A King's Legacy Ch. 08

A King's Legacy

Chapter 8: Warm Spot

When Aster opened his eyes, he couldn't make out anything around himself in the pitch black, but he certainly was aware of the extreme heat that already had him sweating profusely. As the human sat up with an achy groan, he began looking around, trying to find something he could discern to better orient himself on his surroundings. After finding nothing visible a moment later, the boy had an idea, and raised his left arm.

The golden light of his shield shortly illuminated the rust colored walls of the cavern, allowing the human to finally get a look around. He was inside of a large, spacious cave. The ground had odd indents, and was smoothed over, implying something large had been nesting in the sweltering hot cavern. He found his staff laying near where he had landed, and went to retrieve it immediately, thankful it hadn't been lost. Just as he was standing back up, the human heard a strained voice speak to him from nearby.

"Good, you are still alive then." Aster turned towards the source, and found none other than Prince Tyfin himself sitting with his back against the wall, panting heavily. The lion continued in a not so steady voice. "Sorry, I gave you everything I had back there, so I can't really move much right now." As the human recalled the events that had led them to wherever exactly they were, his face took on a gloomy expression.

"Are they always that strong? The demons? We couldn't do anything to stop it..." The prince let out a small chuckle, despite the dire circumstances.

"If they were all like that, I don't think there would be an Alora left. I've never seen or heard of anything that... Unstoppable before. Not in this age anyways. Whatever kind of demon it was, it's certainly on a level we've never faced before. The way it overcame Brutus like that... Alice... I don't know that we can beat it, but I think we have more pressing worries before us for the time being. I don't know what has been living in a den this size, but I don't want to be here when it comes back."

Aster couldn't agree more, so with a bit of effort, the prince was soon upright, leaning heavily against the smaller human's shoulder as the pair began to walk towards the only exit in sight. They weren't making fast progress, and the arid climate made breathing difficult enough on it's own, but soon they had managed to leave the initial heart of the cavern behind as they made their advancement into the other parts of the tunnel. Every so often, the pair had to stop to let Aster and the prince rest for a moment. Finally, the duo came to a split in their path. Aster let the prince decide on the left one, and obeyed. It wasn't like he had any more idea than the cat had as to which path lead to where, after all.

A short ways ahead, a loud scream carried through the cave ahead of them. Prince Tyfin gave the human a nod and some direction, and braced his weight against the stony wall as the human hurried ahead to investigate. He was lucky he'd arrived when he did to cast a light on the situation, as the source of the scream was already surrounded by six, two feet long scorpion-like creatures. They had two sets of claws on either side that constantly made a clacking sound as they were endlessly opened and closed, with a terribly deadly looking tail that whipped around limberly in the air. As the cornered beast threw a rock in a feeble attempt at scaring his attackers away, a creature snapped a claw forward, catching and shattering the stone as easily as glass. The same scorpion raised it's deadly tail, and struck forward. Aster threw his shield just in time to stop the attack, and illuminate the cornered prey enough to discern. The boy felt his heart sink into despair when he realized it was none other than Rust Aschefell, the small timid fox, that was cornered. The cub turned his terrified face to the human now, his eyes filled with tears of relief as he called out to his sudden beacon of light.

"Aster! PLEASE HELP ME! I don't know what's happening." The human took a step forward and let out a sharp whistle. Two of the creatures turned from the cornered fox, and began snapping their claws towards the human. Aster obviously couldn't understand the meaning there, but he was able to comprehend the gist of it. "Our food." The human took another step forward, and the two that had been threatening the boy started his way. Aster raised his staff in his right arm, and sliced through the first to reach him with ease. The monsters were surprisingly quick, as the other was upon him immediately after. The boy cast a new shield up to knock the creature back, and pierced through it's exposed underbelly quickly. His shield flickered away, leaving the drained boy and the fox in the darkness again, trapped with enemies he couldn't see.

Aster heard something scurrying his way, and managed a brief flash of the golden barrier to confirm what he had hoped for. All four remaining scorpions were charging the human now, deeming him the top priority and ignoring the cub it would seem. Aster forced his shield back up just in time to see an incoming sting to his left boot and sidestepped the attack, stabbing downwards through the crunchy exoskeleton. He quickly swung in an arc, connecting with another arachnid and sending it crashing into a wall with a snap where it fell a short ways to the ground lifeless. As Aster turned back to face the final two, his shield blinked away completely, refusing to resurface with almost all of the human's strength depleted. He had survived the most terrifying demon his kingdom had ever crossed swords with only to be killed by exhaustion, and a couple of bugs he couldn't see. Rust let out a small shout, realizing that his hero was blinded without the soft glow.

"They're charging your left! Watch out!" Aster could only take a leap of faith and trust the fox, swinging as widely as he could ground level on his left side. He felt his staff connect with one of the creatures, Rust letting out an excited "Yes!" as the human sliced through the darkness and the arachnid at the same time. Aster heard the final one begin snapping it's claws angrily in the cavern, sending a frantic chittering sound carrying into the surrounding darkness.

"He's almost there... Almost there... NOW!" Aster blindly swung his staff again, this time missing his mark. The boy felt something ding against the metal of his left leg's greave, and instinctively stabbed downward. The final creature died as it struck against the greave two more times in a final attempt at downing the human. Aster could only weakly try to catch his breath while he leaned on the staff, the slain arachnid still pinned beneath it. The fox started wailing as he cried in his relief.

"I- I thought you were gonna die! I thought I was gonna die. *sniff* I want my mom, Aster. I wanna go home. Where are we?" The human was still panting in a failing effort to get some relief to his dry lungs as he spoke in the most gentle tone he could muster at the time.

"It's ok buddy, it's ok. We are going to get you home, I promise. I need some help though, can you manage that for me? You helped me out a lot just now, so sorry to ask again, I just can't see in here." The fox nodded through his fear, his desire to help his friend outweighing it, and realized his silly error a moment later, speaking to the blinded human instead. His voice still was still hitching between sobs.

"Yes S-Sir, I can try." Aster just smiled softly, he really was a good cub.

"Prince Tyfin is behind me in that tunnel, can you go help him here while I wait for a moment? I didn't see anything scary over that way, so don't worry about anything like that." The fox sniffed again, and agreed to help, leaving Aster behind to stress over how exactly he could protect both of them as he was. They were far too important for entirely different reasons to the human, so he couldn't afford to mess this up, but he honestly wasn't even sure if he could stand again with the way his lungs and lips were burning in their struggle just to keep him breathing in the heat. A moment later, just as Aster had managed to get his labored breathing somewhat under control, he heard the sound of paws crunching against the dirt behind him as the pair stepped up next to him. The prince was the next to speak, laying a soft touch on Aster's neck, giving the human a small bit of energy.

"I had to borrow that from your friend here. It isn't much, but it will hopefully be enough to get us out of this cavern. I can at least walk by myself now, how are you faring? Can you stand?" The human recovered from his crouch, rejuvenated just enough by the small bit of power that had returned to him.

"I am fine, my prince. Do not worry for my sake. Save anymore energy left for you and Rust there, You two honestly may have to make a quick escape if we run into more trouble. If you can guide us in this darkness, I can make sure you get through one more obstacle at least. I can do that much. I- I don't think I can manage my shield right now." The prince listened to what the human had to say, but Aster got a first real taste of both the young lion's sharp tongue, and quick tempered wit as soon as he had finished.

"I pray I will never be the type of king that would let you do that. You foolishly undermine your own value, Aster Venatus, just as many beasts from your trial had attempted to. I did not wage a war for your life against half of my own court and even my father, the king himself, only for you to so readily think the same about yourself and cast that gift aside. More so, you do realize that an entire arena full of our citizens and some of our best warriors In the land just witnessed you, a 'lowly human,' whom they had begged me to kill mere weeks before, indisputably saved the life of the next king of Alora, right? That this boy, deemed not worthy of their respect or even acknowledgement, was the only thing in our arsenal that could even slow our attacker down for a bit. Sparing you turned out to be the only thing that saved my own life in the end. You said you wished to fight for me, yet the dead cannot do that. Right now, we may very well be the only three that ended up here for all we know. How far do you believe me and the fox could make it alone? My skills lie in supporting my allies as well, but unlike you, I can do little without a knight to stand behind. Your ceremony may have been... Interrupted, but are you a knight? Or an expendable tool waiting to be discarded? I only have use for one in my service Aster." Aster felt absolutely cut through to the bone as the words pierced his heart with such harsh truth. It hurt more because the boy knew his prince was spot on. It was a short-sighted, negative, and selfish way of thinking that wouldn't help anyone in the long run. He had never had anyone argue on behalf his value with such sharpened claws, but it was something he needed to hear. Something he needed to realize. The human could only bow his head as his veil of foolishness was torn to shreds, thankful to his prince.

"Forgive me. I can see that I am still rather ignorant in my way of thinking. Thank you, my prince." The lion put a hand on the smaller boy's armor, and looked him square in the eyes.

"Only because you were never taught otherwise. Ignorance is no fault of the bearer, yet, remaining ignorant is. Do not worry, I will instruct you on valuing yourself in time." After the human's harsh dose of reality, they set back out into the cavern in search of an exit, the lion directing the impaired human as the group went on silently. Aster finally asked what he had been hesitant to after a long silence.

"How did you even get here Rust? I mean, I know that blast must have moved me and the prince here, but you weren't even close to us, were you? How were you drawn here too?" The cub, who had finally stifled his tears for the time being, answered the question.

"I was with Pops, Grandfather that is, and we were escaping through the back tunnel like Dad said to. Dad stayed behind to protect the king... I heard a loud ringing and got worried about everyone, so I ran back up the slope to make sure you were all still safe. When I made it to the top, something like a shadow hit me fast and hard, and I woke up here...Do you... Do you think my dad is here too? Do you think he's alright? What if he ran into some of those things back there." Aster answered with the same lie he had been telling himself so he wouldn't resort to guessing at the fate of his own missing loved ones.

"I'm sure everyone is fine, Rust. I bet they killed that demon right after we got cast into wherever we are, and I bet they are trying to find us even now. If your dad is here, those things, or anything else in this cave for that matter, couldn't ever stop him from finding you." The fox meekly replied with a "Really?" Aster forced a smile at the cub. "You bet." Nobody felt like hearing anymore lies, no matter how soothing or tender, so the small trio staggered on forward. After what felt like a few hours, Aster realized in his delirium he was starting to be able to make out faint traces of their environment. There was finally light somewhere nearby. The human let out an audible sigh of relief as they turned a corner, and saw the sweet rays of the sun penetrating the arid darkness from further up ahead. They had made it to the exit at last.

Stahl had awoken alone over two hours before the human had, feeling a bit sore from the fight, but nowhere near as drained since he hadn't been the one shielding against everything the demon threw their way. As the wolf's mind filled in his memory, a grip of fear encased his heart. He was with Aster and his prince, but they were nowhere to be found. Alarms sounded in his mind as he assumed the worst, his mind playing dark tricks on him as he imagined his human and his prince laying slain before the demon, bleeding out in the large arena. The thought provoked a harsh shudder from the beast, so he did his best to push his panic aside, and work on what he could do something about, his current predicament.

The warrior stood, having to crouch from how low the cavern ceiling was, while making his way to anywhere but where he had awoken. The walls were close together where he was, and the wolf feared he may even be trapped between some of the more narrow places, but he managed to squeeze through where was needed without even losing his armor. He noticed the stench of sulfur combined with the staunch heat, and felt the warmth emanate from the very walls of rock that seemed to close in around him. He wasn't able to move quickly because of how narrow and small the passage got for him at times, but he progressed steadily enough until he reached an open area. He had been moving for well over half an hour by his guess, but this area was the first real drastic change he had seen, a good sign that he was at least making progress and out of such tight quarters he couldn't even defend himself in. Something caught the wolf's eye as out of place in this new area, and his mind surged back to the endless possibilities of unknown, and cruel fates.

Hanging from the ceiling, or rather from partially inside of the ceiling, was the bat he had been fighting alongside of. The creature was submerged up to it's torso in rock, a single arm hanging down limply from the embedded body. The familiar glaze of death glossed over his eyes and his mouth hung agape, his tongue already drying up from the extreme heat. Perhaps it was only bad luck for the bat, but it seemed the teleportation had it's own risks, as the evidence hung down above him. It would appear you wouldn't necessarily be moved to somewhere you could survive. Stahl had a wicked thought strike his mind like hot iron in a forge then.

'What if you find Aster like that next?' The panic had returned, hammering a sense of dire urgency deep into the wolf. He needed to get out of here, or he would perish alongside that bat from the madness of assuming the worst. The wolf quickened his pace, and moved through the now wider tunnel with increased vigor. It wasn't long until he saw an opening ahead, allowing his first glimpse at possible escape. As the wolf ran to it, his hopes were quickly crushed. The small hole was barely big enough for his arm to reach through. Stahl considered trying to force it open wider, but knew the stone would likely only destroy the edge of his sword, if it didn't break the steel outright. Instead, he figured he could at least try something else before moving on. The noble wolf took a deep breath of the arid air in, and shouted as loud as he could muster.

"HEEEEEEEEEYYY! CAN ANYONE HEAR ME? ASTER! PRINCE TYFIN! ANYONE OUT THEEEERE?" The warrior heard no response. Worth a shot anyways...

"KSSSSSSS." There was a sharp hissing coming from behind the wolf now. As Stahl turned to meet the creature, he was shocked to see a scaly, winged serpent gliding across the dirt. It was large, nearly 12 foot long, and a sickly, vibrant green color with a jagged, orange stripe running down it's spine. The fangs on the creature were bared and sharp, as it's front half hovered and bobbed in the air on leathery wings. It secreted a venom that sizzled against the very earth when it fell from the agape maw in thick droplets. Stahl drew his swords immediately as the creature drew it's head back sharply with a gust of it's wings, and tucked them in as it dove at him with blinding speed. Stahl crouched and rolled forward in a somersault, going below the strike and dashing forward. He used his left handed sword to slice open a decent sized groove in the lower scales as he did so. The serpent drew back in pain before it could be gutted completely, and spit a mouthful of acid at the wolf. Stahl couldn't move fast enough to fully dodge, and soon heard the creaking and groaning of metal buckling from heat as his bracer began dissolving immediately after barely managing to swing it up in time to protect his eyes. Despite the rancid smell of a little fur melting alongside the armor, the battle experienced wolf kept his eyes mainly on the creature as he unbuckled and dropped the melting steel from his arm. He couldn't afford a direct hit of that stuff.

"SOMEONE DOWN THERE?" Stahl about jumped out of his pelt when he heard the booming call from somewhere behind him. He couldn't afford to avert his eyes from the battle before him, but still, he shouted back his answer, happy to know he wasn't alone.

"Yes! Busy not dying though." The serpent struck again, this time the wolf accurately gauged it's movement, and sidestepped the strike while bringing his longer sword down, slicing the head from the creature as it's body spasmed below. The wolf gave a smirk towards his handiwork, and turned back to the opening in the ceiling. He couldn't see much through the small hole, but he could discern a massive black hoof that connected to a light brown, furry leg. Stahl knew who he was talking to. The bull was in the formation around the prince in the earlier battle, and a mentor to the wolf of sorts in the King's Army days.

"Captain Rix, that you up there?" A loud, deep yell resounded soon enough.

"IT IS ME! WHY ARE YOU DOWN THERE?" The wolf let out a sigh. Leave it to the captain to somehow overlook what had happened, insinuating that he wanted to be down here.

"Oh, you know, training. Thinking of having a nice picnic in such a romantic setting..." All traces of the sarcasm were lost upon the thick-headed bull.

"NO TIME FOR THAT! GET UP HERE!" Stahl felt his eye twitch, recalling from his two years of prior service how impervious to his snarkiness the bull was from sheer density.

"...Yeah, working on it... HEY! Can you break that wall? It would help me get there faster." The wolf heard no response, but when he saw the bull's hooves move back from view through his window, he too moved away. A moment later, and the broadside of an impossibly heavy axe shattered a good portion of the stone, allowing more rays of golden sunlight to shine through. As the dust settled, Stahl looked up to see the great hulking mass of the brown bull that was Captain Carcer Rixator looking down at him with a smirk.