Aru Shah and the Soul Trident

Spill the Tea...or Lava

"Aru? You can open your eyes now." Aru opened her eyes (she had closed them while stepping into the portal) and gaped. The armory was... impressive to say the least. The whole armory glowed a steady, red color and seemed to literally radiate heat. Lava dripped from the walls and hissed when it hit the stone floor, then somehow dissipated. Many paintings hung on the walls, including one of Agni wearing sunglasses and making a peace sign with his fingers while chaos ensued in the background.

There were several thousand shelves, each with a specific type of weapon stored in them. Axes and swords hung on the walls, but they weren't regular weapons. Rather, they would burst into flames at a random point of time and after a couple of seconds, a new weapon would take its place.

"It's for decorative purposes," a voice said behind her. Aru jumped and saw the god of fire smiling.

"What?"

He gestured at one of the weapons which was previously a sword. It had been engulfed in flames, and now was a javelin. "It keeps changing every now and then in order to keep the wall décor fresh and new," he explained.

Aru nodded thoughtfully. That was kinda cool. She imagined Greg the elephant back at the museum randomly bursting into fire and changing shape to a dragon or a lion. She grinned when she imagined visitors freaking out when they would see an elephant statue one moment, then see a lion statue the next. Maybe I should ask Agni to enchant Greg, she thought to herself with an evil expression on her face.

"Hellooo? Earth to Aru." A hand waved in front of her face. Mini. Her sister said, "Whatever you're thinking of, don't do it."

Surprised, Aru asked, "Did I accidentally use the mind-link?"

Mini shook her head and sighed. "No, I just know you well enough."

"Um, Lord Agni?" Aiden asked, fidgeting with Shadowfax. "Why did the council tell us to come to Niagara Falls when we could have basically just started a fire anywhere and called you?"

Good question, Aru thought to herself. She had been wanting to ask the same one since Agni appeared.

Agni flashed a pearly, white grin. "You could have definitely lit a fire anywhere and have had the IO(F)U coin with you. However, my armory and current home is near the falls, so it would be easier and faster if you came here and called me instead. Otherwise, it could have taken days before I arrived."

Aiden nodded, seemingly satisfied. He fiddled with his camera, like he was itching to take some pictures.

"So, can we just, like, pick anything?" Brynne asked, eyeing a mace that was made out of various gems.

Agni nodded and spread his arms out. "Of course, young Pandavas. Choose any one weapon that pleases you. Return the weapons later to me after you find your celestial ones." Then, he paused and peered at them carefully. "One word of advice: listen to the weapon's thoughts."

Aru stared at him blankly. Listen to the weapon's thoughts? How did that even work? She shrugged to herself. She would somehow figure it out later.

Rudy raised his hand. "Lord Agni? May I choose a weapon as well? I only have a small knife." He took out the dull knife out of his pocket.

Agni thought for a moment and said, "My offer was only extended to the Pandavas. However," he halted and looked at Aru. "If the daughter of Indra agrees, then I have no qualms and each of you can take one item from this armory." Aru gave a quick nod. "Sure."

Rudy beamed at her. "Thanks, Aru! Now I can finally have my own bow!"

Aiden stared at his cousin. "Do you even know how to use one?"