Alexx scrambled up just in time. The chain only wrapped around his torso, securing his arms in place. He had to find a way to turn this around. His aggravation against Trandin was growing. Not only could he fly but turn invisible? Where did he hide the gems and the catalyst? There is not a single marking on his body, unless it's under his clothes. That had to be it; how else could he use such an impossible form of magic? The cathedral was approaching. The two walked in through its doors. The large building was circular, the interior built like an amphitheater. In the center was a large Golem construct that looked decayed, and missing pieces and an arm. Rush was near it, cleaning his feathers.
"Climb up on Rush, and let's get out of here." Trandin commanded. Alexx walked past Trandin and noticed him still breathing heavily.
"You gonna make it, Trandin?" His tone feigned casualness, but the twitch in his brow betrayed the real reason for his question.
Trandin didn't answer. From his demeanor it seemed he was beyond unamused. His wings were lower than usual, and his head was down instead of his usual upright posture.
Alexx felt he was right to assume that Trandin was beyond exhausted. The magic must have taken everything out of him.
Rush moved his wing in order to make a ramp for Alexx. He turned to stare at Trandin, who was waiting for the pirate to move. He waited a little longer to see if he would physically move him, but Trandin just motioned with his hands. Alexx smiled, and had an idea. He ran as fast as he could all the way up Rush's wing, and turned around. Trandin was trying to keep up, agitated by having to move quickly, but was clearly slow. Alexx jumped at Trandin, and recklessly lunged both boots into his chest. The attack made contact, and Trandin fell backwards. His hand released the chain. Alexx seized it, and shouted 'growan'. The links multiplied, and their grip on him loosened. They stopped multiplying, and he gathered it up and ran out of the cathedral. He ignored Trandin trying to stop him and proceeded toward the Adonai house again.
He made it over the fence with ease this time. Trandin was still in the distance coming after him, but he was running. Alexx laughed at Trandin's misfortune and continued inside the house.
The interior wasn't anything special to behold. It was covered in dust and debris, but there was much more to look at. Broken furniture, and wall decor littered every room, and hallway Alexx walked through. Pictures of women and men standing in gear and holding weapons next to gargantuan monsters.
"They all fought and slayed monsters after an age of slaying each other." Alexx said, recalling what he read in historical records.
He located the entrance to the vault, unlocked. A large set of stairs leading into the ground was before him. Alexx didn't hesitate to go down. He had no idea how close Trandin was behind him. The staircase was winding, and made of stone. It was dark and musty, so Alexx felt his way with the wall. His hand eventually brushed against an old torch that was usable, so he lit the fuse and continued down faster. As he reached the bottom, a large set of stone doors blocked his way. There was something special about the locked doors, so he instinctively donned the mask. With his eyes looking through the slots, he was able to see a magic seal, bound with the words "seolh".
The historical accounts mentioned these. Alexx thought, to unlock them you need the magic key that came with the seal, or a powerful break. Luckily, I have this mask...
Alexx placed both hands on the door. The magic lock stood as an invisible wall glued to the vault entrance. Alexx commanded the magic again like before, bringing it to his hands. A pressure began building up between his hands and the magic lock. The energies were beginning to connect and clash. A popping sound followed by a force pushed Alexx back. His magic cancelled, but he could see the lock still stood. I need to keep at it. Alexx said to himself, and shook his wrists. He prepared a magic charge again and attacked the lock. He could tell from the contact that he needed to keep the pressure going until the lock failed to stay up. Alexx changed his stance, and kept pushing against the force trying to push him back. His reluctance paid off, and his power broke the seal.
It's not very strong, but then again these guys were not expecting thieves.
"Alexx!" It was Trandin, calling from above. Alexx opened the door, and carried on. His mind focused on finding chests, coins, shiny objects, or weapons. He closed and locked the door, then carried on looking through the light of his torch.
The room held shelves lined along the walls. The center of the room was vacant save for a table and three chairs. Sealed off from the world left everything in pristine condition. The wood for the table surface was its original color. The fabric on the chairs were still soft to the touch. The dark wooden shelves still left a scent of new carved wood. The glass on the display cases had no smudges. The books carried the smell of slightly used paper, not one of them had been eaten by bugs or damaged. The lettering and binding were mint.
Alexx pulled a few books off he was familiar with, songbooks. He read through the pages and recited the lyrics aloud.
Beneath the moon, where shadows wane,
The Adonai rose, their intentions true,
With feet marching, and boots fashioned anew,
To face the beast of endless bane.
Dracabane gleamed in the nights' flame,
Forged by old hands, its edge did burn,
For only this blade could thus return
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
The peace once lost to the dragon with no name.
To give a name, would thus to give,
Dignity and honor, but in history should no place,
The dragon receive immortality or a known face,
T'was it's deeds so evil, man could not forgive.
It scorched the fields where children play,
Their laughter turned to silence, their bodies lay in mud
And the river flowed with their innocent blood,
The demon that flies will thus go away.
With scales of night and eyes of shame,
The beast attacked and killed, its fury dire,
Yet Dracabane cut through its fire,
And silenced the dragon with no name.
Their victory sung through hill and plain,
The Adonai carved legend deep,
No more would darkness cloud the keep—
A world restored by those who came.
Yet when the beast lay cold and still,
A shadow crept through moonlight,
Stretched his hands outright,
And stole its corpse from the silent hill.
"Not how I would end the song, but whatever." Alex sighed, staring at that final stanza, "Maybe Senkazital was that shadow... He did say he's been working on escaping." He put the songbook down and looked around more. It was in the rear wall that Alexx found a couple chests and a display case with one item inside. A curved, scythe-like blade connected to a large pummel designed to look like a monster. A segmented whip mechanism was attached at the back, and a hook adorned the end. Alexx's jaw dropped completely. The very blade from the song, Dracabane. The metal produced on the sword was pure mithril, indicated by its pale blue sheen. The stones adorned gave the weapons a magic infusion for durability and strength. Alexx opened the case and took hold of it. It was a little weighty, but balanced. The handle felt comfortable, and strong. Alexx hurried and grabbed the sheath, quickly attaching it to his belt, so he could search the chests.
"Alexx Junder," Trandin said through the door, "I'm saying goodbye."
"Why would that be? Is your watch over? Time to go home and hang up the sword until tomorrow?" Alexx said in a false-sad voice.
"Of course," Trandin replied, "Getting out of here is impossible without a dragon's eye. And any attempt to leave means facing off against the golems. It's the perfect prison. You want the treasure so badly? Take it. I'll come back with a force to apprehend you later. Enjoy your time."
Trandin's talons scraped against the stones as he left. The sound quickly faded away. The pirate said nothing as the silence lingered, interrupted by his footsteps heading for the table. A chair raked against the stone, and Alexx sat down thumbing through the book.
"Ah, here's one to enjoy, 'The Child,' this song even has a note preceding the lyrics. 'This song was requested by the chosen family to be crafted, so their last words can reach the child should they fail.'"
The skies are dark, the winds no more,
As Senkazital stirs,
His power swells, Attricot he deters,
And heroes march into the war.
The parents bold, hand in hand,
Did leave behind their hidden heir,
With whispered words, a fervent prayer:
"Should we fail, let our bloodline stand."
"To you, our child, we entrust the fight,
If fate demands, take up our will.
For though we go, our love burns still—
Our blood shall end his might."
Alexx closed the book, "Just imagine, these are the last words recorded before... this." his hand waves to the desolate land above. "That doesn't mean my last words will be here. Besides, I still haven't opened up these chests."
He opened the small chest next to the now empty display case and found a large slab shaped like a crude key. There were other contents such as a book on Golems, a small chisel, and a piece of paper with directions to someone about changing the command of the golem in the cathedral.
"You can change the commands on them?" Alexx said aloud. He flipped through the book looking for any chapter on the topic. He found a mention of it near the back, and read it intensely. The chisel is used to inscribe commands on the key, and then the key is inserted into the golem. They cannot take complex commands, rather a single word command. The key also acts as a power source. Alexx smiled at the ideas being devised. He went to look at the other chest, and search for more books on the Moon's heart.
Some time later, Alexx strolled through the cathedral toward the golem resting in the center. Its large design, and rotund form suggested it was slow, but strong. Alexx approached the back of the head, and found the compartment on where the key would fit. He checked the inscription he made on it one more time, 'wealcan', and pushed it in. The key fit perfectly. There was whooshing noise, and the golem trembled. It shook, and raised its head. Alexx took hold, and held himself on the golem as it rose off of the ground. After rising to its feet, the golem began taking steps to the exit. Alexx reached in his newly acquired pack for the book on golems and opened up to the page he folded, and read over it again. He put the book back, and watched with anticipation. The golem ducked under the archway, and made it to the crossroad leading to the giant estates.
"Golem!" Alexx cried out.
The stone construct paused.
"Walk north!" Alexx said.
The golem looked around, and fixed his head on a location that indicated it found north. It walked toward that location, avoiding buildings and staying on the main road. Alexx read that there are a combination of stones along the pathways that the golem fixates on, and certain buildings line the doorways for it to 'sense' and avoid, so it doesn't require a complex catalyst of orders. The eye sockets contained gems and Craefting for said guidance. The book had attempted to explain how the algorithm combined with the intricate algorithm on the stones acted as buffers, but Alexx couldn't understand it.
Together, they made it to the north gate where the golem stopped.
"Golem, go north!" Alexx said again. But the construct remained still.
Alexx thought for a minute. He checked out the gate, and noticed the type of stones along the gate were also the ones on the edge of the roads. The large golem couldn't leave town.
"At least..." Alexx pulled himself up, and leaned over the golems shoulder to look at the head. He looked at the gems, focusing on the line of red stones crossing the walkway in front of the gate. Alexx looked back at the gems, and took the chisel to them. With a little effort he managed to remove them, while the golem remained motionless.
"Alright, let's try this again. Golem, go north!"
The golem leaned forward and stepped through the archway, perfectly straight, as he had walked before. Alexx smiled and tossed the gems to the side. With the runic command, the golem could also take verbal commands as long as they were simple. But the complexity for that was within the golems chest, and the amount of catalyst writing it took, as according to the book, took months of writing and development.
The walking was slow, but Alexx's plan depended on staying on the golem until he made it to the fog border. He was keeping a vigilant eye and ear out for the fast moving golem; the biggest difficulty of the escape. For a couple hours though, the journey was quiet.
Until a huge commotion overhead broke the silence all through Attricot. Up in the sky came a tremendous roar that vibrated Alexx's spine. Laying low, he looked all around and finally saw a large black winged lizard flying through the sky.
It was a dragon. Flying straight through this mist. Using no special light to break the illusion. It flew straight over them, not looking down or even left and right.
"I don't believe it... An actual dragon." Alexx marveled, puzzled by the strange appearance. For a moment, he wished he had been arrested.
