“I'll go to have a look.” Konafar said.
“I'll go with you.” Tonles added, lighting a couple of torches and venturing into the darkness below.
When they reached the junction, they decided to split up, with Tonles going left and Konafar moving toward the right.
The corridor Konafar took eventually led him to a large circular room that felt warmer than the rest of the damp cave. To the back of the room, he saw a medium-sized hole emitting a reddish hue and many treasure chests, half of which were opened and scattered about. He also noticed several skeletons, dressed in ratty, decaying, armor lying near the chests.
Intrigued, he moved into the room, toward the wooden chests and what he imagined were riches beyond his dreams. The temperature steadily grew warmer the further in he walked, and by the time he reached the chests, he was sweating. Instead of playing on the side of caution, he slowly bent down to open one of the chests, and in the next instant, a gust of hot, searing air surged forth from the hole. The intense heat was too much to bear as it scorched his face and robbed his body of precious fluids. His muscles cramped and brought the big man to his knees in pain. A few seconds later, the sound of a metal gate slamming shut left him trapped inside the room.
Instead of moving toward the entrance, Sun and Woo stood to the side of the opening opposite each other and waited for whatever was coming their way. Sun was poised and ready to punch or kick the creature, while Woo curled his hands into the shape of a claw.
At the exact same time, a blast of cold air burst out of the hole and a blue and white creature slithered past them with blinding speed. They turned in unison to see a scaly snake with short arms and legs holding a small trident. The creature was in the center of the room staring at them.
Woo was about to advance, when Sun heard movement coming from the hole and told Woo to stay put and keep an eye on the creature in the center. Sun anticipated the arrival of the new threat by the length of his shadow and when he thought that it was in range, he threw a kick and hit the creature, sending it back down the hole.
What he didn’t know was that he actually missed the initial snake-like creature and hit the second one because it was trailing to close to the first. Turning around, Sun saw two snakes in the center of the room, already up on their hind legs, waving small tridents defensively in front of their reptilian bodies. Puzzled as to why there were two, but with no time to figure it out, he ordered Woo to move away from the hole and each other.
The four-foot long creatures fell onto their stomachs and slithered towards them, emitting coldness as they approached. Sun charged the closest creature while Woo waited defensively for his.
Upon seeing its next meal moving in his direction, the creature stopped, reared up, and stabbed at Sun several times. Sun quickly blocked the attacks, slipped behind the creature and hit it in the back of the head with a roundhouse kick. The snake creature slumped forward from the impact and slithered away before Sun could hit it again.
Sun, thinking he’d hurt the creature, gave chase. He was right behind the creature when it suddenly turned around, emitting a cold aura that chilled Sun to the bone and drove him away defensively. The creature pressed forward and attacked with its spear, aiming for Sun’s chest in a vicious attempt to kill him. Sun blocked the attacks while moving off to his left and then quickly shifting his stance to the right, leaving the creature exposed. With a precision punch that only a master could make, Sun struck the creature’s arm directly on the muscle and caused it to drop its spear.
The snake instantly emitted another wave of cold, drawing more heat away from Sun's body and forcing him backwards. Sun’s limbs were beginning to turn blue, become numb and were feeling heavy and slow.
The creature leapt onto Sun's back, then clamped down hard on his right shoulder with sharp teeth, piercing through his garments, and sinking its chilly bite deep into his flesh. Sun winced in pain, and despite the cold intense chill, he punched the creature in its face, driving two ridged studs from the gauntlet into the creature's eye socket. The beast released its maw and fell off of him, hissing in pain. Sun kicked the creature twice in its chest with enough force to stop its beating heart; killing the slithering monster.
While Sun was battling the snake monster, Woo was poised and ready to deploy the Eagle Claw technique, as the creature glided seamlessly across the cold damp earth towards him.
“One blow, that’s all it will take.” He thought and raised his hands, while tensing the first two fingers and thumb further into a claw.
The creature stopped in front of him, feigned rearing up, and then darted forward, stabbing him in the side. The ridged spear ripped through his clothes, into his flesh and was withdrawn a second later. Woo scampered backwards, avoiding another attack, and the creature followed. When it was close enough, Woo lunged forward and clawed the monster’s throat with his right hand, then struck his chest with an open palm attack.
The impact hurt the snake creature and sent him slithering away. Woo advanced and was about to deliver a palm strike to the back of the creature’s head, when the being emitted a cold aura that stifled him long enough for the creature to turn and stab him in the left leg. The creature pulled the weapon away, removing pieces of uniform and flesh with it. Woo bent down, more out of reaction than pain, and the creature struck him again, this time delivering a glancing blow to his right arm that tore cloth and fleshy tissue, as the ridged weapon passed his arm.
In obvious pain, Woo limped away fairly quickly until he hit the wall and couldn’t back up any further. The creature, sensing its victim’s demise, took its time and slithered closer, savoring the kill. The creature stopped directly in front of Woo, rose up to its full height and darted its forked tongue in and out of its mouth, as if tasting the air. Woo became enthralled by its tongue’s movement and lowered his guard. The creature saw that he did, hissed and lunged forward, plunging its weapon into his exposed stomach. Woo snapped out of his hypnotic trance screaming, and immediately grabbed the weapon with both hands, falling to his knees. The creature released the weapon and emitted another cold blast, freezing him to the bone and leaving him in excruciating pain.
****
Tonles saw a faint blue-light emitting from somewhere up ahead and when he heard someone scream; he ran. When he reached the gate, he saw his comrades battling two blue and white creatures, which he recognized at once as the dreaded Coldtilians. Sun was winning his fight, but Woo was on his knees with a trident jutting out of his stomach and a Coldtilian a few feet in front of him. He gripped the gate and lifted with every ounce of strength he had, and despite being stronger than most humans, he failed to lift it. Angered, he tried prying the bars apart.
As soon as Woo fell to the ground, the third Coldtilian emerged from the hole and slithered over biting him on the leg. Woo screamed as the razor-sharp teeth sunk deeply into his calf muscle. The other Coldtilian, thinking it was taking its meal, grabbed his arm, and began dragging him towards the hole. Sun had just killed his creature and when he heard Woo’s cries. He turned and saw them dragging him towards the hole. Acting quickly, he ran over and leapt through the air with a side-kick, aiming for the back of the closest Coldtilian. The creature sensed him, dropped Woo’s arm, and ducked under Sun’s attack and then slithered after him.
The Coldtilian bit down harder on Woo’s leg and began to enter the hole. By the time the creature's upper torso was the only part of its body outside of the hole, Woo realized that he wasn't going to fit through the hole in one piece and became horrified. With his left leg firmly in the creature’s mouth, he placed his right foot on the side of the wall and began pushing, countering the creature’s strength and stopping his descent. A fierce tug of war ensued with the creature pulling its morsel closer towards its children and the desperate man pushing in the opposite direction. Woo's adrenalin increased, and with it, his strength. He began pulling his left leg out of the hole along with the creature. The Coldtilian desperately moved its rear legs, trying to pull W
oo’s down into the hole, but Woo held fast and then suddenly, bent at the waist and raked the creature’s face with his fingers. He wrapped the other hand around its throat and forced the Coldtilian to open its mouth and released his leg. Blinded, hurt, and gasping for air, the creature did the only thing it could and sent forth a wave of coldness that caused Woo to let go of it and allow it to slither down the hole. Woo fell back, exhausted, and fell unconscious shortly thereafter.
Sun and the last of the Coldtilians were locked in a fierce battle, and despite not having its trident, the Coldtilian was still a formidable foe with its claws and mouth. The creature bit and slashed Sun several times, tearing through his garments as if they were mere parchment. The martial artist was slowly losing the battle, and would have eventually done so, if he hadn't placed his head within reach of the creature’s claws. The creature took the bait and when it swung at his head, Sun timed his move perfectly, ducked under the attack while punching it on both sides of its ribs, crushing bones and cartilage and sending it slithering away. The Coldtilian moved toward the hole in a desperate attempt to leave the room.
Sun gave chase to ensure it wouldn’t take Woo down with it, and as he was falling on the creature, it blasted him with the last of its cold aura attacks directly in his face. The freezing effect enveloped his mind and body, causing him to lose his concentration and stumble away. The Coldtilian jumped on top of his shoulders and sank its fangs and claws into his shoulder, causing so much pain that it weakened his legs, and he dropped to his knees. Sun’s strength was draining away and as he was about to fall over and succumb to the Coldtilian, the creature released its mouth and clawed its way around his back. The sudden movement snapped Sun out of his daze. As the Coldtilian reared its head back to bite his neck, Sun grabbed its claw with his left hand, dipped his right shoulder, and rolled forward until the creature was on its back staring up at him. Sun held him down and curled his left hand into a claw and grabbed the creature’s throat. No matter how hard the Coldtilian flailed about, or dug its talons into his flesh, it couldn’t break free from Sun’s Dragon Claw technique. Sun tightened his grip until the creature stopped moving.
Sun looked over his shoulder, saw Woo lying motionless and got up and stumbled over. The first thing he noticed was the trident still lodged within his stomach, and his clothes soaked through with blood. He bent down, checking his neck for a pulse and was thankful when he found one, even though it was faint. Tonles stopped bending the bars and called for them. Sun was surprised and relieved to see him and dragged Woo over to the gate. He joined Tonles and together; they pried apart the rusty bars until there was enough room for them to squeeze through. Once they were out, Tonles came to the realization that Konafar might be facing a similar situation, scooped up Woo and ran off with Sun in tow.
****
Konafar construed that he was now facing some sort of trap and fought his way to his feet, taking up position next to the hole with his back towards the wall. He listened intently and heard the sound of something clawing its way toward the surface. It was faint at first and then grew louder. Just like the noise, the reddish hue and heat intensified as well. Squatting down and hefting Carnage into a high guard, he shifted his weight and shoulders further away from the hole and when his instincts told him something was there; he swung the sword as hard as he could.
The first red and black creature slithered under the attack, but the next two weren’t as lucky as Carnage cut the first one in half and hurt its brother. In retaliation, the wounded creature emitted a heat aura, which felt like hot compressed air burning Konafar’s face and arms, causing him to back away. Remembering the one he missed, Konafar turned his attention towards the center of the room, where a black and red snake creature, with arms and legs, grasped a small trident and was moving towards him. He recognized it at once as a Firetilian.
The Firetilian slithered to his left and moved forward in attack formation, with the weapon held firmly in front of him. Konafar met the creature, with his sword in the Pflug guard, and deflected several attacks while maneuvering his body in such a way that the ones he missed did little to penetrate his armor. The wounded Firetilian recovered and slithered out of the hole to join the fray.
Fighting both creatures at once kept Konafar on the defensive, and as he was growing tired and getting wounded, his curse triggered deep inside, which supplied his body with a surge of energy, making him fight like a possessed madman. Disregarding his safety, he shifted his body weight and brought Carnage down upon the wounded Firetilian’s head, splitting the creature down the middle. The other Firetilian blasted him with its aura attack and instead of stopping the intruder, like expected, Konafar’s curse enabled him to fight through the pain and intense heat. The creature continued to attack him until it found its mark and stabbed him in the side, through his armor and biting into his flesh.
The attack did little to slow him, and when he raised Carnage to end the reptilian’s life, the Firetilian used the last of its heat aura attacks to bathe him in heat. Konafar brought Carnage down upon the creature's right shoulder and didn’t stop until it exited through the Firetilian’s left leg, slicing the creature diagonally in two. After the body fell away, Konafar stood erect for several seconds, breathing heavily, then toppled over exhausted, and overtaken briefly by sleep.
Tonles and Sun arrived shortly after Konafar’s battle. They saw him lying motionless near the back of the room. Tonles placed Woo on the ground, and together they worked on the bars until they were wide enough to enter. He instructed Sun to get Breen, then climbed through the opening, rushing over to his friend. He was relieved to find him alive and did his best to comfort him until everyone else arrived.
Breen feared the worse when she saw Woo’s pale face and the trident jutting from his stomach. Immediately, she went to work on him and removed the weapon by cutting around the injury with her dagger. After she was finished, she stitched his wound, applied an ointment, and made her way over to Konafar. She found it puzzling that he was wounded, but not severely enough to leave him unconscious.
Tonles told her about his condition and how he believed that when his energy was depleted, he would pass out. She never heard of his affliction and went about bandaging his wounds. When she was finished, she poured a bluish liquid down his throat that would rejuvenate his stamina. A few seconds later he opened his eyes. Konafar sat up, she handed him a few more vials of the blue liquid, told him what they were for and then tended to Woo. Meanwhile, Jacko guarded the hole until Tonles and Sun finished ripping the gate from the ceiling, using it to block the opening with the intention of discouraging, or at least slowing, any more Firetilians.
When they were through, Sun went to the entrance of the cave to stand guard, whereas Tonles revisited the other chamber. He went over to the dead reptilians, cut into the bellies and removed a tiny blue sack. He knew the small casing contained the crux of their cold ability. After rejoining the others, he showed them his prize.
“What are they?” Jacko asked.
“These, my boy,” he dangled one of the sacks proudly in the air, “are what gives the Coldtilians their special cold powers.”
“Their what?”
“Cold powers. When threatened, they can radiate cold.”
“What do we do with them?”
“Smear the liquid inside the sack across your weapon. It will add a chilling effect that stuns their nervous system and gives them pause for a second or two.”
“How do you know?”
“Some fool used it on me once, but before he could end my life, one of my brothers beheaded him. The red ones have them too, but theirs will burn like a branding iron. Hold these.” He said, handed them to Jacko and then went about removing the sacks from the Firetilians.
By the time Tonles finished retrieving the rare items, Konafar was on his feet, and Breen was finished doing all she could for Woo. Tonles gave a red sack to Breen and Konafar, kept one for himself, and gave Jacko a blue one. He then explained how to
coat their weapons without getting the liquid on their hands and said to use it sparingly. Just as he finishing with the instructions, Sun came running down.
“We've got trouble.” He said.
“What is it?” Konafar asked.
“A small group of boarmen and goatmen are heading towards the cave.”
“Do you think they're from Redden?” Breen asked.
“I don't know, but given their size; I think they're some sort of scouting party.”
“Well let's give them a group welcome, shall we?” Konafar said and smiled.
“I don't think that's a good idea. If they are a scouting party and go missing, then the rest of them will come searching for them, and we’ll be trapped down here.” Breen added.
“Good point. Alright, let's stay down here and fight only if we have to. After they leave, I want someone to follow them and find out if they are from Redden. Are they close by?”
“Real close.” Sun replied.
“How did you see them?”
“I went outside to check on the horses and heard them.”
“Did you put out the fire?” Jacko asked him.
“I did, but it still smolders.”
“We’ll need someone to hide outside the cave in case they send for reinforcements.” Breen stated.
“That sounds like a perfect job for me.” Tonles answered before anyone else could offer.
“Make sure you count the heads of those who enter, and if there are less men when they leave, kill them all. Do you understand?”
Tonles chuckled. “My sentiments exactly. Here take this.” He gave the last blue sack to Sun. “Jacko will explain.” He said and then ran off.
Jacko explained how to use the liquid to Sun, while applying it to his finger knives.
Konafar and Breen moved Woo toward the back of the room, extinguished the torches, and joined the others by the passageway leading upwards.
A Demon's Quest the Beginning of the End the Trilogy Box Set Page 45
