The cold snow felt good against Dagon's burns. He didn't want to move, he felt exhausted, mentally and physically. But he knew he needed to move. He needed to remove that armor before Gena woke up.
Dagon unclipped himself from the saddle, pulling his leg out from under Sephtis. The freezing snow had made his leg go numb, but he didn't really care. Even as his body shivered violently, he did not even notice.
As Sephtis got to his feet as well, Dagon began to walk barefoot through the snow over to Gena. When he got closer, he realized the Drakeagen stone on her head had been completely shattered from the impact. The armor plate was disfigured and broken into parts loosely held together by strips of metal.
"We need to get it off of her." Dagon said, pulling the metal from her head. The chains still held it in place, but he had Sephtis Shift to him and then he grabbed some snow, held it in his hand till it began to melt, then turned it to acid which he dribbled over the chains. The acid ate away the metal until the armor came loose. With a heave, Dagon managed to lift the surprisingly heavy metal plate and toss it aside.
Dagon began to do this with the other parts of the armor, the back, the wings, the front and back arms, shoulders, and tail. Last was the chest, but as he reached under her, he suddenly felt a sharp sting in his hand that ran up his arm.
"Arrrgh!" He groaned in pain, jumping back and falling into the snow. Then he looked and saw, wrapping about his forearm, was a winding strip of black metal. The metal moved in its own and, at the center of it, was a black Drakeagen stone.
Dagon did everything he could think of, desperately trying to get it off, but it only ever tightened more. It was like a snake constricting his arm. He grabbed snow and poured acid on it, but not even that worked.
"What the hell..?" Dagon groaned.
"Stop. You won't be getting that off." Sephtis growled.
"What the hell is it?"
"It's a dark magic spell. That gem is a tracking stone. Mourtas had us playing the jester in this little game. He expected us to beat Gena and remove the armor, and now he can track you wherever you go."
"How the hell do I get it off?!"
"I am not sure. It's a magic spell, so destroying it won't work. It seems he made it indestructible, and you cannot simply remove it." Sephtis tapped a talon against it. "It seems we fell right into their trap."
"Damnit.." Dagon pounded his fist into the snow, then stood. In a rage, he resumed removing Gena's armor.
"What are you doing?" Sephtis asked.
"There is no damn point in standing here in idle. If we can't remove it then forget it. It can't be helped. We need to focus on what can be helped." Dagon spoke.
"That is a wise decision. Though there is possibly one way to remove it." Sephtis spoke as Dagon removed the chest plate, fully freeing Gena of her armor.
Placing a hand on Gena's snout, Dagon turned to Sephtis. "How?"
"We shouldn't do it now. If we do it now it could be problematic." Sephtis answered, "we will do it later tonight."
"But what if they find us?"
"We run." Sephtis answered. "We have time before they reach us. The magic is not entirely accurate, it only gives a general direction as to where we are. I estimate we have till tomorrow morning before we need to get it off."
"Alright.. fine. But right now.. we need to.. focus on helping… Gena.."
Dagon's face had become bright red and his eyes were droopy. The cold was getting to him. He was exhausted and he felt like he was going to freeze to death.
In that moment, Dagon collapsed, falling unconscious.
Sephtis caught the boy with his wing, staring at him for a moment.
"Hm. He passed out." The dragon thought back to the spell and the promising capabilities Dagon had. "Maybe… this boy's vision is possible after all."
— — —
Mourtas sat upon Zickarys's back atop the Draco pillar. In his hand, he held a black Drakeagen stone encased in silver metal. On top of the gem was a small pointed metal spike, which began to turn as the gem hummed.
"The spell has activated." Mourtas spoke.
"Hm. It seems those two are stronger than we thought then if they were actually able to take out Gena." Zickarys said.
"It does not matter. We will send the behemoth after them."
"The behemoth? You mean Barash? You think Barash alone could defeat them?"
"No. That's why we will also send a fleet of twenty drakes." Mourtas said venomously.
Zickarys snorted, smoke pluming from his snout. "Do you actually intend to catch them or are you testing them?"
"A bit of both really. Life has been boring as of late. I'd like to make it interesting." Mourtas said. "I'd like to have a little more fun before things truly fall into chaos."
"Yes.." Zickarys gave a low growl. "There is not much time left. Only three months now."
"Yes. Three months.. and this world will know the true meaning of power."
— — —
Deep within the prison chambers of the Annagon castle, a brute of a beast sat alone in a dark cage of solitude. Black armor covered almost every inch of its body and massive spikes were skewered through its massive talons, pinning it to the wall.
The creature was indeed a dragon, but it walked on its hind legs and had unnaturally large arms. It's wings were massive, chained to the wall by looped hooks. Heavy chain links weighed down its legs and metal covered its horns and mouth, pinning its head to the wall behind it.
The cage door opened and a soldier garbed in silver armor entered, carrying a large chunk of meat. The man did not at all look like he wanted to be there. He was visibly shaking and his movements were slow and skittish.
As he moved toward the dragon, he watched as its luminescent red eyes gleamed down on him maliciously.
The soldier walked over to the wall, pulling a lever. From above a stone stairway folded down, leading up to the dragon's head. The soldier slowly ascended the stairs, carefully taking each step as quietly as he could.
When he reached the top, he was engulfed in the creature's eyes, the murderous intent sending waves of paralyzing fear through the man.
After a minute or so, he shook himself and pulled out a key. Placing the key in the metal lock over the dragon's jaws, he jumped back as the metal fell away. A wave of hot air washed over him as the dragon breathed out in a low growl. The soldier plugged his nose and, hesitantly, held out his hand, inching closer and closer to the beast's open jaws.
As soon as he let go of the meat chunk, he jumped back, retracting his hand as the dragon's jaws filled with countless pointed teeth snapped shut.
The soldier gulped as he heard the flesh and bone being crunched in the dragon's mouth. Then came the man's least favorite part; replacing the lock.
He ducked low beneath the dragon's jaws, grabbing the metal plating and lifting it.
With his shaking, he could hardly hold it right, the attached chains rattling with his tremors.
And then he dropped it.
Acting on reflexes, the soldier leapt toward the plate to catch it, but the dragon's jaws suddenly opened wide.
*CRUNCH*
The sound of shattering and crunching bones resounded through the cage, blood flowing in waves from the dragon's jaws and spilling to the ground below in puddles of crimson.