Chapter 32: The Talisman
#32 of The Spyro Chronicles SE
Chapter 32: The Talisman Dragon Realms, Uncharted System May 5, 2204 1547 Hours South of the Wolf Den
They group walked along the grassy path they had taken to get to the beach, the water still in site as they climbed up the hill that went back to the den. Spyro made note of the way the land here was so diverse for being a beach. He had never been out here before and it was a new experience for him.
"Still don't know what the Apes would want with this thing..." Aaron said as he eyed it, Thomas carrying it.
"Maybe it has to do with them having regained their... skin." Cynder added in.
"Well either way, if it's them, it can't be good." Roxy said, her arms crossed, Tom walking behind her. Krypto remained silent as always, walking in the back of the group.
They walked until they reached the top of the hill, they hearing something up ahead.
"More apes?" Aaron asked.
"No... sounds more like..."
"Dogs." Spyro finished for Cynder who looked at him with a raised eyebrow.
3 figures walked into view, each being an anthro type of dog- more like a mongrel. Each of them also wore attires that were very similar to those of pirates.
"THESE guys again?" Cynder asked, remembering them very well.
"Who?" Roxy asked.
"We encountered these guys 3 years ago... we have... fond memories." Spyro said as he watched them. Oh yes, he remembered them all too well- how they had taken him and made him fight. He remembered how he had escaped their large fleet trying to rescue Cynder. Oh yes, he remembered it all.
"So what do we do, attack them?" Zephyr asked.
"Wait a second..." Aaron said, wanting to be hesitant.
"I smell a whelpling..." One of the mongrels said, sniffing the air.
"They be close... maybe they have that talisman..." A second one said.
"They want this too? What does this thing do that's so special...?" Roxy asked.
"I hear 'em too!" The other mongrel said.
The others quickly shushed Roxy who scoffed.
Suddenly they heard a noise behind them. The group turned to see another group of mongrels in the brush with them, growling at them.
"Hey, it's the purple one! That one from the arena! Remember 'em?" One asked.
"I remember 'em! He's the one who destroyed our ship!"
"Uh oh..." Aaron said lowly.
"Get `em!" The lead mongrel drew his sword and pointed it at Spyro and the others who snapped into action, charging the group of mongrels and tackling two to the ground. Roxy sliced one down while Tom smacked the other into a tree. The third mongrel backed up a bit before growling, charging Spyro. He was blasted away with a blast of fear, causing him to panic and drop his weapon in fear.
"You owe me one." Cynder said with a smirk, Spyro only chuckled in return. The three mongrels on the trail had heard the commotion and by this time came charging into the brush.
"My turn!" Aaron said, blasting one with darkness while Zephyr taking his chance to blow the other two away with a strong gust a wind by flapping his wings.
"Those guys were easy enough." Roxy said while hilting her sword that began to glow again.
"Oh great." She said.
They all looked around before going onto the trail seeing more mongrels on the path who charged them but then all of a sudden apes charged from the bushes, running at the mongrels, swords clanging and clashing as they fought one another.
"Well, that's our cue, let's get the heck out of here!" Aaron suggested. The others nodded and headed another way.
"Not so fast..." The ape from before walked in front of them, snarling as more surrounded them. "You're not leaving this place alive purple one... nor are your friends so long as you hold the talisman. We will all keep hunting you... you can count on that. Now why don't you just hand it over..." He drew his sword at Spyro who growled.
"Dude Spyro's eaten bigger enemies then you for breakfast!" Zephyr said, the ape growling and smacking him across the face.
"Hey! Don't you touch him like that!" Roxy said.
"I'll do whatever I want until I get that talisman..."
"What's so important about it?!" Cynder asked.
"It's a key to a very important door... and we cannot let you escape with it." He answered.
"No, we're going to take it and you guys can't do nothin'!" A large mongrel came in from behind, the apes having been defeated and the group was now surrounded.
"Scatter!" Spyro said, each of them shooting off into the woods except for Thomas who fumbled for a few seconds before running off as well.
"Get them!" The ape ordered.
Spyro ran through the brush, holding onto the talisman as he had taken it from Thomas. He was running south towards the Frigate as he had blown past the large ape from earlier. He had to keep running and not let them catch up. Whatever the hell it was they wanted with this thing, he couldn't let them have it. He blew through the brush and the foliage, trying to get away. Eventually he reached the edge of a cliff where off in the distance Spyro could see the pirate fleet, hovering in the air as they had been when he last remembered them.
He grunted as he spotted the Human frigate sitting just down the beach, it was so close! He could go there! He ran off towards it through the brush until he was knocked into a tree headlong. Spyro grunted and slowly got up, rubbing his head. His vision cleared enough for him to see a large dog snarling at him. It was one of the mongrel's mutts. Those things charged at unbelievable speeds and were lethal by all accounts...
Spyro shook off the impact and snarled, fire sparking in his muzzle. The dog leapt at him, Spyro managing to leap to the side and the dog smacked the tree. Spyro rolled and unleashed his fire breath onto the creature who whined, charging at him again. Spyro was clipped, getting knocked down. The dog came to a stop and turned to him. Spyro grunted before opening his muzzle and firing ice shards at the creature now.
The shards stabbed through the hide of the creature, causing it to whine and stumble before falling down the cliff side as it tumbled towards it. Spyro smirked a bit before getting punched in the side.
Spyro skidded on the ground as a few mongrels gathered around him.
"We found the runt, now get that talisman from him."
"No! The boss will want to see him first..."
"Tie him up!"
Suddenly Spyro felt himself being tied up and packed on a boat. The scenario was all too familiar to him... having gone through the same predicament 3 years ago.
Spyro awoke in the captain's quarters of a large ship, the very same he had been in 3 years ago. Sitting on a table were two birds, one pink one purple.
"Wake up foo!"
"You two again?!" Spyro exclaimed, coming out of his daze. The pair was Scratch and Sniff.
"Yes, it seems we cross paths once again purple dragon, after you nearly destroyed our fleet 3 years ago."
"I should've finished it off then..."
"Quiet fool!" Sniff said.
"We must really thank you for bringing us the talisman young dragon, it made things very easy for us."
"What do you guys want with it anyway?"
"The talisman will unlock a door that will hold untold treasures... bigger then any you'll know of dragon."
"I doubt it..."
"Regardless, we know it holds the key to something very powerful. We think it might even be a weapon."
"A weapon...?"
"Yes, you heard me. With it, we can dominate the seas once again... without you dragons to stop us that is."
Spyro frowned. They must've been referring to the Final Solution. What would the talisman do? Would it unlock a door that was necessary for the weapon? If that were the case, of course the Apes would be after it. Then the Pirates? That only meant more trouble. He had to get out of here and get the talisman somehow...
"Hey, get your hands off of me you dumb dog!"
"What's this?" Scratch asked.
"We found this whelp out wandering the forests near our ships. He was with this purple one earlier..." The mongrel tightened a grip on the dragon, it being Aaron.
"Ah... so I see you've gathered a little band of friends here..." Scratch said with a smirk.
"Aaron?! How'd you get captured?" Spyro asked.
"Well I couldn't let you go it alone Spyro, the others are getting ready." He winked.
"Quiet foo!" Sniff said as he landed by Aaron, extending his bat wings go emphasize his line.
"Or you'll do what pipsqueak?"
Aaron suddenly felt himself get smacked hard by the bat parrot.
"I'll do that!"
"Ow! That hurt!" Aaron said, rubbing his side.
"Enough! Take them to their cells." Scratch said.
Suddenly Aaron bit his captor who yelled, releasing him.
"Come on Spyro!" Aaron said as Spyro kicked back at his captor, some commotion going up above them.
"We have to get the talisman!" Spyro said, turning to the two bat parrots.
"Capture the prisoners!" Scratch said before he flapped his wings, flying through an open window.
"After them!" Spyro said, leaping through the window, smashing it.
Aaron went after him and they flew onto the main deck, the large ship hovering above the realms, Zephyr and Roxy already on the deck, fighting the mongrels. They leaped around, using their swords and trying to grab them but Roxy swung her sword and blew them away and off of the deck.
"After that bat thing!" Aaron said as he leapt down with Spyro, the two birds taking off towards the front of the large ship, cannons firing off as the ship rocked.
"He has the talisman?" Roxy asked.
"Yeah! We need to catch him!" Spyro said, taking flight. He flew over to the front of the ship but two scurvey wings flew in and smacked him to the ground, a beam of shadow energy hitting the creature and it flying away. Cynder flew in and flapped her wings to land near Spyro.
"You alright?!" She asked.
"Yeah! What's going on?" He asked.
"We saw you get captured and we're busting you out! We'd better hurry before the apes-"
She was cut off by an explosion that rocked the boat, several darkwings flying above, dropping bombs and apes boarding the ships.
"Damn it, it's just like before! Follow me." He said, leading them to the bow of the ship, Scratch and Sniff already flying for a ship in the background, hovering over the water. Another explosion rocked the boat as tracers were seen flying up and hitting ships, damaging them.
"Looks like the Humans finally jumped into the party." Zephyr said, looking down at the Frigate still perched at the cove, its defense turrets firing up at the wooden ships.
"Why aren't its main guns firing? Those would rip these things to shreds!" Aaron asked as he saw this.
"They're probably having trouble with them, they aren't moving at all."
True to what she said, the large guns adorned on the ship remained still as the defense turrets blared up at the pirate ships as they drew towards the Frigate, firing their cannons.
Spyro growled and took off towards Scratch and Sniff as they flew off towards their large ship in the back. He flew past the massive amounts of ships as they drifted towards the Frigate, apes assaulting the ships as well but their numbers were limited. Cynder, Aaron and Zephyr took off to aid Spyro, Roxy soon joined by Tom and Krypto as they held off the mass of Mongrels and Apes, Thomas joining them as well as he stood behind Krypto, watching.
Spyro streaked off, catching up to Scratch and Sniff as he attempted to tackle them in mid-air.
"Foo! Fire the cannon!" Sniff yelled. Suddenly, a ship nearby fired its cannon at Spyro, he flapping his wings up to avoid as the cannon hit a ship nearby, sending several mongrels to their watery demise. Spyro flew off once more to catch them. Soon Scratch and Sniff landed in their ship, it taking off along with several other ships to the rear. They flew off at a fast speed, threatening to leave Spyro behind. Spyro growled and engulfed his body in fire and streaked forward, crashing through the wooden hull and landing upright, looking around.
The others were far off, the ship having left them behind as it sailed away. Spyro huffed and looked ahead of him, running down the halls as he met little to no resistance as he made his way through. He made his way towards the back, where he guessed the captain's quarters would be. He crashed through a door and found 3 mongrels before a large desk where Scratch and Sniff were.
"You again! You don't know when to quit!" Scratch yelled.
"I'm not leaving without that talisman!" Spyro said, rushing them.
"Then you're not leaving at all! Get him!" The mongrels instantly rushed him as well, Spyro smacking one head on and kicking him into the desk. Before they could do anything else, the ship began to rock and shudder.
"What is going on out there?!" Scratch asked.
"Sir that metal ship is preparing to fire its main gun at us!" A mongrel said, looking out the main window. They could see the human Frigate having taken off from the cove and it pointing right at them. Spyro could see the large barrel of its central weapon that ran the length of its bow, and he knew what was about to happen.
Spyro immediately took cover as a flash erupted from the human vessel. The window shattered as a huge sonic boom splashed from the LIC gun firing, the round traveling to hypersonic speeds and ripping through the ship. Spyro felt himself being lifted up into the air as the boards crumbled beneath him, the violent kinetic energy from the round ripping the ship to pieces almost instantaneously. Soon, he blacked out.
1920 Hours Unknown location
He could feel the warm waters touching his scales, washing over him like a loving embrace. Images danced in his head... filling the empty void with colors and vivid items. He could see... a figure, a dragoness appearing before him- it was Cynder the dragoness. She looked at him with her green eyes then she smiled, smiling with an essence that filled his body with warmth... warmth like the water...
Spyro's eyes shot open suddenly, he moaned in pain as he was lying face down in the sand. Sea water washed up all around him and he looked up to see where he was. Rocks lined the beach and the sky was a purple dark, dusk was claiming the land. He looked all around for the mainland but saw no sight of it, the Human Frigate or any of his friends. Ocean lined his vision in all directions besides the island before him. Stone structures jutted from the sand, having been carved by ancient hands, many eons ago. This place seemed... familiar to him.
Suddenly Spyro realized where he was.
"The White Isle..." Spyro muttered softly as he walked towards the gates, entering into the stone structures. He walked the empty, desolate interior, no stone soldiers greeting him like last time. There were no crystal spiders or elemental beasts before him- only silence. The sounds of rock falling from the ceiling and rolling on the ground filled his ears as he walked through. He leapt up onto the familiar platforms that lead to the main gateway, guarded by the four statues. Unlike his last visit, there was no voice to dictate his way. Instead, the gate was open, a deathly silence flowing from within. Spyro took in a deep breath before walking inside into the main chamber, the four gates to the elemental challenges greeting him. However they were all sealed. The gate to the inner chamber was already opened, awaiting Spyro as he entered, just as before.
He walked into the great library, the books lining the walls as well as the enormous hour glass that stood in the center of the room. Books floated to and fro, filling the airspace as Spyro walked deeper into the room, remembering it all. There was a book on the floor, it being his own. He opened the book and peered into the pages. He saw his adventures from beginning to end. He saw everything. He even saw his new adventures with his new friends and allies, up until the battle with the ships... He also saw more books lying around, all about his friends and even his Human friends, their books were all there too. He opened them all, peering into their lives as he saw strange worlds and lands where there were more Humans, other creatures and the Lakadors.
He finally continued until he reached Cynder's book. The black book opened and revealed the darkness that hid within the pages. The pages continued on until they reached the present, but the pages were still dark and told stories Spyro didn't want to hear. He set the book down and looked back at his own. He opened it to the last page with information and looked beyond, the pages getting darker and darker for some reason, he didn't understand.
"Enjoying the read are we? It doesn't surprise me." Spyro heard a familiar voice that lit his ears up, he turning to see a familiar face.
"Ignitus!" Spyro said, running over to hug him. Ignitus chuckled and patted his head softly. "It is so great to see you young dragon..." He said.
"I missed you so much!" Spyro said, continuing to hold onto him. Ignitus smiled but pulled him away slowly, some tears forming in his eyes.
"It's been a while Spyro, am glad to see you finally made it here."
"You guys have been helping me so much, I'm so thankful." Spyro said. Suddenly a purple dragoness walked out from the shadows and looked at Spyro.
"Singe?" Spyro asked. She nodded and smiled.
"It's good to finally meet you in person Spyro." She said, walking towards him.
"Who are you though? You've been helping me so much but I don't know you at all."
"I am the protector of the purple dragon eggs. I brought your egg to the temple for Ignitus and the other guardians to safeguard for the year of the dragon." She said.
"So you... knew my parents?" He asked. She nodded her head slowly.
"Who are they? Are they alright? Are they still alive?"
"Your parents are fine, but that isn't important right now." She said softly, getting Spyro to tilt his head. Of course that was important to him! He wanted to know!
"Right now you need to focus on stopping the Dark Master and his allies. They are getting closer and closer to firing the weapon in dark mode." She told him.
"What can I do?"
"First you must prepare yourself young dragon, for the trials that lie ahead. It won't be an easy task." Ignitus added.
"While the Dark Master has claimed two of the necessary keys to unlock the weapon, the other two are still safe." Singe said.
"Where are they?" Spyro asked.
"One is below the mountains in the Valliyor pass to the north of here, bordering the old Dragon Kingdom. The final one is beneath the new Dragon Temple in Warfang in the catacombs. It is unlocked by its own key, a talisman." Singe explained.
"Oh the talisman! I have to find it! It's the key!" Spyro said, remembering that it was with him on the ship.
"This one?" Singe extended her paw, opening it up to reveal the talisman from before.
"Yeah..." He said, looking surprised.
"You need to protect this talisman with your life Spyro. It is the key to the door under Warfang. Malefor mustn't open it."
"I heard that the Dark Master is already in the Valliyor pass, couldn't he unlock that one already?" Spyro asked, remembering what Mole-yair had told him.
"Yes, while he might be there, he doesn't know of the key that resides under him. For now, it is safe." Ignitus explained.
"For now we must focus on the one he does know about, the one under the New Dragon Temple." Spyro nodded as Singe added that piece of information.
"What can I do then?" Spyro asked.
"Guard this with your life, and return it to the temple where it can be more heavily guarded. There are several forces working to get this weapon unlocked Spyro. There are forces here at play that are too powerful to comprehend." Spyro nodded at Singe's statement. He looked over to his book, remembering how the pages were darkest to the rear of the book as he thought about the events to come, worried.
"You're thinking about your book, aren't you?" Ignitus asked him. Spyro nodded.
"Yes, very curious." Singe added.
"Curious?"
"Yes, curious that the darkness seems to be growing within you instead of being suppressed like it was meant to be once you defeated the Dark Master originally." She said.
"It is working to consume you, make you a new agent of the Dark Master if not a new one entirally." Ignitus said with a sad tone.
"A new Dark Master...? Is this the fate of the purple dragons...?" Spyro asked.
"I'm afraid so. It wasn't originally meant to be this way. Now, it seems to be inevitable." Singe said with a low voice."
"What about you? Diablo?" Spyro asked.
"Diablo and me were before this started happening, and we weren't affected."
"I see..."
"There are forces at work here Spyro that will stop at nothing to activate this weapon, and unleash the horrors inside. You must stop them Spyro." Ignitus said, Spyro nodded.
"I'll to my best, I won't fail you." He said.
"I trust you won't. You have yet to fail me." Ignitus said with a soft chuckle.
"Now go Spyro, your friends are waiting for you." Singe handed Spyro the talisman and lifted her wing, the hour glass lifting up into the air and revealing the hole in the floor Spyro had used to travel to the mountain of Malefor. Now he'd use it to return to his friends. He took in a deep sigh before turning to them.
"Thank you guys, for all you've done." He said.
"We're here to help you young dragon, and we will always be." Ignitus said.
"Now go Spyro." Singe said with a smile. Spyro returned it and leapt down into the hole.
2033 Hours Inside coastal village, south of Warfang and East of the Wolve's den
Spyro sat looking at the stars as the two moons hovered over them. Clouds passed overhead as he took in the cool air that passed over him as he sat on a rock, Cynder beside him looking up with him.
"It's so beautiful up there, I wonder what it's like to be up there, with the stars." Cynder said, looking up.
Spyro didn't answer for a while, he was lost as he looked up at the twinkling dots in the sky, his mind flying up and streaking through the heavens, pondering the same question himself. He finally snapped out of it as Cynder looked at him.
"What do you think Spyro?"
He chuckled softly.
"I think I can get lost by just looking at them for a while." She laughed softly at this and looked up at the stars again.
"Same here." She said. They sat there for a while, watching the clouds pass overhead and the stars beam down towards them, casting their dim light over the planet. The others sat nearby as well, all huddled around a campfire or asleep nearby as they sat along the outskirts of the village they were in earlier. They returned to the wolf den and explained the importance of the talisman to them. Thankfully they were more than happy to allow them to take the talisman with them back to the temple, which they would first thing in the morning. They wanted to get some rest first, it had been a long day for them.
Krpto sat next to Aaron and Zephyr who all sat near the fire, Roxy and Tom walking over as Thomas snoozed nearby.
"So... you never did tell us your story there Kry." Aaron said. Krypto looked at him for a bit before taking in a deep breath.
"70 years, that's how long I've been in captivity." He finally said. They all looked at him with great interest as he began to tell his story.
"I was captured by the kendynians and held by them for 70 years. That was after I watched my mother die when I was younger, and braved the snow and winters of my homeworld." Spyro and Cynder listened closely as he continued to speak.
"It didn't help that I was also attacked and tortured by those humans... it wasn't long before I ended up here with you guys." Krypto finally said.
"Why did you come here then?" Roxy asked.
"I'm not entirely sure. I traveled the cosmos until I ended up here." He looked at the fire for a bit before getting up.
"I'm going to get some water." He said before he walked off. The others just watched him walk off.
Spyro watched Krypto sadly, taking in a deep breath before looking back up at the stars.
"What do you think will happen?" Cynder asked.
"Hmm?" Spyro asked, looking down at her.
"I said, what do you think will happen."
"To who?"
"Us, about this whole thing. The Final Solution, Malefor and just... everything." She said, looking at the ground. He could tell she was gravely concerned about what was going on. He was too after all. This was just so much bigger then any adventure in the past. This was... the fate of really everything in the long run. The Humans, Lakadors, they all shared a common fate with them and they needed to the stop the Dark Master, once and for all.
Though what kept Spyro wondering was what Ignitus and Singe had told him. What they had told him about the darkness, and the ultimate fate of purple dragons now... it was almost scary to him. He didn't want to end up like the Dark Master. He didn't want to become his servant either or fall into the trap of serving these new forces- whoever they were. No... he'd stop them. He would defeat them here and stop this weapon, once and for all.
End of Chapter 32