Adventures of Paku the Dragon: The Shroud of Shadows

Chapter 25

In the morning, the group sets back out towards the Molt. Their journey takes them across open plains where grass starts to give way to black volcanic rock. The temperate grasslands start to turn into hot volcanic plains, as the group approaches the dark lands.

"Wow, no one wonder they call it the dark lands. This place sucks!" Patch exclaims, not being a big fan of the huge volcanic plains that the group were journeying across.

"Yeah, I know. It makes me wish I had some rabbits to munch on" Ziva adds.

"Be careful. Keep your eyes peeled, evil men patrol this land often. We need to be ready for anything." Ellis warns as he keeps his hand on his sword.

Once they reach the border of the dark lands, the party dismount their horses and secure them to large rocks. "We won't be able to ride them through this rough terrain. Arch, take the horses and ride back to Peatstown. Come looking for us if we haven't returned in two weeks."

"That sounds ominous." Patch notes.

"It's not. Just don't wander too far off, or you may never find your way back." Ellis replies.

Arch nods and grabs the reins from a nearby horse, mounts up and rides off in the direction of Peatstown. The rest of the rangers begin to traverse the rocky terrain.

"We should fly up and see if we can find where they hold prisoners." Paku suggests.

"Negative. We should stick together as a group. If they see you two alone, they might capture you as well." Ellis warns.

"Alright, how about we climb the volcano?" Patch suggests. "The lava flows should cool down soon enough."

"Not a bad idea, we could get a good lookout up ahead." Ellis responds. "Let's keep climbing."

The group goes up the volcano, and stops at a ledge allowing them to get a full view of the volcanic region. "There, look!" Paku says, as he points his paw towards an iron fortress. "That's got to be where they're holding prisoners."

"What do you think?" Ziva asks.

Paku shrugs his shoulders. "Dunno. Probably crawling with goblins."

"Probably." Ziva agrees. "How are we going to get inside?"

"We should be able to sneak in under a trick attack. Ellis, do you think you and the rangers can distract them long enough for us to bust out Naria?"

"I suppose we could. Just be careful in there Paku." Ellis tells him.

"Oh, I will be," Paku assures Ellis.

"Good luck." Ellis says.

The rangers, including Ziva and Patch, carefully make their down the volcano. They come upon a large boulder, which has been blasted apart by lava flow from some time ago.

"Alright, we'll hide behind here until you distract the prison guards long enough. Then, Ziva and I will fly in with Patch." Paku says, making a plan.

"I hope this goes flawlessly." Ellis comments as he looks upon the iron fortress.

"Don't worry, we got this." Ziva says with confidence.

"Just be careful." Ellis mutters.

The two dragons nod and lay low behind the large stone. Once they hear the rangers moving around and preparing to launch a distracting attack, the two dragons prepare themselves for action.

"I'll carry Patch in with me, and you blast anyone in our way with lightning." Paku says.

"Got it." Ziva nods.