//------------------------------// // Chapter 15: Into the Mist // Story: DOOM of Griffonstone! // by ShadowStar_IMHP //------------------------------// Early morning in the village and the natives were already busy.  The mountains were darker longer thanks to them blocking the sun.  Even before the natives awoke Doom was awake standing on the cliff edge looking down at the valley. Morning the mist faded during the night as the colder air didn’t react to the cold of the water of the lake.  Doom was scanning the area taking note of how the trees were smaller than the rest of the rainforest, a clear sign the growth of the tree was stunted by the regular mist.  The valley mist was a perfect cover for a hidden camp.  It would hide any searchers from above, and below the mist would make it hard to see.  It would be a good place to hide the Raven’s den.  The only thing that didn’t add up was the Mist Dwellers, how did they fit into the picture? “We are ready Sire.”  Doom turned his head to look at Mona the Flight Mother of the Griffonstone Ravenblood.  “Good my patience is growing thin.  It has been close to a month that Discord banished Gilda and Hans.” Mona nods and heads to the group preparing to leave.  The Doom Golems will remain behind, there bulk would be too much to reach the valley of mist.  “Kronk keep an eye on the fledglings.” “We are going!”  Faina calls out even as Gallus yawns behind her. “No, you are not Faina.  With the possibility of the Mist Dwellers, I will not risk your life, nor Gallus.” “Okay,... I get to sleep more.”  Not arguing Gallus yawns again and heads back into the tent. “It’s not fair!  We are on this mission too… Why do we have to stay behind? I'm not a weak hatchling!  Just ask gallus I beat his tail more than once!” “I let you!”  Came the voice of Gallus from the tent.  “Did not!” “ENOUGH!  Faina, I made it an order, no negotiations.  You, Gallus, and Kronk stay behind, that final.” “Perhaps Mona should remain to keep an eye on them.”  Grandpa Gruff huffed as he looked at the pouting Faina. “And leave you to pillage my ancestors' remains.  Not even an Alicorn will keep me away from those holy grounds, Gruff.” Doom turned and leaped off the cliffside using his armor flight ability he hovered in the air as the Pygmy guides flew ahead soon the others flew to follow.  Behind them, Faina kicked a rock as she pouted.    The only one that didn’t fly was Maud.  They solved this by rigging a harness and Doom carried her through the air.  “I do not like flying, I can’t feel the vibrations of the ground.” Doom blinked as he looked down at Maud “You feel the vibrations in the ground?” “Yes, though I can be distracted I often feel things.  It’s stronger near Holder’s Boulder and Ponyville.” Thinking about it “Is that how you hear your pet rock Boulder?”  It took a few moments before Maud spoke “yes… but I am more familiar with Boulder’s accent.”   The Pie family might have lived on a farm that grew rocks infested with the microbes to become sensitive to the microbes form of communication.  Was Pinkie Sense just her body responding to the crystal life hive mind under Ponyville?  He shook his head there was more to the Pie family special senses than such a simple answer.  Pinkie in the show had a level of clairvoyance and Maud wouldn’t be connected to a hive mind in Manehatten.  Doom then shelved the idea that he hasn’t seen either event happen in this reality. The lake was oblong shaped similar to a peanut or kidney pool.  He could see two small waterfalls feeding the lake from the cliffside and a small river leading out of the valley at the far end.  Geographically it would lead to the Zebra lands on the other side of the mountains.  Doom could easily see how trade between the plains dwelling Zebras and the forest-dwelling Ravenblooded Griffons could form.   Pygmy guides land in a clearing created where one of the forest trees had fallen over.  Once Mona landed they started speaking, Doom noted they were being quiet as they talked, almost whispering. Mona turned “They say we are now going on foot.  The way to the Den of the Dead is impassable above the trees.” Doom nodded as the group headed into the forest.  By the time they entered the forest the sun did rise above the mountain peaks, however, the way was still dark as the canopy from the trees was so thick it blocked almost all the natural light.  The wild plant growth in the clearing vaded as they went into the trees.  There wasn’t any underbrush, there wasn’t enough light.   Normal plants wouldn’t grow on the forest floor until one of the trees fell over and long-dormant seeds would fight for dominance in the clearing till the canopy once again blocks the light.  The forest floor had a green tint as it was filtered by the leaves.  Mushrooms growing on trunks had bioluminescence of faint green and blues.   Mona jumped as some monkeys leaped away when the exploration team spooked them.  A few colorful birds took flight as well.  The insects’ life was abundant and variety was vast.  Some large as footballs scurry around.  Lizards scurry up tree trunks chasing after ants.   Just as Doom was starting to think it was peaceful one of the Pygmies cried out as what looked like a vine lashed out and wrapped around its throat. Doom went into action and lifted his hand blasting the vine severing it just above the Pygmy’s head.  The ear-piercing scream that no mammal could ever produce echoed from above.  Doom looked and got his first look at a Mist Dweller.  Though at the time he didn’t know what it was.  The creature had a bulbous head and eight arms.  It was an octopus, one adapted for both land and water.  Four arms were extra long for snatching passing prey, the octopus ability to change color and texture made it easy to blend into the tree bark.  Four other arms were thicker for supporting weight when on land.  A second blast at the head killed the creature sending it charred remains to the floor.  Walking over he kicked the creature to make sure it was dead.   Then he noted the chanting he turned and saw the Pygmy Raven griffons bowing and worshipping him.   “Well your Majesty, seems you are earning the reputation of being a god.  A Mist Dweller is very difficult to kill, they are resistant to most magic and blunt force trauma, and you killed with ease.”  Moan chuckled then she turned to the Pygmies.  Doom nodded “I was a god, it bored me.” Once the pygmy was calmed the group continued on their way.  Soon they came to the lake and Doom went to the edge and he saw that the lake was formed in a cave, a collapsed lava tube.  “There's no telling how deep this lake goes.  Perhaps even a mile or more.”  He knelt and examined the water. It was fresh.  “Interestingly there are octopuses in this water, I wonder if it was once connected to the ocean and in time lost its salt content, the cave system must be massive.”   He stood up and walked away just as an octopus arm snaked out of the water to try to grab him.  Once it connected his suits, automatic defense activated and an electric current shocked the creature.  It released instantly and fled the armored being. “Those Mist Dwellers are indeed aggressive.” gruff huffs as he leans on his staff.  “Couldn’t we just fly?  I’m not used to all this walking.” “Lazy fool, you saw how fast that dweller attacked Doom?  Their primary food source must be monkeys and birds.  That was fast enough they could snag a bird right out of the air.”  Mona reminds the grumbling fool. “Mona’s right, the reflexes of the Mist Dwellers are indeed fast enough to grab birds out of the air.  You would just be a large buffet if we flew over the lake.” The group then continued to one of the two waterfalls Doom spotted.  The Pygmy looked at each other than to Mona and chatted in their language. “They are saying this is as far as they will go.  The armored god might not fear the dead, but they do.  The den of the dead is behind the waterfall.” “Makes sense, your ancestors were clever.  First, the mist hides them from above and the waterfall makes it hard for the dwellers to swim close to the den.  The other Griffons wouldn’t even think to look behind a waterfall for an entrance.”  Gruff started hearing Mona. “Gruff was that a compliment?” “Of course not!  Your ancestors were clever, you are just an old hag.”  Gruff snorted as he looked to the thin path behind the falls. A sudden yell from behind the falls stopped their approach.  “GO AWAY THIS IS MY DEN!”  A rock came flying out of the falls just to be swatted away with a backhand swipe of Doom.   Out from the falls came a purple dragon with red scales.  A female or Doom figure was older than Smolder but not by much.  “I said Go away!” Doom motioned for the others to say behind and moved forward.  As he did he noted something was wrong with the dragonet.  The scales were wrong, some were bright where others were faded and seemed sickly.  “I am Victor von Doom, Ruler of Griffonstone these are Griffon lands, and so you are trespassing on sovereign land.” “I don’t care, I found this cave, it's mine!”   “Very well I won’t force you out, but I need to look inside.  So…”  He removes some gems from his armor storage.  Then held it out “I will pay my way.” Hunger, it was hunger in her eyes, but not a hunger for food.  Physically she was healthy, what wasn’t healthy was the microscopic lifeforms that had formed a symbiotic bond to the dragons.  “Your protection against heat is gone isn’t it?” “How did… no, I can handle the lava pools fine.”  The Dragon swiped the gems and shoved them into her mouth. “I can fix the problem.  I’m a Doctor.” The dragon sighs “Names Tinder.  Sure whatever, go ahead and look inside.”  Tinder crosses her arms acting as if she was acting tough, but Doom saw it as her hugging herself.   Then Doom walked into the den.  It was a large opening hidden by the falls, one-room no passage, no doorway. “Well welcome to my home sweet hole in the ground.  Over there the bedroom, over there the kitchen.  Now, are you happy?” Doom casts his light spell.  “This is it?  The Den of the dead is an empty cave?” “Oh?  Is that what do the shrimp griffons call this place?  Kind of make sense of how it howls from time to time.”  Tinder asks as the rest of the group comes into the cave. “Where does the sound come from?”  Mona asks as she shakes one of her jars producing her light. “Over there in the back.  I stay away from it myself.”  Tinder watches the odd beings visiting her home.   Doom noted the place was more a camp than a home, nothing settled.  He went farther back of the cave and noted the large stones with cracks in it.  “Maud, what do you think?” Maud came up and touched the stones.  “Primary this is a granite cave, with limestone up higher, this stone is limestone that fell from higher up.  Angles of cracks allow air currents to flow through.  That produces the sounds.” “If we remove that stone is it stable enough to not cause the cave to further collapse?” “It appears safe to destroy this blockage.” “HOLD UP!  No breaking my home!”  Tinder moves up and Doom’s hand flashes out and grabs her throat.  Her eyes grew wide with fear as she struggled to get her breath. “Silence girl!  I said I will heal you so I won’t kill you but don’t get in my way again.  Do you understand?”  He releases his grip and Tinder backs away. “Yeah… yeah.  You're the sovereign or something.  Whatever you say.” Doom then moved to the stone motioning to the others to step back.  As he did so Mona went to Tinder. “Here drink this.  It will ease any pain you might still have.”  Mona handed the dragon girl a vile of potions. “I… I’m fine.  He wasn’t hurting me, just made sure I knew he could.  Dragons do the same thing all the time.” “Griffons are much the same but don’t think he is the same.  I saw him be gentle to fledglings, then he shows signs of brutal aggression but never without a reason.” With a devastating punch then another, on the third strike, the stone shattered.  He then simply gripped the shattered fragments and tossed them out of his way.  On the other side has a large door frame.  The wood of the door had long ago rotted.  “Mona, how about you go first.  It’s your ancestors after all.” Mona nodded and headed into the Den.  Followed by Doom himself.  The layout was similar to the den of the Falconblooded Griffons.  Thought with key differences.  The inside was decorated with cave paintings of various colors.  The hearth was to the back in an alcove, a large pot was still sitting on the ashes of an old fire.  The water source was a small stream of fresh water flowing to the right of the entrance.  The main differences were the bodies. Unlike the Falconblood there was no sign of panic.  Bodies were laid out in orderly rows covered with now long rotted sheets of fabric. “Ugh… okay I don’t want to live here anymore.”  Tinder replied seeing the bodies.   Mona went to the side alcoves seeing the bodies of younger griffons and signs of some form of burial rites have been performed.  She then went to the large pot and rub the edge.  “This residue… a form of poison I'm familiar with.  They made enough for everyone.” Doom looked to another alcove and noted the bodies.  “Almost everyone.”  Mona came over and noted the bodies of five griffons each with a weapon.  All seemed to have been sitting and judging by the poses they killed themselves.  “On the wall… ancient Griffon”  Doom motions to the wall.  “I was Gala last Flight Mother of the Mist valley tribe.  We were fools, why did we not think of having more than one entrance and exit.  When the quake happened it blocked our way out.  Our cleverness leads to our downfall.  Our food was running out, we made the choice.  I made a deadly brew and gave it to the young first, then the non-warriors, then the warriors.  There wasn’t enough the last few of us gave last rites and then I watched the others slice their wrists.  Then I wrote this message, to those that find us, we Griffons aren’t meant to live underground.  I spoke to an Eagleblood named Boreas through the rocks.  He swore there were enough survivors that we will continue.  Don’t forget us…” “That's the last.”  Mona sighed and nodded to the remains of the former Flight Mother. “Um… how come they didn’t dig out.  They made this place right where are the tools at?” Tinder asks looking at the carving letters on the wall. “Here’s your answer girl…”  The others turned and looked to Gruff who was lighting up a second tunnel one blocked off by rocks.  “My guess is the food and supplies are behind these boulders.”   Doom walked over and made a fist to punch his way through. “Stop… the ceiling above those boulders are more unstable.  You bring it down on us.”  Maud's voice spoke up seeing what Doom was about to do. “Then where is Discord’s trick?” “Um… try turning off the lights?”  Tinder spoke up. Doon looks over “Why?  What do you know.” “Well, I've been noticing a bit of glow the last few days….”  “Do as she says turn off the lights.”  He canceled his spell, followed by Gruff blowing out his lamp.  Mona had a bit of trouble with her glowing jar but she got it hidden in her garments.  That when the luminescence glow above the doorway appeared.  A glow in the dark greenish shade of a mathematical calculation. “What is it?”  Gruff asks, seeing the complex math above the door. “I know what it is, Gruff.  It’s the mathematical equation for dimensional travel to another universe.  It’s a quantum address.  Mona, Gruff, everyone including Tinder, return to the village.  I will return soon.”  He doesn’t run but his walk was a bit fast.  Once he was outside the den he soared into the air.  Once he calculated he was high enough that he wouldn’t appear in rock or even a flying bird he activated the dimensional travel system in his armor.  A flash of blue light and he was gone.   Gruff claps his talons and relights his lantern.  “Now let's see what we can sell.”  With a loud wack, Mona’s staff smacked across gruff’s head.   “I told you before you bald buzzard no robbing my Ancestors! “ “Would one of you feather brains tell me what in Tartarus is going on?”  ---------------- Latveria Gilda’s POV Her head was hurting slowly and she opened her eyes.  The first thing she took note of was she was bound to some kind of table.  No, a bed that was moving?  Four odd-looking Golems were carrying for the bed.  “HELP!”  She saw they entered a lab-like chamber.  Similar to the lab Doom she knew had set up, and yet not. A voice she remembers, but one she didn’t remember either.  It was the same sound, same tone, but there was more… coldness to it?  It was as if the owner of the voice didn’t even have any compassion at all.  “Good you are awake.  This will make it easier to interrogate you.”   She looks to the side seeing Doctor Doom walking alongside the bed.  “Let me go, Please Doom.  I don’t know how long I will be here, but I will be going home soon.  It is a waste of time to hold me.” “That’s Doctor Victor von Doom to your creature.  Your cooperation is irrelevant.”  They passed four sets of pillars.  Doctor Doom looked down at Gilda “Besides you aren’t important, my prey has been following us since I captured you.”  Louder “COMPUTER OPERATION DESTINY!” The four pillars lit up and on the ceiling, an integrated magical circle formed of gold seems to start to glow, matched by another circle on the floor.  A swirling vortex of mystical force formed and soon a screaming voice echoed as the trap caught its prey. Discorded materialized in the center of the vortex.  “What?  There's no way I could be captured!”  He banged on the spinning vortex of magic.  “Impossible!” “What is impossible is your belief I wouldn’t notice you.”  With a wave of Doctor Doom’s hand monitors lit up.  Some displaying Discord disguised as Strange.  Others of him hiding on the plane.  “I know Doctor Strange, I studied magic all my life.  The spells you used as Doctor Strange were wrong, that's what tipped me off.  Then I compared the voice of the anonymous tip to the face of Doctor Strange.” Doctor Doom walked up to the vortex looking at the mismatched serpentine creature trapped within.  “You told me about these two transdimensional entities.  It was only logical to figure out you are a third.” Gilda watched on in fear this Doctor Doom had captured Discord.  Judging by the shock on Discord’s face as he kept trying to snap his way out of the vortex he was just as surprised and yes she saw fear on his face. “Let me go you hairless ape!” Doctor Doom went over and put on over his armor a harness like a device.  “I might just do that.  Once your power is mine!”  He then reached over and pressed a button on the control panel.  The vortex changed. Gilda watched in horror as the golden circles started to glow white-hot and she could see the magical energy of Discord flow out of the Spirit of Chaos and into the four pillars.  Then flow through the air into the harness device on Doom… no Doctor Doom’s chest.  His eyes started glowing and he let out a laugh.   “BEHOLD!  NONE SHALL STAND IN MY WAY!  FOR THIS DAY AND FOREVER MORE DOCTOR DOOM IS A GOD!”   Gilda looks at Discord unconscious in the center of the device faded of color, just shades of gray.  “Oh.. no… Doom save me… please.”  Gilda once went to get help from Rainbow Dash, she thought that was the lowest feeling she could feel.  Her most helpless, she was wrong.  Strapped to a bed, in another universe, with a Discord empowered Doctor Doom laughing.  She was now sure she couldn’t feel more helpless then now.