Ch 29: Last Words
Imported from SF2 with no description.
“My Dominion!" Calamity roars, gaining my attention and pulling me from my depressive spiral. He was still using his acid breath to melt the stone that trapped him. I leap over and help move what remains of the marble column freeing the green dragon who groaned out in some relief once the pillar was finally off him. “My Dominion, the Life Relic!" Of course, the Life Relic had clearly been used by the Aventari to resurrect their god, Quetzalcoatl. Surely it should bring Inferno back too. Calamity tilts his head forward bringing the ring wrapped around his horn to my attention. The key to the temple. I slide the ring off his horn, quickly kissing Calamity on the cheek before I dash towards the temple door with a new purpose, while the green dragon moves to Inferno's corpse.
The temple's marble entrance had seen better days with its slight crumbled features. However it was still sturdy enough to keep anyone out, if I had my breath attack the key would have been irrelevant, however I'd over exerted myself a little in my previous attack, even now I felt a little light headed, but my objective was clear. A green round emblem crest was placed in the centre of the marble door with a carved out leaf. I place the silver leaf ring into the emblem and within moments the marble door rumbles to life, slowly beginning to slide down into the floor, revealing a long hallway lit with torches. The walls were rough and obviously worn by tools leading into the mountain itself rolling into a curved and worked away ceiling above, the floor was made of the same tiles outside, smoother and easier to walk on.
Although gaining the Life Relic as quickly as possible was my main agenda, I would be stupid if I was caught out by a trap and so I cautiously began to move through the passageway. Along the way I spotted a crumpled heap on the ground to one side, a quick glance showed it was a dead Aventari with some marble spikes protruding from its side. Seems like the bird brains hadn't been as cautious entering this place themselves and paid the price.
I noticed a marble tile depressed into the ground slightly where the trap had triggered. Keeping the confirmation of traps in mind, I stepped carefully forwards despite my ever burning desire to rush through the entrance hall. The Aventari may have wised up and not triggered any other traps themselves while moving through. As it so happened, as I carefully tested the tiles, I felt one shift a tiny bit beneath me as I began to press some weight onto the tile, retracting my paw again I step over that slab and move carefully onwards.
After what felt like too long, I avoided another trap before reaching the end of the passage and witnessed the tunnel opened up into a massive marble chamber. The ancient Aventari Aztecs must have found the mountains peak had hid away a large marble deposit. They must have decided to not only mine the material out for building, but also made the chamber they mined away their place of worship. From the passageway a roughly hewn set of marble stairs led down to two lines of columns that seemed to have been carved into place from the existing marble, running symmetrically towards an alter of sorts, framing between them and around that alter were a small group of figures shadowed over a glowing light. As I stepped into the room a chanting could be heard assumedly from the gaggle of Aventari at the other end of the chamber. Having another quick glance around I notice a couple niches of shallow water just outside of the columns, in the centre of which stand more totem statues. These ones had better not come to life...
I had no time to be dazzled by the scope of the all majestic marble chamber and shook my head to focus. Glancing up I see the ceiling appears whole and hopefully the only traps in this place were within that passageway. Stepping down the stairs quickly I begin to speed up my approach to the figures grouped around the alter_. As I gallop forwards I notice ahead_ a total of five Aventari encircled the base of the altar, praising with squawking chants up to the even more wizened bird stood above them. He was holding a staff with a carved snake head at one end, wearing different coloured beaded necklaces and several rings, one I notice to be another silver leaf ring. So they had there own ring all along. Perhaps my ancestor's only knew about the one they acquired? I will never know truth I suppose. The wizened bird must have been their shaman, his green tunic weathered and covering most of his body, his arms showed loss of feathers, his old wrinkled face also patched bald.
The five Aventari seemed elderly themselves with their faint rough grey feathers and tired expressions, while their shaman looked barely a few steps from deaths door. They were chanting up to their shaman who stood on the alter, at his feet, the object I desired. In the centre of the alter was a green orb held and surrounded by a black dragon figure. The head perched over the top of the orb, wings folded back and the tail wrapped around the bottom of the orb. The Life Relic in all its glory. Steadily approaching the Aventari, keeping an eye out for further traps, I decided to roar out fiercely, announcing my presence. The five elder Aventari turned in shock, a couple gasping for air as they fell to the floor, another fleeing at a slow pace. I cared little for their existence and certainly didn't fear any of them. Their shaman on the other hand, showed no fear, like he was expecting me and turned to face me, holding his staff tightly, as if it would protect him. Suddenly my focus became transfixed on my prize, the Life Relic. I noticed a spirit of a dragon trapped inside the orb, swirling round in circles, simmering. I was fascinated temporarily until my view was blocked by the shaman.
“What became of our God Quetzalcoatl? I no longer feel his presences nor can I find his spirit to tether" The shaman asked in a tone that suggested this was his dying question.
“Dead, like you!" I growled, whipping my tail round, striking my spear tip into his chest. I lifted the shaman up towards me to watch him gasp out his last breath while I revealed my fangs at him in disgust. The shaman tried to cast some kind of spell with his staff in his dying breath. I quickly react by biting his head off and flinging his dead body against the nearby temple wall. I stare at the other elder Aventari who all sit in a weakened state, no longer puppets to their shaman. They posed no threat. Without any further delays or interruptions, I grabbed the Life Relic and with great haste made my way back to Inferno.