My Own Wings

by Tatsurou

Adventure: Walled In

As the Ar-Wing set gently down on the landing pad, the trio stepped out carefully. Thankfully, the landing pad was a good distance away from the central structures of the Walled City, and far outside the area where the Red Eyes stalked to hunt. A bridge crossed a fast-moving river to the main island, and beyond the bridge on the near side a familiar Earthwalker was visible. Sunset immediately rushed up to him, Fox and Tricky close behind. "Bookface!" she gasped out as quietly as she could manage. "What's the word?"

"Our King is being held within the Temple!" he proclaimed dramatically, keeping his voice down so as not to draw Red Eye attention.

"Well, at least we know where we're going now," Tricky muttered as he turned towards the Temple.

"You're not going to ask him anything else?" Fox inquired insistently.

"It won't be helpful," Sunset explained as they turned. "He announces big things, he doesn't keep track of small things. If we want useful information we'll need to find one of the others...and hope it's either Wikin or Faqu, cause if we get Tumble or Twitter, we'll have to slog through conspiracy theories, propaganda, complaints about their daily lives, or waxing eloquent about their latest 'artistic endeavors' before we get to anything useful."

Fox couldn't help but stare at Sunset. "...that sort of naming convention just can't be coincidence..." he murmured ruefully, rolling his eyes. As he did, he spotted a 'fireball switch' high up on the nearby tree, and quickly shot it with the staff. A torch in the distance atop a pillar ignited in blue flame .

Carefully, the trio crossed the bridge, moving as silently as they could to avoid the Red Eyes' attention. As they moved, they came across a circular raised stone with odd runes on it, glowing with inner light. "Okay, this is definitely a switch of some sort," Fox murmured as he knelt to examine it. "Needs to get pressed in...but the three of us aren't enough to make it depress."

"Bet the Quake spell would slam it down," Sunset pointed out. "Only question is...what does it activate?"

Tricky took a sniff of the switch. "Smells like the torches," he pointed out, gesturing to the platform raised above them where a device was inset into the stone. "Normally they're raised, though...but the only way to them to ignite them is through the pyramid."

Fox rubbed his chin thoughtfully as he looked from the switch to the pyramid to the sunken torch. "Based on how other mechanisms have worked, I'd bet this switch opens one of those two doors up near the top of the pyramid, which is a path up onto the platform. Then we'd need to run up the pyramid, through it, and onto the platform to ignite the torch to activate something before it sinks back in."

"So should Tricky and I get to the top of the pyramid and signal you?" Sunset asked curiously.

"I was thinking you could just stand on my shoulders and leap off onto the raised platform when I jump to unleash the quake," Fox countered logically.

Grinning, Sunset clambered up to Fox's shoulders. The distances proved to be exactly what they needed. While the unleashed quake did draw Red Eye attention, Fox and Tricky quickly ducked behind the torch platform to avoid detection, while Sunset ignited the torch.

They repeated this with the other quake switch, which caused a platform made of a sun and moon panel to sink into the ground, becoming a ramp to a lower area. The trio quickly rushed down...and Tricky raced ahead as he spotted a very familiar figure. "Dad! Dad!" He practically cannoned into the King's legs. "You're okay!"

"Tricky, my son," the King declared, expansively and affectionately. "You don't need to worry about me!" he boasted. "I am the King, after all!" He let off an affectionate laugh. He then smiled as Sunset and Fox approached. "Ah, if it's not the heroes of our world. You've done so much already."

"There's more to do," Fox stated firmly. "I don't suppose you have the Spellstone?"

"I do not," the King admitted apologetically. "It lies in the lair of the Red Eye King. To open the way, you will need the two sacred teeth." He gestured to where two stylized carvings of predatory dinosaurs of some sort were braced against the back wall of the chamber, one carved in red and marked with the sun, the other marked in blue and marked with the moon. "Unfortunately, they are protected by the very life force of the Red Eye tribe. There is a Magic Cave somewhere within the Walled City. It contains the spell you will need to continue."

"I never saw anything like that when I've been here!" Sunset insisted confidently. "And I know every inch of this city with how often I've prowled around here with Tricky!"

"The Magic Caves and similar areas only unseal themselves when the world is in danger," the King explained quickly. "Otherwise, they are too dangerous for anyone wandering around."

"Can you give us a hint about where we might find it?" Fox asked curiously.

The King frowned thoughtfully. "...the magic in the Cave is inimical to the Red Eyes, so it will not be on any land mass they patrol."

"So one of the islands across the moat-river," Sunset deduced. Her eyes suddenly lit up. "Like the soft dirt patch above the climbing wall? We could plant a bomb-plant there and blast something open!"

"That may very well be it," the King confirmed.

"This way, Dad!" Sunset called out eagerly as she raced out of the underground chamber, leading the way.

---

Her directions proved to be accurate, and a plant and a fireball blasted open an underground chamber that glowed with magic. Fox jumped inside...and shortly thereafter returned with a wide grin. "Super Ground Quake," he announced firmly. "Let's test it out."

"I saw some Sharpclaw fuel barrels scattered around!" Tricky spoke up. "Think we could throw those at the Red Eyes if the Super Ground Quake only stuns them?"

"I can handle that!" Sunset insisted.

The strategy worked flawlessly. Sunset would levitate one of the fuel barrels in her magic from a distance while Fox raced up to unleash the Super Ground Quake. The shockwave knocked the Red Eye prone, leaving it vulnerable to the fuel barrel explosion after Sunset chucked it at high speed while Fox dashed away. It wasn't long until all four Red Eyes were wiped out, and the gates sealed by their life force fell, opening the path to the first 'sacred tooth', a Gold Redeye Tooth.

"So...where's the other one?" Fox asked curiously.

"...light four torches?" Sunset suggested uncertainly.

---

It took some time to locate the other three fireball switches high up on trees, but once they'd done so it activated rings of light in the river-moat. Sunset's eyes widened as she stared. "There's a blue pagoda at the other end of the moat," she pointed out. "Like the red one we found the Gold tooth in. I bet if one of us activates the rings-"

"We'll need to swim all the way around and hit all the light rings," Fox interrupted. "Otherwise we'd be circumventing the mechanism, wouldn't we?"

Sunset sighed. "Yeah, guess we can't jump everything." Grabbing the staff, she strapped it to her back before leaping out into the water, putting flame jets out from her hands to zoom over the surface of the water, activating all the light rings before she finally reached the pagoda. Opening the chest inside with the Staff, she obtained the Silver Redeye Tooth.

"Now all that's left is to use them," she murmured as she made her way back to Fox and Tricky.

Comments

[Flutter-Spark]

Well-written, as always, Tatsurou. Loved the "naming system" jokes.

[Kenshinryuu]

I'm glad Tricky is contributing to plans and showing he's not useless.

[the other sans]

Guess Fox found Quake 2 to be more stunning than the previous Quake.

[Emtu]

If we want useful information we'll need to find one of the others...and hope it's either Wikin or Faqu, cause if we get Tumble or Twitter, we'll have to slog through conspiracy theories, propaganda, complaints about their daily lives, or waxing eloquent about their latest 'artistic endeavors' before we get to anything useful.

derpicdn.net/img/view/2014/11/4/757645.png

[Ze1a7in]

8861009
Yeah. It's fun to make fun of social media in a space where it isn't shared.

[kristonalprime23]

wow the next chapter is soon coming and krystal is going to be reunited with them very shortly.
also remember my warning: when dawn alights the crystal tip, the sunset shall reveal the doorway.

[Dreadknight garen]

8861062
Boi that sounds like what the old guy from transformers revenge of the fallen said

[The Feline Bard]

Let's hope they don't come across Urban-dee, and their colourful euphemisms.

...and that Sunset won't ask what Charizarding is...

[Dirty Bit]

"It won't be helpful," Sunset explained as they turned. "He announces big things, he doesn't keep track of small things. If we want useful information we'll need to find one of the others...and hope it's either Wikin or Faqu, cause if we get Tumble or Twitter, we'll have to slog through conspiracy theories, propaganda, complaints about their daily lives, or waxing eloquent about their latest 'artistic endeavors' before we get to anything useful."

I see what you did there

[InsanityStreak]

Biggest thing to worry about with Wikin is how susceptible he is to being influenced by others to potentially give false information simply because someone told him about it.

[LostArchivist]

8861103
Thanks. I DID NOT NEED TO KNOW THAT.
I admit there was no need for me to look that up, but really?

[Moon Glow]

Oh, I hope you make the fight against the Red-Eye King a real heart racer.

[TheArcticWolf]

8861321
This is what shmart shmucks do, they let other shmucks grab the shmuckbait first letting them know the danger.

[Frostgear]

8861321
i0.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/000/907/515/449.png

[recentteen14]

8861103
Or Snappers, who just poses all day long and talks to themselves...

[Chrome Masquerade]

"It won't be helpful," Sunset explained as they turned. "He announces big things, he doesn't keep track of small things.

You might as well call him Ballyhoo.

[LostArchivist]

8861475
So I gathered.

[XanderK31]

...and hope it's either Wikin or Faqu, cause if we get Tumble or Twitter, we'll have to slog through conspiracy theories, propaganda, complaints about their daily lives, or waxing eloquent about their latest 'artistic endeavors' before we get to anything useful."

Darn it Tats, you made me go into a coughing fit from laughing there!

[_That Guy_]

hope it's either Wikin or Faqu, cause if we get Tumble or Twitter, we'll have to slog through conspiracy theories, propaganda, complaints about their daily lives, or waxing eloquent about their latest 'artistic endeavors' before we get to anything useful

I see what you did there. *reads* We ALL saw what you did there. Subtle as a flying mallet

Fox couldn't help but stare at Sunset. "...that sort of naming convention just can't be coincidence..." he murmured ruefully

No, Fox. No it is not.

[Windy0]

8861018
Don't get 'shook up' on us now Sans. We have some 'ground breaking' news coming up after all. (Hey, long time no pun. I was 'blown away' for a bit.)

[TheArcticWolf]

8890810
Of course, Tats got tired of us not getting the joke when they introduced these characters at the start, so they slammed us in the face with a book.

[HeartfireFirebrand]

"It won't be helpful," Sunset explained as they turned. "He announces big things, he doesn't keep track of small things. If we want useful information we'll need to find one of the others...and hope it's either Wikin or Faqu, cause if we get Tumble or Twitter, we'll have to slog through conspiracy theories, propaganda, complaints about their daily lives, or waxing eloquent about their latest 'artistic endeavors' before we get to anything useful."

Fox couldn't help but stare at Sunset. "...that sort of naming convention just can't be coincidence..." he murmured ruefully, rolling his eyes. As he did, he spotted a 'fireball switch' high up on the nearby tree, and quickly shot it with the staff. A torch in the distance atop a pillar ignited in blue flame .

hahahahahahahahaha