Chapter 7 Churches of Doom Pt. 2

We walked for quite a few hours. I smelled the air for water but, all I smelled was dust and dry air. I looked around and saw cacti everywhere.

“Flicka, does a cactus have water in them?” I asked her.

“Not these cacti. These contain poison. They look ok from the outside but, the inside will kill you.” Flicka said as she looked at me.

“Oh. I guess I’ll have to go thirsty for the rest of the way.” I said as I continued to walk toward the town of Salamandera. Flicka followed me. She stopped and listened.

“He’s coming. Run! Run!!” Flicka yelled as she ran as fast as she could. I started running also.

“Run little ponies, run! You can run but you cannot outsmart me!!” An old scraggly voice snarl.

“Flicka!! We need to outsmart him!!” I yelled as I ran.

“You go left, and I’ll go right. Stop about a mile from the turn and look at him.” Flicka replied as she ran along beside me.

“Split!” Flicka yelled as she turned.

I did the same. We both stopped and looked at him. He looked toward me and growled.

“Give it here!” The scraggly voice yells at me.

“Wait, what? Give you what?” I asked as I looked at him.

“Give me the Jewel!” The scraggly voice snarls.

“I know who you are!! You are Gray Wolfendor!!” I yelled at him.

He looked at me stunned as he took the hood off and said, “You’re righ’. I am Gray Wolfendor. How’d you know?”

“I… uh… I figured the old priest was dead and I… uh…I admired you since I was little.” I said as I looked around.

“Hmm. You admired me since you were little? It does pay to stay young.” He says with a smile as his tail twitches.

“Y…yeah! That’s what I wanted to learn from you. I wanted to learn how to stay young like you.” I said as I looked him straight in the eyes.

“What abou’ your friend over there? She looks like fun.” He says with a smirk as he pointed to her.

“L…leave her be. She doesn’t care for you. She was helping me look for you.” I said as he went to grab my chin.

“Dearie dearest. If you want to know my secret, then you’ll have to marry me.” He said as he smirked as he grabbed my chin.

“Why would I marry an old dog like you?” I asked him as I smacked his hand away.

“Did you just call me an old dog?” He asked me as he started getting angry.

“I… I’m sorry. I get angry and spout things out before I think about it.” I apologized to him.

Wolfendor smiles and sits down in front of me. I looked at him confused.

“You know, you and your friend are interesting. Need some water, girlie dear?” He says as he smiles and waves Flicka to come. Flicka walked cautiously toward us.

“Find me a Rock and make me a bowl ou’ of this sand.” He says with a smile.

“N…no! I will not do that! We aren’t your slaves!” Flicka snapped as she stomped, and he got shocked with the lightning created by her stomp. He looked at her with a smile and stood up.

“You defy my orders when I can tell both of you need water and I have a way of purifying the poison into water?” He asks angrily.

Flicka started walking away and I followed her. Something stopped me and started pushing me back. I broke free of it and we ran into the town of Salamandera. We slid to a stop and looked at him. He howled and disappeared.

“Welcome to the town of Salamandera. How may I help you, ma’am?” A girl’s voice asked us. I turned around and saw a faun.

“Umm. Some water, please.” I said with a smile.

“Right away, your highness!” The faun said as she runs off.

“Your…highness? What’s that supposed to mean? We aren’t royalty.” Flicka says confused.

“I don’t know. I guess they say that to like saviors and visitors.” I said as the faun comes back.

“Here’s your water your highness.” The faun says as she set 2 bowls down in front of us.

“Thank you. Why did you call us your highness?” I asked her.

She smiled and said, “Long ago, 2 mares like you and your friend here, ruled this town. When they left, this town went downhill and never had any visitors. They never came back but we thought maybe you 2 were them but, I guess not. It’s very exciting to see visitors. You two look like you could use a bath and freshen up some.”

“Huh. Never thought about that.” I said as I smiled back at her. Flicka and I drank the water. It was refreshing on our throats.

“Can you show us where we can relax and clean up?” Flicka asked.

“Over by the run-down palace! There’s a blue building there. They’ll take care of you.” The faun says as she walks away.

Flicka and I walked over to the blue building. We walked in and they sat us down in chairs and started cleaning us up. After a couple of hours, Flicka was done. They still had to clean my wings and my talons on my front feet. They started giggling as they cleaned my feathers and fixed my talons. It took them another 3 hours, but they enjoyed it.

“Where can we sleep for the night?” I asked as the sun set and the sky turned a red color.

“Stay here and sleep. Red sky isn’t good.” A faun says as she closes the curtains.

“We need to hide you. Queen of night will be here, and she doesn’t like any visitors with powers.” The faun says as she starts pushing me.

“No. We want to see her and talk to her.” Flicka said as the door bursts open.

“Who wants to talk with me?” A wispy voice asks.

“We wanted to talk to you.” I said as Flicka and I turned around and the fauns bowed.

We saw a smokey but solid figure with wings and a horn.

“My, my, my. If it isn’t Vizzie, heir to the throne of Doligust. Why are you way out here?” It asks.

“What? Never mind. I am getting all 12 Jewels to defeat the Mad Mane Maker.” I said confidently. She starts laughing.

“How… how many do you have now?” She asks as she walks toward me.

“Me? No, it’s not you have. It’s WE have 4 of 12 Jewels. We need 8 more. Now, leave this town alone.” I said boldly as I slashed her face.

She backed away as blood droplets hit the floor. She glared at me and left the building. She left the town and the sky turned back to a normal purple color. The fauns cheered and smiled.

“There’s a hotel across the street. They will let you rest your tired eyes and body.” A faun with long hair says.

We walked to the hotel and they smiled. They showed us to a room and left. We walked in and saw 2 huge beds. I set the bag on the floor against the wall. Flicka and I laid down on the beds and slept.

We woke up the next day to something loud clinking. I looked in the bag and grabbed the wooden box. I looked in and saw the Agate, the 5th Jewel of the 12 Jewels. I closed the box up, put it in the bag and put the bag on my back.

“Ready?” Flicka asked me.

“Yes, I am.” I said as I opened the door.

We left the room and headed toward the clinking sound. We found the source of the sound. It was the training grounds of the Samurai Knights of Salamandera.

“Excuse me, can you guys stop for a few moments to talk?” I asked them.

They stopped and looked at us. The one with the golden helmet motioned the others to stand at attention. One lifted his golden helmet and looked at us. He was a Satyr.

“Hello, madams. How may I help you?” He asked us.

“What’s your name? We were wondering if you know who put the Agate Jewel in our stuff.” I said standing tall.

“My name is Helenfire. The Queen of Night did after you slashed her cheek. She said she had never seen someone so… confident and so well mannered.” He said with a smile.

“Oh. Well, do you know where the Emerald is?” Flicka asked him.

“Well, it’s here.” He said as he looks at me.

“Do you know where… never mind. I see exactly where it’s at.” I said with a smile.

“I won’t just hand it over. If you defeat me, I will give it up. One on one.” He says as he puts his helmet on.

“Who’s going against you?” Flicka asked.

“Vizzie. Vizzie will go against me. You are too strong, dear Flicka.” He says as he walks to the center of the grounds.

I took the bag off my back and handed it to Flicka. I walked to the center of the ground.

“How shall we do this?” He asked me.

“Combat. We can use magic, weapons and our powers including me flying.” I said confidently.

“Sure. That’s fine with me.” He says as he pulls out his Samurai sword.

I smiled and opened my wings. “Flicka! Count down!” I said with a smile.

“Ok. 3… 2…1…GO!” Flicka said as she looked at me.

I flew up as he swung his Samurai sword. I kicked him in the back as I flew past him. He fell to the ground as I landed a few feet away from him. He stood back up and grabbed his sword.

“Not bad, but not good enough!” He snarled as a ball of light appears in his hands.

“Are you sure, sir?” I asked him.

“Oke dragoo ase few!” He snarls as he aims the light at me and shoots it.

I dodged it by barely an inch. I swooped down and kicked him in his back. He fell to the ground and I landed next him. My legs burst into flames as I looked at him.

“Either give me your helmet or I will make you give it, very painfully!” I snapped at him. He stands up and bows.

“So…sorry. Here’s my helmet.” He says as he hands me his helmet. I take it and grab the Jewel from it.

“Thank you, sir. Wait, YOU TRICKSTER!!!!” I yelled at him as I threw the helmet down and crushed it. He smiled and looked at me.

“You didn’t specify no tricks used in the fight.” He says as he looked at me with a smirk.

“You are a cheater! Where is the real Jewel, Helenfire?” I asked him angrily.

“Tell us where it’s at!” Flicka snapped at him.

He started laughing. I grabbed him by the neck and flew up higher.

“Where is the real Jewel? I am the heir to the throne in Doligust!” I said as he grabbed onto my leg.

“L… Let me go!! I… I’ll tell you where it’s at. I didn’t l… lie about it being here.” He says as he started flailing.

“Tell me where it’s at!” I snapped at him as I kept ahold of his throat.

“Please! Set me down on the ground and I… I’ll show you where it’s at.” He says as he gasped for air.

I landed and let go of his throat. He backed away coughing. Then nets were thrown above us and landed on top of us. Flicka and I fell to the ground.

“YOU LIER!!!” I yelled as I struggled to stand up.

“Hehehe. You shouldn’t be so trusting. Did your mother and father ever teach you NOT to trust a Satyr? Oh! Did I strike a nerve?” He asked with an evil smile.

“Let us go, you monster!” I yelled as I kept struggling to stand up but, the ropes were too heavy.

“Give up, sweet heart. You’ll never get out of those ropes. I have won and, you have lost.” He said with a smirk.

“Save your breath.” Flicka said as she stood up with ease.

“How did you stand up?” He asked surprised.

“I have super strength, Helenfire. Now, let us go or I’ll bust through it like it’s nothing.” Flicka said angrily.

“Lift the ropes!!” He yelled. The ropes started lifting but as they lift the ropes, so did our feet.

“This isn’t letting us go!!” I yelled. He started laughing.

“Do you think I fear a couple puny animals like you? Well, I am not afraid you two. Now, open your eyes and see the world from where I stand. This world is cruel, and I learned it the hard way.” He said as he looked at me and Flicka.

“No. That’s a lie. This world is kind and thoughtful.” I said.

“Lies!!! You spout lies on that wise tongue of yours.” He yells as he faces away from us. We noticed his horns were gone but, he looked older.

“Where’s your horns?” I asked bravely.

“Huh? Oh, I lost them in a fight with… Gray Wolfendor.” He said angrily. “I thought you beat him.” Flicka said confused.

He snickers. “I did beat him, unfairly. I did the same with you two.” He said with a wicked smile.

“Silence!! No more of this… talk.” A gruff voice snaps as Helenfire bows.

“Sir! Please, get us down. We need…” I said as I was interrupted with a “I said Silence!!” The gruff voice snaps. I see a dark figure walk toward us.

“Get them down. They are my guests.” The gruff voice says.

My left front leg burst into flame and I burnt the ropes that was holding us.

“No need, sir. We are already free. We need the 6th Jewel which Helenfire wouldn’t tell us where it is,” I said as the gruff voice went to interrupt, “No, no, no. Don’t you interrupt me. He needs to be demoted. We are here to get the 6th Jewel and we will be on our way.” I finished.

He smiles and looks at me. He grabs my wing and looks at it.

“You can fly, can’t you?” He asks me.

“Yes sir. Now, where is the 6th Jewel?” I asked as I took my wing and folded it back against my body.

He smiles and starts walking away.

“Tie her wings to her body and have them walk this way.” The gruff voice says as he walks away.

“Show your face coward!” I yelled at him. He stopped walking and turned around.

“You don’t wan’ see my face, dearie dearest.” He said.

“It’s you!! Gray Wolfendor, isn’t it?” I asked him with a smile.

“How could you tell? By my voice, smell or the way I walk?” He asked with a grin as he took the hood off. He started walking away again.

“You cower below these Satyrs and you call yourself a leader, old dog. You are no leader, you are a selfish coward.” I said with a smile.

He stops abruptly and turns around to look at me.

“Coward? Is that how you see me, dearie dearest?” He asked with sad eyes.

“You are a coward. You cower below the protection of the Satyrs. Face me and tell me where the 6th Jewel is.” I said as I opened my wings and glared at him.

“Feisty one, aren’t you? I don’t want to fight. I will tell you where the Jewel is IF… you follow me kindly, sweet heart.” Wolfendor said with a smile as he started walking away.

“Enough talk. Now, tell us where it’s at right here, right now!” Flicka snapped as she stepped in front of him.

He stops, looks downward at the ground and smiles.

“I don’t wan’ make this hard. Now, follow me quietly or there will be consequences that you can’t tolerate.” He says as he grits his teeth.

“Tell us why we should follow you after you tried to attack us outside of Salamandera.” I said as I closed my wings and held them tight against my body.

“No. I’m not going to tell you that. Tie her wings down and put a muzzle on both. I don’t want them to interrupt me while I speak.” He says as he keeps looking downwards.

The Satyrs held my legs and wings as they tied my wings to my body. The put a muzzle on both of us. I opened my mouth as wide as it would go, and the muzzle ripped. It fell off and I looked at Wolfendor.

“No one puts a muzzle on me or Flicka.” I said as I ripped Flicka’s muzzle off.

“So be it. Walk this way… please.” He says angrily while gritting his teeth. He walks away and into a blue building.

“Shall we follow him?” Flicka asked as she looked at me.

“I have a feeling he’s lying but, lets follow carefully.” I said as I started walking forward.

“Coming or no?” Wolfendor asked as he poked his head out of the doorway.

“Yes, we are coming.” I said as Flicka and I walked toward the blue building he disappeared into. We walked into the building and stopped right inside the door.

“Walk this way, sweetie kins.” Wolfendor says with his fists clenched and they started glowing a greenish-gray color.

“This isn’t what you said. Where is the Jewel?!” I yelled as I looked at him.

“No, it isn’t but be SILENT!!” He yelled as he turned around and slammed us against the wall on both sides of the door. It knocked us both out.