Chronicles of Yugure: Plummeting into Uncharted Depths

Day Twenty

"Damage report!" I yell out to the fog below me, hoping that there will be someone there to respond.

~

"Get up," I go and budge the two friends awake. It is just turning four, like we had planned. It was now or never.

My hands grab for the documents I had been translating and rip them to shreds. For added measure, I put their pieces in a bucket of water we were given to drink. The freshly painted on ink can be seen slowly seeping out of the paper into the liquid turning it dark.

'And that will be the last of that.'

"Enoki, we're ready." Sendaar said, handing me my satchel.

I smile and accept my bag, throwing it over my shoulder. We huddle beside each other at the tent wall that we decided would be best for our departure. My right hand shakes as I point my index finger at the tent fabric.

"Once we tear this tent fabric open, there's no going back, are we sure we are all ready?" They both nod in reply. I, too, nod and jab my claw into the fabric and slice downward.

Rip!

'Well that could 'ave been a little more quiet.' I take a glance to my right and then my left, making sure the coast was clear before we departed from the safety of our enclosure. No guards were nearby, and the watch tower was not paying any attention to this small spans of sand that we were headed down.

"This is far too easy," I whisper to Sendaar. He, not wanting to make any noise, shakes his head up and down. Somethings not right, I can feel it.

We slow to a stop, letting our feet sink into the moon cooled sand. I lift my eyes to the heavens above to look at the sentry towers. No one was there. The wooden towers stand empty, with no one to warn the camp of our getaway. In fact, all the guards on this side of the island are nowhere to be seen.

"Ksssssssaaaaaaaaarrrhhhhh!" The ice wyvern hisses at us as it rises up from behind our tent.

"Look out!" Naz cries out as they run out of the way of Krah's icy breath. We heed Namazzi's advice and flee for our lives. The subzero mist devours the patch of sand we were just standing on two seconds ago. This is why the soldiers weren't at their post; they would be consumed by the ice, forever to have their individual cells frozen solid.

I turn to look for my friends, to see if they are alright. Naz lays on their side, and Sendaar is crouched in the sand shocked at the surprise attack. 'There is no way we can-'

"Enoki!" Sendaar squawks at me, now brushing himself off as quickly as he can before Krah can turn around and strike us once more with their powerful flurry. "Do it now!"

I go to quickly protest that we run instead but he silences me before I can retort. "NOW!"

Krah has turned around now and is inhaling for their next shot at us. The wyvern seems to be aiming at Namazzi. "Gyah!" I cry aloud, flinging my pollen wherever it may go. I don't think to plan ahead and select a plant to sprout, so I just improvise with the Schizophragma hydrangeoides- a species of hydrangea vine that is winter tolerant. Whether that will be enough to stop the ice wyvern, I'm not sure.

To be honest, no plant could possibly hold a beast down as fierce as a wyvern. You all must be thinking this is plain fancy work- a fabrication of my imagination. But for some reason, my connection to these plants allows me to alter their cellular structure, working them to my desires. Convenient, yes?

The thin, wire like vines reach out and grasp at the frosty tail of the dragon. It screeches with anger as it is plucked out of the tropical blue sky, plummeting to the icy sand. More vines pour out of the granules and silt to wrap around the brute's wings. A cluster of vines fasten themselves into a fine muzzle around the more dangerous end of the creature. It hisses through the cracks of its teeth, furious at being restrained.