A great shadow blocked out the sun, and a menacing shriek rattled Mylo's bones.
"Dragon!" Masked Bandit cried, turning around in circles trying to predict the direction the flying reptile would attack from.
A rustling of wings sent a whirlwind down into the ravine and parted the fog to reveal the scaly monster.
Darkness pulled at the corners of Mylo's eyes. His instincts told him to get away or play dead.
"We have to go," Mylo squeaked, running past Masked Bandit and Silver Paladin into the mucky forest once more.
Whatever is on the other side of the portal is always worst.
The dragon landed on the trees, sending broken branches and lichen raining onto Mylo. He stumbled backwards and scrambled away from the dragon. He dove behind the two warriors and crawled into the narrow opening of the cave.
To his credit, Masked Bandit didn't run; he stood his ground, but he always chose the wrong moments to be a hero. First with Silver Paladin, and now this dragon.
Silver Paladin hefted her shield, standing back-to-back with Masked bandit. She struck the dragon in the shoulder with her spear. It only enraged the dragon, and grabbed her spear in its cavernous mouth, snapping it in half.
The mouth of the dragon was larger than the cave opening. Mylo wouldn't even be a whole bite.
Wait! That's it!
"Get in here!" Mylo shouted at his companions gesturing wildly to the cave.
"We have no idea what is in there!" Silver Paladin hissed, raising her shield to defend against a strike of the dragon's paw. The blow sent her tumbling down into the muck.
The dragon's saliva coated Silver Paladin from head to toe.
Mylo grabbed her arm and dragged her towards the cave, "Well we know exactly what is out here!"
The saliva left a tingling feeling on Mylo's hand. He quickly wiped his hand on his cloak to remove the paralyzing saliva.
"Can't argue with that." Masked Bandit tucked tail and ran, disappearing into the dark cave.
The dragon sensed its prey's speedy retreat and made a lunge for the two unfortunate adventurers.
A bright flash of light blinded Mylo. He kept a strong grip around Silver Paladin's arm, trying to drag her to safety.
"A guardian spirit! We are saved!" Silver Paladin gasped, as Mylo dragged her inside the cave with a sudden burst of speed.
"No, the guardian spirits of the Outlands
do not save anyone. The spirits punishes all who have wronged another." Mylo warned, his voice strangely muted.
The dragon shrieked, flailing around in the mucky water, forcing Mylo and Silver Paladin to seek solace deeper in the cavern.
"I have spent my life dedicated to the service of the guardian spirits." Silver Paladin said in awe. It almost looked like she was going to leave the safety of the cave. "What a cruel twist of fate to be in the presence of a guardian and be blinded by its brilliance."
The dragon hissed, driving its head into the small cave, breaking off the stones. Its claws dug against the muddy floor, widening the hole.
Mylo threw his pack into the hungry maw of the dragon, causing it to choke and hiss. Mylo and Silver Paladin fled, going deeper into the dark.
Soon, all Mylo could hear was the sound of their breath and footsteps on the stone echoing.
Mylo reached out, seeking his companion , "Silver Paladin?"
"I'm here, Awesome Possum." Silver Paladin's hand met his, and a jolt of something not quite adrenaline shot up Mylo's spine. She was here, and she was safe. "Thank you for saving me back there."
"I cannot believe we survived." Mylo asked, his own hand was starting to go numb. "How are you feeling?"
"Not as bad as I expected; my armor prevented the dragon's paralyzing saliva from really soaking in." Silver Paladin shook her hand, "But I can barely feel my hands."
"Are the effects of the saliva temporary?" Mylo asked hesitatingly.
"I think so." Silver Paladin shifted and her silver armor creaked. "Awesome Possum, I need you to promise me that if I cannot continue, you'll keep your promise to save my grandfather."
Mylo tightened his grip on her hand, "I'm not going leave here without you."
"But if-"
"No buts." Mylo cut her off, "I am not leaving you behind, Silver Paladin, even if that means it will take longer to catch up with the bandits. Even if that means taking the Bandit King down takes more effort."
Silver Paladin's breath grew shaky, almost like she wanted to cry, but wouldn't let herself. "Junia."
"What?"
"My real name is Junia."
"Junia." Mylo tried the name, finding it gentler and softer than Silver Paladin. "My name is Mylo."
"Mylo..."
His name on Silver Paladin's lips made him feel uncomfortable. He had given her too much. He cared too much for this random exile who had thrown in with his quest to overthrow the Bandit King. She was going to die, just like all the other friends he had ever made.
Mylo tried to breath, but found all the air inside the cave had grown stale. He needed to get out of here. "Where is the Masked Bandit?"
The roguish man's name put a damper on the mood that had begun to form.
Silver Paladin hissed. "He ran into the cave and left us to fend for ourselves against a dragon. Still think we should have invited him?"
"He needed us more than we needed him." Mylo wanted to tell her that it wasn't really his idea, but he couldn't do that without sounding crazy. He had learned the hard way that no one else could hear the Preserver like he could.
Silver Paladin was quiet for a moment, "I guess we should go find him, Awesome Possum."
His name didn't sound quite so nice now, but the distance between them had been reinstated, and his heart beat calmed down.
Mylo reached out for the side of the cave, taking a shaky step forward. He never let go of Silver Paladin's hand, his only tether in the sea of darkness.
At the end of the tunnel, almost like a phantom, a memory of light shone on the side of the tunnel wall like a siren's call. Mylo and Silver Paladin hurried their steps.
The tunnel opened into a large cavern. Glow worms shone down on piles of shiny gold and gemstones. A hoard of riches that would put a king's treasury to shame.
A drake's hoard. The underground dwelling cousin of the dragon outside the cave.
The cavern had two openings, each just as dark as the last.
Mylo's head spun; searching for the drake. Instead, he found The Masked Bandit grinning and touching all the golden trinkets. "Don't touch that!"
The Masked Bandit gasped and put a hand over his heart. "Oh, it's just you. Don't go sneaking up on people like that!"
"If you hadn't left us to die at the claws of that dragon, I wouldn't have had to go looking for you." Mylo said.
"I knew you would be fine." The Masked Bandit waved off the concern.
"Silver Paladin is not fine. She took a wave of paralyzing saliva." Mylo shoved an accusing finger against his chest.
"Well, what did you want me to do? Stay and die?" Masked Bandit took a sword from a pile of bejeweled swords.
Mylo took the sword from his hands and put it back exactly as it was. "This is a drake's hoard. Drakes will hunt you to the ends of the world if you steal from their hoard. The drake could be back any moment now. We have to get out of here."
Silver Paladin stepped back sharply from a suit of shiny armor in the corner. The armor held the skeleton of a once brave knight. "Listen to him, you fool."
The Masked Bandit groaned, "Fine."
A scaly scratching echoed through the cavern. Blind cloudy eyes gently glowed in the dark cavern. Long whiskers trailed from the snout of the drake, its pale, scaly skin reflected the faint light of the glow worms above. The drake carefully maneuvered around its piles of gold and trinkets, moving them back into place with a nudge here and there. It deposited a new bloody sword to the pile Masked Bandit had been rifling through. The drake walked around the piles, feeling them with its whiskers, chattering to itself.
Silver Paladin dragged her feet a little more than usual. "We have to get past the drake and enter the tunnel it came from."
"Why?" The Masked Bandit pointed to the opening on the other side of the cavern, "There are no drakes or dragons that way."
"Because if the drake brought a new sword from that tunnel, then there has to be a way for the creature to leave." Silver Paladin stated, her teeth gritted.
"As long as we didn't take anything, we should be fine. The drake will be distracted with putting its hoard back in order."
Slowly, ever so slowly, the trio made their way around the piles of treasure avoiding the unseeing eyes of the drake. Just as they entered the mouth of the tunnel, Silver Paladin stumbled, her silver armor scraping on the hard stone.
The drake growled, deep in the back of its throat. It turned away from the pile of coins it had been putting back in order and rushed at the trio.
Mylo grabbed the back of Masked Bandit's shirt. "Don't. Move. As long as we didn't take anything, it will leave us alone. If we run, it will think we are prey and chase us out of instinct."
"How do you know so much about ground drakes?" Silver Paladin asked, her words a bit less pronounced than before.
"Trial and error." Mylo stated simply, a shudder working its way through his body. He remembered the days and nights he spent healing from learning how to live alongside the ground drakes during the great fires that wrecked the Outlands many moons ago.
Teeth bared and nostrils flared, the ghostly drake loomed over them. Lowering its head, the drake growled deep in the back of its throat.
"What did you take?" Mylo's eyes widened, looking at Masked Bandit.
"Nothing!" Masked Bandit insisted.
"Give it back and it will leave us alone."
"It likes shiny things, right? Maybe it wants my armor." Silver Paladin said.
The drake opened its mouth, and Mylo threw caution to the wind, fleeing into the tunnel. He pulled Silver Paladin along behind him.
"Keep your head down!" Mylo hissed, ducking past the stalactite hanging down from the ceiling of the tunnel and dodging between stalagmites sprouting up from the ground.
The drake had the home ground advantage, knowing each of and every twist and turn of the tunnel.
The tunnel diverged into two paths. The drake used its long body to block the entrance to one of the tunnels.
That's the way out!
Mylo didn't wait to lead the trio down the other tunnel and away from the jaws of the drake. Silver Paladin's steps were sluggish and Mylo had to put his arm around her to drag her along.
"We should just leave her behind!" Masked Bandit said.
"That's your solution for everything!" Mylo spat, "We could have left you at the way-station to die of thirst or hunger, but I invited you to come with us. We could have left you at the top of the ravine and let the dragon deal with you, but we didn't because we are good people."
Mylo's voice echoed in the tunnel strangely. He stopped, but Masked Bandit kept running. He grabbed the back of Masked Bandit's shirt, stopping him from falling into the chasm that had appeared in their path.
Masked Bandit tittered on the edge and fell back to the ground.
The other side was only 5 feet away, so it wasn't impossible. The drake's scratching and scurrying added a sense of urgency.
"We will have to jump." Mylo cast a worried glance at Silver Paladin. "Do you think you can make it?"
Silver Paladin stood on her own two feet and nodded, "Yes, I can."
The trio all took several steps back and ran towards the chasm. Mylo made it to the other side, rolling on the ground. Masked Bandit barely made it 2 feet before he fell like a sack of stones into the chasm. His body made a suspicious clinking sound as he hit the ground.
Silver Paladin almost made it, her hands desperately scrabbling for purchase on the other side.
Mylo grabbed her arms, but her weight and momentum only caused him to slide towards the chasm. His hands weren't strong enough to lift her, not strong enough to stop her from falling into the chasm.
Mylo's wounded heart bled once more. He had failed again. He wasn't strong enough to save the ones he cared about.
The drake came up short and leered over its trapped prey.
Mylo reached around for anything he could find. There was rubble and lose dirt from when the chasm had been created. He threw the loss stones at the drake. "Leave them alone!"
"You liar! You risked all of our lives for what? A handful of baubles and coins?" Silver Paladin screamed; the sounds of her shaking the Masked Bandit reached Mylo's ears.
"Can you throw it up in the air for the drake to catch?" Mylo asked, running out of pebbles to keep the monster distracted.
Silver Paladin grunted, throwing the gold treasures towards the beast.
Masked Bandit cried out in horror, trying to recapture the treasure in his hands. The drake's luminous unseeing eyes turned towards the gold, scooping it up in its mouth. It snorted and turned away to put its gold back with the rest of its hoard.
"Do you have any idea what you just did?" Masked Bandit asked with a warning in his voice.
"I just saved our lives!" Silver Paladin said, exasperation coloring her voice. "That gold is cursed!"
"That gold could have bought a thousand soldiers to fight against the Bandit King." Masked Bandit said, pacing in the small chasm, feeling his way along the walls searching for a way back up. "By Tzin's fury, we could have replaced the Bandit King and ruled the Outlands ourselves with that gold."
"You are blinded by your greed, you selfish little man." Silver Paladin hissed.
"I am the one who still has a weapon down here." Masked Bandit warned.
"Focus you two! We can deal with Masked Bandit later." Mylo shouted at them, unable to even see their outlines in the dim tunnel. "Can you find a way out of there?"
"The sides of the chasm are too slick, I can't climb up. The rubble down here only reaches up a few feet." Masked Bandit replied.
Silver Paladin didn't answer for a few seconds, "I don't think I'll be able to climb out. I can't feel my arms."
Mylo's blood ran cold. Why did he care about what happened to her? Maybe it was when he realized she would risk her life and limb for others without a second thought.
"You still there?" Masked Bandit's voice asked, cracking with trepidation.
Mylo almost wanted to stay quiet for a few minutes and let him taste a bit of his own medicine. "I'm still here. All that I have up here are big rocks and some dirt."
Remember the tale of the Raven and the Pitcher.
Mylo wasn't sure how he could possible fill the chasm without hurting his companions. "Masked Bandit, did your Patah ever tell you the story of the Raven and the Pitcher?"
"Children's fables? We are in a chasm in a cave with a drake, and you are asking me about children's fables?" Masked Bandit asked, incredulously.
"And whose fault is that?" Silver Paladin slurred, worrying Mylo even further.
"During the drought, the raven found a pitcher with water in the bottom. No matter how it tried, it could not reach the water through the narrow neck of the pitcher." Mylo said, rolling smaller stones towards the chasm.
"So it filed the pitcher one by one with pebbles until the water reached the top." Masked Bandit said, repeating the story from memory. "Wait, you can't possibly be serious?"
"I'm going to push the first stones on the left, move Silver Paladin to the right." Mylo warned. "Ready?"
"No! Don't!" Masked Bandit cried.
"It's the only way!" Mylo pushed the first bit of rubble into the chasm. It made small plunking noises against Silver Paladin's armor. "Everyone in one piece?"
Masked Bandit sputtered, "There has to be another way."
"Oh, would you prefer that I left you to die like you left us to die by the dragon?"
The silence was leaden.
Masked Bandit's voice was soft, wrecked with pain. "I'm sorry. Please don't, please don't leave me here to die."
"Move Silver Paladin to the left." Mylo said through gritted teeth.
There was a shuffling and scrapping from the chasm. "Ready."
Hours passed. Mylo's mouth had gone dry, and his arms ached with the effort of pushing stone after stone into the chasm.
A single metal gauntlet reached the top of the chasm as Silver Paladin struggled to pull herself over the ledge. The Masked Bandit climbed up, and offered his hand to Silver Paladin.
She struggled on her own for a minute before relunctantly taking his hand.
On the other side of the chasm now, the trio rested for a moment.
Mylo's arms trembled from the effort of rescuing his companions.
Silver Paladin's breath was shaky, as if pulling herself out of the chasm had taken all of her strength.
Masked Bandit stood apart from them, his arms crossed and his shoulders hunched. "Why?"
"What?" Mylo asked, wishing for the world that he had the sense to keep the water canteen instead of throwing all of their supplies in the dragon's maw. But when a dragon tries to eat you, common sense tends to be the last thing you are thinking about.
"I would have left you to die." Masked Bandit stated flatly, not ashamed of the fact. "But you wasted nearly a whole day, pushing rubble and small stones into the chasm to rescue Silver Paladin and I. So why did you do it?"
"Because I'm a good person."
Silver Paladin laughed, "No one is just that good of a person, Awesome Possum. Maybe a priest, but certainly not a person who has survived being raised in the Outlands. Anyone else would have left me to be eaten by the dragon like Masked Bandit."
"I mean, I can't defeat the Bandit King alone." Mylo said, his voice getting quieter, the longer his two companions interogated him.
Masked Bandit scoffed, shaking his head. "You were not tempted by the gold, not even a little bit. You said yourself, you could have left me at the waystation to find my own way, but you invited me to travel with you. Tell me how you could have possibly survived this long."
Tell them. The Perserver's presense on his heart weighed heavy.
But they will think me mad just like all the others.
They already do.
Mylo sighed, his head swimming with exhaustion. "You know that little voice in your head that tells you what to do? I learned the hard way that I have to listen to that voice."
"I always listen to the voice in my head, that's what landed me in the Outlands to begin with." Masked Bandit said with scorn.
"That's the bad voices." Mylo told him. "Those voices tell you to do selfish, terrible things that hurt others and yourself. The good voice, the Perserver, would never tell you to do something that would harm you or another person."
"I've never met someone like you before." Masked Bandit said with something between awe and disgust in his voice. "I have always been told ever since I was a young child that the old way to survive is to look out for myself and exploit every weakness. To Zephyr with everyone else. But all you seem to do is help others and show your weaknesses."
Silver Paladin chimed in, "You know, at first, I thought it was your powerstone that kept you alive all this time. Healing you from all your mistakes. But you constantly throw yourself in the way of danger, without a weapon, without a powerstone to heal you."
"I am just a man." Mylo shook his head. "The Perserver is the one who has kept me alive this whole time. He gives me insights and commands. His words don't always make sense to me at first, but if I listen, things seem to turn out well."
"Did he tell you to give the healing powerstone to the Bandit King?" Silver Paladin asked.
Mylo felt sick to his stomach, covering his face with his hands. "He told me to run. I didn't listen. I couldn't let the Bandit King kill all those people. I couldn't let another child watch their family die right in front of them. Powerless to stop the monster from..."
Mylo shuddered, the darkness of the cave closing in on him.
A man made of shadows gripped his mother's neck. His father tried to stop him, but it was no use. The monster turned on his father. His grandfather. His grandmother. Everyone died, while little Mylo hid in the ancient ruins like a coward.
He ran, he ran, he ran as fast as his little legs could take him. "Perserver help me!"
A hand ripped through the memories and pulled him back to the present. Silver Paladin shook him, calling his name, "Mylo, Mylo!"
Masked Bandit held his other arm, "Oh, you fool, stop screaming. We don't know what else lives in these caves."
You were a child. It wasn't your fault. The Perserver told him, but he never believed the words.
Mylo shuddered uncontrollably. He felt gutted, his insides lay bare on the stone floor. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I should have ran. Why couldn't I have listened? The flashflood would have killed him. What is one village compared to the devestation he has caused already? How many children have lost their parents because I couldn't listen?"
"We will stop him, Mylo." Silver Paladin embraced Mylo, grounding him to the moment. "Together."
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