A large canyon lay under his feet. One bad move and he could fall into it, killing himself instantly.
Lukis: So why should I do this?
Lukis stood atop it with Jinz, the same old blue monkey, on his shoulder.
Jinz: Well, you see, Saltis is shut down right now and won’t let anybody in. Of course, with Lawren being its watcher it would have to let Lawren inhabitants in. But only the most royal of the Lawren family, thus there is a secret entrance in past this valley.
Lukis: If there was a secret entrance, I’d know about it.
Jinz: Oh no, only the mayor of Saltis and the most royal of the Lawren Kingdom would ever know about it.
Lukis: Won’t we get in trouble?
Jinz: No, just walk in through the secret way, and into Saltis, and it will be like you never left, the entrance leads to the backroom of the bar. So you can just walk out the side of the bar and into the city.
Lukis: And no one ever noticed it, hmm… Well, I never expected the bar side either, oddly… But couldn’t I just go in by the desert?
Jinz: Desert is highly guarded, they expect for Delban to attack from the desert.
Lukis: I see….
The valley was huge and filled with jagged rocks. A rickety wooden bridge held by a few ropes connected both ways, but it didn’t look very reliable at all. Lukis peered over into the crevase and shuddered. One small step and he would roll down the muddy hill right into the jagged rocks, if not killing him instantly, leaving him in intense pain and stuck in a place impossible to leave. Then he looked over to the rickety old bridge. It spanned about 40 feet across the crevasse.
Jinz: Crossing isn’t as easy as it looks though…
Lukis: Doesn’t look reliable at all..
Lukis stepped over cautiously towards the bridge entrance. There were two wooden stakes standing up out of the ground holding the bridge up. Years ago it was probably a great bridge, but because of decay many of the wooden planks look like they were on the verge of breaking, and the rope looked as if it were on the verge of breaking.
Lukis: In fact, this part-
Jinz: Yes, I know, that’s why I need you…
The were looking at one rope on the bridge that was hanging on a thread. It was right near the closet wooden stake.
Jinz: I would have tried crossing it earlier but I need someone to fix that, it can’t even hold my weight on that small thread.
Lukis: So what do you want me to do?
Jinz: Just, like, tie it in a knot!
Lukis looked very skeptical.
Lukis: (Still, it would probably come crashing down, killing me…)
Lukis: You can’ be serious, no knot is going to hold us up!
Jinz: Do you want to get to Saltis or not!
Jinz leaped off of Lukis and landed a couple of feet away.
Jinz: Cmon….
Lukis: Hmm….
Lukis: (The people of Saltis are depending on me…)
Lukis took the rope and snapped it, he held on as hard as he could.
Lukis: Agh, it’s a little heavy!
Lukis pulled the rope up and tied it around the rope connected to the stake. He made a knot and fastened it as tight as he could. Now the bridge looked a little more reliable, but still it was obviously very dangerous.
Jinz: Good boy, now lets cross!
Lukis: (Good boy?! Why I outta… Hmph…)
Lukis stepped cautiously on the bridge and began crossing very slowly.
Lukis: (Oh geez…)
The bridge began to sway under his weight and in the wind.
Jinz: Cmon! Go! Go!
Lukis: You can’t put that much friction on the bridge or-
Jinz leaped from the ground onto Lukis’s arms.
Lukis: Hey, wait!
Then Jinz leaped onto the bridge and scampered across as fast as he could. The bridge shook vigorously.
Lukis: Ah crud!
Lukis sprinted across the bridge as fast as he could, it amazingly held as he approached the end. Lukis leaped off the bridge onto the ground, he had passed and was on the other side. The bridge shook vigorously still but then quieted down and was still after a few seconds.
Lukis: I guess it can hold that much friction. What’s that?
They began to hear a funny noise, and then a loud snap was heard as the bridge rope by the exit snapped and the bridge was hurdled across the gap. It slammed against the other side, making it impossible to return from whence they came.
Lukis: (Whoah… That was close… But we lived…)
Lukis: Phew, guess it’s home free to Saltis now. And don’t you ever try to do something like that again!
The monkey didn’t look shocked from the near death experience.
Jinz: Hey, don’t get so freaked out, we lived, that’s all that matters.
Lukis looked around at where he was now. It looked just like the forest on the other side, expect bright fruit hung from the trees.
Lukis: Wow, check out the food!
Jinz: Yeah, bananas, apples, all that good stuff!
Jinz leaped onto a tree and ran up to the fruit.
Lukis: (Now to Saltis…. This forest looks pretty big…)
Trees perked up from all over and birds swam through the branches.
Lukis: It’s like a jungle in there. Jinz! Hey!
Jinz: I’m eating!
Lukis: Where do we go?!
Jinz: Uh, into the forest!
Lukis: Ok….
Lukis walked into the massive forest, but he had a bad feeling about all this.
**************************************************************************************
Bomb lay quietly on the small bed of a single cell in the Luminy Castle Dungeon.
Bomb: Damnit, I can’t believe they got me in here!
Bomb: (I hate this place! Nothing good ever comes from here….)
Bomb closed his eyes on the bed and thought about all the bad things that had happened…
Bomb: (The worst thing that ever happened here were the deaths of all my friends… They were my life back then….)
Bomb remembered all that had happened back on that night at Luminy Castle..
“Bomb: Ok guys, we break in and get the stuff and get out pronto, I gave you all a map, we’ve been over this tons of time! Let’s do it! Rick and Lance, you fly up the top and do your work. Kyle, you come with me.”
Bomb: Maybe if I had just taken Rick or Lance with me, then none of this would have happened….
“Bomb: Oh great, now we only get half the treasure!”
“Kyle: They messed up…. “
Bomb: What happened with Lance and Rick anyways? How could they have gotten caught? I had a good feeling about this mission…
Bomb remembered the mysterious swordsman who cut off Kyle’s wing right before they could lift off.
“Bomb: Wait! No!”
“Swordsman: Wha! Last time you will ever think of taking the Royal Blister’s gold again!”
Bomb: Too late… Too late… All my fault..
He remembered how he had gotten a stick mine on his sword.
Bomb: I knew we had him but, he fell off the edge of the pier, with Kyle on his back…
“Kyle: Hwa!”
Bomb could hear the boom again in his ears as the mine exploded down there, and as he could see Agile hovering above, far away from the explosion.
Bomb: Ugh, that’s the past, I must forget…
**************************************************************************************
Outside the Luminy castle a familiar figure sat near the skylight.
???: Caught, thrown in the dungeon… I… I think I remember where that is.. Bomb… Bomb needs help.. I will help Bomb…
King Blister: Guards, do you hear…. something?
The King lay in his thrown, with only two guards near the entrance this time. The figure by the skylight dove into the throne room immediately, unfazed at what danger lied inside.
King Blister: Not another… one! Guards!
**************************************************************************************
Bomb began to get drowsy in the cell. All that lay in there was a bed, 3 walls, a barred door, and utter darkness.
Bomb: I hope I don’t get Karen caught, I seem to just be causing everyone trouble nowadays…
Bomb: (Maybe I really am just an evil person, I mean Lyrian… He’s evil.. No, no, it can’t be true! It’s all just a lie! But really, Lyrian is my species father… Yet he is evil… I know what he did with the townspeople; he killed them, for no reason? Or maybe a reason I yet have to find out. Why? Why do I have to be part of an evil species? Does this mean Kyle is evil too? And Rick? And Lance? And my father and mother? I hate these wings now; they are a symbol of death and hatred….)
Bomb heard some voices far way.
Bomb: (Looks like they are coming to get me… Hello death… Wish it didn’t have to end this way…)
He heard a large crash from the same place.
Bomb: What?
Bomb rose from his bed and watched for anything past his bars. All that lay around him were 3 other cells and some stairs leading up, the room was very dark.
Bomb: Damn, what’s going on?
Bomb heard a rumbling of footsteps coming from above him, then a crashing down the steps.
Bomb: Whoah…
A figure slid down the steps and leaped across the cells into the darkness on the other side. It went so fast and swiftly Bomb could barely notice it, plus the room’s darkness blanketed the figure.
Bomb: Hey! What the? Who was…
Then suddenly, two guards entered the prison cells. There was a big dragon guard, along with a smaller more slim guard. They both had spears with them, and looked like the same entrance guards Bomb usually sees near the throne room entrance.
Guard 1: Hey, come out of there!
Guard 2: We know you’re in here! Just give up peacefully.
Guard 1: Check over there, hey you in the cell!
The guard motioned towards Bomb.
Bomb: What?
The 2nd guard walked over to the shadowy corner of the dungeon.
Guard 1: Did you see anyone come in here?
Bomb: Uh yeah, they went back out the top right when they came in though.
Guard 1: What, lies! We would have seen him!
Guard 2: He’s gone! He’s not in here anywhere!
The 2nd guard came back from the shadowy region.
Guard 1: Damn, let’s look for him upstairs!
Guard 2: Understood!
Both guards scrambled up the stairs. With the guards gone silence pierced throughout the room.
Bomb: (What’s going on…)
Bomb: Uhm… Is someone in here?
??? : Shh… Let me get you out of here…
The figure glided down from the ceiling and landed right in front of Bomb’s cell.
???: Bomb?
Bomb: It’s you! I think, Kyle? Lance? You two looked so alike…
The winged person looked similar to Bomb. His wingspan laid out just the same except they were red.
Bomb: Lance!
Lance: Lance? Is that my name?
The creature walked over to the keys on the wall. His wings seemed broken up a bit and his black hair was long and tangled up. He wore a black wetsuit, which was skintight and just like the one Bomb wore until he got his outfit changed in Saltis.
Bomb: Yeah, huh, you….
Lance: Lance…. Lance is my name…?
Lance grabbed the keys off the key rack and walked back to Bomb’s cell.
Bomb: You don’t remember? How can you…
Lance: I remember Bomb… That was all really…
Bomb: They must have really messed you up Lance..
Lance: Who?
Bomb: The Luminy guards… Do you remember Rick? Or Kyle?
Lance: Kyle… I remember name Kyle… I don’t remember Rick, or Lance.
Bomb: You are Lance.
Lance: I know…
Lance stuck the key in Bomb’s cell and turned it. A clicking noise was heard and the door creaked open.
Lance: You look different… The wings….
Bomb: I got one torn up, but I got it fixed, it’s red right now.
Lance: My wings are red too…
Bomb: Yeah, but yours are originally red.
Lance: I’m happy to have found you.. I don’t see Karen?
Bomb: Karen? Oh wait!
Bomb remembered back to the MiddleGrove forest
Bomb: You’re the Winged-Lyrian that saved Karen!
Lance: Yes, she looked like she needed help…
Bomb: Well we got a lot of catching up to, but I say we should deal with King Blister first!
Lance: How?
Bomb: We can wait until Karen comes with Jerzyl, then I have a feeling he’ll start talking.. First, let’s get out of here and outside!
Lance: Jer.. Zel?
Bomb: He is a friend of ours.
Lance: Oh, well…I know the exit… Follow me…
Lance exited up the stairs.
Bomb: (It feels a little better to at least be with one of my long lost friends… Even if he can’t remember me.. It’s sort of sad though..)
Bomb followed him up, and they were back to the previous halls. Bomb remembered the guards dragging him through here and down the steps.
Lance: Exit is close by…
Lance led through the labyrinth of halls and doorways. Miraculously, no guards were around. Perhaps most were doing duty fixing the skylight.
Bomb: So, you don’t remember anything?
Lance: No, it feels funny, it’s like my life has lost all meaning. Even though I don’t remember the feeling of meaning I used to have…
Bomb: You know, if your wings were green, I’d swear, you would look just like Kyle, you two were really alike.
Lance: Kyle? Were is Kyle? Is Kyle with Karen?
Bomb: Oh… Uhm…
Bomb: (This isn’t going to be easy…)
Bomb told Lance about everything that happened at the Luminy castle. Everything from him going off with Rick to Kyle dying against Agile.
Lance: Agile? It feels sorry to lose a friend, even though I don’t know if we were even friends…
Bomb: Yeah, we are actually trying to stop Agile right now.
Lance: Can I help?
Bomb: Yeah, if you want, but I’m sure you have other things on mind.
Lance: This will give my life a small bit of purpose though.. I feel different now.. I have a goal set in mind.. Some true purpose…
Bomb: That’s good, are we close to the outside?
Lance: This turn.
Lance turned the corner and stopped, two guards lay sleeping at the doorway.
Bomb: Phew… Sleeping..
Bomb stood behind Lance. They began to tiptoe quietly up to the guards.
Lance: We must push door open quietly…
Lance made it to the door and began to push it slowly.
Lance: Unh…
The door began creaking slowly open.
Bomb: Easy, easy….
Crrreeeeakkkk!
The door swung open enough that Lance could crawl through.
Guard: Hmph….
The guards eyes flattered just as Bomb slid swiftly through the door and let it shut on it’s own.
Bomb: Phew, we made it outside, where exactly our we?
Lance: I don’t know…
Bomb looked up to the castle, and he noticed they were on the South side of it, away from the seas.
Bomb: We are right near the entrance to the Scraps…
Bomb turned around and looked ahead. Buildings decayed over time were sprung up and fires arose from withen. Trash lay all over the walks in the city, but it was hard to see from far away. There were many buildings, but all trashed to the degree of worthlessness. Bomb squinted and could see movement far way. A few frog, or dragon like creatures were throwing some stuff into a fire they were building, probably trash. Bomb turned to Lance.
Bomb: Hey! Look, there’s actually life in there!
Bomb looked back and the creatures had run away, scared from Bomb’s outburst.
Bomb: Hey! Wait!
Lance: Maybe they think you are one of the Luminy kind.
Bomb: Hey! Oh well…
Lance: This is a very dirty town…
Bomb: When Karen gets here, we will have a little.. chat with King Blister…
Lance: Building a fire in the day? It must be much worse at night!
Bomb: I guess they need a high amount of heat to survive. Poor things… But anyways… Let’s head up towards the seas.
Lance: Why?
Bomb: Karen is expecting me to probably be somewhere around there.
Bomb began walking up the side of the castle, a rock hill extended up the side, then it hung over the seas on the edge. They could walk by the side of the castle and wait for Karen by the edge; where there was a good chance she could see them. As they walked Bomb stopped to look at the castle.
Lance: What is it?
Bomb: It’s that same garden me and Agile fought on…
Bomb saw the same courtyard hung overhead, filled with trees. He stared at the one same tree he saw before, that seemed to stand out from all the others. It felt like it was that same night.
Bomb: Unh…
Bomb looked up and saw the edge of the courtyard, and he saw Kyle, falling down with Agile. He saw Agile impaling to sword in Kyle and flying off quickly.
Kyle: Hwa!
He saw the tremendous explosion as Kyle simply blew up, it was a gross scene. A horrible, horrible scene. It seemed so real, and even a huge gash was on the side of the castle wall.
Bomb: (Kyle…. Agile… Bastard!!)
Bomb: I’ll kill him….
Lance: Bomb?
Bomb began walking up the rocky hill and Lance followed, confused.
Lance: (I don’t like him either…)