Entitled to riches and privilege, you're an eyesore!”
Instantly, a griffin pounces from above
Letting out a screech
He has no loss of love
“We're O.D.s!” I call as we jump back
Barely escaping his attack
“We've come to investigate and recover your Sin of
envy.”
Instantly, he roars “DON'T LIE TO ME!
You human mages left us to die.
Any words from your lips are nothing but lies.
My kinfolk scattered to the winds.
Forced into the shadows
While you're free to laugh and grin!
Privileged and free!
Forcing us into hiding!
Now, you come here to start lying!
The Sin remains safe in my care!
Try and take it if you dare!”
Makes sense why they hold the Sin of envy
Their pride immeasurable
Making them less than friendly
“We don't desire to steal your sin.
Only to confirm that it's safe within.
Let us check.
If you feel threatened in any way,
Feel free to take my life.” I say
“Nate.” Leigh bites “What are you doing?”
“My job.” I respond
Giving the griffin a firm look
“May we proceed to the viewing?”
His massive paws containing claws like hooks
His wings majestic
They make me shook
They far outdo the Horkspheres of the fairy realm
With a low growl he replies “Very well.
Follow me humans.”
We begin to walk through the halls
It's beautiful, but lonely
“Don't dawdle.” He calls
“What happened to the others?” I ask
With his next step the floor cracks
“Humans happened. That's what.”
“What exactly did we do?” My question sincere
I wanna understand exactly what happened here
“You stole our sin and shackled us with yours.
It happened many years ago, a millennium or more.
Now I am the last to reside in our core.
Our sin was pride because we were justly proud.
All you humans ever seek is power and crowns.
We foolishly accepted an alliance with your kind.
Seemed there was no downside at the time.
But you betrayed us.
You took our weapons and treasure,
Then you used them to remake the world beyond
measure.
Over the eons, my kinfolk moved on.
Leaving me to guard the sin.
When was the last to leave?
It has been so very long.”
Finally, we arrive at a set of massive stone doors
Etched with glyphs of history and wars
As they creak open
“As I said,” The griffin continues peering into the dark
“The Sin is...” He stops for a moment
Falls silent and then
We can feel his mana grow unstable when...
“Where is it!!!!!”
He lets out a roar shaking the foundation
Piercing our ears
He looks at us
His eyes sear
Consumed by rage he can no longer think clear
“Run!” I call as we bolt down the hall
He gives chase, pouncing off the walls
Heading left then right
This place like a maze
Finally reaching a dead end
A thousand mile drop
Looking down, my head's in a daze
“No choice.” Leigh says “We have to fight.”
Watching her light her flames I know she's right
Still his loneliness a result of losing his pride
I conjure mana in my hand as my chest squeezes tight
His animal instincts - He crouches forward to attack
Aiming directly at him Leigh fires a blast
With his massive wings he gives a flap
Extinguishing the fire, with a shockwave, we're knocked back
Almost knocked off the edge
Safe, only barely
He pounces forward at Leigh
And it's scary, very
Claws out ready to shred
I leap in front, throwing up my strongest mana shield
And he cuts through it like bread
Losing my balance as the claws come at me
Instantly, I drop
And part of me is happy
I honestly didn't want to cause him anymore pain
All too often that's the name of the game
Falling, falling, suddenly I'm caught
By a net made of mana
Under my weight it's taunt
Then, like an elevator, it begins going up
Arriving back where I started he jabs at me
“Way to show him your stuff.”
Tom stands before me
Containing the beast
With nothing but his power
I guess I can thank him at least
The griffin struggles against it's mana confinement
“This is turning out,” Tom gives a grin “to be one pain
of an assignment.
I got what I need.
How bout you?
What say we hit the road without further adieu?”
Trial 8: Taxing Taxi
Through a flaming corridor
Courtesy of Leigh
We arrive on the shores of Tampa Bay
Florida, beautiful as the sun sinks low
The whiplash of the weather change, a warm breeze
blows
We stand in silence, the three of us hold
Waiting for the others to speak what needs to be told
“Well,” Leigh starts “Guess we owe you a thanks.”
“That would do for a start,” Tom remarks while here on
the banks
“Well, I'm waiting.” He looks at me smug
“Yeah, yeah.” I mumble
You have no idea how raw this rubs
“Th-thank you.” My tone almost inaudible
“I'm sorry?” He grins “I couldn't quite hear you.”
“Thank you.” I groan.
“Once more with feeling!”
“That's it! Keep it up and you're gonna be bent over
keeling.”
“I'm just messing with you.
So, what now?” He asks
“Well,” Leigh begins “We've touched on all the prior
thefts.
Now, I suppose we do our best.
We need to make sure no other Sins get stolen.”
“Well, what are we waiting for?” I say “Let's get
rolling.”
“And I take it you know where the other Sins are?”
Tom's words hit like a kidney punch, hard
“As a matter of fact I do, buddy.
Considering we're on the east coast
The easiest Sin to go for now would be the Sin of
glutony.”
“And what makes you say that?” My jaw tense as I ask
“Because Nate, The Griffin had a map
Hanging clearly in one of the chambers.
I took a quick peek before you sparked the danger.”
“You're saying it's my fault?”
Instantly, a line of flames sparks the sand
“Boys!” Leigh snaps “Stay on task!”
As quickly as they came, the flames don't last
“Tom, where?” She continues
“On the top right border,” He says calmly “of Missouri
and Illinois.”
“No.” I sink my head in disappointment
“You're positive?”
“No.” His tone sarcastic “I just heard they have great
ointment.
You know it?”
“Dragon's peak.” I say begrudgingly
“It's a hidden town of murderers and thieves.
There's only one way to get there.
You can't do it by any other means.”
“And just what exactly is the way to get there?” Tom's
tone full of snide
“The devil's taxi,
Also known as the taxing taxi.”
“I thought that was a fairy tale?” Tom quickly replies
“Made up by O.D.s who couldn't get the job done right.
If they lost a perp, they'd blame it on the taxing taxi.”
“And Goblins, magic, and Jack Frost aren't fairy tales?”
I say
With that he's dumbfounded, he hasn't got an answer
The point is mine
He's in my palm like a tiny little dancer
“The taxi's real,” I continue “And it is untraceable.
That's because the passenger's mana is the fuel.
It drains you.
And if you're not careful it can kill you too.
So, try not to call it if you can't see it through.
Pull out one gold shilling each.” I say
“What for?” He asks
I simply give him the look as he responds “Okay. Okay.”
Myself, Tom, and Leigh pull out our coin
“Flip em in the air as high as you can.”
My tone, uneasy
I swore I'd never go back
Once in the air, I throw a scatter-ball of mana at them
Knocking them away like a baseball bat
Suddenly, a shadowy vortex appears
With a slimy devil hand grabbing the coins, clear
Then it holds up five fingers covered in grime
“That,” I say “Would be our wait time.”
“Well, well, brother. I'm surprised.” Calls a voice
A voice I'd rather not hear if I had a choice
“Calling the Devil's taxi – Quite the gamble.
Some might just call it a preamble.”
“Why are you here?” I ask, my body feeling heavy
Remembering the torment from that day
I thought I'd easily be able to attack him
Full of rage and adrenaline, but in the end
All I feel is the weight of fear
As the host of Death, my brother, stands here
“No need to be uneasy.” My brother's tone sincere
“I've no intention to fight, at least not here.”
“Then why are you here?” I ask frozen
“I was simply in the area on business
When our brotherly connection began to give me
fizzyness.
I just wanted to say hi.
And remind you that you'll soon die.”
“Enough's enough.”
Tom charges forward ready to attack
And instantly drops to his knees
I hear his bones crack
“Stop!” I call
My brother simply grins
As he pulls his gaze
To the other end.
“Why are you so hell-bent on my death?”
“Because dear brother, the key and the lock are a set.
Well, fun's been had. I'll be on my way.
Oh, one last thing. What is my name?”
I look at him confused. “What?” I say
“Pity,” He looks pained “I suppose I'll leave my friend to
play.”
He takes out a vial of ash and of blood
Pours them on the sand
Which begins shaking with a thud
Next thing I know my brother's gone
As something begins moving under the sand, strong
From the distance I hear the engine rev
As a yellow taxi pulls up fast
As from the driver's side window
A devil pops out his head
“Where to?” He asks, his voice coarse and deep
I reply “Get us to Dragon's peak.”
As we enter the taxi
The sand beneath us begins to churn
As a giant serpent appears with a lurch
I see it, but it's hard to believe
A basilisk, long sword like teeth
Enormous and scaly, nearly three hundred feet
And it clearly wants to eat
“Gun it!” I yell
Instantly, we're speeding along
From Florida to Missouri – An hour tops
But in the taxing taxi all bets are off
One of the fastest ways to travel in the mystic world
But it's not one I'd recommend, and it's not one preferred
Usually only used as a last resort
As we blast past nature, I glance to find
The basilisk is keeping pace a few feet behind
As if this ride wasn't stressful enough
Being chased by one of the deadliest creatures alive?
This trip's gonna be rough
Trial 9: Toil Town Trouble
Faster and faster, we gain enormous speed
As the taxi destroys everything – Rock and tree
It's a bumpy ride to be sure
As we flop around, our bodies thrown and sore
Catching glimpses in between
The fangs of the beast can be seen
Snapping it's jaws – Attempting to swallow us whole
And we're still twenty minutes away from the goal
“Can't this thing go any faster?” Tom bites
“Speed limit's two-fifty.” Our driver hisses
As with the jolt of a sudden right turn barely misses
A hiker stomping the forest trail
That would've been an instant fail
The basilisk still hot on our wheels
“Enough's enough.” Leigh snaps smoldering teal
“We need to get this thing off our butts.”
“And you think you can do it?” Tom asks
“You're nuts.”
“You got a better idea?” She responds
As the driver chimes “If you die, no refunds.”
I give her a look of worry and faith
Smiling, she says “It's a piece of cake.”
With a flaming blast of mana the back window shatters
“Hey!” Snaps the driver “You break it, you buy it.”