The interior of the cave seemed quiet, but if one listened for a moment, they could hear the sounds of scampering, of monsters lurking in the shadows. "Let's save our torches," Alex said quietly, keeping an eye on the floor. "Looks like there are other weak spots on the floor. Keep an eye out."
Ameko nodded, pointing ahead. "Looks like there's stairs over there. Which way, up or down?"
"I didn't see any stairs going further down underneath," Nikado said. "Not that I spent that much time looking."
"Rhone is a plateau at a high elevation," Alex noted. "It makes sense that we should have to move up. Let's go that way."
Ameko nodded, and Alex led the way, walking up the stairs. The next level, they discovered, seemed to be connected to an underground lake or something with a lot of moisture, for little streams of water ran around the floor, leaving puddles in sections of the floor. The sound of dripping from various places filled the air, coupled with the sounds of monsters moving around. Thanks to the moisture, the phosphorescent moss was even more numerous, lighting up the caverns easily and throwing oddly shapped shadows against the wall. "Be careful," Alex warned.
"I hear it," Nikado murmured, planting his feet as a pair of clanking machines came around the corner, raising their arms as they spotted Nikado. The man responded with a swing of his sword, bringing it down on the creature's arm, and Alex responded with the same, but not before the creature had landed an arrow in his shoulder.
Ameko drove her wand into its faceplate, destroying its visual sensors, then got the arrow out from the crack between Alex's armor, yanking it free swiftly, the man biting back a cry of pain. "Sorry," she apologized, placing her hand on his armor and healing the wound underneath.
He shrugged it off, turning his sword on the one that had struck at him, finishing it off with a sword to its 'chest'. "See, that wasn't too bad," Nikado said, panting for breath.
"Easy for you to say," Ameko muttered.
"Even so, that was faster than I expected," Alex noted. "We need to be careful."
Ameko nodded. "Which way?"
He pulled out the map, orienting it so that it was facing the same way they were. "Looks like that way points toward the general direction of Rhone," he said. "Let's try that way."
"Wait, hold on," Nikado said. "I hear something down that way. A muttering."
"Probably just a monster. Leave it be," Alex said with a shake of his head. "We don't need an unnecessary fight."
Nikado frowned, listening. "It sounds strange, though. Something about it...like I've heard it before."
"What monster in here could you have heard before?" Ameko asked in exasperation, but followed as he crept a little closer, listening.
Peering around the uneven corner of the twisting cave, the source of the muttering came into view. Long tail swinging back and forth, heedless of whether it smacked into any stray stalagmites or not, claws scraped against the ground as it shuffled away, the green scales glistening in the moss's light. "A dragon," Alex said in surprise.
"That's it," Nikado whispered. "He reminds me of the Dragon Lord's descendant. The voice isn't the same in tone, but in quality. I guess the Dragon Lord's descendant has a dragon's voice."
"Which would explain why the Dragon Lord might have been able to control them," Alex noted. "Let's go back."
"Hold up, Alex. Listen to what it's saying," Ameko said, gesturing for him to get down low.
He did so, listening as the dragon muttered to itself. "Gotta bring it something nice," it was muttering. "Gotta bring it a friend for when the master comes to claim it. Gotta make sure it's nice and kept well."
"Sounds like he might be guarding something," Alex said after a moment. "Think the master it's referring to is the Dragon Lord's descendant?"
"Or it could be the Dragon Lord himself," Ameko replied. "That dragon seems very old."
Nikado crept forward a little. "I want to see what it's guarding. I just have a feeling something's down here. I feel like there's a ringing in my ears coming from this direction."
Ameko and Alex exchanged glances, and then followed, the other prince letting out a sigh. "If we get killed in a fight with a dragon, Nikado, I swear I'll hurt you in the afterlife."
The Lorasian prince grinned briefly as they crept behind the dragon, who seemed oblivious to their presence. As they got closer, they could see the source of the dragging sound that accompanied its movement: a broken-down roboster, lights in its faceplate dim as it was dragged without protest. The dragon led the way down into a cave, and here they could see the source of water running through the cave: a massive underground lake, the surface sparkling with the reflections of the moss above and from creatures within that lit up its depths with periodic flashes. Digging a clawed hand around in the water, the dragon fished out a large fish, devouring it rapidly as it placed the roboster next to a pile of gold in the cave. It must have been a dragon's hoard, Alex realized as he saw the jewels laying around. Some of the things in the pile appeared positively as old as time itself, carved with the runes of the ancient language. How long had this dragon been here, amassing treasure? Some of the things in the cave were not treasure in the usual sense of the word; there was a pile of bones, probably from an unlucky explorer, and a few other roboster parts scattered around, and even some rocks that were nothing more than shiny. "Gotta keep it safe," the dragon mumbled to itself, curling up next to a pile of armor and gazing up at it. "For when the master comes."
Alex grabbed Nikado's arm in surprise. "Nikado. Look at that armor. It's the same color and style as the sword and the shield. I wonder...?"
"I think you're right. That's where the ringing is coming from." Nikado touched a hand to his head, to the invisible, weightless helmet he knew was there. "It's the armor, all right."
"How are we going to get to it, though?" Ameko asked. "Unless you feel like playing 'conquer the dragon' like all good knights should."
"He looks too old to fight," Nikado said with a shake of his head. "I wonder if we can talk him out of it?"
From behind them, a beeping noise came, and then the three leapt back as another roboster realigned its arm, firing another shot of flame that smashed against the wall, knocking chips of stone off and scattering them. "Damn it!" Nikado grumbled, readying his sword.
Before any of them could move, though, the dragon behind them shot forth, its neck stretching out. With a snap of its powerful jaws, it caught the roboster in the torso, neatly biting it in half. Alex felt a bit of sweat trickle down his back. That was not a dragon that was too old to fight. "Gotta keep it safe," the dragon mumbled, "for when the master comes." It turned its head, regarding Nikado with a cold look.
"Hold!" Alex shouted. "We mean you no harm."
The dragon's head swiveled around to face him, and then his eyes fell on the sword. "You bear the master's sword," the dragon whuffed out, poking its nose at Alex and taking a sniff of him. "You smell of him...but you aren't him. Who are you, man who bears the master's sword?"
"My name is Alex of Cannock," he said. "We've come to retrieve the armor for the master."
The dragon regarded them with an eye that displayed far more intelligence than he initially seemed to show. "How do I know," the dragon rumbled, "that you are telling the truth?"
"I carry the sword and I smell like him," Alex stated. "Isn't that enough?"
The dragon circled around in place, stamping its feet as it thought. "The master must have sent you," he concluded after a moment. "None would be able to take the sword from the master."
Alex smiled, putting the sword away. "Then you'll give us the armor for the master?"
The dragon turned away, moving aside so they could get to the armor. "Have I done a good job?" the dragon asked. "Will the master allow me to leave?"
"You've done well. Return to Charlock where you belong," Alex instructed. "Those are the master's orders. He commands you return."
"The master wants me to return," the dragon repeated, looking at its pile of jewels. Without hesitation, it began swallowing them rapidly, tipping gold and treasure into its mouth.
"What's it doing?" Ameko whispered to Alex.
"I think it's just transporting its hoard," he whispered back. "Dragons have a second stomach they can use for storage for things like that. It's how they move homes when necessary."
"I didn't think dragons moved around so much that they had to develop a second stomach just to move their hoard."
"They do when you've got knights hunting them down for pleasure and sport," Alex said. "That's how it was in the old days. I can understand why the Dragon Lord wanted revenge."
"Let's get the armor out of the way," Nikado said, picking up some of the pieces. "That way he can get at the rest of his hoard."
"Good idea." Ameko helped him pick up the arm guards, admiring the suit of armor. The metal wasn't too thick or thin, and almost seemed flexible, for a better fit. "You know, I think it's just your size, Nikado. The width of the shoulders are the same."
"Isn't that interesting?" he wondered. "But let's save those speculations for the master." He glanced back at the dragon.
Alex nodded as the dragon finished with its hoard, leaving the roboster behind. "I go now to master," the dragon said with a bow of its head. "Thank you, servants of the master." With that, he lumbered out of the cave, still muttering to himself.
"Do you think he'll be okay?" Nikado wondered.
"That's a tough dragon to live here all this time. I doubt any of Hargon's goons will give him a problem," Alex noted. "Want to try this on?"
"Sure. Let me tuck this one into the bag Kiel gave us," Nikado said, Ameko helping him slide off the armor he was wearing. "So you think his master he was referring to was the Dragon Lord?"
"What other master would he have?"
"Well, he said the master had the sword. Why would the Dragon Lord have the sword?"
"For all we know, it was his son that sent that dragon here with the armor to guard it. He may have already had the sword of Loto at that time, if it was left in the body of the Dragon Lord," Alex pointed out.
"Well, I'm glad. For both of them, he added. "That guy in Charlock can use a friend, and so can that old dragon. They'll get along well together."
"That they will, I think," Alex agreed. "How does it fit?"
"Very well," Nikado replied, sounding surprised. "Do you really think he was my size? Loto, I mean. Or is there some sort of enchantment on the armor?"
"Could be either one," Alex said with a shrug. "Either way, I'm not used to wearing full plate. You'd better keep it. You have the shield and helm, too. They'll work better together."
"Are you sure?" Nikado asked, looking at him and Ameko.
"No way you're sticking me in that thing," she replied. "I'll stick to the Water Robe. Shall we move on?"
Nikado nodded, flexing a gloved hand and testing the bend of the armor. "This really is a well-made armor. It feels more like a second skin than a full plate."
"It makes me wonder about the smith that made it," Alex noted. "There isn't a normal smith alive that could make something like this. It had to be the work of a magic blacksmith, and even then an extraordinary one."
"Well, not like we'll ever get to meet him," Ameko said, gesturing ahead as another pair of robosters began moving toward them. "We have other things on our mind now, boys, so let's keep going."
The tunnel was long, twisting, and full of robosters that they couldn't seem to avoid, but at last the tunnel ended with another set of crudely carved stairs leading up through a hole in the floor. The floor above opened up into a massive cavern, pierced only with the occasional pillar where a stalagtite had met a stalagmite. "Impressive," Ameko muttered.
Alex touched a finger to his lips before gesturing ahead. In the dim light ahead, they could make out the form of robosters clacking about. "Pretty dark up here," Nikado whispered. "How are we going to avoid them?"
"Let's stick toward the wall," Alex whispered back. "That way we can not have to worry about one side being attacked. Let's go." Keeping the torch away to avoid giving them away, he moved forward, keeping to the wall.
Staying silent, they moved foward, the robosters clanking off in the distance. If they made any noise, it was ignored by the mechanical creations, the things pacing around in the dark, finding their way as if it was daylight. "Their patterns are odd," Ameko said in a low tone. "Like they're avoiding invisible pillars."
"What do you think they're doing?" Nikado asked.
"Get back!" Alex hissed, and the other two moved just as the floor gave way under the Cannock prince, sending him plummetting down. "Alex!" Nikado hissed into the hole, Ameko looking around to see if the robosters had noticed the noise. They hadn't, or they disregarded it as normal. "Are you okay?"
"Fine," he called back, voice sounding strained. "I'm stuck under these rocks."
"How far is it down?" Ameko called as Nikado pulled out a rope. "I'm coming after you."
"Not terribly far. Twelve feet to fifteen feet, maybe. Don't think I've broken anything."
"Go," Nikado whispered, one of the robosters turning to move in their direction, though it appeared it hadn't noticed them yet. "Let me know if it's safe and I'll follow you down."
She nodded, sliding down the rope and landing lightly. Drawing a little fire to her hand, she illuminated the area. A few monsters skittered away from her, but nothing moved out to attack. Finding Alex, she gestured for Nikado to jump down in a safe area. Taking a quick look around at the roboster, he put away his sword in its sheath and jumped down, catching himself on the lip of the hole before letting himself drop the rest of the way. "Is he okay?"
She nodded. "I'll be fine," Alex grunted as Ameko helped him push a rock off of his leg. "A little sore and tender, but nothing's broken."
Nikado let out a sigh, looking around in the fire's light. "Where are we?"
"Nikado, above you!" Without thinking, he drew his sword again, blocking the roboster's blow, the thing knocking him onto his back as it took aim. Alex tossed a fireball at its head, but it shook it off, trying to crush the man under its foot. Nikado rolled, dodging out of the way, then froze as the ground rumbled. The roboster, had it possessed the capacity to do so, only had a few moments to reflect on its mistake before the ground underneath them gave way, dropping them to the floor below.
"This isn't our day, you know," Ameko muttered, jumping down and landing on the roboster's back. It seemed to be put out of commission by the fall, shooting a few sparks. "Safe now, though let's move before another one from above decides to notice something."
Alex nodded agreement, going over to where Nikado lay on the rocks. "You okay?"
"Right as rain," he reassured, sitting up. "This armor is something."
"Glad it's good for protecting your hard head," Ameko said with a shake of her own. "Where are we?"
"Looks to be just a natural hole in the cave formation," Alex said, looking around. "If you don't see another opening, we'll probably have to go in the way we came."
"Not terribly big," she said, pulling out a torch and holding it up in the pitch black cave. "Hey, there's something over there. I wonder if it was disturbed in the cave in?"
Nikado looked in the direction she was looking, Alex following. "It's a sword," she said after a moment, "on the rocks. But it's behind some kind of barrier." Ameko reached a hand forward, placing it firmly against the barrier. "Doesn't want us getting in."
Alex stepped up, marking something on the wall with a piece of chalk and muttering in the ancient language. The barrier seemed to be unaffected. "Tough little bugger. You have anything else you want to try?"
"What are you two talking about?" Nikado asked, frowning.
"The barrier, of course," Ameko said with a frown. "What else would be we talking about?"
"That's what I'd like to know. There's not a barrier there," Nikado said, furrowing his brow. "So what are you two talking about?" Ameko and Alex looked at each other. "There's a barrier right here,"
she said, putting a hand on it. "See?"
Nikado reached forward to touch the barrier, and as he did, his hand went through it as if it wasn't there. "Nothing there, see?"
The two magic users exchanged glances again. "Try picking up the sword, Nikado," Alex instructed.
He shrugged, then reached forward, picking up the sword and withdrawing it from the barrier without a ripple. The barrier faded as the sword was removed, disappearing into nothingness. "There, see?"
"That's odd," Alex said, stroking his chin. "It certainly was there, was it not, Ameko?"
"Perhaps it's something something only magic users can see and be repelled by?" she said with a shrug.
"Or it's keyed to allow one specific person in." Alex looked to Nikado.
The Lorasian prince gave the sword a practice swing. "This is a nice sword. Very nice. I've never seen one so impressive. Do you think I should use it? I mean, is it safe?"
"For you, it probably is, for whatever reason," Alex said with a shrug. "Give it a try. You'll have your other sword if you need it."
Nikado nodded, then attached the new sheath to his belt, putting the old one away in Kiel's bag. "Good," Alex said. "Now we need to get out of here."
Ameko held up the torch, pausing as she studied the shadows it cast. "There. I think there's a small hole over there."
Alex followed, looking up. "That should take us back to the level above. Nikado, give her a boost and help her up." He nodded, bracing his back against the wall, and Alex handed her a rope. Alex himself was next up, the other prince helping push him up, Ameko anchoring the rope from above, and then both helped pull Nikado up. "Back where we started," Ameko whispered, pointing to the hole Nikado had fallen through.
"There's stairs over there," Alex said, pointing. "With luck, they should bring us to the other side of the cave. Then we can see if there's another staircase up. Down is not the way to go, obviously."
Nikado grinned at that as he let Ameko follow Alex up the stairs, bringing up the rear. The woman put out the torch, letting their eyes adjust to the dim lighting again. Around the clank of robosters moving in the distance, they waited, and finally Nikado pointed, revealing a staircase not far away from them. "Let's make a run for it," Alex said. "It's not far."
Nikado nodded, and then led the way, Ameko and Alex following close behind. A few of the robosters noticed the sudden movement, launching arrows which Nikado deflected with his shield, taking the stairs three at a time with his long legs, stopping at the top and waiting for the other two. "Here!" Ameko said, gesturing to a boulder nestled in a corner near the stairs. "This ought to deflect them for the moment."
Nikado and Alex nodded to each other, and then both got behind it, giving it a hard push. Ameko slipped behind as well, bracing her back against the rock wall and pushing with her legs. As the clanking came up the stairs, the boulder rolled down, and there was a satisfying crunchas the boulder thudded down the stairs, crushing a few others as it rolled away. "How's that for a level up, you bastards," the woman muttered in satisfaction.
"Let's keep moving," Alex said, gesturing to a path in front of them. Ameko nodded, lighting her torch again, and they began to walk forward, quickly coming to a crossroads. "We'll mark our way," the Cannock prince suggested, withdrawing his chalk again and marking the path. They walked a little ways down the path, and came to another crossroads. "Which way do you want to try next."
Ameko pointed. "Alex, this is the same crossroad."
He looked, and saw the small white mark on the wall, right next to the path they had come out of. "We didn't make any turns, but we came out the same path...This place must be enchanted to get people lost."
"If you hadn't marked that path, we wouldn't have known at all," Nikado said with a shudder. "What now? We could try them all, but who knows how long that will take."
"We're away from the stairs, at least," Alex said, "so before we do anything, let's sit down and have something to eat. This place seems quiet enough that we can take a little rest without being attacked."
Nikado sat down, leaning his back against the wall, wincing at a few bruises. "You two all right?"
Ameko nodded, taking a seat next to him as Alex passed them both some dried bread and a flask. "I'm fine. What about you, Alex? How's your leg feeling?"
"It's fine. Still a little tender, but I can run and put weight on it perfectly well." He nodded, taking a seat next to Ameko and looking at the crossroads ahead of them. "I wonder how many come through this cave for real. I don't think those slimes were supposed to make it through this cave."
"Me too. Maybe it's a rite of passage for higher-level monsters."
"So in that case, have we passed yet?" Nikado joked.
"We haven't made it through yet," Alex reminded him, pulling out the map. "It looks like we're close to the end, though. This cave is probably run through the mountains ringing Rhone."
"Rhone. I wonder what it's like? We couldn't even see it from the air," Nikado said with a shake of his head. "The clouds blocked it out."
"I wonder what it's like, that it's cloudy all the time," Alex mused. "Still, we seem to be doing okay so far. Once we get to Rhone, we can take a rest."
Nikado passed Alex the flask. "What do you think we'll find in Rhone?"
"Besides Hargon's castle? Who knows," Alex said with a shrug. "I just figure there's going to be a lot of strong monsters. Are you worried?"
"Not me. I have my sword and I have the both of you. We can handle whatever's out there," he said with a nod.
"But first, we have to get through this cave before we can face any of that," Alex added, gesturing toward the crossroads.
"I have a thought about that," Ameko spoke up suddenly. "For the past little while, I've been thinking that I keep hearing the wind."
"There isn't wind underground. There must be an exit somewhere," Alex mused.
Nikado listened. "I don't hear anything."
"I can barely hear it, just enough to be pretty sure that's what I'm hearing. Alex, do you think you can spell the Echo Flute to enhance the sound?"
He sat up at that, holding out a hand for it. "Possibly. I know a few little tricks. It won't be great, though."
"Doesn't have to be. Just enough to know where the wind is blowing from." she said with a nod, placing it in his hand. Alex pricked his finger, smearing a few runes of blood on the exterior of the flute before handing it back by the string. "That should do it. Just let that dry. Chalk would smear too much."
She nodded, holding it at arm's length, resting her arm on her knee. "Strange that we haven't seen any monsters yet," Nikado observed. "Think they just don't live on this level?"
"Possibly." Ameko blew on the flute, then stood up, still holding it by the chain. "Okay, let's try this again." Waiting for the two princes to get up, she stood at the center of the crossroad, holding the shell next to her ear. Turning slowly, she finally pointed. "This way."
Alex marked it with the chalk, placing a different mark than the first wall. The path led ahead, then around a corner, then finally to another crossroads. None of them bore a mark. Ameko repeated the experiment, finally pointing to their right. "Now this way."
The tunnel remained deserted as they passed through a few more crossroads, each time with none bearing a mark indicating they had been there previously. "The air's getting colder," Alex observed, "and fresher. We must be getting close."
Ameko nodded, then pointed. "This way."
This time, the pathway did not lead to a crossroad, but began to open up, light coming through at the end. Nikado grinned, running ahead and stopping at the entrance, peering out. "It's Rhone! Come and see!" Alex and Ameko followed, and stared at the world before them.
The landscape that opened up before them was one of pure white, little flakes of cold, wet moisture showering down in a continual storm. Drifts of the stuff piled up here and there, covering the few trees here and there with a continual blanket on top of its foliage. "It's snow," Alex said in surprise. "Everything is covered in snow."
"This is Rhone," Ameko said, shivering a little. "It's so cold."
"Let's go down," Nikado said, stepping down into the soft, white fluff. "We'll look for a good place to spend the night out here."
"Nikado, look out!" He ducked just in time as claws raked for his face, bouncing off the protective shield offered by the helmet. The imp screeched, circling down for him again. Beside him, Ameko let out a cry as one seized her by the throat, knocking her down as it cackled gleefully, its claws coming up with blood. With a shout, Alex jumped at the thing, dealing a blow to its face with his sword, and it turned, swatting him aside.
"You want to play?" Alex growled, throwing a hard blast of power at the creature, the air around it exploding. It dropped to the ground limply, leaving Nikado to deal with the other one. Without thinking, he raised the sword, and brought it down with both hands, the blade crackling with a burst of electricity as it shot into the monster, stunning it long enough to allow Nikado to chop its head off.
"Alex?" he asked, shaking off a bit of ichor from his sword. The other man was kneeling next to the hole in the snow where Ameko lay, and as Nikado got close, he could see the red in the snow. The princess's throat had been torn open by the beast's attack, and she wasn't moving or breathing. "Oh gods, Ameko. What do we do, Alex? There's not a church out here."
"First, we have to move her. The smell of blood will attract more," Alex directed, and Nikado scooped the woman up in his arms, trying not to look as sick as he felt. "We need a rock, a hard surface, something that isn't covered in snow. I need a place to make a circle."
"What are you going to do?" he asked, cradling her in his arms as he followed the other man, watching for more monsters. Blood ran down her neck freely, invisible against her red robes.
"Going to try something," he muttered. "The revive spell. There, there's a cave up ahead."
Nikado followed him inside, setting her down gently. "But you've never done that spell, you've never even seen it done. It was done on you, Alex."
"I know how to do it. I know I do." The other man looked up at him with a serious gaze. "I need you to trust me."
Nikado paused by Ameko's body. "I do trust you, Alex."
He smiled slightly, then pulled out a small utility knife, slicing open his finger and tracing a pattern on the stone floor. "Stand inside the circle, and don't step on it," he instructed in a clipped, distracted tone, focusing on his pattern. The other prince did so slowly, kneeling next to Ameko's body. When Alex finished, keeping himself on the inside, he turned to Nikado. Taking the other man's hand, he added Nikado's blood to his own already on the knife, yanked down her robe so that her shoulder and part of her breast was exposed, and stabbed the knife down into her chest.
Nikado closed his eyes as Alex made the movement, clutching her hand, and as the knife was withdraw, the holes in her neck sealed up in an instant, her body jerking with new breath. "Ameko?" he questioned slowly, touching her face.
She stared up at him blankly, then put a hand to her neck, feeling the slight scars. "How...?" she asked, then coughed.
"It's because you're of one of the houses of Loto," Alex told her. "How do you feel?"
"Not like I did," she mumbled, her body beginning to tremble.
Nikado wrapped an arm around her. "Let's stay here for the night, Alex. She needs to rest."
He nodded agreement. "I could use a rest, too. Let me go check out this cave, and make sure it's sa--" He cut himself off as he turned toward the back of the cave.
Nikado looked up, and then saw the woman standing there, who had been observing them silently. She was dressed in a wide-sleeved robe that was as pale white as her hair, her skin, and the snow outside. Even her eyes were a very pale blue. She bowed formally as they saw her. "Welcome, children of Loto. I've been expecting you."
"Who are you?" Alex said, placing a hand on the sword at his side.
She smiled, and spoke her name.
