Search for a way out of the fortress.
Smolder turned away from the magical armor. It took most of her will to walk away from it, but she was already feeling more like herself. She walked back over to the desk with papers and books. She looked through them quickly to try to find something useful.
She quickly found a nice map. It showed the fortress as well as some of the main paths through the mountains and caves nearby. The map only covered the mountains, but it would be a great help in finding a way out. Smolder folded the map up and tucked it under her arm.
The floor around the desk was starting to glow with magic. The same magic glowed around the door of the room. Smolder tried to step away from the glowing floor. A bolt of black energy shot out. Smolder gritted her teeth to keep from screaming from the overwhelming pain. Her muscles and wings twitched as the last of the dark magic faded.
(Smolder loses 6 stamina from the trap.)
Black chains made of the same dark energy wrapped around Smolder. She squirmed and tried to break free, but the chains were far too strong. She took a deep breath and breathed flames on the chains, but her fire did nothing to the magical bonds.
Smolder felt the sudden disorientation of a teleport spell and the room vanished. She found herself on the cold stone floor of throne room. Two shadowy figures sat on thrones. They looked like alicorns, but both of them were made of smoke or shadows. Smolder glanced to the side and finally saw someone familiar.
“Sandbar! What’s going on?”
One of the guards gave Smolder a quick kick.
“Quiet dragon. Speak only if Nightmare or Shade ask you a question.”
Smolder growled. The kick didn’t hurt, but she decided that it would be better to follow the guard’s demands.
Nightmare stood up and stared at Smolder.
“You did well to get past our guards, but going into my room was a mistake. Now what should we do with both of you?”
Shade stomped a hoof. A sphere of darkness surrounded a colorful feather that Sandbar had in his mane. Sandbar gasped painfully as the magic slowly burned the feather away.
“First, let’s be rid of that trickster’s magic.”
The ashes fell to the ground. A black and purple hippogriff appeared in a sudden pop of magic.
“I’m hurt,” Storm Surge said. “I’m so much more than just some trickster, and I find it insulting that you’d destroy the gift I gave to my new friend.”
Black magic flickered around Shade’s and Nightmare’s horns as they turned to face the sudden intruder. Storm Surge summoned a sphere of water and quickly shaped it into floating spikes of ice.
“I’d love to test which of us is stronger,” Nightmare said. “But now is not the time or place. It seems that several creatures from Equestria have come here. Tell us what you know, and we’ll forgive this slight.”
Sandbar quickly turned to face the hippogriff.
“Storm Surge, you don’t have to tell them anything!”
Storm Surge scratched his chin. “Hmm. I think that depends on you and your dragon friend.” He snapped his talons and the magical chains around Smolder vanished. The hippogriff held them both close and whispered. “Keep planting those seeds and I might be able to get you and your friends back home. But don’t mention them to Shade or Nightmare.”
Smolder didn’t quite know what he was talking about, and there wasn’t time to ask.
“We won’t give you time to trick us!” Shade shouted. “Leave now and quit interfering with our prisoners. Or do you think you can fight us here, in the middle of our stronghold?”
Smolder smiled as she got a sudden idea. It might not be the most friendly thing to do, but starting a fight would give them plenty of options. They could escape or help this strange hippogriff that seemed to know Sandbar. Smolder looked over at Sandbar and tried to clue him in with a knowing grin, but he didn’t seem to get the hint right away.
(Smolder has 6/14 stamina and 7 friendship tokens.)