FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Chapter 8

Cynder broke their embrace, growling she focused on the exit of the cave, ready to strike if necessary. Spyro was completely caught by surprise, he watched her with confused eyes just to see her nodding towards the opening, he followed her lead. Momentarily he knew what startled her and this time she wasn't the only one seeing this, Spyro jumped next to her and bent on his paws, preparing himself for any kind of attack.

The dragons tails were wagging in anticipation as they watched the shadow on the ground getting bigger and bigger with each breath. Cynder's pupils narrowed as she nervously began scratching the stone floor with one of her claws. Was it real after all? Did it came back? He was seeing the same thing, meaning that she wasn't imagining it. The creature surprised her before almost killing the single friend she had, Cynder won't allow it to happen again. She wanted to pounce at it now, ending its existence once and for all, but she knew it's better not to rush into a fight because sometimes you get more than you bargained for.

Both dragons held their breaths when the shadow finally stopped growing just to see a lone figure stepping out from its cover moments later and blocking the sunlight when it stopped in the entrance.

" Heard you...here I looked... here I looked...feel you...touched...feel..." sounded a raspy voice which was getting louder with each step the figure made towards the young dragons.

The moment the figure came close enough they could make out some of its features. It was a male Cheetah with tan fur with black ringlets on his uncovered arms and legs. He wore only a dirty and tattered dark green coat with its hood covering his head, only the tip of his nose protruded from the darkness the hood created. The cheetah looked he was traveling for days or weeks without even stopping for a short break. He was leaning against a scary looking, twisted brown wooden staff held in his right hand, with two wooden spines on its top and a green stone magically attached between them. The cheetah was undoubtedly a hermit, who decided to spend the rest of his life in seclusion, dedicating himself to nature, magic that was part of this world and experiments. Their solitude helped them achieve wonders which would be difficult to accomplish in a crowded city, but this knowledge came with a price. Spending years in a cave completely alone made them shy and cautious towards visitors but they still managed some sort of politeness for a simple greeting, not all hermits were like that, some shun people completely, blocking the outside world from their life. The barrier they created most of the time drove them crazy, utterly crazy.

The clicking sound of the staff hitting the stone floor echoed through the cave as the cheetah kept moving closer towards the two young dragons " Close... somewhere... or far?... here I looked... here I looked"

They watched the hermit as he got close and shot quick glances of surprise between themselves as he walked past them without even looking their way. " I hate hermits" Cynder whispered

" Need you... lost you... found you.... where are you?.... Here I looked... here I looked... feel you" the hooded figure touched the wall of the dais and began hitting it with his clenched fist moments later. " Need you.... hear you..."

Spyro threw Cynder a meaningful look, she furrowed a brow then turned her head to look at the feline, moments later she looked at Spyro again with an incredulous expression just to set her eyes upon the cheetah once again. After staring at him for a while Cynder sighted quietly and nodded reluctantly.

Spyro focused on the hermit and cleared his throat " Excuse me?"

The cheetah turned around and started moving his head in every direction while sniffing " A call... heard you... where are you?... I feel you..."

Spyro shot Cynder a baffled glance, she shrugged and made little circles with her claw near one side of her head. Spyro looked at the cheetah and sighted, he started it so he might as well finish it.

"We are over here" Spyro said loudly and waved his paw

The hermit looked in their direction and froze" You? what.... what are you doing here?" he looked around confused

" We are sorry, we didn't want to intrude but it was badly raining yesterday so we needed shelter, your cave was only one we found and it looked abandoned, we are deeply sorry" Spyro apologized as best as he could

"A cave....my cave...yes... of course" the cheetah's voice becoming more solid " My cave, impressive is it not?"

" Yeah, you've put a lot of work into it and it really looks like some sort of a cave specially prepared for alchemical experiments!" Spyro continued his conversation with the hermit

A proud white grin formed itself on the feline's face "Thank you very much for noticing it's so rare this days to see youth appreciating someone's hard work"

" I've heard that hermits can make almost everything even from the simplest ingredients"

Cynder stared at Spyro smiling, it must have been his good- hearted nature that made people actually enjoy talking with him, he always knew what to say without offending anybody thanks to his caring personality, he knew how to speak to satisfy his natural curiosity without boring his interlocutor. People recognize goodness when they see it, it must be this gold heart of his that allows people to trust him instantly or perhaps they felt safe, important when they talked with him because they knew that there is at least one dragon in the Realms who cares about them. It was this gold heart which showed her that even despite her dark past she can be trusted if she really wants it and that was what kept her going, a beating gold heart filling her with its benevolent pace even if it was the only pace in the whole world she heard, it was enough for her.

The cheetah chuckled and coughed " You shame me boy but it's true, some of us specialize in those kind of things, they can make wonders, I've seen with my own eyes how a hermit brew a potion that allowed you to see in the dark by using only herbs!"

" Wow, you must be very happy to be able to create such things from scratch" Spyro said clearly amazed

"You think too much of me youngling I'm not that skilled, you see, alchemy is just my passion, I'm a healer by trade"

The purple dragon smiled " Everyone has to start somewhere"

The cheetah stomped his staff on the floor as to show that they have reached the point of this conversation" Exactly, passions have to be evolved that's why we have them in the first place" The hermit smiled" But as much as I enjoy our little conversation I know that whenever I have visitors they always have some questions to ask, tell me dragon what can this old cheetah do for you? Don't make this old fur keep you, I'm sure you have more important things to do"

Spyro shook his head "Thank you for your offer but we bothered you enough already"

The hermit smiled kindly " Not at all, please tell me what you need it will be my pleasure to help such an intelligent youngster like yourself"

Spyro thought for a moment " Could you tell us how to reach Warfang? We have never been in this part of the valley and we are lost"

The cheetah shook his head sadly " I'm sorry my dear boy but I've never heard about Warfang before"

"Then maybe you could point us in the direction of a nearby village?"

The hermit scratched his nose thoughtfully "There is a village just to the southeast of here, the moment you pass through two big trees leaning against each other turn slightly to the east and head in that direction until you reach a river and then move alongside it until you see the village, you can't miss it, my old friend Meadow lives there and I'm sure he will help you"

"Meadow?" Spyro blurt out impulsively happy to hear a familiar name

The cheetah nodded and smiled "Yes, Meadow, but I see that you know him so I won't keep you waiting, I wish you a safe travel my dear boy"

'Thank you" but before Spyro made a step a thought crossed his mind and a hazy picture of a plan formed itself before his eyes " Meadow's village is the closest one?"

"Yes"

"There are no other villages nearby? Maybe there is one just right past the forest?"

" Past the forest you say? The cheetah had been silent for a while lost in concentration " I don't think there is a village there, but I rarely have guest and my memory isn't as good as it used to be"

Cynder cocked her head slightly to the side as she watched Spyro, he touched his injured back and winced just like he was remembering something, the moment she saw the blood again on his wing guilt filled Cynder's heart

" You are sure that there was no one in the forest lately? he finally said

The cheetah coughed " I live here for almost twenty years and the only thing I've met in there were wild animals, besides I've just came back from there and I didn't see anybody"

Spyro thought for a while and shook his head " Thank you for your time, we will be on our way now"

"If you ever need anything you know where to find me" the cheetah turned around and began walking towards the dais

"Actually..." Cynder's voice stopped the hermit in his tracks "...there is one thing you could do for us" the cheetah turned around" You see, my friend here is wounded and since you are a healer I thought that maybe you could help him"

"it's not necessary" Spyro protested

"It is" she threw him a look that left no place for objection

The cheetah looked alarmed "My dear boy, you are injured and you haven't said anything?" The hermit waved his hand" Follow me, my eyes aren't that good anymore"

Spyro looked at her with eyes filled with dissent but she just nodded her head towards the feline giving him a clear signal that she doesn't take 'No' as an answer. Reluctantly he followed the feline up the dais.

That particular place caught Cynder's attention, it was better illuminated than the rest of the cave, the moment she followed the sunlight she found out why. That big hole above the entrance was the reason, it allowed the rays to pass through it giving light where it was most needed, that way the hermit could make... well whatever he was making more easily. How he managed to create that hole still was a mystery but when you are not right in the head everything's possible it seems, nevertheless she had to admit that it was a clever and useful solution.

The cheetah's voice coming from the dais caught her attention " You younglings always get yourself into all kind of trouble, I can't even remember now how many injuries I've treated when I was still living in a village"

"It's just a scratch" Spyro responded calmly

The hermit chuckled " Of course it is! Whenever I ask It's always a scratch, I know you youngsters are more resistant than oldsters like myself but you keep forgetting that even the smallest wound can get infected. Now then, where is that cut?"

"On my back"

The cheetah made his way towards him and began inspecting the injury " Let me see... My, my those are some really bad cuts my boy and these are claws marks no less. You should stay out of the forest, the beats there are pretty mean"

Spyro chuckled " Tell me about it but they have some good traits too" he smiled and looked at Cynder. She frowned giving him a "You have no idea look" and returned the smile moments later.

"You never know when monsters and wild animals will decide to attack, surprise is the key" the cheetah began to touch the wound really carefully.

Cynder stared at the hermit, he was giving Spyro too much attention for her liking, she can usually tell when someone is acting suspicious and since the hermit is obviously crazy you have to keep an eye on him all the time. It was then when she noticed the hermit turning around towards the wooden table, while he quickly licked one of his blood covered fingers.

"That wasn't creepy at all" Cynder muttered

The feline started to search for something on the table, throwing some stuff down onto the ground and every now and then he picked something from it, examined it just to flick it away disappointed "There is something around here that I'm looking for and it's close I can feel it.." the cheetahs voice becoming less solid.

That caught Spyro's attention "All you alright?"

" Here I looked...here I looked..found you...here.." the hermit started to mumble once again.

Spyro furrowed a brow "Are you ok? Have you found what were you looking for?"

The cheetah stopped his search, every muscle stopped moving he looked like he just froze "Found you...found it...felt you..felt it...I...I...I NEED IT!" the hermit screamed and turned around quickly to face the Purple Dragon, Cynder noticed as something in the feline's hand reflected the sunlight casting a shadow on a nearby wall. Her heart jumped when she saw it was a dagger which the feline prepared to sink into the dragon's chest.

"Spyro! Watch out!" Cynder yelled at the top of her lungs.

He was caught completely by surprise, there was no chance he could avoid the cold steel now. Seeing this Cynder channeled her elemental powers and released her Siren Scream ability, a sheer, terrifying shriek filled the cave directed at the crazy hermit. Spyro was in the way but she had to do it, there was no other choice.

The moment her cry reached him, it looked like his paws wanted to run as fast as possible, doesn't matter where as long its far away from her, but his upper body protested, it wanted to stay even if it had difficulties to remain calm. Spyro was trembling violently and the dispute between his body parts left him paralyzed, luckily he was used to this feeling, at least that's what he always said. Cynder knew that he lied but one thing was sure, he was able to shake off this sensation faster than anyone else, after all that wasn't the first time he got caught in the radius of her Fear power.

Cynder blinked in shock when her scream reached the hermit, to her surprise the cheetah didn't turn his tail and flee, he only swayed on his legs. Luckily her fear element was strong enough forcing the cheetah to drop the dagger, the moment the weapon hit the ground the feline made some sluggish steps backwards. After a while he stopped and hunkered down while he placed his hand on his head, in that position the hermit began to rock slightly back and forth, mumbling something incoherently under his nose. That was the opportunity Spyro couldn't waste, after all they didn't come here looking for a fight, the clearly barmy hermit seemed to forget about it.

"Just calm down, we don't want to hurt you, there is noth-" before Spyro could finish his sentence the cheetah stood up screaming frantically, the moment he rose the green stone on his staff began to glow brightly. Still screaming he raised his wooden staff above his head just to stomp it on the ground.

The ground below Spyro's paws shook slightly and a powerful shockwave was created when the staff hit the stone floor, the shockwave lifted him from the ground and hurled the dragon into a wall in the far end of the cave. Cynder heard his groan of pain mixed with the noise of chunks of stone falling onto the ground after the impact. Momentarily a rumbling sound of something really thick breaking apart followed, a large crack running from top to bottom formed itself on the dais' wall after the shockwave .

Moments later the hermit jumped from the dais and landed on the ground below gracefully, as for his age he was still pretty agile. the cheetah began walking towards the Purple Dragon with a silver dagger held in his hand.

"Hey!" Cynder shouted at the hermit and prepared herself for the confrontation, to her surprise however the cheetah ignored her, uninterrupted he still kept walking in the same direction.

"Cynder just don't kill him!" Spyro yelled from the far end of the cave

"Hey! You are not forgetting something?" she shouted ironically at the cheetah once again but just as before he ignored her completely, only this time he seemed to walk a bit faster.

"Hey you nut-job! I'm over here!" Cynder tried once again to gain his attention but the effect remained the same

"Please just listen to us, we don't wa-" Spyro's shout was interrupted by the cheetah's menacing scream, there was a flash of green light when the hermit pointed his staff at him.

Cynder swayed on her paws when suddenly everything began to vibrate, a rumbling sound just like something tried to dig its way through the stone floor was heard. Cynder was thrown back when the ground was torn finally, there were some huge thick roots protruding from it, almost reaching the ceiling, her eyes traced their whole length just to notice some small pieces of the stone floor heading her way.

She jumped backwards and covered herself behind her black wings when the piece hit the ground with a loud thud and broke into many small chunks that were sent flying everywhere, some of them hitting her magenta membranes. When the last one bounced off her wings Cynder lowered them just to see a blinding green flash. When her vision returned she saw the roots stretching toward Spyro. The roots reached him in a blink of an eye, they wrapped themselves around his paws, one of the bigger ones wrapped itself around his belly and back blocking his wings, another one embraced his neck while the last one muzzled him.

Spyro started to jerk trying desperately to brake free from their iron grip, but the roots held him tight there was no chance they will budge. The hermit screamed frantically once more while he pointed his glowing staff at him, seeing that Spyro was defenseless the cheetah charged. He was fast, extremely fast as for an old guy, it seems that craziness unlocks some buried deep down vigor.

" Oh no you don't" Cynder muttered angrily and began channeling her wind powers, a sensation similar to a refreshing breeze filled her body as she opened her mouth moments later and unleashed her Cyclone ability. She directed a powerful gust of wind at the feline, it was so strong that it blew the hermit from the ground and sent him flying towards a wall, maybe this impact will bring back his senses.

Some small rocks fell from the wall when the cheetah hit it, everything was silent but surprisingly the roots still held Spyro in place, the dragons exchanged puzzled looks between each other, the hermit wasn't getting up so they couldn't understand why the roots didn't retreat. It was then when Cynder thought about the staff, it was clearly their source of power and since the roots remained in the same position it must still emanate some magic. Just as she prepared to take a step Cynder heard the noise of stone grinding on stone. Soon the creator of this noise came into view.

It seems the impact must have stunned the hermit for a while, but unfortunately this small period didn't help the cheetah, in fact he looked angry, almost furious. The scream that filled the cave confirmed her suspicion, the feline didn't waste time, with both weapons pointing at the Purple Dragon he charged once again. This time however the glow on the staff's stone intensified, Cynder found why soon enough.

Muffed scream and groans caught her attention, she knew instantly who created that sound. Cynder's heart jumped when she set her eyes on Spyro, the roots started moving slowly tightening their embrace on the dragon's body. They will strangle him for sure crushing every possible bone and organ in the process. If somehow strangulation wouldn't kill him internal bleeding surely will and she won't allow any scenario too happen.

Cynder channeled her elemental energy once again, this time focusing on her Shadow powers. A dark, sinister yet somehow addicting felling coursed in her veins. Cynder pulled a shadow below her paws that seemed to pulse with its own life. While she concentrated the shadow began to devour her until she vanished completely. The fast hermit was really close to Spyro, he clenched his fist firmly around the dagger's hilt as he prepared to strike helping the roots in ending the dragon's life. The cheetah was so consumed with the vision that he failed to notice a shadow stopping on the nearby wall.

When Cynder popped out from it she instantly thrust her blade-like tip into the hermit's chest, he gasped but he still pushed forward sinking her tip deeper and deeper into his body. The cheetah kept moving until he finally felt that life was escaping him, with last ounces of strength he powered his staff, the green stone began to glow even brighter. A loud muffled scream was enough for Cynder to act, she forcefully slapped the staff with her wing, the blow was strong enough to release the green stone from its magical clutches. The moment it was sent flying it began to shine with a blinding green light eventually releasing a ray of the same color directly at the ceiling.

The sound of cracking wood caught her attention, she turned around just to see the roots retreating, the moment they left him Spyro fell on his belly coughing terribly. Cynder was near him in seconds as she began to look him over with a racing heart, she couldn't stop thinking about the roots and how badly they might have injured him.

"Are you alright?" Cynder asked with a glimmer of fear in her voice, after all she could kill that hermit sooner.

Spyro coughed " I'm...I'm fine even despite the fact I've been almost choked to death" he coughed once more " Did you ever heard the sound of your bones crushing? I did, and I must tell you that I won't forget it" he chuckled and coughed again

She smiled " I can imagine and hey, I might not know much about alchemy, but helping you is the only thing I'm actually good at"

"Thanks Cynder"

"Don't mention it, that's what-" a loud rumbling noise coming from above interrupted her, they both looked up just to see some small rocks falling down from the ceiling, and just in front of them a crack was forming on the wall that was getting bigger and bigger with each second. The whole cave began to vibrate and a huge boulder fell some distance away on the ground with an audible thud, Cynder realized instantly what's happening.

"We have to go, NOW!" she shouted with a demanding tone wrapping her tail around one of Spyro's front paws and tugged him. It must have been her strong pull, or the vision of being buried alive under the many stones or both forced his mind to use its powers to fuel all of his limbs with additional energy instantly . Whatever the case may be, he got up quickly completely forgetting about the pain.

They only made a few steps and had to stop as a big rock hit the ground not far from them. Both dragons hid behind their wings, deflecting the pieces that broke off from the stone after the impact. When the chunks stopped flying the wings returned to their natural position. They swayed on their paws when an another strong shake ran through the cave accompanied by the sound of many splitting stones. Both dragons concentrated on the stone in front of them, they could simply avoid it but they had wasted enough time already. The rock crumbled, lucky for them not entirely, seeing this both dragons decided to try a different approach, after all every second counts.

Cynder took the lead and ran towards the rock, the moment she was close she jumped on it just to leap from its rough surface soon after. Unfortunately luck played a trick on her, instead of a solid ground ahead there were many small rocks packed closely together looking like small balls. When her paws touched the rocks Cynder slipped and was unable to maintain her balance sending some of the stones into the air while the others were thrown aside. Cynder hit the ground and being dragged by the stones she involuntary turned on her side just to start rolling sideways. She eventually stopped, ending on her back, Cynder gasped when her eyes looked at the ceiling, a stalactite was heading her way with its sharp end directed at her chest.

When luck fails friends step in, Spyro was right behind her and the moment he noticed the stalactite and Cynder laying on the ground his heart hit the chest that held it forcefully. Nevertheless Spyro kept a cool head, panic is the worst thing that can happen. He lowered his head so his horns would be the first obstacle every stone meets. Spyro leapt just in time, his horns made a direct contact with the stalactite smashing it to pieces. He landed with his paws at both sides of her body trapping Cynder between them, Spyro spread his wings forming a protective umbrella that covered her from the flying remnants of the stalactite, smiling he looked at the black snout below him. Cynder seeing his expression smiled gratefully, thanking him without using words for saving her life, when his eyes met hers Spyro could swear he saw them twinkle for a brief moment.

Cynder's mind returned to reality and her eyes went wide the moment he furled his wings, another stalactite broke off from the ceiling and was heading their way. She wrapped her paws around Spyro and jerked making him gasp faintly as they rolled over with her ending on top of him. They both looked to the side when the sound of a crashing stalactite reached them, it was turned to pieces on impact. Cynder looked at Spyro, he turned his head slowly and watched her with a shocked expression. She winked and got up while patting his belly softly with her tail to bring back his concentration and urge him to follow her.

They began to run once more, jumping sideways, circling some rocks, they did everything to avoid the stones and stalactites that kept falling down. A deafening sound echoed through the cave as something really solid and big crumbled, the dais was destroyed completely and the noise it created made them run even faster just like it tried to tell them that there was no more time to lose. A large gap formed itself on the ground, Cynder jumped over it just to land on the other side completely covered in smoke. She sped up even if she couldn't see anything, her eyes went wide when a huge boulder revealed itself from the smoke. Cynder placed her paws firmly on the ground, sparks were send flying in the air as her claws slid on the floor creating an annoying screeching sound, she kept sliding for a while trying to dispose all that speed she accumulated. The rock was getting closer and closer with each second, she closed her eyes reading herself for the inevitable, it will be a painful collision, but then to her surprise she stopped, Cynder opened her eyes just to see the rough surface of the rock right in front of her nose, she loudly sighted in relief.

A purple tail wrapped itself around her front paw and tugged her. The cave started to vibrate even more forcefully, they had troubles running in straight line as they both swayed from side to side. The rumbling sound got more intense when the ceiling started to cave-in behind them, rocks upon rocks were falling down onto the ground with a loud thud, crumbling into small bits and creating a dense, black smoke. They kept running avoiding everything that got into their way while escaping from the avalanche of rocks behind them that was getting closer. Some barely noticeable sun rays penetrated the smoke giving them a clear sign where they should be moving. With each step the light shone brighter but that was not the only thing each gait dragged closer, the rumbling sound behind them was getting louder. They kept running towards the light that burned their eyes, yet its blinding rays were somewhat appealing, it must have been thanks to the rocks that seemed to hit the ground just behind their tails. They ran towards the growing light until their vision was covered by complete blinding white light, it was then when they decided to jump.

Both dragons landed on their bellies and began to cough, a loud rumbling sound forced them to look at the cave. The moment they set their eyes on it the entrance collapsed, now many rocks replaced the opening in the hill. Puffs of smoke shot out from the hole above the entrance blocking the light near the cave. They stared at the cave until they could no longer hear the rumbling sound and the smoke stopped slipping through the cracks, everything went silent.

" I hate hermits" Cynder muttered and coughed

"Why he didn't listen to me?" Spyro mused

" He was crazy, who knows what has gotten into his head"

" He wasn't crazy...well not entirely, he talked with me after all and he sounded quite normal "

Cynder shrugged " He put on a brave face I guess"

Spyro scratched his head " Yeah maybe you are right, but I still don't understand what made him to attack me"

" Nothing special really, it was only your blood" she added with her typical sarcastic tone

" I thought it was something more interesting" he might have said one thing just to play along, but when he looked at her his expression spoke volumes, he wanted to know what she saw

" After he examined your wound he licked one of his blood covered fingers"

Spyro's snout twisted in disgust" But why he did taste my blood in the first place? There is nothing special about it"

" Beats me, but I suppose you have to be a delicacy, not every day a purple dragon wanders into a cave of a barbaric hermit"

Spyro shuddered " Being eaten alive, that vision will keep me awake"

Cynder touched her teeth " Tell me about it" she muttered

He stood up and spread his wings "Come on Cynder let's find those trees"

" Lead on" she pulled herself up

They leapt into the air and with some flaps of their wings they turned around and started to fly southeast . Trees, rivers, ponds and mountains dotted the landscape, in the direction they were heading the numbers of trees were getting lower and lower, and it surprised them, how they are suppose to find a pair of trees when there will be none around here soon enough. The hermit pointed them in the wrong direction probably but they had nothing to lose anyway, they were lost already so what's the difference if they'll fly in the wrong direction? Nevertheless Spyro still kept going southeast, he believed that the hermit told them the truth, after all Meadow was their mutual friend, there was no reason to lie about the location of the village.

They soared for a while and were about to give up but then they flew over a hill and just right behind it was the thing they were looking for. Two enormous trees with no leaves but only twisted and cracked branches were leaning against each other, their bare crowns looked like they were glued together and that position left their hunks bent so badly that it was surprising they didn't break. The trees leaning like that looked like some sort of an arch yet it wasn't curved as a normal arch but nevertheless one could say the trees formed some sort of a gateway if you'd look closely. Nothing surrounded the trees expect some stones forming a circle around it, what really was unique about the stones was that they were of different colors, green, blue, red and many others surrounded the trees. Surprisingly their colors weren't sharp even despite the sunlight, they were shaded just like light never touched them in the first place. It would be quite a trek for anybody walking on foot, the trees weren't far from the cave but the hills, rivers and many other things would really be a pain for any traveler, it would take some days to reach them. Luckily they didn't have to worry about such things since they had their wings, a dragon's best friends when it comes to travel long distances.

"Now those are some really scary looking trees" Cynder stated while she landed next to them and looked them over.

The moment Spyro touched the ground his head had been moving up and down their hunks "Yeah I wonder how they managed to bend like that"

" Don't ask me I have no idea"

"How a tree can reach such a curve? Magic must hold them in place somehow I guess. Cool"

" I don't know, those trees are strange I mean look..." Cynder scanned the surroundings "... they seem kinda out of place"

Spyro looked around, she was right, green ground surrounded them with some broad-leaved trees every now and then, and here was a pair of twisted and barren trees peacefully rooted in the earth " Hey you are right, but maybe someone made them like that on purpose. An unique spot to help any lost traveler to find his right direction"

"Or maybe the hermit lead us into a trap, by stepping into this circle we made ourselves vulnerable and soon his friends will show themselves and eat us" A small smile formed itself on Cynder's snout

Spyro frowned " That's not funny"

" I know"

" Besides I don't feel any magic radiating from them" he touched one of the hunks, his paw itched slightly, Spyro scratched his foreleg and kicked away one of the shaded rocks "Yup, nothing"

He looked at the hunk again and cocked his head " Wait a minute" Spyro rose on his hind paws and tore off one of the twisted branches " Doesn't it look like the staff the hermit carried?"

She looked at the branch "It does, no wonder he remembered how to reach this place"

Spyro looked on the ground " And these stones look like the one that was attached to his staff, I wonder what else he could make from them, if should have asked him about something else when I had the chance"

Cynder's head jerked back slightly just as if something occurred to her " Yeah you really asked him some strange questions, what was that all about?"

Spyro smiled " Alchemy? There was a dragonfly in my village who called himself an alchemist, he could make a potion which changed the color of your scales for a while. I was always curious if alchemists can really make things like that using mostly some...well junk"

Cynder shook her head " No not alchemy, you asked the hermit about a village that was supposed to be past the forest. "

"Oh that" he scratched his head " I felt that tingle again and I followed it into the forest while you were sleeping, I found a map there"

She jerked in surprise " What sort of a map?"

"Map is a wrong word, it looked like a hastily drawn plan with the location of some villages"

" Where is it? Can I see it?"

Spyro shook his head "You can't, it was destroyed when the apes attacked me"

Cynder reared her head" Apes? So close to the cave? When you were planning to tell me about them?"

He shifted from paw to paw nervously " Honestly? Never"

"WHAT?!" she exclaimed angrily

"Listen! After the fight they were all gone!" he shouted

"Of course they were you killed them after all!" Cynder's voice still full of anger

He shook his head "No, not like that, they vanished, every body, every drop of blood, even the living ones disappeared just like they weren't there in the first place!" he exclaimed

Her anger was gone instantly "Ohh"

"Yeah, ohh! When I hit that tree and nothing came after me I didn't know what to make out of it"

"Nevertheless you should have told me about it"

Spyro furrowed a brow " And what should I tell you? That I was fighting with invisible enemies that I probably created in my head? Or maybe about my new wounds that I probably did myself while fighting?"

Cynder nodded "Yep, that would be a start"

He jerked his head slightly, sighted and smiled kindly soon after "Thanks Cynder but I just didn't want to worry you, you have been through enough"

"Hey!" she exclaimed indignantly "Don't worry about me, I can handle it"

Spyro chuckled " Ok then, I didn't want you to know that you are traveling with a crazy dragon"

She giggled " And what would that change? I'm already nuts, but at least I now know that we are on the same boat"

He smiled and shook his head " If we go down we go down together, right?"

"Hell yeah!" she exclaimed merrily " I'm happy that we are going crazy together, I know how that sounds but at least we know that when we will start drooling and mumble under our noses it can't get any worse than that. Besides I'm pleased that I will have someone to talk to since nobody else will understand me"

Spyro laughed " There is always a silver lining"

Cynder giggled "Exactly, but I rather like that moment to come later than sooner so how about we leave those creepy trees behind and find some civilization?" she spread her wings

In agreement Spyro leapt into the air with Cynder following him, a river was their destination now, so following the hermit's advice they flew east, searching for it. It didn't take them long to find a single, crystal clear and quite broad river flowing down. They've made their way alongside its riverbank until they saw a single black smoke rising above one of the tree tops, a smoke that was coming out from a chimney.