FSE

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formerly SoFurry search engine

Chapter 31: A Helping Hand Dragon Realms, Uncharted System May 5, 2204 1156 Hours Swampy Outcrop

"Ew... this stuff is dripping from the trees..." Aaron said as he lifted his foot from the muck, bring up a whole assortment of various colored leaves and mud that made some of them a little sick to their stomach.

"Anyone still want lunch?" Zephyr asked with a slightly amused smirk.

"I think I lost my appetite a long time ago..." Cynder said, scowling at the mud they had to walk through. The entire area around them was a swamp. Trees extended to over at least 30 to 40 feet into the air, and the entire area had a green and grey tone to it. Steam hung in the air, casting shadows across them.

Spyro had to agree with them. The place sucked. At least they were heading north still, and if luck was kind to them, they were close to those trees with the Libaith Herbs. They moved through slowly, their feet continuing to get stuck in the mud. Krypto was having the hardest time, his weight sinking him in every time he took a step.

"I've only been here 30 minutes..." He said. "And I already hate this swamp." The others agreed.

"Come on, just a little further... I think..." Spyro said. After a few more minutes of their slopping in the muck, they finally reached solid ground. A path went out in front of them, surrounded by water and flooded swamp on all sides. They walked on the narrow pathway, it feeling a little more comfortable as the smell wasn't as bad there, just making you cringe instead of wanting to send your breakfast all over the ground- that is, if they had remembered to eat breakfast.

As they walked on the solid ground, Roxy looked around as she saw the water glowing. Tom saw it too and nudged her.

"Roxy, your sword." He said. She looked down and sure enough, it was glowing brightly.

"Guys!" She said as she drew it. The others looked and put their guard up as the water rippled farther down.

"Come on, we're sitting ducks on this path!" Spyro said, ushering the group to move to a solid piece of ground ahead of them. As they ran, they saw figures digging out of the ground and emerging into the light.

The creatures were hairy rats, their eyes sealed, possibly from living underground. They had a whip-like tail and they were covered in dirt. They flexed their claws and sniffed the air, catching their scent and hissing.

"Those are probably the Mudrats..." Cynder said, skidding to a stop next to Spyro.

"We have to get through them, come on guys!" He said, leading a charge towards them. The others ran with, Krypto flapping his wings and soaring above them since the canopy above them allowed him to fly.

The Mudrats heard them and charged too, flexing their claws as more climbed down from the trees.

Spyro was the first to contact, knocking a rat into the water with his horns. The others hit, one slapping Cynder with its tail and another rolling to the side and leaping onto Aaron. Aaron bit its leg but this did nothing as more grabbed onto Aaron and took him into the water along the path.

"Aaron!" Roxy said as she avoided one and stabbed another with her sword.

"I've got him." Krypto said as he dove into the water, the water proving to be deep enough for him to go in, and that was saying something. More rats piled onto the small path they occupied, leaping onto them and scratching them.

"Damn these guys!" Zephyr said as he had one on his back and another biting his arm. He tossed one into the water and tossed the other down, biting it with his fangs in the neck. Cynder used her claws and laced them with her poison, clawing at the rats and giving them a nice little gift to go with it. The poisoned rats hissed and cringed, some retreating while others collapsed on the spot. Spyro kicked 2 away while clearing the path for them, using electricity to spark the moist air in front of him, creating a large CRACK of electric current that flowed through all the rats in front of them.

Krypto burst from the water and landed on the ground ahead of them, holding Aaron in his arms, Aaron coughing and covered in the swamp water. The group ran towards them as Krypto released him and breathed fire at more mudrats, causing them to retreat into the swamp.

"You alright?!" Roxy said while she ran up to him.

"Yeah..." He coughed as he panted from being underwater. "I'm fine..." He kept coughing, some water coming out as he had obviously inhaled some.

"Maybe we should stop a bit." Spyro suggested, walking up.

"No, let's keep going, those guys'll be back if we don't keep moving..." Aaron said.

"He's right." Cynder said.

"Those rats knew this place was a good ambush spot... they are smarter then we think..." Tom added.

"Then let's go before they come back." Spyro said, ushering them to continue onwards. The group did so, Aaron shaking his body to clean it from the water on him.

They ran off through the swamp, the dark murky trees around them creating a depressing scene as they walked onwards, leaves fluttering through and more movement seen through the trees.

"Those things are following us..." Zephyr said as they ran.

"Spyro?" Krypto asked, wanting to know if he should attack them.

"No, no, keep going, we're sitting ducks here like on the land bridge." He said, trying to find some solid ground to fight on if they attacked.

"Look, there's some grass up ahead!" Cynder said, pointing to an area up ahead. They moved to it quickly and noticed that the area had abruptly changed. The swamp was still present, but the grass was greener here and a hill moved to another part of the forest or bog or whatever it was now.

They walked onward through the grass, the air still murky but the ground being solid and the plant life being more abundant.

"We must be close to it now, these plants are-" Spyro stopped midsentence and looked out over the path.

"What is it Spyro? See something?" Cynder asked, looking too. Then she saw it too.

There, in the path, sat a small anthro squirrel.

"Thomas?" Spyro asked, approaching the creature.

"Huh, what?" He popped up, obviously sleeping.

"What is with this guy..." Tom said in a gruff voice.

"...What are you doing here...?" Spyro asked.

"Oh... hey guys. I was just looking for some Libaith and I decided to take a little nap..."

"Um... ok?" Cynder asked, a confused look on her.

"The Mudrats don't bother you?" Roxy asked.

"Obviously not... or he'd be chopped meat by now..." Krypto threw in.

"Nah... those cuddly things?"

"Cuddly?!" Aaron asked, almost infuriated.

"Just kidding... nah, they don't bother me." He said.

"Well, maybe you could help us, we're looking for Libaith too." Spyro said.

"Really? I know where they are."

"Yeah, that's why I'm asking..."

"Oh, well I could help you out."

"Where are they?"

"They're just down this path, towards the Libath trees! C'mon I'll show you!" Thomas began a sprint into the dark trees.

"Wait up!" Spyro said, darting after him. The others ran right behind, trying to keep up. After a few minutes they entered an open area with trees surrounding the entire area. 3 Large trees sat in front of them, fruits hanging from long vines, each glowing a bright orange. The entire area was illuminated by their light, even through the trees were enormous, taller than the original dragon temple that Spyro remembered. They were about... maybe 30-50 feet high. Flowers grew along the upper parts of the trunks.

"It's the libath tree..." Thomas said, in front of them.

"What are those fruits?" Cynder asked.

"Those are the Libaith fruit. It's said that if you eat one, you will be granted powers only chosen for the ancestors themselves... but the fruits don't work for everyone." They all looked up at the fruits that were above them, almost the size of one of their heads. They looked amazing... but they were here for the flowers.

"Well let's get those Herbs and get out of here." Spyro said.

"I got it!" Thomas said while running to the base of the tree and trying to climb its enormously wide tree trunk. Leaves fluttered through the scene, with the orange light from the fruits and from the other parts of the forest creating a scene of awe, of majesty.

"It's beautiful..." Cynder said while looking at the fruits from afar. Spyro nodded in agreement.

"I wonder what they taste like..." Aaron said, licking his lips.

"Aaron." Cynder said, sort of hushing him.

"What? I'm hungry." He said with a smirk.

As Roxy looked up at the squirrel climbing the tree, she felt something and looked down to see her sword giving off its signature glow. Movement was seen all throughout the trees as the others saw it too.

"Mudrats again..." Krypto said as he looked around. Spyro turned and saw them as well, growling a bit. Though they kept their distance for some reason as they stood in the clearing, the only sounds other then their feet shuffling in the grass being the birds chirping in the distance. The wind blew through softly and made them feel a bit more uneasy as they continued to see the rats in the distance.

"What're they waiting for..." Aaron said under his breath.

"You guys scared of a few rats?" Thomas said from up high on the trunk, nearing the herbs.

"Hey forget you man!" Aaron called back up. Thomas chuckled and kept climbing, almost there.

"I'm fixing to just shoot an arrow to those damn rats..." Roxy said while getting her bow and arrows out, aiming out towards the rats in the distance.

"I hope you guys are having as much fun as I am..." Thomas said right before grabbing onto one of the herbs.

As he grabbed the flowers, the rats sprung into action, darting through the brush and plant life and into the clearing, darting at them with incredible speed. Other creatures joined them, a few large beetles and frogs from the swamp, all coming at them.

"Great!" Zephyr said before flapping his wings and pushing some back with his wind abilities. Roxy fired her arrow the first chance she got, Cynder buried herself into the ground with her shadow abilities and Aaron and Spyro immediately fired beams of energy at the oncoming creatures. Krypto flapped his wings to gain elevation and charged headlong into the oncoming rats, crushing some on impact.

As the rats and other creatures drew closer, Cynder burst forth from the ground and tossed many of them into the air, perfect targets for Spyro's lightning attack and Aaron fired beams of acute dark energy that pierced through the rats and killed many on contact. Roxy fired her arrows like a precision rifle, replacing each she fired almost immediately and firing it off, only to replace it with another. Krypto flapped his wings and swatted at any of the creatures that got close, cutting through their numbers. Tom leaped to the side and roared as he slammed into three of the rats, tossing them aside and biting them fiercely.

Spyro was about to attack a rat when a large piece of the tree smashed a crowd of oncoming rats. Spyro looked up and saw that it had fallen from a part of the trunk that Thomas was climbing.

"Sorry! My bad!" He yelled from above, retrieving more of the herbs from the flowers around, filling a pack.

"Hurry!" Cynder yelled.

"Yeah, yeah I got it!" He yelled, putting the last herb into his sack, closing it up. "Finished!" He yelled down to them. Spyro nodded, unleashing a fire onto another group of rats assaulting them. Krypto stood in their way and slashed them with his tail, creating a buffer between them and the rats. Thomas began his climb back down, almost slipping a bit as the others retreated near the base of the tree because more of those rats were on their way. Thomas landed on the ground and dusted himself off casually. The others around him fended off the rats and were struggling just to do that.

"You guys ready to go?" He asked casually.

"Oh let me think for a second, YES!" Aaron yelled as he spat balls of dark energy at a rat and another creature.

They made a run for the opposite side of the clearing, a gully that lead out to another area of the forest.

"Why are these guys so bent on attacking?!" Zephyr asked as he dashed with them.

"They view the Libaith Herbs as sacred to them somehow, it makes them a little angry when someone tries to pick them!" Thomas stated.

"Oh you think?!" Aaron retorted back.

"I think they passed angry a while ago!" Cynder said as well.

"Keep going, head for the gully!" Spyro said, ushering them towards the gulley.

"Way ahead of you!" Roxy said.

"Quickly, they're on our tail!" Tom said.

Krypto skidded and unleashed a jet of fire at the rats right behind them as they ran. The rats let out a shriek as they burned, Krypto letting out an un-amused huff and rejoining the gang.

They dashed into the gully, it being about twice as wide as Krypto and surrounded by trees on all sides. The gully went downhill, and it seemed to be heading back towards the village but they hoped that it didn't go back into the swamp. These trees were way too tall to try and fly over as well. They continued to run through until the slope became too steep for them to keep a foothold on. Krypto was the first to slip, because of his larger weight and stature. He tried to take flight but the canopy above him was too short. He collided with the others and they tumbled down the steep slope.

"Holy shit!" Zephyr yelled out.

"Hang on!" Cynder yelled as well as they fell.

They hit the ground with a thud.

"Everyone alright...?" Spyro asked. Moans answered him, as well as grunts.

"Stupid rats..." Aaron said as he coughed and got up.

"Got that right..." Roxy responded.

"Someone's on my tail..." Krypto said very sternly.

"Uh... sorry about that..." Spyro grunted and got off his tail, getting to his feet and shaking off the fall. Everyone else got up as well.

"Where's Thomas?" Spyro asked.

"I thought he was with us." Cynder said, looking around. Thomas wasn't with the group.

"Where'd that little bastard run off to now..." Roxy said.

They suddenly heard muffled sounds from under Kryto.

"Get this thing off of me..." They could barely make out. The group chuckled as Krypto got up and revealed Thomas underneath him, gasping for air.

"Get a little squished there?" Aaron laughed.

"Are the herbs ok?" Spyro asked.

"Yeah... got 'em right here..." Thomas held up his bag with the herbs in them. He joined in the laughter as Cynder helped him up and they started back towards the village.

They arrived at the village sometime later, having no trouble at all finding the old man.

"I sees you have returned! Have you brought them Libaiths?" He asked.

"We sure did!" Aaron said cheerfully his stomach reminding him why he went through all that.

"Well let me see them there herbs..." Thomas presented his sack and the old man looked inside.

"Yes... yes this is perfect!" He said. He reached into his jacket that he wore over his shirt and produced about 30 of those yellow gemstones.

"As promised! Here is yer pay..." He handed them their money and Spyro had trouble holding it so he gave them to Roxy. Roxy smiled and placed all 30 into her backpack.

"Now I know who to call if'n I need someone to get me more of them Libaith. Good day to ya!" He said while walking off. The others turned to Roxy who smiled and got out some of the gems.

"Well, time to eat!" She said. The others cheered. It wasn't long before they had gotten their food and sat down on a group of tables near the center of the village. Others from the village were eating there too and they all sat around a single table, eating their food. Spyro chewed on a sheep's leg while Cynder had some bird meat. Aaron and Zephyr had both gotten soup, well Aaron ordered more than the soup, he had also gotten some lamb, and Tom and Roxy had both gotten some meat with some vegetables. Krypto had gotten an entire lamb, which cost them 10 gemstones. They only had maybe 5 gems left, but they weren't complaining.

Thomas sat with them too, eating a bit he bought with his own gemstones.

"Weren't you going back to your village?" Zephyr asked as they ate.

"Eh, I've been there hundreds of times, I want to explore more around here." He said, taking a bite.

"Thanks for helping us with those herbs." Spyro said.

"Hey no problem! Needed to find some more anyway. I'll take the rest that I have to my village once I'm done here." He said, patting a second bag of herbs he had.

"There any more settlements along the coast between here and the cove?" Spyro asked.

"Well there's a Wolves' den to the West, and to the South there's this strange new metal fortress that has sprung up." Thomas said, pointing towards the Frigate down by the shore that they could barely see through the treetops.

"Oh yeah, that's the Human Frigate." Cynder said.

"The Human what?" Thomas asked, a little confused. The others chuckled at this.

"We'll explain later." Spyro finally said.

Aaron chuckled a bit more and took another sip of his soup, enjoying it fully. He heard someone talking from another table. He knew it was rude to listen in on other people's conversations but he just couldn't help himself...

"Those blasted 'coons took more from the storage house last night..." One villager said.

"They stole a few pieces of my wood last night, I caught them too but they got away." Another said in reply.

"I can't believe those little bastards have taken so much and we can't find their blasted hide out."

"They're a band of thieves! I can't believe our Village Warrior Chief cannot locate their lair!"

The two villagers got up and walked away. Aaron thought for a bit but returned to his food.

They ate a bit more before a panic caught their attention. It was hard not to...

"Help! Help! Somebody stole my egg!" A large pink female dragon lumbered into the scene, panting. All their heads turned to the large female dragon who was panting. A few got up but Spyro was already getting out of his seat.

"Did you see who it was?" Spyro asked, trotting over, the others groaning and following.

"It was this hooded man... inside a turban! There he goes!" She pointed to a figure a few feet taller than Spyro wearing a large blue turban that covered his body head to toe. His eyes and menacing yet almost comical smile was only visible, as well as the dragon egg he so firmly held onto in his hands. He laughed and taunted the group in a very childlike manner, and the group didn't know whether to laugh, or be offended.

He dashed off with great speed into the crowd. Spyro ran after, urging the others to as well.

"Well I guess I was already full..." Aaron said as he dashed off with the others, Thomas sleepily going as well. The crowd got out of the way willingly as the thief ran off along some catwalks that were suspended between hills surrounding the main town square. The huts were beginning to be made more of stone now and some almost castle-like as they entered the main hub of the village. Spyro glided over a gap in a broken bridge. The others following just as well and the thief, by some miracle or by some innate ability to defy the laws of physics and gravity, leapt across the gap without even a slight hesitation or sign of trouble and landed safely in front of Spyro and the group.

"What is with this guy?!" Aaron said as he flapped his wings to get in front of Spyro and the others, Zephyr and Cynder doing the same. Spyro continued on his foot path, skidding as they came to the town square again. There was a fountain in the middle and buildings surrounded the area. He looked around and finally spotted the thief again. He taunted in his usual manner and laughed, covering his mouth a big as if to stifle a laugh. Spyro growled and gave chase again, Cynder and Aaron landing on the buildings on either side of the thief and trying to flank him.

Zephyr, Roxy, Tom and Krypto had gone another path, a road that went around in an almost C hook to get ahead of the thief. Spyro continued to chase him by foot on the direct path, gaining speed and almost catching up. The thief though was fast! Almost unbelievably so! Finally Aaron and Cynder leapt down and cut off the thief, who turned and ran down an alleyway.

"Damn it!" Cynder yelled. Spyro skidded and turned almost on a dime in his hot pursuit. The thief disappeared around a corner and Spyro did another dime like turn to find the adjacent alleyway empty. He panted for a second and gave an inquisitive look to the alleyway, almost as if to ask it where he had gone. The childlike taunting was still audible, so he knew he was close. Cynder and Aaron stood behind him, panting too. The others had lost track of the group by now and had probably gotten lost in the streets.

Spyro finally growled and ran into the alleyway, the sides flanked by buildings on one side and a large stone wall on the other. Spyro stopped as the sound was at its peak, almost like the thief was standing right in front of him. Spyro thought for a second before grunting and kicking the wall to his right. The wall caved in- a breakaway section. On the other side the thief sat in a hole. He was in a dead end.

Spyro tackled the thief and he grunted with an audible "oof!" as Spyro landed on top of him. Aaron walked over and took the egg from him.

"I'll just take that..." He said with a huff.

The thief just growled at them, Spyro STILL not being able to see through the shadow made by the turban. The hole the thief sat in seemed like a little hide out. There were shelves of food there, some other items Spyro presumed were stolen and some more yellow gemstones. There were also some more eggs stashed in a crate nearby.

"Looks like you hit the jackpot Spyro." Cynder said with a smile as Spyro inspected the crate while still on top the thief.

At this point, the others arrived with some guards who arrived at the hole.

"Oh shit, looks like you got him." Zephyr said, walking up.

"This little bandit has terrorized the town for some time..." One of the Guards said while walking up. Spyro got off and the Guards quickly binded his hands in chains and walked off with him.

"Oh my egg!" The female dragoness said as she walked up and Aaron handed her the egg with a smile.

"No problem ma'am." Spyro said, the others nodding.

"Oh but I should give you something at least!" She thought for a minute before reaching into her sack she had on her side and producing a small green orb gemstone. The orb had two golden rings on it, both ran in an X pattern and encircled the gemstone. It shone with brilliance and they looked at in awe.

"It's an orb!" She said.

"An orb?" Spyro asked as he took it and held it in his hands.

"Yes! You can either sell it or keep it. It's a good luck charm and can help you find your way sometimes. Just a little thing I found out while walking and it's really all I can give."

"You didn't have to give us anything, we're just happy to help."

"Oh but I insist!"

"Well thank you."

The dragon smiled in approval as Spyro nodded and they began to walk back, the others joining them finally and looked tired from running.

"Man, we missed the party..." Zephyr said.

"Can we finish lunch now?" Aaron asked.

"Sure..." Spyro said. The others chuckled.

It was midday before they set out again, traveling along a forest path outside of the village. Leaves fluttered as storm clouds hovered overhead and a calm sea wind blew through. The air had a slight chill to it, surprising since they were so close to the ocean. It was obvious these were aftereffects of the two unlocked keys further north, changing the weather. Regardless, they kept walking along the path leaving the village. Thomas was tagging along with them, much to Aaron's dismay.

The path was rugged, having both the regular dirt and partial road quality as cracked grey pricks indicated a former paved pathway that they walked on. The trees and growth got more dense as they traveled inland more, but to the west. Thomas had spoken of a Wolves' Den just to the northwest of the village and Spyro wanted to check it out at least before heading south to the Human Frigate.

They walked past a few temples and ancient structures in the forest, the trees reclaiming its lost land as the stone crumbled and cracked before nature. Vines and plants outstretched onto the old path as they walked, a scene of both ancient architecture and nature being created.

It wasn't long before some of the structures were becoming metal. Large metal pylons and structures rose from the dirt and the dense overgrowth, hiding secrets lost from time. Spyro noticed that there were two distinct design characteristics to the metal structures though.

One seemed very different from what he was used to. Angular, more robust and definitely built a long time ago. The other design seemed to mimic the older, but was a bit more to what Spyro deemed 'familiar'. Though this was just slight, not a whole lot. The 'newer' design seemed to have its own appeal but resembled the other greatly, as if it took inspiration from it. Spyro wondered if these architects were from the previous Age, before them. He recalled when Rithul and Diablo both spoke of the Final Solution having been used twice in the past. He wondered if the first design was made by those who lived in that first age, and if the 'newer' design was from the second. It would seem logical, and then all the stone structures were from his age. Though it was hard to tell since according to Malefor, the Chronicler, Rithul and Diablo, the Great Cleansing had reset the weapon and this world. There could have been countless generations and ages between himself and the last 'great age' or usage of the Final Solution.

The area ahead of them seemed to be very dense jungle and the pylon structures sticking out of the ground seemed to lead back to the beach. The wolves' den was to the northwest, so going to the beach wasn't going to get them anywhere. They'd have to punch through the dense overgrowth.

"How far away is this den?" Cynder asked, almost reading Spyro's thoughts.

"Oh it's just through this overgrowth! It's not too far!" Thomas said while walking towards the brush. They walked too, and stopped before it. The path was smaller than their tail width.

"And... we're supposed to get through this how...?" Cynder asked.

"We could just fly..." Aaron suggested.

"Or do this." As Krypto said this he used his large paws like a machete and cut through the forest and the switched to his sharp tail blade which sliced and cut throughout the trees as he walked through slowly, cutting them a path.

"That works too!" Aaron said.

They all fell in behind Krypto as he walked along, cutting through the trees. They walked a bit before reaching a clearing, two temple structures flanking either side of their path and a large grassy field leading to a cave. This wasn't a regular cave, as it went downwards instead of just straight into the mountainside. Well... Spyro wasn't so quick to call it a mountainside either. It was more like a large, very large mound of dirt or a hill that the path went down in to. A large hole was the entrance, being more wide then tall and being large enough to fit one of the Human's drop ships in to.

Wolves and other species walked in and out of the cave being both feral and anthro. There seemed to be more feral wolves here though, which was understandable. A small guard tower sat near the entrance, wolf warriors standing inside it and around it, patrolling. Shields and swords sat against the side of the hill, many bloodied up and dirty, possibly from a recent battle. Maybe this area had been hit by the Dark Armies recently.

They walked into the cave and the darkness wasn't as bad as they thought it'd be. Krypto fit, much to his pleasure as they walked into the torch lit cave which went onwards with huts and stone structures built into the sides of the caves. Many Wolves and other creatures walked through the center cave, some buying and trading, some sitting with families or some just moving about with no absolute purpose. Deeper in it seemed that it was more for local residents then the passer bys or traders.

"So I guess we're done here? Doesn't look like this place has much in the way of problems." Aaron asked. Spyro thought for a second. Aaron was kind of right. This place didn't seem like it needed any help, they had a pretty good defense and it seemed wise to keep moving south to the Frigate along the cove. Maybe if they-

"Hello there, haven't seen too many dragons lately." A voice caused their heads to turn to the side, including Thomas's lazy head.

A feral wolf with grey fur, tanned spots on its face and beady blue eyes sat before them. The wolf had some rags along its body for some form of clothing but nothing big. It was obviously a she.

"Yeah, not many of us left..." Aaron said.

"As well as us. For some reason the Dark Master doesn't like Wolves." She said.

"He doesn't like anybody." Spyro finished for her. The wolf nodded.

"Speaking of which, have you guys seen any of his forces around?" She asked.

"No, we haven't run into any." Spyro answered.

"I see. They attacked our cave a few hours ago and headed south. It was a small band but they took something of value to our leader."

"Took what?" Cynder asked.

"A precious family heirloom to him. It has been in his family for generations. We call it a Talisman."

"What's it look like?" Spyro asked.

"It's a token with a wolf's paw and a small gemstone inside of it. We've sent many parties out to search for the Talisman but they haven't found anything..." She said in disappointment.

"We could find it for you if you like." Spyro said with a smile. The others smiled too, figuring this'd be a lot easier then the libaith mission.

"Wait hold on a minute Spyro." Aaron took his shoulder and pulled Spyro in closer.

"Listen, I know you like helping the local population but some of us are getting a little tired and we want to hurry and get back to Warfang..." He said.

Spyro looked around at the others. They looked the other way and didn't want to say anything. Spyro sighed.

"I could make it worth your while..." The wolf said, hearing part of the conversation. They all looked at her.

"I have something I could reward you guys with if you can do it." She said.

"I guess." Aaron said. Spyro nodded. Aaron sighed. Nobody listened to little old Aaron. Oh well.

"That's great! Something told me I could trust you guys!" She said.

"We'll set out at once." Spyro said.

"Thank you so much!" The Wolf said. Spyro nodded and lead the group out of the caves.

They came back to the field to find the same scene as they had seen before, wolves and other species using the roads as a crossroads going East, South and North. They'd have to head South towards the coast.

They started out down south, walking along the path the villagers were taking until they branched off to their own little houses along the sides of the road and they themselves entered a side path of their own that lead to the beach. By now the sky was a light grey, cloudy and a bit humid. The temperature was cool, very much so considering the time of year. This was probably a result of the keys. After all, that much energy being spewed into the atmosphere was bound to have effects on the weather. Go figure.

Walking along through the dense beach overgrowth the subtle sounds of gunfire were heard far off in the distance. Possibly the Marine Frigate along the cove. Whatever it was they kept walking.

About half an hour had transpired between the time they had taken off to the time they reached the end of their path. They came to an area where the path ran horizontal to them, the path dropping off to a river about several feet below. Another path ran parallel to the one they were coming on to, running along the opposite side of the river following theirs. The opposite side of that path had cliffs that ran up and then a large rocky overhang stretched out from the cliffs and created a 'roof' over the path running parallel to theirs.

They entered the path and walked south, the waters of the ocean visible farther down as trees coated the entire side of the pathway.

"Sure seems nice." Aaron stated.

"Yeah, though it's colder than it should be..." Cynder said, stating what everyone was thinking and they all nodded.

They walked south along the path and the path slowly became more rocky, and stone structures occupied the path with them. The structures were nothing more than a few pillars sticking up from the ground from where a building might have been. A few statues here and there, maybe a few fallen pieces of brick and mortar that sat around.

Sand started to cover the stones and soon they found themselves surrounded by palm trees and the sea air blowing into their nostrils. Water beat against the rocks nearby and the cool ocean waves sat just in front of them. They were at the beach again.

"Well no sign of that Talisman..." Zephyr said with a sigh. Spyro sighed too. Maybe this mission was just a waste of time...

Along the edge of the waters there sat a piece of a broken ship, the side of the wooden hull sitting along the sandy waters and someone inspecting something inside the broken hull of the ship.

"Hey, who's that?" Cynder asked.

"Probably a local villager." Spyro said, looking too.

"Well, yeah, but maybe he knows where the troops went with the Talisman!" Cynder said, nudging Spyro.

"True, let's ask him." Spyro said, motioning the others over.

They walked along the beach until they could make out the figure more. The figure stood no more then 3 feet off the ground, and had a mole-like tail. A large straw hat occupied his head and a small candle burned from atop that hat. His fur was dark and he held a cane, and they could barely make out a white mustache that sat on his face. As the figure turned around Spyro immediately recognized him.

"Mole-yair!" Spyro proclaimed, running up.

"Who?" Cynder asked, going up.

"Spyro? Is that you? How are you old friend!" Mole-yair said in a thick French accent as he lifted his hand to hear. He was obviously blind.

"How are you Mole-yair? How've things been?" Spyro asked, walking up.

"Oh they've been fine, ever since Cynder's forces and now the Dark Master's forces were defeated, we've managed to take back our own mines again."

"That's great!" Spyro said, smiling.

"Yes but I fear, the Dark Master has returned..."

"Yes, he has."

"Just as I thought. He drove us once again from our homes deep within Boyzitbig and now we're scattered all around. They've taken our mines and are using them to make their weapons of war... Before I left we found them already taking ship loads of weapons of the island and to their fortress deep in the north..."

"The north?"

"Yes, the Dark Master has retreated deep into the Valliyor Pass, far to the north. Underneath the mountains he has a metal works forge that makes all his weaponry, as does our own Volcano. They use it like they have before to craft their weapons, but on a far larger scale. I fear they do other things there too..."

"I see..."

"Yes, things are looking far worse now then before."

"That's putting it mildly." Aaron said, pointing at the Manweresmall.

"So who is this guy Spyro?" Cynder finally asked.

"Cynder, this is Mole-yair. He is the leader of the Manweresmalls who lived in Boyzitbig while you were still in power. That's where we first met..."

"I see..." She said, remembering it all too well.

"Did you say... Cynder..." Mole-yair said.

"Yes, this is Cynder! Don't worry, she's not like she used to be."

"Are you sure Spyro?"

"Yes, I am." He said, smiling to Cynder who returned it.

"Well then, I guess things have really changed." Mole-yair said as he placed his cane into the sand.

"What're you doing here?" Spyro asked.

"Just walking the beach here, trying to find any of us who also made it." He said while rubbing his cane.

"You sure they all came onto shore?" Spyro asked.

"I am confident of that." He responded. He turned and looked down the beach and held his cane for a moment, as if thinking. "Well I better get going," he said softly, "I just hope that you can find whatever you're looking for." He said.

"Thanks Mole-Yair, you too." Spyro said. He nodded and walked down the beach and disappeared into the trees.

"Who was that guy?" Aaron asked.

"An old friend." Spyro said in return.

"Well let's hurry up and find that Talisman and get to the Human ship on the coastline, am getting hungry again..." Zephyr said, saying what some of the others were thinking.

Spyro nodded and started off along the beach again, the others following right behind.

"Hey, I see something!" Roxy said and pointed out. Out far long the beach, there was a cove where there appeared to be bodies lying in the sand.

"They look like Apes..." Tom said.

"Apes...?" Spyro asked. They dashed down the beach and reached the bodies. They were Apes. They weren't the skeletons that Spyro had fought in the ruins of Old Warfang either, they were the old Apes, like what Spyro had fought in years past. They had reverted somehow...

"Looks like something nailed these guys..." Thomas said in his usual sleepy manner, stretching and picking up something in the sand.

"Hey, check this out." He said.

They turned and saw Thomas holding a token with a wolf's paw in it, as well as a gemstone.

"Hey, that's the Talisman!" Aaron said.

"Oh, it is? I didn't notice..." Thomas said, scratching his head.

"Let's take it back over to the Wolves' Den." Spyro said.

Suddenly without warning four apes dashes out of the treeline and landed all around them.

"Oh great, what now?!" Aaron asked as he backpedaled at the sudden engagement.

"Give us that talisman dragon..." Their leader said as he clenched his fist.

"This thing?" Thomas asked.

"Don't give it to them Thomas!" Spyro yelled.

"It's the purple one... attack!" The leader yelled, recognizing Spyro. Immediately the apes leapt into action, charging them.

"Oh no you don't!" Roxy yelled as she brought her sword out and struck an ape down as it came headlong at her. Tom kicked an ape to the side while Spyro unleashed a jet of fire onto the apes who screamed in pain and dashed around. Their leader growled before raising a staff to fire magic at Spyro before Cynder closed her eyes, forming a tornado around the leader who was sent into the sand, grunting. The others defeated, Spyro and the gang turned to the ape leader who groaned, rubbing his head.

"What's so important about this talisman?" Spyro asked.

"You'll never understand dragon... you and your new found allies will be crushed! I'll be back... and you can be sure we'll take that talisman from you..."

"Hah! As if! We have you captured! Jokes on you!" Zephyr said.

"Foolish children." The ape simply said as he raised his staff and he vanished in an instant.

"Ok, what the hell is going on? I know you've fought these guys before, we all have. You have no idea what that talisman does for them?" Roxy turned to Spyro.

"No, I have no idea." Spyro said, shaking his head.

End of Chapter 31