A lake of fire spewed out of its mouth towards me. I reflexively closed my eyes and raised my hand in front of me. I knew it would do me no good. I was going to be incinerated.
However, instead of a burning alive, I felt relief. All the pain was gone or was numbed out. When I opened my eyes, I was shocked to see the flames surrounding me. I could also see a faint glow below my peripheral. Looking down, my medallion was glowing. Within seconds, my body felt energized, as if I’ve taken multiple adrenalin shots. It then clicked in my mind. ‘this is just like before... then that means.' Once the flames subsided, I looked back at the dragon, who almost looked shocked. Seeing the opportunity, I got right back up and stowed my pistol.
Cracking my knuckles, I looked at the dragon smugly. "that was good, now it’s my turn."
Without hesitation I casted a fireball right at him. The dragon wasn’t fast enough to dodge it, hitting him square in the face. It staggered back, shaking its head to clear the smoke. I grinned at the burn mark plastered on its face. 'didn’t expect that huh.' I looked over to see Jordan and Taphy, running towards me.
"Do you just have a knack for cheating death or something?" Jordan asked begrudgingly as they took positions beside me.
"What can I say? I like to live on the edge." I shrugged nonchalantly, pushing off the fact that I could have died… again.
The dragon continued to snarl at us, taking carful steps forward.
"Any ideas?" I asked, knowing my fire blasts won’t do much good against its rocky form.
"There is something; before the dragon flamed you, I noticed that part of its chest below the neck glowed red. I’m guessing there is something vital there, and, like any boss, aim for the glowing parts." Taking Jordan’s observation to consideration, we all looked at each other and nodded in agreement. 'it’s go time.'
Jordan and Taphy began to shoot at its head, covering me so I could get closer. The dragon shook its head from the barrage it was taking, but it did not distract it for long. When it rounded its head to the side, I noticed the glow Jordan was talking about. Therefore, I knew what was coming next. It unleashed another blaze, moving in an ark motion to cover the area in front of it. However, I was just close enough to dodge it, sliding right under the ring.
Taking notice of this, the dragon tried desperately to crush me with its claw, but I rolled right out of the way, hearing the crash behind me. I then rushed right under it, hiding from its line of sight. Hearing another volley of gunfire, the dragon once again staggered back, roaring in frustration. I looked over to see Taphy taking some shots before fleeing to a different location. The dragon must have notice him too, since it was moving towards him.
"Aim for its chest!" I yelled out, hoping they would hear.
Luckily they did, and, soon enough, they started to wreak havoc on it. The dragon wailed out in pain, pushing itself up on its hind legs to use its front to protect itself. 'perfect.'
With as much concentration I could muster, hoping to deal a heavy blow. In one thrust, I casted my attack onto one of its legs, hearing an audible crack as it made impact. The dragon toppled over to the ground, leaving it on its back. 'time to finish this.' I swiftly climbed on top of it and pulled out my sword. I then gave out a war cry ,as I leapt forward towards the exposed chest. Without mercy, I pierced through the rock armor, seeing the area furiously illuminate upon impact. The dragon screeched as I twisted my sword deeper. Yet, it was still struggling. In a desperate attempt, I casted a continues blast of flames into its chest.
The strain I was putting myself in was obviously over my limit, as I felt my strength fade away. Fortunately, so did the dragon's resistance. Eventually, the glow in the dragon's chest faded away, and, soon after, so did its struggles. Realizing this, I stopped. The dragon then went completely limp, seeing the glow of its eyes go black. Then there was silence. I pulled out my sword, seeing it radiate heat along with the molten rock. Without warning, the dragon began to crumble into pieces, causing me to fall on a pile of rubble.
Shaking away the daze from the fall, I looked up to see Jordan above me, lending me his hand. "I hope you had your fill of dragon slaying for the day."
"more then you know." I happily said, accepting his help.
Looking back at what’s left of the dragon, I felt a twinge of pride inside me. Once again, we were able to overcome as a team.
"Hey guys you know what this calls for." my friends looked at me curiously, "a selfie!"
They cheered in agreement as I pulled out my phone. We all huddled together and Hollered the title of the photo.
"dragon slayers!" that was all I remembered before I completely blacked out... again.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
???
I watched as my targets escaped from my grasp yet again. Fleeing back to the surface to join with the rest of those filths. Although, I could only blame myself for this failure.
"I believe its time for a different approach." I contemplated, returning into the darkness.
back to normalcy
(lord of the ring- 03 bag end) 'oh the ache, when will it end?' Coming back to consciousness was as smooth as body slamming on a wall multiple times. 'I really need to get this magic thing in check.' However, there was something else I felt. It was soft to the touch, and my body was practically wrapped in its comfort. I almost forgot about the pain I was in. 'am I in heaven?' Curiously, I forced my eyes open, adjusting to the light. The first thing I see was a window. Beyond it, was a couple of buildings made of wood. I could even hear some bustling outside, ranging from birds chirping to random chatter, and even some occasional hammering of something. Without moving my head, I looked over myself to see bed sheets covering me. 'so I’m not in heaven... eh close enough.'
After everything I’ve gone through, I might as well consider this as such. A comfortable bed, leaving me in a soothing embrace. It was just enough to lull me back to sleep. That is, until I felt something rub against my side. My face scrunched up in confusion, and turned my head over. What I see was a brown little fur ball, nudged against my side. Whatever it was, it’s moving slightly in a breathing motion. I also see what looks like wings. After a while, I realized that it was just a griffon child. I moved my arm towards him, giving him a little nudge. I was awarded with a pair of claws, trying to paw my hand away.
"I don’t want to go to school." I raised my brow, as he slurred himself back to sleep.
He adjusted himself towards me, edging deeper into my side. Doing so actually gave me a quick view of the rest of his body. 'wait I remember this kid.'
"Lewy?" his body jerked from the sound of his name, and he slowly raised himself to a sitting position.
After he yawned and rubbed one of his eyes, he began to look around. Once he made eye contact, he simply just stared at me with half lidded eyes. Waiting to see who would react first, we stayed in that position for some time. Honestly, I just wanted to see how the kid would react once he realizes what's going on. Luckily for me, I didn’t have to wait long. After his eyes snapped wide open in shock, he screamed out in panic and leapt right out of bed. He literally did a whole one-eighty before landing unceremoniously on the ground. I cringed a little, feeling sorry for scaring him.
"you alright?" I pushed myself up to a sitting position, so I could see him better.
He was slowly getting up, seeing that the stunt caused him a bit of pain.
He looked at me with worry.
"I’m sorry, I was only... I didn’t mean to..." he spoke in a very panicked state, as if he was caught in the act.
"wow kid, slow down. it’s alright." I attempted to calm the child only succeeding slightly.
He continued to cower on the floor, expecting me to lash out at any moment. I sighed in disappointment, knowing that his fears are misplaced. I decided to do what I believed is best; start up a conversation.
“hey are we in Oakinshire?” he slowly nodded in response, “hmm mind telling me how I got here.”
“w-well, you were here since yesterday. I was playing ball with my friends, before I heard loud noises coming from the forest. When I got there, I couldn’t believe what I see; a dragon. It was my first time seeing one. It was hooked up to a carriage, that was guided by some griffons. They were all covered in dirt and mud, and looked very tired. They asked for help and a place to stay, but no griffon did anything. That is until my mom came. She’s the local herbalist. She brought all of you here in our home, and you’ve been here since.” Picking pieces from that information, I was able to put together the events that happened while I was out. ‘well that explains things… wait did he say yesterday?’
“Lewy, how long was I out?” I knew the answer, but I felt like asking it anyway.
“you were asleep for like a whole day. Mom said that you were just really tired from your fight, and she also gave you some medicine to help with your fever. I’m not sure how she did it or how you were able to swallow that stuff.” He began to scrunch up in disgust of the thought.
I chuckled at his reaction, reminding me of my younger years.
“I guess it was a good thing I was out for it, huh.” Lewy smiled and bobbed his head in agreement.
Taking this time to get more comfortable, I pushed myself back, so I could rest on the wall of the bed frame. “so, what happened after that?”
“after my mom gave you the medicine, she also told me to keep an eye on you, and to let her know if you woke up. I’ve been standing watch since.” He puffed up his chest in pride at the last part.
“…so are you going to tell her?” he looked at me confusedly.
After some time, he realized what I meant and gave me a surprised look.
“that’s right; I have to go tell that your awake!” he said while bolting out of the room.
I chuckled a bit at the display, hearing the kid cry out for his mother down the hall. I looked back outside, taking in the whole scenery. After what we’ve been through, it was quite soothing. Thinking back about it, we did a decent job for our first quest. ‘score one for the good guys.’ I felt my smile grow a little after that thought.
Once Lewy came back with his mother, she introduced herself as Cure essence, and, like he said, she was the local herbalist and acting doctor for the village. She was just as tall as most adult griffons, having a gray pelt and white feathers. As she spoke, she had quite a motherly tone in her voice. She was almost born for the role. She gave me one last examination before giving me the thumbs up. She even told me that the rest of my friends were waiting for me downstairs. Apparently when they tried to pay for her services, she refused. She explained that we paid more than enough by giving her son the bag of bits that one day. Helping to mend our wounds was the least she could do for showing such kindness to her child. God bless her soul. They couldn’t leave it at that though, so they decided to help out around the shop. After all, one good act deserves another.
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(undertale- shop) once I got downstairs, I see almost everyone cleaning or arranging while the others were helping mix herbs.
“about time you woke up.” I looked over to see Jordan carrying a basket of small pouches, “you thought you could just skate off while the rest of us work, huh.”
He looked at me with an accusing glare, while I put my hands up in defense.
“hey cut me some slack. I was in a coma for goodness sake.” He kept it up for a few seconds before he completely dropped the whole façade.
“I’m just messing with ya. It’s good to see you up and about.”
After giving him a playful shove, I looked into the basket of sacks. “what are those?”
“what, these? they’re just healing ointments.” He said, before moving the basket to its appropriate shelf, “since miss Essence used most of it on us, she had to make some more. In fact, she had to use a lot of supplies. We offered to pay, but she refused.”
“and yet, you resort to labor in attempts to repay me.” I heard cure say from another room.
“it was the least we could do for all you’ve done for us!” cure soon came by, along with her son.
She was balancing a container filled with a refreshment while the other was holding cups.
“as grateful as I am for your assistance, there was truly no need. You’ve already paid for most with the bits you’ve offered to my son.” She said while filling the cups with the refreshment.
“well one good act deserves another.” Jordan courteously said. ‘hey, that’s what I was thinking.’
“yeah and I rather do this then lay in some bed all day.” Falco chimed on while dusting one of the higher shelves.
After chuckling a bit, I felt a tug on my leg. I looked down to see Lewy holding up a cup towards me. I gratefully accepted it and gave him my thanks. I asked him about its contents, but, looking closely at it, I’m guessing its lemonade.
“it’s lemonade!” he chirped, ‘knew it.’ “it’s been freshly squeezed from the lemons mom buys in the market.”
He looked at me expectantly, as I gazed at the cup. I then took a swig of it and swallowed slowly to savor the taste. ‘hmm a little more sugar then usual, but not bad.‘ I began to nod my head in approval, causing his smile to grow wider.
“this is good. you made it?” I asked.
“yep… well mom helped with all the cutting but I squeezed and mixed it myself.” He puffed up his chest with pride from the compliment.
Everyone else gave their thumbs up, after getting their own.
It felt good to see everyone made it alright. Although, the uniforms from the three are currently missing from the equation. Their most likely either gathered in a sack some where, or in a dumpster. However, I noticed that someone was too missing.
“where’s Amethyst?” I asked, seeing that she was not among us.
“she’s most likely sleeping in the carriage. I would have given her a room, but the beds were much too small. I insisted to move some of the furniture around to accommodate her, but she refused saying it would be easier to sleep outside. Poor dear stayed up all yesterday, keeping an eye on you. She posted herself outside your window like she was guarding it.” I raised a brow at that, ‘did she really?’ “she would come in time to time, asking how you’re doing. Then she would go back to the window.”
I felt a bit touched, while looking at the door leading outside. Feeling bad that she wasn’t here, I decided that I should go see her. After all, I don’t want her to miss out on good lemonade.
I asked Lewy if he wanted to come. I had to say, he seemed thrilled with the idea. He was practically begging his mother for her approval. She smiled warmly, telling him it was fine. He cheered in excitement and ran to collect the jug. Once we headed out, I followed whisk as he led me to the carriage. It was parked at the side of the building, along an alleyway. As we got closer, I could hear subtle breathing. ‘I guess she still sleeping.’ Once we got next to it, I told whisk to wait by the entrance. He nodded obediently and with that I went in.
Looking inside, I see amethyst curled up inside. The carriage must have been emptied, because she practically took the whole space. I quietly entered, hoping not to disturb her just yet. However, upon closer inspection, I frowned at what I see. She was beyond calm. Her body wouldn’t stop shaking, her head would jerk side to side, and her breathing was heavy. She was having a nightmare. Unable to bare it any longer, I tried to ease her awake.
“amethyst… amethyst wake up.” I whispered while slightly nudging her neck.
She immediately went wide eyed and recoiled from my touch. I quickly brought my hand back, after seeing her panic, but I didn’t stop trying to calm her down.
“it’s ok, its ok… it’s just me.” She continued to stare at me fearfully, but, soon enough, she came back to her senses.
“Daniel?”
“yeah, its me.” I said with a smile.
Her confusion soon turned to joy as she quickly nuzzled her head on my chest. I was caught off guard by this and found myself sitting on the ground from the impact.
“oh thank goodness; you’re ok. When they pulled you out of that cave, I thought that… that you…” she couldn’t continue after that as tears began to stream down her face.
It broke my heart to see her like this, but I understood why she felt the way she does. She lost a lot of friends just a couple of days ago. Losing another would be to much for her.
I began to calmly pet her head while whispering comforting words. Soon enough, she calmed down, eliciting short sniffles. After a while, I asked about her dream. She was hesitant at first, attempting to skim over the conversation, but I was having none of it. I moved her chin towards me and I asked again. After keeping eye contact for a while, she eventually broke. She dreamt about that night again, seeing her kin die one by one. She couldn’t do anything, being frozen in fear. Eventually the screams became too much for her, as she tried to block them out. To her, it felt like it went on for hours, till it all went silent. She opened her eyes to see me, lending her a helping hand. Seeing my reassuring smile, she wanted to accept it more than anything. Without a second thought she reached out, but she paused, seeing a black silhouette appear behind me. she couldn't say what happened next, but she didn't have to. I could easily guess what happened next.
She buried her face into me once more, failing to hold back the tears. I began to rock a bit on instinct.
“all that was just a dream. I’m still here, and those… things are gone. I made a promise that I would protect you. Haven’t I done that?” I gave her one of the widest smiles I could.
To my content, she smiled back. However, I realized the reason why I came here, and that whisk was waiting outside the whole time.
“hey there’s someone who wants to meet you.” she gave me a curious look as I give her a reassuring smile, “he also has something for you to try. Hey Lewy, you still out there?!”
soon enough I see the little guy poke his head out from the corner of the entrance. His eyes wide in awe, after seeing the dragon next to me.
Taking the initiative, I went up to him and helped him up, by taking the jug off his back so he could climb freely. Thanking me, I placed the jug back and he followed me to meet Amethyst. His nervousness was quite noticeable, if clinging onto one’s leg was ever an indication.
Amethyst didn’t fare any better. After seeing the little guy come closer to her, she tried to keep some composure as to not frighten him.
“amethyst, I would like you to meet Lewy. I’m not real sure if you two were acquainted at all, but this is cure’s son.” She looked down at the fur ball who was still behind my leg.
“so you’re the cub who stood watch over my friend.” He shook his head in confirmation, “therefore I thank you. You see I was quite worried for him, and knowing that such a brave griffon as yourself would look after him puts me at ease.”
After hearing the praise from the dragon, Lewy began to perk up. Inching out of his hiding place, Amethyst began to feel more at ease, seeing that he was becoming less frightened of her. However, this is taking longer than I expected, and there are things I wish to discuss with my friends. I nudged him slightly forward, causing him to gasp in shock. After looking at me questionably, I mouthed the words “go on” so he could give her the contents on his back.
Nodding, he carefully grabbed the jug, and tensely held it up to her. “I made this with some help from my mom. I would like you to have some.”
Amethyst seemed taken back by the sudden offering, if her bewildered expression was anything to go by.
“o-oh, for me… that’s so sweet of you.” She took the jug in her claws, eyeing the liquid before taking a swig, “hmm, What is it?”
“it’s lemonade!” amethyst looked at the contents more thoroughly.
“huh, I haven’t drank lemonade since the last migration years ago.” It was Lewy's turn to look at her bewilderedly.
“you never drunk lemonade for that long.” Amethyst nodded with a saddened look.
“well you see, nothing really grows in the ashen mountains where my kind thrives in, but, during the migration, we leave to go to the tribal meeting grounds. I tend to enjoy exploring the plains and forests of which we do not have. The lemons I had found weren’t as sweet but they were still enjoyable.”
I listened to her tale with much interest. ‘the ashen mountains are where the dragons live, but it’s not in any of the maps I’ve seen. Also, these meeting grounds in which the dragons gather during migrations. Could it be that gorge from that one episode… nah, to easily found for something that important. It could have been a stopping point.’ I was about to ask her to elaborate, but I stopped myself. Lewy was practically gawking at the dragoness, while she just enjoyed his company. I decided to leave it be and allow them to enjoy themselves. Taking a seat on the wooden bench, I got as comfortable as I could and allowed time to go by. ‘maybe another time.’