E-Story/2

Looming over the trio was what looked like an Elemen. In some senses, it was. But there was no life in this creature. It wasn't a real Elemen at all. It was an artificial being. A monster, if you will.

These monsters were believed extinct.

So why was one here, staring down Nyjole, Scorwa, and Farok?

Scorwa was the first one to manage some words: "What… no! I thought… but how?" Nyjole and Farok were as if they were frozen on the spot; they simply didn’t know how to react.

"I am Locksil. You are not of my allegiance. I cannot let you live." The Locksil talked in a monotonous voice, each syllable sounding completely detached from the next. When it refered to its allegiance, it was referring to its loyalty towards its crafter, Xagros. He was once, long ago a horrible tyrant over Elemania.

"Xagros is long gone!" complained Nyjole. It was true. Xagros had vanished before the monsters did, in fact. But obviously, Locksil wasn't up for listening. Or maybe it simply didn't believe Nyjole…

Locksil assumed combat stance. It seemed as if something inside the monster was pulsing a dingy shade of green. Green sparks of energy were excreted out of Locksil's shell. One of the sparks grazed Farok's left wing. Farok let out a yelp. He rushed back away from the Locksil and cowered behind Nyjole. Locksil slowly approached both of them. Nyjole snapped out of his state of shock and conjured a red bolt of electricity to strike the opposing Elemen from the side, at an angle.

Locksil vibrated and cocked his head, irritated. After a split second, it retaliated. It retracted its spring and launched directly at Nyjole, sending him skidding across the rough floor.

"Yikes!" cried Scorwa, quickly deciding to take action. He began focusing heat energy around him, and a distinct red haze shimmered all around his body. He spiraled down, charging widly at the Locksil. Upon contact, the Locksil's forehead was scorched, and its form was contorted. Emotionally, it showed no sign of damage.

Nyjole had recovered at this point, and charged at the enemy, full-force. He roared as much as an Elemen can roar, and tackled Locksil into the ground. Without any loss of momentum, Nyjole used the dastardly Elemen as a springboard, doing a midair front flip and landing ungracefully on his back.

Locksil's grey and green color scheme swirled and distorted into a single shade of blue, then suddenly melted into the ground.

There was silence. None of the three Elemen moved. They each stared unblinkingly into the depths of the tunnel. They slowly turned their heads to look at each other.

"Where… where did that come from?" Scorwa finally said.

"I have no idea…" said Nyjole. "We really should go see Lustra. If anyone knows what's going on, she will."

"We were going to see her anyways," added Farok. Nyjole nodded.

The rest of the journey was uneventful. And quiet. The three strode briskly towards Lustra's chamber. Except Scorwa. He… flew. Briskly, of course. After about ten minutes, they arrived at the entrance to Lustra's room.

"I heard a sigh from in there," Nyjole whispered to the other two.

"What's wrong, Lustra?" said Farok, addressing Lustra behind the wooden door attached crudely to the circular opening in the wall.

What had once been quiet sobbing, almost too noiseless to hear, was now complete silence that lasted a few seconds.

"C-come in," Lustra stuttered…

…

Lustra took her time to explain what was wrong.

Last night, there, in the deepest part of Magma Tunnels, Lustra was fast asleep. She was not alone. With her, in the chamber, was Gleam. Gleam was like a younger sister to Lustra. Anyone would realize that when they saw the two together. They were inseparable. Which was, perhaps, why the news was so devastating…

Last night, Lustra awoke, in the middle of that night, to the sound of muffled screams. Two mysterious figures, clad in red armor, had silently entered the room, and captured Gleam. But before Lustra could do anything to stop them, they were gone. Just like that. Vanished. Gleam was gone too…

Guards like these had been seen before. They were the Guards of Gahalak, those who defended the pathway through Dark Caverns into Xagros's throne room. Interesting that they, too, should show up again in Xagros's absence.

The guards were never known to leave Dark Caverns. So why had they left now? They were malevolent, but they never acted on their own; most likely, they were simply overpowered monsters, and as such they had no head for planning. The Darfonians resided in Dark Caverns… and with the rising tensions between them and the Litsilians… more likely than not, the Darfonians were commanding the Guards of Gahalak. That was it, then; Darfonians were taking the first strike.

"That's quite the story," Scorwa thought aloud. Lustra looked slightly upset. Scorwa added, hastily, "I didn't mean that I didn't believe you."

"I wish we could help you out!" Farok said sincerely.

"Maybe you can," Lustra said, brightening up a bit. "I believe you all can fight… perhaps you can best the guards and bring Gleam back. I'm sorry if I'm asking for too much, but… please…"

"What do you think, guys?" Nyjole asked Farok and Scorwa.

"I think we should go," Farok stated. "I always wanted to go on an adventure, and I want to help people out as much as I can!"

"Great. Let's do it," Nyjole said with finality.

"Hold it," said Scorwa, "this is a lot we're jumping head-first into. Are you sure we're ready for this?"

"Don't worry, I know we can do it!" cried Farok.

Scorwa thought for a moment. "Very well," he said. "We'll give it a try."

"Hooray! Then let's go," Farok announced, and left the room.

Scorwa and Nyjole didn't leave quite yet.

"There's something else I think you should know, Lustra," Nyjole began.

"What’s that?" asked Lustra.

"Well, less than an hour ago, we were confronted, and we had to destroy a… a Locksil." Scorwa hesitated before speaking each of his words. "I don't know what it's doing in Magma Tunnels, or how it managed to live this long unnoticed, but—"

"What… a Locksil? You don’t mean…?" Lustra said worriedly.

"It was a Monster," Nyjole said, finishing Lustra’s thought. "Do you have any idea how it got here? I thought they were all dead."

"That makes two of us," Lustra said. Then she thought for a moment or two…

"No… that’s actually not true," she admitted. "You’re not the first ones to discover monsters still lurking in the Tunnels. Until recently, I, myself, had thought them extinct. But I guess that, somehow, a few survived. They must have been gathered in some unknown haven, multiplying, and now they’ve come out again. I wouldn’t be surprised if you run into more. Be careful out there."

Scorwa wasn’t satisfied with the answer. "It sounds like this is all just theory. You really don’t know how they all got here, then?"

"I’m afraid not. But, if there’s any way for you to find out, it’s by exploring. And if you do come across any useful information, promise you’ll tell me. Alright?"

"Okay, will do," said Nyjole. "We should go catch up with Farok. He's gotta be really far ahead of us by now. Come on!" Without another word, both of them left Lustra's chamber, and Nyjole closed the door just a bit too hard behind him.

Lustra sat and pondered.