Siblings of Corruption - Chapter 1
#4 of Siblings of Corruption
Siblings of Corruption Chapter one - Awakening From a Dark Slumber
Great, just when I was getting ready to go home, someone else comes up with another problem to throw at me. Letting out a sigh, the dark blue dragon looked down at the group of four moles down below in the grass. It looked as though the hole the small group of creatures was in front of was freshly dug and knew that they couldn't have been excavating long. He began to veer right and circled around in the air to lower his spread as he descended. It wasn't long before he finally reached the ground, letting out another sigh before he heard them out. "What do you guys need? Is something wrong?"
The mole in the front gave a nod. "Yes, quite. You see, we were searching in the ruins deep under the Belt of Fire area and as we reached what seemed to be the end, we found traces of more dark crystals."
"That's not too bad, just destroy um. That's what we were told to do if we ever saw one, right?" Night wasn't in the mood to hear much small talk. He had been flying around all day, doing several other things. He was about ready to pass out right then and there, but kept his composer in front of the Moles.
"There's more. As we went a little farther, we stumbled across one of your kind. He was trapped in a large dark crystal and we had to take extra care to get him out. The boy doesn't seem wounded in any way, but his heartbeat is weak."
"So what do you want me to do about it? I'm not a doctor."
The mole gave a nod. "Very true, but you are also much quicker and stronger than us. My brother Zaran is a doctor in Warfang and would treat the boy, but I don't think we could get him there in time."
With an annoyed growl, Night shook his head at the new task laid before him. Well, it's either risk letting the moles take forever and letting him die or ensuring he lives by taking him myself. What good choices those are.
"Bring up the lad! This dragon says he'll do it!"
Night shook his head shocked for a moment. "Hey! I never-"
Before he could even finish his sentence, the Mole had walked up and lifted his paw, shaking it happily. "Thank you for taking your time to do this! I'm sure he'll feel just the same once he's better!"
Letting out another sigh, Night only gave a nod to the mole before him and turned to the cave entrance, where a couple of moles were dragging up the limp drake. He looked a pale yellow at the moment, but it was likely because of his condition. The dragon didn't seem to budge as the moles carried him up through the cave entrance, even as rough as they were handling him. "Put him right on my back. I'll be to Warfang in no time!"
It didn't take long for the moles to position the gold and blue dragon on him, but the dead weight on his back was a huge burden on him. With a small growl, Night then turned back towards the open field and began to run ahead, gaining momentum before jumping into the air and spreading his wings, at first struggling to keep his balance, but the dark blue dragon soon got the right tempo and was flying smoothly to the south. Even at full speed it would take at least two hours to get there, but Night didn't know how long it would take him now. ...Why do I always get suckered into these things?
"...Ugh..."
Night jumped as he heard the light voice behind him, but soon only gave a smile. "Awake already? You-"
"...Lenai..."
"Uhh... Who? No, I'm Night." As Night turned his head to look as his passenger, he soon realized that he was still asleep, but talking. Huh, kind of strange, but whatever.
"...Give her back, you bastards."
Wow, he must have had an interesting time up until he got trapped. I wonder how he even got there in the first place. Night turned his attention back to his flight path and listened to the odd ramblings of the dragon on his back. Overall, Night was unsure what to even think of it. There was mentioning of a fight, random questions asking who someone was and such.
After about an hour of soaring under the clouded sky, Night began to feel the drake stir on his back and let out a painful moan. "...What the...? Where the hell am I...?"
"You awake for real this time?"
"...I think so." He said in a low voice. Night could tell the dragon was suffering from the way his voice sounded, but he couldn't think of what could be ailing him. "...Who are you anyway?"
The dark dragon only gave a small chuckle. "I was about to ask you the same thing. I'm Night."
"Xale..."
"Alright Xale, and who's this Lenai?"
"...My... my..."
It was a moment before Night could look back behind him to see the pale drake's head once again just dangling off his side, this time, his expression more discomforting. Damn, he's suffering from whatever the hell this is. I need to get him there quick! Making sure that the golden dragon was firmly positioned, Night then put all of his energy into his wings, building momentum quickly as he soared through the evening sky. ...Once I get done with this, I need a good nap, myself.
"Tell me where the hell they are!"
"...I don't know what you're talking about!"
Throwing his victim to the side and nearly knocking him into a tree, Keith watched as the smaller ape squirmed away and ran off along with its comrades, all fearing the black dragon would give chase, but he only stood there and gave a sigh. "Damnit, it's been two years and I've found nothing. Not a trace of Lenai or her stupid brother..." Hell, he was at least glad to at least have one name now, though. It was better than running blind like he was before.
"Hey, dragon!"
"Hmm?" Keith turned back to the forest path he stood just inches off of and saw a gray cat-like creature on the road. He was wearing dark brown clothing and had vibrant blue eyes. He also seemed to be quite combat efficient with the two axes he had strapped onto his legs. "What can I do for you? I don't have time to play games."
"You were the one to chase off those Apes, correct?" The cat-person said, stepping forward and off the trail himself.
Keith kept a small growl to himself. He was never too keen on the new arrival's kind, but they never attacked without reason, and so far this one seemed friendly enough. "Yeah, that was me."
"And you said something about looking for two other dragons? I believe you said one during your battle, in fact."
Now glaring suspiciously at the character, Keith began to walk forward himself, meeting him halfway. "Yeah, I did, but what is it to you?"
"Well, I may have some information you might find valuable. The name's Covas, I'm a lone hunter in this region."
Heh, yeah, like I believe that... He's gotta have other men around here. Keith thought to himself, looking around a bit before introducing himself back to the cat. "I'm Keith. So you say you have info on Lenai and her brother?"
Covas crossed his arms. "I said I had information, I did not say who it contained."
"Get to the point! If you're not going to help me, then-"
"The silver dragoness... It is said that the new rising evil has a recruit that has been terrorizing countless towns and slaughtering countless innocents with some unknown magic. Some have heard the Apes call her by the name Lenai, but none are sure if it is her real name."
Giving Covas an odd look, Keith sat down for a moment and pondered on the news he was just given. "...Why are you helping me? I haven't done any thing to help you."
The gray cat only gave a smile in reply. "You've done much more than you know, just by taking out the few Apes you did. Though they did not hold the information you searched for, you prevented them from causing more trouble here in the forest."
Keith gave a short chuckle. "Yeah, well I hate to say it, but I wasn't looking to save anyone. I just want to finish the task I have before me."
"If that is your plan, then I would suggest going to the new home of Zafore and check for yourself."
Oh great... of all places she could be, she's right in the heart of enemy territory... There's no way I'd be able to get by all the apes and bugs around that joint! Keith began to look grimly on the whole scenario, but gave a nod. ...Well, if I don't look, I'll never know. He then turned back to where he had seen Covas, but he was not there. The black dragon was even more confused and only let out a sharp sigh. Man, who the hell was that guy and what does he know? There's something strange going on again, I just don't know what this time.
It took me a while, but I finally made it!
As Night began to slowly drop his altitude, the dark blue dragon looked around at the area and gave a slight sigh. Great... Now where am I going to find that Zaran guy? With how big this place is, I could be searching for days! Though he did have the small doubt on his mind, Night soon shook it off and kept his hopes high. He knew that he would find the Mole, it was just a matter of getting information.
As he slowly landed on the city street, he watched as a few peddlers nearby were closing up shop and counting daily earnings and such. There were a few curious eyes his way, but no one seemed to pay much attention to him. With an annoyed growl, Night just wanted to finish this job quick and decided to do things his normal way. "Hey, any of you Moles know a damn Doctor?! If you haven't noticed, I could use some help over here!"
There were a few of the smaller creatures that just ran off, but a few stayed and looked and him, even more confused. The only one that seemed to understand his plea was a small girl, who had only given him a nod before walking swiftly into a building. Great, what a big help these guys were. You know, I-
Before he could even finish his thought, Night watched as the little girl came back out of the small house, but was accompanied by a larger male Mole, who was carrying a bag. "Hey! Here's your Doctor!" She yelled to him with a wave.
"Don't need to tell me twice! Thanks a lot!" Night replied with a smile, dashing up to the two Moles. "Are you Zaran?"
The taller Mole gave a nod. "Indeed I am. And though I don't know you, or your friend here, it seems like you need my assistance."
Night also nodded. "Yeah, I picked this guy up from your brother. He said he found this guy trapped in a Dark Crystal or something... Kind of like when Spyro shielded him and his friends back when the Dark Master returned."
Walking up to Night's side, Zaran began to look at Xale while they stood there. At first he didn't seem too concerned, but then his eyes seemed to narrow in an area on his head and he quickly pulled down his goggles, the lenses zooming in closer to the area he was searching. "Oh dear, this one has quite the condition..."
"What's up Doc?" Night asked, a little worried on what the response could be. He knew the dragon was acting really funny on the way over, but he began to wonder if that could even be related or not.
"It seems as this drake has countless shards impaled throughout his body. The only one I could see with my own eyes was this large one on his forehead. He's lucky he didn't die from that one alone." As the Mole stepped back in front of him, he opened the door behind him and waved his arm, motioning the dragons in. "I will need to examine him in a better area. Please come in, I have a table we can put your friend on. My little Ninni has already begun clearing it off."
Stepping forward, Night gave a small word of thanks as he passed by, figuring that Ninni was the little girl he saw before. As he entered the house, he noticed that it was a bit dim, but he could still see fairly well in the stone house.
"Over here!"
Looking to his side, Night then stared into a open room with a wide table sitting right in the center, a white sheet over it. Night could see the small clutter of all the objects previously on the surface next to the small girl, the pile almost as tall as her off the ground. As he stepped into the room, he heard Zaran behind him and as he stood next to the table, he felt as the two Moles helped him get Xale onto the table gently.
"...Whew, alright. If you said my brother sent you, then I'll help the lad. In the meantime, you should get some rest yourself. You look like you just flew around the world twice."
Night couldn't help but let out a laugh. "Yeah... You could say that."
"Well, whatever the case, I'll have Ninni show you to our Guest Room." Zaran said with a smile, lifting his bag and setting it up on the counter behind the table. "Besides, it will only do this drake more damage if these shards are not pulled out carefully. With how much of a wreck you look, you'd cause more harm than help if you even tried."
A bit annoyed with the remark, Night wanted to make a come-back, but couldn't even really find the energy to do that. ...Yeah, I guess I am pretty tired. Maybe I should try to get some sleep.
"This way!"
Looking up from the ground, Night looked ahead at the smiling Ninni in front of him, who turned out of the door and continued down the small hallway. Night slowly followed behind, letting out a small sigh as he followed her into another room not too far from the one now being used as an emergency room.
"Here's where you can stay! Papa will be working on your friend 'til he's all better! You can be sure of that!" She said with a smile, walking back up to the doorway.
"You really don't have to do this for me, I mean, I appreciate helping Xale, but-"
"Nonsense! You brought him here to get better, so you'll do the same! Get some sleep, little draggy-waggy!" Ninni said with a cute wink as she shut the door behind her, leaving Night alone to stare blankly at the wall from her last words.
'Draggy-waggy'... Kids these days. Rolling his eyes, Night turned to look at the interior of the room. It was pretty much the same as the rest of the house, brown wooden walls separating the rooms inside and a yellow bricked wall with a window showing the streets of Warfang. It was now pretty dark outside, though it seemed the sun was still barely showing in the sky. His eyes then turned to the small square box by the window and soon noticed it was a bed, though it was definitely way to small for him. ...Whatever, I'll just sleep on the floor.
He took a few steps away from the door and turned towards it as he sat down in the middle of the floor, tucking his front paws under his chin as he stared at the door for a moment. He couldn't help but have the weird feeling that something was off, but he knew all he could do was pretty much rely on the Doctor to help patch him up.