Rumerra - The Journey Begins

Chapter 5 - The Final Task (Part III)

Inside the cave, the girls had just reached the edge of the pit and had started running over the bridge.

"Don't look down!" Velvet yelled back at her friend, whose face turned even paler. Just as they were halfway across it, a raging dragon appeared in front and blocked their path to freedom.

"Wow! So awesome!" Velvet shouted as she saw it. "It's a dragon!"

"WHAT?!!" Arianna shrieked, stopping momentarily, barely avoiding toppling over the edge again. "This is no time to be joking! We might die!"

"I'm not joking!" Velvet turned and pointed at the beast. "Quickly, we need to turn back!"

She quickly realized she spoke too soon, though, as there was nowhere for them to turn back to. The wyverns had almost caught up with them already, the closest one descending rapidly towards them. Arianna's eyes darted back and forth between the dragon and the wyvern a couple of times, before settling on her friend. "Velvet, do you trust me?"

"With my life!" the girl answered without hesitation, grinning widely.

"Good," Arianna said, grabbing Velvet's hand and jumping off the bridge. They disappeared into the dark abyss while the dragon and the wyverns clashed together above them. As they were falling, the air mage wrapped her arm around her friend, pointing her staff at what she hoped was the ground. "Air Burst!"

The push of air slowed down their fall, making them descend gently into the darkness.

"Illuminus!" Velvet's hand lit up, returning the girls' vision to them. Descending even further than they thought was possible, they soon spotted some mushrooms, which somehow seemed to emit a faint light that illuminated the bottom of the pit.

"Klangwan Mushrooms!" Velvet exclaimed, stopping her spell. "They create a substance that glows in the dark! People use this substance to make fancy lights. Our academy also uses them in the dining hall and the hallways. They never go out!"

"Thanks for the free botanic lecture!" Arianna replied, trying to focus on her spell. She exhaled in relief when they finally touched down safely. "That was so scary! I can't believe I actually did that!"

"I told you," Velvet smiled, patting her on the back. "You're amazing!"

Growling and roaring from high above reminded them that the dragon and the wyverns were still very much alive. "Don't think we are safe yet." Arianna reminded, remaining cautious.

"Didn't you say the teleportation tablet fell down here?" Velvet suddenly remembered.

"Right! If we find it..." Arianna's face lit up.

"...we can get out of here!" Velvet smiled triumphantly. "Let's do this!"

"What if it broke on impact, though? Then we will never find it."

"It didn't." Velvet shook her head. "Look at the ground. It's covered in grass and moss."

Arianna looked down, realizing her friend was right. The soft growth at the bottom of the pit could have softened the impact and kept the teleportation tablet intact. It was their best bet to get out of there in one piece. However, finding it would not be made easy for them. They weren't even searching for a whole five minutes when a loud roar made them turn their heads upwards. To their great dismay, the dragon was descending into the pit, aiming right for them.

"Oh no!" Arianna exclaimed. "It's coming for us! What do we do now?!"

"There's only one thing really left for us to do!" Velvet yelled, clenching her fist. "We fight!"

"Fight?" Arianna cocked her eyebrow. "It's a dragon! We stand no chance against it!"

"We do with this!" Velvet reached down to her belt and lifted up a faintly shining bottle of liquid. She pushed it into Arianna's hands. "Take a sip!"

"But I'm not exhausted." Arianna looked at her with a surprised expression.

"Just do it! It's going to boost your magic!" Velvet encouraged.

"Boost my magic?" Arianna asked. "How?"

"No time to explain! Just take a sip already!"

Reluctantly, the girl pulled the cork out of the bottle, lifting it up to her mouth.

"Drink! Fast!" Velvet demanded, seeing the dragon coming closer and closer to them.
Finally, Arianna tilted her head back and closed her eyes, gulping down a sip. Just as she wanted to put the bottle down, Velvet pushed it back, forcing Arianna to drink even more.

"Are you insane?!" Arianna yelled, jumping back after almost choking. "My mother told us to take one sip when we're completely exhausted! You're force-feeding me this while I am not even tired! Do you want to kill me?!"

"Thank me later!" Velvet shouted, pointing at the dragon that was looking for them in the dim light.