Daring Do and the Legend of the Ruby Knight

by Novel Idea

Chapter 6- The Stranger Revealed

Chapter 6

The Stranger Revealed.

Daring had run for what felt to her limbs like days, stumbling every hundred yards or so her muscles threatening to tear at the over exertion that she was putting on them to escape the swirling storm. Desert was gone… A sharp flash in her mind “You got it boss.” the pony’s last words to her before disappearing into the swirling cyclone of the sand haunted her mind as she flapped her wings and pushed herself harder and faster. Daring had almost no recollection of what she was doing the sun was so threatening above her head that no matter how hard she ran to escape it would remain always perched directly above hammering all of her thoughts away.

“Run. Run, never stop…Run!” she ordered her body allowed in panting gasps whenever she felt the muscles giving away to common sense begging for the shade and the swift release of water and more importantly… rest. The mantra rang through her ears like the chiming of a silver bell that she had once heard near a church, it reminded her just vaguely of her purpose… to run and run, to out run the elements. To win. Daring knew on an instinctual level that if she stopped her legs would break in the exertion of her efforts that there would be no tomorrow for her, the sun would win… that if for even one moment she was to cave into her body that Daring Do, the most adventurous and dare-devilest of ponies would lose.

Perhaps it was that which pushed Daring farther and harder than any pony would ever come to imagine. It was this sense of instinctual victory that drove Daring to heights were nopony would dare soar or to depths that had never been expedited in all of history, it was the need to prove that no matter what she would win against any foe or villain or trap or even the very elements themselves. Her body would react to the challenge regardless of conscious choice as it struggled back against death and worse all for the sake of instinctual conquest.

This dangerous run was a testament to all of her strength, a testament to her might as she galloped harder and harder her wings spasming against the weight of the sky as she forced herself into a furry of blind adrenaline and rammed herself further and further towards her goal.

Then it was before here. A chasm in the once fine and level sand stretching out almost half a mile, across was the beginnings of a lush rich forest emerald shade teasing her senses and muscles causing them to cry in agony as she beheld the spoils of her run. Her brilliant lavender eyes opened wide as she beheld the lively workforce before her. Thug ponies, earth and Pegasus were busy slamming picks and shovels against what looked like the exposed top of a massive temple. It’s stone pillars stood up four size, one at each cornerof the top, it fell down almost like a barrel to a massive double door opening the size of a small house. There was rigging and makeshift tents as the thugs continued to work at it while the dry and barren desert wind mocked Daring, crashing into her empty lungs.

Her mind was afire with questions: How had they managed to get ahead of her? How long had they been working to get this much rigging up and so much of the tomb revealed…? How far had they adventured into the tomb...?, and most importantly…Had the treasure she had sought so viciously for been lost to her? Daring fell onto her haunches and racked her mind, she needed water first and foremost. Stumbling with the supplies that she had received from Desert she got the canteens and downed both of their contents, fumbling deeper she found a small package of herbs and food. Consuming them quickly she felt some of her strength return as she watched the crowd beneath her intently, the bottom of the hole being almost twenty meters below.

Eyes strained she glanced a double-take when she noticed Rockstone and the mysterious stallion from back at the pub when she was in Canterlot… They had gotten there ahead of Daring…somehow. The small stallion seemed to be coughing hard in the dust lifting a fore hoof to his mouth to stem the painful spasms, keen eyes shifted and took in Rockstone he seemed hot and haggard but still in his prime, a true earth pony specimen. All might, no bite. Daring panted and considered her options they had about fifty thugs working, add another ten on if she included Rockstone and how hard he’d be to take done/ get past, not favourable odds, then there was this wild card…Daring regretted deeply not asking Dry if he had seen the small pony around when she had been back at the museum, she had been so excited about the Legend of the Ruby Knight that she had failed in her information gathering. A wild card was someone dangerous, the unknown was dangerous…but then again it was always that which drove Daring to push her body to new heights…

Taking a deep breath she considered her options, a direct rush would be foolish but it was really more her style, she could see the barely open doors of the tomb from this distance and though she assumed they were quite thick and heavy, Daring was almost sure she’d be able to close it sealing off pursuit long enough to ‘lose herself’ in the tomb. That entire plan hinged on their being no workers or thugs inside of the tomb though which would mean locking herself in with more unknown combatants, the only other idea she could think of in the heat (the sun was beginning to set in the western sky) was to stealthily fly around to the back of the tomb skirting along the rim of the dig site before making a mad dash and hoping that she wouldn’t get noticed. Or, Daring conceded, she could attempt to make a huge amount of noise and get everyone’s eyes on her…Daring would then use all of her strength and speed to disappear from sight and dive down into the tomb before anypony would be able to stop her…Daring had to admit the idea had star appeal. Steadying her legs Daring took one more glance before deciding on what to do.

Pushing herself up to the very rim of the decline and swishing the hair out of her eyes she reared up onto her hind legs and let loose a mighty bellow. “Oi! Catch me if you can!” she cried and every eye in the site turned to her, it was a good feeling there was surprise and in some eyes fear at the sudden unknown mare yelling down at them, like they had gotten caught with their hoof in the cookie jar. Rockstone looked up at Daring and let loose a mighty snort, his smaller companion’s eyes hidden beneath the shadow of his hair but there was an uncomfortably controlled smile playing on his lips that made Daring hesitate just one moment.

Just as Daring lifted her hind legs off of her feet to dive down into the mass of thugs just beginning to regain their consciousness of the situation there was an amazing uplift of air that grabbed her by the collar and lifted her five feet off the ground, almost like a mouth picking her baby up with her teeth from the forest floor. There was the rush of being in mid-air without control, a feeling that Pegasus rarely experience. A shout reverberated from the other side of her, down in the dig site full with panic and fear as her wings were forced open in the vicious gust.

“DRAGON!”

The chaos that ensued can only be described as the epitome of beauty which transcends normal life for there was a silent moment for Daring where all the sound in the world disappeared and there was only the fevered beating of her own heart as her wings pushed her forward about to begin her dive into the site. Every thug there was scrambling over each other to grab poles, rocks, wood anything that their teeth could bite on to protect themselves, Rockstone was rearing up in challenge his lips parted in a kind of carnivorous roar that only one of extremely deficient intelligent could truly master as a form of challenge…and the stranger? The stranger was making a clear line for the entrance of the tomb.

Like the explosion of gun powder there was enormous release and Daring found herself at the bottom of the dig site before she could almost control her descent. The was the harsh flap of her wings that she was used to and the adrenal, almost primal rush she felt when she was once again under her control and slicing through the air, Daring had no idea that she had missed it this much as she gave a flap and started to weave and cut her way through the makeshift tents and goons.

Fire, a raging heat hotter than the boiling sun tore at the air around her reminding her of the screams she had heard the goons release, it must not have been a mirage.

A glimpse up as she did a tight barrel roll past a set up post where another tent was going to be constructed, this much larger than the others, and there before Daring’s eyes was the Dragon.

The mighty four legged beast with massive wings darkened the sky and the shy stars poking their noses out into the sky early, there was a sort of primal fear radiating from it that caused Daring to shiver and almost falter in her maneuver, biting her lip so hard it bled to fight the fear with pain. It’s scales, a faded and violent red like the colour of blood freshly gushing from a wound seemed to bleed into the pale lavender of twilight and haunt the sky with its menacing eyes. There was an anger and lust in those eyes, Daring knew the emotion all too well having seen it in many eyes of those who had tried to stop her from acquiring artifacts all over the world but this was something different, the eyes of the beast (a dull red, almost like a garnet) were far to intelligent for that of an angered beast or a foolish thug. It was a monster hunting for its prey with full calculated knowledge of what it was doing, and once again Daring found her body begging for her to run.

Dashing her wings tight to her back she began to weave through the thugs as fast as she could, so fast that a cloud of dust kicked up in her wake and her body was almost invisible to the naked eye of the untrained thugs and workers as they struggled to deal with her dashing onslaught and the raging dragon above.

“DARING!” Rockstone yelled moving between her and the tomb entrance, the stranger moving his way inside disappearing into the open crack; even at this distance Daring could see the door shiver as the smaller stallion attempted to close it.

“Out of my way ROCK!” Daring yelled flapping her wings hard creating a sonic boom of sound as they cracked beyond the speed of sound sending her body forward like a bullet past the last few thugs between her and Rockstone, almost too fast for her to swerve out of the way without crashing into the hefty earth pony who had reared up and was about to bring his forehooves down where he head was just about to be.

Daring rolled ever so slightly the force of her movement exaggerating the action sending her onto her side and out of reach of his hooves, line perfectly with the ever closing slit of the tomb’s entrance. AS she dashed by Daring kicked out her hind leg hard feeling it sink into the bone of Rockstone’s knee, unable to see the fruits of her labour but knowing she heard bone shatter.

With a clatter and a crash Daring found herself in the dark tomb just as the door was slamming shut behind her, panting strongly at the exertion of her gallop and the mad dash she had made to get into the tomb. The small stallion was behind the door, standing up against it his hooves still on it as they were when he had slammed it shut.

“So… you made it in.” The stranger said, coughing up dust and phlegm against the door harshly, the room they were in was dark and dimly lit by two dying torches on the floor, a large ante chamber with six large bipedal statues lining the only way out; thick layers of dust and film were on everything hiding the floor in an almost grey mist, outside the dragon could be heard roaring over the screams of the thugs. “How long do you think we have till the dragon makes his way in here…” he asked Daring who in term stared darkly at the unknown stallion.

He was far to calm with the situation there was a scheming under tone of utter confidence in his voice as if he knew in some way that the events coming would be exactly as he predicted. Daring moved away from him, keeping his back to the door as he turned to face her, making sure to get between herself and the exit to the next room. There was too much in the air to just let him get away on her.

The nameless stallion, on the other hoof, seemed to be perfectly complacent…almost as if it was an outcome he had come to expect.

Daring kept her eyes sharp on him, circling as he did like two cats stalking each other before the pounce her muscles felt so tight they would tear at her flesh themselves. Her adversary was calm though a slight hobble in his right hind leg as his eyes wandered around the room at the bipedal statues.

“Odd isn’t it…?” he asked looking around the room slowly with a careful eye that made Daring twitch, there was a cold calculating tone in his voice that she had never heard before. This was not some enemy that felt it was on the precipice of victory and was letting its guard down, or a brute who was attacking in a last ditch effort to win… this was something new to Daring. Intelligent.

“What’s odd…” she asks looking over at the statues each one lining the walls, three on each side massive a good eight feet tall and thick made of some type of mineral that, under so much dust, Daring could not define.

“You disappoint me, Ms. Do.” The stallion said in that same overbearingly cocky tone, a hint of a Canterlotian accent seeping through. “I would have thought you smarter than the beasts outside…” he mocks further the resounding roar of the dragon shaking the temple slightly, dust stirring.

Daring took a deep breath to focus herself on the room, what was out of place, where was the trap there had to be something that the Stallion was noticing that she was overlooking something crucial.

“Still no luck I see.” He said in the most condescending tone that Daring had ever heard making her bite back a heated retort her wings tightening like springs ready to pounce at him. “Why decorate a tomb which is locked from the inside…” he says and slams his hoof down, only then drawing Daring’s attention to a slightly misshapen and sunken in stone in the floor.

Daring’s eyes went wide as the mechanisms older than ponies would come to know echoed and grinded to life in a way that they had never known before. Eerie light flooded the dimly lit chamber as the bipedal monsters which lined the wall came to ferocious life, the dust and creaking of their limbs filling the chamber with confusion. One was moved forward, almost tipping with its might and sleepy magic finally being relieved the golem flared down at the Pegasus, it’s eyes burning out beams of the purest red. Jumping to the side Daring managed to dodge a lumbering swing off its jet black arm as the crevices along its body were cleansed of centuries of filth revealing what appeared to be intricate armour lines like some ancient knight who had defended Canterlot in time long past. Daring’s jump carried her far and the only thing that kept her out of the clutched of the second machine, with its eyes of the purest blue was the pure instinctual fear of danger, the whisper in the back of her name telling her, urging her one, whispering to her that she needed to jump.

There was a primordial screech as more mechanisms within the tomb came to life hollering out in agony at their disuse. With a glimpse Daring saw the stallion dart in between the golems with surprising speed and as she noticed the suddenly closing door opposite the main entrance it struck her that it had been his plan all along to use the traps as a way to preoccupy her so he could get further into the tomb, and closer to the armour. Daring, though she hated to admit it, knew he was right for moments after he slid under the falling walk wall that appeared in the opening heading down into the lower levels the wall solidly crashed with the sound of tons far too heavy for one Pegasus to lift. Now she found herself alone, surrounded by the Golems who were getting accustomed to their new life faster than Daring could have feared.

Now the six stood between her and the wall which the Stallion had galloped beneath just moments before and her only hope of catching up at this point, without having this army of mechanized defenders chasing her was to find the trick. There was always a trick to a trap, Daring knew this, always a way around and through a trap it just takes a calm mind to find it. Staring up at her adversaries Daring took in every aspect.

From the front the six bipedal machines look very much the same, their armour was made of some jet black material that seemed very strong, the only noticeable difference was their eyes. Each pair was lit up with a different magical glow that radiated out like the morning rays of the biting sun. Red…Green…Pink…Blue…Yellow…and Purple… there had to be a relation and Daring had to find it quickly, dodging a swing from the lumbering hulk with blue eyes and squirming beneath the combo of the reds kick managed to reposition herself facing their rears and she saw it .

The one detail in their armour was placed directly on the back of the chest, mid-height directly centered between what could be defined as the shoulder blades. It was a circular emblem with six hexagons inside of it each done up in a slightly altered shade. That had to be it, Daring knew somewhere instinctual that getting a better look at that symbol on their back would be the key to shutting down these monstrosities. Daring leapt and spread her wings dodging two of the speeding up arms, giving herself a jolt into the air squeezing her body down to almost impossible levels as she swept over the one with purple eyes the height of the machine only giving two feet of clearance, not really enough for a full grown Pegasus. Swinging her forelegs around the machines neck she swung around its body pressed against her back; confusing whatever magical sensors the other machines were using as the one with purple eyes raised its arms back in a feeble attempt to remove and dislodge the clinging pony from safety. She kicked out with her hind legs feeling up the monsters back trying to find that spot right between the shoulders, getting herself in an awkward position before the sink happened.

There was a sink in the hoof as she hit what she wanted to. Having only taken a glimpse at the image on their backs and the colours being shadowed by the harsh darkness cast by their eyes that Daring had feared she would be unable to find the right gemstone but her leg was true. She felt a frightening shiver run through the golem as its eyes shut down and the beast went limp with Daring on its back. Laughing she gave the beast a hard kick sending it forward slightly in her exhalation over her victory before remembering the other five. Five steal hard fists punched their way through the body at the Pegasus lodged onto its back. A position that Daring was quick to cure. Kicking off she sent herself back against the barred door which blocked off the dragon and the outside desert, her shirt tearing in the process as she kicked her way down and beneath another swing which was, surprisingly stopped by the door, and got herself between the legs of the red eye. On her back mid-roll Daring kicked out and up lifting her whole body off the floor a little as both her hooves slams against the red stone on the red-eyed one’s back. The red gem shattered and another of the golems went down, using the strength of her kick to carry herself off the floor Daring managed to dodge a sweeping swing from one of the other golems but it was quickly looking like she was running out of options in the mass of onyx limbs. Taking a sharp leg to the side Daring found herself lifting through the air without her control, a feeling that no Pegasus was comfortable with and felt her ribs crack slightly.

Moaning and forcing herself to move though her limbs cried out for her to stop, agony was seeping its way into the adrenaline but not enough for Daring to give up. Giving a quick, brash look at her surroundings she dove into the approaching circle of golems, booting her hoof forward hitting a fragment of the golem that the others had shattered, a piece of its leg shooting off behind the one with yellow eyes, bouncing against the wall hard and smacking it in the back; right on the sweet spot. Using the opportunity Daring leapt up and jumped onto the yellow one’s shoulder using the impact of the others’ fists to send herself by the door. Using her wings for balance she kicked off and sent her back against the markings on the back of the blue eyes, the impact and sudden powering down of the machine carrying it forward letting her roll off and fly up over the head of the pink one, delivering a sharp back kick to the lumbering machine which hit right on the gemstone, leaving just Daring and the green on left. Unfortunately for the young heroine it was between her and the other side of the room and this machine had by now full awakened, the massive limbs moving a lot quicker with the dust being cleared.

Giving the room a quick look, the confidence and adrenaline over took Daring as she gave the lifeless machine a winning smile. With a flick of her head she sent her hat off her head and a sharp buck with her front hooves sent the heavily brimmed accessory flying. Watching it with her lavender eyes, a look of total excitement she observed her hat bounce off the wall, arch off the ceiling, catch the sealed portal on the other side of the room and strike the golem right in the back with a victorious thud. The light leaving its eyes as the air left Daring’s lungs.

The door that the mysterious stranger had dashed out of just moments before, though Daring felt as if hours had rocked by as the ache in her muscles re-doubled, the adrenaline of the life-or-death situation leaving her cold.

Run. Remember to run.

Panting Daring’s hooves clashed against the stone tomb as the dragon outside roared all the louder, reminding her to run, she needed to get down to the armor before anyone else and there was nothing that was going to stop her, the amazing Daring Do. In a moment she was running past the rock piles of once living golems with the same ferocity that she had ran through the sand and heat of the desert, her wings twitching with every other step as she moved through the hallways, finding a dimly lit staircase going down deeper into the levels of the tomb. The only hinting of the passage of the stranger was the occasional dust that had been kicked up and the lit torches lining the walls, a good four feet off the ground.

In moments the seemingly endless passageways and corridors and staircases opened up to what appeared to be a large ante chamber with four branching passage and it was there that the tracks of her elusive enemy ended. Breathing deeply, her mind a-race Daring looked at each of the routes her innate senses of danger informing her that traps and devices designed to slow or kill the Pegasus.

Taking in each one she scrutinized every minute detail she could make in the dim torchlight by the opening of the antechamber through which she had entered. The first one was a trap, to the far left; the dust, though thick had been unable to hide the minute history of trap, pressure sensitive panels that Daring had in her many adventures come across all too often. The second of the four branching passageways went up too high, there was something hidden above it to rain, drop, slice, smash or kabob anything that went beneath it, this time the pressure plates lined the walls and the thinnest almost invisible traces of wire just above the height of her head making flying impossible. The third corridor, the darkest of the four though it was directly opposite to the light source in the room, in the near impenetrable darkness Daring could hear, and… feel the movement and darkness moving just out of sight, something was there hiding from sight, hostile. The fourth chamber was split down the center there was a feeling of falling when the Pegasus looked at it, knowing that even if the floor would give way she had her wings and would be able to fly (though how far in her current state she was completely unsure). Who ever made this tomb though had been impressively counting on unicorns, earth ponies, AND Pegasus and she was sure it would have a secondary defense mechanism against fliers.

So they’re all trapped… Daring mulled the thought over in her mind pacing back and forth, the shaking of the ceiling above reminding her to the numerous threats present just on the other side of the heavy double doors of the tomb. The rattling above causing heavy dust to rain upon her and in the ensuing coughing fit she glanced at the ceiling her eyes widening. It almost appeared to be a reflection of the floor in which she was standing, the four openings over to the side but, carved up into the higher levels of the tombs was an amazing stone helix staircase with the center a massive pole of rock like a perfect stalactite. Moving quickly Daring placed herself directly at the epicenter of that helix staircase’s reflection looking up at it to ensure that she was placed directly beneath it. Taking a deep breath to steady herself, and pray that she was right, she delivered a sharp hoofstep to the spot directly beneath the pillar carved into the ceiling above and was rewarded when the floor began to grind and groan with the magic of long lost spells. Gradually the floor melted and shifted away to form the helix staircase that was mirrored above and there was Daring standing on the epicenter of this great, empty antechamber. With a magical cough of blazing white light far at the bottom of the staircase the pole that Daring was on began to sink, the express way down.

XXXXXXXX

As soon as Daring was down out of sight the torch that had illuminated the large antechamber moved down from its precarious perch, slightly tilted against the wall. Concealed beneath and behind it in a small crevice the mysterious stranger whom had taken off before Daring in a mad dash at the reanimation of the golems had hid. Unaware to Daring, providing her the light to solve the riddle that had stomped himself, moving to the edge of the Helix staircase he looked down at the Pegasus disappearing bellow. Smiling her moved the torch back fully into his mouth, grumbling over it.

“Clever girl.”

XXXXXXX

Daring took off down the only passage that was offered to her at the bottom of the magically exposed cavern moving slower now, seeing no trace of the Stranger, wondering if he had chosen the third corridor and met his end; a shiver dashing up her spine at the evil she had sensed just beyond the darkness.

The new corridor like the others was inherently dark and devoid of light so the slower pace she was moving at allowed her to feel her way along safely. It was a matter of minutes, four or six (it was hard for the mare to tell in the dark silence) until she came to a small, average living room sized room with an opening unto the darkness. The room was lit by torches that pulsed with red magical fire, an ancient spell that she had encountered before; the Everflames would survive as long as oxygen persisted and the torches, enchanted to last the millennia had served to carry their flames well. The flames illuminated the one exit to the room and slowly Daring approached it… to find the emptiness beyond. The door opened to a massive chasm that disappeared off into oblivion, a good four-hundred meters across was the opening to the next room, far too big a distance to cross with a jump… the only other option left was to fly or glide. Daring took a few steps back hoping a speedy jump would give her enough distance to glide the rest of the way.

Taking off from the bit with a gallop Daring reached the very edge of the room and was about to leap into the air when her internal defenses kicked in and a paralyzing jolt of fear ran down her spine and into her wings causing her to pause immediately. There was a scent in the air of rich magic…dangerous magic. Her heart was in her ear pounding hard as the image of her incineration and death raced through her mind as she pulled back from the ledge. To fly at any height in that chasm would have meant death for her and she, on some instinctual level was painfully aware of it.

Breathing slowly Daring moved back to the edge and bit her lip, she had to get across and she couldn’t jump or fly; even gliding would risk her wing or her head dipping above an invisible line of safety that she could only vaguely feel…like how one feels there is something in the night waiting to latch out and attack, just hidden beyond the vision of normal beings. She had to get across, it was Daring’s only thought, she had to get across and it was the only thing stopping her was her fear.

Daring took a deep breath, so deep she could feel her lungs teasing her rips painfully, there was only fear in her heart at this moment and Daring knew that in order to get to the Ruby Knight she had to be fearless. She slowly started a small mantra to herself, a technique she had been practicing for months and years to master her emotions in the moments when it all seemed too overwhelming.

“What clouds the mind is only fear…”

“What clouds the mind is only fear…” Stronger…

“What clouds the mind is only fear…” Stronger…

“What clouds the mind is only fear…” Always stronger…

With each reiteration of the phrase she felt the words growing stronger and stronger within herself. She was Daring Do, the most adventurous of ponies and fearless of fillies. What was clouding her mind was only fear. And Daring Do was as everypony knew fearless.

Her eyes opened sharply with her resolve; there was no longer fear in her lavender eyes reflecting the dull red magical light. The fear had left Daring. Moving forward slowly she set one foot over the edge and took a deep breath before bringing it down in a normal step.

Clack.

Her foot hit something solid as it came in contact with an invisible floor conjured by some form of unicorn magic or crafty art that rendered it indistinguishable from the rest of the cliff face and darkness. Breathing a sigh of relief Daring bit down and began to walk in a well-paced straight line across the gaping chasm, unaware that behind her came the mysterious stranger just in time to see the trick to the chasm.

XXXXXXXX

The corridor following was rigged full of booby traps but all of which were obvious enough for Daring to maneuver her way through without setting one off, they seemed to be spaced far enough apart or chaotically specifically so one who was skilled enough to get passed them would. Again the corridor was lit with the dull magic torches that had lined the small room before the chasm and it cast haunting shadows of the Pegasus as she moved from side to side to dodge the traps. There was a sinking feeling in Daring’s chest as the edge of the corridor came into site; it was so familiar to her, like something she had seen in a dream. There was a growing sense of fear and then there was nothing. All emotion drained away from Daring as she stood before the same door she had in her dreams.

There was a clash behind her as a normal flame lit torch crashed to the ground pulling her eyes to the Stranger who had been following Daring without her knowledge, a six-shooter pistol wedged between his teeth with a look of finality in his all too familiar eyes.

“Thank you for leading the way girl…I was worried the golems had finished you off leaving me without a guide.” He said, his voice coming clear; causing Daring to notice a weird over the neck holster like device for his gun keeping it right in front of his teeth and tongue if the trigger needed to be pulled…Daring looked hard at it for a moment, she had seen it before she knew that. “I’m afraid…” his voice pulled her back to reality, away from her focus. “That you have out lived your usefulness…” he continued, the voice drenched with coy condescendence.

“Who are you..?” Daring asked panting her eyes moved back to the gun, a form of tunnel vision that occurred when faced with a lethal fire arm to the face. She was aware of the psychology of the moment but that prior knowledge did little to persuade her instincts.

“My, my, you still haven’t figured it out?” He laughed hard, coughing directly after it; that cough echoed throughout the tomb, it was so familiar to daring. “Silly Daring, so easy to manipulate and use throughout the months and years…”

Daring looked at him with the most incredulous stare.

“You still don’t know! Precious!” he laughed cruelly, lifting a hoof up to his hair pulling away a well-made wig that had replaced his normal mane. “For years I’ve been using you to build a stockpile of powerful, magic relics and you never caught on… I knew I had to get you onto the trail of the Ruby Knight as soon as I got wind of its location… even then I knew you wouldn’t be able to excavate it on your own so I had to set all of this up in advance… I’ll admit the dragon was a surprise but no plan goes off without a hitch.” He took his pistol into his mouth and stepped fully into the flickering light of his torch staring down Daring.

“Now Ms. Do, it’s time for you to die.” Dry Pages said through clenched teeth, his tongue wrapping around the trigger.

Comments

[Blahman2816]

Oh GOD that's good writing.
Excellent!

[Lord Xaos]

Dry Pages!?

Holy Crap, I didn't see that coming.

Great to see this story hasn't died!

[IceFire]

awesome!!!!

[NeverKnown]

0__0 Dam you cliff hangers

[Xerzes]

And then the story died again. Well, hope springs eternal.

[SpeedTune]

Did not see that coming Next chapter please