The Dragon's Bounty III:Dying Light

Chapter 4

Kai awoke to the sound of wind echoing around in a cave. He sat up and looked around. Everywhere he looked there was a white stone surrounding him. He pulled himself to his feet and started walking up the completely circular tunnel. The higher he got, the louder the wind howled. Finally, he saw the opening, the lightest of blues filling the skies. But when he neared the exit of the cave, he noticed that there was no floor, only ceiling outside the cave. He could hear whispers of voices he didn't recognize, his mind beginning to ache. He clutched his head and fell over sideways, rolling down the side of the cave wall until he finally settled on the ground. When he opened his eyes, he noticed that he was now situated parallel with what had been the ceiling moments before. As the whispers continued to drill their way into his brain, he began crawling back down into the tunnel, the voices getting quieter and quieter until they'd finally stopped, leaving his mind at ease. He took a deep breath and stood once again. He looked back at the exit with the voices and the howling wind.
"Down it is." He said, continuing on down the tunnel. After what felt like a few hours, Kai finally reached a large expanse of cave with what looked to be a town inside of it, houses and shops on various platforms that stretched out to a variety of lengths, even some situated on the walls and ceiling. He looked up at the ceiling of the cave he was in. Taking a deep breath, he began walking to the side. And with a few steps, he was on the ceiling once more. "Strange." He said. When he jumped, he landed back where he had jumped from. Launching himself with flames, he crashed into the opposite ground with a grunt. He sat up and rubbed his head. "Well, gravity is off." He said. "Good to know". He looked down into the town, and to the left and right, both having rows of houses and shops. "My brain hurts." He said. He stepped out of the cave and on to the wall to his left, walking toward the nearest house. Once he had reached it, he knocked. The door opened, revealing a man who was as pale as the stone, a clear crystalline structure adorning his head.
"Whataya want?" He asked.
Kai stepped back. "Where am I exactly? I'm not from around here."
The man looked him up and down. "That's evident. Welcome to Catastrophe, traveler." He said. Kai raised an eyebrow. "Where ya from?" The man asked.
"I'm from Tritanus." Kai replied.
The man smiled. "Hate to tell ya, but you're in the wrong realm, buddy."
Kai's eyebrows shot upward. "What do you mean?!" He shouted.
The man laughed. "You're from the mortal realm, no?" Kai nodded. "Yeah, Catastrophe is a completely different realm. Humans and other guys from the mortal realm typically don't last long in here. At least, not outside the caves."
Kai nodded. "When I tried to leave I heard voices. Of anguish, of confusion, even of anger. What were they?"
The man frowned. "Their the voices of all the people who were lost to the outside. Every word that has ever been spoken out there will bounce around forever, adding danger to the outside's power. Eventually it will kill mortals the second they step near an exit. But shouldn't be anytime soon, though. I wouldn't worry."
Kai nodded. "Is there a way to get back to the mortal realm here?"
The man nodded. "Course. Styx runs through somewhere outside. All you need is a crystalline helmet."
Kai raised an eyebrow. "A crystalline helmet?"
The man nodded. "See these crystals on my head?" Kai nodded. "Well, when they get too long, we cut them off, just like your hair. Then we use the shed crystal pieces to create helmets for those who aren't as lucky as us to have them naturally. It will protect you from the outside's power."
Kai nodded. "And if I could get one of those, then I could find Styx and go home?" The man nodded. He gestured for Kai to come inside. Kai obliged and sat down on the stone couch.
The man sat across from him. "I'm Qiuran by the way." The man said.
Kai smiled and stretched out his hand. "Kai." He said.
Qiuran shook his hand. "Ya know, I heard from a mortal passing through that you guys are expecting a war pretty soon."
Kai nodded. "The Demon King wants us gone. I guess he just wants control over two realms."
Qiuran shook his head. "I would assume he'll only start with the mortal realm, then expand with the other realms. I would offer you my assistance, but I am needed here as a mason."
Kai nodded. "We've got a decent army set out, but more would always be nice."
Qiuran nodded. "If you could convince our king, I'm sure our army would assist you in your quest."
Kai nodded. "I'll ask him." It was then that Kai took a second to remember what he was doing before he entered Catastrophe. "This is going to sound crazy, but do you guys have weird rats around here?" Kai asked.
Qiuran smiled. "Not crazy at all. Of course we do. We have creatures called Melds. They have a large feline head and bodies made up of rats."
Kai jumped up. "Yeah, that's exactly what I meant. One of those things is terrorizing a civilization of dwarves under the capital city of Tritanus. Three of my friends are currently fighting it. I went off to find the source of the rats and somehow wound up here."
Qiuran put his hand to his chin. "That's strange. You should have only been able to get here through Styx. And so would the Meld."
Kai sat down. "Come to think of it, if the river is out there, then how do mortals survive in this realm?"
Qiuran shrugged. "I don't think the voices can reach you if you're covered in water from Styx, but that's just a theory."
Kai nodded. "I wasn't wet at all, and I woke up in a cave."
Qiuran shrugged. "No idea how you got here, or how the Meld got out there. All I know is what I'm told."
Kai nodded. "I guess I can't expect you to know more. I'm sorry."
Qiuran laughed. "No no, it's alright. I'd be happy to help you figure out how you got here, and how the Meld got out without the river Styx." Kai nodded.
"Daddy? Who's that?" Kai turned around to see a smaller version of Qiuran.
Qiuran rose and picked up the child. "Qesan, meet Kai. Kai, Qesan." Kai smiled and waved.
"Are you a human?" Qesan asked.
Kai shook his head. "Not exactly." He wired his tail around to in front of him to show Qesan the pointy triangle shape on the end of it. Qesan reached out and touched it, his hand shooting backward when he felt it was sharp. "I'm a reaper. It's one of the many races inhabiting the mortal realm."
Qiuran smiled. "We are the quarries. We are the only intelligent beings that we know of that live here. And this is the only town we know of as well."
Kai smiled. "I have one more question." He said. Qiuran nodded. "How do you take down a Meld?" Kai asked.
Qiuran smiled. "Oh, that's easy. All you have to do is take out the crystal in its head. No crystal, no head, no head, rats don't have anything to follow. Then they all just kinda melt."
Kai raised en eyebrow. "Sounds disgusting."
Qiuran shrugged. "It's gross at first but you get used to it."
Kai shrugged. "I guess that would make sense."
Qiuran nodded. "This is the way it must be. The Melds steal from us and kill our people. They must be exterminated." Kai nodded.

Duros was thrust against the wall by a flood of rats.
"This is disgusting!" He shouted.
"Where's Kai?!" Elliot shrugged, stuck to the wall upside down above him. He slashed at the rats, which came back whenever he took one out. "How do we get down?!" He shouted.
Duros shrugged. "Could be worse." He said.
Elliot looked over to him. "Oh really?" He asked.
Duros nodded. "Could always be worse."
Elliot sighed. "Yeah, ok mr philosopher."
Duros smiled. "How did you know I dig up bones sometimes?"
Elliot groaned. "I- never mind." His eyes began glowing and a burst of light thrust from his chest, obliterating the rats holding him up.
"Why didn't you do that earlier?!" Duros shouted. Elliot shrugged and fired a light dragon at the rats holding Duros up. Duros jumped to the ground and slammed his fists into it. Debris flew forward toward the meld, forcing it to the other wall. Elliot jumped forward, pulling his sword back. He thrusted forward, slicing the creature's head in half. Inside was a small pink crystal, which quickly concealed itself in grey goo.
Elliot smiled. "I think I see it's weakness!" He shouted.
Duros grunted as he continued to launch earth at the beast. "Well, hit it!" He shouted. Elliot nodded and began slicing the cat-like head to pieces, finally finding the stone. He grabbed it and smashed it in his hand. He dusted his hands off and turned to Duros, who pointed behind him. Elliot looked up just as the entire creature melted to goo and landed on top of him. He began jumping around, flinging the substance off of himself.
"It's in my mouth!" He shouted. Nickolas ran out from behind the rocks and inspected the puddle.
"What proof can we bring back that the creature is dead?"
Duros picked up the crystal shards. "This could work." He said.
Nickolas grabbed the crystal and smiled. "Yes, this is perfect." He pocketed the pieces and began skipping down the tunnel toward the town. Duros and Elliot looked down the other tunnel, where there was a trail of goop where the rats had been moments before.
"I'll go with Nickolas. You go get Kai." Duros said. Elliot nodded, taking off down the dark tunnel. Duros sprinted to catch up with Nickolas. "So, not much of a fighter huh?" He asked.
Nickolas sighed. "I'm sorry I could not help, I was just too scared."
Duros nodded. "It's alright. We handled it just fine."
Nickolas smiled. "You guys are cool." He said.
Duros smiled. "Yeah, I guess so." The two exited the cave to find a crowd of dwarves with spears pointed at them. "This is not good." Duros said.
Nickolas shook his head. "Wait!" He shouted. He held out the crystal shards. "This is the crystal that kept the creature together. We have defeated it." He said with a smile.
One of the dwarves grabbed one of the pieces. "It is a genuine crystal." He said, throwing it back. Nickolas picked it up and pocketed it.
"And they did come out alive." Said another dwarf. Duros and Nickolas nodded.
"Step aside." The voice from earlier echoed around the cavern. The spear dwarves made a path for the dwarf who had spoken, who walked forward. "I'm not sure we've been formally introduced." He said. He held out his small hand to Duros, who shook it. "I am the dwarven emperor. I hereby wave your charges." Duros smiled. The emperor turned to Nickolas, who was smiling as well. "As for you, your full sentence is still in order."
Nickolas frowned. "What?" He asked.
Duros put his arm between the two. "Nickolas helped us beat the creature. Without him we wouldn't have been able to." The dwarves began laughing.
"He is a fixer dwarf. He does not fight." The emperor said through his laughing tears. Nickolas frowned and looked to the ground.
Duros stomped the ground, making the entire cavern tremble. "You will relieve his charges." He said in a gravely tone. The emperor sighed. He placed his hand onto Duros's leg, making it solidify into stone. Duros attempted to move his leg, but it had also attached itself to the ground. "What did you—"
The emperor cut him off. "Are you aware of your heritage, young Oread?" Duros looked down at Nickolas, who had began ringing his hands.
"I was going to tell you." He said.
Duros looked back to the emperor. "Tell me what?"
The emperor smiled. "I'm sure you know if the golems, the mighty and bulky first oreads?" He asked.
Duros nodded. "The first of my kind, who created the oreads with their connection to the earth."
The emperor nodded. "But who created the golems?"
Duros thought for a moment. "I was always told they were spirits of the earth who came to life."
The emperor laughed. "Foolish Oread! We, the dwarves, created the golems!" He began laughing.
Duros' eyebrows shot upward. "What?!" He shouted. He looked down at Nickolas, who nodded slowly. Duros looked around at all the dwarves, who now smiled.
"And since we created the golems, we have the power to destroy them." He placed his finger on Duros's leg, shattering the stone and causing all the threads to go limp. Duros fell to the ground. "Nighty night, Oread." He tapped Duros on the forehead, solidifying his entire body into stone.