Chapter 21: At The Foothills

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"Another minutes' travel, my friends, and our feet shall brush against the rocks of Pyrothos!", said Trent as they all slowly descended the last strech of the third hill.
"Remember, everyone, those lands have air we can't breath without our lungs burning like a campfire. Anneliese and I will make sure you all have enchantments that will protect you throughout. However, if at any point you feel it's effect wearing off, let us know immediately for we can't risk you breathing the air at all.", said Emma as she kept her feet strong on the incline.
"That'll all be fine! We did just trek two hills, I'm sure we can take this punk-ass mountain on!", said Stephen boldly.
"Is anyone going to tell him that Pyrothos is larger than The Peak Of Peace itself?", said Natasha chuckling.
"Say what?!", jumped Stephen, astonished.
"Yeah, dude. Did you really think the strongest base of the elementals would be smaller than a hill?", said Anneliese rolling her eyes at him.
"So how tall even is it?!", asked Stephen in frustration.
"Take the two hills we've travelled, and imagine a path ten times as big with twice the incline.", said Trent rolling the barrel on his pistol.
"What?! Wait, what?!", said Stephen as he nearly tripped over a rock, only to be caught by Gavin.
"Calm down, dude! We'll be fine. It will take longer than we'd like but we'll be at the top in three to four days.", said Emma, trying to calm Stephen.
"Ugh fine. I suppose it would be nice to smell that gold!", said Stephen, excited.
"The gold exists in molten form underneath the lava, so it will be really long until we can safely take it out.", said Anneliese jumping in.
"How exactly do we do that, anyway?", asked Ann confused.
"Not to worry, Ann dear, for our two elementals will spend a long time freezing that shit while Gavin strikes a hole in it big enough for us to pass.", said Trent gripping Ann's hand.
"Will they be able to freeze it?", asked Violet confused.
"We can. It'll just take a long while, and a lot of energy.", said Emma as she smiled at Violet.
"That's amazing! Its genuinely difficult to believe that in another week or so, we'll be richer than Arionis itself!", said Violet, jumping in excitement.
"Heck yeah! Speaking of which, we're only a few steps away from the foothills.", said Trent as he gripped Violet's arm.
The team continued afoot as they descended the last few footsteps on their third hill. The environment had suddenly become mysterious and strange, for Pyrothos was nearby. The air took a slight orange tint, the rocks that dotted the path begun to blacken, the few grasses had been burnt and the paths became covered with a rocky smoke.
"Fucking hell! Why is it so hot all of a sudden?!", asked Stephen in frustration as sweat dripped down from his underarms.
"Pyrothos is nearby, expect it to only get hotter.", said Emma.
"It already has.", said Trent under his breath, gazing at Violet, who heard his voice through her elf ears and blushed a bright red.
"Alright, we're almost there! Everybody, assemble so we can give you an enchantment before your lungs turn into ash.", said Anneliese as everybody halted.
Emma and Anneliese combined their powers as they chanted a strong enchantment on the bodies of the remaining six, for they would badly need this. Their bodies gave a dim glow that eventually faded, signalling that the enchantment had taken effect.
"Perfect! This should last you more than a week!", said Emma, overjoyed.
"A week? Enchantments can last that long?", asked Stephen in awe.
"Obviously. The enchantment of The Aquamara Bridge and Veridia have been in action since a millennia.", said Natasha to Stephen.
The team continued conversing as they resumed their journey, now protected from the harsh airs of Pyrothos. They walked for a while, until the fact that they were on Pyrothos couldn't be in doubt. The ground beneath them completely blackened and turned into sharp, scaly rocks instead of the smooth pebbles, the air glew a bright orange with sparks of yellow flying inside, there was no sign of shrubbery and all their surroundings became covered in a thick smoke. If all of this wasn't enough to signal the lands, they would often cross pools of lava which had erupted from the ground beneath them. The temperature had started to become unbearable as six of them would sweat their bodies off.
"Oh, my god! It's so fucking hot!", said Ann as she ran out of breath from the heat.
"Amen to that! It's almost as if we're inside a fucking volcano!", said Stephen, annoyed from the heat.
"That's because you are inside a volcano, dingus.", said Natasha rolling her eyes at Stephen.
"There's no need to be condescending, now!", said Stephen, punching Natasha's shoulder.
"Trent, any ideas on how we can counter this heat?", asked Violet, panting.
"I suppose we could take some cloth, drench it in water and wrap it around our heads.", suggested Trent.
So that's what the six did, they wrapped their spare cloth around their heads and drenched it in ice cold water which Emma had summoned. The heat was so vast that the water would nearly turn into steam as soon as it would leave Emma's magical grip.
"Great!", said Stephen sarcastically as he kicked a rock.
The team continued regardless as they walked and walked for a mile or so, until they came across a broken structure that seemed to be a door.
"What's this now?", asked Gavin as he stared with his Troll eyes.
"Seems to be some form of an entrance. Perhaps it was built as a doorway to Pyrothos in those times?", said Trent as he brushed his hands across the dusty door. The door was a mighty one for that, a dozen feet high and wide it streched and it was covered in thick black dust, possibly from the rocks that broke down to make it. It felt rough on the touch and was made of several broken black rocks which left many crevices in the body of the door.
"Can we just walk through this?", asked Natasha as she examined the door for an enchantment.
"I should think so--", Trent had only just begun to comfort her when a voice interrupted him.
"Whats that we got here?!", shouted a voice from behind the door.
"Excuse me? Anyone there?", Violet yelled behind the door.
"I'm no 'anyone' you dwarf of an elf!", replied the voice in sheer frustration.
"Hey! Quit the insults! Come out now before we make you!", yelled Trent, offended.
"Make me? Funny you are, yes, quite so. Why must you think you can make me?", the voice continued in a mocking tone.
"Take your ego and shove it down that volcano now, will ya! We're the ones from Sylvanora and Veridia, sent here on a mission, either show yourself or face the consequences!", yelled an annoyed imp.
"The consequences won't be much now, gov'nr. But as you say, I shall do; not out of fear, gov'nr, rather out of service.", continued the voice as a dark figure wrapped in a cloak emerged from behind the door, to the side of the entrance.
"Out of service? Why must you say that?", asked Anneliese, confused.
"Not that it's any of your business, but my family serves this entrance, and has been serving for a near millenium. Now off you go, unless you wish to climb the most pathetic rocks in history.", ended the voice, visibly annoyed even when her face was sheathed.
"What our purpose is can be discussed later, first we wish to know who you are.", said Ann with a narrowed eye.
"What's that got to do with you, gov'nr? Leave me be and retrace your path!", the voice responded in filth.
"You either tell us and let us understand you, or leave our path and let us resume our trek.", said Emma, towering over the cloaked voice.
The cloaked person wasn't quite intimidating, four feet at most the cloak streched as it wrapped around her body, her voice was raspy and annoyed and her hands were lined by fine lines of wrinkles, it was clear that this was an old lady who was annoyed with the woes of the common man.
"Resume you trek?!", exclaimed the voice, "You have to be a clown, gov'nr, if you choose those as your words! This trek has been barren for years, and for good cause! Retrace your paths and go back to the hole from which you crept. There's nothing of use here, gov'nrs, leave while the sun is up!"
"I don't mean to be rude, but we've had this same conversation with five people already, and I hate repeating myself, so either move or we'll make you!", said Stephen, visibly irritated.
"Calm down.", said Emma placing her hand on his head and pushing him away from the lady, "We don't come in harm, and we don't mean to insult you. But you must understand our pleas, either tell us who you are or please leave us alone."
"Fine.", said the voice as it hissed at the eight, "If you are so bothered, gov'nr, my name is Paige, and I'm the guardian of the gates to Pyrothos."
"Well, isn't that so much better! So, Paige, now tell us what exactly you do.", said Stephen.
"You're one annoying imp! Like I've said before, I'm the guardian of this gate!", she replied, annoyed.
"I don't mean to offend you, but you're like eighty years old, if you're the guardian then this place really needs some update!", said Stephen as he chuckled under his breath.
Upon hearing this Paige hissed and spat as she was maddened by the boundless mocking of this annoying imp. She grabbed her cloak from the top and tossed it into the air, revealing her face. Paige's face was lined by wrinkles, she had a golden ring pierced into her nose and her eyes glew bright red that complimented her dusty red robes. This time, however, her eyes were brighter than ever as an angry fire raged in them against the imp. She screamed a spell into the air which summoned a staff in her hand, a staff which was a simple tree branch that hoisted many beads of bright red on the apex. She swung the staff towards the imp and chanted a nasty spell. A red wind threw itself at the feet of this imp and it swirled around him and hung him upside down in the air, as he struggled to gasp for air.
"An old lady, am I?!", she said as she swung him in circles above the ground.
"Alright, that's enough! Stop this!", said Emma as her eyes purpled.
The old lady hissed again and she let go of the spell, the red wind vanished and the imp fell face first on Pyrothos' unforgiving rocks.
"Nnn... You witch!", he said as he weakly stood up and cupped his bruises.
"Not a witch, gov'nr, a wizard!", she replied proudly.
"A wizard?!", exclaimed Trent in astonishment.
"Yes, a wizard! Be blessed you had the chance to meet one of the three good mythics on this dirt!", said Paige laughing at Trent.
"I think you mean all three, gov'nr!", said Stephen mocking Paige as he stuck his tongue out.
"All?!", said Paige as she jumped up.
"As a matter of fact, yes, all. Sara and Thea, your friends, we know them too, though they're much younger than you.", said Emma, jumping in.
"That's incredible!", said Paige as a change of expression surrounded her face, "I've known those two since I was born! We were all blessed with the powers of the elements!"
"Since you were born? They're the age of your daughters!", said Gavin scratching his head.
"Fool!", said Paige as she eyed the Troll, "You've come to trek Pyrothos without knowing that time here moves faster? Fools!"
"What's this now?", asked Ann.
"Pyrothos has a strong pull towards itself, and time here moves twice as fast, fools!", Paige hissed again.
"Hang on, I don't understand. You just said that your family has been guarding this for generations.", said Trent as he rotated the barrel of his pistol.
"Not precise to say 'my' family, gov'nr.", replied Paige.
"Just cut the riddles already. Just tell us what you know!", said Violet, annoyed.
"Very well, gov'nr. You see, years ago these gates were built by the mighty ancient elementals as they constructed the powerful lands of Pyrothos with the help of the dragons. We wizards were made much later, sometime around you first humans. One of you humans, the Briarwood bloodline, was destined to protect and keep a watch from the gates of Pyrothos. The task passed on and on until finally their need became dire, when the dragons betrayed. A long battle broke out on these very lands, at the end all the dragons were slain, but so were our elementals. We lost every single one of those mighty founding fathers, and all that we had left were their infants. We swore to protect them and scattered them across the maps of this world, away from any grasp of a terrible mythic. Myself, however, I was more concerned about the lives we had lost on this very mountain. One of those martyrs were the last of the Briarwood bloodline, two parents and their infant daughter, all slaughtered by the blazing fire of the dragons.During the war I fell weak infront of their magic, they had nearly slain me, I remember lying bloody and beaten near a pool of lava as I counted my last seconds on this planet. Just then, a group of humans took me in and kept me in refuge for months, away from the watch of the mythics. Finally, however, they found our little den, and crept inside with their terrible claws. The humans ran, but each one of them was burnt to a crisp by the ferocious fires of the dragons. I was scared, still healing and completely helpless. Instead of helping the humans I chanted an invisibility spell and hid under the nose of the dragons, until they left. I never forgave myself, for if I had dared, maybe I could've saved one life, atleast one, but I didn't. Since then I swore to mend my sins, and protect these lands from the evil wrath of these wretched creatures. My contributions however, were pointless, for the elementals themselves took care of the dragons, sacrificing themselves for the task. Still I stayed back at Pyrothos, not just to help reconstruct, but also to protect this land from the other mythics. A few still live uphill, but I suppose they fear me to some end. They haven't crept out their hiding holes for long now, for if they did I would do anything to punish them. Even during the redemption war I was here, hoping that the united kingdoms would somehow find their way here, and I could help them, but they were all defeated before The Narrow Arc. My hopes were crushed again, and any thought of redemption of our lost wealth had left my soul and mind. Since then I've been pressing my back against this rough door, hoping that one day an army of kingdoms would come and reclaim this molten gold, but that will now never happen. And never will I forgive myself."
"Oh my god. I'm so sorry, Paige!", said Emma as she comforted her.
"It's alright, gov'nr. You asked for it.", said Paige as she wiped a single tear. "Regardless, what business do you eight have here?"
"To fulfill your last wish.", said Natasha smiling at her.
"I don't understand.", said Paige, confused.
"We are here to retrieve all that gold, gov'nr", said Stephen, surprisingly sincere.
"You must be nuts! This path is deadly! Very very deadly--", Paige had begun cautioning them before being interrupted.
"Yeah, yeah, it's deadly, it's untreked, it's barren, it's hot, it's humid, anything else?", asked Stephen as he rolled his eyes.
"You don't understand, you imp! An entire kingdom couldn't cross these paths, and you eight think you have what it takes?", she asked, a little annoyed.
"Did those kingdoms have two elementals?", asked Ann slyly.
"Two?! What?!", said Paige as she stood up suddenly.
"You heard us right, gov'nr, we got two of 'em!", replied Stephen proudly. "Introducing to you, Emma and Anneliese!", Stephen continued as he pointed proudly at the two beauties.
"Brilliant! I have been dying to meet an elemental again!", said Paige, overjoyed.
"Pleasure is all mine, Paige!", said Anneliese as she shook Paige's hand.
"This is absolutely the best news I've heard since my time here! I'm fifty five already, and have maximally twenty of our years to live, never could I have thought of meeting and elemental! Do tell me, you two, what elements do you practice?", asked Paige, ecstatic.
"All of them.", replied Emma, smiling.
"Bloody brilliant! That's absolutely amazing, gov'nr! There's been very few with the powers to practice all, you must be the special children!", said Paige.
"Well, yes. I wasn't even in my teens when my father passed away, my mother accompanied him, though she was only human, and died in his hands. One of our trusted alliance members passed on the Arcane Staff back to me after my parents' demise.", replied Anneliese tightly gripping her staff.
"My parents were both elementals, they lost their lives on this very land as they helped seal Pyrothos. I now wish to reclaim what the dragons stole, and none of their mythic minions can stop me!", said Emma loudly as she grasped her hands.
"That's absolutely brilliant! I really hope you all succeed in your noble mission! Two elementals are more than enough for even the strongest of mythics! May my blessings be with you! I shall open these gates and allow you to explore lands never trekked before! Go now, while the sun is up!", Paige ended as she raised her hands and hummed a hymn that spread a strong gust through the entire foothills and lifted the enchantment on all sides of Pyrothos.
"Go now, my children, for I'll need to set up the enchantment again. Let me know if you need anything.", Paige said as she led the way.
The eight were more than thankful as they slowly made their way across the gates and stepped into the mouth of the mountain, and the incline had already begun. This trek wouldn't be easy, but their minds were tougher than the hardest rock on Pyrothos, so they set foot proudly on the barren terrain and begun their trek.
"Oh, wait! I almost forgot! Take this with you.", said Paige as she ran towards them with her hands outstretched. A flame leapt around her hands, dancing to and fro as it arranged itself into a sphere. "Here's an orb of my blessings, it contains a powerful burst of energy that can help you counter something strong.", said Paige as she handed them the orb.
"Brilliant! Now we've got three!", said Trent as he passed the orb to Emma.
"Three?", asked a confused Paige.
"Why yes, three. We've gotten one from each Sara and Thea.", replied Violet, smiling.
"Now I can say for sure that no power in the world can stop you! These three orbs combined can make an explosion stronger than anything! Bless all of you, may you all succeed! Now go! Go while there is day!", Paige continued as she let them all go towards the trek.

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