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| Winds howl outside the torch lit chamber as the thin air inside stank of hot must. Dust covered the flat surface inside and the sound of a squeaking door opening echoes inside. Footsteps crunch the dust on the ground as the door slammed shut. Hanging from a chain by his wrists was Drake’s feet dangles at the center of the chamber. He was shirtless with his head hung as sweat covered his muscular body. Starved, barefooted and unconscious he sways back and forward on his restraints until the figures step into the light of the torches scattered across the room. There were three of them one was King radius wearing full body armor with his wounded face covered with a black mask. His red hair covered part of the mask as he looked up at Drake. Accompanying him was his daughter Debra with her braided long red hair down her back wearing her royal gown. The other person with them was a dark-skinned woman wearing a white lab coat with spectacles on her face and silky black wavy hair. She steps forward in her black high heels and looks up at Drake. “Well.” Radius says. Have you figured anything out? “No. Your highness.” The woman replied. “I ran his blood through various processes including tests and experimentation. Nothing yielded any results as of yet. Are you sure he’s the one you’ve been looking for?” “Yes.” Radius says. “A whole army and kingdom was brought to ruin for someone to get their hands on him. I know for certain he is what we’re looking for.” “Well” the woman says folding her arms. “The only option I can suggest is to wake him up and get him to talk.” “I doubt he knows anything,” Radius says. “He just found out he was a one of the seven verses a few months ago.” “What about torture?” The woman says. “Introducing physical trauma can be a way to reawaken some memories.” Radius then turns to the woman with an elated smile on his face. “I like where you’re going.” Radius says. “Have it done immediately. I want to find answers and I want it post haste.” Then he turns around and walks away leaving Debra and the Alchemist alone. The ebony skinned woman reaches into her lab coat and pulls out a feather and pad and scribbles a few notes onto it. “Who do you have in mind?” Debra asks the woman as she looks at her. “Excuse me your highness?” The woman asks interrupted from writing. “I mean who’s going to torture him?” The woman pushes her glasses up on her face. “I already have someone in mind Princess Debra.” She says. “There’s no need to worry yourself.” Debra then looks up at Drake with a worried look on her face. “Is there something wrong princess?” She asks. “No…” Debra replies shaking her head. Then she turns around and walks away with her feet crushing the loose dirt on the floor. The woman waited until Debra closed the metal door behind her which was the only exit from the chamber. “Alright.” The woman says as she writes in her note pad with a large feather. When she finishes, she places both objects back into her lab coat and pulls out a syringe filled with a clear substance. She plucks the needle twice and squirts some liquid out. “Alright Drake,” She says. “Its time to wake up.” She walks closer to Drake to inject the substance into him but is soon startled when she see’s Drake already awake and staring at her. “You’re awake!” She says. “Who are you?” Drake asks. “And straight to the questions it seems.” The woman replies. “It’s polite to introduce yourself before asking them who they are.” “You’re lecturing me on politeness when I’m the one bound here in this unknown chamber with a woman talking about torturing me to get information?” “Well when you put it like that, I understand.” She laughs. “My name is Mahogany just Mahogany I am an alchemist hired by King Radius to probe you for information. Radius believes that you hold the key to finding Estoria and I am to carve it from your corpse if necessary. Having said that, if you know any details about Estoria I suggest you reveal them to me or your day will get a lot worst.” “Well,” Drake says. As he takes a deep breath and releases it through his sweaty nose. “I can’t really remember much but if you give me some food, I might be able to tell you something.” “Ohh don’t try to fool me,” Mahogany says. “I read the report Radius gave me about you. Bold. Fearless and very crude. You bartered for food with the princess’s neck. Here, you’re not bartering anything but your wellbeing. If you choose to toy with me, I’ll introduce you to a world of ungodly pain.” “Heh.” Drake chuckles. “You’re not going to get far with that attitude.” “Alright.” Mahogany said as she folds her arms. “I guess a demonstration is needed to bring you to your senses.” Then Mahogany turns and speedily walks towards the exit with her high heels clapping against the hard-stone floor. She opens the metal door and slams it shut. Afterwards, Drake looks around the empty stone chamber trying to find a way out. In his attempt to find an escape he notices his shortened breath and grumbling stomach. Then fane speaks to Drake in his mind. “How are you feeling Drake”? Fane asks “You’re here?” Drake asks surprised. “I’m always with you.” Fane replies. “Think you could get me out of here?” Drake asks. “It may not be possible right now.” Fane says. “That woman knows of your fire ability and has this chamber designed to keep breathable air to low levels. It prevents fires from going out of control here. And it’s also the reason you’re having a hard time breathing.” “It feels…uncomfortable.” “You’ll have to get used to it.” Fane says. “Just focus on a way to free yourself.” “Say Fane.” Drake calls. “Why didn’t you tell me what I was back when we first met. I know you knew.” “Now is not the time for that.” Fane says. “That woman is about to return and when she does you’ll be in a lot of trouble.” “Yeah.” I guess you’re right. Drake says. “Is there a way to generate fire without using my sword?” “Yes there is.” Fane replies. “But it’s limited considering that you’re hands are chained.” Drake looks up at the long chain and at his hands as they were linked by cuffs. “I’m listening.” Drake says. *** A few moments later, the metal door flung open and soon slams shut as the sound of two individuals walking inside the chamber. Drake looks up to try and make out who was approaching him but the burning torch nearby prevented him from seeing anyone beyond it. Mahogany steps into the light walking besides a large burly female covered in a black cloak. Her brown hair was wrapped up in a ponytail and she had a rough look on her face. Her large hands were strong enough to smash stone as the black cloak covered her green dragon scales. Mahogany had a sneer plastered across her face as she walked up to Drake and grabs the chain holding him up and lowers him down to her level. She then grabs his chin and made him look into her eyes. Drake see’s the draconic pupils in Mahogany’s eyes through her glasses as she turns his head to the left and right to examine his face. “Don’t hit the face,” She says to the burly woman standing behind her. “I need to be able to recognize him when you’re done.” “Not a problem.” The large woman said in a gritty voice. She pulls off her cloak revealing her muscular body covered in green dragon scales wearing baggy torn shorts and a white sleeveless tunic. “I guess it’s time.” She says. “You look like a tough kid but I came across a lot of people who look tough but end up crying five minutes into my session.” Then she starts cracking her knuckles and her neck before stepping up to Drake. She balls her scaly fist up tight and punches Drake hard in the stomach. Drake coughed up spit from his mouth as pain shot through his gut. The chain rattles as Drake shuffles and grunts about in pain. He clenches his teeth and presses his crusted lips together as he looks up at his chains. At that moment, the long chain is set ablaze as the words INCENERATE appears above Drake’s head. The woman looks up at the burning chain and chuckles. “What are you doing?” She asks. “Is this an attempt to escape or are you lashing out because I just punched you?” “It’s useless” Mahogany says with her arms folded. “I modified this chamber to keep your flames from going out of control. If you insist on escaping, then why don’t you start talking.” Drake chuckles barely able to stand. “What could I possibly tell you?” Drake asks. “I don’t know where Estoria is. You’re wasting your time.” “Well” Mahogany says as she walks up to Drake and grabs his chin and forces him to look up at her. “You can start by telling me about your powers.” Mahogany says. She pushes her glasses up to her faces as she waited for Drake to answer. “My power?” Drake says. “Yes.” Mahogany replies. “The power you possess far exceeds that of the verses that we use. Its obvious that it came from Estoria. Tell me where it came from!” My power came from Estoria? Drake thought to himself. Mahogany smacked her teeth as her patience ran out. She releases him and ordered her subordinate to continue.The draconic woman walks up to Drake again and delivers several more blows to Drake’s body. Drake grunted in pain as he coughs more spit from his mouth. Panting he tries to maintain his composure. He forces himself onto his feet trying to ignore the pain. The hunger however made things worse for him as he didn’t eat since his capture. “It’s only going to get worse you know.” Mahogany says. “You are far from home and there is no one coming to rescue you. Why don’t you do yourself a favor and tell me where did your power come from.” “What makes you…so sure that my power came from Estoria?” Drake says as he looked up at Mahogany with his arms chained above his head. “For all you know it can be something you’ve never seen before.” “Nonsense! Mahogany says. “That crystal weapon you carry is proof alone. There’s no such smith in all Endina that can carve out enough rubies to even shape it into a sword let alone imbue it with power. Estoria is a place though where such wonders can be created. Its known for its advanced technology and powerful verses. That sword you carry is probably a small part of what Estoria is capable of.” That must be the reason why it’s hidden. “Tell me where you found it!” Mahogany shouts. “Or I’ll have my servant here break every bone in your body!” However, as Mahogany finishes speaking, she hears her servant gasping for air. She turns her head and sees the burly woman fall to her knees as the room gets darker and darker. She also notices the flames on the torches shrinking until they fizzle out. By the time she realizes what was happening, her breath became shallow and her throat tighten as she falls to her knees grasping her neck. She struggles to look up at Drake and sees him smiling. “You…”she says struggling to talk. She see’s the smoke ebbing from the chains and she turns her head only to see her servant crawling up to the metal door. I…can’t….breath. The bulky woman says as she grabs onto the knob of the metal door on her knees. Mahogany’s eyes widen in panic as she sees the burlesque woman attempting to open the door. “Idiot!” She shouts “don’t open…..” The woman pulls open the door and breathable air rushes inside the chamber followed by explosive red flames bursting from behind. A loud rattle of rocks and debris echoes throughout the chamber and the metal chains that Drake was bound with melted away freeing him. Drake falls to the floor face first as smoke ebbed from his body. He takes a few breaths before looking up ahead of him. In front, he see’s a white oval smeared with black soot across half of it and he sees the prone burly woman’s charred body on the floor. Drake pushes himself off the ground and stumbles towards the exit. He exits the chamber and he find himself on a cliff with a stair case leading up to the surface of the floating island. As he looks around he realizes that he is in the gap between the floating islands with howling sounds of wind bouncing off the two cliffs. He looks down and all he see’s is clouds below and a blue sky above. Afraid of heights, he presses his back against the wall as he looks up the stairs. “Where am I?” Drake says with a panicked look on his face. A rumbling noise resonates between the cliffs as the ground vibrates beneath his feet. He hears the howling winds grow louder by the minute. Then, a large gust of shearing wind jets between the two making Drake drop to his butt and cover his ears. The sound numbing winds nearly picks him up off the ground as pebbles from both cliffs assaulted Drake’s body. The winds settled down and Drake uncovers his ears as he looked around panting. “What was that?” Drake says. He stands to his feet and makes his way upstairs barefooted, he could hear the beating footsteps of approaching guards. “It came from the prison chamber!” A female voice said as the steps became louder. Drake, too weak to fight, decides to go back down the stairs to find a place to hide. *** Inside the chamber, the white oval shaped shell dismantles into two large dragon wings revealing Mahogany in her dragon humanoid form with white scales and two gold horns on her head. She looks at the entrance with furious red draconic eyes. She runs towards the exit with her scaly white tail swinging in the air. *** Drake runs down the stairs only to see Mahogany standing on the bottom of the stairwell near the entrance to the chamber. Drake stops and pins his back to the wall as he see’s several draconic female guards armed with spears barring his escape. “You did well in escaping from my chamber.” She says with an angry grin. “I guess this time I’ll have your limbs severed and stored in containers while I cut into your pesky torso in search of answers.” Drake looks up at the female guards all in their natural scale armor and back down at Mahogany. “Trapped,” Drake says to himself and I’m in no shape to fight my way out. The guards approach Drake slowly pointing their spears as Mahogany walked up the stairs with rage filled dragon eyes glaring at him. As he contemplates fighting, he notices the winds picking up as they did before. The loud rumbling sound of the winds banging against the cliff as he contemplates a desperate measure. Catching wind of Drake’s plan, Mahogany raised her hand towards Drake. “Stop him he’s about to jump!” She orders. As the guardswomen runs towards Drake, he takes off running towards the edge of the stairs. He takes a deep breath and leaps off the stairwell and into the opening between the two islands. In mid-flight, the Rushing wind-current rushes in between the two islands and picks Drake up and carries him away. ### Back in Salatia, Kevin along with Maria and Ura finishes packing for their trip. Kevin closes the map in his hand and places it inside his blue tunic. Ura hoists a large back pack filled with various cloths and gadgets on her back. “Alright,” Kevin says. “Let’s get going. I hope we don’t run into any trouble along the way.” Amidst the warm breeze coming from the beach, the trio begin their travel away from the beach village. They walk north on the western side of norm river towards Cain mountains. The smell of fresh river water filled their nostrils and the warm breeze covered their bodies as the tracked onward. They could see Cain mountains in the distance with white clouds covering the topmost mountain. Kevin scratches his head gazing at the map while Maria happily walks near him with loving thoughts in her head. She reaches and grab Kevin’s arm as she walks beside him causing Kevin to blush. Ura walks ahead as she takes large steps in the ground humming to herself a tune. “This is nice.” Maria says holding Kevin’s arm. “Yeah.” Kevin says. “You wouldn’t think that there’s a famine just by looking at this place.” “That’s not what I meant silly.” Maria says smiling. “I meant you and me walking together on such a beautiful day. "I never had the chance to experience this with my late husband.” “Really?” Kevin says. “No. We had our moments, but we were too busy fighting to protect ourselves to have the time to enjoy each other’s company.” She says “Same here. Kevin says. I was basically on my own after my parents died and although I had my guardian, she was busy working for Ryzor in his castle. A day for me consisted only of training and studying.” “I guess that all changed after you met Drake.” Maria says. Kevin’s face turned somber as he reflected on his past actions. “I owe him an apology.” Kevin says. “All this time I blamed him for what happened to my family and made him feel guilty for it. Only to find that my father was the real culprit. He’s been trying hard to fix his problems and all I’ve managed to do is nothing to help him.” “Don’t say that. I’m quite sure if you were with him, you’d be fighting alongside him as well.” “I just hope I have to opportunity to see him again.” Kevin says. “When we do we will fight father together.” “Where close” Ura says walking ahead. “How exactly are we going to find one of these birds?” Kevin asks. “Look!” Ura says pointing at the river. Kevin and Maria see a fork in the river that split away into the mountains. “That wasn’t there before.” Kevin says. “Mid-august eagles irrigate their nest by burrowing new paths from rivers I’m sure if we follow it we’ll find them.” Ura says “The new path leads into the mountain.” Maria says. “We’ll have to scale the mountain if we are to find it.” “I guess this is where things get hard.” Kevin says as he opens his arms for a stretch. “Let’s go. We don’t want to miss this.” Kevin, Maria start their walk up the mountain. The steep steps slowed their movement but managed to get high enough to find a path along the wall in between the mountains with a rapid flowing river beneath. The river curved between the mountains with the violent splash of the water echoing off the wall of the cliffs. Kevin looks down at the rapids and squats to grab a pebble. He tosses the pebble down the cliff and watches as it disappears into the water. “Say Ura!” Kevin says. “Are you sure we’ll find them in all of this?” “Of course.” Ura says. “I can smell them nearby.” “Smell them”? Kevin asks with a raised eyebrow. “Tehe.” She giggles as she pointed at the two holes at the sides of her nose. “Harpies and Tengu’s have two extra nostrils so we can smell other birds in the area especially eagles. We also know when they are breeding because they carry a different smell.” “Huh.” Kevin says. “I thought that was some sort of injury.” Then Ura points down stream of the rapids. “If we walk along the cliff, we will be sure to find them.” Ura says. “Ok.” Maria says as they cruise along. They cling to the wall of the cliff as they walk in a single file line as the path narrows. Loose rocks cascade from the steep cliffs above as the winds pick up speed. “Say.” Maria asks as they find an open path to walk on. “What else can harpies and tengus do?” “Well.” Ura says. “With her finger on her chin looking up. We can fly for a short period of time we have superior vision and a strong sixth sense. We notice any changes in weather two days away.” “Wow that’s impressive.” Kevin says. “So, can you transform into a harpy’s true form? I heard they are quite beautiful.” Then Ura suddenly stops and lowers her head in shame. Kevin and Maria stop as well and looks at Ura with an awkward silence between them. Then Ura turns her head and looks at them with an painful but earnest smile. “I can’t.” she says before walking ahead in a more sullen manner. Kevin and Maria continue to walk behind Ura without saying a word. As they continue to walk, they reach the edge of the path leading down to the river ahead. Kevin walks up to the edge and looks down at the river and how it continues to flow deep between the mountains. “It looks like it’s a dead end.” Kevin says. Maria walks up besides him and looks at the white watery mist rising from the rapids. “We have to back track and see if we can find a way across.” Kevin says. However, Ura takes a few steps back gripping the straps of her backpack while Kevin and Maria stare down the cliff. She takes a deep breath and breaks into a full sprint with her feet rapidly pounding the path. She takes a leap forward and pushes both Maria and Kevin off the cliff. Kevin and Maria scream as the three plummet towards the river. Ura takes her pack from off her back and hurls it down to the river where it burst into a make shift raft that the three of them land on. Kevin lands on his face with Maria and Ura on top as the life-raft rushes down the rapids. Kevin springs up from the lift raft livid. HAVE YOU LOST YOUR MIND!? WHAT WAS THAT FOR!? He yells. “He he sorry.” Ura says scratching the back of her head. “But we’re running low on time and we can’t back track. So I simply took a shortcut.” Maria places her hand on her own head as she shakes it from the light headedness. “Oh dear, that was unexpected.” Maria says. “Next time, tell us what you’re going to do BEFORE you decide to push all of us off the cliff.” Kevin says. The moment was suddenly interrupted as the raft leaps about on the rapids and the three look down stream. The raft bounce off the walls as it continued down stream with spats of water raining down on the group. “How far does this river go?” Kevin asks as he gripped tight of the raft. “I don’t know.” Ura laughs, enjoying the ride. “How can you be enjoying this!?” Kevin shouts. Ura didn’t answer and continues to laugh as they wash down the river. “Look!” Maria says pointing ahead at a mountain. There, they could see a large eagle standing on the edge of the mountain pecking at the water to drink and shaking its head to rid itself of the water around its white feathered main. “Wow.” Maria says. “It’s beautiful.” “That’s just an eaglet.” Ura says. “Look up.” The three looked up and saw large eagles’ flying through the air between the mountains. Their shadows cover parts of the mountain as they flew over. Maria and Kevin were awestruck as they peer into the sky. The large birds danced in the sky flapping their wings and calling out to each other. “It’s starting.” Ura says as she shuffles around with her bag. “We need to find an eaglet soon or we’ll miss the ride.” “How are we possibly going to get on an eagle?” Kevin says looking ahead. Then he feels a strap wrap around his waist. Kevin looks down and see’s Ura fastening a black strap to him and Maria. “W…What are you doing?” Kevin asks. “Don’t hate me for this” Ura says. “But being that neither of us has wings, we have to improvise.” Then she hunches over the floating raft and holds her hand over the water. She waits a few seconds then she quickly reaches into the river and grabs a fish out of the water with her bare hand. “Alright,” she says as she takes the wiggling fish and ties a small rope around it. The small rope was connected to the harnesses that were wrapped around the three and Kevin’s heart jumped when he realized what she was about to do. “No. Ura. Stop!!” “No time.” she says as she stands up swinging the bait above her head. “Alright little ones! Lunchtime!” She shouts before hurling the large fish tied to the string high into the air. Kevin watches as the fish wiggles about tied to a rope. Then an eaglet swoops down and grabs the fish with its mighty talons and flies off into the sky with the black roped harness attached to it. “Got it!” Ura shouts with elated look on her face. Kevin and Maria tremble as they watch the rope quickly unravel in front of them. The rope tighten and yanks all three of them into the air. Kevin and Maria scream as their bodies fly into the sky but Ura screams in sheer joy as she holds out her arms laughing aloud. “Whistle top forest here we come!” |
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