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Lost Legends 21

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Chapter 21: Power

Icy cold doused the inside of Kaikara's chest as Trow went over, and she shrieked inarticulately at the remaining Bokoblin. Her impulse was to look over the edge, even though she was certain that Trow had disappeared into the lava, but her fury was too immediate—too strong. She had to take care of this rotten little monster or it would just chuck her over the edge, too!

The bokoblin grinned at her, cackling in a screechy sort of way that set Kaikara's back hairs on edge. She said nothing; she only lunged at it, sword out in front of her, aiming for its heart. But in her rage she did not pay attention to the bokoblin's body language. It easily dodged her lunge and hit her square between the shoulders with its spiked club.

Kaikara cried out in pain and staggered forward, unable to stop herself sprawling on the rough, hot stone. She rolled aside in time to avoid having her brains dashed out from the bokoblin's second attack, but the area between her shoulders now pulsed sharp blurts of pain, and the last thing she wanted to do was to pick up her sword again and fight.

The bokoblins lunged at her again and before Kaikara knew it, she was on her feet again, her rage dampened, her eyes actually seeing her opponent instead of that red rage. She ducked its club and lunged forward, slashing at its arm. She opened a gash in the reddish flesh, and when the bokoblin screech and flinched back, Kaikara drove her blade into its chest.

This hit was true, and the bokoblin dropped, slumping against a rock wall. Kaikara stood, shaking for a moment, then nearly threw herself to the edge of the cliff. She was sure, absolutely sure in her heart that Trow was dead, slipped beneath the lava in the horrible death she had envisioned when they first came across the molten rock. But she prayed against hope that….

"Kaikara!" The voice was small and tinny with fear, and Kaikara gaped. Clinging to a mass of dried-up vines that had long before attached themselves to the rock wall was Trow, looking terrified and hanging on for dear life. He looked up at her with eyes that gushed water.

"Trow!" She crept forward, intending to climb down herself and get him, but even as she watched, the vines near the top of the ledge began to tear loose from the rock and Trow dipped a little lower to the lava river that flowed several yards below. What should she do? Her weight would bring them both down, she had to think of something else, she had to get Trow up here, she couldn't think of losing him now that she'd realized he was still alive!

She held her breath, trying to calm herself and thought furiously. Rope…they needed rope, but where-! Then it clicked; she had been carrying a coil of rope on her belt since they had left Tempa's company!

Cursing herself, she yanked off her belt and uncoiled the rope, quickly tying a knot at one end for Trow to hold onto. She looped the free end around a large rock to help bear Trow's weight and threw the rest down. "Rope, Trow! Get the rope!"

Trow looked terrified. The rope dangled six inches from his face, but the thought of letting go of the vines seemed to freeze him. "I-I can't!"

"You can so!" Kaikara yelled, her voice growing almost angry as another section of vine let loose. "One hand first! Quick, really quick and you won't fall! One hand then the other, come ON!"

For a space of seconds, Kaikara thought Trow was not going to be able to break his terrified paralysis and she was going to have to climb down after him. She worried about being able to bear his weight and climb, when suddenly Trow let go with his left hand and clutched at the rope.

Kaikara's heart leapt. "Good!" she cried. "Good…now the other, you can do it! Just hold on!"

More confident, Trow let go of the vines and held onto the rope so tightly his white knuckles were visible from where Kaikara knelt. She stood, taking hold of the rope, and pulling with all of her strength. After her frenzied battle, her strength was less than it should be, but little by little she hauled Trow's light frame up to the edge of the rock. When his hands and then his face appeared, above the rock, his hands gabbing the edge, she let go of the rope and reached down, hauling him up by the belt.

Trow threw his arms around her and she held him tightly for nearly a minute, neither of them saying anything, both panting from the exertion. Trow was shaking as badly as she was.

"It's okay," she finally managed. "It's okay." It was all she could think to say.

After they both stopped shaking, Trow stood up, and Kaikara followed. "Okay" she said. She peered back down to where Trow had nearly died a terrible death, and grimaced. Whose idea was lava, anyway? She stuck her tongue out at it before stepping back. "Just be careful. This walkway's so narrow."

Most of the Bokoblins she had killed had been swept over into the lava themselves, but a couple remained. She stepped gingerly over one, then helped Trow, who was smaller. He just stepped on the thing's gut, which almost made Kaikara smile. Almost. Then they had to jump a small gap and were facing a strange looking slope.

"Now what?" Kaikara muttered.

Trow looked up and answered: "Sand."

"Sand" was right. It seemed strangely in motion, and as Kaikara watched, she could see that it was running slowly downhill. Frowning, she stepped experimentally on the sand, and her foot sank in a bit-not a lot, but a bit. The "waterfall" of sand made her lose her balance, though, and she nearly fell on her behind.

"This is going to be stupid," she muttered.

There were wooden platforms built into the side of the slope, though Kaikara could see no one on them; she wondered what they had been used for. She frowned, and leapt at the sand, trying to scramble up the slope, but the going was rough. She quickly tired and slid down, sprawling at Trow's feet. She was very grouchy about it, but Trow looked like he was concealing a grin. Kaikara was not in a great mood and ignored him.

Trow looked down at one of the bright green fruits that littered the landscape, fruits so bright they had been able to see them from a good distance away. He cocked his head and picked one up. He sniffed it, shrugged, then took a big bite.

Alarm chilled Kaikara, even here where it was hotter than a bonfire, and she leapt to her feet. "Trow, no, what if it's poisonous?"

It was too late, though. Trow had already taken the bite. His expression lit up in delighted surprise. "It's good!" he said, and took another big bite.

Kaikara was torn between curiosity for how it tasted, and wanting to grab the bizarre thing away from Trow in case it was poisoned. But hen Trow took another bite, set it down, and faced the drifting sand with renewed determination Kaikara was taken aback. Trow raced up the sand, nimble and light, and reached the first platform before collapsing in giggles. "C'mon, Kaikara! It give you energy!

Kaikara looked doubtfully at the fruit, then laughed exhaustedly; she could use some energy, and Trow did not seem to be sick. She shrugged and ate several bites of the fruit. Trow was right; it tasted delicious. And what was better, she felt fresh energy surge through her body with every bite. She knew there were potions that did that—maybe this fruit was what they got the ingredients from!

With a grin, Kaikara leapt onto the sand, pumping her legs, making her way slowly upward. She joined Trow, who was sitting on the wooden platform and looking pleased with himself. She didn't blame him; she was pleased with him, too! "You nut!" she exclaimed, bapping him on the head with her open hand. "That could have been poison!"

Trow shrugged, unconcerned. "It didn't smell like poison."

Kaikara made an exaggerated sound of exasperation and threw her arms up in a rather theatrical gesture of surrender. "I think that being psycho protects you somehow."

This made Trow giggle, and they both took a few moments to rest before climbing the rest of the way up.

The temple above was a lake of lava, with no way to be seen across it. Kaikara hoped desperately that what they were looking for was not there, because if it was, they were finished; there was no way to get across the lake of death.

Kaikara did, however, discover bomb flowers…and fell completely in love with them.

As she and Trow, tired and dispirited, walked out of the temple, Kaikara spotted the strange "fruit" growing in a clump of dry-looking grass. Temporarily distracted, she knelt down the touch the plants and found the leaves were not dry at all; in fact they were very oily, as if covered in lamp oil or cooking oil. With a frown, Kaikara sniffed her fingers and grimaced. It smelled acrid and not at all edible.

Still, the green fruit had turned out all right, maybe this one would, too. Kaikara picked the bluish fruit off of its vine with some difficulty, but she never got a chance to eat it. The bit of vine left suddenly ignited, as if picking it had caused some sort of strange chemical reaction, and she flinched back, holding the fruit out in front of her. It looked like nothing more than a bomb about to go off.

"Throw it!" Trow shrieked, but he didn't have to. Alarmed at what seemed to be a rapidly disappearing fuse, Kaikara heaved the thing as far away as she could, and dragged Trow behind the remnants of a stone pillar for cover. No sooner had they crouched down than an ear-splitting blast came from where she had thrown the fruit.

Cautiously, Kaikara got up, peering over the edge of the stone, to see a large crater and some rubble where there had not been moment before. She stared in shock, then in awe. "Wow."

Trow seemed speechless. While he stared, Kaikara went over to see the bomb fruit had regrown—in less than a minute! It was her turn to stare for a bit before picking it again and heaving it—grabbing the shield from her back to protect her from any flying rubble. But she peeked. The fruit bounced along the ground, stopped against another of the stone pillars, and sat there a few moments. When it finally blew, Kaikara screamed in surprise, but she was laughing at the same time. These things were great! "We can use these," she said happily. No more detouring around barriers they couldn't get through. They could just blast their way!

Trow was less than thrilled about it…but he did not protest. Finally coming out from behind the pillar, he told her she better warn him when she used one of those things, he he'd sneak a double handful of slugs into her tunic. Smothering laughter, Kaikara so promised.

But she was not so amused by the end of the day. They had bombed several walls, dug seven tunnels, and climbed three sets of vines and had come no closer to anything. At all. Kaikara sat down and tried very hard not to cry with sheer frustration. The ice temple had made them use their brains…but this…this was power. How could one person overpower a giant, flame-spewing, lava-filled mountain?

She looked down to see that Trow had fallen asleep right where they had stopped, which was a little niche between two massive rock walls, and decided he had the right idea. She curled up next to him and closed her eyes.

Kaikara was wakened the next morning by an explosion up in the mountains. Half asleep, she at first had the alarming but somehow amusing thought that Ghirahim had somehow followed them here and was having fun with the bomb flowers just as Kaikara had, but when she stumbled to her feet and looked up, a fresh spew of lava spurted from the side of the mountain. It had only been another eruption.

Sighing, Kaikara knelt and shook Trow awake. After eating an unexciting breakfast of dried meat, they gathered their gear and prepared to set out once more.

The two young heroes were about to take another step, when a scratching sound caught Kaikara's ear. She frowned, stopping. And listening. Nearly at her feet, a claw suddenly poked up through the dirt, making her and Trow screech in surprised startlement. Kaikara grabbed the Master Sword from its sheath and Trow was going for his bow when a head followed the claw. It was no evil lava monster or fiery death worm or anything of the sort—it was a Mogma!

The Mogma was filthy with dirt, as if he had been tunneling for days without a bath. He wore a large packsack that looked as if it were bursting to the seams…it was equally filthy. He looked as if he had been a few battles himself, but he was grinning happily. "Hey! Wow, you two are pretty little to be out on this volcano, aren't you? Don't tell me you're treasure hunting!"

Kaikara and Trow exchanged a glance. Kaikara wondered if this one was the ancestor of any of the Mogmas they had met in their own time. Finally, Kaikara said, "Sort of."

The Mogma chuckled. "Well you'll find it here," he said. "We ain't even found all the treasure from the war that happened here a few decades back."

Kaikara did not think that the "treasure" she sought had been left by any war, but could not be sure. "Maybe she said doubtfully, trying (but rather failing) to keep the frustration out of her voice. "But I don't know how to find it! I can't find my way anywhere or control the stupid mountain, or the lava, or-!"

But her new Mogma friend was chuckling. "Pal, ya don't control something like this! Leave that to the goddesses. You just gotta go with the flow." He winces as a few feet away the new lava stream from the eruption began to flow downhill. "Er, not literally. Anyway. Gotta go! Treasure awaits!" He glanced back at his full pack. "Er, maybe I need to stop off at home, first. Seeya!"

And with that, he was gone.

Kaikara scratched the back of her head, stifled a yawn, and sighed. "C'mon."

She was strangely silent the entire morning, pondering what the Mogma had said. Had she been going about this all wrong the entire time? Should she be working with the mountain instead of trying to muscle her way through? Keeping this in mind, Kaikara stopped trying to go where she thought she was supposed to go, and instead went wherever the path took them.

Instead of blowing up walls (which she still thought was extremely fun), she followed the paths to wherever they led. Spotting a sturdy looking hunk of rock floating along a lava river, she and Trow hopped upon it to see where it went. (Ultimately to a cave full of grass and edible, heart-shaped berries that acted a bit like a red potion), and instead of powering up sand waterfalls…let the sands slide them down to the bottom. (That was fun, too. She was not sure if it was getting them nearer their goal, but it was a lot less stressful.

As Trow and Kaikara settled down for lunch a few yards from one of the flowing rivers of lava, a sudden rumbling beneath the river made Kaikara stand up, drop her lunch and grab Trow's arm. Before either of them could do a thing, something huge shot out of the lava and up into the air with a mighty roar that shook the rock. Clamping her hands to her ears, Kaikara looked up in horrified realization at the thing, which was many times her size and did not look friendly. And it was fast. There was no way she and Trow could fight it…or even get away from it! It was glowing orange, like the lava, and was obviously not bothered by the molten rock.

She grabbed Trow's hand as the creature hurtled back from the sky right at them.

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